“Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”

The Annunciation to the Most-Holy Theotokos (Mar 25) "is the beginning of our salvation, the revelation of the eternal mystery! The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin as Gabriel announces the coming of Grace. Together with him let us cry to the Theotokos: Rejoice, O Full of Grace, the Lord is with you!" (Troparion of the Feast, Tone 4)

☦️St. John of Kronstadt

“What saves and makes for good children is the life of the parents in the home. The parents need to devote themselves to the love of God. They need to become saints in their relations to their children through their mildness, patience, and love."

☦️St Porphyrios

All-merciful Virgin Theotokos, Mother of compassions and love for mankind, my most beloved hope and aspiration! O Mother of the most sweet and most desired Saviour, my Mistress, Theotokos, look down on me, I humbly pray thee, with thy merciful eye and despise me not. I am all in darkness, all in filth, all immersed in the mire of passions, terribly fallen and unable to stand. Do thou take pity on me and grant me a helping hand, lift me up out of sinful depths. Pour forth on me the oil of thy compassion and accept this prayer and save me, O thou the Mediatress of my salvation. Amen.

☦️ St. Joseph the Hesychast

O Almighty Word of the Father, Jesus Christ, Who art Thyself perfect: Because of Thy great mercy, do not ever depart from me, Thy servant, but always abide in me. O Jesus, Good Shepherd of Thy sheep, let me not fall into the disobedience of the serpent, nor leave me to the will of Satan, for the seeds of corruption are in me. O Lord God adorable, O Holy King Jesus, guard me while I sleep with the unfading light, Thy Holy Spirit, through Whom Thou didst sanctify Thy disciples. Grant even to me, Thy unworthy servant, O Lord, Thy salvation upon my bed. Enlighten my mind with the light of the understanding of Thy Gospel; my soul with love of Thy Cross; my heart with the purity of Thy word; my body with Thy passionless passion; preserve my thought in Thy humility, and raise me at the time proper for Thy glorification. For Thou art most glorified with Thy Father, Who is without beginning, and Thy Most Holy Spirit, unto the ages. Amen.

☦️St Cleopa

“We are on Facebook then we go to WhatsApp then to Instagram ... from Instagram we go to Snapchat… The devil fears that human sits one minute with himself."

--Archimandrite Athanasios Kakish

When you have an important message to deliver, run.

The Archangel Gabriel appears with his feet apart, as if running. This, combined with the posture of his body captures the urgency and great joy of his message depicted on the icon of the Annunciation of the Most-Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary (March 25).

☦️St. Ephraim the Syrian

“But the meek shall inherit the earth and be refreshed in a multitude of peace.” Psalm 36(37):14

☦️Missile-damaged St Porphyrios Orthodox Church, Gaza

“Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”

The Annunciation to the Most-Holy Theotokos (Mar 25) "is the beginning of our salvation, the revelation of the eternal mystery! The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin as Gabriel announces the coming of Grace. Together with him let us cry to the Theotokos: Rejoice, O Full of Grace, the Lord is with you!" (Troparion of the Feast, Tone 4).

Icon: Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, Nea Makri Monastery, Greece

A man asked a priest: "If God is everywhere, why should 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."

The church is a hospital, and not a courtroom, for souls. She does not condemn on behalf of sins, but grants remission of sins.

☦️ St. John Chrysostom

A Lesson in Holy Simplicity

In I965, our country was visited by an important Anglican delegation, led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey. They also visited Cernica Monastery.

Special preparations were, of course, made: general cleaning and so on. Among other things, an extremely simple monk, with little education, always dressed in an old cassock and with an unkempt appearance, was removed and sent all the way to the cemetery, so that the guests wouldn't see him and God forbid!-the monastery would be embarrassed.

But God had other plans. The delegation also visited the cemetery. There they came across the respective father, crouched in a corner, reading the Psalter with tears in his eyes. Everyone noticed him, photographed him, filmed him, so much so that his image even reached albroad, being used on various occasions to illustrate the authentic face of an Orthodox monk. [1/2]

[2/2] This is how God glorified that holy-living ascetic. We were wrong back then. —Father Nicodim Bujor

Source: Basilica New Agency

"We should never fear to be a minority in society. The days of the great Christian empires are over, and now we are becoming once again a minority like the Apostolic Church. We shouldn't fear being a minority, as long as we are a minority inspired by God, filled with His Holy Spirit. A Spirit-filled minority can change the world."

Archbishop Anastasios of Albania

God, dogs, and us

"By their very nature and need, dogs draw us out of ourselves: they root us in nature, making us more conscious of the mystery of God inherent in all things. We cannot but delight in recognizing God’s mystery in the length and breadth of our daily life." - from the Monks of New Skete monastery (Cambridge, NY) website, newskete.org

"When you condemn another person, you condemn God Himself."

☦️St Gabriel Urgebadze of Georgia, Confessor and Fool for Christ

If you believe in the divinity of Christ, this means that the Heavenly Father has touched your heart.

This is a mystery.

It’s a mystery to know how the thief was able to recognize Christ.

—Archpriest Theodore Gignadze