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Father
Cornel’s Corner Pastoral
Ponderings |
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Spiritual
September Happy New Year! La Mulţi Ani! Happy New Year! Indeed, for the orthodox Christian the
New Year begins in the first of September.
However, it is important to remember that this celebration of the New
Year does not have a secular significance, but mostly a spiritual one. It is,
in fact, the beginning of the liturgical (ecclesiastical) year. The regular
and unmovable celebrations and commemorations and Feasts of the church are
coordinated in the church calendar beginning with September first. In the following I would like to make a few remarks
about our Orthodox New Year. Firstly, I believe that we give in too much to the
secular celebration of the New Year. We completely forget or ignore our
Church New Year. Even our Church calendars and annual publications do not
come out in September as they should. Our Solia Calendar comes out in January
and in it, the liturgical calendar does not start with the Church New Year,
but with the secular new year, January first. I think we should change this
practice and have our annual Calendar distributed for the first of September.
This way, it would remind us about the Orthodox New Year. Secondly, we do not make an extreme case for the Church
New Year, even liturgically, because above this liturgical calendar stands
yet another one, which is centered on the feast of the Resurrection of our
Lord. We might be able to say than that the liturgical
calendar, which begins with September first and is fixed and unmovable, is a
tradition we received from the Old Testament. The calendar which is flexible
and moveable comes out of the tradition of the New Testament. Since we are the people of the New
Testament, we see all the events of the history of Salvation from a
post-Resurrection perspective. Since September first is the Orthodox New Year, I
encourage you to celebrate it. I am not saying to open the champagne bottle
and have a New Year’s party – not that kind of celebration. Reserve that for
the secular celebration of the New Year. So, how should we celebrate the Orthodox New Year? I
guess we should gather our families together, invite others to your house,
and have a good and joyous meal. But combine this celebration with prayers.
Ask God to help you grow spiritually this year. Also, make a list of New Year
resolutions, but concentrate mostly on spiritual goals. Recently, two things have come to my attention, which
very well could be part of our new approach to the New Year that begins on
the first of September. The first is a news clip from the Connecticut Post, regarding one of Pope Benedict’s weekly
appearances: “Working too hard, even
for those leading the Catholic Church, is bad for the spirit,” he said. He quoted St. Bernard, who advises us to
“watch out for the dangers of an excessive activity, whatever …the job that
you hold, because many jobs often lead to the ‘hardening of the heart,’ as
well as ‘suffering of the spirit, loss of intelligence’ “That warning is valid for every kind of work, even for
those involved in the governing of the church,” said Pope Benedict. I understand how excessive work
can be bad for the spirit, especially when I read the following remark in the
Message of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman at the beginning of the
Ecclesiastical Year, In
the Church, it is not uncommon to hear even our most faithful members lament
how they have little time to pray or attend services, much less to minister
to others, to make a "time commitment" to the building up of the
Body of Christ, or to engage in those things which, just decades ago, made
the parish the center of personal and community life. All too often, it is
the case that, in "prioritizing our time," we relegate the
spiritual life to the bottom of the list, or pursue it only if and when every
other aspect of our lives is satisfied and fulfilled. Instead of setting
aside the first portion of our time for things eternal, we pursue the
material first, reserving the "extra time" so many seem never to
have for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving--and all those things that bring and
restore a true balance to our
lives. In his
Great Kanon, Saint Andrew of I have always thought that
workaholism is a sin, for it takes away time needed for feeding, caring and
exercising our souls. Let us make a commitment at the beginning of the New
Year to make an effort to feed the soul by participating regularly in the sacraments
of the church, care more for our souls by participating in the holy services
of the Church, exercising our soul in prayer and meditation, and reading holy
books. A New Year’s Resolution for the Soul Meditation on the Beginning of the Ecclesiastical Year A very good
Ecclesiastical New Year’s resolution for the soul is to spend more quality
time with God in prayer. Prayer is to
the soul what physical exercise is to the body. Among the many prayers
available to us, the most important one is the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:
9-13). It was given to us by our Lord, Who on many occasions during His life
taught us how to pray. In the Sermon on the Mount, he said: “When you pray,
go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who
is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you
openly” (Matthew 6:6). Our prayer is an
expression of our love for God. This is the way we should regard our prayers
– as a daily conversation with our Heavenly Father. In actuality, we many
times pray only for that “reward” mentioned above by the Lord, and our focus
is oftentimes on the worldly rewards. There are two
kinds of rewards for which we should ask in our prayers. The first is part of
“our daily bread,” the things that we need in this earthly life. We pray for
good health, for help in our daily activities, for prosperity and for
protection against our enemies. It is good to pray for all of these things.
