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If there is anyone anywhere who has at some time burned with this faithful love of the Word of God; if there is anyone who has received the sweet wounds of him who is the chosen dart, as the prophet says; if there is anyone who has been pierced with the loveworthy spear of his knowledge, so that he yearns and longs for him by day and by night, can speak of nought but him, would hear of nought but him, can think of nothing else, and is disposed to no desire nor longing nor yet hope, except for him alone — if such there be, that soul then says in truth: ‘I have been wounded by love.’

— Origen, The Wound of Love

In order: Panagia Tricheroussa (Three-Handed Icon of the All-Holy), Panagia Paramythia (Mother of Consolation), Panagia Portaitissa (Keeper of the Gate), Icon of Christ the Pantocrator, Panagia of Jerusalem (flanked by Archangel Michael and Gabriel).

I have to light all of the vigil lamps in my house when I’m unable to go to the monastery for a feast day, in this case, the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos (September 8).

I hope you all have a blessed Feast, and may the Panagia be with us all.

In our days there is much talk concerning the equality of men and women. However, the struggles for this equality and the so-called feminist movement have appeared quite late. For twenty centuries now, Christianity has resolved the problem. How? It abolished discrimination. It honored the female gender with value equal to that of a man. Furthermore, it honored a particular woman with a claim that no man had, has, or ever will have. This woman is the Most-Holy Theotokos. Christianity, and the church, does not use gender, social status, education, material wealth, or intelligence as criteria to rate and assess people. It grades and evaluates them using a single criteria: holiness.

In the eyes of God there is no male and female. There are only people who are sinful and repented, impious and pious, holy and holier.

☦︎ Elder Ephraim of Philotheou and Arizona

The gifts of love

Know my brethren that love has two characteristics, two gifts. One of them is to strengthen man in what is good and the other is to weaken him in what is evil. I have a loaf of bread to eat; you do not have. Love tells me: Do not eat it alone, give some to your brethren and you eat the rest. I have clothes; love tells me: Give one garment to your brother and you wear the other one. I open my mouth to accuse you, to tell you lies, to decieve you; but at once I remember love and it deadens my mouth, and does not allow me to tell you lies. I stretch out my hands to take what belongs to you, your money, all your possessions. Love does not allow me to take them. Do you see, my brethren, what gifts love has?

- Saint Cosmas the Aetolian

How mistaken are those people who seek happiness outside of themselves, in foreign lands and journeys, in riches and glory, in great possessions and pleasures, in diversions and vain things, which have a bitter end. It is the same thing to construct the tower of happiness outside of ourselves as it is to build a house in a place that is consistently shaken by earthquakes. Happiness is found within ourselves, and blessed is the man who has understood this. Happiness is a pure heart, for such a heart becomes the throne of God. Thus says Christ of those who have pure hearts: "I will visit them, and will walk in them, and I will be a God to them, and they will be my people." (II Cor. 6:16) What can be lacking to them?

Nothing, nothing at all! For they have the greatest good in their hearts: God Himself!

+ St. Nektarios the Wonderworker of Pentapolis and Aegina

In the 1980s, there was a man named Revaz who lived in Georgia, drinking his sorrows away at beerhouses every night, forsaking his family in favor of alcohol and gambling. He had reached such a low point in his life, and had no thought to go to Church, but instead despaired and considered ending his life.

Once, while at a bar in Tbilisi, Revaz had encountered the infamous fool of Christ, Father Gabriel Urgebadze. This monk had entered the bar dancing, and belligerently ordered the largest glass of beer and vodka they had in the establishment, demanding it be given to him. “Or my heart will be broken!” Father had said, “I will pay any cost! The parishioners have given me money!”

The bargoers were dumbfounded but found it amusing that a man of the cloth, a monk, would act so strangely in a bar, and yet they enjoyed his presence. Father Gabriel began to sing patriotic hymns about his country of Georgia, and the people in the bar sang along with him.

This Fool-for-Christ merrily sang and danced around the beerhouse, toting his glass of drink! At some point, Father Gabriel drew near to Revaz, this man so stricken with grief, and for a moment became serious while nobody was paying attention.

The monk, a stranger to everyone at the bar, gestured to Revaz’s shirt and said, “Revaz, burn what you have here, in your pocket!” Father Gabriel hit Revaz’s chest in a showy manner, raised his hands to heaven, and then made the sign of the Cross over him.

