The Divine Path of Great Lent

The beginning of Great Lent resounds in the Church’s hymnography as an unexpected invitation to a life full of light. Although our minds often associate this period with the austerity of ascetic effort one of the first stichera of Vespers exhorts us:

“Let us begin the time of the Fast in light, submitting ourselves to spiritual efforts. Let us purify our soul, let us cleanse our body. Let us fast not only from food but also from every passion, delighting in the virtues of the Spirit. Abiding in these with love, may we all be made worthy to behold the all-holy Passion of Christ our God and the Holy Pascha, rejoicing spiritually.”[1]

The Great Lent is a season which, although it calls for bodily and spiritual effort on our part, remains a time of light and of the joy of the Spirit. It is a period whose ultimate purpose is the contemplation of Christ’s Passion and of His Resurrection on the third day from the tomb for our salvation. This is the goal that gives it its full spiritual meaning.

The Paradox of Luminous Asceticism

Why, if Great Lent is a time of spiritual effort, are we invited to begin it “in light”? The emphasis on repentance, on examining our sins, and on the many ascetical practices of soul and body might seem to lead the Christian believer toward a somber and dark perception of this season.

The sense of joy, light, and hope springs from the very purpose indicated by the Vespers hymn - to behold the Passion of Christ our God and the Holy Pascha - and also from partaking, along this entire path of spiritual growth, in the gifts of the Spirit that are offered to us.

The aim of the Great Lent is the encounter with Christ and with His saving deeds accomplished for our restoration and salvation. The luminous spirit to which we are called arises from the awareness that throughout this journey we are accompanied by the Holy Spirit and His gifts, through which we rebuild our inner person according to the image and likeness of God, while at the same time restoring our human and social relationships, the very fabric of society. All these require a firm foundation: faith in God and in His word, together with the living and present work of His divine grace, eternally active in us and in the world.

Rebuilding the Human Inner Architecture through the Word of God Present in Holy Scripture and Inspired Tradition

The sense of rebuilding our inner architecture, of renewing personal and social relationships, and of rediscovering the divine context of human life is revealed in the readings of the Old Testament (the Paremiæ) at Vespers during the first week.

First, the Book of Genesis takes us back to the roots of creation, reminding us of the order and beauty of the world that came forth from the Creator’s hand. It is the mirror in which we behold what we have lost through sin and what we are called to regain: a paradise of blameless dwelling.

In addition, the Book of Proverbs provides the moral foundation, emphasizing that: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother; for they will be a graceful wreath on your head and chains about your neck.”[2]

Within the order of Great Lent, asceticism is interwoven with practical wisdom, teaching us that obedience to the divine word is like a “wreath upon the head” and a “chain around the neck,” granting us the discernment needed to distinguish good from evil.

We are urged to heed all that is inspired and beneficial from the accumulated human experience throughout time, which helps us discern what is truly profitable:

“My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path.”[3]

The period of Great Lent, together with the ascetic effort that accompanies it, becomes a source of wisdom and divine order for the human person. Human effort and divine grace meet here: man seeks, and God grants; man opens himself, and God protects and preserves. The fruit of this synergy is moral and spiritual discernment. Thus, wisdom does not remain theoretical, but becomes a way of life, a secure path under God’s protection.

From Spiritual Effort and Deprivation to Fullness

Although fasting may appear as a deprivation of many things that give pleasure, it has a purpose: to make room for spiritual gifts, for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which become more manifest in our lives as we are cleansed of passions and sins.

As the mind and heart are emptied of passionate, impure, or merely material thoughts that hinder the contemplation of God and the work of the Holy Spirit within us, they are filled with the radiance of divine light. They receive ever more gifts from above, transforming the life of the one who receives them into a living participation in the divine life. The Christian life thus continues its ever-deepening movement from the image of God toward His likeness.

This transformation is best summarized in the prayer of Saint Ephrem the Syrian, which accompanies us throughout the Great Lent. It is not merely a plea for forgiveness, but a program of life: the rejection of the spirit of sloth and pride in order to receive instead the spirit of purity, patience, and love.

The Prayer of Saint Ephrem says: “O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Your servant. Yes, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins and not to judge my brother, for You are blessed unto the ages of ages. Amen.”

The unceasing recitation of this prayer deepens our sense of repentance and our need for purification from sin, while also teaching us to allow ourselves to be inspired by God throughout this journey, so that we may see our lives and the lives of others with God’s eyes.

Through this constant exercise of seeing our own faults without judging our neighbor, the Great Lent ceases to be a “sad” period. It becomes a luminous path for recovering our human dignity, a journey walked hand in hand with Christ toward the unwaning light of the Resurrection.

To all - clergy and faithful - I wish a blessed Great Lent and abundant spiritual growth!

† Ioan Casian

Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Canada

Feast of Saint Archippus the Apostle

February 19, 2026

____________________

[1] The Stichera of Saint Theodore at Sunday Vespers

[2] Proverbs 1, 7-9

[3] Proverbs 2, 1-9