Bishop Maximos of Melitene officiated the Divine Liturgy on Sunday before Christmas at the Saint-Etienne Cathedral in Paris.
The Bishop stressed the need for all of us to have faith in Christ and not let the daily concerns challenge our faith.
“Everyday life and its problems can lure us into frustration and despair. The lack of faith and doubting Christ lead us to emptiness and loss. The tempter works tirelessly to convince us that there is nothing beyond this life here and to trap us into a life full of pleasures. We need to be vigilant, courageous and have faith in Christ, we need to participate in the sacramental life of the church, to regularly confess, and receive the Holy Communion in order to be spiritually shielded and overcome these temptations. Christ entered history. He became a man and was born for us. The history of the Church and that of Christians is a reality in itself. Each of us is called to follow Christ by adopting an attitude of service towards our neighbor. The history of the Church and of Christians is a continuous sacrificial vocation which makes them alive in the world, that is offering to our neighbor becomes an end in itself.”
Source: Metropolis of France