Our Venerable Father Anthony of the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev (1073); Forty-Five Martyrs of Nicopolis in Armenia (321-3); Holy Brothers Francis, Mutius and Raphael and Those with Them, Martyred in Damascus (1860)
Galatians 5:22-6:2; Luke 6:17-23
Polyeleos Feast. Abstinence from meat and foods that contain meat.
Read Galatians 5:22-6:2
Paul contrasts the way of the spirit with the way of lawlessness. These gifts of the spirit seem vague, but we receive them in a very specific manner, by crucifying ourselves with Christ. Paul goes on to explain what this looks like in a very specific way: bearing each other’s burdens. This fulfils the law of Christ. In acts of bearing each other’s burdens, how clearly are the fruits of the spirit made manifest. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Paul is excellent at giving flesh to abstract virtues. The key is the cross of Christ. It requires us to put our skin in the game. Maximus the Confessor speaks of four incarnations: Christ revealed in Scripture, the Cosmos, and in his earthly sojourn. He also concludes that Christ is incarnate in the souls of the sanctified who persevere in virtue. The gifts of the spirit reveal Christ in us and they are acquired through our Christ-like action. Bearing each other’s burden puts us in the place of Simon of Cyrene. Gregory the Theologian invites us to imitate him not in a Good Friday homily, but in his paschal oration! This means if we don’t carry each other’s burdens now, how are we to enjoy the glory of Christ’s resurrection?