Tag: Christianity

If there is one thing written into the reality of our human experience, it is the necessity for work. 

On this earth, if man is to have a shelter, he’ll have to put up a roof. If he’s to eat, he’ll have to farm or hunt. If he doesn’t want to freeze, he’ll have to build a fire. There is no living without sweating, no existence without effort. This is actually an excellent thing because it’s hard to imagine anything more spiritually and morally unhealthy than an idle life, or one devoted to the pursuit of pleasure. We are not built for that, but for the satisfaction of pulling order out of chaos, and of seeing our plans give fruit.

We can overwork, however, and that can have disastrous consequences.

When my third child was 11 months old, I had a nervous breakdown. One early morning I went to work at the small community hospital where I was a radiologist. I had left my chubby baby in his sleep-damp pajamas sitting in the highchair, deliciously babbling and laughing. The kindergartner and the preschooler were cheerfully eating their cereal, half-dressed and uncombed. Trading that bright kitchen for my lonely dark room in the cold hospital with its nauseating smell of disinfectant was too much for me. I put my head on my desk and wept. 

I cried for days after that, entirely at sea about the arrangements of my life. 

I had decided early on to be a doctor, filled with enthusiasm for what I believe is one of the noblest of vocations. But I married a fellow student in my third year of medical school and our first baby was born nine months later. I went straight into residency, choosing radiology for its relatively easy training period. It might have been easy, if I didn’t have a baby and then another. Our third was born during my last year and I went straight to work at a hospital as soon as I was done. I aimed to “have it all.”

I was miserable at the hospital. All those years of study and extreme effort, the longing for the children, which was always paining me, all to end up sitting in front of a computer interpreting images and speaking into a recorder nine hours a day. I have to confess, with shame, that I was horrid to those around me — short-tempered, impatient, quick to complain and criticize. I kept up my professionalism as far as my patients and my radiology work, but I was bitter and made my poor co-workers pay for it.  

It was during that time that a friend invited me to an Opus Dei retreat. She had given me a prayer card of its founder, St. Josemaría Escrivá, which described Opus Dei as a “way of sanctification in daily work and in the fulfillment of the Christian’s ordinary duties.” You can see why I was drawn to “the Work.” 

There I was, walking a dark path in which my ordinary duties were taking me straight to hell, not heaven. I knew I was all wrong, and here was hope — that I could learn to be a light to others, even in difficult circumstances, and that my work, if not pleasant in itself, could be made beautiful by being offered to God as a prayer.

I found great comfort in my new hope and I persevered, helped on by lovely quotes like this one from the saint: “The work of each one of us, the activities that take up our time and energy, must be an offering worthy of our Creator. It must be operatio Dei, a work of God that is done for God: in short, a task that is complete and faultless.” And: “Professional work is also an apostolate, an opportunity to give ourselves to others, to reveal Christ to them and lead to God the Father.” My attitude improved and I found strength to be cheerful and patient. 

However, I could not salvage a situation which was inherently unbalanced. I was needlessly neglecting my family, in short, and much of my unhappiness was born of guilt and from a constant yearning to be with them. 

After a few days of weeping I put in my resignation, with the full support of my husband. Perhaps it didn’t make much sense from a purely material perspective, but it made perfect sense in every other way. I entered the prettiest time of my life, so far, treasuring every moment with my children because of all the moments I had missed. And we went on to have two more that would not have been ours if I had stayed at the hospital. 

Later on, I went back to work part-time, and from home. I’ve been very fortunate to find professional fulfillment and also to live fully the joy of home, children, and husband. I thank God for this. I also thank him for the hard lessons I learned, and even for my nervous breakdown. The real work of sanctification is being done all the time by him, of course. We just have to be attentive, pray, and follow where he leads.  

Romania, February 21, 2024

Photo: YouTube His Eminence Metropolitan Longin of Bancheny has faced repeated health problems since the Ukrainian state began its campaign of persecution against him.

On Monday, February 19, he underwent his second heart surgery in the span of two months, this time in a clinic in Romania. “With God’s help, the surgery went well. Metropolitan Longin has been saved!” reports the Holy Ascension-Bancheny Monastery, which the hierarch founded.

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. He is “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.”>accused of “inciting religious enmity”—the same phony charge being brought against a number of Orthodox hierarchs.

His Eminence has suffered several severe health incidents since the state launched its campaign against him. He suffered a stroke back 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.

“>in 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. Later that month, the Metropolitan’s car was unjustifiably detained and searched. Following the incident, his condition worsened and he experienced a heart arrhythmia.

Late last month, Met. Longin was 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.”

“>attacked at home and had to undergo surgery on his eyes.

Armed security forces surrounded and searched his monastery Armed security forces surround Ukrainian monastery that is home to hundreds of orphans (+VIDEO)The monastery is run by His Eminence Metropolitan Longin, one of the most authoritative hierarchs of the UOC, who is also the adopted father to hundreds of orphans who are cared for at the monastery.

“>in November, scaring the orphans who live there. Furthermore, His Eminence’s previous lawyer, Valentin Sukhari, died from poisoning in November. House of persecuted Metropolitan Longin goes up in flames in western UkraineThankfully, the Metropolitan was not harmed, but the roof of the house was destroyed and the structure is no longer suitable for living in. Locals are certain it was a case of arson.”>In early January, his house in Bukovina went up in flames.

