Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Congratulations with the feasts of the Resurrection of the Lord and of the Holy Apostle Thomas!

Today we heard the familiar to all of us Gospel reading about the raising of the son of the widow of Nain. Although this excerpt is short and the subject matter is simple, in reality it holds within itself many wonderful and deep ideas. Today let’s focus our attention on some of the aspects of today’s reading.

Our Lord Jesus Christ resurrected the son of the widow of Nain not simply with His word, nor exclusively by touching the bier, but with both the one and the other so as to teach us that we are saved from eternal death by communing of the Holy and Life-giving Mysteries of Christ (that is, being touched by God), as well as through the reading and thorough study of Holy Scripture (the Word of God), and, most importantly, through the realization of that which was read and studied in our personal lives. The Mysteries without the Holy Scripture just as the Word of God without the Body and Blood of Christ will not bring about the desired result, and we will remain spiritually dead.

Let us also take note that the Saviour, after the miraculous resurrection, delivered or returned the boy to his mother. This is understandable, because it is only through the intervention of God that life returned to the boy’s dead body. This child belonged no longer to his mother, but to God alone, and therefore it was necessary for Christ to deliver him to his parent. This, of course, is not an abstract idea, but a principle that applies to each of us. How many times has the Lord God hearkened to our prayers and delivered to us from that which was earlier squandered away, especially the original pure state of our soul? According to all the rules of justice or fairness, because of our sins and mistakes we should be denied much that we have, but the merciful Lord returns much to us.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, today let us remember that our sins make us spiritually dead. Let us not forget that the Saviour is close at hand and is ready to spiritually enliven us through His touch, that is, through the Holy Mysteries, especially Holy Communion, and through His word, which we can clearly hear in Holy Scripture.

priest Alexis