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Welcome back to the Let's be friends podcast! With us today is a new friend, Father Seraphim Holland, of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church.You may know Father Seraphim Holland from his social media or YouTube channel, OrthodoxNet, or maybe, like me, he came into your algorithm when a Protestant woman named Sarah came to him on the streets of Athens, storm-trooping him with evangelism. Father Seraphim responded to her with such love, patience, knowledge, and kindness—he caught my attention, and I know many others. In our chat we cover many of the initial questions new converts to orthodoxy have. We discuss the importance of baptism with chrismation, prayer and the power of the Jesus Prayer, what “works-based” means, how to pray, what it means to pray without ceasing, keeping your mind on Christ, an alternative view on Charlie Kirk, new heresies, baptismal theology, “nice Jesus,” the ecumenism movement, being a new creation in Christ, Protestantism vs. Orthodoxy, acquiring the spirit of peace, Saint Seraphim of Sarov, and what salvation is.Watch this interview on Youtube!Donate to Father Seraphim of Holland's church St Nicholas Orthodox Church: Find Father Seraphim Holland:InstagramYoutubeSt Nicholas Orthodox ChurchWant more? Let's be friends. Join the Friendship Membership.Want to read my memoir, Here Comes Trouble? It's available now. Order your copy.
Do You Want to Be Healed? Letting God Rewrite the Story Ephesians 8:5-19 Today, Fr. Anthony reflects on how the deepest obstacles to healing are often the stories we tell ourselves to justify, protect, and control our lives. Drawing on the Prophet Isaiah, the Gospel parables of the banquet, and the power of silence before God, he explores how true healing begins when we let go of our fallen narratives and allow Christ to reconstruct our story through humility, prayer, and repentance. The path of peace is not found in domination or self-justification, but in stillness at the feet of the Lord where grace remakes the soul. As St. Seraphim teaches, when we acquire peace, myriads around us are healed as well. One of the great problems we encounter in life is this: we desire healing, but we do not always know how to arrive at it. One helpful way to understand this struggle is through the language of story. Very often, the problem is that we do not have our story right. Scripture tells us to redeem the time, because the days are evil. One of the ways that evil operates is by corrupting our story—our personal story, the way we understand ourselves, the way we frame our relationships, and even the way we understand the great arc of history, what Christians call the economy of salvation. When we live in evil times, that evil does not remain outside us. It enters in, and our story becomes crooked. If all we do as Christians is add religious language to that crooked story—new words, even new scriptures—we have not truly been healed. We have only changed the decoration. The path itself remains bent. One day that story will be brought into the light. This is what the Apostle means when he says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine upon you." As St. Jerome once observed, St. Paul seems to be paraphrasing Isaiah here—especially that great prophecy where the crooked ways are made straight. This theme runs deeply through Advent and the Nativity Fast. One small personal ritual during this season is listening to Handel's Messiah. Through that music, the words of Isaiah become alive: the great darkness that covers the earth, and the light that rises to overcome it. But darkness is not overcome by changing words alone. If all we do is rename our brokenness with religious language, the world's darkness will only pollute us more deeply. So the first discipline of the Christian life is this: we must let go of our story. Our fallen story becomes a way to protect the ego, to justify ourselves, to excuse the very things Saint Paul warns us against. Salvation begins with humility, with letting go of our justifications, with abandoning the need to construct a story that protects us from the world or grants us domination over it. We are called to let go and stand before the Lord in silence. Not to explain ourselves, not to defend ourselves—but simply to be our story before Him in quiet awe. If we do that work faithfully—and for many of us this must be done daily—then the reconstruction of the story can begin anew. This is where the disciplines of the Church come in: the prayer rule, the psalms, the prayers given to us by the Holy Spirit through the Church. These do not shame us; they heal us. They allow us to see our shortcomings not as excuses to hide, but as wounds that need restoration. This is how our crookedness is straightened so that we can be healed. The Lord also gives us Scripture to interpret our story. In Isaiah 60 we hear of darkness and of a