Tag: Christianity

Kiev, February 10, 2025

Photo: spzh.eu     

In May 2019, two months after Vladimir Zelensky was elected President of Ukraine, a group of Ukrainian individuals and organizations published a statement threatening political instability if the head of state were to cross any of their “red lines” in terms of security, foreign policy, economics, national identity, media and information policy, and government functioning.

The statement, published by the Ukraine Crisis Media Center, is signed by nearly 70 individual public figures, media organizations, NGOs/public organizations, think thanks/research institutes, educational institutions, charitable foundations, and cultural organizations, many of whom are known to have been funded by USAID and other Western sources.

Under “National Identity,” the signatories warn of “implementing any actions aimed at undermining or discrediting the Orthodox Church of Ukraine or supporting the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine [the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church].”

The signees write that they were “deeply concerned about the first executive decisions taken by the newly-elected President.”

President Zelensky easily defeated incumbent Petro Poroshenko in 2019, with a major part of his platform being his promise not to interfere in religious affairs. Under Poroshenko, the Ukrainian government teamed up with the U.S. government and the Patriarchate of Constantinople to create the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” which exists to replace the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church under His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine. A wave of violence swept the country, as the godless schismatics physically seized Orthodox church buildings.

But under Zelensky, the situation for the canonical Church markedly improved, though organizations, such as the signatories of the aforementioned statement, saw the peaceful existence of the UOC as a threat to Ukraine. Over the years of his administration, and especially since the start of the war in February 2022, President Zelensky’s attitude towards the Ukrainians of the Kiev-centered UOC has considerably soured, aligning with the demands of the 2019 statement, and the Church now faces the threat of an outright ban.

Among the signees is Detector Media, “a watchdog of Ukrainian mass media,” which a USAID publication from May 2022 identified as a USAID partner.

Detector Media is now warning that the USAID funding freeze under President Trump “could erase three decades of progress and undermine Ukraine’s statehood, democratic values, and pro-Western orientation.”

According to Detector Media head Natalia Lygachova, more than 50% of Ukrainian media outlets that receive foreign grants depend on U.S. funding. “I can say that this is really very important not only for Ukraine but also for the United States. Because it is independent media that ensure, first of all, the existence of democracy and pluralism in Ukraine,” Lygachova said.

Another signatory, the Ukrainian Prism Foreign Policy Council, lists among its partners the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine.

Another, the Internews Ukraine NGO, is funded by George Soros’ Open Society Foundation, as well as the National Democratic Institute, which was in turn supported by USAID and the U.S. Department of State.

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The 11th National Eucharistic Congress will be held in 2029, building “on the grace” received in Indianapolis at the 10th congress, said Jason Shanks, CEO of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc.

The 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 17-21 drew more than 60,000 attendees and included a Eucharistic procession of tens of thousands of Catholics through the city’s downtown streets. The congress was a high point of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative by the U.S. Catholic bishops.

“The National Eucharistic Congress Inc. is thrilled to share that we have begun the initial steps in preparing” for a 2029 congress, Shanks told OSV News in an email late Feb. 7.

“We look forward to reuniting as an American church to celebrate our shared Eucharistic faith,” he said. “We are eager to build on the grace we received during our gathering in Indianapolis this past summer.”

“We recognize that the success of the previous congress can be attributed to the countless individuals who prayed and interceded for the event,” Shanks continued. “So, we invite the church to join us in praying not only for the planning of this future Congress, but that we might continue to Walk with One through this year of missionary sending. We will provide more details about the 11th National Eucharistic Congress in the future.”

Shanks told The Pillar Feb. 7 that a decision to hold the next national gathering in 2029 was made “in consultation with the bishops” and that a formal presentation on plans for the congress will be presented to the body of the bishops during their fall plenary assembly in November.

The revival is now focusing on its Year of Mission, in which Catholics are encouraged to become “Eucharistic missionaries” who share the reality and impact of Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist with others. This is especially realized through the revival’s “Walk with One” campaign, which asks Catholics to identify one person whom they can accompany on their faith journey and deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ.

The National Eucharistic Congress Inc. nonprofit was formed in 2022 to support the bishops’ vision for the revival. It oversaw not only the congress but also the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, two major components of the National Eucharistic Revival.