The Lord himself encourages us to do so: “Ask and it will be given to you;
seek, and you will find; knock, and will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). The other kind of reward we should ask for in our prayers is a part of
the “treasures in Heaven”(Matthew 6:20)
Since God gave us the commandment of love and since God is love with
His Kingdom established in love, we should pray for the growth of our own
love. Another essential thing that the Lord taught us to pray for is
forgiveness. We must pray that God will change our hearts to be able to
forgive those who have trespassed against us. We must learn forgiveness,
beginning with ourselves. When we are able to understand and accept our own
imperfections and our own human frailty, only then, can we begin to forgive
others. Our forgiveness is important, for it is also a condition for God’s
forgiveness of us (Matthew Prayer is important, and we should pray for these two kinds of rewards.
Think, however, of how restricted and fractional our lives would be if we
pray for only the “earthly rewards.”
The rewards we get in this temporal life may be great, but they are
imperfect and temporary. If we pray
and work only for these, excluding the “treasures of Heaven,” then we risk
losing our souls. “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world,
and loses his own soul?” asks the Lord. “Or what will a man give in exchange
for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). On the other
hand, when we pray and struggle for the Heavenly rewards, we not only
gain His Kingdom and everlasting life,
but we also gain everything. The Lord assured us not to worry about the
earthly things, “for your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these
things. But seek first the Clearly it is
not only the amount, but also the quality of our prayers that is important.
However, in trying to balance the two aspects of prayer, we can inhibit our
loving conversation with God. For this
reason, I believe the act of prayer is more important than how we pray. We
can ask for almost anything in this life, except evil things, as long as we
remember to end our prayer with, “Your Will be done!” I usually finish my
prayer with these words, acknowledging the fact that God knows what the best
is ultimately for me. If my prayers are not beneficial for my earthly and
spiritual needs, I do rely on Him to correct them with His loving care. (Fr.
Cornel) Another important feast of this month is the Birth of the Virgin Mary, which is
commemorated on September 8 each year. It is good to notice not only that the
ecclesiastical year of the Orthodox Church begging with a feast dedicate to
the Virgin Mary, but it also ends with another feast of the Mother of God,
the Falling Asleep of the Virgin Mary which is commemorated on August 15 each
year. The importance of this feast is well described in the
Hymn of the day, the Troparion: Thy holy
nativity, O virgin Birth-giver of God, has proclaimed joy unto the entire
universe; for from thee is risen the Sun of Righteousness, even Christ our
God. And having destroyed the curse, he has bestowed a blessing; and having
brought Death to naught, he had given unto us life eternal. We commemorate the Birth of the Virgin Mary trough
Divine Liturgy, on September 8th at 10:00 a.m. in the Church. Another important feast this month is the Elevation of the Holy Cross,
celebrated on September 14th in the Church with the Divine Liturgy
at 10:00 a.m. On September 13, we will celebrate the Vesper service at 6:00
p.m. Meditation Elevation of the Holy Cross is a Time of
Personal Reflection The pious Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine the
Great, traveled many times to the Holy Lend looking for places and objects
that our Lord had touched during His ministry on earth. She marked many of
these places with churches and shrines. One of her great wish was to find the cross on which
the Lord give His life for our salvation, and by which her son became
victorious in battles. Great was her joy when in one of her trips she found
the cross. After she established its authenticity, she took the Holy Cross to
Jerusalem. On September 14, the year 327, Macarius, the patriarch of
Jerusalem, in the presence of Saint Helen and a very large crowd, elevated
the cross in the church, and show it to the people. From that day on, the Orthodox Church celebrates the
Elevation of the Holy Cross on September 14, every year. It is a day of
strict fast, in remembrance that on cross our Lord suffers for the
forgiveness of our sins. “He Himself,” said St. Peter, “bore our sins in his
body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by
his wounds you have been healed” (I Peter 2:24) The commemoration of the Elevation of the Holy Cross
brings to my mind the first time when the cross was elevated and shown to
people. In fact, at that time, the cross, after the Lord had been nailed to
it, was erected on Golgotha. I imagine
how painful was that moment when the cross was lifted up; that moment when
the ruthless soldiers violently shaking the cross lifted it up, while the
whole weight of Lord’s body hang on the nails fasten through his hands and
