“And so much warmth and kindness were coming from him…”

It does not matter how my 31 years of life passed until 2010, when God decided to help me by leading my steps to the monastery of Prislop, to the tomb of Father Arsenie Boca. I was on holiday and when I arrived in the Hunedoara area, I remembered that somewhere, I don’t know where or what, I had heard about Father Arsenie. The day that I knelt down at his cross for the first time was the first day of the rest of my life: at that moment a profound change began in me, I left there all the tiredness I had accumulated, I had returned HOME…

…and came to Bucharest… With a terrible thirst to know who Father Arsenius was! I began to read everything I could about him, especially his testimonies, and I returned more and more often, almost every month, HOME, to Prislop… I wondered how blessed the people must have felt who had the opportunity to meet Father Arsenie Boca while he was still alive! And one day, a page in a book told me about Father Christmas, who had served with the Father so dear to my soul. I had the idea of going to see this priest, to tell him how happy I was for him, for the gift that God had given him, to meet the saint of Transylvania. So I set off for Prislop, afraid that perhaps Father Christmas had also gone to the Lord. But I was overjoyed when I found out at the monastery that Father Opre was still there, in Cinciș. Now I was overcome with another emotion, that perhaps age and health would not allow him to receive me… But at least I could go to his gate, even if it was closed…

The locals kindly took me to the priest’s house. I was excited, I shouted with hope but also with doubt that I would be given such a gift to meet him. The priestess opened the door and asked us who we were, where we came from and what we wanted. We asked her to forgive us for our audacity in coming from 500 km away to worship in Prislop and, if possible, to kiss the right hand of Father Crăciun. She invited us into the house, Father was in bed, his health was already failing. We didn’t want to disturb him and asked the priestess not to get upset, but perhaps it would be better to leave… No, no, Father was getting dressed, come and talk to us! My God, I’m so nervous! And there he was, brought in gently from behind, in a cassock and with an epitrachelion, a living saint! My God, for a moment I could look at him and then my eyes fell down, under the burden of sorrow for all my sins… And so much warmth and kindness came from him that I didn’t know what to say. He encouraged me by telling me that he was Christmas even on Easter Day! I smiled and asked him why I was looking for him, I answered that I wanted him to give me a blessing, the one who was blessed to breathe the same air as Father Arsenie Boca. And he told me that even now there is the same air at the tomb. I told him how, in Prislop, we prayed to the Saint to help us get a small house so that no one would evict us (we were renting) and, after a dream in which Father Arsenie told me to be patient and that everything would work out, in the most unexpected way we received a donation of 65,000 euros and on the 11th of April, Saint Calinic’s Day, we signed the papers for an apartment. Father Crăciun points at me: “Then it’s Saint Calinic!”. We all laughed and he told us that even jokes have a purpose when they’re “on watch duty”. And he said let’s pray: we got down on our knees and prayed like we had never prayed before… Then Father Crăciun blessed us and gave us his right hand: we took it with both hands as if it were a precious oil, carefully, like a flake, we felt its warmth and we put our lips to it for a moment, already thanking God and Father Arsenie for having made this meeting possible.

With our souls so full, we left for Bucharest, already thinking of returning to Prislop and Cinciș. Winter was coming and our car didn’t allow us to make long journeys in the snow, but in the spring, on Easter Sunday, we went to see the two Fathers we missed so much. We waited with great joy for the light of the Resurrection near Father Arsenie’s tomb, and the next day we went to Cinciș. On the way, we learned with great sadness that the two Fathers were already serving together again, but in heaven. So we went straight to the church, to Father Opre’s tomb. It pained us to be here without him, but we hoped that from now on he would intercede for us with God.

The next time we returned to Cinciș, we dared to knock on the door that had been so lovingly opened to us a year ago. We were greeted by the priestess Anișoara, who told us not to forget that from now on we had a mother in Cinciș, and she poured into our hearts the memories of Father Crăciun and the advice of Father Arsenie, whose pupil she was.

You were always
Gentle and kind
With a heart full of grace
We’ll always call you
Our good Father Christmas.

You suffered long and hard
With much grace you humbled yourself
We learn something
In the footsteps we walk
A kind and gentle parent
Who even on Easter Day
Will still be called Christmas.

You read to us and taught us
You said Holy Mass
You prayed for the world
You glorified the Virgin
For the sinful world
You prayed without ceasing.

With spiritual grace
You served the heavenly Lord
Good and beautiful Father
Who calls himself Christmas.

Now we ask you
Our intercessor be
To the good Lord
To help your children
Who at thy grave
Living words they bring.

With your holy awakening
And with your Holy Mass
You still keep us on earth
Our Holy Father.

A longing I still have
A mad longing
I wish in the middle of the night
Maybe on Christmas night
I’ll pray to you
My Father Christmas.

When I’m lost
When I’m tempted by many
With prayerful devotion
The wrongs of our world
Pray for all that’s good
Father Christmas.

Evil is all around us
Great temptations are upon us
Our eyes become moist
Our souls heavy and dry
Long have we prayed
That only when man is well
Forgets to bow and worship.

But you, our Father
You live beside a Star (Father Arsenie Boca)
With angels you rejoice
You keep us from fear
And only ordain what is good
Our Father Christmas.

And of the longing that we say
# Crazy longing as we called it
Like on Christmas night
To come to your grave
My good Father.

That’s how good I was
# Thanksgiving to you
God help me
May I always pray
And to your cross I say
Thank you, Father Christmas.

(Daniel Glonț – testimony sent by email, on 05.02.2014)