Tag: Christianity

  • Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

    October 7 is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Known for several centuries as the feast of “Our Lady of Victory,” today’s feast celebrates a 16th century naval victory that protected Europe from Turkish invasion. 

    Troops from the Turkish Ottoman Empire had invaded and occupied the Byzantine empire by 1453, bringing a large portion of the Christian population under a version of Islamic law. Over the next hundred years, the Turks expanded their empire westward, conquering and asserting their power. 

    In 1571, three Catholic powers — Genoa, Spain, and the Papal States — formed an alliance called the Holy League, to defend their Christian people against the Turks. The Holy League’s fleets sailed to confront the Turks near the west coast of Greece on October 7, 1571. 

    In preparation for battle, crews on more than 200 ships prayed the rosary, and Christians throughout Europe joined them in prayer, gathering in churches to invoke Mary’s protection. 

    Some accounts say that Pope Pius V was granted a miraculous vision of the Holy League’s stunning victory. All but 13 of the nearly 300 Turkish ships were captured or sunk, and the pope attributed the navy’s victory to the intercession of Our Lady, instituting the feast we celebrate today. 

    Source

  • Homily on the Conception of the Honorable and Glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist of the Lord, John

    Conception of St. John the Forerunner. Icon of St. John the Forerunner, with feasts. First third of the 16th century, Rostov Kremlin State Museum. Photo: pstgu.ru

    At the same time that the conception of our Savior was nigh, there was the glorious and miraculous St. John the Forerunner: the Man Who Baptized ChristThis is what the preaching of St. John the Baptist was like. On the one hand, he was stern and exacting. And, on the other hand, as a human being he understood our real capacity and showed no sign of maximalism or radicalism.

    “>conception of St. John the Forerunner. Many mothers conceive children, but there are few whose conceptions are glorified and celebrated by the Holy Church. We know of only three mothers whose conceptions in their wombs became the object of wonder to the whole world. These are Five Questions about Righteous Anna, the Mother of the Theotokos – Why do we know so little about Anna the Mother of the Most Holy Theotokos, and why does the Church venerate her?”>Righteous Anna, Prophet Zachariah and Righteous Elizabeth, the Parents of St. John the ForerunnerSoon after the appearance of the archangel, Elizabeth conceived. At the birth of John the Baptist a miracle happened: Zachariah who had been stricken dumb after he questioned the archangel about this miraculous conceiving regained the gift of speech.”>St. Elizabeth, and the Most Pure Virgin Mary. Righteous Anna conceived the Theotokos, Elizabeth conceived the Forerunner, and the Virgin Mary conceived Christ our Savior. All of these conceptions were announced by angels and occurred through the grace of God, but they all came to pass through conversations between the heralds and the conceivers, for God Himself also required the participation of the conceivers’ will. That is why the herald, Holy Archangel Gabriel, when he entered the altar to the priest Zacharias who was serving before the face of God, said:

    “Be not afraid, Zacharias, your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will give birth to your son, and you will give him the name John. And many will rejoice in his birth.”

    Zacharias replied, “What you are saying to me is joyous news, but it is unexpected and strange, for it is unnatural to give birth to children in old age. I am old, and my wife is also advanced in years. How can we conceive and give birth to a son?”

    The angel answered:

    “From your very first words, Zacharias, I see that you have little faith; you do not believe that my words will come true. It is true that what I am telling you is not natural for you, but this is the will of God, for whom nothing is impossible: God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham (Mt. 3:9). Don’t you know that God could create Adam from earth and Eve from Adam’s bone, and give to the aged Sara her son Isaac? Therefore the Almighty God is granting the birth of a son to your wife in her old age; for your prayer has been heard.”

    “I”, said Zacharias, now offer my prayer for the coming of the awaited Messiah, Whom God has promised through the lips of His holy prophets; I pray that God would quickly send Him to earth to save the seed of Abraham from slavery to alien tribes; I pray to Him also that He would forgive my sins and the sins of all our people. But to have a son is something for which I no longer pray, for I have already reached old age, and my wife is advanced in years.”

