Our Souls are Precious to God
Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Spyridon,
Nothing is more precious in the whole universe than the human soul. Each of us has an eternal destiny, each of us is called by God to an eternal life of happiness with Him. Yet we live day to day as if this world were all that there is. Distracted by a thousand duties, worries, and pleasures, we feel and act as if this world were our real home.
Yet we know that this is not so. God created man to live in Paradise, which our first parents lost through disobedience. We actually were not made to live in this world of imperfect happiness, of grief, of endless desires, of sin, passions, and distance from God. This is a foreign land for us, and it is governed by cruel oppressors, the demons, who do all in their power to enslave us to themselves and to make us forget our true identity and true home.
During Great Lent, however, we return to Paradise, our true home. We do this not geographically, of course, for Paradise is removed from the boundaries of this fallen world and we can see it only after death. We return spiritually, by experiencing Paradise in our souls through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The beautiful and many Divine Services of this holy season are uniquely designed by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit Who abides in the Church to change our entire psychology, so that heavenly and holy things begin to seem normal to us, while fallen and earthly things become distasteful, uninteresting. By fasting, we develop a thirst and hunger for the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which He fills with His inebriating and all-satisfying presence. By acts of sacrifice, mercy, compassion, and sharing, we become citizens of the City which is to come, the Heavenly Jerusalem, which is our true home.
To benefit from this Great Lent, we must, of course, take concrete steps. The most important one I can suggest is to create an atmosphere of quiet and peace in the home, which begins with turning off the TV and other entertainment devices. We all need to re-discover how people lived when they focused on God and each other, rather than a fantasy on a screen. Just think how beautiful life would be if our evenings were spent in
- going to Church
- prayer together at home
- family meals
- loving conversation
- good reading
- simple family activities - singing, stories, games
- instead of ugly music and ugly video consumption!
Our souls are infinitely precious, and we each get ONLY ONE. If we destroy the soul we have by putting garbage into it every day, God is not going to give us another one: “What can a man give in exchange for his soul?” says the Lord in the Gospel.
Thank God, as long as we are in this life, however, we can repent, and this is precisely what Great Lent is for. If we make just a little effort, the Lord will reward us with abundant grace, and we can begin to feel Paradise in our souls. What could be better in this life?
I would like to close with these words of S. Maximos the Confessor, which assure us that God’s great desire is our salvation: God’s will is to save us, and nothing pleases Him more than our coming back to Him with true repentance. The heralds of truth and the ministers of divine grace have told us this from the beginning, repeating it in every age. He healed our physical infirmities by miracles; He freed us from our sins, many and grievous as they were, by suffering and dying, taking them upon Himself as if He were answerable for them, sinless though He was. He also taught us in many different ways that we should wish to imitate Him by our own kindness and genuine love for one another. Amen!
Prayer Knocks, Fasting Obtains, Mercy Receives
There are three things, brethren, by which Faith stands firm, devotion remains constant, and virtue endures. They are prayer, fasting, and mercy. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy receives. Prayer, mercy, and fasting: these three are one, and they give life to each other. Fasting is the soul of prayer; mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. Let no one try to separate them; they cannot be separated. If you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others, you open God’s ear to yourself.
S. Peter Chrysologos.