WEBVTT 00:00:34.469 --> 00:00:36.049 In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of 00:00:36.049 --> 00:00:38.950 the Holy Spirit. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ. 00:00:39.270 --> 00:00:50.049 Glory to God. Former bishop of this diocese, 00:00:50.049 --> 00:00:56.789 Bishop Teacon Fitzgerald, would often, in speaking 00:00:56.789 --> 00:01:00.750 to priests about a liturgical homily, would often 00:01:00.750 --> 00:01:07.269 say, Don't take people's time at this moment 00:01:07.269 --> 00:01:12.069 to just retell the story. He said, we live in 00:01:12.069 --> 00:01:14.689 an age of information where you could go on the 00:01:14.689 --> 00:01:17.469 OCA website, you could look in the Synoxarion, 00:01:17.609 --> 00:01:20.530 you might even try the novel idea of being at 00:01:20.530 --> 00:01:24.189 vigil last night, and you would hear in all the 00:01:24.189 --> 00:01:27.790 hymnography reinforced over and over again all 00:01:27.790 --> 00:01:31.370 the details of this wonderful, wonderful feast. 00:01:32.650 --> 00:01:35.810 And he would say, and everyone's capable of accessing 00:01:35.810 --> 00:01:39.989 that information. And even if you might be handicapped 00:01:39.989 --> 00:01:42.969 in a way that would make that possible, speak 00:01:42.969 --> 00:01:45.150 to someone today. If you don't know the story, 00:01:45.430 --> 00:01:49.930 ask someone. I'm not going to tell it. It's a 00:01:49.930 --> 00:01:53.409 wonderful story. But I want to talk a little 00:01:53.409 --> 00:02:00.530 more about why we are here right now. Probably 00:02:00.530 --> 00:02:04.180 all of us were... Maybe some different reasons. 00:02:04.299 --> 00:02:08.919 I'm sure all really good ones. Probably one of 00:02:08.919 --> 00:02:12.699 the reasons we're here is a sense of loyalty. 00:02:13.400 --> 00:02:18.419 This is my parish. And this, we know historically, 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:22.319 is the feast day of the little church. This parish 00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:26.120 was founded under the protection of the Mother 00:02:26.120 --> 00:02:29.960 of God. And this is the altar feast of the little 00:02:29.960 --> 00:02:33.120 church, which is still our church. Perhaps in 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:36.979 a sense the mother church even of this large 00:02:36.979 --> 00:02:40.599 temple dedicated to the glory of God and Saint 00:02:40.599 --> 00:02:46.159 Seraphim of Sarov. Perhaps for us clergy a personal 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:51.020 loyalty. We love this parish. We love Father 00:02:51.020 --> 00:02:55.800 Lawrence and his family and the clergy. And we 00:02:55.800 --> 00:02:59.479 love the hospitality and the people of this parish. 00:03:01.020 --> 00:03:05.680 Here on this probably soon to be hot Indian summer 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:09.960 day, there's nowhere else we would rather be 00:03:09.960 --> 00:03:17.699 than with you. But let's not forget ultimately 00:03:17.699 --> 00:03:22.840 what should draw us here at this moment in this 00:03:22.840 --> 00:03:28.360 place. course is the mother of God. But I know 00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:32.680 in our particular culture in America where we've 00:03:32.680 --> 00:03:37.599 been influenced, I think very much by the prejudices 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:40.659 against the mother of God that came after the 00:03:40.659 --> 00:03:44.199 Reformation, as well as a reaction to some of 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:47.439 the excesses of the piety to the mother of God 00:03:47.439 --> 00:03:54.759 of the Latin Church, that sometimes there's a 00:03:54.759 --> 00:03:57.960 lack of that really, I'll use the word lovingly, 00:03:57.960 --> 00:04:03.439 traditional piety of a love and a closeness to 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:09.240 the mother of God, simply as person and as mother 00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:16.279 in a very, very real way. It's really important. 