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Motherhood: A Sacred Calling and Solemn Responsibility
There’s an old saying that “Behind every successful man stands a woman.” This
month, as we celebrate Mother’s Day, we may want to paraphrase that old adage a
bit and say that “Behind all of God’s Saints stands a righteous Mother.” On
Mother’s Day, let us look at some of our most revered Biblical figures as well
as some of the Church’s most famous Saints. We will se that they all had one
thing in common: a Mother who loved them and nurtured them in the ways of the
Lord.
We must start, of course, with the Theotokos – the Mother of God. The Virgin
Mary was charged with the enormous responsibility of raising Jesus and preparing
Him for the day when He would take His message to the world. Mary herself was
blessed with a wonderful Mother: the Venerable Anna, who loved her daughter so
much that she entrusted her to the care of the priests in the Temple, so that
she could constantly devote her life to the service of God. We must also mention
Elizabeth, the Mother of St John the Baptist. She, too, was instrumental in
preparing her son for his important role of preparing the world for the coming
of the Messiah.
And what of St Helen, the mother of St Constantine the Great? No doubt this
saintly woman exerted great influence upon her son, who ended the era of
Christian persecutions and made Christianity the official Faith of his empire.
We must also mention St Monica, the Mother of the Blessed Augustine. Night and
day for 18 years, she prayed for her son’s conversion from his life of sin. She
stopped only after her prayers were answered.
May today’s Mothers emulate and imitate the example set by these remarkable
mothers of the past.
+ Father Dusan
WHAT’S UP WITH DRAWING THE WORLD INTO YOUR NET?
By Ary Christofidis, Ph.D
It seems to be very important for young people today to draw the attention of
others onto their web pages, blogs, and “personal” Internet space. But do we as
Christians recognize the call to draw others into the Christian faith?
Are teens really thinking about this calling? Are you prepared for this
responsibility as a young Christian? I continue to see pairs of young Mormon men
walk house to house as they fulfill their mission for their church. Jehovah
Witnesses still come to my house at least twice a year (not yet enlightened to
Orthodoxy, much to my dismay!)
What do our young people need in order to become so interested in promoting
their faith? What truly do teens need? In working with so many troubled
teenagers over the last 15 years, I confidently say that overall and most
importantly, teens are looking for attention, guidance and approval. Most
definitely, they seek this from their parents and peers. However, in seeking it,
they often try to draw it through negative and harmful behaviors.
A dangerous explosion of teens spending too much time on the Internet, watching
TV, and gaming is leaving some lagging behind in basic social skills and
creativity. Often unsupervised, much time is taken viewing violet, provocative
images without being able to understand what lasting effect it can have on one’s
development.
Early exposure to material that is unfit for even adults can lead to an increase
in anxiety symptoms for teens. Thus, there can be an interruption in the normal
developmental processes as teens must then deal with the added emotional
consequences of their behavior.
At present, studies show that teens are more self-centered than is normal for
their developmental age. It is typical for teenagers to be more self-absorbed
and begin to exercise their maturing brain as they explore their world and how
it may satisfy their curiosity. With most teens spending the majority of their
waking hours away from the influences of their parents and the Church, many
certainly are not being prepared to be fishers of men and women for Christ.
We are called to draw people into Christ’s holy net as understood in the
Troparion for the Holy Feast of Pentecost. Blessed are You, O Christ our God,
who has revealed the fishermen as most wise by sending down upon them the Holy
Spirit; through them You drew the world into Your net. O Lover of Man, Glory to
You.
At Pentecost we are reminded about our Church’s beginnings as the Holy Spirit
came down upon the Apostles to guide them in their mission to preach the Good
News. The Church continues this mission and prepares her members to be “fishers”
of men and women in today’s world.
However, what we are seeing instead is a generation of teens being drawn into
the “worldly” net of hedonism (pursuit or devotion to pleasure). Just look at
the changes in your own parish. It is more likely that the teens in your church
participate in public school-based extra curricular activities before
church-based programs.
Let’s consider the number of teens and young adults participating in church
services, and even programs. What I hear from my seminary schoolmates who are
now parish priests is not very encouraging. The numbers of active young
participants are very low compared to the actual number of families that are
registered stewards of their churches. Ask your own priest how many more young
people are registered in the office than are actually attending the services and
programs. Remember, though, that the Church is not focused on generating the
numbers, but on generating the faithful. The Church is looking for each of us to
be no different than the Apostles. Isn’t is ironic that during the time of Holy
Pentecost, the Disciples of Christ were seen as acting out? They were in
defiance of the Jewish leaders in order to draw people’s attention.
Today our culture has put us in a similar position. Instead of the threat of
imprisonment and death as Peter and Paul faced, all of us face the challenge of
a different martyrdom for Christ, a psychological martyrdom. Instead of
suffering a physical death for witnessing faith in Christ, we face a different
sort of death: the rejecting of our culture, colleagues, peers, friends and even
family. This easily happens when we stand up the morals and values espoused by
our Orthodox Christian Faith.
Here, are simple examples to think about: Do you hesitate to do your cross and
pray at the lunch table when you are eating with non-Orthodox friends? Do you
witness Christ to people around you, whether or not you use words? When will we
stop feeling intimidated by our “modern” culture? When will we defend what we
believe is the true faith and true life in Christ? How many of us really are
prepared and willing to proclaim our love and faith in Jesus Christ to our
neighbor?
I pray Christ gives us all what we need—the strength and wisdom to be fishers of
men and women—true missionaries in our own neighborhoods.
Ary Christofidis is a graduate of Hellenic College and holds a Ph.D in
Counseling Psychology. He founded the Orthodox Christian Counseling Institute in
Chicago in 2004, where he sees families, couples, teens and individuals for
outpatient psychotherapy.
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