Our Venerable Father Benedict of Nursia (547) Great Fast Day 23.
According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.
Sixth Hour – Isaiah 25:1-9; Vespers – Genesis 9:8-17; Proverbs 12:8-22.
Read Genesis 9:8-17
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
After God cleansed the earth of all the filthy evil and sin, which had corrupted humanity, He was ready to restart the human race anew. He begins anew with Noah, the faithful one, and his family. This time God makes a covenant—a binding contractual relationship—with all of humanity. Humanity can be assured that it will never be wiped out this way again. God promises that this level if human perversion will not be able to happen again. First, God shortens the human lifespan to 120 years of life. Evil can no longer corrupt and destroy humanity through a single person for a long period of time like it had done before. In other words, the time that we have on this earth where we are capable of committing evil has been shortened. Second, the bow in the sky is a symbol and reminder of not only the covenantal promise God makes, but that now He has put down his weapon and is pointing the bow toward Himself. The bow is a symbol of the coming life-giving self-sacrifice of God’s Son on the cross. God will take all our evil into Himself. Through the crucified Saviour we not only have a way for atonement and salvation, but Jesus also becomes a source of healing that cancerous evil within us. Through Christ we now have a way to overcome temptation and evil. He becomes a source of healing for our broken human nature. As we continue the week of the Cross in the middle of this Lenten season we say to our Lord: Glory to Your life-giving Passion, O Lover of humankind.