Monday (Third Week of Lent)

Is. 8:13-9:7; Gen 6:9-22; Prov 8:1-21

“The fear of the Lord hates unrighteousness (Prov. 8:13); and if it hates unrighteousness, it will drive it away; if it drives it away, the soul will be cleansed of it, and will thus appear righteous before the Lord. This is everything that we now seek with such effort. Thus, restore the fear of God in yourself and maintain it, and you will posses the most powerful means for self-healing. The fear of the Lord will not allow you to sin, and it will compel you to do every good thing on every possible occasion. Then you will fulfill the commandment: Turn away from evil, and do good (Ps.33:14), which the prophet gives gives to those seeking true life. How can one attain fear of God? Seek, and ye shall find (Matt. 7:7). We cannot say in this regard, “Do this,” or “Do that”; the fear of God is a spiritual feeling, secretly conceived in a heart that is turning to God. Reflection helps, and the effort to have this feeling helps; but in fact it is given by the Lord. Search it out as a gift and it will be given to you. When it is given, then obey it without contradicting, and it will correct all your unrighteousness.”

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

As Christians, we must always strive to do what is right, but this is especially important during Great Lent. We can turn to God with all our unrighteousness and He will bring us new life that will purify our souls. Even though all of us are tempted by sin, Christ still lives in us and this is how we can turn away from sin.

Written by Jackie Loupakos

Saturday

Heb. 1:1-12; Mark 2:23-3:5

We have approached the chalice of the Lord, we have been at the Lord’s Supper. Glory to Thee, O God! Glory to Thee, O God! Now is the great day of the Lord! The most glorious celebration in heaven! There is no city, village, or house where there are not people receiving Holy Communion. Across the breadth of Russia, throughout the south and east, so many people clothed in the white garments of justification have tasted of the Divine life and have most sincerely united themselves with the Lord! The Lord’s Body, the Body of the Church, has been renewed, and has been clothed in the glory belonging to it, hidden from the eyes of man but visible to the eyes of angels. The angels worshiped the Firstborn when He was brought to the world in His power; now they have worshipped Him because the world has been brought again to Him. They have worshiped Him and sung out: Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the scepter of Thy Kingdom is a scepter of righteousness (Ps. 44:7).

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

In this passage, St. Theophan discusses the importance and sacredness of Holy Communion. We receive the Body and Blood of Christ and it is through Holy Communion, that we become one with Christ. We are His children but we are also a part of Him and He is a part of us. Holy Communion is also a reminder of the great sacrifice Jesus made for us by dying on the cross for our sins. And as a result this gives us new life. The entire Church Body lives in unity with one another and through this way, Jesus Christ is worshipped and glorified.

Written by Jackie Loupakos

Saturday of the Holy Fathers

Gal. 5:22-6:2; Matt. 11:27-30

“They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts (Gal. 5:24). Nowadays, this order of this has been perverted: people crucify the flesh, but not together with the affections and lusts-rather by means of affections and lusts. How people now torture their bodies with overeating, drunkenness, lustful deeds, dancing, and merry-making! The most heartless master does not torture his lazy animal this way. If we were to give our flesh freedom and reason, its first word would be against its mistress, that the soul has unlawfully interfered in the flesh’s affairs, brought in passions alien to it, and tortured it by carrying out these passions in the flesh. Our body’s needs are essentially simple and passionless. Look at the animals: they do not overeat, they do not sleep in excess, and having satisfied their fleshly needs at the proper time, they remain calm for the entire year. Only the soul, which has forgotten its better inclinations, has by its intemperance developed out of the body’s basic needs a multitude of unnatural inclinations, which are unnatural for the body as well. However, in order to cut off, in every possible way, the fleshly passions from the soul which it has grafted onto itself, it is necessary to crucify the flesh. This can be done only by not giving it its fill of what is necessary, or by meeting its needs to a far lesser degree than what it demands.”

-From Thoughts for Each Day of the Year, by St. Theophan the Recluse

In this passage, St. Theophan encourages us to take care of our spiritual and physical selves. Just as we need to eat and drink to stay alive, we need to stay in communion with the Lord by living every single day with Him. As the season of Great Lent is upon us, we must fight the temptation of sin and stay firm in our faith in Jesus. Just as we take care of our needs physically, we must take care of ourselves spiritually. Every day we can read Scripture, pray, fast, and live every day with love in God’s complete presence. We cannot let our sins and temptations take hold of us. By God’s loving mercy, He will give us new life in our relationship with Him. Great Lent is a reminder of that.

Written by Jackie Loupakos