The Mercy of the Saints and the Help of the Mother of God – Father Pimen Vlad
29 September 2022
Death: The Aim of Life; Life: The Aim of Death – Father Theologos
4 October 2022
Watch an interview with someone who helped us and helps us enormously in the spiritual mission work we carry out. God bless him!
…but the enemy – as also mentioned in the post about suicide – fights terribly so that the word of God is not promoted and the people who help to promote this word.
Watch an interview with Bogdan Marinescu – CEO of OmniSecurity.ro (their page is here: https://www.omnisecurity.ro/ ) – who installed fiber optics for us for free in the skete, a very necessary thing from all points of view, because here there is absolutely no form of communication and in case of a need – medical or otherwise – we are or, better said, were completely isolated.
We chose to keep the interview as is so that the fight of the enemy may be seen, ruining the sound, using our inexperience. Bogdan is a very good specialist in the technical field – we testify to this – but not having experience in interviews – he moved away from the microphone more than necessary.
Of course, in the interview we will not discuss networks and fiber optics but the power of example and experience in mission work – in his case about… … precisely his family (!).
Why? What are we referring to? By watching this video you will find out!
Enjoy!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us! Amen.
We’re with Bogdan Marinescu whom I’ve known for… how long? For quite some time now, so, and we love him very much, we thank the Mother of God for him as he set up the optical fiber in our skete and even has a company that deals with telecommunications, solar panels and automation systems. The company is called Omni Security. You can search on the net – dot ro.
We’re not going to talk about optical fiber or rather we’re going to talk about a particular side to the optical fiber topic that you might not expect – the part related to missionary work in the 21st century. A very short introduction to how and what happened. Bogdan came here for St. Demetrius’s Day, according to the new calendar, we’ve known each other for long before. St. Demetrius, as some of you know, is the patron saint and feast day of our skete. Saint Demetrius in the new calendar matches Saint Paraskeva in the old calendar, [she] is the protector of our cell, and you know very well that Father Pimen has great devotion to Saint Paraskeva and all our cell has a great devotion to Saint Paraskeva.
And I told Bogdan that we have a big problem at the skete: that the fathers here can die, right down here, closer to us is the cell of the twin brothers, whom we love very much, and right now the boys are staying there and these people can die there, yes, and nobody would know… So telecommunications at the skete is a big problem and Bogdan offered: Father, I’ll set up optical fiber in the whole skete. In hope that we will have internet, communications from OTE, from the telecommunication company in Greece – I shouldn’t say it, but I do. Why? Because they kept promising us time and time again and never came. May the good Lord forgive me!
But the Mother of God and St. Paul of Xeropotamou solved it and gave us a satellite dish, thank God! Thanks to the Mother of God and to Saint Paul. Well, Bogdan also offered to put fiber in the skete. He’s done it. Now he’s back for more work.
Why do I say mission ministry and spiritual work for fathers? Because if in the lab, how long does it take you to put in a fiber, what is it?
Bogdan Marinescu: Per weld?
Father Theologos: Yes.
Bogdan Marinescu: Usually about two or three minutes.
Father Theologos: Two or three minutes. Good. And here how much trouble are we in…?
Bogdan Marinescu: Well, you see, the conditions are not exactly desirable and you can automatically make certain welds and at some point one of the fibers breaks and you have to start all over again. So the process can take 10 minutes if you’re lucky or a couple of hours, as it did yesterday unfortunately and we had to go through all this rough area.
Father Theologos: Yes, and that’s not the only problem. There’s also the problem of fighting the enemy who – you say to someone: brother, that device must have cooling and that device doesn’t have cooling. I mean, you tell him: add a cooler to it. They don’t do it. Or you tell him: don’t touch that router and he’ll just go ahead and reset it. Do you understand? So all things are ultimately spiritual things, beyond the technical side of optical fiber splicing, about which we don’t go into detail.
But what I wanted to talk to him about and what is related to the mission work here on his side is that he has a family and just now, by [the help of] the Mother of God, his wife has just given birth. What’s your wife’s name?
Bogdan Marinescu: Maggie and is baptized Margaret in Christianity.
Father Theologos: Ah, so Maggie and baptized Margaret into Christianity. Where is she from?
Bogdan Marinescu: From Indonesia.
Father Theologos: From Indonesia. Well, could you tell us how Maggie came to Christianity and how you met or how…?
