~Pastor’s Message of June 06, 2021~

Jesus asked him “Do you believe in the Son of God?” He answered, “And who is He, Sir, that I may believe in Him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen Him, and it is He who speaks to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him.

Dear to Christ the members of the Body of Christ at St. George,

Christ is Risen.

One of the most difficult things for a human being to experience is to loose one’s sight. I don’t know if we ever experienced issues with our sight. The eyes are our most important sense to connect us with the world around us. Jesus said “I am the light of the world”. Jesus not only does he gives the sight to the blind man, but He is the Light of all men. This man did not have eyes at all, Jesus recreated his eyes for him.  The Kontakion for this Sunday says: “I come to You, O Christ, as the man blind from birth. With the eyes of my soul blinded, I cry out to You in repentance, “You are the resplendent Light of those in darkness.” Christ is our Light in the darkness of this world.

Next week we will celebrate the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord with Great Vespers and the blessing of the five loaves on Wednesday at 7 PM, and Orthros and Divine Liturgy on Thursday starts 6:30 PM.

All graduates from the universities and high schools, please give your information to the Sunday school team or send it to Mrs. Amal Shaheen/Tahan.

I announced last Sunday that His Eminence our Father Metropolitan JOSEPH has informed me of his intention of bringing me back to America closer to my children, and that another Priest from Lebanon will be assigned in my place. This process may take from 8 months to one year.

Fr. Philip LeMasters writes: “In sharp contrast to that darkness, we celebrate in this glorious season of Pascha that the light of Christ shines even from the grave and extends to the darkest dimensions of our lives and relationships.  To be radiant with the light of the resurrection is what it means to know God.  To know Him is not merely to have religious ideas or emotions about Him, but truly to share by grace in the life of the Holy Trinity.  It is to have the eyes of our souls cleansed, to have our minds illumined such that we move from darkness to light.  The change is certainly not in our Lord, but in us who rise with Him from death to life, from the dark night of sin to the brilliant light of holiness. As Orthodox Christians, we routinely make bold claims about seeing the true light and beholding the resurrection of Christ.  We employ the sense of sight in the worship of God with icons, crosses, candles, vestments, and in many other ways.  We put on Christ like a garment in baptism and are filled personally with the Holy Spirit in chrismation.  We receive our Lord’s Body and Blood in Holy Communion, as we participate already in the Heavenly Banquet.  He is the Bridegroom and, as His Church, we are His Bride and members of His own Body.”

Truly Risen.