FEB 8: VESPERS – 4:00 PM; FEB 9: DIVINE LITURGY – 11:00 AM; AGAPE REPAST; SPANISH LITURGY – 2:00 PM.
This is the Sunday of a 3-week period prior to the commencement of Great Lent. The name for this Sunday is taken from the parable found in Luke 18:10-14. Its a story of 2 men, one a Pharisee, a diligent observer of the Law, and the other a Publican, who collects taxes. Jesus affirms in the story the Publican returned home forgiven rather than the Pharisee, because “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The parable’s theme is repentance. It signifies “renewal or to be transformed inwardly in our relationship with God and with others”; rather than self-pity or futile regret over things done in the past. The Pharisee’s pride is in the way of his desire to change his outlook; while the Publican, truly longs for a “change” and humbles himself as a sinner and knows salvation is only found in the mercy of God. This is true humility, an essential aspect of repentance.
