Tag: Christianity

Today, December 20, marks twelve years since the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church, headed by Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, canonized Archimandrite St. Gabriel (Urgebadze)

“>Gabriel (Urgebadze). As an ordinary Georgian, I can confidently say that this day was highly anticipated in Georgia. I recall my first meeting with Elder Gabriel; if I am not mistaken, I was seven or eight years old when I visited the grave of Elder Gabriel for the first time. We went on an excursion from school. Naturally, I knew about him before that, since his memory was kept in our family. As a child, I was surprised to see such a large number of people at the grave. My grandmother said to me: “Here, Kostya, this is the grave of Saint Gabriel (he was not canonized then), go and pray.” I ran to the grave, told the elder that I study well, do not offend my parents and know about him and how kind he is. “The Kingdom of Heaven is yours,” I said with childish naivety in front of the photograph of the elder, and we headed to the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral.

I have never talked about this, but now I will dare and tell you about one amazing incident. When the class was about to leave the Svetitskhoveli Temple, my grandmother and I lingered at the bench, wanting to buy church candles. Since they were waiting for us in a minibus, we hurriedly headed to the gates, and at that time one monk with a white beard beckoned me and my grandmother with a hand gesture. We approached the monk, who was sitting on the bench. He blessed my grandmother and spoke words of praise to her: “Well done, you take this nimble boy to church. The rain is no obstacle for you.” Then he took my hand and said, “How much you run… You will run in the future; your strength will come in handy.” Then he looked at me with such eyes filled with love that I still remember the tremor that pierced my body. The monk read some prayer, blessed me and my grandmother with the sign of the cross, raised his hands to the sky and said, “Now you are free.” One thing is surprising—there was not a drop of rain that day, and we did not pay attention to these words. Only after a certain time my grandmother said: “It was Elder Gabriel himself. How could I not have guessed…” In fact, I have been serving in the church as an altar server since I was five years old, and many times my grandmother and I had to walk to church on foot, both in rainy weather and in the heat. Naturally, they didn’t understand then, but now I know exactly how that monk could have known that because there was often no transportation, my grandmother would walk me to church even in rainy weather.

Even before the glorification of Elder Gabriel, his photographs could be seen everywhere: in educational institutions, on public transport, in offices. I remember one incident. In 2010, an acquaintance of mine opened a private daycare center. I remember giving him several children’s books with illustrations. When I brought him the books, he complained: “I think I shouldn’t have opened this daycare center… There are few people who want it; only nine parents have registered…” I told him that he needed to ask God for help and go to Elder Gabriel’s grave. The next day, I printed out a photograph of Elder Gabriel and gave it to him, advising him to hang the photograph near the icons in the daycare center. He happily agreed. This was on the eve of the feast of the Protection of the Holy Mother of God and Svetitskhovloba. In Georgia, on October 14, we celebrate the The Feast of the Robe of our Lord, the Myrrh-streaming and Life-giving Pillar, Equals-to-the-Apostles King Mirian and Queen Nana, and Saints Sidonia and Abiatar (4th century)St. Nino and her disciples prayed through the night, and at dawn they watched as a youth, encompassed by a brilliant light, descended from the heavens and raised the column.

“>feast of Svetitskhovloba, dedicated to the Tunic of our Lord Jesus Christ. About two weeks later, a friend of mine called and asked me to come to his place of work. I agreed, and at noon I went to his daycare center. I went into the yard and saw children playing there—about 20 of them. Then my friend Malkhaz met me, smiling and joyful, and said: “Kote, look what Elder Gabriel did… As soon as we hung his photo, the next day parents began to come and register their children. There are already thirty-six of them… And my wife told me that she asked the elder for help. Help came, and the elder gave a sign. My wife saw in a dream how the elder opened the gates of the daycare center and entered with an icon of the Mother of God, and the children followed. This is such a help from God. Elder Gabriel brought the children to our daycare center…” Father Gabriel is a great elder. He appears invisibly wherever he chooses.

