As for the red eggs eaten at the Resurrection

 

As for the red eggs eaten at the Resurrection, many say many things without reason; but the wise man Paisios of Gaza, resolving certain issues with the Tsar of Russia, says that when the Jews said (Matthew 27:25) “His blood be on us and on our children,” they immediately dyed all the things they had in their homes red, and then the eggs as well. Hence, in remembrance of the miracle, we also dye our eggs red at the Resurrection; and this miracle, he says, is from an ancient tradition.

Footnote of the Pedal (89 canon of the Sixth Ecumenical Council. Page 298).

I saw a mother

 I saw a mother

I saw a mother looking at her child who walked for the first time.

Her face shone, her eyes filled with tears, her arms were filled with gratitude.

I admired her love, I admired her bond with her child…

I saw a mother looking at her child being crucified without being guilty of anything.

His body full of wounds being nailed to a cross. Some cursing him, others mocking him, others gambling on his clothes…

And the face of this mother remained unmoved, her eyes filled with tears, but her mouth did not open, no cry or complaint was heard… her heart was filled with forgiveness when she received her dead child in her arms.

I admired this mother, not because she didn't scream in pain, but because she turned her pain into love... and from mother of the God-Man she became mother of us all...

You were not commanded to blame the lazy

 You were not commanded to blame the lazy, nor to control wickedness, nor to reproach laziness, but to relieve poverty, to heal calamity, to stretch out your hand and lift up those who have fallen.

Saint John Chrysostom

On prayer

Learn to pray to God not only at prayer times, but every hour and every moment, since He is everywhere. From the constant remembrance of God, an inexpressible peace will flood your heart.

Saint Theophanes the Recluse

 

When we ask someone to pray for us and we become complacent and fall asleep, that is, we become lazy, then does he eat so that we can be satisfied? Is that possible? He has the fruit of love, since he prays for us, but we remain hungry. If he begs God to give us bread, that is, His gifts, and we do not stretch out our hand to receive them, his prayer is useless and fruitless for us. Do not deceive yourself.

But if someone well-intentioned asks for your prayer, do not refuse it (evasively?) with the excuse (or pretext?) of your unworthiness; “for the faith of him who asked [for prayer] has often saved the one praying with a broken heart” (Climax 28. 40). When we are asked to pray for the correction of a negligent person, we are ashamed and we are corrected ourselves.

Hieromonk Justin 

Dreams are deceptive

– Elder, I am troubled by some bad dreams...

– When you see a bad dream, never examine what you saw, how you saw it, if you are guilty, how much you are to blame. The evil one, because he could not tempt you during the day, comes at night. Sometimes God also allows us to tempt us in sleep, so that we may see that the old man has not yet died. Other times, the enemy approaches a person in his sleep and presents him with various dreams, so that he may be distressed when he wakes up. Therefore, do not pay any attention to it; make your cross, cross your pillow, put the cross and a couple of icons on the pillow and say the prayer until you fall asleep. The more you pay attention, the more the enemy will come to bother you!!!

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos