The yearning for one lost joy can overshadow all the other delights of the world. Archpriest Vladimir Kostochka thinks that everything has its due time.
The Old Testament part of Holy Scripture does not reveal to us the mystery of the fate of the human soul after death. Man has already been cast out of heaven, but his knowledge of the kingdom of heaven has not yet been revealed to him.
What then did the righteous person of the Old Testament hope for? He hoped for health, longevity, abundance of earthly fruits, as well as for many children as a way of continuing his own existence. He believed that his godly descendants would offer sacrifices for his repose, which would ease the fate of his soul in Eternity. Marriage in Old Testament times was perceived as one of the most important and expected events of man’s earthly existence, and involved many days of triumph, joy, and merriment.
Here come the New Testament times. Christ, the Savior of the world, comes and saves mankind from the dependence of sin through the atoning sacrifice of Golgotha and gives us hope for eternal life. Through Christ, the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven are opened to every believer and we are assured of the highest good. The pleasures of life pale in comparison with the pleasures of heaven. However, in order to deserve to accept the highest blessings prepared for us, it is necessary to be purified, to go through repentance, sorrow and painful realization of our sins.
Marital joys are not compatible with grief over sins and with repentance. You cannot get married during the Lent, because fasting is a “wing” of repentance, it is a time of contrition, crying about sins, while the Sacrament of Marriage is a great joy and a great hope. The Church allocates time to everything.
Translated by The Catalogue of Good Deeds
Source: https://pravlife.org/ru/content/pochemu-v-post-nelzya-zhenitsya-i-venchatsya
