Reflections on Prayer
“He who loves the Lord is ever mindful of Him, and the thought of God begets
prayer. If you are forgetful of the Lord, you will not pray, and without prayer the
soul will not dwell in the love of God, for the grace of the Holy Spirit comes
through prayer.” ~ St. Silouan
Reflections on the Sacrament of Confession
“They [the heretics] affirm that they are showing great reverence for God, to
Whom alone they reserve the power of forgiving sins. But in truth none do Him
greater injury than they who choose to prune His commandments and reject the
office entrusted to them [i.e. to the priests]. For inasmuch as the Lord Jesus
Himself said in the Gospel: ‘Receive ye the Holy Spirit, whosoever sins ye forgive
they are forgiven unto them, and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained,’
Who is it that honors Him most, he who obeys His bidding or he who rejects it?”
~ St. Ambrose of Milan 4th century
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17).
“Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God”
(1 Corinthians 10:31).
The purpose of work is to give glory to God. There is nothing
especially valuable about any kind of work, apart from serving
God. For the desert fathers, the highest kind of work is that
which least requires the mind, and is most conducive to
contemplation and prayer. Homemaking, washing dishes,
gardening, craft making, and similar meditative activities are
most conducive to holiness. The more “sophisticated” kinds of
work, when necessary, should inspire in us humility and reliance
on God’s mercy.
Avoid Accomplishing Work for Worldly Praise
Work done with prayer and humility is imbued with God’s grace.
Work done for vanity sake always deteriorates. “It is hidden in
the dirt, buried in the earth,” Abba Isaac says bluntly. Work done
for man’s glory becomes “plundered by various demons,
consumed by the insatiable rust of vainglory, and devoured by
the maggots of pride, until it is of no use or benefit to the one
storing it up” (154).
It is therefore necessary that we constantly pray for discernment
and God’s blessing over our work. “The monitoring of which
motivations drive what we do. If work is to be a valuable part of
the Christian life, we must purify these intentions, and carry out
our work for the right reasons” (Opperwall 155).
We Are Not Defined By Our Work
“Modern Christians ought to take careful note of this
understanding on the part of the fathers. One of the great
temptations of Christians in our world is to accept the notion
that what we do for work constitutes who we are in some way, a
notion that the world around us promotes endlessly” (Opperwall
156).
Social constructs of a person’s self worth have changed over time.
In traditional societies, a man or woman usually defines his or
her “self value” on being part of a community or religion. The
specific kind of work one does is not so important as the ability
to feed a family or contribute to local community. This was the
case through most of history, when families remained together in
their ancestral communities, towns, and farms. This changed in
the mid-20th century, when society came to emphasize
individualistic goals and a hope to “find oneself ” in different kinds
of jobs. Today, the search for identity is more focused on sexual
orientation and pursuit of pleasure. The Church Fathers would
not agree with either modernistic goals. Their emphasis is always
on serving local community and pursuing a life focused around
peace, quiet, and simplicity…it gives us something to think about.
Permeating Work with Prayer
In every kind of work, we should strive to focus our mind of
Christ. The mind, Abba Abraham teaches, should “orbit the love
of the Lord as its only fixed and unmoving center during
everything we do, and during all our moments of toil…[guided
by] the right kind of compass (to coin a phrase) — the compass
of love” (156).
Abba Isaac: “I must shout with all my strength: ‘Oh God, make
speed to save me, oh Lord, make haste to help me.’ The words of
this verse must be poured forth constantly, that we may be guided through adversity, and that we may be preserved in prosperity (rather than becoming haughty). Really let the
meaning of these verses roll over and over across your breast. Do
not stop chanting it during whatever work of duty or journey
you are undertaking. Reflect on it even while resting and
sleeping and attending to nature’s call” (157).
Physical Work is Most Conducive to Contemplation
“Physical laborers know well the quietude of a day working with
one’s hands. The fact that the mind is mostly at rest during
physical labor creates a vacuum that demands to be filled” (158).
Avoid Filling Silence with Noise While Working
“For many in the world today, this filling is done with a radio or
set of headphones, playing music or talk programs. Depending
on what we are taking in, playing music at work is by no means
necessarily destructive. Yet, the fathers counsel that the relative
mental vacuum created during physical labor would be better
treated as a spiritual opportunity — a mental space in which
prayer can be pursued while the hands are kept busy” (158).
Finding Humility in the Less Contemplative Kinds of Work
Abba Chaeremon: “Sometimes it is helpful when we perceive
that we have been called away from these spiritual activities. For,
when our focus is interrupted (against our will), and we must
ease up a bit for the weakness of our flesh, then we may build up
some healthy patience, even if unwillingly” (160).
“Seeing our work as a sign of our reliance on God will allow us
to create ever more space in ourselves for God’s presence,
thereby making work of any sort into a tool of humility and thus
a help in the pursuit of purity of heart” (Opperwall 160).