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St. Peter Damian was born in 1007 in Ravenna, Italy. He had a large family, but his mother and father died while he was still young. Peter’s older brother took him in, but treated him poorly, until another brother, a priest, stepped in and provided Peter with an education and a new surname, Damian.

Peter excelled in school. He began taking up sacrifices — wearing a hair shirt, fasting, spending long hours reciting the Psalms — and eventually embraced voluntary poverty in the Order of St. Benedict. Peter joined a group of monks in a hermitage at Fonte Avellana, where they lived out their devotion to the Cross through lives of rigorous fasting and physical mortification. They also prayed all 150 Psalms daily.

Peter became known for his skill as a preacher, and leaders of other monasteries sought his help and advice in inspiring holiness in their own monks. In 1043, he became the prior of Fonte Avellana, and established five other hermitages.

The Church was under fire from serious corruption at the time. Many of the clergy were immoral, and there was a widespread practice of selling religious offices. Peter wrote tirelessly on the subject, calling the clergy and religious to live out their commitments to holiness.

In 1057, Pope Stephen IX made Peter a bishop, only by threatening to excommunicate him if he disobeyed. As Bishop of Ostia, Peter joined the College of Cardinals and wrote a letter to encourage the other cardinals to set an example for the Church.

After Pope Stephen died the following year, Peter supported Pope Nicholas II against a rival claim to the papacy, and represented the pope in Milan during a crisis over canonical and moral issues. Although Peter wished to remove himself from the center of these issues, Nicholas’ death in 1061 sparked another succession crisis, and he helped resolve this in favor of Pope Alexander II. Peter was then occupied with negotiations and travel for the next six years.

In 1067, Peter was allowed to resign his episcopate, and he returned to his monastery at Fonte Avellana. He was called back to help prevent German King Henry IV from divorcing his wife, and then made a pilgrimage to Monte Cassino, where the Benedictine order was born.

In 1072, Peter returned to Ravenna to bring the local church back in line with the pope. On his return trip, he fell ill, and died after spending a week at a Benedictine monastery in Faenza.

St. Peter Damien was named a Doctor of the Church in 1823 by Pope Leo XII.

A top Italian prelate and close papal aide has condemned the rise of antisemitism since the outbreak of the current war in Gaza, but has called for a ceasefire, saying Israel’s military offensive does not justify the rising civilian death count.

Speaking Feb. 18 on Italian television program In Mezz’ora shown on state broadcaster RAI, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi lamented the many violent conflicts raging throughout the world, saying, “We must always try to see peace, war is always a terrible defeat.”

“Every day more is a day of anguish. Peace is something that requires a lot of experiments, many attempts, it must be sought with obstinacy, and we are convinced that it will come,” he said, saying the international community has a role to play, and “cannot keep itself out.”

In terms of the ongoing war in Gaza, Zuppi issued a “strong and clear condemnation” of antisemitism and of the Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack by Hamas that left some 1,200 Israelis dead and over 200 more taken as hostages.

Zuppi called the Hamas attack “a terrible violence which killed innocents” and an “expression of something that we cannot accept.”

However, he also backed recent remarks from the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who acknowledged Israel’s right to self-defense, but said their military response to the Hamas attack has been disproportionate.

Israel’s embassy to the Holy See hit back against that statement, calling Parolin’s remarks “deplorable,” saying Hamas uses civilian infrastructure for terrorism and that since they started the fight, they are responsible for the casualties. The embassy also noted that previous regional conflicts have yielded a much higher civilian death toll, which they said is indicative of their efforts to avoid unnecessary casualties.

However, Zuppi defended Parolin’s position, saying Parolin simply repeated “what many governments are saying, he said ‘ceasefire,’ because this operation does not justify a huge number of victims.”

“We hope that this appeal will be accepted by Israel, and we will begin to look to the future,” he said.

Zuppi, who serves as the archbishop of Bologna and president of the powerful Italian Bishops’ Conference, is also Pope Francis’s personal peace envoy for the war in Ukraine, and last year traveled to Kyiv, Moscow, Washington D.C. and Beijing in that capacity.

His efforts in the Ukraine war have so far focused primarily on the humanitarian situation and on negotiating the return of Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia.

In his remarks on RAI, Zuppi said collaboration with both Russia and Ukraine on the humanitarian front continues, and that “the two nuncios, in Moscow and Kyiv, are always in contact and help the contact between the parties so that family reunifications can be started, they have already begun.”

Zuppi also spoke about issues of national interest, including rising poverty rates in Italy and consistent animus over the issue of migration.

“We have a situation that cannot fail to worry us, which we cannot fail to realize…there are millions of people who live below the poverty line,” and who rely on some form of aid, he said.

He noted that the Italian bishops and the government have “different assessments and concerns” on the migration issue, and said the Church “can and must be present” to all people involved.

“The only side the Church takes is that of the person,” he said, saying, “the important, continuous, and constructive dialogue with all governments and also with the current government continues.”

