31/12/14, 12:00 PM
PLEASE NOTE: This Lenten period is not suspended for New Year's Eve celebrations. We realize our parishioners will celebrate the New Year and this is perfectly fine in the context of our thankfulness to God for His blessings upon us in the past year and the blessings we seek from Him in the coming year. But New Year's celebrations should be undertaken with moderation - not excess. Please contact Fr. Gregory with questions in this regard.===
We congratulate all our parish family with the beginning of the yearly Lenten period preceding the feast of our Lord’s Nativity! This Lenten period begins November 28 each year and runs until January 7 – the feast of our Lord’s Nativity. This Lenten period is much less stringent than Great Lent. During this fast, as usual, we abstain from meat and dairy products. But fish is allowed on many days. Please consult our parish schedule (linked below) for more details on the culinary aspects of fasting. Of course, the culinary fast is a tool to aid us spiritually to prepare for our Lord’s Nativity – it is not an end unto itself. If you have not fasted in the past please consult Fr. Gregory, Fr. Michael, or Fr. Joseph for practical advice on how to be successful in fasting. Fasting a very important way that we place ourselves in obedience to the Church, the Ark of our salvation, and extraordinarily helpful in our spiritual struggle to draw nearer to our Lord at this special time of year.
http://www.stvladimiraami.org/calendars ... lendar.pdf