Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord, the memory of the Seven Youths of Ephesus, as well as with the first Sunday of the Dormition Fast!

In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew, we heard how our merciful and man-loving Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the petition of a certain man and healed his demon-possessed son. When the Saviour worked miracles, He would often note the especially strong faith of the people who came to Him, but here we heard that the faith not only of the boy’s father, but also of the apostles and of those Jews who were present, was weak. In his Gospel the Holy Apostle Mark adds the detail that the father of the child said the following words: “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” Despite the lukewarm faith of those who asked Christ for help, He did not abandon them, but drove out the devil and made the boy healthy once again.

The Saviour denounced the disbelief of not only the father, but also that of His Apostles, to whom He had earlier given power over evil spirits. They, in theory, should have healed the boy on their own when approached by his father, but in fact, could do nothing to help. When Christ was alone with Hs friends, He explained that their faith was weak and added that these types of demons are expelled only through fasting and prayer.

Today’s Gospel excerpt is a perfect fit for the first Sunday of the Dormition Fast. The mention of fasting, prayer, and faith, as well as the message that without these Christian virtues it is difficult to make progress in our spiritual lives and drive out our passions (or, in other words, our demons) is very important. Therefore, let each of us be inspired by these words in these salvific days of the Dormition Fast. Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that we begin the fast with the best of intentions, we are ready to take on an assortment of ascetic struggles, but little gets accomplished. For a day or two we work to better ourselves, but then, little by little, we return to our old habits. Then once again we get inspired and after a while fall down. Perhaps what is of utmost importance is for us not to lose heart, for, as we heard in today’s Gospel reading, even imperfect faith, even small efforts are acceptable to the Lord. Therefore let us pray today to the Virgin Mary and the Seven Youths of Ephesus that they strengthen us in this fast. Let us also pray that the Lord grant us His grace, not according to our poor efforts, but according to His extraordinary mercy, as He did many years ago with the father of the lunatic.

priest Alexis