In the Kotor churches of St. Vasilija Ostroški in Dobrota, St. Luke and St. Spyridon in the Old Town, with the communion of many believers, today is liturgically celebrated the feast of the Annunciation and Sunday of the Adoration of the Cross.
Archpriest Nenad Kalem addressed the faithful in the Church of Saint Luke.
"The Church of Christ remembers and dedicates the third Sunday of Holy Lent to the Cross of the Lord, and this year it also brings us great spiritual joy that the feast of the Annunciation also falls on this day.
The joyous holiday of our Holy Church and the very name of the holiday of the Annunciation tells us that it is a joyful, good and mild event. About the event that the world has been waiting for for a long, long time.
And what is the event described in this Holy Gospel according to Luke that we read? It is the descent of the Archangel Gabriel to the Galilean city of Nazareth, to a modest house where the girl Mary lived and to whom the Angel told her that she would become pregnant and give birth to the Son of Jesus, the Savior of the world.
And she, all humanly confused, asks how it will be when I don't know about a husband, and the angel answered her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, therefore what is born will be holy and will be called the Son of God.
And then Mary accepted God's obedience and said, Behold the servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to Your word.
The Holy Virgin receives and obeys the will of God.
With these words, the entire human race gave their consent to the incarnation of the Son of God, because God highly values and respects human freedom and never forcibly enters a man's heart. Here I stand and knock at the door, says the Holy Scriptures.
That is how the Lord became incarnate and came to this world when the world agreed with it.
Following the example of the Most Holy Mother of God, we too should be constantly ready to fulfill the will of God, to be servants of God.
That by serving God and our neighbors, we gain our salvation.

This Sunday, the Church of God reminds us of the Cross of the Lord and the meaning of the Cross of Christ and what the Cross calls us to do.
Whoever wants to follow me should deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me, it is also said in today's Holy Gospel according to Mark.
If we try to fulfill this, then our earthly life is not meaningless, because we renounce the self-centered and sinful in us and strive towards the Lord's will.
Calmly enduring all the troubles that befall us in life without our will is one important meaning of carrying the Cross.
There is no person in the world who does not have some pain or anxiety in his life.
It's just that not everyone treats it the same, and we Christians have to bear it patiently and calmly with a lot of love and look for the meaning and providence of God in it.
The struggle with sin is difficult. It is difficult for a person to see and admit his sins and weaknesses, and even more difficult to overcome them.
The Holy Church knows this well, and that is why today, in the middle of Lent, she raises before our eyes the Holy Cross as a life-giving and saving means to encourage us and to continue the fight against sin with new strength.
Sobriety, vigilance and prayerfulness should adorn us in these days of fasting to guard against what draws us to evil, to strive for good.
The Holy Cross is a powerful and victorious weapon against evil and dark forces.
May he be our weapon and shield and protection on this path of holiness.
That is why we bow to the Lord's Cross and celebrate and confess the Lord's Resurrection with the prayers of the Most Holy Mother of God and all the saints, amen", said Fr. Nenad.

О. Ненад Калем | Трезвеност, будност и молитвеност да нас красе у ове дане поста - YouTube

Photo and video: Andrea Ševaljević