Pigs and Priorities

In today’s gospel reading, we hear the account of a healing of two possessed men. The scriptures record that Jesus and His disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee to the country of the Gadarenes. Jesus was met by two men that were possessed by demons. Both cried out when they saw Jesus, acknowledging Him as the Son of God. The possessing spirits begged Jesus that if He cast them out they could enter the herd of pigs feeding nearby. Jesus commanded the spirits to depart, and the herd of swine ran down into the sea and drowned. The keepers of the pigs panicked and fled to the city to inform the inhabitants what had transpired. Many people came out of the town to where Jesus was and demanded that He leave their region.

At the center of the story is the miracle that transformed the pathetic demon-possessed men into physically and spiritually healthy individuals again. Jesus reveals that the healing of suffering is a primary mission of the Son of God in this world. The greatest contrast in this miraculous event is between the demon possessed men who are saved from the torments of the evil one and the “respectable” people of the town, who want Jesus to leave their coasts.

It is important to understand that the tending of pigs was considered unclean by Mosaic law. So the townsfolk were not angry that Jesus healed the two men; they were angry because Jesus interfered with their profitable business of raising pigs. When Jesus cast the demons into the herd of swine, He tested the values and priorities of the townspeople. When the crowds demanded that Jesus leave their region, they revealed that they valued their profitable pigs more than their suffering neighbors.

Like the townspeople of Gadara, Jesus also tests our priorities, although likely in more subtle ways. How do we respond to opportunities or challenges to help somebody in dire need that would require a true sacrifice of our time and/or finances? Like the townspeople of Gadara, our response demonstrates our priorities. When presented with such a challenge, do we rise to the occasion or do we ask Jesus to leave us alone because we consider our pigs to be more valuable?

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Fourth Sunday After Pentecost

In today’s gospel we heard about how a centurion, a Roman officer, came to the Lord to beseech healing of his beloved servant, who was seriously ill. The Lord replied, “I will come to you and heal your servant,” and the officer said to Him: “My lord, I give orders to my soldiers, and they carry out. You just order and the illness will leave him. ” Such was his belief in the healing power of the Savior. The Lord was surprised by his faith and said to him: “Go, it will be according to your faith.” And while the centurion was going home, his servant was healed.

Every time the Gospel tells that someone addresses the Lord, we can call it a prayer, because prayer is an appeal to the Lord. Very often those who sought the Lord’s help were people that were suffering, sick, or burdened with griefs or ailments; but also there were people who addressed Him in prayer for others.

The Lord performed his first miracle in Cana of Galilee at the request of His Mother. The Virgin Mary asked Him to help friends or relatives when they ran out of wine at a wedding. And we can say that this was the Mother of God’s first intercessory prayer for others. And remember how his friends dismantled the roof and let the paralytic on his stretcher down to the Lord, asking the Lord to heal him. And it is said in the Gospel that “Jesus, seeing their faith” healed him. Also, let us remember the Syrian woman, who begged Our Lord to heal her daughter.

It is very important to pay attention to these prayers for others. The prayers were not focusing on one’s own misfortunes, needs, illnesses, but on the needs, troubles, and illnesses of another person. Intercessory prayer has great power, because in praying for others, our self-love recedes and our kind attitude towards other people comes to the forefront. Therefore, prayer for others is often higher, more dear to the Lord, than prayer for oneself.

Of course, one may ask why is it helpful that someone intercede for us when we can pray for ourselves? Because when one offers a prayer for another in heartfelt love and humility, the intercessor transcends to the throne of God, concomitantly raising the person for whom is being prayed.

Each of you who has prayed for your friends and relatives knows what a great strength is prayer. Sometimes you can feel it when they pray for you. Every day when we stand before the Lord, we firstly pray for His will, and secondly, we pray for others, because there is no greater love than that which passes through prayer. And if we pray for each other, we are closely connected by the grace of God.

