The little things in life ( St. John Maximovitch )

         

Many people believe that to live according to the faith and to fulfill the will of God is very difficult. Actually—it’s very easy. One needs only attend to details, to trifles, and try to avoid evil in the slightest and most trivial things. This is the simplest and surest way to enter the world of the spirit and draw near to God.

A man often thinks that the Creator demands great things of him, that the Gospel insists on complete self- sacrifice, the abolition of one’s person hood, etc., as a condition of faith. A man is so frightened by this that he begins to be afraid of becoming acquainted with God, of drawing near to God, and hides himself from God, not even wishing to look into God’s Word. “If I can’t do anything important for God, then I’d just better stay away from things spiritual, stop thinking about eternity, and live ‘in a normal way’.”

There exists at the entrance to the spiritual realm a “hypnosis of great deeds:” one must either do some big thing or do nothing. And so people do nothing at all for God or for their souls! It is very strange—the more a man is devoted to the little things of life, the less he wishes to be honest or pure or faithful to God in those same little things. And, moreover, each one must adopt a correct attitude toward little things if one wishes to come near to the kingdom of heaven.

Wishes to come near: In this is summed up all the difficulties of the religious life. Often one wishes to enter into the kingdom of heaven quite unexpectedly, in some miraculous and magical way, or, by right—through some kind of great feat. But neither the one nor the other is the right way to find the higher world. One does not enter God’s presence in some wondrous manner while remaining indifferent on earth to the needs of the kingdom of God and its bright eternity, nor can one purchase the treasures of the kingdom of God by some kind of eternal act, however great that act might be. Yet good deeds, holy deeds are necessary for one to grow into a higher life, a bright will, a good desire, a heavenly psychology, a heart that is both pure and fair.

A glass of water: Verily, verily I say unto you that whosoever offers one of the least of these but a cup of cold water, in the name of a disciple, shall not lose his reward. In this saying of the Lord is the highest expression of the smallness of the good. “A glass of water”—this is not much.

Communicating in good spirit: In every communication between people there must without fail be a good spirit: this spirit is Christ, openly manifest or hidden. “In the name of a disciple:” this is the first step in communicating with another person in the name of Jesus Christ Himself. Many people, not as yet knowing the Lord and the wondrous fellowship in His Name still have among themselves an unselfish, pure and human fellowship which brings them ever closer to the Spirit of Christ.

The lesser good is necessary: As a matter of fact, the lesser good is more necessary for mankind than the greater. People can get along with their lives without the greater good; without the lesser they cannot exist. Mankind perishes not from a lack of the greater good, but from an insufficiency of just this lesser good. The greater good is no more than a roof, erected on the brick walls of the lesser good.

The lesser, easier good was left on this earth for man by the Creator Himself, who took all the greater good upon Himself. Whosoever does the lesser, the same creates—and through him the Creator Himself creates—the greater good. Of our little good the Creator makes His Own great good. For as our Lord is the Creator who formed all things from nothingness, so is He more able to create the greater good from the lesser.

Through such lesser, easy work, done with the greatest simplicity, a man is accustomed to the good and begins to serve it with his whole heart, sincerely, and in this way enters into an atmosphere of good, lets down the roots of his life into new soil, the soil of the good. The roots of human life quickly accommodate themselves to this good earth, and soon cannot live without it... Thus is a man saved: from the small comes the great. “Faithful in little things” turns out to be “faithful in the greater.”

Our moral sense: Lay aside all theoretical considerations that it is forbidden to slaughter millions, women, children, and elderly; be content to manifest your moral sense by in no way killing the human dignity of your neighbor, neither by word, nor by innuendo, nor by gesture. Do not be angry over trifles against your brother vainly (Mt 5:22) or in the daily contacts of life speak untruth to your neighbor. These are trifles, small change, of no account; but just try to do this and you will see what comes of it.
Prayer: It is hard to pray at night. But try in the morning. If you can’t manage to pray at home than at least as you ride to your place of employment attempt with a clear head the “Our Father” and let the words of this short prayer resound in your heart. And at night commend yourself with complete sincerity into the hands of the Heavenly Father. This indeed is very easy.

And give, give a glass of cold water to everyone who has need of it; give a glass filled to the brim with simple human companionship to everyone that lack it, the very simplest companionship...

