The Catalog of Good Deeds

Joy is the second gift of the Holy Spirit mentioned by Apostle Paul. Indeed, joy is a righteous deed, a Godly deed, a holy deed. “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17)” - the Apostle says. We were directly given a commandment: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)

The Holy Bible appeals to all of us to rejoice. Despondency is a sin. You can find it hard to understand just as with the command to love. Joy is an emotion, a feeling that we would be glad to experience, but we cannot. Joy does not have a power button; otherwise, we would be pressing it all the time. People even try to receive joy by drinking alcohol or taking drugs. However, it is impossible to say that we cannot have joy at all. No one can have ripe crops on their field - they have to work hard, plant seeds, dig weeds. In order to receive joy you have to be patient and resilient. You have to grow it as we grow a plant; and it is important here is that you don’t kill it.

The paradox of our fallen nature is that we are so desperate to be happy, but we do everything not to be. It is the same with joy - we wish to have joy in our lives, but we do everything to kill it. Sin kills joy; and the best example will be again alcohol and drugs that do not really bring joy to our lives. After a short euphoria there’s a deep emotional breakdown. Those who advise to drink alcohol in order to drown one’s despair are terribly wrong - the number of suicides committed under the influence of alcohol is much higher. Alcohol deepens a sense of despair and makes people feel complete hopelessness. But it works in the same with any other sin - you think that you’ll be happy - that money you stole or fornication you committed will make you happy - but, again, it proves to be wrong. It is often said that Christianity deprives people of “simple pleasures of life”. But it’s just the opposite - being a Christian means to reject oneself from what kills joy.

Discontent is one of the sins that destroys joy right away. We pour out angry complaints to God, people, circumstances, and we are constantly grumbling at everything, that made us feel insulted and disadvantaged. The paradox of a constantly complaining man is that he grumbles about his own unhappiness, but he cannot be happy because of his complaints. No changes of his life circumstances could help him - he who complains that their porridge is too thin, will also complain that their diamonds are too small. Joy will never abandon humble and grateful hearts - as the Apostle says: “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

The other killer of joy is anger, rage and judgment towards others. Look at the social networks - people are sometimes angry and depressed there.

Repentance is a way to receive joy. You should acknowledge your sins, confess them and then do your best to change your life. When we are mad at other people's sins, we become even more despondent; but when we see our own sins and repent of them - we change ourselves and receive joy. We become fertile ground for cultivating joy. It’s not enough to only remove yourself from what kills joy, we should approach the One, Who is the creator of it - God the Holy Spirit. We should be looking for Him in prayer - personal or church prayer, and especially in the Holy Mysteries of the Church.

Joy is connected with gratitude and hope. Joy is when we know something good, something very good. Something that is so beautiful and comforting, that we not dare to believe in it, though we know that it is true. Christ says to the Apostles that they should rejoice because their names are written in Heaven.

In the very core of our personality, much deeper than any problems of life, we have hope and joy - and we know what is the first and last truth about reality. God is love, His love will win, His divine providence leads us to His Kingdom. Here, on Earth, we can only have foreknowledge of the true joy. As Saint Seraphim of Sarov says, “Once I was praying to God that I could be closer to Him and so that He could show me His Heavenly Kingdom. And God showed His mercy on me. He made my wish come true. And I was ascended into His Kingdom, though I do not know whether with my body or not. God knows - it is beyond understanding. And that joy of Heaven that I experienced can not be described… If only you could know what joy a holy man would experience in Heaven, you would choose to live through all sorrows, persecutions and slander of our earthly life with gratitude… There is no sufferings, no grieves, no weeping… There is joy and delight that can not be expressed, the righteous will see the glory of God. But if even the Apostle Paul could not describe such heavenly glory, then how other man’s language could express glory and beauty of Heavenly Kingdom, in which the souls of the righteous will settle”.

A little kid, who knows that his parents will pick him up from school and drive him to the seaside - he is already thinking of sand and waves and of huge southern stars. A Christian, who knows that God leads him to the New Jerusalem, is already there in his thoughts, and “with fear and great joy” is awaiting for his coming back home. As Saint Ephraim the Syrian said: “Repentance means awe in front of the gates of Heaven”. The source of this joy and awe is our knowledge of presence of God, who became a man to save us, and who always cares of our everlasting joy. As it is written in one of the famous poems of Vladimir Solovyov:

He is here, now, - among the casual bustle,

In the turbid flood of life’s alarm.

