Our Venerable Father Auxentius (457-74). Venerable Maron the Wonderworker and Hermit.
Great Fast Day 3. Feast of St. Cyril transferred to February 17 this year. Abstention from meat and foods that contain meat. According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.
Sixth Hour – Isaiah 2:3-11. Presanctified – Genesis 1:24-2:3. Proverbs 2:1-22.
Read Isaiah 2:3-11
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
On this third day of the Great Fast, it is helpful to remember that this fast was not only used as a time of spiritual preparation for Holy Week and Pascha but also as a time of preparation for catechumens to become initiated into the Church. A catechumen is a learner, someone who is being instructed in matters of the faith. When a catechumen was in the final stages of preparation for baptism, as candidates for baptism they were known as “photizomenoi,” which means “ones who are being enlightened.” Traditionally, these forty days of fasting were also a time of intense instruction to prepare photizomenoi for their upcoming baptism, whether on Lazarus Saturday or at the Paschal Vigil on Holy Saturday.
When we attend the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, after the first Old Testament reading and second prokeimenon, the priest traces the sign of the cross while holding the censer and a lighted candle, blessing everyone and exclaiming: “The Light of Christ illumines all.” This blessing with the candle has come to be associated with the photizomenoi and with our “enlightenment” as baptized Christians.
In today’s reading from the prophet Isaiah, we hear the exhortation: “O now, house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord” (Is. 2:5). Many centuries later, Jesus declared to us, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12). By our faith in Christ, our spiritual eyes are opened; we are provided with light so we can see. We do not live our lives as if we were lost, stumbling about in the darkness. Jesus provides us with understanding so that we will recognize the path we should walk, following after Him. St. Paul tells the Ephesians, “For you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8). Jesus, the Light of the World, also tell us: “You are the light of the world . . . Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mt. 5:14, 16). As we begin the Great Fast, let us remember to pray for all who are preparing for baptism in the upcoming weeks. Although we are “the light of the world,” let us remember that it is “the Light of Christ” which illumines all of us. Let us allow His light to shine through us for others.