For a time, everyone in the central hall fell silent. Only Father Ram's resonant voice echoed through the cavernous hall, as though it came from the distant heavens.
"My dear brothers and sisters, peace be with you in the Lord.
"In the Gospel we read today, the Lord tells us: come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
"Look around us. Look at ourselves."
As he spoke, his loving gaze swept over the faithful below, turning first to the group of people from Russia.
"Some among us have left the homeland where our forebears lived, blown like autumn leaves by the fierce winds of fate to this distant, unfamiliar land.
"What heavy burdens rest upon our shoulders: endless longing for our homeland, uncertainty and unease about the future.
"Our hearts are like the winter here in Harbin, shrouded in cold and worry."
Then he made the sign of the cross again, turned his gaze toward the Chinese faithful, and continued, "These words of the Lord were spoken for each and every one of us.
"He does not promise to remove at once every mountain of hardship before us. What he promises is rest within our hearts.
"Where does this rest come from?
"It comes from knowing that we are not alone, that wherever we may be, God's love is always with us.
"This church, which we built with our own hands, bears witness to that promise.
"It stands here, built not merely of brick and stone, but of our prayers, our hopes, and our love for one another..."
Father Ram's sermon was long and meandering, mostly concerned with love, forgiveness, and comfort for the soul.
Cui Jiuyang had little interest in any of it. Before he had listened for very long,