Thou hast redeemed us from the curse of the Law by Thy Precious Blood. Having been nailed to the Cross and pierced by the spear, Thou hast gushed forth immortality upon mankind. O, Our Savior, glory be to Thee! - Troparion from the Service of Holy and Great Friday
We now are entering the blessed arena of the Fast, the 40 Days in which we cleanse our souls in order to celebrate profitably the Great and Holy Week of Christ's Passion and the Feast of Feasts, His Glorious Resurrection. So that we can acquire both sufficient motivation for and a proper understanding of our Lenten efforts, we must renew our understanding of and faith in what Christ has done for us.
Too often today, supposed Christians treat Great Lent and, indeed, all ascetical effort, as a humanistic "self-improvement" project, akin to efforts undertaken as the result of "New Year's resolutions" or inspired by "self-help" books. When they speak of the fast, for example, they will say, "You know, fasting is good for your health," or "I'm looking forward to Lent, because I'll lose weight," and other similar superficial and misleading remarks. They do so either because they are uncatechized or unbelieving, or, in spite of their understanding and belief, they do not wish to appear "too religious" to the foolish people around them and therefore say something that the typical silly, egocentric, and narcissistic person of today will accept as "normal."
We must never, however, mislead ourselves or others regarding the Truth of our holy Faith. To do so is a very serious sin. We do not fast, pray, and give alms to "improve ourselves" in some vague, humanistic way. We must do these things in order to perform real acts of repentance for our many and terrible sins, which threaten to cast us down into hell if we do not confess them, receive absolution from the ordained clergy of the Church, and then perform deeds of fasting, prayer, and mercy in order to show fruits worthy of repentance.
It is imperative, absolutely necessary, to remember that original sin is real, that every man is born into this world cursed and cut off from God, and that only the Sacrifice of Christ on
Golgotha
can save each and every man from original sin and his personal sins. During Great Lent, we confess our sins, fast, and pray, in order to regain the Grace of Baptism which we lose through our sins and without which we will go to hell for all eternity. There is no way to sugar-coat this reality without doing an eternally fatal disservice to ourselves and those who depend on us to tell them the Truth.
As we celebrate the Triumph of Orthodoxy on the First Sunday of Lent, let us resolve always to confess the Truth of our holy Faith, and to live that Truth in active deeds of repentance. Kali Sarakosti!
The Only Sacrifice that Forgives Sin
Every action and performance of miracles by Christ is most great and divine and marvelous: but the most marvelous of all is His precious Cross. For no other thing has subdued death, expiated the sin of the first parent, despoiled Hades, bestowed the resurrection, granted to us the power of condemning the present world and even death itself, prepared the return to our former blessedness, opened the gates of Paradise, given our nature a seat at the right hand of God, and made us children and heirs of God, save the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. -
St. John
of
Damascus
, On the Orthodox Faith
He offered Himself as a holy sacrifice to God and the Father, having bought by His own blood the salvation of all. - St. Cyril of
Alexandria
, Interpretation of the Gospel of John
For our sakes He was subjected to death, and we were redeemed from our former sins by reason of the slaughter which He suffered for us…In Him we have been justified, freed from a great accusation and condemnation, our lawlessness has been taken from us: for such was the aim of the oeconomy towards us of Him Who because of us, for our sakes and in our place was subject to death. - St. Cyril of
Alexandria
, On Worship and Service in Spirit and in Truth
