“Where there is humility, there is no sign of hatred, no species of quarrelsomeness, no whiff of disobedience…As soon as a cluster of holy humility begins to flower within us, we come, after hard work, to hate all earthly praise and glory.  We rid ourselves of rage and fury, and the more this queen of virtues spreads within our souls through spiritual growth, the more we begin to regard all good deeds as no consequence.”

This is our task this month dear ones:  The destruction of pride in our own lives, so that we can more fully receive the coming of the Holy Spirit.  A God filled life is one that is powerful…and personal.  A life with the Holy Spirit within us is one that turns us from being animals…constantly following after our own passions and desires…into True Human Beings that live not in the world, but above the world with God Himself. 

“…being apart of a Church that is not of “the world” is also why so many people have found their way into the Holy Orthodox Church!  The teachings don’t change!  The Gospel doesn’t change with the ebbs, flows, and popular opinions of society.  We say so beautifully at the beginning of Lent that “This is the faith of the apostles!  This is the Faith of the Fathers!  This is the Faith which has established the universe!”  It is this faith that keeps itself separate from “the world” which our Lord spoke about.”

On that first day of the Great Fast, we too shot out into the Lenten Desert like a bullet!  Increased spiritual reading, increased prayers and services, a greater focus on what goes into and what comes out of our mouths.  Inevitably, as we began our climb, we realized that this wasn’t going to be an easy victory. 

For Isaac to be willingly sacrificed by his father Abraham doesn’t make much sense to the Jews, but for Christians, this event in history means EVERYTHING.  Because 2000 years later, on the 14th day of Nisan (the exact same day), in what is in Jewish tradition the exact same place, Jesus Christ walked 1/3 of a mile, carrying a piece of wood on His own back, on His way to willingly sacrifice Himself on what would become the instrument of our Salvation…the Precious and Life-Giving Cross.