The WORD (USPS626-260) Is Published Monthly, Except Be Deliberate
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE October 2018 Volume 62 No.WORD 8 EDITORIAL Volume 62 No.8 October 2018 COVER: THE HOLY TRINITY Icon handwritten THE by Janet Jaime WORD [email protected] TAKE 3 EDITORIAL by Bishop JOHN CONTENTS 5 THE ROLE OF THE PRIEST AS CHARGE SPIRITUAL FATHER IN THE ORTHODOX SPIRITUAL LIFE by Bishop THOMAS Joseph and Peter Schweitzer OF YOUR 11 JUSTIN MARTYR, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH by Fr. Dan Daly TIME 16 CREATING A DYNAMIC MARRIAGE by Fr. Aaron Warwick 19 GRIEF IS A FUNNY THING by Gregory Abdalah 20 ARCHDIOCESAN OFFICE 21 FR. NICOLA YANNEY: THE FIRST PRIEST ORDAINED BY THE FIRST BISHOP by Amy Hadley BISHOP JOHN 28 YOUNG PROFESSIONALS THIRD CONFERENCE 30 COMMUNITIES IN ACTION 32 SCOUTING AWARDS 33 MAKE SOME MEMORIES AT THE ur father and chief shepherd to be realistic in what we expect of ourselves. ARCHDIOCESE CONVENTION Metropolitan JOSEPH often Sometimes we may pair up difficult things with by Alan Abraham suggests to young clergy and fun or easy ones, so that we can provide our- 34 ORATORICAL FESTIVAL by Cassidy Lee Irwin those seeking a spiritual life selves with an incentive or reward to get the to take control of their time. more difficult things done first. If we have a I would like to reflect on this task that is daunting, or one we just don’t want Letters to the editor are welcome and should include the O author’s full name and parish. Submissions for “Commu- counsel a bit, because I am captivated by its to do, it may be better to get it out of the way nities in Action” must be approved by the local pastor. Both may be edited for purposes of clarity and space. All implications. This guidance carries the whole first. Then it won’t distract us as we do things submissions e-mailed and provided as a Microsoft Word text or editable PDF. Please do not embed artwork into the phronema of Orthodox spirituality and express- that are more pleasant or enjoyable. word documents. All art work must be high resolution: at least 300dpi. es it with precision and simplicity. While it Being deliberate also means making sure ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION: sounds simple to the modern ear, it relays the that our tasks are appropriate to our high U.S.A. and Canada, $40.00 depth of our faith tradition. Christian calling, and that God would be Foreign Countries, $50.00 Single Copies, $3.00 Taking control of one’s time requires us to pleased to bless them. Not everything is good The WORD (USPS626-260) is published monthly, except be deliberate. To plan well, we should identify and beneficial. Anything that would distract us July and August, by the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America at 358 Mountain Road, PO our goals and responsibilities, and then priori- from living integrated and holy lives should be Box 5238; periodicals postage paid at Englewood, New Jersey 07631-5238 and at additional mailing offices. tize them. This is best done after daily prayer: avoided. We can avoid sin by choosing to re- Postmaster send address changes to The WORD, 358 we can make a list of the tasks and responsibili- move ourselves from the place we sin, or by be- Mountain Road, PO Box 5238, Englewood, NJ 07631- ties our position and each day brings. We can ing with someone with whom we would not 5238 ISSN 0043-7964 www.antiochian.org. then asses how much energy these tasks will sin. Most temptation has an element of inten- Canada Post Publication Agreement No. 40043404 take, and when they need to completed. Next, sity which passes within a relatively short time, Return Canada address to American International Mail, STN A – BOX 697, Windsor we can then put them into a schedule that will if we choose to busy ourselves with something ON N9A 6N4, Canada work for us. To do this well, however, we need better. Most often and effective is calling on 2 JanuaryOctober 2016 2018 TheThe WordWord 33 EDITORIAL God through prayer. The name of the Lord has power in itself. Remember how, in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus said “I am” the soldiers fell The Role of to the ground like dead men. Calling on Christ and doing something good will protect and redirect us. the Priest as Taking control of our time means keeping our Christian calling always Spiritual Father in mind and using it as a guide as we set priorities and make decisions. We The Most Reverend Metropolitan JOSEPH are called to love God with all of our heart, mind and soul, to take care of in the Orthodox The Right Reverend each other, and