St. John Jacob of Neamț was celebrated in a special way this year at the monastery of the Protection of the Mother of God in Allegan, Michigan. The celebration began on Saturday evening, August 3rd, 2024, with Great Vespers and Lytia celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae and Hieromonk Fr. Paisie Buhnila. At the end of the service, Metropolitan Nicolae read from the words of St. John Jacob published in the volume printed by Doxologia Publishing House, Iași in 2010 with the title: For the needy with a soul like mine...
The next day, Sunday, August 4, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Metropolitan Nicolae, assisted by Fr. Paisie and Fr. Evangelos Pepps. The pilgrims had the opportunity to cleanse their souls through the Sacrament of Confession and also had the joy of partaking of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, as is fitting, especially at this time of the fast. At the time of the sermon, Metropolitan Nicholas first explained the Gospel of the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, the Healing of the paralytic of Capernaum, Matthew 9, 1-8:
“The Gospel of Matthew that we heard today insists on the forgiveness of sins, on the fact that Christ as God can forgive sins. These are the first words with which Christ greets the sick one: "Take courage, my son, your sins are forgiven" (Matthew 9, 2) because he knew that those who opposed him thought that He had pronounced blasphemy, for according to Old Testament teaching only God can forgive sins.
Christ shows himself to be God who knows the sins of men, their sicknesses of soul, but also their thoughts, in this case the scribes. He asks them a question that puts them in great difficulty: "What is easier to say? Your sins are forgiven, or to say: Arise and walk" (Matthew 9:5). Can we answer this question? Can we appreciate which of the two works is easier: forgiving sins or bringing healing the body? St. John Chrysostom helps us to answer this question by telling us that in the Savior's understanding of this question has the following answer: it is easier to heal the body, therefore you say, "Son take up your bed and walk", but it is more difficult to heal the soul, to say "Forgiven are your sins ". The Holy Gospel reveals to us the Savior's own words: "That you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, he said to the sick of palsy, 'Arise, take up your bed and go to your home'" (Matthew 9:6).
St. John Chrysostom speaks of the fact that the Savior asked this question and first offered forgiveness of sins and then bodily healing, precisely to show that it is God who has both powers: both to forgive sins and to bring healing to the body: "We cannot see how God forgives our sins, but we can see how a sick man is healed." So that God might show himself forgiving sins and to prove to those who looked on and thought evil, that he is truly God and has power to forgive sins, he did the deed of healing the body."
Metropolitan Nicolae then recalled the life of St. John Jacob of Neamț and emphasized the saint's connection to America. First, through His Eminence Victorin, Archbishop of the Romanians in America between 1966 and 2001, who recommended St. John Jacob for ordination as a hierodeacon and later hieromonk in 1947, as he was superior of the Romanian settlements in the Holy Land. After his ordination, St. John Jacob had the obedience as abbot of the Romanian Hermitage of St. John the Baptist in the Jordan Valley. In the five years that he assumed obedience, St. John formed a spiritual friendship with Archimandrite Victorin, a friendship continued after Fr. Victorin's departure for America in 1958, as evidenced by their correspondence between the two. Father Victorin, having arrived at St. Tikhon's Monastery in South Canaan, PA, USA, is called back by St. John Jacob:
Leave the care of the American to the Canaans,
And you, Holy Father, take care of the holy places!
The second connection of the saint with America is through the person of the Greek Father Panteleimon, a former minister at the Holy Sepulchre during the earthly life of St. John Jacob. At the insistence of Father Panteleimon the relics of St. John Jacob were discovered in August 1980. Throughout the weekend pilgrims listened on several occasions to poems and words of St. John Jacob, especially the verses dedicated to his fellow Romanians:
"My country's wanderers,
Distressed among strangers,
Forget not your purpose
As Romanians and as Christians."
Testament words of St. John Jacob, the patron saint of Romanian wanderers around the world!a