A miraculous deliverance from mortal danger.

A miraculous deliverance from mortal danger"

Olga Rozhneva. Conversation with Mother Emiliana (Hanson), Mother Superior of the Orthodox Monastery in honor of Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina (America, Maryland).

Mother told me an amazing story:

“An event happened to me that showed me the obvious presence of the Providence of God in my life. It was an absolutely wonderful deliverance from mortal danger. I will tell you in order.

On July 17, 1981, I, a 25-year-old girl, came with my sister and her husband to a dance party at a 40-story hotel in Kansas City. It was a sweet party in the style of the 1940s. A lot of people gathered - about 1600 people. Young and old danced, around stood joyful smiling people with colorful balls in their hands ... Nice music ... And suddenly - a noise, a roar!

As I later learned, we were victims of a disaster: two hotel hanging galleries, designed with technical errors, could not bear the weight of the structures and people standing on them, collapsed. It killed 114 people and severely wounded 216. Until 2001, this was the deadliest destruction of a man-made object in US history. This terrible record was broken only in 2001 during the collapse of the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York.

Many rescuers arrived at the hotel, who worked selflessly. The matter was complicated by the fact that they had to act with low visibility, among concrete dust. Pipes were also broken, people under the slabs were flooded with water, and even survivors could simply drown. Sometimes rescuers had to dismember the bodies of the dead in order to get the living. One man had to cut off his leg, crushed by a multi-ton plate to save him. 29 people were saved from the rubble.

A huge gallery fell on me and my sister. The concrete slab stood at an angle to the wall, and there was little room left - so we had a chance to survive. My sister was on my right, there was more space between the floor and concrete, and she could move a little. I could not. When I woke up, I realized that I was sitting on the floor with my head between my knees, heavily crushed by a concrete slab; the ribs were broken by my own knees.

-- An excerpt of the medical conclusion of the Georgian Soviet government who tried to commit St Gabriel (Urgebadze) in a psycho-neurological hospital forever. Now let us ask: were we to be 'evaluated

"The patient is stationed in the city psycho-neurological hospital and is brought from the prison for forced treatment. Diagnosis: psychopathic person, inclined to schizophrenia-like psychosis blanks. According to the patients account, he had a vision of a ghostly evil spirit with horns on the head at the age of 12… The patient proves that everything bad that is taking place in the world is due to Evil. From the age of 12 he started to go to churches, prayed, bought icons, and studied church literature… He ate nothing on Wednesdays and Fridays. Grown-ups and soldiers laughed at his nonsense: “On Wednesday Judas sold Christ for thirty silver coins, and on Friday the Jewish priests crucified him”; he was totally hallucinating. It was clear from the case that at the 1 May 1965 demonstration, he burnt a big portrait of Lenin, hanging on the building of the Council of Ministers.

The purpose of godlike beings known as humans is one:

The purpose of godlike beings known as humans is one: to become gradually perfect as God the Father, to become a god by grace, to attain theosis, deification, Christification, Trinification. 

But how is this goal to be attained? Through the evangelic virtues of faith and love, hope and prayer, fasting and humility, meekness and compassion, love of God and neighbour. 

Today's Sermon in a Nutshell (a story once told by St. Nikolaj Velimirovic - one of our American saints)

Once upon a time a priest is walking down a lonely road on a hot day when suddenly out of the bushes jumps a wild looking man with a gun. The man says to the priest, "I have killed 99 men, and you will be the 100th."

The priest says responds, "I am ready to die; but please before you shoot me, give me a little water to drink. I am so thirsty."

The murderer is confused for a moment, but then directs the priest at gun point to his campsite in the bushes where he gives the priest a cup of water to drink. As the priest is drinking the water, the murderer suddenly dies of a heart attack. At that moment angels from heaven come to escort the soul of this murderer to heaven, but the demons also arrive to contest for the man's soul.

A short story of Patriarch Pavle of Serbia

A short story of Patriarch Pavle of Serbia

A certain woman came to the patriarchate with the request to speak with the Patriarch concerning an urgent matter, about which she needed to speak with him personally. This request was unusual and she was not immediately admitted, but the visitor’s persistence bore fruit, and an audience took place. Seeing the Patriarch, the woman said with great excitement that that night she had dreamed of the Theotokos, who told her to take money to the Patriarch so that he could buy himself new shoes. Saying this, the visitor took out an envelope full of money.

St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies

St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies

When the Lord told his disciples to go and teach all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, He conferred on them the power of giving men new life in God.

He had promised through the prophets that in these last days he would pour out His Spirit on His servants and handmaids, and that they would prophesy. So when the Son of God became the Son of Man, the Spirit also descended upon Him, becoming accustomed in this way to dwelling with the human race, to living in men and to inhabiting God’s creation. The Spirit accomplished the Father’s will in men who had grown old in sin, and gave them new life in Christ.

Luke says that the Spirit came down on the disciples at Pentecost, after the Lord’s Ascension, with power to open the gates of life to all nations and to make known to them the new covenant. So it was that men of every language joined in singing one song of praise to God, and scattered tribes, restored to unity by the Spirit, were offered to the Father as the first-fruits of all the nations.