to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name Bishop BASIL of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This last instruction The Right Reverend Spiritual Life Bishop THOMAS involves mission and evangelization, and these begin wherever we find our- Bp. THOMAS Joseph and Peter Schweitzer The Right Reverend selves now. Be ever ready and willing to witness, but wait for the circum- Bishop ALEXANDER stances to be most fertile. The Right Reverend Bishop JOHN Taking control of our time means being responsible. Our Church and our The Right Reverend families are relying on us to witness and work to the measure of the talents Bishop ANTHONY with which God blesses us. Our “fair share” in this is not a fraction of the The Right Reverend Bishop NICHOLAS whole – we need not fear that we will lack anything – as God blesses each of Founded in Arabic as us abundantly and calls us to serve out of that abundance. Serving allows us Al Kalimat in 1905 by Saint Raphael (Hawaweeny) to see God’s hand in His creation up close and personally, a great blessing. Founded in English as The WORD in 1957 Taking control of our time means being faithful. We need to be faithful by Metropolitan ANTONY (Bashir) to God, ourselves and our neighbors. No one reading this needs to be re- Editor in Chief Bishop JOHN, D.Min. minded that our neighbor is everyone else, and that everyone includes even Assistant Editor Christopher Humphrey, Ph.D. family members who are sometimes most resistant to our witness or to what Design Director Donna Griffin Albert is reasonable. Nevertheless, we are called to be faithful. As a guide to being Icon handwritten by Janet Jaime [email protected] Editorial Board Fr. Michel Najm, Ph.D. Fr. Patrick O’Grady faithful, we can ask questions of ourselves like: What does God want us to Fr. Thomas Zain AS A WAY OF LIFE, RATHER THAN A RELIGION, ORTHODOXY PRESUMES AND Fr. Andrew Damick do? Who are we and what is our responsibility? What is reasonable, honest Fr. Nicholas Belcher and fair to both myself and the other? This “self talk” can be helpful in sort- PRESUPPOSES A PARTICULAR WORLDVIEW THAT IS UNIQUE AND CHRIST-CENTERED. IT Fr. John Oliver Kh. Erin Kimmet ing out confused thoughts and feelings. We often have conflicting ideals and IS A WAY OF BEING IN THE WORLD, A WAY OF INTERACTING WITH OUR BROTHERS AND Peter Samore Ann Bezzerides, Ph.D. goals, but this exercise of discernment is very helpful. SISTERS, AS WELL AS THE ENTIRE COSMOS. IT IS IN THIS CONTEXT THAT I WOULD LIKE Editorial Office: Taking control of our time means taking charge of ourselves. It is a kind TO SHARE A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT THE PRIEST’S SPIRTUAL FATHERHOOD AND THE The WORD of ascetism that allows us to be deliberate and reasonable about how we eat, 2 Lydia’s Path MODE OF ITS EXPRESSION IN THE CHURCH. Westborough, MA 01581-1841 exercise, pray and work. It involves being deliberate about what we read and e-mail: [email protected] see. We do have control of much of what we put into our minds, bodies and he notion of spiritual fatherhood has a The tradition reflected in this passage is one we Subscription Office: souls. Taking charge of what goes in will determine how we feed or starve 358 Mountain Road long and venerable tradition within the still practice today: our tradition of calling our dea- PO Box 5238 each of the many conflicting passions that are part of life in this fallen world. Englewood, NJ 07631-5238 holy Orthodox Church. We find Saint cons and priests “father,” and of referring to our Or- [email protected] Taking charge or control of our time is the way of the Christian life. It is Paul reminding the people of Corinth of thodox Christian spiritual elders through the centuries ascetic inasmuch as it calls us to be good stewards and exercise self-control. T his spiritual fatherhood and paternal care as “the fathers of the Church.” This concept has come Being deliberate is our best way of making good, holy and reasonable choic- for the people of Corinth. “I do not write these things under attack from all sides today. On the one hand, es. It will allow us to be faithful to God and each other. It is the only way of to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. we are witnessing a period of profound gender confu- integrity, honesty, peace, and joy, because it is the only way to be genuine in For though you might have ten thousand instructors in sion. Our young people are being taught that gender our Christian call. Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ is not significant and that male and female, father and Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.