Reflections on the Forty Days of Lent

On the Forty Days of Lent

by Raphael Masterjohn

The following are excerpts from the writings of the blessed Raphael, who taught us so much by word and example. To this day, I remember his radiant joy during the Lenten fast and Holy Pascha. May we, likewise, all share in the Light of the Resurrection.

On the Great Fast

The great season of the Fast is rapidly approaching, and it is a good time to take stock of who we are, where we are, where we are going and what our task ought to be during a special period like this. We need to act, for the Fast goes by quickly and Pascha awaits us at the end. The Resurrection of Christ, in which we all rejoice and celebrate, we need to make our own. Christ showed by his example that the way of the Cross leads to Resurrection.

Man was created in the image of God, with the potential of acquiring the likeness of God as well. This, in fact, is the true destiny of man, to become like Christ, the image and likeness of God. For this reason, Christ came into the world, not just to save man but to restore the fallen image, to wash him and make him whiter than snow and raise him up to heaven forever. Christ commands: “Be holy, for I am holy,” and , “be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.”  This is why we are given a certain number of years on earth, to enter the struggle and cooperate with God and each other to become what we are meant to be. There is nothing more wonderful, more glorious or delightful in this world, than to enter the mildly ascetic type of life that is called Orthodox Christian. It is accessible to all but needs to be preached in the churches over and over again.

Repentance, prayer, fasting and charity are necessary tools for our task. What we acquire in return are precious gifts from above that will destroy the threat of death and render us immortal.  We will receive in return increased Grace from God, faith, hope and love, humility, meekness and holiness! These gifts will fill our souls with calm, peace, tranquility and exultation. Christ tells us that we ought to wash the inside of the cup, meaning that our inner man must change, and then our living example will declare the change before everyone. Filled with God's precious love, our hearts will always be joyful, even in times of great distress.  

True Orthodox life always begins with faith, which leads to hope and love for Jesus Christ, remembering all that He has done for us. He is most worthy of our love, and this love results in a complete change for the better in our attitude and lifestyle, for "as many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ, Alleluia!"  Attending Church services and being on time is very important for it shows respect to our Lord and His Church…

Keeping the fast is beneficial and not outside one's ability, if there is a desire for the Kingdom of Heaven. Fasting is called the “queen of virtues,” which leads to humility, repentance and all the joys of spiritual life that render every person happy. Confession of our sins also is vital but must be accompanied by sincere repentance, for it is of no value if we confess our sins and then repeat them. We must do as the Lord commands, “depart from evil and do good,”  Christ told the adulterous woman, and He tells each of us: “go and sin no more!”  

During the Great Forty-day Fast, with the curtailing of the preparation and consumption of food and of entertainment, we will have much more time for increased prayers, akathists, complines, etc. There is more time for daily reading of Holy Scriptures, hearkening to the Lord’s words. 

The fasting period can be a long ordeal that causes us to anxiously await its end, or it can be a joyful leaping off point that ascends to the heights of heaven, where the Lord is our light, our warmth, our food and drink, and where there is joy and exultation, without pain and sorrow. Here in this world we arrive at the glorious Pascha, singing with mighty voices: Christ is Risen from the dead!  But for each of us, our own great Pascha will come when we leave this world, for then we will hear the angelic choir singing the heavenly song: Christ is Risen! as we celebrate our own glorious Pacha into eternal life.  

The Great Forty days is the only road that leads us back to Paradise, not the physical, but the divine Paradise which the first pair lost, experiencing suffering and the death which God warned them about.  Pascha, however, fills our hearts with joy, because Christ, our Paradise, is risen from the dead, granting us eternal life. If we have struggled to keep the fast and cleansed ourselves from our sins, we shall enter the joy of Paradise. If not, we shall have shunned the most important opportunity of our lives. For there are only two ways, as Moses teaches:  “There is the way of life and the way of death.  Let us choose life,” that we may live forever.  Christ is our life, our hope, our resurrection and our paradise.

We are now going through the period of the Great Fast leading us to the glorious Feast of Feasts, Pascha!  During this period the grace of God abounds, seeking those who wish to escape captivity and enter into the freedom which the Lord alone can offer. This is the best time to rid ourselves of the burden of our sins, by looking inward and being honest with ourselves. This inward search will enable us, with the Lord’s help, to confess and receive forgiveness, as we throw off the heavy yoke of the tyrant and deceiver. Then we can turn to the source of our life, which is also the fountain of every good thing, and submit to His benevolent and easy yoke, for He says: “Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest; for I am meek and humble in heart; and ye shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  (Mat. 11:28-30).

The Sunday of the Holy Cross

The crucifixion of Christ turned the world upside down, completely changing everything! What appeared as a tragic death became the greatest victory the world has ever seen or will ever witness.  For nations go to war with nations and shed the blood of their enemies, but Christ makes war with our enemy, the Devil, shedding His own precious blood, vanquishing the Devil’s authority and power. The Cross, formerly an instrument of death, became the source of eternal life. This total transformation by Christ’s victory causes the faithful to exalt and glorify the Cross, and so we cry:  Rejoice, precious Cross, for through Him who died upon you, we are granted eternal life and His great mercy. 

The Cross is an invincible weapon, a powerful protection, filled with everlasting life, and it is our access to divine power! The importance of the Cross and the precious honor it deserves is continuously preserved in the Orthodox Church, which is the Body of Christ. The crucifixion is perpetuated in the bloodless sacrifice of the Eucharist, which Christ instituted on the night on which he was betrayed, when he said: “Take, eat, this is my Body…” and “drink, this is My Blood… Do this in remembrance of Me.”

To take up our cross, does not only mean leaving the world and becoming a monastic; it means living in this world but not to love the world. We are to recall the three servants, unharmed in the fiery furnace, and Daniel, in the lion's den with friendly lions. What they did is completely possible with Christ’s help and, so too, He helps us to live in the midst of the dangers of this world and among sinners without ourselves falling into sin. We cannot be forced against our wills to lie and cheat, to bear false witness or swear and blaspheme, if we resist and sign ourselves with the Cross. We can, indeed, resist evil and do only good, if we so desire, becoming purified and sanctified. We can be crucified with Christ and rid ourselves of vices as we increase our virtues, replacing pride with humility, anger with meekness, and dishonesty with honesty. These things can be accomplished with divine help, which is always available, if we preserve the true faith.  

Taking up our cross involves our not seeking to always have things go our way, but to willingly accept adversities….  Christ said that we must deny ourselves, not please ourselves. Self-denial is the way of the Cross and, on the Cross, no comforts are to be found, only pain and struggle.  Christ is our example, being the new Adam, the God-man, and men whom he had formed with His own hands nailed His hands and feet to the Cross. Not satisfied, they heaped more evils upon Him: they mocked Him, spat on and insulted Him; they deemed the author of their lives as being unworthy of life. It is not possible to follow Christ without self denial, but it is extremely rewarding to follow Him into eternal life. By accepting adversity, we conquer it and, in so doing, we enter into the new and beautiful life of the Spirit.