“It seems we all go through periods in our lives when our church attendance drops off. Work and home life can seem hectic, and we fall into the trap of letting ourselves feel overwhelmed. Given the fast pace of our active lives, and feeling like we just don’t have enough time in the day, it is easy to let the Sunday Divine Liturgy fall to the wayside. We convince ourselves that we need to have “Sunday off.”
Saint Gregory Palamas, begs to differ with us! He calls our failure to keep our Sunday obligation for what it is, “laziness.” This great hierarch of the Church, even goes so far as to remind us that our very belief in God is in jeopardy, for we are not availing ourselves to “Christ’s surgery to receive…holy healing.”
The saint tells us, “Let no one out of laziness or continuous worldly occupations miss these holy Sunday gatherings, which God Himself handed down to us, lest he be justly abandoned by God… If you are detained and do not attend on one occasion, make up for it the next time, bringing yourself to Christ’s Church. Otherwise you may remain uncured, suffering from unbelief in your soul because of deeds or words, and failing to approach Christ’s surgery to receive… holy healing.
”Love and blessings,
Abbot Tryphon”His words ring very true. I have been pondering on this very subject for awhile now since we have experienced a drop in attendance each Sunday. I would love to say it is because Summer is on the way, though this drop has been occurring for some time now, not just recently. The secular world has so many ‘attractions’ for everyone, that God and His Church are quickly put on the back burner and have not become priority in our every day lives.
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