None the wiser, everyone at the bar had witnessed the interaction, and thought that the sign of the Cross he made over Revaz was a dance move, and Father Gabriel swiftly left the bar while applause followed him. “What a nice man!” The people exclaimed.

Revaz stood in tears inside the establishment. “How did he know what was in my pocket?” he pondered; for within his shirt was a note bidding a permanent farewell to his family members. Revaz had been planning to end his life that night, carrying the suicide note he wrote a few hours ago as he had gone to the bar to get his last drink.

Elder Gabriel had come to Revaz by the will of God. In that moment, Revaz’s life changed, and from the next day, he didn’t want to hear about gambling anymore, he stopped drinking. Revaz tried to no avail to find Father Gabriel again, he would ask people in Tbilisi but they would dismiss him saying, “that monk was a madman, a vagabond!”

Revaz eventually returned to the Church and began going regularly. While visiting Mtskheta, he walked towards a grave upon which people crowded around and recognized the picture of the monk who was buried. It was Father Gabriel; the monk who had saved him and sobered him up! The man in the portrait winked at him, and Revaz smiled back, his tears welling up in his eyes.

Saint Gabriel, intercede on our behalf before the throne of Christ our God; for those of us in despair, for those of us in bondage to addiction, pray that Christ may have mercy on us sinners.

If you’re Catholic or Orthodox, don’t buy from monasteryicons.com!

I’ve been getting a few notes from their tumblr account and as nice as it is, MonasteryIcons is owned by an anti-Christian apostate group that poses as Orthodox/Catholic/traditionalist but actually is a group that practices Hindu-adjacent paganism, magical evocation, and demonolatry. They perform pagan rituals for all of their products before they ship them out. You can quickly google it and several articles will show up.

Orthodox Christian information center has an article about Monastery Icons controversy.

If you would like to purchase handmade icons for good prices, there are numerous legitimate Orthodox monasteries all over the world. St. John Chrysostom’s Monastery in Kenosha, Wisconsin is my favorite because they are very affordable and I order from them all the time. There is also St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery in Florence, AZ, and St. John the Forerunner in Goldendale, WA, amongst many others.

Don’t buy from MonasteryIcons, and don’t interact with their Tumblr! Their url is @/monasteryicons

God bless y’all, please be careful which companies you support.

“He who conquers one opponent proves himself stronger than another, but he who conquers passion proves himself stronger than himself.”

+ St. Cyprian of Carthage

"But nothing causes such exceeding grief as when anyone, lying under the captivity of sin, calls to mind from where he has fallen, because he turned aside to carnal and earthly things, instead of directing his mind in the beautiful ways of the knowledge of God. So you find Adam concealing himself, when he knew that God was present and wishing to be hidden when called by God with that voice which wounded the soul of him yourself? Why are you concealed? Why do you avoid Him Whom you once longed to see? A guilty conscience is so burdensome that it punishes itself without a judge, and wishes for covering, and yet is bare before God."

+ St. Ambrose of Milan

A proud man seeks to know all things with reason and science. The proud soul, no matter how many books it reads, will never know God, since by its pride it does not give place for the grace of the Holy Spirit, while God is known only by the humble soul.

☦︎ St. Silouan the Athonite (commemorated today, Sep. 24)

The Miraculous Icon of the Theotokos the Inexhaustible Cup.

This icon is the helper for those struggling with addiction and alcoholism for it is truly only Christ who gives satiety to the soul.

The "Inexhaustible Cup" Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was revealed in Russia in 1878. A retired soldier from Tula had spent his pension on alcohol, ruining his health. Though he was no longer able to walk, he continued to drink.

One night a holy Elder appeared to him in a dream and told him to go to the Serpukhov monastery of the Mother of God. "Have a Molieben served before her Icon ‘The Inexhaustible Chalice.’" Since he had no money and could not walk, the man paid no attention to the dream. Then the Elder appeared a second and third time, speaking to him with increasing severity.

Crawling on all fours, the man reached the next village and stayed in the home of an old woman. She rubbed his legs, and he began to feel better. The next day, he resumed his journey with two canes, then with one, until he arrived at the monastery.