The pilgrimage involved 30 young adult “perpetual pilgrims” crossing the country over eight weeks with the Eucharist via four routes, which ended in Indianapolis ahead of the congress.

Pilgrimage-related events, such as Mass, Eucharistic adoration and public processions, drew in some cases thousands of people, with the largest perhaps being the 5-mile procession in St. Paul, Minnesota, with crowd estimates exceeding 7,000 adorers.

At the conclusion of the congress, Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, board chairman of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., announced there would be another National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in 2025 from Indianapolis to Los Angeles and possibly an earlier National Eucharistic Congress than 2033.

2033 is when the church will mark the 2,000th anniversary of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection, which Pope Francis called “another fundamental celebration for all Christians.”

While the bishops’ initiative is slated to end with the feast of Corpus Christi, which is June 19, the organization expects to build on the revival’s momentum beyond 2025 and continue to support Eucharist-centered efforts, including future national Eucharistic pilgrimages and congresses.

Chișinău, February 10, 2025

Beneficiaries of the social ministry of the Metropolis of Chișinău. Photo: mitropolia.md     

The Orthodox Church has long been recognized for its deep commitment to social ministry and charitable works, viewing them as essential expressions of Christian faith in action. Two recent events from different corners of the Orthodox world exemplify this ongoing dedication to serving those in need.

In Moldova’s capital Chișinău and the Greek city of Veria, local Orthodox communities have demonstrated this tradition through significant charitable initiatives—one celebrating years of sustained social work, and the other honoring those who nurture large families.

Moldova

The Moldovan Orthodox Church’s Metropolis of Chișinău held a series of charitable events recently in honor of the 5th anniversary of the social-missionary center named for the Joy of All Who Sorrow Icon of the Mother of God.

The center was founded in early 2020 with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Vladimir. Over the past 5 years, it has run numerous events and projects in support of people from socially vulnerable families, lonely elderly, homeless persons, and large families, and in support of the harmonious development of children and young people from these environments and their reintegration into society, reports the Moldovan Orthodox Church.

In honor of the anniversary, the Exhumation of relics of Sts. Dumitru Stăniloae and Sofian (Boghiu)The relics of two great 20th-century Romanian confessors were solemnly uncovered at monasteries near Bucharest on Monday.

“>Venerable Confessor Sofian of Antim volunteer group visited a village parish with gifts for the local faithful: clothes, footwear, blankets, notebooks for students, spiritual literature, food packages for 20 disadvantaged families, and other goods.

Two partner social institutions also received several boxes of clothing, footwear, dishes, pharmaceutical products for the sick, children’s toys, furniture and other gifts, intended both for their activity and for socially vulnerable families in need of material support.

Another initiative included the donation of furniture of other goods for the Nativity of the Mother of God Convent in Răciula.

Hieromonk Macarie Crudu, head of the Synodal Social Assistance-Charity Department, spoke about the spiritual value of helping others:

In this life, the surest means of entering into communion with God, the unfailing and instantaneous means, is doing good, helping our neighbor in trouble, which also represents the beginning of all goodness. St. John Chrysostom beautifully defines this great and chosen work of philanthropy or love of people, which is born from prayer: “Charity is the mother of love, of the love that characterizes Christianity, which is greater than all signs and miracles, and through which disciples resemble Christ.” No purer thanksgiving can be brought to God than mercy or the virtue of charity.

We are called by God in these difficult times to alleviate poverty, heal suffering, extend a helping hand to those who have fallen, feed the hungry, care for and heal the wounds of the poor. By doing these things we receive medicine for our sins, clean the dirt from our souls and adorn them, ascending to Heaven.

Greece

Honoring mothers of many children in Greece. Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr     

On Sunday afternoon, February 9, the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Veria held an event honoring mothers of large families.

The diocese traditionally combines the feast of the Presentation of the Lord with the celebration of mothers and families. Vatopedi Monastery was represented by Hieromonk George, who conveyed greetings from Abbot Elder Ephraim and spoke about the important and necessary role that large families play for the Greek homeland, and Monk Barnabas.

The event featured performances by several children’s and school choirs.

