3rd Day of 8 day Fast

3rd Day of 8 day Fast

Vishudha Grantha Vayanakurup (JSC 2017) suggests the readings for Ma'altho Evening: St. Luke 2: 22- 35 Morning: St. Luke 2:22-35 Before Holy Qurbana: Leviticus 12:1-8, 22:17-23 II Samuel 5:1-6, 17-21 Isaiah 10:33-11:10 Holy Qurbana: Acts 24:10-23 Ephesians 3: 13-21 St. Luke 2: 36-40 Today's Gospel pericope is the narrative of Prophetess St. Anna meeting the Christ-child and His parents in the Temple at the Presentation. St. Luke writes that Anna had been widowed seven years into her marriage, and then never remarried. We learn that for 84 years, "she never left the temple, but served day and night in fasting and prayer." The 8-day fast is often undertaken by wives for the health, protection, and material prosperity of her husband. As two are united in one flesh in the Mystery of Holy Matrimony, often there is a mistaken tendency in some cultures for the independent identity of a woman to become subsumed into that of her husband. From adjustments in prayer rule, to frequency in church attendance, marriage presents both the opportunity to grow stronger in faith together; but may also be a stumbling block if spiritual growth is not prioritized due to being with an unequally yoked partner. In the unfortunate circumstance wherein a wife becomes widowed, it can be challenging to reorient oneself mentally, socially, but likewise spiritually. With widowhood comes much struggle, but in bearing this painful cross, one also finds renewed hope and a chance to seek Christ more intimately. The great western exegete St. Jerome in a letter comforting a widow, praises the steadfastly faithful life of St. Anna, as a model for widows, "Do we wish to know what widows ought to be? Let us read the gospel according to Luke. There was one Anna, he says, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Aser. The meaning of the name Anna is grace. Phanuel is in our tongue the face of God. Aser may be translated either as blessedness or as wealth. From her youth up to the age of fourscore and four years she had borne the burden of widowhood, not departing from the temple and giving herself to fastings and prayers night and day; therefore she earned spiritual grace, received the title 'daughter of the face of God,' and obtained a share in the 'blessedness and wealth' which belonged to her ancestry." (Letter 54 to Furia the Widow) Today, as you meditate on the steadfastness of two widows St. Anna and St. Mary, pray for widows who are struggling in silence to pick up this new cross and walk with Christ. May St. Mary's intercession be with them on this new path, a journey so different than what they had experienced for decades prior.