Dear in Christ Brothers and Sisters,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord and with the Sunday of the Cross, as well as the completion of the first half of Great Lent!

Although the words of today’s Gospel reading were said before the people, they were directed mostly towards the Holy Apostle Peter.  Before the events of today’s reading, Christ revealed to His disciples His impending death.  Upon hearing this, Peter was frightened, began to rebuke Christ and refused to entertain the thought that Christ had to suffer and be put to death (Mark 8: 27-33).  It is unnatural for a man to wish for suffering, but Christ came to earth precisely for this reason.  The pinnacle of His service, of course, was the death on the Cross, when He took upon Himself our sins, nailed them to the Cross, and suffered and died for our sake, so that in the future unending life we would not suffer.  In today’s words of the Saviour we hear that He is not the only one who must suffer.  He calls Peter as well as all of us to emulate Him in His selfless service and crucifixion, be that in our relationships with our neighbours or with God Himself.  In other words, the Cross must become the main motif or cause of our lives.  

Today’s Gospel reading is not the only thing that accents the centrality of the Lord’s Cross in our spiritual lives. Many facets of today’s feast underline it also.  Today’s reading is taken from the middle of the Gospel according to Mark (the 8th chapter our of 16).  The Cross lies in the middle of the church.  It is brought out to the middle at the end of matins, i. e. in the middle of the daily liturgical cycle (vespers, matins, the bringing out of the Cross, and then the hours and Liturgy).  We are already in the middle of Great Lent.  Today is the third of five lenten Sundays.  In such a way, the liturgical rubrics of the Church remind us about what we should focus our attention on.  

Three weeks of Lent have passed and, without a doubt, many are already tired from their ascetic struggles.  It’s hard to do everything we do this time of year, but today before us is the image of our crucified Saviour.  Let this image and that selfless service, which ended with the passions on the Cross, give us strength to continue our lenten journey.

priest Alexis

PS This past week new restrictions were put in place in Ontario that limit the amount of people that can attend church services at one time.  Thankfully they are not as strict as those imposed last spring or in the winter.  You are all able to continue attending all the services without having to signup  beforehand, except for the Sunday Liturgies.  In regards to Sunday services, we must further limit the amount of people attending.  Therefore please be understanding, do not demand or incessantly ask to attend all Sunday Liturgies.  Take up your cross and sacrifice for the sake of your neighbour, that is the other parishioners of our parish, your brothers and sisters in Christ.