00:04:17.660 --> 00:04:21.660 Two of the greatest theologians of the 20th century, 00:04:23.529 --> 00:04:27.389 of the Russian church, that is, Vladimir Lossky, 00:04:27.509 --> 00:04:32.189 Father George Florovsky, two figures which I 00:04:32.189 --> 00:04:35.310 think are undisputedly right there. They really 00:04:35.310 --> 00:04:40.689 emphasize, in fact, Lossky says that even though 00:04:40.689 --> 00:04:44.850 veneration to the Mother of God is not part of 00:04:44.850 --> 00:04:49.329 the kerygma, the kernel of the gospel of the 00:04:49.329 --> 00:04:53.459 good news of Christ, Lasky made such a bold statement 00:04:53.459 --> 00:05:00.800 as to say, the degree to which we are members 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:06.000 of the body of Christ, of the church, is the 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:10.819 degree in which we are in relationship to Mary, 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:13.910 the mother of God. It's a bold statement. But 00:05:13.910 --> 00:05:16.529 that means, what does that mean? That means that 00:05:16.529 --> 00:05:19.730 this is indeed the body of Christ. This is indeed 00:05:19.730 --> 00:05:22.910 the family of God. This is a household, and that's 00:05:22.910 --> 00:05:26.610 the mother. So that's not an outrageous statement, 00:05:26.689 --> 00:05:30.970 is it? If we're part of this family, then certainly 00:05:30.970 --> 00:05:34.550 we have a relationship with the mother of this 00:05:34.550 --> 00:05:41.230 family. Father George Florovsky says something 00:05:41.230 --> 00:05:45.439 quite similar. And he writes, in our prayers 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:49.300 to the mother of God, we show the depth of our 00:05:49.300 --> 00:05:53.220 Christian love and we show the unity of the church. 00:05:53.800 --> 00:05:58.379 When we truly feel her intercession on our behalf, 00:05:58.699 --> 00:06:03.920 it strengthens our bonds with each other and 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:08.639 it deepens our faith in the reality of Christ's 00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:14.420 incarnation and resurrection. Conversely, Father 00:06:14.420 --> 00:06:19.480 George writes, if we fail to sense her presence, 00:06:19.779 --> 00:06:27.060 if we fail to sense her help, it reflects a weakening 00:06:27.060 --> 00:06:33.399 of our love and our community ties, as well as 00:06:33.399 --> 00:06:39.500 it reflects a diminished faith in these foundational 00:06:39.500 --> 00:06:44.990 truths. And he continues, the Feast of the Protecting 00:06:44.990 --> 00:06:48.230 Veil of the Mother of God symbolizes her constant 00:06:48.230 --> 00:06:52.509 prayer for the whole world, surrounded by all 00:06:52.509 --> 00:06:56.029 the saints before God. And as the Kantakian beautifully 00:06:56.029 --> 00:07:01.129 describes, today the Virgin stands in the church 00:07:01.129 --> 00:07:05.350 and with hosts of saints invisibly prays to God 00:07:05.350 --> 00:07:10.430 for us. This vision first revealed, as you know, 00:07:10.860 --> 00:07:13.980 to St. Andrew, full for Christ, in the church 00:07:13.980 --> 00:07:17.959 of Blachernai in Constantinople a thousand years 00:07:17.959 --> 00:07:24.279 ago. This reminds us, even at this moment, that 00:07:24.279 --> 00:07:30.279 heaven and earth are united today. That there 00:07:30.279 --> 00:07:33.079 is a connection between the heavenly and the 00:07:33.079 --> 00:07:39.920 earthly church. That we are not alone. It signifies 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:43.360 that even beyond death, the lives of the righteous 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:47.000 and the saints are filled with continuous prayer 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:52.139 and intercession for us and with us. And ultimately, 00:07:52.180 --> 00:07:56.500 only love can bind all this together, and the 00:07:56.500 --> 00:08:00.500 