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
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