Glory to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Savior

At the creation of the world, the earth was covered with waters, darkness, and depths, but “the Spirit of God—that is, the work of the Holy Spirit—was hovering over the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:2). The earth was invisible, and only the Spirit of God penetrated the darkness and depths. Then God made man “of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). The expression “the Spirit of God” clearly shows that at the creation of the world, the Holy Spirit reigned and expressed, as a Master, the Godhead. But when God made man, then “he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” This breath of life is a filling with the Spirit of God, which gives life to man made from nothing. It is the uncreated work of God, accomplished through the mediation of the Holy Spirit. But because God “made man of the dust of the ground,” man was dust, and dust does not become spirit. Therefore, God, by His breath, by His own outburst fro...

This Holy Apostle was a native of Cana of Galilee, known to our Lord Jesus Christ and His Most Pure Mother, because Cana is not far from Nazareth. When Simon had the lawful wedding, Jesus and his disciples were also called there, where, not having enough wine, the Lord turned water into wine. The bridegroom, seeing such a miracle, immediately believed that the Lord was the true God and, leaving his wedding and house, followed Him with zeal, for which he was called "Zealot", that is, zealous. Therefore, he was inflamed with such great divine love for Christ that he overlooked both his bride and all worldly things for the love of God, and made his soul the bride of the immortal Bridegroom, being numbered among the company of Christ's disciples, and was one of the twelve Apostles. And after he received with the other Holy Apostles the Most Holy Spirit, Who descended in the form of tongues of fire, he passed through Mauritania and Africa, preaching Christ and suffering for Hi...

Throughout the centuries, God has left among us holy people who illuminate the darkness, soothe the pain and strengthen hope in the most difficult times. Two of these saints are honored on May 9: the Holy Prophet Isaiah and the Holy Martyr Christopher. The lives and teachings of the two are similar. Even though they lived hundreds of years apart, they became true icons of courage and dedication. One was the voice of God in ancient times, the other, a bearer of Christ with soul and body. Both show us how, despite pain or rejection, man can remain steadfast in faith and love for his neighbor. Isaiah – the prophet of comfort and the coming of the Savior The Holy Prophet Isaiah lived over 700 years before Christ and is one of the most important prophets of the Old Testament. From his youth, he was called by God to proclaim the divine will to the people of Israel, to urge repentance and to comfort those oppressed by suffering. But Isaiah was not only a voice of justice, but also a herald o...

Plato, in the Dialogue Timaeus, stated that history is cyclical and that time is a dynamic measure of eternity . The history of Ancient Israel, as well as that of today, was a difficult one, with the inconstancy of ups and downs. But for each of our times, history descended from heaven, God sends us prophetic personalities, capable of changing its meaning, towards its salvation . Isaiah, the prophet-“evangelist” of the Old Testament from the 8th century BC, is such a man, not only instructed in the wisdom of the worldly, but above all “illuminated” by the fire of the red-hot coal of the revealed Word (6, 6-7). The prophet of “God’s salvation,” Isaiah, is the model that contemporary times would need: a model of politician-diplomat at the court of Ahaz, urging humanity towards times of messianic peace (2:2-4), a model of a man involved in community life, accusing those who “call evil good and good evil” (5:20), a model of a theologian of divine light, launching the call of eternity: “ Co...

You write to me that you are tired of earthly life. But have you forgotten what awaits sinful people in the afterlife? For it is a million times harder and more painful there than on earth, and those who have lived here by chance are not accepted into God's Paradise. Therefore, we must first obtain through repentance and tears the forgiveness of sins and pray to God to have mercy on us at His Terrible Judgment. It is better for Him to punish us here than to send us to eternal torment beyond, which we deserve because of our daily sins. Humble yourself, correct yourself, and consider yourself the worst of all people in the world. Venerable Joseph of Optina

The day of May 9, 2019, with the dawn, would bring with it lightning-fast news for the entire Holy Mount Athos, Hellas, and the whole world – Elder Emilianos Simonopetritul passed to the Lord. This news also reached the ears of the group of priests who had left the Iași and Neamț areas, who were waiting to board the ship that would take them from the Daphne port of Holy Mount Athos to the port of the city of Uranopolis. Among these priests guided by Father Petru Sidoreac was I. After making the sign of the holy cross and saying a short prayer each for the eternal memory of Father Emilianos, we plan and establish a return route to the country that will also include the Ormylia Monastery, where the old abbot lived for almost 20 years, rector of the monastery, the last years being years of serious illness that kept him bedridden and unable to speak to people, but with the possibility of speaking secretly with the Bridegroom Christ. Setting out on our journey, we all want to receive a bles...