O wondrous path of little things, I sing thee a hymn! Surround yourselves, O people, gird up yourselves with little works of good— with a chain of little, simple, easy and good feelings which cost us naught, a chain of bright thoughts, words and deeds. Let us abandon the big and the difficult. That is for them that love it and not for us for whom the Lord in His Mercy, for us who have not yet learned to love the greater, has poured forth the lesser love everywhere, free as water and air.

Healing from a stroke ( miracle from St. Nektarios )

The testimony of a lady from Serres, Greece, given on May 24, 1970 

( From the book Wondrous Miracles Performed by Saint Nektarios.)

I suffered a stroke with subsequent paralysis on the left side of my body. I was admitted to the State Hospital of Serres, where I remained for five days. After that, I returned home with slight improvement. 

On April 7, 1970, at approximately 9:30 pm, as I was alone in bed, I was not asleep,I saw my bedroom door open, and an elderly priest with a long beard and wearing an old cassock entered. 

 

As he came and stood at the left side of my bed, I heard the word “Nektarios.” He began to rub my left hand and leg. He then said, “Get up. Go and light the vigil lamp in the icon corner. 

Make three prostrations, and anoint your limbs with holy oil, in the spots you feel pain.”I immediately got up. It was a miracle! I was not feeling any pain. I did as the Saint had instructed.

 

The following morning, around 6:00 am, I saw the Saint again. This time he was wearing his sacred vestments. He came next to me and crossed the areas that had caused me the pain. 

I immediately woke up my husband. We took a cab and went to Sidirokastro, to the church of Saint Nektarios. 

Ever since then, I became well. With great eagerness I came and venerated the grave of the Saint.

 

https://www.stnektariosmonastery.org

Theophany - More than Blessing of Waters

  On January 6th we celebrate the Theophany, the full manifestation of God, the Holy Trinity revealed to us. Too often we only think about this as the time when we get Holy Water from the Church or when the Priest comes to bless our homes, but the significance of this event is so much more.
We are fortunate to have commentary from the second century by St Hippolytus [a.d. 170–236.] who was the disciple of Irenæus. We often raise the question, "Why did Jesus have to be baptized if He was sinless?" He explains why John, who resisted baptizing Jesus because he felt unworthy and inferior to Him thinking that he should be baptized by Jesus, baptized Him who was God Himself.

Hyppolytus shows how Christ comforted John,
And what saith the Lord to him? “Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matt 3:15) “Suffer it to be so now,” John; thou art not wiser than I. Thou seest as man; I foreknow as God. It becomes me to do this first, and thus to teach. I engage in nothing unbecoming, for I am invested with honour. Dost thou marvel, O John, that I am not come in my dignity? The purple robe of kings suits not one in private station, but military splendour suits a king: am I come to a prince, and not to a friend? “Suffer it to be so now for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness:” I am the Fulfiller of the law; I seek to leave nothing wanting to its whole fulfillment, that so after me Paul may exclaim, “Christ is the fulfilling of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” (Rom 10:4) “Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.” Saint Hyppolytus tells us why Jesus was baptized, speaking from viewpoint of Jesus,

Baptize me, John, in order that no one may despise baptism. I am baptized by thee, the servant, that no one among kings or dignitaries may scorn to be baptized by the hand of a poor priest. Suffer me to go down into the Jordan, in order that they may hear my Father’s testimony, and recognize the power of the Son. “Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then at length John suffers Him. “And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and the heavens were opened unto Him; and, lo, the Spirit of God descended like a dove, and rested upon Him. And a voice (came) from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt 3:16-17) Jesus wanted to emphasize the role of the priest in baptizing those who chose to follow Him. He wanted all to hear the testimony of the Father so others would accept Him as His Son as this was the time He began His public ministry.