light that rises. Israel is called a light to the nations—but whenever Christians hear that language, our minds are drawn immediately to the Prologue of the Gospel of St. John. And there, light is not mere illumination. It is transformation. It is grace. It is the energy of God entering the world. And when Scripture moves back and forth between Christ and Israel, it is not a mistake—it reveals our participation in this great movement of salvation. Just as we are healed by grace, so the world is transfigured by that same grace flowing from the Body of Christ into all creation. The Lord also teaches us through parables. Many parables may not resonate with many of us because of their agricultural contexts, but we can understand a banquet. We understand meals. We understand invitation. And in this parable, we are the ones who were called—and we came. We may not have been the first invited. We came blind, wounded, ashamed, hiding behind excuses. But the invitation came, and we showed up. Yet getting through the door is not the end of the story. The Lord teaches us what it means to live inside the banquet. When you enter the house, do tell the master how he should run it? Do you take the highest seat as if it belongs to you? No—He says take the lowest place, and let the master raise you up if he wills. This is the posture of true humility. If we were the authors of our story, it would end in darkness. But instead, we are invited into a feast that never ends. And none of our fallen tools—control, manipulation, ego-protection—belong in the Father's house. This is why the psalmist says he would rather be a servant in the house of the Lord than sit among kings. That is our true inheritance. There is no such thing as a low seat at that table. Every place at that feast is glory beyond imagination. The only way it becomes distorted is if we try to overlay God's story with our fallen one. So yes—do we want to be healed? Of course, we do. That is why we are here. Do we want to grow into our inheritance? That is why we came. But it is not enough merely to arrive. We must live your part in the story. There is a false humility that sometimes creeps into us—especially if we have been wounded or manipulated. We become afraid to acknowledge anything good about ourselves or even our relationship with God, as if gratitude were pride. But that is not humility. We need to be ashamed of what truly needs repentance and bring it into the light. But we should never be ashamed of our relationship with the Lord. Do not pretend the banquet is a shack just because we know we do not deserve it. Hold both truths together: the infinite distance between God's glory and our brokenness, and the infinite mercy by which He draws us into His glory. Following St. Silouon the Athonite, we should keep our mind in hell – and despair not. The lowest seat at that table is greater than any throne the world can offer. It is the seat prepared for us in the council of God. There is no low place there—only mistaken stories that make us think otherwise. So during this season, let's spend time with the Lord in silence. Let's let go of the instinct to create stories that justify, control, and fix everything. These wandering thoughts only deepen confusion. We need to seek peace and pursue it quietly at the feet of God. Then we can come out from that silence and allow His Word to reconstruct us. Our Lord is not manipulative. He does not heal through domination. If there is one relationship in which we can finally release our need for control, it is our relationship with Him. If we skip silence, we will guard ourselves even against God, and the crooked ways will remain crooked—only renamed with religious language. Go in silence before the Lord. Come out and allow His Word to heal you. Then, in that peace, allow your relationships with others to be healed as well. This is how the world is remade: not by power, not by manipulation, but by peace. St. Seraphim of Sarov put it simply: "Acquire the Spirit of peace, and thousands around you will be saved." When peace grows in the heart, the handles of manipulation fall away. The saint no longer needs to prove anything. There is no hunger for worldly approval. The only desires left are to love, to serve, and to receive love. These are not tools of control—they are mechanisms of grace. We still have time to prepare for the Lord's coming. Let this be the beginning. And as part of this renewal of our story, we still have time to come to confession. The Church teaches us to come during every Lenten season, and yes, that can be frightening. Authority in this world has often been abusive or manipulative. But confession is not that. It is not tyranny—it is liberation. The Lord does not want us carrying this weight. He wants us free. This is the Church's gift to us. We must not leave it unused. Let the Lord heal you. Let Him tell you your true story. And then, at last, relax into its glory.
