“Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

-  Saint Paul, Philippians 3:13-14.

Reflection: 

Saint Paul describes repentance, knowing that once God has removed our past burdens from our hearts through Holy Confession, we press onward to the Kingdom of Heaven with joy, hope, and love. 

When we repent, our life acquires an attitude of expectation, and not of despair.(1) If we want to solve what is going on around us, we must address what is weighing on our hearts internally first. 

Repentance and confession become a personal celebration of what God has already done for us in Christ. It is not a bargaining for forgiveness nor is it motivated by punishment; the focus is reuniting with God in His love, being freed from our burdens having changed our mindset and giving it all to God.(2) 

Christ died for us and He loves us more than we can imagine. We must turn to Him in repentance, genuine change of heart, through the sacrament He has given us: Holy Confession.  

Confession seals one’s change of direction from individualism to communion; from pride to love of God and neighbor. The bond of union between God and us becomes closer than it was before, each time we repent and confess.(3)

Let us dig deep and offer our mistakes, burdens, and our will to change fully unto God, so that we may press onward in peace and joy, opening ourselves to God's will in our lives - reaching our fullest potential.

Resources:

1) Fr. Dn. John Chryssagis, Soul Mending, pg 32.

2) Fr. Dn. John Chryssagis, Soul Mending, pg 32.

3) Fr. Dn. John Chryssagis, Soul Mending, pg 27.

“Now Mary arose immediately and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”

- Luke 1:39-41

Reflection: 

Immediately after the event of the Annunciation, why did the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary go  with “haste” to greet Elizabeth? (Nazareth to Judah an 80 mile journey)

She ran towards Elizabeth with eagerness and humility, in other words, she didn’t expect Elizabeth to run to her. When Mary greets her first, giving Elizabeth respect as a superior - even though she is the Mother of God, and Elizabeth was carrying God’s Prophet and Forerunner.(1)

There are two encounters when Mary greets Elizabeth: one between Mary and Elizabeth, and the other between Christ and John the Baptist.(2)

Mary runs to greet Elizabeth, and in essence Christ hastens to greet His forerunner - not simply greet him, but to fill John with the Holy Spirit, as “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit”.(3)

Notice here the humility of both the Theotokos, not expecting others to come to her because of her role as Mother of God, and the extreme humility of Christ our God as an embryo, hastening to greet and bestow His forerunner with the Holy Spirit.(4)

The woman saw woman, the child saw child.  The women exchanged words, the children communicated silently by the Holy Spirit.(5) 

Let us rejoice with the Theotokos at the announcement of our salvation, and follow her example of humility. No matter what role we have in life or when any good thing that happens to us, we do not seek to be praised, but rather, continue to serve others.

Resources:

1) Rev Fr Maximos Constas, “Mary Greeted Elizabeth” Witnessing Christ in the World Today, pg 4.

2) Rev Fr Maximos Constas, “Mary Greeted Elizabeth” Witnessing Christ in the World Today, pg 4.

3) Rev Fr Maximos Constas, “Mary Greeted Elizabeth” Witnessing Christ in the World Today, pg 4.

4) Fulfilling this prophecy of the angel for John the Baptist: “He (i.e., John) will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” (Lk 1:15).

5) Rev Fr Maximos Constas, “Mary Greeted Elizabeth” Witnessing Christ in the World Today, pg 4.

“One person’s medicine can be another person’s poison, and something can be a medicine to the same person at one time and a poison at another.” 

- St John Climacus, Thirty Steps to Heaven, pg 201. 

Reflection: 

While this applies to spiritual guidance (the amount of prescribed prayer and fasting), it also applies to when and how we help one another.(1)

There is no ‘one size fits all’ in terms of how to be present for another person.  Each person is unique and their needs are different. The advice that helped a person one time may not help them a second time. 

The best gift we can give someone is the gift of our time, our presence, our focus and attention, our listening ear. Then we are showing them their extremely high value as a child of God.

Let us pray to Christ to enlighten us each time we find ourselves in the position to help someone, so that we do what is truly best and act according to God’s will, not our own, in their lives.

Resources:

1) John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

“Simplicity is holy humility, that is, absolute trust in Christ, when we give our whole life to Christ."

- St Porphyrios, Wounded by Love Pg 117 

Reflection:

Seek the Lord in simplicity of heart.(1) Life can be complicated; so many unknowns, surprises, and decisions.  Christ is the one Who can help take the pressure off(2), with Christ guiding us we can peacefully approach everything with clarity. 

To live with simplicity in our heart is to, as we pray every Divine Liturgy, “commend our whole life to Christ our God.”(3)

To live simply does not necessarily mean that we give up all the things that we have, but rather, with all that we have we trust God completely to guide us.  To have the humility to know that without Him, nothing we have or are would be possible. 

We must turn to Him in prayer in everything we do; every decision we make by beginning to pray without calculations, without ulterior motives, but openly sharing in your thoughts, struggles, and joys with God.

What helps makes life simple absolute trust in God and knowing that the things we decide either bring us closer to God and our neighbors, or further away. 

Let us fully engage in the life of our Faith: liturgical, sacramental, and personal prayer so that our whole life may be grounded in and moving closer toward Christ.

Resources:

1) Wisdom of Solomon 1:1-2

2) Matthew 11:28-30

3) Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom

“Humility alone is capable of seeing the truth, of enabling us to see ourselves as we really are.” 

- Vassilios Papavassiliou,Thirty Steps to Heaven, pg 45

Reflection:

When we are humble, we compare ourselves not to others, but to God alone, before whom no one can be prideful.(1)  

When we compare ourselves to Jesus Christ, we aim to be Christ-like and we realize our strengths and weaknesses.  This is the beginning of repentance, seeing ourselves for who we really are. 