  

* * *

Nun Paraskeva testifies:

Once a woman came to the elder and said, “You saved me from death, let me thank you.”

She told us the following story:

“I live near the cemetery, in an old house. Bandits broke into my house at night. Out of fear, I began to call out to Father Gabriel for help. A miracle happened: The elder appeared instantly, and began to chase them with a club. The frightened bandits ran away, losing their minds, and the elder disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared.

There was also such an incident. Once the elder said, “Now I will go to the Shavnabada monastery.”

I thought he was joking.

After some time, I asked, “Father, did you go to Shavnabada?”

“Yes, I did. When I came, they were having a meal, and everything was fine there.

“Did they see you?” I asked again.

“No, where from? If they had seen me, they would have been surprised, and I didn’t want to show myself to them.”

“And what was Father Shio doing?” I asked.

“He was counting people, the elder answered.

A few days later, the abbot of the Shavnabada Monastery, Archimandrite Shio, came to Father Gabriel.

I asked him, “Father, are there many of you in the monastery?”

“I don’t know: some come, others leave. I usually count them during meals.”

Father Gabriel looked at me meaningfully and smiled. I was shocked.

Not long before his death, the elder said, “I am leaving, but I will always be invisibly near you. I will never leave you.” A recollection of Elder Gabriel’s spiritual child, Keteve Bekauri, comes to mind: “He often told me, “I will not be Khanuma (the character of the famous Georgian film) if I don’t teach you a lesson!” After his funeral, I came home, but I could not calm down. I kept remembering that as soon as I started laughing, he would say to me jokingly, “Oh, I hope this laughter doesn’t turn into tears!” I still couldn’t calm down, I looked in on the neighbors, but my heart was restless there too. When I was about to leave, my neighbor said, “Don’t go, I’ll turn on the TV.” She turned on the TV, and a miracle happened—the words “I won’t be Khanuma if I don’t teach you a lesson!” came from the screen. The film “Keto and Kote” was on. I was taken aback…

The presence of Elder Gabriel is felt throughout the Orthodox world. Based on the fact that with God’s help and the blessing of our beloved Patriarch Ilia II, our creative team shoots films and programs about the elder, and worked toward his glorification. There is much to tell, but I especially and joyfully remember our trips with the icon of two great elders—St. Gabriel and St. Seraphim of Sarov. The icon is called “unity in Christ and friendship of the Russian and Georgian Orthodox peoples.”

Many miracles and healings occurred before the image of the Saints, which we talked about in articles published on Pravoslavie.Ru. Recently, in the courtyard of the Holy Protection Monastery in the city of Tolochin (Vitebsk region), the first monument to the elder St. Gabriel in the entire Orthodox world was erected. We direct your attention a conversation with the abbess of the monastery, Abbess Anfisa (Lyubchak) in the coming days. For me, as a Georgian, it is a great joy and honor to see a monument to Elder Gabriel in Holy Russia’… Fr. Gabriel himself said, “My cross is half of Georgia and half of Orthodox Russia’…” I would like to add one thing: I will not lie if I say that with each passing day, love for Elder Gabriel, like a snowball, increases and gains strength. After all, this is a real miracle happening today before our eyes. How else can one explain the fact that Elder Gabriel has become one strong unifying thread for our Orthodox peoples in our days of division? Through his prayers, may the Lord save and have mercy on us! Amen!

Since President-elect Donald Trump’s Nov. 5 victory, most Americans expect him to tackle the issue of immigration within the first 100 days of reoccupying the Oval Office.

But will immigrants who registered with the federal government — hoping for a path to citizenship through programs such as Keeping Families Together (KFT), Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) — actually be the most vulnerable to deportation?

The answer may hinge both on whether the information provided to the Department of Homeland Security will be used for deportation purposes — and how quickly the Trump administration wants to deliver results on its mass deportation pledge.