You rule with an all-joyful mystery,

Evil is impotent; we - eternal, God - with us!

Translated from the following source: http://foma.ru/pochemu-greh-ubivaet-radost.html

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On September 14th, for centuries, when the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross was celebrated in cathedrals, the bishop would take his place in the center of the church and, surrounded by a great assembly of clergy, would majestically raise the cross high over the crowd and bless the worshippers on all four sides of the church while the choir thundered in response, “Lord have mercy!” This was the celebration of Christian empire, an empire born under the sign of the Cross on that day when Emperor Constantine saw a vision of the Cross high in the sky and heard the words “In this sign conquer…” This is the feast of Christianity’s triumph over kingdoms, cultures and civilizations, the feast of that Christian world which now lies in ruins, still crumbling before our very eyes.

Yes, the solemn, ancient rite will once again be celebrated this year. The choir will still be joyfully singing that “the Cross is the strength of kings, the Cross is the beauty of the universe.” But today, the tumultuous metropolis surrounding the church does not participate in that hidden triumph and is completely unconnected to it. Its millions of inhabitants will go on with their normal lives and their usual ups and downs, interests, joys, and sorrows, with no reference whatsoever to the goings-on within the church building. Why then do we keep repeating words about universal triumph, and singing over and over again that the Cross is unconquerable? Sadly, we have to admit that many, many Christians are unable to answer this question. They are accustomed to seeing the church in exile and on the margins of life, exiled from culture, life, schools and from everywhere. Many Christians are content and undisturbed when the authorities contemptuously allow them to ‘observe their rites” as long as they are quiet and obedient, and do not interfere in the building of a world where there is no Christ, no faith, and no prayer. Those tired Christians have almost forgotten what Christ said on the night he went to the Cross: “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33).

It seems to me that we continue to celebrate the Elevation of the Cross and repeat ancient words of victory not simply to commemorate an old battle that was won, or to recall the past that no longer exists, but in order to reflect more deeply on the meaning of the word “victory” for Christian faith. It may be that only now, stripped as we are of outward power and glory, government support, untold wealth, and of all apparent symbols of victory, are we capable of understanding that all of this was, perhaps, not genuine victory. Yes, the cross raised above the crowds was in those days covered with gold and silver and adorned with precious stones. Yet neither gold, nor silver, nor precious stones can erase the original meaning of the Cross as an instrument of humiliation, torture, and execution on which a man was nailed, a man rejected by all, gasping from pain and thirst. Do we have the courage to ask ourselves: if all those Christian kingdoms and cultures died, if victory was replaced by defeat, was it not because we Christians became blind to the ultimate meaning and genuine content of Christianity’s most important symbol? We decided that gold and silver would be allowed to eclipse this meaning. And we decided as well that God desires our worship of the past.

To honor the Cross, to raise it up, to sing of Christ’s victory: does this not mean, above all, to believe in the Crucified One and to believe that the Cross is a sign of staggering defeat? For only because it is a defeat, and only to the measure it is accepted as defeat, does the Cross become victory and triumph. No, Christ did not enter the world to win outward victories. He was offered a kingdom, but refused. And at the very moment of his betrayal to death, He said: “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Mt 26:53). Yet, Christ was never more a king than when He walked to Golgotha carrying his own cross on his shoulders while the hate-filled and mocking crowd surrounded him. His kingship and power were never more obvious than when Pilate brought him before the crowd, dressed in purple, condemned to a criminal’s death, a crown of thorns on his head, and Pilate telling the raging mob: “Behold your king”. Only here can the whole mystery of Christianity be seen, for Christianity’s victory resides within the joyful faith that here, through this rejected, crucified and condemned man, God’s love began to illumine the world and a Kingdom was opened which no one has power to shut.

Each of us, however, must accept Christ and receive him with all our heart, all our soul, and all our hope. Otherwise, outward victories are all meaningless. Perhaps we needed this outward defeat of the Christian world. Perhaps we needed poverty and rejection to purge our faith of its earthly pride and of its trust in outward power and victory, to purify our vision of the Cross of Christ, which is raised high above us even when neither we nor the world can see it. In spite of everything, the Cross is still elevated, exalted and triumphant. ‘The Cross is the beauty of the universe.” For in whatever darkness people find themselves, and however great the outward triumph of evil in this world, the heart still knows and hears the words, “Take courage, I have overcome the world.”

[Taken from, “Celebration of Faith” Sermons, Vol. 2, “The Church Year” by Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, 1994.]

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The special service at the end of the All-night vigil or the rite of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was established in Jerusalem shortly after the Finding of the Cross. In memory of that event and the restoration of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Lectionary of the 5^th century in Armenian language tells about the rite of the Exaltation of the Cross in front of the praying masses. In the Georgian version of the Lectionary of the 5-7^th centuries there is a detailed description of this rite. It was held on September, 14(old calendar) and began at the third hour after the sunrise. The priests came into the sacristy, then vested, decorated the Cross (sometimes even three Crosses) and laid it on the altar stone. The rite included three episodes of exaltation (elevation) of the Cross. Each elevation was preceded by the prayers and chants and was accompanied by fifty “Lord, have mercy upon us” prayers. After the third elevation, the Cross was washed with aroma water, and people were allowed to venerate the Holy Cross. Then the Cross was placed into the altar stone again and the liturgy began.

By the 6^th century the rite of the Exaltation was already known and performed not only in Jerusalem, but in other corners of the Christian world as well. According to the post-iconoclastic Great Church Typicon, in the Saint Sofia Church the Exaltation rite was held during the matins after the troparions to the Cross. The rite itself is described shortly: the Patriarch was standing on the ambon (a small rise with the stairs in the center of the church) while raising the Cross, at the same time people were exclaiming “Lord, have mercy upon us”. This was repeated three times. The picture of the priest raising the Cross became the traditional image of the feast’s iconography.

The Constantinople rite is described in the Dresden and Paris copies of the Great Church Typicon: during the matins the Patriarch with the Cross went to the ambon accompanied by the skevophylax or chaltulary and the singers (who sang the troparion to the Cross). When the Patriarch reached the ambon, he put the Cross on a small table and made three prostrations. Then the Patriarch began the rite, which consisted of three cycles. Each cycle included 5 raisings of the Cross. At first, the Patriarch came to the eastern side of the ambon and raised here the Cross. At the same time the deacons and all the other people exclaimed “Lord, have mercy upon us” 100 times. During the last three times of reading the prayer, the Patriarch made the sign of Cross to the East three times. Then the Cross was raised in the same manner to the South, the West, the North, and aging to the East. After a short rest, the Patriarch repeated the same actions, but the prayer was read 80 times for the second cycle and 60 times for the third cycle. After that people sang the Kontakion to the Cross and then the liturgy began.

In the Typicon of the Studite tradition, the rite of Exaltation is based on the Constantinople type, but is slightly simplified. It is included into the final part of the matins. Instead of three cycles there was only one, consisting of five raisings – twice to the East and one time for the other sides of the world.

According to the Studite-Alexian Typicon the rite was held in the end of matins after the reading of the Trisagion, the Troparion to the Cross and bowing to the Cross. The rite began with singing the three Troparions; the Cross was elevated by father superior in the altar from different sides of the world (the East, the North, the West, the South, and again the East). After the rite a litany was proclaimed and the first hour began.

According to the Typicon of Evergetis the rite was held not in the altar, but in the church. After the Troparion to the Cross the priest made three times the sign of the Cross to the East and sang loudly “Lord, have mercy upon us” three times as well. Then he was raising the Cross slowly while singing the rest 97 times. After that the sacred action repeated to the other sides of the world: South, West, North, East.

In the Typicon of Saint George the Hagiorite describes two versions of the rite. The first one corresponds to the one described in the Typicon of Evergetis (but the order of the sides is different: East, North, West, South, East). The second version tells that the rite was held by the Patriarch, and its features underline the connection with the Great church (the chants after the entrance during the praises).

