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Fr George's Letter

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Written by: Fr George

THE LILIES OF THE FIELD. 

 

“The virtues build a new person radiating love to the world.”

(Metropolitan Paul (Yazigi) of Aleppo who consecrated our temple.)

 

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  

                                                                                        (Hebrews 415-26)

  

SUNDAY 21^st JUNE. The New Martyrs of the Turkish Yoke. The New Martyrs and Confessors of Bulgaria. Hieromartyr Terence, Bishop of Iconium (1^st). Martyr Julian of Tarsus in Cilicia (3rd-4^th).St. Mewan, Abbot (Cornwall,  Brittany 6^th). Martyrs Archil II (784) & Luarsab II (1622), King’s of Georgia. 

 

“Face everything with love, with kindness, with gentleness, with patience and humility. Be like rocks. Let everything crash upon you and, like the waves, return back. You must remain unshaken!”

                                                                                               (St. Paisios)

 

“You don’t become holy by fighting evil. Let evil be. Look towards Christ and that will save you. What makes a person saintly is love. “

                                                                                               (St. Porphyrios) 

 

“Giving alms shows that you’re like Christ. Besides, you can’t be sure that the one you are helping isn’t Christ. He stretches out His hand to give you the Kingdom of Heaven, and you don’t even notice.”

                                                                                         (Elder Arsenie Papacioc)

 

TODAY’S GOSPEL. Matthew 6:22-33. “ “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you, by worrying, can add one cubic to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things shall be added to you.””

 

How much of our lives do we spend worrying about this or that? How many sleepless nights have we had worrying about a problem that in the morning seems of no consequence? How many concerns have we had about the people we care for and love, to only find that our fears are groundless? Such is our human nature and frailty. Christ tells us that we should not worry about anything as God will provide for our needs.

He tells us that we cannot be attached to money or wealth and serve God at the same time. Look at the natural world around us in all its beauty, harmony, self-healing and renewal. God cares for His creation in all its splendid diversity; and yet He cares for us especially whom He desires to be like Him. He calls us individually and communally to stop being diverted by the concerns of daily life which so often pre-occupy us. We plan for the future when we have no idea what will happen.

“O you of little faith” is not just directed at the people surrounding Jesus at the time, but also to us. We who have dared to try and follow in His footsteps sometimes lose our way and if there is a fork in the road we have to choose which of the two paths to take. Foolishly, we often take the wrong one but trusting in Him will lead us back to the proper path. 

In the Gospel for today Jesus gives us the answer to all our worries and concerns. For if we heed His words, it is the Kingdom of God and His righteousness that we must search for before anything else. In our searching, all the humdrum worries and cares that surround us will be put into perspective and we will be fed, clothed, refreshed and loved. God bless all of you on your journey and may your path be straight and well lit.

 

                                                                                              Much Love,  

                                                                                              Fr. George.