Why is the Divine Liturgy not celebrated on weekdays in Lent? (in the Byzantine tradition)
Every Liturgy is a celebration of Pascha.
Let us start from a basic principle: every Liturgy is a celebration of the Resurrection. Every Liturgy is a Pascha, because in it we meet the living Christ, Christ risen from the dead, through Communion. We are united with him; his life flows into us and raises us up with him too.
One of the signs of this resurrection is the communion that grows among us: every Liturgy is an occasion to meet one another deeply and to become what we are, the Body of Christ: “The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:16-17).
Through this love that is renewed in us and unites us in Christ, we affirm that we belong to the world of the resurrection, that we are people of the resurrection, because whoever loves has conquered death: “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren” (1 John 3:14).
That is why, in the Liturgy, before giving Communion to the faithful, the priest says Paschal hymns (which, sadly, we don’t hear, because the custom is to say them quietly!). He says: “Having beheld the resurrection of Christ, let us worship the holy Lord Jesus, the only sinless one. We venerate your Cross, O Christ, and we praise and glorify your holy Resurrection…”, and so on.
And also: “O Christ, great and most holy Pascha, O Wisdom, Word and Power of God, grant that we may partake of you more fully in the never-ending day of your Kingdom.” These hymns are said to express the Paschal character of every Liturgy.
If every Liturgy is by its nature a Paschal celebration, we understand why it is not celebrated during Lent: Great Lent is a celebration of Christ’s Passion and a sharing in it.
That is why the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated, and the people receive Communion from the Gifts consecrated on Sunday or Saturday.
Fr. Gerard Abi Saab
