He is knocking on your door. Why  don't you open?

That was one of my most favorite poems.

 

"The LADY who is above the skies and brighter than the rays of the sun, the One who save us from the curse, we honor with hymns." (hymn of Orth. Church)

Mother of God, keep us under Your protection.

....

A cantle in front of Virgin Mary. And I wishper the David's psalm.

Nobody can hope in anything else, but the God's mercy.

 Anything we can do, is so poor and so little. After the tiredness of the day, the talkings and coming and going, is the silence. Alone with the God. Another day has been added, another day has been taken away. What have I earned, what have I lost ?

Alone with the silence. The psalm words, are like gun shots in the night, like trumpet's warison for the soldiers, in the time of war - in the monastery which is prepearing for a night of wakefulness.

Alone, but not alone. Poor, but not poor. Sick, but not sick. Tired, but not tired. I repeat memorized rhymes and I am ensouled with the crowds of believers, righteouses and saints. It's very nice this lonelyness, this poverty, this fatigue, this quiet, the night. To communiqate with God, when a whole world is suffering.

Maybe the quiet makes you asleep. You have to fight a lot, with strength, to get self-respect and decency. It's hard to tell you, that you have been closed to yourself and you care for nobody. Perhars, it's not right for me, NOT thinking with every honesty, that I OWE to everyone.

This day closes and my heart is filling with hope and courage for tomorrow. Don't think that this quiet is like anyother else, like these you know, in the countrysite, or long-walking in the mountains, in your isolated apartments or the hospitals with the payed smiles and the rude politeness. Quiet and silince! Godly gifts unexploited but precious.

Is it  very early, or very late? Quiet and silence are two precious stones in our monasteries. In a world, in a century, that likes to talk too much, to make so much noise.

Silence, terrifies those who want to meet everybody,exept theirselves.

Quietness, unsettles the lazy ones.

Silence, is the quick way to virtue. The silver and gold of quietness and silence, make the precious can of pray.

" Forgive me, my Lord, through your great mercy......."

(monk Moses of Agio Oros)

 

A photo of my friend, monk Daniel, who in his early youth, choose the hard way of Quietness, following the steps of his heart to the ONE and TRUE LOVE.

                                                     

Visit the greek orthodox monasteries of mount Athos (Agio Oros) HERE.

and also HERE, or search an engine for "Agio Oros" too.

 

THINGS AREN'T ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM TO BE

I am sure that many times, you have been wondering, "WHY this had happened to me" , "WHY God put me through this" or "it's not right for the God to give pain to the weak and poor people, and wealth and every good to bad and worthless people.

The following story MAY helps you find some answers in all these questions, because "Things are not always what they seem", and our poor mind can't understand God's plans and wishdom .

( Many thanks to Elpida Tomazos for sending me this story. Thank you Elpida!)

• Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family.  The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room.  Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement.  As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it.  When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied..."Things aren't always what they seem".

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife.  After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest.  When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears.  Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field.

The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel "how could you have let this happen!?  The first man had everything, yet you helped him," she accused.  "The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let their cow die."  "Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied.  "When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it.  Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife.  I gave her the cow instead.

Things aren't always what they seem." Sometimes this is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should.  If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage.  You might not know it until some time later.

    God is always working for our advantage.

There is another story I' ve read in a book with stories of  orthodox monks who lived in the deserts of Egypt and Middle East at the Byzantine ages .

• There was once a bandit who was traveling in the desert. There he met a monk and force him to give him any money he had. As the monk had nothing but a few pieces of dry bread, the bandit got angry and was about to kill him. At that moment the monk said " It's all right, I don't mind to die, but first let me have a litt le water."

The bandit, a little surprised, took a cup and offer some water to the monk. But at that moment, he fell dead.  The monk didn't understand what happened.  He prayed to the God , thanking him for his salvation, and asking,   why the bandit had to die.

Then, in his pray, he got the answer from the God:   " I took him, the moment he offered you the cup with the water, because , that was the only good thing he did in his whole life."

          So,  have FAITH, trust HIM , and He Knows the best for us.

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