The Catalog of Good Deeds: Orthodox How To

Showing posts with label Orthodox How To. Show all posts

Prayer requires a certain longing of the heart. Certainly discipline is involved; but, and this is merely my opinion, forcing yourself to say prayers may not be the answer either. People seem to make too big a deal about prayer rules. Like the Sabbath keeping that made some of the Jews miss Christ in their midst, so I think prayer rules sometimes keep us from growing in our relationship with Christ. A prayer rule exists to help us, we do not exist to keep the prayer rule. If my prayer rule is not working, I change it.

The goal of a prayer rule is to produce prayer, not merely to say prayers. Jesus tells us that we are not heard because of our many words in prayer. A prayer rule that is drudgery and continually dry is no prayer rule at all, for it is not producing prayer. Prayer is communion with God, not saying words. Words are useful, they can help us pray; but what our soul longs for is connection —communion — with God. Sometimes (and this may go on for several days at a time) all I can do during my prayer time is stand before my icons and say “Lord have mercy.” I say “Lord have mercy” again and again until my heart is pained and I feel a little sadness, a little longing for God in my heart. If this feeling doesn’t come, then I kiss my icons, ask the forgiveness of Christ and all of the Saints and go on with my day gently repeating “Lord have mercy” and carrying a little sadness that I have not been able to connect with God. Sometimes, I need to read an inspiring book or passage to help me pray. There are times when I spend my whole prayer time reading, which creates a longing in me and produces prayer that stays in my heart throughout the day.

Keep in mind that the “ideal” prayer life that seems to influence most of us is based on a very regulated life, a life based on a monastic pattern. Most of us do not live such a life. And even in a monastery, not everyone attends every service (someone has to be cooking dinner during vespers) and not every season is the same (when the monks have to do hard manual labor, the prayers are greatly shortened, and sleep and food are increased). And yes, even monks fall asleep during services or saying the Jesus Prayer in their cells. We read the stories about saints who after a lifetime of labor (and with their unique graces and calling) are able to keep vigilant prayer alive in their hearts at all times. Who are we? We are beginners. We haven’t even yet begun to learn how to repent. In fact, it is only as we accept our failure, our inability to make ourselves pray, that we can start to know our dependence on God for help. This is where repentance begins: in accepting our failure. So long as we keep saying to ourselves, “I just have to try harder,” we are only extending our miserable delusion. Once we allow our hearts to be broken by our weakness, our lack of love, our inability to pray, then we can begin to find God’s help.

It wouldn’t hurt most of us who struggle in prayer to repeat continually the words of psalm 50, “A broken and a contrite heart You will not despise.” Let your own weakness break your heart, and God will accept that as an offering of much greater worth than any mechanically pumped out prayer rule.

Source: http://holynativity.blogspot.com/2009/11/advice-on-prayer.html

In the Orthodox Church, there is a battle chest available, providing us with practical ways to resist sin and to actually defeat it. We don't just tell people to "try harder". We also tell them HOW. We give them the weapons they need to wage war against sin, and to arise victorious

Everyone knows lust is bad. Everybody tells us to fight against it. But not everyone can tell us HOW to fight against lust successfully. We try, we fail, we try, we fail, we try again, and we fail again… and at some point, we realize that we need better advice than just "try harder".

Today, we will consider twelve practical ways for Christians to do battle against the sin of Lust. These methods are time-tested and trustworthy. And they actually work:

1) Don't let your fantasies write a check that your loins can't cash. If you are unmarried, do not fantasize about sex. Ever. Guard your thoughts. If you are married, but your spouse is currently inaccessible, then don't spend ten seconds thinking about sex. Don't even think about sex with your spouse. Guard your thoughts. If you are married, and your spouse is currently accessible, then have normal marital relations with your spouse regularly. This helps reduce the risk of illicit temptations.

2) Fight the birds. There is a saying: "You can't stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from building a nest in your hair." No thanks to the logismoi, the devil can do this to you without your consent. Sexual thoughts will unavoidably pop into your mind. This does not make you guilty.

What makes you guilty is your *response* to that initial thought. The moment an illicit sexual thought pops into your head, immediately "fight off the bird" by distracting yourself with something else, and give that other thing your full attention.