Bogdan Marinescu: We met at an exhibition in Bucharest, organized by the Indonesian Embassy. I was already doing some business with some guys from Indonesia and at one point, in the last days of the exhibition, I said to them: don’t you have cashew growing in your country that is very famous and has other [nutritional] qualities? And they introduced me to Maggie. When I first saw her, even though I had come to Mount Athos, when you were at Vatopedi and gave me some advice on how to find my chosen one, I was still looking…. It was like a ray of light.
Father Theologos: Glory to the Lord!
Bogdan Marinescu: I just saw her and didn’t understand what was wrong with me. I mean, haven’t I seen girls before or? And so it was to be. I mean, since then we have kept in touch on the business side. She was very serious and she thought and hoped that I would bring in some sales and I told her: no, I just want to come and if I can help you, I can help you.
We kept in touch. I went to several countries and European countries to show her the price lists, to do research. But because it was something very luxurious it was too small a niche, it was not my specific activity and I said to her: if you want, we’ll talk as private people, I like the way we communicate and I gave her a week to think about it. And from that moment on we stopped all communication channels. And after that, the Embassy organized an exchange, to go to Indonesia and there she was a participant and we spent a few days together simply to see how we get along as people. And thank God, everything went naturally.
Father Theologos: You got along… And how did she get baptized? It’s phenomenal. For me it’s something very special.
Bogdan Marinescu: Although Indonesia is 90% Muslim, the most educated of them are Catholic. She was already a practicing Catholic and her family was also practicing, which meant in the most serious way, every Sunday and…
Father Theologos: Ah, so practicing Catholics.
Bogdan Marinescu: Practitioners, yes. It wasn’t a sudden transition, so to speak. There was an unction before the marriage ceremony, let’s say it was something more linear. Perhaps if it was in another culture and religion, things would have been much harder and almost impossible. Although I think if God wants to send you the right person, from that point of view you are going towards something absolute.
Father Theologos: Yes. So you think love, your personal example, or what do you think brought Meggie to Orthodoxy? Or someone, an Indonesian, for example, a Catholic, what do you think can lead him to Orthodoxy?
Bogdan Marinescu: Well, I think the way you behave, opening up some paths…
Father Theologos: Personal example…
Bogdan Marinescu: Communication, first and foremost, is how you make people understand and challenge them to discover.
Father Theologos: Yeah, I mean you’re putting them in front of some results I guess. I mean, you say – well, that’s it.
Bogdan Marinescu: Yes, indeed, yes.
Father Theologos: And how are her parents?
Bogdan Marinescu: They are very simple people in terms of outward appearance so to speak or initial presentation. You wouldn’t say that there are certain people, neither religious practitioners, nor that they do anything special in their daily life, but in the secondary reality, these are some people who are only concerned with religion, that is, spiritual practice…
Father Theologos: Yes, as much as they can, yes…
Bogdan Marinescu: As much as they can. And materially, indeed, there are some very wealthy people, [but] who do not show this in any way.
Father Theologos: Glory to God!
Bogdan Marinescu: They drive 20-year-old cars…
Father Theologos: Really?
Bogdan Marinescu: They don’t focus on clothes or anything.
Father Theologos: Yes, because on the one hand I remember some of our Romanians who always buy a car or something even when they have little money…
Bogdan Marinescu: First thing they must appear like…
Father Theologos: They need to show that they are wealthy and they are not. And on the other hand, I remember a story where there was a reporter with Jeff Bezos. Jeff Bezos of Amazon, one of the richest people in the world, and he says to the reporter, Mr. Bezos, you have the biggest online store in the world, the most of the most, and, after he says all that, you know at one time he was the richest man in the world, alright. And as he listed all these Bezos fortunes, the camera slowly panned away and as Bezos drove – and after listing all these fortunes, he asked the reporter finally: why Honda Accord? And the camera shows a zoom and it was actually a Honda Accord, a random car from the 1990s.
And Bezos says: it works. It works.
Bogdan Marinescu: Correct. They are very practical.
Father Theologos: Yes.
Bogdan Marinescu: Especially in the Asian world, people put a lot of emphasis on practical things.
Father Theologos: Practical… So I think we still have something to learn from them.
Bogdan Marinescu: Definitely.
Father Theologos: We have something to learn from them without realizing it, I think we have found ourselves with this great advantage, this great teaching called Orthodoxy, but the evil one, I can’t call him otherwise, the enemy, the devil, is clouding our minds and we are leaving behind the virtues that others have. Because all the Holy Fathers speak of the virtue of poverty. And the virtue of poverty, brethren, is not the lack of money, but the lack of money clinging to your heart.
