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Opportunities in Great Lent For most Orthodox, Great Lent is quite a demanding exercise. The vegan fast, the desirability of having just one main meal a day, the call to prayer repentance and confession, the study of the Scripture and the Holy Fathers, the Church's services, almsgiving and the like, if undertaken in the right spirit can be extremely profitable, if, nonetheless a great labour of love. No one could accuse Orthodoxy of being half-hearted in its commitments but we might be accused of being legalistic and self-regarding if we didn't make it clear to ourselves and others that we were not doing these things to secure favour with God or esteem amongst men, but rather to grown in holiness and truth. This is why, of course, we prepared for the Fast by rehearsing the Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee in the Liturgy. This is why throughout Great Lent on week days we pray the great prayer of St. Ephraim:- "O Lord and Master of my life, give me not a
spirit of sloth, vain curiosity, lust for power and idle talk (prostration) To understand the reasons for our Lenten activities one has to have the mind of the mind of the Church, which is the mind of Christ. We have to know that Great Lent is a means of deepening our quest for salvation and the service of others. The Fast is not a cultural artefact or a religious practice. It is a springtime for the soul as it approaches the Great and Holy Mystery of Pascha. It is the dawn of a New Creation, in and through us to the whole Universe. Lest us use the Fast well and in this spirit. Fr. Gregory |
