Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord and with that of Saint Mary of Egypt!

Today two Gospel excerpts were read. In the first, our Lord and God Jesus Christ told His friends, the Holy Apostles, in a very direct manner about His upcoming salvific death. These words about Christ’s passion on the Cross must, of course, touch our souls and encourage us not to give up, but on the contrary, to continue our Lenten struggles in these final days of Great Lent.

In the second reading, we heard how a certain sinful woman, hearing that the Lord was visiting Simon the Pharisee, came to the latter’s house and performed deeply pious acts on Jesus. With her penitential tears she washed His feet, kissed them, wiped them with her hair, and anointed them with ointment. We, of course, should be amazed by this woman and her wonderful repentance and love towards Jesus. Who out of us has ever done anything similar for the sake of the love of Christ? Who out of us has ever witnessed our repentance with such bright deeds? Probably few of us could say that we are in some way like the repentant woman from today’s Gospel excerpt.

Notwithstanding her, as it may seem to us, fabulous or even supernatural actions which point to a deep internal, spiritual repentance, that which our Lord Jesus Christ did for her is so much more wonderful. She watered with her tears His dust-covered feet, washing them clean, but He with His word cleansed her of her sins. She used her hair to wipe the Saviour’s feet, while He blotted out all the impurities of her immortal soul. When she anointed Him with precious and fragrant oil, He pardoned her and sent down upon her the grace of God. Through repentance she found renewed eternal life.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, in these final days of Great Lent let us not forget that all of our efforts for Christ – our fasting, prayers, patience, silence, and alms – are all seen and remembered by our merciful God. They may seem small and insignificant when compared to what we are hoping to receive from our Saviour, but that should not discourage us. He in turn will generously reward us for these struggles, just as He rewarded the sinful but repentant woman from today’s Gospel reading. Therefore, let’s continue our Lenten struggles with hope for God’s generous mercy.

priest Alexis