The Catalog of Good Deeds: Health and Illness

Showing posts with label Health and Illness. Show all posts

Christians are called to pray for the sick. But often people continue to suffer? Perhaps it’s because we’re praying for a cure when we should be praying for healing!

To cure or to heal?

Tuesday night I was invited to attend a workshop hosted by Healing Moments, which is an advocacy program for Alzheimer’s and dementia.

The goal of the training was to become a better caregiver for those suffering from these diseases. Gory to God, I feel I am much better equipped now.

But one concept really made me stop to think.

There’s a difference between “healing” and “curing.”

We may not be able to cure someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia, but we can heal him or her.

Healing is wholistic

Curing is fixing the one, specific problem. But healing encompasses the whole person: mind, body, emotions, and spirit.

In other words, curing is the domain of doctors, and healing is the domain of the Christian.

Healing is what we, as Orthodox Christians, are called to do.

“Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;” (James 5:14 RSV)

Indeed, this is what I do when I visit people in the hospitals or people who are ill. I read prayers over them and anoint them with oil.

We are asking for healing and it shouldn’t be confused with being cured.

After all, no matter what, we will one day die. Cures are only temporary.

Healing is about salvation

Christ can cure people through prayers – don’t get me wrong – but, through our prayers, we are asking for something much more.

We are asking for complete healing, which is salvation and union with Christ!

Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection is about turning the worst thing possible – our death – into the best gift ever: birth into a new, transformed, and glorified life.

This is healing.

Listen to the words of the prayer read by the priest over the oil:

“…sanctify this oil, O Master, that it may bring healing to those who are anointed with it, relief from every passion (i.e., sins), from every sickness of flesh and spirit, and from all evil, so that your holy name may be glorified.”

Healing is much more than getting your illness cured.

Healing is making a difference

A quote from Vaclav Havel was given to us at the workshop, and I think it helps to distinguish between healing and curing.

“Hope is not about believing you can change things [such as curing your disease]. Hope is believing that what you do makes a difference [such as bringing healing to your loved one].”

Source: http://www.dustinlyon.org/?p=570

Sickness is a phenomenon of our existence on earth that is familiar to everyone. What is sickness? Why do we get sick? How do we get rid of it?

Speaking of theological approach to this phenomenon, we must be aware of the fact that sickness is nothing other than a decrease in natural human vigor, a discord in his essence, and a change of some sort in his composition, which was created by God. The human was called from non-existence into being by the Divine Love, and he was created perfect. Therefore, there was no place for sickness in his body.

However, when humans transgressed God’s will and trespassed the commandment given to them by their Creator, their sinful actions introduced a distortion into the world, and their nature underwent a transformation that can be most aptly characterized with the word “corruption”, i.e., a rift, a discord. This corruption resulted in sicknesses and suffering. Therefore, sicknesses and bodily weaknesses result from the Fall. It is by no means a coincidence that both bodily suffering and sinful habits of one’s soul are called “passions”.

This is how we can explain the spiritual mechanism of sickness more easily, and give an answer to the question, “Why do we get sick?” When a person voluntarily chooses to trespass God’s commandments and turns his back on the Lord who is the Source of all life, he gets on a different track. As he moves along this track, which leads to dying, he will inevitably encounter sicknesses, sorrows, and ailments that are the harbingers of death.

Sickness is always caused by sin. Sometimes you can figure out the spiritual cause of your sickness simply by looking into your own heart. On the contrary, sometimes you will have to inspect your entire life and investigate your conscience meticulously in order to find out why you suffer from a certain sickness. It is in your own actions that you will be able to see the real spiritual cause of your health condition: an un-confessed and un-repented sin that, like a morbid scab, causes the sickness of the soul which in turn, in compliance with the unbreakable law of interconnectedness of soul and body, leads to bodily infirmity.

