St. John Climacus (Fourth Week of Great Lent)

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

  

 

It is hard to believe that we are already completing the fourth week of Lent! As we draw closer to Pascha, the Church encourages us to self-reflect, on ourselves and on our efforts, through the commemoration of St. John Climacus (of the Ladder) on the fourth Sunday of Lent. A monk of the Eastern Church in The Year of the Grace of the Lord: A Scriptural and Liturgical Commentary on the Calendar of the Orthodox Church says that St. John Climacus is “the ideal of penitence on which we should fix our eyes during Lent.”

 

The Ladder of Divine Ascent is well known by Orthodox everywhere, a classic written by St. John to monks in the seventh century on living the truly ascetic life.  The book is written in “steps,” thirty steps in particular, to correspond to the years of Christ when He began His public ministry. The image of “ladder” is used as a metaphor of the soul’s ascent to God drawn from Jacob’s ladder in Genesis 28. While we may not all be monks in the seventh century context in which the book was written, that doesn’t prevent the truths of this spiritual treasure to apply to us in every aspect of our lives. Just listen to St. John Climacus in his Step 5 on repentance: 

 

Repentance is the renewal of baptism. Repentance is a contract with God for a second life...Repentance is the daughter of hope and the renunciation of despair...Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord by the practice of good deeds contrary to the sins. Repentance is purification of conscience. Repentance is the voluntary endurance of all afflictions...Repentance is...a striking of the soul into vigorous awareness. 

 

St. John Climacus reminds us that in our process of repentance (and in our journey through Great Lent), that we must be careful not to fool ourselves, thinking we are on track, when in reality, we may be off the course. St. John Climacus in his Step 2 states the following: 

 

Let us pay close attention to ourselves so that we are not deceived into thinking that we are following the straight and narrow way, when in actual fact we are keeping to the wide and broad way... 

 

St. John Climacus teaches us that fasting helps us to walk the straight and narrow way of Christ (Matt. 7:14) in his Step 14: 

  

Fasting is the coercion of nature and the cutting out of everything that delights the palate, the excision of lust, the uprooting of bad thoughts, deliverance from incontinence in dreams, purity of prayer, the light of the soul, the guarding of the mind, deliverance from blindness, the door of compunction...a guard of obedience, lightening of sleep, health of body...remission of sins, the gate of Paradise and its delight. 

 

It seems so fitting that the Church, in the beginning of the fifth week of Lent, draws our attention to this holy ascetic, because truly Lent becomes more difficult as we continue through its dessert. We are reminded of why we are fasting and praying more fervently in this holy season. By reading St. John Climacus’ The Ladder of Divine Ascent, we are reminded how miniscule our fasting may be in comparison to ancient monastics, yet God accepts our efforts in His mercy. We are reminded that our fasting must be linked with putting off the old man (our sins) and putting on the new man (Christ, His way of life) and prayer, in order to be fruitful. We are encouraged to continue to endure, through persistent prayer and fasting that we have been doing throughout Lent, because as a monk of the Eastern Church states: 

 

Prayer and fasting, in the deepest sense, mean[s] a radical renunciation of self, a concentration of one’s soul in an attitude of trust and humility which leaves all to the mercy of God, the submission of our will to the will of the Lord, placing our whole being in the hands of the Father.  

 

Pascha is fast approaching, the Day of the Lord is at hand; are we ready to greet Him when He comes?  The Church, in the fourth Sunday of Lent, urges us to have an honest self-inventory on ourselves at this point of the Fast, so that we may have renewed zeal to finish strong, to persevere to the end, so that, through adhering to the wise counsel of St. John Climacus’ teachings and through genuine, heart-felt repentance, we may strive to be properly prepared for Christ when He comes for His Bride (the Church), at Holy Pascha. Amen.

