The Morning Offering

The Christ-centered
Family

Good Parenting and the Christian Home

Any good parent knows that he must love all his children equally. No favoritism should be displayed when raising children if we want them to know they are loved. Troubled children often get more attention from a loving parents because mom and dad know this child is in greater need of parental support. 

One child might be brighter and more successful in school, but the good parent displays no praise at the expense of the child who is struggling with school work. The same goes for the child who excels in sports or music. The child who has less talent in these areas must not feel less valued or less loved. I'm not suggesting that the excelling child not be praised for a job well done, but rather that the child who is struggling be encouraged, and that recognition be made where the child does do a good job.

A good grounding for any parent/child relationship begins with the family's relationship with God. The old saying, "A family that prays together, stays together" is true. A well balanced family has deep roots in the life of the Church. The father that takes his role seriously as the head of his household, knows that he must be an example of all godliness and holiness for his children. They must see in him a man of prayer, and a man who loves and honors their mother.
 
When parents give witness to the love that God has for them, the children will in turn feel secure in the knowledge that they, too, are loved by God. The parents who love and support their children by giving them a strong spiritual basis for life will have given them the greatest gift of all, and all will have Christ as their kingdom, light, life, and crown.
 
Love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

In the first photo you can see our large fig tree, abundant with figs.

Monday July 22, 2013 / July 9, 2013

5^th Week after Pentecost. Tone three.

Hieromartyr Pancratius, bishop of Taormina in Sicily (1st c.).
New Hieromartyr Constantine priest (1918).
Hieromartyr Cyril, bishop of Gortyna in Crete (250-252).
Martyrs Patermuthius, Coprius, and Alexander the Soldier, in Egypt (361).
Sts. Patermuthius and Coprius, ascetics of Egypt (4th c.).
St. Theodore, bishop of Edessa (848).
"Cyprus" in the village of Stromyn (Moscow diocese) and "Koloch" (1413) Icons of the Mother of God.
Venarable Anthony Leokhnovsky (1611).
Venerable Euthymius of Karelia (1435).
Blessed Peter, hieromartyr of Cherevkov (Vologda) (16th-17th c.).
St. Everild, nun, of England (700) (Celtic & British).
Martyrs Andrew and Probus (Greek).
Venerables Dionysius the Rhetorician and Metrophanes of Mt. Athos (Greek).
Venerable Theodosius, stylite of Edessa (9th c.).
Venerable John of the Caves in Babylon.
Martyr Michael, disciple and the Kinsman of St. Theodore.
Martyr John (before holy baptism Moavy), king of Baghdad and with him the Three Holy Youths (9th c.).
New Hieromartyr Methodius of Amaria, Crete (1793).
Hieromartyr Killian, bishop in East Franconia and Thuringia, and his companions Hieromonk Colman and Hierodeacon Totman, at Wurzburg (689).

You can read the life of the saint in red, by clicking on the name.

THANKS 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

The Scripture Readings for the Day

Romans 12:4-5

⁴ For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, ⁵ so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

Romans 12:15-21

¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. ¹⁹ Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ Therefore

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Matthew 12:9-13

Healing on the Sabbath

⁹ Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him.
¹¹ Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? ¹² Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.

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