October, 2013

My Beloved the Benevolent            

Grace and Peace wishing you every goodness and blessing

We discussed in the previous letter an important key to opening a person’s heart to giving, which is feeling the pain and needs of others. And we learned from our Mother the Virgin that she went to the hills with haste to the city of Judah to Elizabeth the barren, in order to be beside her during her pregnancy as she herself carried the burden of Joseph’s suspicions. But God did not abandon her because doing good will never fails, because it is an act of love and “Love never fails.” (1Col.13:8)

            At the wedding of Cana of Galilee the Virgin was amongst the invited, but she felt the need of the wedding people and the embarrassing situation they found themselves in. The Book did not mention that they asked anything of The Virgin, but The Virgin, who was filled with love and compassion, approached her Beloved Son with trust and faith and said, “They have no wine.” (Jn. 2:3) Then she said to the servants with faith, “Whatever He says to you do it.” (Jn.2:5) The Virgin teaches us how to feel the needs of others. How many people do not have income, medical care, or anyone to care for them? How many people don’t have a relationship with God, don’t have a strong spiritual life, don’t have faith, and don’t have repentance? Do we feel for them? Truly we do not have what it takes to care for all these people. Did The Virgin depend on herself to meet the needs of the people at the wedding? No, she went to Her Beloved Son and told Him what they need and she left, trusting that He will provide for them.

Our Fathers the Apostles felt the needs of the hungry multitude when it was late and they were in a deserted place, but when they approached Christ they did NOT do like The Virgin who revealed the need without a solution, but they offered Christ a solution, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.” (Jn. 9:12), and when Christ instructed them to give them something to eat, they thought amongst themselves and looked at what they had and expressed their inability saying, “ We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.”( Jn. 9:13) The disciples did not have a place to buy the food nor did they have the money to buy enough for such a large number of people. The disciples expressed their inability, but forgot that Christ was amongst them and they did not ask Him to feed the multitude. Therefore, “Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.” (Jn.9:16)

Truly our capabilities are limited and the needs are unlimited, but let us put what we have in the Hands of the Unlimited to fulfill the unlimited needs.

Our God is rich, so let us not delay in offering as the Virgin likewise offered to the needs of others and let us trust that He can fulfill all the needs. May God bless your offerings to the St. Verena Charity Program to fulfill the unlimited needs that come to us.

Bishop Serapion