By Abbot Tryphon
“We must empower children in the Orthodox faith. If we do not make God important, neither will our children.” The Heart And Witnessing Faith To Our Children | The Morning Offering.
Witnessing Faith To Our Children | The Everyday Church
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 relationship with God in front of their children. If we do not make God important, neither will our children. Children observe their parents, and other adults. They see hypocrisy and know when we are not following through with the teachings of the Church during the week. They hear when we take the Lord’s name in vain. They observe when we don’t make prayer central to our day. They notice when we only speak of God on a Sunday morning.
“Our children need to pray with us, read the scriptures with us, and be taught the faith by us.” The Heart And Witnessing Faith To Our Children | The Morning Offering.
Witnessing Faith To Our Children | The Home Church
Making the sign of the cross, lighting candles and burning incense only on Sundays teaches our children to compartmentalize their own faith, thus leaving them defenseless in a world filled with temptations and distractions from things that are of a spiritual nature. If we do not demonstrate the importance of prayer before our children, we will leave them defenseless in a world that hates Christ. Our children need to pray with us, read the scriptures with us, and be taught the faith by us. If we do not make our homes a domestic church, our children will be lost to Christ, and Orthodoxy will not be lived out beyond our own grave.
“An ignored heart is a lost heart” The Heart And Witnessing Faith To Our Children | The Morning Offering.
Witnessing Faith To Our Children | The Heart Church
It is important that we direct all our thoughts, all our actions, and all our desires towards a burning love for God. Our heart must become inflamed with the love of God, and all our intellectual and emotional striving must be directed towards the development of the heart, for the Kingdom of God is within. When we seek the Lord with all humility, and keep His commandments, love takes the heart by storm, and joy resides in us. If we ignore the spiritual life, and make no effort to join our heart to God, our heart will be lost, for an ignored heart is a lost heart.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
About The Brotherhood of the All-Merciful Saviour Monastery
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
P.O. Box 2420
Vashon Island, WA 98070-2420 USA
Another small way to contribute to the monastery if one already purchases items through the amazon.com website is to use the smile.amazon.com link associated with our monastery. Purchases will accrue a small percentage that will eventually be given to the monastery in time. For more information, please go our website page here: https://vashonmonks.com/using-amazon-smile
By: Abbot Tryphon | The All-Merciful Saviour Orthodox Monastery on Vashon Island. Washington, United States
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