Friday, September 18, 2020

A Pastoral Message to Elementary, Middle and High School Students for the 2020-2021 School Year

 


MESSAGE 

OF HIS BEATITUDE THE ARCHBISHOP OF ATHENS AND ALL GREECE

MR. HIERONYMOS II

To the students of the Elementary Schools 

On the occasion of the beginning of the new school year 2020-2021

SEPTEMBER 2020

My dear children, may you have a good new year!

God, who loves us all very much, gives us gifts every day. His gift was the carefree moments of the summer that we enjoyed. His gift is also the opportunities of discovery and creation that you will experience in your school that welcomes you today. It is also His gift to meet up again with loved ones, such as your friends and teachers. It is up to you to unwrap these gifts and enjoy them, illuminating the lives of yourself and those around you.

Do not forget that your best friend, Christ, is sitting with you at the desk today and will hold your hand this year as well, both in your achievements, which will be many, but also in the small mistakes, which will surely come and will help you go one step further!

We pray that your laughter and your voices, which today resonate in every schoolyard of our beautiful Greece, will give hope to all of us, who look back with nostalgia on the unforgettable moments of our school years.

Happy and blessed school year!

THE ARCHBISHOP 

+ HIERONYMOS II OF ATHENS

 

 

MESSAGE 

OF HIS BEATITUDE THE ARCHBISHOP OF ATHENS AND ALL GREECE 

MR. HIERONYMOS II 

To the students of the Middle Schools and High Schools

On the occasion of the beginning of the new school year 2020-2021

SEPTEMBER 2020

My dear children,

Today, at the beginning of the new school year, I want from the bottom of my heart to wish you good progress and success in the beautiful and arduous journey of learning and knowledge, and to assure you that I am close to you with my thoughts and my prayers.

This new starting point in your school life takes place after the tempestuous storm of the well-known pandemic, which still afflicts not only our country but also most peoples of the earth. I know very well that you feel the heavy atmosphere that torments the people around you, you inhale the uncertainty and the anxiety about what may be the continuation and the end of this adventure.

We have absolute confidence in the suggestions of the scientists and we pray fervently for solutions to be found soon. We also have absolute trust in the Grace of God, in the One who always stands by those who walk through difficulties and problems.

It is naive not to worry about the insurmountable difficulties of our time. But no matter how heavy and gray the atmosphere around you is, you are the clear horizon, the future and the hope. No one can deprive you of the right to dream, to enjoy everyday life, to hope, to build your visions.

You are the continuation of a people who know how to fight, who many times in history were reborn through the ashes and debris and stood up, winning the praise and recognition of the whole world. This is because we know very well that there is a Cross and Resurrection, that every ascent ultimately leads to recognition, that no struggle can be in vain.

Where people today can see the desolation and isolation, it is your duty now, at the dawn of your youth, to activate and use your powers in study, in the acquisition of knowledge, in the upgrading of the quality of our education, each of you starting with yourself!

Throw yourself boldly on the track, with hope, with optimism, with a clear outlook. You are the one who will transform the crisis into an opportunity, into a blessed privilege of rebirth.

I pray this for you wholeheartedly. Happy school year! Good progress!

THE ARCHBISHOP

+ HIERONYMOS II OF ATHENS

 Source 1 and 2: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.