Home

Father George's Letter

Details

Written by: Fr George

 

SECOND SUNDAY OF GREAT LENT.

 

THE FAITH OF FOUR FRIENDS

AND THE PARALYTIC.

 

SUNDAY 16^th MARCH. St. Gregory Palamas. Hieromartyr Alexander, Pope of Rome (119). Martyr Sabinus of Egypt (287). St. Finan, Bishop of Iona, Apostle of Moldart (Argyll, Scotland 661). St. Christodoulos of Patmos (1093). St. Ambrose the Confessor, Catholicos of Georgia (1927).

 

HOLY SILENCE.

Let us contemplate the great mystery of Holy Silence. Silence implies stillness, inner peace, that excludes all the turbulence and disturbance that the world surrounds us with. If in our hearts we are still and tranquil, we are drawing closer to God Who is unfathomable, eternal and ever-loving. We become distant from Him because of our sinful nature but have a remedy in the Jesus prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me the sinner.”  When we fall away in sin our immediate response should be this prayer. We do not have to speak it aloud but in the silence of our hearts. When we contemplate the icon of Holy Silence let us remember that Christ was at the beginning before all of Creation:- in the Nicene creed we proclaim the Father is the “Creator of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible”, the Son “He through whom all things were made”, and the Holy Spirit, the “Giver of life”. The silence of eternity is like a magnet pulling us towards God, the Holy Trinity. We can find this silence in the very heart of the Divine Liturgy. When the gifts are consecrated we have moments of silence when the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ in a mystery beyond our feeble comprehension but which we acknowledge as best as we are able, trusting in His infinite mercy.

 

ST. BENEDICT OF NURSIA.

Feastday 14^th March.

St. Benedict who is credited as being the founder of monasticism in the Western Church was born in the Italian city of Nursia in the year 480. As a youth his parents sent him to Rome for his education but Benedict was shocked by the immorality of the place and that of his fellow students. He decided to find a different way of life. He eventually placed himself under the guidance of the hermit Romanus. For three years he lived in a remote cave fighting off all temptations. Before long others wanted to be placed under his guidance and a series of monastic communities grew under his monastic rule. Eventually he settled on Mount Cassino establishing the Monastery of Monte Cassino. It was here that he wrote his Rule for the monastic life that was to have such profound influence on Western monasticism. Like all reformers he had his critics but was a miracle worker and had God given foresight. He foresaw the day of his death and reposed in the Lord in 547.

 

TODAY’S GOSPEL. Mark 2:1-12. “And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” But immediately when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? “ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? “ But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”-----He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

 

The Gospel for the Commemoration:-  John 10:9-16 “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I Iay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.”

 

In the Gospel we see the faith that Jesus recognises in the friends of the paralysed man. How could they get to Jesus when He was surrounded by so many people, eager to hear His words, while they desperately wanted to bring their friend to Him for healing? They showed great ingenuity and courage, dismantling part of the roof to lower the bed of the paralytic near to where Jesus was speaking. As Christians we are told to be as gentle as doves and as cunning as serpents (Matthew 10:16). We are to be prepared for anything but with gentleness and kindness. These men found a way to get their friend near to Jesus, believing beyond doubt that He was able to perform miracles and healing and used their ingenuity to accomplish their goal.

One man couldn’t carry the sick man and his bed, two may just about manage it but four would ensure that they could manage easily. When we see people in need, we should not try alone but join together that we may help. We are so good at joining together in gossip about someone so why not join together for the good? In response to this audacious approach to Him, Jesus tells the paralytic that his sins are forgiven and to go home.

The learned among them knew that only God can forgive sins, not recognising who Jesus was. The man is healed and goes his way to the astonishment of the crowd. It is not every day that one sees a hole appearing in the ceiling above one’s head, let alone seeing the paralysed walk. No wonder they had never seen anything like this.

In church, like the paralytic, we are alone and helpless and yet, like the four bed carriers, we are together. We are called to support each other before Christ and yet how often do we fail? It only needs one of the bed carriers to let go and the paralytic will fall to the ground. We are so good at criticising  and finding faults in others, not knowing the circumstances of their lives, failing to see our own faults and prejudices that, like a mist, stops us seeing the obvious. Christ does not ask all of those cured or forgiven to give up everything and follow Him like the disciples. He sends them back to their homes and families to witness to Him in the ordinary everyday world, something we should imitate when we leave church and return to the world.

 

                                                                                                     Much Love,

 

                                                                                                      Fr. George.

The Liturgy of the Pre-sanctified Gifts will be served on Wednesday 19^th March at 7.00 pm.

Please note on the following week there will NOT be a Liturgy of the Pre-sanctified gifts. There will be a Vesperal Divine Liturgy on Monday 24^th March at 7.00 pm for the ANNUNCIATION TO OUR MOST HOLY LADY, THE MOTHER OF GOD AND EVER-VIRGIN MARY.​