Since God cared for you before you even existed, how can He fail to care for you now... so do not worry. + St Augustine of Hippo

“Let listening to worldly news be bitter food for you, and let the words of saintly men be as combs filled with honey.” ✝️ St Basil the Great

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 102:12

"Rejoice, luminaries of those in darkness, since you are the rays of the Sun. Rejoice, Peter and Paul, unbroken foundations of the divine dogmas, friends of Christ, worthy vessels. Come and be in our midst invisibly, and count us worthy of immaterial gifts, as we extol your feast with songs."

—From Octoechos, Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (June 29/ July 13)

I remember the judgment and I am scared. Of the close inquisition I am afraid. I fear, trembling at the thought of the verdict and punishment, and of the pain of fire, the darkness, and Hell's abyss. Alas! What shall I do in that hour on Judgment Day? There will be the Judge's seat and books will be opened. And there will be inquiry of the actions of everyone. O my Lady, I entreat, be to me a helper then, I beseech you, and an ardent advocate. For I, your servant, have you as my only hope.

—From Menaion

“O relatives and close ones of the dead! Do for them what is needful for them and within your power. Use your money not for outward adornment of the coffin and grave, but in order to help those in need, in memory of your close ones who have died, for churches, where prayers for them are offered. Show mercy to the dead, take care of their souls. Before us all stands the same path, and how we shall then wish that we would be remembered in prayer! Let us therefore be ourselves merciful to the dead.”

☦️ St John Maximovitch of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker, who is commemorated on the Saturday closest to June 19 (July 1)

The Holy Apostle Jude (June 19/July 2), is hymned as an "unshakable pillar of the Church of Christ." As a son of Joseph the Carpenter he could indeed call himself the Lord's brother, as his brother James did, but out of humility, even shame, he chose not to. St Jude did not at first believe in Christ the Lord. When the elderly Joseph, before his death, wanted to leave a portion of his estate to Jesus, as well as to his other children, all of them protested, even Jude. Only James voluntarily set aside his portion for Jesus.
Let us seek the prayers of the Lord’s own brother, who overcame his doubts, becoming an Apostle hymned as one “who trampled falsehood underfoot and preserved the Faith”, even unto martyrdom.

A man asked a priest: "If God is everywhere, why do I go to Church?"

The priest replied: "The whole atmosphere is filled with water; but when you want to drink you have to go to a fountain or a well."

“Whoever reads the Psalms imitates the angels and sings together with them.”

✝️ Elder Paisie Olaru of Sihla, from “A Little Corner of Paradise”

“If your marriage is like this, your perfection will rival the holiest of monks.”

✝️ St John Chrysostom’s advice to husbands :

+ Never speak to your wife in a mundane way but with compliments, with respect and with much love.
+ Tell her that you love her more than your own life, because this present life is nothing, and that your only hope is that the two of you pass through this life in such a way that in the world to come, you will be united in perfect love.

+ Say to her, ‘Our time here is brief and fleeting, but if we are pleasing to God, we can exchange this life for the Kingdom to come. Then we will be perfectly one both with Christ and with each other, and our pleasure will know no bounds. I value your love above all things, and nothing would be so bitter or painful to me as our being at odds with each other. Even if I lose everything, any affliction is tolerable if you will be true to me.’
+ Show her that you value her company, and prefer being at home to being out at the marketplace
+ Esteem her in the presence of your friends and children
+ Praise and show admiration for her good acts; and if she ever does anything foolish, advise her patiently.
+ Pray together at home and go to Church; when you come back home, let each ask the other the meaning of the readings and the prayers.

If your marriage is like this, your perfection will rival the holiest of monks.

Nothing else matters It is futile, in fact it is precisely absurd, to speak of reforming society, of changing the path of history, of emerging into an age beyond absurdity, if we have not Christ in our hearts; and if we do have Christ in our hearts, nothing else matters."
☦️ Fr. Seraphim Rose

Phos Hilaron (Φῶς iλαρὸν), known in English as 'Hail Gladdening Light,' or 'O Gladsome Light' is the earliest known Christian hymn, recorded outside of the Bible, that is still sung. https://youtube.com/

"We go into battle without arms, and how ought we to come out safe?"

"If grief befalls you, dive into [the Scriptures] as into a chest of medicines; take from them comfort in times of trouble, no matter if your troubles be loss, or death, or bereavement of relations; or rather do not only dive into them but take them wholly into yourself; keep them in your mind. Ignorance of the Scriptures is the cause of all evils. We go into battle without arms, and how ought we to come out safe? In this way we can be content, even without them."

✝️ St John Chrysostom, Homily 9 on Colossians

So great was their love for one another that they prayed to God that they both might die in the same hour. God honoured their prayer.

Sts. Peter and Fevronia (День Святых Петра и Февроньи), Protectors of Marriage, are commemorated on June 25/ July 8. Their Feast Day of is also known as the Day of Family, Love and Faithfulness. This day is celebrated throughout Russia.

After their deaths, twice the saints' bodies were carried out to the different churches; twice they were miraculously found side by side. The spouses were buried together at the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin in the city in Murom.

Many Russian couples choose this as their wedding day. The floral symbol for this day is the daisy or its look-a-like, chamomile.

Photo: Hand-carved wooden icon of St. Peter and Fevronia
Also available: Akythist book, gold-framed icon at amzn.to/2rNfEAz

"Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:13).

When the mind loses its absolute guiding power over the soul, then there arise in the soul many disparate guiding principles--which bring about confusion, chaos and destruction. …

O Lord Jesus, Mind of God and Wisdom of God, help us to gird our minds, that we may think only of what is from You and what is Yours--that our minds may lead our souls soberly to salvation.

—from The Prologue of Ohrid