The Catalog of Good Deeds

Our Lenten journey has several important markers, several special liturgical days. One of these remarkable landmarks is the “standing of St. Mary”—the day [in the fifth week of Great Lent] when at the evening service the entire Canon of repentance of St. Andrew of Crete is read, and along with it, the faithful listen to the amazing life of a woman acetic who lived in the late fifth-early sixth century—St. Mary of Egypt.

I remember when I was fifteen years old, I went for the first time to the Standing of St. Mary Service, and heard the Life of the saint. It made an indelible impression on me. Even now I remember this service in minutest in detail: the unforgettable feeling of the triumph of life over sin, which this Saint’s Life impressed upon me. This feeling remains with me even now, two decades later; the life of St. Mary continues to amaze and inspire me.

I would like to note a number of remarkable moments in that life. First there is the figure of the ascetic monk Zosima, “of glorious life and gifted in speech, raised from childhood in monastic laborers and virtues.” The image of the Elder who had lived his entire life far from the vanity of the world and its temptations, from his earliest years practicing asceticism, made worthy of spiritual vision—is this not the ideal Christian ascetic? The confirmation of this can be heard in elder Zosimas’s question: “Is there a monk on earth who can be of use to me and show me a kind of asceticism that I have not accomplished? Could another wisdom loving desert dweller be found who has surpassed me in life or contemplation?” This question opens the amazing life of the ascetic woman, the history of a life so different from that of the Zosima, that you could even call it the direct opposite of the elder’s life, like black-and-white, if it weren’t for the second half of the story, which provides such an astounding contrast with the first half.

The story of Mary before her conversion to God is particularly realistic; it contains all the details of her life of fornication in her youth. One would think that the Author of this saint’s life would do well not to go into such detail about this, recalling various unseemly circumstances, so dissonant with the traditional example of a saint and angel in the flesh. But nevertheless, this fact of her life is underlined, and the author of the life through Zosima accents this part: “Speak, for the sake of God, my mother. Speak and do not break the thread of such an edifying story.”

The edification itself in the life begins with the episode in which Mary the harlot tells about her attempt to enter along with the faithful into the church for the services to the Exaltation of the Lord’s Cross: “When I stepped onto the threshold over which all the others were passing unhindered,” the saint relates to Zosima, “When I trod on the doorstep which everyone passed, I was stopped by some force which prevented my entering. Meanwhile I was brushed aside by the crowd and found myself standing alone in the porch. Thinking that this had happened because of my woman's weakness, I again began to work my way into the crowd, trying to elbow myself forward. But in vain I struggled. Again my feet trod on the doorstep over which others were entering the church without encountering any obstacle. I alone seemed to remain unaccepted by the church. It was as if there was a detachment of soldiers standing there to oppose my entrance. Once again I was excluded by the same mighty force and again I stood in the porch.”

From the Saint’s words we get a picture of the incompatibility of a sinner’s inner impurity with the true life going on outside of it; not with the life of “this world” but with the sacred Cross, thanks to which the world still stands. It is certainly no accident that Mary cannot get in to the church during the service to precisely the Cross of the Lord—this most important holy shrine of Christians and the first symbol of Christianity. From apostolic times, the Cross of Christ was understood to be the new tree of life—the symbol of God’s uniting with fallen man, the symbol of the path to the heavenly fatherland. A little later Christian apologists would treat the cross as a symbol of the whole of the world’s creation, or more precisely what strengthens it, upholds it, fills it with meaning, and prevents it from dissolving into chaos. Mary wants to see the life-Giving tree of the Cross but she cannot, for she had dedicated her entire existence to what opposes the cross—sin, mad passions, deeds of death.

And now the time has come for her to see. Horrified at the inexorable reality—her alienation from the sacred, from true life, Mary for the first time turns her mental gaze within: “The word of salvation touched the eyes of my heart, showing me that the impurity of my deeds barred my entrance.” Mary’s entire being is shaken with a deep, heartfelt repentance; in tears she turns to the mother of God, begging her to open the way for her to the church, that she might worship the life-creating cross. Mary makes a vow to the Heavenly Queen to abandon her sinful life, renounce the world, and go wherever she might lead her.

Thus, Mary finds the path to salvation first of all within herself, in repentance, in a self-denying yearning to follow God’s will. She embarks on the way of the Cross. And, finding herself on this path in her heart, she no longer meets that terrible external Barrier that separates her from the cross of life: “Having got as far as the doors which I could not reach before—as if the same force which had hindered me cleared the way for me—I now entered without difficulty and found myself within the holy place. And so it was I saw the Life-giving Cross. I saw too the Mysteries of God and how the Lord accepts repentance.”

