“Our heart is like the darkened earth;
the Gospel is like the sun enlightening and giving life to our hearts.
May the true sun of Thy righteousness shine in our hearts, O Lord!”

St. John of Kronstadt – My Life in Christ, pg. 241

Tryphon was born of poor parents in the village of Lampsacus in Phrygia. In his childhood he tended geese. From childhood he also had great grace from God, such that he was able to cure illnesses that afflicted people and livestock and to expel evil spirits. The Roman Empire at that time was ruled by the Emperor Gordian. His daughter went insane, and this caused the Emperor great sorrow. All the physicians were unable to help Gordiana. An evil spirit spoke through her and said that no one except Tryphon could cast him out. After many who were named Tryphon were summoned, by divine providence young Tryphon was also summoned. He was brought to Rome, and he healed the Emperor’s daughter. The Emperor lavished upon him many gifts, all of which Tryphon distributed to the poor upon his return. In his village this holy youth continued to tend geese and to pray to God. When Decius, the persecutor of Christians, was crowned emperor, St. Tryphon was tortured and cruelly tormented for Christ. He endured all his tortures with great joy, saying: “Oh, if only I could be made worthy to die by fire and torture for the name of the Lord and God, Jesus Christ!” The tortures did him no harm, and finally the tormentors sentenced him to be beheaded. Before his death he prayed to God, and he gave up his soul in 250.

They were prominent and wealthy citizens of Constantinople and lived a God-pleasing life and dedicated all their attention to the Christian upbringing of their sons, John and Arcadius. The two sons were in a shipwreck and deposited in two different areas on the shore. They each believed the other perished. Out of their grief for each other, they both became monks in different monasteries. After two years, their grieving parents came to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage to venerate the holy shrines. There the brothers met, and after that the parents met their children, all with the help of the clairvoyance of a certain spiritual father. Out of gratitude to God, Xenophon and Mary distributed their entire estate to the poor; and both of them were tonsured. The history of these four souls is touching, and it shows how the Lord wonderfully guides the fate of those who believe in him: how He permits pain and sorrow to come upon them so that later, having been yet more strengthened in faith, they may be led into still greater joy. They lived and reposed in the Lord in the fifth century.

The Christian receives great benefit from the Divine Mysteries, both in his soul and in his body, before he communes, at the time when he communes, and after he has communed. Before he communes, he must make the necessary preparation, that is, he must confess to his spiritual father, correct himself, feel compunction, acquire inner attention, guard himself from passionate thoughts as far as possible, and also from every other vice. Similarly, he must exercise self-restraint, pray, be inwardly awake, become more devout, and do every other kind of good deed, reflecting what awesome King he is about to receive within himself; especially if he considers that the grace which is given to him from Communion is proportionate to his preparation. It is evident that the more one makes such preparation, the more benefit he receives. Through holy Communion the mind is illumined, the intellect is brightened, all the powers of the soul are purified, the passions of the flesh are deadened,and the love for God is kindled. (Modern Orthodox Saints, pg. 81.)

The Lord loves us dearly, despite our sins, if only we will humble ourselves and love our enemies. He who loves not his enemies will never find peace, even though he were to be set down in paradise…

This life is a spiritual struggle. To conquer or to be conquered! If we conquer, we will enjoy the fruits of victory through all eternity. If we are defeated, we will endure the horrors of destruction through all eternity. This life is a duel between man and all that opposes God. God is an almighty Ally to all who sincerely call upon Him for help. “This life is not a joke or a plaything,” says St. John of Kronstadt, “but men turn it into a joke and plaything. The capricious play around with the time given to us for preparing for eternity; they play around with empty words. They gather together as guests, they sit and chatter and after that they sit and play this or that game. They gather in theaters, and there they entertain themselves. All of life is an amusement for them. But woe unto them who do nothing but entertain themselves!”

