The sixth Sunday after Pascha is called the Sunday of the Blind Man. In today’s reading from the Gospel of St. John, the Holy Church compares the healing of a blind from birth with the spiritual awakening of man.

The Lord Jesus Christ bestowed the ability to see the material light and the surrounding world to someone who was deprived of this great gift. For the blind man, the miracle of healing was a step towards even a more lofty enlightenment of the spirit. Having washed himself in the pool of Siloam, not only did he acquire vision but he also believed in the Son of God while the scribes and teachers of the Jews, who took pride in their erudition and knowledge of the Holy Scripture, remained spiritually blind.

Today’s late-morning Divine Liturgy and yesterday’s Vigil at the Trinity Cathedral of the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery was celebrated according to the hierarchical order. Metropolitan Mitrofan of Murmansk and Monchegorsk presided. The clergymen from Murmansk and Diveyevo concelebrated His Eminence.

At the end of the Divine Liturgy, Hegumenia Sergiya, the abbess of the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery, heartily welcomed him on behalf of the family of monastics. Matushka thanked Vladyka for the arrival to the holy Diveyevo land during the last days of Pascha and wished His Eminence that the Lord, the Queen of Heaven, batiushka Seraphim, all Diveyevo saints as well as Blessed St. Xenia of St. Petersburg, whose memory was commemorated today, would strengthen him to carry out his archpastoral work and presented to him a prosphora, the icon of Christ’s Resurrection, and a paschal egg.

In his hierarchical address, the head of the Murmansk Metropolis thanked the abbess Hegumenia Sergiya for her kind words and hospitality. Vladyka Mitrofan confessed that he dearly loves the fourth lot of the Most Holy Mother of God and he feels just like in heaven here. For over twenty years already, he has been coming to Diveyevo on pilgrimage to soak in the spiritual joy to last for the remainder of the year.

In his sermon, His Eminence focused attention of the faithful on the Holy Gospel and its certain seemingly incomprehensible truths, such as “we are fools for Christ’s sake” (1 Corinthians 4:10), or “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (1 Corinthians 3:19). How can one grasp and comprehend such things? Metropolitan Mitrofan, using the example from the lives of the Diveyevo blessed elders, explained how they, demonstrating the alleged insanity, pleased God. Using an example of the holy venerable women of Diveyevo, he revealed the spiritual power professed by these young women. His Eminence Vladyka Mitrofan wished the monastics of today’s Diveyevo to bring forth the same types of spiritual fruit like their holy precursors and be worthy of being the residens of this holy place.

As a gift to the abbess of the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery, Metropolitan Mitrofan presented his recent publication called “The Mystery of the Great War.” This book is dedicated to the Great Patriotic War. During the 1980s, Vladyka had conversations with veterans of the war asking them what war was like and what invisible battles they had fought. Their stories and recollections were included in this book.

Following the late-morning liturgy, as is customary for Sundays prior to the Leavetaking of Pascha at the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery, a procession with the cross went to the Holy Kanavka singing the “Christ Is Risen!” troparion. Metropolitan Mitrofan of Murmansk and Monchegorsk led the procession.