Having turned into the path of salvation, Mary did not immediately become a saint. She had to pass through many trials, and overcome great temptations. The saint tells of her temptations in the Trans-Jordan desert, where she had been commanded from on high to go, far from the world, and again the details are just as realistic as they were in the narration of the sinful period of her life. The acetic tells how over the period of seventeen years since she departed into the desert, she lived “amidst thousands of dangers”: She was drawn to her former way of life, to entertainments and pleasures. Lustful thoughts and the fire of passion scorched her heart. She warred with her passions as with wild beasts. It is beyond human strength to withstand such mighty violence from the devil, but God, as the Life shows us, strengthened her in her struggle. The story of St. Mary’s temptations shows us the true cooperation between man and God in spiritual struggle. Here we also see the ascetic’s colossal effort of will to reject temptations and sinful passions; we see also the presence of God’s grace, illuminating the exhausted hermitess, and giving her blessed respite from temptation. Even more: we see here the link between human and divine will—the icon of the mother of God in the ascetic’s consciousness. Mary the desert dweller counters all the evil one’s calumnies with the Virgin Mary—the image towards which she strives with all her strength; her leader, to whom should promised to live a new life, and to fulfill the task that had been entrusted to her. The presence of the image of the Mother of God in St. Mary’s soul is also the presence of God in her life, strengthening and transforming her. It is also the ultimate expression of all her yearning—to correspond to the image of the true human being, the true Mary.

The figure of elder Zosima continues to be quite noticeable throughout the entire Life of St. Mary. As we said before, the life of St. Mary of Egypt begins with the question posed by this monk made wise through the reading of sacred books, ascecis, and years: “Is there any monk on earth who can show me and give me something new, Some Is there a monk on earth who can be of use to me and show me a kind of asceticism that I have not accomplished?” From the Life of St. Mary we receive not only an unambiguous answer that, yes, there are ascetics who are greater, but we also notice a certain sinfulness in Zosima’s question. First of all, we are given to know the relative nature of human measuring in the spiritual realm. No outward criteria can make a man righteous before God. The (formally) ideal monk Zosima pales in comparison with the former harlot, the unlearned desert dweller, the one who found within herself the boldness to call out to God from the abyss of her sin and to confirm herself in the word of God through the help of God himself. St. Mary ascends to sanctity entirely in God, without the support of a single step on the “ecclesiastical ladder” (traditions and cannons) in her spiritual ascent.

After the period of temptations and trials, Mary acquires blessed repose in God, but in this angelic state she presents herself as an earthly human: she forbids Zosima to tell anyone about her life until she has left this temporary life; she resist the elder’s reverence for her, wishes to receive the holy gifts from the hand of a priest, asks that he pray for her, and shows concern for the churches, the kings, and the people. Despite the fact that the Saint renounced the world, she does not separate herself from the earthly Church, or from sinful mankind. Even at the recollection of the miracles the saint performed, the reader does not get the impression of a saint completely estranged from the earthly life— she continues to be a person on earth, while at the same time, a dweller of Heaven.

Nevertheless, the mystery of her sanctity, her transformed, grace-filled state, came to be only between herself and the one to whom she dedicated her life. Through Christ is St. Mary given the whole world; she needs nothing in particular, possesses everything in her communion with God—“I eat and clothe myself with the word of God, the Master of all things.” Having acquired “the mind of Christ”, the acetic possesses perfect knowledge of everything—“I never studied from books. Neither have I heard anyone singing or reading from them. But the word of God, living and effective, itself teaches men knowledge.” Without a doubt, these words not only testify to the grace-filled, spirit-filled state to which she came after seventeen years of spiritual struggle in the desert. It is also an instruction to elder Zosima, who dared to consider himself perfect based on his scrupulous following of a traditionally correct life vocation, at which he had been placed from his early childhood. Mary, on the other hand, never sought the ideal way of life, but sought God Himself in Whom she attained perfection. The essence of this instruction helps us understand the remarkable theologian, ascetic, and monk—St. Maximos the Confessor. He distinguishes different kinds of knowledge of Christ—knowledge of Christ according to the flesh—this is the knowledge of God received indirectly through the letter, text, rites, history, or tradition. The knowledge of Christ according to the flesh isn’t perfect, because “fleshly” measuring is imperfect in and of itself. Here the word of God is present, but not directly—it is diffracted through the thickness of linguistic, cultural, and other human layers. The person who knows Christ only through the flesh is imperfect in his knowledge of the divine—though he may know all the church dogmas, cannons, and texts of Holy Scripture. You see, human language (no matter which one) cannot express the word of God flawlessly, to the full. In full measure and perfectly, the Word of God Itself is expressed from Himself, in the Spirit; and to be a possessor of the Spirit is the portion of him who strives towards the Living God through the multitude of reflections and images of the Divine Word in the in the “human” sphere; who strives to behold the word of God directly, to make his mind touch the divine Word, pulling away the veil that envelopes Him. According to St. Maximos’s thought, the apostle Paul witnesses precisely to this: Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more (2 Cor. 5:16). (Chapter on theology, 2:61). St. Mary called such knowledge of the Word of God the knowledge of Christ Resurrected. This knowledge can be obtained only through personal experience, as opposed to knowledge of Christ after the flesh, which is accessible to all.