In the Jerusalem statute, adopted in the Orthodox Church in 13-15^th centuries, the rite preserves the features, which are known from the Studite scriptures: it is held at the matins after the great praise and the Troparion to the Cross. The sign of Cross is made five times and the Cross is raised to the sides of the world (East, South, West, North, East). But there is an important change – five petitions by a deacon are included (at the time when the sign of Cross is made), and after each of them “Lord, have mercy upon us” is sung. Moreover, according to the Jerusalem statute, before raising the Cross the priest has to lean to the floor so that his head will be not higher that 20 cm above the floor. In the second part of the 17^th century, when the liturgical literature was corrected in Russian Church, the order of the sides of the world was changed. The new order was: East, West, South, North, East. This order remains even today.

The rite of the Exaltation of the Cross is an inalienable part of the festal service. This can be proved by the variety of features, described in different scriptures. In some of them it is stated, that the rite can be held only by the Patriarch with the clergy, but according to the others a priest with a deacon can do this as well. For example, in 1301 the fathers of the Constantinople cathedral gave the answer to the question of Theognostus, the bishop of Saraysk, in which it was stated, that the rite can be led not only by a bishop, but also by a father superior. Saint Cyprian of Moscow wrote in his letter to the clergy of Novgorod, that the Cross should be elevated in any church, even if there is only one priest. The handwritten monastic Typicon of the 17^th century says, that the rite should take place annually only in cathedrals, while in all other churches the rite in should be held only in case when the feast falls on Saturday or Sunday.

In old Moscow Typicon of 1641 it was written, that the Cross should be elevated only in cathedral churches and monasteries, while in average churches only worshipping of the Cross should take place. That instruction was later transferred to the new version of Typicon of 1682. Since that it is stated in all publications of the Russian Typicon. Nowadays in the Russian Church the rite takes place in all the cathedrals, while in monasteries and parishes it can be held with permission of the eparch. In the Church of Greece the rite can take place in any church.

According to certain manuscripts, when the rite of the Exaltation is held, the ektene of the matins can be cancelled, because some prayers of it are also included in the rite. Just like in the Jerusalem, the Cross is washed with aromatic water during the Exaltation.

Translated from: http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/50351.html

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On August 1, according to our Orthodox ecclesiastical calendar, our Holy Church begins the celebration of the Precious and Life-creating Cross of the Lord, which reaches its climax on September 14, the great feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord, and concludes with the Leave-taking (Apodosis) of the feast on September 21.

Why is this? Is it not enough that we commemorate the Crucifixion of the Lord on the Cross on Great Friday, and that the Holy Church glorifies the Cross of the Lord every Friday?

A profound, inner meaning is concealed in this celebration of the Cross of the Lord: the Holy Church, our concerned mother, wishes to direct our particular attention to this great and saving sign, against which the world, "which lieth in wickedness" (I Jn. 5:19), has always waged, and in our days continues to wage, a deliberate and unrelenting battle—the world which has now plainly fallen away from Christ and is preparing itself to worship Antichrist.

Can anyone dare call himself a Christian who shuts his eyes to all the horrors taking place in the world today, and soothes his conscience, and the consciences of those around him, with assurances that everything is an incidental, transient phenomenon, and that in general the world is moving towards "progress," towards the establishment of the "Kingdom of God on earth"?

It is difficult to say what these people believe who have apparently been appointed to instruct the people in the pure teaching of the Word of God and the holy Fathers of the Church, and why they are so disposed, marching to the tune of the sectarians at times, and at other times with those who do not believe in God and with the "Christian progressives." Either they are naive in the extreme and completely ignorant of the clear teaching of the word of God, or they themselves do not believe in anything, but say that which is required of them by the overlords who provide for them, whom they faithfully serve, fearing to lose those worldly goods received from them: money, titles, jobs, high rank in society, pleasures, etc.

The word of God does not give us even the slightest foundation for belief in the establishment of a "Kingdom of God on earth," or in any worldly progress for humanity; quite the contrary. It foretells much suffering for true followers of Christ and the "bearing of the cross" in imitation and following of the Lord Who bore the Cross; and for this world, which lieth in wickedness, it foretells an inevitable end. The promised "Kingdom of Christ on earth" is by no means tangible, but noetic—within the souls, of those who truly believe in Christ, for Whom the Lord became King.