A sickness, allowed by God’s Providence, is nothing other than a means to teach a person who defected from God’s Truth. This is how C. S. Lewis, a British author and religious thinker, treats suffering. His thoughts about it are remarkably concise: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

Anyway, if the root of one’s sickness lies in the sin, one must direct his efforts to take that root out first. We Orthodox Christians can and should use medicines and seek doctors’ advice; nevertheless, we must never neglect spiritual treatments, i.e., the Sacraments of Confession and Communion, the Sacrament of Unction, and first of all, prayer to the Lord and his saints.

By Archpriest Andrew Nikolaidi

Source: www.dishupravoslaviem.ru

By Fr. George Morelli

At first glance, considering food in the context of Orthodox spirituality and practice may seem inappropriate. But closer examination indicates, in fact, a rather intimate, meaningful connection between the two. We can see this in the quote from the Book of Proverbs that opens this essay. We should eat "the food allotted to us," and which is necessary for our sustenance. To do otherwise is to make ourselves vulnerable to two spiritual dangers.

Problems with Food as a Spiritual Disorder

The first spiritual danger is that we may become so focused on food as an end in itself that it distracts us from what should be our true end: God. In the most basic and first of the commandments, God told us, "I am the LORD your God . . . You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:2, 3). This commandment is echoed by Jesus: "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment." (Matthew 22:37, 38).

What is our treasure: God or food? As Our Lord told us, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Luke 12:34). As our holy father Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain tells us, "If you want to take someone away from God, give [them] plenty of material goods . . . [they] will instantly forget Him forever" (Ageloglou, 1998).

The second spiritual danger is sins against others and self. This may be a little harder to grasp. Our holy father St. Dorotheos of Gaza understood this danger so well. He asks: "If someone is offered a pleasant food [can he] not partake of it? [Can one] be careful and not overreach . . . and take more than [her] share? And what if the food is already divided into portions?" Is there an eagerness "to get a large portion . . . and leave a smaller portion?" (Wheeler, 1977).

The spiritual root of this danger is easily seen in the context of the second of the greatest commandments taught by our Lord: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:31). Our holy father St. Theoliptos said to monastics, "When you enter the refectory, do not look round to see how much food your brethren are eating and so fragment your soul with ugly suspicions. Look only at what lies before you. . . . Nourishing your body and spirit in this way, with your whole being you may truly praise Him who 'satisfies your desire with blessings' (Ps 103:5)." The danger here is not only a lack of charity, but also its offshoots of greed, envy, gluttony, and anger.

St. Gregory of Sinai has given us one of the most thorough discourses on how to partake of food. He astutely notes, "As the fathers have pointed out, bodies vary greatly in their need for food. One person needs little, another much to sustain his physical strength, each according to his capacity and habit." Speaking to those who are committed to a godly life, St. Gregory goes on to say such Christ-centered individuals "should always eat too little, never too much. For when the stomach is heavy the intellect is clouded and you cannot pray resolutely with purity."

Interestingly, the saint goes on to suggest an actual menu. The specific foods and quantities are geared to the monastic life and not particularly relevant to committed Christians living in the world. What is important and applicable, however, is that he does suggest a schedule and a specific list of foods. With regard to our commitment to Christ, St. Gregory points out, "Abstinence from specific types of food is most beneficial."

Example: societal sanctioned gluttony

When I consider the millions of people in the world literally starving to death, I find a particular form of gluttony, that of wasting food under the guise of fun and frolic, particularly abhorrent and sinful. Particularly egregious, for example, on 14 July 2012 an online Miami, FL newspaper proudly posted this invitation:

If you’ve ever been to Spain, you might be familiar with La Tomatina, a tomato fight held in Bunol on the last Wednesday of August where thousands of people go to throw ripe tomatoes at strangers. This year, you won’t have to travel to this small town in Spain to do it because Tobacco Road is bringing it to Brickell!

On Saturday, February 11 10,000 pounds of tomatoes will be ready for Miami’s First Tomato Battle and everyone is invited, even if you don’t want to participate and just want to watch. The party starts at 2pm with food and drink specials .... The fight begins at 4pm and it will last an hour. There will also be a safety zone, ... for spectators who don’t want to get sauced...Don’t miss Miami’s first Tomatina and get ready to get dirty!

