Saint John of Kronstadt (Glorification May 31/ June 13) “was granted by our Lord great gifts of clairvoyance and miracle-working, to such a degree that in the last years of his life miracles of healings — both of body and of soul — were performed countless times each day through his prayers, often for people who had only written to him asking his help. During his lifetime he was known throughout Russia, as well as in the Western world.
He has left us his diary My Life in Christ as a spiritual treasure for Christians of every age; simple in language, it expounds the deepest mysteries of our Faith with that wisdom which is given only to a heart purified by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Foreseeing as a true prophet the Revolution of 1917, he unsparingly rebuked the growing apostasy among the people; he foretold that the very name of Russia would be changed. As the darkness of unbelief grew thicker, he shone forth as a beacon of unquenchable piety, comforting the faithful through the many miracles that he worked and the fatherly love and simplicity with which he received all. Saint John reposed in peace in 1908." (Great Horologion)
St Theophan the Recluse: “You ask about the prayer rule. Yes, because of our weakness, it is proper to have a prayer rule. For one thing, it controls excessive zeal. The great men of prayer had a prayer rule and kept to it. Every time, they began prayer with the established prayers, and then, if self-initiated prayer came, they turned to it from reciting prayers. If they needed a prayer rule, then we need one even more! Without formal prayers, we would not know how to pray correctly at all. Without them, we would be completely without prayer. Nevertheless, we should not collect too many prayers. A few prayers, correctly read, are better than many prayers raced through.”
"The Church in The British Isles will only begin to grow when She begins to again venerate Her own Saints" + Saint Arsenios of Paros †1877
On the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, the Orthodox Church commemorates All Saints of Britain and Ireland.
"O come, all ye faithful, now let us praise the saints of the Isles, the venerable monastics, the holy bishops, the right-believing princes, all the martyrs and the company of holy women, those known by name and those unknown, for truly by their words and deeds and manifold ways of life and gifts of God, they became saints and God made glorious even their graves with wonders. And now, standing before Christ Who hath glorified them, they pray fervently for us who celebrate the splendour of their feast with love."
On the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, the Orthodox Church commemorates All Saints of Britain and Ireland.
"O come, all ye faithful, now let us praise the saints of the Isles, the venerable monastics, the holy bishops, the right-believing princes, all the martyrs and the company of holy women, those known by name and those unknown, for truly by their words and deeds and manifold ways of life and gifts of God, they became saints and God made glorious even their graves with wonders. And now, standing before Christ Who hath glorified them, they pray fervently for us who celebrate the splendour of their feast with love."
On the second Sunday after Pentecost, each local Orthodox Church commemorates the choir God-pleasing Saints in its territory, known and unknown.
Some saints are formally recognized by the Church as intercessors. There are also saints who come from all corners of the earth, yet no one on earth knows by them by name. They, too, stand in Christ's presence with love, reverence, and rejoicing -- joining with angels, Christian kings and queens, prophets, martyrs, ascetics, monastics, righteous men and women.
"The universe offers You the God-bearing martyrs, As the first fruits of creation, O Lord and Creator. Through the Theotokos, and their prayers establish Your Church in peace!" (Kontakion, Tone 8)
Some saints are formally recognized by the Church as intercessors. There are also saints who come from all corners of the earth, yet no one on earth knows by them by name. They, too, stand in Christ's presence with love, reverence, and rejoicing -- joining with angels, Christian kings and queens, prophets, martyrs, ascetics, monastics, righteous men and women.
"The universe offers You the God-bearing martyrs, As the first fruits of creation, O Lord and Creator. Through the Theotokos, and their prayers establish Your Church in peace!" (Kontakion, Tone 8)
“Rejoice, All Saints of North America and pray to God for us!”
As the brightest sun, as the brilliance of the Morning Star, the precious feast of the Saints of North America has dawned for us, to illumine us and to set our hearts on fire, to imitate their godly lives, and to follow their example of zeal for God.
- From the Stichera
As the brightest sun, as the brilliance of the Morning Star, the precious feast of the Saints of North America has dawned for us, to illumine us and to set our hearts on fire, to imitate their godly lives, and to follow their example of zeal for God.
- From the Stichera
The Myrrhstreaming Holy Cross of Hawaii, hand painted on Mt. Athos in the 1990s, is not as well known as the Wonderworking Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. However, from late 2007 to early 2008, the Holy Cross streamed continuously before it suddenly ceased.
Then in 2014, as the Holy Iveron Icon was being escorted throughout the country of Georgia, the Holy Cross in Hawaii again began continuously exuding myrrh again. However, at the return of the Iveron Icon to Hawaii, the Holy Cross once again ceased.
The Holy Cross has given myrrh on very rare occasions since 2014, the most recent being in 2018 at the Paschal Liturgy and on Holy Thursday and Holy Friday of 2019.
The myrrh and fragrance from the Holy Cross is a described as having a more masculine scent thick like honey.
Then in 2014, as the Holy Iveron Icon was being escorted throughout the country of Georgia, the Holy Cross in Hawaii again began continuously exuding myrrh again. However, at the return of the Iveron Icon to Hawaii, the Holy Cross once again ceased.
The Holy Cross has given myrrh on very rare occasions since 2014, the most recent being in 2018 at the Paschal Liturgy and on Holy Thursday and Holy Friday of 2019.
The myrrh and fragrance from the Holy Cross is a described as having a more masculine scent thick like honey.
Everything, except true love, is an illusion. If a friend behaves coldly, rudely, spitefully, insolently to you, say — this is an illusion of the enemy, if a feeling of enmity, arising from your friend's coldness and insolence, disturbs you, say: — this is an illusion of mine; but the truth is, that I love my friend, in spite of everything, and I do not wish to see evil in him, which is an illusion of the demon, and which is in me also; I will be indulgent to his faults, for they are in me also; we have — the same sinful nature. You say that your friend has sins and great defects? So have you. — You say, that you do not love him because of such and such sins and defects.
Then do not love yourself either, because you have the same sins and defects as he has. But remember, that the Lamb of God took upon Himself the sins of the whole world. "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant" for his sins, defects, and vices? Everyone " to his own master standeth or falleth."[580] But, in accordance with Christian love, you must be indulgent in every possible way to the faults of your neighbour, you must cure him of his wickedness, of his spiritual infirmity (for every coldness, every passion is an infirmity) by love, kindness, meekness, humility, as you yourself would wish to receive from others, when you suffer from a similar infirmity. For who is not subject to infirmity? Whom does the most evil enemy spare? Lord! destroy all the snares of the enemy in us.
☦️ St John Kronstadt
☦️ St John Kronstadt
"People are generally called intelligent through a wrong use of this word. The intelligent are not those who have studied the sayings and writings of the wise men of old, but those whose soul is intelligent, who can judge what is good and what is evil; they avoid what is evil and harms the soul and intelligently care for and practice what is good and profits the world, greatly thanking God.” ☦️ Abba Anthony the Great.
"In love did God bring the world into existence; in love is God going to bring it to that wondrous transformed state, and in love will the world be swallowed up in the great mystery of the One who has preformed all these things; in love will the whole course of the governance of creation be finally comprised." ☦️ St. Isaac of Syria