The Lenten Prayer

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Desert wisdom, Lent, photography

Misty morning at Skidaway Island State Park.

Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance, suppresses anger, restrains pride and envy, draws down the Holy Spirit in to the soul and raises man to heaven.

~~St. Ephrem the Syrian

THE LENTEN PRAYER

O Lord and Master of my life
take from me the spirit of sloth,
faint-heartedness, lust of power
and idle talk.
But give rather,
the spirit of chastity,
humility, patience and love to thy servant.
Yea, O Lord and King,
grant me to see my own errors
and not to judge my brother;
for Thou art blessed unto the ages of ages.
Amen.

Ephrem the Syrian (c. 306 – 373) was a deacon, prolific Syriac language hymn writer and theologian of the 4th century. He is venerated by Christians throughout the world, and especially among Syriac Christians as a saint. Ephrem wrote a wide variety of hymns, poems and homilies in verse, as well as prose biblical commentaries. These were works of practical theology for the edification of the church in troubled times. So popular were his works, that, for centuries after his death, Christian authors wrote hundreds of pseudepigraphous works in his name. Ephrem’s works witness to an early, vibrant expression of Christian faith, little touched by the European modes of thought, and more engaged with eastern methods of discourse.

The Second Week in Lent

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Desert wisdom, Forgiveness, photography

The Elvis Presley Memorial Chapel at the Lost Dutchman Museum in Apache Junction, Arizona.

The lesson of not judging others is an incredibly difficult one to learn. It is human to struggle with being critical about others or to look down on those we deem to be spiritually or morally inferior. Unfortunately, it is impossible to fully love God and experience spiritual freedom if we do not love others, including our enemies, without any kind of judgment.

A lack of judgment, on the other hand, is not the same as discernment, which is a spiritual gift. For example, discernment might lead me to stop associating with someone who causes me to fall into some type of sin, either because of that person’s sinful habits or my own sinful inclinations. In not associating with that person, I do not condemn them, but rather I know it is not beneficial for me be with them.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:16 that we should “be wise as serpents (use discernment) and as innocent as doves (don’t judge or condemn people when we happen to notice their faults)”. An excellent start toward living into that is to prioritize not judging others. Using discernment will help us to realize our own sinfulness, which, in turn, will deepen our purity of heart. Being aware of our own sinfulness should help lead us to genuine repentance.

Interestingly, the New Testament Daily Office reading for Saturday was from Paul’s  First Letter to the Corinthians and spoke on this very thing. In Chapter 4 it reads: ³ But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. ⁴ I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵ Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God.

This week in A Spring in the Desert, we write about “Forgiveness” and “Judgement”. Below, you will find some quotes from the Desert Fathers that address these subjects:

ISAAC THE THEBAN

One day Abba Isaac went to a monastery. He saw a brother committing a sin and he condemned him. When he returned to the desert, an angel of the Lord came and stood in front of the door of his cell, and said, ‘I will not let you enter.’

But Isaac persisted saying, ‘What is the matter?’

The angel replied, ‘God has sent me to ask you where you want to throw the guilty brother whom you have condemned.’

Immediately Isaac repented and said, ‘I have sinned, forgive me.’

Then the angel said, ‘Get up, God has forgiven you. But from now on, be careful not to judge someone before God has done so.’

THEOPHILUS THE ARCHBISHOP

Theophilus was asked, ‘Father, in this way of life which you follow, what do you find to be best?’

Theophilus replied, ‘The act of accusing myself, and of constantly reproaching myself to myself…There is no other way but this.’

MOSES THE BLACK

If we are on the watch to see our own faults, we shall not see those of our neighbor…To die to one’s neighbor is this: To bear your own faults and not to pay attention to anyone else wondering whether they are good or bad. Do no harm to anyone, do not think anything bad in your heart towards anyone, do not scorn the man who does evil…Do not rail against anyone, but rather say, ‘God knows each one.’ Do not agree with him who slanders, do not rejoice at his slander, and do not hate him who slanders his neighbor.

POEMEN

A man may seem to be silent, but if his heart is condemning others he is babbling ceaselessly. But there may be another who talks from morning till night and yet he is truly silent; that is, he says nothing that is not profitable.

The College for Bishops

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Bishops, Episcopal, photography

Tree at the Virginia Diocesan Center at Roslyn

We spent the past week traveling to, participating in, and returning from the first session of The College for Bishops. During the first session, bishops elected during the previous year, along with their spouses, are introduced to each other and what one can expect as a bishop and spouse in the Episcopal Church. These people become your “class” and we will see a lot of each other in the coming years.

The Chapel at the Roslyn Center overlooking the Kanawha Canal and James River.

Our class consists of 13 couples, including 8 female bishops, a lesbian couple, and two gay couples. The Dioceses represented are: Georgia (ours), Missouri, Taiwan, Michigan, Southern Virginia, El Camino Real (California), Montana, South Dakota, Vermont, Northern California, Maine, San Diego (California), and a Suffragan bishop of Texas. A suffragan is an assisting bishop to the diocesan bishop. There are 111 dioceses in the Episcopal Church, which is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

View from the altar in the chapel at Roslyn.

Frank’s election comes at an exciting time as we will be able to attend the 15th Lambeth Conference in Canterbury England. The Lambeth Conference is a decennial assembly of bishops of the Anglican Communion convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The first such conference took place in 1867. Because of complications, the 2018 conference was postponed until this year. Lucky for us! We are really looking forward to meeting bishops and their spouses from all over the world.

Finally, we also had an article featured on the Grow Christians blog this week. You can see that here: When Spiritual Practices Become Springs in the Desert.

 

 

A Spring in the Desert

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Books, Desert wisdom, Devotional, Forward Movement

Frank and I have a new book coming out for Lent 2020 called A Spring in the Desert:

Jesus stepped out of the water of baptism into uninhabitable wilderness, emerging forty days later to offer the water of life for those thirsting for God’s presence. A little more than two centuries later, a group of Christians withdrew from a spiritually barren Roman Empire to find their faith blossom in the stony soil of the Egyptian desert.

We offer a Lenten journey inspired by the many passages of scripture that use images of water in the desert as a sign of the healing and wholeness that come through God alone. To this we add the distilled wisdom of the Desert Mothers and Fathers and the surprisingly rich inspiration of the plants and animals that thrive in an arid land. Along the way, we share the ways our faith speaks to the barren places in our lives and how those times of drought can be a source of strength.

You can preorder it here: A Spring in the Desert

We have also created a video class to go along with it featuring 20 5-minute classes; See the intro video here:

A Spring in the Desert

Coming Soon . . .

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Desert wisdom, photography

Desert sunrise

Beginning on January 1, 2018, I will begin a daily blog featuring wisdom from the desert fathers and mothers. Below you will find a sample–advice from Desert Mother, Amma Theodora.

Stay tuned for a special announcement about this blog, The Wilderness Road, coming next week . . .

Amma Theodora said, “It is good to live in peace, for the wise man practices perpetual prayer. It is truly a great thing for a virgin or a monk to live in peace, especially for the younger ones. However, you should realize that as soon as you intend to live in peace, at once evil comes and weighs down your soul through accidie, faintheartedness, and evil thoughts.

“It also attacks your body through sickness, debility, weakening of the knees, and all the members. It dissipates the strength of soul and body, so that one believes one is ill and no longer able to pray.

“But if we are vigilant, all these temptations fall away. There was, in fact a monk who was seized by cold and fever every time he began to pray, and he suffered from headaches, too. In this condition, he said to himself, ‘I am ill, and near to death; so now I will get up before I die and pray.’

“By reasoning in this way, he did violence to himself and prayed. When he had finished, the fever abated also. So, by reasoning in this way, the brother resisted, and prayed and was able to conquer his thoughts.”

If you want to savor a piece of daily desert wisdom in 2018, you can follow my blog here: Franciscans Day by Day

Morning light on the Superstitions.

Wisdom of the Desert

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Desert wisdom

I have spent the past few weeks working on my daily Franciscan blog for 2018, which has left me little time to do anything else. Next year, instead of the daily Franciscan wisdom that I posted for several years, I will be posting wisdom from the desert mothers and fathers each day. To pick a totally random day (okay, it’s actually my birthday) here is an example of what that will look like:

Amma Syncletica said, “Those in the world who commit crimes are thrown into prison against their will. For our sins, let us put ourselves under guard, and by willingly accepting it now we shall avoid punishment in the future.

“If you fast, you should beware of thinking that it is by weakening your body that you have fallen ill, for people who do not fast fall ill in the same way.

“If you have begun some good work, you should not be turned from it by the enemy’s attempts to hinder you, indeed your endurance will overthrow the enemy.

“Sailors beginning a voyage set the sails and look for a favorable wind, and later they meet a contrary wind. Just because the wind has turned, they do not throw the cargo overboard or abandon ship; they wait a while and struggle against the storm until they can set a direct course again.

“When we run into headwinds, let us put up the cross for our sail, and we shall voyage through the world in safety.”