Surely it is not in vain that, laying down the whole course of a true Christian's earthly life, Christ our Savior said: "Whosoever, will come after Me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me" (Mk. 8:34); and at the Mystical Supper before His suffering: on the Cross, He forewarned His disciples "In the world ye shall have tribulation" (Jn. 16:33). Neither in vain did the holy Apostles, in complete accord, with these words of the Divine Teacher, instruct Christians, "We must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22), or "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow His steps" (I Pet. 2:21).

But this transient, earthly world in which the "progressives," despite the sorry witness of their own eyes, promise the people some completely illusory, happy, "paradisiacal" life with total well-being and prosperity for all, is doomed to destruction on the "day of the Lord," according to the clear, teaching of the word of God, when "the heavens shall pass away, with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (II Pet. 3:10).

Modern thinkers do not want to hear of this, saying that this might happen "some day," "many million years hence," but "never today." By such statements they liken themselves to the "scoffers" the holy Apostle also refers to, alerting Christians to the dangers lurking for the morality of Christian people. "Know this first, that there shall come in the last days deceitful scoffers, walking after their own lusts and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation" (II Pet. 3:3-4). It is a characteristic indication that those who speak thus are people who are "walking after their own lusts!" To such "lusts" have they surrendered themselves, darkening the eyes of their souls so that they no longer see anything, for they look at everything only from the distorted point of view of their "lusts," which occupy all their attention and interest.

Yet, our Lord Himself clearly taught us not to think of relegating His Second Coming to some vague remote future "millions of years hence," but commanded us to expect Him always, comparing His arrival in its suddenness to that of a thief: "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the householder had known in what watch the thief would come he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken into. Therefore, be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh" (Mt. 24:42-44). The "faithful and wise servant" never says that the Second Coming will be "sometime after many, many years;" and that it is thus not necessary to trouble oneself with this thought, for he knows that the Lord Himself" has forbidden him to say: "my Lord delayeth, His, coming" (Mt 24:48).

What, then, can be said of these who not only do not consider the possibility of the nearness of the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ, which many signs indicate to us, but believe in some imaginary progress of humanity and the approach of a general well-being and prosperity, although all of modern life, with its total decline of true faith and morality, with its terrible, destructive inventions which deal death to man, simply cries out against this.

One must know and remember that it is such earthly "Progress," such illusory well-being and prosperity of man on earth, that Antichrist, Christ's opponent, promises to give to the people. His servants, who are preparing for his reign on earth, are already striving beforehand in like manner to influence the people, shouting and preaching everywhere about this "paradise on earth" which supposedly awaits the people. And all those who strive for this earthly "progress" forgetting Christ's words: "But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Mt. 6:33), who avoid bearing their cross as Christ commands, but think only of how they might make the world better and more free, richer and more carefree, enjoying all the earthly goods and pleasures, are in the same camp with the servants of the imminent Antichrist, working consciously or unconsciously for his swift appearance and reign in the world.

Such as these are not of Christ, but of Antichrist. But we, if we are true Christians and do not falsely or hypocritically bear the name "Christian," must gaze constantly upon the Cross of Christ, that saving sign of God's love for us, the token of our salvation, and drawing therefrom abundant and grace-imparting powers "which pertain unto life and godliness" (II Pet. 1:3), must bear our cross as the Lord has commanded us, and must regard this transient earthly life as but a sojourn in a hostel, whence we must return home to those "heavenly mansions" which the Lord has prepared for us by His suffering on the Cross (Jn. 14:2).

With the great Apostle, we must "consider all things as dung in order to win Christ" (Phil. 3:8). And we must thus forsake all our purely earthly concerns, all controversies, quarrels, disputes and altercations, from which no one receives any benefit, but only spiritual harm. "Our life is in Heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ" (Phil. 3:20). This we must ever constantly keep in mind.

Soon all will come to an end—all this temporal, transient, corrupt earthly world. Surely we shall not lose our hope of eternal life by surrendering ourselves to our petty passions and lusts! "Seek those things which are above," the holy Apostle Paul thus exhorts us, "where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth" (Col. 3:1-2).

