Saint John Climacus in “The Ladder of Divine Ascent defines a Christian as “an imitator of Christ in thought, word and deed, as far as this is humanly possible, and he believes rightly and blamelessly in the Holy Trinity”|.

“Do whatever good you may. Speak evil of not one. Rob no one. Tell no lie. Despise no one and carry no hate. Do not separate yourself from the church assemblies. Show compassion to the needy. Do not be a cause of scandal to anyone. Stay away from the bed of another…. If you do all of this, you will not be far from the kingdom of heaven” (Step 1).

#Knowing_Jesus #Original_Faith

Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Children sing a hymn

James 5:15
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

James 5:16
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

#Reflection #Family #Knowing_Jesus


James 4:14
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

James 5:17-18
Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

James 5:19-20
Brothers, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; 20. Let him know, that he which converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

☦️🕯️Never let anyone tell you that, in order to be Orthodox, you must be Eastern. The West was fully Orthodox for a thousand years, and her venerable liturgy is far older than any of her heresies.🕯️☦️

♰ St. John Maximovitch ♰

Sirach 31:23-24

Whoso is liberal of his meat, men shall speak well of him; and the report of his good housekeeping will be believed. 24. But against him that is a niggard of his meat the whole city shall murmur; and the testimonies of his niggardness shall not be doubted of.

Wine in our lives

Sirach 31:25-26

Shew not thy valiantness in wine; for wine hath destroyed many. 26. The furnace proveth the edge by dipping: so doth wine the hearts of the proud by drunkenness.

#Reflection #Discerning #Persecuted_Church #Evil

Wine in our lives

Sirach 31:27

Wine is as good as life to a man, if it be drunk moderately: what life is then to a man that is without wine? for it was made to make men glad.

Wine in our lives

Sirach 31:28-29

Wine measurably drunk and in season bringeth gladness of the heart, and cheerfulness of the mind: 29. But wine drunken with excess maketh bitterness of the mind, with brawling and quarrelling.

"He has providence for His creature. Where there is patience, things fall into place. God provides. We need patience, not logic. Since God is watching, He is observing us, we must surrender unconditionally to Him. You see, the Righteous Joseph did not say a thing when his brothers sold him into slavery. He could have said, 'I am their brother'. But he said nothing, until God spoke and made him king. But when one has no patience, he suffers. From that point on he wants things to come his way, as it suits him, and as is comfortable for him. But, of course, he does not find comfort that way, and things don't come out the way he wants them to come."

+ St Paisios the Athonite