When it comes to migrants’ information with DHS, in the past, “there has been a firewall between those who might have provided information because of a benefit they were seeking, and that information being used for enforcement purposes,” explained J. Kevin Appleby, senior director of International Migration Policy at the Center for Migration Studies of New York and former migration policy director for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

This time, he said, “all bets are off. They’ll have access to that information, so they could use it to track potential beneficiaries.”

On Nov. 7, U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker of the Eastern District of Texas struck down the KFT program — rolled out in June — arguing the Biden administration exceeded its authority. KFT allowed U.S. citizens’ spouses and stepchildren, who lacked legal immigration status but lived in the U.S. for 10 years or more, to apply for permanent residency without first having to leave the country.

Approximately 500,000 spouses of U.S. citizens and 50,000 noncitizen children under 21 with a parent married to a U.S. citizen were eligible for the program.

DACA allows approximately 535,000 young immigrants brought to the U.S. without authorization as children, to seek temporary protection from deportation. The program, which began in 2012 under the Obama administration, also allows them to work legally. Trump attempted to end DACA in 2017, but the Supreme Court upheld the program in 2020.

TPS is a program for people from countries experiencing such extreme internal disruption that their deportation would be considered unsafe, or even life-threatening. TPS recipients have legal authorization to work and remain in the U.S. while their countries of origin retain that designation. The program garnered widespread media attention this fall after false reports of immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, exploded on social media during the U.S. presidential campaign. However, there was underlying friction between some of the town’s native residents and thousands of Haitian recipients of TPS legally living and working there.

Those migrants with legal immigration status are not necessarily safe, said Appleby.

“It’s basically an executive authority that provided them that legal status. So the new executive, he can revoke it,” Appleby said.

Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance both strongly suggested on the campaign trail that TPS, which currently protects 1 million people, will be curtailed in their administration. Trump himself pledged in October to revoke TPS for the Haitians living in Springfield and who are credited with fueling the Rust Belt city’s economic revitalization.

Erin Corcoran, executive director of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and a faculty fellow at the Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights at the University of Notre Dame, shared Appleby’s concerns regarding Trump’s mass deportation plans for an estimated 11 million people.

During his first term, President Trump deported 1.5 million people — a number President Joe Biden matched in 2024 — compared to 4.8 million during President Barack Obama’s two terms, according to data tracked by the Migration Policy Institute.

“If they want to do it really quickly — if they want to effectuate it immediately — the people that are going to be the most at risk,” Corcoran said, “are the people that actually have come in contact already with the authorities. The people who don’t have actual status — but who have come in contact with DHS in some way — I think are at risk of deportation.”

Which perhaps seems contradictory, Corcoran said.

“Those are in some ways the most sympathetic groups of people. From a moral perspective, from a humanitarian perspective, those are people who actually have done what they’re supposed to do,” she said. “They’ve come forward, they’ve given information; they’re in the system.”

And unlike most unauthorized immigrants, they’re easily located by authorities.

“These people who have registered — families — they have names; they have addresses,” Corcoran said.

Trump’s new “border czar” Tom Homan, who was named to the role Nov. 10 and will not require Senate confirmation, has repeatedly addressed the question of mass deportation’s effects on families. Homan was Trump’s acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the 2017-2018 “zero tolerance” era that witnessed children taken from their parents in the midst of illegal border crossings.

In response to whether mass deportation can be conducted without separating families, Homan told CBS’ “60 Minutes” in October, “Of course there is — families can be deported together.”

On Dec. 26, Homan told multiple media outlets that the incoming Trump administration is considering open-air family detention centers for holding and deporting families. He said parents facing deportation will have to decide whether their U.S.-born children will come with them, or remain in the U.S. with a relative. He offered the following justification: “You knew you were in the country illegally and chose to have a child. So you put your family in that position.”

Pedro Alemán Perfecto, a policy advocate at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., also known as CLINIC, acknowledged Homan’s pledge to come after migrants with greater force. But he kept a measured outlook, noting that migrant advocates have also been preparing.

