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.
OUR LORD AWAITS YOUR RETURN...
Although you, our fellow Orthodox Christians, have been absent from your church due to this dreadful pandemic, the Lord has never left you and will never abandon you. It is true, however, that physically you have been prevented to attend the divine services, but not spiritually. As Christian believers, you are always united with Him. We are all united through faith in Him, through love for Him, Jesus asked His beloved disciple Peter "do you love Me?" and his answer was, "Yes, Lord You know that I love You."
Mankind has suffered all kinds of horrific events throughout human history such as plagues, wars, slavery, calamities, disasters, famine, injustices, torment, etc. but always and by the grace of God has survived and continued on to fight another day.
I am so very proud of all of you who have kept your faith strong. It is at times such as these that one's faith is tested. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is ever-present and continues to protect each and every one of us. There is no reason to ever doubt His unconditional love for His children. If the thought ever comes that He has abandoned us or that He has ceased to love us, we need only to look at the crucifix upon which Our Lord sacrificed His life to save us.
I have not ceased to keep all of you in my prayers and to seek the holy intercessions of our Theotokos, our heavenly mother, to keep you safe and healthy. Don't forget the church is a spiritual hospital, a spiritual ICU, a place of healing. It is not a place where Christian faithful are contaminated and exposed to viruses and illnesses. It is not a place where one's life is in danger. We are there to be made well by the Physician of our souls and bodies.
If there is a person in our parish who is consumed by fear that he or she will contract a deathly illness at the house of God, then that person should not attend the church services or visit this sacred place of God. Upon the consecration of our parish church, it became not only a place of worship but a holy space where the Christian believer comes voluntary and in the spirit of faith and humility to seek reconciliation, forgiveness, and spiritual healing. In other words to find salvation not death. The Orthodox Christian receives the Holy Communion, the Precious Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ for "the remission of sins and eternal life."
The Mysteria (Sacraments) of the Church is to bestow the grace of God the Holy Spirit upon the believer. We are sanctified through the Sacraments of God and we must not marginalize or question their validity and sanctity. Our Almighty God works through the sacraments to touch us deeply, physically and spiritually, body and soul, and to restore us to our pristine beauty. The sacred vessels, holy icons, and other sacred objects are not to be feared. Never has this ever happen in history, as far as I know, where the Orthodox Christian feared them. The holy icons have been venerated by the Orthodox Christian believers for centuries without any concern whatsoever.
Let us pray for our All-Merciful Lord Jesus Christ to strengthen our faith in Him. It takes the synergy between God and man in order for salvation to happen. Salvation is not forced upon us by God, rather it is a gift from Him to us. Saint Paul writes: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
By faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God...
By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain...
By faith, Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household...
By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance...
By faith, Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age...
By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come...
By faith, Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped...
By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his servants...
By faith, they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land...
By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days...
"...The Prophets through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens...Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still, others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented--of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens, and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith..." (Hebrews 11: 1-38).
Faith is everything! Nothing can be accomplished without faith.
You are in church and are blessed by our Creator because you believe in Him. "I believe Lord, help my unbelief."
Very soon all of you will be invited back to church and although a mask will be required of you, sanitizing your hands and keeping a social distance as well, you must not forget why you are there, and who you came to see. Our Lord waits for your return.
With sincere agape,
+Father George