On Saturday, November 2 and Sunday, November 3, His Grace Ioan Casian, the Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Canada, was in the midst of the faithful of the Resurrection of the Lord Parish in Hamilton, on the occasion of the Second Church Feast - St. Michael and Gabriel. Saturday the Vespers with Lithia, and Sunday the Divine Liturgy, were celebrated followed by the memorial service for those trespassed.
In the sermon at the end of the Divine Liturgy, the hierarch showed the deep meanings of the parable of the Rich man and the poor Lazarus in the Gospel set for 22nd Sunday after Pentecost.
In this parable, it is revealed to us the importance and seriousness of our life on this earth on the road to eternity. Each one of us has a limited period of time in which we can work out our salvation. At important moments of our lives such as Baptism, Chrismation, Divine Liturgy and Communion, something of God's eternity is mysteriously planted in us.
Our passage into the world beyond is not within our power, as we see from the words "the poor man was carried by angels into the bosom of Abraham." This deep ocean between the Kingdom of God and the place of the suffering cannot be crossed by anyone without the help of the heavenly powers. The holy angels are those who carry the soul over the deep, separating those who remain in the darkness of the turmoil of conscience, who have not fulfilled their vocation given by God, and those who have gained a place in the kingdom of God. At the request of the rich man from hell to send someone to his brothers to prevent them to come to the place of suffering, the answer is "They will not believe whether one will raise someone from the dead."
This parable of the Savior Jesus Christ is a prophecy of what would happen to Himself. The 12 apostles, the myrrh-bearer women, over five hundred witnesses and others who saw Jesus after the resurrection, believed. But there are so many who did not believe. The Savior actually shows us that the resurrection has happened and yet, looking around us today, there are still a lot of people who do not believe in God, in the need of redemption and salvation through resurrection.
In the church we have a time when we can pray for the souls of those who fall asleep in our nations, and this time is until the final judgment. After that, their fate will no longer be changed. They need our prayer, especially that of the Divine Liturgy!
An agape meal at the Romanian House and a celebration dedicated to the Romanian village were organized by the Parish Choir and the Doina Folklore Ensemble.
