Icon of the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25: 1-13)

Did you ever wish that Orthodox Christians were given a survival guide on the day of their baptism? That there were some kind of Cliff's Notes or something to tell us exactly how to better teach ourselves and our children how true Orthodox Christians should perceive the world we live in? How to raise our children right in a world gone wrong?

Maybe that is a little far-fetched but thanks to Victor Mihailoff and Archbishop Hilarion of Sydney (ROCOR) there is now an excellent resource available. It is recommended to all "people between twelve and twenty five years of age as well as those adults who have the responsibility of teaching young people Orthodoxy and spiritual knowledge."

I recently purchased the book, An Orthodox Survival Guide for the 21st Century, and began reading it this morning. I've only read several pages but it is an awesome book so far!

I want to type out every word of the pages I've read because they are all so important but I will share the following paragraphs:

The Twenty First Century is the worst time and the best time for Christian struggle. Never before were temptations so great in number, variety, frequency and force. Never before were Christians surrounded by such a massive concentration of other people seeking to lead us astray. Never before were temptations embedded so deeply into the very fiber of society, while Christian principles are rapidly being eroded away from it. However, never before were so many Orthodox book available in such a great variety of languages.

This century is also the best time for practicing Christians because of two more reasons:

1) Christians can acquire a place in heaven, and a higher place at that, than ever before, for simply fulfilling the basic requirements of Christian behavior as prescribed by the Orthodox Church and her priests;
2) They can receive greater rewards from God than ever before for achieving more than simply fulfilling the basic requirements of Christian behavior.

Christians cannot be saved without being presented with temptations. Temptations are like ladders. They can be used incorrectly for descent into hell or they can be used as they are meant to be used, for ascent into heaven...

Today, although Christianity is considered to be the religion with the largest membership in the world, it is really a name given to those who call themselves followers of Christ. Not all people who call themselves Christians actually practice following Christ.

The number of those who still loyally follow Christ in their daily lives, as prescribed by the Lord Himself and His Apostles, is small compared to the population of the whole world. This is how it was in the early days of Christianity and this is how it was in the days of Noah. This is also how it will be in the last days.

May we be reminded of the parable of the 10 virgins. "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the in which the Son of Man is coming."

Matthew 25: 1-13

A blessed feast of The Nativity of the Theotokos to all of you!