Let Us Dedicate and Renew Ourselves

Let Us Dedicate and Renew Ourselves

As adopted children of God the Father through Holy Orthodoxy, let us dedicate and renew ourselves and our lives to Christ our God, who is mystically the whole Church, holding us in His hands so that none of us is lost.

As sheep, let us commit to following our shepherd who will tend to us even if one of us is lost.

As followers of Jesus Christ, the Prince of peace, we dedicate our efforts to peace in ourselves, in our families, in our communities, in our world.

As followers of He whose love is without boundaries, we dedicate ourselves to loving others, whether they are friend or foe - stranger or neighbor.

We dedicate ourselves to our personal improvement and spiritual development, so that we may become better servants of our Lord.

We dedicate ourselves to good and holy work wherever we encounter it, as Mother Teresa of India has said, by "doing even small things with great love."

Today, we dedicate also this chapel and all the fruits of our labor in this ministry to God to whom all glory is due. As our great Thirumeni, Paulos Mar Gregorios (of blessed memory) said - "Without Divine Aid, our human efforts can bear no significant fruit." So we bow our heads and pray:

Christ God, this is Thy ministry and we are Thy servants. We ask for Divine Aid. Bless this space with Thy presence; with the presence of Thy holy angels and of all the saints. We ask for an increase of all good
things so that we may continue to be instruments of constructive good. We ask for a removal all curses and stumbling blocks so that our human flaws and weaknesses, as well as our enemies and naysayers, are not impediments to fulfilling of Thy divine will. This we ask according to Thy infinite mercy and loving-kindness; together with the Father and the Holy Living Spirit now and forever. Amen.


Rev. Fr. John-Brian Paprock
From a sermon for Dedication Sunday ~ delivered November 10, 2002
What distinguishes us from the secular world around us?
Posted at http://frjohbrian.blogspot.com/2009/11/what-distinguishes-us-from-secular.html