Despondency and sorrow lie in wait for those who have not found strong faith in God
When this Covid-19 pandemic arrived, and we were all told we needed to place masks over our faces, and stay home, most of us believed the lockdown would be of short duration. Now that our governmental authorities are telling us to expect this to last months, many are ready to give up.
No matter how spontaneous most of us have been over the years, many of us are losing hope, fearing our lives will never return to normal. Those who have always depended on their parish communities to keep them focused on God, as the Church’s services have reinvigorated them, and prepared them for a new week of work and family life, are now finding themselves devoid of all hope.
Many are feeling betrayed by their hierarchs and priests, watching as more and more dioceses have submitted to governmental authorities, and barred the faithful from the life-giving Eucharist that has always sustained them.
Added to this horror, we are all deprived of the facial recognition of friends and neighbors that has always invigorated us, and made us feel we are part of a larger family. With the forced separation from normal weekly interaction with others, many of us are suffering financial collapse, with workplaces shuttered, and jobs ended. Thus, loss of financial and home security has left many of us wondering how much more we can endure.
Given all the personal upheavals we’re all experiencing, many are now seeing long-time friendships coming to an end. What with the great divide we’ve all witnessed during the political upheaval of the past year, many have experienced friends and relatives walk away from relationships that had seemed destined to last a lifetime. Even religious divides have taken place, with jurisdictional and diocesan divides that have polarized the greater Orthodox community. Some regard the various diocesan responses to the Covid-19 closures placed upon us, as having been visited upon us by what many see as the “godless authority”.
At no time in our collective memory have we experienced such separation from our families, friends, workplace, and parish communities. Some have even, in moments of extreme depression, contemplated suicide, feeling as they do that they’ve been abandoned by both the Church, and the important individuals in their lives who always made them feel loved.
The truth is, despondency and sorrow lie in wait for those who have not found strong faith in God. Such passions are most likely hosted in the soul of those who, rejecting Heaven, are firmly stuck to the earth. That means their depression, in its deepest essence, is based on a hedonistic philosophy that believes life is about the acquisition of worldly happiness.
This forced lockdown needs to be seen as something allowed by God as the means of bringing us, and indeed the whole world, to repentance. We need to see that we are all being called to wake up, and see that a life without God is a life without hope. Deprived of our job security, and even our friends, should be a wakeup call for all of us. We need to reprioritize our lives around our relationship with Christ. This world will come to an end, but the life beyond the grave is Life Eternal.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Monday December 7, 2020 / November 24, 2020
27th Week after Pentecost. Tone one.
Nativity (St. Philip’s Fast). Fish Allowed
Great-martyr Mercurius of Caesarea in Cappadocia (259).
Great-martyr Catherine of Alexandria (305).
Hieromartyr Mercurius of Smolensk (1238).
Venerable Mercurius, the Faster of the Kievan Caves, far caves (14th C).
New Hieromartyr Eugraphus (1919).
New Hieromartyrs Eugene and Michael priests, Virgin-martyr Anysia (1937).
New Hieromartyrs Alexander, Alexis, John, Cornelius, and Metrophanes priests (1937).
Martyrs Augusta (Faustina) the Empress, Porphyrius, and 200 soldiers at Alexandria with Great-martyr Catherine (305).
Venerable Mastridia of Alexandria (1060).
Venerable Simon, abbot of Soiga Monastery (Vologda) (1561).
Martyr Philothea of Romania (1060).
St. Gregory, founder of the monastery of the Golden Rock in Pontus.
Martyr Alexander at Corinth (4th C).
Venerable Luke, steward of the Kiev Caves (13th c.).
St. Hermogenes, bishop of Agrigentum (ca. 260).
Venerable Romanus of Bordeaux (382), and Venerable Protasius, hermit of Auvergne (6th c.) (Gaul).
Venerable Portianus of Arthone (527) (Gaul).
St. Minver, virgin of Cornwall.