3) Not all distractions are created equal. Some activities (like jogging or weight lifting) take a lot of physical effort, but very little mental effort. Even while doing these things, your mind can still wander into bad places. Other activities (like writing a theological paper, solving a math problem, or reading a good book), so intensely involve your thoughts that you cannot easily keep thinking about two things at once. As long as you are focused on that math, that philosophy, or that puzzle, the thoughts of sex go away for a while. If you try jogging or working out and that doesn't help, then try distracting yourself with something more mentally intense.

4) Confess it immediately. Call someone godly who you trust (especially a priest), and say, "I'm getting tempted again." It is amazing how confession totally breaks the power of the Enemy, and makes him go away for a while.

5) Immediately go near other people. When you are standing in the presence of other people, having a conversation with them, it is amazing how easy it is to avoid illicitly pleasuring oneself.

6) Read the Scriptures, and the writings of Orthodox Christian Saints. Sure, you "already know what they say". But read it again. And again. And again. It helps.

7) Fast. Orthodox Saints agree that indulgence in food is directly connected with indulgence in lust. Thus, by regularly fasting from food for a certain period of time, we do battle against the sin of lust. If you practice asceticism and self-denial with your stomach, that will make it easier to practice asceticism with the other parts of your body.

8) Don't feed the beast. Again, guard your thoughts. Don't watch a movie or TV show that has even a little bit of fornication, or a little showing of scantily clad beauties. Even if you only see them for a few seconds, your brain will lock onto those images, and hold onto them for hours (or years). Then when you are alone and vulnerable, your brain will bring those pictures back to torment you and tempt you. Therefore, avoid these triggers to begin with.

9) Look at Orthodox Icons. Look directly at the cross. God works wonders through the cross, and He tells you, "Your sin may seem strong, but it is not stronger than THIS!" Other icons are good too, for the same purpose. Remember, porn is just the Devil's iconography. God is the one who invented icons, and He did so because images are very powerful. Fill your mind with divine images, and God can use those divine images to drive out the other images.

10) Be Faithful even if you don't Feel like it. It's not all about your feelings. You can show faithfulness, even when your emotions haven't caught up yet to where they should be. Manifest faithfulness long enough, and the feelings will eventually return. Emotions are meant to follow, not to lead.

11) Pray. Don't fight lust alone. Call upon Christ, call upon the Theotokos, call upon the angels, and call upon all the Saints to assist you. Prayer to the Saints works.

12) This Too Shall Pass. When the temptation hits in a strong way, a voice in your head will tell you, "You have already gone too far. It is impossible for this tension to go away now, unless you manually pleasure yourself." — This is a lie. — In fact, if you get up, walk around, pray, and forcibly occupy your mind with something else for several minutes, the tension will go away, and the urge will pass. Knowing this to be true can help you successfully win the battle.

By Fr. Joseph Gleason

Source: https://russian-faith.com/explaining-orthodoxy/practical-ways-avoid-lust-answers-priest-russia-n1574

So, you’re exploring the idea of joining the Orthodox Church?

Relax! It is a joyful and well worn path, with many souls who have made this journey before you, and many more will come after you.

Therefore, let’s start with the basics.

Step One: Conversion to Christ

St. Paul himself tells us what this Gospel – which means ‘Good News’ – consists of:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

That is the Gospel.What is so ‘Good’ about it? This is the Good News preached to all nations. Is it really Good News? Let’s have another look at what the Gospel actually is;

That Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He arose on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and appeared to many.

Christ died for our sins. We have freedom in the Living God if we accept Him! We become inheritors of Eternal Life! What could be easier! Acceptance of the Gospel of Christ is what we call conversion. It seems elementary, but sometimes we forget what the Gospel is, and why we convert. Conversion means belief and acceptance in Jesus Christ, the God-man, as the Savior of the world. Orthodox Christians believe you must be converted every day- every day – and everyone must start with this step if they desire to make spiritual progress and be saved.

Step Two: Repentance

There is no salvation without repentance. One must repent of our sins, both voluntary and involuntary, of word, deed, and even thought! Repentance is the gateway to forgiveness and the Kingdom of heaven. After this, one must find a local Orthodox Church. There is an ancient Christian saying;

One Christian is no Christian.