Though he has not been glorified by the Church, Fr Lazarus was a pioneer and exemplar of Orthodoxy in the West. He was born in England in 1902. In his early manhood he moved to western Canada, where he worked as a farm laborer for several years. While working in Alberta, he sensed a call to become a missionary and went to an English missionary college for five years. Sad to say, our sources are unclear about how he came to the Orthodox faith from this unlikely beginning. But in 1934 he spent seven weeks on Mt Athos, then lived as a monk in Yugoslavia. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Theophan (Russian Orthodox Church Abroad), then sent to Palestine to serve the Russian Mission in Jerusalem. In 1948, the new State of Israel gave the Mission's property to the Soviet Union and the mission was left dispossessed. Fr Lazarus served as priest to the Russian Convent in Aïn Karim and Transjordan, then was sent to India in 1952, where he helped in Orthodox missionary work for twenty years. Several of his books and translations, such as his biography/study of St Seraphim of Sarov, were written while he lived in India. While there, he met Mother Gavrilia of Greece, whose beautiful biography Ascetic of Love includes good descriptions of him during his life in India. Though very strict in his Orthodoxy, he was flexible in externals: in India he wore a white rather than a black cassock, because black clothing had offensive connotations to the Indian people. In 1972 Fr Lazarus was called to Greece, then in 1974 to Australia, where he served for nine years. In 1983 he moved to California in answer to call from Fr Peter Gillquist to assist members of the former 'Evangelical Orthodox Church' in their move to Orthodoxy. In 1989 he moved to Alaska, where he continued this work. He reposed in Eagle River, Alaska in 1992. Following is an excerpt from an account of his last days by members of his community in Eagle River: "Father always signed his name with TWA, "Traveling With Angels". A few days before his death, after battling cancer many years, faithfully using the Jesus Prayer as the medicine for his affliction, the Archangel Michael appeared to help him. His final journey homeward had begun, TWA... 'the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.' (2 Timothy 4: 6-8)."
Though he has not been glorified by the Church, Fr Lazarus was a pioneer and exemplar of Orthodoxy in the West. He was born in England in 1902. In his early manhood he moved to western Canada, where he worked as a farm laborer for several years. While working in Alberta, he sensed a call to become a missionary and went to an English missionary college for five years. Sad to say, our sources are unclear about how he came to the Orthodox faith from this unlikely beginning. But in 1934 he spent seven weeks on Mt Athos, then lived as a monk in Yugoslavia. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Theophan (Russian Orthodox Church Abroad), then sent to Palestine to serve the Russian Mission in Jerusalem. In 1948, the new State of Israel gave the Mission's property to the Soviet Union and the mission was left dispossessed. Fr Lazarus served as priest to the Russian Convent in Aïn Karim and Transjordan, then was sent to India in 1952, where he helped in Orthodox missionary work for twenty years. Several of his books and translations, such as his biography/study of St Seraphim of Sarov, were written while he lived in India. While there, he met Mother Gavrilia of Greece, whose beautiful biography Ascetic of Love includes good descriptions of him during his life in India. Though very strict in his Orthodoxy, he was flexible in externals: in India he wore a white rather than a black cassock, because black clothing had offensive connotations to the Indian people. In 1972 Fr Lazarus was called to Greece, then in 1974 to Australia, where he served for nine years. In 1983 he moved to California in answer to call from Fr Peter Gillquist to assist members of the former 'Evangelical Orthodox Church' in their move to Orthodoxy. In 1989 he moved to Alaska, where he continued this work. He reposed in Eagle River, Alaska in 1992. Following is an excerpt from an account of his last days by members of his community in Eagle River: "Father always signed his name with TWA, "Traveling With Angels". A few days before his death, after battling cancer many years, faithfully using the Jesus Prayer as the medicine for his affliction, the Archangel Michael appeared to help him. His final journey homeward had begun, TWA... 'the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.' (2 Timothy 4: 6-8)."
