Assistant Bishop Iachint of the Pacific of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Australia and New Zealand emphasised on Tuesday, the feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God, that “holiness is cultivated within the family, and the Mother of God was born into the family of two faithful people who prayed together”.
Bishop Mihail of Australia and New Zealand and Assistant Bishop Iachint of the Pacific celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Life-Giving Spring Monastery in Melbourne, Australia.
Bishop Iachint spoke about the Holy and Righteous Ancestors of God, Joachim and Anne, and their long wait to have a child: “This period was one of waiting and complete trust in the will of God.”
‘God never delays’
Drawing on their example, the Bishop emphasised that God’s response to prayer does not always follow human expectations.
“Although, from our perspective, God seems to postpone His answer and delay His work with us, according to His divine reasoning and providence, God never delays.”
“God also reveals His love through this: He allows us to wait, prepares us over the course of time and thereby shapes within us a stronger faith,” Bishop Iachint said.
His Grace also highlighted how Sts Joachim and Anne received the gift of the Virgin Mary’s birth, whom they subsequently dedicated to God.
“They understood that the more precious the gifts received from God are, the more fitting it is that they should be offered back to God.”
‘Let us learn to pray’
The hierarch explained that family life should become a place of encounter with God.
“The home is not a place where we can sin in secret, where we can judge, gossip or do other evil things; rather, it is the mystery of our encounter with God and the saints.”
“That is why our homes and our families are the little Church, in which we experience each day the mystery of our personal salvation in Christ.”
“Let us learn to pray with faith, entrusting ourselves entirely to the will of God, who knows and sees all things,” Assistant Bishop Iachint of the Pacific said in conclusion.
Photo: Diocese of Australia and New Zealand
