Weekly Message October 23, 2026

Beloved brothers and sisters,

In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear the story of Jesus healing the man possessed by demons in the country of the Gerasenes. This man had been isolated from his community, suffering in ways that others could neither understand nor overcome.

People had tried to restrain him and keep their distance. But Jesus did something different. He went to him, saw him, and restored him.

I think there is an important lesson here for us as a Church community.

It is easy to welcome the people who are like us, who share our interests, and who already feel at home in our Cathedral. It is harder to reach out to someone who feels out of place, to make room for someone who is struggling, or to welcome someone whose story we do not know. Yet it is precisely in these moments that we have the opportunity to reflect the love of Christ.

Jesus did not define this man by his suffering. He saw a human being worthy of healing, dignity, and love. Shouldn’t that be how we see one another?

Our Cathedral is more than a building where we gather for Divine Liturgy. It is a spiritual home where people should find belonging, friendship, and support. People come through our doors carrying burdens we may never see. Some are joyful, some are grieving, and others are searching for faith or a place to belong. We may not know their stories, but we can choose how we receive them.

We can choose judgment or compassion. We can wait for someone else to reach out, or we can take the first step. Every greeting, every invitation, and every act of kindness helps shape the community we are building together.

After the man is healed, Jesus sends him home to share what God has done for him. His encounter with Christ gives him a new beginning and a purpose. That is what life in the Church should do for us, too. We come to Christ to be transformed by His love, and then we carry that love into the lives of others.

The kind of community we become depends on how we choose to treat the people God places before us.

May Saints Constantine and Helen always be a place where people encounter not only a Church, but Christ Himself, through the love we share with one another.

With love in Christ,