againandagaininpeace

By Father Michael Shanbour

The Holy Mountain of Athos

Soon it was time to prepare for our journey on the Holy Mountain.  A few necessary items frugally chosen were placed into our backpacks, and we departed for Ouranopolis on the northwest side of the peninsula of Athos.  From there we journeyed southward along the coast by boat on the Aegean Sea, catching our first distant glimpses of the breathtaking beauty which two of us had only read about.  The pages of a book, however, cannot contain the spiritual light and anticipation, and the majestic, almost surreal sight of large, ancient monasteries cloistered awkwardly and yet somehow naturally within the rocky landscape, each with its own history, its own story, its own treasure of holy relics, and its own venerable list of holy ones. 

Complimenting the large, jutting monastic structures were many smaller enclosures and dwellings inconveniently tucked into rocky crevices high up and swallowed up immediately by the surrounding green brush and above by unending blue sky.   In such a place where one should feel uncomfortable, a visitor, a foreigner, the atmosphere was congenial and “earthy,” simple and unpretentious.  The mountain seemed to welcome and humbly embrace all those who were coming to her, whether in prayerful reflection or with the curiosity, skepticism, or pride of a novice.  All of us on the boat seemed to share in a quiet kinship and comrodery.  We who perhaps did not “belong” there were received without a hint of condescension or spirit of judgment by the sea, or the terrain, or more especially by the inhabitants of this place.

Upon docking at our point of departure, we strapped on our backpacks and began a thirty-minute climb up a steep, twisting rocky path toward our first destination -- the Kalyve of Danielioi in the desert region of Katounakia.  This little “brotherhood,” resting 300 meters above sea level, had been founded and built by the blessed Elder Daniel from Smyrna, with its church completed in 1903.  The elder had founded the brotherhood after many years of toil and prayer in the larger monasteries, and having his love for God tried by the fire of many trials, for which God poured upon him many gifts of grace.  It is reported that he knew the entire Philokalia by heart.  (See Contemporary Ascetics of Mount Athos, Vol. One, St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood).  He was supported and encouraged by his contemporary and friend, St. Nectarios, Bishop of Pentopolis, whom he had met on Athos and with whom he maintained a close bond.  Since St. Nectarios visited the brotherhood several times, and contributed both financially and spiritually to the brotherhood from its initial stages, he is considered the “first abbot” and patron Saint.

We were awe-struck to discover that we were walking on the same ground that the highly revered and God-bearing Nectarios had walked, and we were moved greatly upon venerating a precious and fragrant relic and skufia (cap) of the same.  The chapel of Danielioi is dedicated to All Saints of the Holy Mountain, and so it possesses the largest collection of officially glorified Saints of Mount Athos.  Among other relics we venerated were those of St. Peter of Athos, St. Gregory Palamas, and St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain.  The current abbot (also the cook and iconographer) and the priests of the brotherhood tended to us with great warmth and hospitality.  We were treated as ones with an equal share in the Faith.  We ate together, prayed together each day, and spoke at some length (to the extent that the schedule of the monks allowed) on practical and theological topics. 

Each day began at 4am with Orthros and Divine Liturgy, and lasting 4-5 hours.  Despite struggling with an occasional flood of fatigue, we emerged from services refreshed and strengthened, with the sweet Byzantine melodies resonating in our spirits.

The monks spoke of the importance of unity and charity within the Church, above all else, while always desirous to maintain the Tradition which leads us to communion with the living God.  “Everyone can fight, but not everyone can love,” said one hieromonk with a profound simplicity that seemed to pierce into the heart.  Here there was no dichotomy or superficial separation between the “external” and “internal” life of Orthodoxy.  There was not the incessant questioning about “rules” and “exceptions,” but rather a commonsensical and personalized understanding of the way that leads to Life.  On the Holy Mountain fasting was not something talked about, but done, whereas with many of us it is too often the other way around.  “Fasting is not the goal,” said one monk, “nor is asceticism the goal; nor is even our prayer rule the goal, but the goal is communion with God.”

