Our Holy Father Tarasius, Archbishop of Constantinople (806)
Great Fast Day 5. Feast of the Forerunner moved to February 25. Abstention from meat and foods that contain meat. According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.
Sixth Hour – Isaiah 3:1-14; Presanctified – Genesis 2:20-3:20; Proverbs 3:19-34; Isaiah 40:1-11; Malachi 3; Wisdom 4:7-15.
Read Genesis 2:20-3:20
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
On this first Friday of the Great Fast at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, we hear the story of the Fall of Adam and Eve.
When the serpent tempted Eve, it persuaded her to doubt God’s goodness. She knew what God had said and reported to the serpent: “We may eat the fruit from the trees of the garden; but from the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die’” (Gen. 3:2-3). In response, the serpent lied to her: “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:4-5). Falling into temptation, Adam and Eve partook of the fruit, believing the devil’s lie that they could make themselves like God by eating it.
Attempts to be like God but without God are still very much a part of the fallen human condition. In our pridefulness, we think we can do without our heavenly Father or His life-giving commandments. We try to make ourselves into whatever we wish to make ourselves to be, failing to recognize that our vocation is to become holy as God has created us to be. Let us focus on stripping ourselves of pride so that we can take an honest look at ourselves. Allow yourself to receive God’s unconditional love as His son or daughter instead of trying to make yourself into someone you are not.