Met. Luke of Zaporozhye. Photo: Synod.com
Christ is in our midst, my dear readers!
Great Lent for us always begins with the reading of the penitential canon of St. Andrew of Crete. Every year our Mother-Church reminds us of world history, of from whence came evil, and what is good.
God created the world good. The uniting link between the spiritual, eternal, incorrupt world and the earthly world was man. But he fell, having been stricken by sin. From that time, suffering entered the world, with sickness, death, and corruption. They struck not only man, but also everything living on earth. Only the God-Man Jesus could renew this connection, place a bridge over the abyss that appeared between Heaven and earth. Thanks to Him, each one of us can, by walking the saving path placed by our Lord Jesus Christ, enter into eternal life.
Satan well knows this and does everything he can so that man would not only not enter the door, but not even find the road to it. His main weapon, which he traditionally uses against people, is lies and slander. One can only find the path to salvation by walking the path of truth. But the demons, through their servants on earth, do everything so that people would forget what is good and what is evil. The propaganda of world media tries to reformat the fundamental moral laws of the life of mankind. They call evil “good”, and good “evil”. But what happens when people cease to hold on to the good and struggle against evil? Life on earth becomes unbearable. This is the answer to the question of why we are experiencing the catastrophes that are now happening to us; why there is so much suffering in the world today.
Each of us participates in the grandiose universal battle between good and evil. Each of us is a warrior for divine righteousness and truth. If when looking at us, people see in us the embodiment of divine love and goodness, then we can be sure that we have not lived our lives on earth in vain. In this is the main meaning of life. This is what St. Andrew of Crete wants to bring to our attention in his canon.