Referring to the recent collapse of a construction site in Florence that left five workers dead, Zuppi also called for more investment safer working conditions, saying, “safety costs money, but life has a value that cannot ever be calculated.”

Understandable anger over the incident “must become lucidity to avoid hypocrisy or rhetorical speeches of easy morality,” he said, saying, “One of the biggest problems are the controls…the reductions mean inventing everything to obtain the contract.”

Zuppi also weighed in on end-of-life issues as Italy continues its longstanding debate on euthanasia, a sensitive topic for the ageing nation, stressing the need to invest more in palliative care, rather than assisted suicide.

“A great respect” is needed when addressing end of life issues, he said. “When we talk about the right to life there is, for example, the right not to suffer. Palliative care allows us to combat suffering” by making the person comfortable and loved through long-term accompaniment.

In this regard, he said, “much more should be done on this, because not suffering would allow you to choose a little more.”

“If I know that I will not suffer and that I will be accompanied, I will be treated (and) that someone will prevent me from being overwhelmed by pain and will accompany me with sedation,” then the situation becomes more manageable, he said.

Noting that the Italian parliament is continually weighing various proposals and petitions, Zuppi said the Church “will accompany the work of Parliament with great respect.”

The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen human embryos constitute children under state statute, a decision that could have wide-reaching effects on in vitro fertilization and other medical concerns there.

The nine-judge court said in the 8-1 ruling that the state’s “Wrongful Death of a Minor Act” is “sweeping and unqualified,” and that its provisions extend to children “regardless of their location.”

“It applies to all children, born and unborn, without limitation,” the ruling said. “It is not the role of this Court to craft a new limitation based on our own view of what is or is not wise public policy.”

The court said that assessment was “especially true where, as here, the People of [Alabama] have adopted a Constitutional amendment directly aimed at stopping courts from excluding ‘unborn life’ from legal protection.”

Alabama voters in 2018 approved a state constitutional amendment affirming “the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children,” while in 2019 the state enacted a near-total ban on abortions, one that went fully into effect with the repeal of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

The state high court’s ruling came following a lawsuit brought by several parents whose frozen embryos had been accidentally destroyed at a fertility clinic. The plaintiffs had argued that the destruction fell under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act.

In the decision the justices cited, in part, the Bible, including passages from Genesis affirming the sanctity of human life, as well as commentary from Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin.

The justices in their ruling said the phrase “minor child” means “the same thing in the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act as it does in everyday parlance: ‘an unborn or recently born’ individual member of the human species, from fertilization until the age of majority.”

“Nothing about the Act narrows that definition to unborn children who are physically ‘in utero’,” the justices said. “Instead, the Act provides a cause of action for the death of any ‘minor child,’ without exception or limitation.”

The cardinal accustomed to preaching to popes and officials of the Roman Curia is now taking his Gospel message directly to the faithful through social media.

For six days during Lent, the Vatican was releasing brief — approximately two minutes long — spiritual reflections by Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the papal household, through its channels on X, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

As of Feb. 20, the second day of the initiative, only videos in Italian and Spanish had been published online.

According to a Vatican News article announcing the launch of the cardinal’s virtual reflections, the initiative was intended to allow people to “pray with the pope and the Roman Curia” during their Lenten spiritual exercises.

Pope Francis and members of the Curia were scheduled to pause their institutional obligations to privately participate in spiritual exercises Feb. 18-23.

“In the world there are few words capable of being said in one minute that are enough to fill a day and, in fact, a life: those that come from the mouth of Jesus,” Cardinal Cantalamessa said to begin his first video in the series, noting that he hopes the brief reflection would be like a spiritual “chewing gum” which viewers could return to throughout their day.

The cardinal reflected on the question Jesus poses to his disciples in St. John’s Gospel: “What are you looking for?” Citing St. Augustine, he suggested that everyone ultimately searches for happiness in their lives, something that can only be found in God.

“Examine yourself, brother or sister, and see if the explanation for so much of your sadness and restlessness is not precisely here: that is, looking for water in cracked wells rather than the source of living water that is God,” he said.

In the cardinal’s second video, released Feb. 20, he reflected on Jesus’ words to Martha in St. Luke’s Gospel, “There is need of only one thing,” and referenced the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard who said a life lived without that thing is wasted — namely, God.

Cardinal Cantalamessa preaches to the pope and members of the Roman Curia most Fridays during Advent and Lent. He also is the preacher at the Good Friday Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion attended by the pope in St. Peter’s Basilica.

The challenge of overcoming obstacles — whether they be cultural, spiritual, or even ecclesial — shaped much of the conversation at this year’s Los Angeles Religious Education Congress.

Held Feb. 16-18 at the Anaheim Convention Center, the event’s adult sessions drew some 12,000 adult participants and more than a hundred speakers from around the world. A day earlier, 6,500 local teens attended the Congress Youth Day, which featured a series of youth-themed workshops, prayer opportunities, and a magic show by speaker Giancarlo Bernini.

The theme of this year’s Congress was “Be Loved!” and at the opening ceremony Friday morning, its lead organizer invited participants to reflect on the things that get in the way of accepting God’s love.

