Forty years ago, in 1981, the Feast of the Visitation – traditionally celebrated on May 31st – fell on a Sunday, and was transferred to June 1st. This feast is, of course, the remembrance of when Mary, the mother of Jesus, visited her cousin Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, to share their mutual joy at their miraculous states of pregnancy. This day is also a time of celebration for me personally as it is my 40th Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood. Two dear friends joined me in the Anchorhold to mark this anniversary. As is my custom, Vespers and Eucharist were combined, and our prayers of intercession included the Trisagion, the Jesus Prayer, and the Song of the Most Holy Theotokos, as well as the Lament in a Season of Coronavirus.
I ask your prayers that I may be given the grace to continue faithfully in my vocation as Priest and Anchorite.
Susan Creighton+
I’ve been following your comments for a few years and will continue to do so, God willing. I was not called to be a monk, much less holy orders. If I was, I suppose I wasn’t listening. Instead, I was told (by our parish priest) that I was called to marriage. That is not a usual way to describe it. But as I commented to a Buddhist monk on one of his excellent videos, the similarities are there. It is all about vows, obligations and commitment. One must forgo certain attachments and adjust to a new way of living. For some, it is difficult.
Thank you, Kenneth, for your comment. Yes, any kind of committed life requires both detachment from a variety of other choices, as well as deepening our commitment when we fall short. And that certainly happens in marriages as well as in monastic life. Even as an anchorite, I continually find myself saying “yes” to some choices, activities, relationships even as I must also say “no” to others. I think there are various terms for that–devotion, obedience, discipleship–and, in my case continuing to discern which of those choices support my vows of silence, solitude, and simplicity, and which do not. Blessings upon you, and I hope you continue to follow “Holy Dwelling.”