The Holy Martyrs Eutropius, Cleonicus, and Basiliscus.
Day 1 of the Great Fast. Abstention from meat, dairy, and eggs, and foods that contain these ingredients. According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.
Sixth Hour – Isaiah 1:1-20: Vespers – Genesis 1:1-13; Proverbs 1:1-20.
Read Proverbs 1:1-20
We begin Great Lent today—this wonderful time of renewal. Part of the genius of the lectionary during Lent is that we hear from Proverbs every day. We hear from divinely-inspired wisdom which endless lessons for life.
So what is wisdom? How do we get it? One could say it comes from learning from mistakes, one could say it comes from patient and humble listening, one could say it comes from careful and thoughtful reasoning about life. These are all true. However, the beginning of the book of Wisdom reveals the ultimate source of wisdom:
“The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.”
In order to be wise, one must fear the Lord. One must bow down and worship and revere His awesome majesty acknowledging His power and authority over all creation. One must humble and submit himself before the creator of the universe.
Without this, one cannot be truly wise and have proper understanding and judgment.
The prayer of St Ephrem which we pray so much during Lent is an exercise in humility: O Lord, and Master of my life…. If this first line of the prayer and the prostrations that go along with it become the default state of our hearts, we will be near the fear of God and true wisdom.