At the end, His Eminence Metropolitan Panteleimon honored five mothers of large families, offering them financial assistance and a holy icon, wishing that the Most Holy Theotokos would bless, protect, and preserve their large families, while the representatives of Vatopedi honored 30 mothers of large families who were offered financial assistance.

Reflecting on the labor of motherhood, Metropolitan Panteleimon of Veria said:

If the contribution of a mother who raises a child and offers society a good person, a faithful Christian, deserves our gratitude and appreciation—because the future of both our homeland and our Church rests on every righteous person and every true Christian—then we owe boundless gratitude to the mother of many children. For she’s the one who struggles and works tirelessly for many years, who never exhausts herself in offering her love, her attention, and her prayers, to help her children, to respond to all their needs, so they may grow up in a healthy and Christian environment and take with them as provisions for their life not only the knowledge and education they need but also education in Christ, so they may have principles and values in accordance with our tradition, so they may be in the Church and draw strength from God’s grace, enabling them to move forward and progress in their lives. This contribution of the mother of many children undoubtedly deserves our deepest gratitude and honor.

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A prominent Vatican cardinal said on Monday that people are being “terrorized” by the U.S. government’s “crackdown” on immigration and freeze of Catholic-run aid programs.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, told the Associated Press in an interview published Feb. 10 that U.S. measures affecting both migration policy and international aid programs are causing serious harm to vulnerable populations.

“A crackdown is a terrible way to administer affairs and much less to administer justice,” the Czech-born Canadian Jesuit said. “I’m very sorry that many people are being hurt and indeed terrorized by the measures.”

The cardinal’s comments coincided with a sharp rebuke from Caritas Internationalis, which on Monday strongly condemned what it called “the reckless decision by the U.S. administration to abruptly close USAID funded programs and offices worldwide.”

Caritas warned: “Stopping USAID will jeopardize essential services for hundreds of millions of people, undermine decades of progress in humanitarian and development assistance, destabilize regions that rely on this critical support, and condemn millions to dehumanizing poverty or even death.”

Catholic Relief Services — the U.S. Catholic Church’s primary aid agency and one of USAID’s recipients — has already raised concerns about the impact.

Czerny noted that smaller Catholic programs are also affected.

The Vatican official emphasized Pope Francis’ teaching that caring for migrants and vulnerable people is a fundamental Christian duty.

“What the Church teaches is very well summed up by Pope Francis, who says that our obligation, not only as Christians but as human beings, is to welcome people, to protect them, to promote them, and to integrate them,” Czerny said.

The Jesuit cardinal is the latest of several prelates to weigh in on U.S. immigration policy changes, which numerous Catholic leaders, including Pope Francis, have criticized as unjust.

On Feb. 7, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, noted that “the Church does not have the authority or the responsibility to determine the legal status of those living in the United States” but does have “an obligation to care for every person with respect and love, no matter their citizenship status.”

At the same time, the Kansas archbishop offered a full-throated endorsement of prioritizing public safety threats in immigration enforcement.

Storozhynets, Chernivtsi Province, Ukraine, February 10, 2025

Photo: ​uoc-news.church     

Hundreds of Orthodox Christians held a cross procession through the center of the city of Storozhynets in the western Ukrainian province of Chernivtsi on Sunday, offering fervent prayers to the Lord for the protection of their holy churches against the violent state church.

On the same day, representatives of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” created by the Patriarchate of Constantinople with the Ukrainian and U.S. governments, were holding their own gathering, not for prayer but for planning the illegal seizure of Orthodox churches, reports the Information-Education Department of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

As the Orthodox faithful had learned, the schismatics have already falsified documents to “legally” seize the church, which will be followed by a violent physical takeover.

An official from the Chernivtsi Province Administration recently admitted that when OCU representatives submit documents claiming a church now belongs to them, the administration makes no effort to check the accuracy of the documents or the reality of the “transfer,” but simply re-registers the church, thus stealing it from the faithful Orthodox Christians.

​

Arriving in procession at the scene of the schismatics’ meeting, the Orthodox Christians continued praying. The UOC clergy served a panikhida for the fallen Ukrainian soldiers, while the OCU representatives only shouted insults and blasphemy.

After the memorial service, the clergy read an appeal to international representatives, requesting help in protecting their rights. The participants all expressed their intention to remain Orthodox, under the leadership of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine.

