Tag: Christianity

Deut. 6:2-6 / Ps. 18:2-4, 47, 57 / Heb. 7:23-28 / Mk. 12:28-34

Love is the only law we are to live by. And love is the fulfillment of the Law that God reveals through Moses in today’s First Reading (see Romans 13:8–10; Matthew 5:43–48).

The unity of God — the truth that he is one God, Father, Son, and Spirit — means that we must love him with one love, a love that serves him with all our hearts and minds, souls, and strength.

We love him because he has loved us first. We love our neighbor because we can’t love the God we haven’t seen unless we love those made in his image and likeness, whom we have seen (see 1 John 4:19–21).

And we are called to imitate the love that Christ showed us in laying his life down on the cross (see 1 John 3:16). As we hear in today’s Epistle, by his perfect sacrifice on the cross, he once and for all makes it possible for us to approach God.

There is no greater love than to lay down your life (see John 15:13). This is perhaps why Jesus tells the scribe in today’s Gospel that he is not far from the kingdom of God.

The scribe recognizes that the burnt offerings and sacrifices of the old Law were meant to teach Israel that it is love that he desires (see Hosea 6:6). The animals offered in sacrifice were symbols of the self-sacrifice, the total gift of ourselves that God truly desires.

We are called today to examine our hearts. Do we have other loves that get in the way of our love for God? Do we love others as Jesus has loved us (see John 13:34–35)? Do we love our enemies and pray for those who oppose and persecute us (see Matthew 5:44)?

Let us tell the Lord we love him, as we do in today’s Psalm. And let us take his word to heart, that we might prosper and have life eternal in his kingdom, the heavenly homeland flowing with milk and honey.

Xenia was walking down the street in Kursk, with tears pouring down her face. She hugged her three-year-old son, who looked sadly at his weeping mother and was silent. He was mute from birth.

Photo: Freepik.com     

That day Xenia had once again heard discouraging words from the doctor:

“Unfortunately, we can’t help you in any way. His hearing is good, but whether the child will begin to speak, we don’t know.”

The fact is that Xenia’s son Alyosha¹ could not speak; he even cried very quietly, without any voice. To what luminaries of modern pediatrics Xenia had not taken her son! And she heard the doctors’ disappointing responses again and again, although they made numerous attempts “wake up” the speech center of the child’s brain with various techniques and exercises.

It started drizzling. Xenia carefully slipped a raincoat on the child and said:

“Let’s go home, Alyosha. The bus to our town leaves in an hour. Are you tired, my darling? Be patient, we’ll be home soon.”

Alyosha smiled and embraced his mother. His blue eyes shone with kindness and trustfulness.

On the same day, Xenia learned that an icon of the Venerable Confessor St. Gabriel (Urgebadze)

“>Gabriel (Urgebadze) of Samtavro had been brought to their town. Xenia had once read about this saint. She remembered the fact that as a child, the future saint heard his neighbors quarreling, and one of them said to the other, “You’ve crucified me like Christ!” The boy started wondering what “to be crucified” meant, and Who Christ was. On the advice of the grown-ups the child ran to the church, where he was advised to read the Holy Scriptures. Having saved up some money, he bought a Gospel and virtually learned it by heart. And already in his young years he said that “there is no greater heroism than monasticism”. Xenia also remembered that the future saint’s mother took monastic vows as well.

Xenia decided to go to church with Alyosha and the two older children that same evening.

“Where are we heading in such a hurry?” her five-year-old daughter Olenka² asked Xenia.

“To church, my precious daughter. It is a great joy that an icon of St. Gabriel has been brought to our small town.”

“Is he an ancient saint?” seven–year-old Petya³ wondered.

“No, my dear son, he lived on earth quite recently—he is a saint of our days. And now he is in the Heavenly Kingdom, praying for all of us and helping people. Father Gabriel is very kind. He loves us so much!”

Thus, from their mother’s story about the life of the saint, the children most of all remembered the episode about how during prayer, St. Gabriel would rise forty to fifty centimeters above the ground and radiate light, and also how he would distribute everything he had to the poor, could easily go without food, not sleep for a long time, but could not imagine his life without Holy Communion.

The older children, Petya and Olenka, vied with each other to ask their mother various questions from the Life of the saint. Only the youngest son, Alyosha, was silent, smiling at his mother and siblings quietly.

Xenia and her children reached the church in fifteen minutes. There was a line of worshippers in front of the church who looked forward to venerating the icon of St. Gabriel. Xenia immediately met Mother Maria there. The young woman shared her sorrows with her and Mother Maria taught her how to pray to the saint.

No sooner had Xenia finished listening to Mother Maria’s advice than one of the parishioners called out to her, saying,

“Xenia, don’t stand in the cold with the children! Go into the church and venerate the wonder-working icon.”

    

When Xenia entered the church, she felt a sense of warmth and comfort. A small, silver-framed icon of St. Gabriel of Samtavro lay on the analogion in the middle of the church.

“Mama, I’ll pray and venerate the icon myself,” Petya said.

Xenia and her children came up to the icon: first the older children kissed it, and then she brought the younger Alyosha to the saint’s icon and asked him to venerate it.

Having lowered the child, with a fervent heart and tears in her eyes she cried out to the holy Father Gabriel, imploring him to heal her son Alexei from dumbness. At that moment Xenia even forgot where she was and what was going on around her. All her being was concentrated on prayer.

After a while, having moved away from the icon with the children, she suddenly darted forward again. The people stood aside, again giving her space near the saint’s icon. Xenia again turned with all her heart to the saint of God, fervently asking for the gift of speech for the little Alexei.

And a miracle occurred before everybody’s very eyes!

“Mama! Mama!” little Alyosha shouted.

Xenia froze and turned around slowly. Tears flowed and flowed down her face. She took Alyosha into her arms and cuddled him. And he uttered the word “Mama” again.

Xenia wept and thanked God for the miracle.

