Tag: asceticism

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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:

  1. Holy Baptism
  2. Holy Chrismation
  3. Holy Communion 
  4. Holy Confession 
  5. Holy Marriage (Matrimony)
  6. Holy Unction (Anointing of the Sick)
  7. 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!

 

Text copyright © 2018 by Fr. Symeon D. S. Kees

 

 

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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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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. 
  3. 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:

  1. 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. 
  2. 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. 
  3. 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

 

Text copyright © 2018 by Fr. Symeon D. S. Kees