A Google Search 'tomato battles' indicate such society sanctioned wasteful, thus gluttonous behaviors are rapidly spreading across United States communities. Tomatoes are not the only instruments of such gluttony; watermelons and other fruits and vegetables have become popular in fighting and throwing...

For an Eastern Christian perspective on such conspicuous sinful wastefulness consider the spiritual perception of St. John of Damaskos (Philokalia II, p. 338) who would counteract such a vice with an opposite virtue. I consider only St. John's words on the sinful passion of gluttony and its companion vice avarice and their contrary healing virtues:

Gluttony should be destroyed by self-control ... avarice by compassion for the poor ... and offering thanks to God; ... and by considering oneself the least of all men.

In the Eastern tradition we pray:

O Christ our God, bless the food and drink of thy servants, for Thou art Holy always now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen

We do not destroy this gift of God and even indirectly deprive those in need of bodily sustenance.

Problems with Food as a Medical/Psychological Disorder

For those who have a normal attitude toward food, the advice of Scripture and the fathers as given above may suffice to enable them to eat in a way that is pleasing to God. However, in our society, eating disorders are becoming increasingly common. Those with eating disorders need a more in-depth approach to the problem—one that combines spiritual, medical/psychological, and practical intervention to help them learn to eat properly.

There are two food-related problems classified as eating disorders according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2000):

- Anorexia Nervosa is defined as the failure to maintain a minimally normal body weight (85% of expected weight). It is often accompanied by intense fear of gaining weight and the extreme misperception (overestimation) of actual weight.

- Bulimia Nervosa is distinguished by recurring episodes of binge eating. There are two types: the purging type exhibits health-threatening compensatory behaviors such as self-induced purging (vomiting), overuse of diuretics, enemas, and laxatives; the non-purging type does not manifest these behaviors.

Both of these disorders are sex-related, with females showing a higher prevalence. There is evidence that both biological and social features may contribute to the occurrence of these disorders.

Obesity is defined as an excess proportion of total body fat wherein the person’s actual weight is 20% or more above normal weight for their sex and height. It may come as a surprise that obesity is not listed as an eating disorder. This is because eating disorders are consistently associated with dysfunctional psychological and behavioral syndromes, patterns, or characteristics (such as those noted above). Obesity is considered rather a "general medical condition" (APA, 2000). Clearly, however, psychological factors are often related to the cause and course of obesity.

More recently, in 2008, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)iii announced that psychological factors related to obesity are considered worthy of scientific investigation. This new interest was also noted by an NIMH Report reviewed by Allison, et al. 2009. It was noted that obesity is common among individuals with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) and that this contributes to higher risk for other medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease and shorted life expectancy.

Medical-Psychological Considerations in Eating Disorders

The medical consequences of eating disorders are critical. Serious medical disturbances accompany anorexia nervosa such as anemia, elevated blood urea, diminished liver function, attenuated thyroid function, lowered neuroendocrine function, heart and brain irregularity, and death. Associated psychological problems are depression, social withdrawal, insomnia, lowered sex interest, obsessive-compulsive features, social anxiety, poor impulse control, need for control, and alcohol and/or drug abuse.

Accompanying bulimia (purging type) can be: potassium loss leading to muscle weakness and heart irregularities; and fluid retention leading to nausea, vomiting, headache, hyponatremia and malaise. Eventually, confusion, slower reflexes, convulsions, and/or coma may occur. Also associated with the purging type are significant and permanent loss of dental enamel, chipped and ragged teeth, increased dental cavities, enlarged glands, cardiac and skeletal myopathy, and esophageal and gastric ruptures. Females (90% of those diagnosed with this disorder) are subject to menstrual irregularity. Psychological problems concomitant with bulimia of both types are mood disorders (depression) and substance abuse and dependence.

