Children in the Church Today
By Sister Magdalen


If the aim of our life is to reach divine life, this means that every moment has extremely great significance; every aspect of our life needs to be treated with wisdom. Human wisdom, though, is not enough for life according to the commandments of Christ; without Christ we cannot accomplish anything divine. God offers us His very life, but we are forever His creatures, and this means, practically, that the question for us all — not only for spiritual fathers — is to ask God about what to do, what to say, and how to express what we say. In the upbringing of children, a knowledge of child psychology, or even a fine intuition about one's own children will not lead to eternal being unless we also "invite" divine grace by prayer.

These clear and insightful reflections from Children in the Church Today are based on a series of informal talks given to Orthodox Christian parents at the Monastery of St John the Baptist, Essex, England. Directed to parents, young adults, and teenagers, the reflections encompass many aspects of Christian life: Marriage and the Christian Family, Prayer in the Christian Home, the Example of Christian Parents, The Christian Education of Children, Liturgical and Spiritual Life, Leisure Time and Social Life, and Christian Life in the Teen Years. Sister Magdalen's major emphasis is that "if children are conceived, born, and brought up surrounded by prayer and love, they will grow up as spiritual persons and thus fulfill their human vocation."