What the Spirit of His Dead Aunt Told Saint Iakovos of Evia

Saint Iakovos Tsalikes said:

"Since I was a child, I go to the cemetery every day and think about death. All my relatives have died. Anyway, I commemorate an aunt of mine. I saw the aunt also and she told me:

'Ah, my nephew Iakovos, thank you for what you are sending me. You send me a lot, but you know there are other people who are unfortunate and hungry and have no one in the world to think of them, to care for them.'

Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Luke - Power in the Name (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

 

Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Luke

Power in the Name

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

"When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, 'What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?'" (Luke 8:28).

Beloved brethren,

The possessed man of the Gadarenes cried out, fell at the feet of Christ and said: "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?" (Luke 8:28). The presence of Christ was terrible for the demons that existed inside that unfortunate man. This great power also is in the name of Jesus, which declares His presence, which is why the Fathers often recommend that we pray with "the prayer" of Jesus, in order to be freed from the exploitation and oppression of the devil.

Homily for the Tenth Sunday of Matthew - Prayer and Fasting (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

 Homily for the Tenth Sunday of Matthew

Prayer and Fasting

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The miracle we heard today refers to the healing of a demon possessed young man, who when possessed by demons fell into fire and water, had tendencies of self-destruction. Christ cast out the demons and the young man became well. To a related question from the disciples, Christ answered: "This kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting" (Matthew 17:21). Christ cast out the demon with the power of His divinity, the disciples could cast it out with the power of Christ, however, after they pray and fast.

Reflection on the Tenth Sunday of Matthew (St. Theophan the Recluse)

Tenth Sunday of Matthew

Matthew 17:14-23

By St. Theophan the Recluse 

 

"This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." If this kind goes out by the prayer and fasting of another person, then it is even less able to enter one who fasts and prays. What protection! Although there are a slew of demons and all the air is packed with them, they cannot do anything to one who is protected by prayer and fasting. 

 

Homily on the Prayer of the Prophet Elijah (St. Luke of Simferopol)

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on July 20/August 2, 1951)

When we read in the Bible, in the Third and Fourth Books of Kings about the amazing deeds of the holy prophet Elijah, our mind is amazed by them, we are amazed very much: we are amazed at his extraordinary zeal for the glory of God and his complete fearlessness in planting faith among the pagan people (and such was then the people of Israel); our mind is amazed when we read about his extraordinary miracles; we are most amazed, perhaps, when we read about the amazing power of his prayer, for you know that with his prayer he commanded even the elements: he forbade the rain to fall on the land of Palestine for three and a half years, and then again with his prayer he brought down rain to the ground.

"When I Put Wood In the Fire" (St. Paisios the Athonite)

When I put wood in the fire, I glorify God and say: "Warm up, my God, all those who do not have warmth."

When again I burn my letters that are sent to me - I read them and I burn them, because they have issues and questions and confessions - I say: "May God burn all their shortcomings. May God help them live spiritually and sanctify them."

- St. Paisios the Athonite

 

 

Saint Paisios the Athonite Answers Various Objections of Those Who Prefer to Pray at Home Rather Than Go to Church

A certain nun had the following conversation with Elder Paisios the Athonite:

"Elder, sometimes I feel the need to stay in the cell and do spiritual work rather than go to a Service."
 
"What will be done in the Service, can it be done at another time? It cannot be done. While what you will do in the cell, it can be done another time."
 
"In church, Elder, I do not always feel the alteration I feel in the cell."
 

Reflection on the Seventh Sunday of Luke (St. Theophan the Recluse)

Seventh Sunday of Luke

Luke 8:41-56

By St. Theophan the Recluse

Jairus openly, in front of everyone, fell to the Savior’s feet beseeching the Lord to heal his daughter, and was heard. The Lord, saying nothing, immediately arose and went to his house. On the way to Jairus’ house a woman with an issue of blood was healed, of course also not without prayer on her part, although she did not appeal in word and did not fall down at the Lord’s feet—she had a heartfelt prayer of faith. The Lord heard her and gave her healing. It all occurred secretly. The woman with the issue of blood turned to the Lord in her heart; the Lord heard this wail of the heart and granted her petition. Both this woman and Jairus had essentially the same prayer, although we can discern certain degrees in them. Such prayers full of faith, hope and devotion never go unheard. 

