Every Home a Monastery

New website!

noreply@blogger.com (Jessica Archuleta) — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 10:59:00 +0000

Please go to www.everyhomeamonastery.com Thank you!

Confidence in God during Difficult Times

noreply@blogger.com (Jessica Archuleta) — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 05:46:00 +0000

Saying we have faith in God when life is going smooth is easy. When serious troubles are not a threat, confidence in God isn't hard. The test is to check our faith when the waves of adversity are crashing against us.

From my own experience, as a wife of 15 years and mother of eight children living on one income, life has been a challenge in multiple ways. With the financial state of our national economy over the last eight plus years, we've had scary times. We've gone through a major job loss before and now, well, here we are again.

I am tempted to be worried, to despair even. The challenge my husband faces in finding a job that will support our large family close to the village we recently bought a home in, will be very hard. I could list many negatives against us, but I'm not going to. Honestly, the greatest temptation I have is to ask why I'm not worrying and freaking out.

I have confidence in God now because He has always helped us through hard times. I can look back and see how my worrying, anger, questioning and living without peace never helped a situation; it only made life for me and my family worse. Every time we have faced hardships or uncertainty, whether it be losing a job, finding a place to live, hoping for a home of our own, health problems, hard pregnancies, relationship issues, through everything that we all go through in life, God has been there, giving his grace and help. Often right at the last minute, but always just in time.

It also helps that this job loss happened at the end of Pascha (Easter) season. Having just witnessed the Resurrection of Christ after journeying through the terrible events of Holy Week, I cannot help but have joy, hope, and confidence that Christ has destroyed death and all will be well.

Of course I have temptations to anger, worry and despair. When I do, I ask myself, "'When has God let you down before?' 'When have any of us gone hungry?'" I think of the birds and the lilies of the field, (Mt 6:25-34) and the ten heads of hair in my family, and how our Father in heaven knows just how many hairs there are on each (Mt 10:29-31). I know He will not abandon us or cease caring for us.

This doesn't mean I believe in a health and wealth gospel. When reflecting on Jesus's life and His mother's, one can never imagine Jesus came to make us a rich church! I recently read Dorothy Day's autobiography, "The Long Loneliness." She made me ponder on Christ being poor, about Holy Poverty. Dorothy Day said, "When we meditate on our Lord's life we are meditating on our own. God is to be found in what appears to be the little and the unimportant. Don't look back 1900 years. Look around us today." Any trials that I must endure are not done alone, but with Jesus Christ who has already born all suffering.

I'm sure it was providence that I read Dorothy Day just before my husband was laid off. Oh how funny God can be! Dorothy made me question the standards that I have, what I think is success, what I long for and trust in. Many times in my life, my measurements have been closer to the world's standards then to our Lord's who said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Mt 6:19-21).

As Christians we cannot say we believe this life is passing quickly and is only a preparation for eternity and then live like this world is all we have. Or say we believe God is a loving Father who will provide for our needs and then worry when life is not going as we want. We cannot live in the moment with God and also in the future; in a state of worrisome doubt. We cannot pray for God's will to be done and then, when our will isn't done, freak out!

I pray for God's will in my life and in my family's life. I entrust my children to God and know they are His children before they are my husband's; before they are mine. I ask Him to lead us according to His will. Now I am given the opportunity to mean what I pray, to have childlike confidence in my Father, to let Him lead us according to His will.

Learning to have confidence and peaceful surrender to God's care and will hasn't come easily and certainly I have moments of struggle but no longer days or weeks of despair, which I have felt in the past. I have learned that faith and hope are gifts of grace from God, gifts that begin to be opened to us with the act of our will. It's all about synergy with God. We give our little mustard seed or widow's mite of will and in turn He gives us the grace we need. Then we can say with St. Paul, "And He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor. 12:9-10).

The Christian life isn't easy. Jesus told us, "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it (Mt 10:38-39)." I know these trials are part of the daily cross we must bear, and that means it is what is best for us and will lead to eternal life. I look back on life and see moments and trials that seemed devastating and hopeless as great times of growth, healing, and resurrection. Already I see God answering recent prayers (like the one for more faith)! I know this doesn't mean everything will turn out like I hope (even Jesus didn't want to endure crucifixion and the sorrow the Theotokos went through seeing her son tortured and killed was soul piercing (Lk 2:35)). Yet, we know what seemed like Satan's great triumph, what appeared to be a meaningless end to a short innocent life, was the greatest hour and victory, the last darkness before the true light would save us all. My favorite song during Pascha is the one to the Theotokos that says:

The angel exclaimed to her, full of grace: "Rejoice, 0 Pure Virgin; again I say, rejoice! Your Son is risen from the grave on the third day and has raised the dead. Let all nations rejoice!

Shine in splendor, O new Jerusalem! For the glory of the Lord is risen upon you, O Sion; sing with joy and rejoice! And you, pure Mother of God, rejoice in the resurrection of your Son.

From these trials new life will come, one way or another. I have confidence that all will be well in Gods time and according to His will. I know Jesus Christ has made all things new and resurrection will follow each and every cross all the way to eternity.

When struggling with your own crosses and difficult times, I encourage you to pray for faith and hope and give God your will and see what He will do. When prayer doesn't come, because you’re drowning in fears and cannot find the words, cry out and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you to pray and to pray within you. "But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God" (Rom 8:25-27).

Feasting in the Byzantine Church

noreply@blogger.com (Jessica Archuleta) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 02:37:00 +0000

Fr. Moses Discusses Feasting in the Byzantine Church Year in Your Word from the Wise

The Christian Family...an Ecclesial Entity.

noreply@blogger.com (Jessica Archuleta) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:01:00 +0000

Here's a great essay on the Christian family from St. John Chrysostom's perspective. It's a bit long but the premise is well worth the read.

