Motherhood: A Sacred Calling and Solemn Responsibility
There’s an old saying that “Behind every successful man stands a woman.” This
month, as we celebrate Mother’s Day, we may want to paraphrase that old adage a
bit and say that “Behind all of God’s Saints stands a righteous Mother.” On
Mother’s Day, let us look at some of our most revered Biblical figures as well
as some of the Church’s most famous Saints. We will se that they all had one
thing in common: a Mother who loved them and nurtured them in the ways of the
Lord.
We must start, of course, with the Theotokos – the Mother of God. The Virgin
Mary was charged with the enormous responsibility of raising Jesus and preparing
Him for the day when He would take His message to the world. Mary herself was
blessed with a wonderful Mother: the Venerable Anna, who loved her daughter so
much that she entrusted her to the care of the priests in the Temple, so that
she could constantly devote her life to the service of God. We must also mention
Elizabeth, the Mother of St John the Baptist. She, too, was instrumental in
preparing her son for his important role of preparing the world for the coming
of the Messiah.
And what of St Helen, the mother of St Constantine the Great? No doubt this
saintly woman exerted great influence upon her son, who ended the era of
Christian persecutions and made Christianity the official Faith of his empire.
We must also mention St Monica, the Mother of the Blessed Augustine. Night and
day for 18 years, she prayed for her son’s conversion from his life of sin. She
stopped only after her prayers were answered.
May today’s Mothers emulate and imitate the example set by these remarkable
mothers of the past.
+ Father Dusan
WHAT’S UP WITH DRAWING THE WORLD INTO YOUR NET?
By Ary Christofidis, Ph.D
It seems to be very important for young people today to draw the attention of
others onto their web pages, blogs, and “personal” Internet space. But do we as
Christians recognize the call to draw others into the Christian faith?
Are teens really thinking about this calling? Are you prepared for this
responsibility as a young Christian? I continue to see pairs of young Mormon men
walk house to house as they fulfill their mission for their church. Jehovah
Witnesses still come to my house at least twice a year (not yet enlightened to
Orthodoxy, much to my dismay!)
What do our young people need in order to become so interested in promoting
their faith? What truly do teens need? In working with so many troubled
teenagers over the last 15 years, I confidently say that overall and most
importantly, teens are looking for attention, guidance and approval. Most
definitely, they seek this from their parents and peers. However, in seeking it,
they often try to draw it through negative and harmful behaviors.
A dangerous explosion of teens spending too much time on the Internet, watching
TV, and gaming is leaving some lagging behind in basic social skills and
creativity. Often unsupervised, much time is taken viewing violet, provocative
images without being able to understand what lasting effect it can have on one’s
development.
Early exposure to material that is unfit for even adults can lead to an increase
in anxiety symptoms for teens. Thus, there can be an interruption in the normal
developmental processes as teens must then deal with the added emotional
consequences of their behavior.
At present, studies show that teens are more self-centered than is normal for
their developmental age. It is typical for teenagers to be more self-absorbed
and begin to exercise their maturing brain as they explore their world and how
it may satisfy their curiosity. With most teens spending the majority of their
waking hours away from the influences of their parents and the Church, many
certainly are not being prepared to be fishers of men and women for Christ.
We are called to draw people into Christ’s holy net as understood in the
Troparion for the Holy Feast of Pentecost. Blessed are You, O Christ our God,
who has revealed the fishermen as most wise by sending down upon them the Holy
Spirit; through them You drew the world into Your net. O Lover of Man, Glory to
You.
At Pentecost we are reminded about our Church’s beginnings as the Holy Spirit
came down upon the Apostles to guide them in their mission to preach the Good
News. The Church continues this mission and prepares her members to be “fishers”
of men and women in today’s world.
However, what we are seeing instead is a generation of teens being drawn into
the “worldly” net of hedonism (pursuit or devotion to pleasure). Just look at
the changes in your own parish. It is more likely that the teens in your church
participate in public school-based extra curricular activities before
church-based programs.
Let’s consider the number of teens and young adults participating in church
services, and even programs. What I hear from my seminary schoolmates who are
now parish priests is not very encouraging. The numbers of active young
participants are very low compared to the actual number of families that are
registered stewards of their churches. Ask your own priest how many more young
people are registered in the office than are actually attending the services and
programs. Remember, though, that the Church is not focused on generating the
numbers, but on generating the faithful. The Church is looking for each of us to
be no different than the Apostles. Isn’t is ironic that during the time of Holy
Pentecost, the Disciples of Christ were seen as acting out? They were in
defiance of the Jewish leaders in order to draw people’s attention.
Today our culture has put us in a similar position. Instead of the threat of
imprisonment and death as Peter and Paul faced, all of us face the challenge of
a different martyrdom for Christ, a psychological martyrdom. Instead of
suffering a physical death for witnessing faith in Christ, we face a different
sort of death: the rejecting of our culture, colleagues, peers, friends and even
family. This easily happens when we stand up the morals and values espoused by
our Orthodox Christian Faith.
Here, are simple examples to think about: Do you hesitate to do your cross and
pray at the lunch table when you are eating with non-Orthodox friends? Do you
witness Christ to people around you, whether or not you use words? When will we
stop feeling intimidated by our “modern” culture? When will we defend what we
believe is the true faith and true life in Christ? How many of us really are
prepared and willing to proclaim our love and faith in Jesus Christ to our
neighbor?
I pray Christ gives us all what we need—the strength and wisdom to be fishers of
men and women—true missionaries in our own neighborhoods.
Ary Christofidis is a graduate of Hellenic College and holds a Ph.D in
Counseling Psychology. He founded the Orthodox Christian Counseling Institute in
Chicago in 2004, where he sees families, couples, teens and individuals for
outpatient psychotherapy.
Does going to Church with a controversial minister for a long period of time have influence on a presidential candidate? Do we learn who and what a minister is all about when he leads in worship and instruction? Are we held accountable for what he teaches? That is the question and controversy many people will have to decide this year when choosing a presidential candidate. I cannot answer this question because I am a controversial priest who has the audacity to preach Christ Crucified, an empty tomb, and Christ is Risen theology. These beliefs are totally radical and politically incorrect in our world today! So if you are thinking about running for president, I’m not going to denounce my beliefs. Sorry. Have my beliefs in the Risen Lord influenced your life? That is a question that you can only answer.