legs. For this reason this day brings repentance and distress
in my heart. Even grater than the
physical pain of our Lord, was the spiritual one – the pain of being
rejected, of being betrayed, of being misunderstood. He was suffering for all
mankind, and mankind rejected Him. I am part of the mankind, and by my sins I
still erect the cross on Golgotha. This day, just like on Good Friday, I
repent for the erection of the Lord nailed to the cross on Golgotha. At the same time, this commemoration of the Elevation
of the Cross in Jerusalem, by Patriarch Macarius, helps me to assess my own
discipleship. I ask myself, how do I “elevate” my own cross. Jesus said, that if anyone would become his
disciple, “must deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me” (Mark
8:34). Do I really take up (elevate)
my cross? How do I present my cross to the people around me: do I have enough
patience with the people around me? For I remember that the Lord was patient
with His disciples, who, one betrayed Him, another denied Him, and the rest
run away afraid to stand by Him. Do I love – or, at least, attempt to – love
even my enemies? For I do remember, the Lord prayed to God asking for to
forgive those who hung him on the cross “for they did not know what they were
doing.” Do I give thank to the Lord not only in good times but also in times
of trouble and challenge? On one hand, the commemoration of the Elevation of the
Holy Cross is for me a day of remembrance, that brings repentance in my
hearts, for my unworthiness, and also thanksgiving for the Lord’s mercy and
sacrifice on the cross for us and our salvation. On the other hand, this holy-day is, for me, a time a
spiritual reflection, and of inner inquiry. A time when I turn inward and ask
myself how is the Holy Cross reflected in my souls. Do my own cross shines
brightly reflecting the beauty of the Cross lifted up on Good Friday on
Golgotha? (Fr. Cornel) ___________________________________________________________________
A Spiritual August The
Transfiguration The Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, God and
Savior Jesus Christ is celebrated each year on August 6. The feast
commemorates the transfiguration or metamorphosis of Christ on The event of the Transfiguration is recorded in three of the four Gospels: Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-8, and Luke 9:28-36. Jesus took the Apostles Peter, James, and John with Him up upon a mountain, and while they were on the mountain Jesus was transfigured. His face shone like the sun, and His garments became glistening white. Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ, talking to Him. Peter declared how good it was for them to be there and expressed the desire to build three booths for Moses, Elijah, and Christ. This reference to the booths could imply that this occurred during the time of the Feast of Tabernacles when the Jews would be camping out in the fields for the grape harvest; for this Feast had acquired other associations in the course of its history, including the memory of the wanderings in the wilderness recorded in the Old Testament book of Exodus. While Peter was speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them. A voice came from the cloud saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him." When the disciples heard this they fell on their faces filled with awe. Jesus came to them and told them to not be afraid. When the three looked up they saw only Jesus. As Jesus and His disciples came down the mountain, He told them not to speak of what they had seen until He had risen from the dead. The Dormition of
the Theotokis Concerning the Dormition of the
Theotokos, this is what the Church has received from ancient times from the
tradition of the Fathers. When the time drew nigh that our Savior was
well-pleased to take His Mother to Himself, He declared unto her through an
Angel that three days hence, He would translate her from this temporal life
to eternity and bliss. On hearing this, she went up with haste to the With reverence and many lights, and
chanting burial hymns, the Apostles took up that God-receiving body and
brought it to the sepulchre, while the Angels from Heaven chanted with them,
and sent forth her who is higher than the Cherubim. But one Jew, moved by
malice, audaciously stretched forth his hand upon the bed and immediately
received from divine judgment the wages of his audacity. Those daring hands
were severed by an invisible blow. But when he repented and asked
forgiveness, his hands were restored. When they had reached the place called These things has the Church received
from the traditions of the Fathers, who have composed many hymns out of
reverence, to the glory of the Mother of our God (see Oct. 3 and 4). Apolytikion in the
First Tone In birth, you preserved your virginity; in death, you
did not abandon the world, O Theotokos. As mother of life, you departed to
the source of life, delivering our souls from death by your intercessions. Kontakion in the
Second Tone Neither the grave nor death could contain the Theotokos,