Some Psychological Interventions

The following techniques are not recommended for anorexic patients. Anorexia most often requires an in-patient setting, with hospital release the reward for weight gain (Craighead, Craighead, Kazdin & Mahoney, 1994). However, these techniques may prove helpful to patients dealing with bulimia or obesity.

Metacognition. This is thinking about our own thinking—knowledge and experiences we have about our own thinking processes. Another way of putting it is controlling our thinking about eating. A person with an eating problem could instruct herself, "Before eating anything I have to consult my eating plan." A sequence of control instructions might include: "Before eating, open my eating control pad, check the time of day, look at the food and amount I am to have. Just get out this portion on the list. Go to the kitchen table. Move away from all food after eating, return to previous or scheduled activity." As simple as this may sound, this metacognitive procedure of step-by-step "talking to oneself" was found to help patients with previous regulation and/or control problems (Meichenbaum, 1986).

Stimulus Control. Any healing of eating disorders or obesity requires a program of stimulus control. People respond to stimuli reflexively, without even thinking. For example: Pass refrigerator-open door. Contemporary research psychologists recommend changing the stimulus cues by using distinct signals such as location, size, color, and sensory modality (Martin and Pear 1992). For example, a sticky tape could be applied to a refrigerator or pantry door handle to modify the stimulus cue. A colorful "Think First" sign or large bold X could serve the same purpose. At home, one can restrict one’s eating to a single room, preferably seated at the kitchen table, rather than carrying a box of food from one room to another or sitting on a couch watching television. The problem eater could put the foods to be consumed in portion-sized packages in a special location, away from other family foods.

Response Management. The more difficult it is to respond to a stimulus, or the more complex the response, the easier it is to block it. A simple example: Reaching for a peanut is more difficult if the bowl is across the room or at the other end of the house than if it is within arm’s reach. Helpful response techniques include putting food on a saucer instead of a plate, using very small utensils, putting the utensil down after each bite, interrupting bites by sipping water, or getting up from the table. A chart can also be filled out as a requirement to eat: Before eating, the person has to write day, time, place, food, and quantity on a chart. This could be initiated as a metacognitive strategy as discussed above.

Reinforcement (reward) techniques. Bulimics and patients who overeat could also make a list of activities they like doing. These activities could serve both as a substitute for the inappropriate eating behavior and as a reward for complying with one’s healthy eating program. I have found a combination of daily and weekly rewards to work well. One overweight patient found it rewarding at the end of the day to take a bubble bath if she had complied with her eating program. Going to a play or music program with her husband on the weekend was her reward for following her program during the week before.

A Model Program

A model medical-psychological obesity treatment program funded by NIMH was reported on by Casagrande et al. (2010). The treatment protocol was entitled Achieving Healthy Lifestyles in Psychiatric Rehabilitation (ACHIEVE). It was originally designed as an out-patient program that required daily attendance. The intervention consisted of multiple components applying a variety of methods to induce behavior change. The components included repetitive and on-going activities, including group and individual sessions that incorporate individually designed weight management sessions, rewards, food models, daily record trackers.

The ACHIEVE treatment model integrates the principles of social cognitive theory relapse prevention procedures (Bandura, 1986), cognitive-behavioral management (Morelli, 2009) and motivational interviewing. All of these procedures lead to the building of intrinsic skills and environmental support. Preliminary findings have shown the effectiveness of this model.

The Church’s Approach to Eating Disorders

Considering the severity of the medical and psychological consequences of eating disorders, the patient who suffers from one of them should not attempt self-treatment. Family or clergy who know an individual with these disorders should make a referral to an experienced, licensed health/mental health practitioner who specializes in such disorders. (Please note that a general practice physician or clinical psychologist is not necessarily an eating disorder specialist.) For Orthodox clergy and laity to make such a referral is in the firm tradition of our Church.

