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Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,
As we start upon the third week of the Fast, O faithful let us glorify the Holy Trinity and joyfully pass through the time that still remains. Causing passions of the flesh to wither from our souls, let us gather divine flowers, weaving garlands for the Queen of day, that with crowns upon our heads, we may sing in praise of Christ the Victor!
Third Week of Great - Vespers on Sunday Evening
I am simply putting in written form a few of the points that I made in the homily at yesterday's Divine Liturgy on the Second Sunday of Great Lent. Depending upon our experience and perspective, we could either think that the Fast is moving along swiftly ("already the second Sunday"); or dragging along with no end in sight ("only the second Sunday"). Whatever the case may be, this well-known passage from the Epistle to the Hebrews may provide some inspiration:
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. (12:12-13)
Of course, "warfare against the passions" is an integral part of the Orthodox spiritual life. As St. Gregory Palamas said, "for the impassioned intellect cannot unite with God." The Fathers teach that the passions of gluttony, lust and avarice are struggled against through the ascetic discipline of fasting. Yet, fasting must be sustained through prayer and charity toward others.
As we begin the third week of the Fast, I made the suggestion that we - as a parish or as individual households - "dedicate" our remaining lenten efforts to the suffering people of Ukraine. Many of them, actually the majority, are our brothers and sisters in Christ. We share the same Orthodox Christian Faith, and we receive Christ from the one chalice that unites all Orthodox believers throughout the world. Are the churches in Ukraine even open for worship in some of the cities that are targets of intense bombing? I do not know. What I do know is that the Ukrainian people have had their lives turned upside down with the flash, detonation and deadly explosion of a missile aimed at crushing both their lives and their spirits. So many innocent people are now without shelter, electricity, and food and water are probably in short supply. Children have become orphans and parents have become childless. Seeking shelter, and the basic commodities of life are hardly the types of experiences that we have had in our comfortable lives. We can be deeply empathetic, but we struggle to relate. As I asked yesterday, what does Great Lent even mean in the context for a primal struggle for survival? All I could come up with is that it most certainly means bearing an unbelievably heavy and burdensome cross. We pray and hope that there is a real resurrection for Ukraine and its peoples in a brighter future that is difficult to envision today.
I will admit, that having made that pastoral suggestion, I am rather uncertain as to how exactly "dedicating" the remainder of our lenten fast to our brothers and sisters in Ukraine would manifest itself. Is it an interior attitude of solidarity in spirit? The Apostle Paul did write: "If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together." (I Cor. 12:26) Or, again: "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfilling the law of Christ." (Gal. 6:2) As we watch this tragic drama unfold before our eyes in "real time," we need to remain vigilant in spirit as we pray for these suffering members of the Body of Christ. Perhaps as our commitment to Great Lent wanes, and our dependence on the comforts of life proves to be too entrenched within us, then our awareness of the deprivations of others and the necessary perseverance they must sustain just to keep alive, may inspire us to dig a bit deeper into our own hidden resources. On a practical level, we can make donations to those sources we believe are most credible and which are effectively bringing relief to Ukraine through necessary supplies, including food and water. The IOCC is very much engaged in this "on the ground" type of activity and ministry.
However we choose to do it, our goal is to express a sense of solidarity with our suffering brothers and sisters in Christ in Ukraine, as we "dedicate" our lenten efforts that will lead all of us to praise Christ the Victor.