St. Seraphim addresses two related spiritual diseases that plague many at various times, offering insight into how to overcome them and remain close to Christ.This reading comes from: Life and Teaching of St. Seraphim of Sarov
St. Luke 8: 41-56 Drawing on St. Nikolai Velimirović's image of divine grace as electricity, this homily on the raising of Jairus' daughter (Luke 8:41–56) invites us to become living conduits through whom God's uncreated energy continually flows. Christ's tender command, "Talitha koum," reveals the greater reality that in Him even death is but sleep, for the fire of His love transforms all who see with eyes full of light into partakers of His eternal life. Homily on Jairus' Daughter St. Luke 8:41–56 Glory to Jesus Christ! It is a blessing to be with you this morning. I have really appreciated your hospitality throughout this weekend. In his homily on this beautiful event in the history of our salvation, St Nikolai Velimirović compares our Lord to electricity—or perhaps to magnetism, and to light. What he is describing is what we in the West call grace. The idea is that the Lord's uncreated energy – His spiritual electricity - is continually available; and those who allow themselves to be connected to Him become receptacles and conduits of that spiritual electricity—of that grace, of that beautiful light. We see this especially at Pascha, when the priest sings "Come receive the light," and one candle lights another, and the flame spreads from person to person. Magnetism is a similar image: not only does it attract, but it also bestows magnetism in a lesser degree to some of the objects it touches. This a lovely and apt metaphor—though, as St Nikolai warns, don't take it too far or you'll end up spouting heresy– for instance, a screwdriver that has received magnetism from a magnetic source retains the magnetism even after the source is removed. As we discussed yesterday, anything that is removed from the Source of Divine Energy loses its spiritual life. Going back to the metaphor of electricity, our hope is not to become a sort of battery that receives grace and then stores it separate from its source; rather, our hope is to increasingly become pure conduits of divine energy through whom it continually flows. Switching metaphors again, Jesus Christ describes this as living water in the Gospel according to St. John when He says; If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (St. John 7:37; also St. John 4:14) The grace that we share as Christians is flowing to and through us from its source, and that source is God. There is another lesson here. St. Nikolai points out that there were many people in the crowd that day, but only one was healed. Let me develop a point from yesterday's talk. You may remember my sharing that the scripture about the newly healed blind man seeing "trees walking" as a metaphor for our need to work on seeing the world as it really is. A related scriptural metaphor from Christ Himself has to do with the "eye of darkness;" "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" (St. Matthew 6:22-23). In part, these are eyes that fail to see the Lord even when He is present among us. Imagine that He turned to you and healed you after you had endured fourteen years of suffering. How would you respond? Lord willing, you would respond with thanksgiving and joy; a thanksgiving and joy that never fades. But the eye of darkness might quickly slip from thankfulness and joy back into bitterness and think or say: "Where have you been these fourteen years?" Do you see the trap? Do you see how such a response, such an attitude, misses the whole point of God's work among us — it's kind of like saying to Christ the God-man when He appears in His glory to bring us into His Kingdom; "O Lord, I thought you'd be taller." The eye of darkness is a terrible thing. For those who see truly, the world is permeated with the grace of God. Let us strive increasingly to the world with these eyes of light. Another lesson the Fathers draw from this story is that the healing itself wasn't even the main point. Do you remember the plot line we are following in the Gospel lesson? A ruler of the synagogue—a leader of the Jews—comes to Christ and begs: "My daughter lies dying. Please come to our house." As the Lord goes with him, the crowd presses in around Him. And even along the way, miracles happen. This is a lesson we need to learn: with the Lord, there is no such thing as "along the way." His grace is always active. Every moment with Him is transformed in Him and by Him. For the Christian, every moment of grace is an experience of eternal glory… and that moments lead in time to the next which is similarly transformed and transformative. For the Christian, after such an encounter, there is no darkness left to return to, only life in Christ so full that