Dear friends in Christ,
This is weekly newsletter #5 of the St Ignatius Parish in Belfast.
Content of this Newsletter:
- Message from Fr Dmitry: Apologies, Meatfare Week and Saturday of Souls
- Announcements
- Homily on past Sunday’s Gospel: Be Sons and Daughters of God
Message from Fr Dmitry:
Apologies, brothers and sisters, for this newsletter being late. I had a particularly busy week both at work and other church duties. Instead of the usual practice of sending the newsletter in anticipation of Sunday, this one follows after it. As a result, the homily reflects not the Gospel reading for the upcoming Sunday (Sunday of the Last Judgment), but rather the Gospel of the past Sunday (Sunday of the Prodigal Son). This pattern will continue for one more week, with the next newsletter being sent next Monday and covering the Gospel reading from the preceding Sunday. After that, we will return to the usual schedule.
This week is called Meatfare Week. We resume fasting on Wednesday and Friday, after having skipped it during the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee. This is the final week in which we eat meat before the Great Lent begins—so enjoy the meat feast while you can!
Finally, the coming Saturday is the Saturday of Souls—the day the Church has set for the universal commemoration of all departed Orthodox Christians. Although we do not have a Liturgy at our parish that day, I encourage you to remember your departed loved ones in your prayers at home. May God grant them all rest and peace. Christ is Risen!
You can read more about the meaning of the Saturday of Souls and why we pray for the departed by clicking this LINK.
Announcements:
- No Faith & Fellowship Meeting this week. We will skip our online meeting once again this week, as I traveling with my family for the half-term holidays. Please keep us in your prayers. Next online Faith & Fellowship meeting will be on Wednesday, 26th of February, 7:00 PM. After that there will be one more week without a meeting—the first week of Great Lent—but I will send a separate update about that. For now, please note that during Great Lent (starting from the second week), our meetings will move to Thursday at 7:00 PM instead of Wednesday. More details will follow.
- New Mailing List. As you may already know, we have set up a new opt-in mailing list, which you can subscribe to at https://saintignatiusbelfast.org/subscribe. If you wish to continue receiving emails from the parish, please subscribe to this new list. We will run both the old and new mailing lists for a few weeks before closing the old one. While we will gradually remove subscribers from the old list as they join the new one, you may temporarily receive some duplicate messages during this transition. If you experience any difficulties with the mailing list, please contact us at info@saintignatiusbelfast.org, and we will be happy to assist you.
Past Sunday’s Gospel Reading and Homily:
The reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke (15:11-32):
The Lord said this parable: “There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that falls to me.’ And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his belly with the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants.’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to make merry. Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'”
Homily: Be Sons and Daughters of God
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
Last Sunday was the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, the second of four preparatory Sundays before Great Lent. The previous Sunday, through the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee, Christ taught us about the importance of humility—especially when approaching Him in repentance and prayer. This week, through the parable of the Prodigal Son, He takes us deeper into the meaning of salvation and how jealousy can hinder it.
The figures of the father and the two sons in the parable are symbolic. The father represents God. The younger (prodigal) son represents a human exercising free will and choosing to separate from God—whether through the original sin of Adam and Eve, which led to their expulsion from Paradise, or any person who falls deeply into sin and becomes almost entirely estranged from God. The prodigal son’s return is an image of repentance, which is completed by God’s love. It is a clear, joyful revelation of God’s boundless mercy—He rushes to embrace the sinner, no matter how deeply they have fallen, offering love, forgiveness, and restoring communion. We want to see ourselves in the image of that younger son. And, in truth, each of us has likely been in that place at some point.
But this is only part of the story. After reconciliation, the much harder work begins: the daily struggle to avoid falling back into sin. The life of repentance, prayer, love, and obedience to God’s commandments is not easy. It is, of course, reassuring to know that if we fall into sin, there is a path to salvation and forgiveness through sincere repentance – like the prodigal son did. However, this knowledge should not encourage us to live carelessly in sin. The Holy Fathers warn against sinning in anticipation of future repentance and forgiveness. Firstly, because we do not know when God will call us from this life, and so we risk dying unrepentant. Secondly, because this attitude exploits God’s mercy and diminishes the great mystery of Confession and the Eucharist. And finally—perhaps most importantly—because it undermines our fundamental Christian calling: we are called to be holy, to gradually perfect ourselves with God’s help, and to draw ever closer to Him. If our ultimate goal is communion with God—both in this life and in eternity—why would anyone seek to live as the prodigal son?
This brings us to the second level of meaning in this parable, embodied in the elder son. His role is particularly relevant for those of us who are already within the Church and appear, outwardly, to live as “good Christians.” The elder son never leaves his father. He claims to be obedient, fulfilling his expected duties. Yet, he feels deprived of his father’s love, especially when he sees the joy his father expresses upon the prodigal son’s return. Why? Because, though he is a son by blood, he is not truly united to his father in spirit. He serves in expectation of a private reward, rather than out of love. His heart is not set on his father, but on what he believes he is owed. This is why the distinction between “mine” and “yours” appears in his words.
Superficially, the elder son seems righteous. Yet, he is not so different from his younger brother, who openly demanded his share of the inheritance. The difference is that the younger son was direct in his desire to separate from the father, while the elder son is a hypocrite—externally obedient but inwardly motivated by self-interest. When his brother returns and is welcomed with a feast, the elder son’s pride turns into jealousy, leading to anger and resentment.
Do we not sometimes behave like the elder son? We do all the “right” things — attending church, praying, fasting, even doing acts of mercy to the people around us — but when we do not receive what we desire in this life, we become frustrated with God. We think: Why, despite all my efforts, does God not reward me? Why do those who seem outwardly less faithful receive more worldly success? Worse, when people who were away from God and the Church, come to Him with newfound spiritual joy, we may feel envious instead of rejoicing with them. This jealousy does not arise because God loves us less, but because our hearts are still set on personal reward rather than true communion with God.
As we prepare for Great Lent, let us ask ourselves: Why am I doing this? Why do I fast? Why do I pray? Why do I attend church services? If our answer is, “Because I want to be with God,” then glory to God. But if it is, “Because I expect this or that in return,” then we must change — otherwise, all our efforts are futile.
Do not strive merely to be “good Christians.” Strive instead to be true sons and daughters of God. If we are His children, there is no longer mine and His, but only ours—everything belongs to Him, and He gives Himself to us entirely. We are called to unite ourselves to Him, and through Him, to one another—as members of one Body, the Holy Orthodox Church. What else do we need when we have God with us?
P.S. Here is the beautiful chant “God Be with Us” (in Arabic with English subtitles) which we sing during the Great Compline service each evening from Sunday to Thursday of Great Lent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnA1amU-R28