And if you see that it is impossible to assuage another’s trouble with a deed or a word, then always remember that intercessory prayer is a firm and reliable support. Pray warmly and fervently for those who are dear to you, and you will see that your prayer will manifest the power of God. If we pray for our loved ones, God will always be with us. The Lord Himself said: “Where two or three are gathered in My name, I am among them.” Pray for your friends and loved ones, and you will know God’s love.

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Sermon on the Mount

The gospel appointed for this Sunday in the Byzantine Rite is an excerpt from what is commonly known as the Sermon on the Mount. The reason for this designation is that Jesus “went up on a mountain” to deliver this message. The Sermon on the Mount is the longest continuous section of Jesus speaking found in the New Testament. Tradition identifies the location of this sermon to be a large hill known as Karn Hattin, located near Capernaum along the Sea of Galilee.

Jesus’ teachings during the Sermon on the Mount represent the major ideals of the Christian life, describing what a believer’s life should be like in faith, thoughts, words, and actions. In His sermon, Jesus taught that discipleship is not merely adherence to a set of legal precepts, but rather it is an all-encompassing conversion and commitment of every aspect of one’s life. Jesus’ teaching was a novel and radical paradigm shift from the established religious practice of the day.

Although society has changed a great deal since the time of Jesus, the fundamental message of the Sermon on the Mount remains relevant. The core message centers on a person’s priorities. A life of authentic discipleship is characterized by one that prioritizes pursuit of God as primary. To live in accordance with the precepts of Jesus’ teaching means that one adopts values, behaviors, and priorities that manifest faithfulness to God and compassion for others, rather than the rugged individualism and rampant consumerism prevalent in modern Western societies.

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Candles In Worship – Part III

Since ancient times at hierarchical (bishop) services, special candle-holders have been used. The faithful reverently bow their heads when blessed by the Bishop with the dikeri (representing the two natures of Christ) and the trikeri (representing the Holy Trinity). Candles are also lit during the celebration of the Holy Eucharist (Liturgy/Mass).

Holy Baptism is celebrated with the priest fully vested and all the candles lit. Three candles are lit before the baptismal font as a sign that the Baptism is accomplished in the Name of the Holy Trinity; and the person to be baptized (if an adult) and the sponsors hold lit candles in their hands during the procession around the font as an expression of joy at the entry of a new member into the Church of Christ.

At the betrothal ceremony, the priest hands the couple lit candles before they enter the church to receive the Sacrament of Matrimony, throughout which they hold the lit candles as a symbol of their profound love for each other and of their desire to live with the blessing of the Church.

At the Sacrament of Holy Unction, seven candles are lit around the vessel of Holy Oil as a sign of the grace-bestowing action of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. And when the body of a deceased person is brought in the church, four candles are placed about the coffin to form a cross to show that the deceased was a Christian. During the funeral service, as well as memorial services, the faithful stand with lit candles as a sign that the deceased’s soul has left this world and entered into the Unwaning Light of God, the Kingdom of Heaven.

During the Vespers portion of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, the priest blesses the congregation with a lit candle and censer, proclaiming: “The Light of Christ illumines all!” On the Eve of the Nativity of Christ and the Theophany, a lit candle is placed before the festal Icon in the middle of the church to remind us of the birth and appearance on earth of Christ Our Savior, the Giver of Light. At all Divine Liturgies, lit candles are carried in procession at various parts of the service.

Thus candles and lampadas are lit at all church services with a wide variety of spiritual and symbolic meanings; for it is God Who said, “Let light shine out of darkness, [and] Who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (1 Cor. 4:6). So too, lit candles in the church are also an expression of the worshippers’ adoration and love for God, their voluntary sacrifices, and their joy of the spiritual triumph of the Church. The candles, by their burning, remind one of the Unwaning Light which in the Kingdom of Heaven makes glad the souls of the righteous who have pleased God.

