My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
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ON COURAGE
"...God gave us the courage to boldly...even though we were surrounded by enemies..." (1 Thessalonians 2:1-3).
Beloved in Christ God fear of imprisonment did not keep Saint Paul from preaching the Good News. When God wants us to do something, He will give us the strength and courage to do it in spite of the obstacles that may come our way.
At a time of distress and danger we recall the divine words of the Old Testament psalms: "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yea, wait for the Lord!" (Pss 27:1,14; 31:24).
Courage reveals our personal faith and confidence in Christ our Lord. Saint Gregory of Sinai, is the first of the "four original virtues." Courage is considered to be one of the very important virtues in our Christian faith. However, courage is shown not only in times of danger, persecution and suffering, but also when one is ridiculed and hated. The Christian believer confronts all challenges of life, no matter if they are little or great, by the grace of the Holy Spirit our God. The Saints and Martyrs of our Holy Church were eminently courageous in their lives and believed this virtue to be key to spiritual life.
Life, as we all know, is unpredictable and even threatening but we must be strong. Holy Apostle Paul wrote to the community in Corinth saying, "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong." Saint Paul unites strength with bravery, the emphasis turns from physical strength to a power of character. The holy Apostle Paul reminds us "watch, stand fast in the faith" (v. 13). Faith implies that it all starts with the Almighty God, with faith in Him.
During this crisis created by the pandemic mankind is faced with an extraordinary threat and danger. Thousands of people have lost their lives because of this virus. However, as people of faith, we must not allow fear to overcome us as those who do not believe. We must follow the advice of physicians, scientists, specialists, experts but to do it always without compromising our Christian faith. In other words, we must do everything with prayer, with faith in God, with obedience to His Commandments, with hope and seeking the holy intercessions of the Theotokos, and Saints of God. God is present always and He is always in control of everything. "...Rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance, character, and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit Who was given to us" (Romans 5:15).
Jesus tells each one of us: My strength is made perfect in your weakness! When you are weak, then I will be strong for you! My brothers and sisters in Christ God, have hope! Be brave and be strong! Amen.
Pray for one another and pray for physical and spiritual healing.
With agape in the Physician of our souls and bodies,
+Father George