By Fr.
Andrew Lemeshonok
We make
our way through life within the framework of our time on earth. The time we
have left continues to run forward. The path to eternity begins here, on
earthly terms. Yet the eternal life is only in God. As long as I myself know
everything, I understand everything; I live in a time that is decaying. But
when the Lord acts through me, I begin to defeat this earthly time and eternal
life prevails. And then there is no need to hurry, fuss, rush and run...
I
remember my own path to God, coming to church. A soul that lived in darkness, which did not know God,
saw the light, experienced true joy. After
that, I tried to hide somewhere, so that no one would bother me, because I had
everything that I ever needed. The Lord gave me life. I found God, and I did not need anything else. My life was
complete now that I was with God.
Then, a
time comes when you begin to lose God, another life begins; the suffering of
the soul begins. The soul grieves that it did not hold on to the grace of God,
that it ruined everything with sin and most importantly was ungrateful to the
Lord for the gift of life. Yet these
torments of the soul should be considered a blessing because they are the
shining beacon that is the opportunity to seek God. You cannot suppress the
pain that comes with a loss; you cannot distract yourself from it with
something of this earth, some errands, worldly cares or joys. The soul can no
longer live on this dashboard of secular time which is constantly spinning, circulating and
finally stops. Therefore, together our path is towards eternity. When we think
about everything and anything, we must measure it with a measure of eternity,
and consider whether it pleases God or not.
We must
keep in mind that the immortality of the soul is of the utmost importance. And the soul begins to
come alive when it is suffering from sin. Until that moment, a person, does not
see or notice sin and thinks that he or she is better than other people. And
only when a person finally sees the truth, the silence takes over the overly
proud state of mind. A person will no longer speak in vain, indulge in
self-admiration, but instead will remain silent and try to hold on to God in
their heart. And if God is within us, then human words are not needed, instead
only silence is needed in order to hear the word of God. I think that we cannot
now say to anyone and everyone: "Go to church, pray, partake of the Holy
Mysteries ..." It's terrible to say such words. It is nothing like going
to the store, or going for a walk... And if the Heavenly Father does not call
upon you, you will go nowhere.
The most
important thing is that God needs to be within us. Then we will see the meaning
of life while undertaking any obedience, even one that requires a broom or a
mop. We must remember to “not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19) and
remember to nurture the Spirit of God within us.
May 29,
2018
St.
Elisabeth Convent
CONVERSATION