The Morning Offering

Teaching Children 

to Love God

click on photo to enlarge

Children learn love of God by
the example of their parents

Every Orthodox parent wants their children to grow up attending Sunday Liturgies and staying active in the life of the Church throughout their lives. Yet many parents don't demonstrate the importance of having a personal relationship with God in front of their children. If you do not make God important, neither will your child.

Children observe their parents. They see hypocrisy and know when you are not following through with the teachings of the Church during the week. They hear when you take the Lord's name in vain. They notice when you reserve prayer to weekend service. They notice you only speaking of God on a Sunday morning.

Making the sign of the cross, lighting candles and burning incense only on Sundays teaches your children to compartmentalize their own faith, and leaves them defenseless in a world fulled with temptations and distractions from things that are of a spiritual nature. If you do not demonstrate the importance of prayer before your children, you will leave them defenseless in a world that hates Christ. Your children need to pray with you, read the scriptures with you, be taught the faith by you.

If you do not make your home a domestic church, your children will be lost to Christ, and Orthodoxy will not be lived out beyond your own grave. If they do not see you living a committed life in Christ, they will turn from the faith, and Orthodoxy will not survive into the next generation.

Love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

Friday September 19, 2014 / September 6, 2014
15^th Week after Pentecost. Tone five.
Fast. By Monastic Charter: Strict Fast (Bread, Vegetables, Fruits)
Commemoration of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael at Colossae (Chonae) (4th c.).
Martyr Eudoxius, and with him Martyrs Zeno, Macarius, and 1,104 soldiers in Melitene (311).
New Hieromartyr Demetrius priest (1918).
New Hieromartyrs Constantine, John and Vsevolod priests (1937).
Venerable Archippus of Hierapolis (4th c.).
Martyrs Romulus and 11,000 others in Armenia (2nd c.).
Hieromartyr Cyril, bishop of Gortyna (3rd-4th c.).
Martyrs Cyriacus, Faustus, Abibus, and 11 others at Alexandria (250).
Venerable David of Hermopolis in Egypt (6th c.).
Kiev-Bratsk (1654) and Arabia Icons of the Mother of God.
Martyrs Calodote, Macarius, Andrew, Cyriacus, Dionysius, Andrew the Soldier, Andropelagia, Thecla, Theoctistus, and Sarapabon the Senator, in Egypt (256).
St. Beya, virgin, first abbess of Copeland in Cumbria (7th c.) (Celtic & British).
St. Magnus of Fussen, enlightener of the Allgau region of Germany (750-772).
You can read the life of the saint by clicking on the highlighted name.


"Blogs and social networks give us new opportunities for the Christian mission...Not to be present there means to display our helplessness and lack of care for the salvation of our brothers (His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia)."

The Scripture Readings for the Day

Galatians 4:8-21

Fears for the Church

⁸ But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. ⁹ But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? ¹⁰ You observe days and months and seasons and years. ¹¹ I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.
¹² Brethren, I urge you to become like me, for I became like you. You have not injured me at all. ¹³ You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first. ¹⁴ And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ What then was the blessing you enjoyed? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶ Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?
¹⁷ They zealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them. ¹⁸ But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you. ¹⁹ My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you, ²⁰ I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you.

Two Covenants

²¹ Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?

Mark 6:45-53

Jesus Walks on the Sea

⁴⁵ Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. ⁴⁶ And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷ Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. ⁴⁹ And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; ⁵⁰ for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. ⁵² For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.

Many Touch Him and Are Made Well

⁵³ When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.

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

All-Merciful Saviour Monastery is a monastery of the Western American Diocese, under the omophor of His Eminence Kyrill, Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America. The Monastery is a non-profit 501 C3 organization under IRS regulations. All donations are therefore tax deductible.
We depend on the generosity of our friends and benefactors. You can donate to the monastery through PayPal, or by sending donations directly to the monastery's mailing address.

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

Abbot Tryphon's email address:
frtryphon@vashonmonks.com