His Grace Thoma Mar Dionysius Metropolitan (of blessed memory), the spiritual guru of His Grace Zachariah Mar Dionysius Metropolitan would say of the latter- “He is a faithful herdsman. He is sent by God”. Born on 06th August 1924 in Kundara (Kerala), Mar Dionysius joined the Mount Tabor Dayara in his youth and embraced monastic life. In was in 1978 that Thirumeni (then Rev Fr C. Zachariah) was elevated to the episcopate and later became the Metropolitan of the Madras diocese in 1979. His Grace Zachariah Mar Dionysius Metropolitan reposed in the Lord on July 07, 1997.
Below are some excerpts from Thirumeni’s
writings regarding St. Peter and St. Paul (translated from Malayalam).
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The apostles St. Peter and St. Paul worked with great enthusiasm in the Lord's vineyard. When the Church celebrates their feast, our focus should be on fulfilling the evangelical responsibility zealously.
The Lord called Simon from his trade as fisherman and Paul when he was implementing the agenda of persecuting the Christians. Both accepted this calling. They 'fought the good fight' for Christ till the end of their lives. Christ has obligated each and every Christian to spread the message of Gospel throughout the world. The Church is duty bound to continue our Lord's work of sharing the Gospel message and this is done through liturgy, preaching or outreach.
But many do not give heed when our Lord calls them. People are content to continue in their professions or are happy to assume the role of persecutors. The question - "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" was not just intended for Saul. This is a question which the Lord continually asks every person indulging in sin. We should be on guard so that we do not become the servants of the devil and deny Christ.
We should hearken to our Lord's calling and aim to live for Him, who died for the whole world. It doesn't mean that everyone needs to renounce the worldly life; rather, one should live spotlessly and be careful so as not allow the ills of the world to tarnish their soul.
The Holy Gospel reading for the feast commemorating Sts Peter and Paul is from the Gospel of St Mathew 20:1-16. This Gospel portion is about the parable of the vineyard owner/workers in the vineyard. The vineyard owner is pleased to give a denarius to the worker who came at the eleventh hour; the same wage which the workers who worked since morning received. The Scripture doesn't state that the workers who came late were at fault. They sat idle throughout the day because no one hired them.
Had the Lord called St Paul early in His ministry like St Peter, there is no doubt that St Paul would have toiled ‘from the morning in the Lord's vineyard’.
Even though they got the wages as agreed, the workers who worked since morning started murmuring against the landlord since he gave the same wages to the workers who came at the eleventh hour. The feeble human mind generally gets turbid on seeing others being gifted with blessings- whether the blessings be worldly or heavenly one. We should feel happy and content if others get blessings in the same measure or more than us. We also ought to share our blessings with others.
Those who are engaged in gospel work need to always remember that our Lord Jesus Christ, who was obedient even unto the Cross, was willing to have the thief, who repented at his dying moments, to be with Him in paradise.
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By the prayers of our holy father
among the saints, His Grace Zachariah Mar Dionysius Metropolitan, may the Lord
have mercy upon us.
In Christ,
Rincy
Reference:
Zachariah Mar Dionysius-
Vrathashudhiyil thalliritta jeevitham, Ed- Ramban Elias Koshy, Published by
Mount Tabor Dayara Pathanapuram, Nov 2014 Pg- 171-173.
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