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Candles In Worship – Part II

The early teachers of the Church also witnessed to the spiritual significance of candles. In the 2nd Century, Tertullian wrote:

“We never hold a service without candles, yet we use them not just to dispel night’s gloom; we also hold our services in daylight but in order to represent by this Christ, the Uncreated Light, without Whom we would in broad daylight wander as if lost in darkness” [ Works, 3rd ed., Kiev, 1915, p.76].

The Blessed Jerome wrote in the 4th Century:

“In all the Eastern Churches, candles are lit even in the daytime when one is to read the Gospels, in truth not to dispel the darkness, but as a sign of joy…in order under that factual light to feel that Light of which we read in the Psalms (119:105): ‘Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path'” [Works, part IV, 2nd ed., Kiev, 1900, pp.301-302].

St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, wrote in the 7th Century:

“Lampadas and candles represent the Eternal Light, and also the light which shines from the righteous” [Writings of the Holy Fathers…, St. Petersburg, 1855, Vol. I, p.270].

The Holy Fathers of the 7th Ecumenical Council decreed that in the Orthodox Catholic Church, the holy Icons and Relics, the Cross of Christ, and the Holy Gospel were to be honored by censing and by the lighting of candles; and the Blessed Simeon of Thessalonica (15th Century) wrote that candles are also lit before the Icons of the Saints, for the sake of their good deeds that shine in this world.

The faithful light candles before the icons as a sign of their faith and hope in God’s help that is always sent to all who entreat with faith and prayers. The candle is also a symbol of our burning and grateful love for God.

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Candles in Worship- Part I

Candles and icon lamps (lampadas) have a special symbolic meaning in the Christian Church, and candles play a significant role in Orthodox-Catholic Christian liturgical services. In the Old Testament, when the first temple of God was built on earth, the tabernacle services were held in it with lamps as the Lord Himself ordained (Exodus 40:5, 25). Following the example of the Old Testament worship, the lighting of candles and of lampadas was without fail included in the New Testament Church’s services.

The Acts of the Apostles mentions the lighting of lamps during the services in the time of the Apostles. Thus, in Troas, where Christ’s followers used to gather on the first day of the week (Sunday) to break bread, that is, to celebrate the Eucharist, there were many lights in the upper chamber (Acts 20:8). This reference to the large number of lamps signifies that they were not used simply for lighting, but for their spiritual significance, as well.

The early Christian ritual of carrying a lamp into the evening service led to the present-day order of Vespers with its processional entrance and the singing of the ancient hymn, O Jesus Christ, the Joyful Light…, which expresses the Christian teaching of spiritual light that illumines humanity in recognizing Christ as the Source of the grace-bestowing light. The order of the morning service of Matins is also linked to the theme of the Uncreated Light of Christ, manifested in His Incarnation and Resurrection.

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Father’s Day Blessings

“Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!” – Lydia M. Child

May God grant many blessed and healthy years to all fathers, grandfathers, godfathers, and spiritual fathers!

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Feast of All Saints of North America

“What does the daily invocation of the saints signify — of different ones each day, during the whole year, and during our whole life? It signifies that God’s saints live and are near us, ever ready to help us, by the grace of God. We live together with them in the house of our Heavenly Father, only in different parts of it. We live in the earthly, they in the heavenly half; but we can converse with them, and they with us. God’s saints are near to the believing heart, and are ready in a moment to help those who call upon them with faith and love” – Saint John of Kronstadt.

In the Catholic and Orthodox traditions, the calendar of saints provides a familiar life rhythm, organizing the liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints. The tradition of a sanctoral calendar arose from the early Christian custom of commemorating each martyr annually on the date of his or her death. Over time the calendar evolved to include not only martyrs, but all those recognized for their lives of faithful obedience to Christ.

Saints are usually recognized first by a local community, often by people who directly knew them. As their popularity grows, the local council of bishops conducts an investigation of the person’s life. If the investigation results in a favorable finding, the synod of bishops acknowledges the person’s sanctity and then formally conducts a liturgical service of “glorification.” The Church teaches that it does not “make” saints via the liturgical service, but rather “recognizes” them.

