The Synaxis of Our Venerable Fathers of the Monastery of the Caves at Kyiv who repose in the Further Caves; The Venerable Father Moses the Black; Our Holy Father Augustine, Bishop of Hippo; The Holy Martyr Gebre Michael, Illuminator of Ethiopia.
Abstention from meat and foods that contain these ingredients.
Galatians 2:6-10; Mark 5:22-24; 5:35-6:1.
Read Galatians 2:6-10
Athens’ main rival was Sparta, but a smooth-talking leader named Alcibiades convinced them to send a massive fleet over to Sicily. The goals made perfect sense: to bail out their ally Segesta and to stop Syracuse from aiding the Spartans. Rather than a random side quest, this was a highly strategic move. However, Athens became completely consumed by this sidebar issue. They let this secondary mission swallow up their best ships and soldiers; they let it consume their budget and focus. In the end, it proved a total disaster. The army was wiped out, the fleet was destroyed, and Athens was left vulnerable. Overextending on a legitimate secondary interest led to their total defeat, and Sparta ultimately won the war.
As in war, so in the Church. Christians can become consumed by perfectly legitimate concerns to the detriment of greater priorities. St. Paul tells us that when he met the apostolic pillars—James, Peter, and John—the one thing they asked was that he remember the poor, “the very thing” he was already eager to do. This echoes St. James, who later wrote that the mark of true religion is caring for widows and orphans in their distress.
Yet Christians easily become consumed by theological and liturgical controversies, especially amid the cultural crises of recent decades. Yes, poor liturgy and weak theology must be confronted. Yes, if left unaddressed, they produce moral confusion downstream and affect our eternal destiny. All true. But there are only so many hours in the day. Amidst our debates over these crucial issues, what gets lost? The very things the Lord and his Apostles commanded us to do: attend to the poor, the widow, and the orphan.
Children, let us hasten to do good. Don’t worry about fixing every massive problem at once. In the words of St. Teresa of Kolkata: “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”