Saint Seraphim Day 2024 Bishop Gerasim

of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Today, the

feast of the glorification of St. Seraphim of

Sarov coincides so beautifully with the conclusion

of the diaconal training practicum held here

this week at St. Seraphim Cathedral. So today,

we enjoy the opportunity to celebrate the hierarchical

liturgy with your ruling bishop, Archbishop Benjamin,

and the patronal feast of this cathedral. We

ordinarily speak of St. Seraphim of Sarov as

a great man of prayer. We cite his words on the

acquisition of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of

peace. We describe his ascetic feet of standing.

for a thousand days and a thousand nights, a

rock in the forest. We honor St. Seraphim as

a wonder worker. We describe his constant reference

to the joy of the resurrection, and we recount

his mystical repose in front of the icon of Our

Lady of Compunction. This year we'll offer another

glance at St. Seraphim to highlight the theme,

of this week. Glancing at the initial chapter

of the epistle, Paul to the Hebrews, which in

turn cites Psalm 103, we know that God makes

his ministers flaming fire, or rather makes flaming

fire his ministers or liturgists. These words

of the psalmist allow us to point to the close

connection between deacons and flaming fire.

Truly, the fiery seraphim are the ministers of

God. They announce the judgments of God to human

beings. As ministers, deacons immediately come

to mind, for the term deacon signifies those

that minister. One of the desert fathers teaches,

his disciples how to pray. As he's explaining

to them, he stretches out his hands. And to their

astonishment, flame comes forth from his hands,

and he tells them they are to become wholly aflame.

The service to the church does not consist in

the mere outward and correct fulfilling of a

rite. or the proper fulfillment of rubrics. Yes,

we do learn and follow these actions which provide

for the beautiful order of worship. In doing

this, it is important not to forget that the

divine liturgy makes manifest the kingdom of

God. Our usual problem is that we're content

to persist in our own blindness. content with

not seeing what is truly taking place. Saint

Seraphim of Sarov illustrates how someone that

prays encounters the kingdom of God here in this

life. A monastic tonsure, Prokur Moshten as he

was then known, receives the name Seraphim, thus

alluding to those fiery servants of God, and

in a way, this particular calling of his life.

Now in our own history here in the United States,

around this time of year, in 1787, the founding

fathers of our country gathered in Philadelphia

to compose the Constitution of the United States

of America. Now this magnificent document eventually

impacts nearly every country in the world and

influences the lives of billions of people. But

in that same year, 1787, another event, perhaps

far greater, takes place, and that is the ordination

to the diaconate of St. Seraphim of Sarov. It

is fair to say that his life, And diaconate also

have had a major impact on the church, not only

throughout what was then the Russian Empire,

but also throughout the entire world. So what

do we learn about the diaconate of St. Seraphim

of Sarov? Now, usually we're not thinking of

him in those terms. When you look at his icons,

you don't see him vested as a deacon. because

he eventually is ordained a priest. His biographers

describe him as earnest in spirit, serving daily

in the house of God, praying incessantly even

after the service is over. And the Lord grants

him visions during the church services. He often

sees holy angels serving with the priests. And

during the divine liturgy once, on Great and

Holy Thursday, celebrated by the abbot of that

monastery, the elder Pacomius, St. Seraphim sees

another vision. After the little entrance of

the gospel, the higher deacon Seraphim, just

like a few minutes ago, Deacon Vitale, pronounces

the words, O Lord, save the pious and hearken

unto us. He lifts his orarion, saying, and unto

the ages of ages, and suddenly a bright ray of

light blinds him. And looking up, St. Seraphim

beholds the Lord Jesus Christ coming through

the western doors of the temple, surrounded by

the bodiless powers of heaven, and reaching the

Silea, the Lord blesses all those praying and

enters. his icon on the right side of the holy

doors. In spiritual rapture after this miraculous

vision, St. Seraphim does not utter a single

word, nor does he move from the spot where he's

standing. Clergy lead him by the hand into the

altar where he stands for another. Three hours,

his face having changed under the power and grace

that have overshadowed him. After the vision,

St. Seraphim intensifies his efforts. He toils

in the monastery by day. He spends his nights

praying in his forest cell. He spends seven years

total serving as a hierodicum. in the monastery

of Seraph. Now perhaps you, and here maybe I'm

addressing the participants in the diaconal vocation

program, perhaps you will be quick to excuse

yourselves from praying with the same desire,

longing, and effect with which St. Seraphim once

served. In the ministry of a deacon, there is

much that is of a practical nature. Yet we are

to serve as deacons not as a job, but as a ministry

of grace. Indeed, deacons are set apart to assist

in the ministry of the bishop or priests, but

the responsibility to assist does not circumscribe

or bookend the diaconal ministry. Never forget

that the divine liturgy is transformative. Neither

is your ministry merely liturgical. As St. John

Chrysostom writes in his famous Paschal Homily

concerning the wicked one, he swallowed a body

but encountered God. You are to serve attentively,

in awe at the totality of the ministry given

to you. The divine liturgy is our ascent to encounter

Jesus Christ. And this takes place every time

that the church assembles, including today. The

outward actions accompany and provide meaning

to our sometimes vocal and sometimes silent prayer.

It is true that later in his life, his ministry,

the ministry of St. Seraphim, changes in terms

of function. and place. He lives in the forest

rather than in the monastery proper, only later

being asked to return to the monastery to continue

his ministry there, especially in his later years.

His ministry becomes a continual revelation of

the grace of God working within him and shaping

him. His words, his gaze, his touch transform

thousands. There are a series of prophecies ascribed

to him, but his first seven years in the monastic

life, followed by his first seven years in diaconal

ministry, prepare him to be a bearer of light.

As deacons, you will participate in the mystery

of the kingdom of God. As the life of St. Seraphim

indicates, he receives great gifts. without becoming

a priest. And they're expressed, first of all,

in his diaconal ministry so well -pleasing to

God. For this reason, cherish this week that

you have now experienced. Don't count the meaning

of this week on the cost to travel here or the

time that you took off work or the days you ministered.

missed in vacation. Be attentive to the time

that you serve in the altar, whether as deacon,

subdeacon, or acolyte. Reflect on the beautiful

setting of this parish campus as well, as well

as the fellowship that you have established with

the members of your cohort. The flow and actions

in the divine liturgy will now acquire new meaning

and new associations for you. Do not forget that

you too are to be ministers resembling flaming

fire. Some of you will serve in cathedrals, some

in parishes, and some in our far -flung missions.

Do not forget that your ministry will develop

like those concentric circles that radiate from

a... Little pebble falling in a pond. Each successive

ring will impact the life of the church in your

local setting. Bring honor to the diaconate by

the integrity of your life. And the relationships

that you have established here this week will

be vital to you in the days to come. Do not underestimate

the fact that your instructors, too, will be

following your development. Through the prayers

of our Holy Father, Seraphim, may the Lord bless

you on this path on which you now walk. To our

Lord, who is wondrous in his saints, be all glory,

honor, and worship with his unoriginate Father

and the all -Holy Spirit unto the ages of ages.