Bright Sadness

Throughout Lent it is imperative that we give at least one evening to attend the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts with the spiritual experience it implies—that of total fasting, that of the transformation of at least one day into a real expectation of judgment and joy. No references to conditions of life, lack of time, etc., are acceptable at this point, for if we do only that which easily ‘fits’ into the conditions of our lives, the very notion of Lenten effort becomes absolutely meaningless. Not only in the 20th (or 21st) century, but in fact since Adam and Eve, ‘this world’ was always an obstacle to the fulfillment of God’s demands. There is, therefore, nothing new or special about our ‘modern way of life.’ Ultimately it all depends on whether or not we take our religion seriously, and, if we do, eight or ten additional evenings a year at church are only a minimal effort. Deprived of those evenings, however, we are depriving ourselves not only of the beauty and the depth of the Lenten services, not only of a necessary spiritual aspiration and help, but of that which makes our fasting meaningful and effective.”

From Fr. Alexander Schmemann’s Great Lent