Today, 19 July 2015, the Orthodox Christians are on the 7th Sunday after Pentecost or the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Ecumenical Council IV. The Church scheduled to read, at the Divine Liturgy, the evangelical parables of Saint Evangelist Matthew 9:27-35 on the Healing of two blind men and of a mute in Capernaum and of Saint Evangelist John 17:1-13, which presents Jesus’ Prayer.
“As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region. While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons. Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” (Matthew 9:27-35)
“.After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by[a] that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.” (John 17:1-13)
Today, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church was in the middle of the community of the Monastery of “Saint Mary” – Techirghiol – patriarchal stavropighia.
Our existence is a gift of God
His Beatitude delivered a sermon in which he showed the teaching of the evangelical parable on the healing of the two blind men and of a mute one and showed that we should thank God through faith for all the gifts received.
“The Gospel shows us first of all how important faith is for our life not only when we are sick, but also when we are in good health because it is through faith that we recognise the fact that our very existence is a gift of God. It was not compulsory for the world to exist and we too, but if we exist and so do the world, sun, moon, water and air without which man cannot live it is the result of the merciful love of God”, the Patriarch of Romania said.
Gratitude must be cultivated more often
We see in the Evangelical parable the lowliness of the Saviour when He ordered the two blind men not to tell anybody that He had healed them, as well as their gratitude for the boon received”, the Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church also said.
“The two blind men healed become our teachers who teach us what gratitude is, the thanksgiving to God and the people through whom God works. Today, gratitude becomes a flower rather rare to see. This is why it must be cultivated more often, we must recognise the boons received from God, thank those who grew us up as biological or spiritually parents. Thus, gratitude is the first quality of the reasonable man, of the man who is aware of the gift received. The man who thanks is a Eucharistic being because the Eucharist we are communicated with is the mystery of gratitude or of thanking God”, His Beatitude explained.
Next Sunday, the Orthodox Church will be on the 8th Sunday after Pentecost.
