5th Sunday of Lent - Fr. Michael Margitich

Glory be to Jesus Christ. Glory be to Christ.

I want to begin with a hymn which we heard last

evening. Once you were defiled with every impurity.

But through repentance, you have become a bride

of Christ. You have cast down the demons with

the weapons of the cross. Therefore, O glorious

Mother Mary, you have been made a bride of the

kingdom. It is with such incredible words of

praise that the church honors and extols a woman

known as Mary of Egypt. The icon of Fresca of

her and Zosima is at my right in front of the

And what a wonderful place it is to go. Each

year, the fifth Sunday of Lent is dedicated to

the life and memory of her. She lived in the

5th century. The interesting and intriguing question

that arises is why the church on this 5th Sunday

of Lent presents to us a life of a woman. Who

was so completely at odds with the basic teachings

of our Lord. Think about that for a second. Why

would the church call us to remember her? To

remember a woman who was committed in pursuing

a life dedicated to debauchery. Why? Well, I'm

glad you asked. Because there are very good reasons

why. First, her life reveals An incredible story.

It reads like a riveting novel. Thursday when

the chanter was reading her life, I took a chair

and placed it and sat on it and focused my eyes

on that fresco. And it was as if there were moving

scenes. Because her life was so involved. She

was a woman endowed with beauty, who cultivated

fashionable friends, in quotes. She was a woman

who lived in luxury, totally committed to the

world. In a word, my dear people, she was a harlot.

A pleasure -seeking and misguided lover. Her

way clearly reveals how one could stray. And

drift from God. And you know, my dear people,

it's always a matter of drifting and straying.

But the God of mercy, the God of love, the God

of wonder would not let her be strangled by the

demonic powers. He knocked at the door of her

life. And as Christ sought Zacchaeus, as he sought

the Samaritan woman and the prodigal son, so

he reached out to her, a lost soul. But let me

continue. On one occasion, Mary decided to go

to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage with a group of

people to celebrate the great feast day of the

Elevation of the Cross. for her an occasion to

pray and to grow spiritually. She made the trip

as an opportunity to collaborate with those who

promoted her special trade. And something unusual

happened. Because when she came to the narthex,

to the door of the church, she wanted to enter

in like the other pilgrims were going. But some

unseen power prevented her from entering. And

it was on three occasions she desperately sought

to go in. And as she stood there dumbfoundedly,

her eyes suddenly focused on the icon of the

Blessed Virgin. And in that moment, in that revealing,

shaken moment, She was awestruck. She realized

at that moment her spiritual fearfulness, her

emptiness, her futility of life prevented her

of entering. But looking at the icon of the Blessed

Mother, the beauty and holiness, Of the Theotokos.

Pierced her heart. It was after that moment.

That she saw the cross. In that moment she realized.

How far she had strayed from. From God. And so

she resolved. To abandon. Her disgusting life.

and undertake an ascetic life. She resolved to

go into the wilderness, into that barren environment

where she remained for some 40 plus years. That

took persistence. It took determination. It took

strong, unfailing faith. For 40 years, she sought

spiritual healing and purification. And in my

younger days, I thought it took just a couple

days. And isn't it true with all of us? We tend

to justify and rationalize our actions. And we

say, well, the Lord will understand. Surely he

does. But my dear people, her struggle did not

end without a profound confrontation with her

inner being. And in relating her life to the

monk Zosimas, this is what she said. Father,

for the first 17 years in the wilderness, I struggled

with my deranged passions as though with wild

beasts. What a picture of the demonic powers.

You know, throughout her struggles, and she did

it heroically. She did it in faith. And by the

grace of God, with determination and perseverance,

she freed herself from her spiritual illusion

and delusion. She conquered the demonic powers.

And here's where I want to inject and emphasize

for all of us. The important thing to note is

that no matter what sins we might have gotten

involved into, no matter how much control the

world seeks, or how much we have permitted the

world to injure into our soul. No matter what

temptations, no matter how helpless we might

think we are, with God's mercy and grace, we

can overcome. The Bible teaches, with God all

things are possible like st. Paul on his way

to Damascus when he had a revelation of the burning

light of Christ so too This woman of sin admitted

her guilt, sought penance, and ascended on the

ladder of spirituality. Why do we remember her

and extol her? Because she is an image, an example

of what St. Paul said, to fight the good fight.

And you can't do it by sitting down. It takes

effort. It takes struggle. Because our arch enemy,

Satan, is constantly creating for us all sorts

of difficulties, problems. And detours. By virtue

of her faith. And again I say that. By virtue

of her faith. Her prayers. Her repentance. She

succeeded. And there's one other thing that I

heard. Which is contrary. to Orthodox doctrine

and teaching. I've heard it said on a number

of occasions that she succeeded in achieving

spiritual victory because she was destined to

be a saint. But we're not Calvinists, my dear

people. No one is destined. We have free will.

We have the opportunity to do what Christ calls

us to do. We are called on not to be helpless

creatures, but rather to be, we have the potentiality

of becoming saints. Each one of us. Each one

of us is called to live in Christ, to be partakers

of divine nature, to be the temples of the Holy

Spirit, to be sons and daughters of the living

God, so that others, seeing your good works,

will be led to glorify God. This is our calling,

my dear people. This is our destiny. This is

our vocation. But there's another part of this

equation. Jesus said, be perfect as your Father

is in heaven. Well, we know that perfection is

practically unattainable, but... We can do it.

Not on our own. That's what she realized after

profound ascetic struggles for years and years.

Jesus said, without me, ye can do nothing. Without

me, ye can do nothing. He who abides in me and

I in him bears much fruit. Why do we recognize

her as a saint? Because she is an image of repentance.

She is a great source of encouragement. Let us

not delay. Holy Week is coming. And let us not

delay in responding to every good and God -pleasing

desire that enters our hearts. Jesus said, if

you open the door, I will come in and sup with

you. But you've got to open the door. Let us

take this encouragement, renew our efforts, and

with God's grace and mercy and love, we will

achieve what she exemplified and fulfilled. She

took Christ's message. Literally. Repent, for

the kingdom of God is at hand. And she repented,

and the Lord rewarded her with the crown of glory

and honor. And these are the very same goals

that you and I strive to attain, not only during

Lent. but for life. To him be glory and honor.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy

Spirit.