Sunday, July 21, 2019
Friday, July 5, 2019
Monday, June 24, 2019
Saturday, May 25, 2019
Saturday, January 19, 2019
Saturday, September 8, 2018
Saturday, August 18, 2018
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
SAINT ANTHONY THE GREAT +January 17th
By Archimandrite Elpidios Vagianakis (in
greek)
SAINT ANTHONY THE GREAT
FOUNDER OF
CHRISTIAN MONASTICISM
(Commemorated on January
17th)
HIS
CHILDHOOD YEARS
Saint Anthony was born in 251 A.D. in Koma, a small village in south Memphis in
Egypt near the banks of the Nile River, during the era of the Roman Emperor
Decius, a notorious persecutor of Christians.
His parents were rather wealthy but also
devout Christians. By his nature little Anthony was an extremely sweet, polite,
and humble child. Everyone loved him as their own child for the goodness and
respect which he showed to all people.
He loved everyone, even the most scorned
person. Whenever Anthony saw a poor, orphaned or sick child, he was inclined to
assist them.
Even though he was so young, his words
were full of wisdom and prudence.
But what most impressed everyone and made
them refer to him as a child of God was his great devotion and tender love
towards Jesus Christ. Whenever he spoke of Him, his heart would burn like lava
in a volcano.
His greatest joy was attending divine
services with his beloved parents in their small village church. There, he
would listen carefully to the reading of the Gospels, which he had an eager
desire to follow and apply precisely in his life.
Thursday, January 5, 2017
22. The miracle of Christmas
22. The miracle of Christmas
The bells were
ringing for the most joyful celebration of Christians, Christmas, and the
hearts of all the people poured out numerous wishes like a fragrant aroma for a
Merry Christmas and many happy years of peace and joy!
The same wishes
were repeated once more, after the Christmas Mass, to the spiritual father of a
group of young children, who were visiting the monastery of the Archangels, up
the mountain, to celebrate the birth of the God-man Jesus Christ.
-May God give
you, my beloved children, many happy and blessed years. I wish you may also
embrace the sweet Holy Infant of Bethlehem, as those blessed shepherds embraced
Him, when they visited Him one cold night in the cave where He was born.
-We would very much
like, our reverend father, for you to talk to us about that night and the
miracle of the birth of our Christ!
21. The divine Infant of Bethlehem
21. The divine Infant of Bethlehem
No-one ever doubted that the presence of a
small baby is one of the strongest joys of earth, which brings great happiness.
At the sight of the innocent infant and his angelic smile, even hard-hearted
people soften and their hearts become peaceful.
A baby does not distinguish between good
and bad people. He smiles at all of them innocently and honestly. He spreads
out his little hands to everybody in order to enjoy their love and hugs.
No-one is ever afraid of an innocent
infant. Infants never harm anyone. Inadvertently, the only feeling they may
provoke is the sense of the wide gap between their innocence and the cunning
that older people have. That's why when you look at them, you remember the lost
greatness of innocence which you also once had. Really, how many times have we
wished we were innocent like them!
Friday, December 23, 2016
Α Guide to Repentance
Α Guide to Repentance
Α Guide to Repentance
A few words of
introduction
Every man, my
brother, is made up of:
-the mortal
and material body and
-the immaterial, immortal and spiritual soul.
God created man in
this way.
However, as the
body needs to be cared for, to be cleansed, to be clothed, to be fed, in the
same way the immortal soul has its own needs:
- ITS CLEANSING, that is confession, by
which it will be cleansed of the various impurities of its sins.
- ITS CLOTHING, not to be naked and freezing,
that is, all those works of love which our Christ commands us to do through His
Gospel, and
- ITS FOOD, that is, Holy Communion, the
all holy Body and Blood of the crucified sweetest Son of God and our Saviour
Jesus Christ.
If, however, we
look after our material body with such great care, shouldn't we pay more
attention to our immortal soul which is, as our beloved teacher Jesus says,
more valuable than our body?
“Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:37-38)
In this little
booklet, written for you with a lot of love, you will read some simple
reflections on the great Sacrament of Repentance and of Confession, since
that's why our Christ came to earth, to bring repentance to mankind, because without
it no-one can truly love Christ and be saved.
20. The night of Christmas
20. The night of Christmas
It was slowly
getting dark and the sun was disappearing behind the mountains of Bethlehem.
The cold and frost made the inhabitants of this small village, as well as all
those who came from distant places to be registered at the place of their
birth, go inside their homes early. Soon the streets were deserted and no one
was walking about outside.
To tell the truth
not everyone, because just outside the village a pious man, leading a donkey
with a young girl on its back, who looked like she was pregnant, was anxious to
arrive at a house in time before it got too late.
Every now and then,
he was trying to give her courage, because he saw that the time to give birth
had come and the young girl was extremely tired from the trip which had taken
several days.
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
19. The little sheep of God (Saint Agnes)
19. The little sheep of God
(Saint Agnes)
In the first three
centuries A.D. the Christian Church lived one of the most bloody and most
heroic periods in its history. Masses of Christians wrote
with their blood moving pages of love about the Crucified Jesus and His Gospel.
Terrible and
horrible tortures were invented, to eradicate from the hearts of the faithful
Christians the love they had for our Lord Jesus Christ.
