In March we made a car trip that took us as far as Arizona and Utah. Many of the following entries were conceived during that time, rich as it was with opportunities to think and respond to the varied stimuli. Unfortunately I don’t have the means to communicate while on the road, so the written creations are coming belatedly.
Monthly Archives: March 2009
St Ephrem
The Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian
O Lord and Master of my life!
Take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk.
But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant.
Yea, O Lord and King!
Grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother;
For Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen.
Soul Exercise
A freezing morning– but after lying awake for three hours and praying for part of the time, I thought I heard Him call me to Matins, so I scraped the frost off the car windows and drove down the road. Those special Lenten morning prayers were the foundation of my athletic effort today, my Wheaties. What—did I say athletic effort? It has been said that Lent and its ascetic labor is spiritual athleticism. When I meditated on that idea for a while I found some peace and patience for the journey. For if the Church generally, and Lent, provide these exercises for the soul, I might think of the whole program as a large gym with every kind of equipment to help me in my workouts. Some days I might use the treadmill and the upper-body Nautilus machines. Other days I might attend a Yoga class, or swim in the pool. Some days I might stay home and sleep.
I’m an amateur. Not only that, but I have severe handicaps. But the Master Teacher doesn’t let me get away with anything. I might have trainers who can show me what a helpful course would look like, but when it comes down to running an extra five minutes today, or in the Lenten case praying an extra five minutes, or eating five fewer bites—then only He knows if that was a big advance for me, or if I am still being too easy on myself. He can reveal to me how lazy and gluttonous I am, how I cater to my weaknesses and make provision for them. That’s why it doesn’t help at all to compare my progress with anyone else’s. The Lord knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. But He is our biggest encourager, He is the Prize itself, Whom we want to know more intimately. So we press on.
I’ve learned very well how lazy I am at the local (earthly body) health club. But I also know that just getting on the treadmill and walking slowly, on those Slow Days, is better than languishing at home. Every little step forward is at least in the right direction, aiming for the healing of my soul—and here I have introduced the overarching metaphor, of the Orthodox Church as a spiritual hospital. It has all the best treatments and medicines one needs, including this 40-day “Fitness Challenge” to prepare us for the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. With patience let us run the race that is before us—even if, like me, you will be the tortoise bringing up the rear–by God’s mercy and grace.
Pruning and Cats
Last year at this time we still had Kitty Zoë. Here she is beautifying the prunings from the cherry plum tree. That tree is the most vigorous grower of anything on the property, which means that my husband has to climb up in the branches and prune it back with a variety of tools. I hate it when he does that; I usually stay in the house and pray.
We had only had Zoë and Gus for a few months when she was hit by a car. Gus then had a personality change and became a wonderful guy. Until that point he had let Zoë be the charming one.
The sad thing is, he has no one to play with anymore, and we don’t get to watch the two of them scampering and scuffling together. I’d kind of like to have a second cat, in hopes of having that experience again. But that’s greedy; Gus does the job of keeping us entertained and making the house a more warm and lively place, now that there are no children here. A baby in the house is the best thing for keeping one’s priorities straight, for slowing a person down. But a cat is second-best.
One last picture of Zoë as she was decorating the Lambs’ Ears. I haven’t been able to catch Gus in the garden, as he is always chasing leaves or butterflies. Say, perhaps I do require another cat to fill that role!
Gladsome Lights 