Dear faithful of the Holy Transfiguration parish,

 

May the Blessings of our Lord, who for our salvation accepted baptism by the hands of John, descend upon you and your family now and throughout this new year.

 

Today we celebrate the great Feast of Theophany. This is the day that we remember the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan. It was after this event that our Lord began His ministry to the world so that all who believed in Him should receive eternal life.

 

It is called Theophany because on that day, when Jesus was baptized, for the first time in human history we received the full revelation of God. Faithful humans had up to that time received names which had revealed aspects of God or His relationship to His Creation. On the day Jesus was baptized, human beings received a unique revelation of who God is and how He exists. We see the One God in Trinity. The Three Persons of the One God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are all there revealing Themselves as One and Three. Each Person is there performing one of Three unique tasks, but all are working as One in order to accomplish the salvation of the human race.

 

I wish to express my thanks to all of you who were able to help at the services or where there to pray with us as we celebrated the Royal Hours, the Divine Liturgy, or the two Great Blessings of the Waters. Through your prayers and participation we now have the blessed water necessary to bless our surroundings. The Great Blessing of the Waters is a service where the blessing of ALL Creation is the intention. In warmer climates the altar cross is thrown into the sea, a lake, or a river to bless it and eventually through its water to bless all of our Earth. In all climates, it is customary at this time of year for the priest to bless the homes and businesses of the Faithful.  

 

If you would like me to bless your homes or businesses this year I would be happy to do so. Because of COVID our Metropolis has issued guidelines for how a priest is to conduct the service. This year, I can bless our homes or businesses in the traditional manner, or I can bless just the outside of the structure if you are concerned over COVID. In cases where only the outside is blessed, the Metropolis has developed a small service that can be read by the faithful to bless the inside of the structure themselves with the blessed water from Theophany. I will attach this service to this email. If you would like me to come and bless your homes, please contact me by phone, email, or text so that we can set up an appropriate time. 

 

I look forward to worshipping with you all again this Sunday. Until then, I remain

 

Your servant in Christ,

 

Fr. Nichalas D. March

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