However, if we turn the scenario around and ask, “Can ministers learn and be influenced from their parishioners who have been coming to church for a long time?” The answer would be a resounding “YES!” I have learned so much from the parishioners of St. Demetrius Church, and has had a huge impact on my life. “What I have learned…” will be a question I will ask you at the end of this article to answer. Your answers will not only be a learning tool, but it will be influential for generations to come! I hope you and as many people in your family participate in this exercise as part of our 50th Anniversary Celebration. We will compile and select the answers, depending on the response, and publish them for everyone’s edification. So to begin this exercise I will give three answers. I have learned…that I should be patient driving to church when someone is driving 10 miles below the speed limit, because it is probably one of my parishioners! I have learned that…You don’t know how much you don’t know; that you think you know…is actually true! I have learned that… a young child can give a simple, profound theological answer during the kid’s sermon and set the spiritual tone for the Lenten season. I can go on and on, and I hope you understand that we all have an influence on each other in Church. St. Gregory the Theologian says, “We are all knit together by the Holy Spirit.”
Coming to Church and being involved in its life is a learning experience. In college I was taught that good teachers learn from their students. As a priest coming to St. Demetrius Church for eight years, the parishioners have taught me that my life is all about and from God. The purpose of our life is far greater than anything you can imagine for your life. We were made by God and for God. I have also learned in my past eight years ministering here, that God still does miracles! There are so many things that God has done in our parish in the past few weeks, in the past few years, and from the beginning of our parish fifty years ago! God is still wonderful and awesome! Psalm 77:14 says, “You are the God of miracles and wonder! You still demonstrate your awesome power.” Let us continue to thank God as He leads us in the rest of our journey during Great Lent, leading us to the glorious joy of Pascha!
I have also learned the most valuable lessons of my life from ministering to our parishioners. They taught me in their final earthly days how to prepare for the journey to the Heavenly Kingdom. In fact, if someone asked you “What’s the meaning of life?” I can think of a three word answer that a dearly departed parishioner taught me “preparation for eternity,” while handing me a step by step instruction manual and arrangements for what I should do in the case of his death. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “God has planted eternity in the human heart, it takes a lifetime for all of us to learn.”
As we enter Holy Week and celebrate the glorious Feast of Pascha for the 50th year at St. Demetrius Church in Jackson, I would like to thank all the parishioners for teaching me these life lessons that have influenced me. I hope that in my short time here at St. Demetrius I have taught you a mustard seed of faith. That is why I am asking everybody, young and old, parishioners from the past and brand new converts to offer at least three answers to the question “I have learned that …” in spiritual reflection of the experiences at St. Demetrius Church community. Please submit your answers to either myself or Andrea Nicolau in order for us to glean and compile these answers for all to learn and share. It can be humorous or tantalizing words of wisdom. It can be practical advice or insightful inspiration. It could be the simple things in life or the most profound. Please include your name and age in your entry. The deadline for submitting will be in a few months from now, so start reflecting and writing.
Lent is all about learning about the “real you” before God in repentance and humility. Pascha is celebrating that discovery in the victory of Christ Resurrection and glorifying God in worship. Church is about sharing your spiritual learning experience and offering it to God in Thanksgiving. Please be a part of this spiritual learning experience, and all the other activities we have planned for our 50th Anniversary. May the Power and Joy of Christ’s Resurrection along with His Church teach us to live in victory as we prepare for eternity!
+ Fr. Dusan
The season of Great Lent is the time of preparation for the feast of the
Resurrection of Christ. It is the symbol of man’s entire life which is to be
fulfilled in his own resurrection from the dead with Christ. It is time of
renewed devotion of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. It is a time of repentance,
a real renewal of our minds, hearts and deeds in conformity with Christ and His
teachings. It is the time, most of all, to follow the great commandment of
loving God and our neighbors.
In the Orthodox Church, Great Lent is not a season of morbidity and gloominess.
On the contrary, it is a time of joyfulness and purification. We are called to
“anoint our faces and to cleanse our bodies as we cleanse our souls.” The very
first hymns of the very first service of Great Lent sets the proper tone of the
season.
Let us begin the Lenten time with delight . . . let us fast from passions as we
fast from food, taking pleasure in the good works of the Spirit, that we may be
granted to see the holy passion of Christ our God in His Holy Pascha,
spiritually rejoicing.
Thy grace has arisen upon us, O Lord, the illumination of our souls has shown
forth; behold n ow, is the acceptance time; behold, now is the time of
repentance.
It is our repentance that God desires, not our remorse. We sorrow for our sins,
but we do so in the joy of God’s mercy. We mortify our flesh, but we do so in
the joy of our resurrection into life everlasting. We make ready for the
resurrection during Great Lent, both Christ’s Resurrection and our own.
+Fr Dusan
Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers
On the first Sunday of Lent the church commemorates the restoration of the holy
Icons to the churches after the Seventh Ecumenical Council ended the
iconoclastic controversies.
It is customary for various parishes to join together that late afternoon to
show the unity and strength of Orthodoxy and to commemorate and proclaim the
triu7mph of the Orthodox Faith.
This year, we will be hosting the Vespers at 4:00 PM on Sunday, March 16th.
Back when I was dating my wife, Patty, we went up north to her relative’s hunting property on the occasion of her Uncle Bobby from California was visiting. After a full morning of riding dirt bikes and “spotting game,” we decided after lunch to go hiking in the woods with Uncle Bobby. As Patty, her cousin and I rushed through the forest trail, as though it was a race to get to the end of the finish line, her Uncle Bobby scolded us for rushing too fast through the woods. He explained that when you go on a hike in the woods, you need to “take it all in,” you need to “experience the whole hike with your total being.” He then used this funny word “saunter.” We needed to saunter in the woods. Well, first of all, we made fun of the word because we never heard it used before that day. Then, being teenagers, we laughed and joked about “sauntering” through the woods. You can imagine what silly things we were doing throughout that hike sauntering with Uncle Bobby, and not rushing. Although Uncle Bobby may have regretted to spark ridicule on himself that day, that sauntering hike eventually had a profound effect on my life.