The clergy reported that they had sent an official appeal to the U.S. Embassy and Vice President JD Vance, asking them to protect their rights. Orthodox parishes in western Ukraine seek U.S. protection from religious persecutionParishioners of the Church of St. Basil in the village of Pidzaharychi in Bukovina appealed to U.S. government agencies about protecting their rights on January 30.

“>OrthoChristian reported last week on another two Bukovina parishes that have appealed to the U.S. government, and to Vice President Vance in particular.

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Archpriest Peter Guryanov is the rector of the Church of the Queen of All Icon of the Mother of God in Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk Province, Russia. He also serves as head of the Information and Publishing Department of the Melekess Diocese, Chairman of the Diocesan Commission on Family, Protection of Motherhood and Childhood, and member of the Dimitrovgrad city Cultural Council.

Photo: dzen.ru     

I met the heroine of this story online. There are many pro-abortion groups on social media where girls consult with each other about where and with which doctor it’s better to have the “procedure.” I join these groups and I read the comments and respond to them—I ask them to write to me. If the comment isn’t anonymous, I write to the person myself and we have a dialogue. I never condemn these girls, even if I can’t manage to talk them out of having an Family Matters: Abortions“I am disappointed in human beings,” was the first thing I heard, when I answered the phone call from a priest I knew. This priest was a father of five, a quiet and collected person, who was no stranger to moderate and appropriate humor and absolutely averse to melodrama.

“>abortion. Either way, I keep in touch with them.

I ask what drove them to this decision. Sometimes, it’s right then that the girl needs to pour out her soul. After all, such decisions are often made rashly, when they have no support—especially not the support of a man. I explain that you can’t build happiness on the blood of murdered children, and I offer all kinds of help, including taking care of the child.

Anyway, I had another conversation with another one of the girls from these groups—no husband, she got pregnant “by accident.” Her parents agreed with her decision to get rid of the child: She’s only twenty-one, they said, with her whole life and work ahead of her…

Then one day I found out that … she was going ahead with the abortion and had already left for the hospital! I rushed off immediately.

The surgical building is right across from the church where I serve, so I got there quickly. I got up to the right floor and I saw she was already in line for a referral for the “procedure.” I sat down next to her and started talking to her. I told her the same thing I always say when I talk to girls who find themselves in this situation: I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live (Deut. 30:19).

When the doctor came out of his office to call her in, he saw me and understood what was going on. He didn’t try to kick me out, even though I didn’t really have the right to be there. The girl was faced with a choice—to go with the doctor or with me. “Where are you going?! Keep your baby!” I exclaimed, and I led her away from there sobbing and weeping. There was no abortion for her that day.

This girl called me not too long ago to tell me that she was registered at the hospital to give birth. She also said I would be the child’s Godfather.

This is one of my recent victories. I’ve been dealing with the problem of abortion since 2008. Over the years, 396 babies were born whose lives were at risk, and I became the Godfather for 97 of them.

He was a master of stone, with the softest of hearts.

Devout Catholic Louie Carnevale, the son of Italian immigrants who at age 21 founded a natural stone contracting company that grew into an industry leader, couldn’t say no to even the poorest of churches in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Over the past several decades, Carnevale installed new altars and flooring at a steep discount to help renovate cash-starved parishes.

Meanwhile, his company — Carnevale & Lohr Stone, founded in Bell Gardens with best friend Ed Lohr — was working on such iconic LA projects as the Getty Museum and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, where Carnevale, who started as a journeyman stonemason in his teens, was eulogized on Jan. 31.

Carnevale, 87, died Jan. 16 in Granada Hills. He is survived by his high school sweetheart and wife of 67 years, Jackie, two sons, David and Michael, who now run the company, and scores of other family members, colleagues, and admirers throughout the archdiocese and beyond.

“You cannot walk into this cathedral without touching the soul of this wonderful artist, Louie Carnevale,” Cardinal Roger Mahony said at the funeral Mass. Separately, he told Angelus that Carnevale’s “deep faith and commitment to the Church and our archdiocese was singular.”

It was Cardinal Mahony, archbishop of Los Angeles from 1985 to 2011, who commissioned Carnevale, revered as a hands-on craftsman and a businessman with unimpeachable ethics, to design and build the main cathedral altar of the archdiocese’s new home that opened in September 2002.