the unshakable hope, ever vigilant in intercession and protection. As Mother
of life, He who dwelt in the ever-virginal womb transposed her to life. ________________________________________________ A Spiritual July Three Reflections on the Rel Since the beginning of July, I have been reading and
meditating about the life and activity of the extraordinary
prophet Elijah, whom we celebrate on the
20th of July with the Divine Liturgy. I remember from
back when I was a child, how the day of St. Elijah
was expected in my village. His day was anxiously
awaited, for St. Elijah always brought a
welcomed
storm and relief during the scorching
and arid days of summer. But his day was also anticipated with some
fear, for his storms were many times associated with thunder, lightning, and
sometimes hail. The personality and the activities of the Prophet Elijah are
very diverse and complex. To explore this fully would take a more in-depth
presentation than is possible in these three reflections. Therefore, I will limit
myself to a few important aspects of his personality and activity, especially
those that we feel can be an example to our lives today as Orthodox
Christians. -First Reflection- St. Elijah was a Man of Great Faith As
a prophet, he was active during the years of the King Ahab of Judah, Son of Omri, seventh king of We
read in 1 Kings 16: 30 that King Ahab “did evil in the sight of the Lord,
more then all who were before him.” He
took as his wife Jezebel, who not only was a foreigner, but who also
worshiped a false god, Baal. She influenced Ahab, the King, who set up an altar for Baal in the After
that, instructed by “the word of the Lord,” St. Elijah went into hidings for
his life was in danger because of the anger of the King. By a certain brook, he was fed by the
ravens sent by God, which brought him food in morning and at night. He stayed
there until the water of the brook dried out due to the drought. Instructed again by the “word of the Lord”
he went to Zaraphath and stayed with a widow and her son. These three lived
only on a handful of flour and some oil in a jar, which was multiplied “until
the day the Lord sent rain on the earth” (1 Kings 17 8-16). In
all this time of trouble, Elijah kept his faith strong; he trusted the
Lord and followed his instructions.
The rain came back only after Elijah had the chance to prove that Baal and
Asherah were false gods. The King, who could not take the vengeance of God
any more, came to see Elijah who told him: …send and gather all Israel to
me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four
hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table (18: 19). Elijah
challenged them, saying you call on
the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God
who will answer by fire, He is God ( Then
Elijah gave proof to the true God by praying over the sacrifice offered on
the altar: Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You
are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.
After the prayer of St. Elijah, the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the
burned sacrifice… (18:37-38). St.
Elijah was a “great defender of the true faith.” This event in the lives of one of the greatest
prophets of all times is important for us today. It seems that we again
live the kind of spiritual idolatry that was the rule of the day at the time
of King Ahab. We often hear many people saying, “It doesn’t matter what God
we believe in, just believe, because there is only one God.” Many accept
ideas and beliefs from other faiths. It seems okay, but it is not. Just
because there is only one God, it is important to believe in Him in the right
way. The content of faith is just as important as the Faith itself. There are
not many true Gods, but only one, the living God. It
is not important just to have faith in a God. We must have faith in the true
God, the God in the Holy Trinity as it is taught in the Holy Scripture, the
Resurrected God, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Orthodoxy means belief in the true
faith – the content of our faith is important to us. -Second Reflection- St. Elijah was a Man of Prayer and Fasting There
are two kinds of fasting that Prophet Elijah kept. The first kind was
the one he took because of persecution. Running away from the revenge of King
Ahab, he escaped to the wilderness where he was
miraculously fed by ravens (1Kings 17:2-7). Again, by Divine
direction, he went to Zarephath, where he was sustained in the household of a
widow, whose meal and oil were miraculously increased (1 Kings 17:8-16). The
main element of this kind of fasting was the complete trust in God to provide
sufficient food for him to survive and for his well-being. The other kind of fasting Elijah kept was directly for spiritual
reasons for Divine guidance and help. He kept this fasting for forty days. This was a very strict fasting, which reminds us of the forty
days of fasting kept by our Lord in the wilderness (19: 8). It also reminds
us about the Lent before Holy Pascha and Christmas. St. Elijah, as a man who fasted many times in his life, is an
example to us. Fasting is not a man-made rule, but it is sanctioned by God.