“It’s not about panicking the community or individuals. It’s being cautious — but vigilant — about this,” he said. “That’s what our community and vulnerable immigrant communities are feeling right now: They’re looking at who can be leading us; who can be working with us. And it’s knowing what’s going to happen in the next four years for them.”

Advocacy tactics, said Alemán, will likely need to adapt.

“At CLINIC, we strive to put a lot of information out there in the community, to combat misinformation and disinformation,” he said. “For us, it’s doing our research; doing our advocacy; knowing who we can trust with different partners — and then reaching out to impacted individuals on the ground.”

The destination of mass deportees also remains an open question. They may not even end up in their countries of origin.

NBC News reported Dec. 5 the incoming Trump administration is assembling a list of potential countries to ship migrants to if their home nations refuse to accept them. The Bahamas stated it had “reviewed and firmly rejected” the Trump plan, while NBC’s sources said other countries under consideration include Turks and Caicos, Panama, and Grenada.

In an NBC “Meet the Press” interview broadcast Dec. 8, Trump echoed many of Homan’s comments, noting his deportation agenda will focus on those with criminal histories — while also vaguely referring to “other people outside of criminals.”

He also reinforced his pledge to end birthright citizenship, while saying he was open to working with Democrats to devise a plan concerning “the Dreamers,” or DACA recipients.

At the U.S. bishops’ general meeting in November, Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, the bishops’ migration committee chair, said the bishops are “waiting to see just exactly what takes shape.” But he promised they will “raise our voice loudly,” if Trump’s deportation rhetoric becomes a reality.

Reports indicate not only that the incoming Trump administration’s mass deportation policy will be ready to launch Day 1 — it will run headlong into the life of the church.

On Dec. 11, NBC News reported Trump’s incoming administration plans to rescind a long-standing “sensitive locations policy” previously prohibiting the arrest of unauthorized migrants — except under certain circumstances — at churches, schools, and hospitals.

Appleby said the U.S. bishops are facing a critical moment that will “test the resolve of the church.” While statements of solidarity are helpful, Appleby said plans for direct action — including direct support and legal assistance to immigrant families — are required.

“If Trump fully implements this,” Appleby predicted, “it’s going to impact the life of the church. You’re going to have ICE agents outside the Mass door. You certainly will see some immigrants seek sanctuary in their parishes. And it will put the bishops in a difficult position with the government.”

“We have a pope who is a strong defender of migrants,” Appleby said. “And hopefully, the U.S. church will reflect that in their response to this massive deportation plan.”

Cetinje, Montenegro, January 3, 2025

Photo: spc.rs     

A gunman in Cetinje, Montenegro killed 12 people including two children before taking his own life on Wednesday, January 1. The shooter began his rampage following a bar brawl, killing the bar owner, the owner’s children, and several of his own family members including his sister. The shooting spree took place across six different locations, before 45-year-old Aco Martinović shot himself.

The government declared three days of national mourning starting January 2, and all New Year’s festivities were canceled across the country. This tragic incident marks the second mass shooting in Cetinje in recent years.

His Eminence Metropolitan Joanikije, the primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church’s Metropolis of Montenegro, expressed his condolences:

Regarding the terrible tragedy that occurred today in Cetinje, where a citizen from Bajice killed 12 people, including children, we hereby express our most sincere condolences to the families of the victims in their immense grief.

We call upon all Orthodox Christians and people of good will to raise their prayers to God for the repose of the souls of the deceased, for the restoration of disturbed peace in Cetinje, and for the healing of those wounded in this tragedy.

We support all efforts of the competent state authorities and expect that they will quickly and efficiently establish order in this city and ensure complete security for all its inhabitants.

His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia also expressed his condolences to Met. Joanikije, emphasizing the need for a return to Christian values:

The gift of life is an invaluable treasure since every human being is called into this world through God’s wisdom and love. Therefore, we feel a deep need, due to yesterday’s terrible event in ancient and glorious Cetinje, the seat of your sacred diocese, in which twelve people lost their lives, to ask Your Eminence to convey our prayerful condolences and paternal concern to the faithful people there and to the relatives of the victims.

