The faithful of the Protection of the Mother of God Mission in Houston, Texas had the joy of having HE Metropolitan Nicolae in their midst, on the last weekend of June. His Eminence arrived in Houston on Saturday, June 24th. At sunset, according to the ritual, he performed the Vespers service.
The next day, on Sunday, June 25th, after a heavy rain, along with the priest and faithful of this mission, His Eminence served Matins, the Blessing of the waters service, followed by the Divine Liturgy. At the end of the Divine Liturgy, His Eminence had a sermon for the faithful present. The focus of the sermon was on how Christ the Savior calls us to love the Light. Man, through the eyes, manages to gather light or darkness within the soul. The more the eye is cleaner, that is, more dispassionate, more detached from the constraints of the world and of one's own, the more man receives more Light. In contrast to this call, if the eye of man is defiled by sin, then darkness takes possession of man, and his interior darkens. Therefore, man no longer distinguishes between these two opposing forms of dwelling.
The second teachings detached from the Gospel content read on the third Sunday after Pentecost was related to man's inability to serve two masters. Serving involves an active work. Man is asked to choose between God and Mammon who is nothing but a materialist idol symbolizing money or wealth. Ultimately, man becomes what he chooses. The third part of the sermon focused on the attention that we must give to the priorities in our lives. The quest for God's Kingdom and His righteousness ultimately diverges us from those who do not serve God. Worldly worries, of all kinds, do not have to overwhelm us, Christians. The Church is the place where we learn how to use the gifts of life in such a way that our soul is approaching God by the light of the teachings of the Gospel that penetrates and dwells within us.
The Blessing of the waters service was performed to bless the new prayer building of this Mission. By the mercy of God, through the intercession of His Mother, and after 15 years of prayer, intense missionary pastoral work, vision and desire to start a good Orthodox church settlement in the city of Houston, Texas, the faithful of this Mission have managed to build the first portion of a large-scale project. The plan of this building was designed in such a way that the building serves liturgical and social activities, the Sunday School, but also the administrative part. After paying off the bank loan, we will proceed to the second phase of the project, the church itself.
Orthodox Christian faith has begun to be known to Americans over the last few decades on the one hand by the living testimony of Orthodox Christians emigrated to this continent, and, on the other hand, by the increasing number of Americans converted to the true faith. The specificity of this Mission is that, although it is under the jurisdiction of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas, the believers who form this community are not all of Romanian origin. In addition to Romanians, there are American, Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, Jordanian, Egyptian, Mexican, Cuban, Dutch and Greek. Together, this Orthodox Christian family, albeit diverse as ethnicity, is united by the faith and ministry of Christ's service.
Our Archpastor's visit was a blessing to all of us. This has also been seen in the great number of believers present on Saturday and Sunday. After the visit of our Father Metropolitan, we continue the work of spreading the Word of Life, serving God and our neighbor, and confessing our ancestors' faith to the glory of God and our salvation.
Fr. Julian Anitei
