Welcome to The Cathedral Church of Saint Luke, located in Downtown Orlando, FL. We invite you to spend a little time with us, learn who we are and come worship with us.

 

 

 

 

COURIER

 

 CIRCA CATHEDRA

May 11th, 2008

 

My US Army training challenges me to ask, "How does this relate to parish ministry?"  My most recent training as a chaplain was in San Antonio, TX learning how to better prepare our soldiers mentally and spiritually for mobilization, deployment and combat.

 

As I learned more about "Battlemind" ("A Soldier's inner strength to face fear and adversity during combat, with courage. It is the will to persevere and win. It is resilience.") in San Antonio, I wondered about "Battlemind for Believers."  As an Army Chaplain, I know that soldiers and their families will be challenged mentally and spiritually by mobilizations, deployments and combat.  As a parish priest, I also know that faithful followers of Jesus will be challenged mentally and spiritually by "the changes and chances of this life." As an Army Chaplain, how can I better shape the Battlemind of Soldiers and their families?  As a parish priest, how can I better shape the Battlemind for Believers (B4B)?

 

A first dimension of B4B acknowledges that life is challenging and loaded with crises, small and large. Knowing that life is challenging can motivate us toward spiritual and mental preparation for the crises of life.  We prepare our homes for hurricanes, not our emotions and spirit?

 

A second dimension of B4B knows that the Lord can do his best work in our lives within the context of crisis. As C.S. Lewis says about life's valleys, "In [the Lord's] effort to get permanent possession of a soul He relies on the troughs even more than on the peaks; some of his special favourites have gone through longer and deeper troughs than anyone else." The Screwtape Letters, p. 38

 

A third dimension of B4B knows that while we can not always choose our circumstances, we can choose our reaction and attitude within them.  We can choose to ask, "What do you want me to learn, Lord?" or "Why me, Lord?"

 

A fourth dimension of B4B confesses the mighty acts of God and His habit of guiding, providing and shepherding His people.  In the midst of crisis, join the psalmist in "recount[ing] the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the Lord, and the wonderful works he has done." Psalm 78:4,

The Book of Common Prayer  

 

A fifth dimension of B4B remembers that we are not alone. We "live and move and have our being" within a fellowship of other believers. As General Maximus said in the movie Gladiator, "No matter what comes out that gate, we have a better chance of survival if we stay together."   

                                                            --   Dean Anthony Clark