Words from the Saints -- February 18, 2021

"It is necessary that the Holy Spirit enter our heart. Everything good that we do, that we do for Christ, is given to us by the Holy Spirit, but prayer most of all, which is always available to us." --St. Seraphim of Sarov

"If the soul keeps far away from all discourse in words, from all disorder and human disturbance, the Spirit of God will come in to her and she who was barren will be fruitful." --St. Poemen

"Blessed the one who always keeps the memory of God in himself, he will be wholly like an Angel from heaven upon earth, ministering to the Lord with fear and love." --St. Ephraim the Syrian

"His compassion is given to His works: His severity is not over His works, but over your works. Lastly, if you remove your own evil works, and there remain in you nought but His work, His compassion will not leave you: but if you leave not your works, there will be severity over your works, not over His works." --St. Augustine of Hippo

"Having taken up thy abode in heaven, where thou hast God and his holy angels to converse with, see that thou descend not thence: regard no earthly things." --St. Macarius the Great

"Be at rest, courage and confidence; the Lord will bring our enemies to nothing." --St. Cadoc

"My friends, God does not ask or desire that man should mourn from sorrow of heart, but rather that, out of love for Him, he should rejoice with spiritual laughter. Remove the sin, and the tear of sorrow is superfluous for your eyes. What is the use of a bandage when there is no wound? Before his transgression Adam had no tears, just as there will be none after the resurrection, when sin will be abolished; for pain, sorrow and sighing will then have fled away." --St. John Climacus

Prayer List for the Week of February 14, 2021

For healing: Fr. Daniel, Fr. Nikolaos, Fr. Serhii, Fr. Victor, Matushka Myra, Matushka Katherine, Monk Meletios, Ross, Justin, Steven, Marian, Roger, Nancy, Claire, Patricia, Mark, Nikolai, Anastasia, William, Annabelle, Alice, Kathleen, Walter, Jay, Denise, Denise, Heather, Alexander, John, Karen, Pamela, Robert, Eric, Michael, Melissa, Marianne, Ryan, Joanne, Rose Mary, Marianne, Timothy, Jon, Emily, Charles, Carlos, Hank, Nicholas, Katrina, Valentine, Mary Jane, Nicholas, Alicia, Kathleen, Thomas, Mary Jo, Margaret, John, Jennifer, Clara, Joan, Sarah, Alex, Nicholas, Barbara, Margaret, Patricia, Alyssa, Danielle, Nicholas, Eliakim, Christopher, Tricia

For God’s protection: all captives; all persecuted Christians throughout the world

For God’s protection: all those in the military

For God’s mercy and peace: those who are in hospice care

For God’s mercy, direction and protection: those who are unemployed, poor, hungry and/or homeless

*** We pray for: those who love us; those who hate us; those who have no one to pray for them; those who have asked us to pray for them, even though we are unworthy. ***

Departed: Ruth, John, George, Samuel, Mihaela, Philip

Readings for the Week of February 14, 2021

2/14: 1 Timothy 4:9-15; Luke 19:1-10

2/15: 1 Peter 2:21-3:9; Mark 12:13-17

2/16: 1 Peter 3:10-22; Mark 12:18-27

2/17: 1 Peter 4:1-11; Mark 12:28-37

2/18: 1 Peter 4:12-5:5; Mark 12:38-44

2/19: 2 Peter 1:1-10; Mark 13:1-8

2/20: 2 Timothy 2:11-19; Luke 18:2-8

Words from the Saints -- February 11, 2021

"The Christian is not the result of persuasion, but of power. When he is hated by the world, he is beloved of God...." --St. Ignatius of Antioch

"Our own evil inclinations are far more dangerous than any external enemies." --St. Ambrose of Milan

"Just as anyone who climbs a rotten ladder risks his life, so are honors and power a danger for humility." --St. John Climacus

"It is a great achievement not to be attracted by things. But it is a far greater achievement to remain dispassionate in the face both of things and of the conceptual images we derive from them." --St. Maximos the Confessor

"A mole burrowing in the earth is blind and cannot see the stars; and he who does not trust God in temporal things will not trust Him in eternal things." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"If we make every effort to avoid death of the body, still more should it be our endeavor to avoid death of the soul. There is no obstacle for a man who wants to be saved other than negligence and laziness of soul." --St. Anthony the Great

