"It is not said merely, forego wrath; but retain it not in your mind; think not of it; part with all your resentment."This one really hit home. How many times have we said that we'll forgive someone, but we'll never forget? It's not really forgiving when we don't forget, becuase we are still holding a grudge or bearing resentment towards that person.
"For if the work be laborious, reflect that it is for God's sake that you undergo all this, and you shall receive sufficient consolation."This quote was wisely placed at the beginning of the booklet, right at the start of our Lenten efforts. The first week of Great Lent requires the most effort from us (as does Holy Week of course), and we can find ourselves a bit overwhelmed by the daily church services and strict fasting and our own personal efforts of trying to pray more, give alms, read more spiritual literature/Scripture/Holy Fathers, doing without secular music, television, and entertainments. St. John Chrysostom acknowledges this, and gives us a gentle, encouraging word to strengthen us.
"Let our enemy too understand that we have taken much pains, in order to do what is well-pleasing unto God."I liked this. I liked the thought of the demons watching those making ascetical efforts, knowing these efforts were solely being done "in order to do what is well-pleasing unto God." I liked the reality that the Sign of the Cross—the Great Weapon against evil and the demons, and the Great Victory over evil, death, and the demons—is being made more often, scattering the demons; that fasting is being coupled with prayer (because as the Lenten Triodion tells us, a fast without prayer is a fast of demons) and glorifications to God, bringing down the grace of God to us and scattering the demons; that the name of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ—His Name Itself a great weapon against the demons—is being uttered more frequently through prayer, scattering the demons; that we become more in tune to those in need around us, our stewardship (not just giving of money, but also of time and talents) and almsgiving are manifestations of renewed compassion and mercy, which scatters the demons. I also like that the Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian—when prayed in full sincerity and humility—stokes a deep sense of humility in us, which scatters the demons (the demons told the great desert ascetic St. Anthony: “Everything that you do I do also: you fast—I eat nothing at all; you keep vigil—I never sleep. In one thing only do you surpass me—in humility”, so we know that the demons are incapable of humility...lack of humility/pride is what caused Lucifer's fall from heaven).
"At length the season moves towards the Lent of the Great Fast, and therefore, we ought the more earnestly devote ourselves to holiness." (emphasis mine)St. John doesn't just say that we need to "be good", he said that we need to devote ourselves to holiness. This is so we may purify ourselves, for nothing unclean may enter into the Kingdom of Heaven (as our Lord Himself tells us in Matthew 5:48, "Therefore be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect) , and also, so that we can attain to the goal of every Christian: acquisition of the Holy Spirit. It's hard to think that the things we normally do on a daily basis so automatically aren't necessarily holy—not to say that they are always necessarily sinful—but that they don't have any spiritual value; they don't lift us up towards God.
Last but not least, two prayers included in this first week from this same book:
"Dear Mother of God, in the midst of daily strong pressure on us to cease from following your beloved Son, intercede for us, so that we may continue by renewed devotion to Him and all He did and suffered for us, to be counted among His disciples, as faithful servants in His service. Amen."She knows the daily strong pressure on us to cease from following her Son, because she lived here, too, and she is one of us, and she sees what we struggle with. What an awesome reminder to us to seek out the help of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary in our struggles, especially during this holy time of Great Lent!
"Heavenly Father, may we always listen to the words that Your Son Jesus has spoken, so that our joy may be full and deep and lasting, so that others may see and know that we have been with Jesus and have done His will. Amen."It's heartbreaking to me that many people are "turned off" today by Christians. It's sad to me on a multitude of levels. In the beginning of the Church, people were drawn to Christianity by the great agape love they had for each other and for everyone, but now, because many Christians don't lead an exemplary life, and sometimes, because they are busy pointing out what everyone else should be doing, they are a cause for repulsion towards Christianity. This is a great scandal to our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. If we were true "ambassadors" of Christ like those early Christians were...if we could give those around us a true taste of what Christ is really about, then I believe people would run to Christ as they did in the first few centuries.
As Eastern Orthodox Christians, the only way we can "change the world" is to start with ourselves. Our Lord told us this in Matthew 7:3-5—to see first our own faults before we begin looking at and judging the faults of those around us. The Holy Fathers have taught us that in our dealings with people, to be harshest on ourselves, but to be gentlest with others. St. Seraphim of Sarov said, "Acquire the spirit of peace and thousands around you will be saved." This couldn't be more true. In other words, start with ourselves, working on things that are out of place or need improvement, and others—seeing and sensing this new order within ourselves, this sense of peace—will themselves be changed, and may even perhaps begin to concern for their own salvation. Isn't it a humbling thought that perhaps some around us aren't being saved because we don't have that spirit of peace? That we ourselves could be responsible for such a thing?
Anyway, getting back to the above prayer. When people see this change in us, which can only be given to us through our efforts and by God's grace, everyone can "see and know that we have been with Jesus and have done His will" just by our silent example. No lofty fire and brimstone preachy sermons need to be given, no door-to-door evangelism needs to be done to tell people how to live their lives, only our silent example of what we are doing in our own lives should be witness enough to those around us that we are doing the will of God.
