Today we in the Orthodox Church have arrived at the Sunday of Forgiveness or Cheesefare Sunday. The Gospel for this Sunday is Matthew 6:14-21, which speaks of the importance of Forgiveness and in another aspect, the importance of fasting, but not for show but rather for one’s own soul.
We have arrived at the Sunday of the Last Judgement, in which Christ teaches us that heaven and hell have to do with the fulfillment of each other’s physical and spiritual needs.
Today we hear the Parable of the Prodigal Son, concerning a son who leaves his father and his brother and squanders his share of his father’s holdings.
Today’s reading from the Gospel of St. Luke 18:10-18, is the Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee, in which Jesus praises the humble repentance of the Publican and condemns the self-righteous pride of the Pharisees.
Helen Toroney fell asleep in the Lord after a prolonged and declining health at the age of 97, on Sat. May 21, 2022.
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