Prayer List for the Week of February 7, 2021

For healing: Fr. Daniel, Fr. Nikolaos, Fr. Serhii, Fr. Victor, Matushka Myra, Matushka Katherine, Monk Meletios, Ross, Justin, Steven, Marian, Roger, Nancy, Claire, Patricia, Mark, Nikolai, Anastasia, William, Annabelle, Alice, Kathleen, Walter, Jay, Denise, Denise, Heather, Alexander, John, Karen, Pamela, Robert, Eric, Michael, Melissa, Marianne, Ryan, Joanne, Rose Mary, Marianne, Timothy, Jon, Emily, Charles, Carlos, Hank, Nicholas, Katrina, Valentine, Mary Jane, Nicholas, Alicia, Kathleen, Thomas, Mary Jo, Margaret, John, Jennifer, Clara, Joan, Sarah, Alex, Nicholas, Barbara, Margaret, Alyssa, Danielle, Nicholas, Eliakim, Christopher

For God’s protection: all captives; all persecuted Christians throughout the world

For God’s protection: all those in the military

For God’s mercy and peace: those who are in hospice care

For God’s mercy, direction and protection: those who are unemployed, poor, hungry and/or homeless

*** We pray for: those who love us; those who hate us; those who have no one to pray for them; those who have asked us to pray for them, even though we are unworthy. ***

Departed: Joanne, Ruth, John, Gheorghe, Samuel, Mihaela

Readings for the Week of February 7, 2021

2/7: 1 Timothy 1:15-17; Luke 18:35-43

2/8: James 2:14-26; Mark 10:46-52

2/9: James 3:1-10; Mark 11:11-23

2/10: James 3:11-4:6; Mark 11:23-26

2/11: James 4:7-5:9; Mark 11:27-33

2/12: 1 Peter 1:1-2, 10-12; 2:6-10; Mark 12:1-12

2/13: 1 Thessalonians 5:14-23; Luke 17:3-10

Words from the Saints -- February 4, 2021

"You propose to give up everything to God; be sure, then, to include yourself among the things to be given up." --St. Benedict of Nursia

"Brethren and Fathers, just as the hungry long to eat and the thirsty to drink, so we should be enthusiastic to listen to the word of God. For by listening we gain the greatest benefits. If we are slothful, we put away sloth; if we are eager, we become even more eager; and from both the outcome is good." --St. Theodore the Studite

"Do not grudge anything to your brother, but do unto him as unto the Lord; especially as you do not know in whom the Lord will come and visit you; be impartial to all, sincere and hospitable." --St. John of Kronstadt

"He who has learned the law properly fears the Lawgiver and, fearing Him, he turns away from every evil." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"No one can heal my disease except He Who knows the depth of the heart." --St. Ephraim the Syrian

"No one is truly poor but except the one who lacks the truth." --St. Ephraim the Syrian

"What is dying? Just what it is to put off a garment. For the body is about the soul as a garment; and after laying this aside for a short time by means of death, we shall resume it again with more splendor." --St. John Chrysostom

Readings for the Week of January 31, 2021

1/31: Colossians 3:12-16; Luke 18:18-27

2/1: Hebrews 11:17-23, 27-31; Mark 9:42-50

2/2: Hebrews 7:7-17; Luke 2:22-40

2/3: Hebrews 9:11-14; Luke 2:25-38

2/4: James 1:19-27; Mark 10:17-27

2/5: James 2:1-13; Mark 10:23-32

2/6: Colossians 1:3-6; Luke 16:10-15

Words from the Saints -- January 28, 2021

"He who busies himself with the sins of others, or judges his brother on suspicion, has not yet even begun to repent or to examine himself so as to discover his own sins." --St. Maximos the Confessor

"If you have anything against any man, forgive it: you come here to receive forgiveness of sins, and thou also must forgive him that has sinned against you. Else with what face will you say to the Lord, 'Forgive me my many sins,' if you have not yourself forgiven your fellow-servant even his little sins." --St. Cyril of Jerusalem

"But it is one thing not to sin, another to do well. 'Depart from evil,' he says, 'and do good.' The first part we forsake, the second part we follow. In this last lies perfection." --St Jerome

"A great means to preserve continual peace and tranquility of soul is to receive everything from the hands of God, both great and small, and in whatever way it comes." --St. Dorotheus

"The book of Psalms heals the old wounds of the soul and gives relief to recent ones. It cures the illnesses and preserves the health of the soul. Every Psalm brings peace, soothes the internal conflicts, calms the rough waves of evil thoughts, dissolves anger, corrects and moderates immorality." --St. Basil the Great

