God is glorified in His saints!
Along with a prayer book, one of the immediate blessings becoming an Orthodox catechumen brought me was bringing the saints into my life, mainly in the form of a used copy of The Prologue from Ochrid. I love that book. The new version is even better than the last; not only does it include accounts of the lives of the saints, a reflection, a contemplation, and a homily for every day, it has added a Hymn of Praise. And the most wonderful thing is that is you can get it for the Kindle (it’s a bit steep at $50, but this is much less than the printed editions). With resources like that and the “Orthodox Calendar” app (I use it for the lectionary; it has more saints hyperlinked, but seldom has the detail of the Prologue when it comes to the saints). there is no excuse for our Prayer Rules not to include reading about and praying with the saints.
Today, Orthodox Christians on the Revised Julian (aka “New”) Calendar celebrate the life of St. Herman of Alaska.
He had a wonderful life. He was best known for his missionary work among the native Americans of Russian Alaska. The thing that strikes me most after having re-read his life is that he would have lived a beautiful life no matter where he lived it. It is tempting to focus on the extraordinary events of his life; converting and training thousands of native American converts, advocating for the rights of all the native Americans under the rule of the Russian Empire, and bringing the glory of Orthodoxy to a new world. It is an amazing history, but looking at it in this way can cause us to miss the magnitude of the miracle worked in and through this saint.
Saint Herman offered his life to Lord. It was no longer he who lived, but Christ who lived in him. This was as true when he was a novice at Sarov and Valaam Monasteries, as it was when he was leading the mission in Alaska, and as it was when he was living as a solitary on Spruce Island. He allowed the Holy Spirit to make him the man the moment required, no matter whether those moments required bravery (there were plenty of those), strong words, a listening ear, or quiet prayer.
We tend to focus on the need for our religious leaders to follow St. Herman in his missionary zeal to America (and we could use that!), but the real need is for all of us to bring the life of Christ to the world in the eternal here and now. Acquire the Holy Spirt and thousands of you will be saved. It was true in Saint Herman’s life and it needs to be true in ours, as well.