With you and all brother hierarchs of our holy Church, we share great concern over the fact that this is one in a series of very tragic events that have recently occurred in the close fraternal and nearby geographical area. These pre-Nativity days show us all that only a fundamental return to Christian values and way of life, embodied in Cetinje by the ancient lavra of St. Peter, can bring spiritual peace and reliable judgment in moments of personal and general crises and trials.

In this frightening flood of sorrow, we pray for the repose of the souls of the innocently suffered children of God, while our prayerful eyes remain fixed on the faces of the families of the victims. May Christ comfort and strengthen their grieving hearts, and may He illuminate the souls of the departed with the light of His eternal Kingdom and grant them eternal rest.

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Pau, France, January 3, 2025

Photo: znamhram.ru     

A second parish community has been formed in the southwestern French city of Pau.

This new parish, within the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia’s Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe, is named for St. John (Maximovitch) of San Francisco, who was once the local ruling hierarch, the diocese reports.

The new community was formed “In response to requests from faithful, and in recognition of the evident missionary need for increased activity in the region, where many individuals seek to draw closer to God and be united to His Holy Church.”

The new parish is currently working to secure a location for regular services. In the meantime, information about the schedule of services and locations can be found on the parish’s Telegram channel.

New Church of St. John of San Francisco being built in UgandaOn Monday, December 23, the Patriarchal Exarch of Africa of the Russian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Konstantin of Zaraysk visited the parish community in Kiboga and celebrated the Divine Liturgy.

“>Last month, OrthoChristian reported that a new church named for St. John is being built in Uganda.

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Svyatogorsk, Donetsk Province, Ukraine, January 3, 2025

Photo: svlavra.church.ua     

Another shipment of humanitarian aid has arrived at the Holy Dormition-Svyatogorsk Lavra in the Donetsk Province, which has been housing refugees since 2014, and which has suffered Bodies of refugees found under rubble at Ukraine’s much-suffering Svyatogorsk LavraTheir bodies were sent to the nearby city of Kramatorsk for a forensic medical examination.

“>repeated damage since the war began in 2022.

The abbot of the monastery, His Eminence Metropolitan Arseny, has been unjustly detained by Ukrainian authorities Security Service detains Metropolitan-abbot of Ukrainian Church’s Svyatogorsk LavraSecurity Service (SBU) employees blocked and searched the monastery this morning.

“>since April.

On December 31, 5.5. tons of aid from the Diocese of Chernivtsi and Bukovina were delivered, the monastery reports.

The delivered cargo included cabbage, onions, eggs, dairy products, condensed milk, fresh fish, apples, fruits, as well as personal hygiene items, household chemicals, greenhouse film (150 microns) to replace previous window coverings, a construction-grade vacuum cleaner, barrels, and other items.

Believers from all over Ukraine and from abroad participated in this act of mercy. The Bukovina volunteers continue to collect aid for the Lavra.

After visiting the main monastery, the Bukovinians delivered humanitarian aid to the Lavra’s skete dedicated to St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco in Adamovka village, and then to the Holy Protection Convent in Lyman.

Also note that the monastery residents use the received humanitarian aid both for the needs of the monastery and its refugee residents, as well as for the inhabitants of surrounding settlements.

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Last December I found myself unable to shake a story I had read in the Wall Street Journal. It bothered me well into the new year. 

The article chronicled the rise and subsequent demise of David Hollis, Instagram influencer, former Disney executive, and ex-husband of Rachel Hollis, the popular blogger and self-help author of “Girl, Wash Your Face.” 

The profile was framed as a glimpse into the “weirdly intimate world of social-media influencers, where you are personally the product and everything you do in your life can be produced into a commercial event.” 