From Orthodox Life, Vol. 28, No. 6 (Nov.-Dec., 1978), pp. 23-26. Translated from True Orthodoxy and the Modern World, by Archbishop Averky (Jordanville, N.Y.: St. Job of Pochaev Press, 1971), pp. 295-299.

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Robert Koch, a German microbiologist, announced his discovery of the tuberculosis pathogen on March 24, 1882. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1905, and the WHO declared March 24 the World TB Day in 1993. This terrible disease is responsible for 1.6 million deaths annually.

The State Institution “The National Applied Research Centre of Pulmonology and Physiatry” was opened in our city on August 21, 1928. Our sisters of mercy carry out their obedience in this place. Today we talk with one of them.

Sister Lubov, can you tell us about your obedience?

I started visiting the patients of the Center five years ago. Generally, the people who suffer from this illness come from the socially vulnerable groups of our population. Many of them have difficult fates: alcohol addicts, homeless, disappointed in life, offended... They find it hard to believe in God’s mercy. Some are so irritated that they do not only insult a sister of mercy but can even throw something at her. I have had a firsthand experience of this: one of the patients threw an empty can at me. However, such accidents cannot stop us in carrying out our obedience. I recall how one man disliked me to such an extent that he would literally push me out of his ward. So one day I came to him, bent over, and said, “Please forgive me for annoying you... I see that you lose your temper because of me.” He softened a little, and then we even became friends! It turned out that he was a believer of some kind: he even carried an icon with him. So the fact that these people are so unfriendly may be caused by their pain, fears, and sorrows, and we must always bear this in mind.

It is great to have a chapel in honor of St Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) on the territory of the Center. We petitioned for it for over five years! Finally, our Father Andrew blessed us to gather signatures for this chapel. That was when the project started to move forward. You know, we were surprised to have gathered many signatures of the patients of the Centre in support of the construction, and even from those whom I had never expected to do so. A person who had appeared to be absolutely indifferent to the matters of faith would suddenly say, “Of course, I'll sign your petition! It is very important for the patients to have the place to pray!” When we started to hold molebens in this chapel, and when these people got the opportunity to confess and take communion, the atmosphere immediately changed. Many people turned to God and became practicing Christians. Those who were especially fond of the Orthodox faith were put in charge of the chapel, and they started to feel their responsibility and started to live in a different way. This was the beginning of their spiritual life...

Can you give us some examples?

There was a boy whose name was Dima. He was very young, he had just turned twenty. He believed in Christ with all his heart and became a practicing Christian. He was put in charge of the chapel. He was so zealous in prayer that he would sometimes even sleep in the chapel on a pew. He did not want to return to the ward... This was a striking example of a person changing so drastically! Maybe they even laughed at him, saying he must have gone insane. An unbeliever cannot understand these changes. Many people think that a new believer lost his sanity whereas in fact he came to his senses! He simply took a sober look at his life and saw its deep meaning!

Dima took a vow. He told God that he was ready to sacrifice his own life for his parents to turn to God... Soon this boy reposed in the Lord. He passed away as a devout Christian.

Sister Lubov, why did you start visiting this place?

Thing is, I was here as a patient a couple of times. So I know this suffering firsthand. I got ill with TB in 2005... As soon as I was discharged from the

hospital, I was thinking that I would never in my life come back again! You see, I hated even the ubiquitous smell of antiseptics! However, God's will is above all... In the meantime I took the blessing to begin my obedience here. Now I visit the patients of this center every week. Surprisingly enough, almost all the sisters who have their obedience in the TB center, used to be its patients like me! Only Leah (Sister Leah Chekan reposed in the Lord on February 25, 2014) never got ill with this disease. God has His plans for each one of us!

When our interview was over, Sister Lubov shared some good news with us: one of the patients of the center had asked her to get information about the possibility of employment at one of the Convents workshops. Sounds pretty normal, doesn't it? The person is looking for a job, so what? However, the fact that he hopes to find the job in the Convent is a small yet significant victory!

By Natallia Klimovav from the Stories of the Sisterhood

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