To become a member of the Body of Christ means connection with other believers. Without this vital connection, Christianity becomes an interesting study or personality cult. We believe that Christianity is a living faith, and therefore must be received from living persons. St. Paul says as much;

And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. (2 Corinthians 8:5)

Your introduction to the local clergy and community will enrich you and benefit you in many ways. It will be a time of learning how the Church does Scripture reading, prayer, fasting, tithing, almsgiving, charity, interior life and evangelism.

You will make new friends, acquire new disciplines and skills that will make you a better and more loving Christian.

Step Three: The Catechumenate

When one desires to become a member of the Body of Christ, a period of instruction is necessary. From the earliest days of the Church, this was called the Catechumenate, and those wishing to join were called catechumens. One must know the Gospel (see above). One must know what the Church is, and isn’t; what membership in the Church means, responsibilities and expectations for members, benefits of membership, and what discipleship means to believers in Christ Jesus. Sometimes a local Church has a New Members Class, sometimes they have a series of classes for inquirers like yourself.

Your situation is not unique. You may be making this journey of faith alone. You may be coming with your family, or with friends. You may be a clergyman, leading your flock to the Safe Haven. You may be part of a large group yearning for inclusion in the Church. Whatever your situation is, you can be assured that many of come that way before you.

The time you spend as a catechumen is time well spent. You’ll not only have the chance to learn more about the Orthodox faith, but you’ll also have the chance to immerse yourself into the Orthodox way of life. You may get impatient (many of us did!) for your entrance into the Church, but make no mistake, in no time, your catechumenate will have come to an end, and you’ll be a member of the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church once and for all!

Source: http://journeytoorthodoxy.com/welcome/how-to-become-an-orthodox-christian/

1. Remember about the words of St. Simeon the New Theologian: “The one who is looking for a spiritual father should look for a person who has been born spiritually already and who knows his God and Father, so that this person can give you spiritual birth too and turn you into a true son of God”.

2. You should understand that a perfect spiritual father is a person of holy life. However, you should proceed from real life and should not daydream. This is why I would like to advise you not to make excessive demands on a spiritual father. Choose from the candidates which are around you.

3. Bishop Peter (Ekaterinovsky) wrote: “It is hard to find a good guide in our spiritual life”. This statement is quite relevant even today. Bishop Peter thought that there is no need to look for a spiritual father who has attained holiness. It would be enough if he is a righteous, advised and experienced person. Besides, he should have desire and opportunity to guide his spiritual children. “If there is no such person, then we need to pray God that he sends us one”, said Bishop Peter.

4. Keep in mind that you can meet a false guide on your way. St. Theophan warned that a person, who is considered an elder, often turns out to be an elder only “by his grey hair”. This can be either evident for everyone, or can be hidden deep beneath his righteous appearance. This is why there is always a possibility to come to a false guide instead of coming to a true one; to find harm and death instead of help and salvation.

5. How can we distinguish a false mentor from a true one? According to St. Simeon the New Theologian, a specific feature of a true spiritual father is his fatherly love. St. Paisios the Athonite said: “The evidence of the spiritual condition of a father is that he is rather hard on himself, but at the same time is very lenient on other people. What is more, he never uses the Church canons against others!”

6. If any doubts concerning the spirituality of the chosen father emerge in your mind, it would be better for you not to cooperate closely with him until the situation becomes clear. You should not do any risky experiments on your way to salvation because they can cause you permanent spiritual damage.

7. We are surrounded by various spiritual fathers. They are different by their characters, experience and the level of spiritual perfection. How can you understand whom of them you should choose to be your spiritual father? While looking for a guide, keep the main rule – pay attention not to his mind, his character and education, but to his faith and firm commitment to the Church teaching.

An excerpt from: http://www.duhovnik.ru/main/how_to_find?id=228

Before confession, each person must attempt to recall all of his sins, voluntary and involuntary, must attentively go over his life in order, to the extent possible, to recall all of his sins, not only those committed since his last confession, but also those past sins which through forgetfulness have not been confessed. Then, with compunction and with a contrite heart, approach the Cross and the Gospel, and begin to confess your sins.