As local churches grew and matured, differing lists of saints began to be compiled in the various lands. So in addition to the liturgical calendar of universally recognized saints, each local church developed its own calendar of local saints.

On this second Sunday after Pentecost, the Eastern Rite liturgical calendar appoints the commemoration of all these local saints, known and unknown, who have shone forth in one’s own land. Accordingly, we commemorate on this day all the saints who established and nurtured the Faith in our own American homeland. This day’s commemoration is an extension of last week’s celebration of All Saints and naturally flows from the Feast of Pentecost, for God provided the means for holiness by sending the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Through the intercessions of all the saints of North America, may we be deemed worthy to one day also be numbered among the saints!

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Saint John of Kronstadt

Saint John of Kronstadt is one of the saints commemorated today on the Byzantine liturgical calendar.

Born Ivan Ilyich Sergiev (1829-1908), he was known to his contemporaries as Fr John of Kronstadt and was the most revered figure of the Orthodox Church of Russia in the half-century leading up to the Bolshevik revolution of 1917.

Saint John of Kronstadt is best known through his spiritual journal “My Life in Christ,” that has been read by millions. The following are a few of his best known quotes:

“Our wickedness shall not overpower the unspeakable goodness and mercy of God; our dullness shall not overpower God’s wisdom, nor our infirmity God’s omnipotence.”

“A Christian must always be kind, gracious, and wise to conquer evil by good.”

“Your Lord is a God of mercy and bountifulness: be a source of mercy and bountifulness to your neighbors. If you will be such, you will find salvation yourself with everlasting glory.”

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Sunday of All Saints

On this first Sunday after Pentecost, we commemorate all those who have lived holy lives in obedience to the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Christians have been honoring saints and martyrs since at least the second century AD. Initially this day was solely a commemoration of the holy martyrs. It was only later in Church history that this day became a commemoration of all the righteous ones made perfect in the Faith.

The Byzantine Rite’s commemoration of All Saints on the Sunday following Pentecost has a logical liturgical sequence. In the first we celebrate the outpouring of the grace of the Holy Spirit; in the second we commemorate the result of the grace of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who have responded to the call to faithfully follow Christ.

It is important for us to understand that saints are not super human beings, but rather they fully share our human nature with all of its struggles, temptations, and failings. All of them in their time and in their circumstances of life fulfilled our Lord’s commandments to love God and to love neighbor as self. Through acquiring the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, their lives were redeemed and transformed. On this special day, the Church honors every saint, known and unknown. We celebrate these holy individuals and ask for their prayers and intercessions.

It is a sacred and ancient tradition to adorn our churches, chapels, and homes with icons of the saints. These images remind us of the great diversity of the righteous ones: martyrs, confessors, ascetics, fools for Christ, educated people, simple people, rich, poor, male, female, bishops, monastics, and lay people.

The Sunday of All Saints is not the remembrance of the superhuman faith and power of a select few, but it is the celebration of God’s ability to use flawed people to do holy things. Jesus calls each of us in our uniqueness and invites us to sainthood by the gift of divine grace of the Holy Spirit. Let us remember today all the deeply faithful and deeply flawed saints through whom the glory of God has been revealed to the world.

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Prayer to the Holy Spirit

O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth!
You are everywhere present and fill all things.
Treasury of  Blessings and Giver of Life,
come and dwell within us,
cleanse us of all stain,
and save our souls, O gracious Lord.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit from the Byzantine Service of Pentecost

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The Aim of the Christian Life

Greetings on the Day of the Holy Spirit! God sent the Holy Spirit into the world on Pentecost; and, thereafter, it became possible for people to become participants in the fullness of divine grace. An example of the grace of the Holy Spirit at work within the life and words of Saint Seraphim has been preserved for us.

