Lent starts tomorrow!

Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them, for such is the Kingdom of Heaven. Mark 10:4
Sunday, March 2, 2014 Volume 2, Issue 9

Your Little Secret

Tomorrow is the very first day of Great Lent.
We have a long way to go before Easter, and a lot to do before we get there! We want to prepare ourselves for that awesome feastday, and the Bible today tells us just how to do it.
By now, we all pretty much know the right thing to do as Christians, dont we? We know we should pray more, be kind to others more, help the hungry and the poor more, listen to God more by reading the Bible, fast more, and so on. But did you know that we should try to do all these things IN SECRET?
Thats right! In todays Gospel, we hear about how we arent supposed to tell everybody about it when we fast. We shouldnt say, Oh, Im so hungry! I havent been eating the treats I usually eat. Instead, we should keep it a secret.
And that goes for other good things we do, too. If we donate money, nobody else should know about it. If we pray, we close the door to our room so nobody can see. Then, guess what! The Bible also tells us what will happen when we do this. Your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. God knows our secrets and He knows when we are doing good things. When He sees what we are doing, He will reward us!

E D O C N I E L B I B THE
Can you crack this code? A=1, B=2, C=3 and so on.

7 HERO HIEROMARTYRS
OF CHERSON
What kind of person is brave? A fireman fearlessly
running into a burning building? A policeman chasing a dangerous criminal?
These seven saints were some of the bravest youll find. They are brave because they knew they had a dangerous job, but they happily did it anyway!
God called His disciples to make disciples of all nations. God wants us to spread the good news about Jesus Christ to the whole world. In the 300s (1700 years ago), the bishop of Jerusalem sent bishops to spread the good news in Cherson (on the Black Sea now in Ukraine). But the problem was that people were not so happy to hear the good news. The first two, Bishop Basil and Bishop Ephraim were killed. Then three more bishops were sent. They too were martyred (killed for their Christian faith). Then two more were sent. Finally, being a Christian was legal now, so they should have been safe, but one of these was still killed for being a Christian. These seven men knew they had a dangerous job to do. But they knew it was an important onea job that God had given them. Thats why they bravely and joyfully did it. We remember these seven martyrs on Friday, March 7th.
Saints Basil, Ephraim, Eugene, Elpidus, Agathadorus, Aetherius, and Capiton

25-15-21-18 19-5-5-19

6-1-20-8-5-18 9-14

23-8-15 23-9-12-12

19-5-3-18-5-20 25-15-21 . ___ ____

18-5-23-1-18-4 ____ ______ ______ ____

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Whats in an icon?
Did you know that Jesus fasted and prayed too?
Here is an icon of Christ praying in the wilderness.

Answer: Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.