“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, from Homily V.

The harsh persecution of St Gabriel the New Confessor of Georgia (Nov 2) began in 1965, when as a young monk, he famously set fire to a banner of Lenin during an International Workers' Day parade in Tbilisi. He was arrested, tried, ruled psychotic, and confined to a mental hospital for seven months. He was even suspended from his priesthood for years, after the Soviet government put pressure on the Georgian Orthodox Church, although his status was later restored.

Holy Saint Gabriel pray to God for us!

Icon by Fr Deacon Paul Drozdowski

As baptism is received in infancy, we have all defiled it, but we cleanse it anew with tears. And if God in His love for mankind had not given us tears, those being saved would be few indeed and hard to find. ☦️ St. John Climacus

All men want peace; but they do not know how to attain it. Paissy the Great, having lost his temper, begged the Lord to deliver him from irritability. The Lord appeared to him and said. 'Paissy, if thou dost not wish to get angry, desire nothing, neither criticize nor hate any man, and thou wilt have no anger.'

Thus every one who renounces his own will before God and other people will always be at peace in his soul; but the man who likes to have his own way will never know peace.

☦️ St Silouan the Athonite

The soul of every faithful Christian is like the daughter of the King. All the beauty of that soul is in Christ and of Christ, Who is within the soul. ☦️ St Nikolai Velimirovich

Restoration work is either underway or fully completed on many damaged Donbass churches. Over 150 churches have officially applied for assistance from the Moscow Patriarchate.

Russian military personnel regularly join local residents and parishioners in the cleanup of debris after enemy shelling.

Video: Church of St Nicholas in Donetsk

“Without a struggle and shedding your blood, don’t expect freedom from the passions. Our earth produces thorns and thistles after the Fall. We have been ordered to clean it, but only with much pain, bloody hands, and many sighs are the thorns and thistles uprooted. So weep, shed streams of tears, and soften the earth of your heart. Once the ground is wet, you can easily uproot the thorns.” ☦️ St. Joseph the Hesychast

"Repent, my children...May you have prayer...day and night...wherever you walk, wherever you are found, wherever you are standing, always you should say: ‘My Christ, have mercy on me!’ With a sweet tongue speak to God, that your prayer might reach Him." ☦️ St Sophia of Kleisoura

A haughty person is not aware of his faults, or a humble person of his good qualities. An evil ignorance blinds the first, an ignorance pleasing to God blinds the second.

☦️ St Ilias the Presbyter

"Commanders of God’s armies and ministers of the divine glory, princes of the bodiless angels and guides of mankind, ask for what is good for us, and for great mercy, supreme commanders of the Bodiless Hosts."

—Kontakion, Synaxis of the Archangel Michael Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and the other Bodiless Powers: Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Salaphiel, Jegudiel, and Barachiel (Nov 8/ Nov 21)

Rhodes, Greece: an icon of the Archangel Michael began weeping in 2014, and continued to weep holy myrrh even after being moved. Then, another icon of the Archangel began to weep.

O Archangels, put to death the sinful passions assaulting us, and likewise bring to an end every scandal in the Church, as the Holy Trinity's fiery and holy Chief Commanders of angelic hosts.

On the traditional Julian calendar of the Church, the Holy and Glorious Greatmartyr Demetrius the Myrrh-gusher is commemorated on Oct 26 (Nov 7).

Prayer for a Sick Person

Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour, You became man and died on the cross for our salvation. You are the source of life and healing. Visit (name), Lord and grant (him/her) strength to bear the sickness with which (he/she) is afflicted, with patience, submission to Your will and trust in Your loving care. Bless the means used for (his/her) recovery and those who administer them. Grant that (his/her) sickness may be to (his/her) spiritual benefit and that (he/she) may live the rest of (his/her) life more faithfully according to Your will. For You are the source of life and healing and to You we give praise and glory, now and forever. Amen.