 

 

Further Readings and Reflections...

http://www.ancientfaith.com/announcements/4th_sunday_st._john_of_the_ladder A podcast on the application of The Ladder of Divine Ascent teachings to us non-monastics by Fr. Thomas Hopko.   http://lent.goarch.org/saint_john_climacus/learn/ An article on the life of St. John Climacus   http://orthodoxwiki.org/The_Ladder_of_Divine_Ascent An article on the Ladder of Divine Ascent

Sunday of the Cross (Third Week of Great Lent)

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

 

As we come to the end of the third week of Lent, the Church reminds us that before we can reach the unending joy of Pascha, we first have to go through the Cross (with all that it implicates). We know this because not only did our Lord go through it, but He taught that we must do the same thing, if we are to truly be His disciples and together with Him and through Him, enter into the joy of the Kingdom of God. Listen to what the Holy Scriptures say about the Cross:

 

Then Jesus said unto His disciples, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." (Matt. 16:24; Mark 8:34)

 

And he said to them all, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." (Luke 9:23)

 

Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, "One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."(Mark 10:21)

 

"And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:27)

 

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Cor. 1:18)

 

"But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." (Gal. 6:14)

 

"And being found in human form, He humbled Himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross." (Phl. 2:8)

 

"For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross." (Col. 1:19-20)

 

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God." (Heb. 12:1-2)

 

With all these quotes from Scripture in mind, Fr. Alexander Schmemann from his beautiful book Great Lent: Journey to Pascha, reminds us well, that: "we cannot take up our cross and follow Christ unless we have His Cross which He took up in order to save us. It is His Cross, not ours, that saves us."  The last quote from the Epistle to the Hebrews captures what the Church is trying to teach us in the third Sunday of Lent; that we must go through the way of the Cross, but not in vain, in order to reach Pascha. We don't fast aimlessly; we don't bear our crosses without purpose. We don't struggle to live the Gospel in our everyday lives without reason. The Christian life always begins with the end in mind. The hope of Pascha gives us the foundation and strength we need to persevere through the way of the Cross, to arrive into the joy of Pascha. Listen to the hymns we sing at Vigil:

 

Shine, O Cross of the Lord!

Illumine the hearts of those who honor you!

With love inspired by God, we embrace you,

for you are the only hope of the world.

Through you our tears are wiped away,

the snares of death are sprung,

and we pass over into everlasting joy.

Through the Cross reveal Your beauty to us, O Lord!

Help Your servants who ask for mercy in faith!

Bestow upon us the fruits of abstinence! 

 

Rejoice, O life-bearing Cross:

bright paradise of the Church, the tree of incorruption!

You have obtained for us the joy of everlasting glory.

Through you, the hosts of demons are driven out;

the choirs of Angels are amazed and rejoice;

the company of the faithful gathers in celebration.

O unconquerable weapon, unbroken stronghold,

triumph of Orthodox Christians and pride of priests,

by following you may we witness the Passion and Resurrection of Christ

our God! 

 

Beholding You, the Fashioner and Creator of all, hanging naked on the Cross,

all creation was changed with fear and lamented.

The sun withdrew its light, and the earth quaked;

the rocks were rent, and the splendor of the Temple was torn asunder.

The dead rose out of their graves, and the hosts of Angels were amazed, saying:

Oh the wonder!

The Judge is judged and suffers,

desiring this for the salvation and renewal of the world.

The climax of the Vigil of the Veneration of the Cross takes place when the Priest comes out in glorious procession with the Cross and places it in the middle of the Church. Shortly after, the faithful come to venerate the precious Cross. A monk of the Eastern Church in The Year of the Grace of the Lord: A Scriptural and Liturgical Commentary on the Calendar of the Orthodox Church reflects soberly on the holy veneration of the Cross:

 

Am I ready to follow Jesus, bearing my cross? (Not the cross that I may choose, but the one that He places on my shoulders.) Am I ready to accept all the trials or sufferings which may come to me, as sharing in the Cross of my Saviour? When, in due course, it is my turn to come and place a kiss on the cross which is displayed in the middle of the Church, will my kiss be that of an unrepentant sinner, the kiss of Judas, or will it be a gesture which is respectful and superficial, but changes nothing in my life, or will it be a sign of adoration, of faith, and of tenderness which will be binding on my whole life?

 

May our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ grant us all renewed strength through His holy Cross, in order to persevere through the remainder of Lent faithfully, to come to His Holy Pascha! Amen.

