| Home |
| About Us |
|
News and Events
|
| Orthodox Christianity |
| Schedule of Services |
| Ministries & Organizations |
| Multimedia |
| Directions |
| Contact |
 |
December 2008
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Christ is in our midst!
I love the Gospel reading that combines the raising of Jairus’ daughter and the healing of the Woman with the issue of blood. The overwhelming compassion of the Savior comes alive for us in these two vignettes in which he literally releases these people from the chains that bind them.
One aspect of both stories that bears upon us is that both Jairus and the woman knew what it was that troubled them. They approached Christ with a full recognition of their needs. Jairus’ fear and later grief over his child’s death was a gaping wound nothing could assuage or disguise. The Woman’s wound was one she had suffered for many years causing her not only physical misery, but also much mental distress. She was a pariah and an outcast because of her malady. These two reached out to Jesus with an understanding of exactly what it was that they most needed and Jesus responded with great compassion. But do we really know what it is that is causing our own disease?
It is important that we discover the wounds in us that need to be healed. What is the cause of my distress? What is that undercurrent of unease I so often feel, that knot in the pit of my stomach, that twinge in my neck, that feeling of anxiety, depression or fear that often controls me and causes me to respond to others who mean no harm as if they were my enemy? We cannot know until we stop, look and listen to what is happening under our own skins. There are two sure things. One is that the suffering comes from within as a result of conditioning and unhealthy ways of thinking and living not from without. The second is that there is a way out.
For this reason the Church offers us Advent and the other three fasting periods we observe. These are times to strip away the distractions that keep us from discovering what the box cars that trail behind us and are connected to us contain. We carry burdens that weigh us down and we don’t even know what they are or why we believe we must carry them! Renunciation is letting go of all that stuff. We need to let go of holding back our natural, God-given thirst for freedom, for joy, for happiness. Renunciation is the path to freedom.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Antony
Archives of Fr Antony's Monthly Notes
2011
Summer 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
June 2010
May 2010
March 2010
2009
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
2008
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
2007
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
Summer 2007
May 2007
May 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
2006
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
2005
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
2004
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
2003
December 2003
November 2003
October 2003
September 2003
June 2003
May 2003
April 2003
March 2003
2002
May 2002
April 2002
March 2002
February 2002
January 2002
2001
November 2001
October 2001
May 2001
April 2001
© 2012 - St. Mary Orthodox Church - Cambridge, MA
8 Inman Street Cambridge, MA 02139 | (O) 617-547-1234 | (F) 617-902-2370 | Directions | Contact