It wasn’t until I moved to Montana and started mountain climbing when that word “saunter” and Uncle Bobby’s teaching moment became an enlightening experience in my life. I found out in a profound way that taking a hike in the mountains was not simply reaching the top of the mountain. There was genuine pleasure in testing endurance, surmounting obstacles and encountering the unexpected detour. And around the next bend, something truly amazing may take your breath away; even compel you to fall on your knees in awe and wonder. If the point of taking a hike is to get from point A to point B, surely there are quicker ways to reach that goal. A sauntering hike heightens your anticipation where each step becomes an awakening to your inner self in relation to God.
The Christmas Advent Fast is the same way. Advent is the trail that we travel upon. It is not here simply to “make it” or “pass the time away” to Christmas. Sauntering, rather than rushing, through the Advent trail in anticipation for Christmas makes us wakeful and watchful. Just as Jesus tells His disciples to stay awake and be prepared, He is also inviting us to this kind of vigilance. This cannot happen if we rush through spiritual trails and not allow the mystery of God’s Love and Grace to take deep roots within our hearts.
We are living in a world of instant gratification and too often we have become dulled by having nothing to wait for, maybe even nothing to live for, because tomorrow loses its allure when our focus is always hungrily on today and right now. We want to open gifts NOW, we want to eat festively right NOW, and we want the Christmas Liturgical celebration to be over and done with before anticipation ever has a chance to take hold of us. So why wait if we don’t have to? Why can’t we get from point A to point B and forget about all the Liturgical Church mumbo-jumbo Advent journey?
When we view life as a journey and not as a comfortable sofa, we remain aware that there is always somewhere more to go than where we happen to be. When people find themselves in a waiting mode, they can do one of two things: seek distractions from without, or go within and see what’s there. When we rush through these spiritual trails, we often use our passing time as if we were waiting in a dentist’s office reading through past issues of People Magazine wasting time being distracted by spoiled Hollywood stars. When we saunter on this trail to Christmas and take the time to listen and experience what the Church offers on our Advent journey, we can sit still and learn who we are and what parts of ourselves need special attention by listening to our heart, mind and soul. Maybe we’re tired or in pain, needy or lonely, anxious or angry. What’s causing these feelings? How can I address these issues in my life and achieve holiness in Jesus Christ?
If we saunter through the Advent trail to Christmas, we increase the level of our anticipation and wonder which enables us to clear some space within our crowded self and allow the Incarnate Christ to enter into the cave of our hearts. If we rush through Advent to just get it done and disregard the inner beauty of the journey, then we don’t tend to our spiritual, emotional and physical needs. We then fill that empty void in our souls with eating, drinking, rage or meaningless things. Christmas then becomes a burden, a stress and depressing.
Christmas is the joyous celebration of the Son of God becomes Incarnate, God becoming Man. This mystery becomes glorious and awesome when we allow ourselves to ponder quietly in anticipation in our hearts, with prayer and fasting, this Perfect Gift that is given to us. Let us not destroy or distort this mystery by rushing ourselves with distractions and instant gratification. Let us rather use these days of Advent, with every step of our journey, increase our love, devotion and adoration to Our Lord, Jesus Christ. May your sauntering journey to Christmas be life-changing and glorious!
Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
+Father Dusan – December 2007
Celebration of the Feast of the Entry of
the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple – November 21st
Soon after the beginning of the Nativity Fast, November 15, the Orthodox Church
celebrates the Feast of the Entrance of the Most-Holy Theotokos into the Temple.
The parents of the Virgin, Joachim and Anna were barren. Anna was past
child-bearing age. They made a vow to God that if Anna would conceive, the child
would be dedicated to the service of the Lord. Archangel Gabriel appeared to
Joachim and announced he was a messenger and was sent to tell Joachim that the
Lord had heard their prayers and Anna would conceive. He then appeared to Anna
and told her she would conceive. They were overjoyed.
A child was born to them, Mary, the Most Holy Theotokos. When she was three,
they decided to fulfill their vow and brought her to the Jerusalem Temple. Her
life there was concealed. Almost nothing is known about how her time there was
spent. However, there is preserved information that during her stay in the
Temple the community of pious virgins there read the Holy Scriptures, did
handiworks, prayed and grew up with love towards God.
But, the Feast of the Entrance into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos;
pre-announcing the incarnations of God on earth, proclaims salvation to all
Christians.
Liturgy will be celebrated on Wednesday, November 21st at 6:00 PM.
+Father Dusan – November 2007
Look, Up in the Sky...It’s a Bird...It’s a Plane...It’s...
Today’s society seems to be in such a mess that we instinctively long for a superhero to arrive and come rescue us. We are enamored by Harry Potter, Superman, Spiderman, Frodo, the Incredibles and we can go on and on with this list. Although each superhero has a distinct special power, they all share one thing, they do for the human race what the rest of us fail to do, which is to save us from some awful evil catastrophe.
By not being able to take a class on wizardry at Hogwarts, or get exposed to Radioactive Gamma Rays, most of us experience helplessness on a regular basis at the multitude of external forces we cannot control. We cannot wave a magic wand to make people we love happy. We cannot swoop down from the sky to save anyone (even our own acquaintances) from the consequences of accidents, illness, addiction, or bad choices. We can’t be the Incredibles and bring down the gas prices, raise the real estate markets or boost up the job markets. The power of one mortal person seems too inconsequential much of the time. So, we insulate ourselves from our Christian responsibilities to the world and escape to a movie theater and return to a fantasy superhero hoping that they can keep evil from ruling another day.
Before there were fantasy comic superheroes, we had the real lives of the saints coming to us from the Bible and sacred church history stories. We were inspired by their lives who through faith and righteous actions helped us to endure hardships and imitate their life in Christ. The amazing thing about the saintly superheroes of the Church was that they became victorious over evil by doing simple acts of love for others. The Church invites us to participate along with this “Great Cloud of Witnesses” and move forward towards taking up the Cross and following Jesus Christ. This takes commitment and will (God’s Will) power! Unfortunately, we have become uninspired by these superheroes, because we don’t want to get involved.
Even with our modern day heroes, such as the firefighters and rescue workers who perished in the World Trade Towers, or our men and women who serve in the armed forces putting their lives on the line to help keep us safe and protect our freedoms. We call them heroes and absolve ourselves of any effort to imitate their sacrifice. What any real life hero would probably tell us is that it does no good to wait passively for an outside force to save the day. Each of us must participate in the reality we would like to see. We share the responsibility to redeem the world by allowing God to work through our actions and decisions.
