St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Christian Cathedral of Los Angeles, CA, celebrates the Ceremony of the Presentation of BoysThe liturgical texts for the month of February, blessed by His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph, are now ready for clergy and laity to download from the Online Liturgical Guide. This month, the Orthodox Church finishes the forty-day celebration of Christmas right as it begins its journey into Great Lent.
February 2 marks the Great Feast of the Meeting (Presentation) of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ into the ancient Temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2:22-40). This was not some random meeting. This feast celebrates our forty-day-old incarnate Lord's first official encounter and manifestation with His people in the person of Simeon. In one of many acts of extreme humility, the divine Word thus lowers Himself and submits to the law in order to fulfill it and save mankind. In honor of this, churches offer the Ceremony of the Presentation of Boys, where our young men receive an extra blessing on this day.
The day before that, February 1, the Church starts the period of the Lenten Triodion with the "Sunday of the Pharisee and the Publican." Humility is key to our salvation, and so Christ teaches in a parable (Luke 18:10-14) that "everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." In an ironic twist, the revered Pharisee (religious leader) tries to describe his worthiness while the reviled publican (tax collector) confesses that he is a sinner and repents.
The preparation continues on the next three Sundays. On February 8, we remember "The Prodigal Son" who wasted away his life in sin, but repented and ran back to his father, that is, our God. This Sunday reminds us to turn back to our Father in Heaven.
On February 15, we remember "The Last Judgment" and how we must live our lives as Christ did – feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, which are all types of almsgiving. We also give up consumption of meat on this Sunday to dull our focus on the world and to sharpen our focus on Christ. However, we remember the words of St. Paul: "Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do." (I Cor. 8:8)
Finally, on February 22, we remember divine "Forgiveness." Our Lord tells us, "If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matt. 6:14-15) Churches offer Lenten Sunday Vespers with the Ceremony of Mutual Forgiveness where the clergy and laity ask forgiveness of one another, thus properly beginning Great Lent and the strict fast (no meat, dairy, fish, wine and oil) on Monday, February 23.
Parishes can access a wealth of liturgical resources for Great Lent by clicking here. Sayidna Joseph has also blessed all of these.
The Online Liturgical Guide, produced by the Committee on Liturgics, provides the official, uniform word-for-word texts to be used for the divine services in all parishes across the Archdiocese. Should you have any questions, please contact Subdeacon Peter Samore at service_texts@antiochianladiocese.org.