All those who work for the Church are Myrrhbearers

… And myrrhbearing is not only participating in the sacraments, preaching the Gospel and confessing the Faith, it is also doing that myriad of things which are so difficult because they require our sacrifice. For:

Those who sing in church are myrrhbearers.

Those who clean the church are myrrhbearers.

Those who prepare the flowers for the services are myrrhbearers.

Those who look after the garden are myrrhbearers.

Those who sew vestments and altar-coverings are myrrhbearers.

Those who bake prosphora are myrrhbearers.

Those who prepare tea or donate food or wash up are myrrhbearers.

Those who donate icons or make offerings of money are myrrhbearers.

Even those who simply come and pray for the salvation of all are myrrhbearers.

All those who work for the Body of Christ, the Church, in this world, but are not of this world, are myrrhbearers, because they show that they too selflessly love Christ.

And what is the reward of myrrhbearers?

It is to be the first to see and know the Crucified Body of Christ Risen, the first to hear the words of the Angel resplendent and whiter than snow: Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is Risen!

This is our joy, not only to feel, but also to know that the Body of Christ, the Church, is Risen, for She is the place of the Resurrection, and we are witnesses of Christ’s Crucifixion and Resurrection. Moreover, when we care for the Church, the Church cares for us, for we are risen with Her.

May we all always have and cherish this inner knowledge of the Truth of Christ, being myrrhbearing witnesses to His Crucifixion and His Resurrection.

- Excerpt from Archimandrite Panteleimon’s sermon on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers

On reading the Bible simply as a set of instructions

The Scripture is nothing other than instruction on how to receive Heavenly Grace. But if we simply read a set of instructions and do not try to, let us say, put a bookcase together or use a computer program, the set of instructions will remain unmastered and will be soon forgotten… And vice versa, those who attend the Sunday Divine Liturgy and then read the Scripture at home will comprehend meaning in it that they would never have comprehended otherwise.

- Priest-Martyr Daniel Sysoyev

Don’t be deceived…

Don’t be deceived regarding the knowledge of what will be after your death: what you sow here, you will reap there. After leaving here, no one can make progress. Here is the work, there the reward; here the struggle, there the crowns.

- St. Barsanuphius the Great, Instructions

Memory Eternal!

My dear friend rpeeze informed me that Fr. Michael Rosco passed into eternal life this morning. Please continue to keep Pani Susan, Vlad, and the rest of the family in your prayers to give them strength during this trying time.

Thank you all for praying for Fr. Michael Rosco. Please continue keep him in your prayers, that God will rest his soul where there is no pain, nor sorrow, nor suffering, but life everlasting.

Memory Eternal Father Michael!

The only thing that I have is my Savior

Will I be saved or not? Am I living in a way that is pleasing to God, or not? Am I acting according to God’s righteousness? I do not know. God alone knows whether He forgives my sins, or not; whether He will call me to be with Him and will write my name in the Book of Life, or not. What can I say, a wretched sinner who has nothing? The only thing that I have is my Savior, my God, my Joy; I have nothing else in this life. God the Angels, the soul - this is the only reality unto the ages of ages. Amen.

- From the book “Reflections of a Humble Heart”

A splinter…

You wish, or rather, have decided, to remove a splinter from someone? Very well, but do not go after it with a stick instead of a lancet for you will only drive it deeper. Rough speech and harsh gestures are the stick, while even-tempered instruction and patient reprimand are the lancet. ‘Reprove, rebuke, exhort,’ says the Apostle (II Tim. 4:2), not ‘batter’.

- From St. John Climacus, “The Ladder of Divine Ascent”

This is my God, Whom I will glorify

A Helper and a Protector has become salvation to me. This is my God, Whom I will glorify. God of my fathers I will exalt Him for in glory was He glorified. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

- Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, excerpt

Please pray for Fr. Michael!

A prayer request send by my friend rpeeze:

On Friday evening, my family was informed that another priest in our diocese, Fr. Michael Rosco was involved in a terrible car accident while he was leaving Johnstown, PA after a diocesan trustee meeting to return home to New Jersey. After swerving and bumping into another car while he was on the southbound side of Rt. 219, Fr. Michael’s car struck the barrier and flipped over. His car landed upside down on the northbound side of Rt. 219.

Fr. Michael is in stable condition, but has been in the ICU since being admitted to a hospital in the Johnstown area.

Some of the more specific details are still hazy, but at the very least Fr. Michael has a concussion (there’s a possibility that he had bleeding in his brain), a punctured lung, and multiple broken vertebrae. This morning he underwent a (successful) surgery to insert rods and screws into his back to stabilize his vertebrae. He is still in a lot of pain. Thankfully he is coherent, though he does not remember much about the accident, and is sometimes too overwhelmed with pain to speak.

His wife (my Godmother) has not left the hospital since driving out there right after hearing of the accident.

I would appreciate if your followers would keep Fr. Michael, Pani Susan, and their son Vlad Rosco in their prayers. Fr. Michael is 63, and is a loving and nurturing priest. 

Please pray for the safety of our Ecumenical Patriarch!

Please keep in your prayers Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, as according to the media, there was an alleged plot to be assassinated on May 29, the 560th anniversary of the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans.

Please everyone, pray for his safety! May God protect him!

Important prayer request

An Orthodox Christian friend just shared with me a prayer request, however I am not sure if he wants to stay anonymous, so I post it without mentioning his name. Please pray a lot, as miracles happen all the time…

I ask for prayers. I’m facing a difficult time right now. I am finding it exceedingly difficult to find a job, it’s left me without food, and without money for food. Through the Grace of God, a friend is moving me into his place, where I’ll have food and shelter, but I’m still gonna be stuck starving until then with no one able to help me. I’ve been praying to God for help, and he’s sending it to me, but I need some help immediately. Thank you! Χρήστος Ανεστι! Христос Воскрес! Christ is Risen!