Inaugural Diocesan Fellowship Retreat

Thirty-eight young adults of the Diocese of Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate New York were hosted by St. George Church in Montreal on the weekend of May 12-14, 2006, for the Fellowship of St. John the Divine’s Inaugural Young Adults Retreat, featuring Fr. Maxym Lysack, Pastor of Christ the Saviour Orthodox Church (Ottawa) of the Carpatho-Russian Diocese, who spoke on the theme of Living the life of the Resurrection in the joy of the Holy Spirit. The retreat itself also proved ecumenical as friends from the Coptic community also attended.

Fr. Maxym Lysack’s two discussions focused on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit into the world through the Church and what this means in terms of our understanding of Orthodox mission, and the revelation of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the Christian, with specific references to the Saints and contemporary examples of carriers of the Holy Spirit. Fr. Maxym highlighted St. Seraphim of Sarov’s opinions on the goal of Christian life, and also how the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, received through the sacrament of chrismation at one’s baptism, is maintained through prayer. Recalling to us that it was on Pentecost, in the form of tongues of fire, that the Apostles received the Holy Spirit and were at that moment given the ability to proclaim the Word of God, Fr. Maxym affirmed that today, this Gift is imparted through the Eucharist, and that as Orthodox Christians it is our mission to continue the outpouring of the Holy Spirit into the world through peace, love, patience and care. Without the person of the Holy Spirit, this Life-Changing Gift, we are spiritually dead. Fr. Maxym continued by speaking about the importance of spiritual thirst, the strong need for the Holy Spirit, and that through fasting and disciplined prayer we are able to identify this thirst. If we keep the Holy Spirit in our heart, along with the word of God, it is kept safe and perhaps more resistant to demonic powers. The goal of the devil is to make us depressed and lethargic, thereby preventing the Holy Spirit from going out into the world. We should then be aware of our spiritual thirst, quenching it through prayer and communion so that we may attempt to accomplish our mission faithfully and diligently.

As young adults in today’s society, we are constantly faced with situations that may oppose or challenge our faith in more ways than one whether it is at work with non-believers or acquiring love for all those who may not reciprocate it, to name a few. Fr. Maxym’s message to the Fellowship this weekend was a reminder of the Gift we have received at a time when perhaps we were not fully aware of its potential impact on the world or our lives. Presently, our awareness has made us realize that we have been blessed with Him, the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts and through Him, we are able to overcome these obstacles and, more importantly, have the opportunity to share this Gift with the world.

All participants of the retreat, young adults and clergy alike, were able to do this very thing during the afternoon ministry project which was visiting the elderly of Montreal’s Orthodox Christian community at two elder care living centres: The Cedars and The Villa. This was a joyful experience for all of us that was filled with conversation and laughter as we were given the opportunity to share ourselves with the residents, their families and their caregivers. At The Villa, we also enjoyed witnessing Dn. Michael Shaheen and Dn. Jean El Murr administer Holy Communion to those, who for lack of mobility cannot make it to Church, share the body and blood of our Lord; the residents at The Cedars had received Holy Communion that most recent Thursday.

Our deepest gratitude goes to Fr. Maxym for his beautiful message, to Fr. Paul Solberg for his continuous guidance to the Fellowship as Spiritual Advisor, to Fr. Gregory Nimijean for bringing us an Orthodox Bookstore, to Dn. Michael Shaheen and Dn. Jean El Murr, and all other members of the clergy who supported the retreat by being with us. Thanks are also expressed to Bruna L. Salhany, Nicolas Ellaham and Robert Bayouk for all their hard work, who are, in turn, especially thankful to all those who made the Inaugural Young Adults Retreat a three day event which proved spiritually uplifting and which blessed all with the opportunities to come together in Christian fellowship for the acquisition of spiritual guidance and for further understanding of our mission as Orthodox Christians.

Yours in Christ,

Posted on: June 2, 2006

Written by: Diala Habib

St. Antonios Church, Halifax