Yet looking into his eyes, and hearing his words, it was clear that the love and grace of God which characterized his gestures, his countenance, and his being had been forged in humility and obedience through fasting, asceticism, and prayer.  He who lived out the Orthodox Tradition most strictly himself, was the first to meet others with understanding and flexibility wherever possible.  Whereas we often approach Orthodox life by imposing a “formula” upon an “imaginary person” without regard to his or her understanding, ability, or experience, in contrast we observed a primary concern for the individual without disregard or compromise for the means of spiritual ascent.  This approach is consonant with the quintessential question of the Gospel that each of us must ask: “What must I do to be saved?”  This is the way of balance and spiritual progress, the way of the Cross -- “the balance beam of righteousness.”

After a bitter-sweet farewell, more gracious hospitality, and being showered with gifts of icons and books (more weight for our backpacks!) we continued our pilgrimage.  Making brief stops at St. Anne’s Skete, where we were blessed to venerate a relic of the mother of the Theotokos, and at Dionysiou Monastery where we viewed incredible 14th century frescos of scenes from the Book of Revelation, we continued on to Agios Pavlos. The Monastery of St. Paul is mentioned in documents as early as 972 AD.  Here we met novices and monks from many backgrounds.  A former traveling lay preacher of the Greek Church showed us to our room and spoke enthusiastically of his upcoming tonsure to the monastic life.  After Vespers we were unexpectedly greeted with a smile and welcomed with words in both English and Arabic by a novice from Homs, Syria.  The man, who was clearly happy to have made his way to the Holy Mountain, was named after the early martyr from his own town, Elian (Julian) of Homs.  The same day we met a Russian Priest who had resided at St. Katherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai for many years, and who spoke five languages, including Greek, Arabic, and English.  Earlier in our pilgrimage we had been fortunate to meet a Russian Priest who serves at the Diveyevo Monastery, founded by St. Seraphom of Sarov.

At St. Paul’s we were given a tour of the monastery library by the groundskeeper (the librarian was on official business outside the monastery) which held several very ancient and interesting books and artifacts.  We were joined by a group of German site-seers as well as two Orthodox Christians from Poland (representing, as they said, only 4% of their countrymen).  Again we received blessing upon blessing by venerating the Gifts of the Magi, the relics of the Apostles Andrew and Bartholomew, the hand of St. Damian the Unmercenary Healer, and the foot of St. Gregory the Theologian.  The monastery also had in its possession the icon which was venerated secretly by the Empress Saint Theodora during the time of the reign of her iconoclastic husband, Theophilus.  One of the largest existing pieces of the Precious Cross of the Lord is brought out for veneration only once each year on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.

After services the next morning we continued on to our final destination, Gregoriou Monastery.  Following the hike of all hikes, we arrived and settled into the monastery established in the middle of the 14th century.  Gregoriou is known as one of the best organized of those on Athos.  Services and chanting were prayerful and orderly within the walls of a (relatively) small katholikon (main church) beautifully adorned almost completely with frescos dating from the latter part of the 18th century (the originally 14th century icons were tragically destroyed by fire).  These icons were written around the time the Brittish colonies were becoming the United States of America!

We were attended to primarily by a monk of ten years from England, a second generation Greek, who had at one time sought to distance himself from the Church of his parents.  It was to my great surprise when, on the feast day of Ss. Constantine and Helen (old calendar) I was escorted into the holy altar to concelebrate Divine Liturgy at that holy place!  Still in the Paschal season, I was asked several times to sing Christ is Risen in English, and later was asked by one hieromonk to write the Paschal Troparion for him in our language.  It seemed that it brought the monks great joy to know that the Faith of the Apostles was alive and well in America. 

Among the great treasures there were the head of St. Photini, the Samaritan woman at the well and equal-to-the-Apostles, the forehead of St. Panteleimon, St. Anastasia of Rome, and the hand of St. Makrina, the sister of St. Basil and St. Gregory of Nyssa.