St. Mary’s ascetic labor surpasses Zosima’s ascesis precisely by its all-conquering aspiration towards the Risen Christ. This is not even the ascetic labor comprised of some series of self-denying acts, but the state of the ultimate openness to God, to His action, which makes any ascetic labor, any action in the name of the Creator possible.

I am sincerely convinced that at the remarkable service of the Great Canon and “Standing of St. Mary” we can feel, comprehend, and understand the essence of Christian ascetic labor, co-standing with St. Mary in her fiery, bold striving toward the Savior, Who seeks out the soul of a sinner.

By Priest Maxim Prikhodko

Source: http://orthochristian.com/92473.html

Like many other “second-order” virtues, fasting is spiritually beneficial principally because of what it enables us to do, or learn, or achieve, rather than intrinsically, in its own right. Fasting assists us in prayer by a) clearing the mind, b) by removing certain common physiological and psychological shackles to concentrated and sustained prayer, and c) by putting us back in touch with the reality of our genuine dependence upon God’ providence, instilling in us a sense of humility and realism about our factual situation as created beings. In addition to these more practical benefits, fasting is also important as an obedience, one which builds character by instilling in us the more general virtue of self-restraint, giving us practice in setting our own desires to one side for the purpose of fulfilling God’s will. Finally, fasting is a momentary and deliberate mode of participation in a higher life, a paradisical life, in which the death, pain, and suffering of other creatures is not a condition for human survival – a moment which both forshadows the final eschaton, and looks backwards to the life of Adam and Eve before the fall, enabling those of us who have not taken upon ourselve the more demanding obligations of the monastic life, a temporary mode of participation in that ascetical ideal. For all of these reasons, fasting is important, and indeed, obligatory for Orthodox Christians.*

This week, I’d like to specifically address the question of precisely how fasting helps us in the art of prayer. To a great extent, this assistance is physiological in character. One of the general results of reduced food intake is that the body begins, instead of burning ingested calories, to use resources already stored in the body as fat for food. This biological process, called ketosis, was absolutely essential for human survival during periods of want, and was found by most ancient cultures, including the ancient Jews, to be highly effective for clearing the mind from some of its customary frenetic activity, and for encouraging a certain degree of dispassion (in that one finds it easier not to obsess about what one “wants”). Both of these effects are, for obvious reasons, helpful in one’s religious life.

Fasting also helps one stay alert, since while one is fasting one is not subject to the usual glut of high calories after one’s meals, and so not as strongly affected by a desire to sleep after eating. This too, is useful, both for staying awake during private prayer, and during the public services of the Church, which tend to be more frequent during the fasting periods.

Amazingly enough, fasting even helps one be less concerned about eating and, once one is accustomed to it, less distracted by food. Biologically speaking, in addition to helping one burn body fat, ketosis also has the advantage of helping one feel less hungry and helping one to maintain muscle tone. So fasting, when taken seriously, actually helps one overcome one’s obsession with food itself. This is, I think, helpful for people to know, since I find that converts, for instance, are often afraid to keep the fast for fear of dealing with the discomfort of actual hunger. This is not generally a problem, for simple biological reasons related to ketosis.

The part of us that fasting usually causes to suffer is the part of us that wants to be constantly entertained and catered to – and, of course, this is one of the very aspects of our character that we are seeking to overcome through fasting and prayer in the first place.