we can say with St Paul, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." (Galatians 2:20) When we are connected to Him in this way, His grace—like living water, or electricity, or magnetism, or light—flows through us and straightening our connections with the world around us. This is what St Seraphim of Sarov meant when he said, "Acquire the Holy Spirit, and thousands around you will be saved." And this is the same things that we celebrate in the life of St. Nektarios, whose memory we celebrate today, when we proclaim this verse at Orthros: "Since thou drunkest the nectar of life eternal, thou gushest, O Nektarios, streams of healings. Again, there is no such thing as being merely "on the way"; rather, all of life is "along the Way"—in Christ, growing in Him forever. Every moment is an opportunity to grow and share in this, the great Mystery of the Sacrament of our salvation. Now, about this man—Jairus. Jairus had great power in his community and a relationship with God through the Law. Yet here he found himself powerless in the face of death. Everyone who tries to find salvation through secular power or the Law alone eventually meets that same limit. At that time, the Jews were deeply divided over what death meant and whether there was truly a resurrection. So this became a teaching moment for the Lord. The other Gospels describe how the mourners had gathered, the flutes were playing lamentations, and the house was filled with grief. A twelve-year-old girl—the only child of a leader in the community—had died. And Jairus, for all his authority, was utterly powerless. To make the moment even more striking, Jesus said something that caused the people to laugh Him to scorn: "She is not dead, but sleeping." He said this precisely so that they would affirm—beyond any doubt—that she was truly dead: the body cold, the breath gone. And then, having confirmed the reality of death, He revealed the greater reality of life. He went in, took her by the hand with such tenderness; this pointed out most clearly in the version shared by St. Mark, in which he is recorded as having said in Aramaic, "Talitha koum"—literally, "Little lamb, arise." (Mark 5:41) "Talitha" is a term of affection, something like "little lambkin." And she arose and He told her parents to give her something to eat. All those who had mocked Him now faced undeniable evidence of a miracle. They could not rationalize it away or pretend they were mistaken. They had declared her dead—and now she was alive. There was only one explanation: the life-giving power of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Him is life, and in Him there can be no death. (John 1:4; John 11:25) Now, here is a more difficult lesson. Some steak for us to chew on. Jesus did not spend His earthly ministry going to every grieving parent to restore every child. I'm sure that's hard for you to hear—it's hard for me, too. But He did not come simply to prolong life in this world; He came to transfigure it. What good would it be to restore someone to this mortal life, only for them to die again after a few years? Instead, He performed this miracle so that we would know that when He says, "I go to prepare a [better] place for you," that He has the power to fulfill that promise. (John 14:2-3) There will be times—there have already been times—when we are the ones saying, "She is dead." But the Church uses a different language: "fallen asleep" and "in blessed repose." These are not naive phrases. They are reminders that for the Christian, death is but a rest before the age to come. (1 Thessalonians 4:13–14) And honestly, we long for that age, don't we? Life in this world can be exhausting —wars, suffering, the loss of children, — all the griefs that weigh us down. But as we sing in our funeral service; in the age to come, there will be "no sighing, no sorrow, no sickness, but life everlasting" This is the time, quoting both the funeral and Revelation, "God will wipe away every tear." If I may change metaphors one last time: our God, who was earlier described as electricity, is also called a consuming fire. (Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29) Those of us raised in the South have heard preachers use that image as a warning. But for the Christian—for the ones who live in Christ so completely that it is no longer they who live but Christ who lives in them (Galatians 2:20)—that fire is not torment but glory. It is the radiant warmth of divine love. For those purified by grace, the fire of God becomes the very source of joy and life. So when you find yourself saying, "Our beloved, our little lamb, is dead," remember this: our Lord, who loves our beloved even more than we do, holds her hand and says, just as He did in today's Gospel, "My dearest one, arise." That is the future that awaits all who have given their lives to Him. May we be strengthened by this as we grow in Him. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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St. Seraphim describes peace of soul in Christ and how to preserve this peace. As the saint says, "One must by every means strive to preserve peace of soul and not to be disturbed by offences from others..."This reading comes from: Life and Teaching of St. Seraphim of Sarov
