By Abbot Tryphon
“We must be the leaven in this post-Christian era” Leaven The Presence | The Morning Offering.
Leaven | The Age of Darkness
As Christians in this post-Christian era, we must live with the knowledge that God still reigns, even though the evidence is to the contrary. In this post-Christian era, we are like exiles, but like the Jews who were in bondage under the Babylonians, we can not live in the past, remembering only the time when society was Christian. Nor can we focus on critiquing the present secular age. Rather, we must become the leaven for restoring the faith of our neighbors.
We must energize the nation by being agents of love, mercy, beauty, and peace. We must become the reconciling force between the secular world, and God. Even if our churches are closed for lack of membership, we must be living repositories for the wisdom and grace of faith, bringing about, by our lives, the restoration of Christianity in this age of unbelief. We must show our neighbors what love looks like, and be that shining light of Christ in this age of darkness. We must not let this era change us, we must change this era.
“Taste the presence of Christ beside you” Leaven The Presence | The Morning Offering.
Leaven | Taste the Presence
We all need a good dose of silent prayer each and every day. Finding that perfect place in our home that can become our cave, or prayer closet, will afford us that sacred space wherein we can go deep into the heart and connect with God. That place wherein we can close off our family, our worries, our job, our distractions, and go deep into our heart where we will find the peace that comes from Christ.
The Jesus Prayer is the perfect prayer, for it is a prayer of adoration and praise, and a prayer that proclaims that Jesus is Lord, and as God, can grant mercy upon us. The simple prayer which invokes the Holy Name of Jesus can transform our life, and take us into the very Heart of God. This prayer is known as the Prayer of the Heart for the very reason that it is of the heart.
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” Leaven The Presence | The Morning Offering.
Said with the aid of a Prayer Rope (thus bringing our body into the action of the prayer), this prayer accomplishes Saint Paul’s admonition that we should “pray always”. It is a prayer that takes us out of our self and into communion with Christ. It is a prayer that can change our life because through this prayer we can taste the presence of Christ beside us.
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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