Saint Hyppolytus continues uplifting our sight even higher,
Do you see, beloved, how many and how great blessings we would have lost, if the Lord had yielded to the exhortation of John, and declined baptism? For the heavens were shut before this; the region above was inaccessible. We would in that case descend to the lower parts, but we would not ascend to the upper. But was it only that the Lord was baptized? He also renewed the old man, and committed to him again the sceptre of adoption. For straightway “the heavens were opened to Him.” A reconciliation took place of the visible with the invisible; the celestial orders were filled with joy; the diseases of earth were healed; secret things were made known; those at enmity were restored to amity. For you have heard the word of the evangelist, saying, “The heavens were opened to Him,” on account of three wonders. For when Christ the Bridegroom was baptized, it was meet that the bridal-chamber of heaven should open its brilliant gates. And in like manner also, when the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove, and the Father’s voice spread everywhere, it was meet that “the gates of heaven should be lifted up.” (Ps 24: 7) “And, lo, the heavens were opened to Him; and a voice was heard, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Most significantly we see in this event that the heavens are opened for all mankind who follow Him and join with Him through Baptism to become His adopted children. Christ shows us that we begin our Journey with Him through baptism. This is a Holy Sacrament where heavens are opened and we join with The Holy Trinity to be transformed, born again, so we can become like Him and have eternal life in His kingdom as one of His children.


Christ’s baptism in the Jordan was A “Theophany,” in that the world was granted a revelation of the Holy Trinity. The Father testified from on high to the divine Sonship of Jesus; the Son received His Father’s testimony; and the Spirit was seen in the form of a dove, descending from the Father and resting upon the Son.
In the hymn of the Feast we sing, “Christ has appeared and enlightened the world.” Thus, January 6 is also known as the Feast of Lights. The Church celebrates on this day the illumination of the world by the light of Christ.


Reference: Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol 5, Hyppolytus, Discourse on Holy Theophany

Blessed Elder Ephraim of Arizona's convent in Quebec , Canada are singing the Christmas carols... ( What Child is This? )

 

 

Traditional Greek Christmas carols sung by the sisters of the Greek Orthodox Monastery Virgin Mary the Consolatory in Quebec, Canada in front of the Nativity Scene that the sisters of the monastery hand painted and set up themselves.

 

To support the Monastery and the sisters, one can visit the website: www.monasterevmc.org or if you wish to offer your donation directly from here.

 

The Holy Fathers have taught us that we should not put our trust in dreams ( Saint John Climacus )

Saint John Climacus wrote concerning dreams:

“The demons of vainglory prophesy in dreams. Being unscrupulous, they guess the future and foretell it to us. When these visions come true, we are amazed; and we are elated with the thought that we are already near to the gift of foreknowledge. A demon is often a prophet to those who believe him, but he is always a liar to those who despise him. Being a spirit, he sees what is happening in this lower air, and noticing that someone is dying, he foretells it through dreams to the more light-minded. But demons know nothing about the future from foreknowledge. For if they did, then the fortunetellers would also be able to foretell our death… He who believes in dreams is completely inexperienced. But he who distrusts all dreams is a wise man…” (The Ladder of Divine Ascent 3:28, 3:29)

The Holy Fathers have taught us that we should not put our trust in dreams.

There is an account of an elder who spent many years in asceticism on Mount Sinai who was deceived by the evil one through dreams:

The Sabaite Antiochus… tells as a warning against trust in dreams the story of a solitary on Sinai of many years’ standing, who had a series of dreams that came true, and then one that showed him the people of the martyrs and apostles and all the Christians dark and filled with shame, while Moses, the prophets, and the Jews were enveloped in light, living in joy and gladness. He left the Holy Mountain, came to the Jewish settlements at Noara and Livias, on the two sides of the Jordan Valley (Noara was only three or four miles from Choziba), was circumcised, married a wife, and conducted open propaganda on behalf of the Jews against the Christians… (The Desert A City by Derwas J. Chitty)

Answer to anxiety - St Paisios the Athonite

The answer to our anxiety is not drugs, alcohol, tranquilizers or psychiatric treatment. It will not be cured by Yoga or some new age or eastern meditation practice. 

 

The problem is that we have lost God as the center of our lives. Once we make our love of God the primary focus of our lives and allow His grace to work though us, then no matter what circumstance we encounter in life we will be comforted and embraced in His love. All anxiety disappears. 

 

This is the aim of the Orthodox way of life, to put God first and seek the Holy Spirit. The anxieties of modern life are only symptoms of our separation from God.

St. Paisios the Athonite 

Insomnia indication of rift between us and God - St John Chrysostom

Nearly all of us, at times, find ourselves unable to sleep at night. We lie awake during the dark, silent hours. This rarely happens when our hearts and souls are at peace; it usually happens when we are troubled in some way. 

For this reason, do not curse your lack of sleep. These times of wakefulness have been sent by God, as a sign that something is wrong and as a period for reflection. 

