…Each and every one of us has had to fight and weather a different type of storm over these past few weeks. Some are fighting the lightning and thunderstorm of fear and panic of what is to come. Our first responders and healthcare workers are battling the fierce winds of disease, doing everything in their power to save lives, and safeguard those around them. Our Families are struggling with the financial storm that has wiped out jobs and income, while balancing the new challenges that come from having to homeschool their children. Government workers are fighting to the earthquake and aftershocks of their decisions, with the fear of the unknown hanging over their heads. All of us are finding ourselves in the midst of a spiritual battle, but regardless of what front we are fighting on, it is important to remember that we all find ourselves in the same desert.

“…When you fall off the ladder, get back up and keep climbing!”

“Our thoughts go a long way in determining how we handle the internal persecution of our souls, especially when we are carrying crosses like the one the world is carrying today. If we find it necessary to constantly seek out and be bombard with headlines of doom and gloom, it is like voluntarily diving into a pit of quicksand. The more we thrash about, going from emotional highs to bouts of sadness and despair, the quicker we sink and the harder it becomes to pull ourselves to safety.”

“…Our faith will be tested in a very real way during this pandemic. There will be persecution, and it will come from two places. The first will come from the outside, from those who do not understand the power of the Divine Liturgy, and the necessity of the Eucharist. The second, and perhaps the more dangerous persecution, will come from the inside….

“Being an Orthodox Christian is not about being a part of a social club on Sundays that does nice things for people. This is a serious faith…one that comes with the tremendous responsibility to take what we have been given, to protect it, and to pass it on untainted and untouched until our Lord comes again.”