Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord!

Last week we began to examine in detail the Beatitudes, which are familiar to all of us since they are sung at each Sunday Divine Liturgy. Let’s continue to discuss this topic today.

The first of the beatitudes says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The poor in spirit are those people who willingly pick for themselves a modest and humble way of life. Sometimes it happens that we are forced to be humble, or that we are humiliated against our will, but this does not bring us any particular spiritual benefit. It’s far better when we decide to humble ourselves. St. John Chrysostom notes that humility is the first and foremost virtue. Without it, none of our other spiritual struggles have a foundation to stand on and thus will not bring us any closer to God. Therefore, it is not surprising that Christ puts this beatitude first.

If humility is the highest of the virtues, the opposite vice – pride – is the most deadly to our souls. All of the most awful things that have taken place throughout human history have their beginnings in pride. Remember Adam and Eve, who wished to become gods, i. e. they were full of pride. And all the other catastrophes, be they of a universal character or the smallest ones that affect a single family, are also most often rooted in pride. Therefore, the first beatitude calls us to not be prideful, but instead, to be modest and humble so that we will be blessed in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The second beatitude is tied to the first. If a person is unable to humble himself, to put aside his natural tendency to be prideful, he will be unable to fulfill the second beatitude. The second beatitude says: “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” Christ does not have in mind all those that mourn, for, naturally, there is no spiritual benefit, for example, from mourning some kind of worldly, carnal loss (bad investments in the stock market, etc.). Here Christ is talking about mourning one’s sins. Obviously, we are to first mourn our own sins and afterwards the sins of others, such as the sins of society or of our country. Deep grief can have a positive influence on our spiritual life and protect us from all types of sin. St. John Chrysostom notes that a man who is grieving the death of his wife or children is so immersed in his loss that he thinks of nothing else, including sin. This should be even more true of them that mourn their sins. Those who cry over their sins are fortunate because they will be comforted, that is, God will forgive them and will cleanse their souls. This is especially wonderful and comforting because neither grief nor tears will bring this about, but the loving-kindness of the Lord.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, the Peter and Paul Fast will end in less than two weeks. Let’s use these final days of this grace-filled season to put aside our pride, humble our selves, and with tears repent of our sins. In such a way, God willing, we will meet with spiritual joy the upcoming feast of the chief apostles, Peter and Paul.

priest Alexis