Journey to Pascha 2012

(By the hand of Kristiana)

Troparion:
By raising Lazarus from the dead before Thy passion, 
Thou didst confirm the universal resurrection, O Christ God. 
Like the children with the palms of victory, 
We cry out to Thee, O Vanquisher of death, 
Hosanna in the highest! 
Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord.

(by the hand of Kristiana)

Troparion, tone 8:
When Thy glorious Disciples were enlightened at the supper by the feet washing,
then the impious Judas was darkened with the disease of avarice,
and he delivered Thee, the Just Judge, to the lawless judges.
See, O lover of money, this man through money came to hang himself.
Flee the insatiable desire which dared to do such things to the Master.
O Lord, Who art good towards all, glory to Thee.

Konlakion, tone 2:
Having taken bread in his hand, the traitor secretly stretches it out,
and takes a price for Him Who with His own hands made man.
And Judas remained an incorrigible slave and liar.

(By the hand of Alexander)

Troparion, tone 4:
Thou hast redeemed us from the curse of the Law by Thy precious Blood.
By being nailed to the Cross and pierced with the Spear,
Thou hast poured immortality on mankind.
O our Saviour, glory to Thee.

Kontakion, tone 8:
Come, let us all praise Him Who was crucified for us.
For Him it was Whom Mary beheld on the Tree, and said:
Even though Thou endurest the cross, Thou art my Son and my God.

***
Today: I will make our Pascha bread and butter shaped like lambs; meditate and light incense. Tomorrow we will dye Easter eggs.

A little story: I brought the incense out on Holy Monday morning and set it on the counter.  It is a little glass mason jelly jar, filled with little white resin pebbles of incense.  In the past, I have done bean jars with Alex for Lent.  Whenever a child does something good you put a black bean in his jar.  On Good Friday you fill the jar with white beans.  Then tell the child that the white beans represent how Christ's sacrifice and death makes up for all the good that he did not do in his life.  All the sins he ever committed, Christ's death and resurrection overtakes them. Christ fills the rest of his life with good where he could not.  

So when Alex saw my jar filled with white incense pebbles he said, "Mommy, are those your sins or mine."

I replied, "Those are not either.  Those are prayers that we are going to send up to Heaven."  Then I lit some incense to show him how the prayers go up to Heaven.  We will light incense again today on Good Friday.