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Philoptochos Spiritual Enrichment Series |
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Women as Caregivers |
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| Prayer Trisagion prayer. Then: For you are my rock and my fortress; Therefore, for Your name's sake, lead me and guide me. Pull me out of the net, which they have secretly laid for me, for You are my strength. (Psalm 31:3-4) |
Vitamin
Verse Now there was at Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which means gazelle. She was full of good works and acts of charity. (Acts 9:36) |
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| Inspiration Our time together is precious and powerful. As sacramentally active Orthodox Christians we are called to be instruments of God; His hands, His Eyes, His Feet. We are His friends of the poor and of the needy. To truly do all the work our Heavenly Father has entrusted to us and commanded us to do, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Today's inspiration is about how we must continually refill our energies and strength with the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. Women are caregivers. Women reflect the divine kenosis of God which is to say that we share in God's image of self-emptying. This divine self-emptying is the loving, giving, caring, nurturing and helping we do for others. Yet we all know that this feminine gift can be exhausting and even spiritually devastating. To visit the elderly confined to nursing homes and watch them struggle with the reality of the decaying body, to visit the terminally ill and long for something helpful to say to them, to comfort a child who has lost a parent or is abandoned-these things can wrench our hearts so much that we truly suffer with them. And yet, we continue to be the Philoptochos, the friend of the poor and needy, because we are created in the image and likeness of the One, Holy, Good and Life Giving God. We continue to help others because we see in these actions a vital grace and goodness that lessens the difficulty of the task. As Orthodox Christians we avoid "burn out" by continually returning to God for His strength and guidance. Through fasting, prayer, confession and Holy Communion, we are given the spiritual weapons to combat suffering in this world. We cannot keep giving of ourselves if we do not keep replenishing ourselves with the saving grace of God. Let us look briefly at two ways to fill our cup with God's love. Fasting reminds us of the greatest friend of the poor, Jesus Christ, who gave himself even unto death to help mankind. We fast on Wednesdays to remember His betrayal and we fast on Fridays to remember His Crucifixion. When we fast we free ourselves from the heaviness of food and leave room for God to dwell in us. When we fast we also remember that it is not food that sustains us but that God is The Life of the world, literally. Prayer is keeping in touch. Sometimes we think we need to have a special quiet time for an hour in front of the icons each day. This would be great but if that usually is unattainable for you, snatch away minutes with Christ. When your children are fighting for the hundredth time say a quick prayer for guidance on how to answer them. When you feel drained by your care giving read the psalms and see how suffering can draw you closer to God. We are God's children and He really wants to hear from us and be involved in our daily life |
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