Lord, grant us tears of
repentance over our lustfulness, as these great saints have done.
“Weep over your sin: it is a spiritual ailment; it is death to your immortal soul…
I weep over my indulgences in lust, impure thoughts and evil inclinations; covetousness, gluttony, drunkenness, and sloth;
I weep for having talked idly, used foul language, blasphemed, derided, joked, ridiculed, mocked, enjoyed empty gaiety, singing, dancing and every pleasure to excess…”
☦️St Basil the Great
repentance over our lustfulness, as these great saints have done.
“Weep over your sin: it is a spiritual ailment; it is death to your immortal soul…
I weep over my indulgences in lust, impure thoughts and evil inclinations; covetousness, gluttony, drunkenness, and sloth;
I weep for having talked idly, used foul language, blasphemed, derided, joked, ridiculed, mocked, enjoyed empty gaiety, singing, dancing and every pleasure to excess…”
☦️St Basil the Great
‘I want to be saved, but I do not know the way to salvation.’ Brother! Through the Holy Scriptures and through our fathers God has shown us the way to salvation, saying: 'Ask your father, and he will show you; your elders, and they will tell you' (Deut. 32:7). So if you wish not to go astray on the path of salvation, do nothing without asking the spiritual fathers, and you will not err, thanks to the grace of God Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth' (I Tim. 2:4). Sts. Barsanuphius and John. Directions in Spiritual Work, Text #71. Philokalia, B#23.
“She had left her parents at the age of 12 to go to Alexandria, where she spent the next 17 years in debauchery and the greatest profligacy. Living on charity and linen-weaving, she nevertheless offered her body to any man, not being forced to it by dire necessity as were so many poor women, but as though she were consumed by the fire of desire that nothing was able to appease...When she realized the fullness of her sinfulness through a divine revelation, she prayed and heard a voice from on high: ‘If you cross the Jordan, you will find rest.’ She crossed the river and lived from that time on in the desert for 47 years without encountering another human being or any animal.
Protected by God, who desires nothing but that the sinner should turn to Him and live, she uprooted all the passions from her heart by means of her extraordinary ascesis and was able to turn the fire of carnal desire into a flame of divine love that made it possible for her to endure the implacable desert with joy as though she were not in the flesh...”
—From the Life of St. Mary of Egypt
—From the Life of St. Mary of Egypt
The Icon of the Mother of God of Mount Athos, “Sweet Kissing” (Apr 20) is associated with many miracles, even one involving a pilgrim who was skeptical of the miracle stories he heard. The man, from Adrianopolis, visited Philotheou Monastery in 1830. He listened attentively to a monk tell the story of the holy Icon and the miracles associated with it, but he regarded the account as a fictitious tale which only a child might believe. The monk was grieved at the man’s unbelief, and tried to persuade him that everything he had said was absolutely true. The unfortunate pilgrim remained unconvinced.
That very day, as the pilgrim was walking on an upper balcony, he slipped and began to fall. He cried out, “Most Holy Theotokos, help me!” The Mother of God heard him and came to his assistance. The pilgrim landed on the ground completely unharmed." bit.ly/3alz0Dq
Photo source: Mount Athos - Greece Facebook page
That very day, as the pilgrim was walking on an upper balcony, he slipped and began to fall. He cried out, “Most Holy Theotokos, help me!” The Mother of God heard him and came to his assistance. The pilgrim landed on the ground completely unharmed." bit.ly/3alz0Dq
Photo source: Mount Athos - Greece Facebook page
A contrast revealed in icons
St. Mary of Egypt: repented in tears, struggled valiantly against temptations and received longed-for Mystical Supper, the Cup of Salvation, from the hand of St. Zozimas. Judas Iscariot: left the Mystical Supper after betraying his Master, leaving behind an empty halo and a mere silhouette in the place of where he should have been had he not turned his back on Jesus Christ. He brought upon himself the despair of guilt without repentance.
St. Mary of Egypt: repented in tears, struggled valiantly against temptations and received longed-for Mystical Supper, the Cup of Salvation, from the hand of St. Zozimas. Judas Iscariot: left the Mystical Supper after betraying his Master, leaving behind an empty halo and a mere silhouette in the place of where he should have been had he not turned his back on Jesus Christ. He brought upon himself the despair of guilt without repentance.
If you fall, rise up. If you fall again, rise up again. Only do not abandon your Physician, lest you be condemned as worse than a suicide because of your despair. Wait on Him, and He will be merciful, either reforming you, or sending you trials, or through some other provision of which you are ignorant.
☦️ St. Peter of Damaskos (“Twenty-Four Discourses,” VIII Mortification of the Passions, The Philokalia)
☦️ St. Peter of Damaskos (“Twenty-Four Discourses,” VIII Mortification of the Passions, The Philokalia)
As we approach Palm Sunday, let us remember Saint Corona patron saint of plagues and afflictions. The Greek variant of her name is Stephanie. The saint was tied between two palm trees and when the tree trunks were released her body was torn.
St Corona/Stephanie had caught the attention of authorities at the age of 16 for coming to the aid of a Roman soldier named Victor, who was being tortured for being a Christian. Victor had his eyes gouged out and was beheaded. The two martyr-saints are commemorated on November 11.
St Corona/Stephanie had caught the attention of authorities at the age of 16 for coming to the aid of a Roman soldier named Victor, who was being tortured for being a Christian. Victor had his eyes gouged out and was beheaded. The two martyr-saints are commemorated on November 11.
The miracle-working life of the Great Martyr George (Apr 23/ May 6) increased the number of the Christians in the Roman Empire, thus enraging the Roman emperor, Diocletian. Under Diocletian, George, a soldier in the Roman army, received the crown of martyrdom in the last days of the pagan era. Within ten years, St Constantine would grant religious freedom to Christians.
Icon of St. George from the Monastery of Christ of Symvoulas, in Cyprus
Icon of St. George from the Monastery of Christ of Symvoulas, in Cyprus
How beloved are Your dwellings, O Lord of hosts. My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh greatly rejoice in the living God. For even the sparrow found a house for herself, and the turtledove a nest for herself, where she will lay her young, Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they shall praise You unto ages of ages. Blessed is the man whose help is from You, O Lord; he purposed ascents in his heart in the valley of weeping, into the place he appointed; for there the lawgiver shall give blessings.
They shall go from strength to strength; the God of gods shall be seen in Zion. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob. O God, our protector, behold, and look upon the face of Your anointed. For one day in Your courts is better than a thousand; I chose to be an outcast in the house of my God, rather than to dwell in the tents of sinners. For the Lord God loves mercy and truth; He will give grace and glory; the Lord’s hand will not remove good things from those who walk in innocence. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who hopes in You. #Psalm83
“Whoever reads the Psalms imitates the angels and sings together with them.” ✝️ Elder Paisie Olaru of Sihla, from “A Little Corner of Paradise”
“Whoever reads the Psalms imitates the angels and sings together with them.” ✝️ Elder Paisie Olaru of Sihla, from “A Little Corner of Paradise”
By raising Lazarus from the dead before Thy Passion, Thou didst confirm the universal resurrection, O Christ God!
“Lazarus Saturday is a paschal celebration. It is the only time in the entire Church Year that the Resurrectional service of Sunday is celebrated on another day. At the liturgy of Lazarus Saturday, the Church glorifies Christ as ‘the Resurrection and the Life’ who, by raising Lazarus, has confirmed the universal resurrection of mankind even before His own suffering and death.”
— Fr Thomas Hopko, Orthodox Worship
“Lazarus Saturday is a paschal celebration. It is the only time in the entire Church Year that the Resurrectional service of Sunday is celebrated on another day. At the liturgy of Lazarus Saturday, the Church glorifies Christ as ‘the Resurrection and the Life’ who, by raising Lazarus, has confirmed the universal resurrection of mankind even before His own suffering and death.”
— Fr Thomas Hopko, Orthodox Worship
Prayer ropes save the departed from Hell
While St. Joseph the Hesychast was praying for a departed soul who had been condemned, he had the following vision: “As I was praying, I saw the late Fr (Saint) George (Karslidis) in front of me… I managed to meet him because he was still alive when I was in the world. Every day, he served the Liturgy and commemorated thousands of names. Afterwards, he would go to the graves and read trisagion prayers and memorial services for the departed, all day long. I saw him in a vision and heard him saying to me in great amazement: ‘Wow! Until today, I thought that the deceased were only saved with Liturgies and memorial services. But today I saw and realized that people in Hell are also saved with prayer ropes.’ Again he repeated with admiration: ‘Yes, people are also saved with prayer ropes.’”
While St. Joseph the Hesychast was praying for a departed soul who had been condemned, he had the following vision: “As I was praying, I saw the late Fr (Saint) George (Karslidis) in front of me… I managed to meet him because he was still alive when I was in the world. Every day, he served the Liturgy and commemorated thousands of names. Afterwards, he would go to the graves and read trisagion prayers and memorial services for the departed, all day long. I saw him in a vision and heard him saying to me in great amazement: ‘Wow! Until today, I thought that the deceased were only saved with Liturgies and memorial services. But today I saw and realized that people in Hell are also saved with prayer ropes.’ Again he repeated with admiration: ‘Yes, people are also saved with prayer ropes.’”
Since Saint Joseph the Hesychast wasn’t a priest, he would commemorate the souls of the departed by fervently praying for them on his prayer rope, and through the prayers of Saint Joseph, souls were saved from Hell.
—Elder Haralambos Dionysiatis
—Elder Haralambos Dionysiatis
St. George (April 23/May 6) at his martyrdom, addressed the Emperor: “I am saved only by calling upon Christ and His Power. Whoever believes in Him has no regard for tortures and is able to do the things that Christ did” (John 14:12).
His own torturers were among those converted on witnessing the saint’s courage while being tormented for his faith un Christ.
His own torturers were among those converted on witnessing the saint’s courage while being tormented for his faith un Christ.
Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” + John 6:32-33
Mandylion (Not-made-by-hands) icon courtesy of www.eikonografos.com. Used with permission
Mandylion (Not-made-by-hands) icon courtesy of www.eikonografos.com. Used with permission