Psalm 42
As a deer longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for thee, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
(Psalm 42:1)
Spiritual thirst is at the heart of the Christian life. Many translations of Psalm 42 use pants, “as a deer pants for flowing streams…”. The hot, tired, dry panting of one who is thirsty and desperate to drink fresh, clean, cold water. The saints exhibit many qualities in great variety, but one that they all share is this deep thirsting, panting, longing for God.
The Orthodox world has a new saint as of November 27th, Elder Porphyrios (1906–1991). He was an Athonite monk who because of illness had to return to his home village in Evia, Greece and later served for thirty years as a hospital chaplain at a busy hospital in Athens. He returned to Mount Athos in 1984 and was widely known for his gift of clairvoyance and spiritual insight. Wounded by Love, the story of his life and teaching has become a modern classic.
His sainthood was declared by the synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on November 27th, 2013, and his feastday is December 2. Below are two of his teachings.
1
This is the way we should see Christ. He is our friend, our brother; He is whatever is good and beautiful. He is everything. Yet, He is still a friend and He shouts it out, “You’re my friends, don’t you understand that? We’re brothers. I don’t hold hell in my hands. I am not threatening you. I love you. I want you to enjoy life together with me.”
2
God has placed a power in man’s soul. But it is up to him how he channels it – for good or for evil. If we imagine the good as a garden full of flowers, trees and plants and the evil as weeds and thorns and the power as water, then what can happen is as follows: when the water is directed towards the flower-garden, then all the plants grow, blossom and bear fruit; and at the same time, the weeds and thorns, because they are not being watered, wither and die. And the opposite, of course, can also happen.
It is not necessary, therefore, to concern yourselves with the weeds. Don’t occupy yourself with rooting out evil. Christ does not wish us to occupy ourselves with the passions, but with the opposite. Channel the water, that is, all the strength of your soul, to the flowers and you will enjoy their beauty, their fragrance and their freshness.
You won’t become saints by hounding after evil. Ignore evil. Look towards Christ and He will save you. Instead of standing outside the door shooing the evil one away, treat him with disdain. If evil approaches from one direction, then calmly turn in the opposite direction. If evil comes to assault you, turn all your inner strength to good, to Christ. Pray, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.’ He knows how and in what way to have mercy on you. And when you have filled yourself with good, don’t turn any more towards evil. In this way you become good on your own, with the grace of God. Where can evil then find a foothold? It disappears!
Chancery update
Last Sunday Holy Trinity parish in Randolph, New Jersey Bishop Michael of New York led the celebration of Father George Hasenecz’s fifty years of service as a priest, almost all of it in Randolph. I couldn’t be there (I was in France), but Father George was my family’s priest for many years and he left a big impression. My parents and we five children moved to Randolph from Connecticut in the summer of 1971, into a house just a few miles away from the church. As kids, he was the first “cool” priest we had ever known (he even wore jeans), and he somehow made church life seem normal. Over the years I have come to appreciate that normalcy more and more, together with Father George’s example of faithful, unpretentious, caring priestly service, persisting patiently from decade to decade. Axios!
Father David Fox now serves at Holy Trinity. Like Father George, who was a teacher for many years in addition to being the pastor, Father David is also employed—or better, has another ministry—outside the parish. He works for Bonnie Brae, a school, home and safe haven for boys and young men in crisis, ages 8-18. From their website:
We are a fully accredited and nationally recognized Residential Treatment Center, a safe haven for boys to heal, to learn and to grow. Since 1916, when Bonnie Brae was founded by Judge Harry Osborne, we’ve helped over 9,500 boys at risk. Today we serve nearly 100 boys at our main campus situated on 100 beautiful acres in Bernards Township and 15 young men at our transitional living homes in New Brunswick and Bound Brook. For nearly 100 years, when all other resources have failed, we have been a safe haven for boys-in-crisis.
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Today and tomorrow the focus at the Chancery will be on planning for the future of the Archives. A panel of experts from around the OCA and North America will be meeting with Metropolitan Tikhon, the officers and Archivist Alexis Liberovsky to brainstorm and develop proposals for properly housing and caring for the valuable collection.
Week 3: Recruiting 300 Stewards for the Orthodox Church in America
Today and tomorrow are the final two days of this website campaign (although new members will of course be welcome anytime). If you haven’t done so already, please take a look at the some of the departmental “wish lists” [see story here] to see what difference Stewards could make to the ministries of the OCA.
And thank you for your support of the Stewards and the Orthodox Church in America!