April 2012
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Many flatter themselves...
Many flatter themselves and consider themselves to be good, humble, and meek, but they will discover the contrary under temptation. Do not not become despondent in temptations, then, but give all the more thanks to God that He thus brings you to what is hidden in your heart - the knowledge of yourself - and wishes you to be corrected and be saved.
- Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk
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Prayer for others
Prayer for others is very beneficial to the man himself who prays; it purifies the heart, strengthens faith and hope in God, and arouses love for God and our neighbor.
- Saint John of Kronstadt
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Anonymous asked: I see that the Orthodox Saints and monks give advice that can lead to salvation. They are proper not only for Orthodox but for us Catholics too. Orthodoxy is unique. We have so many things to learn from your Churches truth and wisdom! <3 <3 <3
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There are three kinds of dreams
It is better for us not to believe in dreams at all, because many have gone astray on their account. There are three kinds of dreams: those from God, those from our thoughts, and those from the enemy. If they are from God and we don’t believe them, God does not take offense, because we don’t believe them out of fear, lest we be led into deception. If I should come in the night and knock on your...
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The sins of others
He who busies himself with the sins of others, or judges his brother on suspicion, has not yet even begun to repent or to examine himself so as to discover his own sins…
-St. Maximos the Confessor
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Seeking a lie
Whoever searches for something else after already having found the truth is searching for a lie.
- Father John Krestiankin
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Anonymous asked: Hey! My name is Nick and I am Catholic. Could you please tell my why you Orthodox keep greeting each other with "Christ is Risen"? Easter is over.
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Prayer to God
I think there is no greater labor than that of prayer to God. For every time a man wants to pray, his enemies, the demons, want to prevent him, for they know that it is only by turning him from prayer that they can hinder his journey. Whatever good work a man undertakes, if he perseveres in it, he will attain rest. But prayer is warfare to the last breath.
- Abba Agathon
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As long as my eyes have tears...
“As long as my eyes have tears, I will preach Christ and Orthodoxy.”
- The New Hieromartyr John of Santa Cruz
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Weep for my sins
If I were allowed to see my sins, three or four men would not be enough to weep for them.
- Abba Dioscorus
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Love one another
However hard I try, I find it impossible to construct anything greater than these three words, ‘Love one another’ -only to the end, and without exceptions: then all is justified and life is illumined, whereas otherwise it is an abomination and a burden.
- Mother Maria of Paris
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The continual love of the Holy Myrrhbearers
The ardor and continual love of the Holy Myrrhbearers for the Lord also serves as an example for our love for Him. By the example of the holy women, we also should strengthen in our hearts the true self-denying love for our Savior. Even the strength of our love for Him should be like those, as the holy Apostle says, that nothing could separate us from Him, neither things present nor things to...
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Today is the Sunday of the Holy Myrrhbearing Women...
The myrrh-bearers had brought funeral spices and ointments to finish committing Christ’s body to the grave. They were the first to see the empty tomb and were instructed by the risen Lord to bring the joyful news to the apostles. Sts. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus are also commemorated on this day.
There are eight women who are generally identified as the myrrh-bearers. Each of the four...
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Often and truly
To pray often is in our will, but to pray truly is a gift of grace.
- St. Macarios
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Flee suffering?
Virtues are connected with suffering. He who flees suffering is sure to be parted from virtue. If you desire virtue, give yourself up to every kind of suffering. For suffering engenders humility. Until we have attained true knowledge, we advance toward humility by means of trials. He who rests on his virtue without suffering has the door of pride open before him - Saint Isaac the Syrian
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The nets of the enemy
The nets of the enemy are very fine and not easily perceived; only humility can escape them.
- Saint Macarius of Optina
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Prayer request for a gentle soul
“Hello my friend. I hope all is well with you. I am writing you to ask for prayers from you and your prayer group if you have one. I am going through a personal crisis and it is affecting my health. I am disabled. I am asking for prayers to improve my health and for a quick end to my personal matters. Thank you! God Bless.”
Submitted by mimorena
Anonymous asked: Everytime I see a post of yours, my heart is beating, I feel closer to God and I can clearly feel that Orthodoxy is the place that will soon be my spiritual home! My story is weird: I was born and raised a Protestant, I converted to Catholicism (and to be more specific Eastern Rite Catholic), but now I know that God leads me to Orthodoxy. Please kepp posting sweety!
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All is from God
All is from God, which means that it is all unto salvation. We have only to thank and praise the Lord for the life we have lived, for its joys and sorrows.
- Father John Krestiankin
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The words of prayer...
The words of prayer are like rain or snow if they are said with faith and feeling: each of them contains its power and its fruit. Raindrops or snowflakes falling in a continuous stream, or in isolated flakes water the ground, and it germinates and brings forth fruit. Likewise, the words of a prayer – this spiritual rain – each separately, water the soul, it germinates and brings the fruits of...
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My heart only has entrances
My heart only has entrances. It doesn’t have exits. Whoever enters remains there. Whatever he may do, I love him the same as I loved him when he first entered into my heart. I pray for him and seek his salvation.
-Elder Epiphanios
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Remember...
Remember constantly that the light of your soul, of your thoughts, and of your heart comes from Jesus Christ.
- St. John of Kronstadt
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There is a difference
It is true that there is a difference between joining the Orthodox Church and actually becoming Orthodox. Baptism may effect a mystical change but it is not a magic spell, and it is only over time, with perseverance, prayer, and ongoing sustenance by grace does this become a lived reality.
- Advice for Orthodox inquirers from Fr. John
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He who believes in dreams...
A demon is often a prophet to those who believe him, but he is always a liar to those who despise him… He who believes in dreams is completely inexperienced. But he who distrusts all dreams is a wiseman.
