Bishop Youannes Spiritual Message

Blessed Fathers and beloved brothers, friends of the BLESS USA Program,

The peace, love, and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all.

Presently, we would like to continue contemplating on how Divine Providence is bestowed upon those who show mercy and kindness to the less fortunate. In the previous newsletter, we talked about the fifth segment of this topic, which was David the Prophet's song: "The Lord shall preserve you from all evil" (Ps. 121:7). In the next segment of this magnificent symphony of Divine Providence, our teacher David the Prophet chants:

"He shall preserve your soul." (Ps. 121:7)

My beloved, the days pass by filled with events and situations, each of which may affect our souls. At times our souls may rejoice, and at others, they may be saddened. There are times when our souls may be hesitant or shaken, whereas other times, they may be fearful or anxious. Thus, we find our souls changing according to the events that take place and affect us during the course of our day. For the soul that remains merciful, despite the volatility of this world, a promise has been given. The Lord proclaims this promise through His prophet David saying: "He shall preserve your soul." In whatever event or situation which confronts you, know that "He shall preserve your soul in His Holy Right Hand…in His mighty Tower which is filled with His poured fragrance." The following are some examples:

Our teacher, David the Prophet, had shown mercy and kindness to the needy and less fortunate, yet how many days filled with horrible events and situations befell him? Nevertheless, the Lord preserved his soul causing him to proclaim:

"He preserves the souls of His saints." (Ps. 97:10)

"My soul is in Your Hands continually." (Ps. 119:109)

"In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul." (Ps. 94:19)

We may ask, our father David the Prophet, how can the multitude of anxieties coexist with the comforts that delight our souls? Anticipating our question, the sweet hymnist of Israel replied saying, "These are the comforts of my Holy God which filled my heart and preserved my soul…which filled it with delights…for regardless of anxieties that may befall me, I will sing with all my being, saying: 'He shall preserve [my] soul.' "

Tobit the Righteous

The Book of Tobit (one of the Deuterocanonical which were omitted from the Holy Bible by our Protestant brothers) tells us that Tobit the righteous was from the tribe of Naphtali (one of the twelve tribes of Israel) (cf Tobit 1:1). It happened in the year 733 BC that Shalmaneser, King of Assyria, seized the cities of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and all the land of Naphtali and took them captive to Assyria. Tobit was taken into captivity in Nineveh. He was very merciful to the needy and the less fortunate, as shown in Scripture:

He performed many acts of charity for his family and his people. (cf Tobit 1:3). He often went to the altar in Jerusalem. There, he would kneel down before the Lord God of Israel. He would offer all his first fruits and his tithes, giving them to the needy and to strangers for three years. (cf Tobit 1:6, 7)

He gave his food to the hungry and his clothing to the naked. Upon seeing the dead body of any of his people thrown out behind the wall of Nineveh, he would bury it. (cf Tobit 1:17, 18)

When Tobit was eighty-eight years old, the Lord allowed blindness to impair his sight (cf Tobit 2:10, 11). Although the affliction was considerably difficult to bear given his old age, the Lord preserved his soul so that he was not distressed. Tobit continued to be thankful and full of hope all of his days. When his relatives mocked him saying, "Where is your hope by which you performed all those charitable deeds, Tobit answered saying, "Do not say that, for we are the sons of saints, who are awaiting the life which God will give to the keepers of faith, without changing till the end" (cf Tobit 2:13-18).

My beloved, the sound of Divine Inspiration was singing in his heart saying, "The Lord shall preserve your merciful soul no matter what affliction you are enduring." And after eight years, God sent His Archangel Raphael, and He healed Tobit.

Believe me, my beloved brethren, inasmuch our souls shall be merciful, God shall preserve them…God shall pour forth His comforts in our hearts, so that our souls will be delighted…and Divine Inspiration will sing in our hearts, "Blessed is he who considers the poor, the Lord shall preserve him; the Lord shall preserve your soul."

These, my beloved, were some examples of those whose souls the Lord preserved. God willing, we shall continue contemplating on such individuals.

May the Lord compensate you with the incorruptible instead of the corruptible, the heavenly instead of the earthly and the eternal instead of the temporal.

Technology in the Service Today

It is a program where your employer matches your contribution (gift) to BLESS USA dollar for dollar or more.

Under this program, you, the employee, contribute a dollar amount to BLESS USA, and your employer subsequently gives or matches the same dollar amount to BLESS USA. This results in the Brethren of the Lord receiving double the initial amount.

Find out if your company participates in the Matching Gift Program by using the easy search tool on the Matching Gift page of the BLESS USA website (www.blessusa.org), or you may also find out by contacting us at        (973) 857-4299. If your employer is listed, please contact your personnel office or human resources department to obtain the forms necessary to match your gift. However, even if your employer is not listed, contact your human resources department and ask them if they wish to participate.

We thank the Lord for giving us such opportunities as the Matching Gift Program, where we can easily increase service to people in need. As Christians we are always working toward perfect imitation of our beloved Savior, who has taught us to love our brethren: "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you," (John 15:12).

"Let the children come to me." (Matthew 19:15)

     These are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. As parents and servants, we need to fulfill our Lord's request. For this reason, BLESS USA will be adding a Kid's Corner to our monthly newsletter. With the help of Almighty God, we aim to show our children the care our Lord has for His Brethren (people in need). Through God's grace, they will come to know Jesus our Lord as the Divine example by which to live. The Kid's Corner will highlight the life of our Savior Jesus Christ and His many works of compassion by featuring various puzzles and activities designed for upper elementary school students (approximately ages 8-11).