Prayers for victims of domestic violence and child abuse

[Olympiada]

Greetings All,
I have another prayer request. Let us pray for the victims of domestic violence and child abuse, as well as those who abuse children. Are there any priests in this group with the book of needs handy that can look this up? Last time I checked I did not see any prayers along these lines. Perhaps it is time to write some. How does one go about writing prayers other than with the blessing of one's bishop?
Olympiada

[GOCPriestMark]

I have not seen this in the Book of Needs.

Pray from your heart. Pray for God to forgive for 'they know not what they do'. Pay that God grant those abused the ability to forgive and for healing.

It sounds odd that you don't want to talk to your bishop about this. I would be very open to listen to what you have to say privately and help in anyway that I am able.

[Olympiada]

What about the anger that comes from being the victim of abuse? The anger that comes from having to divorce a man and raise his child? How does one deal with that in prayer?

[spiridon]

On Comfort in Sorrow.

St. Macarius of Optina.

The most merciful Lord, loving us and wishing to save us and keep us from going astray and from being slaves to our passions, sends us various sorrows, depravations and illnesses, so that we, realizing our vanity and finding no comfort, will turn to Him, "the culmination of our desires." Our heart, when it is wounded by random adventures and sorrows, unconsciously dies to the world, that is to the passions, and seeks comfort in a better one. Yet, sorrows cause the heart to die to the world, that is to voluptuousness, to love of money, and love of glory. The soul, terrified by the noise of temptations, runs to God with much humility, striving to hide from the pangs of sorrow under the protection of His Providence; thus cleansed by frequent thoughts of Him, comes to the knowledge of itself, in solitude it sees the enormity of its sins and begins weeping, which is the door to the innermost place in the life of the new person.
We, in our foolishness, think ourselves lucky and at the peak of happiness when we obtain riches, honor, glory and respect; but God knows better than we do. When he sees that the condition of our soul is harmed by increase of these things, then He takes from us these blessings, like a wise father who refuses to give his son harmful things instead of beneficial things. And just as the good things of this world are themselves harmful to us, and not beneficial, since they plunge us either into luxury, or pride, if we place our hope of comfort in them, then the Lord will take them away from us in His compassion for us, that our souls not perish; which is why we must thank God for His abiding with us. I can tell you for certain that you are on the way to salvation when you are visited by sorrows. There is a cross for every Christian, and each one is unique. When our Lord, Jesus Christ, the King of Glory, took on our flesh, and suffered for our redemption even unto death, death on the Cross, He left us an example, that we might follow in His footsteps and, calling upon us, said: "If any man wishes to follow me, let him take up his cross." (Matt. 16:24) What is this cross, if not sorrows sent to us by God's Providence, to each of us according to the strength we have to bear them?
We see the grace of God does everything for our own good; it sends sorrows so that we, living in comfort and without cares might not become puffed up with conceit, for this is an enemy arrow that can strike us unawares; you don't notice how it stings the heart. But sorrows make us humble; that is why the saintly David cried to God: "It is good for me that I have been afflicted." (Psalm 118:71). "Before I was afflicted, I went astray." (Psalm 118:67)
We must accept suffering as sent by God as a trial of our faith or a punishment, and we must not grumble and moan and feel they are spoiling our disposition; we must not blame our sorrows, but blame and reproach ourselves for our faintheartedness, for through this is born humility.
When we receive our sorrows with faintheartedness and we break down under their weight, we are only depriving ourselves of the fruits of patience.
You must believe that no misfortune can happen to you if the Lord does not allow it. And He allows sorrows out of love for us. And so, if you accept your sorrows as a punishment that shows that you are not deprived of God's love, as the holy Apostle Paul writes: "My son! Despise not thou the chastening of the Lord nor faint when they art rebuked of Him. For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers then are ye fatherless kids, and not sons." (Heb. 12:5-8) You see, when we are punished, then we turn like children to the Lord, and if we have no punishments, then we become like surrogates, and not like genuine children. So when you have sorrows, then you know that the Lord has not forgotten you and He is thinking of you; and you can be sure that He will not send more temptation than you can handle, and that along with temptation He will also send relief. In the sorrows that are brought upon you, don't blame any of those who offend you, for it is the Lord who is punishing you and people are only the tools of God, through whom He works.
Accept this with faith and hope and bring to the Lord your gratitude for his untold mercy, for from this you will receive relief and comfort in the bearing of your sorrows and, if it is the will of the Lord, complete deliverance from them.