In November of 1831, a pious Orthodox Christian named Nicholas Motovilov met with Saint Seraphim and recorded his conversation. The notes by Motovilov were transcribed and published by Sergius Nilus, who wrote the following introduction:

“This revelation is undoubtedly of worldwide significance. True, there is nothing essentially new in it, for the full revelation was given to the apostles from the very day of Pentecost. But now that people have forgotten the fundamental truths of Christian life and are immersed in the darkness of materialism or the exterior and routine performance of ‘ascetic labors,’ St. Seraphim’s revelation is truly extraordinary, as indeed he himself regarded it.”

On this Feast of the Holy Spirit, we offer for your reading a brief excerpt of the conversation of Saint Seraphim of Sarov with Motovilov regarding the acquisition of the Holy Spirit as the aim of the Christian life:

“They have said to you: ‘Go to Church, pray to God, do the commandments of God, do good—that is the aim of the Christian life.’ Some were even indignant with you for being occupied with profane curiosity and said to you: ‘Do not seek things that are beyond you.’ But they did not speak as they should. And now poor Seraphim will explain to you in what this aim really consists. Prayer, fasting, vigil and all other Christian activities, however good they may be in themselves, do not constitute the aim of our Christian life, although they serve as the indispensable means of reaching this end. The true aim of our Christian life consists in the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God.”

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Pentecost: Birthday of the Church

Fifty days after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and ten days after His Ascension to Heaven, the disciples, together with the Blessed Virgin Mary and other believers, gathered in Jerusalem, awaiting the fulfillment of the Savior’s promise of the Holy Spirit.

As they were gathered in prayer and expectation, a noise came from heaven like a strong gust of wind. Tongues of flame appeared above the Apostle’s heads, and everyone upon whom the flames descended was filled with divine grace and power and felt spiritual joy and inspiration. This experience, known as Pentecost, was the foundation for what would become the Church.

From the moment of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit enlightened the apostles and became their assured source of grace and truth. The Feast of Pentecost, however, is not only the commemoration of an historical event, but also a celebration of a present reality: the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church. The same presence of the Holy Spirit that empowered the Apostles on Pentecost is the grace we receive during our participation in the mysteries (sacraments) of the Church. And it is by this grace that we are spiritually reborn and transformed.

On this Feast of Pentecost, may you experience the Holy Spirit descend on you and may you be empowered to live in the presence of God’s grace each and every day of your life!

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The Jewish Feast of Pentecost (Shavuot)

The Old Testament Feast of Pentecost or Shavuot has many names in the Bible: the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Harvest, and the Latter Firstfruits. Celebrated on the fiftieth day after Passover, Shavuot is traditionally a joyous time of giving thanks and presenting offerings for the new grain of the summer wheat harvest in Israel.

Traditional Jews light candles, recite blessings, adorn their homes and synagogues with greenery, eat dairy foods, study the Torah, and attend Shavuot services. One theory on why Jews customarily eat dairy foods such as cheesecakes and cheese blintzes on Shavuot is that the Law was compared to “milk and honey” in the Bible. The tradition of decorating with greenery on Shavuot represents the harvest and the Torah’s reference as the “tree of life.”

In the New Testastment Church, Pentecost is celebrated on the fiftieth day after the Resurrection, commemorating the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and the giving of the grace and wisdom of God. Continuing the Jewish tradition, the faithful of the Byzantine Rite decorate their churches and homes with greenery and flowers on this Feast, symbolic of the renewal of the earth and new life in the grace of the Holy Spirit.

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Acts of Generosity

“Helping a person in need is good in itself. But the degree of goodness is hugely affected by the attitude with which it is done. If you show resentment because you are helping the person out of a reluctant sense of duty, then the person may receive your help but may feel awkward and embarrassed. This is because the person will feel beholden to you. If, on the other hand, you help the person in a spirit of joy, then the help will be received joyfully. The person will feel neither demeaned nor humiliated by your help, but rather will feel glad to have caused you pleasure by receiving your help. And joy is the appropriate attitude with which to help others because acts of generosity are a source of blessing to the giver as well as the receiver” — St. John Chrysostom.