A miraculous rescue may seem attractive, but it doesn’t take a miracle worker to clean up our messes, just an act of will. The greatest act of human will is charity. Charity is a virtue that awakens in us the likeness and life of God. The life and saintly help of St. Demetrius shows us that the love that makes a powerful person serve a weaker one is a miracle, and it is within the grasp of any of us.
Charity conforms us to the will of God. Helping others makes us participants in the life of God, which is the very source of salvation. St. Demetrius Church is here for us to work out our salvation, through the Mysteries of the Holy Sacraments and helping others. It is also here for us to worship in the presence of God. Exercising good stewardship and helping our church grow are two miracles that any of us can achieve. We don’t have to wait for a superhero to rescue us, all we need is our love for the church and our willingness to make a pledge of our commitment. Please take the time to prayerfully fill out your stewardship pledge card and turn it in and once again help support St. Demetrius Orthodox Church for this coming year.
Saints are rare these days because of lack of commitment and isolation of ourselves. As we enter 50 years of service in our Church in Jackson, let us all strive to become the saints we were made to be!
Let us all step up to the plate and be good stewards. Be a superhero for your faith! Through the prayers of St Demetrius, O Lord help us and save us!
+Father Dusan – October 2007
The Cross is the heart and soul of the Christian Faith. It has been the source of devotion in life and comfort in death. The sign of the Cross has been since earliest times the act that preceded, attended, and closed the actions and thoughts of pious Christians.
In the year 312, as Constantine was about to engage in a crucial battle against Maxentius, he saw emblazoned against the evening sky the huge form of the Cross, with the inscription “By This Sign Conquer.” This was the turning point in the history of his life and that of the Church. Constantine interpreted the vision as a mandate from the Lord, and ordered the symbol placed on the banner of his army. He defeated Maxentius and went to Rom in triumph. He shortly issued an edict that brought freedom to Christianity and an end to the persecution.
However, it was his mother, Helena, who found the wood on which Jesus died. In the year 326 she set out to the Holy Land. She was then about 80 years old, but remarkably active and vigorous. At Bethlehem she founded the great Church of the Nativity. But it was her pilgrimage to Jerusalem that is linked with the finding of that most precious and sacred of all relics, the Cross.
Tradition has it that she was guided to the place of the crucifixion by an aged Jew named Cyriacus, who had inherited the sacred knowledge of it. After the ground had been dug to a considerable depth, the holy sepulchre and the three crosses were found; that of our Lord being known by the immediate healing of a dying person who was laid beside it. Another story claims a dead person was raised by contact with it.
For years the Cross lay intact, venerated by the faithful at Jerusalem. In 614 the Persians, under their King, crossed the Jordan and became masters of the land. They treated the Christians with great barbarity, killing many, and burning churches. They carried away the sacred vessels from Jerusalem, and the Cross that was kept in a richly jeweled case.
Heraclius, the Roman emperor, tried in vain to recover the Cross to relieve the sufferings of the Christians. But by 623 he began to gain an advantage over the Persians, and in 627 he defeated them in a great battle, and pursued them into Persia itself.
The Persians sued for peace, and soon the cross was restored to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Patriarch of Jerusalem made the emperor lay aside his imperial garments and enter Jerusalem barefoot and simply clad, holding the Cross.
All desired to see and venerate the Cross. The patriarch raised it on high and blessed the multitude. And so was born the “Elevation of the Cross.” The ritual still forms part of our observance of the day. The Cross is borne in solemn ritual by the priest and carried to the center of the church, where the faithful come and venerate it.
From the Blessings of the
Iconostasis to the Power of Pentecost
The poet William Blake wrote a poem about Pentecost and it goes like
this:
Unless the eye catches fire, God will not be seen.
Unless the ear catches fire, God will not be heard.
Unless the tongue catches fire, God will not be named.
Unless the heart catches fire, God will not be loved.
Unless the mind catches fire, god will not be known.
The Holy Spirit is on Fire at our parish, and has brought a lot of
heat and movement in the lives of many, as we recently completed and
dedicated our new iconostasis. I was not the only one who felt the
power, the energy, the excitement and the love flow through this
simple iconostasis dedication service. If you felt the Divine Heat,
you were definitely drawing closer and moving forward to God. The
Power of Pentecost is not so much about salvation but
transformation. Just as the Holy Spirit guided the process of
transforming the interior of our house of worship, so too, we have
been transformed. Jesus is now calling “us” the Church community, to
not “sit still” but to move out! Not to pull out, but reach out!
The Power that fills our Church is not the power of merely building
a new iconostasis, but it is the power of witness. The iconostasis
dedication service was a time of planting seeds in our community,
now it’s time for us to work on growing and bringing other
spiritually thirsty people to the Living Water, Jesus Christ. As we
rediscovered our spiritual roots of our Orthodox Faith through the
new iconography, we now need to rediscover the power of Pentecost.
We need to be operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We need to
see lives turned around, we need to see people healed physically,
emotionally, relationally, socially, and spiritually. We need to
continue to experience the unity of the Holy Spirit!
We need to be living in genuine love for each other, and when we
fail at that, then we need to seek reconciliation. We need the Holy
Fire to fall and the people to rise! Just as the apostles after the
Lord’s Ascension waited in Jerusalem until the great day of
Pentecost, they sensed that they were on the threshold of something
big and great. Something was about to happen, and it would change
the world forever.
God has blessed our community with the beauty of adorning our church
building. He is preparing us for something even greater and more
marvelous: the power to “witness.” When the Holy Spirit fills a
human heart with His power and presence, He generates the passion to
carry out Jesus Christ’s command to go forth and proclaim the Good
News.
Just as how we experienced having a voice in our community in
announcing our new iconostasis, Pentecost gives us a voice, and then
pushes us over the edge to speak and to witness to our community.
The Gospel, by its very nature, cannot be confined to a cuddly,
safe, insulated environment. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to
work through us and move us into action! We cannot be satisfied and
content with the wonderful blessings and successful dedication and
celebration we just experienced, in which I am so grateful. We
cannot live off the past experience, we need to continue to move
forward and draw closer to God individually and as a community. God
has more for us in His Divine Plan as we minister to the community
of Jackson.