Any guilt or feeling bad for our weaknesses is not the goal of repentance, but rather finding comfort in the love and mercy of our Lord as we realize where we fall short and change our ways to get back on track to Christ.

We may feel that our weaknesses or mistakes restrict us from growing and making progress in life, but as St John Climacus writes, “Where there is real humility, all bonds are made free.”(2)  

When we turn to Christ in repentance and take part in Holy Confession, He gives our souls rest(3), and give us true inner peace and sense of direction in our lives.

Resources:

1) Vassilios Papavassiliou,Thirty Steps to Heaven,  pg 45

2) Vassilios Papavassiliou,Thirty Steps to Heaven, pg 45

3) Matthew 11:29-30 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

 “The keys that open the door to the deepest part of our heart are:

          1) Meditating on the teaching of the Gospel,

      2) Calling upon the Name of the Lord,

          3) Partaking of the sacrament of Holy Communion.”

- Archimandrite Zacharias, The Hidden Man of the Heart, pg 210.

Reflection:

Do we wish to grow and realize our worth and purpose this Lent?  We must open our hearts through the foundations of Scripture, prayer, and Holy Communion.

Within the deepest parts of our heart is the Gift of the Holy Spirit from our Baptism and the Image of God that we all are created in.(1) We sometimes cloud that image with our prideful thinking or our mistakes. Lent is here to guide us back to a pure heart in Christ.

Through Scripture we come to know God’s voice, through prayer we deepen our love for Him, and through Holy Confession and Holy Communion we are united in Liturgy to Christ our God in the most unique way in all creation. 

Christ reminds us, "Abide in Me, and I in you...If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."(2)

Let us utilize the foundations that Christ offers us through the Church, so that we may abide in Him and He in us, preparing ourselves with open humble hearts for His glorious Resurrection!

Resources:

1) Creation of Humanity 2) John 15

“Meekness means we are to endure wrongs humbly and patiently and to let go of our anger, which is the fruit of pride.”

- Vassilios Papavassiliou,Thirty Steps to Heaven, pg 63 

Reflection: 

When we hear the word ‘meek’ we often think of it as a personality trait - someone who is soft spoken and pushed around, a kind of weakness. But Christ shows us that meekness is a virtue that cannot be understood by externals.(1) 

Meekness is to have a heart that is peacefully and lovingly disposed toward someone who has been offensive.(2)

In order to practice meekness we must avoid anger; not merely externally but even in our thoughts, because it darkens our intellect with bitterness and cuts it off from the radiance of spiritual understanding and discernment by depriving it of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.(3)

When we are angry with others we should not seek solitude since being angry alone hides, but does not erase our anger.  Instead, having patience with the person by praying for them begins to address and soften our anger.

In order to have freedom from anger, we must act with humility as St John Climacus writes, “1) Keep the lips silent when the heart is stirred, 2) Keep thoughts silent when the soul is upset, 3) Be calm when unclean winds are blowing.”(4)

Let us follow in our Lord’s footsteps and cultivate meekness(5), so that our souls may remain unaffected whether or not we are spoken well of, whether or not we are honored or praised. This way, having let go of any anger, we humbly and patiently endure and love all people.

Resources:

1) Vassilios Papavassiliou,Thirty Steps to Heaven, 62.

2) St John Climacus, Thirty Steps to Heaven, 66. 3) St John Cassian, Thirty Steps to Heaven, pg 64.

4) Vassilios Papavassiliou,Thirty Steps to Heaven, 69.

5) Scripture About Meekness Matthew 5:5, Psalm 37:11, Colossians 3:12, 1 Peter 3:15

 “When prayer and liturgy are inseparably united, God becomes present to me, and as I address myself to Him, He rushes toward me, He stretches out toward me, and through prayer I stretch out toward Him, until we are completely united."

-Elder Aimilianos of Simonopetra, The Light of the World, pg xii. 

 

Reflection:

Our personal relationship with Christ (daily personal prayer/devotion) goes hand in hand with our communal worship and sacramental life. Each presuppose the other, to have one without the other is to have neither. Our healing and union with God is made whole only when we engage in all the Church has available for us.  

Every tradition the Church has work together with the other, as all pieces to the whole in order to address the entirety of our person: mind, body, and soul. 

Our personal relationship with God is strengthened by our worship/sacramental life and vice versa. Our lives are strengthened and made peaceful through the synergy of personal devotion and worship. Our union with God is made strong.

While we may need to ‘pivot’ in how we practice our Faith during the extreme circumstance of the pandemic, we may feel like something is missing because we realize our natural need to worship. God knows our situation, we must keep trying, keep holding on knowing this will not last forever. 

Let us pray for and seek guidance and strength to fulfill our natural need as human beings to worship as continue to grow in our personal relationship with God each and every day so that we may fully unite ourselves to Christ.

Resources:

1) Elder Aimilianos of Simonopetra, The Light of the World, pg xii.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; 

And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

When you walk through fire you shall not be burned;

And the flame shall not consume you.”

- Isaiah 43:2

Reflection: 

As Christians, we sometimes think bad things shouldn’t happen to good people, but what God has promised us is that He will always be with us.(2)

God's love is constant and unconditional; when we consistently cultivate a relationship with God it is easier for us to recognize His presence in any circumstance.

It is on us to humble ourselves, recognize we need Him, and reach out to Him. 

Let us cultivate a deep relationship with Christ in every moment of our lives so that we know Who is with us.  He Who grants us peace, strength, and discernment. 

Resources:

1) Isaiah 43 2) The Louhs, Renewing You, pg 156.