Thoughts on the Sunday of Orthodoxy
Plus a special treat for paid subscribers
Lent is now in full swing.
Clean Week flew by in a swirl of services and prostrations and today’s celebration of the Triumph of Orthodoxy over iconoclasm set our feet firmly on the narrow but well-trodden path of our ancestors in Christ.
Each of us must struggle with our own temptations and failings — we must come to terms with ourselves as we are, and not as we thought we were, or pretend to be. The image we bear — the image of our God — is tarnished, and as we strip away the things we depend on to hide that fact from ourselves we come to realize that the work of restoration, the work of repairing — of healing — the likeness, must be begun anew.
But even as we wrestle with our own things (which, for parents will often include coming to terms with who our children are, and are not, as well as ourselves), we realize that we are also all in this together. The fast is a communal effort in which we, as a body, forgo good things for the sake of greater things. Each one of us is called as his or her own self, and yet we make the journey together, receiving support and encouragement both from those who have already won the race, and those who are still running it with us. We “keep our eyes on our own plates” and refrain from judgement, and still we find ourselves inspired and motivated by those around us to give more of ourselves out of love for Christ.
May all our efforts to keep the fast and to love our Lord, Jesus Christ, be blessed abundantly!
The second week of the month is usually the week when our paid subscribers receive the latest audio chapter of Patterns for Life. Due to a perfect storm of circumstances this month’s recording has been delayed (next month’s installment should be right on time) but we still have a special treat for our paid subs!
We are giving all our paid subscribers a full-color download of the visual conception of Charlotte Mason’s metaphor of Mansoul coupled with our Orthodox understanding of her ideas by the incredibly talented Kelsey Lawson at Emilia’s Post. The black and white version is included in the book’s appendices, but here you will be able to see the gorgeous full color piece.