Thousands of faithful gathered Thursday evening, 05 November 2015, at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest, and prayed together with His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of Romania, for peace and unity in the Church and in the society, for those who passed to the Lord, and for the healing of those in hospitals, after the tragic accident which took place last week in Bucharest.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel addressed to the present faithful and to the entire Romanian People a paternal urge to cultivate and conserve peace:
“We have gathered here this evening in order to pray together, and we thank you for coming in such large numbers. Daily, during these 40 days, we especially pray at the Divine Liturgy, and remember those who passed to the Lord after the tragedy at Collective Club in Bucharest. Nevertheless, at the same time, we pray for those who suffer on their hospital beds, for those who suffer due to deep wounds, and to burns. That is why, we have remembered them this evening in our prayers. We renew our call for the consolation of the bereaved families who are mourning the dear ones, but also for the consolation and the spiritual and material support of the families of all those who are in hospitals, and suffer very much. Thereby, we show our fraternal love both towards the departed, and also towards those who suffer in hospitals.
We need peace in our soul in order to think healthily, to take decisions wisely
This prayer of ours is love stronger than death, because it goes beyond the grave and unites in the love of the Most Holy Trinity all those who are merciful and help the suffering. We have also prayed to our Saviour Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, the Head of the Church and her Protector, to grant us peace and blessing. Peace is the gift of God for humans. This gift must be kept, cultivated and conserved. Peace is the state of harmony of both the soul and the body, the state of harmony among humans. We need peace in our soul in order to think healthily, to take decisions wisely. We need peace in our family, especially today when we are confronted with many temptations and troubles. We need peace in every religious or civil community, in our society, but also in the entire world. In such times in which much violence and suffering exist, in times in which in some parts of the world war does not cease, but many people die innocent and many people leave their families, their home and their country, we need peace and fraternal support.
Pursue peace with all people, without which no one will see the Lord
We need peace and unity in our country too. We need peace in the Church, in the society, but we also need unity in order to do good one with another, and not one against another. Therefore, during these days, the Church wishes to be a servant, a factor of social peace, as stipulated in our legislation, but especially as our Saviour Jesus Christ asks us to be. That is why, by saying Peace be to you all!, the servant priest shares the peace of Christseveral times during the services. This peace is the grace of God which is present in humans; it is the merciful and humble love of God who is offered to the faithful and to those who pursue peace and harmony. St Paul the Apostle, in his Epistle to Hebrews, urges us saying: Pursue peace with all people, without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). This commandment means also a pursuit for peace, and when we are to find it, we must keep it, cultivate it and conserve it.
Sin brings enmity, while prayer unites
During this period each of us needs to think how we can spiritually renew our life, our personal life, our community life, and our social life. If we follow the renewal in the Holy Spirit, then this renewal becomes a fruit of God’s blessing and of the good deeds. We must perform more good deeds, to pay more attention to our fellow people who are suffering, to the urgent needs of many lonely people, who are ill, in troubles or trials. Therefore, these prayers of ours are very useful, because sin separates, while prayer brings together. Sin brings enmity, while prayer unites. Sin arouses hatred, while prayer brings kindness in the soul. At every time and at every hour, we need peace and unity, but especially in troubled times.
We pray to our Saviour Jesus Christ, to the Theotokos and all Saints, to protect us and offer us the peace and light of Christ, in order to farther share them into our families and into our society.”
