Dear Faithful of the Church of Our Lady of Kazan,
Great Lent calls us to reorient our lives toward Christ: to manifest His love and mercy, and to walk in the Spirit, setting aside the distractions and passions that lead us astray, as Saint Paul teaches in Galatians 5:16–26. The spiritual disciplines of the season—fasting, penitential prayer, and almsgiving—are not ends in themselves. They are the tools by which our hearts of stone are softened, so that we may fulfill the Lord’s commandment: “that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12).
This coming Monday we enter Great Lent—a season of preparation for the annual commemoration of our Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection. The Church invites us into these forty days not as a burden, but as a sacred opportunity to return to the life to which we were called in baptism.
During Great Lent, we gather more frequently as a community in worship, drawing strength from one another as we face the spiritual challenges of the season. The Church often calls this time “a school of repentance,” a truth reflected in the prayers and hymns of the Great Canon of St. Andrew, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, and the other Lenten services that shape our hearts toward humility and renewal.
It is also during this season that Orthodox Christians are especially encouraged to express repentance and forgiveness through the sacrament of confession. Private confessions may be heard before and after Great Vespers on Saturday evenings, or by appointment.
As we begin this holy journey, let us open our hearts and minds to the work of the Holy Spirit, so that we may be filled with His gifts and prepared to celebrate the Lord’s resurrection with renewed joy, hope, and love.
In Christ,
The Reverend Paul Hunchak
