The day before and after the election...
I address you today, one day before the elections.
Each one of you will vote for the politician who expresses him most. But in these elections the stakes are much greater than electing a President; it’s about the unity of the Nation.
And the source of unity can be nothing else than the peace that the Grace of Christ gives. Saint Serapheim of Sarof said: find peace within you and thousands of others will find it around you. I call upon you to cultivate this peace in your hearts. Not just for you and your families, but for the entire American Nation. The Orthodox Church does not exist only for the Orthodox people; she exists for the whole universe and for all humanity.
I urge you to activate the spiritual powers that you have as Orthodox. Bring to the surface the grace of Baptism and Chrismation; all the times you have received His Body and Blood; all the prayers you have muttered and all the tears you have shed.
All this grace that you have saved, now needs to be disbursed.
So, pacify yourselves and thousands around you will pacify themselves. Don't hesitate to be who you are. Don't hesitate to graft the Orthodox spirit onto America.
Paternally,
Fr. Christos
*I am sending you the prayer for Unity of St. Sofronios of Essex. I humbly ask you to say this prayer every morning and every evening for the next week including every American
Lord, Jesus Christ, the lamb of God, the one who takes away the sin of the world, the one who ascended on Golgotha and redeemed us from the curse of the Law and who restored Your fallen image; You, who stretched out your immaculate hands on the Cross, so that the scattered children of God gather together in one, and called everyone in unity, through the descent of the Holy Spirit; You, being the glory of the Father , before You exited on this great and world-saving ministry, prayed to Your Father, so that all be together, as You are with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Give us the grace and the wisdom to fulfill this commandment daily and strengthen us in the struggle of love, which You commanded by saying: Love one another as I have loved you.
Give us, through Your Holy Spirit, the power to humble ourselves before the other, as we understand that the more one loves, the more he humbles himself.
Teach us to pray for one another, bear each other's burdens in patience, and unite us in the bond of the unbreakable love in Your Holy Name, giving us the gift of seeing in each of our brothers and sisters the image of Your ineffable glory and not to forget that our brother is our life.
Yes, Lord, in Your good will, you have brought all of us together into this, making us to live in truth as one family, in one heart, one will, one love, as one human being, according to Your eternal will regarding the forefather Adam. Overshadow our country with the spirit of Your fear and cover it with the protection of Your All-Holy Mother and of all Your Saints, blessing and defending each one of those who dwell here, guarding us from corrupting thoughts, inappropriate words or movements of the heart, which harm peace and unison, so that our homes may be built on the rock of Your gospel commandments, and become a place of prayer, sanctification and salvation for us and for all who visit us, our weary and burdened brothers and sisters, so that we all may find rest in You, our meek and humble King, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen. +