Developing the Heart

Educating the mind while ignoring the heart

The stress that is placed upon the importance of educating the mind is enormous, yet misplaced. Without a good solid education, we are told, our life will amount to nothing. One of my grandmothers grew up in Wisconsin as a simple, uneducated woman. She worked much of her life as a laundry woman, spoke in simple ways, and loved God and her family with all her heart and soul. By the world’s standards she was not a well spoken woman, but when she spoke, her words went straight to the heart. While many rushed to become educated while ignoring the heart, my grandmother started with the heart. Her intellectual abilities were limited but her amazing heart is what made her a great lady.

We endanger our souls if we educate our minds without also developing the heart, for the heart is the center of our being. The heart, not the mind, must be the main recipient of our attention. The mind must be taken down into the heart if we are to realize our full potential, as God planned from before the creation of the cosmos. The heart can not grow if it is allowed to remain burdened by darkness and sin, but must be purged by God, Who is the source of life. We must allow God to kindle in the heart the pure Flame of Life, letting it so burn, that it will never go out.

Finally, Serbian Patriarch Pavle once said that we develop heart and mind parallel, that the mind will protect us from the wolves, and the heart will keep us from becoming wolves ourselves.

With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

Monday January 29, 2018 / January 16, 2018
Week of the Publican and the Pharisee. Tone one.
Fast-free Week. Fast-free

Entire week, fast-free.
Veneration of the Precious Chains of the Holy and All-glorious Apostle Peter.
Blessed Maximus of Totma (Vologda), fool-for-Christ (1650).
New HieromartyrJohn priest (1919).
Martyrs the brothers Speusippus, Eleusippus, and Meleusippus, their grandmother Leonilla, and with them Neon, Turbo, and the woman Jonilla (Jovilla), in Cappadocia (ca. 161-180).
Martyr Danax the Reader in Macedonia (2nd c.).
Venerable Romilos, monk of Mt. Athos and Ravanica (Serbia) (1375), disciple of St. Gregory of Sinai, and with him Sts. Nestor, Martinius, Daniel, Sisoes, Zosimas, and Gregory (Greek).
New Hieromartyr Damascene of Hilandar on Mt. Athos and Gabrovo (Bulgaria) (1771) (Greek).
St. Honoratus, archbishop of Aries and founder of Lerins Monastery (429).
St. Sigebert, king of the East Angles, martyr (635) (Celtic & British).
St. Fursey of Burgh Castle, enlightener of East Anglia and Langy (650) (Celtic & British).
St. James of Tarentaise (429).
New Martyr Nicholas of Mitylene (1777).

The Scripture Readings

2 Peter 1:20-2:9

20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Destructive Doctrines

2 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

Doom of False Teachers

4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; 7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,

Mark 13:9-13

9 “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.11 But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.