Dear Friends,

Today we find ourselves in the period of Great Lent. Lent is a time for us to take a step back and look at our lives. It is a time for reflection and self-examination. It is a time to focus as we go on a journey in preparation for the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ - Holy Easter.

Today is the Second Sunday of Lent, commonly called the Sunday of the Expulsion. The hymns from the Morning Service recount how Adam and Eve, after disobeying God’s command, were exiled from the Garden of Eden. The act of disobedience caused a separation between God and mankind. It was this separation that necessitated Christ’s coming into the world. The Son of God came to us and became like us in order to heal the wound of our separation and to close the gap between us and our Creator.

During Lent the separation between God and us is symbolized by the closed curtain in front of the Holy Altar. The use of black cloth to cover the Lenten altar and the Holy Gospel impresses upon us the sadness of this condition of separation and reminds us of our need for repentance and for God’s presence in our lives..

With blessings,
Rev. Fr. Sahak M. Kaishian
Interim Pastor
March 1, 2009