Transfiguration of Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ

August 5, 2007 AD

Pre-Festive Day of the Transfiguration

Matthew 17:14-20 - And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and kneeling before him said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him." And Jesus answered, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me." And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting." (RSV)

Origen - When someone has total faith, such that he no longer disbelieves in anything found in holy Scripture and has faith like that of Abraham, who so believed in God to such a degree that his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness, then he has all faith like a grain of a mustard seed. Then such a man will say to this mountain – I mean in this case the deaf and dumb spirit in him who is said to be epileptic – “Move from here to another place.” It will move.

Dormition Fast began on August 1st and continues until the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God on August 15th.

August Feasts:

• August 6 - Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, God, and Savior, Jesus Christ
• August 15 - Feast of the Dormition (Falling-Asleep) of the Mother of God

The Icon is of the Transfiguration of our Lord.