Further Reading

 

http://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/mysterion/people_of_the_cross

 

A podcast about what it means to be a person of the Cross

http://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/voicefromisles/venerating_the_cross_of_christ

 

A podcast on the 3rd Sunday of Lent

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sunday_of_the_Holy_Cross

 

An article on the 3rd Sunday on Lent

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2014/03/23/14-3rd-sunday-of-great-lent-veneration-of-the-cross

 

Another article on the Sunday of the Cross in Great Lent

The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (Second Week of Great Lent)

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we finish the 2nd week of Lent, I would like to focus on a service that is peculiar to this holy season—the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.

It is a beautiful Liturgy, one only celebrated during the Great Fast. There is much history to this service, and while we don't have the space to go into great detail on every aspect of it, I'd like to briefly touch upon a few things to meditate on from this wonderful gift of the Church.

1.) The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts teaches us to completely depend upon God.

Consider the words of Fr. Alexander Schmemann from his book "Great Lent: Journey to Pascha":

"Holy Communion is the fulfillment of all our efforts, the goal toward which we strive, the ultimate joy of our Christian life, it is also and of necessity the source and beginning of our spiritual effort itself, the divine gift which makes it possible for us to know, to desire, and to strive for a 'more perfect communion in the day without evening' of God's Kingdom."

As my own parish priest said to us at the beginning of Lent last year, "Cling to the altar." This is what we do as Orthodox Christians. We realize that the beginning of our spiritual life, the struggle of our spiritual life, and the consummation of our spiritual life depends upon our oneness with the Eternal Triune Godhead, which is made possible through the Sacraments of the Church. And our spiritual life is most nourished above all through the Sacrament of Sacraments, the Sacrament of the Kingdom to Come (which is made present in and through the Church)--the Eucharist.

The Church realizes that fasting is not easy, it is a struggle, but she does not ask us to do this alone, without her help. The Church does not ask of us that which is impossible. As the Gospel of Matthew records, through Christ "all things are possible" (Matt. 19:26). Fasting is possible, through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. The Church realizes this, and therefore makes frequent Holy Communion available for us during Lent, so that we may be strengthened and nourished by Christ Himself, and be given everything that is necessary for us not only to complete the Fast faithfully, but to grow in continued holiness and repentance to arrive at Pascha with purity of heart.

2.) The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts teaches us how to pray.

This beautiful Liturgy teaches us to pray the most familiar prayer of Great Lent--the prayer of St. Ephraim of Syria. The prayer goes something like,

"O Lord and Master of my life, a spirit of idleness, despondency, ambition, and idle-talking, give me not. (prostration) But rather a spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love bestow upon me Thy servant. (prostration) Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions and not to judge my brother, for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen. (prostration)"
Not only that, but throughout the Liturgy, all the faithful, together with the Priest and other orders of clergy prostrate themselves before Christ numerous times. The prayer of St. Ephraim is experienced in action in the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts in a special way. In the book, "The Year of the Grace of the Lord: A Scriptural & Liturgical Commentary on the Calendar of the Orthodox Church" a monk of the Eastern Church says the following on this holy prayer:

"This prayer sums up all that is essential in spiritual life. A Christian who used it constantly, who nourished himself from it during Lent, would be at the simplest and best school. Even someone who restricted himself to repeating and meditating on these words, 'Lord and Master of my life,' would enter deeply into the reality of the relationship between God and the soul, the soul and its God."

3.) The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts reminds us that we are pilgrims journeying toward the Promised Land of the Kingdom.

Just as the Israelites were nourished with the heavenly manna during their exodus to the Promised Land, so also the Church is nourished by the real heavenly bread, the true bread that comes down from heaven, Christ Himself, as she journeys through the desert of this world. The Church remembers the story of the Exodus of the people of God through the Old Testament readings during Lent and this helps us understand that we too, as the Church, are pilgrimaging towards our heavenly homeland, but we do not do this alone, God provides for us with the greatest gift He could ever give the world--Himself.

