Today is the first Sunday in Lent. It is also known as the Sunday of Orthodoxy, a day we commemorate the restoration of Holy Icons back into the Church. The Gospel reading from John 1:43-51 remembers an early time in Jesus' ministry and the calling of two of His disciples, Phillip and Nathaniel. Jesus tells Nathaniel he will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. Fr. Dcn. Tikhon shares with us that this is an image of Christ as the ladder that connects the human and divine. The Church confirms Jesus was born a man allowing Him depiction in the Holy Icons we commemorate today. Having completed the first week of The Fast, let us keep the hope that Jesus accepts us for who and where we are, always calling us to follow Him.