    Appearance of the Archangel Gabriel. Icon of St. John the Forerunner, with feasts. First third of the 16th century, Rostov Kremlin State Museum. Photo: pstgu.ru

    The angel said to him:

    “I am Gabriel, who stands before God; at God’s revelation I know that you no longer pray to be given a son, but rather for those things you have told me. Nevertheless, before, when you and your wife were not yet old, you fervently prayed to the Lord that He would send you a son. Not the slightest movement of the human heart can be hidden from the All-Merciful Lord; He hears those who pray to Him, and fulfills the desires of those who fear Him. Having heard your former prayer, He grants you a son who has a name that means grace; for the Lord knows according to His blessing when to fulfill the requests of his saints—and now a son shall be born to you, and he will be great in the sight of the Lord.”

    To which Zacharias answered:

    “I now see, O bringer of good tidings, that you are an angel of God, for your conversation testifies to this, your countenance clearly shows this, and the power of your words confirm this. At first, when you suddenly stood before me and began to speak, I was terrified as once was Prophet Daniel when he saw the angel: I saw this great vision, he said, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength (Dan. 10:8). Likewise the mother of Sampson said, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God (Judges 13:6). Therefore was I afraid and do not dare to protest your angelic words; however, I ask you, why will the son to be born to me be called great? Could he be higher and greater than the prophet Jeremiah, to whom the Lord’s words were addressed: Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations (Jer. 1:5)?

    The angel said:

    “Your son shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will not only be equal in spiritual stature to the prophet Jeremiah—he will surpass him. If the latter received illumination before his birth, then this one will be more filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb; Jeremiah was only foreordained to prophecy concerning the Messiah, but this one will be worthy to place his hand upon Him and to baptize Him. And he will surpass not only Jeremiah but also the other great saints by the grandeur of divine grace; for even in our angelic hierarchy, which ever beholds the face of the Lord of Sabaoth, God does not reveal the mystery of His good will to all equally, but through the higher ranks reveals them to the lower. Many stars appear before the rising of the sun, but there is only one daystar that goes before the sun itself. Many prophets have preached the coming of the Messiah, but the boy born of you will not only preach in word, but will also point out to people the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world. This is why your son will be great, and greatest among those born of women. As the fulfilment of joyful tidings is more pleasant than the tidings themselves, so will the prophet born to you have greater honor in comparison with other prophets. Before him prophesied all the prophets and the law itself, but this one shall be the completion of all the prophecies, the end of the Old Testament, and Forerunner of the new grace.”

    Zacharias replied:

    “Good and joyful are your tidings, O angel of the Lord! If every wise son gladdens his father, then all the more would a most wise son gladden me, an elder, even more than all the prophets! But how can I rejoice when I doubt your words? There can be no joy in doubtful things, only in sure things. And so I pray you, angel of God, tell me how I can be fully persuaded of what you are telling me?”

    Then Gabriel answered:

    “You continue to doubt and do not believe my words, Zacharias. Could I really tell a lie—I who am God’s messenger? After all, God is true in all His words and holy in all His works (Ps. 144:13), and with God nothing shall be impossible (Lk. 1:37). You are the priest and teacher of Israel, and truly you must know that the time has come which I counted by weeks when I was sent to Babylon to the prophet Daniel. Haven’t you read his prophesies? Look them over and know that the Savior of Israel draws nigh, and before his face will precede an angel in the flesh—your son, who will prepare the way of the Messiah; who will go before Him in the spirit and strength of Elias. But because you did not believe my words, you will be mute and will not speak a word until the day this is fulfilled.”

    Angel deprives St. Zacharias of the gift of speech. Icon of St. John the Forerunner, with feasts. First third of the 16th century, Rostov Kremlin State Museum. Photo: pstgu.ru Angel deprives St. Zacharias of the gift of speech. Icon of St. John the Forerunner, with feasts. First third of the 16th century, Rostov Kremlin State Museum. Photo: pstgu.ru

    And at that moment dumbness locked Zacharias’s lips, but the bonds of Elizabeth’s barrenness were loosed, while the angel departed to the throne of the Almighty. Glory to the Lord unto the ages. Amen.