And it was Cardinal Mahony who stood on that same altar — crafted from a six-ton slab of Turkish Rosso Laguna marble and fabricated, cut, polished, and shipped from Carrara, Italy — as he fondly recalled Carnevale as a generous businessman with great artistic abilities.

“Both of us had this great sense we were about to build something sacred,” Cardinal Mahony recalled.

He recounted how the altar was so large — 8 feet wide, 10 feet across, and 10 inches thick — that two cranes had to lower it into the cathedral before the roof was installed.

Carnevale was born on July 21, 1937. The youngest of five children, he grew up in South Central LA and Bell.

Young Louie worked summers in the marble shop alongside his father.

“I wanted to do marble since I was 7,” he once recounted. “I just thought it was fascinating to create and build something so beautiful and solid.”

In 1958, just a few years after graduating from Bell High School where he excelled at sports and architectural drafting, Carnevale founded the company with Lohr as equal partners.

That same year, Louie and Jackie got married.

Carnevale & Lohr rapidly developed a reputation in the industry for its meticulous attention to detail and unparalleled artistry.

Carnevale’s philosophy was: “Pretend it’s your own building — think how you would want it done as it’s yours and do it that way.”

The business partners were inseparable. Carnevale and Lohr drove the same type of trucks and had the same art and fine china in their homes.

In his eulogy, David Carnevale said his father’s countless good works have been rewarded with everlasting life.

“I attribute this to his deep religious convictions and belief in the principle that success in life begins with honesty, trust, and respect,” David said.

“But for him,” he continued, “even greater than [his accomplishments] was his belief in family — family was everything to him. He never spoke of his accomplishments … but those of his family. He never bragged about his stature or wealth or possessions but instead he did brag about being a husband, a father, an uncle, a cousin, a grandfather.”

David said his father told him his success could not have been achieved without Jackie.

Bishop Spyridon of Amastris, pastor emeritus of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Northridge, also spoke at Carnevale’s funeral.

He recalled when, in 1966, Carnevale and Lohr came to bid on the stone and marble work at the parish.

“After negotiating and handshaking, Louie lingered,” the bishop recalled. “A friendship was formed, and it was founded on a tremendous amount of love. It came from the heart.”

Cardinal Mahony recalled how Carnevale, in Turkey to watch the slab of marble being prepared for shipment, became saddened that the non-Christian workers had no idea it would become the cathedral altar.

“It wasn’t just rock to Louie,” Cardinal Mahony said.

After the marble was blessed in Italy, Carnevale smiled.

“It gladdens my heart to see the block of rock groomed to be an altar, and here it stands today for all time,” he told Cardinal Mahony.

The cardinal recounted a conversation he and Carnevale had about needy parishes.

“We have this really poor church that can’t afford to do anything, and they need help,” Cardinal Mahony said.

“Let me take a look,” Carnevale said.

“They don’t have much money.”

“They’ll get a bill they’ll be happy with.”

Cardinal Mahony asked him how he could swing that.

“Ever hear of Robin Hood?” Carnevale responded. “Wealthy churches will pay a bit more to pay for improvements to smaller churches.”

“Brilliant,” Cardinal Mahony said. “God will love you for that.”

Carnevale was honored with the Marble Institute of America’s Migliore Award in 2008 for his lifetime achievements.

In 2010, he received the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ Cardinal’s Award.

Carnevale had fond memories of meeting St. Pope John Paul II and getting to know countless priests, nuns, and fellow laypeople while working on numerous construction and refurbishing projects at parishes, convents, and other religious institutions throughout the state.

His other survivors include his grandchildren, Nico and Luca; his nephew, Steve; and his grandniece and nephew, Taylor and Roman.

David reminded the congregants of his father’s philosophy in life and business:

“I have always believed you are who you are associated with.”

Martyr Olga (Olga Vasilyevna Evdokimova) was born on July 11, 1896, in the village of Novo-Rozhdestvenskoye, Ramenskaya Volost, Bronnitsky Uyezd, Moscow Province. Her father worked as a forester on the estate of landowner Ilyin. Olga completed her education at the village school and married a peasant, Pyotr Matveyevich Evdokimov. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, he was drafted into the army, and after the war, he worked at a factory in Ramenskoye. From 1914, he served as a watchman in the village of Mikhnevo. He passed away in 1921, leaving Olga with two children.

