Archbishop Elpidophoros of America urged, through a video, the faithful to donate blood.
Moreover, the Archbishop had addressed the faithful for the first time through a two-minute video a few days ago and encouraged them to stay at home and not to forget that they were not alone.
He kept his promise to the faithful that he would continue to be in touch with them through videos and daily messages via social media.
In his message today, Archbishop Elpidophoros emphasises that one of the great difficulties the people are facing right now is the deprivation of Holy Communion. In particular, he says, “It is time to receive Holy Communion differently. Let us become Holy Communion ourselves and save the world with our own blood.”
The message of the Archbishop of America is the following:
My brothers and sisters, we are living in difficult times. One of our great difficulties is the deprivation of Holy Communion, our abstinence from the Eucharist.
We have been enjoying our participation in this sacred mystery all this time and we are grateful to belong to the Church, which is the body of Christ, of which we are all members. Now it is the time to receive Holy Communion differently. Let us become the body of Christ and Holy Communion ourselves in order to save the world with our own blood this time. Let us now donate our blood to our fellow human beings. Let us donate our blood to save people’s lives. We will become blood donors, plasma donors. Let us show our gratitude to God.
This is also a sacred mystery. It is a mystery of love and self-sacrifice in favour of our fellow human beings who are suffering.
Μέχρι τώρα απολαμβάναμε το μυστήριο της Θείας Ευχαριστίας. Ήρθε η στιγμή να κοινωνήσουμε διαφορετικά. Να γίνουμε εμείς ευχαριστία για να σώσουμε τον κόσμο με το αίμα μας. Να γίνουμε τώρα δωρητές αίματος. Είναι και αυτό μυστήριο άχραντο: είναι το μυστήριο της αγάπης. pic.twitter.com/okX729K4Kw
— Elpidophoros (@Elpidophoros) April 4, 2020