Articles

Great Lent – Part II

Having reached the middle of the sea of abstinence, let us look towards the haven of salvation, the season of Thy voluntary Passion, O Lord. In Thy lovingkindness and Thy mercy, grant us also to behold in peace the day of Thy glorious Resurrection!

We sing this verse on April 10, the “mid-point” between Forgiveness Sunday and Pascha. The first part of Lent was aimed chiefly at our purification. On Wednesday night, April 17, this effort reaches its final summation at the reading of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete. After this, the tone of the lenten services begins to change. We are made to realize that this purification was not an end in itself. It must lead us ultimately to the contemplation, the comprehension and finally the appropriation of the mystery of the Cross and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

On the Way to Bethany and Jerusalem

On Sunday, April 21, we hear the words of Jesus, “Now we are going up to Jerusalem…”

The entire week (April 22-27) is spent in the contemplation of the forthcoming encounter between Christ and Death—first in the person of His friend Lazarus, then in His own death.

On Friday April 26, Lent comes to an end as we sing, “Grant us to behold the week of Thy Holy Passion, for we have completed the forty days of the Fast.”

A Power in My Life

On Lazarus Saturday (April 27), we enter into the special and sacred time of Holy Week and Pascha. Each and every one of us is called to truly “lay aside all earthly cares,“ i.e., all activities and concerns that distract from the great mystery which is happening for us and to us. It must be an experience which transcends the fulfilling of an annual religious obligation or custom. It is more than a beautiful “tableau” which emotionally uplifts us.

Holy Week and Pascha must make present a power which affects everything in my life – my selfperception, my relationships with others, the world around me, my calling in life, my possessions, my body and my health, and finally my own impending death.

This is none other than “the power of God unto salvation for everyone who has faith.”(Romans 1:16)