The Morning Offering

Workplace Spirituality

Father Moses, the monastery's bread baker.

Fitting the Workplace into 

Your Spiritual Life

This blog was born out of an attempt on my part to aid a number of  my spiritual children to begin their work day with a spiritual focus. I'd asked them to read the appointed Scripture readings for the Church's liturgical cycle at their desks before beginning their jobs.
 

One young man had his office manager tell him that he was not permitted to bring a bible to the office because the company did not want religious symbols displayed at work, lest they cause offense to someone else. Never mind there was a Muslim woman who was allowed to wear her large head scarf and take prayer breaks when the Islamic prayer times arrived. I asked him if he was permitted to check his email during the day. Since this was permitted, I started emailing him the assigned daily scripture readings from the Church calendar.
 

Since that time I greatly expanded my daily offering, turning it into the blog format. It seemed appropriate to name the blog The Daily Offering. 1,832 postings later, The Morning Offering has been a labor of love for all my readers.
 

Balancing the spiritual life with the workplace can be quite challenging. Our work day should begin with prayer, and should be planned with the help and guidance of one's spiritual father, priest or confessor. If you have children, you should get up an hour early, so you have plenty of time for prayer, before getting them breakfast and sending them off to school. Setting aside this prayer time each morning is the best way to guarantee the day will be God centered.
 

If you are a commuter who takes public transportation, get in the habit of reading books that are available in your parish bookstore. Again, your priest can suggest books that would be of benefit to you. I keep a book in our van so as to have spiritual reading while waiting on the dock, or crossing on the ferry.
 

Use your coffee break to rereading The Morning Offering, or a few chapters in your commuter book. When you head out for lunch, take the book along as your companion.You can also benefit by downloading programing from Ancient Faith Radio on your ipad. For those hours of work time, the continuous repetition of the Jesus Prayer can keep us grounded in our faith.
 

Following these simple guidelines will make a huge difference in your workday, and contribute immensely to your own spiritual growth.
 

With love in Christ,

Abbot Tryphon

Wednesday January 15, 2014 / January 2, 2014
30^th Week after Pentecost. Tone four.
Sviatki. Fast-free
Forefeast of the Theophany.
St. Sylvester, pope of Rome (335).
Righteous Juliana of Lazarevo (1604).
Repose (1833), the second finding of relics (1991) of Venerable Seraphim, wonderworker of Sarov.
New Martyr Basil (1942).
Venerable Sylvester of the Kiev Caves (12th c.).
Hieromartyr Theogenes, bishop of Parium on the Hellespont (320).
St. Gerasimus, patriarch of Alexandria.
Venerable Theopemptos.
St. Theodota, mother of the first Sts. Cosmas and Damian (3rd c.).
Venerable Mark the Deaf.
Martyr Sergius of Caesarea in Cappadocia (301).
Martyrs Theopistos.
St. Cosmas, archbishop of Constantinople (1081).
Venerable Ammon of Tabennisi, monk (5th c.).
New Martyr George (Zorzes) the Georgian (1770) (Greek).

You can read the life of the saint by clicking on the highlighted 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

Hebrews 10:1-18

Animal Sacrifices Insufficient

10 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. ² For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. ³ But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. ⁴ For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

Christ’s Death Fulfills God’s Will

⁵ Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:

“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
⁶ In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.
⁷ Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’”

⁸ Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), ⁹ then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. ¹⁰ By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Christ’s Death Perfects the Sanctified

¹¹ And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. ¹⁴ For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
¹⁵ But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before,
¹⁶ “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” ¹⁷ then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” ¹⁸ Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

Mark 12:28-37

The Scribes: Which Is the First Commandment of All?

²⁸ Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”
²⁹ Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. ³¹ And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
³² So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. ³³ And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
³⁴ Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
But after that no one dared question Him.

Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord?

³⁵ Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? ³⁶ For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’

³⁷ Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son?”
And the common people heard Him gladly.

 I invite my readers to listen to my
Ancient Faith Radio podcasts:
http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/morningoffering