Holy Priest-Martyr Therapontus (254-59).
Apostles’ Fast
Romans 2:28-3:18. Matthew 6:31-34. 7:9-11.
Read Romans 2:28-3:18
Sometimes as a priest I’ve heard pious and well-meaning people talk about me and priests in general as if we had some special direct line to God, some extra ‘power’ and that this is a result of our ordination and our prominent role in the Church’s worship.
It is true that our ordination grants us the right and responsibility to preside at the Liturgy, to call down the Holy Spirit upon the Gifts, to communicate God’s forgiveness in confession, etc… and to wear the vestments that go along with our place in the Church’s worship. All of these outward things are important, as was the circumcision in the Old Covenant. However, do I become righteous by wearing the vestments or serving the Liturgy well? Does receiving ordination make me just before God?
No. And neither do attending the Liturgy, reading or singing in Church, or even saying our prayers for any of us.
What makes us right with God is our interior disposition. What makes us right with God is a heart that is open to the Him and to His will and a life lived according to that will.
Once our hearts become open to the Lord, the external actions of our faith will become much more profitable and salvific for us. An open heart will make us more receptive to the grace that comes from these external actions and rituals of our faith. The external actions and rituals of our faith, in turn, will further soften and open our hearts to the Lord.
So pray to the Lord for a heart that is more open to Him and His will. Attend the Liturgy, say your prayers, read the scriptures with a desire to encounter the Lord in those moments. Keep this up and He will work on you and bring about your sanctification.