A Serb Without the Liturgy

Found this cute story online in Serbian (here). Hence, the moral of the story was that the donkey is a Serb who goes without liturgy:

One day a donkey came home filled with joy, happy and proud. His mother asked him why is he so happy, what happened?!? “Mommy, they gave me to some Jesus, and when we entered Jerusalem, a multitude of people cried out: Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, glory to God in the heavens! They covered the road with their clothes and palm branches in front of me.”

His mother said: “Go back to that city, but this time alone.”

So, the next day the donkey went to the city alone and came back home very sad. “Mom, this can’t be! No one noticed me, and when they did they practically kicked me out!”

His mother looked at him and said: “Son, remember is, without Christ you are nothing but a donkey”.

Virtues Require the Holy Mysteries

Taken from the Australian Diocesan website:

“The Bishop [Siluan], in his homily, pointed to the significance of these Sundays of Great Lent which prepare us for the great upcoming events. The voice of the Church during these Lenten days is the voice of St. John the Baptist, the prophetic voice for us to be sober-minded and vigilant as Christians. Often we are unaware that we are in bondage and under the siege of the passions. Observing the fast it opens our spiritual eyes to see the slavery we are in. When you sin, you become a slave to sin. Even a small sin is something that by nature is not in accordance with the calling of one’s being and path in this life. When we wish to free ourselves only then do we see our bondage, just how much sin has taken over us. However, through the grace of God we have an opportunity to repent in this life. The example of Mary of Egypt, shows us that whatever the sin and however grave it is, the Lord is always waiting to knock on the door of our hearts, waiting for us to move towards Him, to return to His embrace, to repent and take communion. As Fr. Justin says, the virtues require the Holy Mysteries and the Holy Mysteries require virtues. Therefore, a life entirely in the virtues and entirely in the mysteries. If we repent the Lord will forgive. In fact, the Lord is always moving towards us for our salvation.

Sentenced to life in Christ

Andrei’s Story: Life in Prison, But Life In Christ

Andrei was 21-years-old when he left the Ukraine to start a new life in America. Instead, he got involved in drugs, committed murder, and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

It took Andrei some time to adjust to life in a maximum-security prison with its violence and restrictive conditions. He felt shame and guilt for his crime and had the added burden of being a foreigner in a foreign land.

Ten years ago, a friend recommended that he contact Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry. OCPM sent Andrei books, an Orthodox Study Bible, pamphlets and icons. He completed OCPM’s catechism correspondence course and regularly wrote to the ministry, which responded personally to his letters. “Without exaggeration, that changed my life,” says Andrei. “I developed a much better understanding of our faith, discovered the beautiful depth of patristic writings, felt the profoundly warm sense of peace when I read St. Isaac the Syrian.”

Andrei is now 50-years-old. He will never leave prison but he says he is confident that he can still live a life of peace. “Through the patient and compassionate presence of OCPM in my life, I feel the presence of the Church and the light of the Lord that shines even on this sinner, into this dark depth,” says Andrei. “Every day, as I get up before 4:00 a.m. to pray, I have a long list of reasons to thank the Almighty Lord. OCPM is high on that list,” he says. 

As we commemorate Holy Week and the Passion of Our Lord, let us remember the repentant thief who hung on the cross next to Christ. That convicted criminal was the first person to enter Paradise. The Lord was only waiting for his sincere repentance and heartfelt cry to not be forgotten.

Today, there are 2.3 million incarcerated men and women in the United States, the highest incarceration rate in the world. Scores of these prisoners are ready to repent for their crimes. And they must find a way to reconcile lengthy or even life-long prison sentences.

Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry proclaims Christ to men and women who are incarcerated, many of whom are being introduced to the Orthodox Church for the first time. For Orthodox Christians whose lives have been upended by their crimes and prison sentence, OCPM helps them to return to the Faith, offering forgiveness and reconciliation. As a result, families are reunited, marriages are healed, and thousands of incarcerated men and women have a new sense of peace and restored order in their lives. 

OCPM serves the spiritual needs of the incarcerated through a variety of ways. We correspond with thousands of prisoners and provide them with books, Bibles, pamphlets and icons. We catechize them in the Orthodox faith through special correspondence courses. We train Orthodox priests and laypersons to personally visit and counsel them in prison. And we lobby correctional facilities around the country to recognize the Orthodox faith so that Orthodox prisoners can receive the sacraments.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25, our Lord sets out clearly the conditions for inheriting the Kingdom of Heaven. We satisfy the hungry and thirsty. We take in the stranger. We clothe the naked. And we visit the sick and those who are in prison.

We may find it easy to perform most of these commandments, but when was the last time you entered a correctional facility to visit a prisoner? 

Thousands of men and women are languishing in the battlefield that is prison. Many have experienced the limits of what non-Orthodox ministries offer. They suspect there is more but they don’t know where to find it.

OCPM visits and meets prisoners where they are, with the fullness that is the Orthodox faith. Every year, we process thousands of letters from prisoners and personally respond to each one by speaking to their particular situation. We maintain relationships with prisoners across multiple prison transfers and we assist them in finding an Orthodox parish upon their release.

Prisoners like Andrei are no less part of the Resurrection of Christ because they are in prison. OCPM helps prisoners, no matter their sentence, to be connected with the healing power of the Orthodox Church.

Please find out more about how you and your parish can have a vital ministry to incarcerated men and women by visiting www.theocpm.org.

It is better to pray than to judge

Taken from Ora Et Labora (here)

Some people say: “Batiushka, no matter how much I pray, I have thoughts, and more thoughts…” Here again we can find an example from the Elder Ambrose: “A man goes to the market with his pots. He needs to get to the middle, where there are more people and business will be better. There is fuss and bustle all around him but, snag by snag, he arrived at his destination. In the same way we need to gradually progress in prayer, and you’ll make it to the Heavenly Kingdom.” You see how simply the Elder Ambrose was able to explain everything! Bear in mind that he was a learned man; he translated The Ladder by St John Climacus from Greek. Yet he had a child’s heart and left wonderful instructions, writen down for us so we would benefit from them.

Simplicity is given for not judging sinners. If you see a certain brother full of wine or in other sins, then pray: “Lord, help this brother to get himself out of this swampy quagmire; strengthen him.” Only don’t judge anyone, or you’ll fall into even greater sin. Don’t expect anything extraordinary. As the Fathers say: “If you see a young novice quickly ascending into heaven, pull him down to earth.” First one needs to learn to live in peace and harmony with everyone, and then one can think of the Kingdom of God. Here we are, we don’t like this thing, and we don’t like the other – but who are we? In one and the same family there are good children and bad ones. One is a joy, the other is a sorrow. The same is true in our Christian family: everyone has his own difficulties. It’s better to pray, and not judge. It’s like what’s related in a story: a certain brother in a monastery was always reading something written on a charter. The brothers went to the abbot: “This brother is a sorcerer.” The abbot called him to himself and asked: “What are you doing?” “Every time I fear falling into sin I read what’s written on my charter: ‘Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile, and judge not thy neighbor.’” You see how dangerous it is to judge!

Theology is in geography

In reminiscing on Bishop Atanasije of blessed memory, as have many, many bishops, priests, professors and laity since his repose almost a month ago, Bishop Maxim says, among other things:

“….his attire, his skufia on his head, his collar, shoes, socks revealed a man who was always traveling, as if he was on some permanent, life-long pilgrimage. He’d visit not only our suffering lands but the sites throughout the world where there had been suffering, especially, I should say, the well-known Orthodox places. He’d take his students there and tell us: Theology is in geography and geography is in your feet. In other words, you can’t know until you go, until you visit…”