The season of Great Lent, which begins on Monday in the Orthodox Church, is a “time of inner examination, of clarifying the mind and of re-placing our being within the horizon of eternity,” Metropolitan Petru of Bessarabia and Exarch of the Territories said in a pastoral message.
“Beyond the outward exercise of bodily abstinence, we are called to undertake together an ascent toward the Resurrection — a return into ourselves and a rediscovery of the original image that sin has darkened within us,” the Metropolitan explained.
The services of these days introduce the faithful to this hidden work “through a cry of the heart that gathers the entire longing of humanity: ‘Open to me the doors of repentance, O Lifegiver.’”
“This prayer summarises the entire anthropology of Lent, for man, left to his own powers, cannot raise himself from the fallen state,” Metropolitan Petru underlined.
Change of Mind and Renewal of Baptism
The Metropolitan of Bessarabia explained that metanoia — the change of mind — implies a transformation of one’s entire way of being.
“It draws us out of the logic of the old Adam, who sat before Paradise, lamenting his nakedness, and places us under the longing for restored communion with Christ, the Source of life. For only the soul that sees the nakedness of its self-sufficiency begins truly to seek God.”
Quoting St John Climacus, he recalled the saint’s teaching that repentance is the renewal of Christian Baptism, and stressed that spiritual effort must be joined with acts of mercy toward one’s neighbour.
Exhortations to Clergy and Faithful
In the final part of his message, the hierarch addressed the clergy.
“We have the responsibility to be for the faithful an image of this inner stability: steadfast, gentle, workers of peace,” Metropolitan Petru said.
He also urged the faithful to transform Lent into a concrete work of salvation: “frequent confession, receiving Communion worthily, reconciliation with one’s neighbour, and deeper prayer.”
“Let us therefore make in this Lent a good beginning of a new life in the Spirit, rediscovering the beauty of our inner image,” he added.
“Let us guard the peace of our hearts, cultivate prayer and allow ourselves to be shaped by grace, so that, passing through the struggle of the Cross, we may reach with purified hearts the unwaning joy of the Resurrection.”
Photo: Metropolis of Bessarabia