St. Maximus the Confessor said that "grace builds upon nature" (Morelli, 2006). For the Orthodox Christian, this means that neither the spiritual nor the natural dimensions of human existence are ignored. A parish priest especially must be aware that many of the problems parishioners present to him have psychological components and that the spiritual healing of a person often involves psychological dynamics that require the aid of persons qualified to address and treat them. It is foolhardy and dangerous to assume all behavioral and cognitive problems have only a spiritual basis. As St. Basil said, medicine, too, must be taken into account in the healing of persons. We should take his words to heart.

In the fourth century, various healing centers were opened and administrated by the Orthodox Church, including hospitals and homes for the poor, orphans, and aged (Demakis, 2004). Many of these centers were associated with monasteries. The health care workers—the physicians, nurses, and psychologists of the day—were often the monks themselves. St. Basil of Caesarea was trained in medicine and was reported to have worked with the monks in ministering to the ill and infirm.

St. John Chrysostom as Patriarch of Constantinople used the wealth of the Church to open hospitals and other philanthropic institutions, which earned him great love from the people. Within two centuries, the rapid growth of these centers necessitated state funding, although the Church retained the active administration and care-giving in the arrangement. Emperor Justinian moved the most important physicians into the hospitals, which enhanced the reputation of these centers (Demakis 2004).

Treating the Whole Person

If one has a food-related problem, there are two possibilities. If one does not have a diagnosable eating disorder, then one could consider the problem to be a spiritual one and it should be dealt with spiritually.

If the problem with food is a diagnosable medical/psychological disorder, the person with this disorder would be considered to have an illness or infirmity, one that is most probably involuntary. This can only be determined, however, by a thorough medical examination followed by medical/psychological treatment. Even in eating problem cases that are medical/psychological, there is always a spiritual component. In the tradition of the early Church, the focus was on the healing of the whole person, body, mind, and spirit, accomplished by a synergy between medical science and the Holy Mysteries of the Church.

St. John Chrysostom presented us with the idea that the entire Church of Christ is a hospital, thereby expressing in clearer theological terms the relationship between the healing of body and soul practiced by the early healers. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 1:33ff), the Good Samaritan exemplifies Christ, who, as the Great Physician, comes to broken mankind (the man beaten by robbers) in order to bring healing. The inn to which the Good Samaritan delivered the suffering man is the Church (Vlachos, 1994, 1998).

The interrelationship between body and soul is noted in almost every liturgical prayer. Most Eastern Orthodox corporate prayer begins with theTrisagion (Thrice-Holy) prayer, which makes the relationship clear: "All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon our iniquities. Holy God, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy name's sake" (emphasis added).

This interrelationship is also demonstrated in the spiritual practices and Mysteries of the Church.

Disclosure of Thoughts. An initial step in dealing with eating disorders is the disclosure of the patient’s thoughts, behaviors, feelings, and symptoms. In a similar manner, the church fathers emphasized the importance of practicing this disclosure in a complete and systematic way. For the spiritual fathers, this is done with vigilance (nepsis), watchfulness, and the guarding of the heart. Hausherr (1990) quotes an anonymous old man as saying, "When evil thoughts harass you, do not hide them, but tell them at once to your spiritual father. The more one hides one's thoughts, the more they multiply and the stronger they become."

The Service of Holy Unction. Orthodox Christians perform the Mystery of Holy Unction for the healing of soul and body and for forgiveness of sins. In his epistle, the Holy Apostle James writes, "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven" (James 5:13–15). The anointing prayer reads, "The blessing of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ: for the healing of soul and body . . ."

The prayer of the blessing of the oil illustrates the goal of physical healing: that those anointed may glorify God and thus be spiritually healed. The prayer in part reads:

O Lord, who through Thy mercies and bounties heal the disorders of our souls and bodies: Do thou Thyself, O Master, also sanctify this oil, that it may be effectual for those who are anointed therewith, unto healing and unto relief from every passion, of every defilement of flesh and spirit, and every ill; that thereby may be glorified Thine all holy Name, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

The Holy Eucharist. The Holy Eucharist is the reception of the Body and Blood of Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Eucharist conjoins us to the Great Physician, a point expressed in the liturgical prayer that is read immediately before the elevation of the bread and wine: "We give thanks unto Thee, O King invisible, who by Thy measureless power hast made all things . . . look down from heaven upon those who have bowed their heads unto Thee . . . distribute these Gifts here spread forth unto all of us for good . . . heal the sick, Thou who art the physician of souls and bodies."