To be fair, ketosis, as a sustained biological process, is usually not fully entered into save after a somewhat longer period of extended or complete fasting, which is why the so called “Ninevite Fast” (a complete three-day fast) at the beginning of Lent was customary for Orthodox Christians of the past and also why a regimen of no more than two small meals a day was proscribed for weekdays during Lent. When fasting is practiced in such a way, in its fullness, as it were, so that one begins to realize the degree of one’s fundamental dependence upon God and the kindly benefits of His sheltering and nurturing creation, then we are also given a visceral sense of our own habitual ingratitude and the goodness of God’s creation. Without such additional efforts, however, the practical impact of fasting on our prayer life may be relatively small, and difficult to perceive, and this appears to have led many in the modern Church to question its usefulness on empirical grounds. Those of the faithful who have made use of the traditional fasting practices of the Church in their fullness, however, are well aware of the prayerful and dispassionate benefits of the practice. If you don’t believe me – go ask any monastic!

In any case, fortunately there are other benefits of fasting available even to those of us who do nothing more than keep the basic fasting rules regarding what types of food may or may not be eaten on given days. I’ll discuss that more next week.

Source: http://www.ocf.net/why-we-fast-purifying-our-prayer/

It happened 10 years ago. That incident became for me an evidence that Great Lent is not just the time of usual sorrow, but the sorrow, through which the beams of hope come.

The woman’s name was Dolores. Yes, she had such an unusual name in the world, while she was baptized with the name Daria. I learnt about that woman, who was a lecturer of the philological faculty, from her relatives. It was Great Lent – the time, when the sacrament of Holy Unction is usually served in churches. So, they asked me to come to Daria and perform the sacrament at home. The thing is, Daria was severely ill: she had the terminal cancer of the spinal column. She underwent treatment several time, but it did not help, so the disease progressed instead.

I remember that I entered her room and saw an exhausted middle-aged woman; she was so weakened by her disease that she could not walk any more. Her relatives lifted her up and helped her to sit. During the sacrament, the sick woman was praying wholeheartedly with tears in her eyes. I will remember forever that burning light of hope for God’s help that I saw in her eyes. I anointed Daria and then I left them.

After some time I got a phone call. Daria, who could not even sit without help some time ago, told me with a completely different and joyful voice that she began to walk! Also, she told about the doctors, who were very surprised by the positive dynamics of her recovery. She added that she began to read the akathist to the mother of God before the Pantanassa icon.

It has been years since then and we still keep in contact. I always recall this incident during the period of Great Lent. It gives me hope. The hope that the Lord by His grace will send you the circumstances, which will bring us to Him. The hope that He will not let us go without repentance – even if we are in serious condition, He will cure us from any disease and give us as much time as we need to prepare ourselves.

By Archpriest Andrew Gerasimov

Source: https://foma.ru/dolores-u-kotoroy-byila-nadezhda.html

Archpriest Andrew Lemeshonok, the spiritual father of St. Elisabeth Convent, answers various questions of the parishioners.

Is it true that it is not allowed to read akathists during the Great Lent?

According to the rubrics, the services during the Great Lent are special. However, we do serve several akathists in our Convent during the Great Lent. We read akathists to the Pantanassa icon of the Mother of God because there are so many ill people who need prayer, especially during the Lent. It is not a solemn or festive prayer. It is a call for help. We also read an akathist to the Inexhaustible Chalice icon of the Mother of God.

If your heart wants to read an akathist at home, if you find it useful, you can read it but be watchful.

What does total abstinence mean? Is it when you are not allowed to drink even water, or is it something deeper than that?

I believe it is deeper than that. First of all, abstinence means vigilance of one’s mind and heart, and then, of course, abstinence from certain kinds of food. For instance, total abstinence is recommended during the First Week of the Lent, when an individual is strongly advised not to eat anything till Wednesday or Friday. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. (Matthew 19: 12).

Anyway, abstinence consists not only of food. It entails control over our thoughts, eyes, ears, and tongues.

What should we be thinking about when we approach the Crucifix located in the centre of a church during the Veneration of the Cross Week?

The Cross is a weapon against the devil. It is the lighthouse that helps us find our way in the sea of earthly troubles. The Cross is love that enables us to live and learn to love one another. The Cross is the mountaintop of love: we carry our little crosses and attempt to ascend it like our personal Golgotha to crucify our flesh with the affections and lusts (Cf. Galatians 5: 24) and to be born into the new life.