 

People sometimes say, “I pray and pray, but my prayer still is not heard.” Labor to ascend to a measure of prayer that cannot be refused, and you will see why it was not heard. Whether you are in a prayerful situation like Jairus, or in a simple, ordinary one, like everyone around him, such as the woman with the issue of blood, when true prayer arises in your heart it will undoubtedly reach the Lord and incline Him towards mercy. The question is how to attain such prayer. Labor, and you will attain it. All prayer rules have as their object to lift up those who pray to such a measure of prayer, and all who sensibly follow this course of prayer reach their goal. 

Why You Should Never Trust A Quote Unless You Can Authenticate It

Long ago I discovered that if I came across a quote, even if someone's name is attached to that quote, you should never trust it unless you find the actual source and context of that quote.

This morning I came across such an example. I read a lovely quote in Greek about a kneeling camel as an image of a person in prayer, and the source for that quote was an Elder Gabriel of Mount Athos. I said to myself that I would like to translate this quote and share it, but I knew I needed to find the source. There are many Elder Gabriels from Mount Athos, so which is it and from where did this quote come from? Now if I didn't ask this question, I wouldn't have discovered the truth.

The Hand That Held The Prayer Rope Was Undamaged

 

Recently Fr. Eusebius, who lived in a cell by himself at New Skete of Mount Athos, reposed in the Lord. He had not been seen for 3 or 4 days, so other monks from neighboring cells went to check up on him, and having entered his cell when he didn't answer, they found his dead body.

What astonished them and struck them with amazement, was that although the entire body including his whole left hand was blackened due to sepsis, the right hand that held his prayer rope was completely undamaged. The fathers saw this as a confirmation of the power of the Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me."

 

Homily on the Day of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God (Archpriest Rodion Putyatin)

 

By Archpriest Rodion Putyatin

"Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17).

Some of you, sometimes thinking that God will not hear you, or believing that your desire will not come true, do not pray to God at all, do not ask Him for what you want, what you need, what you lack - you do not pray to God, you do not ask Him, but grieve, lament, worry, sometimes even grumble that you do not have this or that.

Here is an example for you that the impossible, according to our concept, can come true if we ask God - the holy parents of the Most Holy Mother of God. Joachim and Anna were in old age, in such years when it was no longer possible to hope to have children, and especially they could not hope because even before that time they had no children at all. Despite the fact that they asked God for children, they persistently asked. Why? Because they really wanted to have children and they grieved very much that they did not have them.

Homily Two on the Dormition of the Mother of God (Archpriest Rodion Putyatin)

 

 By Archpriest Rodion Putyatin

When the Mother of God revealed to her relatives and friends that she would soon die, and when they began to cry, she told them in order to comfort them: "Do not cry, but you should rejoice when I die, for after death I will be closer to the Throne of God and, conversing face to face with God, my Son, it is more convenient to pray to Him for you and to ask His mercy for you."

Christian listeners! Can we, when we die, also console our relatives and friends with the same, with what the Mother of God did? Can any of us say before death: "Do not cry, do not grieve, when I die, you will be well without me; I will pray for you there, it will be more convenient for me to pray for you there."

Fishing for the Grace of God (Instructions on Vigilance from Saint Joseph the Hesychast to Elder Ephraim of Arizona)

I would go at night, and when he came out of his hut, I would approach him and tell him that sleep was fighting against me.

"Stay strong! Hold your weapon and do not be afraid," he replied.

In the summer the boats came and fished with the light, with the lamps.

What the Holy Father John Kalaides Taught His Spiritual Children About Commemorating the Dead

By Miltiades Tsesmetzis, teacher

Great was the importance that the Holy Father John Kalaides (1925-2009) gave to the struggle we must wage on behalf of the reposed.

He told us that we must give their names to the priests to be read by them, and by doing this we help their souls.

He would say that offering kolyva on their behalf was the best thing we could do and that souls find rest by these, especially on the Saturday of Souls.

He would say that even Saint Raphael asked certain people to make kolyva on his behalf for his feast.

"Be Like the Cicada of the Night" (St. Jerome)

"Be like the cicada of the night. Wash your bed and water your couch nightly with tears. Keep vigil and be like the sparrow alone upon the housetop."

"Esto cicada noctium. Lava per singulas noctes lectum tuum, in lacrimis stratum tuum riga. Vigila et fiere sicut passer in solitudine."

- Letter of St. Jerome to Eustochium 

on the life asceticism and virginity (383-384)

 

 

A Prayer Written by Elder Ephraim of Arizona from the Friday Before Palm Sunday in 1980

Friday Before Palm Sunday,
15 March 1980

In my poor prayer tonight I begged my Heavenly King and Father to erase from me the crimes of my soul whatever I have written with my carelessness.