The boldness,
however, and the courage all the Christians showed when facing the tortures
were remarkable! With unimaginable patience and bravery, children and adults,
men and women, young and old, even young children suffered all these tortures
with enthusiasm, for the sake of their Christian faith.
One such child, the
young noble Agnes, was in her early teens, when she was asked to confess with
courage the love she had for our Lord Jesus Christ.
Saint Agnes was
born in the year 290 A.D. in Rome. The Emperor was then the great persecutor of
Christians, Diocletian. Her parents had aristocratic origins and were very
wealthy. From the time she was a toddler Agnes learnt about Christ and like a
thirsty fawn which runs to the spring of gurgling water to drink, she was
studying the holy Gospel and the great teaching of love, as interpreted through
the Holy Book.
18. A heavenly sunbeam (The Great Martyr Saint Christina)
18. A heavenly sunbeam
(The Great Martyr Saint Christina)
Like a heavenly
sunbeam the only daughter of General Ourvanos was born and raised in the city
of Tyre in Syria, around 200 AD. Everyone from far and wide spoke about her
wonderful beauty, but also about this young noble girl’s good manners.
Her father, being a
supreme general was often away in the East with the troops of King Severus and
fearing that someone would dare to hurt her during his absence, built a tall
tower. He enclosed his little girl in this together with many servants to look
after her.
The greatest fear of
her pagan father was that someone would introduce Christianity to his daughter.
So that's why he filled this tower with dozens of gold and silver statues of
pagan gods. In this tower, there was everything, so that his daughter would not
need to come out at all, that's why he strictly ordered her not to leave the
tower.
17. The Pearl of Sicily (The life of St. Agatha)
17. The Pearl of Sicily
(The life of St. Agatha)
The precious pearl
of heaven, Saint Agatha, was born and raised in Sicily, Italy in the 3rd
century AD, when the Emperor of Rome was Decius.
She was only
fifteen years old when the persecution of the Christians began. But the divine
love that burned her breasts for her beloved Jesus was so great that she was
not afraid at all. Instead she ran to support the Christians of her country and
help them to remain faithful to the true faith of Christ.
She said that we
live temporarily on this earth and that our true home is in heaven, in God's
embrace. What's the point, then, of living here for a few years of false joys
and pleasures and then losing the eternal happiness of Heaven?
She helped them
with her example, to love her heavenly Bridegroom of Jesus even more and for
His grace not to fear anything, not even the terrible tortures of the
idolaters.
16. Three great evils have started
16. Three great evils have started
-I heard you saying
father that, because of our sins, three great evils have started, which all of
humanity will soon have to face. Could you please tell me more about this?
-All the world, my
child, is a vast earthly kingdom, which is ruled by several leaders. We, the
people, elect these leaders according to our beliefs and desires. When we
respect God and strive to live according to His Will, we elect the right and
pious leaders. God then blesses the people and the country, so that the people
live happy and cheerful lives, but also for the country to enjoy the great gift
of peace. Nature, seeing the love of man towards its Creator, becomes his
friend and ally and generously gives him its fruits and its gifts.
-Father, can nature
perceive the spiritual changes in the human soul?
15. Talk to God like a little child
15. Talk to God like a little child
-Many times,
Father, I've heard you talk about the value and the power of prayer. I was
impressed when you said that, of all the virtues it is the only one that, when
done correctly, can very easily bring Divine Grace to our soul. You also said
that Satan fears it very much because it burns him and destroys his evil
powers! Therefore, I would like to ask you, if possible, to tell me more about
it and help me learn how to correctly pray to our Lord.
-The fathers of our
Holy Church, my child, named prayer the queen of virtues! And do you know why?
Because by itself it has the power to
unite a soul with its Creator! All other virtues simply help a soul to
ascend to the throne of God. Prayer, however, when made with faith and humility, has the power to put you in the arms of
God and help you experience, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, the infinite
motherly love with which your
heavenly Father adores you! Through prayer you can also feel His infinite compassion for you and how much He wants
to hold you like a child in His loving fatherly heart! Through prayer,
every time you will ask forgiveness for your mistakes, He will bend down with
much adoration and love, to tell you
that He forgives you and how He wants you to become His small earthly angel!
Through prayer you become one with your
beloved God the Father, since you give Him the pleasure of holding you
tightly in His arms and listening to the voice of His beloved child. Prayer, my
child, is the most sacred moment for
each person, since only with this can a
man be worthy to speak with his almighty Father and the Creator of the whole
universe. Prayer is the quickest path that leads you directly to God's
kingdom, which is why all the Saints loved prayer more than any other virtue.
14. The three holy noble children (The life of St. Sophia)
14. The three holy noble children
(The life of St. Sophia)
When the Emperor of
Rome was Hadrian (117 A.D.- 138 A.D.) there lived in a town in Italy, a young
and wealthy noble Christian woman whose name was Sophia.
She had lost her
husband very early and lived alone with her three beautiful daughters, Faith,
who was 12 years old, Hope, who was 10 years old and Love, who was just 9 years
old. All three girls had a radiant beauty, not only physical beauty, but
essentially from the many mental and spiritual gifts they had.
Sophia, as a mother,
was a very good role model. She was kind, modest, humble, with a burning love
for Christ in her heart, but also she was incredibly tender-hearted towards all
poor and suffering people.
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