Turning around, she saw that she was surrounded by parishioners. They were looking with joy and tender feeling at the happy mother with her son in her arms, healed from dumbness.

Xenia again, for the third time, walked towards the icon of the Venerable Gabriel. She knelt down and thanked the saint of God heartily.

From that time on, little Alyosha began to speak—first simple words, then short sentences. At first he didn’t pronounce many phrases distinctly, but the boy tried his best, and had good progress. And his happy mother Xenia kept repeating:

“I believe that through the prayers of Holy Father Gabriel of Samtavro the Lord gave my son the gift of speech. Glory to God for everything!”

***

Lydia, an accountant at a large company, began to be nagged by her boss. Although Lydia had extensive work experience (she already received a work pension), the boss began to speak to her with irritation and contempt. Lydia, a modest and responsible person, became nervous and worried. She dared not look for a similar job, because she was of retirement age. She decided to work even harder, but she only annoyed her director all the more. One day he invited Lydia into his office and said dryly:

“Lidia Ivanovna, I’ve decided to give your job to another employee and wish you a well-deserved retirement.”

Lydia went cold. She froze for a moment and asked him in a low voice:

“But why? I am able to do my job.”

“The administration wants to hire a younger employee for your position.”

Lydia got very frustrated. She asked, “How much time do you give me to complete all the tasks at my workplace?”

The boss replied, “One month.”

It was in March 2022.

Lydia did not known about Elder Gabriel (Urgebadze): His Life, Miracles, and Service after his DeathComing to the starets at his grave every day, I noticed that you could feel a special grace and tranquility. You don’t think about anything, nothing comes to your mind, you don’t worry about anything. There is extraordinary peace in your soul.

“>St. Gabriel of Samtavro before. There was an icon of this saint in the church she attended, and every time Lydia left the service, she kissed Father Gabriel’s image without knowing whose image it was. She only knew that he was some ascetic of piety.

Soon Lydia came across an article in some newspaper about Elder Gabriel of Samtavro. The saint’s life story inspired her, and she decided to buy an akathist to the saint of God in a church shop. Lydia began to read daily akathists to St. Gabriel of Samtavro and the Most Holy Theotokos. And she felt better at heart.

But Lydia went to work with anxiety, awaiting the day of her dismissal.

And now that day came. Lydia had been sitting in her office since early morning. Suddenly she heard her boss’s footsteps in the corridor and became agitated. He was resolutely heading straight for her office. At that moment Lydia took a small piece of paper and wrote quickly on it, “Father Gabriel, please keep this position for me!”

At that moment Lydia’s boss suddenly stopped on the threshold of her office and said softly, as if to himself:

“I need to go out for a smoke.”

Lydia let out a sigh of relief. She had been waiting all day long for the harsh news of her dismissal! But the boss did not come to her anymore and did not call her to his office.

That evening, Lydia hurried to a flower shop, bought a bunch of beautiful white roses, took them to the church and thanked the Mother of God and St. Gabriel.

The next morning the woman learned that she had been left to work in the same position. It was a true miracle! And her boss began to speak with Lydia in a more restrained manner.

Later Lydia related:

“What happened was a genuine miracle! Thank you, Father Gabriel, for helping me!”

The Venerable Gabriel of Samtavro gives people generous presents. He fulfils their prayer requests for healing, regulating their lives, having children, help with employment, and other things.

***

    

Marina from the Vologda region also received a wonderful gift from Father Gabriel. She was having a hard time in her life—she had just recovered from an illness, could not find the right job, and was often despondent. Marina attended the church closest to her house in her hometown and always venerated the icon of St. Gabriel of Samtavro, asking him to help her.

On November 2—the feast-day (repose) of the great ascetic—Marina stood in front of his icon and said:

“Father Gabriel, I know this is your feast, but please send me a present, your attention means a lot to me. I’m having such a hard time right now…”

The next morning, Marina’s mother called her from Moscow, where she was staying for a few days. She said happily:

“Marinochka,⁴ today in a church shop I quite accidentally heard a conversation about Father Gabriel’s holy oil, which I’ve bought for you. I know how much you venerate and love this saint.”

“Mama, this is the best present for me, it’s from the saint himself!” Marina exclaimed in astonishment.

Marina always remembers how Father Gabriel sent her a present dear to her heart. And soon through the prayers of the saint, everything in Marina’s life was sorted out. Glory to God for all things!

Holy Father Gabriel, pray to God for us!

Given the low level of participation by American Catholics in the process leading up to the Synod of Bishops on Synodality, the leader of the U.S. bishops says that efforts to involve a greater share of the laity in the next stage, dubbed the “implementation phase,” will be crucial to success or failure.

“Striking was that less than 1 percent of the Catholics in the United States participated in the various moments of the synod process, and I know in other developed countries the percentage was similar, so I think if we’re going to make this a reality we’re going to have to work very hard to involve people in it,” Archbishop Timothy Broglio told Crux.

“Like most things, you have to keep inviting, and you also have to keep trying to find ways to involve people in the decision-making process,” he explained. “Sometimes that requires a lot of effort, but I think the effort is very, very worthwhile.”

Broglio, who is the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Military Services, USA, and the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, spoke with Crux on Oct. 30 after returning from the second and final session of the synod that took place Oct. 2-27.

About 700,000 of an estimated 66.8 million American Catholics – roughly one percent – participated in the early phases of the process, according to the national synthesis document published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops last year.

Broglio said the second synod gathering was a more “tranquil atmosphere” than the first because everyone involved was more familiar with the methodology. He also noted that the days were very long, and by the end of each “you could see people were drained.”

As for takeaways, Broglio said the biggest is the manner of governance – one that involves everyone in the decision-making process – that the synod wants to make the norm in the global Church, at least for those who want to participate.

Specifically in the United States, he emphasized the importance of the role of bishops in inviting the faithful to participate, and the effort that needs to go into it. One thing that will be important, he noted, is for bishops to continue to hold diocesan synods.

