The Nativity of the Mother of God Parish in Austin, Texas was dressed in noble vestments from February 29th to March 1st, 2020. With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae, the festivities in Austin began Saturday evening with Great Vespers and a Byzantine music and patriotic songs concert offered by six members of the Tronos choir of the Romanian Patriarchate under the leadership of Archdeacon Mihail Bucă. Many Orthodox Christians in Austin, along with their priests, attended and enjoyed this beautiful introduction to the Great Lent.
The next day, Sunday, March 1st, after Matins, the renovation works recently completed at the church building were blessed. Fr. Dumitru Ilieș, the parish priest, Fr. Dumitru Păun, honorary Dean, and Fr. Valentin Ilieș were serving together. Ordination to reader and subdeacon of the young Gabriel Ilieș preceded the beginning of the Divine Liturgy. At the appointed time of the Divine Liturgy, Gabriel was ordained a deacon for the Nativity of the Mother of God parish of Austin.
At the time of the sermon, HE Metropolitan Nicolae spoke about the significance of the Sunday of the Expulsion of Adam from Heaven, also called the Forgiveness Sunday, the last Sunday before the beginning of Great Lent:
"At the beginning of Lent we are urged to examine our conscience and to remember our fellows, and if we consider that someone has made a mistake we forgive him. We cannot begin this seven-week preparation with fasting and prayer without our conscience reconciled. We have to admit that what often loads our conscience is the memory of our brother who did us wrong. This memory does not give us peace. If we want to understand the meaning of Lent we must take this first step, forgive those who did wrong to us, to understand that by forgiving them we also obtain forgiveness from the heavenly Father. The relationship with God goes through the relationship with others, we obtain forgiveness from God if we have the power to forgive others."
“During these seven weeks we can also have the experience of the complete fasting, as our Savior did in the wilderness of Karantania. The experience refers to the fact that man can nourish himself with something else other than bread, namely with prayer, with the Word of God, and with the Body and Blood of the Savior. This experience can be fulfilled in this Great Lent when the Presanctified Liturgy is celebrated. In those days we must fast until evening, that is to say we do not eat anything until evening, just as Christ in the wilderness. After fasting all day, we participate in the Divine Liturgy and listen to the word of God and commune with the Body and Blood of Christ, nourishing our bodies with the spiritual nourishment. The meaning of fasting is the striving out of love for Christ, in which we leave aside the material ones and nourish ourselves with Christ."
His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae then offered the new Antimision to the parish, talking about the significance of this liturgical object. The hierarch concluded explaining the deacon's ministry and urging the newly ordained to take on the new mission with worthiness. Then he congratulated the entire Ilieș family present at the event, including the two brothers who came from Romania.
With joy and brotherly love we received the missionary visit of the Tronos group of the Romanian Patriarchate. Being their first visit on the American soil we consider it unique and memorable. A page of Orthodox history has been written in San Antonio and Austin these days. Words cannot describe the atmosphere of prayer and the emotions we all felt. We pray to the Lord that the seed they have planted in our hearts through angelic songs will bring good fruit before God!
Deacon Gabriel Ilieș
