Message from Fr. Tom                          

I heard a story about a six-year-old boy whose younger sister was dying of leukemia.  He was told that without a specific blood transfusion his sister might die. His parents explained to him that his blood was probably compatible with hers, and if so, he could be the life-saving blood donor. When he was asked if his blood could be tested for a possible match, he said, “Sure!”  They discovered that indeed he was a match with his sister and asked him if he would be willing to give a pint of his own blood to help save the life of his sister.  He said he would have to think about it overnight.

The next day he told to his parents that he was willing to donate his blood. Soon after, he found himself side-by-side his three-year-old sister. Both of them were hooked up to IVs. A nurse drew a pint of blood from the boy, which then was transfused into the veins of his little sister.  The boy lay beside his sister in silence while he noticed the color returning to her cheeks.  His face grew pale and he looked up as the doctor asked how he was doing. The boy opened his eyes and asked, “How soon until I start to die?”

It took only a moment for the doctor to realize the young boy had thought that giving a pint of blood to his sister would kill him; that he was willing to die for her….

Rarely is one asked to give up his own life for someone else. Yet, we are continuously invited to make decisions to love and forgive one another in our day-to-day life.  We are called to be Christian witnesses with faith, compassion, love, and forgiveness.

What encouraging words do we offer those around us?  In what ways do we share our faith in God with others?  How are we actively forgiving our friend, neighbor, co-worker, spouse, or children?  How are we “committing ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God?” (Divine Liturgy)

St. Paul writes:  “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  Galatians 2:20 

The sacrifice and forgiveness of God are shown to us in the death and resurrection of Christ.  His Body was broken and His Blood was shed so that all those who come to Him in repentance and faith might be forgiven and receive newness of life, eternal life.

We make that forgiveness our own by forgiving others.  We receive newness of life by sacrificing ourselves to others.  This is the significance of the petition in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive others.”

Being “crucified with Christ”—taking up our own cross and following Christ—is not just the way of loving God and of loving our neighbor as ourselves, it is also the means by which God can make us more loving.  As we learn to surrender ourselves to God and deny our own ego, the life we live becomes energized by the Holy Spirit.  We become less and less full of ourselves and more and more filled with the Holy Spirit.  The little six-year old boy was willing to donate his blood and even give up his own life for his sister.  In the same way, we are called to love and forgive others with the purity of the little boy’s heart.

“If you love your neighbor, then all of heaven will love you.  If you are united in spirit with your fellow creatures, then you will be united with God and all the company of heaven; if you are merciful to your neighbor, then God and all the angels and saints will be merciful to you.  If you pray for others then all of heaven will intercede for you.  The Lord our God is holy; be holy yourself also.”  St. John of Kronstadt