15 January 2009

Just got the New Skete winter newsletter. New Skete is an Eastern Orthodox monastic community in my dad's hometown--the nuns make cheesecake and the monks breed German shepherds, and together they produce this pretty excellent newsletter. The most recent one had a section on vocation that I liked--I spend a lot of time thinking about the vast expanse of life before me, doing the "right" thing with it, what exactly that would look like. The piece opened with this quote:

"A brother asked a hermit to tell him the proper thing to do with his life. The hermit replied that only God knows what is good, but that the great Nesteros, a friend of Antony, made a strong point when he said, 'God is equally pleased by all good works.' Scripture says that Abraham was hospitable and God was with him. Elijah sought quiet and God was with him. David had humility and God was with him. Therefore, whatever attracts you in the service of God is good. Do it, and let your heart be at peace." - Sayings of the Desert Fathers

You can access the (admittedly, very minimal) newsletter archives here, and the article on vocation is on pages 6 and 7 here

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