The Treatment – Page 8 – The Tao of Holy Orthodoxy

March 15, 2018April 27, 2018

52. Divine Medicine: The Holy Mysteries

Life medicines

As a catechumen, you have been engaged in a period of intensive training to prepare you for entrance into the Holy Orthodox Church, the Hospital established by Christ, our Physician. Only when you are admitted to the Hospital under the care of the Bishop and Priests will you receive the full treatment to cure your soul.

When you have been received into the Church, the Divine Medicines will be open to you. We call these various Medicines the Holy Mysteries. They are also called the Holy Sacraments. We list these seven Mysteries, but we do not limit their number:

Holy Baptism
Holy Chrismation
Holy Communion
Holy Confession
Holy Marriage (Matrimony)
Holy Unction (Anointing of the Sick)
Holy Ordination

Through the Holy Mysteries, your body and soul will encounter the Divine Grace, that is, the Life-Giving Presence of God. Each of the Holy Mysteries works effectively, not because it contains an active ingredient derived from the creation, but because God works through the Mystery to heal us. See in the Holy Mysteries how the Uncreated One works through His human creatures and simple components of His creation, like water and oil, to touch us, change us, and unite us with Himself.

You can only really know the Holy Mysteries with the heart by experiencing them. Medicines are meant to be taken by the sick. They are not objects of curiosity. Yet, your rational mind can learn about the meaning and use of the Holy Mysteries by reading Holy Scripture and the history of the early Church. Since the Mysteries are inseparable from our prayer and worship, the liturgical services and prayers can likewise help you reach a basic understanding of those Divine Mysteries beyond comprehension.

Most importantly, continue to repent and prepare yourself for receiving the Life-Giving Medicines. May God give you good strength!

March 10, 2018March 10, 2018

51. Your Name, Patron, and Sponsor

Saint_Anastasia Public Domain

As you are received into the Holy Orthodox Church, you will be given a new name. You will bear the name of your new Patron Saint, who will be assigned to pray for you as your guardian and protector. If the Apostle John became your Patron Saint, for example, you would receive the name John as your new Christian name. Likewise, if the Great Martyr Anastasia became your Patron, you would receive the name, Anastasia. The Priest may give you a new name and assign a Patron Saint without consulting with you, but he will likely involve you in the process of making the decision.

If your birth name is already the name of a Saint, like Luke or Catherine, your birth name may be kept as your Christian name as well. You are not expected to use this new name daily as though it were a legal name change. Rather, you will be called by your Christian name when the Church prays for you and during other specific occasions.

Your Priest will also speak with you concerning a Sponsor, that is, an adult Godparent who will stand beside you as you are received into the Church. After you are received, your Sponsor may serve as an important resource for answering basic questions and as a model for how to live an active Orthodox Christian life. If the Priest allows you to choose your Sponsor, choose wisely and, of course, receive the blessing of the Priest regarding your choice. If you are male, your Sponsor must be male. If you are female, your Sponsor must be female. Through the Mystery that unites you to the Church, a new spiritual relationship will be created between you and your Sponsor.

(Keep in mind that as marriages are forbidden between people having certain blood relationships, marriages are also forbidden between two people who are spiritually related. Your relationship as a spiritual son or daughter of your Godparent/Sponsor may also create new spiritual brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nieces, and nephews. For purposes of marriage, the Church treats these spiritual relationships very much like biological kinship.)

By your entrance into the Holy Orthodox Church, you will not only gain a new name and a Patron Saint, but also new family members.

Read: Genesis 17.1-5; 15-16; 32.28, John 1.40-42

March 7, 2018September 24, 2018

50. Remember Your Story, Our Story

pexels-photo-320265 Closed Book

You have a story, the story of your life. Whenever you tell your story, you choose certain important experiences and string them together from past to present. The story you tell reveals how you have grown up through the years to become the person you are now and may point to who you aspire to be. Your story is intertwined with the story of other people who have been a part of your life. Indeed, all of us in the whole world are intertwined.

Think of all the connected stories throughout the world – of people, families, and nations – as a long, thick rope of interweaving vines that stretches through time. At the heart of this rope is the glowing Golden Vine. Through this vine flows Life Itself (or rather, Life Himself), shining as pure Light. The Golden Vine is the Great Story at the center of all human history. It is the Story of God working within the world to create us and, when we had fallen into death, to heal us and bring us into the fullness of our potential.

