Youth Talk…September 19,2004 in Watertown, MA
Fr. Al Demos
You all look so beautiful and handsome, so vibrant and full of promise. But
I wonder…what do you feel inside? What is it that makes you so unique and
special? What is your experience, what is going on in that inner world that
is really YOU?
As Young Adults you have experienced or may be experiencing certain
questions important to your life that you ask yourself within…like “where
am I going?”… “What am I to do with my life?”… “Where do I belong?”
“Who am I as a person?”
I’d like you to stop for a moment and reflect on your inner world…that
world inside your being, where you are cognizant of people, places and
things around you, but only you know what you think and feel within that
precious person that you are. No one knows what you really feel inside.
You are a unique being. God has created you with your own personality,
your own spiritual, physical, psychological and total self. You can look at
me and everyone else in this room from within that special being. You see,
hear and perceive as your mind absorbs this information and you make
decisions and value judgments. You look at your hands and you know they
belong to your body. You look in the mirror and you see the reverse of the
physical person every one else sees. You feel energized, tired, hungry,
sleepy, sad, happy and a myriad number of other feelings that belong solely
to your personal experience. Within that physical body is found the real
you. That inner person is so very special and important to God. All your
strengths, virtues and attributes, your weaknesses and your faults are
uniquely experienced in your inner world. What a wondrous being you are!
You know what is right and you know what is wrong. You know what
makes you sad and hurtful, as well as what makes you happy and fulfilled.
What a wonder it is to be you…to have your mind, your comprehension,
your knowledge and your feelings.
Please do me a favor…please reflect on the time when you first went forth in
your life to attend college! What were your thoughts, desires, ambitions,
goals, questions, etc? When I went away to School I had the deepest desire
to make sure that my life stood for something…I was determined that I
would do whatever I could do in the service of humanity. My deepest desire
was to help the poor of the world on a grand scale…but I didn’t know how.
What were your thoughts? Would you kindly share some of those thoughts
with us now?
PAUSE TO HEAR THEIR COMMENTS
My doctoral thesis was entitled: Forgiveness Therapy: The Art of Healing
through Spiritual and Psychological Counseling: an Eastern Orthodox
Perspective. My premise was that everyone needs psychological counseling
to find healing by forgiving themselves and others, and spiritual counseling
through the sacrament of Holy Confession to receive forgiveness and
healing from God. In this way one learns more about his/herself, so that one
may offer his/her whole self to God. It is the road that leads to selfdiscovery…to find out just WHO you really are.
The next step is to come to the realization of what you are – a son or
daughter, a brother or sister, a nephew or niece, a friend, a relative, an
acquaintance and so on and so forth. When you take the time to analyze
what you are the most basic reality is that you are A CHILD OF GOD!
Why do you exist? An interesting question. You were created by God
through the mutual love of your parents. You never asked to be born, but
glory to God – here you are! You undoubtedly exist because you are meant
to truly LIVE – in a life long adventure of seeking to capture your full and
total potential.
Therein lies the real question…what is your full potential? Are you aware of
your strengths and weaknesses? And just how can you strengthen those
weaknesses and fortify those strengths? What is the potential of the wonder
– that great wonder that is really YOU?
Steve and the candle.
As a young man, younger than most of you, I experienced something
wondrous; and I couldn’t understand why I should have undergone such an
event. It was a puzzle that remained with me for over 37 years before I
finally understood the meaning. It took 37 years to realize the meaning of
that event…and then everything became clearer and I comprehended its
meaning.
I don’t have all the answers for the wonder of your precious life. I can,
however, offer a few thoughts for you to reflect upon and then if you
consider them worthwhile they might help you in your journey of discovery.
As a young boy I always felt a sense of "wanderlust". It is very hard to
explain this feeling. I never ever felt that I really belonged anywhere; I was
just there, wherever I was, with family and friends, at various events, but I
felt that I belonged somewhere else. There was always a sense of distance
and far away lands, which I would study and visit. So I would ask myself,
"Is there a place where I belong?...Is there a place where I ought to be?...Is
there a place where I can find myself on a much deeper level of
understanding than I have ever known or ever experienced myself before?"
After going to universities, playing football, and even being invited to try
out for the Philadelphia Eagles, I finally realized that God was calling me to
the Priesthood and so the seminary was a place for me to belong and to be
for seven more long years. That was my experience. What is really
important to you, however is to ask and seek the answer to the
question…what is God calling you to do with your life? Are you to offer
some form of special service? You know, a job can become tedious, boring
and unfulfilling. Or your life’s work can be seen as a ministry in that the
service you offer to others is a service to God through your service to
humankind. In that light every job becomes a ministry. Whether garbage
man, a banker, a clerk, a doctor, a truck driver, a barber, a lawyer,
etc…every effort to offer service is a ministry when we offer our service to
God through our service to humanity.
What are you going to do with your life? What are you going to become?
Do you remember my desire as I went off to college? I have never fulfilled
my desire to feed the poor of the world on a grand scale, though I have
helped to establish outreach programs in support of the needy in many
Parishes of our Archdiocese. I realize that my ambitions may have been far
beyond my true abilities, but that desire to help the needy is still ever present
in my inner world to this very day.
You young people face so many challenges every day as young Orthodox
Christians. There is much chaos in our troubled world. There is also a great
deal of hope. All of us remember 9/11 and the atrocities enacted by a few.
What about the outpouring of love, concern and prayer that emanated from
every corner of the Earth – from millions upon millions of people of all
races, faiths and cultures? Truly, there are so many good people if we can
only recognize their inner person and the Icon of Christ dwelling within
them. It is in that inner world of peace and spiritual calm that is found
within you where you will overcome any chaos that may surround you.
