The Morning Offering

It's Not Easy

Anything that is 
Quickly Obtained is also Easily Lost

Americans are not a particularly patient people, as demonstrated by the fact that the fast food industry began with us. We don't tolerate slow service, thus much of the food we consume is prepared before we order it. We drive our car to a window, order our food, and expect it to be ready, without delay, at the next window. If we be church goers, we expect the service to end within one hour, on the dot. Our gardens are filled with flowers that come fully grown, are dropped into the soil, and look good from the very first watering. No waiting around for the germination of seeds, we want instant beauty.

If an appliance breaks down, we buy a new one, rather than wait a week for repairs. We throw ourselves into the latest fad diet promising fast weight loss, only to see the weight come back after we've tired of the menu. We don't apprentice for a career, but walk out of a university with the expectation our career will begin on day one. Many of our children are allowed to dress in adult pop fashion, resulting in the loss of innocence, and the precious sweetness of childhood is transformed into a sort of miniature adult.

Since we have grown accustomed to having everything happen quickly, and without delay, we also expect our spiritual lives to be on the same quick time line. We don't have the patience to build upon the knowledge of the holy fathers, so we don't practice regular spiritual reading. Our church attendance is limited to the essential Sunday Liturgy, and even then we arrive late and perhaps leave before the Thanksgiving Prayers have been concluded. If fasting is difficult for us, we don't fast at all. If keeping a Prayer Rule is tedious, we don't try at all to develop a set time for our prayers. If our mind wanders during prayer, we let it, avoiding even the least amount of struggle.

If we hope to make progress in the spiritual life, it is good to remember the words of Saint Isaac the Syrian, "For anything that is quickly obtained is also easily lost, whereas everything found with toil is also kept with careful watching."

With love in Christ,

Abbot Tryphon

Thursday October 4, 2012 / September 21, 2012
18^th Week after Pentecost. Tone eight.

Apodosis of the Exaltation of the Cross.
 
Apostle Quadratus of the Seventy (130).
Uncovering of the relics (1752) of St. Demetrius, metropolitan of Rostov (1709).
New Hieromartyrs Alexander, Alexis, Constantine, John priests (1918).
New Hieromartyr Mavrikius and with him Martyr Basil and Vladimir (1937).
New Hieromartyrs Valentin, Alexander, John, Andrew, Peter, John priests (1937).
New Hieromartyr Theophan (Tuliakov), metropolitan of Lipetsk and Belo-Russia (1937).
New Hieromartyr John priest (1938).
New Hieromartyr Basil priest (1942).
Venerable Daniel, abbot of Shugh Hill (Novgorod) (16th c.).
Venerable Joseph of Zaonikiev Monastery (Vologda) (1612).
Hieromartyr Hypatius, bishop of Ephesus, and his presbyter Andrew (730).
Sts. Isaacius and Meletius, bishops of Cyprus.
Martyr Eusebius of Phoenicia (2nd c.) and Martyr Priscus of Phrygia.
Martyrs Eusebius, Nestabus, Zeno, and Nestor the Confessor of Gaza (4th c.).
Venerable Jonah the Sabbaite (9th c.) (Greek).
Synaxis of All Saints of Uglich.

You can read the life of the saint in green, by click on the name.

THANK YOU, to all of you who have been able to contribute towards the support of the monastery. These difficult times of economic hardship have impacted the monastery, and those of you who have been able to donate, have been our lifeline. May God bless you for your generosity, and kindness.

With love in Christ,  
Abbot Tryphon

Donations can be made directly to the monastery through PayPal, or you may send donations to:

All-Merciful Saviour Monastery
PO Box 2420
Vashon Island, WA 98070-2420 USA

Ephesians 5:33-6:9

³³ Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Children and Parents

6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ² “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: ³ “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”
⁴ And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Bondservants and Masters

⁵ Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; ⁶ not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, ⁷ with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, ⁸ knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
⁹ And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

Luke 4:16-22

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

¹⁶ So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
¹⁹ To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

²⁰ Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. ²¹ And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” ²² So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

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