EVERY CHRISTIAN MUST BEAR HIS CROSS.

By Metropolitan Philaret of the ROCOR.
(†8/21 November, 1985)

At today's Divine Liturgy we heard that the Lord Jesus Christ said that a Christian must carry his cross: whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me (Mark 8:33). He Himself carried His cross His whole life. Not only did He carry to Golgotha a heavy wooden cross upon which He was about to be crucified; He bore His cross His entire earthly life! Consider that the eternal God joined Himself to humankind, and thus as the God-man, He lived among men, sharing their lives with them. He brought to this earth His love and mercy. Judging no one, he forgave everyone, worked innumerable miraculous works of mercy, love, forgiveness, and healing. And as even more and more He shone that light of love among men, so tighter and tighter did the noose of satanic hatred encircle Him. His embittered enemies closed ranks against Him, coming at Him from every side, ultimately nailing Him to the Cross.

As you have heard it commanded, the true Christian may only follow Him in like manner only if he will take up his cross and follow Him. That holy cross is composed of three parts as explained by St. Theophan the Recluse. The first aspect of this cross is all those trials born by a person desiring to live in a pious and Christian manner, and who sees that it is very bad to falter due to sinful habits, for sinful habits can take full possession of him and hold him back. How very often this happens: initially, the soul of a person burns with desire to live a good Christian life, but his habitual sins, which he has become accustomed to committing, irresistibly draw him back to them again and again. And where he would not have gone, he finds himself being pulled in every direction at the same time. That is why Bishop Theophan says that a man in a sinful state is like a person walking around with a rotting and decaying corpse tied to his back. He has become bound to that corpse, refusing to cast it off and run away. So it is with a fallen and sinful nature. As the saying goes, "you cannot run away from yourself."

The second aspect of the cross is to struggle to endure all the trials and tribulations of our earthly existence. This is most commonly known as one's cross, which includes all sorrows, illnesses, personal losses, and so on. Here we need to state that if a person humbly and obediently accepts all those sorrows as having been sent to him by the providence of God for his spiritual benefit, he will receive something completely different. If he should grumble, be rebellious, and become indignant, he will become disheartened. On the other hand, when he ceases to grumble, but humbly and submissively accepts these trials as coming from the right hand of the Lord, he will see everything around him in a completely different manner; all these trials bring only peace with the firm Christian conviction that all is as it should be. The Lord, the Heavenly Father, does not send a stone instead of bread, but when He does send sorrows, they must be borne in a Christian manner.

The third aspect of the cross, and of which Theophan the Recluse speaks from experience, for it is well-known that he himself was a great ascetic, is the temptation which attacks a person who has overcome the seduction of habitual sins, which occurs with spiritual strugglers. Such persons have already struggled , not giving in to habitual sins. Then a spirit descends upon them, the abyss of the most dangerous temptation, the temptation of pride. At times the strugglers were exhausted in the fight with these temptations, with prideful thoughts. This type of cross is known only to those who bear it, such as Theophan himself. None the less it is our duty is to carry our own cross, and to be a cross-bearer, for our Lord does not acknowledge any other followers. Amen.

[spiridon]

"Our works in this life are the sowing, and the future life is the harvest of what we have sown. Whatever one sows here, that is what he shall reap there. If one hastens to cultivate the field of his heart, to fertilize it and to sow in it the seeds of immortal grain, he can confidently expect to see a corresponding harvest unto eternal rest and delight. He that sows with tears of repentance shall reap with rejoicing and 'shall be filled,' says the Prophet (Ps. 16:16 and 125:6), for sweet rest follows upon the labors of piety. But rest and refreshment are denied to him who has not labored in the work of piety - he that is idle should not eat, it is said (cf. 2 Thess. 3:10)."

Elder Moses of Optina.

Code: Select all

   "Blessed is the person who has consented to become the close friend of faith and of prayer: he lives in single-mindedness and makes prayer and faith stop by with him. 
   "Prayer that rises up in someone's heart serves to open up for us the door of heaven: that person stands in converse with the Divinity and gives pleasure to the Son of God. 
   "Prayer makes peace with the Lord's anger and with the vehemence of His wrath. In this way too, tears that well up in the eyes can open the door of compassion."

St. Ephrem the Syrian.

[elleagwire]

" Blessed are those who are weak for theirs is the kingdom of God"

" Blessed are those who experience pain for they will feel relieved when they reach the kingdom of God"

" Blessed are those who are deprived of their happiness, they shall have fulfillment when they reach God's side"

Elle Agwire

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