The Holy and Glorious Prophet Joel (Oct 19/ Nov 1) declared “the day of The Lord draws near” (Joel 1:15)
and called the people to turn back to God with all their hearts.
The Holy Prophet also foretold the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Joel 2:28, and quoted by the Apostle Peter in Acts 2:17), and the saving power of the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Joel 2:32).
Joel also prophesied and described the Dread Judgment of God, and foretold the glory of God's Holy Church.
“… you saw things far off as if they were near. Therefore, we honor you, blessed and glorious Prophet Joel.”
and called the people to turn back to God with all their hearts.
The Holy Prophet also foretold the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Joel 2:28, and quoted by the Apostle Peter in Acts 2:17), and the saving power of the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Joel 2:32).
Joel also prophesied and described the Dread Judgment of God, and foretold the glory of God's Holy Church.
“… you saw things far off as if they were near. Therefore, we honor you, blessed and glorious Prophet Joel.”
"When you find Christ [in the heart], you are satisfied, you desire nothing else, you find peace. You become a different person. You live everywhere, wherever Christ is. You live in the stars, in infinity, in heaven with the angels, with the saints, on earth with people, with plants, with animals, with everyone and everything. When there is love for Christ, loneliness disappears. You are peaceable, joyous, full. Neither melancholy, not illness, nor pressure, nor anxiety, nor depression nor hell."
☦️ St Porpyhrios of Kavsokalyvia
☦️ St Porpyhrios of Kavsokalyvia
St Gabriel Urgebadze (Nov 2)
“The Signs of the Times are everywhere all around us, yet hardly anyone wants to see it. The end is soon approaching and anyone who has not found love will be swept away by the deluge. The door to the Ark is not yet shut, there is still mercy left for us.
We must take every moment left as an opportunity to move closer to Christ. Don’t waste time by unnecessarily obsessing and arguing with hard-headed people over the Signs and Times. Spend your time plowing the field so you can find the treasure...
In the end times a man will be saved by love, humbleness and kindness. Kindness will open the gates of Heaven; humbleness will lead him into Heaven; a man, whose heart is filled with love, will see God.”
“The Signs of the Times are everywhere all around us, yet hardly anyone wants to see it. The end is soon approaching and anyone who has not found love will be swept away by the deluge. The door to the Ark is not yet shut, there is still mercy left for us.
We must take every moment left as an opportunity to move closer to Christ. Don’t waste time by unnecessarily obsessing and arguing with hard-headed people over the Signs and Times. Spend your time plowing the field so you can find the treasure...
In the end times a man will be saved by love, humbleness and kindness. Kindness will open the gates of Heaven; humbleness will lead him into Heaven; a man, whose heart is filled with love, will see God.”
☦️ I will come into Your house in the greatness of Your mercy: and in fear I will worship toward Your holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before me, that with a clear mind I may glorify You forever, One Divine Power worshiped in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. ☦️
If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
+ Luke 12:28-31
+ Luke 12:28-31
The emperor’s orders regarding Christians were simple: "Put to death anyone who calls on the name of the Crucified".
In Thessalonika, proconsul Demetrios, instead of following orders to execute Christians, once a secret Christian, now openly confessed the Christ. It is said that in his teaching zeal he became for Thessalonika "a second Apostle Paul" in the same city where Saint Paul founded the first community of believers (1 Thes., 2 Thes.). Like Paul, Saint Demitrios was also destined by the Lord to martyrdom. At dawn on 26 October 306 Roman soldiers and the holy saint through with spears.
☦️Apolytikion (Third Tone):
The world has found in you a great champion in time of peril, as you emerged the victor in routing the barbarians. For as you brought to naught the boasts of Lyaios, imparting courage to Nestor in the stadium, in like manner, holy one, great Martyr Demetrios, invoke Christ God for us, that He may grant us His great mercy.
In Thessalonika, proconsul Demetrios, instead of following orders to execute Christians, once a secret Christian, now openly confessed the Christ. It is said that in his teaching zeal he became for Thessalonika "a second Apostle Paul" in the same city where Saint Paul founded the first community of believers (1 Thes., 2 Thes.). Like Paul, Saint Demitrios was also destined by the Lord to martyrdom. At dawn on 26 October 306 Roman soldiers and the holy saint through with spears.
☦️Apolytikion (Third Tone):
The world has found in you a great champion in time of peril, as you emerged the victor in routing the barbarians. For as you brought to naught the boasts of Lyaios, imparting courage to Nestor in the stadium, in like manner, holy one, great Martyr Demetrios, invoke Christ God for us, that He may grant us His great mercy.
I told him that the soul could be freed from sinful thoughts only by guarding the mind and cleansing the heart, and that this could be done by the interior prayer. I added that according to the holy Fathers, one who performs saving works simply from the fear of Hell follows the way of bondage, and he who does the same just in order to be rewarded with the Kingdom of Heaven follows the path of a bargainer with God. The one they call a slave, the other a hireling. But God wants us to comne to Him as sons to their Father, He wants us to behave ourselves honourably from love for Him and zeal for His service. He wants us to find our happiness in uniting ourselves with Him in a saving union of mind and heart.”
—from the “Way of a Pilgrim”
—from the “Way of a Pilgrim”
This is considered to be the last photograph of St Nectarios of Aegina (Nov 9/ Nov 23) as he leaves his monastery in Aegina for Aretaieio Hospital, a hospital for the poor in Athens. At his repose, St Nectarios had endured many years of slander, malice, and neglect from ecclesiastical authorities. Hospital workers were shocked to discover that the man dressed in simple monk's clothes was a bishop.
When St Nektarios was the Metropolitan of Pentapolis, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, filled with jealousy toward the saint, told Patriarch Sophronius that Nectarius was plotting to become patriarch himself. St Nektarios was not deposed but was removed from his position and he was placed under severe restrictions without any reason given.
The room where the saint reposed now serves as a chapel for the hospital. As the nurse and the nun who sat with him began to prepare him for burial, they removed his sweater and placed it on the bed of a paralyzed man next to St Nektarios.
When St Nektarios was the Metropolitan of Pentapolis, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, filled with jealousy toward the saint, told Patriarch Sophronius that Nectarius was plotting to become patriarch himself. St Nektarios was not deposed but was removed from his position and he was placed under severe restrictions without any reason given.
The room where the saint reposed now serves as a chapel for the hospital. As the nurse and the nun who sat with him began to prepare him for burial, they removed his sweater and placed it on the bed of a paralyzed man next to St Nektarios.
Immediately, the paralytic got up from his bed, glorifying God.
Saint Nektarios was buried at the Holy Trinity Monastery on Aegina. Several years later, his grave was opened to remove his bones. His body was found whole and incorrupt as if he had been buried that very day.
Saint Nektarios was buried at the Holy Trinity Monastery on Aegina. Several years later, his grave was opened to remove his bones. His body was found whole and incorrupt as if he had been buried that very day.