1) Confess your sins honestly, remembering that you are disclosing them not to a man but to God Himself, Who already knows your sins, but wishes you to admit to them. There is no reason to feel shame before your spiritual father. He is a person just like you. Because he knows human weakness and man’s propensity to sin he cannot be your judge. Are you embarrassed before your spiritual father because you are afraid to lose his good opinion of you? To the contrary, your spiritual father will love you all the more, seeing your sincere confession. Moreover, if you are ashamed to disclose your sins to a single spiritual father, then how will you be able to bear the shame if you have not cleansed yourself of your sins through true confession, and those sins are laid open before God Himself, before the angels and before everyone, acquaintance and stranger alike?

2) Confess all of your sins in full, each sin separately. St. John Chrysostom states, "One must not only say: I have sinned, or I am a sinner, but one must declare each form of sin." I.e., one must list each sin. St. Basil the Great states, "Revelation of sins is subject to the same law as the relating of physical ills…" The sinner is spiritually ill, and the spiritual father is a physician or healer. It follows that you must confess or relate your sins to your spiritual father in the same way that a physically ill person relates his symptoms to a physician, thereby hoping to be healed.

3) Do not mention others during confession. Do not complain about anyone, for what kind of confession would that be? Instead of confession, it would be a condemnation, and thus, yet another sin.

4) In confession, do not attempt to justify yourself in any way, blaming weakness, habit, etc. The more you justify yourself during confession, the less you will be justified by God, while the more you denounce, condemn and accuse yourself, the more you will be justified by God.

5) When questioned by your spiritual father, do not say "I do not remember, perhaps I am not guilty of that." God directed us to always be mindful of our sins. In order not to justify ourselves by forgetfulness, we must confess as often as possible. Those who out of carelessness confess infrequently, and as a result forget some of their sins, are themselves to blame, and therefore cannot hope to be absolved of the sins not confessed. Thus it is imperative that we strive to remember all of our sins. If someone is in our debt, we are sure to keep it in mind. Yet we forget our own debt before God! Does this not betray on our part a lack of concern for our soul?

6) Unless asked by the spiritual father, do not talk about sins you have not committed, or about what you have not done. That is to say, do not emulate the Pharisee in the Gospel, who only praised himself, and did not confess his sins; thereby he only caused his condemnation to be greater.

7) We must confess with sorrow and a contrite heart the sins by which we have grieved our Lord God. It is not good that many relate their sins matter-of-factly, without any remorse. They speak as if engaged in some casual conversation. Even worse, some allow themselves to laugh during confession. These are all signs of a lack of repentance. By confessing in this manner, we are not cleansed of sins, but only increase them.

8) Finally, confess your sins with faith in Jesus Christ and with hope in His mercy. Only with faith and hope in Jesus Christ can we receive forgiveness of sins. Without faith, we can in no wise be forgiven. Note the example of Judas the betrayer.

Source: https://stjohndc.org/en/content/proper-confession

Archpriest Paul Gumerov speaks about how family roles should be distributed, who should be the head, what are the responsibilities of husbands and wives, what a wife should do if her husband doesn’t want to take responsibility for the welfare of his family, and how husbands can become true husbands.

I greet you, my friends! We continue our cycle of conversations on family life, and today’s theme is quite difficult: we will be speaking about family hierarchy, about the shape of a family, and the roles of the spouses.

Three types of relations within a family

I’ll begin from a bit of a distance. Psychologists usually delineate three types—three models—of relations between spouses; they can tentatively be called: adult-child; child-child; and adult-adult. I’ll explain.

The relations model “adult-child” happens, as a rule, when an already responsible and mature man marries a girl taken out from under a caring parental wing, who is absolutely not yet mature, and therefore the husband takes care of his wife, playing the role of adult, with her playing the role of child in this family dyad. Or perhaps the reverse option: when an authoritative and domineering woman—and such an example of behavior was perhaps taken from her parents’ family—marries a “mama’s boy,” used to always obeying his mother. This often happens when the woman is older than the man. These are the two “adult-child” situations.

The “child-child” relationship is most often seen in student families: two fairly young people, a boy and girl, start a family, they’re very good together, they frolic like two foals in a meadow, neither wanting to take any specific responsibilities upon themselves… Neither seeks for power in this pair, they are friends one with another, but such relations are not an indicator of maturity in these people.

The “adult-adult” model is the most stable and most desirable. These people enter into marriage seriously, both as adults spiritually, psychologically, and physically, and they can take responsibility for the family and for their second halves and fulfill the roles inherent to husbands and wives in marriage.

Who is the head of the family?