- The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 3:28, 29
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Prayer request for a new Bishop
“This Sunday (Second Sunday after Pascha, Sunday of the Myrrhbearers), a new bishop will be ordained in our church. I am aware that you probably do not belong to my specific group of Orthodoxy, but our bishops’ decisions impact all of us Orthodox Christians everywhere.
So please, pray for Hieromonk Gregory (God willing, future Bishop Gregory). He is Georgian, and he speaks Georgian,...
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The Great One who became small
Whom have we, Lord, like you? - The Great One who became small, the Wakeful who slept, The Pure One who was baptized, the Living One who died, The King who abased himself to ensure honor for all. Blessed is your honor!
It is right that man should acknowledge your divinity, It is right for heavenly beings to worship your humanity. The heavenly beings were amazed to see how small you became, And...
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Christ in our hearts
That person does not have Christ who only has Him on his tongue. Neither does that person have Christ who has Him only on paper. Neither does that person have Christ who has Him only on the wall. Neither does that person have Christ that has Him in the museum of the past. That person, in truth, has Christ who has Him in his heart. For Christ is Love and the throne of love is the heart.
If...
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True Faith must be persecuted in this world…
The True Faith must be persecuted in this world. The Savior Himself said this clearly and openly to His apostles. St. Apollinaris of Hierapolis in writing against the Montanist heretics says: ” Let them tell us before God who, out of all their prophets, beginning with Montanus and his wives, was persecuted by the Jews and killed by the ungodly? No one. Who, from among them was taken away for of...
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Do not stigmatize yourself
Who does not make mistakes in life? Do not stigmatize yourself. You have repented, and, glory to God, you have been forgiven, but you need to extract experience from your mistakes, so that you will be wiser in the future.
- Father John Krestiankin
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Give space to another's anger
You see, you can’t put out a fire with oil. When a person is excited, contradiction just irritates him. You have to give space to his anger. But when his stormy state quiets down, and peace begins to be re-established in his soul- then you can offer him advice, and it will be much more effective, and be received with much love. I would advise you, too, to be careful in such cases. Do not...
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In a hurry to get married?
We are to be as the wise virgins and not the foolish ones. Be diligient, vigilant, and WAIT on the Lord. No it’s not easy, but that’s where prayer, fasting, Bible Study, and fellowship comes in. Fortunately in Eastern Orthodoxy, there are many examples of how to live the single life from the Saints, and let me tell you some of ‘em weren’t always saints! Two saints that had to...
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mariaolegovna-deactivated201209 asked: i have a question about a video you just posted, Orthodox Christians in Ghanna. Are they really orthodox? i always thought that singing in orthodox churches is allowed only in monoton voices
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On fasting
Nothing humbles the soul more than the scarcity of bread and water. When the enemy wants to take a city, he first stops the food and water supplies, and they thus give themselves up even against their will. So is it for a monastic – unless he restrains his stomach with hunger and thirst, he cannot rid himself of evil thoughts.
- Blessed Sarah
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Our victorious banner
Our victorious banner is the Cross. Our calling is nothing else than to renounce (our) life and give ourselves over to death. Just as the dead are not active, in the same way must we behave. Let us live in the soul and show forth virtues in her.
- Amma Syncletica
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On the Theotokos
Without her intercessions no one, neither angels, nor men could entreat God, for she alone is found on the border between the uncreated and natural creation.
She alone is immediately after God and has second place to the Holy Trinity, as being truly the mother of God in essence. And she alone is not only the protector of the treasury of all the riches of the Godhead, but she is the distributor...
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Shut all the gates of your soul
Shut all the gates of your soul, that is the senses, so as to not be lured astay. When the intellect sees that it is not dominated by anything, it prepares itself for immortality, gathering its senses together and forming them into one body.
-From the Philokalia
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I long to give thanks to Him for everything
I long to give thanks, to give thanks every minute for everything that the Lord has given me. I long to bring Him my insignificant gratitude, serving Him and His suffering children.
- Saint Elizabeth the New Martyr
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How many times…?
How many times have I made you too small in my eyes Lord? How many times have I allowed myself to believe in the deceiters lie, that you are unable to help me? How many times have I leaned on the wisdom of men and the world around me instead of you? How many times have I asked for forgiveness from you and yet have not forgiven those who have hurt or offended me and have allowed bitterness to...
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The demon of blasphemy
When the intellect begins to advance in love for God, the demon of blasphemy starts to tempt it, suggesting thoughts such as no man but only the devil […] could invent. He does this out of envy, so that the man of God, in his despair at thinking such thoughts, no longer dares to soar up to God in his accustomed prayer. But the demon does not further his own ends by this means. On the...
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All exists because of You
O You who are beyond everything! All exists because of You alone. All in its entirety longs for You.
-St. Gregory the Theologian
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Praise to Him
Praise to Him who clothed Himself in our body and died and rose again: He died in us and we live in Him, blessed be He who sent Him
- An Orthodox hymn
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The greatest sickness of our age
The greatest sickness of our age is the vain thoughts of secular people, which bring stress. Only Christ can provide a cure with spiritual serenity, along with eternity, provided you repent and turn to Him.
- Elder Paisios
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Let us rejoice
Even if we are entirely despised in the eyes of men, let us rejoice that we are honoured in the sight of God.
- Abba John
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Prayer for the unborn…
Remember, O Lord, Lover of Mankind the souls of Thy departed servants, infants who died accidentally in the wombs of mothers from unknown cause, either from difficult birth, or from some carelessness and who therefore did not receive the Mystery of Holy Baptism. Baptize them, O Lord, in the sea of Thy compassions, and save them by Thine inexpressible grace. Amen.
