They once asked the great Saint Barsanuphius if our Saints are infallible and if they can make mistakes and he answered:

 “They once asked the great Saint Barsanuphius if our Saints are infallible and if they can make mistakes and he answered:

“YES. IT CAN”!

And when they asked him again, “why does God allow such great men and saints to err and make various mistakes”? he answered:

a) Because they did not ask him about this specific issue, nor did they pray as much as they should before asking God for an answer.

b) Because they received them from older Elders and Saints and did not sit down to investigate whether they were true or not, having confidence in them.

c) So that God could show that all people, even the Saints, are always finite and imperfect and could not in any case understand all the depths of God. That is why the Apostle Paul says that, “we know in part and we prophesy in part.”

d) So that God may show again that our Faith is alive, our Church is alive and the Holy Spirit never ceases to enlighten whomever He wills ("the Holy Spirit breathes where He wills") and whenever He wills, about the truths of our Faith. Thus, whatever escapes someone or is left out by one Saint, may be found and completed by the next; and whatever the next leaves out, may be found by the next, until the end of time. And with a word, whatever the first say and is not clear or correctly formulated, the last come and explain or correct it, so that God may always be glorified through His Saints. For He is the God of both the first and the last, and to Him belongs glory forever and ever. Amen.”

(“The Bible of Barsanuphius and John”, pp. 285-288)

 

The demons, when they approach to fight you, do not go where you will easily defeat them,

  

The demons, when they approach to fight you, do not go where you will easily defeat them, but they test where you are weak. Where you do not expect them, there they besiege the castle. And, when they find a weak soul and a weak place, there they always defeat and make him responsible for his defeat.

Do you ask God for grace? Instead of grace, He leaves you temptation. You cannot endure the war, you fall? No addition of grace is given to you. Do you ask again? Again temptation. Again defeat? Again deprivation for life.

So you must emerge victorious. Endure temptation until death. Fall down like a corpse in battle, crying out paralyzed: I will not leave you, sweet Jesus! Nor will I forsake you! Inseparable I will remain for eternity, and for Your love I will die in battle. And suddenly he appears in the battle and shouts loudly:

Here I am! Gather all your strength and follow me!

Saint Joseph the Hesychast.

The Gifts of a Woman…

 The Gifts of a Woman…

A little boy asked his mother:

—Mom, why are you crying?

—Because I’m a woman, she said.

—I don’t understand, said the little boy.

His mother just hugged him and said:

—And you never will…

Later, the little boy asked his father:

—Dad, why does Mom cry for no reason?

—All women cry for no reason!

That was all his father could say.

The boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.

One day, he had a conversation with God.

He asked Him:

“God, why do women cry so easily?”

And God said:

—When I created woman, I needed her to be special.

I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, and gentle enough to give comfort.

I gave her inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that sometimes comes from her own children.

I gave her the toughness to keep going when everyone else gives up, and to care for her family through illness and fatigue without complaining.

I gave her sensitivity to love her children under any circumstances, even when they hurt her.

I gave her the strength to stand by her husband despite his faults, and I shaped her from his side to protect his heart.

I gave her wisdom to know that a husband never truly hurts his wife — he merely tests her strength and her resolve to stay by his side without doubt.

You see, my son, said God, the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure she has, or the way she does her hair.

The beauty of a woman is in her eyes…

Because the eyes are the gateway to her heart — the place where love lives.

I want to become a saint. What should I do?

  

I want to become a saint. What should I do? Very Reverent Christodoulos

A man once said to me with disarming honesty: I want to become a saint. What should I do?

And the truth is that this question, no matter how exaggerated it may sound to the ears of the world, is the most natural question for a Christian. Because if I don't want to become a saint, then what do I want?

• To simply be good?

• To become religious?

• To become formal?

Christ did not call us to simple morality.

He called us to transformation.

First, know what holiness is NOT

Holiness:

• is not perfection,

• is not sinlessness,

• is not about not falling.

Holiness is getting up every time you fall and saying: Lord, without You I can do nothing

The saints were not people without passions.

They were people who did not compromise with their passions.

If you want to become a saint, start with repentance, not the repentance of fear but the repentance of truth.

Learn to say:

- I was at fault

- I was hurt

- I was wounded

- I wounded

Confession is not a punishment, it is a resurrection of the soul. Whoever wants to become a saint must learn to cry before God without excuses.

Holiness means a daily small crucifixion

You do not become a saint with big words.

You become a saint:

- when you remain silent instead of answering,

- when you forgive while you are hurting,

- when you do not take revenge,

- when you do not project yourself,

- when you love without reciprocation.

Holiness is not seen in the big things, it is seen in the small things that no one sees.

Learn to live ecclesiastically, not ideologically

The saint is not a solitary hero, he is a member of a Body.

He lives:

- in the Divine Liturgy,

- in Holy Communion,

- in the relationship with the spiritual,

- in the Church, with patience with its people.

A Protestant asked an Orthodox Priest:

  

A Protestant asked an Orthodox Priest:

-We run orphanages, nursing homes, concerts, alms.....

What do you Orthodox do?

And he answered him:

-We run Divine Liturgy! Which fills Heaven for free and empties Hell! This is what the Church does, empties Hell and fills Heaven.

It sustains the world by running Divine Liturgy!

It keeps vigil during the day, it keeps vigil at night.

Every night for centuries now.

How many Saints come out of their iconostasis and attend to people!

How many Monasteries hold all-night services!

How many hands are raised and how many tears are shed for the whole world!

The only Holy Altar that will never close.......

The Holy Altar that never closes.!

The only Table that awaits you in the greatest miracle of the universe.!

The only Table that awaits you in a banquet of forgiveness of sins and eternal life.!

The only Table that does not ask for material deposits and commitments, but a loving heart.

The only Table where God himself offers himself personally

in a real sacrifice.!

The only Table where God becomes man so that man may become God by grace!.

The only Table whose embrace is open to the repentant man.

The only Table that is Eucharistic, loving, sacrificial!.

The only Table where you do not wait, but it waits for you!!.

The only table…

The Holy Table!

It is our only Hope, now.