Tag: spiritual growth

Are You Sure You’re On The Right Road?

Are You Sure You’re On The Right Road?

“If you’re wrong about being right with God, then it really doesn’t matter what else you might be right about.”

By: Fr Anthony Messeh

Original post by Fr. Anthony Messeh blog site

About 15 years ago, a friend of mine and I set out on a road trip to visit another friend who lived about three hours away. The route to get there was fairly simple; it was one highway the entire way. Neither of us owned a GPS at the time, but we didn’t need one. We had something just as good… MAPQUEST!

The directions were clear and straightforward: take Route 50 for 140 miles, then once you hit a city called Westover, MD, the destination will be on your right after ½ mile.

Simple. Straightforward. A piece of cake. What could go wrong?

Well… to make a long story short…SOMETHING WENT WRONG!

Unbeknownst to us at the time, we somehow managed to exit off of Route 50 and onto Route 301 mistakenly. Route 301 goes NORTH and we need to be going EAST. So instead of being in Westover, Maryland, we found ourselves in Glasgow, Delaware!

(I say “we” but really it was HIM; my friend was the one driving, not me. I was actually asleep in the passenger seat at the time and had I been awake, surely we wouldn’t have gotten lost 🙂 )

We drove for almost an hour on Route 301 – the whole time clueless to the fact that we were on the wrong road. But the real problem wasn’t that we were on the wrong road; the real problem was that we were on the wrong road THINKING that we were on the right road.

Let me repeat: the real problem wasn’t that we were on the wrong road; the real problem was that we were on the wrong road THINKING that we were on the right road.

Because we thought we were on the right road, we didn’t stop and ask for directions… we didn’t check a map… we weren’t worried or concerned in the least. As far as we were concerned, everything was fine. The sun was shining… the birds were singing… we were cruising with the windows down in my 1999 Mitsubishi Galant.

Everything seemed fine.

But it wasn’t. We were on the wrong road. And every minute we were on that wrong road was taking us one step further away from our destination.

One of the earliest writings in Christianity is a book called the Didache, also known as “The Lord’s Teaching through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations.” It was written in the first century by the 12 guys who knew Jesus best and its purpose was to convey to the world His teachings.

Listen to what the first sentence in the book says:

“There are two ways, one of life and one of death; but a great difference between the two ways.” Didache 1:1

Simple and to the point. There are only two roads in life; if you’re not on one then you’re on the other. They may look similar in the beginning, but they are as different as can be. One road leads to life; the other to death.

SO MAKE SURE YOU’RE ON THE RIGHT ROAD!

“Ok, thanks for the public service announcement Fr. Anthony, but you don’t have to worry about me. I’m ok. I’m definitely on the right road. I mean, I’m a “good” person. I go to church almost every Sunday… I help old ladies across the street when I can… and I read YOUR BLOG faithfully every day! So surely I’m on the right road, aren’t I?”

Look… I’m not saying that you’re not on the right road, but I’m saying that you need to check. My friend and I spent an hour driving down the wrong road thinking that we were on the right road. And during that entire time, we didn’t have a clue we were lost. We thought everything was fine. But in reality, we were lost. We were so lost that we didn’t even know we were lost. And every passing second that went by just made us more and more lost…

…UNTIL WE REALISED IT! Once we realised it, everything was fine. We turned around and retraced our steps and got back onto Route 50. Getting back on the right road isn’t the problem; the problem is REALIZING that I’m not currently on it.

So which road are you on? Be honest. Are you walking on the path of life? Are you deepening your relationship with God daily? Are you growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ? Are you becoming more like Him?

Don’t just say “I’m not doing anything bad.” That isn’t the question. The question is “are you growing closer to God and closer to His image within you?”

Please don’t think that I’m judging you or trying to scare you; I’m not. I’m just asking questions. One of the things that I learned from that road trip is that it never hurts to stop and ask for directions every now and then – especially when you’re headed to a destination that you’ve never been to before.

Why? Because you don’t want any surprises at the end of the road.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Matthew 7:21-23

Original blog found at-  http://www.franthony.com/blog/are-you-sure-youre-on-the-right-road

Lord Teach Us to Pray Part 3

Lord, Teach Us To Pray 

Part 3

by Andrew Boutros 

We talked about the meaning of prayer and how to pray, so now I’d like to focus on enjoying prayer. We mentioned before that prayer is heart to heart conversation between you & God which requires examining the condition of our hearts and setting intentions and then in all simplicity ask God to teach us how to pray.

Fr. Goettmann, an Orthodox priest, said in his book ‘The Spiritual wisdom and practices of early Christianity’: “We first ‘do’ exercise then we become exercise; we say prayers, but we must eventually become prayer. We go to liturgy but our whole being is called to become liturgical and daily life is meant to be a celebration.” This is the depth that Christ desires for us to experience. This is the life that Christ wants us to live. Christ doesn’t want us to be just performers as we are in so many aspects in our lives instead, He desires that we experience HIM in our day to day routine until He becomes the center of our lives. Christ’s aim is that we don’t just ‘do’ spiritual exercise or ‘pray’ few prayers or ‘go’ to liturgical services but that we become one with Him through all these means that He left us.

In John chapter 17, Christ was praying for His father for this unity to happen, He said“ I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us.”

The Church fathers in their wisdom have arranged so many prayers for us and left us with treasures to teach us how to take the first steps in our spiritual lives and how to go deeper with Christ. The first day in school is always tough, the first day at a new job is always weird, the first day in any new journey isn’t always comfortable but we take it anyway. So, the Church fathers teach us saying, “Sometime you must take the first uncertain steps if you wish at all to draw near to God. Don’t be anxious about your clumsy beginning; don’t yield to shyness and uncertainty, and the mocking laugher of enemies who try to persuade you that you are behaving ridiculously & that the whole thing is only a child of fantasy and meaningless.” Just pray for strength, get the guidance you need from your spiritual guide and father of confession and take that step. Don’t lend your ear to the devil trying to put you down.

Father Seraphim El Baramousy said “Those who take the first step toward a life with God, wearing the garment of repentance, must be diligent to hasten their repentance whenever they fall, and not give heed to the murmurings of the devil who wants to make them indulge in sin.” By the way no one is expecting you to go from 0 to 100 in a day or a week or a month in your prayer life because our church teaches us to do everything with moderation. Even when Christ was with his disciples for 3 years, they couldn’t attain the highest merits in their spiritual lives. We saw some of the disciples fall asleep multiple times in the garden of Gethsemane when Christ instructed them not to. I’m only mentioning this so you can have reasonable expectations and logical steps to consider when you are building your prayer life in accordance to the guidance you take from your father of confession.

Your father of confessions is a crucial tool in guiding along the path of spiritual growth through prayer. St. Nikon of Optina explains the role of the spiritual guide saying “The spiritual father only shows the way, like a signpost, but we have to traverse it ourselves. If the spiritual father shows the way and the disciple doesn’t move himself, then he won’t get anywhere and will rot near the signpost.” Build trust with your father of confession and spiritual guide so you can share with him/her what’s on your heart and he/she are able to navigate you wisely in your spiritual life so you can achieve unity with Christ.

Finally, “prayer by its nature is communion and union of man with God” as St. Ignatius Brianchaninov said and this is what you & I should be aiming for.