February 2017 Letter
Dear brethren,
Isaac is one of the characters which are similar in many ways with the character of our Lord Jesus Christ. The closest similarity being when his father Abraham took him to slaughter – a fraction that we yearly pray in the mass of covenant Thursday in the approach to the Cross of Christ – but there are other similarities we see pretty clearly between him and the Lord Jesus Christ. Here are some of them:
| Isaac | Christ |
| + Was born miraculously from Sarah’s dead womb. | + Was born miraculously from the Virgin without a seed of man. |
| + A single beloved son of his parents. | + The Only Begotten beloved Son from the Loving God the Father. |
| + His father Abraham was willing to offer him as a sacrifice. | + God the Father didn’t withhold His only Son, but offered Him as a sacrifice for the whole world. |
| + Carried the wood and walked 3 days. | + Carried the cross and was buried 3 days. |
| + Isaac’s amazing obedience to slaughter. | + Christ was obedient up to death on the cross. |
| + Abraham took with him 2 young men and a donkey towards Jerusalem (Moriah). | + Christ entered Jerusalem on a donkey that His disciples brought. |
| + He talked with his father on the way to be slaughtered. | + He spoke with His Father in the garden of Gethsemane. |
| + Isaac was tied and placed on the wood. | + Christ was tied and hung on the cross. |
| + Isaac returned alive. | + Christ rose from the dead. |
| + He betrothed Rebecca after the death of Sarah his mother. | + Sarah represents the Jewish church, which had to die and end its role before Christ betroths His church. |
But from another side, Isaac was different from Christ, for he was not suitable to be offered as a sacrifice because he sinned (Genesis 26), thus he had to be replaced by a lamb that doesn’t sin.
Below is the schedule of masses during Jonah’s fast:
| + Monday February 6th: 10 am – 1 pm | + Tuesday February 7th: 12 pm – 3 pm |
| + Wednesday February 8th: 4 pm – 7 pm | + Thursday February 9th: 8:30 – 10:30 am |
May the blessing of St. Mary & St. Mercurius and all the martyrs & saints be with us all.
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