So when you cannot sleep, allow the thoughts that lie deepest in your heart to rise up to the surface.

St John Chrysostom

End Times ( Elder Cleopas )

1. A Sign of the End Times

One day Elder Cleopas met a holy ascetic in the forest and asked him:

"Tell me, Father, when will the end of the world come?"

And the righteous hesychast told him:

"You know when the end of the world will come? When a road will not exist from one neighborhood to another."

That is to say, when love will not exist from one person to another.

2. Do Not Fear the Coming of Antichrist

A few years ago when people were disturbed that the Antichrist is coming, with wars and similar things, Fr. Cleopas would tell them in a loud voice:

"The Father is at the wheel! Take and read verses 10 and 11 of Psalm 32:

'The Lord scatters abroad the counsels of the nations, and He sets aside the reasoning of the peoples; and He rejects the counsels of rulers. The counsel of the Lord abides forever, the thoughts of His heart from generation to generation.'"

He would also encourage them saying:

"Be not disturbed nor afraid, because things will not come to pass as they want. Whatever they want, let them do it. You should not fear. Pray and make the sign of the cross with faith, and the demons shall flee."

3. Learn To Fast

Father Cleopas would say: "Learn to fast, because the time will come when you will eat one potato a week."

4. Spiritual Coldness

A father asked the Elder:

"What will happen, Elder, after your departure to the Lord?"

Elder Cleopa responded:

"There will come stronger cold and hard frost."

Here he of course means spiritual cold, where everyone will be overly involved with earthly things and there will be lack of interest in spiritual things along with a great subservience to the passions.


Elder Cleopas

From The Life and Struggles of Elder Cleopa, Romanian Hesychast and Teacher by Archimandrite Ioanichie Balan.

Prophesies ( Father Seraphim of Vyrytsa )

 "God is strong enough to restore those who labor, if we ask Him. Let us keep praying and begging — and God will recover even from stones his chosen ones." "At least once in our life we need to light a candle for those we have offended, or deceived, from whom we stole, or to whom we did not pay debts."

The Elder said that the time would come when 40 people would cling to every believer for he would save them. "God would wait for a thousand years that at least one man might be saved to replenish the number of fallen angels."

The Elder said that God gave us a soul, but our body is inherited from our parents and grand parents, that is why together with our body we receive part of their sins. They are waiting for our prayers and feel great joy when we pray for them, and those who are in the Heavenly Kingdom help us.

The Holy Elder could see not only the future lives of people, but also the future of our church and the country. The witness to it is his poetry written in 1939: The storm will pass over the land of Russia God will forgive the sins of Russian men. The Holy Cross in its majestic splendor will shine above the churches' domes again. The bells will ring awakening from horror from sins to salvation The holy houses of the Lord will open their doors ,and faith in God will bring us all together.

The Elder said that the time would come when the beginning of the verse will read as "The storm has passed over the land of Russia."

One time to answer his spiritual son's question about the future of Russia, the Elder suggested to him to look out the window. The man saw through the window the Gulf of Finland and many ships under different flags in it. "What does this mean?" — He asked the Father. The Elder answered: "The time will come when spiritual life in Russia will blossom." Many churches and monasteries will be opened, even people of other religions will come here to be baptized in Orthodoxy. Although this will not last long — maybe fifteen years, after which Antichrist will come."

He would say that after the East becomes strong, the world would become unstable. "They are bigger in number, and not only that — their workers are honest and sober people, and here — so much alcoholism..."

As those witnesses remember, the blessed Elder said: " the East will be baptized in Russia. The Heavenly Kingdom and those on earth who understand pray for the enlightening of the East."

"The time will come when Russia will be torn into pieces. The entire country will be partitioned first and then despoiled. The West will welcome the decay of Russia and till a certain time will agree that China takes the eastern part of Russia. Japanese will lay their hands on the Far East of Russia and the Chinese — on Siberia; they will move to Siberia, marry Russians, and in the long run by means of treachery and deceit, will occupy the territory of Siberia all way to Ural. When they are ready to go further, the West will resist it."

"Many countries will assail Russia, but she will hold out, although she will loose a major part of its territory. The war mentioned by the prophets and the Holy Gospel, will cause the unification of mankind. People in the world will understand that they are moving to a dead end, destruction of everything live, and will eventually elect a Common Government , this will be a precursor of the enthronement of Antichrist. Then, the persecution of Christians will start all over, people will flee to Russia in huge numbers, and one will need to go with the first, for many who stay will perish."

