Glory be to Jesus Christ. Glory be to Christ.
I want to begin with a hymn which we heard last
evening. Once you were defiled with every impurity.
But through repentance, you have become a bride
of Christ. You have cast down the demons with
the weapons of the cross. Therefore, O glorious
Mother Mary, you have been made a bride of the
kingdom. It is with such incredible words of
praise that the church honors and extols a woman
known as Mary of Egypt. The icon of Fresca of
her and Zosima is at my right in front of the
And what a wonderful place it is to go. Each
year, the fifth Sunday of Lent is dedicated to
the life and memory of her. She lived in the
5th century. The interesting and intriguing question
that arises is why the church on this 5th Sunday
of Lent presents to us a life of a woman. Who
was so completely at odds with the basic teachings
of our Lord. Think about that for a second. Why
would the church call us to remember her? To
remember a woman who was committed in pursuing
a life dedicated to debauchery. Why? Well, I'm
glad you asked. Because there are very good reasons
why. First, her life reveals An incredible story.
It reads like a riveting novel. Thursday when
the chanter was reading her life, I took a chair
and placed it and sat on it and focused my eyes
on that fresco. And it was as if there were moving
scenes. Because her life was so involved. She
was a woman endowed with beauty, who cultivated
fashionable friends, in quotes. She was a woman
who lived in luxury, totally committed to the
world. In a word, my dear people, she was a harlot.
A pleasure -seeking and misguided lover. Her
way clearly reveals how one could stray. And
drift from God. And you know, my dear people,
it's always a matter of drifting and straying.
But the God of mercy, the God of love, the God
of wonder would not let her be strangled by the
demonic powers. He knocked at the door of her
life. And as Christ sought Zacchaeus, as he sought
the Samaritan woman and the prodigal son, so
he reached out to her, a lost soul. But let me
continue. On one occasion, Mary decided to go
to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage with a group of
people to celebrate the great feast day of the
Elevation of the Cross. for her an occasion to
pray and to grow spiritually. She made the trip
as an opportunity to collaborate with those who
promoted her special trade. And something unusual
happened. Because when she came to the narthex,
to the door of the church, she wanted to enter
in like the other pilgrims were going. But some
unseen power prevented her from entering. And
it was on three occasions she desperately sought
to go in. And as she stood there dumbfoundedly,
her eyes suddenly focused on the icon of the
Blessed Virgin. And in that moment, in that revealing,
shaken moment, She was awestruck. She realized
at that moment her spiritual fearfulness, her
emptiness, her futility of life prevented her
of entering. But looking at the icon of the Blessed
Mother, the beauty and holiness, Of the Theotokos.
Pierced her heart. It was after that moment.
That she saw the cross. In that moment she realized.
How far she had strayed from. From God. And so
she resolved. To abandon. Her disgusting life.
and undertake an ascetic life. She resolved to
go into the wilderness, into that barren environment
where she remained for some 40 plus years. That
took persistence. It took determination. It took
strong, unfailing faith. For 40 years, she sought
spiritual healing and purification. And in my
younger days, I thought it took just a couple
days. And isn't it true with all of us? We tend
to justify and rationalize our actions. And we
say, well, the Lord will understand. Surely he
does. But my dear people, her struggle did not
end without a profound confrontation with her
inner being. And in relating her life to the
monk Zosimas, this is what she said. Father,
for the first 17 years in the wilderness, I struggled
with my deranged passions as though with wild
beasts. What a picture of the demonic powers.
You know, throughout her struggles, and she did
it heroically. She did it in faith. And by the
grace of God, with determination and perseverance,
she freed herself from her spiritual illusion
and delusion. She conquered the demonic powers.
And here's where I want to inject and emphasize
for all of us. The important thing to note is
that no matter what sins we might have gotten
involved into, no matter how much control the
world seeks, or how much we have permitted the
world to injure into our soul. No matter what
temptations, no matter how helpless we might
think we are, with God's mercy and grace, we
can overcome. The Bible teaches, with God all
things are possible like st. Paul on his way
to Damascus when he had a revelation of the burning
light of Christ so too This woman of sin admitted
her guilt, sought penance, and ascended on the
ladder of spirituality. Why do we remember her
and extol her? Because she is an image, an example
of what St. Paul said, to fight the good fight.
And you can't do it by sitting down. It takes
effort. It takes struggle. Because our arch enemy,
Satan, is constantly creating for us all sorts
of difficulties, problems. And detours. By virtue
of her faith. And again I say that. By virtue
of her faith. Her prayers. Her repentance. She
succeeded. And there's one other thing that I
heard. Which is contrary. to Orthodox doctrine
and teaching. I've heard it said on a number
of occasions that she succeeded in achieving
spiritual victory because she was destined to
be a saint. But we're not Calvinists, my dear
people. No one is destined. We have free will.
We have the opportunity to do what Christ calls
us to do. We are called on not to be helpless
creatures, but rather to be, we have the potentiality
of becoming saints. Each one of us. Each one
of us is called to live in Christ, to be partakers
of divine nature, to be the temples of the Holy
Spirit, to be sons and daughters of the living
God, so that others, seeing your good works,
will be led to glorify God. This is our calling,
my dear people. This is our destiny. This is
our vocation. But there's another part of this
equation. Jesus said, be perfect as your Father
is in heaven. Well, we know that perfection is
practically unattainable, but... We can do it.
Not on our own. That's what she realized after
profound ascetic struggles for years and years.
Jesus said, without me, ye can do nothing. Without
me, ye can do nothing. He who abides in me and
I in him bears much fruit. Why do we recognize
her as a saint? Because she is an image of repentance.
She is a great source of encouragement. Let us
not delay. Holy Week is coming. And let us not
delay in responding to every good and God -pleasing
desire that enters our hearts. Jesus said, if
you open the door, I will come in and sup with
you. But you've got to open the door. Let us
take this encouragement, renew our efforts, and
with God's grace and mercy and love, we will
achieve what she exemplified and fulfilled. She
took Christ's message. Literally. Repent, for
the kingdom of God is at hand. And she repented,
and the Lord rewarded her with the crown of glory
and honor. And these are the very same goals
that you and I strive to attain, not only during
Lent. but for life. To him be glory and honor.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit.