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| Source: svots.edu |
Presvytera Deborah was going through some of our accumulated letters that we received through the years, especially in the earliest years of my priesthood. One particular, - and very "precious" letter, indeed - was from Fr. Alexander Schmemann that we received in 1982. (Fr. Alexander died in 1983). The letter is handwritten, and sent to us from a small village in Quebec, Canada, by the name of Labelle. It is the place that Fr. Alexander and his family, together with Fr. John Meyendorff and Fr. Thomas Hopko and their respective families, would "retreat" to for the summer months. The letter was written in response to a letter that I sent to Fr. Alexander, describing my first parish and my earliest years in my priestly ministry. I can say that we were good friends during my three years at St. Vladimir's Seminary in New York. As a deacon, I served with him for a few months before graduation and my first parish assignment.
Be that as it may, Fr. Alexander begins his letter by quoting the Apostle Paul:
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (II Cor. 12:9)
This is followed by a very warm greeting:
"My dear, truly and dearly beloved Fr. Steven and Deborah ..."
And in the middle of the letter, there is a particular passage that was typical of his style and "worldview.:"
"We must at any price, preserve and deepen our inner life - and by this I mean not only prayer, not only "spirituality," but a certain worldview protecting us from the tremendous problem of "door varnish." The devil is petty, grey and boring ... But as long as there exists friends and books - and above all, of course, Eucharist, as long - almost any time - you can feel the presence, the beauty, the ineffable depth of Christ "in the midst of us" - there can be no despair, no surrender to darkness and pettiness ... "
How very true today, when despair, darkness and pettiness at times seem overwhelming!
Much to my regret, I had forgotten about the existence of this letter, so what a discovery after many years in the priesthood!
