Rejoice! To you, who has shown Christ as the loving Lord!

Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them, for such is the Kingdom of Heaven. Mark 10:4
Sunday, March 30, 2014 Volume 2, Issue 13

Climbing up the ladder

Now, were more than halfway finished with Great Lent! Today is the 4th Sunday, when
we remember St. John Climacus. St. John was a monk
who wrote an important (but very hard to read!) book. In this book, he gave advice about how we can go up the ladderto heaven! (Thats what Climacus means of the ladder.) St. John wrote how we Christians must always be trying harder and harder to grow closer to Christ. Thats our goal. Maybe one day, when youre older, youll have a chance to read and study his book. But for today, lets remember one thing he wrote: Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And truly, your guardian angel will honor your patience. So remember, as YOU are trying every day to climb the ladder to grow closer to our Lord youre going to make mistakes! But as St. John tells us, dont give up! Be brave and try harder next time!

! T I E L B M A R C UNS
Unscramble each of the clue words. Take the letters that appear in boxes and unscramble them for the final message.
Answers: John, Ivercon, Iconoclast, Athos, Climacus, Ladder. Final Phrase: Dont give up!

A WONDER-WORKING ICON
THE PORTRAITISSA ICON
Do you have icons in your house? In your familys car? In your room? We use these icons to remember Christ and His saints. But God sometimes uses icons in other special ways too. Tomorrow well remember a very special icon called the Portraitissa Icon.
More than a thousand years ago, iconoclasts tried to destroy icons all over the Christian world. A Christian lady kept an icon in her house. Once, these icon-hating men came into her house and stabbed this icon with a spear. Blood poured out of it! Then, of course, she knew it was a very special icon. With this miracle, God wanted to show how important icons are to our faith. The lady asked the soldiers to wait until the morning to take it. When they left, she put it in the sea, and it floated away. It floated to Mount Athos, a place in Greece that is filled with monasteries and churches. This amazing icon has been at a monastery on Mount Athos ever since then. Tomorrow we celebrate this miracle that God worked through this special icon.
We remember this special icon tomorrow, on Monday, March 31st.

Whats in an icon?
This is an icon showing people trying hard to climb the ladderto heaven!
Can you see Who is blessing them at the top?