“It is not enough to perceive God’s love only once,” said Sister Rosalia Meza, VDMF, director of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ Office of Religious Education. “The invitation and challenge are to choose this incredible truth of being a beloved child of God every day.”

In his welcome remarks, Archbishop José H. Gomez began by remembering late LA Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell as a man who “loved Jesus Christ and was always a joyful presence” at past congresses. O’Connell was found murdered in his home days before last year’s congress.

“I still miss Bishop Dave every day,” said Archbishop Gomez. “I know he is looking down on us this weekend from heaven, and he is smiling on us all.”

A pilgrim entrepreneur speaks

Congress keynote speaker Jessica Sarowitz talked about the ways her recent pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain gave her a new perspective on the power of spiritual mentorship in life.

Sarowitz, a business entrepreneur and self-described “social impact investor,” cited two mentors in her talk: Sister Maria Rosa Leggol, known as the “Mother Teresa of Honduras”; and someone she referred to as “Sister Joan,” whom she met during a Zoom book club during the pandemic.

Sarowitz, herself a native of Honduras, is the executive producer of “With This Light,” a 2023 documentary on Leggol. She first met the Franciscan sister at the age of 8.

“I knew she was extraordinary,” said Sarowitz. “And she gave great hugs.”

Getting to know Sister Joan over Zoom discussions about Laudato si’ , Pope Francis’ encyclical on care for the environment, helped inspire her to embark on a six-day, 100-plus kilometer Camino journey with her husband. Over the pilgrimage, she recalled, she came to realize her 40-pound backpack stuffed with so many things she thought she needed had become a metaphor for her life.

By the third day, she started to empty the backpack of things that weren’t necessary.

“It bore the weight of my anxiety, negativity, distrust, pain, grief, and past disappointments,” said Sarowitz. “The weight mirrored the heaviness in my spirit. I soon found solace in the support of my fellow travelers and in Scripture.”

The answer, suggested Sarowitz, is to form deeper relationships as God’s children.

“You have a loving, supportive community. Just look around this room at how glorious it is. Spiritual mentors are everywhere, ready to welcome and accept you. We know society thrives by service and deep connection. That is the core of trust and God’s love.”

A synodal intermission

Beyond the congress’ spiritual message, perhaps the most prominent theme reflected in the event’s most well-attended talks was the ongoing Synod of Bishops on Synodality, set to conclude next fall with a second monthlong gathering made up of bishops, men and women religious, and lay delegates.

In a talk titled “Our Synodal Journey,” synod delegate Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of San Diego began by praising the LA congress as “one of the great synodal gatherings that take place in this nation every year.”

McElroy’s presentation offered a summary of the deliberations at last fall’s session in Rome, and a look at some of the synod’s “overarching questions” going forward, including decentralization of Church authority, inclusion, and the possible changes to Church teaching.

On decentralization, for example, McElroy said the Vatican’s recent decision to allow varying implementations of its recent document on blessings for people in irregular and same-sex unions was due to different “cultural and pastoral factors, as well as neocolonialism” in some countries.

But while it is “wholly legitimate” for a priest to decline performing the blessings outlined in Fiducia Supplicans (“Supplicating Trust”), Catholics have a “rigorous obligation” to accompany people who identify as LGBT, said McElroy.

The 70-year-old prelate blamed opposition to such blessings on “an enduring animus among far too many towards LGBT persons.”

McElroy also said there was consensus at the synod in calling for a “paradigm shift” in giving women more decision-making roles and responsibilities in the Church. In another talk on synodality later that afternoon, Sister Teresa Maya, CCVI, said she was surprised to hear similar proposals about women in the Church — including the possibility of ordained ministry — from the different reports that emerged during the synod.

“I never thought I would read [these statements] in my lifetime,” said Maya, a theologian and former head of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). “Something is shifting.”

Both talks were well attended, and congress-goers had different views on what such shifts should look like.

Eileen Givens of Orlando, Florida, is the director of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood’s “Companions” charism. She agreed with Maya’s assessment that women’s voices are “starting to be heard.”

“We have men in the leadership role of ordination, but the women are in the ministries, are leading them. There’s excitement and energy behind that.”

Stephanie Hardy, RCIA coordinator at Holy Apostles Church in Meridian, Idaho — the state’s largest Catholic parish — said she’d like to see women be equal in the Church, “not do men’s jobs.”

“There’s some things we’re not called to do … and that’s OK,” said Hardy. “Too many times, women think we need to be men in order to be acknowledged, to be special, to bring people to the Church. But frankly, I can do more as a woman than I could as a man because that’s my gift.”

Where is the faith?

Catholic educators in Anaheim for the weekend said they came to the congress looking for resources for an increasingly complicated mission.

First-time congress attendee Nati Castillo, a catechist at Our Lady of Grace in Encino, said that being at the congress helped her with her faith simply by being “with other similar people that are trying to do the same.”

In answering the call to be a catechist, Castillo said she “didn’t want somebody to think there is something missing in their lives because there’s no one to tell them about Our Lord.”

“In our culture, things are changing a lot to very anti-God in our public schools,” where most of the children in the parish are educated, said Castillo.

Michelle White came to the congress with a cohort of educators all the way from the Archdiocese of Brisbane in Australia, where she’s a Catholic school principal in the town of Maryborough.