Going Home

Now there was only the task of going down from the mountain, a more formidable task than ascending it.  To go back into the world, to remain detached from the snares of the devil and the flesh, and to be attached ever-increasingly to the Holy Trinity, this is the “impossible” task (“with God all things are possible”) that is given to most of us.  May Christ our true God, who said, “Without Me you can do nothing,” equip us for such a task.  To Him be glory, thanksgiving, and worship, with His Unoriginate Father, and His All-Holy, Good, and Lifegiving Spirit.  Amen.

By Father Michael Shanbour

Thessaloniki

Our personal pilgrimage began in Thessaloniki with the visiting of some of the many glorious churches of that city, both ancient and modern.  Among the oldest and most awe-inspiring is the Church of St. Demetrios, the resting place of the Great Martyr himself.  The current structure erected in the 5th century was built upon an older church dedicated to the martyr which itself was built partially upon the ruins of ancient Roman baths.  The remnants of both are clearly seen in the underground portion of the Temple.  Within these catacombs, hiding places of the early Christians, is built a small shrine on the very spot that St. Demetrius gave the ultimate sacrifice and witness to the Resurrection of the Savior.  In a small chapel within the larger Temple lies his tomb, where we knelt in joy and prayed for his holy intercessions, and in another place his head is encased for veneration.

Another 5th century Church Temple in the heart of Thessoloniki is the Acheiropoietos or Great Church of the Theotokos, also built on the ruins of a Roman baths complex.  This church holds the unfortunate distinction of being the first in Thessaloniki to be converted into a mosque when the city fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1430.  It is adorned by beautiful ancient mosaics and intricately designed colonnades.  A fresco of the Forty Martyrs dates from the 13th century.

In contrast, the current “Rotunda of St. George” was built by Galerius Caesar in 306 AD as a pagan temple.  It was converted into a Christian Church in the 5th century dedicated to the archangels.  Only very small remnants of icons and mosaics exist today in the massive open space of the Rotunda which is crowned by a brick dome 30 meters in height, due to its conversion into a mosque in 1590 as well as the earthquake which struck the city in 1978.  This beautiful, cosmically spacious Temple is currently under reconstruction.

The city of Thessaloniki was liberated from the Ottomans in 1912, and since that time a great deal of restorative work has taken place, with many churches being re-opened for Orthodox worship and the construction of new church temples and monasteries as well.  While centuries of Turkish occupation as well as modern secularism has taken its toll, the streets of Thessoloniki are sprinkled with tangible reminders of the Apostolic Faith which act as a “leaven” raising the heart to God and to eternal life.  As one walks along the busy streets of the city lined with cafe’s and dress shops, it is not uncommon to find a small church tucked away inconspicuously as a prayerful refuge from the noise and bustling of modern life.  Along the sidewalks outside of every Orthodox Church stands one or more “parakleses,” a small, covered icon shrine, where passers-by may duck in at any time during the day or night to light a candle and pray on their way to work or school.  How incredibly refreshing to leave the confusion of “this world” behind and enter into the realm of the Kingdom of God, even if for a few minutes, to “sanctify the time” and remember that all of life is to become a continual “sacrifice of praise” to God.  How would our American culture be changed by such simple incarnations of the love of God for mankind and the sacramental nature of life?

Despite the secularization which has effected all of Europe, we found evidence of a relentlessly unshakable foundation of Orthodox Faith with deep roots planted long ago. It was our blessing to attend Vespers at the Church of St. Charalambos, a parish church owned by the Athonite monastery of Simonopetra.  Speaking casually with the priest’s 18 year old son after the service, we were struck by this authentic continuity of living faith deeply-woven in the fabric of his family.  The young man’s grandfather, late in life, had retired to a monastery on Mount Athos, with his grandmother living in prayer at a monastery in Thessaloniki; an Uncle also lives the life of prayer on Athos; one of his sisters entered the monastic life at age 14; he himself desired to follow his father into the Holy Priesthood; and his family line also contained martyrs for the Orthodox Faith.