Since childhood, Olga was a devoted parishioner of the Church of St. John the Baptist in Novo-Rozhdestvenskoye and actively participated in all events related to the church.

After the church was closed in 1937, Olga Vasilyevna was arrested on September 4, 1937, along with the priests, the psalmist, and the church warden. She was taken to Taganka Prison in Moscow and interrogated the same day.

Interrogation Transcript:

—Give detailed testimony about your connections with the clergy of the parish.

—My connection with the clergy was based on religious beliefs and church rites, meaning I actively attended church, welcomed priests into my home, and considered them my spiritual mentors, with whom I have maintained contact to this day.

—Give detailed testimony about your counter-revolutionary statements against representatives of Soviet power among the church crowd.

—I said that the church should not be closed, and that we needed to elect a representative and send a petition to Moscow to keep the church open. I also said that they talk about freedom, yet here we are being oppressed again, and that it is our local government who is persecuting us believers.

—Who instructed you to seize the church keys from the warden and hand them over to Kopeykin, warning her not to give them to the authorities?

— I did not seize the keys from the church warden. I only said that the keys were irrelevant—if they put a seal on the door or change the lock, our keys would be of no use.

—Who incited you to engage in open anti-Soviet agitation and call for resistance against the Soviet government’s decision to close the church?

— No one incited me. I consciously took this hostile path myself because the Soviet government acted wrongly by closing the church in our village.

On October 17, 1937, the NKVD troika sentenced Olga Vasilyevna to ten years in a forced labor camp.

She died in prison on February 10, 1938, and was buried in an unmarked grave.

From Igumen Damaskin (Orlovsky), Lives of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia in the 20th Century. January, (Tver, 2005), 402–404.

Hieromonk Kirill (Popov)     

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!

Beloved Christians—children of God! God reveals Himself to each person in His own way. Thus, God revealed Himself to the holy Prophet Elias in a still small voice, and to the holy Prophet Moses in the Burning Bush. And we know from personal experience that God reveals Himself in accordance with our inner distinctive features, needs, views, intelligence, in images accessible to us and, most importantly, speaks to us in our language. The Lord hides and reveals Himself to people in simplicity, and in simplicity we ourselves are able to see and hear the voice of God. Even the incarnated Lord reveals Himself to us in the form of a simple Man. We are not always able to contain the Word of God, which is Heavenly Revelation, so when we receive something from God from above, we cannot always explain and express it in a language that is accessible to us. Man is tongue-tied in Divine matters. Sometimes it’s easier for us to think of something for God, to explain it in our own way, but we can’t always be sure what exactly God wants to tell us.

Today we are solemnly celebrating the memory of the great saints of God—the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia

“>New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church. God also revealed Himself to them in His own way—in suffering and martyrdom. Their experience of God in suffering is a mystery to the human mind. I’ve heard some people say, “They suffered, and today we celebrate and rejoice.” It may seem strange, but it was their suffering that was a true source of joy. In their suffering they truly felt the close presence of God in their lives, they clearly saw and heard Him in the burning abyss of pain and sorrow. Life would seem meaningless and terrible to us, a heavy burden or a cruel punishment, and our hearts would be full of doubts about God’s wisdom if it were not for the answers through the holy New Martyrs, who had to go through incredibly harsh trials.

Very often we like to flaunt high ideas, accustoming people to suffering; having no suffering, living in peace and joy, we like to say that suffering is always good and that we justly deserve suffering. No, suffering is bad; and even worse, suffering is unfair. That’s why many people struggle to fathom how a merciful God allows suffering to rule in this world. We must remember once and for all: it is not God who sends suffering to us, but we ourselves do with our own hands, through our evil deeds, stupid and thoughtless actions, trigger the mechanism of suffering for ourselves and our loved ones. But God does not forsake us for a single minute in our suffering. Even in it He tries to act and help us. When everything goes quietly and smoothly in our lives, we learn to thank God. But when a period of obstacles and difficulties comes, our faith disappears in the blink of an eye. We do not see God in suffering and do not feel Him. And the result is always twofold. Some people are broken by difficulties in life, get discouraged, start to despair, and slowly kill themselves. As for others, on the contrary, difficulties teach them to trust God.

