The Holy Fire [Sfânta Lumină]

The orthodox around the world have just celebrated Pascha again, offering to millions of fellow irreligious citizens (either baptised or not) a longer weekend, suitable for binge drinking, partying and senseless amusement.

What spiritual significance?! To most people, Pascha means no more than a suplimentary day off, thus an opportunity to ‘feel good’ like any other. Or, maybe, not to feel so good at all…

The happy few took off to various exotic holiday destinations, while many had to endure depressive family reunions, as fewer and fewer families these days are ‘little churches’ – as they should be, according to Orthodox teachings.

Instead of experiencing the joy and meaningfulness of life brought by Christ within their families, children only learn that life is all about drinking, eating and having fun.

The ‘Easter Bunny’ part may have been enjoyable, for the few children whose parents afford presents. The rest must have been a relatively unpleasant experience consisting in watching how adults ‘have fun’ – chatting senselessly between meal courses, ‘relaxing’ between a glass of drink and a cigarette…

Forced by tradition and by a rainy weekend, families stayed together, but rare where those were a genuine togetherness existed. Without being together in Christ, the reunion of empty hearts around tables full of delicacies can be but burdensome.

Instead of the Lord, most families shared their intimacy with ‘lord-television-set’, cursing the rain, although it was a real bliss for the thirsty soil that bears us all and of which we expect food.

Among the insipid ‘Happy Easter’ messages, televisions may have inserted pale references to a politically correct Christ, air some tear-jerking reportages, whilst most of the time they probably offered the usual tasteless entertainment.

That was Easter for many… While in churches was the real Pascha, and especially in Jerusalem, where God’s Holy Light appeared again on Holy Saturday.

Every now and then – and especially during each Great Lent – ‘wise’ people thirsty of Andy Warhol kind of ‘fame’ attempt to bury Christianity with their ‘scientific’ discoveries.

Over and over again, their wisdom is humbled by the fact that Christ is Risen, and one piece of evidence in support of this ‘mad claim’ that couldn’t be disapproved for two millennia is the fact that the Lord’s Holy Fire descends from heavens every year, only for the Orthodox Pascha.

Unlike doubtful ‘apparitions’ at various papist shrines and in spite of being subjected to criticism, this miracle has been attested, year after year, for the last 900 years – read more about it: here, here, here, here, and here.

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