The Beatitudes

   1. Blessed are those who loved Christ more than all the worldly things and live far from the world and near God, with heavenly joys upon the earth.

   2. Blessed are those who managed to live in obscurity and acquired great virtues but did not acquire even a small name for themselves.

   3. Blessed are those who managed to act the fool and, in this way, protected their spiritual wealth.

   4. Blessed are those who do not preach the Gospel with words, but live it and preach it with their silence, with the Grace of God, which betrays them.

   5. Blessed are those who rejoice when unjustly ac­cused, rather than when they are justly praised for their virtuous life. Here are the signs of holiness, not in the dry exertion of bodily asceticism and the great number of struggles, which, when not carried out with humility and the aim to put off the old man, create only illusions.

A Narrative Concerning the Honored Hand of the Forerunner.

The iniquitous murderer King Herod once held a banquet at which the daughter of his brother’s wife Herodias danced lasciviously. The wanton girl was rewarded by the tyrant with the head of Saint John, the Lord’s Forerunner. Afterwards, the Baptist’s precious body was buried by his disciples near the tomb of the holy prophet Elisha in the chief city of Samaria, Sebaste.

Later, the holy Evangelist Luke came there while traveling through various parts of the land preaching Christ. He wished to take the incorrupt remains of the holy Forerunner John the Baptist to Antioch, where he was born, reared and educated; but the Sebasteans, who greatly revered the relics, would not permit it. Saint Luke was only able to remove the Forerunner’s right hand, which baptized our Lord and Master Jesus Christ. The holy Evangelist gave the precious treasure to his native city, where it was accepted with the greatest awe by the faithful and did numerous miracles.

New Year’s Day:

The Circumcision of the Lord
And the feast of Saint Basil the Great

   

   

   Since New Year’s Day is the beginning of the days of the year, we ought to gather in our soul those thoughts, feelings, and dispositions that would direct our affairs throughout the year in a Christian way. We will find these the moment we bring to mind the meaning of New Year’s Day in the spiritual life.

   In the spiritual life, New Year’s Day is when one who has been living carelessly becomes zealous about salvation and his pleasing to God. When one makes this resolution, then all is rebuilt afresh both internally and externally, upon new beginnings – the old passes away and all becomes new. If you have this, renew it; if not, acquire it – and for you this will be New Year’s Day.

For the sisters

 

We nuns chose a life which is called: angelic.

   The angels are found in the Heavens; praising in hymns and serving the All-holy will of God.

   Therefore our life also is this:

   To praise in hymns and to serve the will of God.

   But how?

Nativity in modern time

                                            (From the weekly series "Dots on Letters")

   … The water is drifting the ship, with an enormous vigor, into the abyss of a deep waterfall, descending into the depth of the earth of perdition, and people on board are fighting, quarrelling and slaughtering one another!. They say it is “a fight for survival” which is nothing but foolishness! Absolute blindness!... What survival?! You have all departed or are departing! “Vanities of vanities, all is vanity. What advantage does a man have in all his labor, in which he toils under the sun?” (Ecc 1: 2-3)!... “Woe to us, because we sinned!” (Lam 5: 16), because we walked recklessly, in blindness… willingly. “Water flowed over my head” (Lam 3: 50)!. Who will deliver us from this body of death?! (Rm 7: 24)… All is falling into the deep!. There is nothing firm to hold on to!. The seas are hurling!. Will this night get to an end?!. A fall in the fall in the fall! Certainly!. He said: there is the one and only that is everlasting: “Love! .” “Love never fails” (1Co 13: 8)!. So there is hope for us!. This is the core, the essence!. This is the beginning and the end!. Love said: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end!.”

The Prayer of Saint Porphyrios of Kafsokalivia

   
     This video is prepared by Saint John the Baptist Monastery for children to be acquainted with stories from the lives of Saints and Elders in the church of Christ. The stories are all in free translation form for educational purposes, with the preservation of the main message behind them. It is not to be used for commercial purposes in any form.

Question and Answer

   How can we live fully as Christians in this age and in these days?... (Iman, Najah, Gabriella and her children).

   The Lord said: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”(Mt 13: 44).

   Christianity is that Kingdom of Heaven which the Lord shows to us today hidden in a field, and the field is us, humans!!. The treasure is in us, children of God, or rather His servants by humility, love and our standing before Him asking for healing from our sins, and our fall from the proximity of the Lord, King of Heaven and Earth’s throne!!.

The Others

Metropolitan Georges Khodr

An-Nahar Newspaper Αrticle

Saturday 15 November 2014

Translated at Saint John the Baptist Monastery, Douma, El Batroun, Lebanon

   

   I was asked to write an article entitled “The Others”… and I said: Who are the others? What difference is there between myself and others if I love them?!...  I do not seek anything but love. Love gives me understanding. You could remain hundreds of years arguing, because the intellect always separates people. When you love, you will recognize that you are one with the others, and that you do not need human reasoning to love. Love springs from the heart and hearts become connected. Walk towards the others and tell them: “Here I am!”, and they will accept you, because you moved towards them and they recognized you as a neighbor. If you abolish distances you will become one with them...