The Elder loved young people with all his heart. At that time young people went to church very rarely, if ever; so he was especially happy when they visited him. Father Seraphim spoke about the tremendous role of young people in the future rebirth of the Church. He said that "the time would come (and is already coming) when immorality and corruption will reach the lowest depths. There will be scarcely any purity left in young people. They will see no showstoppers in satisfying their whims, for they will be sure in their impunity. They will get together into groups and gangs to commit robberies, and live dissolute lives. At a certain time there will be a call from God and it will no longer be possible for them to live that kind of life, and they will turn to God, everyone by his own road, many will feel a craving for asceticism. Those who were sinners will be in the churches, fallen people will feel a strong need for a spiritual life, and many will become monks and nuns. The monasteries will be reopened, the churches will be full of people the majority of which will be young. The young will be going on pilgrimages to holy places — what a wonderful time this will be! The more they sin now — the more fervent their repentance will be. As a candle sparkles bright before it goes out, the same with the life of the Church. This time is near."

"God blessed Russia so generously with richness and beauty: forests, lakes, rivers, and mineral resources. Sadly, people live without God, but the earth is the mother, she gives bread and life. The enemies — the God battling authorities will not let people get back to the earth for a long time. The earth can feed everybody and everything can be set, but this not what the enemy wants, not a newly born Russia. Nonetheless, Russia will live from her earth."

"Jerusalem will become the capital of Israel and in time must be the capital of the world. For it is the center of the earth, the Savior of the world was crucified there and raised from death."

Father Seraphim knew about his future glorification and said: "Do not haste to dig my body out. Rely on God... I do not want my body to be subject to trade."

His spiritual children preserved one more verse of the Elder written in 1946: "Glory to the marvelous God our Lord! Sing and rejoice, oh my soul I am in craving for a holy abode Where Jesus is the sweetest of joys You alone are the hope of my life In sorrows and sickness, my strength Be my joy, my cover and hope I give my whole life to you Glory to the marvelous God our Lord! Sing and rejoice oh my soul I am in craving for a holy abode where Jesus is the sweetest of joys."

Father Seraphim of Vyrytsa

Be patient my brethren ( Father Seraphim Rose )

Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into manifold temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. And let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4)

"By taking one small step at a time, and nobody not thinking that in one big step we are going to get any place, we can walk straight to the Kingdom of Heaven––and there is no reason for any of us to fall away from that ."

Fr. Seraphim Rose

Physician gets cured for COVID-19 by St. Nikephoros the Leper ( Video )

 

                                               

Live simply and without thinking too much ( St. Paisios )

"Live simply and without thinking too much, like a child with his father. 

Faith without too much thinking works wonders. The logical mind hinders the Grace of God and miracles. 

Practice patience without judging with the logical mind."

St. Paisios

Carrying your cross ( St. Ephraim of Katounakia )

Everyone has a cross to carry. Why? Since the leader of our faith endured the cross, we will also endure it. On one hand, the cross is sweet and light, but, on the other, it can also be bitter and heavy.

It depends on our will. If you bear Christ’s cross with love then it will be very light; like a sponge or a cork. But if you have a negative attitude, it becomes heavy; too heavy to lift.

- Taken from the book: 

Elder Ephraim of Katounakia

Through the intercessions of the Most Holy Theotokos ( St. Gregory Palamas )

 

Silence is the greatest virtue .... ( Blessed Elder Ephraim of Arizona )

 

To be with Christ, or to be against Him. ( St.Justin Popovic )

 

On thanking God ... ( St. Nikolaj Velimirovic )

 

The road to Hell is paved with the bones .... ( Saint John Chrysostom )

 

Though a man may be found in a weak state, that does not at all mean that he has been abandoned by God. ( St. John Maximovitch )

Though a man may be found in a weak state, that does not at all mean that he has been abandoned by God. 

On the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ was in trouble, as the world sees things. But when the sinful world considered Him to be completely destroyed, in fact He was victorious over death and Hades. 

 

The Lord did not promise us positions as victors as a reward for righteousness, but told us, "In the world you will have tribulation - but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world".

St. John Maximovitch

We have the power of the Holy Cross...( St. Paisios of Mount Athos )