Finding of the Holy Cross (14 September 2014) Father Lazarus-Mariam

14 Septembre 2014 , Rédigé par Eglise Syriaque-Orthodoxe Antiochienne

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LE COIN DES ANGLOPHONES:

La Méditation du Rd Père Lazarus-Mariam:

Dear Fathers ,Brothers and Sisters ,

On this beautiful feast of the "Finding of the Holy Cross I would like to offer you a few reflections on what it means for us to find the Holy

Cross in the monastic life that we have been called to.

In the monastery our study of theology is not contained in books alone .It is a practical day by day living out of the Gospel and teachings of the Fathers .The person who lives the theology in this way is the true theologian !For all the study , meditations , and words we speak the spiritual life remains to be lived !

God has called us to the desert of the monastery .We could attend the services , do the work that we are asked to do , spend the times alone in the cell. And good as all that is it would not be to the live the monastic vocation in its fullness .In the prayer of the heart we open our hearts to Christ the true and living God to come and live in our hearts .We are then to seek union with that prayer and offering of Christ to the Father .

An old monastic speaks "The world may revolve many times , but the Cross remains the same ."

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When we open the Office books each morning and evening we see next to the first page of prayers a picture of the Icon of the Crucifixion .It is as if God is constantly trying to remind us of the journey we are to make .

Jesus spoke "When I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all men to myself ." The Holy Cross calls us to the deepest search for unity .

Firstly we seek unity with the Bishop remembering where the Bishop is there the Church is present .And then we seek the unity of the

monastery with our Brother and Sister monastics .

The prayer of Christ before his death must be fulfilled in us that we may be "one ." If we can not love each other how can we truly love the God that we can not see ? But in truth this good God and friend of man is in each of us . Another monastic saying said :

"In the teacher and the disciple who is the greatest ?

For both have the presence of God in them ."

A house divided will fall .And not only that it will provide a bad witness to those who visit it .Jesus once fell under the weight of His Holy Cross and was helped to carry it .Our brother and sister monastics are given to us and us to them to support them in their journey and to aid them to answer their vocation in its fullness .

All a Father can ask of his son and we of each other is that we do the will of God whatever it is and whatever the cost .

The Holy Cross brings together all the nations of the earth and so calls us to seek the unity of the church .This must be a special concern of ours .We think especially of our Roman Catholic Brothers and Sisters in the great church of the West . For the church in its fullness breaths with two lungs ,those of both East and West .In these days where in some places there is a shortage of Vocations we should be pastoraly open to these brothers and sisters who come seeking help at the monastery.

The Holy Cross is the truth of our salvation .This search for unity should not be misunderstood .The Orthodox Churches can only teach that which was taught always and everywhere from the beginning .We can add nothing to this and take nothing from it . Our full unity in word and sacrament can only be with those who except these teachings .To the people from the reformed churches that come to us we must meet in a respectful but firm way ,never compromising this truth and inviting them to embrace the fullness of Gods teachings in the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church .

At the foot of the Holy Cross stood silently the Theotoks the Mother of God .We are to fulfill or vocation to stay and watch with Christ in prayer , in unity with His sacrifice for the salvation of the world . The ones who offer and sing the praises and sacrifices to God must themselves become the sacrifice and offering upon the altar of God ,And so we are called to enter in to the conversion of our lives .

When we first come to the monastery we come from a world that has become very selfish and self centred . A world that tells us to have what we want , andwhen we want it . A world that in all its rush has forgotten to "Be still and know that I am God ."

Through the years the work of God in us is to fee us from this attachment to the world and its desires for self gratification .This process is the emptying of self, and freeing us from the past events and memories so that we turn round from facing self to face the living God . What is hidden will be revealed in the light of God .

For some this is the most painful lesson of all the lessons we are given .We begin to see ourselves as God truly sees us .It is if we stand literally naked before God .This can go on for perhaps days , months and years . The love of God is the fire of the desert that consumes everything .

One day we will come to understand how great the love of God is for us that he calls us down this difficult path . The hours when we face such great testing are the gift of God to us .For they free the soul from its attachment to the world and increase its capacity to live the Divine Life .If we persevere through the days , months and years we will one day come to know the very truth of these words ;

" Desiring nothing of this world . Fearing nothing of this world .

It seemed to me as if I were standing on the summit of all things."

The Theotokos stood silently at the foot of the Holy Cross .The Monastery in a noisy world should be house of peace , silence , and recollection .Some times monasteries can be houses of gossip and speculation !We have to learn to respect the silence of the journey of our brother and sisters in the monastery . Discussions about their spiritual journey , life of prayer , and future should take place between them and the Bishop and Spiritual Father . If we do not hold either of these positions and responsibilities of service then we should not enter in to such discussions .For often we are discussing the movement of a soul, and so it is for those who have full knowledge of the facts to enter in to this dialogue with the monastic . The rest of us are to pray for our brothers and sisters and support them .But then we are to concentrate on making our own journey .

If we are to keep watch with Christ and achieve union with His prayer and offering we are called to constant Vigilance .The Fathers spoke of our death to the world as overcoming the passions and told us when these passions stop in us the world is dead in us ,The young monastics that sometimes come to enter a monastery are in such are hurry .They want everything yesterday and to achieve this most difficult of tasks , a life time work , in a day !

The problem for us is God is not in such a hurry ! Our twenty four hours is Gods eternity that he has to complete His plan in and for us .Early on in our monastic life it is easy to become discouraged .We can feel we are making either slow or no progress .One day a Novice went to one of the Desert Fathers and said he was leaving .When he was asked "Why ?" ,The Novice replied "It as if I walk , I fall , I get up , walk , and fall again , and get up again ."The Desert Father replied ,"This is the vocation of the monk .You should stay !"

This struggle we speak of is to enter in to the struggle of humanity . But not to make this journey is not to enter in to life for ourselves and other people . For all our efforts ,prayers and actions can become a source of light and goodness to others .

On this feast of the "Finding of the Holy Cross ." it would be impossible to answer every spiritual question or provide a total programme for our monastic life in a single sermon , but today we are once again being invited by God to not only find the Holy Cross in our lives but to enter in to the very mystery of the Cross in our lives and so enter in to the mystery of God and His life in us .

I would like to encourage you in these words " No single act of love for God will ever be lost . No painful endurance will ever be forgotten . "

And I would like to leave you with the words of our own dear Father Saint Isaac the Syrian to reflect upon ;

"Some one said of the Saints that while alive they were dead ;for though living in the flesh ,they did not live for the flesh .See of which of the passions you are alive .Then you will know how far to the world you are alive, and how far you are dead to the world. ."

Father Lazarus-Mariam

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