Ode 3 of the Canon of St. Lucian of Antioch
With the splendour of the virtues thou madest thy soul a house for God, O Martyr Lucian; and by thy prayers thou didst raze the idols' temples to the ground.
Holy Martyr, Lucian, pray to God for us!
Compassed by trials and oppressed by painful tortures, O Martyr, thou dost praise as thy Benefactor Him that deemed thee worthy of such good things.
Holy Martyr Lucian, pray to God for us!
Thou didst surrender thy body unto tortures, O Martyr, but thou keptest thy soul in safety offering thyself unto the Master as an unblemished and most precious sacrifice. (October Menaion, 15)
This ode of the canon of the saint shows us an illustration of our contribution to our salvation. It is true that we are saved by faith in Christ, but we are also saved through the works done in faith, which "fill up what is wanting in the sufferings of Christ on behalf of His Body, the Church." We contribute to the great work of our salvation through works that are done in Christ. According to the image that is provided in the canon, we are building our soul into a beautiful temple for the Lord, by using the virtues as our raw material. We have to be expert carpenters and masons as we fit together the beautiful virtues into a dwelling that is holy in the Lord. This tropar of the canon makes us think explicitly of the Book of Proverbs (9:1): "Wisdom has built her house and made seven columns for it." Traditionally, the Fathers of the Church have interpreted this verse to refer to the seven virtues that are the support and basis of the Christian life (the three theological virtues: faith, hope and charity; and the four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance). The Christian life is made up of virtue. On the one hand, we love virtue as we see it in the Lord and in others around us, but on the other hand, we pray for the grace to build the corresponding virtues in ourselves. At the same time that we are building, we are also tearing down the diabolical temples that we raise up within ourselves as a result of our attachments. We make created things into gods through our attachments to created things. Through the destruction of the passions, we tear those idolatrous temples down, as we build the virtuous temple to the Lord.
The second tropar is far more explicit about the particulars of this process. We accept the mortifications that are sent to us by God. We view as our benefactor the one who gives us trials and sufferings, because we know by the eyes of faith that He gives us these things in order to perfect us in the image and likeness of God. Praising God as our Benefactor means accepting what the Will of God gives to us in every circumstance. Despite the terrible sufferings that we may endure, we accept the direction of God's Will as holy, that is, separated from all earthly concerns, and impartial in its application, though, at the same time, completely motivated by unconditional compassion for each creature as if it were the only creature. We accept that that which befalls us is the best that could happen to us, not given our limited knowledge of the ways of universe, but according to the infinite knowledge and power of the Maker of the universe, who understands all its ways, and directs all its ways according to His own boundless love. It is a leap of faith, but not without reason, for it is eminently reasonable that God loves what He has made and what He continuously sustains in being.
The third tropar tells us that St. Lucian willed to become a unblemished sacrifice to God by giving his body over to torture. It goes on to say that it is precisely in giving his body over to torments that he keeps his soul safe for everlasting life. In the same way, we recognize that by willing embracing the mortifications and sufferings that God sends to us, we keep our souls safe through cooperation with God's Will. All of this leads us to a greater love for our God, Who has designed everything to work together for the good of those who love Him.
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