|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Poon Paregentan
"The Word, of the essence of the Father and co-existing with the Holy Spirit, joined His own image with our earthly nature and adorned it with glory and placed it in the garden of delight. There man joyfully exulted in gladness, for he beheld God always coming down in the garden, and his soul was filled with the radiance of the divine light." (Sharagan for Poon Paregentan)
We are in the Garden of Eden on this day just before Lent begins on Monday (there being no Ash Wednesday in the Armenian and other Eastern churches). In the garden we live in the joy God intended for us, knowing Him face to face. It is man's pure life, lived in the image of God.
Poon Paregentan ("joyous living") is secondarily one last feast before the fast begins. The readings (Isaiah 58:1-14, Romans 13:11-14:25, and Matthew 6:1-21) prepare us for fasting, tell us what it is, and warn us against showing it off virtuously.
Sundays during Lent
The Sundays of Lent are guideposts in our journey to Easter. They take us through the history of God's relationship with us, from creation to today. Each Sunday has a theme and a sharagan, or hymn, explaining the theology of the theme. The Bible readings for each Sunday tell us what we should be doing at each stage of our Lenten life.
Sunday 1 |