My Beloved the benevolent                               July 2024

Grace and peace, I wish you all the best and blessings

The Gospel of John the Beloved mentions the following: “Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’” Jn.12:21 Who are they? The previous verse mentions: “Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.” Jn. 12:20 They are Diaspora Jews, but the word “those” represents all souls who long to “see Jesus”.

On Friday, July 12th (Abib 5th) we celebrate the feast of the martyrdom of Saints Paul and Peter, and we call it the Feast of the Apostles, as it comes at the end of the Apostles Fast. The apostles saw the Lord Jesus and they were eyewitnesses as Saint John mentions in his first Epistle, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life, the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us, that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have  fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” 1 Jn. 1:1-3 The Fathers, the Apostles lived with Christ and convey to us their true testimony, which is the basis of the Apostolic Tradition, so that we may also have fellowship with Christ; that is, that we may see Jesus as the Fathers the Apostles saw Him.

How do we see Jesus?

1- By faith: The Apostles obtained their vision of the Lord Jesus first at the level of their senses: they see Him and touch Him and hear His voice; but after the Ascension, the Apostles’ vision of Christ transformed to see Him by faith. Christ before the Ascension said to them, “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Mt. 28:20 Then Christ ascended, and the disciples did not feel that they would not see Jesus, but on the contrary, they returned joyfully, “Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heave. And they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great Joy” Lu. 24:51-52

St. Paul reminds the Ephesians, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” Eph. 3:17 In the First Hour of the Agpeya, and in Psalm 15, which begins, “Keep me, O Lord, for I have hoped in you” we pray, “I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore, my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoiced.” Psalm 15(16):8-9 We see by faith the Lord Jesus as powerful, sustaining and helping us, so that our hearts rejoice, and our tongues rejoice.

2. In the Eucharist sacrament: In the sacrament of the Eucharist, we partake of the life-giving body and the precious blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; therefore, I would like to remind you of what we recite on Monday Psali of the Midnight Praise and also in the distribution hymn after Psalm 150

“Around You stand the Cherubim……. and the Seraphim,

 and they cannot look at You.

 We behold You upon the Altar

 and we partake of Your Body and Your Precious Blood”

3. In the service of the needy: Christ, when He spoke of the importance of serving the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned, He equated the importance of these services as if they are offered to Christ Himself, “Assuredly, I say to you inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” Mt. 25:40

The great saint Anba Pishoy, whose feast we celebrate on Monday, July 15th (Abib 8th), did not simply believe theoretically in what Jesus Christ said, but rather in practical faith. His famous story when he carried Jesus Christ is based on his practical faith of serving the needy; He was the old man who wanted someone to carry Him that He could see Christ, but none of the monks paid attention to Him lest He delays them from seeing Christ. St. Pishoy stopped and carried Him, believing with certainty that helping an old man is equal to seeing Christ, because serving the needy allows us to see Jesus.

Santa Verena’s charitable programs offer us multiple opportunities to “see Jesus”, to serve the needy; therefore, I invite you to contribute to its programs so that you can enjoy seeing the Lord Jesus in his brothers and sisters in need.

Metropolitan Serapion