Uprooting Passions in Children

"Do not neglect to uproot from the hearts of children the tares of sins, impure, evil and blasphemous thoughts, sinful habits, inclinations and passions; the enemy and the sinful flesh do not spare even children; the seeds of all sins are to be found in children too; show them the danger of sin on the path of life; do not hide sins from them lest through ignorance and want of comprehension they should be confirmed in sinful habits and attachments, which grow stronger and stronger and bring forth corresponding fruits when the children grow up." - St. John of Kronstadt

As parents and youth workers we face a common task to raise the children that God gave us in a holy manner. But correcting bad behaviors, and offering discipline is one of the areas most difficult, especially when we ourselves are struggling with our own passions like anger, lack of compassion, and little patience.

The good news is that every child created in His image has His grace, which acts as a checks and balance system within the conscience. However, children who grow up without confirmation from parents or other adults can become very confused. They test the waters, but cannot swim in the deep end of the pool without sinking, often without the spiritual tools to stay afloat.

Elder Porphyrios taught that, "Our religion wants children to learn the truth from an early age." He stated, "You must tell the truth for a person to learn it. Otherwise you sustain him in ignorance... so to a child you must tell the truth and scold it so that it knows what it is doing is not good."
He offers these suggestions as well, "The medicine and great secret for children's progress is humility... The children who come from humble parents do not get angry when their error is pointed out, but rather they try to correct it and pray that God may help them not to become egoists...Children should learn to seek God's help in everything."
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For further reading, check out these 6 (edited) steps listed by St Tikhon in more depth at http://fr-d-serfes.org/orthodox/parents.htm


1. Remind them often of holy Baptism and that at that time they promised God to live decently and steadfastly, to serve Him with faith and righteousness, and to keep away from every evil and sin.

2. Repeat to them that we live not for this temporal life, for honor, glory, and riches in this world.

3. Let them understand Who is the God of Christians, and what He requires of us, that He hates evil and loves good...and to do what is pleasing to Him.

4. Enlighten their inward eyes as to Who Christ is and to our own sinfulness.

5. Teach them the Law of God, and tell them what the Law demands of us: That is, that we should love God and every man; and truly repent and correct ourselves for the day of Judgment.

6. Set before them the last things: death, Christ's judgment, eternal life, and eternal torment, that the fear of God may so abide in them and preserve them from every evil. Pour these and other things like milk into their young hearts, that they may mature in piety.
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"Lord Jesus Christ, give Your light to my children. I entrust them to You. You gave them to me, but I am weak and unable to guide them, so, please illuminate them." - Prayer by Elder Porphyrios

Theophany Lesson Orthodox Journals

For the feast of Theophany, this free lesson and handout on Scribd or here at GoogleDocs for

Orthodox Christians reaches back to the well known story of the holy Prophet Noah and the ark to understand God's plan for our salvation.

You may ask your students to cut around the components of the icon to glue and create
their own festal icon with the blue Jordan river and barren desert as you read aloud the Gospel text.

The discussion for the lesson should lead to God's revelation of the Holy Trinity, 3-in-1 and 1-in-3. In fact, if our students only learn the Troparion or festal hymn for the feast of Theophany they will see that it encompasses the complete theology of the Church in that the Holy Trinity existed before all time!

Wishing your families and students a blessed illumination for 2021!

Theophany / Epiphany Coloring

Kali Fotisi / Καλή φώτιση
~ Wishes to you for a "Good Enlightenment" on the holy Feast of Theophany, or Ephiphany. If you are looking for a lesson, try splitting apart the icon, and using it as a beginning. We color and create puppets to retell the story of Christ, St John the Baptist, the Angels, another for the waters, and especially the Dove or Holy Spirit.  Here are some talking points:

• In this feast, we find each person of the Holy Trinity fully present and our God is revealed to us. Can you find the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? (The Father's voice is heard, the Son is seen as perfect man, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit is witnessed as a fluttering light, much like that which resembles a dove) The light has appeared to all men!

