PRAYER REQUESTS TO THE FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

On August 19, we will celebrate The Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Sisters of our Convent will be glad to pray for you and your loved ones on this Feast Day. Please click on this link to send your prayer requests ? https://obitel-minsk.org/prayer-request. As always, donations are welcome, but completely optional.

SAINT BASIL THE BLESSED, A MIRACLE WORKER AND A FOOL-FOR-CHRIST

Saint Basil the Blessed is one of Moscow's most renowned fools-for-Christ. Ascetics who performed the feat of a fool for Christ have always been respected in Russia for having the bravery to disregard outward decencies by pretending to be insane and for concealing their gifts and virtues and exposing the vices of the world. They held the indisputable moral high ground because they were free from passions and pure of heart.

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God is the light that we cannot approach. His existence is above all creation, material or intellectual. Therefore, while our human mind is preoccupied with processing ideas, words, thoughts or images, the perfection of prayer is beyond our reach.

Saint Silouan of Mount Athos

HONOURING ST. JOHN OF KORMA: A BELOVED BELARUSIAN SAINT

**Dear Friends,

Today, we celebrate the legacy of the Holy Righteous John of Korma, a cherished Belarusian saint whose divine calling was foretold even before his birth.**
A prophecy given to his mother while she was pregnant was the first sign of his future sanctity: a man, moved by the Spirit, approached her in church, bowed deeply, and proclaimed, “I would like to receive his blessing, but I will not live to see his glory.”

From a tender age, John was marked by exceptional piety. By four, he assisted his father, a priest, as an altar boy, and he dreamed of one day joining the monastic community at the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. As he matured into a respected priest, his pastoral works gained widespread recognition.

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Saint Seraphim’s Spiritual Science

? From time to time, the Lord sends His people great soothsayers, great saints, who admonish the people, preparing them for great changes in the life of that people. So too it was with our Orthodox Russian people: venerable St. Seraphim was send by God namely in such a difficult spiritual time, when the Russian land was inundated by various currents – un-Russian, un-Orthodox currents – from the West, from different faiths. There were many various influences that changed the nature of the people’s spiritual life.

Continue reading: https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2019/08/saint-seraphims-spiritual-science

The Catalog of Good Deeds

Saint Seraphim's Spiritual Science

From time to time, the Lord sends His people great soothsayers, great saints, who admonish the people, preparing them for great changes in the life of that people. So too it was with our Orthodox

“You Have to Be a Fool to Become a Priest, Dima. You Know There’s No God”. A Priest Reflects on Common Mistakes Christians Make Trying to Lead Their Parents to Faith

☦️ Many believers will agree with me that the most difficult thing for a new convert is to cope with the desire to bring his near and dear to faith as soon as possible. At one time, I also had to go through this. My friends, with very few exceptions, thought that I had a screw loose and soon began to avoid me. The same happened with most of my relatives, while the closest of them (dad and mom) treated my “whims and fancies” condescendingly, without however missing an opportunity to say something like, “Stop doing nonsense and get a job!”

Continue reading: https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2021/09/you-have-to-be-a-fool-to-become-a-priest-dima-you-know-theres-no-god-a-priest-reflects-on-common-mistakes-christians-make-trying-to-lead-their-parents-to-faith

The Catalog of Good Deeds

“You Have to Be a Fool to Become a Priest, Dima. You Know There's No God". A Priest Reflects on Common Mistakes Christians Make…

Many believers will agree with me that the most difficult thing for a new convert is to cope with the desire to bring his near and dear to faith as soon as possible. At one

"BEHEADED FOR CHRIST ON HIS 19th BIRTHDAY: REMEMBERING WARRIOR YEVGENY RODIONOV (1996)"

Dear Friends,

Today, May 23, marks both the birth and the untimely death of Yevgeny Rodionov. His name, derived from the Greek "noble," aptly describes his character — marked by gentleness, nobility of soul, and true courage.

Yevgeny Rodionov, a young Russian soldier during the First Chechen War (1994-1996), endured extended captivity and brutal torture. His steadfast faith was tested when he refused to remove his baptismal cross in exchange for freedom, a decision that led to his martyrdom.

