Rev. Fr. Corneliu Iulian Dragomir
Iconom Stavrofor
To the youth, educators and volunteers of the St. Veronica Summer Camp
St. Nicholas and St. Prophet Elijah Parish
Vancouver/Surrey
MESSAGE
Reverend Father Corneliu,
Dear young people, educators and volunteers of the Saint Veronica summer camp,
I am always glad to see this great summer camp initiative continuing over the years. The summer camp, among other things, means loving the time spent in communion and good cheer in the presence of God and in the spirit of the Church.
These moments become part of the Christian foundation that the Church tries to lay at the bottom of the life of each one of us, especially the young ones in this case.
Young people are the present and the future of the Church - of the parishes and monasteries of our Diocese. This time, for you as young people, is an invaluable one in which you can make friends, learn what it means to be a Christian in the Church and in today's society, become role models in our secularized world. Together, we are living in a world that looks a lot at the horizontal dimension of existence without caring too much about the soul, spiritual life, of what it means to think Christianly and to be what God has given us to be - His image and likeness.
In the activities you do, prayer and good deeds, the thinking to the children and young people who are in suffering, in troubles, in wars and shortages should not be missing. You are blessed to live in a country where there are no such conflicts or difficult situations but there are other shortcomings. Meditate on these things and set goals and objectives in the present and future that reflect Christian faith, life and action.
You are at the beginning of a life path and now is the time to thoroughly build your personal and social life on faith and confession of God, on values such as love, kindness, long patience, honesty, seriousness, dedication, collaboration, openness to others but also faith, fidelity, courage, humility, the spirit of peace and understanding, mercy and many others.
The Savior Jesus Christ says: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to my Father except through Me" (John 14, 6). It is the example and the way we learn in the Church, reading or listening to the Holy Scriptures, looking at the lives of the saints, at the examples given by our parents, grandparents or relatives, at the way the past generations lived and confessed their faith. In this way, we will always be enriched, and we will pass this treasures on generously to others after us.
Remain steadfast in the midst of so many storms of all kinds in today's world that are propagated very quickly through the media and can often be overwhelming and cause conflict and insecurity. Make the sign of the cross, say a shorter or longer prayer yourself, turn to reading a passage of Holy Scripture, consider the advices and the lives of the saints, and you will come through these storms with strength and grace God's.
Do not forget that in these moments of joy and communion, of prayer and action, which you spend during the summer camps, you are preparing for life; a life that will carry you like the ships of sailors where God will lead you. Learn thoroughly from the experience of these days because it will be part of the knowledge that will accompany you on your life's journey forward and help you decide properly and in the Spirit of God what is best for yourselves and for the close ones.
Do not let sadness and discouragement overwhelm you in the more difficult and trying times that each of us has gone through or will go through. Be assured that God and His saints are always with you. It is enough to extend the hand of your thinking or deed, and you will become the thinking and hand of God to those around you.
If you really want to meet God and know his richness and endless love and goodness contemplate the nature, plants, birds and animals around you; lie down on the fresh grass of a summer night and contemplate the starry sky. With a pure heart you will quickly and without a shadow of a doubt understand who God is, His love, His goodness and His immeasurable richness and mercy. All this will carry your understanding, feeling, thinking, and spirit to truly see what a wonderful world we live in, true, defiled by sin, but untouched in its essence, vocation, and destination by all temptations and wickedness.
We live in a world where we must learn to look at it and know it through the eyes and the understanding with which its author - God - looks at it and understands it. In the same way we must look at and understand ourselves. It involves respect and decency, attention, patience and kindness, faith, hope and love, and much more.
Show with courage, dignity and openness, your Christian identity, open to dialogue, communion, friendship and respect towards the Church and nation, towards the culture and true values of the country in which you live. You are already the young generation of today and you will become the generation of tomorrow that will carry on its shoulders the responsibility of its decisions and its way forward. Do it with uprightness, honesty, faith, hope and love. This was the example of the Holy Apostles, the Myrrh-bearing women, the martyrs, the monks and nuns, the hierarchs, the priests and deacons, the simple believers, etc.
May your faces remain bright like those of the saints. Let the mirror of each of you be the icon of the saint who represents and protects you. Look at them every morning. They will guide and inspire you in what you will do in the spirit of God.
I congratulate Rev. Fr. Corneliu Iulian Dragomir, the educators and volunteers of the camp who every year make an immeasurable effort and show a lot of creativity, ingenuity and talent so that these moments become unforgettable and constitute a permanent presence in your life in the years to come. To you, the youngest, I wish you spiritual joys, peace in the soul, grace and help from God in the Holy Spirit.
With hierarchical blessings in Christ the Lord,
† Ioan Casian
Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Canada
Saint-Hubert, July 12, 2024