St. Isaac's counsel confronts the modern temptation toward self-promotion, verbal dominance, and the illusion of expertise. In a time when our culture prizes quick answers, visible influence, and a polished public persona, his words cut against the grain. He reminds us that the deepest authority is not rooted in rhetoric or clever disputation, but in the quiet radiance of a virtuous life. Humility, expressed in meek speech, modest bearing, restraint in judgment, and continual learning, guards the soul from the injury of familiarity and the snares of pride. For those in the spiritual life today, this means resisting the lure of proving ourselves in debates, curating our image for approval, or speaking beyond what we have truly lived. It is an invitation to clothe our knowledge in tears and fasting, to let the wisdom of the Church shape our vision, and to guard our minds from curiosities that puff up rather than purify. Such a way seems “small” in the eyes of the world, yet it opens the heart to the grace of God, the only true teacher. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:10:58 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 145. Paragraph 20 00:12:39 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 145, mid-page # 20 2nd paragraph on page 00:13:11 Zack Morgan: no 00:24:51 Anthony: This goes so much against the grain of the Classical Greek world: being a public person and a public corrector after the manner of Socrates 00:40:14 Anthony: I found the spirit of blasphemy is contagious from people who proclaim they are righteous but take delight in showing the faults of others. I wish I could shake it off. 00:40:25 Una: Any practical suggestions for those of us whose knees are shot and can't do prostrations anymore? 00:45:55 Ben: I think St. Seraphim of Sarov said something about continual prayer supplying for the inability to fast. Could one hope that the same could be said about an inability to perform other ascetical works, like prostrations? 00:54:02 Ren Witter: How does one discern when one's conscience differs from widely held beliefs in the Church because it is malformed, and when it differs but is in fact formed well? I am thinking of immediate, small things obviously, but also St. John Chrysostom, who experienced exile from the institutional Church, and who had such confidence in his own conscience that he could say “they have the churches, but we have the truth” ? 00:55:18 Anthony: Replying to "Any practical sugges..." There's something about prayer being the highest ascetical work. Maybe in Evergetinos. 00:59:28 Mary
I sit down with my old friend from the Paul VanderKlay discord days, Dave W., to discuss the upcoming South Estuary conference and dive deep into the differences between "Light Woo" and "Dark Woo." We explore the nature of evil as a parasitic force and contrast the path of self-empowerment with the Christian concept of Theosis.Register for Dave's conference, Southestuary, here: https://www.southeastuary.com/Midwestuary : https://www.midwestuary.com/Dave's convo with PVK - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnxGugpTJZg&t=1744sPeople MentionedPaul VanderKlay ( @PaulVanderKlay ) , Jordan Hall, Jordan Daniel Wood, JD Lionheart, Michael Martin, Nate Hile ( @grailcountry ) , Shari, Yoseph Razin, Chris Green, St. Maximus the Confessor, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Isaac the Syrian, Origen, St. Seraphim of Sarov, St. John Chrysostom, Rod Dreher, Vin Armani, John Vervaeke ( @johnvervaeke ) , Ashley Lande, Scott Adams, Augustine, Plotinus.
Sambata, Iulie 19 - Cuvioasa Macrina, sora Sf. Vasile cel Mare ; Cuviosul Serafim din Sarov; Cuviosii Dia si Teodor;
In a season of Stillness—but I'm still here. ❤️
Born in 1866, he married and had three children. In 1920, at the age of 54, he and his wife quietly separated and each entered monastic life. Eventually he became the spiritual father of the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, where, as a clairvoyant staretz, he also confessed thousands of laity. He said, "I am the storage room where people's afflictions gather." In imitation of his patron saint, he prayed for a thousand nights on a rock before an icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov. He reposed in the Lord in 1949 and the Church of Russia glorified him in August of 2000. Thus his whole life as a monk was spent under Communist persecution.
