Therapeutic Medicine

The therapeutic medicine that is found within the Church

As we begin the Lenten Journey, it would be good for us to consider the use of a “prayer rule.” This “rule” is of critical importance, for it will help us develop the discipline we need to progress spiritually. It is one of the great tools the Orthodox Church has to offer, since it has been handed down from the Fathers of the Church. This “art of prayer,” comes directly to us 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, received in consultation with your priest, your confessor, or your spiritual father or mother, is the medicine that will help you progress spiritually on your journey into the Heart of God.

An integral part of anyone’s prayer rule should be the recitation of the Morning and Evening Prayers, as found in the numerous translations available of the Orthodox Prayer Book. These prayers, together with the Precommunion Prayers, and the prayers to the Holy Virgin, train our hearts in the discipline that help us sustain the grace that we receive when we commune of the Life Giving Mysteries of Christ’s Body and Blood, and help us go deeper into our faith.

The use of the Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner,” throughout the day, further aids us as we attempt to live out our day, 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 Church Fathers, is not a religious institution, but is a living organism that is the Hospital for the Soul. Therefore, the frequent use of the “tools” given to the Church, are of the utmost importance for our spiritual progress. Weekly confession, as well as the weekly reception of Holy Communion, fortify us spiritually, enabling us to live “in the world” without being “of the world”.

Because the Orthodox Church is “wholistic” our living out this Faith should not be confined to Sunday morning. If we were a pianist who made our living accompanying an orchestra, we wouldn’t think of going through a week without daily practice. The conductor of the orchestra wouldn’t put up with an unrehearsed pianist. As well, a marriage that is not worked at on a daily basis is doomed to ultimate failure since a relationship between two people requires effort. If we expect to have a relationship with God we have to prioritize our spiritual life. An occasional Liturgy does not suffice if we expect to grow in Faith and Wisdom.

With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

Friday March 11, 2016 / February 27, 2016
Week of the Last Judgment. Tone seven.
Maslenitsa. Meat is excluded

Venerable Procopius the Confessor of Decapolis (ca. 750).
New Hieromartyr Peter priest, Martyr Michael (1938).
Venerable Titus, presbyter of the Kiev Caves (1190).
Venerable Titus the Soldier, monk of the Kiev Caves (14th c.).
Venerable Thalelaeus, hermit of Syria (460).
Martyr Gelasius the Actor of Heliopolis (297).
Venerable Stephen, monk of Constantinople (614) (Greek).
Venerables Asclepius and James of Syria, monks (5th c.) (Greek).
Venerable Timothy of Caesarea, monk (Greek).
Martyr Nesius (Greek).
Martyrs Julian and his disciple Chroniun at Alexandria (250-252).
St. Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem (333).
St. Pitirim, bishop of Tambov (1698).
New Martyr Elias of Trebizond (1749).
St. Herefrith, bishop of Lincolnshire.

Scripture Readings

Zechariah 8:7-17

7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east
And from the land of the west;
8 I will bring them back,
And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
They shall be My people
And I will be their God,
In truth and righteousness.’

9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Let your hands be strong,
You who have been hearing in these days
These words by the mouth of the prophets,
Who spoke in the day the foundation was laid
For the house of the Lord of hosts,
That the temple might be built.
10 For before these days
There were no wages for man nor any hire for beast;
There was no peace from the enemy for whoever went out or came in;
For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor.

11 But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says the Lord of hosts.

12 ‘For the seed shall be prosperous,
The vine shall give its fruit,
The ground shall give her increase,
And the heavens shall give their dew—
I will cause the remnant of this people
To possess all these.
13 And it shall come to pass
That just as you were a curse among the nations,
O house of Judah and house of Israel,
So I will save you, and you shall be a blessing.
Do not fear,
Let your hands be strong.’

14 “For thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Just as I determined to punish you
When your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘And I would not relent,
15 So again in these days
I am determined to do good
To Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
Do not fear.
16 These are the things you shall do:
Speak each man the truth to his neighbor;
Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace;
17 Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor;
And do not love a false oath.
For all these are things that I hate,’
Says the Lord.”

Zechariah 8:19-23

19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘The fast of the fourth month,
The fast of the fifth,
The fast of the seventh,
And the fast of the tenth,
Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts
For the house of Judah.
Therefore love truth and peace.’

20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Peoples shall yet come,
Inhabitants of many cities;
21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying,
“Let us continue to go and pray before the Lord,
And seek the Lord of hosts.
I myself will go also.”
22 Yes, many peoples and strong nations
Shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem,
And to pray before the Lord.’

23 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”