Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord as well as the final preparatory Sunday before Great Lent – Forgiveness Sunday!

Today during the Divine Liturgy we heard the words of our Saviour, addressed to us at the beginning of a long and difficult spiritual struggle. We could call this struggle a spiritual journey or even a spiritual battle. As is the case before any important event in our lives, every Orthodox Christian now finds himself in a particular frame of mind. Various emotions fill our souls: fear of the coming struggle, excitement to begin this wonderful struggle, and hope for spiritual successes. Although we’ve gathered together and find ourselves constantly surrounded by people, today we wish to separate ourselves from everything, concentrate on the inner side of our lives, and to collect our thoughts so as to begin Lent well tomorrow. Today is like the calm before the storm.

On this day our Saviour, through the words of the Gospel reading, addresses us directly, without the use of a parable. We also don’t hear about any miracles. It’s as if Christ sees our pre-Lenten state of mind, our expectant waiting, and therefore speaks to us very simply, very directly, giving us directions and encouragement. Today’s excerpt, which is part of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, can be divided into three parts. The first is a short explanation of the fifth petition of the ‘Lord’s Prayer.’ The second is about fasting. The final part is about gathering heavenly, spiritual treasures and not earthly ones. Each of these points is very much of interest to us today. Each is a little lesson about how we can successfully and fruitfully spent the forty days of lent.

Therefore let’s try to forgive those that have offended us so that the Lord forgives all our many sins. Tonight let’s sincerely ask for forgiveness from those that we may have offended or hurt, i. e. the members of our family, perhaps our co-workers, and our close friends and acquaintances. Let’s make tonight’s Rite of Forgiveness not simply a nice-looking act, but in truth the moment when we try to forget past wrongs and to wish our neighbours peace and prosperity both in their spiritual and earthly lives. Let’s try to fast in such a way that those around us don’t see our struggles, only our Heavenly Father. This means talking less, especially about ourselves, and not offending those around us with words such as “I can’t” or I don’t want to because it’s Lent.” This also means not judging those who are not fasting, or those who may not be fasting the way we think it should be done. Finally, let’s remember that today’s goal is the Kingdom of Heaven, not earthly good things. Therefore, where possible, let’s not be weighed down by worldly cares, but instead let’s come to church more often, pray at home, and help those that need support. May our Lord help us in this task.

priest Alexis