Great Lent: Our Spiritual Spring (Adult Study)

Editor's note: The following study unit, though written as a guide for a weekly discussion group during Great Lent may be started at any time during the lenten period, or used for a weekend retreat. It may also serve as the basis for individual study.)
Preparatory Remarks
Great Lent is a season of "bright sadness" - not a time of prohibitions to dread, but a real gift from the Church. The only thing negative about Great Lent would be our failure to utilize such an opportunity to come closer to God. Great Lent is a transition period: the sadness comes from our past, the brightness from our future. We cannot pass abruptly from our exile from God to an immediate and intimate enjoyment of His presence. A journey has to be made. The purpose of this study guide for a small group of adults underthe direction of a priest or a knowledgeable discussion leader is to facilitate the journey. The purpose of the journey has to be clear before one sets out, assuming that the goal or destination is already known, and one should be well acquainted with the means of travel which speed one on the journey. Misconceptions about them must be eliminated so that one can take advantage of every method of arrival. In Great Lent participation in all the spiritual disciplines is imperative, even indispensible, and it is hoped that this guide will help serve to throw some light on the meaning of our major lenten activities.
N.B. To be of any value, or even to succeed or "work" at all, the discussions presuppose that all material assigned at the previous lesson be, in fact, read by all participants. The leader must especially be familiar with the material, and formulate his own questions to stimulate discussion. The questions for discussion in the text are only minimal, and are meant to serve as examples. For the introductory lesson, since no readings will have been previously prepared by the group as a whole, the leader should prepare himself by reading the lesson's selections from Schmemann's Great Lent and Hopko's Worship, and bring the discussion from a brief consideration of personal misconceptions or mistaken impressions about Lent to a general understanding of its positive value, both for the individual and for the community of Orthodox Christians as a whole. One might consider whether the Church's diagnosis of our illnesses and her prescription of remedies iscomprehensive enough, i.e, do our major failings indeed all come under the categories of sloth, passion, or selfishness? Discuss how this might be true, and whether the antidotes might also be comprehensive and efficacious if taken and used in the correct way.
I. INTRODUCTION
"Lent" comes from the ancient English word for Spring - that time of natural rebirth which corresponds to the process of inner spiritual regeneration which every Christian should strive to experience in his preparation for celebrating the feast of Christ's resurrection. The lenten season is our "spiritual spring" (Lenten Triodion), and is a time of subdued joy, a time which the Church gives us to use as our personal and corporate opportunity to come closer to the Source of divine joy - God Himself. It is a time to purge ourselves of the distractions which weigh us down the rest of the year and prevent us from experiencing the joy that comes from being in God's continual presence. The only things which should cause us sorrow at this time are those obstacles which we ourselves place on the path to God and thus impede our journey to Him.
Reflection or discussion should center first on a consideration of those obstacles which are the same for every person: sloth (spiritual laziness or neglect), inordinate attachment or actual slavery to things of the body (passion), and selfishness. The group leader should point out that the Church suggests effective remedies for these universal illnesses through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, an opportunity for reconciliation with our brothers and sisters whom we have offended and in whom God dwells is provided by the forgiveness ritual at the Vesper Service on Forgiveness Sunday. Discuss some other obstacles which may be different for each person, and the appropriate remedies which Christ and His Church would recommend. Christ provides us in all cases with a cure if we are willing to swallow the medicine. Just as when we begin to recuperate from any serious or prolonged physical illness we feel a sense of resurgent life and joy, so it is with our spiritual recovery during Great Lent. Let us rejoice that the Church in her wisdom gives us this yearly chance for undertaking a common cure together, for if we were left on our own, we would probably never make the effort by ourselves.
Activity for first week (and successive weeks) of Lent: Attend Forgiveness Vespers, the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. No meeting during the first week of Lent, which should be devoted to attending as many of the penitential services as possible.
Readings for the next meeting:
II. REPENTANCE
The obstacles on our journey to God can only be overcome if we desire to overcome them. As we learned on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, repentance consists of returning to the Father from whom we had exiled ourselves through sin. God is eternally waiting in His Kingdom for our re-conversion to Him, for us to renounce or turn our backs on our past life which was directed toward life in this world as our highest value, rather than to its Creator and His Kingdom. Without its Author this world becomes desolate, meaningless, purposeless. The Church in her public worship brings home the meaning of repentance during the first week of Great Lent with the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete. The frequent statement that "I am the greatest sinner" is not just an exaggerated rhetorical device, but means, of course, that we as Christians should know better than to turn from the light of God to darkness, and therefore are more guilty when we do.
Analyze the structure of the Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian. Is there any connection between the negative and positive elements? Why were they singled out for special consideration? How can one combat the negative and aid the positive elements? What is the meaning of the frequent prostrations made during this prayer and lenten services?
THE PRAYER OF ST. EPHRAIM
O Lord and Master of my life! Take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power and idle talk. (Prostration)
But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant. (Prostration)
Yea, O Lord and King! Grant me to see my own transgressions and not to judge my brother, for blessed art Thou, unto ages of ages. (Prostration)
Discuss Mt. 6:14-18: "If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly father will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses." Is this the principle applied in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Mt. 18:21-35)? Is the implication that if we would be with God we must be like Him, imitating His goodness? How can we do this in all areas of our life, using Christ as our Model? Discuss the many instances when Christ forgave men their offenses. A good confession during Lent should be the culmination of our process of repentance, using the readings on confession as proper guides on what and how to confess.
