SSCORRE!
Saint Sophia Cathedral
Online Resources for our Religious Edification
Topic of the Week – Spiritual Despondency
Adult/Family:
“…This is what the church fathers refer to when they warn us about despondency…. lack of effort in the spiritual life, a lack of striving: a failure to strive for God, to strive to repent, to strive to pray.
And it is different from what the world takes as depression because even a very happy person outwardly feels their life is going well, feels even joyful of the things that the world is giving them, may actually be suffering from despondency but be completely unaware of it….
We are told by the fathers even a monk who has lived 50 years in a monastery and followed his rule and been to every service for 50 years, even at the end of his life he will have to make great effort to pray. The effort is always required even to our last breath. it doesn’t become an easy habit that we fall into it without thinking. We must struggle, we must put in effort to pray for the rest of our lives….”
Watch the short video by Fr. Spyridon Bailey or read the transcript.
Preschool/Elementary:
- “…St. John Climacus says to us that there were times in his own life where when he went to pray it was such a struggle and great effort was necessary. And yet immediately when prayer was finished he felt happy, he felt comfortable and full of energy and was able to go off and do this and that….”
Have you ever felt the same way as St. John?
Parents: Create a family prayer album – on each page insert a photo of an extended family member or friend. During daily prayers, pray for each person, reminding your child of who that person is. Include special prayer requests as needed.
Middle School:
Have you ever heard the word ‘acedia’? ‘A’ means not and ‘cedos’ means effort or work. So acedia is a lack of effort, no work. Another word for this is ‘despondency‘.
What are some things that you are lacking effort in? Cleaning your room? Doing chores? How about prayer, repentance, or anything to do with your spiritual life? What do you spend your time doing instead of connecting with God through prayer?
“… think of the many things we spend our time doing in the day. Time we waste every day of our lives and yet when we try to discipline ourselves and just put 20 minutes aside in the morning to pray and 20 minutes in the evening – what a struggle it becomes! Twenty minutes seems like centuries to us at times, and we struggle and feel so tired!
- First of all by suggesting we are tired; we are weak; the body isn’t up to it; we’ve had a hard day; it’s all too much for us and so we have this sense of sluggishness, this sense of sloth.
- And the second way the demons can attack us with despondency is by distraction. By consuming our energies and our time with external worldly things, we can become so preoccupied with worldly things that we fail to strive for the inner things, the spiritual matters. This is despondency. It is this slothfulness, this failure to strive and every one of us must be watchful over our hearts.”
Now that we know the two ways in which the devil tries to attack us what small things can you think of to do in this struggle? Here is one example: perhaps try to say your evening prayers earlier (after dinner but before any other activity) so you are less tired.
By considering how much time you spend on your activities, you will gain an understanding of what you need to change. For one week, keep a record of what you do every 30 minutes. Evaluate how many of the week’s 168 hours you used for sleeping, meals, school/studying, entertainment, conversation, and prayer. The results may surprise you! Use this data to help you order your days with wisdom [arrange your time in Christian wisdom].
What other ideas can you come up with to be watchful?
When you struggle, here is a prayer to help you:
- “Almighty God, make it so that by Thy holy Angels demonic despondency may be driven far from me. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
High School:
“..Of course, there are worldly pleasures that can make the spiritual life feel and appear alien to us. When we are so consumed with worldly pleasures the effort required to pray, to go to church, the effort to read the fathers and lives of the saints suddenly becomes very burdensome. we feel a great weight, a great burden when we try to apply ourselves to spiritual matters. This is a sign of despondency. This is the work of the demons, tempting us, plaguing us with this sloth, this despondency. So every one of us must put effort into our prayer….
Read the short transcript, and also suggestions at the end of the section for middle school students above.
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
__________________________________________________________
“Of all the holy works, the education of children is the most holy.”
— St. Theophan the Recluse
