Saint John Chrysostom on Holy Week
“We call the week great, not because it has a greater number of hours
– other weeks having many more hours, after all – not because it has
more days, there being the same number of days in this and the other
weeks, of course. So why do we call this week great? Because in it many
ineffable good things come our way: in it protracted war is concluded,
death is eliminated, curses are lifted, the devil’s tyranny is relaxed,
his pomps are despoiled, the reconciliation of God and man is achieved,
heaven is made accessible, human beings are brought to resemble angels,
those things which were at odds are united, the wall is laid low, the
bar is removed, the God of peace having brought peace to things on high
and things on earth. This, then, is the reason we call the week great,
because in it the Lord lavished on us such a plethora of gifts. This is
the reason many people intensify their fasting as well as their sacred
watching and vigils, and practice almsgiving, thus showing by their
behavior the regard they have for the week. After all, since the Lord in
this week has regaled us with such great goods, how are we not obliged
to demonstrate our reverence and regard as far as we can?”
— St. John Chrysostom
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Prayer for St. John Chrysostom's Intercession
O God, strength of those who hope in you, who willed that the Bishop
Saint John Chrysostom should be illustrious by his wonderful eloquence
and his experience of suffering, grant us, we pray, that, instructed by
his teachings, we also may be strengthened through the example of his
invincible patience and by his most holy intercession. We ask this
through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
