On Cultivating our Minds Towards Godliness

“O Lord our God and Creator, who hast honored men with thine own image; who hast taught thine elect, so that most wise are they who give heed to they teaching; who revealest wisdom unto babes; who hast imparted thy teaching unto Solomon and unto all who have sought thy wisdom: Open thou the hearts, the minds, and the lips of our children as they return to school, that they may receive the power of thy law, and understand the knowledge which shall be taught to them, to the glory of thine all holy Name… that they may increase in wisdom and in the fulfilling of thy commandments… and become an heir of thy Kingdom…”Amen!

Beloved in Christ,

At the beginning of the church year, it is customary that we pray for our students, that God guides them and protects them so that they grow in knowledge and virtue. As we start the new liturgical year, let us take a moment to consider that this is also an opportunity for us to grow in our faith.

In a correspondence with a friend, Nikolai Gogol once remarked that “a Christian is a student even until his death.” A Christian is one who relates to his own soul as a sculptor relates to clay or a painter to a canvas. Education, the cultivation of the mind, is of tremendous importance for us in our life of prayer and the acquisition of virtue. What we introduce to our minds has a tremendous effect on the soul. If we feed it what is beautiful and true, if we teach it to labor and be still, then we may begin to ascend beyond the veil of the measurable world towards an encounter with its inner meaning. We may experience the wonder of God’s Glory. If we feed it with spiritual wisdom and show it examples of holiness, then it will develop a taste for these riches and desire to acquire these treasures for itself. On the other hand, if we are negligent with our minds, allowing them to passively feed on images and impressions that make them weak and pleasure-seeking, then we darken ourselves, and our souls will grow attached to these things. That old adage “you are what you eat” is equally true of the mind and the heart.

We are always learning. Every person is always changing. We see new things, take in new impressions, and converse with people. It is impossible for someone to remain the same. We either grow or degrade depending upon how we exercise our minds. What our minds consume is what our hearts will learn… and this will be what we take with us into the next life. As we begin the journey of a new liturgical year with all of its possibilities for spiritual growth, it is important for us to regularly feed our minds with truth, beauty, and wisdom so that we may strive with longing to acquire these things for our souls. That is why it is necessary for us to give ourselves to studying the Word of God, the fathers, and the lives of the saints. St. Philartet once said that “study precedes baptism and study fulfills baptism.” May all of us be set aflame with the burning desire to discover truth and wisdom! May we take careful consideration of what it is that we are watching and reading; may we look carefully at how we are spending our precious time; and may we acquire an insatiable hunger for all that inspires us to grow in the Spirit!

With Love in Christ,

Fr. Spyridon,

Fr. Peter,

Dn. Matthew