The Second Gospel Commandment
by St Maria of Paris [From "Mother Maria Skobtsova: Essential Writings" Translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. (New York: Orbis Books, 2003) 45-60]
Undoubtedly Mother Maria's most important insight was the realization that our love o f God cannot be separated from our love for the neighbor. While this reality might seem obvious, she reveals how both traditional religiosity and the machinations of our consciousness subtly tend to divide these two loves. Mother Maria grounds her argument in Scripture, the spirit o f liturgical prayer, the wisdom o f the Church Fathers, the principles o f Orthodox philosophy, and the very “triune” nature o f the human being: body, soul, and spirit. But ultimately, this piece reflects her own distinctive vision o f the relationship between religious life and social action, a theme that winds its way through all of her writings.
by St Maria of Paris [From "Mother Maria Skobtsova: Essential Writings" Translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. (New York: Orbis Books, 2003) 45-60]
Undoubtedly Mother Maria's most important insight was the realization that our love o f God cannot be separated from our love for the neighbor. While this reality might seem obvious, she reveals how both traditional religiosity and the machinations of our consciousness subtly tend to divide these two loves. Mother Maria grounds her argument in Scripture, the spirit o f liturgical prayer, the wisdom o f the Church Fathers, the principles o f Orthodox philosophy, and the very “triune” nature o f the human being: body, soul, and spirit. But ultimately, this piece reflects her own distinctive vision o f the relationship between religious life and social action, a theme that winds its way through all of her writings.
