Words from the Saints -- June 19, 2018

"What is more precious than anything in the world? Time! And what do we waste uselessly and without being sorry? Time! What do we not value and what do we disregard more than anything? Time! When we waste time, we lose ourselves. Time is given by God to use correctly for the salvation of the soul and the acquisition of the life to come. The Lord will call us to account for having stolen time for our own whims, and for not using it for God and our souls." --St. Sebastian of Optina

"Our own evil inclinations are far more dangerous than any external enemies." --St. Ambrose of Milan

"The remembrance of Jesus’ sufferings cures the remembrance of wrongs, which is mightily shamed by His forbearance." --St John Climacus

"A saint-like soul helps its neighbor and when ill-treated by him is patient, enduring what it suffers at his hands." --St. Thalassios the Libyan

"When elated by praise, be sure disgrace will follow; for it is said: 'Whoever exalts himself will be humbled' (Luke 14: 11)." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"Every day you provide your bodies with food to keep them from failing. In the same way your good works should be the daily nourishment of your hearts. Your bodies are fed with food and your spirits with good works. You aren't to deny your soul, which is going to live forever, what you grant to your body, which is going to die." --St. Gregory the Great

"Learn something from the Scriptures by heart, and keep your mind focused on it. These things impede the demons from making assaults against us." --St. Nil of Sora

Readings for the Week of June 17, 2018

6/17: Romans 5:1-10; Matthew 6:22-33
6/18: Romans 9:18-33; Matthew 11:2-15
6/19: Romans 10:11-11:2; Matthew 11:16-20
6/20: Romans 11:2-12; Matthew 11:20-26
6/21: Romans 11:13-24; Matthew 11:27-30
6/22: Romans 11:25-36; Matthew 12:1-8
6/23: Romans 6:11-17; Matthew 8:14-23

Prayer List for the Week of June 17, 2018

For healing: Metropolitan Joseph, Fr. Andrew, Fr. Goras, Fr. James, Fr. John, Fr. Vasiliy, Fr. Yves, Fr. Deacon Dmitri, Matushka Laryssa, Brother Demetrios, Ross, Justin, Steven, Marian, Paul, Dale, Roger, Nancy, Barbara, Claire, Maria, Victoria, Patricia, Mark, Nikolai, Anastasia, Nancy, Antoinette, Sarah, Michael, Metodije, Annabelle, Alice, Kathleen, Walter, Jay, Denise, Denise, Leslie,  Andrew, Anthony, Heather, Alexis, Robert, Dorothy, Gerald, Sylvia, Catherine, George, Alexander, Cassie, John, Patricia, Doug, Karen, Carol, Christine, Pamela, Heather, Katherine, Sabra, Sid, Robert, Marianne, Ryan, Helen, Joanne, Rose Mary, Tina, Diane, Irene, Alexis, Susan, Andrea, Martha, Marianne, Patricia, Olga, Michael, Dennis, Marie

For God’s protection: Archbishops Paul Yazigi and John Ibrahim; all captives; all persecuted Christians throughout the world

For God’s protection: all those in the military

For God’s mercy and peace: those who are in hospice care

For God’s mercy, direction and protection: those who are unemployed, poor, hungry and/or homeless

*** We pray for: those who love us; those who hate us; those who have no one to pray for them; those who have asked us to pray for them, even though we are unworthy. ***

Departed: Fr. Bazyl, Fr. Valery, Calitia, Daniel, Michael, Carrie, Robert, Megan, Xenophon, Ann

Words from the Saints -- June 12, 2018

“Look to the end of every involuntary suffering and you will find in it removal of sins.” --St. Mark the Ascetic

"A person is humble when he knows that his very being is on loan to him." --St. Maximos the Confessor

"He who restrains his mouth from speech guards his heart from passions." --St. Isaac the Syrian

"How absurd and unnatural are anger and rage. Look at the face of a gentle person — how beautiful it is… but look at the face of an angry one: it is restless, gloomy and ugly." --St. John of Kronstadt

"There is still time for endurance, time for patience, time for healing, time for change. Have you slipped? Rise up. Have you sinned? Cease. Do not stand among sinners, but leap aside." --St. Basil the Great

"Prayer is called a virtue, but in reality it is the mother of the virtues: for it gives birth to them through union with Christ." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"Love and humility form a holy pair; what the first builds, the second binds, thus preventing the building from falling asunder." --St. John Climacus

