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.

"...PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD..." (Ephesians 6:11).

The wisest and most rational decision that one can make is to always be ready and to be on the alert. None of us can predict the future and what the future has in store for us. It is, therefore, incumbent on us to be on the ready. Saint Paul the Holy Apostle advises of that when he says, "...put on the whole armor of God...stand your ground!” and "stand FIRM, having the belt of truth around your waist, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having fitted shoes on your feet so as to be ready in the gospel of peace. Above all, take up the shield of faith which will enable you to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. Take also the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word (spoken) by God. Pray at all times in (the) spirit of intercessions and requests: never get tired of this and persevere in your requests…” (Ephesians 6:14-18).

As your priest, I persevere in my requests to our Lord to protect all of you from this virus but also, from all danger. It is never out of sight out of mind. Although the church is practically empty when I am conducting the divine services, I feel your presence. I have never thought of the church ever empty. Our Loving and Life-Giving God is always there, the Angels are always there, the Theotokos is always there, the Saints of our Holy Church are there, and all the righteous men and women of God are there. The church is always full.

What all of us are going through now is extremely stressful and hard for all of us to believe. We should know, however, that it is through adversity that we are made strong. The world has known all kinds of adversities over the many centuries, i.e., slavery, local wars, world worlds, pandemics, epidemics, communism, fascism, totalitarianism, atheism, globalism, etc., and yet the world survived, overcame and moved on. People are resilient and the human spirit is powerful and unyielding. Above all, however, always oversees His creation and He will never allow man to destroy it.

Hopefully, mankind will pause and learn the valuable lessons that come out of adversity. One very valuable lesson is to talk less and listen more. In Byzantine iconography, the ears depicted on the Saint are always larger than the mouth. The nous must descend to the heart. "Be still and know that I am God." The airwaves are full of noise, sound, and the result is a cacophony and not a symphony. With all the electronic devices used by young and old alike today, the person has lost his stillness and inner peace. Worst yet, he has lost the voice of God. Contemporary man has lost the ability to communicate with each other and as a result, feels lonely and alone.

We, as humans, need to allow God to speak to us. We need to listen to Him. God desires to guide us and to lead us to salvation. Today we rely on the GPS to find our way to our destination otherwise we may lose our way. As Orthodox Christians, we need not rely on some kind of an instrument made by man but on our God and Savior Jesus Christ to guide us and to lead us to heaven.

While in quarantine and secluded to our home, we must use this precious time to spend more time in prayer. Seeking God's wisdom and inspiration. The Holy Spirit, the Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth is the only one that can teach us how to pray and pray correctly. Seek the Divine Grace of the Holy Spirit and you will never either become lost or be alienated from God.

"Thy will be done..." We pray the Lord's Prayer. What that means is that we are willing to freely surrender ourselves to our Creator. We trust Him totally and we believe that He loves us unconditionally. There is no doubt, there is no confusion, there is no reluctance, there is no resistance to our spiritual relationship with God. The Almighty God has given a free will to decide for ourselves. He does not force either Himself or His Divine Will on man. Man is a free soul to do as he wills. If he believes in God, it is only because he himself decides and desires to believe and not because of any force or coercion. Forced belief would have no value and would not be true faith. Instead of being children of God, we would be slaves of God. We would be mere puppets and nothing more. How then could we pray, "Our Father..."?

Our Lord Jesus Christ is in our midst! Our Faith is an unbelievable blessing and leads to the Kingdom of God. Stay strong and keep your sights always on our Savior and you will never go wrong. As an Orthodox Christian, you have been blessed with awesome spiritual potential. It is up to you to discover your spiritual potential and treasure and to use it not only for yourself but to help your fellow man.

You should know after 20 years how much I love you all and always pray for you. Be careful and think seriously before you act. Pray for guidance from our Lord and never lose hope. Christ is in our midst indeed!

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things! - Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George