Christ is Risen!!!
The first Sunday after Pascha has arrived, and the Church celebrates its – Pascha’s – first commemoration this year. The eighth day of Pascha has arrived, and the Church already celebrates it – Pascha – again. Unlike the other feasts, which are celebrated only once a year, Pascha is repeated both yearly and weekly. That is exactly why in many Orthodox countries the first day of the week is inseparably connected to Pascha: in Russia it is called resurrection day, in Greece, the day of the Lord.
How great should the meaning of the resurrection of the Lord be for us if the Holy Church celebrates it every week? Obviously, we often forget the meaning of this great Feast since we pass through year after year, from Pascha to Pascha, without stopping in order to partake of the grace of the resurrection.
It is interesting to note that all the Sundays in the year make up approximately one seventh of all its days. Thus, at least partially, one seventh of the year is dedicated to the resurrection of the Lord, and if we consciously open our hearts and souls to God only on the feast of Pascha, then we receive only one fiftieth part of the gift of the Lord.
No one in his right mind will say: “Having eaten on Pascha, I will not eat until the next feast.” Each one of us eats daily for the sustenance of bodily strength. Why do we then starve our souls with spiritual hunger?
In our days, when this world mortifies our souls by the forgetfulness of God, by driving out the memory of Him by the multitude of affairs and concerns, may every Day of the Lord – Sunday, the resurrection day – be the day of our spiritual arising with Him. St. John Chrysostom says: “Christ is risen, and there are none dead in the graves…” Let not our hearts remain as sealed tombs on the days of the commemoration of the resurrection of Christ! Amen.
Priest Viatcheslav Davidenko