His ex-wife, Rachel, rose to fame with a viral Instagram post about her post-partum physique. After receiving a tidal wave of positive feedback for her vulnerability, she launched a self-help brand built on sharing the details of her personal life — including issues with marital intimacy and parenting ups and downs — with her nearly 2 million Instagram followers. 

Eventually, David got on board and built his own brand of self-help convert and relatable dad. Daved shared his thoughts, feelings, and struggles with an audience of 400,000 people.

The toll of performing day in and day out for an audience of strangers, as well as monitoring their comments and feedback, eventually led to the breakdown of their marriage and David’s accidental death from alcohol and drugs. 

This December, I couldn’t stop thinking about another online “influencer,” Lily Phillips, of OnlyFans fame. OnlyFans is a British-based subscription platform, where creators and performers post content for paying subscribers. The founder, Tim Stokely, said he wanted content creators to have more control over their work. The site is now primarily used for pornographic content. 

Twenty-three-year old Phillips has reportedly earned $2 million from her 36,000 paying subscribers. Yet she became a household name this December with the release of a YouTube documentary chronicling her 24-hour sexual marathon with 101 men. 

One of the most circulated clips of the documentary shows Lily in tears after the fact, discussing how robotic the entire episode was. Just the same, the stunt generated international news coverage and boosted her followers on other social media platforms by hundreds of thousands. 

The commentary on the stunt and its aftermath has been wide-ranging and varied: Lily is a victim of a sexual revolution gone wrong; Lily is possessed by the forces of darkness; Lily is exploiting herself and has no one else to blame; Lily had to dissociate to make it through; Lily is likely exhibiting hypersexuality due to past trauma.  

Despite these different takes, nearly everyone agrees that the footage reveals a psychological toll of uncharted magnitude. 

I have nothing to add to what’s been said, other than that Lily needs 1,000 rosaries prayed for her this January, when she plans to sleep with 1,000 men in 24 hours. 

I do not believe she can survive such a thing. Doctors would have to weigh in on the physical capacity for it, but everyone else — including her parents who seem to be watching on the sidelines — must know that her soul and mind are in grave peril. 

While Hollis and Phillips might be extreme examples of influencing gone wrong, I believe that their stories are the logical endpoint of what has been called the “attention economy.” 

It is obvious in a capitalist society that businesses would use our phones and social media sites to sell us products and generate revenue, since we collectively spend an embarrassing amount of time on them. 

But what does it mean that individuals have ventured into this space? According to one poll, 57% of Gen Z Americans want to be a social media influencer. And companies are recruiting and willing to pay. 

What should Catholics think of self-commodification as a means of generating income or as a viable career path? 

I don’t think we’re thinking about this enough. In fact, Catholic influencers are numerous themselves and include writers, speakers, entrepreneurs, and even stay-at-home moms. Many of these figures have built their followings by being open about their marriages, children, vocations, illnesses, and grief — all while linking to products they use or produce themselves. 

Their business is built on trust, which is fostered by inviting strangers to observe them intimately. This is “Rear Window” voyeurism, only orchestrated by the one being watched. 

I believe many of these people are posting in good faith and with genuine belief in the possibility of building community on digital platforms. Others must believe that what they are doing is evangelizing the “digital highways” of which Pope Benedict XVI spoke. 

But we are not built for this scale of intimacy, and our followers are not capable of providing reciprocal vulnerability. We do not have the capacity — in terms of time, proximity, or personal attention — to develop real relationships with this number of people. 

Nor should one build a “brand” on the back of one’s children, who deserve the space to grow up in freedom and privacy. We’d all be wise to remember that the sacrament of marriage is between two people for a reason. 

The Church has long protested the commodification of human beings: Slavery, human trafficking, prostitution, certain types of reproductive technologies, the sale of organs are all seen as gravely immoral, because they involve the exchange of money for human flesh. They put a price on the priceless. 

Online influencing might not seem as reprehensible as the above, but it does require that we become the thing which we’re selling. We’ve quietly slid into accepting this as normal. But it’s changing us. Life has become performance art, and those in our orbit part of the show. 