When you begin to pray, you remember your sins and weep for them . That is how you should pray. Sometimes you feel peace and joy, and you think that these are from the enemy. If they were from the enemy, according to the sayings of the Holy Fathers, the joy would be confused, it would not bring peace and tranquility to the soul. And do not be surprised that the Lord gives you peace and tranquility in prayer, for this does not always happen according to your worthiness, but according to the unknown judgments of God . And therefore, when you feel such joy and tranquility, consider yourself completely unworthy of this gift of God and completely reproach yourself before the Lord, saying that because of your carelessness, you cannot keep this gift in yourself and that is why you are quickly losing it . Elder Joseph of Optina

Temptations are permitted to reveal your hidden passions, so that they may be fought, and thus the soul may be healed. And these are proofs of divine mercy . Therefore, confidently leave yourself in the hands of God and ask for His help, so that He may strengthen you in your struggle. Hope in God never leads you to despair . Temptations bring humility . God knows the patience of each of us and allows temptations according to our strength. But let us also take care to be vigilant and mindful, so that we ourselves do not lead ourselves into temptation. Trust in the good, powerful, and living God, and He will lead you to rest. After trials, spiritual joy follows. The Lord follows those who endure trials and tribulations out of love for Him. Do not be discouraged in spirit and do not be afraid . I do not want you to grieve and be troubled by everything that happens against your will, no matter how righteous it may be. Such grief testifies to the existence of selfishness. Be mindful of the...

He does it from time to time. He takes his sieve and begins to sift. He tests us and, at the same time, teaches us. “In trouble we remembered you,” (Isaiah 26:16), says the Prophet Isaiah. In the midst of troubles and temptations we remembered you, Lord! During the Occupation, but also after that, we drew closer to God. I remember my homeland, Messinia, when, somewhere around 1947, earthquakes occurred again, but not as devastating as the last ones that tested us. The churches were filled even then! After a “shake”, we all start running, then, after a while, we forget about God again. When the 1981 earthquake struck, a friend from Athens, a doctor, told me that at that very moment a certain acquaintance of his was arguing with his wife and was using all sorts of profanity. His wife was saying to him: “Don’t blaspheme, you unfruitful one, don’t blaspheme, because God will bring fire down from heaven!” He continued. At that moment, however, the earthquake came, which made him immediately...

What can we do when the grip of passions is stronger than the love of Christ? How do we pass from death to life? Archim. Zacharias: Kneeling and confessing to God precisely what is happening within us: “ Lord, You see, I am weak and cannot resist these passions without Your help. But You, Lord, come and dwell in my heart, and by Your power make me strong not only to resist these passions, but also to accept Your will as the law of my existence, which will raise my life above this world and its passions. ” Always, when we feel weak, we must confess our helplessness before God and call upon His help, humbly surrendering ourselves to His power. We must remember that with His help we can become victorious even over our helplessness. The victory is His, but He is pleased to share it with us. Archimandrite Zaharia Zaharou

Let us strive to cultivate love . If we read the Gospel of Saint John the Theologian every day, we will benefit a lot. Let us show much love for Saint John the Theologian and hold his sleeve. Where is Saint John going? Where he is going, let us go with him, let us be close to him, let us hold his hand. Let us show him piety and, in our prayer, let us fervently ask him to give us innocence and help us to reach divine impassionedness. And then, even if someone shouts near us, reproaches us, speaks ill of us, we will not give him any importance, but we will say: “May he be blessed! Let him tell me!” Compared to the good that he delights in, what are these? He will not give them any importance. Saint John’s mind was entirely light. Just as there is light that nothing can approach, so was his mind. So, let us love him very much and pray to him earnestly, because he only spoke of love. “My children, let us not love with the word…”[1]. How beautiful! When there is love, man endures everythin...

I am telling you what I am realizing to be increasingly essential, from my life experience, as much as it was, as it is. It must be emphasized, it must be emphasized very much, what we call the personal character of the relationship with God. Me with God, God and me. Me with God: I went to the icon, and I have the Face: “Behold, Lord, I am before You, You are before me. We are I and with You. You and me”. In this way, you help yourself a lot to realize the presence of God. The personal presence of God. Otherwise, we are most of the time empowered by an impersonal, abstract presence of God, and it does not help us. But when I know that You are before me… And a man, if he were, I have help only in the fact that I have the thought that I am not alone, but when I would have the feeling that the Lord is next to me! But the real feeling that there is Someone, that you are You, Lord, You, Lord… And we, as a Church, must insistently recover the personal character of man’s relationship with God...

“ The moments of suffering and sacrifice are moments of blessing , for next to every cross there is a resurrection.” Dear believers, the life of each of us is sprinkled with trials. There are moments when the pain seems too great, when the tears no longer stop, and when we wonder why we have to go through such suffering. But faith teaches us a profound truth: no cross is useless and no suffering is meaningless . Jesus Christ showed us through His life that the path to glory passes through the cross . He did not avoid suffering, but accepted it with humility and love , transforming it into victory. Through His Resurrection, He gave us all the hope that after every night comes a morning, after every tear comes comfort. Suffering, no matter how hard it is, has the power to draw us closer to God. In moments of trial, man turns more sincerely to prayer, seeks help, and opens his heart. There, in the silence of pain, God works most profoundly. Sacrifice, in turn, is a proof of love . When yo...

