THE FEAST OF FEASTS THE FESTIVAL OF FESTIVALS

THE FEAST OF FEASTS 

THE FESTIVAL OF FESTIVALS

     The extremely glorious Feast of Pascha brilliantly outshines other feasts and celebrations.  It is also known as the Feast of feasts because there is no other feast that can approach its wonder, glory and majesty, and its supremely gracious and unlimited gift to the human race. Pascha was and is the hope of all the nations not a single nation as the  old covenant, for God is the God of all people. Pascha is the longed for awaited living Passover which was typified in Egypt by the angel of death dealing with death of the first born of Egypt and their salvation through the blood of a lamb. It is the answer to all questions; it is the solution to every problem, it leaves nothing unanswered.  The Feast of feasts Pascha is everything! In the Lord’s Pascha is found all that is needed by man.  In Pascha is our resurrection into eternal life. 

     This Feast lightens the souls of the faithful and from them radiates to the souls of unbelievers, or those weak in faith,  due to its extreme brilliance the brightness of Pascha can never be diminished. That is why celebrating and joining this Feast it is much more than the celebration of other feasts.  This feast is filled with life, this Feast is filled with Christ who will enliven souls forever in endless joy. 

THE THREE ENEMIES OF MAN

     Pascha or Passover, includes the complete defeat by Jesus Christ who by the Cross waged war  and defeated the three enemies of man. 

     The first enemy defeated is the devil who had deceived man in paradise bringing about the onset of sin which enabled him to hold man in captivity for centuries, wherein sin and death ruled.

  Arousing bitterness and enmity and every type of evil among men, the devil fomented crime, murder, stealing, false witness,  lying, insurrections, wars and more, in fact, all evils among men. Christ is victorious over His ns our enemies, and he terminated the authority of the devil by His submission to the Cross, and for this reason we Orthodox greatly honor the holy Cross. Every day of our lives, we sign the Cross on our persons, on our food, on our drink and our going out and coming in.  Through the Cross, our Lord Jesus Christ defeated the first enemy of man the devil, and we call Him the Victor and Conqueror of death.

     The second enemy defeated is sin which rules over man and keeps him prisoner until He comes to Christ and is relieved of this burden. Man sins in his thoughts, words and deeds, and so frequently that it eventually becomes his nature.  Bad thoughts of men soon become bad deeds and they arouse animosity toward each other. Christ defeated sin the second enemy by His humility

The third enemy defeated is death to which man was enslaved by the devil through power of sin. Contrary to many opinions, death is not the termination of man but is the temporary  disassembly and separation of body, soul and spirit. Death is usually feared or  undesirable among most men because of the natural love of life.  Christ defeated the third enemy death, by His glorious resurrection on the third day.

      Orthodox Christians have been baptized by three immersions into the death of Christ, thus dying with Him into a death like His. We also were raised up from the waters three times into His resurrection, and this heaven sent mystery becomes our permanent condition.  We are baptized into the sinless Christ so that we may become sinless for this deifies our spirits making them heavenly. Also reading and absorbing how others lived before us is necessary Orthodox Lives of Saints and spiritual books are available  everywhere. everyone.

It is beneficial to be aware that we are Godbearers and thus have great responsibility before God and men, especially in our individual and collective behavior. The prayers of Holy Communion are excellent teachers of what type of creature we believers should be.  Following are a few quotes from the Communion Prayers which are a wonderful source of knowledge regarding this mystery.

     From Communion Prayers:

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him.”

“Sanctify my soul and body, my mind and heart,  my emotions and affections, and wholly renew me.”

“May I receive the portion of your holy things and be united with your holy body and blood, and have you dwelling within me with the Father and the Spirit.”