of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Today, the
feast of the glorification of St. Seraphim of
Sarov coincides so beautifully with the conclusion
of the diaconal training practicum held here
this week at St. Seraphim Cathedral. So today,
we enjoy the opportunity to celebrate the hierarchical
liturgy with your ruling bishop, Archbishop Benjamin,
and the patronal feast of this cathedral. We
ordinarily speak of St. Seraphim of Sarov as
a great man of prayer. We cite his words on the
acquisition of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of
peace. We describe his ascetic feet of standing.
for a thousand days and a thousand nights, a
rock in the forest. We honor St. Seraphim as
a wonder worker. We describe his constant reference
to the joy of the resurrection, and we recount
his mystical repose in front of the icon of Our
Lady of Compunction. This year we'll offer another
glance at St. Seraphim to highlight the theme,
of this week. Glancing at the initial chapter
of the epistle, Paul to the Hebrews, which in
turn cites Psalm 103, we know that God makes
his ministers flaming fire, or rather makes flaming
fire his ministers or liturgists. These words
of the psalmist allow us to point to the close
connection between deacons and flaming fire.
Truly, the fiery seraphim are the ministers of
God. They announce the judgments of God to human
beings. As ministers, deacons immediately come
to mind, for the term deacon signifies those
that minister. One of the desert fathers teaches,
his disciples how to pray. As he's explaining
to them, he stretches out his hands. And to their
astonishment, flame comes forth from his hands,
and he tells them they are to become wholly aflame.
The service to the church does not consist in
the mere outward and correct fulfilling of a
rite. or the proper fulfillment of rubrics. Yes,
we do learn and follow these actions which provide
for the beautiful order of worship. In doing
this, it is important not to forget that the
divine liturgy makes manifest the kingdom of
God. Our usual problem is that we're content
to persist in our own blindness. content with
not seeing what is truly taking place. Saint
Seraphim of Sarov illustrates how someone that
prays encounters the kingdom of God here in this
life. A monastic tonsure, Prokur Moshten as he
was then known, receives the name Seraphim, thus
alluding to those fiery servants of God, and
in a way, this particular calling of his life.
Now in our own history here in the United States,
around this time of year, in 1787, the founding
fathers of our country gathered in Philadelphia
to compose the Constitution of the United States
of America. Now this magnificent document eventually
impacts nearly every country in the world and
influences the lives of billions of people. But
in that same year, 1787, another event, perhaps
far greater, takes place, and that is the ordination
to the diaconate of St. Seraphim of Sarov. It
is fair to say that his life, And diaconate also
have had a major impact on the church, not only
throughout what was then the Russian Empire,
but also throughout the entire world. So what
do we learn about the diaconate of St. Seraphim
of Sarov? Now, usually we're not thinking of
him in those terms. When you look at his icons,
you don't see him vested as a deacon. because
he eventually is ordained a priest. His biographers
describe him as earnest in spirit, serving daily
in the house of God, praying incessantly even
after the service is over. And the Lord grants
him visions during the church services. He often
sees holy angels serving with the priests. And
during the divine liturgy once, on Great and
Holy Thursday, celebrated by the abbot of that
monastery, the elder Pacomius, St. Seraphim sees
another vision. After the little entrance of
the gospel, the higher deacon Seraphim, just
like a few minutes ago, Deacon Vitale, pronounces
the words, O Lord, save the pious and hearken
unto us. He lifts his orarion, saying, and unto
the ages of ages, and suddenly a bright ray of
light blinds him. And looking up, St. Seraphim
beholds the Lord Jesus Christ coming through
the western doors of the temple, surrounded by
the bodiless powers of heaven, and reaching the
Silea, the Lord blesses all those praying and
enters. his icon on the right side of the holy
doors. In spiritual rapture after this miraculous
vision, St. Seraphim does not utter a single
word, nor does he move from the spot where he's
standing. Clergy lead him by the hand into the
altar where he stands for another. Three hours,
his face having changed under the power and grace
that have overshadowed him. After the vision,
St. Seraphim intensifies his efforts. He toils
in the monastery by day. He spends his nights
praying in his forest cell. He spends seven years
total serving as a hierodicum. in the monastery
of Seraph. Now perhaps you, and here maybe I'm
addressing the participants in the diaconal vocation
program, perhaps you will be quick to excuse
yourselves from praying with the same desire,
longing, and effect with which St. Seraphim once
served. In the ministry of a deacon, there is
much that is of a practical nature. Yet we are
to serve as deacons not as a job, but as a ministry
of grace. Indeed, deacons are set apart to assist
in the ministry of the bishop or priests, but
the responsibility to assist does not circumscribe
or bookend the diaconal ministry. Never forget
that the divine liturgy is transformative. Neither
is your ministry merely liturgical. As St. John
Chrysostom writes in his famous Paschal Homily
concerning the wicked one, he swallowed a body
but encountered God. You are to serve attentively,
in awe at the totality of the ministry given
to you. The divine liturgy is our ascent to encounter
Jesus Christ. And this takes place every time
that the church assembles, including today. The
outward actions accompany and provide meaning
to our sometimes vocal and sometimes silent prayer.
It is true that later in his life, his ministry,
the ministry of St. Seraphim, changes in terms
of function. and place. He lives in the forest
rather than in the monastery proper, only later
being asked to return to the monastery to continue
his ministry there, especially in his later years.
His ministry becomes a continual revelation of
the grace of God working within him and shaping
him. His words, his gaze, his touch transform
thousands. There are a series of prophecies ascribed
to him, but his first seven years in the monastic
life, followed by his first seven years in diaconal
ministry, prepare him to be a bearer of light.
As deacons, you will participate in the mystery
of the kingdom of God. As the life of St. Seraphim
indicates, he receives great gifts. without becoming
a priest. And they're expressed, first of all,
in his diaconal ministry so well -pleasing to
God. For this reason, cherish this week that
you have now experienced. Don't count the meaning
of this week on the cost to travel here or the
time that you took off work or the days you ministered.
missed in vacation. Be attentive to the time
that you serve in the altar, whether as deacon,
subdeacon, or acolyte. Reflect on the beautiful
setting of this parish campus as well, as well
as the fellowship that you have established with
the members of your cohort. The flow and actions
in the divine liturgy will now acquire new meaning
and new associations for you. Do not forget that
you too are to be ministers resembling flaming
fire. Some of you will serve in cathedrals, some
in parishes, and some in our far -flung missions.
Do not forget that your ministry will develop
like those concentric circles that radiate from
a... Little pebble falling in a pond. Each successive
ring will impact the life of the church in your
local setting. Bring honor to the diaconate by
the integrity of your life. And the relationships
that you have established here this week will
be vital to you in the days to come. Do not underestimate
the fact that your instructors, too, will be
following your development. Through the prayers
of our Holy Father, Seraphim, may the Lord bless
you on this path on which you now walk. To our
Lord, who is wondrous in his saints, be all glory,
honor, and worship with his unoriginate Father
and the all -Holy Spirit unto the ages of ages.