March 14, 2018

St. Elisabeth Convent

Archimandrite Andrew (Konanos)

A truly faithful person will help you to save your marriage with your beloved person, but not to divorce. Of course, people who live in Christ cannot give you such strange, destructive and groundless advice. Do not be shy to ask for help! Ask for advice and support to save your marriage. You cannot solve this problem on your own, especially when your mind is completely blocked.

Einstein said important things: a mind cannot solve the problem that it has generated by itself. There must be another mind that will help cope with it. It is known that when people are angry, the first thoughts that come to their mind are like “I will divorce you”, “I will avenge”, “I will show my strength”. The most dramatic thoughts come to your mind at this moment. But you need to think a bit. And then ask for help. Apostle Paul says: “We have the mind of Christ”. Place your mind near Christ and say: “My God, enlighten me with Your own mind, which is full of light, love and wisdom, and say me what to do”. Ask the one who you trust. Your relative, for example.

“Tell me, what should I do? What is my mistake” Rather, “What is my mistake?” Have you ever said that? Or do you act like the majority of couples, who are always concerned that it is the other’s fault?

If you learn to ask “What is my mistake?”, then things will get better. However, since we are rather diplomatic at home, we never say like this. It is always someone else’s fault. Not yours. You always justify yourself.

You are so lucky that you are married. You have a great opportunity to spend pleasant moments together, to perceive your own soul and the soul of your close one – you husband or wife. This is a great treasure in your life!

Do not turn into a horse galloping on its own back. This is not good. What is more, this will not help you in your life. There is two of us! Ride ahead together! We can even say that there is a beautiful rivalry between you. You look at one another and get inspired for working on yourself. Your marriage is a great opportunity for your spiritual development, self-knowledge and flourishing. Do not deprive yourself of this gift granted by God. Also, wherever you go, your problem will haunt you.

One a man came to me and said that he wanted to divorce. I said, “Well, divorce your wife, but this does not mean at all that in new relationships you will become an angel. You will remain what you are. This is why you need to do your best to make your current marriage better, try to improve your own nature. If nothing changes, then we will talk about it. Even if you begin to live with another woman now, you will finally get into a fight. Your wife is not the problem here. You are the problem, too”.

From the book by Archimandrite Andrew (Konanos),

“There are certain difficulties in marriage…”

Source: http://pravlife.org/ru/content/arhim-andrey-konanos-sovetuet-chto-nuzhno-obyazatelno-sdelat-esli-reshil-razvestis

In this Beatitude we have reached the peak of our quest. Our reward of our efforts is to become worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Gregory says,

No longer do we go astray, pinning our hope on what is unstable and subject to change. For earth is the place of variation and flux; but in the things that appear moving in heaven we observe nothing like that, because they do not behave in such a way; but all heavenly things move in their own courses in series of orderly sequence.

The examples we have for this final step are the martyrs of the Church.

Gregory says,

It seems that in the last words He holds out to them the highest Beatitude like a crown. For it is truly blessed to suffer persecution for the sake of the Lord. And why? Because being chased by evil becomes the cause of attaining to the good, since separation from the wicked one is made the occasion for drawing near to the Good, that Good that is above every good, the Lord Himself, to whom runs the man who is persecuted. Therefore he is truly blessed, because he uses the enemy to help him attain the Good…

Hence the immediate aspect of the persecution which tyrants unleash against the martyrs is indeed painful to the senses; but the outcome of it exceeds all beatitude.

We all know how difficult it is to deal with those who scheme against us and who do not show their love for us. Gregory uses the story of Joseph as an example. His brothers plotted against him, sold him, yet by this action he became a king over those who had plotted against him. But the persecution in the days of the early Church (which still continues to this days in parts of the world) horrible and was something known by all. Many of Saint Gregory's peers had horrific scars to show this (This is the reason the veiled headgear that monks wear to this day was initiated.). To become blessed because someone has plotted against you, or worse physically harmed you, is not a logical thought. We do not normally see the outcome of inflicted pain as something that is good.

Gregory says,

The fact that the persecution the tyrants inflict on the faithful brings much sensible pain, makes it difficult for the more carnally minded to accept the hope of the Kingdom that is to be realized through these pains. But the Lord, who looks down upon the infirmity of our nature, tells the weak beforehand what is to be the goal of the struggle, so that they may more easily overcome the transitory feelings of pain.

The first martyr Stephen who willingly received the stones that killed him is another example he uses. As Stephen confessed his faith he saw the glory of the Lord shine down on him from heaven. Who else could be more blessed?

Now it is really difficult to prefer what is invisible versus the good things of this world, like the martyrs were able to do.

