Sunday of Zaccheus January 29 2012

Troparion (Tone 8)
Thou didst treasure the wealth of salvation and hate unjust gains, O blessed Zacchaeus. When the Saviour came to thy house thou didst bring forth the fruits of repentance: the righting of wrongs, protection of the poor, and a new, God-pleasing life.

St John Climacus on Anger

ANGER

So let the tyrant anger be bound with the chains of meekness, and be beaten by patience, and dragged out by holy love; and, being arraigned before this court of reason, let it be duly examined: 'Tell us, base idiot, what is the name of the father who begot you and the mother who brought you for evil into the world, and the names of your foul sons and daughters. And not only that, but tell us the designations of those who wage war against you and kill you.' And anger might be thought to reply: 'Many are my origins, and I have more than one father. My mothers are vainglory, love of money, greed, and sometimes lust. My father is called conceit. My daughters are: remembrance of wrongs, enmity, self-justification, and hatred. But my opponents, who are now holding me captive, are the opposite virtues of freedom from anger, and meekness. She who schemes against me is called humility. But as to who bore humility, ask her in due time herself.'

The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 8

Theophany January 19, 2011

When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan, worship of the Trinity wast made manifest; for the voice of the Father bore witness to Thee, calling Thee His beloved Son. And the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the truth of His word. O Christ our God, Who hath appeared and enlightened the world, glory to Thee.

Big Thank you to Fr Parthenios for the pictures!

St John of Kronstadt -- You are not alone...

"When you are praying alone, and your spirit is dejected, and you are wearied and oppressed by your loneliness, remember then, as always, that God the Trinity looks upon you with eyes brighter than the sun; also all the angels, your own Guardian Angel, and all the Saints of God. Truly they do; for they are all one in God, and where God is, there are they also. Where the sun is, thither also are directed all its rays. Try to understand what this means." +St. John of Kronstadt

St Seraphim of Sarov Jan 15, 2012

On Hope

All who have firm hope in God are raised to Him and illumined by the radiance of the eternal light. If a man does not let excessive concern for himself turn him away from love for God and for acts of virtue, then this hope is true and wise. But if a man places all his hope in his own affairs and turns to God with prayer only when unforseen misfortunes befall him, and seeing no means in his own powers to avert them begins to rely on the help of God, his hope is vain and deceptive. True hope seeks first of all the Kingdom of God, and is confident that every earthly necessity of temporal life will doubtless be given... The heart can have no peace so long as it does not acquire such hope... It is of this hope that our Savior's most holy words speak to us: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are burdened, and I shall give you rest" (Matt. 11:28); that is, hope in Me and you shall be comforted in your labor and cares.

~~St. Seraphim~~

St Basil the Great Jan 14, 2012

St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Troparion, Tone I —
Thy sound hath gone forth into all the earth, which hath received thy discourse, whereby thou didst divinely teach and make clear the nature of things, and didst adorn the ways of men. O venerable father, thou royal priesthood, entreat Christ God, that our souls be saved.

The Circumcision of our Lord, Troparion, Tone I —
O Jesus, Who in the highest dost sit with Thine unoriginate Father and the divine Spirit upon a fiery throne, Thou wast well-pleased to be born on earth of Thy Mother, a Maiden who knew not man; wherefore, thou wast circumcised as a babe eight days of age. Glory to Thine all-good counsel! Glory to Thy dispensation! Glory to Thy condescension, O Thou Who alone lovest mankind!

Kontakion of the feast, Tone III, "Today the Virgin" —
The Lord of all endureth circumcision and, in that He is good, He cutteth away the transgressions of men and today granteth salvation to the world. And Basil, the high priest of the Creator, the radiant and divine initiate of the mysteries of Christ, rejoiceth on high.

Kontakion of the hierarch, Tone IV, "Thou hast appeared today" —
Thou hast been shown to be the unshakable foundation of the Church, bestow­ing upon all men a dominion which cannot be taken away, and sealing them with thy precepts, O newly revealed and venerable Basil.

Growth at our Monastery

Dear Friends of the Monastery!

Christ is born! Glorify him!

Our monastery is growing! Glory to God!

Fr John and company have begun the renovations and rearrangements to accommodate our growing needs for:

1. New, metal candle-making frames (ours is 20 years old, made of wood, and beginning to wear out);

2. Doubling the floor size of our candle-making and www.monasteryproducts.org operation;

3. A library room for the monks (There are now 8 monks total)

4. Wood-working Room;

5. The re-location of our existing storage shed for our small lawn mower, and making room for our Snow Blower and Large Lawn Mower;

6. An upright, electrical washer/dryer (one-piece) unit.

Please help us raise the needed $10,000 for these expansions and renovations.

We always appreciate your help. Thank you for supporting the monks throughout the last 8 1/2 years of growth.

In Christ,

Fr Parthenios