• We learn that baptism is not only necessary for the cleansing of our sins, but for the regeneration of our souls and for a life in communion with the fullness of the Holy Trinity. We are sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit, and clothed in Christ, becoming sons/daughters/heirs to the Kingdom of our Heavenly Father. Why? Remember, we fast because Christ fasted; we are baptized, because Christ was baptized; we confess the "Our Father" prayer because Christ taught us this prayer; word for word. Therefore, we embody the hymn "As many as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ, alleluia."

•  Water has always been crucial for life. In this feast, the water is sanctified and offered to drink for the healing of body & soul. Remember the living water that Christ offers the woman Photini at the well, so that we may not thirst again. (John 4:10, John 7:38)
  
• A short prayer that we can begin memorizing as we make the sign of the cross is:
  "My hope is the Father, my refuge is the Son, my protection is the Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, glory to be to Thee."

Here is a video showing the miracle that occurs each year at the Jordan River, which begins flowing in an opposite direction from the power of the Holy Cross.

Jordan River Video

"Today the nature of water is sanctified. Jordan is divided in two, and turns back the stream of its waters, beholding the Master being baptized."

Theophany Activities

Try putting the words of the Theophany troparion in order in this interactive activity, offered free to all online.

http://www.hamatoura.com/GreetingCard/Greetings.php?subject=Theophany%20of%20Jesus%20Christ&link=07JesusTheophany-En

Also, refresh your knowledge of this feast by watching this great resource in English: Do you know what the ax means in the tree?
What were the poignant words of St John the Baptist?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE6jI6jPXqE#t=91

A Baptism Toast

"The common thing that brings all of us together, is our love for _______, and our desire to offer her/him the best beginning. Think about all the things we do for the newest member of our family...we make a safe home, with a safe bed and a safe car seat for her/him. We take her/him to the doctor for vaccinations and care for her/him to the best of our abilities, without her/him ever asking for it, but just because we love her/him. This is exactly the reason why we bring her/him to the Church today.

Today, we offer ______ the beginning of a life grounded in the principles of faith,  kindness to others, and love for herself/himself as God's most important creation. She/he will be able to grow up with the best medicines for her/his mind, body and soul because she/he will begin receiving the holy Sacraments. Today, she/he was sealed with the chrism of the Holy Spirit, her/his hair was cut as her/his first offering to God, and she/he was clothed in the armor of new baptismal clothes with the symbol of the holy cross that will be her/his strength against all of life's challenges. She/he received the name of a great Orthodox Saint, whom will serve as__________'s role model in a world where young girls/boys struggle to find a holy example of chastity, true beauty/love and charity.

Lastly, did you know that today she/he also received her/his guardian angel, whom we might not see but whom we can believe is with her/him, protecting her/him especially when we cannot!

For all these reasons, we thank you for being with us today and for your prayers. We ask that you don't forget our ________ as we return to the busyness of life, but that each of us remember our responsibility to offer ________ the very best of a Christian life."

Godparents Gift and Poem

This short poem was written for a small memory book to be given to my goddaughter on her Nameday. If you would like to also use it in some way, the words can be interchanged from "Bishop" to priest, or use your patron Saint's name instead for example. I hope she likes it on September 26th this year!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Me and My Nouna

This is the story of my Baptism,from many years ago,when I received my guardian angel,as my Nouna tells me so.

Together we went to Church one day,with everyone who loves me, my Mom, my Dad, Yiayia and Papou, Thea and the Bishop too!

In the Narthex we lit a candle, and began to say our prayers, to God they dedicated me, with all my worries and my cares.

My Nouna confessed the Creed, and chanted softly in my ear, the Bishop blessed the water and the oil, as I watched without any fear.

Then they changed my clothes, and into the water I went, three times, covered in oil, with my guardian angel whom God sent.

The Bishop said aloud my name, “Euphrosyne” he called me, in Greek, a name I share with my Yiayia, after a special Saint, who was kind and meek.

As a sign of my Orthodox faith, I was given a cross to wear,
blessed with myrrh, and in four spots the Bishop cut my hair!

After hearing the Gospel, I received Communion dressed in white, in the arms of my Nouna, who prays for me day and night.

Last of all, we went to celebrate, with favors and yummy cake, for all who witnessed me become, an Orthodox Christian for heaven’s sake.