Beloved in Christ,
Toward the end of this month we will commence our annual Lenten journey, for which, hopefully, we have prudently begun to prepare. It is time once again to reflect on our lives – our relationship with God and with one another. To become more spiritually introspective, we must first of all prepare ourselves to live a Lenten lifestyle. Through our sincere efforts, we can then be able to reap from the bounty provided through our experience. Our Holy Church provides all the tools necessary for a meaningful and enriching Lenten experience. Therefore, let us not be like the wicked and slothful servant in the parable of the talents, who buried into the earth that which the Lord entrusted to him. Instead, let us make a spiritual investment with the gifts entrusted to us by God, so that they may multiply and bring us into His loving embrace.
In order to have a meaningful Lenten experience, we must first of all “set the stage.” This is the exact purpose of the first three weeks of the Triodion period, during which we are introduced to the major themes of Great Lent. The Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee introduces the themes of humility and repentance, which will carry throughout Great Lent. The following Sunday of the Prodigal Son, presents the theme of returning from exile to God. In other words, through humility we should clearly see how far we are from God through our worldliness, and that we could always return to His loving embrace. The subsequent Sunday of the Last Judgment (also known as Meatfare Sunday) has Christian love as its theme. The Gospel account makes it clear that if we truly love God, then we should see God in every human being, and therefore, treat our brethren accordingly. The final Sunday before Great Lent is that of Forgiveness (also known as Cheesefare Sunday). The obvious theme is forgiveness, however, there is a secondary theme of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. Regarding forgiveness, we cross the threshold of Great Lent by forgiving our brothers and sisters, and by asking for forgiveness, in order that we too, may be forgiven by God through our sincere repentance. By the Church remembering the expulsion from Paradise on this day we can clearly see the Lenten journey before us. With our exile from Paradise as the starting point, we begin the journey to our true homeland, the Kingdom of Heaven, which Christ has fully opened to us through His death and resurrection, and subsequent ascension into Heaven.
During these preparatory weeks, we are also eased into the strict fasting of Great Lent, which the Church calls us to do for our spiritual benefit. The first week of the Triodion is fast free; in other words, there is not the usual Wednesday and Friday fast. Even though there are complicated historical reasons that brought this about, many in the Church have attached a wise and logical meaning to the dispensation from fasting. They state that this week is seen as one of joy as we prepare for the spiritually cleansing and renewing period of Great Lent. This introductory week to the Lenten experience should be joyful, since the goal of Great Lent is spiritual preparation for Holy Pascha, the Feast of Feasts.
The second week of the Triodion has the normal Wednesday and Friday fast. The third week begins with the Sunday of the Last Judgment (Meatfare Sunday), which is the last day for consuming meat. In order to aid us in preparing for strict fasting, our Church eases us into the Fast by stopping meat on this day, but permits the consumption of all other foods during the ensuing week.
As you can see, the Church in her wisdom has created this three-week preparatory period in order to make the necessary adjustments, both spiritually and physically, to enter Great Lent. These weeks are a time to begin pulling away from the world, so to speak, and to begin reaching for the Kingdom of Heaven. If we pay extra attention to the themes of the Sunday Gospels of this period, if we pray to apply these themes to our lives, if we make a true effort to begin following the actual fasting guidelines of the Church as much as possible, we will then find ourselves joyfully entering into Great Lent with a sense of true preparation. Let us invest our spiritual talents wisely, to the best of our ability, as the prudent servants in the parable. Then we can truly enter into the joy of our Lord!
In Christ’s love,
+Fr. Anthony