“God ordained that the relics of a humble monk should be placed in the heart of the capital,” Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Paisie of Sinaia said on Monday, July 13.
His Grace celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Cathedral on the feast commemorating the Translation of the Relics of St Demetrius the New to Bucharest.
The hierarch explained that the veneration of the Saint does not merely commemorate a historical event, but reveals God’s providential care for His Church.
“In the life of the Church, the feasts of the saints do not call us merely to remember events from the past, but to discover how God continues to work in the life of the Church and in the life of every believer.”
“What the Lord accomplished through His grace in those who loved Him does not belong only to the past. It remains alive in the Church and continually bears fruit in the lives of the faithful,” His Grace added.
The Gospel lived in the life of St Demetrius
Reflecting on the Gospel reading of the day, Bishop Paisie said that the life of St Demetrius the New represents a fulfilment of the Saviour’s call to holiness.
“If the Gospel reveals to us the image of Christ, who is gentle and humble in heart, the life of the saint shows us how this divine word can become life. The Gospel is the word spoken by Christ, while the lives of the saints are the Gospel lived.”
His Grace stressed that St Demetrius built his entire ascetic struggle upon gentleness and humility, virtues that guided his whole life.
“He understood that the true measure of life is what God sees in the depths of the heart.”
“The Saviour does not say merely that He is humble, but that He is ‘gentle and humble in heart’. These two virtues cannot be separated. Humility without love can become harshness, while gentleness without humility can become nothing more than outward courtesy, a mere appearance. In Christ, they are one. We likewise see them united in the life of St Demetrius,” the bishop said.
“In a world where almost everything encourages self-promotion, St Demetrius reminds us that the path of the Gospel is the path of humility. Whoever seeks only the approval of others risks losing the gaze of God, while the person who seeks first His Kingdom discovers gifts that he could never give himself.”
The path towards the glory of God
The Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop said God rewards authentic humility. “St Demetrius did not undertake his ascetic struggle in order to remain in human memory, and precisely for this reason God placed him within the living memory of the Church.”
“This is the spiritual law of the Gospel: God does not exalt pride, but humility; He does not glorify passing fame, but the hidden beauty of the heart that loves Him.”
Recalling the miraculous discovery of the relics of St Demetrius the New, the hierarch said that “what a person conceals through humility, God reveals at the proper time for the benefit of the Church”.
“His precious relics were discovered miraculously and became a source of healing and blessing for the multitude of the faithful. This was not because God wished to add glory to a saint who had fled from glory throughout his life, but because the people of God needed a living witness to holiness.”
Venerating St Demetrius the New
The Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop explained the importance of venerating holy relics and the continuing relevance of the example offered by St Demetrius the New, “a saint alive in the Kingdom of God, who prays for us”.
“The most beautiful honour we can offer St Demetrius is not merely to venerate his relics, but to desire to follow the example of his life. Each of us can learn the lesson of the Gospel: the true greatness of the human person is found where humility before God begins.”
“What we celebrate today is not merely the bringing of a precious treasure into a city or a church. We celebrate God’s providential care for His Church. We celebrate the wondrous way in which God prepares, sometimes through paths people could never foresee, blessings that extend beyond a single generation and become a holy inheritance for an entire people,” the hierarch explained.
Addressing the challenges of the contemporary world, His Grace warned that people are often tempted to measure their worth through the appreciation of others, although “the true value of the human person is measured not by fame, but by closeness to God”.
“Let us pray to St Demetrius the New to intercede before the Most Holy Trinity for us all, for our Church, for this country and for its faithful people, so that we too may acquire the gentleness and humility of Christ, to the glory of God and for our salvation,” Bishop Paisie of Sinaia concluded.
Photo: Lumina Newspaper / Luigi Ivanciu
