So sorrow for our exile in sin is tempered by hope of our re-entry into Paradise. The second theme, that of forgiveness, is emphasized in the Gospel reading for this Sunday Matthew and in the special ceremony of mutual forgiveness at the end of the Vespers on Sunday evening.
Before we enter the Lenten fast, we are reminded that there can be no true fast, no genuine repentance, no reconciliation with God, unless we are at the same time reconciled with one another. A fast without mutual love is the fast of demons. We do not travel the road of Lent as isolated individuals but as members of a family. Our asceticism and fasting should not separate us from others, but should link us to them with ever-stronger bonds.
The Sunday of Forgiveness also directs us to see that Great Lent is a journey of liberation from our enslavement to sin. The Gospel lesson sets the conditions for this liberation. The first one is fasting—the refusal to accept the desires and urges of our fallen nature as normal, the effort to free ourselves from the dictatorship of the flesh and matter over the spirit. The triumph of sin, the main sign of its rule over the world, is division, opposition, separation, hatred.
Therefore, the first break through this fortress of sin is forgiveness—the return to unity, solidarity, love. The icon of the Sunday of the Last Judgment incorporates all of the elements of the parable from Matthew Christ sits on the throne and before him the Last Judgment takes place. He is extending his hands in blessing upon the Theotokos on his right, and John the Baptist on his left.
Seated on smaller thrones are the Apostles, represented by Peter and Paul, a depiction of the words of Christ in Matthew The icon shows Adam and Eve standing before Jesus Christ. Julie Schumacher Cohen serves as the director of community and government relations at the University of Scranton, having worked in faith-based nonprofit and higher education settings for more than 15 years.
She resides in Scranton, Pa. Neither of us are on any of the social media apps. Our friends are those from church, work or school. We take great consolation knowing that people are realizing spending hours on the internet and social media are shallow.
Books are being published , e. For Lent my husband gave up sugar while I gave up email. He has lost 10 pounds and I havent checked email once since Ash Wednesday.
We both embraced for Lent a traditional day to day existence including adopting the Suscipe Prayer of St Ignatius of Loyola which really put the world in perspective. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace, that is enough for me. Unplug from the internet and see God face to face with those in your midst just as Jesus taught. I could not look my abuser in the eye and say "I forgive you". Bishop Desmond Tutu says that forgiveness has to be earned by the abuser, it is not a freebie that the victim hands out--which would negate the attitude expressed in this article, which seems more about playing at forgiveness, or practicing it for some future time when you will be really challenged to forgive your real enemy.
Most of the suburban parishes where we live are very large, ranging from - families. If there are an average of two or three people in each family, there are thousands of people registered.
Somehow it seems that this ritual would only workable in very small parishes. This is an thorough and personal presentation of the practice of Forgiveness Sunday. I have one real problem, though: it consistently speaks of this ritual as an Orthodox practice. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. This Gospel reading is, in a sense, a good map for our Lenten journey.
It begins with forgiveness. In order to restore our relationship to God, we need to be forgiven the multitude of our sins. This Gospel reading reminds us that if we want forgiveness from God, we need to also forgive others. The reading continues by telling us how to fast: not by showing off, but simply and quietly, genuinely.
And it finishes with an admonishment for our focus: it should not be on earthly things, but on the heavenly. Great Lent is the perfect time to re-orient our focus to heavenly things. If we treasure forgiveness from God, our heart will be full of forgiveness for our fellow humans. During Great Lent, we are offered the opportunity to serve others willingly.
We can more effectively serve if we are forgiving, not holding grudges. And it is primarily the renewal of that love, a return to it, a growth in it, that we seek in Great Lent, in fasting and prayer, in the entire spirit and the entire effort of that season.
Thus, truly forgiveness is both the beginning of, and the proper condition for the Lenten season. Why should I ask forgiveness from people who have done nothing to me, and whom I hardly know? To ask these questions is to misunderstand the Orthodox teaching concerning forgiveness. It is true, that open enmity, personal hatred, real animosity may be absent from our life, though if we experience them, it may be easier for us to repent, for these feelings openly contradict Divine commandments.
But, the Church reveals to us that there are much subtler ways of offending Divine Love.
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