“You ask, ‘Must one do something?’ Of course one must! And do whatever comes along—in your circle of friends and in your surroundings—and believe that this is and will be your real work. More will not be demanded of you. It is a great misconception to think, whether for the sake of heaven or, as the modernists put it, to ‘make one's mark on humanity,’ that one must undertake great, reverberating tasks. Not at all. It is necessary only to do everything according to the commandments of God. Just what exactly? Nothing in particular—only those things which present themselves to everyone in the circumstances of life, those things which are required by the every day happenings we all encounter. This is how God is. God arranges the fate of each man, and the whole course of one's life is also the work of His most gracious foreknowledge, as is, therefore, every minute and every encounter. Let's take an example: a beggar comes up to you; it is God who has brought him. What should you do? You must help him. God has brought the beggar, of course, desiring you to act toward this beggar in a manner pleasing to Him, and He watches to see what you will actually do ...If you do what is pleasing to God, you will be taking a step toward the ultimate goal, the inheritance of heaven. Generalize this occurrence, and you find that in every situation and at every encounter one must do what God wants him to do. And we know truly what He wants from the commandments He has given us. If someone seeks help, then help him. If someone has offended you, forgive him. If you yourself have offended*********************************************************************************
someone, then hasten to ask forgiveness and to make peace.”
St. Cyprian of Carthage (+258 A.D.) has stated in his infinite wisdom, "He cannot have God for his Father who does not have the Church for his Mother". We have heard many people say that they "don't need" to physically be in Church to worship God; that He is everywhere. This is of course very true...He is everywhere and hears our prayers no matter where we are. But people will use this fact as their "logic" to avoid "organized religion", and do themselves a great injustice. First of all, we know there is no salvation outside of the Church. The Church is the Ark of Salvation...through her, we ride the storms of life. And we know that although we are accountable for our own salvation—that is, we can't blame anybody but ourselves if we don't utilize this time given to us to work out our salvation, because it's our own responsibility—but also, we remember that the Church is the Body of Christ, and we shouldn't feel that we can be separate from Christ and the rest of His Body, which is our brothers and sisters in Christ. Perhaps most important of all is the fact that we cannot receive the life-giving Mysteries (Sacraments) of the Church without a life in the Church. We can't receive forgiveness of our sins through Holy Confession, nor can we receive the precious Blood and Body of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ "for remission of sins and life everlasting". There are some in the Church that incorrectly believe that somehow, Holy Communion is "sufficient" only once or twice a year. This sentence from one of the preparatory prayers for Holy Communion by St. John Chrysostom (+407 A.D.) embodies the importance of receiving frequent Communion so perfectly:
"May I not by much abstaining from Thy communion become a prey to the spiritual wolf."From Her very beginnings, the Church has always directed us to frequent confession and communion, and I'm not sure how or why the gradual shift has been to be a minimalist; to receive the Sacraments only once or twice a year. If Christ is our Great Physician, then surely, the Church is our Hospital where we are healed of our physical and spiritual infirmities—can She be any less??? And so given this allegory, we know the Sacraments are our "medicine". Surely, we must be as prepared to receive the Sacraments as we can and not to partake unworthily, but it is completely worth the effort to adequately prepare with prayer, fasting, and humility!
All this aside—I've gotten a bit off track of my original point, having stepped onto my spiritual soapbox of minimalist mentality concerning Sacrament reception!—St. Nikolai Velimirovic extols the importance of an active relationship with the Church when commenting on St. Paul's words to us in Ephesians 3:21 ("Unto Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."):
Glory be to God! Glory be to God in the Church! Glory be to Him because of Christ Jesus! Glory be to Him throughout all generations! Glory be to Him unto ages of ages! No one befits being glorified as does God, nor does anyone glorify God as does the Church of God. Christ is the revealer of God: hence, all the glory given to God must go through Christ the Lord. The Church will endure beyond all races and generations to the end of time; the Church is the most pure body of Christ, filled with might, wisdom and miracle-working; and hence the glory of God is proclaimed from the Church: from the holy place to the Holy One, from purity to the Pure One. Glorification from the Church is most pleasing to God also, because there are many souls and voices in the Church, but they are all of one accord and of one voice. Therefore, let no one separate himself from the common glorification of God, and let no one even think that his own glorification of God in isolation and separation is better than the glorification of God in the unity and fullness of all the faithful. It is not true that one member is lost in the multitude, that his voice is not heard before God. Does not the hand do its work only when it is inseparably bound to the body? And so it is with each member of the body, just as it is with each of the faithful. When he prays in and with the Church (and even if he is in the desert he can pray in and with the Church), not separating himself from the Church, he is better heard and seen by God. His soul finds a much repeated echo in the souls of the other faithful, and so he is greatly distinguished and recognized in his prayer within the unity of the body of the Church rather than outside of it. O Lord Jesus, only from Thee, in Thee, and through Thee can we glorify God. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen."
It is nothing short of that deadliest of all passions—pride on our part—to believe we can be saved outside of the Church; that somehow, we can "do it alone". Christ has purchased the Church with His very life and with his Blood...He has given Her as a gift to us for our salvation, and in turning our back on Her, we are in effect saying, "No thanks...I can do this on my own." Indeed, in their insolence and pride, Adam and Eve too thought they could "do it on their own", being like little gods, when they partook of the forbidden fruit.
We commit spiritual suicide and cause our own damnation in believing that we somehow, "don't need" the Church. We foolishly turn our backs on the very means to our salvation. The Church isn't just our Ark of Salvation, but also a lifesaver. Sometimes, we've fallen out of the Ark and are looking to cling to any remnant of Her while being storm-tossed in our seas of despair and in times of our deepest needs.