He described his dreams to the monks, but none of them had ever heard of "The Inexhaustible Cup" Icon. Finally, one of them remembered an icon on which a chalice was depicted. On the back of the icon was an inscription, "The Inexhaustible Chaice." After the Molieben, the peasant returned home restored to health, and cured of his alcoholism.

News of the miracle spread, and many alcoholics and their families came to pray before the Icon. Many of them came back to thank the Mother of God for answering their prayers. Every Sunday in the Serpukhov-Vyotsk monastery a Molieben with an Akathist is served before the Icon for those who are addicted to alcohol.

Do good to those who wish to argue with you, and you will win the argument.

One deed of compassion will bring the madman to his senses and will pacify the embittered man more quickly than many hours of conversation.

☦︎ Saint Nikolaj Velimirovich

Please pray for me, I have been a catechumen for almost 2 years but the more time the passes the more uncertain I become about joining any church. Recently another person I know left orthodoxy for catholicism and explained all their reasonings for why and I just feel inner turmoil about my choices. I do find my church to be very beautiful but at the same time I just dont fit in with the people there and always feel like an outsider even though they have been very welcoming and that also makes it hard for me...I just dont know...

I’ll be praying for you dear anon! You’re welcome to send me a pm if you want to talk more about it.

Church isn’t really about socializing, I’m sure you’ve figured that out. The main objective of the spiritual life isn’t just to improve this temporal life by making friends or adopting a Christian culture or having a third-space (Church).

St. Seraphim of Sarov, a most wise Orthodox saint, exhorted us, Acquiring the Spirit of God is the true aim of our Christian life, while prayer, fasting, almsgiving and other good works done for Christ's sake are merely means for acquiring the Spirit of God.

The word of God does not say in vain: The Kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21), and it suffers violence, and the violent take it by force (Matt. 11:12). That means that people who, in spite of the bonds of sin which fetter them and (by their violence and by inciting them to new sins) prevent them from coming to Him, our Savior, with perfect repentance for reckoning with Him. They force themselves to break their bonds, despising all the strength of the fetters of sin—such people at last actually appear before the face of God made whiter than snow by His grace. Come, says the Lord: Though your sins be as purple, I will make you white as snow (Is. 1:18).

God has given us all the weapons we need to acquire the Holy Spirit: He has given it to us through the one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church! From the first martyr Stephen until this day, Orthodox Christians are dying at the hands of barbarians, choosing to preserve their faith from heresies, atheism, and all manner of demonic forces. We must force ourselves to break the fetters of lethargy, to rise from the drowsiness of sin, to be warm in the coldness of the modern age. We must hold fast to the Ark of Salvation, the Church that has not changed since the time of its creation on Pentecost, lest we capsize amidst the tumultuous waves of the age and perish.

Someday, God willing, you will receive an Orthodox baptism; your soul will receive a spotless wedding garment, and when you approach the chalice, you will recite the prayer of preparation for Holy Communion:

“It is good for me to cleave unto God and to place in Him the hope of my salvation.”

When you find Christ, 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, nor illness, nor pressure, nor anxiety, nor depression nor hell.

☦︎ St. Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia

(art is “Lake Biwa” by Koho Shoda)

Yesterday (September 27) was the commemoration of St. Sigebehrt, King of East Anglia, who established the nucleus of Cambridge University sometime in the 7th century (mid-600s), which was a monastic school at its core and later on became the university that it is today.

On the 19th of October, St. Frideswide (or St. Frithuswith) is commemorated. She’s a nun from the 7th century, daughter of King Didan of Eynsham, and she established the monastery which later on became Oxford University.

Why don’t more people talk about the origins of these great institutions? To deny these facts is erasure of the Christian heritage of modern society. It is thanks to the Christian faith that humanity has advanced this far.

"The human being is an animal who has received the vocation to become God."

+ St. Basil of Caesarea

"The humanist is- entirely within himself, by himself, for himself, always spitefully closed in opposition to God. Here lies every humanism, every hominism. The culmination of such satanically oriented humanism is the desire to become good for the sake of evil, to become God for the sake of the devil. It proceeds from the promise of the devil to our forefathers in Paradise-that with his help, ‘they would become as gods’ (Gen. 3: 5)."

Photograph of Saint Justin Popović