The path of our life in the storm-St. Ignatios Brianchaninov

The path of our life is like unto a voyage across a broad sea. It is sometimes calm on that sea, and sometimes a favorable wind blows; but most often there are storms on it. Seeing the approach of a storm, seeing the storm itself, we must not become disturbed, or fall into despondency or despair; we must fight against the waves and the opposing winds.

Otherwise the ship of our soul might undergo shipwreck, and might even sink. If during a storm something breaks or is damaged in the ship of our soul—again, we must not despond, we must not be troubled. We must spy out a dependable harbor, enter into it, fix and repair that which was damaged, and then continue our voyage with hope in Almighty God.

And Almighty God will not abandon one who hopes in Him! The storms themselves serve for the benefit of the true servant of Christ: they make him an experienced sailor.

A true story in Psara:

 

A true story in Psara:

In one part of the island, called Fidolakos (Snake Ditch), there is a monastery dedicated to Saint Matrona. In the past, that ditch had many snakes. Once, during the Divine Liturgy, a small snake fell inside the Holy Cup from the dome of the Holy Altar immediately after the Holy Conversion. The priest was scared and freaked out. What could he do? He could not throw it away, for it had been poured into the Holy Communion, and during the Consumption of the Holy Gifts, he was forced to eat it.

How to pray for the dead to benefit them? Elder Charalamby of Dionysius

One hundred Jesus prayers, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, rest the soul of your servant (name),” takes no more than fifteen minutes.

And during the first forty days after death, it would be possible to read even one thousand Jesus prayers

- this is not more than an hour and a half, which is not too much for the salvation of the soul of a loved one.

Elder Charalamby of Dionysius, a disciple of the elder Joseph Hesychast, spoke about the benefits of such work.

“A prayer on a komboskini for a brother, a relative can liberate his soul from hell — prayer has that power, ”he taught his students.

Elder Charalamby himself experienced this, praying with a komboskini for his grandfather.

A present day monk tells the following beneficial story:

 "I was once walking with a very pious and humble man, when we were stopped on the street by an old man distributing small pamphlets. The old man asked us, 'Are you saved? Have you accepted Jesus?'

"My humble companion said, 'I only know that I am a sinner.'

"The old man answered my friend: 'Jesus has saved me. I have the assurance of his salvation. I have conquered pride, lust, and sin. Praise God.'

"At these words, my companion very abruptly grabbed me by the arm, saying to the old man, 'Leave us alone' But as we walked my humble friend began to cry bitterly. Embarrassed that others were watchng, he controlled himself.

"I asked him: "Why are you crying like this?"

St. Paisios in Sinai: What We Can Learn from Camels

 

St. Paisios in Sinai: What We Can Learn from Camels

On July 12th the Church celebrated the memory of a new saint of our times, St. Paisios of the Holy Mountain, canonized in 2015. In his monastic life there actually were two Holy Mountains  –  Mount Athos and Mount Sinai as well.  The beloved Elder spent several years early in the 1960s at Saint Catherine’s Monastery, living most of the time alone, as a hermit, in the skete of St. Galaktion and Epistime, high above the Monastery.

More details of St. Paisios’s life in Sinai you can find in a remarkable video – it is a Sinai chapter of a full 6-part documentary about the Saint’s life by director Alexander Kouprin - in our Video Library or on a FMSM page: (http://www.mountsinaimonastery.org/news-blog/2016/7/12/new-video-on-st-paisios-time-at-st-catherine-monastery)

From Elder Paisios from the Holy Mountain book

 

The Elder was sitting in his garden with a few pilgrims having a discussion on spiritual matters. A little boy, standing near by, was hitting the ground with a piece of wood making a loud noise, thus attracting the attention of the pilgrims. The Elder, who had a very simple and charming way of telling people how to correct their mistakes without hurting their feelings, turned to the child and whispered laughingly:

Can I be a little bit with the “world” and a little bit with Christ?

Can I be a little bit with the “world” and a little bit with Christ?

Can I be a little bit with the “world” and a little bit with Christ?

I am sorry my spiritual child but this cannot be done. You have to be either with the “world” or with Christ. Our Christ – be careful – is very clear on this. You may say that he is too austere. But it is not austerity, it is the truth.

Everything beautiful is associated with pain, but pain leads to joy.Elder Ephraim of Arizona.

 Everything beautiful is associated with pain, but pain leads to joy. The rose produces thorns, and a rose grows out of the thorn. A rainbow usually appears after a thunderstorm.

“Though your sins be like scarlet, they may be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).

 O, the boundless mercy of God! In His greatest wrath upon the faithless and ungrateful people, upon the people “laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters” (Isaiah 1:4), as “princes [rulers] of Sodom” (Isaiah 1:10) and upon the people who have become as the “people of Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:10) – in such wrath, the Lord does not abandon mercy but rather calls them to repentance. Just as after terrible lightnings, a gentle rain falls.