Hollis and Phillips are casualties of a culture that sees people as products and monetizes moments, whether intimate, staged, or a combination of both. 

Our Lord warns us that the road is wide that leads to destruction. Online sharing should be careful and narrow. Our lives literally depend on it. 

Simferopol, Crimea, January 3, 2025

Photo: pravoslavie.ru     

His Eminence Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Simferopol and Crimea made a sizable donation to a pair of hospitals earlier this week.

On Monday, Decemebr 30, on the territory of the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Simferopol, a large batch of medical equipment was given to the Crimean Minister of Health to be delivered to a hospital in Simferopol and another in Kerch, reports the Metropolis of Crimea.

In particular, the following were donated: CT, MRI and ultrasound machines (expert class), endoscopic equipment, a large quantity of medical devices and furniture necessary for equipping medical offices, as well as an X-ray machine with two workstations.

“I thank His Eminence Metropolitan Tikhon of Simferopol and Crimea for supporting Crimean healthcare and helping our hospitals! All the transferred equipment will be used for the benefit of Crimeans and will help our doctors provide quality and timely medical care, saving lives and preserving patients’ health,” said Minister of Health Alexei Natarov.

Previously, two mobile laboratories were donated for Crimean healthcare needs. The vehicles are assigned to Kerch and Simferopol but will be sent to remote settlements of the peninsula. Another special medical vehicle will be sent to the Kherson region.

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Is. 60:1-6 / Ps. 72:12, 7-8, 10-13 / Eph. 3:2-3, 5-6 / Mt. 2:1-12 

An “epiphany” is an appearance. In today’s readings, with their rising stars, splendorous lights and mysteries revealed, the face of the child born on Christmas day appears.

Herod, in today’s Gospel, asks the chief priests and scribes where the Messiah is to be born. The answer Matthew puts on their lips says much more, combining two strands of Old Testament promise—one revealing the Messiah to be from the line of David (2 Samuel 2:5), the other predicting “a ruler of Israel” who will “shepherd his flock” and whose “greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth” (Micah 5:1-3).

Those promises of Israel’s king ruling the nations resound also in today’s Psalm. The psalm celebrates David’s son, Solomon. His kingdom, we sing, will stretch “to the ends of the earth,” and the world’s kings will pay Him homage. That’s the scene too in today’s First Reading, as nations stream from the East, bearing “gold and frankincense” for Israel’s king.

The Magi’s pilgrimage in today’s Gospel marks the fulfillment of God’s promises. The Magi, probably Persian astrologers, are following the star that Balaam predicted would rise along with the ruler’s staff over the house of Jacob (Numbers 24:17).

Laden with gold and spices, their journey evokes those made to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba and the “kings of the earth” (1 Kings 10:2,25; 2 Chronicles 9:24). Interestingly, the only other places where frankincense and myrrh are mentioned together are in songs about Solomon (Song of Songs 3:6, 4:6, 14).

One greater than Solomon is here (Luke 11:31). He has come to reveal that all peoples are “co-heirs” of the royal family of Israel, as today’s Epistle teaches.

His manifestation forces us to choose: Will we follow the signs that lead to Him as the wise Magi did? Or will we be like those priests and the scribes who let God’s words of promise become dead letters on an ancient page?

Inside the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis King of France for the celebration of the 11 a.m. Mass on Jan. 1 — the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God — Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond and 600 worshipers struggled to make sense of the death and carnage perpetrated by a man who drove a pickup truck into a dense crowd of early-morning New Year’s revelers just five blocks away on Bourbon Street.

Police said 15 people died and more than three dozen others were injured, many seriously, when a white Ford F-150 Lightning electric truck, rented by 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar of Texas, plowed into the crowd walking along the French Quarter’s most famous partying street at 3:15 a.m. Jan. 1.

