Out of the Quagmire

According to Professor Mark Silk of Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., “The real dirty little secret of religiosity in America is that there are so many people for whom spiritual interest, thinking about ultimate questions, is minimal.” Increasing, we are a people concerned only with new cars, mortgages, entertainment, or our favorite rock band or football team, and unconcerned about spiritual matters. Even those of us who were raised in the Church, and who regularly participated in the life of the Church, have shrugged off our obligations to God, preferring to sleep in on Sundays, or spend our leisure time in the pursuit of social engagements or sporting events.

Our obligations to the inner life, which is the true reason for our existence, have been thrown to the side, and we begin to question our faith, having withdrawn ourselves from the abounding grace that has previously sustained us. We begin to question if the Church is relevant, or if God really exists. Having become our own gods, we surrender to a secular world view where self fulfillment is everything, and where pride rules supreme. “When a fall has overtaken us, there pride has already pitched its tent; because a fall is an indication of pride (St. John Climacus).”

Having become minimalists in the area of religion, we slowly sink in the quagmire of secularism, and the ultimate atheism that follows. Surrendering to the hazardous behavior of absenting from the grace filled Mysteries of Christ’s Church, we sink into the mud of a life devoid of meaning, surrendering ourselves to material pursuits. Ultimately we find that life hasn’t been very fulfilling, and we wonder why.

In the ongoing pursuit of material and carnal pleasures, we spend countless hours in health clubs, toning our bodies in an attempt to stave off the aging process, while seeing no need to prioritizing the very pursuits that are of an eternal value. Finding themselves asking the question, “is that all there is”, is it any wonder shrugging off religion has led to an empty feeling within, and an inner nothingness?

There is the truism that muscles have memory, and for those who restart weight training after years of inattention to their personal health, they are pleasantly surprised at how quickly they regain the their muscle mass. The soul is like that. Just as muscles rebuild themselves when we make the effort to exercise, so too the soul is quickly restored to health when we avail ourselves to the healing grace that abounds within the Church.

As you embark on this new year, why not make a resolution to commit yourself to a reformation of your life? Commit yourself to regular church attendance, and recommit yourself to keeping the fast periods, spiritual reading, and a prayer rule. Don’t worry that you’ve not been attentive to your spiritual life during this past year, but focus on 2015 as the year of spiritual revival. Return to your parish community, or seek out a parish that is close to your home, and kick start your spiritual life. Make 2015 the Year of Renewal.

With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon