"No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke IX, 62).
I thought of the Savior's warning, not only now, of editing the second volume of The Souls, but many times when I began an activity and doubt turned me around, making me wonder if the road which go leads to God, if the choices made dress in good and beautiful. I believe a lot in tradition and continuity, in keeping the rhythm and the power of consistency. In spirituality, I often encounter the situation where someone who has received the canon to read three psalms a day, for example, forgets or does not fulfill it, but recovers, reading six or nine psalms in the following days. But it is not the external ticking of the canon that matters, it is not the numbers and the formal observance of the spiritual medicine; change comes with the impropriety of a habit, a way of life. Not six or nine psalms, but I can never breathe without reading the Psalms.
Therefore, after volume I of the Articles contained editorials published in Dimitrios magazine between 2012 and 2016, the pages waiting for you to browse cover the period 2016 - 2020. If the first part of the articles appeared around last Christmas, and the current one in perfume pascal, just four months away, I assure you that a possible third volume will reach our hands only in 2024. But ... "My thoughts are not like yours and My ways are yours," says the Lord. ”(Isaiah LV, 8).
I also confess to you the thought that blew in the sails of the ship loaded with 100 chests that you have in your palm. First of all, gathering all the editorials in volume would mean a help for those who want to know the priest, the clergyman, the man who wrote them. The closeness between people is made, first of all, at the soul level, so writing, as a result of heart movements (when the author reveals on paper what he really feels, abandoning hypocrisy and the desire to manipulate), can break down communication barriers. I do not ignore the possibility that some of the stated opinions may bother some; I'm sorry for the discomfort, but I'm glad for the exercise we all have to do to listen without passion, nerves and revengeful desires that the other believes and feels. Just like in the biblical episode with Joseph who, going to his brothers who envied him and meeting a stranger, says to him: "I am looking for my brothers" (Genesis XXXVII, 16); that is, I want to get closer to them, to get to know each other, to have a dialogue, I am looking for the way to the heart of my brothers. Someone said that if we got closer to each other, if we tried to discover the personal secret of our fellows, we could not hurt anyone. Well, in a troubled social context, the last 30 years have led to major divisions between us, on political, medical, sports issues and you can continue with hundreds of other examples. Unity can be acquired by listening to the other and understanding his perspective, without a doubt, an incomparable spiritual enrichment, which the priest is happy to receive in the Holy Sacrament of Confession from the one who confesses his sins, thoughts, fears, emotions.
Secondly, perhaps, over time, someone will want to understand the events of the beginning of the third millennium from the point of view and feeling of an urban priest. Even for those who will serve at the altar of the beautiful church of St. Dumitru in the Old Center, it can mean a useful spiritual and pastoral monograph.
Finally, thirdly, I would be very happy if the lines that will unfold in front of you mean a help for those interested in the study of Catechesis or Homiletics, as the ideas of other authors have inspired and helped me so far. .
"Do not think or do anything without a purpose pleasing to God. For he who travels aimlessly will labor in vain” (Saint Mark the Ascetic).
write a review