As we now participate in the Great Feast of Pentecost, and call the
Holy Spirit to abide in and through us, I would like to give God
thanks for bringing us to this point of rejoicing and celebration. I
would also like to thank the Iconostasis Committee for their
dedication, time, and energy in making a brainstorming vision into a
reality. I would like to thank the choir in their prayerful and
heartfelt responses of love during the services. To all the workers
and volunteers that made our church community to shine like a beacon
light (and that includes everyone from the veggie cutters who
brought tears to my eyes to the meat slicers and skewerers; from the
cookers and bakers to barbeque dudes wearing sunglasses; from the
money handlers and computer wizards to the letter stuffers and
Xeroxers; from those who tore out the old and realigned the pews to
the wipers and sweepers keeping out the dust in the altar; from
photographers and greeters to the smiles that adorned everyone’s
faces) THANK YOU!!!! My love for each and everyone of you is carried
in my heart and offered to the Lord at every Liturgy.
Thank you for being a part of my life and my ministry to the Lord!
Archpriest Dusan Koprivica
Finding the Resurrection
in the Right Place
"Why do you look for the living among the dead?" (Luke 24:5)
We all heard the old moron joke (or at least some version of it)
about a man who is walking along one night and comes across this man
(the moron) searching on his hands and knees on a sidewalk beneath a
streetlight. The man asked the moron, "Did you lose something?" The
moron replied, "Yes, I lost my dollar." The man felt sorry for the
guy so he decided to help with the search. After a while the man
told the moron, "I don't see your dollar anywhere, are you sure this
is the place where you lost it?" The moron replied, "No, of course
not, I dropped it somewhere in that dark vacant lot over there, I
can see a lot better here with the streetlight!"
The moron will never find his dollar if he keeps looking in the
wrong place. No matter how hard or long or how sincere he expects to
find it there, he's looking in the wrong place! Just as the
myrrh-bearing women on Easter morning were never going to find Jesus
if they kept looking in the "wrong place" the tomb, neither will we
find the Resurrected Lord if we continue to live life as if Christ
was still dead in the tomb!
The myrrh-bearing women first came looking for the Lord in the tomb
where He was placed after the Crucifixion, carrying pounds of spices
to anoint a dead body. They were also carrying a heavy emotional and
spiritual burden watching the Lord die on the Cross and wondering
who will roll the stone away from the tomb. Thank God for the angels
that were sent to redirect their search, gently nudging them with
the question, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?" In
other words, "Why are you carrying all that spiritual burden? This
same Jesus who was crucified is now alive! Go tell the apostles!"
From that moment on their lives changed. The hope, the joy, the
excitement and the reason for living expressed in the Good News:
Christ is Risen! They were bold, they were confident, and they were
full of joy because death has been conquered and found the Risen
Lord in the right place, breaking bread with each other (communion)
in love and celebration!
It's great having angels pop into your life now and then to help
redirect our journey towards salvation. So, what does our angel tell
us today? "Hey, YOU! Why are you still living as though your Savior
were still dead? Why are you still carrying that burden of stress,
anxiety, and uncertainty? Quit searching for the Lord in the tomb!
Christ is Risen!" Many of us fail to trust or just plain forget that
Jesus finished the entire work of salvation. Instead of living life
"having beheld the Resurrection of Christ," we carry the myrrh of
worry and defeat to a grave where we think God is dead! We freak out
over crime and terrorism; we limit our families and over work our
jobs not trusting that God will take care of us no matter what. We
look at life without hope or without purpose. That's living as
though Jesus is still in the grave.
- Finding the Resurrection begins with coming to the Living Church
where the Risen Lord is
revealed to us in the Gospel and Sacrament of the Church.
- Finding the Resurrection in the right place is sharing fellowship
with the Living Body of Christ as
we worship in Church.
- Finding the Resurrection in the Right place is approaching life
with joy, faith, and trust that Christ
is truly Risen your life that you don't have to go though life
feeling you're all alone and have to
take all the burdens in life upon yourself!
- Finding the Resurrection in the Right place is rejoicing that our
loving Savior saved us from our
sins and death and given us eternal life!
- Finding the Resurrection in the right place means sharing this
Good News to others giving God
glory and praise!
Brothers and sisters, we have found Christ's Resurrection! Come and
see! There is no reason for looking for a Living Lord among the
dead. We have a living Savior! We have a living Church! We worship
as the Living Body of Christ! Allow the Celebration of our Lord's
Resurrection to change your life by finding Him in the right place!
Come join us at St. Demetrius Church during Holy Week and Pascha and
leave your worries behind, and make your connection to the
Resurrection!
CHRIST IS RISEN ! INDEED HE IS
RISEN!
+Fr. Dusan Koprivica
I would like to take this opportunity to invite the whole St. Demetrius
Church Family to participate in the unique spiritual journey of faith, trust,
and love. On June 26, 2005, the membership of St Demetrius Church voted
to approve the Church Board's recommendation of the purchase of a new
hand carved Byzantine style iconostasis and icons for our church. (The
picture of the iconostasis will be posted on our web site, and how it would
look in our church.)
Our goal is to raise $100,000 in one year, which would cover the cost of
the new iconostasis and necessary interior alterations to the altar area to
accommodate the new iconostasis. To achieve this goal we will seek
individual donations, pledges, and other fund raising activities, which will be
presented to everyone to participate and be involved in this process. Truly,
we need everyone's love and prayers for this project!
The vote of approval for this new iconostasis indeed created a lot of
excitement and joy; that was the easy part! Now, we are inviting everybody
to join in on this excitement and be a part of this major project of beautifying
the church. However, before we begin to take the first step in the overall
purchase of a new iconostasis, WE need to become "icons of spiritual giving"
of love and sacrifice.
Financial giving to the church is a spiritual matter that expresses from
your heart that everything belongs to God. The Church belongs to God. The
building belongs to God. The altar belongs to God. The people belong to God.
The whole world belongs to God! As Psalm 24:1 proclaims: "The earth is the
Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it."
Soon everyone will receive a letter asking for a financial commitment to become stewards of this project.
It will be set up like our current Church
Pledge system where you determine your spiritual gift to give and how you
wish to meet this goal. I pray that we all look at our blessings from God in a
prayerful manner during this present time, anticipating your involvement in
this project. We will be asked to prayerfully give a financial gift not to meet
a church budget, nor to get recognition with one's name on a plaque. We will
be asked to give because we love the Kingdom of God and desire to see its
beauty in our church in Jackson, MI! We will be asked to prayerfully give not
to be tied down to the amount on a budget, but to the level of what God is
calling us to give.