“There was a feeling that there should be a certain regularity to [diocesan synod] gatherings,” Broglio said. “So perhaps that would be a way to invite people to participate more directly in the life of the Church, and especially in the notion of decision making and walking together.”

Asked about the buy-in of American bishops in the synod process, Broglio said that, like all things, “There is always room for more, and always room for improvement.”

“I think, though, there has been a genuine attempt to participate in the synodal process, and it’s one of those things that you learn a little bit by doing. I think as time moves forward there will be growth in that area, and that’s important, and I think the conference at the very least should be a resource that will help bishops as they try to develop some of these skills, and as they try to implement some of the conclusions of the synod in their diocese,” Broglio said.

In the spirit of synodality, Broglio also said there is “room for change” at the USCCB. He cited changes of recent years – less time in formal sessions, and more time allotted for private, small group sessions – could become even more commonplace.

“The bishops have found that very, very helpful,” he said.

Unrelated to the synod, Broglio said that while in Rome the topic of the relationship between the United States and Vatican didn’t come up. He said he met with a couple of dicastery heads, who gave him a “very, very cordial” reception, and had a “great deal of openness” in trying to respond to questions that were raised.

In general, he said the relationship between the United States and the Vatican is “very good.”

“The Church in the United States has always tried to be very faithful to the Holy See, and I don’t think that has changed. I think, if anything, the dialogue has become more cordial,” Broglio said. “I have found the relationship very good.”

• Part 1: On Faith in the Life of a ChristianWe don’t see Jesus Christ, but we feel and are clearly aware that He is our sole hope, our only joy, our one salvation, and without Him we can only be unhappy, powerless, perishing, and deprived of truth, righteousness, justice, and goodness.

  “>On Faith in the Life of a Christian

• Part 2: On Battling PrideGod is our life, our strength, our Judge!

  “>On Battling Pride

• Part 3: The Spirit, and SpiritsThe spiritual life requires gradual growth, as in any other kind of life, but even more careful, for spiritual strength increases only in proportion to our own labors and depends on the strengthening of virtues and the development of purity of heart.

  “>The Spirit, and Spirits

• Part 4: The Role of Christian WomenHow infinitely far they are from understanding the true glory and majesty of the mother of a family who raises her son in truth, in selflessness, and in obedience, instilling in his heart unshakable faith and a living, active love for God and men as the foundation of life, Christianity, virtues, strength, and patriotism.

  “>The Role of Christian Women

• Part 5: On Seeking the Kingdom of GodThrough Jesus Christ, men were reunited with the eternal God and received eternal life. No matter how much they try to twist and distort God’s law, the eternal death of human souls has been destroyed, and eternal life is inevitable! Eternal life is knowing the one true God and Jesus Christ Whom He sent.

  “>On Seeking the Kingdom of God

• Part 6: On Love of God and Love of the WorldThat we might not perish, we must cleave with all our heart and all our thoughts to our Lord Jesus Christ, for no one can do anything worthy of salvation if he doesn’t abide in Him.

  “>On Love of God and Love of the World

• Part 7: Merciful Is the Man Who Does Good to the UnworthyMercy is a fruit of love, is inherent to it, just as warmth is inseparable from fire.

  “>Merciful Is the Man Who Does Good to the Unworthy

• Part 8: On Cultivating a Prayerful SpiritTrue Christians are always quickly heard by the saints because they are of the same spirit.

  “>On Cultivating a Prayerful Spirit

• Part 9: The Silence of the TheotokosLet us listen to the silence of Mary and learn from her! What does this incomprehensible spiritual labor mean? That Mary is a perfect vessel of grace.

  “>The Silence of the Theotokos

• Part 10: On the Monastic LifeThe monastic life is arduous, filled with sorrows and ascetic struggles. Therefore, people of the world rarely understand it.

  “>On the Monastic Life

• Part 11: Cleansing the Heart and Mind Through RepentanceThe most perfect and greatest thing a man can desire and achieve is drawing near to God and abiding in solitude with Him.

  “>Cleansing the Heart and Mind Through Repentance

• Part 12: The Path to Healing and SalvationFirst, glorify God, thank Him and ask for guidance, and then look after your desires and decisions!

  “>The Path to Healing and Salvation

• Part 13: Every Man Must Guard His HeartThe success of spiritual struggle, true repentance, and correction of our shortcomings depends on the habit of listening to and looking closely at the movements and desires of the heart.

  “>Every Man Must Guard His Heart

• Part 14: Passions and the Struggle Against Them

• Part 15: Purity of Heart and Mind

Photo: azbyka.ru St. Seraphim (Leonid Mikhailovich Chichagov in the world) was born in 1856. He came from an old noble family, the great grandson of the famous Admiral V. Y. Chichagov (1726–1809), one of the first explorers of the Arctic Ocean, and the grandson of P. V. Chichagov (1767–1849), the Minister of the Russian Navy, who participated in the War of 1812.

Leonid Chichagov was distinguished by his deep religiosity from childhood. Following the family tradition, the young Leonid chose a military career.

In 1870, Leonid entered the Imperial Page Corps, where he received a brilliant education. Upon his graduation in 1875, he was promoted to Second Lieutenant and assigned to the horse artillery brigade of the Preobrazhensky Regiment.

Soon, the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) began in the Balkans, during which Leonid served in active duty. During the fighting, Second Lieutenant Chichagov showed exceptional bravery, courage, and dedication, for which he received many military awards, including the St. George’s Cross, and was promoted to Lieutenant of the Guard.

During the war, Leonid saw the bravery and heroism of the Russian soldiers and officers. Leonid later described his observations and reflections in literary and historical notes: Examples from the Previous War, A Description of Individual Soldiers’ Exploits, and Stories of the Exploits of Officers. These books revealed his talent as a writer-documentarian.

He also wrote a major historical work, Diary of the Tsar-Liberator’s Stay in the Danube Army in 1877, which has gone through several editions.