When you are joined with Christ and received into His Holy Church, your life becomes interconnected with this Golden Vine. You share in the Great Story of God destroying death and bestowing Life on the world. This Story reveals your true identity, how you must live today, and how to proceed with your life into the future.

The Great Story begins in the beginning, unfolds through the Old Testament, is fulfilled in the New Testament, and seamlessly continues through the history of the Holy Orthodox Church until today. In past lessons, you have already been taught the Great Story. Now, under the guidance of your Priest, increase your knowledge. Read through the Old Testament, the Holy Gospel According to St. Mark, the shortest of the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and resources on the history of the Orthodox Church from the time of the Apostles onward.

Within the Orthodox Church, the Old Testament has been preserved, the New Testament written, and the whole canon (collection) of Scripture compiled. Both the text of Holy Scripture and the correct interpretation of Scripture have been inseparably held together in the Church. Holy Tradition includes both what the Scripture says and what it means. Through continued instruction, discover what the Holy Scripture, the writings of the Fathers, the prayers, the hymns, the icons, and the whole life of the Church reveal about the Story of salvation and your participation in it.

Do not forget, whether because of laziness or deception, the Truth about Who God Is, who you are, who you may become, and how to practically live faithfully as one who bears the Name of Christ. Remember the Story and your place in it. Keep the Story in your mind, heart, and action so that you remain on the Way of salvation.

Read: Deuteronomy 6.1-25; 8.1-20; Isaiah 17.10-11; Jeremiah 18.15; Joshua 4.19-24; Judges 2.10-13; Psalm 78.11-20; 2 Peter 1.1-21; 3.1-17; Revelation 2.2-5; 3.1-3

February 7, 2018March 17, 2018

48. The Three Aspects of Your Cure

pexels-photo-771149 bicycle

When you fall ill, your physician may prescribe a comprehensive treatment plan for recovery that includes three basic components:

A healthful daily lifestyle: Avoid foods that contribute to poor health. Drink plenty of fluids to remain hydrated. Eat more nutritious vegetables and increase protein consumption. Lose fat and build muscle. Walk or bike more and drive your car less. Make sure you get adequate sleep every night.
Corrective therapy: Work to cut out addictive habits, like smoking and excessive drinking. Keep certain dietary restrictions. Submit to surgery to fix the root internal problem causing your symptoms. Actively engage in physical therapy to build strength, increase flexibility, and improve mobility after surgery or injury. Exercise rigorously to improve your cardiovascular health.
Medicine: As prescribed, take your medications, including vitamin supplements, that effectively promote normal, healthy functioning of all your body’s systems.

In order to improve your health, you must follow all aspects of the treatment plan your physician has handed you. If you only take your prescribed medications, but neglect the plan as a whole, refusing to eat well, sleep well, exercise well, stop smoking, or engage in any difficult strenuous activity, your health may not improve. Similarly, if you follow the first two aspects of the plan, but refuse to take necessary medications, your health may further deteriorate rather than improve.

As a physician of the body might provide a comprehensive treatment plan so that your physical health would be fully restored, our Divine Physician has provided a comprehensive treatment plan for the healing of your soul within His Church. The life of the Church cannot be neatly divided in separate categories, but for the sake of simplicity think of your treatment as having these three aspects:

A healthful daily lifestyle: Live a virtuous life. Obediently follow the commandments of Christ. Love God and your fellow human beings. Keep the Orthodox Faith in your mind, heart, and action. Be patient. Cultivate humility. Stay watchful. Remain within the stream the the Divine Will rather than being distracted and yanked around by the passions. Maintain chastity in the soul and body. Be good. Do good. Always pray.
Corrective therapy: The spiritual life is a Way of both spiritual therapy and training. In other words, the Orthodox Way involves ascetic effort. Though sometimes difficult, actively engage in the ascetic effort through self-denial and repentance. Practice abstinence. Keep the fasts. Cut out bad habits and turn away from sin through repentance. A patient engaged in physical therapy must sometimes endure demanding and painful exercises to heal. The difficulty you experience through your ascetic effort proves necessary for the strengthening, healing, and transformation of your soul.
Medicine: Receive the Holy Mysteries. the Divine Medicines of the Church.

