It's a new Church year (September 1 is the beginning of the Church year),
a new school year, and we are back!
Things have been real crazy at the OCA Youth Office (we'll be telling you
about all the great things that are being planned for the next two years)
We have a special note on the Youth and Young Adult Commitment at the OCA
12th All-American Council
Some reminders.....
We will verify your info with your parish priest and match you up with an
Orthodox pen pal.
In cooperation with all the Orthodox Churches in North America, we
maintain the directory of all OCFs across North America at
www.oca.org/OCF.
Whether you have an OCF at your school and want to make sure it's listed
correctly, or you want to start an OCF and add it to our directory, send
an e-mail to youth@oca.org with:
We also have resources to help you.
1 John 4:12-19 (Epistle for the repose of St John the Theologian, September 26
"God is love." So many thoughts and images come to mind when we think
about the word "love."
In fact, the word love has very different meanings depending on how we use
it. We love our parents. We love our boyfriend or girlfriend. We love
our friends. We even love pizza and/or roller coasters.
In this short passage St. John, whom the Church calls the "Apostle of
Love," gives us a strong reminder that the ultimate source of love is God
Himself.
Real love comes from Him only. Many times we wonder about what love really
is, or to what extent we love someone. While love expresses itself in
many ways (romantic love, brotherly love, etc.), it is always based upon
the love God has shown us in His Son, Jesus. It is patient, kind, humble,
rejoices in good, seeks not its own way, etc. Sound familiar?
(1 Cor 13:4-8). The description St. Paul uses isn't based upon his
personal opinion, but upon the life and work of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
We have the ability to love only because He gave us that gift.
For the Christian, a person can't love truly without knowing God.
Likewise, a person cannot say he/she knows God if he/she does not love
others here on earth in the same way He loves them. Sounds tough, huh?
This is why we are always trying to repent (to turn ourselves in the right
direction) from loving as society loves to loving as God loves.
Some things to think about:
"Lord, guide me to love as You do. Help me to see the difference between
the world's love and Yours. Give me the strength to act on that love with
those you put in my life. Amen."
To read the life of St John the Theologian on the OCA
Feasts & Saints pages, look at the entry for:
This Ben Folds Five CD is full of old and new sounds ranging from 1990s
musical theatre and lounge singing, to grunge and late 1970s pop, to name
a few. The listener is taken on a journey of self-discovery, self-pity,
love, and even hope and renewal.
While perhaps not for everyone, those who like to think about the "meaning
of things" will enjoy an almost "theatrical" experience.
On the up side:
On the down side:
No events submitted
To advertise your event here send information to:
youth@oca.org
Over 200 youth and young adults came together in Pittsburgh, PA for the
Orthodox Church in America's 12th All-American Council (AAC). During a
fun-packed and spiritually intensive week of activities, the youth and
young adults committed themselves to help realize the "Dream for the
Church" that was drafted in 1995 at the 11th AAC in Chicago.
The group decided to focus on four areas for the next three areas:
The group then called on all the youth and young adults of the Orthodox
Church in North America to join them in their mission.
The statement can be found at
www.oca.org/aac and is linked from the OCA Youth
Page.
Q.
Dear OCA Youth,
I am a liberal arts college student and find multiple ear piercings
and small, simple tattoos attractive. I would like to have the
question of body piercing and tattoos answered once and for all --
where does one cross the line with such things?
Are single holes in the ear for girls acceptable? What about more?
It seems to me that it would be odd to draw the line at a certain
number of holes. Maybe it is the intention with which we pierce our
bodies, if it is for decoration or for the purpose of destroying what
God has given us? But in that case it seems that piercing for
decoration would be vain and wrong anyway. However, is it vain to
want to look nice? And is it wrong to want to "express yourself" with
earings and other jewelry?
Also, if ear piercing is acceptable, then why wouldn't tattooing be
(if we do it for decoration and not sadistic destruction)? Would it
also matter what the tattoo is of? For example, if one enjoys
Japanese art, would it be considered sadistic to get a tattoo of a
small Japanese dragon?
