By Abbot Tryphon, October 27, 2019
Anything that is quickly obtained is also easily lost
Since we have grown accustomed to having everything happen quickly, and without delay, we also expect our spiritual lives to be on the same quick time line. We don’t have the patience to build upon the knowledge of the holy fathers, so we don’t practice regular spiritual reading.
Our church attendance is limited to the essential Sunday Liturgy, and even then we arrive late and perhaps leave before the Thanksgiving Prayers have been concluded. If fasting is difficult for us, we don’t fast at all. If keeping a Prayer Rule is tedious, we don’t try at all to develop a set time for our prayers. If our mind wanders during prayer, we let it, avoiding even the least amount of struggle.
If we hope to make progress in the spiritual life, it is good to remember the words of Saint Isaac the Syrian, “For anything that is quickly obtained is also easily lost, whereas everything found with toil is also kept with careful watching.”
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
~Abbot Tryphon, The Morning Offering, https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/morningoffering/2019/10/a-quick-fix/
Happiness
By Abbot Tryphon, October 28, 2019
All we need for happiness is right in front of us
If we focus only on the things that haven’t been done and ignore the little things that bring joy to our lives, we will find ourselves in a rut. If we are constantly thinking of where we’d rather be living, or the job we’d rather have, or the work that still needs to be completed, we’ll wake up one day and realize all we’ve needed for happiness has been right in front of us. We don’t want to wait to enjoy what we already have.
It is easy to resist taking care of oneself if we run at full speed as though we are the only one who can get things done. We all need to set priorities, making sure we focus on Christ and not let that which is transitory rule our lives. If we pay attention to our health, family and spiritual life, everything else will take care of itself. We shouldn’t let life be so full of work that we don’t have time to focus on the things that bring us joy. We must pay attention when the Lord is calling us to slow down.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
~Abbot Tryphon, The Morning Offering, https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/morningoffering/2019/10/happiness-10/
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