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Mother's Day 2006 Ocala A week ago yesterday, I witnessed one of the great blessings of my life, as a shepherd of my spiritual flock. I did extol the historic event during my announcements from the pulpit last Sunday, but I couldn't resist to dwell somewhat, on what I experienced on Saturday, the 6th of May. It was an inspiration for me to drive into our Mission's property about 11:00 a.m., and to see so many cars parked all over the field. A sizeable group of men, under the hot sun were busy placing the posts, which would hold the fence on the perimeter of our property. To be honest I hadn't expected such a mass turnout, and to have already accomplished so much, in such a short time, thanks to the massive machinery brought by our ardent Member Stephen Bowling. I hadn't thought that we had the availability of the gigantic machines operated by Stephen Bowling and Harvey Delvalle. Without these machines, the job could never have been done. Also, we must underscore the fact, that our expense was only for the purchasing of the posts and the wire fencing. If we were to hire any company to install such a fence, it would have cost us many thousands, which of course we could not have allocated. This great contribution of so many of our beloved Membership was interrupted about 12:30 p.m. by the Blessing of the Ground Service, when your Priest sprinkled Holy Water in the four directions of the field, thus forming the shape of the Holy Cross, --- the Instrument, which brought salvation to mankind. Then he blessed each one individually. After the blessing, we all sat at the Agape Luncheon, hosted by our wonderful women. This brought to my mind the ancient tables of Agape or Love, as mentioned in the 6th Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, when rich and poor ate together, after each Divine Liturgy. As usual, our President Dr. Pantazis, John Fountas and Chris George cooked the meats, and our ever energetic women took care of the serving. As I was eating I was also reminiscing the many pleasant things that happened in our Community. Our meager beginning, with very limited participation; -- but,when the Lord blesses, and people respond to the Divine Providence, the seeds commence sprouting, and soon we are the recipients of many nourishing fruits, which fully satisfy our spiritual counterpart, our soul. Truly, the Lord has richly blessed us. Sitting at the table eating my sandwich, I watched the pleasant _expression on everyone's face. I thought to myself, what a great blessing it is, as the Psalmist states in his 133rd Psalm, verse one: "how good and how pleasant it is, for brethren to live together in unity!" Those words were so applicable to our blessed Group. And still further I thought, what a blessing the Good Lord has granted to me personally for having given me this assignment in my waning years! Over the two and one half years that we were finally organized, our rather small Group has undertaken gigantic projects, all of which, were highly successful. -- Successful because love overcomes all things. As you can imagine, a dedicated Priest's life is always a busy one, and without any doubt, a very eventful one. There are many events in my life, too numerous to mention, but thinking of our Community, I can't forget two people, who had responded to a questionnaire I had mailed out when we were instituting St. Paul's. After a few years of life the renowned St. Paul's Cathedral in Hempstead, Long Island became the leading Parish in America. I mention these two answers, exactly opposite of each other, ----- but which can be applied to any new Parish. One person, a young lady came to me personally, in response to the questionnaire . She needed someone to talk to, and having received my communication, she thought, -- what better person than a Priest to find some solace. She, as many such people do reason, must have thought, that by talking to a Priest, she would perhaps receive a temporary spiritual injection, and perhaps could even expect a spiritual miracle in her life. When I asked her during our conversation, which Church she attended, she answered, that she rarely goes to Church. The other party did not come to see me, but mailed in his questionnaire. I was deeply moved by his answers, because I sensed that they had virtually been dipped in a heart, laden with Christian enthusiasm. Amongst other positive things, he stated in the "remarks" section, that, which I now quote to you. "We have a nucleus to become a Community second to none; --- providing, that we all love and work together in harmony." His remark was indeed prophetic, because they were written in 1951 when we almost didn't have enough money to pay our telephone bill! He was truly prophetic, because St. Paul's became second to none, because the love of the Lord continually reign in that Parish. Over more than 55 years, these very words have been permanently etched in my mind. And you know what? After 55 years, his provisional words so aptly apply to our Mission. They truly bordered on the God-inspired classification, and they snugly fit our experience here in our blessed Mission. So, I'll repeat his words, which should be kept uppermost in everyone's mind and heart: "We have a nucleus to become a Community second to none; --- providing, that we all love and work together in harmony." We cannot but agree, that these words came from an enlightened soul, --- with a deep faith in God, --- faith in himself, --- and faith in the Community. My prayer is, that his words, prophetic indeed, are words that do befit our Mission, as they say, to a "T." We shall always cherish them, and will always realize, that a Parish, is not as some lay people believe, an organization always expecting something from us. Rather, we must believe and digest, that a Parish is a true and bonded Community of true believers, who are sailing in the same ship, headed for the port of Salvation, where the Lord Jesus awaits us with opened arms! My efforts, as always, will be geared toward bringing out the best in \our young Community, which does offer so many challenges. Unfortunately, there will always be a few imitators of the young lady I mentioned, who may recognize the value of the Church, but justify their abstention, by various theories of their own, which is enough for them to not participate in the Church. But, the truth is, that they miss part of the great beauty of life, because, there is a certain fulfillment which is unparalleled, when an enlightened Christian undertakes to transform the words and teachings of our Lord into deeds. By attending Church, we also become Her supporters in so many ways --- through our prayers, --- our voluntary services, --- our promoting good causes, --- our sharing each others burdens, --- our gifts, and other good deeds, which increase our spiritual stature. You, who are here this morning in prayer, and are regular in attendance, must make it a point to become as militant as possible, regarding the participation of those relatives, friends or neighbors, who are not with us this morning, or on most Sundays. Make it a point today, when you leave Church to call a friend, who was absent, and tell him or her that they were missed. We have to show a direct concern for those, whom we rarely see. Can you imagine the thrill and satisfaction you will sense, when you have been successful in bringing someone to Church? Apropos to what I have already mentioned, I cannot understand why some of our Faithful have not yet come forth to make their 5 year commitment. I see in our Bulletin, that only 28 have already signed and have committed aggregately to $206,000, almost half the cost of our property. When you exclude a few out of Community gifts, most of our Community has not given. We have no committees, as does happen to wrap on doors to do a selling job. Let us not forget as St. Paul says, that we are all Members of one Body, and that Body is Christ. To be normal, all parts of the body must perform their particular function. If we had 100% participation, as Members of the one Body, we would exceed the price of our mortgaged property, and save thousands of dollars in interest payments. By some Members not cooperating, it makes our work costlier, and postpones our future project, which could have come to pass sooner. I implore you to give more thought to what is proper and your own particular function as a Member of that Body. Today, our hearts turn to the person, who is largely responsible for all that we have and in what we believe. It is that sacred person we call Mother. Fortunate are those, who still have them presently, and of course the great void is sensed, if they have been summoned by the Lord to become citizens of the Eternal City, as St. Paul labels Eternity. May the Lord grant them a place of repose, whence all sighing, sorrow and sickness have fled away. We are forever grateful to our Mother, who gave us life, but moreso, the higher life, through the lofty principles, and ideals, which she inculcated in our hearts. We bless our Mother, who from our very tender years took us to Church systematically, so that today, we honor her efforts through our participation in our Holy Orthodox Church. God bless them, and all of us, with His life-giving Divine Grace. Amen. +Fr. George Papadeas
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