Anniversary celebration

at the Diocesan Cathedral of Saint-Hubert

Sunday, October 15, St. George and St. Epictetus and Astion Cathedral of Saint-Hubert dressed in festive clothes. The community celebrated 11 years since the purchase of the current place of worship.

On this occasion His Grace Bishop Ioan Cassian performed the Holy Liturgy having by his side Protos. Maxim Morariu ecclesiarch of the cathedral. The answers at strana were given by the psaltic group led by Deacon Valentin Boțu.

At the end of the Holy Liturgy, the hierarch of Canada together with some of the faithful made a procession with the reliquary sheltering the covering of the Sy. Parascheva.

In the sermon delivered at the end of the service, the hierarch showed that the parable read that speaks of the seeds that fell in different places speaks of the way each person bears fruit:

"All these models of seeds and the fruitful presented by Christ are actually images of the fruitfulness of man. They do not only refer to the fruits of the earth, but they are images of man's fruitfulness on earth. In every person who is born into this world, God puts a seed. He doesn't do it randomly, but with a specific purpose. It is a caring behavior, a plan of God, which makes it grow, which takes care of them. But there is another element that can intervene in this progress or regression of our growth or the life it represents: the seed does not always find good soil. In the case of humans, it depends on everyone’s freedom to choose the best land. Man can choose to grow up in a context that is not favorable to him, preferring easy things, carelessness, superficiality and all other attitudes that do not help any of us to progress in having a pure and holy heart."

The hierarch then explained the way in which the world needs the involvement of those with a spiritual life in order that the problems the world faces be solved in a reasonable et proper way: "If we look around us today, we see that troubles, conflicts and sufferings are always present in the world we live in (...). All are manifestations of the absence of love towards the neighbor. You cannot reach such situations and conflicts, crimes and violence, if the seed of evil were not present in people’s heart and mind. These conflicts are represented by images of seeds that grow in various conditions. The seed grown in the good soil, i.e. the man grown according to God’s spirit, brings peace, joy, blessing, etc. That is why we must have patience and understanding to search and find the most suitable solutions to avoid having victims and to fix the situations of peoples living in conflicting conditions as quickly and as well as possible. This is what our faith proposes. The time spent in prayer in the church is very important, but something more is needed: the involvement of each of those who have a spiritual sense in the things of this world, so that all of this becomes a spiritual reflection of God's work in the world.

The seed that grows is the image of our life that grows in God. Without faith in God, without a true understanding of what human life means from the point of view of its Creator God, who designed to grow without sin, we certainly cannot make much progress."

Next, Bishop Ioan Casian showed the role of faith and obedience to the word of God in solving the problems of man and the world in which we live:

"In the Epistle to the Galatians read today, St. Paul says: 'knowing that man is not justified by the works of the Law, but by faith in Christ Jesus, we also believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law, for by the works of the Law no one will be made right.' Faith in Christ alone will restore our human life in the perspective of eternity. The Old Testament Law was only a guide. The Savior Christ was the only one who could overturn the logic of sin in man, being sinless Himself. Our restoration comes only through the power of faith in Christ Jesus. Without genuine faith, without a rigorous practice of it, we cannot straighten our life up. We can truly grow in the Spirit of God and become a society that reflects the Kingdom of God only by being righteous because of faith in Christ the Savior.

The lives of the saints show us that we have limits and that the more we advance in the spiritual life, the more dark and sinful corners we discover in ourselves; therefore, we need more humility in order to gain more stability in our lives, in order that the passions do not break out in world around us and fill the world in which we live.

The solution to the problems that are around us is to obey God and fulfill His word, because only in this way can we destroy our sinful passions and thoughts."

The hierarch further said that the conflicts in the world today reveal the sinful state of today’s world. The world needs our involvement to be transfigured from the ground up:

"The contemporary world, if you look at it from the perspective of existing conflicts, confirms the fact that, around us, not all things work harmoniously, as they should. When there is violence, especially against the defenseless, the innocent, children and women, it is a big question mark on what we think and are as a society. That is why we are called to think about our future plans, to observe what are the solutions we want to propose in the society in which we live, so that our children can live in a better world than the one we know. We are called to meditate and act. We are all called to see to what extent the faith we confess, which we have in our heart, can become transformative for us internally and for the realities of around us. That is why it is important to first meditate, and then act. That is why the Church is, at the same time, faith, thinking and action."

The hierarch concluded by emphasizing why it is important, as the pericope read says, for man to have a pure and good heart: "Only those with a pure and good heart man can hear the word of God. As long as the heart and the mind are full of defilements and outer concerns, of selfish interests, what word of God can penetrate there? None. Because the concerns are different: enmity, interest, selfishness, isolation, etc. Only a pure and good heart is ready to hear the word of God, keeps it and bears fruit being patient. Without our work and effort, nothing bears fruit. To bear fruits presupposes the freedom of human choice. God is ready to helps us in everything we do, but on this path, we still need the kindness of man, his understanding, and his contribution to the growth of God's garden which means the Church. Without this contribution, the result is negative. Without patience, without an attentive heart, without spiritual wisdom, nothing can happen as it should."

The hierarch went on to briefly present the plans for the near future regarding the setting up of a social hall in the cathedral basement.

After the faithful received the final blessing, the program continued with a fraternal agape prepared by the committee of ladies and by other friends of the cathedral.

(notes by Nun Ana)