How Shall I Live?

How Shall I Live?

A priest posed this question during his sermon recently, “How shall I live?” I immediately thought to myself, “Wow, this is a really good question!”- and I decided to start a blog. How would I answer? Was I paying attention to how I was living, or simply going through the motions? Did I realize that my choices each day- how I spent my time, who I spent it with, what I ate, what I read or watched- might be indicative of what’s important to me?

I found myself thinking about what he asked for the rest of the day. What is my purpose? For whom or for what am I living my life? What do I value? His question really sparked a desire in me to consider how I was living each day.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of possible answers to the question, “How shall I live?” We all know some of the most common answers people might give- for God, for family, for sports, for friends, for entertainment, for power, for wealth, for material possessions, for others, for retirement, for pleasure, for __________.

My three-year old son loves trains. He builds a train track, reassembles it in different configurations, plays with the blue train then switches to the green one, makes train noises, and even just sits and stares at a small, wooden train as he slowly rolls it back and forth. He doesn’t stop to think about how he’s living his life. Not yet. He just likes trains. I have the capacity to think about how I spend my time though. You do too.

Consider it for a moment: How shall I live?

We all face moments in our lives when we wrestle with this question more earnestly, especially connected to faith, our belief in God, and our understanding of who Jesus Christ is and why it might matter. Frankly, it’s just a good question to think about.

In future blog posts, I’ll explore the question “How shall I live?” in a way that is relevant to our lives. I’ll address topics such as faith and God’s existence, the path that He lays out for us, forgiveness, repentance, our ego, feelings, thankfulness, and much  more. My hope is that you and I will both learn something along the way that might help us better answer the question, “How shall I live?”

Dn. Marek Simon

Dn. Marek Simon

Dn. Marek is the Executive Director of Orthodox Christian Fellowship. He is passionate about serving and mentoring young people, helping them explore their faith, and growing the ministry of OCF so that all college students have the opportunity to participate. Dn. Marek lives in the Nashville area with his wife and two children.

St. Xenia, I’m Nervous about My Future

St. Xenia, I’m Nervous about My Future

A personal favorite saint of mine, St. Xenia of St. Petersburg, is a beacon of light for those going through college. Her life is a wonderful example for how we should conduct ourselves and her intercessions are particularly relevant to the stresses an average college student faces…finding a job and finding love.

Let us learn about her story, taken from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese website,

Our righteous Mother Xenia of Petersburg was born about the year 1730. She was married to a Colonel named Andrew; when she was twenty-six years old, her husband died suddenly, having been drinking with his friends. Left a childless widow, Xenia gave away all that she had, and vanished from Saint Petersburg for eight years; it is believed that she spent this time in a hermitage, learning the spiritual life. When she returned to Saint Petersburg, she wore her husband’s military clothing, and would answer only to the name Andrew, that is, the name of her late husband. She took up the life of a homeless wanderer, and was abused by many as insane; she bore this with great patience, crucifying the carnal mind through the mockery she endured, and praying for her husband’s soul. She was given great gifts of prayer and prophecy, and often foretold things to come; in 1796 she foretold the death of Empress Catherine II. Having lived forty-five years after her husband’s death, she reposed in peace at the age of seventy-one, about the year 1800. Her grave became such a source of miracles, and so many came to take soil from it as a blessing, that it was often necessary to replace the soil; when a stone slab was placed over her grave, this too disappeared over time, piece by piece. Saint Xenia is especially invoked for help in finding employment, lodging, or a spouse.

St. Xenia has the clairvoyance that personally, I wish I had because the future can be frankly terrifying. “Will I find a job?” “Where am I going to live after college?” “Will I ever find a significant other?” “Will I ever get married?” These are the questions countless college students ask themselves because there is so much uncertainty and competition that we really do need divine intervention for guidance in our lives, and towards the Kingdom.

St. Xenia was married, lived a somewhat wealthy life, was young, and had things going well for her in her life–the “American dream” as we would now describe. But one day, she lost her husband, and she felt not only the pain of the loss, but the pain of a lost future. Her life was set up, and one day she felt that it was taken all away. Personally, I can’t even imagine the anguish she must have felt during that time.

What makes St. Xenia special to us, and special to God, was that in her times of suffering, she turned to Him to transform her. She gave away all she had, and because of that, people used to think she was actually crazy. People who highly regard earthly pleasures would think that giving away all you have would be crazy. However, St. Xenia saw her spiritual poverty and sought to be transformed and align her life towards the Kingdom.

She learned how to pray and how to follow the spiritual life. I’m sure people understand the importance of having a spiritual father and that many have given advice to seek one. LEARN! Priests are trained to be people’s spiritual fathers, and they have their own spiritual fathers themselves! The right spiritual instruction helped cultivate St. Xenia into the saint that she is today.

St. Xenia had incredible humility. She was so humble that she wanted to bear not only her own sins but that of her husband and assumed his name. Through the sacrament of marriage, she and her spouse became one, and in her persistence to make her life a Kingdomly one, she assumed his name and was willing to bear their cross, suffering much physical and emotional torment.

St. Xenia intercedes for those looking for a spouse and looking for a job. I urge you all to ask for her help! The job market and love markets are tough out there, and a little saintly push from the spiritual master that is St. Xenia can give you hope and guidance. Also, St. Xenia was known to only take copper pennies during her earthly life, so, make a little donation to the poor or to your church in her name, so you can be like the people who were able to receive her blessings whilst living on earth.

May she intercede for you all! Also learn more about her here, in OCF’s program, “There’s a Saint for That”