One of the feast days of St. Dorotheus of Gaza today – probably not observed in many places, but still good to remember, I think; he is the author of the “ABC’s of monasticism”, after all! ˆˆ

Now THIS is a great article. I really like Metropolitan Athanasius’ writings and preaching: http://orthochristian.com/113650.html

  Today is the feast day of the Mother of God “Thou Art the Vineyard” from the country of Georgia. The ancient hymn of this same name is definitely one of my favorites to the Theotokos. Some Churches and monasteries sing the Cherubic Hymn according to the same melody.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUtR_3NKQDU

What a great quote by St. Porphyrios of Kapsakalyvia! His angle of presenting the relationship with Christ is just what the doctor ordered. “Say the prayer internally, with the mind, not with the lips, so that there’s no distraction, with your mind going all over the place. We should place Christ gently in our mind, saying ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me’, very gently. Nothing else. Nothing. Don’t think of anything except the words: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me’. Turn to Christ calmly, with attention and devotion, with open eyes, so that you’re in no danger from fantasies and illusions. Say the prayer gently, not all the…

This teaching is so true and yet so hard to bring home at times. “But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil (Matt. 5:39); in other words, allow yourself to be a victim of human selfishness and malice. But how can one live like that? Do not worry. He who gave this commandment is our Provider and Guardian. When you desire to live like this with complete faith from your whole soul, to not resist any evil, the Lord Himself will arrange a life for you which is not only bearable, but joyful. Furthermore, resistance in fact can irritate an aggressor even more and motivate him to invent…