Fasting together with prayer can help us in this life, and it helps us to
draw closer to God. Every miraculous act performed by St. Elijah was preceded by
earnest prayer. The miraculous resurrection of the widow’s son from
death was done by his intense prayer. St. Elijah said to the widower, who
came to him carrying her dead son in her arms, ‘Give me your son’. So he took him out
of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying and laid
him on his own bed. Then he cried out to the Lord and said: ‘O
Lord my God you also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I
lodge, by killing her son.’ And he stretched himself out on the child
three times, and cried out to the Lord and said: ‘O Lord my God, I pray,
let the child’s soul came back to him.’ Then the Lord heard the voice
of Elijah; and the soul came
back to him, and he revived (1 Kings St. Elijah also prayed before he fired up his sacrifice on St. Elijah is
also an example of prayer to us. We think we are too busy to pray. The prayer
does not need to be long. The Lord’s Prayer, which was given to us by our
Lord, takes only a few seconds to say. We can say it in the morning before we
leave for work, we can say in our cars or in the train as we commute. We can
say it before we go to bed. We can say this prayer in times of trouble,
asking for God’s help. It will help us. I believe the
main reason we do not pray is our lack of faith. We stopped believing in
God’s help and in His willingness to make miracles in our lives. Another reason
is our lack of concentration. We cannot control our minds as they wander
everywhere. Our minds are constantly bombarded with useless information from
the media and from our non-stop activities. Let’s stop for
a few minutes every day and pray privately. Do not miss the Divine Liturgy on
Sunday and pray with the community of saints within the Church. -Third Reflection- St. Elijah is Known Mainly as a Prophet. His prophecies have three time-spans: 1) He prophesized events that would be fulfilled during his
lifetime or immediately after he was taken up to heaven: He foretold a drought (1 Kings 17:3);
the destruction of Ahab and his house (1 Kings 21:17-29; 2 Kings
9:25-37 ); the death of Ahaziah (2 Kings 1:2-17); the plague sent as a
judgment upon the people in the time of Jehoram, king of Israel (2 Chronicles
21:12-15). 2) He prophesized about our Lord, the Church and Divine Liturgy. The altar that he built for the sacrifice, he offered on This is the description of the altar in 1 Kings 18: 31 – 35: And Elijah took
twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of
the Lord had come, saying, shall be your name.
Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he
made a trench around the altar enough to hold two measures of seed.
And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the
wood, and said, ‘Fill four water pots with water, and pour it on the burnt
sacrifice and on the wood.’ Then he said, ‘Do it second time,’
and they did it second time; and he said, ‘Do it a third time.’
And they did it a third time. So the water ran all around the altar; so
he filled the trench with water. After St. Elijah prayed, the fire of the Lord fell and
consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it
licked up the water that was in
the trench.” (v. 38))
The altar made by Saint Elijah on
altar of the Christian Church established by Christ through His
sacrifice on
12 Apostles, which lie at the Church’s foundation. The wood on the
sacrifice represents the multitude of martyrs which died for the
Gospel. The sacrificial calf is Christ Himself who sacrifices Himself
on the Christian altars during the Divine Liturgy for the salvation of
mankind. The trench dug around the altar represents the vale of this
life in which is put the seeds of the teachings of the Old and New Testament. The four pots in which the water
was carried for the sacrificial
altar are the four evangelists. The three pouring of water represent the three Persons of the Holy
Trinity. The water which filled the trenches is the teaching of the
Gospels, and the fire which came down from heaven and burned the altar
and the sacrifice, represents the pouring of the Holy Spirit which sanctifies, enlightens and renews everything. 3) St. Elijah also prophesied about the Second Coming of our
Lord, and the end of time. St. Elijah was taken to heaven with his body in a chariot of
fire (See 2 Kings 2). While he was walking and talking with his successor the
Prophet Elisha, Elijah was taken to heaven. Then it happened as they
continued on and talked that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses
of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind
into heaven (v.11). At
the end of time, Elijah will be sent from Heaven to announce to the world the
Second Coming and the Last Judgment and will prepare the way for the coming
of the Lord as a second Forerunner. Then he will be killed by the Antichrist
together with Enoch.
