with Fr. John Fenton
As Lent begins, beware that Satan will toy with you. Within a few days or weeks, he will urge you to believe that you’ve fasted too long, that you’ve sacrificed enough of your time, that you’ve done enough of your Lenten duty of prayer, and that you’re stretched too thin to tithe or give alms.
Satan is not alone in his toying with us. Our flesh is a co-conspirator.
In earliest times, the preparation for the Feast of our Lord’s Resurrection consisted of forty hours of prayer vigil in the church, and a strict fast from all food and drink. The vigil and fast began after the Maundy Thursday communion and concluded with the Easter celebration very early Sunday morning.
One of the most beloved Masses in the Orthodox Church is the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple. During this Mass, we hear of aged St Simeon gently taking the 40 day old Christ Child into his arms, and declaring: “Now I may depart in peace, because I have seen my Salvation.” Using imagery from the prophet Isaiah, St Simeon also declares Jesus to be the “light which illuminates the nations.”