That is, to be simple, to have a simple life, to be free of all these possessions. You don’t have to display them as vain glory.
Bogdan Marinescu: [So] you destroy your pride more.
Father Theologos: Exactly. Because after pride always comes shame. Always! Very interesting! How many children do you have?
Bogdan Marinescu: A 4-year-old boy – William Nicolae.
Father Theologos: Long live your boy!
Bogdan Marinescu: And on August 13, now, Mary, who is to be baptized.
Father Theologos: Yes, God bless her! So right by August 13 and it was very impressive to me. Why? Because August 13th was on a Saturday, right?
Bogdan Marinescu: Yes.
Father Theologos: And so it was exactly next to the Mother of God’s day. So on the Mother of God’s Day, August 15, you had Mary as a gift. And that’s why I think you named her so.
Bogdan Marinescu: Right, yes, yes.
Father Theologos: And I think there are many such events in people’s lives, little miracles, such cute, little beauties through which God shows His…
Bogdan Marinescu: …His Presence, His love
Father Theologos: Yes, yes. How does it feel to have done all this work for free?
Bogdan Marinescu: I don’t feel a particular way, but the fact that I saw at the time with my own eyes a lightning strike that destroyed an outlet with protection that was lightning proof and was over the top. I said – I’ll do my best if I have the knowledge to help.
Father Theologos: Yes. So you see how God ordains, with a bolt of lightning. So we had an outlet here and it destroyed some equipment. God even with a lightning bolt makes some things better. So because of that, whenever we have a trouble in life, let’s not say “Woe, what is happening.” All evil is always for good – as the good Lord says.
Bogdan Marinescu: Maybe that’s what got us all going, I mean…
Father Theologos: Well, that’s what I say, all’s for the best. Yes.
Bogdan Marinescu: And this thought that may arise among people: why should there be fiber optics at Mount Athos? If you understood the exact conditions here that are technically more dangerous than the previous analogue communications, which are copper-based and transmit all these parasites from one side to the other…
Father Theologos: And especially as it doesn’t exist [here]. So up here we don’t have any of that. The copper cable stops somewhere I don’t know where. And as I was saying, to get out to reach signal to communicate the twin brothers have to go up the hill, drive to St. Paul’s, you know. So it’s a big drama. You’re right, Bogdan. So people in the world don’t understand, they really don’t understand.
Bogdan Marinescu: There were father who asked us: do you know how much good you are doing us? For example, we have something to be repaired and we need a missing piece from Toyota. We have to drive 6 hours to Thessaloniki, come back and lose our mystery to be present at all times…
Father Theologos: Yes, the services and so on.
Bogdan Marinescu: Yes, and there aren’t as many monks as there were in the beginning to be able to fill in and you have to make the most of things and automatically it’s easier to go online to order or talk on a phone to communicate. The courier does his job, you do yours. I mean we have the same working methods in our world.
Father Theologos: Yes, the same facilities. Glory to the Lord! I think it’s very good and as you can see, the moment someone is merciful, God blesses him. And you don’t see them, brethren, around us are the other members of the team and God blesses them all, you know. Thank you!
And now Margareta is praying, I mean she’s interested… how is it?
Bogdan Marinescu: Given the succession that was adapting to Romania as to learn the language, to raise a child, to start cooking because with them everything was on service, i.e. you pay, they immediately bring you fresh food. She had to change her life.
Father Theologos: Yes, yes, and especially since she’s a wealthy girl.
Bogdan Marinescu: Yeah, yeah, I mean, that’s what made her even more humble. She went through some stages of course, but now she is fine, she speaks Romanian, she was also employed for a year in a company in Romania and her attitude has changed. Now with Mary growing up…
Father Theologos: So I think she’s a very worthy, very strong woman.
Bogdan Marinescu: Essentially she is, considering she left everything she had there.
Father Theologos: Everything! Praise the Lord, brethren!
Bogdan Marinescu: Although I was as fair as I could be in the sense of asking her where you would like us to stay or live. As it’s a joint decision.
Father Theologos: Joint, indeed.
Bogdan Marinescu: Don’t just come after me because I’m a man and you’re a woman.
Father Theologos: Phenomenal! Dear her, God bless her! Yes, a woman of grace. And what did her parents say?
