Daily Journey Through the Great Fast With the Early ChurchSample

Baptism is the mark for thebelieversof the Lord Jesus Christ - the Sacrament of Baptism is part of the New Testament covenant that He gives to all those that believe in Him. When we sin, after becoming believers, through the Mystery of Repentance and Confession, our sins are washed away. How can we be judged then of this seal of the Holy Spirit?

St. Paul talks about this judgment in 1 Corinthians 11:28-31 saying, “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup (the Eucharist/Communion). Forhe who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.”

True repentance does not know justification to one's self, excuses, or shifting blame. True repentance is to self-examine. Pride is self-indulgence. Both with the self, where the former is to correct the wrong I see and the later is to continue to feed into the wrong. Self-examination covers three areas; my relationship with God, my relationship with others and my relationship with myself. True repentance involves admitting one's sin (as we spoke of previously of the younger prodigal son in Luke 15:18,19), remorse (as David the Prophet and King in Psalm 6:6), taking responsibility of one's behavior (as Zacchaeus the tax collector in Luke 19:8), proposing to follow the Lord and not to return back to the former life (as St. Paul in Acts 9:6), having great confidence in the acceptance and forgiveness of the Lord (as St. Peter in John 21:15), and confessing all of that to God before His stewards, the priests (as the believers in Acts 19:18).

Let us repent and confess our sins to the Lord praying and saying “I have sinned, I have sinned, O my Lord Jesus forgive me; for there is no servant without sin nor a master without forgiveness.” [Weekday Lent Gospel response]

“Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly, the angel who guards you will honour your patience.” [St. John Climacus, a 7th century monk and author of “Ladder of Divine Ascent”]