We are in exile. We are alienated and estranged from our true country. We are not with God our Father in the land of the living. We are spiritually sick. And some of us are already dead.”

Fr. Thomas Hopko, "The Lenten Spring”

Fast from criticism, feast on praise.
Fast from self-pity, feast on joy.
Fast from ill-temper, feast on peace.
Fast from resentment, feast on contentment.
Fast from jealousy, feast on humility.
Fast from selfishness, feast on service.
Fast from fear, feast on faith.
Fast from bitterness, feast on forgiveness.
Fast from discontent, feast on gratitude.

—Fr John Bakas

A Prayer in Affliction

O God Almighty, Lord of heaven and earth, and of all creation visible and invisible, in Thine ineffable goodness, my helper and defender in this day of affliction. Thou knowest my weakness. Thou hearest my cry in repentance and contrition of heart. O Lord who lovest mankind deliver me from pain, sorrow and impending threats, that I may continue to serve Thee in peace and glorify Thy most honorable and majestic name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

"The Son of God has become the Son of Man in order to make us, men, sons of God.“ ☦️ St Symeon the New Theologian (Mar 12)

The Church, recognizing St. Symeon’s remarkable life of prayer and holiness, as well as the heights of his spiritual understanding, calls him "the New Theologian." Only two others have received the title: John the Evangelist and Gregory, Patriarch of Constantinople.

“For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.” —2 Corinthians 2:15

Heavenly Father, eternal salvation of our souls and bodies: grant Your heavenly blessing to my child(ren) (names). In all the changes and chances of this fleeting world, extend Your mighty hand over them to shield them from all physical and spiritual danger and adversity. Fill them with Your Holy Spirit, that he/she/they may always love You and strive to fulfill Your holy will as devout members of Your Church. Grant him/her/them so to please You in this age that he/she/they may finally inherit Your glorious Kingdom in the age to come. For Yours it is to save us, and to You we ascribe glory: to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

“When you sit down to eat, pray. When you eat bread, do so thanking Him for being so generous to you. If you drink wine, be mindful of Him who has given it to you for your pleasure and as a relief in sickness. When you dress, thank Him for His kindness in providing you with clothes. When you look at the sky and the beauty of the stars, throw yourself at God’s feet and adore Him who in His wisdom has arranged things in this way. Similarly, when the sun goes down and when it rises, when you are asleep or awake, give thanks to God, who created and arranged all things for your benefit, to have you know, love and praise their Creator.” ✝️ St Basil the Great (330-379)

“Prefer nothing, absolutely nothing, to the love of Christ”

✝️ St. Benedict of Nursia (March 14)

“A fish that is alive swims against the flow of water. One that is dead floats down with the water. A true Christian goes against the current of sinful age. A false one is swept away by its swiftness.”

☦️ St. Philaret of Moscow

No vice or passion appears under its real name. Fornication goes by the name of love, covetousness calls itself prosperity, gambling by fun, drunkenness and partying, by friendship, envy by justice and equality. In fact, often behind the rebellion against injustice and inequality is ordinary envy!

☦️ Saint Nikolai Velimirovich

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

☦️St Gregory Palamas, defender of Hesychasm, o on the Second Sunday of Great Lent

St Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica was a defender of the contemplative life of hesychasm (inner silence). He taught that while it is impossible to know God in his essence (God in Himself), it is possible to know God in His energies (to know what God does, and who He is in relation to the creation and to man).

St Gregory also taught that when the Apostles Peter, James and John witnessed the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ on Mount Tabor, they were in fact seeing the uncreated light of God-- a light that can be seen by others with repentance, spiritual discipline and contemplative prayer.

St. Aristobulus (Mar 15), brother of the Apostle Barnabas and numbered among the Seventy Apostles, was made the first bishop of Britain by the Apostle Paul. There he endured the torments and malice of the pagans who smote him, dragged him through the streets, mocked him and jeered at him. Aristobulus remained steadfast in the Gospel and helped convert many.

Such was the Apostle Aristobulus' influence amongst the Brythonic Celts that a region was named after him: Arwystli. This region later became a small medieval British kingdom, and continues to this day as a district (known as a cantref) in the county of Powys, Wales.

Pray unto God for us, O holy Saint Aristobulus, well-pleasing to God: for we turn unto you who are the speedy helper and intercessor for our souls. Amen.

"Fasting gradually disperses and drives away spiritual darkness and the veil of sin that lies on the soul, just as the sun dispels the mist. Fasting enables us spiritually to see that spiritual air in which Christ, the Sun who knows no setting, does not rise, but shines without ceasing. Fasting, aided by vigil, penetrates and softens hardness of heart. Where once were the vapors of drunkenness it causes fountains of compunction to spring forth.

✝️ St. Symeon the New Theologian

Oh Lord, do not snatch me up while I am in the middle of my days and do not take me while my lamp is extinguished, but have patience with me so that I may light my lamp with the oil of my own repentance.

☦️St. Anthony the Great

Christ, the Saviour of the world, opens the door of paradise to everyone who follows Him, and the Church, by revealing to us the beauty of the Kingdom, makes our life a pilgrimage toward our heavenly fatherland.

If a man disregards the commandment about prayer, he then commits worse acts of disobedience, each one handing him over to the next like a prisoner ✝️ St Mark the Ascetic

☦️Starets (Elder) Elias of Optina has fallen asleep in the Lord at age 94.

We should always think about the soul, but especially in old age, so that no one can say to us: "The hair is white, but the soul is black.”

On the soul

“Blessed is the one who has changed his mind in time, or whom God has awakened from the delusion of this world.”

“I know for certain, that before I was humbled I was like a stone lying in deep mire, and He that is mighty came and in His mercy raised me up and, indeed, lifted me high up and placed me on top of the wall. And from there I ought to shout out in gratitude to the Lord for His great favours in this world and forever, that the mind of man cannot measure.”

✝️ The Confession of Saint Patrick (Mar 17), Enlightener of Ireland

He takes on the poverty of my flesh that I may receive the riches of His divinity. ☦️ St Gregory the Theologian

Saint Patrick, the Enlightener of the Irish (Mar 17), "was seized from his native Britain by Irish marauders when he was sixteen years old. Though the son of a deacon and a grandson of a priest, it was not until his captivity that he sought out the Lord with his whole heart.

In his Confession, the testament he wrote towards the end of his life, he says, 'After I came to Ireland - every day I had to tend sheep, and many times a day I prayed - the love of God and His fear came to me more and more, and my faith was strengthened. And my spirit was so moved that in a single day I would say as many as a hundred prayers, and almost as many at night, and this even when I was staying in the woods and on the mountain; and I would rise for prayer before daylight, through snow, through frost, through rain, and I felt no harm.' [1/2]