And who is the head of the family? Here there can also be several different models. The first model is that which the Lord commanded, that is, that the husband is the head of the family and the head of the wife. Another model, not uncommonly met in our times, is when the wife is the head of the family. And another: the head of the family is the child: everything revolves around him, he’s an only child, he’s the center of the universe, he dictates terms, all his whims are fulfilled, and so on and so on.

Today, unfortunately, another model is also common: the head of the family is the mother of the husband or of the wife—in principle there is no difference.

The western family model proposes that the spouses—partners equal in rights—together carry out this business project called “family.” Here no one is the head, although we all perfectly well understand that every task, including business, should have a director, a head. It’s just as in the army, in the navy, in a firm, in a company there also exists a hierarchy, without which work is impossible, without which everything goes wrong—all the moreso such a complicated matter like family life.

In our conversation dedicated to the Sacrament of Marriage we recalled that the Lord commanded us about family hierarchy that the husband is the head of the wife. The husband is an image of Christ in the Church. The husband takes the wife. By the way, the Slavonic word “брак” (“marriage”) comes straight from the word “брать” (“to take”). And the wife looks for in a man something strong and powerful, a stone wall behind which she wants to hide, and she walks behind her husband, entering into marriage with him. These indigenous Russian words quite well illustrate how the family hierarchy should be built.

Head or despot?

Quite prevalent today, unfortunately, is the myth that Christianity supposedly calls for some kind of male despotism. The book Domostroy is often brought up in this regard, but it’s all mythological insinuations against the genuine Christian life—true Christian hierarchy has no such relationships. Maybe one of us has read this wonderful book, Domostroy, the work of a certain priest Sylvester living in the seventeenth century. Of course, it’s not completely applicable to the realities of our life. But recall what husband and wife are called in this book: “lord and lady and their children.” Spouses are looked upon as the lords of their home. Naturally, among these two rulers, this royal pair there is a head person. Who is the head person? The husband. And how should he be? As wise as Solomon?

A great strategist, tactician, a man who reveals in himself an example of strong-willed decision making and exceptional intellectual development? No. A husband’s task is completely different: to be a provider for his family (For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the Church [Eph. 5:29]); to be a person who makes decisions. The wife also has the right of vote, naturally, but her voice is advisory because the last word remains with the husband. But in this the husband bears all the responsibility: he doesn’t just make decisions, doesn’t simply have the right to the last word, but, having made a decision, all of its consequences he takes upon himself.

Imagine such a situation: a man in some military unit, with remarkable strong-willed qualities and an outstanding training (having gone through the General Staff Academy), with serious experience (for example, he served in “hot spots”) received assignment as a deputy commander or a unit commander’s assistant. The unit commander is a young man, who as soon as he finished some higher military institution was immediately appointed as commander. And in the army there is a wonderful institution—subordination, manifested in that the juniors give honor to the seniors: that is, those of lower rank honor those of higher. And the commander is always right. The commander bears responsibility for what he says. His commands are not discussed. What can this man do, called to the part of the commander’s assistant? He can, of course, begin to not respect this young commander, trying to show some kind of ambition. Another scenario: he could have a positive influence on this inexperienced commander—answering for his role in which he’s been appointed to serve, honoring and respecting his elder in rank and position. This is very important, because if we don’t revere our head, then, naturally, we’ll never have a good relationship with him, and we’ll never be able to discuss with him decisions which to us seem correct. If the commander, although young and inexperienced, is not stupid, naturally, he will take counsel with the wise experience of his subordinates. This is a good example for how to structure family life. The task of the head is not to make only univocal decisions, but love and counsel, which we usually wish for people at their weddings. We must consult with our spouses.

We are so different

Everyone on the team, on the ship, in the military unit, in the firm has his own functions, and every family member has his particular tasks. Why didn’t the Lord create for Adam a helper just like him?—a woman, but somehow masculine, with a highly-developed musculature, a stunning intellect, able to make decisions … why? Because her function is completely different: the task of a woman is to be the helpmeet of the husband, to equip the family life, raise the children, help her husband and support his decisions… to be responsible for her own area. Husbands, surely, like many men have probably more than once assured themselves that they cannot fulfill a woman’s tasks, and if obliged to do so then they will, although poorly. When my wife leaves me with the kids I don’t cope with the situation very well, but for her it’s quite easy… When I have to do their lessons with them, watch after them, make their food even for just two days for me it’s a heavy load. But for her, because she’s a woman, it’s all natural and easy.

