"I Became a Fountain of Life to You, Most Holy Fountain of Life of the World." [10 May 2024]

Good Morning & Praise The Lord!

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Good morning, and praise the Lord! Today is Friday May 10, 2024

Outside of Constantinople, towards the district of the Seven Towers, there was in ancient times a very large and most beautiful church named in honour of the Theotokos; it had been built about the middle of the fifth century by the Emperor Leo the Great (also called "Leo of Thrace," he is commemorated on Jan. 20).

Before he became Emperor, he had encountered there a blind man, who being tormented with thirst asked him to help him find water. Leo felt compassion for him and went in search of a source of water but found none. As he became downcast, he heard a voice telling him there was water nearby. He looked again, and found none. Then he heard the voice again, this time calling him "Emperor" and telling him that he would find muddy water in the densely wooded place nearby; he was to take some water and anoint the blind man's eyes with it. When he had done this, the blind man received his sight.

After Leo became Emperor as the most holy Theotokos had prophesied, he raised up a church over the spring, whose waters worked many healings and cured maladies by the grace of the Theotokos; from this, it came to be called the "Life-giving Spring." The Church of Christ celebrates the consecration of this church on this day.

After the fall of the imperial city, this church was razed to the ground and the materials from it were used for building the mosque of Sultan Bayezid. Nothing remained of that church's ancient beauty, except for a small and paltry chapel, almost completely buried in the ruins.

This chapel had twenty-five steps going down into it, and a transom window on the roof, wherefrom it received a little light. Toward the western side of the chapel was the aforementioned holy Spring, fenced about with a railing, and with fish swimming in it. Such was the condition of the Spring until 1821. Then even that little remnant was destroyed, occasioned by the uprising of the Greek nation against the Ottoman Empire; the sacred Spring was buried with it and disappeared altogether.

But in the days of Sultan Mahmud, when those subject to him were rejoicing in their freedom to practice their religion, permission was sought by the Orthodox Christian community to rebuild at least part of the chapel. Thus the work was begun on July 26, 1833. When the excavation had been made, and the foundations of the ancient church were found, there was rebuilt -- by a later writ of permission from the Sultan -- not merely a chapel of the holy Spring, but another new church, constructed upon the foundations of the ancient one.

The building of this spacious, beautiful, and most majestic temple began on September 14, 1833, and the work was completed on December 30, 1834. On February 2, 1835, the Ecumenical Patriarch Constantine II, serving the Liturgy together with twelve hierarchs and a great company of clergy, as well as a boundless multitude of Christians, performed the consecration of this sacred church and dedicated it to the glory of the Mother of God.

On September 6, 1955, however, it was desecrated and destroyed again by the Moslem Turks; it has been restored again, but not to the former magnificence.

All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us.

Lord, forgive our sins.

Master, pardon our transgressions.

Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Your name's sake.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Scriptures

Acts of the Apostles 3:1-8

In those days, Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful to ask alms of those who entered the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked for alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, with John, and said, "Look at us." And he fixed his attention upon them, expecting to receive something from them.

But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but I give you what I have; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and walked and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

The Gospel According to John 2:12-22

At that time, Jesus came to Capernaum with his mother and his brothers and his disciples; and there they stayed for a few days.

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers at their business. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all, with the sheep and oxen, out of the temple; and he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, "Take these things away; you shall not make my Father's house a house of trade." His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me."

The Jews then said to him, "What sign have you to show us for doing this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?" But he spoke of the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.

Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, present everywhere and filling all things, treasury of blessings and giver of life, come and abide in us.

Cleanse us from every stain and save our souls, gracious Lord.

"I have begotten you on earth. I was at prayer when I received from heaven the Good News that I would beget a Son, without man, from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on my humble virginity.

There, at the secret council with the archangel, I promised that I would give birth to You and love You all my life and eternity. I felt in my womb Your presence of light, I felt God moving in my being, like a preaplin of joy and dedication.

You were born without pain, in virginity and holy mystery, You, my King, my Son and my God. I looked upon You and heard Your first cry in this world, I longed as You God sought my breast, You who nourish with immortality and life the whole universe. I became a fountain of life to You, most holy Fountain of life of the world. And then I nourished Thee at my bosom, with fear and trembling, watching Thee grow, Thou who art greater than the ages, holy Father of the galaxies in wonder.

To me you wept when you were hungry, O Nourisher of the universe. I received you who cleansed the creature from evil. My love you sought, O Lover of men. When You were cold, in the desert nights to Egypt, I covered You with my body, I breathed warmth on Your face with my mouth, You beloved Warmth of eternity.

I listened to Your first cooing, my God, Words of the Father from which flow the words of all creation. To me, looking with loving longing, You first said Mother, You Creator of worlds. You I have loved and watched over every moment of my frail life, the Love of my life and the Life of my love. You are my only hope, my only support.

You I have carried in my arms, You I have embraced, Lord of Powers, King of Cherubim and Seraphim. You were as light as a dove's feather, You who are heavier than the ages. But in Your humility and love You made Yourself light in my hands so that I would not be weary. You were infinitely subtle and loving, Your silence was worth a thousand words. I taught you to walk, You the Way, the Truth and the Life.

I taught you to speak, you who are the eternal Logos of the Father. All my life I have searched for You. I missed You even when You were in my arms. I missed the time when You were one with me, when my heart beat with Yours.

You began to separate yourself from me, Son, always bending over the books, remaining in the Temple to teach the elders the truth illuminated from the ancient scrolls, You, Lamb of God. And when You went out to preach, I lost You, I was always looking for You, You had become one with the crowd thirsting for the Word, You ached with the pain of all the paralytics, You suffered from the diseases of all. Their sufferings you took and their sicknesses you bore. I saw you put your hand on the eyes of the blind and the eyes exploded with light.

I watched you silently as you preached, as you gathered bread to your breast and made it a source of food for thousands. To me the mute who were healed by You spoke, to me the weak ran to give thanks for bringing such a Son into the world, to me the deaf who were healed by Your breath of grace listened of Your childhood, Eternal Word.

And now I see You crucified on the Cross, full of beatings and wounds. Your face that illumined the world is covered with blood, Your head that thought out the design of the universe is crowned with thorns. The hands that healed thousands are pierced with spikes. Look at me, my Son and my God! Do not leave me alone in this ocean of evil, I have no one here on earth.

I want to die with You, my Life and my Joy. You are so good that You forgive those who kill You, and You do not hear me, Words, my most holy Child. I want to embrace You again, to feel Your gaze as it makes the grass grow, as the flowers of the world bloom.

Return to me before I die of grief. If after I gave birth to You I felt a great emptiness in my body, now in my soul a terrible abyss is born, full of all the sorrows of the world. You have taken away the sins of all. Remember that I too feel all that You feel, Your pain pains me, I weep through Your eyes, my Almighty Child. No words in the world can quench my suffering.

Please, Most Holy Son, do not enter the earth, You who are the Creator of the earth. Sun and moon darken at the sight of your God entering deep into the earth. O fountain of living water, grant that I may weep till the end of the world for Thy end on the Cross. My light, Light of the world, do not fade beneath the earth, You who spring life upon the world You whispered to me secretly that you would rise again.

Rise quickly my Son, do not pass me by in silence, do not let me die of grief, here beside your Cross, full of your Blood, which has washed the whole world from death. Come back, my holy Eucharist, and I promise that I will love and bless for all eternity all those who have killed You in any way and then return to You, the endless Life of the world.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.