"Shun the satisfactions of this age, so as to be happy in the age to come. Do not be sad when you are cursed by men; be sad when you sin--this is the true curse." --St. Pachomius the Great

Words from the Saints -- June 5, 2018

"The soul must be constantly ready and alert and always in contact with the spiritual headquarters, that is, God. Only then, it will feel secure, full of hope and joy." --St. Paisios

"Prayer is a great weapon, a rich treasure, a wealth that is never exhausted, and undisturbed refuge, a couse of tranquility, the root of a multitude of blessings and their source." --St. John Chrysostom

"If you do not want to suffer evil, do not inflict it, since the suffering of it inevitably follows its infliction. 'For whatever a man sows he will also reap' (Galatians 6:7)." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"Afflictions, illness, ill health and the pains that our bodies experience are counted for the remission of our trespasses. They are the furnace in which we are purified." --St. John Chrysostom

"We have such a law: If you forgive your brother it means that God has forgiven you, but if you do not forgive your brother it means that your sin remains with you." --St. Silouan of Mt. Athos

"Do not foster hatred for the sinner, for we are all guilty. Hate his sins, and pray for him, so that you may be made like unto Christ, who had no dislike for sinners, but prayed for them." 
--St. Isaac the Syrian

Words from the Saints -- May 1, 2018

"Jesus became what we are that He might make us what He is." --St. Athanasius the Great

"God's desire to save you is greater than your enemy’s desire to destroy you." --St. Nicodemos

"God has granted us existence - the greatest gift of His goodness, and after we had fallen away from Him, from life into death, He gave us for our regeneration, to bring us back to life, His Son. How small in proportion are all the other gifts which we ask of Him in prayer, and how easy it is for Him to give them to us at the first word of true faith, if they are really necessary for us! Therefore it is perfectly unpardonable in us if we still doubt that we shall obtain what we ask of God in prayer. The Lord said plainly: 'Ask, and it shall be given you.' (Matthew 7:7)." --St. John of Kronstadt

"It is good that we make God's mercy known to all and speak to those close to us of the compassion and inexpressible bounty He has shown us." --St. Symeon the New Theologian

"He who does not make his will agree with God is tripped up by his own schemes and falls into the hands of his enemies." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"As long as there are holy people on earth, the earth will stand. If the earth stops producing saints then will come to an end." --St. Silouan of Mt. Athos

A meditation on the Resurrection (By Archimandrite Justin Popovic)

    People condemned God to death; with His Resurrection He condemned them to immortality. For striking Him, God returned embraces; for insults, blessings; for death, immortality. Never did men show more hate towards God than when they crucified Him; and God never showed His love towards people more than when He was resurrected. Mankind wanted to make God dead, but God, with His Resurrection, made people alive, the crucified God resurrected on the third day and thereby killed death ! There is no more death. Immortality is surrounding man and his entire world.
    With the Resurrection of the God-Man, the nature of man is irreversibly led toward the road of immortality and man's nature becomes destructive to death itself. For until the Resurrection of Christ, death was destructive for man; from the Resurrection of Christ, man's nature becomes destructive in death. If man lives in the faith of the Resurrected God Man, he lives above death, he is unreachable for her; death is under man's feet. Death where is thy sting? Hell, where is thy victory? And when a man who believes in Christ dies, he only leaves his body as his clothes, in which he will be dressed again on the Day of Last Judgement.
    Before the Resurrection of the God-Man, death was the second nature of man; life was first and death was second. Man became accustomed to death as something natural. But after His Resurrection the Lord changed everything: and it was only natural until Christ's Resurrection, that the people became mortal, so after Christ's Resurrection it was natural that the people became immortal.
    Through sin, man becomes mortal and temporal; with the Resurrection of the God-Man, he becomes immortal and eternal. In this lies the strength, in this lies the power, in this lies the might of Christ's Resurrection. Without the Resurrection there is no Christianity. Among the miracles, this is the greatest one; all other miracles begin and end with it. From it sprouted the faith and the love and the hope and the prayer and the love toward God.

Troparion of Pascha

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down Death by death, and upon those in the tombs, bestowing Life!

