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Fifty Years … (1948 - 1998)
By Father Anthony Kosturos
The priesthood is a sacred calling; its potential for good is boundless. Its energy flows from the Lord's grace. Its direction emanates from
an awareness of how much our Lord's presence and power work through the priest who serves.
Presvytera Mary and I have been favored with fifty years of marriage and priesthood. I count her as part of my priesthood, because her
abounding and ineffable understanding of what I needed to do to attempt to serve Jesus and His people faithfully has been characterized by
her extraordinary sense of sacrifice. She has known always what the priesthood means and presents, and she has embraced that comprehension
of it totally.
In my fifty years of priesthood I have experienced the gamut of thoughts and emotions. I am still in awe of the broad and sweeping
responsibilities inherent in the priesthood. The priesthood still prompts me to feel the serious nature of my duty to our Lord and his
people. It is duty in love, duty in understanding, duty in humility, duty in appreciation of the complex nature of human beings. It is a
profound comprehension of the sublime and mysterious nature of God's working through a humble human being in his attempt as a priest to help
save people from psychological confusion and spiritual death.
Have I shared the pain and anguish of others? Of course. Have I witnessed the contradictory nature of man in all his tragic and comedic
manifestations? Naturally. What has struck me most is the inherent dichotomy of human beings. They are sinful and holy. They are right
and wrong. They are joyful and sorrowful. They are materialistic and spiritual. They laugh and cry. They succeed and fail. They thank
and criticize. Through it all they remain human, limited in their capacity to understand God, and yet searching to find the answer to why
they exist and where they are headed.
I could write a book about my experiences, and, perhaps, I should. There is so much which unfolds before a priest, so much which makes him
even more keenly aware of his special place in society as a servant of the Lord. Not everyone conducts Liturgy; not everyone marries
couples; not everyone baptizes individuals both young and old; not everyone invokes grace of the Lord upon those who have departed this life;
not everyone prays over the sick; not everyone counsels the depressed or disappointed; not everyone buoys the spirit of the defeated; not
everyone hears confessions never uttered to anyone throughout the entire span of his priesthood.
There is joy in service provided you enjoy serving. I should admit to you that serving has never been a problem for me, because my
priesthood is dedicated to service, and there is great and inexpressible satisfaction in helping others as you glorify the Lord, in Whose
name you offer whatever knowledge and talent you possess to inspire them, hopefully, and to assist them and guide them.
I am inexpressibly grateful to the Lord for His allowing me to continue to serve Him as a priest of our Orthodox Church. I cannot imagine
myself satisfied or contented in any other field of endeavor, because I prize the high calling to the priesthood. Money and material power
pale before the richness of the priesthood. After fifty years in sacerdotal office, the priesthood still remains "fresh" to me, invigorating,
joyful, meaningful, awesome. Imagine yourself before the altar, holding in your hands during Liturgy the very Body and Blood of our Lord,
and then ask yourself, Is anything more mysterious and more spiritually uplifting than this? Imagine yourself praying over or with the pained,
the bereaved, the joyful, the glad. Is anything more important than this? Imagine yourself encouraging, guiding, leading the confused, the
anxious, the despondent. Is anything more meaningful than this? For me, the priesthood has been all this and much more. Whatever deals with
the spirit is undoubtedly more worth savoring than all the wealth of this earth.
I began my priesthood in 1948 with dependence in the Lord's power and the determination to serve Him. I pray that He will allow me to serve
Him in this capacity many more years to come. I really enjoy it.
Fr. Anthony Index
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