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The Sunday After Ascension

The Feast of the Ascension ends the liturgical singing of “Christ is Risen,” transitioning us from the joys and symbols of Pascha to the anticipation of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. As with the disciples, this transition can be disorienting and distressing for the faithful.

The appointed gospel reading for the Divine Liturgy on this day (John 17:1-13) is Jesus’ priestly prayer before His passion and crucifixion. It seems that much of the content of Jesus’ prayer was intended not only to strengthen the disciples prior to His impending death but also to prepare them for His eventual physical separation from them on Ascension.

As with most departures, those left behind are often filled with sadness, anxiety, and insecurity. This is likely true of the disciples at the time of the Lord’s ascent from earth to heaven. They likely wondered why He was leaving them? Why did He have to ascend? After all, He had risen from the dead and was victorious. His presence among them proved the resurrection. His enemies would now be compelled to believe in Him and to bow down before Him as Lord and King. They sensed victory within their grasp. But Christ did not remain on earth, but rather ascended with the promise to them of sending God’s Spirit. Why didn’t Jesus stay on earth after His glorious resurrection?

The Lord’s mission was never to be an earthly king. He repeatedly told the disciples that His kingdom was not of this world. He taught His followers that they must transition from hearing God’s voice directly from Him to hearing God’s voice in the depths of their hearts from where the promised Holy Spirit would speak. They had to not only trust in what they were physically able to touch and hear, but had to develop faith in the invisible and intangible indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This was true then and remains true for Christians today.

The world around us is troubled and in upheaval, triggering fear and anxiety for many. We live in a state of hyper-vigilance of terrorist attacks and threats of nuclear war. Amidst such fear and suffering, we long for safety, solace, and peace. And while we pray that God’s “will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we remind ourselves that Christ did not come to establish earthly empires or governmental systems. Although it is often difficult to feel stable, solid, and safe in this unpredictable world, we are nevertheless called to remain steadfast in our faith, remembering that God’s kingdom is not of this world and that ultimate truth and justice cannot be legislated. True liberty dwells not in the decrees of parliaments but rather in human hearts sanctified by God’s Spirit.

Like the disciples after the Lord’s ascension, we must trust that God has not abandoned us. We must believe that God has not forsaken us. We must have faith that no matter what happens around us, God’s providence sustains us. Let us cast off despair as we pray for renewed strength and hope in anticipation of the comforting grace of God’s Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

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The Ascension of Our Lord

After His Resurrection, Jesus remained on earth to manifest that He had truly risen from the dead and to complete His final instructions to the apostles. Forty days after the resurrection, Jesus and His disciples went to the Mount of Olives. Before taking leave, Jesus promised the disciples that He would not abandon them, but that He would send the Holy Spirit, the breath of God’s own Spirit, to comfort and to guide them. And while blessing them, He ascended into heaven.

The heaven to which the Lord ascended is certainly not the starry sky that we see above us. And it is not the universe’s outer space, but it is the highest heaven, the place of the eternal presence of the Eternal God. The ascending Lord continued His blessing of the disciples until the cloud concealed Him. This all-affirming and all-consecrating blessing of God was forever imprinted in the memory of the disciples. It was then spread around the whole world by the holy apostles and preachers of Christianity.

The ascension affirmed that Jesus had accomplished everything He had come to do. The messianic promise ended with a fulfillment and a new promise of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ ascension did not end His relationship with the faithful, but rather instituted a new way of living in God’s transcendent presence in the here and now. We continue to receive the grace of His blessing.

Although the Feast of the Ascension commemorates Jesus’ physical departure from earth, it’s not a cause for sadness. When Jesus completed His earthly mission of bringing salvation to all people, He ascended from this world back to heaven. The meaning and the fullness of His resurrection culminated in the ascension. Having completed His mission in this world, Jesus returned to heaven, raising earth to heaven with Him! And that’s why both the Western and the Eastern Church solemnly and joyously celebrate this holy day.