In 1879, Leonid married Natalia Nikolaevna Dokhturova, a relative of D. S. Dokhturov—a hero of the Patriotic War of 1812. Four daughters were born in their pious marriage.

It was during this time that Leonid met Archpriest A Unique Phenomenon: On Righteous John of KronstadtHow did he, having begun his life as pastors of the Church usually do, become such a spiritual giant, a colossus of the spiritual life, the likes of which have been few not only in Rus’, but in the entire universal Church in general?

“>John of Kronstadt. He was under spiritual obedience to the Righteous Fr. John for thirty years.

In 1891, Colonel Chichagov unexpectedly petitioned for retirement and announced to family and friends his desire to become a priest. It came as a real shock to them, especially to his aristocratic wife.

Having retired, Leonid moved his family to Moscow, where he diligently studied theology and prepared for the priesthood. The desire to help others led Leonid to also learn medicine. He developed his own system of treatment with herbal medicines, which is laid out in his fundamental work, Medical Conversations.

This period of his life ended with him receiving the priesthood. He was ordained in 1893 in the Holy Dormition Cathedral in the Kremlin and was assigned to the Kremlin Church of the Twelve Apostles. He was later appointed rector of the Moscow Church of St. Nicholas in Stary Vagankov.

In 1895, Fr. Leonid’s beloved wife, Matushka Natalia, unexpectedly died from diphtheria. Fr. Leonid buried her in the monastery cemetery at Diveyevo.

That same year, Fr. Leonid was numbered among the brethren of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, and in 1898, he was tonsured into the mantia with the name Seraphim.

Soon, Hieromonk Seraphim was appointed abbot of the St. Euthymius Monastery in Suzdal and elevated to the rank of archimandrite. The monastery was in a deplorable state, but during the years of Fr. Seraphim’s abbacy, it was completely revived. Following that, Archimandrite Seraphim was appointed dean of the monasteries of the Vladimir Diocese.

During this time, he compiled his Chronicle Sketch of the St. Zosima Hermitage of the Smolensk Mother of God, Vladimir Governorate, Alexander District, which was an affiliate of the Lavra. The book was reprinted several times.

Among the works of Metropolitan Seraphim, his treatise on the glorification of Elder The Life of Saint SeraphimHaving led a heavenly life on earth, like the great desert saints of antiquity, even in these latter times of spiritual desolation, St. Seraphim is an instructor and an inspirer of the true Christian life. His Spiritual Instructions—like his celebrated Conversation with Motovilov on the Acquisition of the Holy Spirit—contain no new teaching, but simply repeat in modern times the age-old Christian teaching of the great Fathers whom he constantly cites: Sts. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, Macarius the Great, Dionysius the Areopagite, Ambrose of Milan, Isaac the Syrian, Symeon the New Theologian, the Fathers of the Philokalia.

“>Seraphim of Sarov holds a special place.

The Chronicles of Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery It began with the writing of the Chronicles of Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery, which fully and reliably described the history of the Sarov and Diveyevo Monasteries and the life of Elder Seraphim of Sarov.

The first edition of the Chronicles was published in 1896.

In order to speed up the process of glorifying Elder Seraphim of Sarov, Archimandrite Seraphim appealed directly to Emperor Nicholas II, presenting him with the Chronicles. Having read it, the Emperor passed a resolution to glorify Elder Seraphim immediately.

On January 29, 1903, an event occurred that many faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church had eagerly awaited. The Holy Synod decided to canonize Elder Seraphim of Sarov.

Archimandrite Seraphim was entrusted with preparations for the celebrations. He participated in the examination of Venerable Seraphim’s relics and compiled his life. He also had to take on a large part of the organizational-administrative work.

The celebration of the canonization of St. Seraphim of Sarov occurred on July 17–19, 1903. It was a real spiritual triumph.

On July 19, 1903, the relics of St. Seraphim, the Sarov wonderworker, were solemnly opened, in the presence of Tsar Nicholas II and his family.

This wasn’t the end of the archimandrite’s labors related to the glorification of St. Seraphim of Sarov. He wrote A Brief Life of the Ever-Memorable Seraphim of Sarov; also, A Brief Chronicle of the Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery, and an akathist that is still read in churches today.

Upon returning to Suzdal, Archimandrite Seraphim began preparing for the 500th anniversary of the repose of St. Euthymius, Wonderworker of Suzdal, and compiled his life. The publication of this book contributed to the spiritual revival of the ancient monastery.

In 1905, in the Holy Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, Archimandrite Seraphim was consecrated a bishop by Metropolitan Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky) of Moscow and Kolomna with a host of bishops. Bishop Seraphim was appointed to the Sukhumi Diocese.

In the pre-revolutionary years, Bishop and then Archbishop Seraphim was the hierarch first of the Sukhumi diocese, then of Orel, Chișinău, and finally, Tver. Soon after his transfer to Chișinău, Vladyka Seraphim faced a difficult trial when Righteous St. John of Kronstadt reposed in December 1908.

Vladyka Seraphim worked tirelessly for the good of the Orthodox Church and the Russian people. In his diocese, he opened schools, libraries, and hospitals at the churches. Being a spiritual child of Righteous John of Kronstadt, Vladyka was especially concerned about the reverent celebration of the divine services.

Metropolitan Seraphim had a kind, truly Christian heart. He immediately responded to the needs of the people. He had many spiritual children.

Vladyka was distinguished by his many talents, which were used for the glory of God. He greatly loved Church singing, and he composed Church music and played the harmonium.

Vladyka Seraphim was a good artist and painted icons. In the Moscow Church of the Prophet Elijah on Obydensky Alley, you can see a wonderful image of the Savior in a white robe and the image of St. Seraphim praying on a rock, painted by St. Seraphim (Chichagov).

During the First World War, Vladyka Seraphim fervently prayed for the victory of the Russian army and strove with all his might to uphold the people’s spirit, delivering fiery sermons and participating in various events to help wounded soldiers and refugees.