And such love, compassion, patience, ableness to adapt to certain life conditions, and versatility such as women have a man will never have. A man has his functions, and therefore Adam and Eve were created so very different, that he, the husband, the head of the family, was able even in his wife’s weakness to demonstrate the best masculine qualities. This is very important.

And if the head does not want to be the head?

I would like to say a few words about how a woman should conduct herself if she sees that the man with whom she has concluded a spousal union does not manifest the necessary volitional qualities and decisiveness and generally doesn’t really want to take on the responsibilities of being the head of the family.

Remember that we can only change someone by our love and good relationship with him, so you shouldn’t fight with your husband for power, but fulfill those functions given to women by God, given by nature, not saddling yourself with others.

Alas, there is the fairly common situation in which the husband is a “mama’s boy,” not wanting to take responsibility for his family, not wanting to earn much; the wife establishes herself in one job, a second, third, taking the family cart upon herself, and overexerting herself and complaining she goes to see batiushka, to a psychologist … then she divorces her husband… She burdens herself with back-breaking responsibilities… This is, of course, completely wrong. The wife’s task is something else.

The task of a wife, the husband’s helper, is the raising of the children, the arrangement of everyday family life; she pities her husband, tends to and nourishes him, performing the duties of a psychotherapist. There’s a great saying: “To the wife the husband is a pastor, and to the husband the wife a bandage.” She is the doctor who heals his spiritual and emotional wounds.

The second thing a wife should remember is not to be afraid to show weakness. Women who have such sluggish husbands often turn into generals in a skirt, and not only take upon themselves all the familial responsibilities, but also begin to command everyone and everything. But they should more often ask their husbands about such things and seek his advice.

And, naturally, you should honor him. A person will be towards us exactly how we see him, that is, how we respect him. Without honor and respect the correct family hierarchy is impossible.

Encouragement is important—definitely at least timid steps which began to make your husband feel encouraged. Praise him, support him, and strengthen him.

Many women think that their husbands can somehow guess by himself that his wife needs help with something around the house. Don’t be afraid to give your husband a job, but, again, something feasible. Men are bad at understanding abstract arguments like “Oh, it’s so hard for me!” “I’m so tired!” and “Why don’t you do anything?!” You should give him clear and concrete tasks: “Look, here’s the grocery list. Please go to the store,” and then thank him with a kiss on the cheek.

And another very important point: it’s important not only to praise him more often, but try to avoid all kinds of judgmental words which lower his already low self-esteem. Especially avoid such condemnation in front of other people. Many women, falling into despair, begin to call all their friends and mothers to complain about their husbands, which, of course, doesn’t promote good relations with their spouse, but on the contrary, only spoils it.

To stand at the helm of the family ship

I would like to make a few suggestions to men. They say now that is a difficult time. But when was it in reality simple?! Every time has its complications.

Today there are many men who were raised by single mothers, but there is nothing fatal in this. I have met not a few people who grew up in broken homes but became wonderful fathers, wonderful husbands, providers, people, making all the important decisions. After all, this role is given to us by God, as outlined in Holy Scripture, which is our textbook for life.

The task of the husband and the main joy of his life is to take care of his family. It’s for this sake, they say actually, that we make families, for this we live, for our family and loved ones, serving them. It should be a joy, and that’s why you go to work which is hard and wears you out, but you understand that you’re laboring for the sake of your family. Then you return home from work tired, but it’s a joyful weariness, it’s a joy which is incomparable—the joy of a real man.

I think that anyone who doesn’t want to go down the path of the absolutely crazy models that I mentioned in the beginning of our talk, but on the path established by God will always receive help from God and the grace of God. And everything, I think, will work out for such a person, but, of course, in time. Clearly the habits with which you have lived for many years, which you got from your own family, are not so easy to drive out from your soul. But any habit can be removed with an effort to acquire the opposite habit. I wish for you the help of God in this endeavor.

To men: be the true head of your families; and to women: be your husbands’ helpers. May the Lord help us all in this work!

By Archpriest Paul Gumerov

Source: http://orthodoxchristian.online/family-hierarchy.html

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