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Healing of the Blind Man

Christ is Risen!

The miracle of healing the man born blind by Jesus is one of the miracles recorded in Saint John’s gospel and is read in Eastern Christian churches on the sixth Sunday of Pascha.

The gospel text relates that Jesus together with His disciples come upon a man blind from birth. The disciples ask the Lord why the man had been born blind. After answering their question, Jesus spits on the ground to make clay with which to anoint the blind man’s eyes. Jesus then orders the man to go wash in the pool of Siloam. After doing so, the blind man receives his sight.

According to Christian tradition, the name ascribed to the man born blind is Celidonius. This tradition is attested in both Eastern and Western Christianity. Saint Dmitri of Rostov, in his Great Synaxarion, also mentions that the blind man’s name was Celidonius. Tradition ascribes the founding of the Christian church at Nîmes in Gaul (present-day France) to Saint Celidonius.

The commentary on this gospel text by Saint Macarius the Great expounds on Jesus’ healings as revelation of God’s expansive love for humanity:

“Let us fervently hasten to the inviting Christ, pouring out our hearts before Him. Let us not persistently despair in our salvation, because it is the trick of the evil one to cause us despair by reminding us of our former sins. We must remember that if the Lord, when He came, was a physician and healer of the blind, the crippled, and the deaf, and that He even resurrected the dead, He will also heal the blindness of the mind, the weakness of the soul, and the deafness of the negligent heart. There is no other who created both body and soul. And, if God is so merciful and gracious to those who transgressed and died, then will not that same one who so intensely loves humanity also heal the tainted immortal souls of those ask?”

May our most gracious and merciful Lord, Physician of both soul and body, grant health and healing to all who ask, through the intercessions of Saint Celedonius and all of the saints. Amen!

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Mother’s Day

In the United States, the second Sunday of May is Mother’s Day, a special day to honor all mothers, both living and deceased. While having no mention in our liturgical calendar, we nevertheless unofficially consider Mother’s Day as a day to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, as Our Blessed Mother, for she is called in scripture “blessed among women.” Through Mary’s humble acceptance of the will of God, the trajectory of human history was forever transformed.

While their are are numerous titles in the Church for the Virgin Mary, one of my favorites is Our Lady, Untier of Knots. This title is not associated with an apparition, but rather originates from an ancient text of Saint Ireneus in the late 2nd century. He wrote “the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by Mary’s obedience.” We see here the beginnings of the devotion to Our Lady, Untier of Knots.

I am especially fond of this title, because it reflects a primary task of our earthly mothers… helping to untie the many “knots” in the lives of one’s children. Even when she can’t make everything better, a mother will try with a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on, a kiss, a joke, or just being there.

Mary reflects a mother’s generosity, love, and compassion for their children and to all they meet. Mary exemplifies how to be a model of deep faith and great courage as in facing the joys and challenges of life.

On this Mother’s Day, we pray that our Blessed Mother will wrap her mantle around all mothers, and through her powerful intercession, strengthen them in their maternal role. We ask her to watch over all of our wonderful mothers who have given us life and love!

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Sunday of the Samaritan Woman

Christ is Risen! Христос Воскресе!

On the Fifth Sunday after Pascha, the Eastern Church commemorates the meeting of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well. In order to appreciate the meeting and exchange between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, it helps to know some history.

To the Jew, the Samaritans represented the two worst abominations: schism and idolatry. Samaria was the capital of the schismatic Northern Kingdom. The land was inhabited by Canaanites, Syrians, Cutheans, Arabs, and other gentiles, who combined worship of the the God of Israel with idol worship and child sacrifice. Jacob’s well was located in Samaria’s capital together with the schismatic and idolatrous temple of Mount Garizim. As for the city of Jacob’s well, Sichar or Sichem, it was a Sichemite who violated Dina, Jacob’s daughter, as recorded in the Book of Genesis. The Samaritans were utterly despised by the Jews.

