The Holy Scripture and the Holy Fathers of the Church affirm that as we pray for spiritual healing from passions like anger and resentment, we must also practice constant watchfulness or attention over our thoughts. Christ spoke about watchfulness, both directly and in parables. At the conclusion of one such parable, He said: "What I say to you I say to all: watch" (Mark 13:37). Later, as He was going to His final Passion, He told His disciples: "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation" (Mark 14:38).

Having looked at the malady of anger, judgment, and resentment, let's go look at the cure. What are we to do to be freed of this sickness?

Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us clearly: "Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. And to him who smites you on the one cheek, offer the other" (Luke 6:27-29).

This great Saint as bishop in Magnesia, and suffered for Christ at the age of 113. When violent persecution broke out under the Emperor Septimus Severus, the aged Haralambos did not hide from his persecutors but freely and openly preached the Christian faith. He endured all tortures as though not in the body, and when they flayed the living flesh from him, the godly Saint said to the Emperor's soldiers: 'Thank you, my brethren, for scraping off the old body and renewing my soul for new and eternal life.' He performed many miracles (wonders, Gk. thavmata) and brought many to the Faith.

The three weeks that commence on the Fourth Sunday prior to Holy and Great Lent constitute the weeks of spiritual preparation. Each has its own distinct theme which is expressed in the Gospels readings appointed for the Divine Liturgies on these days:

The Ever-deepening union of each Christian with God is not a magical or automatic process. While Christ has destroyed the powers of sin, death, and evil once and for all, this victory must be appropriated by each person in cooperation with the Holy Spirit. Each person is called to join with the Life-Giving and Liberating Spirit in realizing the fullness of human life in communion with the Father. The Holy Spirit is the agent of Theosis (Deification) whose task it is to incorporate us into the life of the Holy Trinity. However, the Spirit always recognizes our human freedom and invites our active cooperation in perfecting the "image and likeness of God" in which each of us is created.

The Orthodox Church proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the Greek language, the word for Gospel is Evangelion which means literally "the good news." The good news of Orthodox Christianity is a proclamation of God's unbounded and sacrificial love for mankind, as well as the revelation of the true destiny of the human person. Reflecting on the joyous message of the Gospel, Saint Gregory of Nyssa wrote in the 4th century: The good news is that man is no longer an outcast nor expelled from God's Kingdom; but that he is again a son, again God's subject.