Oblate Daily Sunday, August 10, 2014 / July 28, 2014 [East] Holy Apostles of the Seventy and Deacons: Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, and Parmenas Appearance of the Smolensk Directress icon of the Most Holy Theotokos St. Moses, Wonderworker of the Kiev Caves [West] Venerables Ursus and Leobatius (Leubais), brother-abbots (Gaul) St. Samson, bishop of Dol in Brittany [SB: Holy Rule] Chapter 48 - Of the Daily Work Idleness is the enemy of the soul; and therefore the brethren ought to be employed in manual labor at certain times, at others, in devout reading. Hence, we believe that the time for each will be properly ordered by the following arrangement; namely, that from Easter till the calends of October, they go out in the morning from the first till about the fourth hour, to do the necessary work, but that from the fourth till about the sixth hour they devote to reading. After the sixth hour, however, when they have risen from table, let them rest in their beds in complete silence; or if, perhaps, anyone desireth to read for himself, let him so read that he doth not disturb others. Let None be said somewhat earlier, about the middle of the eighth hour; and then let them work again at what is necessary until Vespers. If, however, the needs of the place, or poverty should require that they do the work of gathering the harvest themselves, let them not be downcast, for then are they monks in truth, if they live by the work of their hands, as did also our forefathers and the Apostles. However, on account of the faint-hearted let all things be done with moderation. [Lectio Divina] Matthew 14:30-31 [30] but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, Lord, save me. [31] Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, O man of little faith, why did you doubt? [Daily thoughts from St. Theophan the Recluse] The Holy Apostle Peter, with the Lords permission, gets out of the ship and walks on the water; then he yields to the movement of fear and begins to drown. The fact the he decided upon such a singular act, hoping in the Lord, deserves no reprimand -- otherwise the Lord would not have allowed him to do this. The reprimand came because he did not sustain the original state of his soul. He was filled with inspired hope in the Lords ability to do anything, and this gave him the boldness to entrust himself to the waves. Several steps were already made along this new path -- it was necessary only to stand more firmly in hope, gazing at the Lord, Who is near, and at the experience of walking in His strength. Instead, he gave himself over to human thoughts: The wind is strong, the waves are great, and water is not solid -- and this shook loose and weakened the strength of his faith and hope. Because of this he broke away from the Lords hands and, left to the operation of natures laws, began to drown. The Lord rebuked him: O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? (Matt. 14:31), showing that in this lay the entire reason for his danger. Behold a lesson for all who undertake something, great or small, with the aim of pleasing the Lord! Keep your first state of faith and hope, from which a great virtue is born -- patience in doing good, which serves as the basis for a God-pleasing life. As long as these dispositions are maintained, inspiration for laboring on the path begun does not go away, and obstacles, no matter how great they may be, are not noticed. When these dispositions weaken, the soul is filled with human reasoning about human methods of preserving ones life and conducting the affairs one has begun. But since these human methods always turns out to be powerless, fear enters the soul -- how should one act? From this comes waverings about whether or not to continue, and in the end one completely turns back. Here is what you must do: if you begin, persevere -- chase away troubling thoughts, and be bold in the Lord, Who is close.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 02:36:51 +0000
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