Dear Brothers and Sisters, congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord, as well as with the day of St. John of the Ladder, the abbot of the Sinai Monastery!

In today’s Gospel reading we heard about a very familiar and common human story. We read how a certain parent came to the Saviour, beseeching Him to heal from illness his suffering child. We learned that at first, this father came to the apostles, hoping that they could help, and only after they were found to be powerless did he approach God Himself. Our Lord Jesus Christ healed the suffering demon-possessed boy. Before this miracle took place, the father of the sick youth wholeheartedly confessed his belief that Christ could perform such an act. He added to his confession a fervent prayer that the Lord strengthen his imperfect and weak faith. When the apostles asked the Lord why they were unable to cast out the demon, He noted that these types of demons are expelled only through prayer and fasting.

Today’s Gospel excerpt is wonderful because each separate part has something to say to every one of us. Who out of us has not worried about the health or well-being of his or her child, or some other close person? In such instances, who out of us has not looked for human help, forgetting in a certain way that only God is able to make everything right? Probably the words “Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief!” could be said by each of us, every day of our lives, if not every minute. Of course, we also all understand well that spiritual struggles (prayer and fasting) are essential for our spiritual healing, though we don’t always put in enough effort into them.

The final verses of today’s reading are no less important than the main narrative. In them, we heard that after performing this miracle, the Lord passed through Galilee, avoiding contact with others; that is, by this time He had already stopped preaching. Instead, He began to intensively prepare His disciples for His passion and resurrection.

We have but two weeks remaining until Holy Week. Therefore, let’s also focus our attention on the passions and resurrection of our Saviour. Let’s strengthen our prayer and fasting so as to cleanse ourselves from our sins. Let’s fervently pray that the Lord strengthen our weak faith, so that we never forget that first and foremost, we should always put our trust not in men, but in God.

priest Alexis