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Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
June 16, 2013
Matthew 8:5-10, 13 - As [Jesus] entered Caper'na-um, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress." And he said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion answered him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, `Go,' and he goes, and to another, `Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, `Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." … And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; be it done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment. (RSV, From the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday)
Embrace Faith - There is no coercion with God. He always has a good will towards us. He gives reliable counsel to men and angels (who are also rational beings), to whom He has given the power of choice. Those who yield obedience therefore possess what is good freely and justly. It is given by God but preserved by themselves…. The human spirit is possessed of free will from the beginning, and God is possessed of free will, in whose likeness man was created. Man is advised to hold fast to the good and thereby be responsive to God. This refers not only to works but to faith as well. God preserved the human will free and under self-control, as is shown in Jesus' words to the centurion: “Go. Be it done for you as you have believed.” (Irenaeus, From Against Heresies)
The icon is of the Holy Prophet Elisha (June 14th).
Appeal of His Beatitude Gregorios III on the Eve of the Second Geneva Conference on Syria
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- Created on 04 June 2013
Prot. 284/2013R - Rabweh 30/05/2013
“Come to a common word.” (Surat aal ʿIm'ran 3: 64)
The Second Vatican Council says, “The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.” (Gaudium et Spes, Preface)
Saint Paul says, “Whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.” (I Corinthians 12: 26) Saint Paul also says, “God …hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5: 18) The Qur’an says: "Come to a common word." A Hadith also says, “The believers are like one person; if his head aches, the whole body aches with fever and sleeplessness.” (Sahih Muslim 6260)
Beginning from these venerable verses and sublime teachings, we express our optimism for the holding of this Second Geneva Conference. We call for participating in this conference, in the name of the thousands of victims who have fallen on dear Syria’s soil, widows, orphans, handicapped, sick, bereaved, kidnapped, disappeared, students, young people, those full of doubt, wounded in conscience and feelings...and every suffering person in Syria.
In the name of all of them, and on the basis of our pastoral responsibility, and as President of the Assembly of Catholic Hierarchy in Syria, we address this appeal to the Russian Federation and the United States of America who have called this conference, and all those who will take part: sovereign states, organisations, sons and daughters of Syria, at home and abroad, allies and opponents. All of you, work with trust, in the spirit of reconciliation, dialogue and sincere citizenship... Put all your efforts into making this conference succeed. This is a very important opportunity, in a decisive central phase, and in the teeth of an historic, bloody, destructive crisis, the most serious in the history of Syria.
Read more: Appeal of His Beatitude Gregorios III on the Eve of the Second Geneva Conference on Syria
Orthodox and Catholics to “Brainstorm” about Church Unity
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- Created on 26 May 2013
Fairfax, Virginia – In October 2010, the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation produced a jointly-agreed document entitled “Steps Toward a Reunited Church.” For the first time ever, members of that dialogue will give presentations and discuss the document in a public forum at the Orientale Lumen XVII Conference on June 17-20, 2013 in Washington, DC. In addition to five members of consultation, other plenary speakers will include Metropolitan Tikhon of Washington, primate of the Orthodox Church in America, and Archimandrite Robert Taft, SJ, professor emeritus from the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. The moderator will be Fr. Ron Roberson, CSP, Associate Director of the Ecumenical Affairs office of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. The plenary speakers will include:
Msgr. Paul McPartlan
The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC
Father Thomas FitzGerald
Hellenic College/Holy Cross Seminary, Boston, MA
Father Sidney Griffith
The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC
Father James Dutko
St. Michael Orthodox Church, Binghamton, NY
Sr. Susan Wood, SCL
Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
Read more: Orthodox and Catholics to “Brainstorm” about Church Unity