Jesus taught that our gifts have eternal significance when He said in
Luke 12:34: "...for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
St. Paul also taught this same principle when he told Timothy, "Command them
to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to
share. In this way they will lay up treasures for themselves as a firm
foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is
truly life" (1 Tim 6:18-19).
Finally we will be asked to prayerfully give with the attitude of joyful
giving, where our giving will bring people to the kingdom of God. There is nothing better than knowing we have blessed the lives of other people with a
financial gift being used to bring people into the Kingdom of God and
bringing them closer to Christ. St. Paul writes, "Each man should give what
he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor 9:7).
The Greek word for cheerful is "hilaros" which the word "hilarious" comes from. God loves a hilarious giver! What a blessing it is to give for the glory of God, even though it may mean doing without something ourselves. This is not a burden, but a joy! It frees us from the compulsion to constantly gain more money and have more things. It frees us from the burden of financial concern. It focuses on the needs of others rather than our own. We trust God to take care of us, and therefore we can be generous.
When we become the icons of "Spiritual hilarious giving" and join in
on this spiritual journey in purchasing the new iconostasis with faith, hope
and love; not only will the interior of the church be transformed, but we will too!
Fr. Dusan Koprivica
There's a commercial that's been
around on TV and it shows a man
looking at a bowl of corn flakes and saying, "This looks pretty boring
to
me, pretty common, pretty ordinary." After pouring in some milk and
sugar he tastes it and says, "Umm, I like it! It's really pretty good.
What is it?" Then the announcer answers, "Kellogg's Corn Flakes."
Then the guy says, "You really got me on that." Then we hear the
announcer saying, "Kellogg's Corn Flakes, taste them again for the
first time."
The Christmas season presents for
many people a cruel paradox.
Expectations are so high to be a season of joy and many people are so
busy keeping up with the pressure in trying to have that "perfect"
Christmas. We sing, "Tis the season to be jolly" and somehow our jolly
gene has managed to escape us as we find many reasons not to be
happy. How is it possible to feel joy while we cram 20 parties, 10
shopping trips, 5 concerts, 2 bake sales and possibly to find room for a
partridge in a pear tree all in the span of four weeks! Not to mention
trying to sort out family relationships, childhood memory, personal
hopes and dreams all with the knowledge that another year has gone.
We have become so numb spiritually and mentally that we look at
Christmas as like an ordinary bowl of corn flakes! We lose our child-
like awe and wonder at the great mystery of the Son of God becoming
incarnate as an infant child. Rather than try to excite our spiritual
lives trying to make Christmas more spectacular exteriorly with more
decorations and more activities, let's try it again for the first time.
Joy is the by-product of resting in the knowledge that God is in our
midst, God is with us. Joy is when we discover how God transforms
and transfigures the ordinary to manifest Himself in Glory. Challenge
yourself to see the Virgin Mary again for the first time as she said,
"Yes," to God allowing salvation to enter into our world.
Maybe then we can marvel at her
pure heart and love for God.
Challenge yourself to see Joseph again for the first time as he obeyed
God's will by taking the Virgin Mother and Christ child in his care.
Maybe then can we appreciate being committed to God when life
seems confusing? Challenge yourself to see the star for the first time,
and maybe then can bear witness like the whole universe of stars to
the true meaning of His Nativity. Challenge yourself to see the angels
again for the first time announcing the Birth of our Savior, maybe then
we'll begin to sing praises to God in the highest without hesitation.
Challenge yourself to experience Jesus Christ as a baby for the first
time, maybe then we’ll be able to truly celebrate the awesome mystery of
the infinite God entering our here and now, taking on our flesh and
blood, speaking to us in human language and bridging the gap between
humanity and the Divine.
The miracle of Christmas is that
God takes just ordinary things and
transforms them into extraordinary things. Let us all challenge
ourselves to take the "corn flakes challenge" with our preparation for
celebrating Christ's Nativity. Maybe then we can see the simplicity,
hear the silence, and experience the joy of God's Perfect Gift for all
mankind. Please come and join us in celebration and give glory to God
in the Highest as we worship Him as Lord and Savior not only the first
time, but also all the time!
+Fr. Dusan Koprivica
The discussions at the Christmas Holiday parties and gatherings were
very interesting this year for me. Many people asked me my opinion about
the “DaVinci Code.” My reply to the inquiry was to find out what
intrigued their interest in the book. “Oh, about Mary Magdalene and
Jesus being married and having a child and the Church cover up,” was the
response back. That shocking information was followed up by more
shocking litanies of religious and ecclesiastical inaccuracies. My first
response was natural for a priest, “That’s capital ‘B’ period, capital
‘S’ period, with a big ‘HIT’!” My wife politely elbows me and says, “You
can’t say that unless you read the book, and explain why its wrong
theology.” So I borrowed the book from a friend, who also was very
interested in my opinion about the book, and I began to read and take
plenty of notes.
Putting on my “theological detection cap” I admit I cheated by first
gleaning through the book cringing at the theological discussions of the
characters. After yelling at this FICTIONAL BOOK and its “historical”
presentation of the Church, I could understand why people were seeking
my opinion. It was obvious that the author had a “bone to pick” with the
Roman Catholic Church, but in doing so he distorts Orthodox Christianity
by his fighting attack on the Church. The author, Dan Brown delivers
Church History by blending fiction and facts together and presents them
as one “historic” truth. This is what confuses normal everyday
Christians who are unaware of their Church History and the development
of the Canons of the New Testament formed by the Early Church. After
getting the theology out of the way and venting all my frustration out,
I began to read the FICTIONAL BOOK for enjoyment. I truly enjoyed the
code breaking, thrilling treasure hunt, which I just heard on the news
this week that the director Ron Howard will soon make this into a movie.
The movie will be great, but the theology will stink. That’s why
everyone should understand what this book is about and respond to
inquiring minds with Orthodox Catechism.