Archbishop Seraphim didn’t hide his negative attitude towards the February Revolution of 1917. Later, after the Tsar’s abdication, contrary to the decision of the Synod, he didn’t support the provisional government and remained a staunch monarchist.

In October 1917, the socialist revolution occurred in Russia.

The activities of Vladyka Seraphim, a confessor of Orthodoxy, a patriot and a monarchist, had already aroused the hatred of the Bolsheviks. And when they came to power, Archbishop Seraphim’s life was in danger.

Wanting to protect the Holy Hierarch from the Bolshevik massacre, His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon appointed Vladyka Seraphim to the Diocese of Warsaw and Vistula, located on the territory of Poland, which was free from Bolshevik authority. However, the Soviet authorities didn’t allow the Holy Hierarch to leave for Poland.

The civil war and the Polish-Soviet War that then started made it absolutely impossible for Vladyka Seraphim to travel to the diocese entrusted to him. Vladyka remained in Russia and lived at the Chernigov Skete of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra.

In May 1921, Vladyka was charged with counterrevolutionary activity. As a result, on June 24, 1921, the Holy Hierarch Seraphim was officially sentenced by the Cheka: “To imprison citizen Chichagov in the Arkhangelsk concentration camp for a term of two years.” However, Archbishop Seraphim remained free, under the supervision of the Cheka. He was arrested only on September 21, 1921, and placed in Taganka Prison.

On January 16, 1922, Vladyka Seraphim was released from prison thanks to the intercession of his daughters Natalia and Ekaterina, and due to his serious illness and old age.

In 1922, Vladyka Seraphim was arrested again and was sent to Arkhangelsk. He spent four years in exile.

In 1926, Vladyka returned from exile and settled in the St. Sergius Convent near the city of Shuya in the Vladimir Province.

In 1927, Vladyka Seraphim recognized the authority of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), and a year later he was appointed to the Diocese of Leningrad. In a diocese infected by the Renovationist schism, he had to work to strengthen Orthodoxy. He served there for five years.

In 1933, the seventy-seven-year-old St. Seraphim was retired and he moved to the Moscow region. He settled into a country dacha, not far from the Udelnaya Station of the Kazan rail line near Moscow.

In November 1937, the eighty-two-year-old, bedridden Vladyka Seraphim was arrested by NKVD officers. The Holy Hierarch was carried out of his house on a stretcher and taken to Taganka Prison in an ambulance, as it was impossible to transport him in a regular police car.

For several weeks, the seriously ill elder withstood the new persecutors of the Church with the dignity of the first Christian martyrs. He didn’t plead guilty to any of the charges against him.

On December 7, 1937, the NKVD troika for the Moscow Province adopted a resolution on the execution of Metropolitan Seraphim.

St. Seraphim completed his way of the Cross on December 11, 1937, at the NKVD Butovo firing range near Moscow.

In 1997, the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church canonized Metropolitan Seraphim (Chichagov) as a hieromartyr.

On November 10, 1998, he was rehabilitated by the Russian government.

Prayer to Hieromartyr Seraphim

O God-loving Seraphim, great among hierarchs and glorious among martyrs! Beholding your fiery ascent to the Heavenly abodes, we are at a loss how to properly praise you, and even more so how to follow you, O glorious father. For we know you as a most valiant warrior, excellent in bravery and invincible in battles. We know you also as a gracious physician, unwavering in patience and outstanding in skill. You served the Church with the gift of painting and offered the talent of sweet singing to the Lord. Moreover, good shepherd, though you renounced the vanity of the world, you embraced all its burdens and sorrows in your magnanimous heart. The years do not suffice for us to recount, nor for our slothful minds to comprehend your ceaseless labors in chronicling holy monasteries, glorifying St. Seraphim, organizing church life, and healing bitter divisions. Again, in exiles and imprisonments, you shone forth as an example of magnanimity and utmost humility, O hierarch of God. Above all this, your martyr’s crown shines like the sun. You overcame all through Christ Who strengthened you. Therefore, united in your memory, we earnestly beseech you: do not abandon our wretchedness, strengthen us in the Lord to keep His commandments blamelessly, to deliver the Holy Church from the enemy’s temptations, to set our minds on things above, and to turn away from sin and vanity. For we know the great boldness you have acquired before God’s throne, our most holy father. In this we take comfort and commend ourselves to your prayerful intercession in the Lord, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Pope Francis encouraged members of Italy’s Educational Commitment Movement of Catholic Action (MIEAC) on Thursday to not be afraid to propose high Christian ideals to young people in a secularized society.

“Christian education crosses unexplored terrain, marked by anthropological and cultural changes, on which we are still seeking answers in the light of the Word of God,” the Holy Father said to participants of MIEAC’s national congress at a private audience held in the Vatican.

MIEAC is an educational project connected to Italy’s Catholic Action that was established in 1990 with the aim of fostering the integral development of young people in all its dimensions: existential, spiritual, affective, cultural, social, and political.

During the Thursday audience, the pope praised MIEAC members for their dedication amid the “labyrinths of complexities” affecting human relationships in today’s society and encouraged them to “carry forward an idea and a practice of education that effectively puts the person at the center.”

“The educational service that defines your movement brings with it, today perhaps even more than in the past, the challenge of operating on a human and Christian level,” he said. “This is precisely the right perspective in which to continue the journey of your movement. Go forward!”

Looking to the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, the Holy Father said it is necessary for teachers to sow hope in the world by paying “special attention to children, adolescents, [and] young people.”

“We must look at them with trust, with empathy, I would like to say with the gaze and heart of Jesus. They are the present and the future of the world and of the Church,” he shared.

“Ours is the task — entirely educational — to accompany them, support them, encourage them and, with testimony, to show them the good path that leads to being ‘fratelli tutti’ [all brothers].”

The Holy Father also insisted that the education of children is a task and process that needs the initiative and support of different people from church-related and secular institutions.

