Holy Habits – Faithful, Healthy Living.
By Fr. Larry Provenzano

Prayer. Study. Worship. Sabbath Time. Tithing. The Holy Habits provide every person the tools necessary for the faithful, healthy living of the Baptismal Covenant. As a rule for our living, the Holy Habits provide a minimal structure for our lives as Christian people. The vestry of our parish has committed itself to this structure and is encouraging the entire congregation to embrace these holy habits as a minimal standard for our life together. It’s important to recognize that committing to incorporate all the Holy Habits is not necessarily something that can be accomplished overnight. Rather, the struggle to learn how they fit into each of our lives is in itself part of a holy journey. As the coming months unfold, the vestry, committees and I will offer resources to assist parishioners in making them truly habitual.

Prayer – our time, space, words in relationship to our God. Prayer is our place of intimacy with the Trinity (Father, Son & Holy Spirit) in which we communicate the essence and substance of our lives. It is the framework through which we can begin to know the will of God in our lives. It is the place where we raise before God our concerns, ask our intimate questions and seek the will of God in the various situations of our lives.

Study – is the situation in which either collectively or individually we seek the mind of Christ through diligent, faithful study of Holy Scripture, the history and tradition of the church, and its reasonable application to our present lives. It is our gateway to the collective understanding of how God’s people have understood, lived and ministered the will of God throughout the ages. It is also the window through which we can begin to develop the ways God’s will can be lived in the future.

Worship – the liturgies of the church (the work of the people) are a corporate, outward and visible expression of our relationship with the Trinity. It is the setting that invites us to dance with God in a timeless expression of unconditional love and acceptance. It is the vehicle that sustains our life as the body of Christ. In the presence of each other, the liturgy of the Word and the liturgy of the Holy Eucharist draw us together in a common expression of faith, proclamation, and sacramental living.

Sabbath Time – is not about coming to church on Sunday. Sabbath time is time to be kept holy by our deliberate focus on the rest and refreshment of our bodies, minds and souls. Sabbath is the regularly scheduled departure from the regular schedule. It is the holy rest that allows perspective and re-focus to be realities in our otherwise programmed lives. The commandment states: “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter…” Genesis 20:8. The framework of Holy Habits in our contemporary society demands that we find Sabbath time each week. For many Sabbath time may in fact follow worship on a Sunday, as long as that is not a day of labor. It is not a day to “get things done” – it is made holy precisely because we set it aside for a focus on things other than the demands of this world.

Tithing – time, talent and treasure. Tithing is a faithful attitude, not a mathematical calculation. Ten percent (as a minimal standard) of one’s time, energy, ability, and treasure – not given to the church as payment, but rather as a participation (outward and visible) in the building up of the kingdom of God. It is one method of proclaiming the Good News of God in Christ. In all its various manifestations it, in fact, seeks and serves Christ in every person, respects their dignity, and promotes justice and peace among all people.

The Holy Habits are for us a covenant for our mutual ministry and life. They provide a framework, a rule of life, that we can count on to keep us focused on the mission we claim is ours in this time and place. We will be blessed if we do these things. God’s people will be blessed if we do these things. God will be praised if we do these things.
God will be God and we will be God’s people – if we do these things!