Feliz Navidad!

noreply@blogger.com (Jessica Archuleta) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 23:33:00 +0000

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." ~Matthew 5:14-16

Merry Christmas from New Mexico!

Mom of Five

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:01:00 +0000

I am a mom of 5, my children’s ages: 12, 5, 4, 2, and 11 months. So what that means is I have a fun (sometimes moody) tween in the house and a Dora fan club, “Can you say back pack? Louder!!” Life around here can get pretty crazy and it is pretty awesome as well.

It is a challenge taking care of everyone, and I certainly wish I did a better job, but I do try my best and know that in the end, that’s all we can really do and leave the rest up to God. I know that without His grace, life would fall apart around here pretty quick, and if it weren’t for some very special friends that I have, I would feel alone in my daily life as mom, teacher, maid, chef, nurse, wife and all of the other hats every mom/wife wears. But these friends inspire me. They help with the monotony that sometimes fills a stay at home moms routine. They teach me how to love my little ones and husband more, they show how to trust God in times of struggle, and to relax and enjoy the happy times. They show me how to be a Christian and find God even among the piles of despair a.k.a the laundry, dishes, and bills.

These friends of mine are really not friends but family, my brothers and sisters, the Saints. Like in all families, I have my favorites and I want to share them with you, these are family members that no parent can live without knowing. I hope they inspire and brighten your path to God as they do with me.

San Isidro

Today a friend asked me to pray for him. I said okay and figured some quick words would have to do since I was having a typically full and busy day around the house. Well this friend asked me to ask for prayer from one of our favorite saints, St. John Maximovitch, whom I will share with you later. I have an akathist that I like to pray when asking St. John for help. Like I said, I first thought some quick words will have to do but knew that the akathist would be better. So I put the kids to bed and lit the candles. While I was praying the Akathist to St. John I was trying to focus on the prayer and not think about the list of to-do’s I had waiting for me. Well San Isidro’s retablo came to mind as I prayed. San Isidro was a farmer and in retablo’s painted of him you will see him in a field kneeling down in prayer while angels in the background plow his field for him. The angels would do San Isidro’s work for him so that he could pray more. What a comforting yet challenging story. I felt immediate relief from the anxiety of my to-do list and felt God and San Isidro reminding and challenging me to remember what is most important in the life of a Christian: Prayer and my relationship with God. If I put first things first I must trust that God will help me with the other aspects of my life. In a year from now it probably won’t matter if my to-do list was completed by the end of the day but stopping and praying for a friend and spending time with God and St. John will make a difference, perhaps a very significant one.

San Isidro reminds us that God will help us when we love Him as we should, God will provide for us when we let no one or nothing get in the way of our love and desire to be with Him. So does this mean I can drop all my chores and neglect my kids and lock myself in my room in prayer? No, of course not, but San Isidro’s life does remind me to never place anything above God, to never say "no, I can’t pray right now, I have to take care of other things first."

Community Life

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:23:00 +0000

Last night I read a story to my children, “The Holy Twins” by Kathleen Norris and Tomie dePaola. It is a story about Sts. Benedict and Scholastica. The story is very charming and my children were quite engaged by it. It tells the story of the saintly twins and their lessons about community living and Christian charity in two different ways.

Scholastica became a nun and her life was portrayed in the background pictures throughout the story. She feeds the poor, prays, and eventually becomes an Abbess. Benedict’s life is a much harder one. He leaves Rome due to corruption in the city and becomes a Hermit. After a time, he is made the Abbot of a monastery and due to his strict ways the monks try to poison him. He leaves the monastery and continues to struggle on his spiritual path. Eventually, those monks that want to live like him join him and form a new monastery.

By the end of the story Scholastica and Benedict meet again. Benedict tells Scholastica of his plans to write a rule to help his monks and others that want to live the Christian life. She teases him and remarks how funny it seems that he had to go out and live the rough life he has lived and travel all around the country to learn the same things she has learned by staying in one place! Both twins learned Christian charity while living amongst their respective communities. Benedict also learned by traveling and at times living on his own.

This morning as my children and I were having breakfast and we were going through our daily ritual (someone making someone else mad, one of them having a fit and everyone wanting something to eat or drink at the same time) with me there refereeing and calming everyone down while trying very hard to not lose my patience and yell, the thought occurred to me; family life is just like monastic community life. Here in the domestic church we learn from one another and hopefully, we learn true Christian charity. It is so tempting to not bother with disciplining the kids sometimes, to just keep the peace (and my sanity) at whatever cost. Even if that means not raising them and teaching them as I should all throughout the day.

This morning I was tempted to give in to some of the kid’s requests just to keep the peace and move on with my day, but then my 11 year old did something amazing. I asked her to get some milk for her brother and two sisters and cut their pancakes so that I could finish my breakfast. Now usually this type of request is greeted with a big sigh, rolling of the eyes and grumpiness oozing from my daughter as she begrudgingly fulfills my request. I braced myself for it, the attitude towards the little one’s whom she really didn’t want to help, but it never came. She quickly and without a thought did as I asked, and was even sweet towards her siblings! Wow! I couldn’t believe it! All of those little talks and lessons on treating one another with love and respect seemed to finally sink in. Just like that my daughter’s behavior changed. All the work of teaching her about this aspect of our life at home is bearing some fruit. And oh how sweet it is!

So we will see what tomorrows breakfast brings but for now I will learn from all of this myself and remember that making the effort (even when I don’t want to) and teaching the kids to have respect and love for one another is always good for them…and for me as well.