No other prophet of
the Old Testament is so frequently referred to in the New Testament. For this
reason, Elijah’s appearance in glory on More
about this event, the Transfiguration of our Lord on Mount Tabor, will
be said in next month’s issue of Father’s Corner.
As we celebrate
the life and activities of St. Elijah, let us make him an example of our
lives as Orthodox Christians. Let us learn from him that the true faith is
important, and that there is only one God, God in Holy Trinity, and one
living God. We should learn to put our trust in God. We should learn from St.
Elijah’s example to pray and keep fasting, invoking God’s help in our lives. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Troparian
(Tone 4)
cornerstone, the forerunner of the Second Coming of
Christ, the venerable and glorious Elijah, you sent grace
from on high to Elisha to dispel sicknesses and purify lepers.
Wherefore, he overflows with healing to those who honor him. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Spiritual June The Lent of St. Peter and Paul, one of the four major fasting periods of the orthodox Church, is the only one that varies from year to year, since its date depends on the time when we celebrate Holy Pascha. I
do encourage you to keep this
fast, and pray for our new church building and community. The month of June is under the spiritual direction
of the Feast of St. Peter and Paul. After the celebration of The Descent of the Holy Spirit 50 days after Holy Pasha, the first major holy day of the Orthodox calendar could not be anything else but a feast celebrating the missionary work of the Apostles. Receiving the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Day (see Acts: 2), the Apostles took courage, and with boldness, began proclaiming the Good News (Holy Gospel) “starting in Jerusalem, and in Samaria and till the end of the earth” (Acts 1: 8). Peter became the leader of the church in Celebrating these two apostles together, representing the two directions of the early church, is an expression of our thanksgiving to God for the expansion of the Church and the spreading of the Good News of the Resurrected Christ in the whole world. For this reason one of the icons of the feast represents the two Apostles holding the Church in their arms. However, this Feast day is called also the Feasts of the Apostles, for it includes the celebration of all the Apostles who work for the spreading the Word of God in the whole world. The
Divine Liturgy for the Feast will be celebrated on
A Digression St. Dimitrie Romanian Orthodox
Church is a blended community. Sometimes this fact is a blessing, and it
positively influences the work of the church. But, sometimes it creates some
anxiety within the community, especially related to the language used in the
services. Any time I am faced with these issues, I think about the conflicts
that appear very soon in the emerging church between the A Funny Perspective It is not unusual that, on the same Sunday, members of our community will complain to me that I had used either too much Romanian or too much English in the church service. Sometimes I respond to these complaints by saying that we must be careful what we are asking, for God has a good sense of humor. If we are so much against Romanian, we might end up in the Romanian speaking Heaven. And vice versa; If we are so much for Romanian only, we might end up in the English-speaking Heaven. I tell it as a joke in order to release the tension of the situation. But it is not a joke. All languages are created by God. He understands, appreciates, and blesses all the languages, as he does us, all the people of the earth, who are His children. We see love of all nations and languages in the event of Pentecost (Acts, 2). After the Apostles received the Holy Spirit, St. Peter preached the Good News to the people present from around the world. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, they understood what he said in their own languages: “And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans. And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?” (Acts 2: 7-8). The preaching of St. Peter
brought about the birth of the
Church, with members from almost all of the ( who spoke)(from almost all the
different language speaking groups) of the earth. “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and
the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts
Today, the Bible is translated and the good news into all the
languages of the earth, and the Good News is preached in all of these
languages of the earth, and the Bible is translated in all the languages of
the earth. And this is what makes our faith so great, and our God a God who
creates miracles. After reading the above
article about a conflict that appeared in the early church, I am sure you
