Dear Parishioners, brothers and sisters in Christ,

Congratulations with the feast of the Lord’s Resurrection, the memory of St. Mary of Egypt and the final Sunday of Great Lent!

This is the second Sunday that we haven’t been able to gather together for prayer in our church. Glory to God, all of you are dealing with this situation calmly, no one is complaining and everyone is trying to protect the elderly and infirm from becoming sick. Without a doubt, many are feeling lonely. Some of you may feel like slaves or prisoners, unable to do those things you are accustomed to doing, unable to meet with family and friends, unable to come to church, etc.

The memory of St. Mary of Egypt and especially the Epistle reading appointed to be read on her day remind us that we are not alone, we are not slaves or prisoners, but, because of our faith in Christ, the complete opposite – children of our loving God. Therefore, let us put all our hope in Him, let us have firm faith that He frees us and protects us from both physical and spiritual illness and thus let us become heirs of the Heavenly Kingdom.

At the beginning of Great Lent we began a long and difficult journey. The endpoint of this journey is Pascha and Lent is a mountain which blocks our way. Throughout the preceding weeks of Lent we have ascended this mountain and now we find ourselves at the summit (we have repented of our sins, read the Great Canon, participated in the sacrament of Unction, and today have seen an example, in the figure of Mary of Egypt, of the fruits of repentance). What remains to be done is to descend from this mountain and meet the Risen Lord. The coming 6th week of Lent is that path that leads down from the mountain towards Holy Week and Pascha. The Liturgical texts of this week are wonderful, because, if we read them, we find ourselves, in our thoughts, beside Christ, His apostles, the mortally sick (and later, dead) Lazarus, Martha and Mary and even the Devil, who is lamenting and stressing about the impending end of his mastery over mankind. Those who are interested can read for themselves these hymns in the Lenten Triodion. This book can be found on the internet here: http://www.st-sergius.org/services/services9.html.

For those who won’t be reading these services, it is enough to remember the following: on Monday and Tuesday – how Lazarus suffered in his illness, how Martha and Mary worried for their brother, how they waited for Christ and how Christ, knowing about Lazarus’ sickness, stayed on the far bank of the Jordan and did not set out to heal His friend. On Wednesday – how Lazarus died, how Martha and Mary are mourning, how finally Christ sets out for Bethany, how frightened His disciples are to go into Judea, where the Jews waited for an opportunity to kill Jesus. On Thursday – how Lazarus is buried in a cave and how it is sealed with a rock. On Friday – how the body of Lazarus begins to decompose and how the Devil prepares to release Lazarus from Hell. Friday is the last day of Great Lent, although we continue to fast until Pascha.

On Saturday, we will be marking a great miracle and the clearest prefigurement of Christ’s Resurrection and the general resurrection of all mankind at the end of time – the resurrection of Lazarus. On this day the fast is lessened, and we can eat caviar, if we have it (on Pascha we eat regular chicken eggs, whereas on the day of Lazarus’ resurrection we eat little eggs – caviar).

On Saturday evening, on the eve of the feast of the Entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem, it is customary to bless palm branches or pussy willows as a symbol of Christ’s victory over death and in remembrance of the Jews who held branches when they greeted Christ entering into Jerusalem. Although we won’t be able to perform this beautiful and meaningful custom together in our church this year, it seems to me that each family can gather some pussy willows or other branches, sprinkle them with a little Holy Water and keep them beside their icons at home.

This year the feast of the Annunciation (April 7th) falls on the Tuesday of the 6th week of Lent. This is a wonderful and joyous feast, because on this day, without warning and without anyone noticing, the incarnation of God began to take place; our salvation from sin and death began. Let’s diligently pray to our Saviour, through the intercessions of His Most-Pure Mother, that the spread of the coronavirus be speedily stopped, that those suffering from this disease are healed and that we may meet in our church and glorify our Creator together.

priest Alexis