Every year, on the Feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God, our Church puts on festive clothes and joyfully welcomes her spiritual sons. The events of this year have made everything special and unique. On Thursday evening, September 7th, 2023, the Great Vespers with Litya was celebrated by a group of seven priests and one deacon.
On Friday, September 8th, 2023, nine priests and one deacon served at the Divine Liturgy, which was the first pan-Orthodox Liturgy in Austin, Texas. The joy of praying together overwhelmed us all and made us forget that we prayed in a small house and felt like we were in a corner of heaven.
On the third day, on Saturday, we gathered and had breakfast together at 9 am, and then we started the workshop called, "Cultivating Attention" held by Father Archdeacon Sorin Mihalache. It was scheduled to last 8-10 hours, but it lasted 12 hours and we still did not let ourselves go home. The flood of information, the news, the positive energy, and simply his presence had enraptured us and helped us understand that the basis of our lives is attention and from there, everything follows. Part of the final conclusions was that attention needs to be cultivated starting with the small things such as: remembering names when we meet someone, being at peace helps us to concentrate more easily, becoming more focused; we can actually pray more deeply, a three-minute pause with our eyes closed helps us a lot when we are stressed-pressed-annoyed and helps us to make a better decision, and so on.
On the fourth day, on Sunday, the divine services proceeded as usual, and at the end Father gave the lecture, “If you give, give” a medical and spiritual x-ray on generosity and its antonyms. It lasted four hours, and it was special because it helped us understand that true spiritual life means living for others, investing (giving) if we want to have, and at the end to heal ourselves of bodily and spiritual diseases by helping and volunteering.
At the end of the services, sumptuous meals crowned the events and made them unforgettable. The responses at the chanter’s stand were given by Psaltis Cosmin Mardare who made us proud of our Byzantine music, but also to pray with all our hearts.
We give Glory to God for the gifts we have received in our lives these days and pray to Him to help us carry on our holy mission in these lands!
Fr. Gabriel Ilieș
