August, 2016
My Beloved the benevolent
Grace and peace wishing every goodness and blessing
The month of August is associated with St. Mary the Mother of Light. The blessed fast which carries the name of The Virgin begins Sunday August 7th and we end the fast with one of The Virgin’s feasts which is the Feast of the Assumption of her body which will be on Monday August 22nd. Also, on Saturday August 13th, we will celebrate the annunciation of her birth.
The Virgin Mother of Light is a treasure of virtues. We look at her pure life and can learn many things. I would like us to learn from the Virgin how to ask of God and how to present to Him our needs and the needs of others, especially in serving the needy. Oftentimes, we face various needs and find ourselves incapable of offering the resources needed to face these needs. We always need the work of God with us, therefore we need to learn how to present our needs to God.
In the story of the Wedding of Cana of Galilee in chapter 2 of the Gospel of St. John, St. Mary felt the need of the people at the wedding and the guests. The Bible says, “And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, ‘They have not wine.’ ” Jn.2:3 St. Mary presented to Christ the need, not the solution. Many would ask and specify to Him what He should do, so if He does not solve the problem the way they prefer, they would feel that God did not give them what they wanted.
St. Paul the apostle had a need which involved his suffering caused by a thorn in his body. St. Paul asked God to relieve him of this “thorn” in his body, “Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.” 1Cor. 12:8 but God had a different solution to St. Paul’s suffering from the thorn in his body. Instead of healing the thorn, He took away the suffering from the thorn, how did that happen? St. Paul said, “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness,” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2Cor.12:9,10 The thorn in his body became a reason to rejoice for St. Paul, not only with regard to “the thorn” which most probably was an illness, but it also made him thank God deeply for the grace that works and that becomes perfect in weakness. The grace that helps a person to endure suffering and persecutions because he feels God’s presence and support for him.
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Therefore, we need to do like St. Mary and present to God our needs and the needs of others and leave the appropriate solution to be decided by Him. When The Virgin mother of light presented the needs of the people, “They have no wine” to her beloved Son, He answered, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” Jn. 2:4 How did the Virgin react? The Bible says, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” Jn2:5 The Virgin Mother of Light is teaching us two important things:
- Complete trust in God: Mary trusted that Her Son was capable of solving the problem, that He cared deeply about solving people’s problems and that He would do something to help them. She said with all confidence, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
- Patience in waiting for God’s work. When Christ said My hour had not yet come, The Virgin did not argue with Her Son or nag Him to intervene quickly, but left to Him the time of His choice to resolve the problem of those people.
God has a reason for choosing the appropriate solution in the appropriate time, that is why The Virgin did not ask for a specific solution or time, but with all trust she presented the needs of the people and left the appropriate solution and time up to Her Son. Let us present the service and its needs to God and leave to Him the appropriate way and time to resolve these needs.
May the Lord use you all to fulfill the needs of the needy and bless your offerings to support St. Verena Charity and the blessings of The Virgin and her intercession be with us all Amen.
Metropolitan Serapion
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