These spiritual disciplines can combine with a traditional medical approach to restore the whole person to a godly relationship with food.

The Food of Life versus the Food that Perishes

St. John of the Ladder counsels, "If you have promised Christ to travel the straight and the narrow road, then keep your stomach in check." And he also tells us, "Begrudge your stomach and your heart will be humbled: please your stomach and your heart will be proud."

And finally, let us heed the words of Our Lord Himself: "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him" (John 6:27). Furthermore may we meditate on St. Isaac of Syria's (Holy Transfiguration Monastery, 2011) understanding: "This is THE RULE OF LIFE that is chaste and pleasing to God ... use foods that sustain the body, and not those that satisfy gluttony."

Source: http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/view/food-that-perishes-an-orthodox-approach-to-food-and-eating-disorders

When St. Basil the Great was asked if going to a doctor and taking medicine were in keeping with ways of piety, he replied:

"Every art is God's gift to us, making up for what is lacking in nature....After we were told to return to the earth from which we had come [at the time of the Fall], and were joined to a pain-ridden flesh that is destined to die, and made subject to disease because of sin, the science of medicine was given to us by God in order to relieve sickness, if only to a small degree (The Long Rules).

Therefore we may have recourse to physicians and take medicine, for this science is a gift from God. "God has given the herbs of the earth, and its drugs, for the healing of the body, commanding that the body, which is of the earth, should be cured by various things of the earth....When man fell from Paradise, he came immediately under the influence of disorders and maladies of the flesh....God therefore gave medicine to the world for comfort, for healing and care of the body, and permitted them to be used by those who could not entrust themselves completely to God" (St. Macarius the Great, Homily 48).

When to go to the doctor, and how often, should be a matter of common sense. But when we go, we should "not forget that no one can be cured without God. He who gives himself up to the art of healing must also surrender himself to God, and God will send help. The art of healing is not an obstacle to piety, but you must practice it with fear of God" (Sts. Barsanuphius and John, Philokalia).

"To put our hope in die hands of a physician is the act of an irrational animal. Yet this is precisely what happens with those unhappy people who unhes' itatingly call their doctors their 'saviours'....On the other hand, it is surely foolish to entirely reject the benefits of the medical art" (St. Basil the Great, The Long Rules).

Elder Nektary of Optina advised that we should go to doctors not to be "cured" but just to be "treated" — recognizing that in this life we can never be perfectly "cured" or "healthy." And writing to the friend of a seriously ill man, Elder Macarius of Optina said:

"Give him [the patient] my warmest greetings and best wishes for a speedy recovery. Tell him too, that even if his hope and faith are strong, he should not despise the help of a physician. God is the Creator of all men and all things: not of the patient only, but also of the physician, the physician's wisdom, medicinal plants, and their curative power."

St. Basil the Great teaches that "we should definitely not place our hope for relief from pain in medicine, but trust that God will not allow us to be tried beyond that which we can bear." Here he was addressing himself to those who run to a doctor on every pretext, and who forget this important guideline: "Whether or not we make use of the medical art, we should hold to our objective of pleasing God and helping the soul, fulfilling this precept: Whether you eat or drink or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God (I Cor. 10:31)"...

This Holy Father also explains that "sometimes, when God judges it best, He cures us secretly, without visible means [such as a doctor and drugs].

At other times He wants us to use medicine for our sicknesses."

Therefore, "when we suffer the blows of illness at the hands of God, we should first ask understanding of Him, so that we might know why He has inflicted this blow. Secondly, we must ask Him to deliver us from our pains or, at least, give us the patience to endure them." Having this attitude, we can in good conscience seek medical treatment.

