The bishops of the U.S. Ukrainian Eparchies have drawn attention to the biblical figure of Zacchaeus, whose gospel narrative we just heard, as the figure we ought to follow in our preparations for Great Lent. One of the key points the bishops raise is really the last sentence of the pastoral letter when Jesus says to Zacchaeus –and He says to us– “Today salvation has come to this house.” Do we know, from personal experience, and not from an abstraction that TODAY the Lord is indeed in our house, that is, in our person???

The bishops of have given us a pastoral letter that opens up the relevant matters in the spiritual life: conversion to Jesus Christ and life in the Body of Christ (the Church). They write, “This is why the Church, in her wisdom, offers us the gift of the holy forty days of Great Lent each year before the celebration of Our Lord’s Passion and Resurrection, as a divine aid in attaining personal conversion.” Our thoughts, words and actions have consequences for ourselves and for the communities (family, social interactions, workplace) in which we spend time.

The bishops remind us:

 During Great Lent the Church presents us with a sure formula for achieving this goal: prayer, alms-giving and fasting.  During the time of Lent we are encouraged to be more devoted to our prayer life, through private meditation and by attending the beautiful and unique Lenten services celebrated in our parish churches.  We are also encouraged to pay special attention to our brothers and sisters around us, who may be suffering physical, emotional, or spiritual distress, and serve them in their needs.  And finally we are encouraged to fast, in order to attain humility through the taming of our physical appetites, our thoughts, our actions and especially our unruly tongue.

The sincere prayer our Shepherds “is that each of us, during this blessed time of Great Lent, may experience an encounter with Jesus and a personal conversion in Him so that we, along with Zacchaeus, would hear the voice of Jesus saying to us: ‘Today salvation has come to this house‘” (Lk. 19:9).