Traveling just outside Thessaloniki we visited a new holy site, established by a saint of our times, the Elder Paisios from Cappadocia and of Mount Athos (+1994).  This wonderworking man of God, who’s life was forseen by St. Arsenios of Cappadocia who baptized him, founded the women’s monastery of St. John the Theologian here.  Speaking with one of the original nuns, we found out that Elder Paisios took great pains to establish the monastery at the request of a small group of young women who came to him for help and guidance in the 1960’s.  Revered as a Saint in his lifetime, he has come to be known and venerated by thousands all over the world.

Be sure to read Part III: The Holy Mountain of Athos

By Father Michael Shanbour

The Journey Begins

It was the opportunity of a lifetime for one born in the heartland of America, never having traversed across an ocean or set foot on another continent.  Yet upon the invitation of an Orthodox friend originally from Thessaloniki, with the blessing of our Metropolitan PHILIP, and by God’s inscrutable grace and providence, the journey began from the heartland of the new world to the “spiritual heart” of the whole world and the heart-beat of Orthodox Christianity -- the Holy Mountain of Athos. 

This most beautiful of three peninsulas jutting out from the region of Chalkidiki in northern Greece is renowned for both the breathtaking beauty of its flowering desert landscape and endless blue sea, and as a heavenly “garden” which has produced some of the most fragrant flowers of Orthodox spirituality throughout the centuries.  Saints Athanasios and Peter of Athos, St. Gregory Palamas, and innumerable others, known and unknown, have been glorified by the Most Holy Trinity upon this isolated mountain.

According to the oral tradition associated with the life of the Theotokos, and the living tradition of Athos, the mountain was consecrated for future generations by her physical presence and prayers in the years after the Resurrection of Christ (around 52 AD).  As our Lady and the Apostle John sailed from Jerusalem to Cypress with the intention of visiting St. Lazarus (the friend of Christ and then Bishop of Cypress), their craft was forced off course by a violent storm from the Mediterranean to the Aegean Sea, and washed ashore at that future site of Orthodox monasticism.  The Theotokos, overwhelmed by its beauty, asked her Son and Lord to consecrate it and place it under her protection.  For this reason the monks of Athos consider their agion oros (Holy Mountain) “the garden of the Theotokos.”

Ancient geographers mention six towns on the peninsula in the centuries before Christ, and it is explicitly named for the first time in relation to the Persian expedition against the Greeks in 493 BC.  (It is worth noting that the Persian fleet met with terrible disaster from bad weather and were forced to call off the invasion).  It is said that by the 4th century the area was completely Christianized.  Despite the good intentions of scholars who have insisted that the monastic life on Athos could have began only as early as the 9th century, recent archeological digs near existing monasteries have revealed the buried foundations of large churches or monastic structures dating from at least the 5th century.

Be sure to read Part II: Thessaloniki

 In his Vesperal homily for the Sunday of Orthodoxy 2010, His Grace, Bishop Basil talks about the trials, tribulations and heresies the Holy Orthodox Church has endured throughout her history.

Recently elected as Secretary of the Episcopal Assembly Of the Canonical Orthodox Hierarchs of North and Central America, His Grace Bishop Basil is a hymnographer and author of several publications including the widely used clergy resource, the Liturgikon.

Bishop BASIL co-chaired the Joint OCA-Antiochian Canonization Commission which led to the glorification of Bishop RAPHAEL (Hawaweeny) of Brooklyn on May 29, 2000. His Grace oversaw the publication of the book containing St Raphael's Life, Akolouthia and Akathist (Antakya Press 2000), arranged the hymnography for St Raphael to Byzantine melodies, and directed the Clergy Brotherhood Choir which recorded an audio CD of the hymns for the feast of St Raphael (Antakya Press 2001).

Bishop Basil oversees the Antiochian Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America.

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By Father Milton Gianulis

Have you ever seen something that isn’t really what it seems?

No matter what our religious background, no matter from which faith tradition we hail, there is one saint of the Church with whom we are all very familiar. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of our holiday preparation, I ask that we might stop and consider the life of one of the Christian Church’s greatest saints: Saint Nicholas. Perhaps his life and shining example can help us restore the true meaning and purpose of the season. (By the way, he’s also the patron saint of sailors.)