 Such is the Lord long-suffering [patient] and full of mercy and “neither will He keep His anger forever” [Psalm 102:9 (103:9)]. Only if sinners cease to commit evil and learn to do good and turn to God with humility and repentance they will become “white as snow.” The Lord is mighty and willing. No one, except Him, is able to cleanse the sinful soul of man from sin and, by cleansing, to whiten it. 

No matter how often linen is washed in water with ashes and soap, no matter how often it is washed and rewashed, it cannot receive whiteness until it is spread under the light of the sun.

Should or shouldn’t reveal my thoughts to another?

Should or shouldn’t reveal my thoughts to another?

Some of us, today, often neglect the significance of the sacrament; Repentance and Confession. Often we feel that we can repent, confess and heal ourselves, without having to reveal our weaknesses and passions to another. Some say ‘I confess my sins directly to Christ’. Yet the desert fathers teach us that no one can save themselves! Salvation comes from above, however, via our fellow humans. For this reason the desert fathers in their humility, confessed not only their sins to fellow elders, but even their thoughts. The following account about a young monk and Elder Zeno reveals the importance of confession.  

 We once visited one of the Fathers and posed the following question:

“Father, if one is bothered by a certain temptation and, seeing that he is slowly conquered by it, despite reading many times what the Fathers say about overcoming the temptation and trying to apply it, does not totally succeed, what is preferable? That he should reveal his temptation to one of the Fathers or that he should concern himself with applying what he has studied and be satisfied in his conscience?”

The Elder answered:

“One who is embattled by a temptation has the obligation to reveal this thought of his to someone who has the strength to benefit him. For support, he should not rely on himself only. For no one is able to help himself, when he is actually tormented by passions.

To me,” continued the Elder, “the following occurred when I was younger. I suffered from a spiritual passion and I succumbed to it. I was informed that Abba Zeno healed many who found themselves in situations like mine. Therefore, I also decided to go and to reveal to Abba Zeno my passion; however, Satan hindered me, whispering in my soul high-sounding thoughts: ‘Since you know what you must do, act according to what you have studied in books. Why should you go and trouble the Elder?’

The name of Christ is fragrance.

 Once when Geronda and I were outside with our prayer-ropes and he was telling me about prayer and his experiences of looking after monks in their old age, I could smell lilies and roses, even though we only had holly-oak trees there. I was sniffing intently, and he said to me, “Why are you doing that?”

“Geronda, I smell lilies and roses.”

“Why don’t you go over there to my door?” So I went over to his door and smelled his cell. That heavenly fragrance was so strong that it stuck to my beard and my clothes. Then he explained to me, “It is from prayer. Don’t you understand? The name of Christ is fragrance.”

I could sense the scent of his prayer pervading everything around him. It affected not only my bodily senses but also my entire internal self. When my brothers went to Geronda’s cell after his vigil to tell him their confessions, they also sensed the same fragrance many times.

When Geronda’s prayer culminated, his little cell became a “burning bush.” Many times I said to myself, “I wonder what takes place within the soul, within the heart of this holy man?” In order to grasp what was really taking place within the heart of this contemporary saint, we, too, must also get a taste of how it feels when the prayer is continuously being said on its own accord within our heart.

Priest-Martyr Daniel Sysoev. An Ideal Death vs. An Awful Death.

 Now, what kind of death is best? For a Christian, the best death is to be martyred for the sake of Christ the Savior. This is the best possible way for man to die. Some people sent condolences to Optina Hermitage after the murder of three monks ( on Pascha, 1993 ), but for a Christian, that kind of death is a very great joy. In the ancient Church, they would never send their condolences when someone somewhere was killed. All of the churches would immediately send out congratulations. Imagine, to congratulate them with having a new defender in the Heavens! A martyrs death washes away all sins except for heresy and schism. All other sins--fornication, murder, adultery--are washed away. Heresy is distortion of the teachings of the Church, a distortion not made out of ignorance, but a conscious distortion, going against the will of God. Is that not so? Schism is an organized rebellion against the Church. All other sins are washed away. Remember the martyr St. Boniface!

The Slavic language is always letting us down. Ever since the Slavs mistranslated the word "martyr", we have always misunderstood it. We should not read the word "martyr" as commonly understood ( one who has been tortured ). A martyr is a witness, a term Arabs correctly render as "shaheed." Except that the shaheed is a witness to evil, the spirit-Allah, while for us, a martyr witnesses that Christ is good, and that He conquered death. Thus, a martyr is one who by his death has borne witness that Christ conquered death, that He rose from the dead.

“As the Lord put on the body, leaving behind all principality and power...

“As the Lord put on the body, leaving behind all principality and power, so Christians put on the Holy Spirit, and are at rest.” 

St. Macarius the Great, "Spiritual Homilies" (Homily 26)

 http://apantaortodoxias.blogspot.com/2018/05/as-lord-put-on-body-leaving-behind-all.html?m=1

The model in spiritual life must be...

The model in spiritual life must be the saints, and not the people of this world. 

- St. Paisios the Athonite

http://apantaortodoxias.blogspot.gr/2018/05/the-model-in-spiritual-life-must-be.html?m=1