Random Bits (7 May 2012)

1. I started a diet today. First time I have really done this, although I’ve spoken about it a bunch with my wife. I’m going  extremely low carb with intermittent fasting (ie, I won’t be eating anything a couple of days a week). Basically I’m going to eat small portions of meat and eggs till I hit my target weight, then I will sort something out for maintennce over the long haul.

2. I want to start blogging on a daily basis. I have had many blogs over the last 10 years and they tend to fizzle out when I’m trying to create groundbreaking content every day. I will therefore probably write things of a more mundane nature, and hopefully a good pile of it will end up being helpful to someone out there on the Interwebs.

3. We’ve had a ton of moths around our area lately. Like, a ton. It’s been Mothpocolypse around the ol’ Duke City. But today we’ve had crazy wind and dust storms, I’m hoping it drove the little buggers back to the pit from whence they came.

4. In about three weeks my family and I with other families from our parish are going on a pilgrimage to the Monastery of the Holy Archangel Michael in Canones, NM. I’m very excited about this, and hope it will be a spiritually enriching time. I’m particularly excited about spending time outdoors again, as our recent camping trip awakened a fierce desire to spend much more time out from under a roof. My children are really looking forward to Fr. Silouan showing them how the monks make the candles we use at church.

10 Essential Conditions for Coming to Know God’s Truth and Finding Life.

1. The belief that the truth of things can be known, and the desire to know the truth and to do it, wherever it leads, is most essential. Indeed it is everything. When people have this desire and seek truth in order to do it, and are ready to do it whatever it takes to find it, know it and do it, God promises that they will find, and understand and live. In a sense, this desire and seeking is all that is necessary.
2. The seeking person must read the New Testament through, slowly and without judgment of details, at least two or three times, taking the time needed to do this. They should let go of what is not clear, and focus on what they can understand, what is clear to them. It would also be helpful to read a Psalm or two everyday.
3. The person must pray, as they can. If they claim to be Christian, at least somehow, they should say the Lord’s Prayer, and other prayers of the Church tradition, and attend Liturgical services, without serving or singing or reading. If they are not Christians, or are unsure, they must at least pray, “to whom it may concern,” saying something like, “if you are there, teach me, lead me, guide me…”
4. The person must eat good foods in moderation. A couple of days a week (like Wed and Fri) the person should fast; eating much less than usual. During this search the person should abstain from all alcohol, tobacco and drugs. Except a minimal amount of wine with meals. If overeating or drinking, smoking or drug-taking is a problem, the seeker must get formal help, like, for example, a 12 step program.
5. The person should abstain from all sexual activity unless they are married and expressing love (and not just having sex). There should be no TV or Internet porn. If sex is an addictive problem, they must take steps to get formal help.
6. The person should sit alone and still in silence for at least a half hour each day. They should watch their thoughts, but not engage them. They should say a very short prayer while doing them, to avoid engaging their thoughts.
7. The person should give at least a couple of hours a week to charitable work, and should give away some of their money (if they can) in a sacrificial way. They should do this, as far as possible, without anyone knowing what they are doing.
8. The person should open their life fully to at least one other trustworthy person, telling absolutely everything, without editing or hiding anything: their thoughts, dreams, temptations, actions, sins, fears, anxieties, etc.
9. The person must regularly talk with someone trustworthy specifically about their family of origin: their family history going back as far as possible, their childhood, relations with their parents and grandparents and siblings, their spiritual and religious history, their sexual history, education, etc.
10. The person must find a community of friends with whom to struggle to know the truth and to find life. The search cannot be done alone. We need each other.

I’m sitting in a funky-cool hotel room in Santa Fe, NM. It’s way too late, but its ok because tomorrow is Saturday and we will sleep as late as we want (or as late as the children will let us).

Our hotel is weird. Not upscale, it fits in our budget and our suite is small-ish but sufficient for our wants and expansive for our needs. And the halls are lined with an interesting amalgam of Catholic, Buddhist, and semi-erotic art. Well, that’s Santa Fe for ya.

We’re here because we just needed to get away. Everyday life needed a jumpstart, our Lenten disciplines needed a boost, and Hannah needed a break from home. So we’re here, ostensibly so we can visit a monastery, a sister Orthodox parish and to see Northern New Mexico family including my grandfather who is ill with cancer. But mostly just to get away. Experience the other to appreciate the familiar. Take a step away from the everyday in order to find its beauty. Something like that.

But there is something quite other on my mind. I went out around 10 o’ clock to get some supplies from the grocer about a mile from our hotel. As I paused at an intersection, amid the beautiful snow and Spanish mission architecture was a man with a cardboard sign. I did not notice what it said as the snow was too heavy and  my stop at the red light too brief. I grabbed the cash and coins in my pocket - it must have been $2.50 or less - and perfunctorily shoved them out my partially opened window as I passed by. The man took them, said a quick “God bless you,” and I was through the intersection and within two blocks turned left into the parking lot of the grocer.

I came back, bringing Hannah a Dr. Pepper and feeding the children mini-pizzas before sending them to bed. I honestly did not think further of the man with the cardboard sign until my family was asleep and I was sitting alone at the desk in our room, the CNN on one side and a gaudy statue of a laughing Buddha on the other (as I said, this is Santa Fe after all).

In thinking about the man with the cardboard sign, I suppose my wonderment is at how many such people I ignore in my own city. I know they are there, but I could not tell you how many nor how often I pass them by. To my shame they have become invisible, and it took an unrelated person in a city an hour away to make me even think of them. I have nothing to say for myself, and could not even begin to start making resolutions about my future behavior. I hope that I will be more attentive to those in our midst. I want to reflect further on this, because I know that I have been deficient in caring for the needy that I encounter so frequently.

Being a Saint in the Workplace

Steve the Builder writes about being a Christian in the workplace, regardless of what kind of place it is. I found this bit especially helpful.

Be silent.  (My opinion isn’t a necessity.)

Speak with grace if speaking is a necessity.

Acknowledge people’s goodness.

Apologize sincerely even if the wrong is only perceived.

Don’t engage in nor take morbid interest in debates, disputes and gossip.

Go the second mile without being asked.

Give the cloak when asked for a shirt (do more than expected). 

Be concerned about other’s burdens.

Say please. And thank you.  Often.

Ask for help.  

Be gracious for unasked for help.

Bring donuts.

Don’t boast.  About anything.

Be someone who is known to have a sense of humor.

Don’t be conspicuously pious.

Compliment other people behind their backs.

Say “Good morning” and “Goodbye”. 

The Presentation of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Temple

Troparion:

Rejoice, thou who art full of grace, Mother of God and Virgin, for from thee arose the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, to give light to those in darkness. Rejoice thou also, righteous elder, who didst take in thy arms the Redeemer of our souls who also gives us the grace of resurrection.

HT: nakedpastor

All your success is in Christ and His Cross

simplyorthodox:

In all your works, either at home or at the place of your service, do not forget that all your strength, your light and your success are in Christ and His Cross; therefore, do not fail to call upon the Lord before beginning any work, saying: Jesus, help me! Jesus, enlighten me! Thus your heart will be supported and warmed by lively faith and hope in Christ, for His is the power and glory unto ages of ages.

–St. John of Kronstadt (My Life in Christ: Part 1, Holy Trinity Monastery pg. 74)