In 280 AD, Nicholas was born of wealthy parents in a small town in Asia Minor known as Patara. Early in life, he lost his parents, but not before they gave him what he would need most in life to succeed – not wealth and fortune, but the gift of faith and piety.

Nicholas was a committed Christian in a time when it was not even legal to be one! Among several points of interest in his life are his imprisonment and persecution for his faith and his participation in the 1st Ecumenical Council of the Church as the bishop of the town of Myra in Lycia (presently a region in Anatolia, Turkey). He was a staunch defender of the doctrines of the Christian faith. Yet far beyond these, St. Nicholas is best remembered for his love and generosity.

St. Nicholas loved to travel in cognito with his flock. He is known for his empathy, and at times he lived among the homeless and begged for food along side the poor and hungry. He is also known for his charity. In one account, he secretly gave certain poor, young girls gold coins so that they could have a dowry, without which they could never marry. And of course, he is known for having disguised himself and gone out late at night to give gifts to poor children.

Because of this exemplary life, his story has been told throughout the ages and the legends abound. He became the most popular saint in Europe. Among all the saints of the Church, more congregations have selected him as their patron than any other saint in the entire history of the Church. Even now, look how his example of giving to others dominates this Christmas season! Or does it?

Unfortunately – and this is a recent phenomenon – poor old St. Nick has stopped being portrayed as an advocate for the poor and an ambassador of good will. Instead he has become as a purveyor of materialism. As we know, he has become a jolly old salesman who peddles the wrappings and trappings of the season at the expense of the spiritual values he once championed. Sadly, many of us have been ensnared in the trap that this wily, old man prepares for us yearly. As a result, our exhausting preparations for Christmas lead us away from the manger and toward an anticlimax on December 25th.

Given this current sad state of affairs, I therefore humbly offer the following suggestion. In your travels through the exchanges, the malls and the shopping centers this month, you will undoubtedly encounter many pictures of old St. Nick. Your kids may even sit on his lap! May these modern day icons remind you of the real St. Nicholas, in particular, of his example of love and charity. This would be so much closer to the real spirit of Christmas than that of Santa Claus. Thus, we may even be changed and affected with more than the silly, mundane illusions that are here today and gone tomorrow.

May God bless you and your family during this Nativity advent season.

Rev. Protopresbyter Milton D. Gianulis, CAPT, CHC, USN, is a Greek Orthodox Military Chaplain serving the United States Marines. Father Milton is stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

By His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios 

So what are we to do to help us understand how to prepare to celebrate the Birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?

The music, the liturgical services, decorations and presentations, particularly icons, like the icon of the Nativity which we venerate - all these bring us closer to the blessed event, when a Virgin gives birth to the Savior of mankind.

“I behold a strange and marvelous mystery.The cave is Heaven; The Virgin, a Cherubic Throne;The manger, a room in which Christ our God, Who is boundless, was placed,Whom we magnify in praise.”

CHRISTMAS KATAVASIA 9th ODE

For here is indeed a great mystery as the Infinite, Unapproachable, and Unknowable God, comes, not as a king clothed in majesty, wealth and power, but as a helpless human baby in His mother's arms.

Beholding this mystery, we must really start thinking about how to purify ourselves, to open ourselves up, become vulnerable so that we can truly enter into the miracle of the Nativity. My dearly beloved, God seeks us out in many ways to teach us how to open ourselves to His Love, to live by His Grace, in goodness, holiness, and forgiveness every moment of every day.

We offer honor to His Virgin Mother as we strive to come to the place where we can give thanks for this inestimable gift of salvation. Through reading the Bible, personal and communal prayer, through acts of kindness and compassion, we too will be able to live in our own everyday world, while speaking the language of the angels.

In this way, we will find ourselves in a heavenly place that we never want to leave. That is why I pray that this year we will let ourselves live this kind of spirituality, so that we “will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:6)

+METROPOLITAN ALEXIOS

Reconciliation!!! What a great thing it would be if we were to achieve reconciliation with all the peoples of the world by choosing to love everyone!

Can we imagine what it would be like if the whole world came together in reconciliation and peace? Enjoying each other's company? It's an amazing thought!

