Holy Week, Pascha and Prayer
Fr. Andrew Maginas, April 2009 Lamplighter Message

We experience many emotions during Holy Week and Pascha. It all begins on the Saturday of Lazaros when we rejoice at the miracle of restoring life to His friend. Like the crowds that greet Jesus as He enters Jerusalem, we cry out “Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord.”

Yet, in a few days, we are saddened at His Crucifixion. And on the third day we feel the greatest possible joy at His Resurrection. It is then that we begin greeting one another with: Christ is Risen! and the response: Truly He has Risen!

In the midst of the various emotions which we feel during this sacred time there is one constant; that is prayer. We pray throughout this very special time. Listen to the admonition of St. John of Kronstadt who lived in 18th and 19th century Russia:
"Do not spare yourself, but pray earnestly, even if you have been working hard all day. Do not be negligent in prayer; address God throughout your prayer from your whole heart, for it is a duty you owe to him. Having put your hand to the plough, do not look back. If you allow yourself to pray carelessly, and not from your heart, you will not fall asleep -- if you are praying at night -- until you have wiped out your sin by tears. This is not so with everybody, of course, but only with the more perfect. Take care, then, not to put your flesh before God, and for his sake spurn bodily repose."

We rejoice at this, the celebration of celebrations. We must, however, remain alert. We must not become complacent. The time for prayer does not end with the completion of the Great Lent and Holy Week! Our obligation for prayer is a continuing one.

Our prayers continue even during this time of celebration. After the Sunday of St. Thomas, one week after Pascha, we again begin to keep Wednesday and Friday as fast days. We fast each week on Wednesday remembering our Lord`s betrayal and Friday, His Crucifixion. We continue this weekly fasting as a spiritual discipline that helps us focus our thoughts on Jesus Christ, our Savior. This also reminds us to be diligent and faithful in our prayer life.

We pray acknowledging our faults and asking the Lord to help us overcome them. No one is without fault. Anyone who says "I have done nothing wrong" is fooling himself or herself. Anyone who has sinned in thought, word, or deed needs to pray for forgiveness and strength to overcome their sins. Anyone speaking an unkind word about another must "pray earnestly," asking for the courage to overcome the sin of using another person to excuse their own lack of charity. It is indeed easy to point at another’s weaknesses or accuse another of grievous errors while pompously not seeing our own shortcomings. Use every opportunity to pray for yourself and your neighbor!

Christ has risen from the dead as He foretold, bestowing upon us eternal life and great mercy!