Born in 1866, he married and had three children. In 1920, at the age of 54, he and his wife quietly separated and each entered monastic life. Eventually he became the spiritual father of the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, where, as a clairvoyant staretz, he also confessed thousands of laity. He said, "I am the storage room where people's afflictions gather." In imitation of his patron saint, he prayed for a thousand nights on a rock before an icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov. He reposed in the Lord in 1949 and the Church of Russia glorified him in August of 2000. Thus his whole life as a monk was spent under Communist persecution.
Welcome back to the Let's be friends Podcast. In this episode we have returning guest and friend Buck Johnson. Buck is the host of the podcast “Counterflow with Buck Johnson.” He is also a musician, firefighter, and Orthodox Christian. In this episode we are going to hear Buck's testimony of how he went from being an atheist to an Orthodox Christian.In our chat, we discuss many topics, including what an atheist really believes, waking up in 2020, recognizing there is a spiritual battle for our souls, the intense purification process of being a catechumen, falling away from faith even though you may have been brought up in the church, the craziness of megachurch culture, the importance of a spiritual father, drifting away from conspiracy and political culture, how the Saints are alive now, St. Seraphim of Sarov and Father Seraphim Rose, and how acquiring the spirit of peace may be the biggest counterflow move Buck has made.Want more Let's be friends? Join the Friendship MembershipWant to read my memoir Here Comes Trouble? It's available now Order your copy here www.karamosher.comFind Buck's podcast here Counterflow with Buck Johnson
This is the first episode of a six part book study over "Searching for and Maintaining Peace" by Fr. Jacques Philippe. I am joined by Katie Novitsky and Stefani Blackwell, and we go over the preface along with chapters 1-3 in pt. 1 of the book. We discuss how peace is essential if we want to serve and love others--namely, our families. This peace, as Fr. Jacques Philippe asserts, can only be found through Jesus Christ. Jesus, who knows us and loves us, will never abandon us to our anxieties, but if we come to Him and give our lives to Him, He will grant us never-ending peace. Join us next week for episode 2, where we will discuss part 1, chapters 4-7. Episode schedule: January 21st - preface, pt 1: ch 1-3 January 28th - pt. 1: ch 4-7 February 4th - pt. 2, ch 1-6 February 11th - pt. 2, ch 7-12 February 18th - pt. 2, ch 13-18 February 25th - pt. 3 Discussion Questions: 1. Coming into this book study, where in your life do you currently see peace? Where are you desiring more peace? 2. Share one quote from this section that was especially meaningful to you. 3. On pg. 8, Fr. Jacques tells about Saint Seraphin of Sarov, who brought multitudes toward him because of his peacefulness. Who in your life is an example of that same magnetic peacefulness? 4. Jesus says, “Without me you can do nothing.” How does that make you feel (cared for, powerless, defensive, empowered, etc.) and why do you think that is? 5. On pg. 6, it says that maintaining peace is “not an invitation to laziness and inaction,” but to act “under the impulse of the Holy Spirit… and not in a spirit of disquietude, agitation, or excessive hurry.” Describe a time when you've seen yourself act in either of these ways. 5. Ch. 3 reminds us that our life will be a “constant and sometimes painful battle” against temptation and sin. How can someone remain in peace if that is the truth? 6. Reflect on Hebrews 12:4-13. How does our negative view of discipline point to a “worldly” perspective? How can we shift our view to be more “heavenly” so that we may view discipline as a form of love?