We would see the end of generations of wars and conflicts. No more racial squabbles and prejudices. The infamous "generation gap" between young and old happily accepting the help and strength the young can bring. Broken homes and estranged families being restored by love. The sight of people putting down their guns, no longer intent on killing one another on our streets. Folk turning away from drugs and alcohol abuse because the healing power of love is so much more real. An end to the wanton destruction of human life - no more abortions. Let your imagination take you on, as you capture the vision of what might be, if love broke out amongst us!

All the plans our wonderful creator God has for each of us since our conception could now come to fruition. Each of us would start to realize our full potential. What a great people we would be if the greatest reconciliation of all were to come about - the reconciliation between man and God. We would be true, loving Christians.

"Be ye reconciled to God", St. Paul the holy Apostle of our Lord tells each of us in his second spiritually rewarding letter to the Corinthians (5:20). What then do we have to do to be reconciled? It is obvious to all of us that we have much conflict in the world at the present time and that some of these conflicts have been going on for many generations. But at the same time we have the timeless teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, the writers of the Holy Gospels and Epistles, and the words of the Church Fathers all emphasizing that we must be reconciled with each other through love. That the Church has so often failed to show that Christ-like love through the centuries is no excuse. We so often demand that the "other side" change its attitudes, just as they expect us to. The truth is that so often neither side wants to change. But the command to be reconciled remains, and once we have heard the words we cannot plead ignorance.

What about the conflicts we have with God Himself? We plead with Him, try to bargain with Him, sometimes shout out against Him, because of our selfishness and reluctance to change. Our God is prefect in all things. The Creator of all things has no need to change, for He is perfection. We are the ones with the problem! To even consider reconciliation in our lives we must be prepared to accept that our thoughts, attitudes and actions must be brought into line with the desires of God, Who wants nothing but the best for us, and has made a great and wonderful promise for us: "For I know the plans I have for you" declared the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). He is waiting for us to say yes!

Such a change, which affects every part of our beings, can only be brought about by the Holy Spirit of our Lord and Savior working within us, making us more and more like Christ. He waits for us every hour of every day to submit ourselves to Him, allowing Him to bring about the reconciliation with the Father and each other. Only he can do it.

The holy prophets were sent to help us learn about these changes, the holy saints lived their lives as changed men and women. The holy martyrs showed in an extreme way that their love for God and their fellow men would not end in them turning away from Him - the persecutors found out they would not change or lose their love for God and their obedience to Him. Back in the earliest days of the Church the holy apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, found their lives changed, learning that love for God and for each other was the only way to transform the world.

Our gracious and loving God is waiting for us all to become reconciled with Him and then allowing Him to change us so that we are fit for the works of mercy and love He has designed for us to do. He is waiting at this very moment.

Remember, faithful and loving Christians, that Christ came to this earth to unite us with Him, and to transform us into His likeness that the world might see that we are truly His children. Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected not only to deliver us from our sins and save us, but to change us with His love. "For He is our peace, Who made us both one and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility …. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace." (Ephesians 2:1415).

Reconciliation, with love for one another, breaks down hatred.

What are we to do during these terrible times of conflict? The message from our Lord God, for all of us, is to be reconciled with Him and with each other by allowing the love we receive from Him to flow out from us to all men, bring peace and a changed world.

Idealistic? Fanciful? Beloved, this is the heart of the Holy Gospels we are charged to proclaim If we refuse to be reconciled, and then we shall never have the joy of seeing His plans unfold.

Let us now pray that we can begin to be reconciled with Him and one another in love!

Peace to your soul!

Humbly in Christ our Lord,

+Very Rev. Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes Who prays for you and with you! USA

In his Vesperal homily for the Sunday of Orthodoxy 2010, His Grace, Bishop Basil talks about the trials, tribulations and heresies the Holy Orthodox Church has endured throughout her history.

Recently elected as Secretary of the Episcopal Assembly Of the Canonical Orthodox Hierarchs of North and Central America, His Grace Bishop Basil is a hymnographer and author of several publications including the widely used clergy resource, the Liturgikon.

