After his church caught fire on Sunday, the pastor of a Catholic parish in Bethesda, Maryland, offered a stirring sermon to his congregation, telling them, “We are the Church

After his church caught fire on Sunday, the pastor of a Catholic parish in Bethesda, Maryland, offered a stirring sermon to his congregation, telling them, “We are the Church. We are the living stones.”

Of the three Bethesda churches targeted by vandalism over the weekend, St. Jane Frances de Chantal Parish sustained the most severe damage.

Flames can be seen near the church’s tabernacle in a video uploaded to the parish’s YouTube site.

The incidents, according to authorities, are related.

The Washington Post reported that a fire early on Saturday morning at North Bethesda United Methodist Church resulted in minor damage and grave markers at nearby Wildwood Baptist Church were harmed.

Authorities said St. Jane Frances de Chantal, which is roughly a mile from the Methodist church, received a fire report early on Sunday morning. Sunday Masses were moved to the parish school’s gymnasium due to the extensive damage.

Father Samuel Giese, the pastor, spoke about the At the beginning of the parish’s 10 a.m. Sunday Mass that was webcast live, Father Samuel Giese, the pastor, spoke about the assault.

Our church was vandalized last night. Somebody broke in. They knocked statuary over. The Stations of the Cross were destroyed.

They attempted to set fire to the church and desecrated the tabernacle, he claimed.

“I think this is because of the Church’s stance on the issue of life — when it begins and that it should be protected — and that this is one of the manifestations of the deep divisions that are currently present in our country, where there are those who think we don’t even have the right to practice our faith,” the author says.

Giese continued by saying that the church is more than just a structure.

“I’m sorry to have to break the bad news to you. The crucial point to keep in mind is this, he added. “The Church is us.

The living stones are us. We make up Christ’s body. The ones who have been fed and sanctified by God are us.

We are those who God has called to be the salt of the earth and the light to the world.

The pastor’s entire statement is available in the video down below.

The film starts off with images of the fire in the sanctuary.

Giese continued by relating a tale of a Bolshevik revolutionary who warned an elderly Christian woman that her church would be demolished and that nothing would remain to serve as a reminder of her God.

She responded, “Really? Can you remove the stars from the sky as well? said Giese.

Giese finished by reciting a passage from the Letter to the Romans of St. Paul:

“What will keep us from Christ’s love? Will there be suffering, distress, persecution, starvation, hunger, danger, or the sword?

As it is stated in the Bible, “We are slaughtered every day for your sake; we are treated like lambs to be killed. No, by him who loved us, we resoundingly triumph in all of these things.

Because I am sure that nothing—not even death, not even life, not even angels, not even principalities, not even things seen or unseen, nor even things to come—not even height or depth or any other created being—will be able to take away from us God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In the wake of the Supreme Court abortion decision on June 24 overturning Roe v. Wade, there have been a number of vandalism and arson assaults against churches, pro-life pregnancy clinics, and pro-life organizations across the United States.

The Bethesda events are the most recent of these.

Call the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service tip line at 240-777-2263 if you think you may have any information.