Also From Among Yourselves

The joys of the ecclesial life are stronger than its sorrows. Examples for this are numerous. I will give you as an example Paul's speech in farewell to the elders of the Church in Ephesus: "also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves" (Acts 20:30). The sorrow is obvious. Inside the Church, the door of which is opened by love, we see people who insist on "strong delusion"! How does a man live with God without accepting that God lives in him? This is sorrow. Where is the joy? It exists in the fact that Paul's speech is a commandment to the leaders of the Church and to everyone who had experienced that righteousness is a gift and a ministry. How do we all adhere, with all the brethren, in a hardworking ministry, to the cause of Christ the Shepherd "Who has purchased the Church with His own blood"? Look out for the brethren, one by one. This is a victory for joy on earth.