happiness of the righteous is found in this enduring 00:08:00.500 --> 00:08:07.079 love. I want to conclude today with... a short 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:10.399 excerpt from a wonderful and a powerful homily 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:15.920 given by our father among the saints, Cyril of 00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:19.500 Alexandria, who was the champion of the Council 00:08:19.500 --> 00:08:23.000 of Ephesus, which you know gave us and defined 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:26.980 the term Theotokos, that Mary is indeed the mother 00:08:26.980 --> 00:08:30.680 of God. And Cyril preached this homily at the 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:39.059 Council of Ephesus. And allow him to preach these 00:08:39.059 --> 00:08:46.740 words to us here today. Cyril writes, back in 00:08:46.740 --> 00:08:52.639 the 5th century, I see here a joyful company 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:57.139 of Christians met together in ready response 00:08:57.139 --> 00:09:01.700 to the call of Mary, the Holy and Ever -Virgin 00:09:01.700 --> 00:09:06.110 Mother of God. Now the beautiful saying of David 00:09:06.110 --> 00:09:09.889 the psalmist, how good and how pleasant it is 00:09:09.889 --> 00:09:14.529 for brothers to live together in unity, this 00:09:14.529 --> 00:09:20.090 has come true for us here and now. And therefore, 00:09:20.250 --> 00:09:24.529 holy and incomprehensible Trinity, we salute 00:09:24.529 --> 00:09:29.350 you at whose summons we have come together in 00:09:29.350 --> 00:09:34.220 this Church of Mary, the Mother of God. We salute 00:09:34.220 --> 00:09:38.620 you, for in your holy womb was confined him who 00:09:38.620 --> 00:09:42.120 is beyond all limitation. And because of you, 00:09:42.279 --> 00:09:47.480 the Holy Trinity is glorified and adored. The 00:09:47.480 --> 00:09:51.320 cross is called precious and is venerated throughout 00:09:51.320 --> 00:09:55.860 the world. The heavens exult. The angels and 00:09:55.860 --> 00:09:59.559 archangels make merry. Demons are put to flight. 00:10:00.039 --> 00:10:02.940 The devil, that tempter, is thrust down from 00:10:02.940 --> 00:10:07.019 heaven. The fallen human race is taken up on 00:10:07.019 --> 00:10:10.379 high. All creatures possessed by the madness 00:10:10.379 --> 00:10:13.659 of idolatry have attained knowledge of the truth. 00:10:14.039 --> 00:10:20.580 Believers receive holy baptism. The oil of gladness 00:10:20.580 --> 00:10:24.539 is poured out. And the church is established 00:10:24.539 --> 00:10:28.679 throughout the world. Pagans are brought to repentance. 00:10:30.120 --> 00:10:35.299 What more is there to say? Because of you, the 00:10:35.299 --> 00:10:39.460 light of the only begotten Son of God has shone 00:10:39.460 --> 00:10:44.139 upon us who sat in darkness in the shadow of 00:10:44.139 --> 00:10:49.320 death. Because of you, prophets pronounce the 00:10:49.320 --> 00:10:53.139 word of God, the apostles preach salvation to 00:10:53.139 --> 00:10:57.679 the Gentiles, and the dead are raised to life. 00:10:59.179 --> 00:11:02.879 Who can put Mary's high honor into words? She 00:11:02.879 --> 00:11:06.919 is both mother and virgin, and I'm overwhelmed 00:11:06.919 --> 00:11:14.759 by the wonder of this miracle. Behold then the 00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:19.919 joy of the whole universe. Let the union of God 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:24.419 and man in the Son of the Virgin Mary fill us 00:11:24.419 --> 00:11:31.289 with awe and adoration. And let us fear and let 00:11:31.289 --> 00:11:35.669 us worship the undivided Trinity as we sing the 00:11:35.669 --> 00:11:39.309 praise of the ever -virgin Mary, the holy temple 00:11:39.309 --> 00:11:43.490 of God, and as we sing the praises of God himself, 00:11:44.110 --> 00:11:49.250 her son and spotless bridegroom, and to him be 00:11:49.250 --> 00:11:54.649 glory forever and ever. Amen. Spraznikon!