    

Let’s take a look at how we can turn our “Without This Suffering I Am Nothing”Why is suffering necessary? I lived an experience of suffering which enriched my soul, and I believe that suffering is necessary for me. But it is very difficult to accept this thing.

“>suffering into joy. Sometimes hardships in life expose all our weaknesses. When we are successful and everything is fine with us, it is hard to assess our present state of soul. But when a series of problems begins—a bad patch, as we say—we start to learn a lot about ourselves. Let’s thank God for allowing us to see our true faces in these trials. He does not do it to offend us or mock us, but to make us see our true selves, draw the right conclusions, and “fill in the gaps”, correcting the shortcomings of which each one of us has plenty.

Of course, we would all like to perceive and know God as a Savior and a Deliverer. For example, we got sick, prayed—and recovered at once. We can’t find a job: we prayed—and immediately found a prestigious job. We experience financial difficulties, and after praying we immediately received a bag of cash. True, such things happen—the Lord can perform any miracle, but often He tries to turn our suffering to our good and teach us something. We think as humans, and God thinks differently—there is a deep meaning in His actions, aimed above all at the salvation of our souls.

For example, we often think, “This is my place, I feel comfortable here, and it is here that I can attain salvation.” But the Lord sees everything differently and puts us in circumstances that seem very unpleasant to us, but it is this “unpleasantness” that can turn into great joy and comfort for us.

And we see this in the example of the New Martyrs. Many of them could not have even imagined that their paths in life would be so difficult. And in an instant they found themselves squeezed into the grip of suffering, they were deprived of the peace that had been in their lives, they were torn out of the accustomed pace of life, and their new lives seemed like a real hell, but it was here that they truly contemplated and felt God. While in comfort we often distort the image of God, but the genuine picture begins to change when we feel absolutely helpless and alone. And, of course, due to human weakness, we begin to grumble and imagine God as ruthless and unfair. But is this how God wants to reveal Himself to us? Is this what He wants for us? No, He’s showing us ourselves for real.

    

A Christian life is often full of hardships, and we must always remember that we can’t live without God’s consolation! The verb “to comfort” is repeated many times in the New Testament, and it does not only give the meaning “sympathy” to the noun “comfort”, but is also used in its original meaning: “bravery”. Divine consolation not only gives our souls peace and relief, but also the bravery and courage to cope with all the difficulties in life.

We should also bear in mind that the trials we go through make us experienced strugglers. Having gone through these tribulations, we should not become embittered. On the contrary, our experience helps us put ourselves in the place of another and help him with advice or prayer. After going through the crucible of trials, we can help others by sharing our experience. Unfortunately, suffering mostly separates us, although in its essence it should unite us. If we see someone suffering, we should not gloat, but rather learn to lend him a helping hand.

We say all this in order to understand what lessons we should learn from trials. But we all know that suffering sometimes gets a person down so far that he is unable to raise his eyes up to Heaven; more than that, suffering leads to a desperate attack on faith. As believers, like the friends of Righteous Job the Long-SufferingThe righteous Job, God’s faithful servant, was the perfect image of every virtue. The son of Zarah and Bossorha (Job 42), Job was a fifth-generation descendent of Abraham.

“>Righteous Job the Much-Suffering, we begin to teach the suffering person instead of saying words of comfort: “It’s your own fault—the Lord has punished you,” and so on. Saying this, we don’t even realize that a living human soul is in front of us, weighed down by its sorrows. You should not show your knowledge and your “high wisdom” here, because all this blocks our path to compassion. And this leads to the main conclusion: it is not our teaching that a person in sorrow needs, but our consolation. Sometimes God works through another person to comfort and encourage us. Our task is not to reflect on suffering, but to respond to it properly. We have no right to teach another person, much less to judge him. If we were in a similar difficult situation, no one knows how we would behave.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us learn the right lessons in suffering, and most importantly, let us seek God in it. If we learn to transform our suffering into joy, experience, and help, then the All-merciful Lord will help us, seeing that we derive good from everything for ourselves and our neighbors. We also must keep in mind that the heavy cross of suffering teaches us to trust and rely on God, and teaches us sincere and genuine prayer. Therefore, let our sorrow turn into prayer. Amen.