The Samaritans equally detested the Jews. When the Jews returned from the exile of Babylon, God instructed Zorobabel the Prince of Juda and Jesus the High Priest to rebuild the Temple of Solomon. The Samaritans offered to help in the building of the Temple, but Zorababel spurned their offer. After that, the Samaritans, by intrigue, attempted to stop the building of the Temple.

The gospel relates that Jesus with some of His disciples was passing through Samaria on the way from Judea to Galilee. At about noon one day, Jesus arrived wearily at a well in a town called Sychar. There He found a woman from whom He asked for some water. Since the disciples had gone off to buy something to eat, Jesus was alone with the woman. She expressed surprise that a Jew would dare speak with her, a Samaritan woman. Aside from the fact that Samaritans and Jews despised each other, private conversations between unwed men and women were not considered proper at that time.

Then Our Lord says to the woman that, if she knew who He was, she would ask Him for living water, and He would give it to her. When she noted that He had nothing for taking water from the very deep well, He simply affirmed the excellence of His water and how those who drink it never thirst again. She then asked Him for it, not yet realizing that the “living water” was a metaphor for divine grace.

Before agreeing to give her the water, Jesus told her to get her husband, ostensibly so that He might give it to both of them. The woman confessed that she had no husband. At this admission, Jesus told her that she had had five husbands and was then living with a man who was not her husband. Stunned at the stranger’s knowledge of her life, she took Him to be a prophet and proceeded to probe Him for His thoughts on the religious issue which most divided the Jews and the Samaritans: whether to worship in the Jewish temple on Mount Moriah or the Samaritan one on Mount Garizim.

In response, Jesus revealed Himself to her as the Messiah:

“’A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.’ The woman said, ‘I know that Messiah’ (called Christ) ‘is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.’ Then Jesus declared, ‘I, the one speaking to you—I am He’” (John 4:21-26).

At that moment the disciples arrived with the food. They were surprised at their Master for speaking to such a woman, but dared not question Him. Jesus taught them a lesson on doing the will of God. He then taught them that the harvest of souls was about to begin.

The woman had left her waterpot and went to tell the townspeople about Jesus. Upon hearing, a crowd of Samaritans arrived on the scene. They begged Jesus to stay with them, which He did, preaching to them for two days. So great was the success of the mission, that the townspeople said to the woman:

“We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world” (John 4:42).

What further do we know about the Samaritan woman? The apostles of Christ baptized her and gave her the name of Photina which means “the enlightened one.” Photina and her family left their homeland of Sychar, in Samaria, to travel to Carthage to proclaim the Gospel of Christ there.

Eventually Photina left Carthage in the company of several Christians and joined the confessors in Rome. Emperor Nero ordered the believers to be brought before him, and he ordered them to renounce Christ. All the confessors refused to renounce the Savior. The emperor then gave orders to smash their finger joints.

Photina and her five sisters, Anatola, Phota, Photis, Paraskeva and Kyriake, were then sent to the imperial court under the supervision of Nero’s daughter, Domnina. Photina converted both Domnina and her servants to Christ. She also converted a sorcerer, who had brought her poisoned food that was meant to kill her.

After three years of imprisonment, Nero had Photina brought to him and asked if she would relent and offer sacrifice to the idols. Photina spat in his face and said:

“O most impious of the blind, you profligate and stupid man! Do you think me so deluded that I would consent to renounce my Lord Christ and instead offer sacrifice to idols as blind as you?”

Hearing such words, Nero gave orders to throw Photina down a well, where she surrendered her soul to God in the year 66 AD. She is remembered by the Church as a Holy Martyr and Equal to the Apostles.

Through the prayers of the Holy Martyr Saint Photina, may Christ, our God, have mercy on us and save us!

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