The Parish: When Two or Three Gather In His Name

“Tell me, what do we have to fear?…I mock the threat of this world; I disdain its favors. I do not fear poverty, I do not desire wealth; I am not afraid of death; I wish to live only for your benefit…Do you now understand this word of the Lord: ‘When two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there, in the midst of them?’ And where so many people are united by the bonds of love, will the Lord not be present with them? I have His word; should I trust in my own strength? I have His word; He is my support, my safety, my haven of peace. Should the world know total upheaval, I nevertheless have this on Word: I can read it; it is my protection, my safety. Which text? ‘I am with you always until the end of the age.’ Christ is with me: what then shall I fear?”     (St. John Chrysostom in The Resurrection and the Icon by Michel Quenot, p 246)