Saint Elia the Prophet Orthodox Church
Holy Days

February/March Holy Days

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Feast of the Annunciation

 

The glorious Feast of the Annunciation of the Mother of God is celebrated on March 25.  It was because of Mary’s yes to the Angel Gabriel that Christ was able to come among us in the flesh and lead us from the desert of “sin” to the Crucifixion and Resurrection.  On this feast we celebrate the Incarnation – the conception in Mary’s womb at the announcement of the angel and the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit.

 

Like the Gospel narrative of the Evangelist Luke (1:26-38), the Church’s Divine Services and the Icon of the Annunciation is permeated with a deep inner joy.  It is the joy of the Old Testament promise being fulfilled through the Incarnation – the coming in the flesh – of the Redeemer of the world:  Today is the beginning of our salvation and the revelation of an Eternal Mystery:  the Son of God becomes the Son of a Virgin and Gabriel announces the Good News of this grace.  Therefore, let us join him crying out to the Mother of God:  Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.

 

The JOY of this Feast is rendered so deeply in the Holy Icon.  Gabriel, the Archangel, is depicted in a swift motion: he has just descended from heaven and ‘his look is the look of a diligent servant intent on carrying out the task given him by his Master.’  His legs are wide apart as though he were running.  In his left hand he holds a staff, the symbol of a messenger.  His right hand, with a strong movement, is stretched toward the Virgin Mary – he communicates to her the glad tidings from his Master, the Mystery of the Divine Providence.

 

The Mother of God, the Theotokos, is depicted in this Icon holding yarn in her hands showing her simplicity of life as a woman of her times.  In various Icons, she is depicted in different ways:  in one Icon, she appears surprised, somewhat afraid; in another, she looks perplexed, expressing prudence, not accepting at once this our of the ordinary greeting; and still in another, she is making a gesture of acceptance and submission to the archangel’s greeting as she utters those words that will open for us the Gates of Heaven:  “Let it be done to me according to Your word”.

 

 

The Icons emphasize one or another of these moments of the event.  However, all express the fundamental meaning of the Annunciation.  The message they proclaim is that God’s will is don and a whole new reality is now made known through the servant of God, Mary, the Virgin Mother – our SALVATION has been ushered in.

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Great Lent – A Time of Renewal

 

On Monday, February 15, we begin the holy season of Great Lent.  It is a very valuable season of the Church Year and the appointed time for our spiritual renewal.  In truth, it is a Gift from God.

 

Great Lent is an excellent time to put aside all those things that make us displeasing to ourselves, to others and to God.  Someone once suggested an item called a spiritual wastebasket.  The wastebasket is a very valuable piece of equipment.  A generous use of this item is important for efficiency in an office or a home or wherever needed.  Possibly, a wise and generous use of a spiritual wastebasket could also be the secret for spiritual efficiency & blessedness.

 

Many of our lives are encumbered with things that should go into this type of wastebasket.  The Epistle to the Hebrews enjoins in this advice when it says, “We too, then, should throw off everything that hinders us, especially the sin that clings so easily, and keep running steadily in the race we have started.”  (Hebrews 12:1)

 

Past sins and errors belong in the wastebasket.  We all sin and make mistakes.  Because we are human we have erasers on pencils, correcting tapes and fluids for typewriters, and deletes on computers.  Old grudges, festering anger, old resentments, are only a few of the items we should discard.

 

St. Paul’s life is an example of past sins, errors and omissions.  We know his past and how he persecuted the early Christians and how it took the drastic action of God knocking him off his horse, and blinding him to convince him to change his life.  Because of his experience he gives us sound advice:  “All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is still to come.  I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us upwards to receive in Jesus Christ.”  (Philippians 3:13)

Great Lent is a call to repentance.  “Repentance is a second regeneration from God” says St. Isaac the Syrian, and also an incomparably great gift and grace from God Who restores that which is fallen.  So, let us repent and forgive one another.  Let us take a deep breath and pray:  Lord, help us to forgive, give us repentance that is worthy of Thy forgiveness.

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