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
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