“It is important not to remain alone but to build and strengthen fruitful relationships with the various subjects of the educational process: families, teachers, social workers, managers and sports trainers, catechists, priests, religious men and women, without neglecting collaboration with public institutions,” the pope said.

The pope’s last message to MIEAC members was to “educators with a big heart” to follow the example of their founder, Venerable Giuseppe Lazzati, “a credible teacher and witness, a model of a Christian educator” who was foremost moved by love of God and others.

“Through educational processes we express our love for others, for those who are close to us or entrusted to us; and, at the same time, it is essential that education be founded, in its method and its aims, on love. Always educate with love!”

Bălți, Moldova, October 31, 2024

Photo: nordnews.md     

A hierarch of the Moldovan Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) was fined on October 28 for election campaigning.

His Eminence Archbishop Marchel of Bălți and Fălești was fined $200 (3,500 lei) for violating a law that prohibits religious representatives from campaigning for a particular candidate during an election season, reports nordnews.md.

This is the second time the hierarch has been fined this year. Moldovan bishop ordered to pay $1,000+ for anti-pride parade statementA hierarch of the Moldovan Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) has been ordered by a Chișinău court to pay compensation for moral damages for “homophobic” statements he made in 2022.

“>In June, he was ordered to pay more than $1,100 to two members of the LGBT community for “incitement to discrimination based on sexual orientation,” after he referred to LGBT people as “sodomites,” “lost,” and “sinners,” in a statement against the so-called Solidarity March in 2022.

The new fine stems from statements the hierarch made at a clerical assembly at Sts. Constantine and Helen Cathedral in Bălți on September 24`, specifically calling for his priests and deacons to vote for Victoria Furtună, who ended up getting 4.4% of votes in the state’s recent presidential elections.

The hierarch said:

Here you see on the screen a fragile woman, a Christian, a tender mother and an honest wife, Victoria Furtună. Yet she has stood up against the others. Allow me, on your behalf, to thank her, to wish her more and greater things. Allow me, on your behalf, to make her a decision-maker in the country, because she’s capable of promoting Christian laws. And here we have a brother of hers, a worker, named Denis. I want to give him the floor too, because we still have a long agenda. Let’s thank him and ask him to convey our thanks to Mrs. Victoria.

While the Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova issued a statement in August “vehemently condemn[ing] the involvement of clerics in politics or in propaganda activities,” Abp. Marchel, in turned, condemned such passivity:

Against the catastrophic background of daily Christian reality, where all legitimate conditions are created for the wolf to enter the flock of sheep, our silence seems strange, especially the indifference-filled quiet of some priests, who try to justify their inactivity through the bland phrase, a pale expression, a weak excuse, such as: “I don’t meddle in politics.”

But what do we do when politics, with all its filth, barges uninvited into Christ’s Church? Can we justify our inactivity, meaning the lack of opposition through the phrase, “I don’t do politics”? Doesn’t this resemble betrayal?

We all stay silent, as if everything were good and beautiful, while the enemy of the salvation of the human soul increases in devilish activity, implementing various pilot projects, each more ridiculous and more destructive than the other.

Like Abp. Marchel, the Metropolis has also Moldovan Orthodox Church: “Cease the moral torture of the Church”“The Church feels pressures similar to those from the Soviet period. More and more threats are being thrown at the Church and its servants,” writes His Eminence Metropolitan Vladimir of Chișinău and All Moldova.

“>warned against and condemned the state’s overstepping into ecclesiastical bounds.

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After finally reading Nobel Prize winner Saul Bellow’s “The Adventures of Augie March,” I concluded that it would merit Henry James’ remark about Victorian novels that they were “large, loose, baggy monsters.”

The novel seems to be about everything. Its hallmark theme, however, is the absurdity of modern life. Bellow knew that the modern spirit put man at the edge of an abyss where “all that is solid has melted into air,” but he nevertheless retains a nostalgia for past certainty.

In a pointedly absurd moment in the novel, Augie March tells of a blind beggar he saw in a Naples seafood market toward the end of World War II. He “had written on his chest in mercurochrome: Profit by my imminent death to send a greeting to your loved ones in Purgatory.”

March remarks: “The Neapolitan passerby grinned and smarted, longing and ironical as they read this ingenious challenge. You do all you can to humanize and familiarize the world, and suddenly it becomes more strange than ever.”

Bellow’s remark about longing and irony makes me think that perhaps the sense of the strangeness of modern life is an opportunity for evangelization. I think the old beggar in Naples might have been on to something.

Parsing the man’s appeal for alms we see various ideas of interest: First, “imminent death,” which he accepts and which anyone who saw him would think is something that will come for us all. Second, “Send a greeting to your loved ones”: people you have cared for have died and your relationship survives so that communication might be possible. Third, “in Purgatory”: he is not presuming heaven and does not presume that the spectator’s loved ones will be in eternal bliss yet, either.

His three points are challenges, as Bellow states. You will die, like others you have loved. What will happen to you? What do you have to hope for the dead and yourselves? The challenge might be blunted today in the United States, where non-Euclidian theology reigns. I read one Pew research poll that had more people believing in heaven than in God (good luck with that, which is also what I thought when I saw a corpse in a casket with a lottery ticket in her hands instead of a rosary). The beggar’s reminder about Purgatory, the implication that there is some accountability for your life, is eminently useful for conduct. So many people today are pseudo-Buddhists and speak about “karma,” and think it only applies to this life. Purgatory refers to a reckoning like karma after this life.

It is actually a consoling doctrine. It reminds us of how much dignity God has bestowed on us. He has given us Free Will so that we may do what is right voluntarily, not as preprogrammed robots. Further, He respects human activity and takes into account our actions.

If a parent or teacher always praises a child no matter what he or she does, that child would not develop criteria for their decisions. God has given us reason so that our decisions can be made with meaning. We require His grace to do whatever is good, and even the insight is helped by the Holy Spirit, but God respects human beings and their activity. His creation puts meaning into our lives.