Maryrs Philemenus, Christopher, Eugene, Procopius, and another Christopher (Greek).
Martyr Chrysogenes and Monk-martyr Mark Triglinos (Greek).
Hieromartyrs Clement, pope of Rome (101), and Peter, archbishop of Alexandria (311) (Greek).
St. Malchus of Chalcis in Syria (5th c.).
St. Nicodemus the Younger of Philokalos in Thessalonica (ca. 1305).
The Scripture Readings
1 Timothy 5:1-10
Treatment of Church Members
5 Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with all purity.
Honor True Widows
3 Honor widows who are really widows. 4 But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God. 5 Now she who is really a widow, and left alone, trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. 6 But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. 7 And these things command that they may be blameless. 8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
9 Do not let a widow under sixty years old be taken into the number, and not unless she has been the wife of one man, 10 well reported for good works: if she has brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work.
Luke 17:20-25
The Coming of the Kingdom
20 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
22 Then He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them or follow them. 24 For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. 25 But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
Ephesians 6:10-17
The Whole Armor of God
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
Luke 21:12-19
12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you,delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. 13 But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.14 Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer;15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. 18 But not a hair of your head shall be lost. 19 By your patience possess your souls.
Father I just started following your blog and looking through past posts it amazes me how much of what you have said speaks alongside my own recent reflections on life.
Thank you Father for your spiritual guidance for us! To lessen the fear and prevent serious illness by early at home treatment of COVID, please study the resources on the website of the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons at https://aapsonline.org. The recent US Senate Committee hearing on this missing pillar of treatment with 3 brilliant and compassionate physicians testifying is an inexpensive and effective route with much lower than risk than new medications and vaccines rushed into being. As an Orthodox physician who trained at Georgetown Med School in the 1980’s I can see these testifying physicians and the resources provided here are essential for saving lives now and lessening the fear. As Vladika Dmitri and my med school teachers used to say, “We must save lives whenever we can..”. For financial reasons there is much censorship in the US multiplying the fear. Yes we must treat the infection VERY EARLY to prevent the wretched course for some which lead to the ICU. Please please check this out and share with your physicians and neighbors to save lives.
I received this from Nicole and am making my way through it. Great, practical stuff
Father Abbot, Bless.
By the grace of God, I have grown in my faith during COVID because of one thing. I have begun to learn to repent. I am fortunate that the Divine Liturgy, although somewhat restricted, has been available the whole time. My priests serving the whole time without masks. Yesterday, I was heartened to see the priests exchange the normal greeting including kissing each others hands as they prepared to call us all to receive.
It is quite possible with effort on both sides to “see through the masks” , especially with those whom we love.
My best friend is quite different politically. I shocked him with my views yet, our friendship is deeper than that because God forged our bond.
Financially, I am fortunate. Nothing has changed. Still living comfortably but without much cushion.
A new challenge is what Bartholomew is doing with the Pope.
Still, the answer, Father, as you say is to repent. Not perfunctorily or some of the time, but as often as we can. I am finding that the Jesus Pray is not far from my mind and heart these days.
In someways we are all living a semi-monastic life now.
St. Mary of Egypt intercede for us and strengthen our faith in repentance.
Forgive me, a sinner.
This article ( Dec. 7, 2020) will appear in French on my blog (https://orthodoxologie.blogspot.com/)on Dec. 12, 2020.
Asking for your blessing,
hypodeacon claude lopez-Ginisty
Dear Father Abbot, It is true that life during these months has been an often overwhelming challenge. But I can speak from personal experience that the priests I know here in Northern California –far from “barring the faithful from the life-giving Eucharist” — have made supreme efforts to enable the faithful to receive Holy Communion while still protecting them. And whenever I feel discouraged, I think of the countless poor souls who suffered through the Communist regimes in Russia and Romania, just to name two countries. Can my plight come anywhere near that of , for example, Father Arseny or Father George Calciu? That thought resets my mind and heart.
Amen.