Gregory says,

Now the soul is in some way attached to the pleasant things of life through the senses of the body. Through the eyes it delights in material beauty, through the ears it inclines to melodious sounds, and so it is also affected by smell, taste, and touch, as nature has disposed to be proper to each. Hence, as it is attached to the pleasant things of life through the sensible faculty as if by a nail, it is hard to turn away from them. It has grown up together with these attachments much in the same way as the shellfish and snails are bound to their covering of clay; and so it is slow to make such movements, since it drags along the whole burden of a lifetime. As such is its condition, the soul is easily captured by its persecutors with the threat of confiscation of property or loss of sonic other things that are coveted in this life; and so it gives in easily, and yields to the power of its persecutor.

But when we God’s grace penetrates our being it is transformed. As Paul says, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword…” (Heb 4:12)

Gregory says,

It cuts through the things that have badly grown together, and disrupts the fetters of habit… He is not pained by the loss of earthly things, but gladdened by the gain of heavenly ones. Therefore he will readily accept every form of torture as a means that will help him to attain to the joy before him: the fire, as a purification from matter; the sword, as disrupting the union of the mind with what is material and carnal. Every device for inflicting pain he will receive eagerly as an antidote against the dangerous poison of pleasure.

Gregory conclude with this:

Therefore affliction is the flower that will yield the hoped-for fruits. Hence let us pick the flower for the sake of the fruit. Let us be persecuted so that we may run, but if we run, let us not run in vain. Let us race towards the prize of our supernal vocation; so let us run that we may obtain. What is it that we shall obtain? What is the prize, what the crown? It seems to me that what we hope is nothing else but the Lord Himself. For He Himself is the Judge of those who fight, and the crown of those who win. He it is who distributes the inheritance, He Himself is the goodly inheritance. He is the portion and the giver of the portion, He makes rich and is Himself the riches. He shows you the treasure and is Himself your treasure. He draws you to desire the beautiful pearl; He offers it to you as it were for sale, if you will trade fairly. In order to gain it, therefore, as if in the market, let us compare the things we have not with those we have. Let us not be sorrowful, then, if we are persecuted, but rather let us rejoice, because by being chased away from earthly honors, we are driven towards the heavenly Good. For this He has promised, that those who have been persecuted for His sake shall be blessed, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven, by the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever.

Source: http://orthodoxwayoflife.blogspot.com.by/2009/09/8th-beatitude-blessed-are-they-that.html

Holy Thoughts

There was an elder who is said to have spent fifty years in complete abstention. He did not even eat bread, and he drank just a little water. That elder boasted that he had eradicated fornication, love of money, and vainglory from his soul. When Abba Abraham heard it, he came to that elder and asked him:

– Have you said so and so?

The elder replied:

– Yes, I have.

Abba Abraham responded:

– Imagine you get into your hut and see a woman in your bed. Can you refrain from thinking that she is a woman?

– No but — but I struggle with the thought and try not to touch her.

Abraham concluded:

– So you haven’t eradicated fornication: it is alive in your heart but it is bound. Again, imagine you are walking down the road and see rocks and potsherds, and gold coins scattered among them. Won’t you think about the gold coins?

The elder admitted:

– No but I will cast that thought away and won’t take the gold.

Abraham stated:

– So your passion is alive but bound. Again: if you meet two brothers, one of whom loves and praises you to the skies, while the other hates and insults you — will your heart be predisposed towards them equally?

The elder replied:

– Of course not but I will struggle with my thoughts and do as much good to the one who hates me as to the one who loves me.

Abba Abraham summed it up:

– Consequently, your passions are still alive but they are bound with holy thoughts.

Pure Heart

Someone asked St. Isaac of Syria:

– How does a person get to know that his heart has become pure?

The elder replied:

– When that person considers all people to be good, and regards no man filthy and foul — that’s when he has a really pure heart.

Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled (Titus 1:15)

Strong Wind

A traveler sought advice from the abbot of Skete.

– I’d like to lead a better life but I can’t protect myself against sinful thoughts.

The abbot noticed that it was windy outdoors. He said to the pilgrim:

– It’s hot. I’d appreciate it if you catch some wind from the outdoors and bring it here to make the room less stuffed.

– That’s impossible, – the traveler protested.

– Likewise, you can’t protect yourself against ungodly thoughts, – the monk replied. – But if you know how to say no to the temptation, those thoughts won’t do you any harm.