May my tears fall on my written sins and erase them. My God do me this great favor and act of mercy, and remove the infinite multitude of my small and great sins. I have wept much regarding the blemishes on the garment of my soul. How will I present myself to my Bridegroom with so many stains and filth?

The Mystical Journey of the Christian, Through the Desert, Towards the Resurrection and Pentecost (3 of 5)

...continued from part two.

4. "The Imagination and the Ascetic Struggle Against Its Various Aspects"

The ascetic in his struggle for the purity of his inner world and its preservation is called to struggle against the imagination, which is an energy of the soul; however, when it operates in a paradoxical way and accepts influences from the outside world and from the devil it distorts the inner state of the ascetic.

"The world of the human will and imagination is the world of mirages. It is common to man and the fallen angels, and imagination is, therefore, often a conductor of demonic energy."

Thus, through imagination, demons work and distort the inner state of man.

The ascetic struggles against all forms of the imagination that distract him from God. There are especially four forms of the imagination.

On Noetic Prayer (St. Amphilochios Makris)

St. Amphilochios Makris taught the following about noetic prayer:

When you cultivate the prayer, you are not disturbed by the winds of temptation. Its power is weakened, it can do nothing to you. Let prayer be for you a wall, a shield and armor. We must have patience and prayer. The end of my life draws near. I plead with you all to live a holy life, to walk along holy paths in order to help the Church and our Greece. May your hearts become censers, from where your prayer will ascend to the throne of God.

When I sit on the high rock of prayer, no matter how many waves may come they will do nothing to me, but when they find me somewhere low they cover me. Noetic prayer assimilates, connects, sanctifies. When the soul is ignited with the fire of prayer everything that is dry is burned up and disappears. Noetic prayer is the basis of perfection. The first stage of spiritual ascent is noetic prayer. At the beginning of prayer you feel joy, then sweetness and then finally tears are produced like a fruit. This is because you now feel the presence of Jesus. When you cultivate the prayer you will not tire, you will not be disturbed, you will not be sleepy during services, because your body will be as if it were a garment. What you wear does not become sad, does not become cold, nor does it tire. No matter how many hours I stand I will not get tired.

Great Lent Is An Extraordinary Time To Learn To Truly Pray

By Monk Moses the Athonite

The main elements of Great Lent are prayer and fasting. Prayer presupposes faith. A person who does not pray is helpless, insecure, blind and alone.

They are attached to the earth, to matter, they do not know how to fly high, to sail in the heavens, to have necessary celestial assistance. They are magnetized, bound, clinging to the perishable earth. They do not detach easily. They try to treasure the earth. They are constantly looking for pleasures, to make them happy, but rather they give them pain. It is sad and worthy of lamentation to see them seeking joy in the mud. The ascent to heaven begins with repentance, sincere repentance, compunctionate remorse. It is worth feeling that you were not created for the dirt. Empathy does not really make you happy. Adherence to the hereafter is a serious mistake and has costs with bitter consequences. It is not impossible to climb higher than the peaks. It is possible for everyone. As long as they want it, they love it. At first we are hesitant, cowardly, scared, we do not want to risk it.

"By Fasting, Vigil and Prayer One Obtains Heavenly Gifts" (A Homily of St. Anthimos of Chios)

By St. Anthimos of Chios

(Addressed to Nuns on April 16, 1946)

It is said: "By fasting, vigil and prayer one obtains heavenly gifts" ("νηστεία, αγρυπνία, προσευχή ουράνια χαρίσματα λαβών"). How beautiful, how comforting are these words spoken by our Holy Fathers, in order to fulfill us! They first of all mention fasting, the mother of virtues, to urge us to make the effort; and then vigil and then prayer.

We will also grab hold of fasting, sisters, so the commotions will cease; that the foolish disturbances and the fuss of the belly will cease. The days of fasting have come; the good fast. When someone wants to ask God for anything, they must fast in order for it to be given. Fasting is so fulfilling, so effective. It soothes the nerves, calms the passions, stores patience within the heart, cleanses the mind, weakens frustrations and scandals; for where fasting takes place, it calms every frustration and disturbance. It banishes arguments, does away with babbling, and one becomes more devout, calm, silent, and less moved to speak words. This is because the cutting off of food does not give the tongue the disposition to speak, and even good words are spoken with difficulty. One only engages day and night in entreaty before God, because after fasting will come vigil and then prayer.