{"id":191831,"date":"2018-04-10T23:47:43","date_gmt":"2018-04-10T20:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/basilica.ro\/?p=191831"},"modified":"2018-04-10T23:48:26","modified_gmt":"2018-04-10T20:48:26","slug":"patriarch-daniel-reflects-on-joy-peace-at-agape-vespers-on-pascha-sunday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arhiva.basilica.ro\/en\/patriarch-daniel-reflects-on-joy-peace-at-agape-vespers-on-pascha-sunday\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriarch Daniel reflects on joy and peace at Agape Vespers on Pascha Sunday"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Pascha Sunday His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel officiated the Agape Vespers at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest, during which he offered his reflections on joy and peace as two great blessings of the risen Christ.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Concelebrants for the Agape Vespers included Bishop Qais of Erzurum (Antioch Patriarchate), the Patriarch\u2019s auxiliary bishops Varlaam of Ploiesti and Ieronim of Sinaia, and the assistant bishop to the Archdiocese of Bucharest, Timotei of Prahova.<\/p>\n

Two great blessings of the risen Christ: joy and peace<\/h4>\n

After the gospel reading, Patriarch Daniel offered his reflections on joy and peace as \u2018the two great blessings that the crucified and risen Jesus Christ gives to the world through the myrrh-bearing women and his disciples.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018These two states show us that Christ\u2019s resurrection enlightens, enriches, gives meaning and fullness to the human soul and earthly life,\u2019 the patriarch stressed April 8.<\/p>\n

His Beatitude explained the two spiritual states, reflecting on their etymology.<\/p>\n

Joy is the fruit of grace<\/h4>\n

He said that \u2018joy is the fruit of grace in the human soul, since grace is called charis<\/em> in New Testament Greek language, and joy chara<\/em>.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Therefore, when grace bears fruit in man\u2019s soul it brings joy.\u2019<\/p>\n

Peace means fullness of life<\/h4>\n

\u2018The peace that Christ offers \u2013 shalom in Hebrew \u2013 means fullness of life, harmony, fulfillment,\u2019 the Patriarch added.<\/p>\n

\u2018When Christ is present and meets with us as a response to our faith and love for Him, He gives us joy and peace,\u2019 Patriarch Daniel noted.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s response to our faith and love for Him \u2018did not happen only once, but it is present constantly in Christ\u2019s Church,\u2019 the patriarch said.<\/p>\n

That is why, after attending long services, after much prayer and spiritual struggle, the believers never return to their houses with an empty soul, His Beatitude explained.<\/p>\n

When the divine services are physically tiring, \u2018the believers receive a profound peace and a great joy in their souls,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

Christ’s risen body was fully spiritualized<\/h4>\n

In the second part of his sermon, the patriarch reflected on the miracle of Christ\u2019s entering the room where the disciples were gathered through closed doors.<\/p>\n

This was possible because the risen body of Christ was \u2018fully spiritualized and deified.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018He walks through closed doors without breaking the doors, without altering the integrity of matter.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018This means that his body is not a reanimated corpse that came back to earthly life, but rather that His body is spiritualized and deified and totally free of every constraint, every natural determinism.\u2019<\/p>\n

The Patriarch of Romania noted that this is \u2018man\u2019s freedom in the Kingdom of God, which was opened by Jesus Christ through his raising from the dead,\u2019 and that matter, time, space, and distances can no longer have any constraints on man.<\/p>\n

The stigmata on Christ’s risen body<\/h4>\n

Although this mystery takes place, the patriarch said, Christ\u2019s body never loses its physical identity.<\/p>\n

\u2018It is the same body that was crucified on the cross and laid in the tomb.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018That is why He showed His hands and side to the disciples. He rose from the dead, but the signs or stigmata of the Cross remained on his risen body.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018We see that Christ does not separate his Resurrection from the Cross, nor the Cross from the Resurrection,\u2019 the patriarch said adding that \u2018He bears the stigmata of the Holy Cross forever in his risen and glorified body.\u2019<\/p>\n

At the end of his speech, the patriarch explained why the gospel passage was read in twelve different languages saying that it reflects the universality of Christian faith, which was preached by the Apostles to all the Gentiles.<\/p>\n