Another Story

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"What is more necessary for man than God and His divine love? He is our refuge, He is our treasure, He is our food and drink, He is our raiment and shelter, He is our health and strength, He is our happiness and joy, He is our hope and our trust. Strive then, my son, to gain Him."-St. Theodora

St. John of Kronstadt once said, "Our life is child’s play, only not innocent, but sinful, because, with a strong mind, and with the knowledge of the purpose of our life, we neglect this purpose and occupy ourselves with frivolous, purposeless matters."

Now St. John Chrysostom says that luxury in moderation is fine. But the latter speaks of occupying time with frivolous things. This is not a thing such as going to a museum or taking a walk or attentively listening to or watching something. No, rather it is, doing something without lack of purpose, filling a large amount of time with this purposelessness.

That's been pricking at me lately. I've also been thinking about family life quite a bit and how Elder Thaddeus says, "piety is not enough." So even with prayer rules, regular church attendance and alms-giving, more must be given. St. Theodora says that Christ is our treasure, food and drink. The thing of value and also our source of life. The exterior is not what will build up a strong spouse and children. It is the interior, the secret life, the heart that even prays while among men. St. Nikolai praises the man who maintains righteousness among the unrighteous. And the scriptures admonish the secret life: "O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely."- Song of Solomon 2:14

Our lives are sweet and lovely when we are hiding ourselves away. I once heard in a podcast a monk saying that it would be a good idea for a layperson to at least try and wake up in the middle of the night when everyone is asleep and pray and to make this a habit and how Christ would surely bless this.

Classically, the cell (room) of the monk and nun is also the heart of the Christian. Let us strive to fill this heart with Christ and fill our lives with things that actually are fulfilling and satisfying (the "real" foods as it were) and not end up like the idle man: “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order.
Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.(Matthew 12: 43-45a)