Day Trips Are a Summer Tradition

Everyone enjoys a nice day trip to a favorite beach or nature walk, but have you ever considered a day trip to an area church? There are probably many beautiful Orthodox Churches close enough to your city for an inspirational and enjoyable day trip.

Taking time to actually travel to a church for a special prayer or service has been a long-time tradition of our Holy Orthodox Church. Within driving distance to your city are at least a dozen day trips to see old and new churches and even spend time in different monasteries. Imagine the blessing your family will receive if the next time you wonder what to do for a Saturday afternoon you say, “How about going to visit the Monastery?”

A quick stop by a nearby Church to light a candle and venerate the Holy Icons brings a fresh reminder of what really matters in life. You may even get lucky and find a Church or monastery where you can venerate relics of a holy Saint. You may even wish to plan to attend different parishes for Divine Liturgy on a Sunday.

To assist us in our travels as Orthodox Christians, the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States has a complete directory of parishes and monasteries. All you need to do is “plug in” your zip code and choose where to go for your day trip.

Blessed travels!

One of Those Days

Today has been one of those when I found myself absorbed in my work. After being out of the office for several days (since Christmas really) I finally found an opportunity to get some "busy work" done in the office. For a Priest,  these are the days you glance at your list of tasks and "close your door" and get it done. And I did just that.

The same can be said for our spiritual life. We often go through, yes WE, periods when we neglect our relationship with God. It might be as simple as forgetting to pray at night because we've had a long tiring day, or it might have been a long time since we've been to Church. Either way,  at some point we recognize that we have let things "pile up" unattended.

Believe it or not, whether in the office, or your spiritual life, the solution is the same: you put aside the distractions and get it done. So today I got a bunch of office work accomplished that I had been putting off, and I am able to begin tomorrow "caught up" (almost anyway) so I can focus on the one-to-one ministry that is so crucial.

So, if you have some things in your spiritual life that you've been neglecting, maybe you just need one of those days when you put aside the distractions and just get it done. Declare a personal retreat day if you need.

You'll be able to begin the next day refreshed and ready to meet the Lord.