    Source

  • Martyr Alexei Voroshin, “Fool for Christ”

    There is the village of Elnat in Russia’s Kostroma region. A certain Simon Shitov lived in its area in the sixteenth century. He withdrew to a dense forest near the village and struggled there. The people in Elnat found him in a shelter of fallen trees and brought him to the village.

    The village of Elnat. Source: Yurevets37.ru The village of Elnat. Source: Yurevets37.ru

    Simon began to help the villagers in the hardest work, but never took any money. He walked barefoot in all seasons of the year, wearing only a linen shirt. The ascetic ate little (or nothing at all—who knows?). He was skin and bones, all black from foul weather and cold. Some laughed at him, mocked him and sometimes even beat him. Simon endured beating meekly, humbly accepting abuse. The Lord endowed him with the gifts of clairvoyance and working miracles. Through Simon’s prayers fires were put out, the sick were healed and drowning people were saved. On the day of his repose he received Communion of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The Holy Church commemorates him four times a year, and we know him as Blessed Simon of Yuryevets, the “Fool-for-Christ”. Apparently, the saints of the Russian land have a great influence on the development of the souls of those who love the Lord and care about their own salvation.

    There lived the pious Voroshin peasant family in the village of Kaurchikha of the Yuryevets district of the Kostroma province. Kaurchikha lies exactly between Blessed Simon’s Spring and the village of Elnat. Ivan Voroshin was a churchwarden, and his wife Evdokia managed the household.

    In 1886, their son was born and baptized Alexei. From childhood the boy greatly venerated Blessed Simon and prayed to him fervently. No one could have imagined then that he would repeat the spiritual labor of his beloved saint.

    The boy grew up in peasant life, labor and prayer, and eventually came of age; his parents decided it was time to marry him off. A suitable young lady was found. Everything seemed to be going well, and they were about to become engaged. But something unexpected happened.

    The beginning of the twentieth century was marked by global changes in the very foundations of the Russian Empire. Centuries-old foundations were shaken. Many things that had previously been regarded as immoral were no longer perceived as such. For example, young people in villages would gather for so-called “conversations” [which meant dancing at a local club.—Trans.]. Those meetings were a challenge to Christian piety, but the young people were not ashamed of it. Alexei’s would-be fiancée also loved to be there. He asked her not to attend those meetings anymore. But the girl did not listen to him and continued to attend dubious gatherings. The young man thought hard about it—if she did not listen to him as a fiancée, what would happen if she became his wife? And he decided to postpone the wedding.

    But apparently, not only these thoughts and experiences were in Alexei’s soul. His sensitive soul could not help but feel a storm forming over his fatherland. The storm of the First World War quite clearly conveyed to the pious young man’s mind and heart all the signs of the approaching disaster—the October Revolution with its godlessness and militant atheism. So instead of getting married Alexei went to Krivoezersky Monastery.1

    In the monastery he labored as a novice for a year. Then he returned home, but began to live first in a bathhouse, and later built himself a cell in the vegetable garden. Thus he spent years in solitude and prayer in his cell or at St. Simon’s Spring. There he was caught by the Revolution.

    Alexei Ivanovich Voroshin The locals had Alexei Ivanovich appointed as the chairman of the Village Council—his fellow villagers respected him very much for his lifestyle and humble character. Alexei accepted everything as if from the hand of God, taking care of the village in a fatherly way and solving all issues without leaving the church. However, a new chairman of the Village Council was soon sent to the village “from above”, and Alexei continued his ascetic life without any hindrance.

    In 1928, Alexei left his cell, and his feat of feigned “foolishness” for Christ’s sake began. He lived anywhere he could, wore rags, and no one knew where he slept. He began to behave strangely; his fellow villagers could not always understand what he was doing. He would come to the field during the sowing season with a stick and walk up and down, measuring something with his stick. The peasants would rail at him: “It’s the busiest time and you’re getting in our way!” And they would chase him away. But he kept measuring something all the time. And some time later the authorities forcibly began to set up collective farms. Now the whole processes of sowing and harvesting resembled very much Alexei Ivanovich’s walking with his stick…

    Another day Blessed Alexei shocked his fellow villagers by coming out naked and going to the houses of local shoemakers “to pay a visit”. No one understood anything at that moment. Understanding came later, when all the shoemakers’ property was seized and confiscated, and with their families, with small children, literally in their underwear they were kicked out of their homes.