First of all “The Da Vinci Code” is a fictional book about a secret
society “Priory of Sion” that is preserving a special secret “truth”
that Jesus not only married Mary Magdalene and had a child, but
entrusted “her” to be His successor for the Church, and not the Apostle
Peter. Mary Magdalene was considered to be “the sacred feminine” and of
the royal bloodline of the Tribe of Benjamin, while Jesus “the sacred
masculine” being the royal bloodline of King David. As the “historic
documents” showed, the Apostle Peter not liking this arrangement and
wanting the “power and control” of the Church, suppressed and undermined
Jesus’ successor Mary Magdalene and pushed the evidence and her
“calling” underground for 2000 years. Mary Magdalene “the sacred
feminine” was considered to be “the” Holy Grail of legend, rather than
the chalice used at the Last Supper. The search for the Holy Grail was a
code for seekers who knew the truth about Mary Magdalene as the “sacred
feminine” the Church oppressed. The Da Vinci code was the way Leonardo
Da Vinci (who was a Grand Master in the Priory of Sion) painted secret
symbols in his artwork to reveal clues to the “sacred feminine” and who
the Holy Grail actually was. This “secret” was to be revealed at a
special time by the Priory of Sion (year 2000) and thus destroy the
Church because of its cover up and lies for 2000 years. Obviously the
Church doesn’t want this “secret” to come out and thus you have an
action packed, murder thriller, and find the Holy Grail treasure hunt!
To begin my critique, I must say that the whole premise of the book that
the Church suppressed the “sacred feminine” in order to be patriarchal
is totally false. When you enter into an Orthodox Church you are
entering into Mary the Theotokos’ womb! Right above the Holy of Holies
in the High Place of the Altar is Mary the Theotokos “More Spacious than
the Heavens.” After the consecration of the Gifts into the Body and
Blood of Jesus the climatic hymn is to Mary, the Theotokos! Dan Brown’s
assumption that the Church suppressed the “sacred feminine” is totally
absurd! Christianity elevated the status of women and made them equal in
society and within marriage. It wasn’t Gnosticism nor the pagan
religions that made this incredible change. True the pagan priestesses
were treated like gods because that’s how men orgasmically became
enlightened! The Orthodox Church by far exalts womanhood and the awesome
calling of motherhood.
Jesus was not historically married to Mary Magdalene. However, Jesus
historically and spiritually is called the Bridegroom and the Church is
the Bride. So yes, Jesus was married, but to the Church. Again, Brown
brings in fact and fiction together to present “history.” The Orthodox
Church from the very beginning knew how God revealed Himself to us and
how He loves us. Holy Matrimony between man and a woman is patterned
after Jesus’ marriage to the Bride, the Church. Sexual union between a
man and a woman is considered Holy and a sacrament in the Orthodox
Church, and not evil and shameful as Brown alleges the Church views sex.
St. John Chrysostom even writes that if anyone views sexual union
between a man and a woman in marriage as sinful, then it is God who
created us for this action that is sinful. “Sacred Feminine” and “Sacred
Masculine” is in its fullness within the Orthodox Marriage and in the
people’s response as the Church. This union and communion of Jesus
Christ and the Church produced offspring, a royal people, a future
inheritance, and children of the Most High! Can anyone say Baptism and
Chrismation? I’m sorry it’s not scandalous enough for a thrilling novel!
Brown’s “historical” presentation to attack the Church’s suppression of
the “secret” of Mary Magdalene and crush the pagan religions by “voting”
to make Jesus Divine at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD is also
ludicrous. The First Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 325 AD was called to
affirm that Jesus Christ was both Human and Divine. The Council convened
in response to the Arian heresy, which was a popular movement of that
time that claimed that Jesus was not Divine, but “super human.” This
threatened the unity of Orthodox Christianity, and therefore it was
proclaimed in the Creed with specific theological terms what the Church
already believed in and defined Jesus Christ’s true essence and nature.
The Council also unified the Church by setting the date to calculate
Pascha, and other procedures, in order for churches to stay uniform
throughout his empire. To say that this Council “made” Jesus “divine” in
order for Constantine to be on the “winning side” is historically wrong.
The Epistles of St. Paul and the Gospels were written in the First
Century, 25 to 50 years after the Death and Resurrection of Jesus
Christ. The Church worshipped Jesus, the Son of God, and many saints
were martyred not to keep a conspiracy alive, but to take up the Cross
and follow Christ. If we follow Brown’s logic, we would have to believe
that all the writings from Early Church Fathers before 325 AD conspired
to hold a lie about Jesus’ Nature and Essence for 300 years of
suffering, while hoping to get lucky to get Christianity legalized by
the State in order for their writings to be valid.
Gnosticism was also a heresy that tried to influence the confines of
Christianity in the Early Church. The Gnostics believed they held a
“special knowledge” or “special wisdom” of God, which made them redeemed
and superior than common people. While some Gnostics sects viewed
creation, the human body, and sex, as evil, other sects tried to
liberate the soul from the body by erotic orgies. You think we have it
hard for putting up with Jehovah Witnesses knocking on our doors; St.
Paul had his hands full! Since the “body” was evil for the Gnostics,
they rejected the incarnation and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They
didn’t need Jesus Christ because they thought they were perfect already.
Christianity did not reject Gnosticism because of suppressing the
feminine, but because of their theological and philosophical views on
creation and God were so contrary to the apostolic teachings, writings,
and Tradition. The Gnostics also spent their time trying to learn secret
magic passwords, and codes and amulets, thus acquiring the “special
knowledge” to ascend higher in the ranks of the sect. Trying to break
the codes to discover the Holy Grail, the “special knowledge” of keeping
the secret, and a Gnostic theology on Jesus, makes “The Da Vinci Code”
basically a novel on Gnosticism. We should be more concerned about our
children reading this book rather than “Harry Potter.”
Brown also fails to historically point out that Mary Magdalene in the
Orthodox Church is not considered a “prostitute.” She is recognized in
the Church to be equal to the apostles and a saint. In the Orthodox
Church, Mary Magdalene, Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus, and the
prostitute that anointed Jesus’ feet are three distinct people and not
the same person, Mary Magdalene, Brown accuses the Church in demonizing.