Your moral decisions will guide you through all the traumas and turmoil you
may face. There is an innate goodness in humanity that shows forth
whenever we look each other directly in the eyes with eyes that are filled
with love and compassion. We have to reach out to others to see their
goodness and to recognize the icon of Christ that dwells within each person.
Perhaps like you I have searched for truth and justice in this life, and for the
meaningful answers to all the questions life presents. Though I have
traveled a little and served in various areas as a priest, I think I may have
finally found my answer. It is written in Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know
that I am God!" I have found that this is the divine directive that is essential
to attaining the wisdom of the mystery of life. For me, it must be obeyed!
To be still and allow oneself to be carried away to that state of marvelous
precious peace and spiritual awakening. To go there in your inner world
where no effort is needed...no attainment needs to be reached...simply for
you to be still - sweetly, gently stated - to listen attentively for God's voice.
In today's world we often hear of transcendental meditation, which aids the
mind, body and soul. This form of meditation has a soothing hypnotic
effect, and somewhat of a spiritual awakening. As believing Christians one
of our main goals is to seek oneness with God...we seek the Holy Spirit in a
relationship which is intimate in our reaching out to seek Him who invites us
to accept His eternal, all-embracing love. "Come unto Me all you that labor
and are heavy-laden", says the Lord, “and I will give you rest!”
We are invited to go to that place where we ought to be and need to be...to
that place where we belong, by our loving God and Creator.
It is in this silent holy place where we can meet Him as never before - for
each time we come to it, the experience becomes more profound...we come
closer and closer to Him - understanding and experiencing more and more of
the mystery of His love. But to reach Him there we must empty ourselves.
We must come to Him with an attitude of unknowing - holding no
preconceived expectations. We simply go there to love and adore Him...to
trust Him with total confidence...to be open to His softest whisper...a
whisper that contains the wisdom of the greatest mysteries of the universe.
Orthodoxy teaches that God dwells in all peoples - both believer and
unbeliever alike - because of His Divine Love. What we seek is to find that
mysterious fountain of light, of knowledge, of life, which dwells within
us...awaiting to enlighten us...to transform and transfigure us from within.
What is required of us is our sincere desire, our undivided attention, our
silence, our faith, our hope and adoration!
Often, we will not be aware of what is happening to us -- for even as we
cannot perceive the day to day growth of our bodies...as we cannot perceive
the changes in our daily molecular replenishment…we cannot always
perceive those minuscule spiritual growth spurts which slowly blossom,
gently unfolding like an ever-blooming flower of light - deeply from within.
So we - as Christians - who struggle to grow in our faith and in our
relationship to God - go about our daily tasks, often wondering as we go,
asking those same questions - "Is there a place that I belong...a place where I
should be?" Our Lord Jesus Christ says, "Yes! Yes, I will tell you where
you belong! You belong to Me...you belong with Me! That is why I came
to you -- to open the way for you to come and return to Me!"
Christ is not fickle...He doesn't come and go - leaving us - as we arise from
prayer to go about our mundane tasks. He is always with us! He is never
changing, ever-present in our hearts. The real question is -- are we with
Him?
I have traveled to 47 of the 48 Continental United States, to 18 countries,
most especially to Greece and France. And never yet have I found a place
where I really felt that I ought to be or where I belonged. As a student in the
Seminary I watched carefully as our chapel was constructed brick by brick.
I was so proud of the fact that I had helped to raise funds to build this chapel
as a member of the Church Youth group in Chicago. So every day I was the
self proclaimed overseer who examined every step of construction from the
foundation to completion. I can still see the foundation, then the walls being
built up, the roof, the plastering, the paint, the Icon screen, etc. I see a
hundred faces of comrades who are more than brothers to me. I would often
climb the scaffolding to view the progress of the construction. At one point
I climbed the scaffolding into the dome while the cement was still fresh and
wet. I wrote in the dome, "Al Demos loves Jesus Christ". So when I go
there I always look up and remember. When I look back to that time I think
of myself then as a very young, inexperienced and self-centered person.
Now I regret that I just put my own name there. I wish I had written, "Jesus
Christ loves all the world, and may all who pass through here teach the
world to love Jesus Christ." I now know that these latter words are better
written in our hearts than in cement- and that is the challenge of us all -- to
bring to the entire world the love of Jesus Christ.
But first we must love the lord with all our heart, all our mind and all our
being. We need to know the teachings of our Holy Orthodox Faith and to
live them. We need to read the Bible and the Church Fathers. No one else
makes decisions for you…only you can decide what God and His holy
Church means to you in your life. When you have decided, then you will
find a deeper understanding of that wondrous person within you. You won’t
necessarily understand everything…sometimes we find ourselves
experiencing without total understanding. You will come to appreciate and
love your inner person. You will come to appreciate and love others and
thereby magnify the love you have for God.
You are in your journey, writing the story of your precious life. Each day of
your life you write a new paragraph. Make it a wondrous story, the most
exciting and joyous adventure it can possibly become.
In my journey, I have come to understand the meaning of life a bit better
now by using the powerful grace, which God gives in silent prayer. This
form of prayer allows us to center on Christ - to bring His ever-presence into
our conscious awareness. It is in silent prayer that we become aware of His
Holy presence and of our need to truly move our life closer and closer to
Him each day. Do you really want to know where you belong? Do you
really want to know where you ought to be at this point in your life? Then
simply look within yourself - listen quietly and carefully to what God is
saying to you...hear what is already written within your heart..."Be still and
know that I am God!" In this statement of confidence and faith...in this
simple statement...lies the most profound mystery of the whole universe, for
you to share with the entire world. You know that He is God.... Be still...and
listen!