In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
My dear ones, once again this year, we hear that remarkable hymn, familiar to all who have lived a church-centered life for at least a year or two: “Open to me the doors of repentance, O Giver of Life.” This hymn marks a stage in the church year known as Great Lent. Great means significant, vast—it is a time that prepares us for the Feast of Feasts: Pascha.
Yet Pascha is the goal of our journey, and every journey has both a beginning and a path. And so, the Church, like a loving mother, invites us to begin this path with repentance, with self-examination—looking at our lives and at our hearts. Of course, we should always be mindful of this, but sometimes, it is necessary to take a particularly deep and focused look within. It is no coincidence that, according to tradition, most of the lights in the church are dimmed during the singing of this hymn. This is not just a symbol of the darkness in which our soul is immersed without God—it also helps us focus, preventing distractions from what we see around us, allowing us to concentrate on our hearts and souls.
The hymn begins as a prayer: “Open to me the doors of repentance”—a plea for entry into a new state, into a certain spiritual reality that we can fully embrace only with God’s help. While this journey requires our desire and determination, we inevitably ask the Lord to strengthen and uphold us in this endeavor.
Then, the hymn speaks of the state of our bodies: “My body carries the whole stain of impurity.” Our bodies are meant to be temples of the Holy Spirit. Every person bears within them the image and likeness of God, which define our very being. Everything else in a human—biological processes, instincts—is common to all of creation. But it is precisely the divine image and likeness, the grace of the Holy Spirit given to us in baptism, that sets us apart from the rest of the world.
Sacred Scripture speaks of humanity as rulers of creation, as those for whom everything else was made. Humanity is the centerpiece of God’s plan in the created world. The hymn also mentions that our spirit yearns for the temple: “My spirit rises early to Your holy temple.” The human spirit, renewed in Holy Baptism, is drawn to the temple, to the Church, where we receive guidance, where it is easier to gather our inner selves, and where we bear witness to our faith. By participating in the life of the Church, we take part in the salvation of the world—the very mission for which Christ came, was incarnate, lived among us, suffered, died, and offered Himself as a sacrifice for the redemption of our sins. We share in this work of salvation only if we understand that the Church is not merely an architectural or historical monument, but the place where we fulfill our Christian calling.
The hymn then reminds us that we have darkened our souls, staining them with countless sins, distancing them from the state in which they should be. Particularly striking is the line “I have defiled my soul with sins.” The Church Slavonic word “окалях” (defiled) derives from a term referring to human waste—showing how grievously we have soiled our souls. The natural reaction of a person who realizes this should be horror at what they have done to the immortal gift given by God.
Yet, as always in the Christian worldview, the recognition of our deep fall is immediately met with the reminder of God’s boundless mercy. The Lord still accepts us, through the prayers of the Most Pure Mother and through His own great compassion. We place our hope in God’s merciful love. Here, two fundamental truths come together:
A deep awareness of our unworthiness
The unwavering confidence in God’s love for us
This balance is crucial—so that the awareness of our sinfulness does not lead to despair and spiritual paralysis. Instead, the Church immediately reminds us that the Lord loves us, that the Mother of God and the saints stand with us, supporting us. They help us, so that even in recognizing the depth of our fall, we never lose hope but always remember God’s love.
Thus, Great Lent opens before us a wondrous path. For several weeks—until the fifth week of Lent—we will continue to hear this hymn at Vespers. We will be called again and again to look into our souls, responding to this call so that the Lenten hymn is not just an emotional experience but bears the true fruits of repentance.
Every year and every day of our lives is, in essence, a step toward the Kingdom of God. At the same time, it is also a step toward the end of our earthly journey. Naturally, we look forward to spring and summer, to new experiences and events, but we must not forget that every new spring brings us closer to the end of life, which will come to each of us in its time.
As believers, as Christians, we should not merely fear this but rather anticipate it—as a meeting with the Lord, as the completion of our journey, as the culmination of our work in this world. However, this work must truly be accomplished—we must not waste our time in laziness and idleness, as today’s hymn also warns us. One of the greatest and most common sins is spiritual and physical sloth—when we know what we should do, yet we waste our time on trivial distractions.
May the Lord bless us in this upcoming time—both the preparatory weeks and the weeks of Great Lent. Let us remember that fasting is not just abstaining from certain foods. And let me emphasize this: dietary fasting must always be observed according to one’s health condition. No one should be frightened by the thought of difficult days that might harm their health. We will discuss this further, but each person should choose a level of fasting appropriate to their condition—one that allows them to experience this time as a voluntary act of self-restraint, a time dedicated fully to God.
May the Lord bless us in this season, so that it truly becomes another step forward in our spiritual growth, in our understanding of the depth and vastness of divine love—a love directed toward each of us and to the whole world.
May the Lord keep you all. Amen.
The Word of Father Alexander Borisov
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