    Once Blessed Alexei came to another family half-naked. The owner’s wife began to curse him, but her husband stopped her and told her to bring the best clothes they had in the house. Alexei Ivanovich got dressed, went out, then undressed, put all the clothes on the porch and left. The owner should have figured out what it meant, but instead he and his wife were completely perplexed. At the end of winter they were kicked out of the house in their underwear, without being allowed to get dressed or take anything with them.

    Blessed Alexei would also come up to a particular house and start measuring it out on all sides. Finally he would announce loudly the numbers he had just measured, which was perceived by others as utter nonsense. Nothing was clear. “Alexei is like a circus act!” the villagers laughed. But some time passed—and the owner of that house was arrested and imprisoned for exactly as many years as meters Blessed Alexei had measured…

    One day the ascetic came to his sister Anna. He went around the house, looking for different things. Once he found what he needed, he would put it on the table, and when it was fully covered with things, he left. Anna realized that it was all for some purpose. She hid all the things collected by the blessed man. Later the authorities came to confiscate her possessions: everything was carried away except for the belongings that Alexei Ivanovich had selected and Anna had hidden.

    Blessed Alexei kept repeating to a little girl: “Give me a quarter! Give me a quarter!” These words were incomprehensible to everyone. The girl grew up and got married. Her husband turned out to be an alcoholic, and very often she heard from her husband the same words: “Give me a quarter, give me a quarter!” [a quarter-liter bottle of vodka, a quarter of vodka.—Trans.].

    The village of Elnat. Church of the Resurrection of Christ The village of Elnat. Church of the Resurrection of Christ

    One day Alexei Ivanovich came to a church service in an absolutely unthinkable way: dressed in a hat and with a cigarette in his mouth (he did not smoke). With his hands behind his back, he strolled around the church in a presumptuous manner. He did not react to the parishioners’ perplexity in any way. He walked around the church and left.

    After some time the authorities decided to close the church and ordered it to be converted into a club. Workers with hats on and with cigarettes in their mouths walked cynically around the church…

    One fine day Blessed Alexei was walking along a field where peasants were cutting flax. Stopping and pointing to the sky, Alexei Ivanovich turned to the peasants:

    “Oh, pray to God! Oh, how it will thunder! How it will thunder! Pray to God!”

    The men didn’t understand anything this time either: the sky was clear, the weather was serene—where could a thunderstorm come from? Very soon the Finnish War began and everyone who had been cutting flax that day was taken to the front…

    The man of God also made prophecies of a national scale concerning the whole country. Alexei Ivanovich predicted that there would come a time when almost all churches in Russia would be closed, but the Lord would send a harsh punishment, a war, and people would awaken, and some of the churches would be open again. But that would not last—in the 1960s a new wave of persecutions would follow: churches would be closed again and all true believers would then have a lot of sorrows.

    The village of Elnat. Blessed Simon’s Spring. Geocashing.su The village of Elnat. Blessed Simon’s Spring. Geocashing.su

    The ascetic played a very important role in the life of his nephew Nikolai. They had very close relations. Nikolai was the chairman of the Village Council. The authorities ordered him to close the church in the village, but he refused, in every possible way delaying the date of its closure. When it became absolutely unbearable, Nikolai withdrew from the situation. This did not save the pious young man: he was arrested and languished in prison.

    During the Great Patriotic War [World War II], Nikolai was called up to the front. Before that, Blessed Alexei, who was already dead, had appeared to him in a vision and said, “Don’t be afraid! I will always be with you.” Many times Nikolai was in mortal danger, but Blessed Alexei interceded for his nephew, and the Lord kept Nikolai alive.