Holy Saturday (April 7)

Holy Saturday (April 7)
Today hell cries out groaning: "My power has been swallowed up. The Shepherd is crucified and Adam is raised. I have been deprived of the ones whom I ruled. Those whom I devoured in my strength I have given up. He Who was crucified has emptied the tombs." The power of Death has been vanquished. Lord, glory to Your Cross and Resurrection.

Let all mortal flesh keep silent, and in fear and trembling stand, pondering nothing earthly-minded.  For the King of kings, and Lord of Lords comes to be slain, to give Himself as food to the faithful. Before Him go the ranks of angels, all the Principalities and Powers, the many-eyed Cherubim, and the six-winged Seraphim, covering their faces, chanting the hymn:  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
 

Holy Friday (April 6)

Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung on the tree. The King of the Angels is decked with a crown of thorns. He who wraps the heavens in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery. He who freed Adam in the Jordan is slapped on the face. The Bridegroom of the Church is affixed to the cross with nails. The Son of the virgin is pierced by a spear.
We worship Your passion, O Christ! 
We worship Your passion, O Christ! 
We worship Your passion, O Christ! 
Show us also Your glorious resurrection.

Let us not keep the feast like the Jews, for our Passover, Christ God, has been slain for us. But let us cleanse ourselves of every defilement and with sincerity let us entreat Him: Rise, O Lord, and save us, for You are the Lover of Mankind!

Your cross, O Lord, is life and resurrection for Your people. Trusting in it, we praise You, our crucified God. Have mercy on us!

Holy Thursday (April 5)

When the glorious disciples were enlightened at the washing of their feet before the supper, then the impious Judas was darkened, ailing with avarice, and to the lawless judges he betrays You, the Righteous Judge. Behold, O lover of money, this man who because of money hanged himself. Flee from the greedy soul which dared such things against the Master. O Lord You are good towards all, glory to You!

Holy Wednesday (April 4): Hymn of St. Cassiani

The woman had fallen into many sins, 0 Lord, yet when she perceived Your divinity, she joined the ranks of the myrrh-bearing women. In tears she brought You myrrh before Your burial. She cried, "Woe is me! For I live in the night of licentiousness, shrouded in the dark and moonless love of sin. But accept the fountain of my tears, O You that gathered the waters of the sea into clouds. Bow down Your ear to the sighing of my heart, O You that bowed the heavens in Your ineffable condescension. Once Eve heard Your footstep in paradise in the cool of the day, and in fear she ran and hid herself. But now I will tenderly embrace those pure feet and wipe them with the hair of my head. Who can measure the multitude of my sins, or the depth of Your judgments, O Savior of my soul? Do not despise Your servant in Your immeasurable mercy."

Holy Monday and Holy Tuesday (April 2-3): Hymn of the Bridegroom

Behold, the Bridegroom comes at midnight, and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching; and again, unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, O my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep, lest you be given up to death and lest you be shut out of the Kingdom. But rouse yourself crying: Holy, Holy, Holy, are You, O our God! Through the Birthgiver-of-God have mercy on us!

Lazarus Saturday/Palm Sunday (March 31-April 1)

Giving us before Your Passion an assurance of the general resurrection, You have raised Lazarus, Christ our God. Therefore, like the children we also carry symbols of victory and cry to You, the Conqueror of Death: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord.

Words from the Saints -- March 27, 2018

"Not the power to remember, but its very opposite, the power to forget, is a necessary condition for our existence." --St. Basil the Great

"Repentance is the beginning, middle and end of the Christian way of life..." --St. Gregory Palamas

"'I have sinned' is just three syllables; and yet in these three syllables the flames of the heart's sacrifice rise up to heaven." --St Augustine of Hippo

"He who has learned the law properly fears the Lawgiver and, fearing Him, he turns away from every evil." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"Fearful afflictions await the hard of heart, for without great sufferings they cannot become pliable and responsive." --St. Thalassios the Libyan

"The knowledge of God does not reside in a body that loves comforts." --St Isaac of Syria

Penitential Stanzas (Tone 1)

Savior, I have fallen into a great abyss because of my sins, and my transgressions weigh me down. Stretch out Your hand to me as You did to Peter, O Lord. Save me, O God, and have mercy on me.

My thoughts and deeds condemn me, O Savior. Give me the thought of turning back, that I may cry out to You: Save me, O God, and have mercy on me!

