Monday, November 18, 2019

Fr. Thomas Hopko on Gratitude

The OCA website has Fr. Thomas Hopko's (of blessed memory) book The Orthodox Faith available online.
Here is a link to his section on Gratitude:

https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/spirituality/the-virtues/gratitude

May it be blessed!
Christina Blankenstein

Virtue of the Month November- Thankfulness

Thankfulness: expressing gratitude to others

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
-1 Thessalonians 5:18

November and Thanksgiving- it seems like a natural virtue for this month to focus on Thankfulness. At a recent staff meeting, we were discussing ways that we were thankful for our own parents. Virtues that they instilled in us from a young age. The “battles” that they chose in our upbringing. Based on these staff conversations, we will be adding a “My Upbringing” section to our Monthly Messenger. There were times, when I was a child, that I was not thankful for the things that my parents made me do or the rules that they made me follow. As an adult with my own children, I am thankful for the values that my parents instilled in me and we, God willing, are passing on those same virtues to our own children. 

My hope and prayer is that you will also see value in our sharing with you tidbits from our upbringing. And if you have something you would like to share, please let me know. 

In closing, and not related to my upbringing, I am thankful for all of you - the children, the parents, the staff. It is a great blessing to be part of the ministry of Agia Sophia Academy. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve. 
May it be blessed, 

Mrs. Christina Blankenstein

Virtue of the Month October- Honesty

Here is a condensed version of  Fr. Thomas Hopko’s writing on Honesty from his book, The Orthodox Faith which you can find online at https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith

Honesty

The wise man who has knowledge lives according to the truth through a totally honest life. Honesty means, first of all, to speak the truth and never to “bear false witness” (Ex 20.16).
This basic scriptural teaching is also that of the apostles.
For we pray to God that you may not do what is wrong . . . but that you may do what is honest . . . for we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth (2 Cor 13.7–8).
Honesty also means to act truly and openly, without pretense, or the presentation of a false image of oneself. It means, in a word, not to be a hypocrite.
Above all things, Christ the Lord hated and condemned hypocrisy, lying, and deceit. He accused the devil himself, first and foremost, of being a deceiver and liar, pretending to be other than he is, presenting himself and his teaching as totally other than the falsehood and wickedness that they actually are (cf. Jn 8.44–47). This is the way of all the false prophets, and of the antichrist himself.
For many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist (2 Jn 7).
In His fierce condemnation of the evil of the scribes, Pharisees, and lawyers, Christ was most violent against their hypocrisy. Of all the evils of men, the most vile in the sight of the Lord is undoubtedly hypocrisy.
The spiritual person is not a hypocrite. He shows himself honestly for what he is, and does not pretend to be what he is not. He reveals himself to all exactly as he actually is. He does not say or do anything that would lead people to have a false impression of him or of anyone or anything. He is utterly honest and pure in all that he thinks, says and does, knowing that God sees all and judges with righteousness all those who “walk-in integrity” (cf. Ps 26.1, 11).

September Virtue of the Month- Obedience

Obedience- Willingness to follow the commands of another

Welcome back to school! 
Why we do the Bible verses and virtue of the month…

For a number of years, Agia Sophia Academy has promoted weekly Bible verse memorization. These Bible verses are based on specific virtues. Each month has a designated “virtue of the month”. These two Faith curriculum activities support the ongoing mission of the school- to provide “a rich academic and arts curriculum grounded in Orthodox Christian values…”. Our Bible verses for the upcoming weeks will be published in our Monthly Messenger newsletter. Clip it out- post it on your refrigerator- keep it in your car and have your child practice every day. There is proven value to memorization. This article “In Praise of Memorization” provides ten reasons why it is important to practice the art of memorization. 

Now, take those memorization skills and apply it to the Bible verses that are based on our virtues and we have given our students a tool to quickly remember something from their childhood when they are faced with making those virtuous choices in their lives. If you have questions about Bible verse memorization or when your child’s class will be reciting their verse, please ask your child’s teacher. 

On obedience: Fr. Thomas Hopko, of blessed memory, said, 
There is no spiritual life without obedience...Our obedience to God’s commandments and discipline is the exclusive sign of our love for Him and His Son.” 
We have many opportunities to practice obedience- children to our parents and teachers, parents to our families and work, all of us to one another. 

May we always strive to be examples of virtue to our children every day. 
Have a blessed school year!

Mrs. Christina Blankenstein