Second Sunday of Lent
- of St. Gregory Palamas -
About the importance of divine Providence, of helping one's neighbor and
of the power of the Son of God
On the 2nd Sunday of Great Lent, of St. Gregory Palamas, His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian celebrated Divine Liturgy at the Episcopal Cathedral St. George of St-Hubert.
At the end of the service, the hierarch spoke talked, starting from the concrete situation of the pandemic and recalling the good news received at the feast of the Annunciation, reminding the need for the people to return within certain limits to a greater participation of believers in the religious services which reflect more what truly Church represents as a community.
“Here we come now as an united people of God, strengthened in faith and tried in this period in which we saw that one thing is essential for us as a Church: nothing can replace this direct connection with God or the connection between us as people.”
Furthermore, the hierarch of Canada evoked the personality of St. Gregory Palamas, the great theologian of XIV century, hierarch of Thessalonica and monk, summarizing what was said at the Vespers on Saturday evening about the spirit of his teaching “which shows us in his writings, through his theology, that God has never left and never leaves the world, pouring out upon it the uncreated, divine energies by which it exists.”
Speaking about the Epistle and the Gospel of this Sunday, the hierarch said:
“The philosophies, religions, and all other healthy currents of thought in this world are important, because they speak to some extent of the existence of God. However in the Epistle to Hebrews, the Holy Apostle Paul tells us one essential thing: what we practice and proclaim today — that is, our Christian and Orthodox faith — is not a teaching and a way founded by a prophet, a just man, or a man inspired by God, not even by a sage, but it is founded by the Son of God Himself.
Today's Gospel also emphasizes two important points: the importance of faith and of the community in assisting those in need, and it speaks to us about who Jesus Christ is, it reveals to us the identity of the Savior Christ.
Here is what we find in this Gospel: first is the power of faith, the power of the community, the power of those who want to help the sick because the sick, without being brought to that bed and lowered through the roof, probably would not have had his health restored, because he would never have had the opportunity to meet the Savior Christ, and secondly, it shows us that the miracle that the Savior Jesus Christ performed - says St. John Chrysostom - was performed by His own power revealing His divine quality as the Son of the Father.”
HG Bishop Ioan Casian concluded his speech by emphasizing the need for Christian-Orthodox deepen their faith through knowledge and asking God to strengthen believers.