Interestingly, Yevgeny never actively fought in Chechnya; he served only a month on guard duty at the Chechen-Ingush border. On his 19th birthday, the day the Orthodox Church celebrated the Ascension of the Lord, he was tragically killed by captors who boasted of their righteousness.

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Two Parables and One Short Story about the Intricacies of Family Life

Archpriest Oleg Stenyaev

An old woman came to a priest and asked him, “What should I do with my old man who has become totally unbearable? He keeps arguing, never admits his wrongs and swears all the time! Things have clearly gotten completely out of hand.”

The priest gave her a bottle of water and said,

“This is holy water. As soon as your husband comes home after work, or the minute he raises his voice, immediately take it into your mouth and hold it as long as you can. The longer you hold it, the more it will help! When you run out of holy water, come back for more.

A week later, the old woman came for more water,

“Thank you, father! The holy water worked! My old man is now meek and calm. All our neighbours envy the life we have now — peace and harmony! Pour me some more of that holy water!”

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A fifty-year-old man wanted to divorce his wife. Once he came to see an ascetic. The elder asked the man why he was doing that. The man answered, “I want to leave my wife because I cannot stand her.”

The elder asked, “How do you address her?”

“By name,” the man replied.

“Wrong,” said the elder, “you should call her beloved or my dear.”

The man replied that after 50 years he had forgotten what love was.

The elder said, “Do as I say and see what happens.”

The man did as he had been told. When he came to see the elder after two months, he fell at his feet and said that the elder saved him and his family.

“My wife has changed! She has become a better person.”

The elder replied, “It is not your wife, it is you who have changed.”

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A few days ago, I was consecrating an apartment.

I noticed that the owners were well prepared: they had icons, stickers with crosses, candles, incense and oil…

‘Wait, what is that red sediment in the oil bottle?’ At first, I even thought that it was oil from the Holy Unction. I asked the house owners what it was about. They explained to me that in due order they had added Tabasco sauce there. I was shocked.

“Well,” they said, “we did everything as you instructed Peter and Svetlana”.

Peter and Svetlana are our mutual friends, whose house I had also consecrated about six months ago.

‘Now that explains it,’ I thought.

Six months ago, Svetlana and Peter asked me to come and consecrate their house, because “things have gotten out of hand; we keep fighting, and it looks like a divorce is near at hand”. I came to them, asked them all sorts of questions and listened to them complaining about each other like little children.

“Okay,” I said, “now let’s pray, and then we’ll talk”

We prayed, consecrated the house and sprinkled it with holy water.

“What should we do with the oil that is left?” they asked me.

I jokingly answered, “You need to take some Tabasco sauce (you can also use Chili, but it is more customary for the Orthodox people to adhere to Tabasco), add it to the oil and smear your tongues with it as soon as you begin fighting” (It should be noted here that both of them had ready tongues.)

As it turned out, Peter and Svetlana did just as I said!

“Well, how did it work out for them?” I asked.

“Oh, it was like they were having a honeymoon again! They walk hand in hand everywhere and they even became interested in religion. Besides, she seems to be pregnant. I am shy to ask, but it looks that way.”

Of course, Peter and Sveta knew exactly how to prepare for the consecration of the apartment.

KIEV-BRATSK ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD

The rich history of the wonderworking Kiev-Bratsk (i.e. "Brotherhood") Icon of the Mother of God revealed in 1654 tells us about the arduous spiritual life of Christians of that time, filled with asceticism and prayerful devotion. The icon was originally kept in the church of Saints Boris and Gleb in the city of Vyshgorod (Kiev).

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How is Fear Related to Faith

⚠️Faith is a gift from God that has been planted is us like a seed. With faith everything is clear. There are no obstacles in the path to live according to God’s commandments. With faith in God we are free of fear.

Continue reading: https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2021/11/how-is-fear-related-to-faith

The Catalog of Good Deeds

How is Fear Related to Faith

  Faith is a gift from God that has been planted is us like a seed. With faith everything is clear. There are no obstacles in the path to live according to God’s commandments. With