    After the war the man decided to divorce his wife. And again the saint appeared to him. He took him by the hand, led him to the door, opened it and pointed at his wife: “Look, I’ve brought you a wife!” All bad thoughts disappeared from Nikolai’s mind after that.

    The Lord revealed to Blessed Alexei the date and circumstances of his death. He told it to his loved ones, but in his peculiar, eccentric manner. No one could understand what it was all about. They didn’t understand it until after the saint’s repose.

    He said to his sister Anna:

    “Prepare bast shoes for me.”

    “Take them yourself,” his sister was bewildered.

    Fifteen years after that conversation it was Anna who bought the bast shoes in which Alexei Ivanovich was buried.

    He once told his nephew Nikolai:

    “Will you come to my funeral?”

    “Are you going to die?”

    Alexei Ivanovich was only fifty at the time: he was physically strong and healthy.

    “Nothing of the sort!” the saint replied.

    A year later it was Nikolai who carried the coffin with Blessed Alexei’s body.

    In May 1937, the holy man came to his sister’s house with a bag on his shoulders. This was actually their parents’ house—even Alexei’s cell was preserved in the vegetable garden. Anna and her husband lived here. He entered the house, sat down by the stove and sang:

    “On Sunday the old mother came to the prison gates
    And brought a parcel to her dear son…”

    Anna grew cold with terror: her blessed brother always sang this song before someone’s arrest.

    After dinner Alexei asked his sister’s husband: “Will you come to my funeral?”

    “Why are you talking about the funeral? I may die before you!”

    “No, you will come!”

    Alexei Ivanovich was arrested the next day. They put him in a cell with fierce criminals. He prayed day and night, no one saw him sleeping, and he gave out his food to the inmates. There was no evidence against him. To make him give evidence they placed him with his bare feet on a hot stove. He didn’t admit any guilt and endured torments courageously.

    The superintendent himself wanted to see the amazing prisoner.

    “Everyone says you’re a saint. What do you say?”

    “What a saint am I? I am a sinful, miserable person.”

    Blessed Alexei of Elnat “That’s right. We don’t keep saints here. Saints don’t commit crimes. If people end up here, there is a reason for this. Why were you jailed?”

    “Because it’s the will of God.”

    They were silent for a while. And then the saint turned to the superintendent:

    “Why are you talking with me when you have a tragedy at home?”

    The superintendent grinned. And when he came home, he found that his wife had hanged herself. Seeing the saint’s clairvoyance, he began to think about how to release him. But it was too late—after a month of torture, Alexei Ivanovich died in the prison hospital.

    His feast is celebrated on September 25—the day of the translation of his holy relics to the church of the village of Zharki in 1985.

    Currently, Blessed Alexei’s relics are kept at the Convent of the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple of the city of Ivanovo.

    Source

  • Children and Adults, Who Celebrates Christmas The Right Way?

    Christmas as many know about is celebrated worldwide with many religions inclusive and Christendom dominating with different views on how it’s been celebrated. But, among the age within human cycle, who celebrates it better; children or adults?

    My visit to Independent Baptist Church of Calabar, Nigeria was the one to remember as I learnt enough and also discovered that Children’s aim of Christmas Celebrations is different from that of adults even outside the church. Apart from their outstanding performances yesterday, I was overwhelmed as they narrated vividly the reasons for Christmas Celebrations through their stories, songs, dramas, actions, etc. But for the adults, little did I learned that same day, as all they portrayed was good looks, partying kind and more.

    We all know children like new cloths on Christmas day, but of course you need to buy them clothes most often irrespective of Christmas. They reminded me of the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, and makes me feel Christ is born every Christmas. Because, their way of life at Christmas is unique and clinch to that of the Bible than adults. As most adults use that same as the day to commit all kinds of immorality, sins, illicit acts, atrocities, etc. Nothing is about Christmas than to drink and get drunk, sleep with men and women and all sorts of sinful acts.

    The reason I still go out there on Christmas day, especially in churches is because of the kids, the way they celebrate the occasion, the milk and honey and flavour they put in just make me feel Christmas.

    Watch this video below and know what am talking about…..

     

     

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