Readings for the next meeting:
III. THE LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFIED GIFTS
Some understanding of the overall structure of Great Lent is necessary for full appreciation of the lenten journey. The Jews wandered forty years in the desert before entering the Promised Land. Christ prayed and fasted for forty days in the wilderness in preparation for His ministry. Accordingly, our forty day fast prepares us for the culminating events of Holy Week so that we can participate fully in the great mystery of our salvation. Yet the unusual rhythm of fast and feast is kept within the weekly structure of Great Lent, for the Saturdays and Sundays of Lent are days which call for the full eucharistic celebration, prohibited during the weekdays to remind us of our habitual alienation from God. Instead of receiving the Eucharist during the Divine Liturgy during the week, to sustain our lenten efforts, we receive Communion on Wednesday and Friday evenings in a special solemn penitential service called the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. In a sense the entire period of Great Lent is like a concentrated dose of what our whole life should be like- waiting for our Pascha, for the coming of Christ, anticipating the advent of His Kingdom and ourfulfillment in union with God. Moreover each week telescopes that whole lenten and lifelong process of fasting and feasting when it concludes with the celebration of Christ's resurrection on Sunday, the Lord's Day. The Wednesday and Friday Presanctified Liturgies condense the effort still further, and these days themselves constitute a miniature replica of Lent and of our lives when the fasting of each morning and afternoon is ended by the reception of our divine Food, Christ Himself in the Eucharist. Partaking of the Eucharist whenever possible during Great Lent gives one a foretaste of the paschal joy which sustains and inspires our lenten effort.
Explain the significance of the term "presanctified." What is the special meaning of the Saturdays of Great Lent? Why is the Divine Liturgy celebrated then? Why is the Divine Liturgy forbidden on weekdays of Great Lent?
Why do many Orthodox receive Communion only once a year? Should this be the normal practice? What should the proper attitude toward receiving the Eucharist be? How should one prepare for receiving the Eucharist at the Divine Liturgy? at the Presanctified liturgy?
Readings for the next meeting:
IV. THE MEANING OF SACRIFICE IN OUR LIVES
The cross of Christ should have a central part in our lives, and for this reason the Sunday of the Cross occurs midway through Great Lent. Through His death on the cross Christ destroyed our sinful, fallen human nature, and He rose from the dead with a perfected human nature, in complete harmony and union with God the way it was originally intended to be. To be effective for us personally, the power of the cross must enter our own lives. It does this at baptism when we die to our old self separated from God, and rise with Christ as the new Adam. Yet we repeatedly revert to the old fallen man which we allow to grow back in us, and need to destroy it again. Confession, Communion, and the yearly Great Lent are the means given by the Church to us to help eradicate all our sins and imperfections more and more effectively.
We must crucify ourselves with Christ and take up our voluntary crosses if we would become His true followers. Our ascetic effort involves self-denial forthe purpose of controlling and training our minds and bodies to perform God's will exclusively in our lives. We can't say we are serious Christians unless there is a significant amount of self-sacrifice in our lives, both as a spiritual discipline, and to serve others: "we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (1 Jn. 3:16). Bearing our cross should be a source of great joy to us, however, for it brings us closer to Christ, our divine Model, "who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb. 12:2).
Discuss Gal. 6:14 - what kinds of things does the "world" refer to?
Discuss Rom. 6:3-11. This passage expresses what happens to us at baptism; how does the ritual action of baptism show or indicate this?
Read Lk. 9:23-26 and Mt. 10:38. What does it mean to take up our cross daily? Give some examples of involuntary crosses sent to us from God to bring us closer to Him, as distinguished from the voluntary crosses we take up during Lent. What is the purpose or value of each?
How does receiving the Eucharist show forth or renew our death and resurrection with Christ?
Discuss the symbolism of Jn. 12:23-32. What does this tell us about spiritual growth?
What should making the sign of the cross and wearing crosses mean to Orthodox Christians?
Readings for the next meeting:
PERSONAL LENTEN EFFORT
"Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast" (Mt. 9:15). Christ is the spiritual Bridegroom of His Church. We fast during Great Lent to show them we have, through our sins and faults, our failings and errors, left Christ. We desire now to overcome all obstacles that we ourselves have put in the way of our reunion - especially spiritual sloth, slavery to the things of the body, and selfishness. We do this by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These are not to be considered ends in themselves, and can be dangerous if we regard them as such, but are valuable instruments to employ in our return to God, and in the reorientation of our lives toward Him. Lent is the time when we especially intensify our efforts to approach God through our minds by prayer, to detach or disentangle ourselves from worldly passions and distractions, and show our love for God by serving our brothers and sisters in whom He dwells. We do this not only by sacrificing our money for others, but our time and talents as well. We should make a special point of visiting the sick and suffering and lonely members of our family and parish during Lent.
Perhaps as a culminating activity for the rest of Great Lent some work of mercy could be done by the discussion group as a whole. Ideas from the group should be entertained, along with suggestions from the pastor. Some possibilities: visiting shut-ins of the parish, helping transport those without transportation to lenten services, making a group financial contribution for the missions in Mexico, Africa, orAlaska, orto a needy parish family, or for the starving throughout the world.
What is the value of liturgical (community) prayer? The purpose of individual private prayer? In what ways are both necessary for spiritual growth toward God and learning to do God's will?
What does it mean that "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Mt. 4:4)? Why do Orthodox Christians fast or abstain from certain types of food at various times of the year? When are they? What is the difference between the ascetical and liturgical (eucharistic) fasts? What is the purpose of each? Does the ascetical fast continue on Saturdays and Sundays? When do we perform a total fast? Are there any spiritual temptations to be overcome in fasting? How can they be overcome?
Discuss Mt. 25:31-46. In what way is it true that whatever we do or fail to do to our brothers and sisters we also do or fail to do to Christ? What is the spiritual danger we must avoid when giving alms?
What are some other ways we can change ourway of life during Great Lent? Could they be different for each person? Give examples.