St. George Orthodox Cathedral
The Orthodox Church in America
Rossford, Ohio

"An old friend of ours worked for years as personnel director in a large Swiss sewing machine factory. His days were spent facing discontented workers, with their constant demands and often hostile attitudes. The chair sat in by those people who came to complain was set in front of his desk in such a way that he could look just past them, to fix his eyes on the back wall. There he had placed a crucifix. It was out of the sight of his visitors. He could see it, though, and as a result he could hold them and the entire conversation in the presence and power of the Cross. It made an impossible job more than tolerable, he said, and taught him to place everyone, including himself, in the radiant light of the crucified and risen Lord.

We can do the same. During this Lenten pilgrimage especially, we can "close the gap" between what we believe and how we behave, by adopting an attitude of continual prayer. Like our friend in the sewing machine factory, we can grow in service, in charity and in compassion, by calmly, patiently, yet persistently placing ourselves and each other in the presence of the One who is "everywhere present and fills all things.""
Fr. John Breck