Lord, have mercy on families that are going through trying times. Pour Your abundant Love on them.
Featured image: Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, New Orleans. Founded 1864. source
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St. Paisios of Athos
Fortunate, worldly people tell us, are those who live in crystal palaces and have all kinds of convenience.
Blessed, however, are those who’ve managed to simplify their life and become liberated from the web of this world’s development of numerous conveniences (i.e. many inconveniences), and were released from the frightening stress of our present age.
…Fortunate, worldly people say, are those who can enjoy the goods of the world.
Blessed, however, are those who give away everything for Christ and are deprived even of every human consolation for Christ. Thus it is that they manage to be found night and day near Christ and His divine consolation, which many times is so much that they say to God: My God, Thy love cannot be endured, for it is great and cannot be fit within my small heart.
– St. Paisios, from his 6th Epistle, on the Beatitudes
“He experienced much and hid much. Within his hard outer shell, he concealed his sweet, spiritual fruit. A very harsh father to himself, but also a very loving father to his children. He never beat them with the law.… As minister of the Most High, he did not tread the earth, and as co-administrant of the sacraments he shone upon the world.”
– Elder Paisios
St. Arsenios, godfather of St. Paisios of Athos, shepherded the Anatolian region of Pharasa while under Ottoman rule. After Turkish-perpetrated genocidal violence, he guided his flock along a 400 mile journey to Greece, dying 3 months after their arrival. A collection of Psalms, as assigned by St. Arsenios for particular occasions, was brought on the journey from the mother church in Pharasa. Later, this Psalter as a Book of Needs was shared by St. Paisios of Athos, and published in O Geron Paisios by Hieromonk Christodoulos.
This Psalter is arranged by need. It also contains a table so that a particular Psalm can easily be found. Further, at the end of each Psalm is the page of the next, in case one would like to read them in order. I designed and arranged, formatted, then hand-bound with hard covers these editions. The first edition is sold out.
Give thanks to God for everything. Try to be manly. Pull yourself together a bit.
Featured image: The men of St. John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Church, NJ. c. 1915. source
Some people tell me that they are scandalized because they see many things wrong in the Church. I tell them that if you ask a fly, Are there any flowers in this area? it will say, I don’t know about flowers, but over there in that heap of rubbish you can find all the filth you want. And it will go on to list all the unclean things it has been to.
Now, if you ask a honeybee, Have you seen any unclean things in this area? it will reply, Unclean things? No, I have not seen any; the place here is full of the most fragrant flowers. And it will go on to name all the flowers of the garden or the meadow.
You see, the fly only knows where the unclean things are, while the honeybee knows where the beautiful iris or hyacinth is.As I have come to understand, some people resemble the honeybee and some resemble the fly. Those who resemble the fly seek to find evil in every circumstance and are preoccupied with it; they see no good anywhere. But those who resemble the honeybee only see the good in everything they see. The stupid person thinks stupidly and takes everything in the wrong way, whereas the person who has good thoughts, no matter what he sees, no matter what you tell him, maintains a positive and good thought.
Featured image: Photographer Elina Sazonova. source