Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord as well as with the day of the Finding of the relics of the Holy Hierarch John of Shanghai and San Francisco!

Today during the Gospel reading we heard the words of our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ that we are obliged to love our enemies, and that those who do so will be rewarded and will become the children of the Highest. For men, who by their nature seek security and comfort, these words are especially difficult. No one enjoys suffering, but to love one’s enemy means to desire and do good to one who hurts us. Although this is counter to nature, there are many examples of holy people who suffered from other people for the sake of God’s love. Many even prayed for their tormenters, blessed them, and forgave them. In other words, they loved their enemies completely. This raises the question: how could they endure insults, physical attacks, and even death and still maintain a calm spirit, while we are sometimes hurt when the most minor of comments is made?

Perhaps the answer to this question is that the saints taught themselves deep meekness and humility through ascetic labours. When a person exhausts his body through fasting, long prayers at night, standing at prolonged church services, and prostrations, he teaches himself to serve God no matter what. He becomes accustomed to unpleasantness, notices less often that which earlier seemed to him intolerable, that is, he becomes meek. For such a person, it is easier to hear rude words directed at him or to endure the loss of comfort or freedom because of an enemy, because for many years he denied himself these things. So that no one would think that such humility can be attained only by monastics who dedicate the entirety of their lives to ascetic struggles, the Church offers the example of saints who were not monks, but were nonetheless able to reach the heights of humility and meekness. The brightest examples of this are Sts. Boris and Gleb, princes who possessed power, wealth, and personal armies but were to such an extent meek that they willingly accepted death from their own brother so as to not spread abroad war, death, and suffering.

If someone is unconvinced by the example of Sts. Boris and Gleb, if they doubt that fasting, praying, and the other ascetic deeds are effectual in changing the nature of man, let that person remember today’s saint and the finding of his most honourable relics. From the moment of his monastic tonsure, the Holy Hierarch John led an austere life, never lying down in a bed, but sleeping on the ground or in a chair, serving the Liturgy daily, spending his nights in prayer. During his life it was already evident that thanks to these struggles, the saint had cleansed his heart from sinful passions, that the Holy Spirit had come to dwell in him, and that he did many wondrous miracles. All this was confirmed on the night of October 12th, 1993 when the body of the reposed hierarch John was found to be incorruptible, that is, it did not decompose as is usually the case, but was wholly preserved. The laws of nature were defeated by the holiness of Saint John. Anyone who wishes to do so can go to San Francisco and see the incorrupt relics of the saint and converse with people who participated in the opening of his relics. Through the prayers of the Holy Hierarch John, let each of us try to increase our spiritual struggles at least a little bit so as to break our human nature, our self love, and our pride and acquire meekness and humility. Perhaps this way we will learn to love, or at least not hate, our enemies.

priest Alexis