On Sunday, January 21, 2024, His Eminence celebrated the Holy Liturgy at Mor Gabriel Church in Haworth, New Jersey, assisted by V. Rev. Fr. Joseph Shabo in the presence of V. Rev. Fr. Aziz Hadodo.
His sermon was delivered from the reading of this Sunday, (John 3:1-12). His Eminence spoke to the faithful about the “New Birth,” and gave an example that one should go back to the way Adam and Eve were before they fell into sin and shared the Bible verse from: John 3:3
“Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
He also shared a quote of St. Ephrem the Syriac that when Jesus went into the water for Baptism, He blessed the water of Baptism and let the robe of glory stay in that blessed water. And because of our forefathers sin, we lost the “Robe of Glory” and we become unclothed. He concluded by reminding the faithful that when we are born again, we wear that same “robe of glory” and go back to our image which we were created in the image of God.