On Friday, she tuned into Sr. Patricia McCormack’s workshop titled “Engage, Evangelize, and Empower Parking Lot Parents.” The topic hit home for White, whose parish’s Catholic population is aging and in decline — with virtually no children being raised to replace them.

“It’s very sad, and we are trying to do so many things and just feel like we’re hitting our heads against the wall,” said White. “So I’m just hoping, if anything, to come away with my own faith life fulfilled, just to continue on.”

Albert Landa, a teacher at Paraclete High School in Lancaster, has been coming to the congress for the last 30 years. Every year, he said, there’s at least one “really good inspirational moment or talk that really hits me where I need it most.”

Asked about the most pressing challenges his students face today, Landa said the perils of the “electronic age” topped the list.

“They’re so leashed and tethered to their phones and electronics that they can’t listen to God or anyone else,” said Landa, who comes to the congress every year with his wife, a teacher at St. Mary’s School in Palmdale.

Landa also sees a problem in youth whose “parents don’t take them to church and aren’t bringing them up in the faith.”

“They’re Catholic but they don’t know what that means anymore,” he said.

Later, on Sunday, a joint workshop hosted by a bishop and a layman unpacked a national framework for young adult ministry intended to bridge that gap: “Listen, Teach, Send,” modeled after Jesus’ approach on the road to Emmaus as a way of reaching young people.

“Ministry with young people does not start with just ‘I’m going to tell you something’ but begins in a posture of listening, just as Jesus began,” said Paul Jarzembowski, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ associate director for the laity, who presented alongside Auxiliary Bishop José Arturo Cepeda of Detroit, chair of the bishop’s cultural diversity committee.

While listening is about trying to understand and empathize with what young people’s experience, “teaching” involves showing them what faith and the word of God might mean for their lives, Jarzembowski explained.

To “send” means giving young people “the tools now to share their faith with others, be champions for the marginalized, and to empower them so that they can make an impact on the Church now, not sometime in the future.”

A celebration of a ‘noble vocation’

At the welcoming ceremony on Friday, Meza had invited participants to write messages of how they know God’s love and to pin them on panels in the convention center lobby. By the end of the weekend, the notes overflowed as a mosaic. Teresa Cordeiro, a parishioner at St. Monica Church in Santa Monica, was one of the first to pin her paper message to the panel.

“I wanted as many people as will read it to know that God loves each of us,” Cordeiro said. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. When I look back, I see his hand throughout my life. He’s taken care of me.”

In his homily at the closing Mass, Archbishop Gomez reflected on God’s love in the context of the Sunday’s Mass readings, which spoke of Christ’s call to repent and believe in the Gospel.

“Jesus loves us for who we are, and he meets us where he finds us. But he never leaves us there, never leaves us in our sin.”

Quoting Pope Francis’ Lenten message this year describing Lent as “a season of conversion, a time of freedom,” Archbishop Gomez urged congress-goers to ask God “for the courage to continue our conversion to him, to continue our walk with him, and to deepen our conformity to his life.”

And, he added, “let us renew our commitment to the noble vocation of being catechists and teachers in the Church. Let us ask for new creativity and courage in our service of the Church’s mission of bringing our world to Jesus.”

Tom Hoffarth also contributed to this report.

Part 1

    

Christ said that we are truly moving towards the end. When will that happen? No one knows. Maybe in 1,000 years, maybe in 10,000, maybe 5,000,000—no one knows. And it shouldn’t concern us. Why shouldn’t it occupy our attention? First, because Christ told us that no one knows about the end of the world. Not a single saint knows. Only God knows, but He hasn’t revealed it to anyone. And I can tell you for sure about what’s being spread online now, that the end of the world will come in 2012—it will not come in 2012.¹ It may come in other years perhaps—in 2011, in 2013, in 2015, but not in 2012. The Lord will not allow false prophecies to be fulfilled. We can sleep peacefully in 2012—the world will not end then.

However, there is another end—our own. It will happen for sure, and soon enough. Our years are numbered, and life has a limit. You’re fifty now—you’ll have another twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty years, and that’s it. We must take for granted that there will be an end to our lives and the end of the world. They’re coming. What’s it important to think about? Not about the timing, but about how you’ll meet and receive this end, and that this end is not really the end of life, but your entry into eternity.

It would be good for us to reflect upon how we’ll walk this path and what our relationship with Christ will be like in eternity. If we think about it, we’ll stop hoping that we’ll amount to something. All this is transitory. And your earthly journey will come to an end. There will be no one left on earth who knows you, who remembers you. Only God remembers us. Only God remembers us all. At funerals, we say, “Memory eternal.” It’s not about us, humans. It’s nonsense when people say, “You did so much, and we’ll remember you forever!” You yourself will depart tomorrow, then I’ll follow after you. And how will you remember him? I don’t like these empty words.

I usually can’t stand listening to the speeches given at funerals. I fumble with my staff and pray to the Theotokos, “That’s enough, Most Holy Theotokos!” People say so many stupid things… Some kind of theater, playing with someone else’s pain. You can just say a few words of comfort without causing all this chaos. Unfortunately, we’ve turned this into a theater. God remembers man. God will always hold you in his memory. And when we sing: “May your memory be eternal, fathers and brothers worthy of blessedness and everlasting memory,” it means you’ll always remain in God’s memory.