My parish is urban, and our parish school students are mostly non-Catholic. The majority have never been baptized because, although Grandma goes to church, mother and father do not. Recently a graduate of our school died in a traffic accident. Because the family had no church affiliation, they requested a service at our parish. When I was consoling the mother, by habit I said, “You must give him back to God. He is in the arms of Jesus now.”

The mother was realistic. She said, “I hope he gets there, but it will take some time.” Here was a non-Catholic seeing that there is a process after death. Like the old beggar, talking about the deceased, she figured that her boy wasn’t yet in heaven but would get there. That is an instinctive understanding of Purgatory. Like the Maccabees, who prayed for the fallen soldiers tainted by superstition, she wanted to pray for her dead child because she sensed his decisions had not always been in accord with his destiny in God.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once complained that the funerals he attended seemed to ignore why we pray for the dead. He didn’t want a eulogy or a pro forma apotheosis; he wanted the people gathered to pray for his soul. Adult children who bury their parents or other relatives without a funeral Mass think the Eucharistic sacrifice is an extra to be dispensed with. The nephew of a woman in my parish wanted something “simpler,” but the funeral director pointed out that the deceased had preplanned and prepaid so she got her Mass.

Funerals are not just “celebrations of life,” feel-good exercises to gloss over the reality of death. They indicate what we believe about not just the afterlife, but what we are doing now and how God gives that transcendent meaning. To pray for the dead is a work of charity. The prayers said for a dead person are an index of the love that covers sins that St. Peter spoke about: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8).”

Time, the measure of motion, is not something we can apply to the dead. They have left time; we are the only ones still under its constraints. So a chronology of prayers for the dead is not possible. A niece’s husband said that his father was already in heaven and did not need prayers, but I told him that God had already counted my Mass for him, that I owed it. God knows when a person dies all the prayers that will ever be said for him or her and the measure of how they have reflected His Divine Love is manifest in the Masses and the prayers at the grave and elsewhere we make thinking of our loved ones. That is why we keep on praying for loved ones until a canonization happens and we can shift our petition priorities.

Finally, Purgatory is about “solidarity with the dead,” a phrase theologian Karl Rahner used. It reminds us we are all in this together. Memento mortuos (remember the dead) helps us to memento mori (remember you will die). The beggar in Naples offered, for a stipend, to send a message to loved ones who were now in the dimension of existence where there was no time. That was an ingenious kind of appeal, but not something we can count on. We can pray for the dead, however, especially on the feast of All Souls and in the month of November, and it will do us good. I do not believe that God withholds from the souls in Purgatory the generosity of those who remember them.

Even Protestant America says, “May they rest in peace,” which contradicts their theology of not praying for the dead. To whom are you talking who can give the dead rest? RIP is an echo or a relic of Catholic belief: Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and perpetual light shine upon them. It is not just sad but tragic when Catholics forget their tradition and neglect their duty to the dead.

Chernivtsi, Chernivtsi Province, Ukraine, October 31, 2024

Photo: Bancheny Monastery (Telegram)     

His Eminence Metropolitan Longin had to be hospitalized again yesterday after another session of the state’s persecutorial campaign against him.

Like many other hierarchs and clerics, Met. Longin faces trumped up charges of ““It’s a great joy when you taste these bitter trials”—UOC hierarch announces state is taking him to courtHis Eminence Metropolitan Longin of Bancheny of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a beloved hierarch and father to 100s of orphans, announced on Tuesday that the state’s investigation against him has finished, and the matter will now go to court.

“>inciting religious enmity.” Though officially recognized as a Hero of Ukraine for having adopted hundreds of orphans, Ukraine going after Metropolitan Longin, Hero of Ukraine, father of 100s of orphans (+VIDEO)Ukraine’s latest hierarchical target is one of the most beloved and authoritative bishops of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”>the state now considers him an enemy because he staunchly remains within the Orthodox Church.

His Eminence has suffered several severe health incidents since the state launched its campaign against him. He suffered a stroke Ukrainian Metropolitan, father of 100s of orphans, victim of state oppression, suffers severe strokeOne of the most beloved hierarchs of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church suffered a severe stroke and was hospitalized on Friday, July 21.

“>last July, and he was admitted to the hospital Persecuted Metropolitan Longin again hospitalized with heart problemsArmed security forces surrounded and searched his monastery last month, scaring the orphans who live there.”>in December with atrial fibrillation, after which he Persecuted Metropolitan Longin undergoes heart surgeryThe Metropolitan has been in poor health in recent years, which is only exacerbated by the pressure of the Ukrainian state’s persecution against the Church and against him personally.”>underwent heart surgery. Persecuted Metropolitan Longin suffers heart arrhythmia during search of his carUkrainian authorities continue to harass His Eminence Metropolitan Longin of Bancheny, a hierarch of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, aggravating his poor health condition.”>Later that month, his car was unjustly detained and he suffered a heart arrhythmia due to the stress.

His Eminence was physically attacked in his home Persecuted Metropolitan Longin attacked at home, has to undergo surgery”This happened on the night of January 22, 2024. Someone knocked on the door three times, and when I opened it, I was struck and knocked unconscious.”

“>in late January and had to undergo emergency eye surgery.

Persecuted Metropolitan Longin undergoes another heart surgeryThough officially recognized as a Hero of Ukraine for having adopted hundreds of orphans, the state now considers him an enemy because he staunchly remains within the Orthodox Church.

“>In February, he underwent another heart procedure. Persecuted Metropolitan Longin in ICU after car accidentThe much-suffering Metropolitan of Bancheny of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church is in the ICU after being involved in a car accident last week.”>In August, he was admitted to the ICU after a car accident.

And during his court session yesterday, the staunch hierarch became visibly ill and had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance, the Holy Ascension-Bancheny Monastery reports.

Met. Longin asked for a break until the following day when he began to feel ill, but the judge refused.