The difference between the first two aspects, living a virtuous life and practicing the ascetic effort, is difficulty. If you were not afflicted by death, you would easily live a healthful lifestyle. It would be natural for you to follow the Way of Life. Since you possess illness in your soul, however, the Way will not always seem natural. What is natural for the healed person may be difficult in your present condition. On the other hand, that which is unnatural and harmful, may seem or feel natural to you. No matter how hard and exhausting, reject the temptations to give up and to take the easy path toward death. Keep your heart focused on Christ and your feet on the the Way that leads to Life. Your daily dedication to a healthful lifestyle (a virtuous life in harmony with the Way) and commitment to corrective therapy (ascetic effort) prepares your soul and body for reception of the Divine Medicines (the Holy Mysteries) you need.

Listen to the instructions that the Divine Physician has given you and faithfully carry them out. Carefully attend to all these aspects of your cure. Follow the guidance of your Priest-physician so that you may be healed and continue on the path of growth and transformation. To experience the fullness of salvation, dedicate yourself to the complete treatment plan of the Church – the whole Way.

Read: Luke 6.45-49

January 3, 2018March 15, 2018

47. In Good Order: Servants & Leaders

Christ_washes_apostles'_feet_(Monreale)

A good father and mother love their children more than themselves and provide all the necessary nurturing care necessary for their children to grow physically, mentally, and spiritually. Good children love and obey their parents. A proper order exists. The parents are not obedient to their children, but the other way around. Everyone loves one another. This is a healthy hierarchy, an order not based on power over others, but a balanced family relationship rooted in self-giving love. Within the Church, some have received greater authority and higher positions than others. The Church is a well-ordered, hierarchical family.

Within a marriage, the husband is the head, that is, the head servant responsible for loving his wife, living for his wife’s benefit, and, if necessary, dying for his wife’s sake. If you are in authority over others, you must be a servant, too. This is what being the chief means: Working as the chief servant. Our Master, Jesus Christ, taught the nature of spiritual leadership when He washed His own Disciples’ feet and dried them with a towel. For this reason, a simple towel serves as a powerful symbol of family hierarchy, humble leadership, and obedient servanthood within the Church. A leader in the Church is one who serves, being an icon of humility and an example of obedience.

A Bishop, even one holding the high office of Patriarch, must be humbly obedient to the decisions of His brother Bishops who together form the Synod. Everyone over whom the Bishop is a spiritual Shepherd is called to be obedient to the Bishop and to the Priests, who are given authority to serve as spiritual fathers, pastors, and ministers. Again, this is not a hierarchy of power, but a balanced family structure rooted in love.

Consider the Deacon with regard to proper, reverent obedience. The Deacon does not put on his vestments until the Priest blesses him to do so. Before he leads the people in a prayerful litany, the Deacon receives the blessing of the Priest. Before he census with the censor, the Deacon asks the Priest to bless the incense. The Deacon does not presume to lift up the Gospel Book from the Holy Altar, but instead receives it from the hand of the Priest as he kisses the Priest’s hand. Before he reads the Holy Gospel, the Deacon asks the Priest to bless him. The Deacons is an icon of humility and obedience.

When the Bishop visits an Orthodox community, much of what the Priest usually does is performed by the Bishop, who is superior in office and authority to the Priest. The Priest does not bless the Deacon, the people, or the incense when the Bishop is there because the Bishop offers the blessings. The Priest does not presume to put on his vestments when the Bishop is visiting until he receives a blessing from the Bishop. When he offers prayers during the services, the Priest and Deacon often bow to the Bishop in reverence and recognition of His authority.

The spiritual life flourishes in the community characterized by good order, loyal obedience, and mutual love. Love and respect those who have been set in authority over you for the benefit of your salvation and endeavor to love and serve others. Strive to be a leader within the Church by being a faithful servant of Jesus Christ. If you live this Way, you will contribute to the harmony within your spiritual family and also nurture peace and harmony within yourself. Remember, this is part of your spiritual therapy for the healing of your soul and the fulfillment of your potential and purpose.

Read: Matthew 20:20-28; Matthew 25.14-30; John 13:1-17; 21.1-25; Acts 6.1-8; 20.28; 2 Corinthians 11.22-33; Ephesians 5.1-33; Hebrews 13.7, 17; 1 Peter 5.1-4