We are the spiritual successors of the faith dear brothers and sisters. Each one of us having been baptized into the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Orthodox Church have been given the same charisma, the same gift as those who have came before us. We as Christians have been called to Theosis, the divinization of the soul, and the call to become holy. Those who have been purified of their sin, those who have rejected the world and lived their lives in accordance with Holy Tradition and the Church, are regarded by the Church as saints, regardless if they have been glorified or not. Most of the world reflects on those the church has glorified, those like St. Seraphim of Sarov, St. Sergius, St. Tikhon, St. Catherine and others. But the truth is, we have all been called to become saints.
Most of us however would rather sit on the sidelines than be in the starting lineup. How often do we think about the fact that as Christians we are called to become friends of God, through our piety, through our love, through our prayers? All of these have been given to us through the lives of the saints that have gone before. It is not rocket science, we are not trying to discover some new secret about God that has only been revealed to us. We have the lives of the Christian witnesses throughout all ages to give us the exact playbook that takes us from the bench to the starting lineup. Most of us however, don't use it. We don't want that kind of responsibility. We sit in our churches, going through the motions of the divine services especially the liturgy and we think about what is coming next. What other things we need to accomplish that day, or what our job requires of us. However those things will pass away. Our eternal soul? It lasts for eternity. When we practice the ascetism that God requires of us, and remember ascetism for each of us is different, because each of us is unique, we grow and become more like him. I remember in an earlier blog post that I stated that Jesus didn't come to make us good people. He came to unite us to himself. If we truly believe that, if we truly want to experience the Christian experience, then we must do everything in our power to shun the wiles of the devil and the world. We must proclaim "Death to the World" because it is not of this world that we belong. But alas, so many today reject that! I myself have been caught up in the things and passions of this world many times, and I am no master of the faith. I too fall and make mistakes. Often times these posts are preaching to me, as much as I am sharing it with you. Our very souls depend on the sustenance that the Church offers for our salvation. We need the life giving cross to be our weapon against the demons. We need the intercessions of the saints to overcome our passions. We need the blessings of the priest, the prayers of the faithful, we need all of this and much more. Fasting, praying, all of this combined together unites our souls with the One, Holy Triune God. It is not merely motions, but the inner heart that needs to be united with the motions. I feel as if I'm repeating myself over and over, but it really is that simple. No need for fancy wand waving or silly incantations, just simple humility.
Do we wish to be sanctified in both body and spirit? Then we must partake of the Eucharist! We must pray! We must make prostrations! We must continue our fight against the things of this world. Only then, will be true successors of the faith!
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