Dear in the Lord O.! The first thing you should do is try to give V. Holy Communion, of course, explaining to her the greatness and necessity of the Sacrament of union with God. And after Communion, doctors can and should be involved. And pray for V., send notes to the Liturgy more often for her, and teach her to pray for her mother and N... A child's prayer is pure and easy in its ascent to God. May the Lord help you!
Dear in the Lord L.! And the rest can be entrusted to a good Orthodox doctor. Seek him out. God's blessing be on the entire family. Letters of Archimandrite John Krestiankin |
Comment:
Few people understand what actually happens during the celebration of a churchly sacrament. This is not due to years of atheism, but to our desire to imitate the Western rational approach to spirituality. The attempt to define a sacrament as an external action that bestows abstract spiritual powers and equally abstract grace has borne fruit.
Today, among the vast majority of believers and churchgoers, there are two prevailing opinions regarding the sacraments: some consider them a kind of magical act, either self-sufficient or requiring faith and desire on the part of the individual; others believe all church regulations are nothing more than tradition, yielding one result or another based on a person's faith. The true nature, purpose, and significance of the sacraments were expressed by Apostle Paul: "Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Gal. 2, 20).
The goal of any sacrament is union with God. The result is the descent and indwelling of the Holy Spirit Himself, the third Person of the Holy Trinity, within the believer. Yes, grace is imparted to the believer during the celebration of the sacrament, but this is only a consequence of the person's union with God.