When God remembers you, it means you exist, that you’re alive, that you’re the likeness of God, that your spirit and your soul repose in God. When God doesn’t want to remember you, doesn’t want to see you (not because He doesn’t want to, but because your soul has renounced Him, rejected the love of God, severed its connection with God, and renounced the eternal memory of God), it’s unfortunate for you. The Lord speaks about this in the Gospels. Try to spend the few years allotted to you on earth with dignity before God, so you can pass through the gates of eternity and stand before God pure, repentant, united with the grace of God, living in God, and having conquered death; so that you overcome corruption, overcome despair, so you don’t live far from God, but live eternally with Him. This is God’s victory over death, victory over corruption. This is our personal end.   

But the Lord also told us about the end of the world because there will be Christians living in those times. The Lord told us about the signs that will precede the end. He told us about this end in the Gospel and the Revelation of John through images and symbols. But He didn’t reveal this to us so that we would panic and lose sleep at night, seeing locusts coming at us, and all those visions that were revealed to the Apostle John. He wanted to leave us a very important message: “Fear not, God will win in the end.” No matter what happens, God will win. At times it will seem as though the Antichrist is winning, that the false prophets are winning. God will allow them to do what they want without restricting their freedom, as much as our inaction and malice will allow them to do so.

But the Lord will put an end to everything, not in order to punish us, but to give man a new birth, to bring man into the eternal Kingdom, to return everything to its own paths, as it was in the beginning, to recreate man according to the image of God; so that all who love the Lord may live with Him; so there would be a new Heaven and a new Earth, where God reigns, where there is neither pain, sorrows, nor human pettiness, but only Christ everywhere and in everything. The Lord has left us this blessed hope-bearing message. He told us not to fear anything. You’ll hear about wars, about dangers—one, then another, then a third. Don’t give in to your thoughts and don’t be afraid. This is how it should be and will be. But it will pass. And don’t be afraid. Don’t look at what’s going on now, but at Him Who is coming; at Christ, Who is the King of everything and everyone who has received and loved Him.

One notable sign of the end times will be the appearance of many false prophets. Today you can see that there are many prophets. The earth is filled with them—everyone has become a prophet or prophetess. But prophecy is a gift of the Holy Spirit. And the gifts of the Holy Spirit aren’t given quickly; they’re worth a lot, they’re very valuable. They’re given for the sake of something, not randomly. None of the prophets will go around saying, “I’m a prophet! God has revealed such and such to me.” They won’t spread it around. Know, that all these prophets you’ll see on TV and hear on the radio, who’ll say that God, the saints, the Theotokos revealed something to them, that they speak with God and get answers from him, are deluded.

God’s prophets have the gifts of the Holy Spirit and have the characteristics of true prophets within themselves. The first distinguishing feature is the Church. The gifts of the Holy Spirit aren’t active outside the Church. There are no prophets outside the Church, among the other creeds and heretics. There are false prophets, false messiahs, and antichrists there. The gifts of the Holy Spirit don’t work outside the Church. The Lord has established the Church, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit work within the body of baptized people. That doesn’t mean everyone else is going to hell. These are different things. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are one thing, and who will go to Paradise is another. It’s not only prophets and clairvoyants who will go to Paradise.

I’m not a prophet. I’ve probably already told you the story about how a woman called me at Maheras Monastery and asked: “Fr. Athanasios, tell me honestly, please, do you have the gift of clairvoyance?” I replied: “I’ll tell you frankly that, unfortunately, I don’t have the gift of clairvoyance.” “Maybe you’re saying that out of humility?” “No, I don’t have such humility. I’d like to have the gift of clairvoyance, but it wasn’t given to me. What can be done?” “Where can I find someone who has the gift of clairvoyance?” “Open the phone book and look—there should be some prophets there.” “Will prophets leave their phone numbers?”

People of God won’t bother with such nonsense. Go tell About a Miracle of St. PaisiosThen one day I had a dream. I saw Elder Paisios coming towards my bed, and he took me by the hand and carried me somewhere.

“>Elder Paisios, Elder Porphyrios that they’re prophets—they’ll think you’re insane. And they really were prophets. It’s impossible to imagine them saying: “My words are prophetic.” They were very shy and humble, deeply humble people. They never bragged. Gifts are given for the arrangement and strengthening of the Church to certain people—ascetic, virtuous, extremely humble, pure-hearted people—for the good of the Church. And not so we would write books, get carried away with fantasies, have followers, and the like. But our salvation doesn’t depend on whether we’ve prophesied or not. Everyone is invited to the Kingdom of God. Gifts have nothing to do with salvation in this sense. Salvation is for the whole world. St. John Climacus says:

Know, beloved, that the valleys shall abound with wheat (Ps. 64:14) and spiritual fruit. This valley is a soul low and humble among the mountains, that is, it is filled with labours and virtues, and always remains unhaughty and steadfast. David did not say, “I have fasted,” “I have kept vigil,” or “I have lain on the bare earth,” but “I humbled myself, and straightway the Lord saved me (Ps. 114:6)” (Ladder 25:13).²

I didn’t have anything else; I was looking for gifts, it didn’t occur to me. But I humbled myself, repented, changed my way of thinking, and asked the Lord for salvation. Moral Theology. Chapter 7: HumilityOur holy fathers-ascetics pointed to one way whereby the sincerity and depth of humility may be found out.

