On the 30th Sunday after the Descent of the Holy Spirit (the rich young man - keeping of the commandments) His Grace Ioan Casian, the Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Canada made a pastoral visit to the parish of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Gatineu QC.

His Grace celebrated the Divine Liturgy together with the parish priest Teofil Arsene. The answers to the service were given by a group of young people led by Ms. Mihaela Tudorache.

With the blessing of HG Bishop Ioan Casian, the homily to the Gospel was given by prof. dr. Gheorghe Butuc, who underlined the importance of the permanent search for eternal life, with the youth's energy and enthusiasm.

It is essential that the eternal life to start from this life, in the one’s daily life, otherwise it will never begin. In Christ we have the eternity descended to our measures, so that each of us may ascend to His divine measures.

The hierarch of Canada thanked prof. Butuc for his encouraging thoughts. HG Bishop Ioan Casian continued emphasizing the importance of the fast, not just by changing diet, during the journey to the Nativity of the Lord.

On the way through the fast we are called to work on our own gifts and to discover each one our vocation, the most intimate place where we find ourselves with God. The Holy Gospel of today encourages us in this regard, urging us to learn the art of giving freely to relieve ourselves of any kind of burdensome addiction. The quality of time spent with the needy person is more important than any material thing. Giving from our time, not from the material goods that we may not have, make us discover another dimension of the fast which means to diminish the time given to our personal, sometimes even selfish, interests and concerns, and to give it to those in need, in trouble and in shortages. Christ the Son of the Father of all wealth willingly made Himself poor, that through His poverty all may be enriched.

At the end HG Ioan Casian blessed those present.