"Do not think that every affliction is a consequence of sin. For there are some who do God's will and yet are tested. Thus it is written that the ungodly and wicked shall be persecuted (Psalm 37:28), but also that those who 'seek to live a holy life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution' (2 Timothy. 3:12)." --St. Mark the Ascetic

Prayer List for the Week of January 24, 2021

For healing: Fr. Daniel, Fr. Nikolaos, Fr. Serhii, Fr. Victor, Matushka Myra, Matushka Katherine, Monk Meletios, Ross, Justin, Steven, Marian, Roger, Nancy, Claire, Patricia, Mark, Nikolai, Anastasia, William, Annabelle, Alice, Kathleen, Walter, Jay, Denise, Denise, Heather, Alexander, John, Karen, Pamela, Robert, Eric, Michael, Melissa, Marianne, Ryan, Joanne, Rose Mary, Marianne, Timothy, Jon, Emily, Charles, Carlos, Hank, Nicholas, Katrina, Valentine, Mary Jane, Nicholas, Alicia, Kathleen, Thomas, Mary Jo, Margaret, John, Jennifer, Clara, Joan, Sarah, Alex, Nicholas, Barbara, Margaret, Alyssa, Danielle, Nicholas, Eliakim, Christopher, Elizabeth

For God’s protection: all captives; all persecuted Christians throughout the world

For God’s protection: all those in the military

For God’s mercy and peace: those who are in hospice care

For God’s mercy, direction and protection: those who are unemployed, poor, hungry and/or homeless

*** We pray for: those who love us; those who hate us; those who have no one to pray for them; those

who have asked us to pray for them, even though we are unworthy. ***

Departed: Konstantina, Ella, Joanne, Ruth, John, Diane, Walter, Anna

Readings for the Week of January 24, 2021

1/24: Colossians 3:4-11; Luke 17:12-19

1/25: 1 Corinthians 12:7-11; John 10:1-9

1/26: Hebrews 9:8-10, 15-23; Mark 8:22-26

1/27: Hebrews 7:26-8:2; John 10:9-16

1/28: Hebrews 10:35-11:7; Mark 9:10-16

1/29: Hebrews 11:8, 11-16; Mark 9:33-41

1/30: Hebrews 13:7-16; Matthew 5:14-19

Words from the Saints -- January 21, 2021

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." --St. Jerome

"Men are often called intelligent wrongly. Intelligent men are not those who are erudite in the sayings and books of the wise men of old, but those who have an intelligent soul and can discriminate between good and evil. They avoid what is sinful and harms the soul; and with deep gratitude to God they resolutely adhere by dint of practice to what is good and benefits the soul. These men alone should truly be called intelligent." --St. Anthony the Great

"The truly intelligent man pursues one sole objective: to obey and to conform to the God of all. With this single aim in view, he disciplines his soul, and whatever he may encounter in the course of his life, he gives thanks to God for the compass and depth of His providential ordering of all things. For it is absurd to be grateful to doctors who give us bitter and unpleasant medicines to cure our bodies, and yet to be ungrateful to God for what appears to us to be harsh, not grasping that all we encounter is for our benefit and in accordance with His providence. For knowledge of God and faith in Him is the salvation and perfection of the soul." --St. Anthony the Great

"We have a love for the causes of involuntary thoughts, and that is why they come. In the case of voluntary thoughts we clearly have a love not only for the causes but also for the objects with which they are concerned." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"Ascetic struggle--fasting, vigils, patience, forbearance--produces a clear conscience." --St. Thalassios the Libyan

"Many have fought in various ways against circumstances; but without prayer and repentance no one has escaped evil." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"The Lord frequently hides from us even the perfections we have obtained. But the man who praises us, or, rather, who misleads us, opens our eyes with his words and once our eyes are opened our treasures vanish." --St. John Climacus

"The Wise Thief’s whole life had been one of theft and crime. But evidently his conscience had not died, and in the depths of his heart something good remained. Church Tradition even holds that he was that very thief who, during Christ’s flight into Egypt, took pity on the beautiful Baby and forbade his accomplices to kill Him when they attacked the holy family. Did he perhaps recall the face of that Child when he looked upon the face of the One hanging next to him on the Cross?" --St. John the Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco

Prayer List for the Week of January 17, 2021

For healing: Fr. Daniel, Fr. Nikolaos, Fr. Serhii, Fr. Victor, Matushka Myra, Matushka Katherine, Monk Meletios, Ross, Justin, Steven, Marian, Roger, Nancy, Claire, Patricia, Mark, Nikolai, Anastasia, William, Annabelle, Alice, Kathleen, Walter, Jay, Denise, Denise, Heather, Alexander, John, Karen, Pamela, Robert, Eric, Michael, Melissa, Marianne, Ryan, Joanne, Rose Mary, Marianne, Timothy, Jon, Emily, Charles, Carlos, Hank, Nicholas, Katrina, Valentine, Mary Jane, Nicholas, Alicia, Kathleen, Thomas, Mary Jo, Margaret, John, Jennifer, Clara, Joan, Sarah, Alex, Nicholas, Barbara, Margaret, Alyssa, Danielle, Nicholas, Eliakim, Christopher, Elizabeth

For God’s protection: all captives; all persecuted Christians throughout the world

For God’s protection: all those in the military

For God’s mercy and peace: those who are in hospice care

For God’s mercy, direction and protection: those who are unemployed, poor, hungry and/or homeless

*** We pray for: those who love us; those who hate us; those who have no one to pray for them; those who have asked us to pray for them, even though we are unworthy. ***

Departed: Konstantina, Ella, Joanne, Ruth, John

Readings for the Week of January 17, 2021

1/17: Colossians 1:12-18; Luke 13:10-17

1/18: Hebrews 13:7-16; Matthew 5:14-19

1/19: Galatians 5:22-6:2; Matthew 19:16-26

1/20: 2 Corinthians 4:6-15; Luke 6:17-23

1/21: Philippians 1:12-20; Luke 12:8-12

1/22: 2 Timothy 1:3-8; Matthew 10:32-33, 37-38; 19:27-30

1/23: Philippians 3:20-4:3; Mark 2:23-3:5

Words from the Saints -- January 14, 2021

"When God revealed Himself, He united Himself with our mortal nature in order to deify mankind through this close relation with deity. Since this is so, through His flesh, constituted by bread and wine, He implants Himself in all believers." --St. Gregory of Nyssa

"A good conscience is found through prayer, and pure prayer through the conscience. Each by nature needs the other." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"Do not wish what concerns you to be as seems (best) to you, but as God wishes; and you will be free from cares and thankful in your prayer." --St. Nilus of Sinai

"Examine yourself to see whether you have within you a strong sense of your own self importance, or negatively, whether you have failed to realize that you are nothing. This feeling of self-importance is deeply hidden, but it controls the whole of our life. Its first demand is that everything should be as we wish it, and as soon as this is not so we complain to God and are annoyed with people." --St. Theophan the Recluse

"If a man has no worries about himself at all for the sake of love toward God and the working of good deeds, knowing that God is taking care of him, this is a true and wise hope. But if a man takes care of his own business and turns to God in prayer only when misfortunes come upon him which are beyond his power, and then he begins to hope in God, such a hope is vain and false. A true hope seeks only the Kingdom of God... the heart can have no peace until it obtains such a hope. This hope pacifies the heart and produces joy within it." --St. Seraphim of Sarov

"Pay attention carefully. After the sin comes the shame; courage follows repentance. Did you pay attention to what I said? Satan upsets the order; he gives the courage to sin and the shame to repentance." --St. John Chrysostom

Readings for the Week of January 10, 2021

1/10: Ephesians 4:7-13; Matthew 4:12-17

1/11: Hebrews 13:7-16; Luke 6:17-23

1/12: Acts 18:22-28; John 10:39-42

1/13: Galatians 3:23-4:5; Luke 20:1-8

1/14: Acts 2:38-43; Luke 4:1-15

1/15: Galatians 5:22-6:2; Luke 12:32-40

1/16: Acts 12:1-11; John 21:14-25

Prayer List for the Week of January 10, 2021

For healing: Fr. Daniel, Fr. Nikolaos, Fr. Serhii, Fr. Victor, Matushka Myra, Matushka Katherine, Monk Meletios, Ross, Justin, Steven, Marian, Roger, Nancy, Claire, Patricia, Mark, Nikolai, Anastasia, William, Annabelle, Alice, Kathleen, Walter, Jay, Denise, Denise, Heather, Alexander, John, Karen, Pamela, Robert, Eric, Michael, Melissa, Marianne, Ryan, Joanne, Rose Mary, Marianne, Timothy, Jon, Emily, Charles, Carlos, Hank, Nicholas, Katrina, Valentine, Mary Jane, Nicholas, Alicia, Kathleen, Thomas, Mary Jo, Margaret, John, Jennifer, Clara, Joan, Sarah, Alex, Nicholas, Barbara, Margaret, Alyssa, Danielle, Nicholas, Eliakim, Christopher, Elizabeth