At nighttime, Bourbon Street becomes a pedestrian thoroughfare that is designed to protect visitors from vehicular traffic through the installation of removable steel pylons at key intersections.

Somehow, however, the pylons were not in place and Jabbar was able to race his truck through the crowd. Nearly three blocks after his rampage began, Jabbar ran into a construction crane, stopping his forward progress. He opened fire on police, wounding two, before he was shot to death by officers, authorities said.

The FBI said it was investigating the crime as a terror attack — Jabbar had an ISIS flag in his truck — and was investigating possible associations with terrorist groups.

Speaking from St. Louis Cathedral in the 600 block of Chartres Street — five blocks from the end of the rampage — Archbishop Aymond said the dawn of a new year always brings with it uncertainty because no one has been able “to create a future ‘app’ to tell us exactly what will happen from day to day in our lives.”

“I don’t know who would have ever thought that we would be gathering here this morning with what has happened during the night,” Archbishop Aymond said. “What will happen during this year is the question that all of us … will ask. What will happen? The easy answer is, we don’t know.”

He asked those present — many who were football fans preparing to attend the Sugar Bowl’s College Football Playoff game between Notre Dame and Georgia — to turn to the Blessed Mother as a model for hope when unforeseen challenges and tragedies occur. In the wake of the attack, the Sugar Bowl was postponed until Jan. 2.

“Let us not forget those who feel hopeless — some of those families who have lost loved ones this morning in the terrorist attack,” Archbishop Aymond said. “Let us not forget those in the hospital struggling for life. Let us not forget their families and friends because they need hope in a very particular way at this time.

“God gives us hope,” he continued. “Mary strengthens that hope in our lives. We need to be aware that it is Mary’s hand that reaches out to touch us today and to give us the hope that no one else can give.”

Father Pat Williams, rector of St. Louis Cathedral, said about 300 people attended the 9 a.m. Mass on Jan. 1, most of them Notre Dame fans.

Asked to put the attack into perspective, Father Williams said, “I’m not sure there is perspective on it. I normally preach on New Year’s about hope, and this year (in the church) is the Jubilee of Hope. Hope is not where everything turns out fine, as we found out this morning. There are tragedies. Hope is that the child born at Christmas is with us all the time. God walks with us. I don’t know why he doesn’t stop it, but he’s with us.”

After Mass, Archbishop Aymond said while the violence makes it difficult to “think about hope” in the midst of “the sins of those who have taken the lives of others,” God remains faithful.

“God always gives us hope, even in the midst of tragic situations,” Archbishop Aymond said. “He calls us to experience his comfort, his peace, and he certainly listens to our prayers as we pray for those who have died and those who are sick or injured. There still is hope that this world can become one of peace. But, on days like today, that’s very difficult to see.

“We have to pray for the perpetrators as well that they will come to know the mercy of God and come to correct their ways. As difficult as it is, we need to pray for our enemies and for those who bring great tragedy to our lives. The hope is today that violence, murder and racism will become tempered in our lives and certainly in our own city.”

Gayle Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans, was the reader at the 11 a.m. Mass. She called the attack “horrific.”

“I cannot believe that this has happened in our city,” Benson said after the Mass. “We have so many things and so many people who are protecting us. Our police department is working so hard to keep us safe. For this to happen is just unbelievable. God has a plan for us, and I don’t understand it. I’m sure many people don’t. But all we can do is pray for everybody.”

Wearing a green No. 3 Joe Montana jersey, Notre Dame fan John Blanchard of Foley, Alabama, sat in the first pew for the Mass and said the archbishop’s message about hope resonated with him.

“God gave people free will, and I don’t know what that person was thinking,” Blanchard said. “That was an awful situation. We’ll see what plays out. We pray for the families.”

Jonah Walls of Houston, another Notre Dame fan, said he arrived in New Orleans around the time of the attack but did not hear about it until later.

“It’s awful, and bringing in the new year is just absolutely awful,” Walls said. “I pray for those people. Everybody should pray for the victims, no matter what denomination they are.”