understand that anything can be resolved when there is love. We must approach
our disagreements with a prayerful consensus (calling on the mercy of God the
Father, the love of our Lord, the Savior, and the guidance of the Holy
Spirit) -- in a way in which will benefit our community, its spiritual growth
and the salvation of our souls. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Resurrection is that unique event in the history
of mankind by which the doors of the Kingdom were opened to all the children
of God. Christ is “King” and “Lord of the In the Gospel, Jesus continually refers to the
Kingdom of God. He says, “Amend
your ways, the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). Likewise he says, “Seek ye first the
Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). Our Lord says that His Kingdom is not of this world
and the proof of this is the Resurrection. The Resurrection surpasses all the
natural laws of the world. It is only though the Resurrection that we can
enter into God's Kingdom, which is also called the New Earth, or the New
Israel. “Whoever is of the truth hears my voice,”
declares the Lord. In the Resurrection, the truth of the Kingdom is made
clear. Those who believe in the Resurrection are part of this truth, for our
Lord is the Truth. They hear the voice of the Lord who calls us to take our
cross and follow Him. The truth is in the Resurrection of the Lord, for He
says, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” Just before His Resurrection the Lord proclaims, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” The Kingdom is made available to all by the Resurrection of our Lord. By His Resurrection, the Kingdom has begun. The Risen Christ goes to Hades first and takes with
Him the righteous of the Old Testament who awaited His arrival. He takes with
Him the thief who is crucified at his side. But mainly, Jesus takes Himself,
as true man to the Kingdom, where He sits at the right hand of the Father. In the Kingdom, He is not resting. He is busy
preparing a place for us (John 14:2). He wants us all to be part of His
Resurrection. But it is not enough for
Jesus to work for our salvation. We too, must work with Him and obey His
commandments. “Amend your ways,” says the Lord. Focus on
Christ and on his Resurrection. He is the Way. Do not follow the tempter, the
devil and the things of this world. “Seek first the Kingdom,” the Lord commands us. He is the Life. There is
nothing more important in life than seeking the Kingdom. “What do we gain
if we gain the whole world and we lose our souls” (Matthew 17:26)? asks
the Lord. In other words, everything else vanishes with this world. The
treasures of this world are rusting; robbers can come and take them away. We
cannot take them with us to Heaven. Therefore, we should seek and follow that which
leads to the Resurrection! If we are Children of the Resurrection, we will
amend our ways and seek the Kingdom first. Let us remember, during Pascha and always, that the
world is important only in as much as it helps us to seek first the Kingdom
of Heaven — and helps us to look at the Kingdom of God through the event of
the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Father Cornel Daily
Observances of Holy Week (Saturday
before Palm Sunday; the service consists of Matins [Morning Prayers]
and the Divine Liturgy.) "Blessed
is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord....." "Behold the Bridgegroom cometh in the midst of the
night...." "Both
watch and pray......." (The
service is Matins of Tuesday morning sung by anticipation
Monday evening.) "When he came to himself......he came to his
father......." "The
light of Christ shineth for all......." (The
Divine Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts) "Anointing
him sick with oil in the name of the Lord....." "Let
no fear separate you from Me....." "Do
this in remembrance of Me......." "We
worship Thy passion, O Christ......" 1. These
readings relate the last instructions of Christ to His disciples, the
prophecy of the drama of the Cross, the dramatic prayer of Christ and His new
commandment. The day should be devoted to reading the "Gospel of the
Testament" of Christ which He left for all men. The Church services
during Holy Week re-enact the events of this Gospel. "They
cast lots upon my besture......."
"Father
forgive them for they know not what they do......." (The
service is Vespers sung on Friday afternoon) "Do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves" (The
service is Matins of Saturday morning sung by anticipation Friday
evening.) "Arise,
O God, and judge Thou the earth......." The
Holy Sunday of Easter (The
service is Matins and Divine Liturgy of Sunday morning
sung Saturday |
Focus on Christ
and His Resurrection