{"product_id":"2940012866202","title":"GREAT LENT A SCHOOL OF REPENTANCE","description":"CONTENTS\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  GREAT LENT                                             5\u003cbr\u003e    The Time of Repentance\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  SUNDAYS OF PREPARATION                                 7\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  LENTEN WORSHIP                                        13\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  HOW CAN WE KEEP GREAT LENT?                           23\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGREAT LENT\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE TIME OF REPENTANCE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    \"Brethren, while fasting bodily, let us also fast spiritually;\u003cbr\u003e    let us loosen every bond of injustice; let us destroy the strong\u003cbr\u003e    fetters of violence; let us tear up every unjust writing; let us\u003cbr\u003e    give bread to the hungry and let us welcome the homeless poor to\u003cbr\u003e    our houses, that from Christ our God we may receive the great mercy.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e                           (=Stichira, Wednesday of the First Week=)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe are approaching again the Great Lent--the time of repentance, the\u003cbr\u003etime of our reconciliation with God. Repentance is the beginning and\u003cbr\u003ealso the condition of a truly Christian life. \"Repent!\" was the first\u003cbr\u003eword of Christ when He began to preach (Matt. 4:17). But =what is\u003cbr\u003erepentance=? In the daily rush of our life we have no time to think\u003cbr\u003eabout it, we simply take it for granted that we must go to confession,\u003cbr\u003ereceive absolution, and then forget all about it until next year. Yet\u003cbr\u003ethere must be a reason why our Church has set apart seven weeks as a\u003cbr\u003especial time of repentance and calls each Orthodox Christian to a\u003cbr\u003especial spiritual effort. And this reason must obviously concern\u003cbr\u003e=me=, =my= life, =my= faith, =my= membership in the Church. I must try to\u003cbr\u003eunderstand it, to follow as much as I can the teachings of my Church, be\u003cbr\u003eOrthodox not only by name, but in life itself. What then is repentance?\u003cbr\u003eGreat Lent gives the answer to this question. It is indeed a =school\u003cbr\u003eof repentance=, to which each Christian must go every year in order\u003cbr\u003eto refresh the understanding of his faith. It is a wonderful pilgrimage\u003cbr\u003eto the very sources of Orthodoxy, a rediscovery of a truly Orthodox way\u003cbr\u003eof life. Let us try to make these forty days as meaningful, as deep, and\u003cbr\u003eas rich, as possible.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this brief explanation of Lent we shall deal with:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    --the preparation for Great Lent,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    --the Lenten worship of the Orthodox Church,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    --the Orthodox teaching on fasting, prayer and other spiritual\u003cbr\u003e      efforts prescribed during Lent.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSUNDAYS OF PREPARATION\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThree weeks before Lent proper begins we enter into a period of\u003cbr\u003e=pre-Lenten= preparation. It is a constant feature of the Orthodox\u003cbr\u003etradition of worship that every major liturgical event--(Christmas,\u003cbr\u003eEaster, Lent)--is announced and prepared in advance. Knowing our lack\u003cbr\u003eof concentration, the \"worldliness\" of our life, the Church calls our\u003cbr\u003eattention to the seriousness of the approaching event, invites us to\u003cbr\u003emeditate on its significance. Thus, before we can =practice= Lent, we\u003cbr\u003eare given its meaning.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis preparation includes four consecutive Sundays preceding Lent, each\u003cbr\u003eone of them dedicated to some fundamental aspect of repentance.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1. Humility\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e(Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn the eve of this day (i.e. on Saturday at Vespers) the liturgical book\u003cbr\u003eof the Lenten season--the =Triodion= makes its first appearance and texts\u003cbr\u003efrom it are added to the usual liturgical material of the weekly\u003cbr\u003eResurrection service. They develop the first major theme of repentance:\u003cbr\u003e=humility=.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Gospel lesson (Luke 18:10-14) teaches us that humility is the\u003cbr\u003econdition of repentance. The parable of the Publican and Pharisee\u003cbr\u003epictures a man who is always pleased with himself and who thinks that he\u003cbr\u003ecomplies with all the requirements of religion. He is proud of himself\u003cbr\u003eand self-assured. In reality, however, he has falsified the meaning of\u003cbr\u003ereligion. He has reduced it to external observations and he measures his\u003cbr\u003epiety by the amount of money he gives to the temple. Religion is for him\u003cbr\u003ea source of self-admiration. The Publican humbles himself and humility\u003cbr\u003ejustifies him before God.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Let us avoid the high-flown speech of the Pharisee\"--says the Kontakion\u003cbr\u003eof the day--\"and learn the majesty of the Publican's humble words.\"","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47078965870832,"sku":"2940012866202","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940012866202_p0.jpg?v=1763573257","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940012866202","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}