“>Humility saves us, not gifts. If you have talents but you don’t humble yourself, they’ll destroy you. You’ll fall into vanity, into pride.

The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Climacus     

Once a possessed woman grabbed the hand of a student from the theological school, put his hand in her mouth, and started shouting: “You burned me, you burned me, you burned me!” Deeply affected, he went to see Elder Paisios, and the Elder told him: “You got it all wrong! It’s that he burned you. He implanted such proud thoughts into your mind, making you think you’re someone special, that everyone was looking at you and saying: ‘What a good guy; even demons are burned by his touch.’” The devil scorched him with pride in the end.

Our vanity and pride are so great that the Lord, out of His love, leaves us without His gifts, so we don’t perish. Are we really going to dream that we’re going to start working miracles and make everyone happy? I thank God that I’m plump. I don’t want to lose weight. Imagine if I looked like a skeleton, people would say: “What a holy man! Skin and bones. Completely emaciated from fasting, from asceticism, from vigils.” And I’d start thinking about how people revere me, how they love me and understand that I’m a holy man. But instead, everyone looks at me and thinks, “How fat. They found a real saint! I’d like to see how much he ate at lunch today.” At least it humbles us. This is what I say to my portly brothers: “Glory to God! At least it keeps us from pride!” I’d be very proud if I were thin like a monastic saint.

We recognize the prophets by their humility, by their belonging to the Church. The people of God are extremely humble; they truly consider themselves worse than everyone else. To such people the Lord reveals His mysteries, His will. The Apostle John was given his revelation to remind us that Christ is the King of the world. In both our daily life and in the life of the whole world, neither what the devil desires nor what human evil seeks will come to pass, but whatever God wants. Evil may sometimes prevail in this temporary life. People can die being wrongly slandered, but the Lord is coming and He will put everything in its place. He will justify every unjustly condemned person forever.

And what has true dignity? The eternal Kingdom of God, not the feast of this world, given to us for fifty, sixty, or seventy years. The final word about every one of us will come from God. And it matters. All other words are empty. Everything passes, like a fog—both the good and the bad. The most important thing is what God will say about me—the final and most important word. The world and people can say different things; everyone judges in their own way.

The book of Revelation teaches us a lot, especially when we begin to carefully delve into its words, when we see how Christ holds the world in His hands and acts with wisdom in all things. We’re not forgotten or abandoned to fate. But at the same time, the devil has his rights and his freedom, he has room to act based on what he possesses. The freedom of every man is preserved by the wisdom of the providence and love of God. Not a single person will be left without the righteous judgment of God.

There’s always been a special interest in Revelation. But we don’t need to look closely at it for what will happen in the future—when the world will end, when the Second Coming will happen, whether the Antichrist has already been born or not. Revelation doesn’t talk about that. Revelation shows how you should prepare to face and make it through these events; what you should be like before these events; how you should seek Christ; how to remain faithful to Christ; how to avoid being deceived, seeing what’s going on; how to keep your mind and eyes fixed on Christ, no matter what’s happening around you. This is what you have to look for. The rest will happen, and we won’t be able to stop it.

Do you see what’s happening today? I read Revelation in second grade, and I was confused and said to myself: “Will God really allow so much evil in the world? Will He burn the world? Will the locusts come, and all that?” I went to see our parish priest. He was a very good man. I told him: “Father, I read Revelation and I’m confused.” He replied: “Son, God is love. It’s not God Who’s going to do this to us. People will do all of this.” He answered simply, but with correct theology. In the end, man will destroy the world. God won’t destroy it; He won’t take this work upon Himself. We’ll destroy everything ourselves. With the weapons we have today, the world could be destroyed in no time. And all the pollution of nature, diseases—no angel is going to arrange all of this for us—we’ll do it all ourselves. Do you see what’s happening? We create diseases ourselves, then we run to get vaccinated. These are all symptoms. They speak to the fact that this world has its time limit. No one knows exactly when, but destruction is happening, and it’s winning. We see what’s happening around us. Reading what was written two thousand years ago, we notice the peace of God in every chapter and see how peaceful man remains if God is with him.

I remember one nun from the Monastery of St. Herakleidios, Sister Christodouli. She was a very grace-filled old woman, plump, cheerful, and strong. Towards the end of her life, the sisters took care of her. She started saying, “I’m going to die, my end is near.” She called the sisters to give them the icons from her cell. She gave them out and asked them to remember her when she died. The sisters asked if she was afraid to die. She was perturbed: “What are you saying to me? Aren’t you ashamed to say such things? We’re nuns—what are you talking about? I’ve been a nun for fifty years, and I’m going to be afraid to die?”

