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Lent can be a mystery to us. Even though many of us grew up marking the 40 days of Lent, we sometimes draw a blank on the holy days and services that come before Holy Week arrives. Clean Monday is the first day of Lent; this year, it falls on Feb. 27. On the night of the 27^th, we will do a brief but powerful service at St. Demetrios, called “Great Compline” (literally “night prayer”). In a slightly darker church than usual, with purple Altar cloths and vestments creating a reflective atmosphere, we will quietly remember God’s compassion and grace—we will pray for strength throughout the 40 days of Lent.

Why is this necessary? What’s at stake on this first evening of Lent? For starters, good beginnings are important. And with so much potential for good within Lent—the building up of our relationship with Christ—we want to take this particular “beginning” very seriously.

The major theme of this Lenten service is what you might expect: humility. One of the great prayers of the service reads: 

"My transgressions have multiplied, Lord.... and I am not worthy to look up and see the height of the sky from the multitude of my iniquities, being weighted down by many iron chains, so that I cannot raise my head.... And now I bend the knee of my heart, beseeching your goodness."

This prayer encourages us to look at ourselves in a spiritual mirror--and take inventory of what's there. What we like and don't like about ourselves. If we're at least somewhat honest with ourselves, we will see transgressions (ways in which we "miss the mark" in our spiritual lives) that need to be acknowledged, addressed and dealt with. This is a good, healthy humility: knowing that we "need work" and that God's "goodness" is the mainstay of our lives, helping us break the "chains" we've created in our lives.

It is good to be humble before God; the bending of the "knee of the heart" is how we begin to acknowledge that change is needed, and that we cannot do it alone. We are not independent, as attractive as that idea is to us. A wonderful hymn toward the end of the service sums up this concept in a truly moving fashion: 

"Lord of the Powers, be with us; for other helper have we not, in tribulations but you. Lord of the Powers, have mercy on us." In the end, God is our great help, and the love of family and friends is reflective--even powered by--His immense love for us. Other things in life fall away; some friends are not what they seem; some promises are broken; even our own resolve has its limits. But God's love, and the love of those inspired by Him, is eternal. 

With these thoughts in mind, we invite you to join us on Feb. 27 and create your own "good beginning" this Lent. Together, we will discover the power of humility and reflect on the need for change in our lives. Together, we will set a course for holy action.

And these things we will do with our God, the great help of us all.

In His love,

Fr. Alex