Another world awaits you, my soul: a Judge will soon reveal your secret and terrible thoughts and deeds! Do not linger, then, among the things that are here. Anticipate the Judgment and cry out to the Judge: Be merciful to me, O God, and save me!

Do not reject me at the testing, my Savior, though I am held fast by the laziness of sin. Arouse my thoughts to repentance; make me a proven worker of Your vineyard: grant me the wages of the eleventh hour and great mercy!

Words from the Saints -- March 20, 2018

"Complete trust in God; that is what Holy humility is." --St Porphyrios

"He who attains love cannot fall." --St. Macarios the Great

"What is the human mind without Christ? It’s a suffering, tortured lamentation. What is the human soul without Christ? It’s a talking scarecrow. What is our conscience, our free will? Hopeless blindness. What is the body without Christ? A disgusting, loathsome worm. What is our will? A helpless criminal In general, what are we without Christ? A terrible, external spectacle." --St. Justin Popovich

"We must give thanks for all things to the Lord, Who has rightly given us difficulties that we may learn patience, which is more beneficial than comforts, and ennobles the soul." --St. Moses of Optina 

"Prayer is food for the soul. Do not starve the soul; it is better to let the body go hungry. Do not judge anyone; forgive everyone. Consider yourself worse than everyone in the world and you will be saved. As much as possible, be more quiet." --St. Joseph of optima

"God loves us very much. He has us in mind in each and every moment and He protects us. We should know this and not be afraid of anything." --St. Porphyrios

"We must not allow Christ to be overshadowed by any regulations, any customs, any traditions, any aesthetic considerations, or even any piety."  --St. Maria of Paris

Penitential Stanzas (Tone 8)

Penitential Stanzas (Tone 8)
King and Master, the angels praise You without ceasing, and I fall before You crying out like the Tax-Collector:  God be merciful to me and save me (Luke 18:13)!

My soul, because you are immortal, be not overwhelmed by the waves of this life.  But return to sobriety and cry out to Your Benefactor:  God be merciful to me and save me!

Grant me tears, O God, as You once gave them to the woman who had sinned, and count me worthy to wash Your feet which have delivered me from the path of error.  As sweet-smelling ointment, let me offer You a pure life created in me through repentance.  And may I also hear the words which I long to hear:  Your faith have saved you, go in peace (Luke 7:37-50).

When I call to mind the many evils I have done, and I think about the fearsome day of judgement.  I am seized with trembling and I flee to You for refuge, the God Who loves mankind.  I beseech You Who alone are free from sin to turn not away from me.  But before the end comes grant compunction to my humbled soul and save me.

Words from the Saints -- March 13, 2018

"I prefer a sinful man who knows he has sinned and repents, to a man who has not sinned and considers himself to be righteous." --Abba Sarmatas

"To be Orthodox means to have the God-man Christ constantly in your soul, to live in Him, think in Him, feel in Him, act in Him. In other words, to be Orthodox means to be a Christ-bearer and a Spirit-bearer." --St. Justin Popovich

"When you want to resolve a complex problem, seek God's will in the matter, and you will find a constructive solution." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"Christians have a glory and a beauty and a heavenly wealth which is beyond words, and it is won with pains, and sweat, and trials, and many conflicts, and all by the grace of God." --St. Macarius the Great

"Prayer is a remedy against grief and depression. --St. Nilus

Penitential Stanzas (Tone 7)

King and Master, the angels praise You without ceasing, and I fall before You crying out like the Tax-Collector:  God be merciful to me and save me [Luke 18:13]!

My soul, because you are immortal, be not overwhelmed by the waves of this life.  But return to sobriety and cry out to Your Benefactor: God be merciful to me and save me!

Grant me tears, O God, as You once gave them to the woman who had sinned, and count me worthy to wash Your feet which have delivered me from the path of error.  As sweet-smelling ointment, let me offer You a pure life created in me through repentance.  And may I also hear the words which I long to hear:  Your faith have saved you, go in peace [Luke 7:37-50].

When I call to mind the many evils I have done, and I think about the fearsome day of judgement, I am seized with trembling and I flee to You for refuge, the God Who loves mankind.  You alone are free from sin and I beseech You not to turn away from me.  But before the end comes grant compunction to my humbled soul and save me.