Commemoration of St. John Cassian

On February 29th the Church commemorates St. John Cassian who reposed on the same day.  If it is not a leap year, Cassian is commemorated on the 28th.

Stichera for Vespers - 6th Tone, Kievan

Saint Nikolai the Serb - Documentary

"Bless my enemies, O Lord, Even I bless them and do not curse them." - St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh on Forgiveness

In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The weeks that have preceded Forgiveness Sunday are weeks during which, in the form of stories that actually took place or of parables, we are presented with the basic sins, the basic brokenness of ours.

Read more here.

He shall uphold the orphan...

"The one who realizes that more has been forgiven him begins to love more.” 

Abba Isaac (The Conferences: 9.15.3)

A Right Time to Lie

“And so a lie is to be thought of and used as if it were hellebore.  If it is taken when a deadly disease is imminent it has a healthful effect, but taken when there is no urgent need it is the cause of immediate death.  For we read that even men who were holy and most approved by God made such good use of lying that they not only did not commit sin thereby but even acquired the highest righteousness.” - Abba Joseph (The Conferences: 17.17.1)

Ostrov (The Island) - Entire Film

"The Conferences" on concealing virtue, as holy fools do:

"Those who adapt themselves to others' weaknesses gain much richer fruits than those who hold fast to their own promises, and they have declared that it is more sublimely virtuous to conceal one's abstinence by this necessary and humble lie, as has been said, than to reveal to it by proudly indicating the truth." - Abba Joseph (17.23.2)

The Begetter of All Virtues

 "And so, according to the opinion both of blessed Antony and of all the others, discretion was understood as that which would lead the fearless monk on a steady ascent to God and would always preserve the aforesaid virtues undamaged; as that with which the heights of perfection could be scaled with little weariness; and as that without which many of those who labor even with a good will would be unable to arrive at the summit.  Discretion is the begetter, guardian, and moderator of all virtues." - Abba Moses (The Conferences: 2.4.4)

"Homily on the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee" by St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

"In today's Gospel, the prayer of the publican is shown drawing God’s mercy to him. This prayer consisted of the following words: God be merciful to me a sinner (Lk. 18:13). It is worthy of our attention that God heard such a short prayer, and that it was pronounced in the temple, during the common worship services, during the reading and chanting of psalms and other prayers. This prayer is commended in the Gospels; it is set forth as an example of prayer, and it becomes our sacred duty to piously contemplate it. 

Why didn't the publican choose some majestic and moving psalm by which to pour out his heart before God, but instead had recourse to such a brief prayer? Why did he repeat only it during the entire service? Our answer is according to that of the holy Fathers...."

Read the rest here.

An Injuring Silence

“But what sort of a thing is it that we sometimes think that we are patient because, when we are aroused, we disdain to respond but mock our irritated brothers by a bitter silence or by a derisory movement or gesture in such a way that we provoke them to anger more by our taciturn behavior than we would have been able to incite them by passionate abuse, in this respect considering ourselves utterly blameless before God, since we have voiced nothing that could brand or condemn us according to the judgment of