For God’s protection: all captives; all persecuted Christians throughout the world

For God’s protection: all those in the military

For God’s mercy and peace: those who are in hospice care

For God’s mercy, direction and protection: those who are unemployed, poor, hungry and/or homeless

*** We pray for: those who love us; those who hate us; those who have no one to pray for them; those who have asked us to pray for them, even though we are unworthy. ***

Departed: Archbishop David, Marguerite, Ruth, Konstantina, Ella, Joanne, Ruth, John

Words from the Saints -- January 7, 2021

"If love is the fulfilling of the law (Romans 13:10), he who is full of rancor towards his neighbor and lays traps for him and curses him, exulting in his fall, must surely be a transgressor deserving eternal punishment." --St. Maximos the Confessor

"The will of man is a brass wall between him and God and a stone of stumbling. When a man renounces it, he is also saying to himself, 'By my God, I can leap over the wall' (Psalm 18:29). If a man's will is in line with what is right, then he can really labor." --St. Poemen

"Through the Holy Spirit comes our restoration to paradise, our ascension into the kingdom of heaven, our return to the adoption of sons, our liberty to call God our Father, our being made partakers of the grace of Christ, our being called children of light, our sharing in eternal glory, and, in a word, our being brought into a state of all “fullness of blessing,” both in this world and in the world to come, of all the good gifts that are in store for us, by promise hereof, through faith, beholding the reflection of their grace as though they were already present, we await the full enjoyment." --St. Basil the Great

"Troubles are usually the brooms and shovels that smooth the road to a good man’s fortune; and many a man curses the rain that falls upon his head, and knows not that it brings abundance to drive away hunger." --St. Basil the Great

"What, my friends, do we think love is if not fire? And what is sin if not rust? Hence it is said that 'many sins are forgiven her because she has loved much' (Luke 7:47). This means she has completely burned away the rust of sin because she is mightily aflame with the fire of love. The more the heart of a sinner is consumed by the fire of love, the more fully is the rust of sin consumed." --St. Gregory Dialogos, Pope of Rome

"A man who is carried away by his thoughts is blinded by them; and while he can see the actual working of sin, he cannot see its causes." --St. Mark the Ascetic

Prayer List for the Week of January 3, 2021

For healing: Fr. Daniel, Fr. Nikolaos, Fr. Serhii, Matushka Myra, Matushka Katherine, Monk Meletios, Ross, Justin, Steven, Marian, Roger, Nancy, Claire, Patricia, Mark, Nikolai, Anastasia, William, Annabelle, Alice, Kathleen, Walter, Jay, Denise, Denise, Heather, Alexander, John, Karen, Pamela, Robert, Eric, Michael, Melissa, Marianne, Ryan, Joanne, Rose Mary, Marianne, Timothy, Jon, Emily, Charles, Carlos, Hank, Nicholas, Katrina, Valentine, Mary Jane, Nicholas, Alicia, Kathleen, Thomas, Mary Jo, Margaret, John, Jennifer, Clara, Joan, Sarah, Alex, Nicholas, Barbara, Margaret, Alyssa, Danielle, Nicholas, Eliakim, Christopher, Angie

For God’s protection: all captives; all persecuted Christians throughout the world

For God’s protection: all those in the military

For God’s mercy and peace: those who are in hospice care

For God’s mercy, direction and protection: those who are unemployed, poor, hungry and/or homeless

*** We pray for: those who love us; those who hate us; those who have no one to pray for them; those who have asked us to pray for them, even though we are unworthy. ***

Departed: Archbishop David, Andrew, Ana, Marguerite, Ruth, Konstantina, Ella, Joanne

Readings for the Week of January 3, 2021

1/3: 2 Timothy 4:5-8; Mark 1:1-8

1/4: 1 Corinthians 4:9-16; John 1:18-28

1/5: Isaiah 35:1-10; Acts 13:25-32; Matthew 3:1-11; Isaiah 1:16-20; Acts 19:1-18; Mark 1:1-8; Isaiah 12:3-6; Romans 6:3-11; Mark 1:9-15; Isaiah 49:8-15; Titus 2:11-14, 3:4-7; Luke 3:1-18

1/6: Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7; Matthew 3:13-17

1/7: Acts 19:1-8; John 1:29-34

1/8: Romans 6:3-11; John 3:22-33

1/9: Ephesians 6:10-17; Matthew 4:1-11