A deacon has told me that one's outside appearance does not matter as
much as one's inner spirituality, and that as long as anything one
does to one's body can be covered respectfully in church, and that the
person leads a Christian lifestyle and does not do such things for
sadistic purposes, then that is what is important. But then again,
would one necessarily KNOW if he/she is doing something for sadistic
purposes? Is it possible that the devil would work in such a way that
you are not aware of it, even if you feel that your actions are not
out of some kind of passion?
I know that I have given you quite a lot of questions, and I
appreciate your taking the time to answer them!
A.
You are not alone in asking these questions. They have been the
subject of a lot of discussion throughout the Church. Well, after
some serious prayer, thought, and putting heads together we have come
up with the following.
Your question mainly deals with body piercing and tattoos. The deacon you
spoke with you gave you a good answer and you should keep it in mind as
you read the rest of this. Remember the Church has teachings about these
things to serve as a guide to help us live lives connected with God and
our neighbor. It does not condemn people who have tattoos or piercings.
The Church teaches that we shouldn't do anything to "disfigure" our bodies
(which technically would include any type of piercing -- including ears as
well as tattoos -- since the body is a beautiful thing created by God to
help us glorify Him. Nor, however, should we do anything that draws
attention to ourselves and away from God. Getting parts of our body
pierced or getting a tattoo is telling people, "Look at me!" This is one
of the reasons the deacon said that it should be somewhere that could be
respectfully covered in Church.
This is not to say that we shouldn't try to look nice. It's true that
some people do like the look of tattoos. They are an all-out fad at the
moment. And in fact, there is often a confused notion that modesty in
dress means making yourself look like some type of peasant. Simply put,
we should try to look our natural best and shouldn't do anything to draw
attention either for admiration or shock purposes.
Many of the saints told people to stop doing something, not because it was
intrinsically wrong, but because it led other people into temptation.
This is hard for us to hear in 1999 America, where everyone does what
he/she wants and if someone doesn't like it "it's his/her problem." The
Christian understanding is just the opposite. We must love our neighbor
so much that his/her problem is our problem. If we are Christians then we
believe that, as the Church, we are all connected as one body, and if one
part of that body hurts, then the whole body (including us) hurts.
I hope this gives some clarity on the issue. The truth is that the
Church's teaching about this relates to everyone of us who tries to do
anything for attention and not just tattoos and piercings. Flashy
jewelry, fancy watches, and expensive clothes can also be very
distracting. We all need to change our perspective, treat our bodies as a
gift from God, and worry less about impressing or shocking "the Joneses"
and more about how God sees us.
Since this has taken up a bit of space, we didn't address your question
about doing things for the wrong reason without even knowing it and the
role of Satan. If you (or any of our other readers) are interested, we
can talk about that in a future issue.
If you have a question, or know a friend who does, send it to
youth@oca.org - we promise to do our best to answer it clearly,
concisely, and honestly!
No Comments Submitted for this Issue
Don't forget to add your thoughts on some of our ongoing questions:
Have an idea for a new topic? Send it to us!
In case you forgot: YO-Mail is your mail.
If you have an opinion about something in YO-mail or something going on
at school, in the Church, or in society, send it in! Send it to
youth@oca.org Don't worry! All entries
will be treated anonymously unless you tell us otherwise.
From the Office:
We're Back and We've Got Lots to Tell You!
Orthodox Christian Fellowships at Universities and Colleges
across North America
Food for the Soul
No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides
in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we
abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as
Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God,
God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the
love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love
abides in God, and God in him.
Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in
the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There
is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear
involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
We love Him because He first loved us.
Ben Fold Five: The Unauthorized Biography of
Reinhold Messner
On the Calendar
In the News
Youth and Young Adults Make Commitment at 12th All-American Council
Real Questions, Real Answers!
Tattoos and Piercings
Readers Write ...