The more a man advances in spiritual knowledge and in purification of the heart, the more it appears to him that the depth in which he finds himself is even lower than he had previously thought, and that the height to which he strives is even higher. When one spiritual giant, who was on his deathbed, heard that his companions were praising him because of his great asceticism, he began to weep, and said: “My children, I have not even begun my spiritual life.” When St. Ignatius the God-bearer lay chained in the dungeon, he wrote to the Ephesians: “I do not command you as though I were someone significant. Even though I am in chains for the name of Jesus Christ, nevertheless, I still have not perfected myself in Him. Now I am beginning to be His disciple, and I speak to you as to an assembly of my teachers.”

Speaking about the gradual spread of the celebration of Christ’s Nativity, Saint John Chrysostom said: “Magnificent and noble trees, when planted in the ground, shortly attain great heights and become heavily laden with fruit; so it is with this day.” So it is also with the day of the Meeting of our Lord. From the beginning this day was commemorated among Christians, but the solemn celebration began in the time of the great Emperor Justinian. During his reign, a great pestilence afflicted the people in Constantinople and its vicinity, so that five thousand or more people died daily. At the same time a terrible earthquake occurred in Antioch. Seeing man’s inability to prevent these misfortunes, the emperor, in consultation with the patriarch, ordered a period of fasting and prayer throughout the entire empire. And, on the day of the Meeting itself, he arranged great processions throughout the towns and villages, that the Lord might show compassion on His people. And truly, the Lord did show compassion, for the epidemic and earthquake ceased at once. This occurred in the year 544. From that time on, the Feast of the Meeting of our Lord began to be celebrated as a great feast of the Lord. The tree, in time, grew and began to bring forth abundant fruit.

St. Bucolus was a disciple of Saint John the Theologian, who consecrated him Bishop of Smyrna. In Smyrna there were few that were baptized. In the darkness of paganism, St. Bucolus shone as a bright candle. He distinguished himself with every virtue, especially meekness and humility. Before his death, St. Bucolus consecrated the glorious Polycarp as his successor to the episcopacy. He died peacefully and took up his habitation with the Lord.

“Repent.” (Matt 4:17.) We must heed this injunction of Christ carefully, radically amend our inner life and our concept of the world; our attitude towards people and every phenomenon in the creature world; not slay our enemies but win them over with love. We must remember that there is no absolute evil. Only un-originate Goodness is Absolute. And this Goodness commanded us, “Love your enemies….” Being slain for the sake of one’s brethren is the best possible weapon for delivering them from servitude to the transducer, the devil, and preparing their souls to accept God, Who desires the salvation of all. (On Prayer, pg. 158.)

St. Anthony teaches: “Learn to love humility, for it will cover all your sins. All sins are repulsive before God, but the most repulsive of all is pride of the heart. Do not consider yourself learned and wise; otherwise, all your effort will be destroyed, and your boat will reach the harbor empty. If you have great authority, do not threaten anyone with death. Know that, according to nature, you too are susceptible to death, and that every soul sheds its body as its final garment.” In Byzantium there existed an unusual and instructive custom during the crowning of the emperors in the Church of the Divine Wisdom (Hagia Sophia). The custom was that, when the patriarch placed the crown on the emperor’s head, he also handed him a silk purse filled with earth from a grave, so that even the emperor would recall death, avoid all pride and become humble.

Macarius was an Egyptian and one of the younger contemporaries of Anthony the Great. He married out of obedience to his parents but his wife died shortly thereafter. He withdrew to the wilderness, where he spent sixty years in labor and struggle, both inwardly and outwardly, for the Kingdom of Heaven. So much did he succeed in cleansing his mind of evil thoughts and his heart of evil desires, that God bestowed upon him the abundant gift of miracle-working, so that he even raised the dead from the graves.

His humility amazed both men and demons. A demon once said to him: “There is only one thing in which I am unable to surpass you. It is not in fasting, for I do not eat. It is not in vigils, for I never sleep.” “But what is it?” asked Macarius. “Your humility,” answered the demon. He often told his disciple Paphnutius, “Do not judge anyone and you will be saved.” Macarius lived to be ninety seven years old. Before his death he had a vision in which a Cherubim revealed to him the blessed heavenly world, commended his effort and his virtue, and told him that he had been sent to take his soul into the Kingdom of Heaven. Macarius reposed in the year 390.