Twice Was Enough

Today on this Fifth Sunday of Great Lent we commemorate Saint Mary of Egypt, "the humble Mary," who suffered greatly for the Lord in the Judean desert across the Jordan River.

Few of us will ever be called to suffer as she did: 

• burning heat by day and shivering cold by night; 
• clawing for roots until her nails bled and her fingers were raw; 
• complete isolation from others and physical distancing to such an extent that she fled from anyone she saw, even at a distance; and 
• finally achieving theosis through her suffering in this life, dying a holy death, and gaining Paradise.

And her nourishment for all of this was the spiritual food of the Mystical Supper, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ which she received twice – one at the beginning of her forty-seven year voluntary isolation in the desert across the Jordan, and once more at the beginning of her eternal dwelling in the Garden of Paradise. Twice. And twice was enough.

Most of us cannot count the number of times we have received the Holy Mysteries, but almost all of us can remember the last time we received these precious Gifts. For my wife and I it was on Sunday, March 15^th, the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas (Lent II) when most of us remember St. Gregory’s teaching that while God is unknowable in His Essence, he is knowable and can be experienced in His Energies. We do not have to be content with merely knowing about Christ our true God. We can know and experience Him directly.  None of us can truly say that we understand the Mystery of the Holy Trinity, but we can all on a daily basis participate in that ineffable and incomprehensible Mystery.

For me – for us – if we believe what we profess, then the last time we received Holy Communion is and will be enough to nourish us through our journey of isolation and physical distancing. For Saint Mary of Egypt twice was enough.  For us the last time is enough.