Service and Praise

One day, elders were sitting at the table. Abba Alonius was waiting on them.

The elders commended him but he did not say anything in response.

One of the elders enquired:

– Why didn’t you say anything to the elders when they praised you?

Abba Alonius told him:

– If I had said anything to them, it would have meant that I accepted their praise.

Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. (Ps. 115:1)

Hermit’s Hunger

There was a hermit who came to his spiritual father to complain that he felt hungry in his secluded cell as early as 9 o’clock every morning, even though he had managed to do without food for several days when he had lived in a monastery.

– Don’t be surprised, my son, – the elder replied. – There is no one in the desert who would see your fasting and support and feed you with praises. Vainglory used to be your food when you were at the monastery. The satisfaction that you felt because of your exceptional abstention was sweeter than a meal.

Three Monks

There were three diligent monks. One of them chose to restore peace among those who quarrelled as his spiritual practice. The second monk decided to put his efforts into visiting the ill. The third monk went to the desert to stay in solitude. The first monk had a lot of work because people just wouldn’t stop quarreling. He came to the second monk and saw that he was likewise tired and ceased to tend to his cause. They agreed to visit the hermit, tell him about their problems, and see what good he had done in the wilderness. The hermit paused and then poured some water into a cup, saying:

– Look at the water.

The water was muddy, and they couldn’t see anything. After a while, he invited them to look at the water again.

– See, the water is still now.

They looked at the water and saw their faces like in a mirror. He said to them:

– That’s what happens to a person who lives amidst other people. He has to cope with so much hassle that he cannot see his sins. When he stays silent, especially in the wilderness, he can spot his shortcomings.

Praising and Cursing the Dead

A newly-tonsured monk came to a renowned hermit hoping that the elder would show him the way to perfection.

– Go to a graveyard tonight, – the elder said, – and praise the dead who lie there till dawn. Then come and tell me how they receive your praises.

The newly-tonsured monk returned from the graveyard the following morning:

– I’ve done what you ordered me, Father! I praised those dead people with a loud voice all night long. I called them holy, blessed fathers, great and righteous men who pleased God, the lights of the universe, the treasure troves of wisdom, and the salt of the earth. I claimed that they had all the virtues I had ever read about in the Holy Scriptures and the philosophers’ books.

– So what? Did they show you their appreciation?

– No, they didn’t, Father: they kept silent all the time. I didn’t hear a single word from them.

– Sounds strange, – the elder said. – That’s what you should do: go to the graveyard again tonight and curse them as hard as you can until you elicit any response.

The newly-tonsured monk returned the following day and reported:

– I kept cursing and smearing them. I called them dirty dogs, devil’s vessels, God-forsakers; I likened them to all wicked men of the Old and New Testament, from Cain who murdered his brother to Judas who betrayed the Lord; from the lustful Gibeonites to Ananias and Sapphira who attempted to lie to God. I claimed that they were guilty of all heresies, from the Simon’s and Valentine’s old heresies to the new one called Monothelitism.

– Well, and how did you escape their anger?

– I didn’t need to, Father! They kept silent all the time. I even put my ear close to their tombs but no one moved.

– You see, – the elder concluded, – you have reached the first stage of Angelic living, which is obedience. You will reach the top level on earth only when you become as indifferent towards praises and curses as those dead people.

…By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true (2 Cor. 6:8)

Those of us whose ancestors are French, Irish, Scandinavian, German, Italian or other British or European nationality, would do well to remember that we too have a rich Orthodox heritage. Unhappily, it has in many cases been buried under a thick layer of Catholic and Protestant history.

Despite the universality of the Holy Orthodox Church, it is not infrequently that converts confess to feeling “out of place” in the Russian, Greek, Serbian, or other ethnic tradition which, with few exceptions, dominates parish life in the Orthodox West. This is a natural outcome of the circumstances in which Orthodoxy spread to the West: it was primarily an immigrant rather than a missionary movement. Today, however, a majority of converts come from a West European stock that is neither Slavic nor Greek. Those of us whose ancestors are French, Irish, Scandinavian, German, Italian or other British or European nationality, would do well to remember that we too have a rich Orthodox heritage. Unhappily, it has in many cases been buried under a thick layer of Catholic and Protestant history. It would, however, serve not only our own interests, but the interest of the Orthodox Church as a whole, were we to bring to light that treasury of Western saints and their rich legacy, of which we are the unworthy inheritors.

