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Topic of the Week: How Not to Forget Christ Among Everyday Cares 

“The end of Lent is not an appeal to spiritual lassitude.  I think there is only one way to never forget Christ, and that is what the Old Testament calls “walking before God,” when a person dedicates his whole life to God.  It is as if we say, “Let us commit all our life unto Christ, our God….” ”

Excerpted from how-not-to-forget-christ-among-everyday-cares/

Adult/Family:

“…Let us at least pay attention to how we usually spend Christmas and Pascha – the feast days that are preceded by many days of fasting. How many manage not to turn the period of Bright Week or Christmas time into days of relaxation, of “rest” from fasting and, as a result, spiritual neglect?

…a properly conducted fast is always a change in the pace of one’s life. We learn to live measuredly and thoughtfully. We think about God more often, we listen more attentively to ourselves. And this skill is the little thing that does not require us to strain during fasting. There is no need to rush to part with it as soon as the fast ends. We should not hurry to celebrate a feast day, eagerly diving into the hustle and bustle. The joy of the feast day is surprisingly harmoniously combined with the calmness of the mood of the fast. If we save it, we would simply not want to relax….

It is also important to not let fasting become a strain for us in the midst of neglect. If a person spends most of his time in carelessness, straining his strength for fasting only once or twice a year, then he will spend the entire fast with one feeling: wishing it to end as soon as possible and to return to the usual carelessness.

So our, so to speak, everyday asceticism is extremely useful even during the feast days – the good habit of regular prayer, abstinence and orderliness will not allow you to relax beyond measure….”

Read the entire article here: How Not to Let One’s Guard Down after the Fast?

Preschool/Elementary:

“The end of Lent is not an appeal to spiritual lassitude [being tired spiritually].  I think there is only one way to never forget Christ, and that is what the Old Testament calls “walking before God,” when a person dedicates his whole life to God.  It is as if we say, “Let us commit all our life unto Christ, our God.”

…To have just one sovereign [ruling, powerful] goal before our eyes no matter what we are doing, no matter what we are thinking, no matter who we are talking to – to perceive everything we do as serving Christ.

This applies not only to clergy, but to every Christian.

How can we view for example making eggs for breakfast as serving Christ?

I think that cooking eggs may be associated with simply worldly concerns, yet, it may also become a person’s sacrifice to God.  Everything depends on the person’s inner disposition and inner state of mind.  It may also depend, for example, on whether or not the person prays before beginning to cook the eggs, whether he is praying while they’re cooking and whether he’s praying after he’s finished.  If prayer coexists with a person’s life, then no matter what he does, even the simplest, most day-to-day tasks are dedicated to God.“

Taken from how-not-to-forget-christ-among-everyday-cares/

How will you think about doing everything that you do as serving Christ? What are some examples in your life that you will change starting today?

Middle/High School:

“Many, if not the majority of people, ask about “what to do”. How to preserve the grace that you think you have gained during Great Lent? How not to lose the state of joy that you felt at the Paschal service? At long last, how to abide with Christ if it seems that you have achieved something similar during Lent and Passion Week?

Why Do We Need God from Time to Time?

These questions arise every time it is Passion Week and Pascha, and after that comes the time for barbecue parties, vacations, visiting family and friends, and, as some people say, the time to finally break your fast. There is nothing wrong with that. I have one answer to all of this, “Nothing can prevent a person to abide with Christ”.

I believe there is a nuance that all of us do not fully understand. We feel like Lent teaches us to abide with Christ. Yet Lent is about something else. Abiding with Christ in church is not only the time of Lent. Abiding with Christ is the goal of Christian life, our dailiness, our everyday life in accordance with the Gospel.

When a person sets abiding with God as a task, and only for the time of Lent, then its fulfillment is inevitably postponed. Looking into one’s life is enough to understand that we need God from time to time. There are times when for some reason He is particularly needed and important for us. Sometimes, He is not important for us at all. We easily forget about God, but it is terrible to imagine God forgetting about us even for a moment….

A person, who needs God from time to time, should not be surprised by what happens to them after Pascha. They should not be surprised that they withdraw from Christ. To live by devoting fasting to God, devoting a separate block of time to Him is wrong, as it is wrong to consider “abiding with God” as an exercise that should be practiced only during Great Lent.

A Christian life is work and desire to abide with God constantly….”

Read the entire article here: It is Pascha Every Day for Those, Who are with Christ. Friends and Barbecue Cannot Interfere with That

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A Message from Maria Spanos

I am passionate about our Orthodox Christian faith and seek to help others learn as much as they can about it. My purpose here is to share online resources that help strengthen our relationship with Christ and bind us closer to His Church. I believe they are invaluable in learning about our precious Orthodox Tradition, and are a great aid for teaching family members, friends and others about Orthodoxy. ~Maria

Two of my favorite quotes:

“A true Christian behaves in this life so that it may be a preparation for the future one and not only a life here below. In his actions, he does not think what will be said of him here but of what will be said there in heaven; he represents to himself that he is always in the presence of God, of the angels and all the saints, and remembers that someday they will bear witness of his thoughts, words, and deeds.”  — Saint John of Kronstadt

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“Of all the holy works, the education of children is the most holy.”
— St. Theophan the Recluse