I went to see her. She said she was being tempted by the sisters, that she was starting to get nervous from such questions. “Isn’t it shameful for nuns to be afraid of dying? I carry Christ in my heart, so what kind of talk is this? I receive Holy Communion, after all.” It was a challenge for her. “The only thing I want is for you to come to my funeral, so I can see you.” I said it might not work out if I go somewhere. After all, I couldn’t just sit and wait for her to die. We were planning to go to Jerusalem then. “I’ll tell Gerondissa to put me in cold storage until you get here! I don’t want to die and leave without you.” We agreed that she’d be put in cold storage.

And indeed, the Lord arranged it according to her heart’s desire. That day it happened that I was at the monastery. I went to see her. She was already hooked up to oxygen, breathing heavily. I asked her, “How are you, Sister Christodouli?” She said: “Geronda, bless me to die already. I want to go.” I blessed her, and she kissed my hand and crossed herself. I left her cell and headed for my hut. But before I could get there, five minutes or so later the sisters called and said she had died. That’s how she left.

If Christ is with us, death is defeated. We’ve seen dozens of deaths of God’s people. Death is a terrible thing, not easy to overcome. Death, corruption, age, years. But if Christ is with us, then He illuminates everything. Revelation speaks about the journey of mankind through problems, difficulties, trials, dangers, and struggles. But Christ is the light, peace, and joy of man, and therefore man can accept both his end and the end of this world in deep peace. And such peace is not a feeling. There can be pain and human struggle, but peace can reign in our hearts due to the presence of God. We’re with God, in His hand. God guides this world and my life, my children and family. Sometimes we worry about what will happen to our children when we die. Of course, this is inherent in man. But give everything over to God and give up such thoughts. Don’t worry—put everything in God’s hands and you’ll see how the Lord will take care of everything. Every day in peace, in Christ. Be calm, peaceful, and joyful.

Let’s finish our introductory talk. Next time we’ll turn to the text. We’ll begin with the first chapter of the Revelation of the Apostle John. It’s a difficult book, but we’ll work through it as much as we can.

To be continued…

We’re midway through Lent, and it’s a good time for us to ask why? Why do we do it? And why does it last so long?!

Well, we know there are biblical precedents. Jesus fasted for 40 days, and so did Moses, and so did Elijah. The 40 days reminds us of Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness and Noah’s 40 days of rain.

We know that the ancient Fathers at the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) recognized a 40-day fast. And there were 40-day fasts in Rome and Egypt long before that.

But why? That’s what my kids used to ask when they were driving the conversation about bedtime back to first principles. And it’s not a bad thing for us grownups to do when we think about Lent.

Why do we fast at all? Why does Lent last so long?

The earliest Christian discussions are lost to history. But historians propose many possible reasons, and today I want to consider just one.

Christians practiced long self-denial once a year because they were training themselves up for martyrdom. They were building up endurance because persecution was something real to them. It wasn’t always active, but the laws were still on the books, and the Church never knew when full enforcement might come back.

Lent was the way Christians stayed ready — prepared to give themselves away as martyrs. In the persecutions of Decius and Diocletian, many failed the test. At the thought of pain, discomfort, and death, they renounced Jesus Christ. The Christians who witnessed this watched in horror. They desired never to do the same.

It’s quite possible that the original Lent was only a week long. But by the fourth century Christians knew that they needed more than that.

We do, too. We know it from history. But we also know it from experience. We know our sins. We know our weaknesses.

The martyrs knew that if they made the effort to strengthen their will, God himself would make up for what they were lacking. Grace would build on nature, complete it, and elevate it.

This was Lent, then, in the third century and at the beginning of the fourth. It was a time of self-denial, self-mastery, and self-possession. But such discipline was a means and not an end. It’s not about checking off the boxes. It’s not about toughing it out.

It’s about love. We possess ourselves in order to give ourselves away in love — just as Jesus did on the cross, and just as Jesus does in the Mass.

As I prepared this column, I noticed that its term of publication would begin on February 23 and end on March 7. It begins with the memorial of St. Polycarp and ends with Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, all martyrs of the early Church. Their stories were preserved by eyewitnesses who depicted the martyrs’ suffering in liturgical terms. It was a gift of self — body and blood. It was given freely in love. Its result was communion with Christ.

That’s the meaning of Lent. We prepare ourselves for the most profound love with Jesus. Press on!

Limassol, Limassol District, Cyprus, February 20, 2024

Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr     

Thousands of Orthodox faithful were blessed to venerate the Holy Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos during its recent week-long stay in the Cypriot city of Limassol.

Overall, 100,000 people venerated the holy relic that is permanently treasured at Vatopedi Monastery on Mt. Athos, including several thousand who came out to bid farewell on Sunday, February 18, reports the Orthodoxia News Agency.

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The solemn Divine Liturgy was celebrated by the local hierarch His Eminence Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol and His Grace Bishop Nikolaos of Amathountos.

“The Panagia gave each person what they needed. No one left the Panagia empty-handed,” Met. Athanasios said. “We thank the Most Holy Theotokos for her condescension and for giving us the means to preserve her grace.

He also emphasized that the that the presence of the relic is a great blessing in this mournful year of the 50th anniversary of the Turkish invasion.

Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr     

After Limassol, the Holy Belt is now in Paphos.

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