Archbishop Elpidophoros of America officiated a forgiveness vespers at St. Catherine’s Church in Elk Grove, California, on Sunday, February 26.
In his Homily, the archpriest called on the faithful to look deep into their heart. He explained that the Great Lent is aimed at letting people realize their ultimate dependence on God and one another, Orthodox Times reports.
“On this evening, when entering upon our journey of Great Lent, I would ask each and every one of you to look as deeply as possible into your hearts. Search out your motivations, and set an intention for these next Forty Days. Each of us has been blessed by God and received grace to travel through Lent, but our destination may not be as obvious as you might think. We do not go through these days of abstinence in order to fulfill some requirement to partake of Holy Week and Pascha. As the priest prays at every Divine Liturgy: Οὐδεὶς ἄξιος… No one is ever worthy,” Elpidophoros said.
He underlined that Fasting does not so much prepare us to receive, as it prepares us to give. To give of ourselves to our Creator and God, and to give to one another the ineffably precious gifts of love, compassion, mercy and forgiveness.
Offering pardon to others is difficult; accepting it from others, though, is oftentimes even harder, the hierarch noted. Because we do not normally see ourselves as needing forgiveness. And this is a great mistake that robs us of the potency of this service and others like it.
“If we examine our hearts with any degree of honesty and integrity, we will acknowledge our need to receive not only God’s forgiveness, but forgiveness from our fellow human beings as well. Sometimes, though, we may not have the opportunity to seek out that forgiveness for various reasons – either the person has moved far away, or they have passed on. Regardless, though, we can still set the intention to receive and to give the very first thing that our Lord uttered from the Cross of his ineffable sacrifice: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” Elpidophoros said.
Concluding his spiritual reflections, he said it is love that seeks forgiveness, and it is love that forgives, while the task people are facing is to forgive and accept forgiveness – from one another and from God.
The hierarch wished that this Great Lent be “a journey of love for all of you, as well as a path to forgiveness of yourselves and of others. So that you may know the gentleness and peace of God’s forgiveness, and walk in the newness of life, as you travel toward Holy Pascha, and the inevitable and much-desired encounter with the Lord in eternity.”