    

The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (18:10-14)

What is the heart of prayer? What is it’s purpose? What is it’s goal? Do we pray in order to “look religious or spiritual?” Do we pray because that’s just what we are supposed to do? Do we pray because we feel that somehow it is our duty or obligation to do so? Or perhaps we have even less noble intentions. We see two different sides of prayer in today’s gospel reading. This parable of the publican and the Pharisee, told by Our Lord Jesus Christ, effectively puts everyone who prays into one of two camps, on one of two sides. Those who pray rightly and those whose prayer is all wrong.

There are some differences between the two and they are important enough that Our Lord Jesus Christ found it necessary to teach us, His children, so that we would be like one of these two men and not like the other. Our Lord taught all of this in the most loaded and controversial way possible, so that everyone would get the message and no one was left unaffected or in the dark.

He says, “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.” Thank God! It is a good thing that these men went to the temple to pray. It is a good thing when a man or woman comes to the church to pray. Yet, this isn’t enough. The Lord gives us insight into the prayers of each man. He dissects the human heart in a way that is not seen anywhere at any time in any other religious tradition. He tells us that the Pharisee, a religious man who is publicly seen as pious and holy and good prayed in this way, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not like other men, extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’

And then Our Lord tells us of the prayer of the publican. We are reminded that the publicans or tax collectors were viewed with suspicion and generally they were very disliked. They were considered evil and unjust men because they cooperated with the Romans in taxing their own people, the Jews. Many of them also took far more than their fair share because they had the power to do so. If an IRS agent wants to come and take everything you own, you will be nearly powerless to fight back, because they have the power and the resources of the empire at their disposal, and you have nothing. So this was how the publican was seen. But listen to his prayer my friends, “the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to Heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’” Wow!

When I read this verse, I have to step back and ask if I have ever prayed like this for a single moment in my whole life. Each of us should probably be asking that question. Have we ever felt truly broken in our prayers? Have we ever scraped the depths of our heart and found ourselves so fallen, and so powerless that we didn’t even have any substantial words to give to the Lord, we didn’t even have the power to lift our eyes to the heavens. As if we felt the weight of our sins and felt like we were standing completely naked and exposed before God. That is a feeling of true vulnerability, and true weakness. And it turns out that this is exactly the mindset and the condition of the heart that will provoke a response from our God. “A broken and humble heart, God will not despise.”

The publican’s prayer is like medicine for us. It should humble us and serve as a powerful example of what our prayers can be. Prayer is good when it looks and sounds like this. However the Pharisee’s prayer was outward focused. He was concerned with his outward acts of piety and he was even focused on the failing of others and compared himself to others and made himself feel really good by comparing himself to others. But he was in delusion. He focused on the outward appearance of others and couldn’t see their heart. So his prayer was not counted in his favor. It was the opposite of true prayer, it was counted against him because he turned it into a weapon against others and as an opportunity to boast of all of his good qualities. He came to the house of the Lord, a place where we meet God in a powerful way, but he wasted this chance and turned what should have been something really good, into something really evil. He squandered the gift of prayer and the gift of the temple.

On the other side of this equation we see a man who did nothing short of unlock the kingdom of heaven! He captured God’s heart! He stole God’s attention. He made himself like a beggar and God rewarded him richly. This example of the publican reminds us of what it really takes not only to become holy but to bring healing to the world around us. Because he unlocked the kingdom, he was healed. When we learn to truly pray, everything is restored in life.

Our Orthodox Christian understanding is not so much that we need to go out and take part in protests and parades to effect change, no! Likewise, posting self righteous posts online and even too much political talk within the parish, none of these things will really glorify God or change the world. The change that will affect the whole world is right here (in the heart). We don’t transform the world through the waving of banners, but through the changing of the banner of our hearts. For this reason St. Seraphim of Sarov said “acquire a spirit of peace and thousands around you will be saved.”

What a gift that Our Lord Jesus has given to each of us in this parable. Let us embrace this parable and the prayer found in it. For this is the roadmap to the heart of Christ, and only within the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ is our hope and salvation to be found. Glory be to God forever AMEN.