1) Read the appointed readings of each day in the original Greek and in the Latin translation according to St. Jerome.How did I do?
2) Every morning, with or after the morning prayers, read the Hexapsalmi.
3) Small compline every night. It's 15 minutes and it shouldn't be that much of a burden before going to bed.
4) Confession once a month. It's not a requirement, but I think just a good thing to do.
5) Log in less to the discussion boards. Hardening your heart is so easy every time you need to log in and say someone is wrong.
#1) I did very well with this for about two months and then, once Lent started, I read the Greek less and less and after Pascha I started to read the English less and less to the point that my reading was sporadic at best.
#2) Utter failure. Good for about 2 weeks.
#3) Utter failure. I did pray it mainly on Saturday evenings but with a kid, it's really hard to get into a nightly routine.
#4) I maybe did confession once a quarter and should have taken greater advantage of it more often.
#5) I got off one discussion board I regularly participated in but I found myself getting more involved in others usually taking people to task for their misconceptions and outright distortions of the Orthodox faith.
This year, I plan on making no definitive resolutions with regard to my spiritual life. I'll do what I can when I can, but I know that the care of my wife and new son are just as relevant commitments to my spiritual well-being as saying the six psalms, etc.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Chris, you are definitely not alone! This is an absolutely typical experience. We set ourselves these worthy goals and in the process set ourselves up for a fall. Because if we fail (the most likely outcome), the devil says, "See? You can't do it; give up!" But if we succeed, the devil makes us proud of our prayer (!) and tempts us to imagine we did it on our own, although we know we cannot do anything without Christ.
ReplyDeleteI hope you will consider adding to your spiritual practices after all, but ask your spiritual father to guide you in setting your resolution(s).
Happy new year, and congrats on your new son!