Video from court shows His Eminence’s poor state:

​

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Svyatogorsk, Donetsk Province, Ukraine, October 31, 2024

Photo: svlavra.church.ua     

Over 22 tons of food was collected in just over a week by believers of the Volyn Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in support of the inhabitants of the Holy Dormition-Svyatogorsk Lavra.

The charitable cargo arrived on October 29, 2024, the monastery reports.

“As every year, with the blessing of Metropolitan Nathaniel of Volyn and Lutsk, we again collected donations for the Svyatogorsk Lavra. Knowing how this region has suffered from military actions, people readily responded to the call to help the monastery’s monks and refugees living here,” said Archpriest Alexander Kondratyuk, dean of the Kivertsy District of the Volyn Diocese, who accompanied the delivery to the Lavra.

The donation included potatoes, beets, carrots, flour, oil, pasta, and other items. The faithful also collected financial aid.

The previous donation from the Volyn Diocese of the UOC arrived at the Lavra in November 2023. Most recently, the Lavra received humanitarian aid from the faithful of Dnipro city churches Humanitarian aid from the Ukrainian Orthodox ChurchOver 1 ton of charitable aid from the faithful of Dnipro city churches was delivered to the Svyatogorsk Lavra, which has housed hundreds of refugees since fighting began in eastern Ukraine in 2014.

“>earlier this month.

Thanks to humanitarian cargo delivered to the Svyatogorsk Lavra, the monastery not only provides all necessities for its inhabitants and refugees but also helps residents of surrounding settlements. The Lavra has been housing and feeding hundreds of refugees for a decade now.

Unfortunately, the Lavra and its sketes have Bodies of refugees found under rubble at Ukraine’s much-suffering Svyatogorsk LavraTheir bodies were sent to the nearby city of Kramatorsk for a forensic medical examination.

“>repeatedly come under attack during the war since February 2022, suffering considerable damage. The abbot of the monastery, His Eminence Metropolitan Arseny, has been unjustly detained by Ukrainian authorities Security Service detains Metropolitan-abbot of Ukrainian Church’s Svyatogorsk LavraSecurity Service (SBU) employees blocked and searched the monastery this morning.”>since April.

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A top Los Angeles judge called on lawyers to follow in the footsteps of St. Thomas More while the archdiocese’s longtime legal counsel received a surprise award at the 2024 LA Red Mass on Oct. 23.

“Civility is the lawyer’s version of charity” in the face of “misplaced adversarialism,” said Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl, the closing speaker at this year’s event. “Let us commit to respond with civility emulating St. Thomas.”

More than 400 people attended this year’s liturgy, which featured Homeboy Industries founder Father Greg Boyle as homilist and concluded with a surprise award for the Archdiocese of LA’s general counsel, Marge Graf.

While this year’s Mass coincided with the final weeks of the 2024 U.S. presidential election campaign, Kuhl’s remarks mostly focused on the spiritual legacy of the 16th century English lawyer and philosopher. But she also expressed concern about “threats to the independence of the judiciary,” particularly “threats to the independence of the judiciary, including physical violence, institutional threats such as ‘deepfakes’ and cyber-attacks from foreign powers, and a narrative that judges consistently make political decisions rather than upholding the rule of law.”

Kuhl, who is Catholic, pointed to three “spiritual fundamentals” taken from More’s life worth imitating: prioritizing prayer and a relationship with God; nurturing a family life; and doing acts of penance in the spirit of the hair shirt that More was known to wear under his clothes.

Typically celebrated around the time the U.S. Supreme Court starts its new year in the fall, the Red Mass is a civic and ecumenical event that draws local judges, lawyers, legislators, legal professionals, and community leaders.

Main celebrant Archbishop José H. Gomez was joined by Auxiliary Bishops Albert Bahhuth and Matthew Elshoff, and some 15 priests. Students from nearby Loyola High School were there as altar servers, while the Mass’ ceremonial honor guard was led by members of the Knights of Saint Peter Claver and the Knights of Columbus. Delegations from the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre and the Order of Malta were also present. 

This year’s interreligious delegation included representatives from Orthodox and Protestant denominations, as well as from Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh faith traditions.

In his homily, Boyle challenged the traditional interpretation of the words of Jesus Christ in the day’s Gospel about the importance of faithful and vigilant stewardship: “Be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

“I don’t think Jesus says ‘be prepared’ because death is coming, but because life is happening,” said Boyle. “Once you know the God of love, you fire all the other gods. We want to align our heart with the God who wants us to be there when it happens.”

To explain what being “there” in life means, Boyle quoted American poet Mary Oliver, who before her death in 2019 said there were three things she’d learned in her 83 years of life: Pay attention, be astonished, and “share your astonishment.”

In a similar way, said Boyle, “Jesus says stay awake, be prepared so that we can choose to be in the world who God is: compassionate, loving and kind.”

The surprise of the night, however, came when St. Thomas More Society of LA president Michele Friend announced its first-ever “Spirit of Justice” lifetime achievement award “for an amazing person in our midst.” 

“We may not be here today if it wasn’t for Marge Graf,” said Friend while introducing Graf, who has worked as general counsel for the Archdiocese of LA since 2001 and previously served as the society chapter’s president.

Friend praised Graf as a lawyer with “a total commitment to doing the right thing” who “brings a human element to the way she practices law.” She also recalled Graf’s role during litigation in the settlement of more than a thousand historical abuse claims by the LA Archdiocese.

“Lawyers on the other side of the table said Marge made it clear that the goal was to do the right thing,” said Friend. “A lot of this is owed to her, to her desire and willingness to make hard decisions. They said she was vital to the process: always straight up and always compassionate. She was remarkably transparent and this openness was critical to the process.”

“Marge, you have been entrusted with so much, and we are so very grateful for your faithful stewardship,” Friend added.

After receiving a standing ovation, Graf accepted the award on behalf of those who’d been harmed by abuse.

“I certainly had no expectation of this [award] and certainly not at an hour when we are all working so hard to recognize, to understand, and to support those who have been harmed and deserve justice.”