This process was begun in earnest by a true apostle of our own day, Archbishop John Maximovitch, of Blessed Memory. While living in Paris as ruling Archbishop of Western Europe, he was inspired by a love for the Church to begin collecting information on early saints of the West, together with their pictures or icons. Thus he began a task of promoting amongst Orthodox living in the West, a consciousness of, and a devotion to, those saints who had lived in the West before the Schism of 1054. In 1952 he spoke on this subject before a Sobor of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, presenting for their consideration a list of pre-schism Western saints for inclusion in the Orthodox calendar.

A similar task was undertaken by one who was himself an Orthodox saint of the West, St. Gregory, Pope of Rome—also known as St. Gregory the Great, or St. Gregory the Dialogist. Writing at the end of the sixth century, he compiled a book honoring the memory of the saints of Italy for the edification and instruction of his fellow countrymen. The book is written in the form of a dialogue between himself and his deacon Peter, from whose comments it is clear that we are not alone in our ignorance of these holy and illustrious men of God.

Peter: “I do not know of any persons in Italy whose lives give evidence of extraordinary spiritual powers. This land of ours has undoubtedly produced its virtuous men, but to my knowledge no signs or miracles have been performed by any of them; or if they have been, they were till now kept in such secrecy that we cannot even tell if they occurred.”

Gregory: “On the contrary, Peter, the day would not be long enough for me to tell you about those saints whose holiness has been well established and whose lives are known to me either from my own observations or from the reports of good, reliable witnesses.”

St. Gregory proceeds to recount a veritable ‘Paradise of the Fathers’ of the West. These men and women, by whose prayers the dead were raised, the sick healed, who calmed the seas and tamed wild beasts, were in no way behind their fellow laborers of the East in their ascent of the ladder of virtue. Amantius, Eleutherius, Fortunatus, Boniface, Donatus, Honoratus, Cerbonius-these are but a few to whom we are introduced in St. Gregory’s Dialogues. The second book of the Dialogues is devoted entirely to the life of St. Benedict of Norcia, a monastic father of the West. Unable to confine his love and enthusiasm for God’ s saints to Italy, St. Gregory crosses over to Spain, a country which had Christian settlements as early as the first century.

Going north into France, we again discover a whole army of Orthodox saints: the desert- dwellers of the Jura Mountains, the monastic fathers of Lerins, the saintly bishops of Poitiers, Tours, Paris, Lyons. Numbered among their ranks is St. Clotilde, Queen of France (d. 545), by whose prayers her husband, Clovis, King of the Franks, received the faith of Christ where again we are fortunate in having primary sources available to us in English: St. Gregory of Tours’ History of the Franks contains some lives of saints, while his magnificent Vita Patrum (Life of the Fathers) was translated by Hieromonk Seraphim Rose.

In his Introduction to this series, Fr. Seraphim writes: “The 20th-century Orthodox Christian will find little that is strange in the Christianity of 6th-century Gaul; in fact, if he himself has entered deeply into the piety and spirit of Orthodoxy as it has come down even to our days, he will find himself very much at home in the Christian world of St. Gregory of Tours.” St. John Maximovitch included several of these saints in his own list, among them St. Germanus of Auxerre and his companion St. Lupus (St. Loup) of Troyes.

Crossing the Channel to England, we find a wealth of Orthodox saints all but unknown even to those living there! The discovery, not long ago, of the relics of St. Edward the Martyr, a 10th century King of England, has brought attention to the historical presence of Orthodoxy in Britain, but work has only just begun in this fertile field of Orthodox sanctity which could do so much toward the strengthening of faith among native Britons and those of British heritage. Two sources on this subject deserve special mention: A History of the English Church and People by the Venerable Bede and Saints of the British Isles, compiled by two English converts to Orthodoxy, A. Bond and N. Mabin.

What convert of Irish ancestry doesn’t have a devotion to St. Patrick? So successful were the apostolic labors of this wondrous saint that by the sixth century Ireland had become a genuine Thebaid of the West whose monastics penetrated the farthest corners of Europe in their missionary zeal. Wales, too, had an illustrious bishop, St. David, as its patron. Here was another breeding ground of missionary saints, many of whom are more illustrious in the lands they evangelized than in their homeland. St. Ninian of Scotland, Amend of Belgium, Anschar of Sweden . . . There is no country in Europe which does not have an Orthodox heritage. Let us make an effort to uncover these beacons of Christianity for our own edification and to the glory of God, wondrous in His saints.

Source: http://www.pravmir.com/a-convert-heritage-western-saints/

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