Part 2…

That you work so as to assume part of the responsibility for the site of the service or commitment that you have taken upon yourself or that events or circumstances have imposed on you, such that you strive for your work to be compatible with God’s will and an expression of love for God and your neighbor.

That you behave and act such that your words and deeds are a translation of your faith, without separation between word and deed. That is, without hypocrisy. Believing in Christ means that I believe in Christ the chaste, in Christ the servant, in Christ the humble, etc. This is what calls me to practice chastity, to serve and to be humble as the Lord has given us a model in Himself.

That you love such that you give yourself, so you weep with those who are weeping and rejoice with those who are rejoicing, and you give yourself to God and to your neighbor according to the divine commandment. This love is accompanied by suffering because you are not perfect and neither are others, because you are weak and selfish and do not realize God’s will. The goal of holiness is striving for love.

These elements crystalize one’s spirit according to God’s Spirit, which touches us and through us touches all existence, in order to sanctify it, guide it and lead it to wellsprings of life. “

– ‘Arab Orthodoxy’

***Now and then we include a particularly thought provoking or inspiring excerpt not from one of our regular ‘Elders’***