The Time, the Cross, the Enemy

Dear Members & Friends,

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Words cannot express the sadness, shock, horror, outrage, and numbness brought about by the awful events of September 11, 2001. Trusting that you have been thoroughly saturated with information concerning the terrorist attacks, I will not belabor the point.

I must say, however, that I believe the battle now being waged is more spiritual than physical as, indeed, all battles essentially are. Sometimes, due to indoctrination from the media, the seduction of “multiculturalism,” and the heresy of ecumenism, our vision of Reality is blurred. Recently, during the Vigil for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, we sang:

Come, ye faithful, let us bow down before the life-creating Tree, whereon of His own will Christ, the King of glory, stretching forth His hands, hath raised us up to our former blessed state, of which the enemy of old deprived us through pleasure, causing us to be driven out of paradise by God! Come, ye faithful, let us bow down before that by which we have been vouchsafed to crush the heads of the invisible foe! Come, all ye peoples of our fatherland, let us honour the Cross of the Lord with hymns, crying Rejoice, O Cross, thou perfect deliverance of fallen Adam; for in thee do most faithful rulers boast, for through thy power are the Moslem hordes mightily subdued! And now, venerating with fear thee upon whom God was nailed, we Christians render glory, saying O Lord Who wast nailed thereto, have mercy upon us, in that Thou art good and lovest mankind!

Our government may build a multinational coalition against terrorism in order to do battle with our attackers. But, as has always been the case, we truly only have one enemy. That is, the enemy of our salvation, the Devil. And, in spiritual warfare, there is no greater weapon than the sign of the Life Giving Cross of Christ. It is the Cross that subdues the enemy! It is the Cross that delivers fallen mankind! It is the Cross that is victorious!

O Lord, save Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance. Grant victory to Orthodox Christians over their adversaries. And by Thy Cross, preserve Thy habitation.

— Troparion of the Cross

May God bless and preserve you and yours!

May the souls of the departed rest in peace!

Fr Joseph