However, for those whose trust in God is very deep and strong, there is a higher calling: for those souls, realizing their sins and what is the purpose of life, "bear all of the afflictions which are sent in silence and, if possible, without recourse to medicine, in keeping with these words: I will bear the wrath of the Lord because 1 have sinned against Him (Micah 7:9)" (St. Basil the Great, The Long Rules).

This way of complete abandonment to God's Providence is very high and very difficult, and it is not given to all men. But we need to at least know about it so that we can avoid self-satisfaction and "contentment" with our own attitudes. We see this way of abandonment and supreme confidence in the will of God in the lives particularly of monastic saints. The following incident from the life of

Elder Macarius of White Shores Hermitage shows how the righteous monk disdained earthly medicine for a heavenly medicine:

"After twenty-eight years of severe monastic struggles, the untiring Elder's strength began to weaken. At the end of 1839 he had already experienced significant attacks of illness, but he did not complain and did not turn to medical help. When his teeth hurt him, Fr. Macarius had the custom to sit down at the table where there was a basket with remains of bread picked up from dinner. Out of it he took small crusts and ate up the last soft part of it. One time the cellarer compelled him to reveal why he nibbled the crusts. 'The holy fathers,' said Macarius, 'ate these crusts with prayer, and I, a sinner, touching these crusts with my sinful mouth, beseech the Lord that He, by His mercy, heal my suffering teeth, and by the prayers of the holy fathers my teeth become better' " (Orthodox Life, no. 6, 1971).

Such child-like trust in God is common among great souls. A similar simplicity may be seen in the life of Schemamonk Mark of Sarov: "Towards the end of his life, Elder Mark suffered very much due to his legs: from lengthy standing at prayer and the extremely laborious walks through the wilderness, the Elder's legs became dropsical, swollen, and covered with wounds, so that for a certain time he was unable to walk. Certain of the Sa-rov brethren, feeling compassion for the Elder in his ailment, advised him to turn to the help of earthly doctors.

"The Elder, however, did not pay attention to this advice and gave himself completely over to the heavenly Healer of souls and bodies. With faith he took some oil from the lamp which burned before the icon of the Most Holy Mother of God of the Life-giving Fount, located in the cathedral of the Sarov Hermitage, and venerated as a miraculous icon, and anointed his ailing legs with this oil. To the general amazement of those who knew of his disease, he was soon completely healed from it through the grace-given help of the Mother of the Lord, who did not put his hope to shame" (Orthodox Life, no. 6, 1970).

Shortly after he went to Sarov Monastery, St. Seraphim of Sarov fell ill. According to his Life, "his whole body became swollen, and he lay motionless in great pain on his hard bed. There was no doctor and the malady responded to no treatment. Apparently it was dropsy. It lasted for three years, and half of that time the sufferer spent in bed. But he never murmured; he had surrendered the whole of himself, body and soul, to the Lord, and he prayed to Him unceasingly. Fearing that the illness might prove fatal, the Superior, Elder Pachomius, firmly proposed to send for a doctor. But the Saint, with even greater firmness, refused medical help.

"'I have surrendered myself, holy father,' he said, 'to the true Physician of souls and bodies, our Lord Jesus Christ and His Immaculate Mother. But if your love sees fit, supply me, for the Lord's sake, with the Heavenly Remedy [Holy Communion]." Shortly after this he was healed by the Mother of God who appeared to him in a vision together with the Apostles Peter and John.

Living only for God and the life which is to come, repenting each day, and striving constantly to acquire the Holy Spirit of God, righteous men and women are able to use their suffering to mount still higher on the ladder of virtue, as did Hieroschema-monk Parthenius of the Kiev Caves:

"A suffocating cough gave him no rest, and all of his bones ached. But he continued to lie down as before on the narrow and harsh bench and with good-hearted patience bore his grave infirmity, giving thanks to God for his illness. Often he used to say: 'What shall I give to the Lord in return for His having sent me an illness, in addition to His other blessings?'" (Orthodox Life, no. 3, 1969).

Source: http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/fathers_illness.htm