Your Great Hope for Your Children

Your Great Hope for Your Children

by a hieromonk of the OCA

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As a mother your great hope for your children should be that they will become saints. Probably the greatest joy among those in heaven will be the joy of the mother of a saint. In this world when anyone, whoever it may be, becomes successful at something and others rejoice with that person, the joy is really greatest for the mother of that individual. So then just think what an inexpressible joy it will be in the kingdom of heaven to see your children clothed with glory from God. Those children who came into being and grew in your womb, those children whom you cared for as helpless infants, who you instructed and guided in their youth and for whom you prayed so much in their times of trouble—even if they are not great saints—to see them clothed with glory from God in the heavenly kingdom, what a joy this will be! Only a mother can know this, no one else, for this is a special joy which God has reserved in His kingdom for mothers.

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We were created in the image of God, so then we are good, we are beautiful, we are important to God, this is true for each and every one of us. God adorned man with many gifts and the greatest gift is theosis—through the Incarnation of the Son of God, in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, this has become a living reality for us. But what is theosis? A hieromonk of Iveron Monastery said to me:“According to Orthodoxy the Gospels say that the main purpose in life is theosis, that is, to arrive at union with God and everything else in life is a consequence. And that God came in the person of Jesus Christ so that man could become God, of course, by grace. And just like all the saints who reached union with God can be like Him too, so we, too, should try to become like the saints and become holy.

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To give an example for us in life we have first of all Christ Who was the first saint and then we have all the saints after Him—divine human beings. When you look at the saints you see what holy people are, the saints are proper human beings, true and authentic, spontaneous and genuine human beings: it is we who tend to be false. I think that we can overcome that falseness in the Church.”This is ultimately what every Christian is called to, whether bishop, priest, monk, or layman. The way in which one lives out this calling is different and no matter who one’s spiritual father is, the calling is the same. It is the fulfillment of the vows given at Baptism.

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But how is this pursued by a mother of many children living in the world? The Apostle John the Theologian writes: “as He is, so are we in this world.” We must live a life in Christ. We must act as He did in His earthly life. We must fulfill His Gospel commandments.

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Christ said, “He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” But which in particular relates to a mother in the world who has children? Well, Christ told us to love one another and He said that He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. Moreover, He not only preached with words, but also taught by example. He washed the feet of His disciples and He also served them at the sea of Tiberias after His resurrection.

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Again Christ said, “No greater love does a man have than this that he lay down His life for his friends.” A mother is called to lay down her life for her children and this is a great act of love. It is not something done part time or only for a few years, but it is life-long. And because of this service, because of this sacrifice, we can say of her, “as He is, so (is she) in this world.” However, this must be done as an act of humble submission to the will of God and with much love. Then this will attract the grace of God. As the outcome of this struggle you can acquire virtues like patience, peace, humility and love. These are the same things a monastic hopes for, but his pathway to them is different. He who has these things has God, he who lives in this manner lives in God.

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Another concern seems to be the difficulty of pursuing a deep prayer life in the role of a housewife and mother. For a deeper prayer life one needs to reach a certain state of freedom from the dominion of sin. Thus a Divine transformation takes place within and grace buds forth in the heart, as a more or less abiding state—this is what it means for prayer to be rooted within a person. So pray as much as you are able in role of a mother and a wife, but do not be dismayed over not having as much time as you want to develop a deeper prayer life. Prayer will become deeper as a long drawn out process of a crucifixion of the old man takes place. As the passions are lulled, prayer will blossom in the heart. Your asceticism is the perseverance in the commandments of God, in the role of a mother as mentioned above. Above all, be patient, every day, in everything.