If the Church had the “secret” that needed to be pushed underground,
they could have easily have told the monks who were scribing the texts
(they didn’t have copy machines) to leave her out of the story. Mary
Magdalene is mentioned 12 times in the Gospels! For Brown to say that
Peter was on a “power trip” and wanted to suppress the scandal of Mary
being pregnant with Jesus’ baby and objecting to her running the Church
shows his disdain for the papacy. That argument is flawed first of all
to how the Apostles historically convened (see Acts 15). Secondly, the
apostles were not interested in a “power trip” by preaching that their
boss was crucified, humiliated, and died on the Cross. That was not a
“popular” sales pitch for a religion! The Apostles did not live like
Donald Trump and power broke their prestige! Instead, they suffered and
were martyred for spreading the “Good News” to everyone, (pagans and
women included) and were set free from death and sin because Jesus
Christ is the Son of God who rose from the dead! Christianity’s
popularity to the Gentile pagans was due to how Christians practiced
their love for neighbor, sacrificed their lives nonviolently in
martyrdom, and that they didn’t have to sacrifice real people on the
altar to their pagan gods. Simple bread and wine changing to the Body
and Blood of Jesus Christ became the perfect sacrifice for their sins
and means to salvation. Jesus Christ became not only the fulfillment of
the Old Testament but also to those who worshipped nature. Instead of
changing pagan traditions Christian missionaries Christianized their
holidays. If the pagans had the Super Bowl back then, we would probably
be celebrating it as a major Feast Day in today’s Church. Isn’t it
amazing how many people for years scrutinize Holy Scripture and Holy
Tradition as unreliable and unauthoritative, while now, people are
relying on the “revealed truth” of an English teacher with no
theological background writing a fictional book on the search for the
Holy Grail!
There are many other “historic” inaccuracies mixed in with Brown’s
fictional story that attack the Roman Catholic Church. Brown’s book adds
fuel to the fire for those who already are disenchanted with the Roman
Catholic Church. Brown draws his disdain for the scandals of the Roman
Catholic Church of today by conjuring up a scandalous and deceitful
beginning of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church. If he is
smearing the history of the early Church, he is smearing our history as
the Orthodox Church. That’s why we need to learn about our faith and be
witnesses to others about Orthodoxy and the fullness, wholeness, and
holiness contained in our spirituality. If Brown placed his characters
in the Orthodox Church, and attended Liturgy, and chose Mary the
Theotokos as the symbol of the “sacred feminine,” they would have found
what they were looking for, but that wouldn’t have made him a best
selling author. If people are so intrigued by this book we should invite
them to the Orthodox Church where the whole mystery of the Holy Grail is
revealed. So, enjoy reading the book as fiction, try to solve the codes
and rebut the Gnostic theology with this handy dandy confusion decoder.
Also, learn your faith, ask questions, and teach your children and
grandchildren about the Church.
- Fr. Dusan Koprivica
Have a Happy Non-offensive X-mas
There was a certain cartoon that was published in the paper a while back
that explains the feelings of a lot of Americans today. It showed two houses
decorated for Christmas. One was all "decked out" with lights everywhere; Santa
on the roof; a flashy "Merry X-mas" sign in the front yard - a house that would
make Tim "the tool man" Taylor proud! The other house had a simple manger
scene in the yard. The couple from the "decked out" house were looking out their window at the manger scene in the neighbor's yard and said, "Some people have to put religion into everything!"
In order to have a "Happy Non-offensive Christmas" we need to realize
that the world will celebrate Christmas without ever worshipping or meditating
on the real meaning of the season: that God came down in the flesh to be like us
and to get in our faces and stake His claim in the world, and in our lives. That
meaning, in itself, is offensive! It's okay to be spiritual as long as it's trendy and
self-centered, but for heaven's sake don't be Christ centered! Why be labeled as
a "closed minded" Orthodox Christian when you say "Christ is Born, Glorify Him!"
when you can combine Ramadan, Hanukkah, Kwanza and Christmas and wish
everyone a "Happy RamaHanuKwanzMas!?" Why hurt other people's feeling and self-esteem? It's all the same God, right?
The Non-offensive Holiday Season is meant to be so busy, distracting and
chaotic as a way to avoid the real point and meaning of the Son of God's
Incarnation in the world. Why go through all the stress and religious persecution
believing the "offending truth" about Jesus Christ, when one can easily blend into
the non-offensive stampede into the stores at 6 am for the bargain sales, while
listening to dogs barking to the tune of "Jingle Bells?" Not to mention, having a
winter solstice break from school and attending the many parties where Christ's
name will never be brought up certainly warms the politically correct at heart.
This year the Christ Child will be asked to leave many public displays.
Many people will try to ignore or destroy Him. Public schools will be sued if little
children sing a traditional "religious" Christmas carol, and hostility will turn
towards those who want to keep Christmas holy ....But isn't that the reality of
Christmas?
At the time of the first Christmas, Jesus was detestable. Many people
were too busy to bring Him in, and Herod wanted Him destroyed and erased
from history. Not much as changed! Christ was just as offensive in our world
back then when He was born, as He is offensive today.
As we strive for more independence from God in the world, the more
hostility towards Jesus is certain, and the fear of Him increases. Let's face the
fact that Jesus is the world's most dangerous Person. He is the Son of God, Lord of lords, King of kings! He is God Incarnate, Emmanuel, God with us! He's not just some little baby that can be contained in a manger. The ACLU wouldn’t be spending so much time and money trying to wipe out Jesus if He was just a
holiday myth! Jesus offends the world because He has overcome the world!
Jesus is offensive because He loves each and every one of us and is
searching for us. We fear His presence because it will mean that we can no
longer live for selfish purposes but are obliged for God to live in our hearts,
minds and souls. We take offense at Jesus because we will recognize a higher
authority and we humbly would need to surrender to Him. He is and always will
be the Prince of Peace, the Ruler and King of the universe in spite of the
attempts to destroy or ignore Him. Give Jesus an inch of your heart and He'll fill
it all with His Grace and Power which has fulfilled the universe.
When the world tries to distract us from the simplicity of a humble God in
a manger, and tries to fill our hearts with non-offensive nice things instead of
partaking communion with the One True God, we become spiritually dead and
bankrupt! Jesus wants to offend us in order for us not to be of the world. Jesus
wants to be a part of our life. He wants to give us meaning and purpose. He
desires to give us forgiveness, peace, salvation and eternal life. He cannot do
that if we follow the agenda of a "Christophobic" society. We can have a
"Happy Non-offensive Christmas" and be plagued by trivial matters and
meaninglessness. Or we can offend the world and approach the Nativity of Our
Lord with the fear of God and with love and faith which allows the Divine Light to
shine in the darkened world and in our hearts. The choice is ours. "Christ is
Born! Glorify Him!
+Fr. Dusan