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FEBRUARY 18<br />
SURRENDERING TO HER HELP<br />
“Guide me in the paths of salvation, O Theotokos, for I have defiled my soul<br />
with shameful sins, and have wasted all my life in slothfulness, but by Your<br />
intercessions deliver me from all uncleanness.” (Second half of Byzantine<br />
Lenten Prayer, “Open Unto Me the Doors of Repentance”)<br />
And so, just before we begin the great journey of Lent, I ask for help.<br />
Because all sorts of unwanted junk or “uncleanness” has accumulated in<br />
my spiritual “house.” As we sing in this prayer, I have “defiled” my soul,<br />
which literally means “trampled on” it (from the Old French “defouler,” to<br />
trample on). Today I surrender it all, letting go of what’s been hoarded<br />
or tucked away. But I don’t do it on my own, asking for the help of the<br />
Theotokos, and indeed of the entire Church, of which She is not “only” the<br />
symbol, but the grace-filled, willing and caring Birth-Giver.<br />
Help is on offer today, also in the Rite of Forgiveness, as we grant and<br />
receive forgiveness from one another, empowering one another for the<br />
upcoming journey. Let me reach out today by suiting up, showing up, and<br />
entering into the communal “house-cleaning” of mutual forgiveness. I<br />
also ask forgiveness of anyone reading this, my beloved zillions. May we<br />
all be “guided in the paths of salvation,” be it quickly or slowly, as we open<br />
up and let ourselves be nudged in the right direction, by an ever-caring<br />
Mother.<br />
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