Holy Things for the Holy
At the end of the Liturgy, before the breaking of the Lamb in the altar, the priest elevates Him and proclaims, "Holy things for the holy!" If we take these words literally, meaning that only the sinless may approach the Holy Things, then no one would ever receive Communion, for there are certainly no saints among us.
So, what does this cry truly mean? Each of us is holy in part. Not by our own merit but by our belonging to the Church. Through baptism, we mystically enter the Body of Christ. Christ is the Head of the Church, and we are its members. We become holy not because of our personal qualities but because we belong to the Church of Christ.
Therefore, when the priest says, "Holy things for the holy," this call refers to all of us, even if we are not holy by our own nature. The Lord allows us to touch the Mystery—the Body and Blood of Christ—and during Communion, He literally enters us. Christ Himself is within us!
Can you imagine? No matter how vile or dirty we may be, Christ is inside us. We are like a small box containing Him. In this sense, at that moment, we are holy.
However, one can place Christ in a precious, velvet-lined box, or one can drop Him into a trash bucket. This happens during every Communion. We lower Christ into our foul, dark, and murky depths. And He, in His humility and great love for us, consents to descend into this stench. Yet, this does not defile Him.
Holiness is the nature of the Divine, not our own nature. This might lead to a misunderstanding: does this mean no effort is required from us? Can we simply partake in the Mysteries, remain members of the Church, and automatically be holy? Is it that simple when "Holy things for the holy" is proclaimed?
The truth is, to this holiness—which makes us "saints" through the Mystery of Baptism and allows us to approach Communion—we must add our personal labor and sincere effort.
It is like restoring an old, dark, and dirty icon. The image underneath might be completely obscured, yet the icon remains an icon. But the dirt remains dirt.
Our asceticism and spiritual life are like the restoration of that old icon. Layer by layer, we must remove the soot, the darkness, and the grime. This is necessary so that the holiness lying beneath those layers can finally emerge and shine forth.
#archpriestSergiyBaranov
https://sergiybaranov.taplink.ws/