Bishop BASIL co-chaired the Joint OCA-Antiochian Canonization Commission which led to the glorification of Bishop RAPHAEL (Hawaweeny) of Brooklyn on May 29, 2000. His Grace oversaw the publication of the book containing St Raphael's Life, Akolouthia and Akathist (Antakya Press 2000), arranged the hymnography for St Raphael to Byzantine melodies, and directed the Clergy Brotherhood Choir which recorded an audio CD of the hymns for the feast of St Raphael (Antakya Press 2001).

Bishop Basil oversees the Antiochian Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America.

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By Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes

The time has come for us to realize that Jesus is seeking us all, and that He can find us when we love one another, and taking care of each other in our needs. Listen! The voice of our Lord Jesus Christ is clearly calling us, and His voice speaks to us in tones of love. He loves us, our family, and our neighbor. It is a wonderful voice, an unmistakable voice, the unique voice of Jesus -Savior, King and Friend.

Are you surprised that Jesus is seeking you? Don't be afraid! The voice of Jesus is not that of a dead man, but of the One Who has risen from the dead. Here we have Jesus our Lord and true God seeking and calling to you within your heart, in the depths of your own inner being. The words written and read from the New Testament today issue out of those depths within you, and yet may be unknown to you

It is possible that many of us have failed to look into our Bibles to discover these words written on our behalf, and for our salvation - the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ in the books of the New Testament. What prevent us? Could it be that our attitude to others - family, neighbors - is wrong, and we have become unkind, uncharitable, having a critical spirit. If this is so, we thus prevent our Lord Jesus from entering into the depths of our hearts. Sadly, at times we often fail to see the face of an angel, not realizing we are an angel! If this was never told to you before, Jesus is telling you now, and His testimony is true, for no one has ever caught Him in a lie, nor was there ever any falsehood in His mouth.

What do most of us know about Christ? That He is the way and the truth for us all, and that He, the Christ, is willing to share with us the truth that can set us free. We also know that our Lord taught us "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you" (St. Matthew 5:44).

Many of us have heard these words and we know they come from the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and are in the New Testament. The best way for us to deal with the pressures of everyday living and have a fuller, transformed life is to seek the face and the voice of Jesus, and begin to know Him, because His desire is to fill our hearts with the knowledge of His love. All of us need to open our ears and listen to the call of Jesus, the call of His Church. Outside of the Church you will discover we can easily become too judgmental and that we are prisoners of the way the world thinks and acts - a world full of sadness and pain, violence and greed - a world where our precious souls can be irrevocably destroyed. Christ our Lord knows our pains and He sees those who are even now at their hour of destruction. He cares about us during these difficult times in our lives, and He is willing to help us, guide us, and keep us by His grace.

Many of us have been told we have descended from the apes, and perhaps we can even be trained; but in contrast to this view, we can discover something truly magnificent in our lives - the wonder that we are the temple of God: the Spirit of God dwells in us. We are of course not apes, but the creation of our Lord and true God. Each of us has the dignity of unique human life - something that apes don't have and can never achieve. We believe and know deep within us that we are the temple in which God dwells.

Jesus is calling all of us to purity. We must not forget the meaning of the word "innocence", and we must listen to this call for us to follow Him with love. Therefore make haste to go to Church, the Church of the living Christ! Then we will understand what innocence and purity means, what meekness and love are. Finally we will learn our unique place in this life and the purpose of our own special existence. Then again we can also begin to learn - may with astonishment - that our life does not end in death, but in resurrection; that existence centers on Christ and in Christ our Lord, and that this world is not a mere empty moment in which non-being prevails. At last we will have hope. And hope will make us strong, and will not disappoint us. We will receive faith, possess faith in our hearts, and find that our faith will save us. We will receive love, and our love will make us good.

Jesus cares about you and Jesus is seeking you; Jesus has found you!

May Christ our True God bless you with His Right Hand!

Humbly In Christ Our Lord,

Peace to your soul!

Who prays for you!

+Very Rev. Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes Who prays for you and with you! USA