And our struggle with pride
Struggling with his pride, the monk focuses on bringing his own will into conformity with the will of God, through monastic obedience. This obedience is not limited to obeying the directives of his abbot, but taking up a standard of humility that takes seriously his adherence to the 102 canons of the Sixth Ecumenical Council, in the garb he wears, and refraining from cutting his hair and beard. The monk places his own will aside, taking up the tradition of the Church, and making it is own.
Recognizing that false humility is almost wholly the product of self-righteous hypocrisy, the monk dedicates himself to a truth which is absolute, and which transcends his personal opinion. It is precisely this humility which Saint Paul reveals to us when, boasting of his sufferings and exploits, he tells us that they have meaning only in Jesus Christ.
The monk fights off the temptation of making his faith a form of ideology, for he knows the knowledge of Jesus Christ, when transformed into an ideological and moralistic knowledge, closes the door to others, and turns Christianity into a list of requirements, denuding the message of the Church into yet another worldly political force.
The monk refuses to let his Christian faith distance himself from others, because he knows the monastic life is not a withdrawal from others, but an embracing of all humanity, through his intimate relationship with Christ, through Whom all are united.
It is only through his immersion in a life of prayer, that the monk’s faith becomes something other than an ideology. Through his uniting of himself in the prayer of the Church, the monk loses himself, becoming one with Christ, and with all Christians. His quest for humility comes through his having united himself to the humility of Christ, Who condescended to take on our flesh, in order to unite His divinity, with our humanity.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Photos: I visited Saint Basil Academy of Classical Studies while in Walla Walla. The school is operated by Saint Silouan Orthodox Church, whose rector is Father Daniel Reese.
Tuesday March 21, 2017 / March 8, 2017
Fourth Week of the Great Lent: Adoration of Cross. Tone six.
Great Lent. By Monastic Charter: Food without Oil
Venerable Theophylactus, bishop of Nicomedia (845).
New Hieromartyr John priest (1923).
Martyr Vladimir (1942).
Venerables Lazarus and Athanasius, monks of Murman Island, Onega Lake (1391).
Apostle Hermas of the Seventy (1st c.).
Hieromartyr Theodoretus of Antioch (361).
Venerable Dometius, monk (363).
Kursk “Sign” Icon (1898) Icon of the Mother of God.
St. Felix of Burgundy, bishop of Dunwich and enlightener of East Anglia (648) (Celtic & British).
Venerable Paul of Prusias, confessor (840) (Greek).
Martyr Dio (Greek).
Martyrs Quintilian and Capatolinus in Nicomedia.
The Scripture Readings
Luke 21:12-19 Matins Gospel
Isaiah 25:1-9 (6th Hour)
Genesis 9:8-17 (Vespers, 1st Reading)
Proverbs 12:8-22 (Vespers, 2nd Reading)
Hebrews 12:1-10 40 Martyrs
Matthew 20:1-16 40 Martyrs
Blessings Father,
Thank you for reminding us that Christ is not an “ideal” but a reality Whom we are to have union with. You can’t unite, body and soul, with an ideal. You can only hold it out there as a set of rules. As you explain, following “ideals” leads to an ‘us vs. them’ existence that only causes separation from all who Christ died for. You begin by speaking of our struggle with pride. If our monks struggle with this daily, how much more are we out here to embrace this struggle to “press toward the mark” as St. Paul even did. It’s real easy for me to say these things, but to do them is far from easy. Pray for me. May we pray for all, including those precious children in the pictures, their teachers and the school.
Thanks as always for the blog but specifically for the photos from Walla Walla, it is good to see photos of home.