In the spiritual life, man is beset by various and frightening deceptions. One of them is to believe that he thinks, speaks, and acts inspired by the Holy Spirit, when this is not true. In the Patericon and in the Lives of the Saints, many monks are mentioned who were deceived in this way, who, believing that they had the Holy Spirit within them, had in fact fallen prey to the devil's cunning. The question, therefore, arises of knowing how a man can distinguish the true presence and work of the Holy Spirit within him from a foreign presence and work which he attributes to the Holy Spirit under the effect of a deception. The fulfillment of all the conditions presented above – repentance, turning from sins, purity, obedience, humility, love of neighbor, prayer – constitutes a precious criterion, which, as we have seen, Saint Silouan often mentions. On the contrary, if a man is without repentance, if he has not renounced his sins, if he has not cleansed himself of passions, if he does...

When you commune with God in the Eucharist, He enters and rests like a Baby in your heart. And you are afraid to even breathe lest the divine Baby leave you. And you cannot frown, because the Wonder of the universe is saddened. And His Blood flows through your veins. And you feel a drop of what the Mother of God felt when she was pregnant with God. The mystery of the birth of Christ in the hearts of the saints, this is the Eucharist. Spiritual motherhood, the beating of the heart, and the boundless love for the Creator of your life. And you always forget that He is there in you, but you remember, and your nothingness hurts, and you pray: stay with us because it is evening. And you close your eyes and see His most pure eyes, with a tear in the Gethsemane Garden of your heart. And thoughts of hatred, revenge, or impurity come to you, but you crush them against the Stone Christ of your heart. And you are ashamed to grieve Him. You keep Him as a Light in the stormy night, and your heart be...

A simple, thoughtless word, even an innocent one, said in an instant about someone, how much you have to beg to get rid of its consequences. And who can assure you that you are truly forgiven? A spiritual father can even forgive you for the deed, but you bear its consequence. How good it is to know how to be silent and to know how to speak nicely about others! Who knows how much God loves the one whom the world points its finger at?! How much the Lord Jesus Christ is angry with empty words, unnecessary words, shameful words, and especially murderous words. This self-control will be much praised, pleasing, and crowned. See how much one can gain in one day with a closed mouth? Archimandrite Arsenie Papacioc

When I stepped into the Cave of the Apocalypse, “Σπήλαιο της Αποκαλάπης”, I experienced an unspeakable joy, as if eternity itself was welcoming me to that hallowed place, participating in the Holy Liturgy celebrated by a venerable, aged hieromonk, Isidoros, a former teacher in his youth on the small island of Patmos, the northernmost of the Dodecanese archipelago. The most important detail among the few that is known about this island is that it was here that the most beloved of the Saviour’s Disciples, Saint John the Evangelist , was exiled, by order of the cruel Roman emperor Titus Flavius ​​Domitian (51-96 AD). At the time of his arrest, Saint John was already very old, and his exile occurred, of course, with the intention of condemning him to isolation and certain death. The island was then deserted, without springs, without trees, and without fertile land. It seemed a place from which life itself had withdrawn. But right here, in perfect austerity, God would speak to His Apostle. ...

The saints never asked to be free from troubles. But may God grant them patience! Because in patience the reward is gained. In patience, the martyr's crown is received, not in joy. Therefore, let no man despair. Do you have an illness? Do you have sadness? Let God lead you as He knows how. What concerns us is to be patient and to say: " Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me! ". Every man has his cross. We are Christians, and we have Christ as our model. He went up to Golgotha ​​... if indeed we suffer with Him, that together with Him we may also be glorified (Romans 8:17). But we say it (all of us). But when we have to put these words into practice, it is a little hard, a little hard, we would say. Father Ephrem Katunayake

From the life of Saint John the Theologian we know, my beloved children, that one of the good Christians fell into poverty and, unable to pay his debts, wanted to end his life. For this purpose, he went several times to a Jewish sorcerer to take poison from him. But every time he got home, before drinking it, he marked it with the sign of the Cross, after which he drank the poison. And the power of the sign of the Cross kept him alive and unharmed . When this became known to the Jewish sorcerer, he was seized with holy fear, came to the great Apostle John the Theologian, renounced paganism, accepted the Christian faith and was baptized. And the Holy Apostle John asked the poor Christian to bring him an armful of hay, marked this hay with the sign of the Cross, turned it into a pile of gold, which he gave to the poor man to pay his debts and support himself. Holy Hierarch Seraphim (Sobolev) The Wonderworker of Sofia