The ABC’s of Spirituality

One day Abba Arsenius consulted an old Egyptian monk about his own thoughts someone noticed this and said to him, ‘Abba Arsenius, how is it that you with such a good Latin and Greek education, ask this peasant about your thoughts?’ He replied, ‘I have indeed been taught Latin and Greek, but I do not know even the alphabet of this peasant.’

—sayings of the desert

There are times in our lives when we are awe stuck with the simple holiness of individuals we encounter. All too many of us are wrapped up in the venture of making ourselves holy when we should practice the simple act of being holy. The Monk used the analogy of the alphabet to compare his knowledge to the (spiritual) knowledge of the peasant. Sometimes we miss the obvious because we are concentrating on the complicated. This is never truer than in our spiritual journeys. God did not make following Him a complicated task. That was man’s doing!

Today is the day to call ourselves to a simple form of prayer. The prayer that is just taking time to be with God. Let’s “put on hold” our quest of understanding all the mysteries of God and just spend some time with Him. Practice your spiritual ABC’s today.