The Healing We Seek is to be Found Within the Church
At one time I was a psychotherapist in private practice, and teaching in a small college. It became increasingly difficult for me, facing, as I did, the behavior of some of my fellow professors, and I worried I’d become just like them. I also came to believe that most of my patients were not mentally ill, but spiritually ill, and my profession seemed to be contributing to the problem. Many of my colleagues, in my opinion, were nurturing codependency in their clients, their income dependent on keeping people returning for “therapy.”
As I was becoming increasingly disillusioned about “my profession,” I was feeling increasingly guilty that I’d “sold out” to the mindless acquisition of “things.” The spiritual void in my heart was desperate for a meaningful spiritual life, but I hadn’t a clue as to where to look for such fulfillment. That is, until I discovered Orthodoxy. (I now consider myself a “recovering” psychologist!) That said, I would like to share with my readers some of the important “therapeutic” medicine that is found within the Holy Orthodox Church.
One medicine for the heart is the use of a “Prayer Rule.” This “Rule” is of the utmost importance, for the prayer rule helps develop the discipline we all need to progress spiritually. It is one of the great tools the Orthodox Way has to offer, and has been handed down, from the earliest of times, through the Fathers of the Church. The “art of prayer,” comes from the experience of the Early Church.
Along with keeping the fasting rules of the Church, including the Wednesday and Friday fasts, the Prayer Rule, given to you by your Spiritual Father, Spiritual Mother, or, your Confessor, is the medicine that will help you progress, spiritually, on your journey to God.
If you do not already own a Jordanville Prayer Book (they can be purchased directly from Holy Trinity Monastery, in Jordanville, New York,) I would strongly suggest you purchase one. The language used, is the best of English “liturgical language,” and better serves, I believe, the inner life. Common pedestrian language is fine for everyday communication, but formal English liturgical language, when spoken to God, creates the sacred space one reserves for the Lord.
The Morning and Evening Prayers should be said as though one’s life depended on it, for, in a profound way, our spiritual life DOES depend on it. The Precommunion Prayers, as well as the Post Communion Prayers, together with abstinence from all food and drink from midnight on, prior to receiving the Holy Mysteries, is also a discipline that, not only is commanded by the Church, but properly prepares us for the reception of Our Lord’s Body and Blood. It is in the reception of His very Body and Blood, where we receive healing of both body and soul.
The use of the Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner,” throughout the day, aids us in a most powerful way, to live out our life, focused on Christ. There is power in the Holy Name of Jesus, and this prayer fulfills Saint Paul’s injunction that we “should pray always.” The Jesus Prayer, also known as the Prayer of the Heart, gives us the strength to walk with Jesus, throughout the day, even when driving through heavy traffic, weeding in the garden, waiting for the bus, or sitting in a long board meeting.
Finally, it is important to remember that the Church, as defined by the Early Church Fathers, is not a religious institution, but, rather, a living organism, that is the Hospital for the Soul. Her priests, who first sought therapy, became the therapists. Therefore, the frequent use of the “tools” given to us by Christ, through His Church, are of the utmost importance to our spiritual progress. Weekly confession, and weekly reception of the Holy Eucharist, give us spiritual strength, and enable us to live “in the world,” without being “of the world.”
Because Orthodoxy is “holistic” in nature, our living out this Faith should not be confined to Sunday morning. If we were a pianist, and made our living playing with an orchestra, we wouldn’t think of going through a week without daily practice, for we’d not be in the orchestra for long. As well, a marriage that is not worked at, on a daily basis, is doomed to ultimate failure, for a relationship between two people, requires work. If we expect to have a relationship with God, and have Him dwell in our hearts, and commune with Him, we have to treat our spiritual life as something important, and something that we are committed to. An occasional Liturgy does not suffice if we expect to grow in Faith and Wisdom.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Sunday January 28, 2024 / January 15, 2024
34th Sunday after Pentecost. Tone one.
St. Paul of Thebes, Egypt (341), and St. John Calabytes (“Hut-dweller”) of Constantinople, monks (450).
New Hieromartyr Michael, priest (1942).
New Hieromartyr Benjamin, bishop of Romanov (1930).
Monk-martyr Pansophius of Alexandria (249-251).
St. Prochorus, abbot in Vranski Desert on the river Pchinja in Bulgaria (10th c.) (Serbia).
St. Gabriel, founder of Lesnovo Monastery, Serbia-Bulgaria (980) (Serbia).
St. Gerasimus, patriarch of Alexandria (1714).
St. Maximus, bishop of Nola (250).
Venerable Ita of Killeedy, hermitess and foster-mother of St. Brendan (570) (Celtic & British).
Venerable Maurus, disciple of St. Benedict (584) (Celtic & British).
St. Salome of Udjarma, and St. Perozhavra of Sivnia, Georgia (4th c.).
Venerable Barlaam of Keret Lake near the White Sea (16th c.).
The Scripture Readings
Matthew 28:16-20
The Great Commission
16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Colossians 3:12-16
Character of the New Man
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Luke 18:18-27
Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler
18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”
21 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”
22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.
With God All Things Are Possible
24 And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 And those who heard it said, “Who then can be saved?”
27 But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”