Great Lent is the Springtime of the Soul. Metropolitan Luke (Kovalenko)

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Christ is in our midst, dear readers!

The apostle Paul writes to his disciples in Rome, The night is far spent, the day is at hand (Rom 13:12). Night is the time of darkness, when most crimes are committed. Night is also the sinful state of the soul that does not want to know God and does not strive for salvation. Predators hunt at night, and the enemy of mankind works in darkness, “like a lion roaring after its prey, seeking whom he might destroy.”

I am the light of the world, says the Lord. He chases away the darkness of night, and grants people the Light of Eternal Life. Each person has the possibility to enter into this wondrous divine Light. After all, Christ came into the world for this, and poured out His blood on the Cross so that we might enter into His unutterable joy. Great Lent in Questions and AnswersGreat Lent is a very special time, including in the Church calendar, but not all days of Great Lent are the same.

“>Great Lent is a period of spiritual work for the sake of the salvation of the soul. And the first thing we need to do is Forgiveness Is Necessary for Our SalvationHow then brethren can we not be merciful to our neighbors and not forgive their sins against us, when our Heavenly Father Himself loves us all? He is kind to both the ungrateful and the wicked.”>forgive. First of all, forgive ourselves. After all, we often get angry with ourselves because we just can’t seem to be able to correct ourselves; because the years go by, and we do not become what we would like to become. From this comes disappointment, and then even “Despair is for Those Who Are Attached to the Material”Elder Justin (Parvu; 1919-2013) was one of the most famous Romanian spiritual fathers. We present here several of his spiritual counsels, gathered from various publications.”>despair. We have to understand that only God’s grace can change us for the better, while it is our duty only to be humble and labor according to our strength to acquire sanctity. Having forgiven ourselves, we have to also forgive all our enemies, knowing that all people on earth are entangled in sin. Having experienced ourselves how difficult it is to be freed from bad habits and inclinations, we should have more condescension for those who offend and anger us. Let’s not forget that people who don’t like us are whetting stones that scrub off the pride of our hearts, show us our imperfections, and help us correct ourselves.

And many people need to make peace with God. After all, so many complaints are now heard against the Lord because a war is on and innocent people are dying! Such anger and resentment are a sign of weak faith and a lack of courage. We do not know the ways of God’s Providence. We look at what is happening from the position of the present time, but the Creator looks and acts from the position of Eternity, which, in the final analysis, turns everything for the good. Therefore it is so important for a person to be humble and commit both his fate and the fate of the world into the hands of the One Who created this world. While we, brothers and sisters, must more often remember Job the MuchSuffering, who always gave thanks to God in both joy and sorrow.

Great Lent is an examination on the right to live in the Kingdom of Heaven. It is a test of faithfulness to the Lord and patience. And I would like very much for you all to pass this test and enter into Eternal Life.

I bless you all, my dear ones, for Great Lent. Pass through it with honor, and most importantly, with spiritual joy!