Bogdan Marinescu: Her parents were initially a little “fooled” quote-unquote, because you don’t come to someone in their house and say “Alright, we’re moving away.” As it’s not logical, it doesn’t make sense and it’s a bit hard to digest, shall we say. At first, she said she was coming to do business in Romania and we would see how things were going and then we settled in Romania and William just magically appeared. And that’s not what brought us together. This was a crowning achievement anyway…
Father Theologos: Yes, yes, a crowning achievement of your union.
Bogdan Marinescu: Exactly and she had many fears to communicate because they are very respectful to the previous generation, they value older people….
Father Theologos: On tradition…
Bogdan Marinescu: They protect them, they respect them. We somehow forget them.
Father Theologos: Yes, unfortunately! That is, others give us examples of [proper] behavior. That we, Orthodox [people]…
Bogdan Marinescu: We deserve it…
Father Theologos: Yes, we deserve it. Why? Because there is this big problem of us saying we are Orthodox, and we are, but we go by with no worries and we no longer value certain things that we should value, such as tradition in this case. I am also very impressed by the fact that she is hard-working.
Bogdan Marinescu: Yes, they are extremely determined. They set their goals, they go all the way, they don’t stray from their paths. They are very pragmatic.
Father Theologos: Glory to God! And this, together with Orthodoxy, that is, with the consciousness of their eternity, I think it is very good.
Bogdan Marinescu: That’s very good.
Father Theologos: Yes, yes, yes. Bogdan Marinescu: That’s what I’ve seen at least in our previous generations – mothers, I mean in the old days they were the same, I mean modernism has somehow destroyed pretty much all our traditions and is pushing us in a different direction.
Father Theologos: Exactly. To nothing, in fact. Glory to the Lord! And William?
Bogdan Marinescu: William is a boy full of energy and I can see that he is developing day by day. I mean from my point of view he is within the parameters, people are scolding me for not intervening more. Let him discover! Let him have challenges! If he falls, he gets to see what pain means.
Father Theologos: Yes. I think one of the big problems today is that parents… It’s the two extremes: either too much protection or they let their children totally loose and, so, they destroy them. Either they don’t let them experiment, or they let them be with the cell phone, for example, or your tablet – those are the two big problems.
Glory to God! I’m so glad! And now Maria has come, and a third one is coming. I’m very happy, Bogdan. Why? Because I would very much like all managers in Romania to be like that, all managers to have a certain responsibility towards the family, towards God, to be merciful. Be merciful, brethren, for the good Lord blesses you! Now I’m not talking about the Lacu Skete, because well, the good Lord knows. But if you are merciful, God gives you so much and first of all gives you stability, gives you unity. I think this is it. Peace.
Bogdan Marinescu: Exactly.
Father Theologos: Yes, very interesting and I think she is very obedient. In their tradition, they must be very obedient, right?
Bogdan Marinescu: They’re pretty submissive. Let’s say that in Maggie’s case, her parents being more affluent, they focused on education, she went to school in Singapore, in Beijing, that is, she had contact with this modern world. Somehow these things had to be chopped up because they had gotten a bit into structure.
Father Theologos: Yes, the modern world with its harmfulness is destroying…
Bogdan Marinescu: Exactly, but she still had the power and the ability [to choose for herself] because I don’t impose myself in any way. In any relationship, not just my own. Discuss things and…
Father Theologos: Yes, yes, we will find a solution together.
Bogdan Marinescu: We leave it for a few days and see what happens. This is the way or not.
Father Theologos: Very nice, very good. So you see that in fact, Orthodoxy, God is the right way of being that enlightens even those of other faiths, even the heretics whom He leads to the enlightenment of Orthodoxy. Great, great blessing! I was very glad, Bogdan, that you were able to give this testimony and give this example of self-measure, of mercy – well, each within his limits, of peace and actually of… I think this is preaching in the 21st century. Not so much walking the walk and talking the talk, but personal example.
Bogdan Marinescu: Correct.
Father Theologos: Personal example and having a proper family on a sound, orthodox basis. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done and for the optical fiber of course, but first of all for this podcast, for this example with your family which is above – I don’t want to offend now – but it’s above, I think, the fiber…
Bogdan Marinescu: Definitely. Often this technical part takes up our time because you want to finish something so you can be with your family longer. But…
Father Theologos: Exactly. But that’s what it takes.
Bogdan Marinescu: It takes a sacrifice sometimes.
Father Theologos: Thank you very much! God bless you!
Bogdan Marinescu: Thank you. May God help us!
Father Theologos: Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us! Amen.
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