Through reading the Old Testament, we are reminded that we are journeying towards the day without evening--Pascha, the Day of the Lord. Jesus came to establish a New Covenant, a New Passover, and a New Exodus. This is experienced in the prayers of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. We feel that we are journeying, we repeatedly partake of the New Covenant Passover Lamb, though we grow tired, and weary. Yet we continue journeying towards the Promised Land, trusting in the promises of God, sustained through continuous reception of the true manna from heaven, Jesus Himself (John 6). Listen to the prayer the Priest prays before the Ambo at the end of the Presanctified Liturgy; it is worth quoting at length:

"O Almighty Master, Who in wisdom hast fashioned all creation; Who, through Thine ineffable providence and great goodness, hast led us to these all-revered days for purification of souls and bodies, for the restraint of passions, and for hope of the Resurrection; Who, during the forty days, didst put into the hands of Thy servant Moses the tablets in letters divinely inscribed: Grant unto us also, O Good One, to fight the good fight, to complete the course of the Fast, to preserve the Faith undivided, to crush the heads of invisible serpents, to be shown to be conquerors of sins and, without condemnation, also to attain unto and worship the holy Resurrection. For blessed and glorified is Thine all-honorable and majestic Name..."
May we take advantage of this wonderful gift the Church gives us during Lent. Let us see the great treasure that this holy service is that the Church gives us for our nourishment and sustainment during the Fast. May God grant that we may more worthily frequently receive Holy Communion in this beautiful penitential service of the Church to help us journey towards the Feast of Feasts, the Day of New Creation, the Day of everlasting joy--Pascha!

Canon of St Andrew of Crete (First Week of Great Lent)

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I greet you with joy as we complete the first week of Great Lent. As many of you know, the Church helps us and guides on to the path of repentance and amendment of life through praying the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete during the beginning of Lent. It is a wonderful way to begin this holy season by bringing to mind all the accounts of repentance in the Holy Scriptures. Fr. Alexander Schmemann says it well in his book Great Lent: Journey to Pascha, "It can be described as a penitential lamentation conveying to us the scope and depth of sin, shaking the soul with despair, repentance, and hope" (emphasis mine). Consider some of the prayers we've prayed this week from the Canon:        Where shall I begin to lament the deeds of my wretched life? What first-fruit shall I offer to Thee O Christ, for my present lamentation? But in Thy compassion, grant me release from my falls.        Adam was rightly exiled from Eden for not keeping Thy one commandment, O Savior. But what shall I suffer who am always rejecting Thy living words? (Heb. 12:25; Gen. 3:23)        Come out, my soul, from sin, from the land of Haran! Come into the land of eternal life flowing with incorruption which Abraham inherited. (Gen. 12:4)        Return, repent, uncover what is hidden. Say to God Who knows everything: Thou knowest my secrets, O only Saviour; but have mercy on me, as David sings, according to Thy mercy. (Ps. 50(51) )        Heal, O Saviour, the corruption of my debased soul, O only Physician. Apply the compress to me, and the oil of wine--works of repentance, compunction and tears. (Lk. 10:34)        The Church has acquired Thy life-giving side as a chalice, from which gushes forth for us a twofold torrent of forgiveness and knowledge as a type of the two covenants, Old and New, O our Saviour.        O my Judge and my Light Who alone knowest me and art coming again with Thine Angels to judge the whole world, regard me then with Thy merciful Eye and spare me, O Jesus. And have compassion on me who have sinned more than all mankind. (Matt. 25:31-32)

"The lenten journey begins thus with a return to the 'starting point'--the world of Creation, Fall, and Redemption, the world in which all things speak of God and reflect His glory, in which all events are referred to God, in which man finds the true dimension of his life, and having found it, repents" (Great Lent: Journey to Pascha; emphasis original). Great Lent calls us to return to God, through prayer, through fasting, through reading the Holy Scriptures, through alms-giving, and through the services of the Church. The services of the Church are therapeutic. The Canon of St. Andrew of Crete captures this perfectly! May we heed what the Church teaches us through the Canon of St. Andrew so that we may have a fruitful, God-glorifying Lent, to arrive joyfully to His Holy Pascha! I wish you all "good strength!" as we continue to dive deeper into the school of repentance--Great Lent.