In you, O Mother Mary of Egypt, the divine likeness shone forth
faithfully, for by taking up the cross, you followed Christ.
You gave example to be not concerned with fleeting life,
but to be watchful over the eternal soul. Therefore,
O Venerable Mary, you now rejoice with the angels.

With this weekend we complete the fifth week of the Great Fast. Our Gospel reading relates Christ’s going up to Jerusalem with His disciples. It says that their mood was one of wonderment, while that of those who followed was fear. Hopefully we approach the Great and Holy Week with a sense of wonderment. Indeed  the  foundational story of our Christian faith should provoke wonderment and not fear.

Christ’s story speaks of unconditional love and forgiveness. By the very way He lived His life and death gives us a sense that His teachings about life and how to live life are true. He is our model of how to deal with the challenges of life and even the cruelty of others. His story gives us a clearer idea about and understanding of life if only we open   ourselves to the true meaning of His life.

Like the disciples who went with Christ to Jerusalem, we know the story of what transpired in Jerusalem. Christ was arrested, unjustly accused and convicted of treason and blasphemy, mocked, flogged, scourged and finally crucified. There is nothing new about His story. What is hopefully new, however, is what the story provokes within us. Hopefully our time of preparation – the Great Fast that is quickly coming to an end – has    softened our hearts and minds so that we hear His story in a different way.

Today the Church has us remember Mary of Egypt, one of the truly great female ascetical saints. When she truly opened her heart to His story, her whole life was changed. She realized the great love God had for her and, realizing this, she dedicated her entire life to prayer in her sorrow for her sins.

While God does not expect us to give up our present life and go and live in a desert as Mary did, He calls us to awaken our hearts and minds to His love for us.

Remember, it is never too late to truly prepare yourself for Easter. Use the remaining days of the Great Fast – there are really only six days since the Great and Holy Week is not really Lent – to open your heart and mind to God’s great love for you. Make the actions of Jesus personal. He wants to teach you and me how to live.