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"Saint Seraphim was born in the town of Kursk in 1759. From tender childhood he was under the protection of the most holy Mother of God, who, when he was nine years old, appeared to him in a vision, and through her icon of Kursk, healed him from a grave sickness from which he had not been expected to recover. At the age of nineteen he entered the monastery of Sarov, where he amazed all with his obedience, his lofty asceticism, and his great humility. In 1780 the Saint was stricken with a sickness which he manfully endured for three years, until our Lady the Theotokos healed him, appearing to him with the Apostles Peter and John. He was tonsured a monk in 1786, being named for the holy Hieromartyr Seraphim, Bishop of Phanarion (Dec. 4), and was ordained deacon a year later. In his unquenchable love for God, he continually added labours to labours, increasing in virtue and prayer with titan strides. Once, during the Divine Liturgy of Holy and Great Thursday he was counted worthy of a vision of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who appeared encompassed by the heavenly hosts. After this dread vision, he gave himself over to greater labours. "In 1794, Saint Seraphim took up the solitary life in a cell in the forest. This period of extreme asceticism lasted some fifteen years, until 1810. It was at this time that he took upon himself one of the greatest feats of his life. Assailed with despondency and a storm of contrary thoughts raised by the enemy of our salvation, the Saint passed a thousand nights on a rock, continuing in prayer until God gave him complete victory over the enemy. On another occasion, he was assaulted by robbers, who broke his chest and his head with their blows, leaving him almost dead. Here again, he began to recover after an appearance of the most Holy Theotokos, who came to him with the Apostles Peter and John, and pointing to Saint Seraphim, uttered these awesome words, 'This is one of my kind.' "In 1810, at the age of fifty, weakened by his more than human struggles, Saint Seraphim returned to the monastery for the third part of his ascetical labours, in which he lived as a recluse, until 1825. For the first five years of his reclusion, he spoke to no one at all, and little is known of this period. After five years, he began receiving visitors little by little, giving counsel and consolation to ailing souls. In 1825, the most holy Theotokos appeared to the Saint and revealed to him that it was pleasing to God that he fully end his reclusion; from this time the number of people who came to see him grew daily. It was also at the command of the holy Virgin that he undertook the spiritual direction of the Diveyevo Convent. He healed bodily ailments, foretold things to come, brought hardened sinners to repentance, and saw clearly the secrets of the heart of those who came to him. Through his utter humility and childlike simplicity, his unrivalled ascetical travails, and his angel-like love for God, he ascended to the holiness and greatness of the ancient God-bearing Fathers and became, like Anthony for Egypt, the physician for the whole Russian land. In all, the most holy Theotokos appeared to him twelve times in his life. The last was on Annunciation, 1831, to announce to him that he would soon enter into his rest. She appeared to him accompanied by twelve virgins martyrs and monastic saints with Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Theologian. With a body ailing and broken from innumerable hardships, and an unspotted soul shining with the light of Heaven, the Saint lived less than two years after this, falling asleep in peace on January 2, 1833, chanting Paschal hymns. On the night of his repose, the righteous Philaret of the Glinsk Hermitage beheld his soul ascending to Heaven in light. Because of the universal testimony to the singular holiness of his life, and the seas of miracles that he performed both in life and after death, his veneration quickly spread beyond the boundaries of the Russian Empire to every corner of the earth. See also July 19." (Great Horologion) July 19 is the commemoration of the uncovering of St Seraphim's holy relics, which was attended by Tsar Nicholas II. Saint Seraphim's life became a perpetual celebration of Pascha: in his later years he dressed in a white garment, greeted everyone, regardless of the season, with "Christ is Risen!" and chanted the Pascha service every day of the year
"Saint Seraphim was born in the town of Kursk in 1759. From tender childhood he was under the protection of the most holy Mother of God, who, when he was nine years old, appeared to him in a vision, and through her icon of Kursk, healed him from a grave sickness from which he had not been expected to recover. At the age of nineteen he entered the monastery of Sarov, where he amazed all with his obedience, his lofty asceticism, and his great humility. In 1780 the Saint was stricken with a sickness which he manfully endured for three years, until our Lady the Theotokos healed him, appearing to him with the Apostles Peter and John. He was tonsured a monk in 1786, being named for the holy Hieromartyr Seraphim, Bishop of Phanarion (Dec. 4), and was ordained deacon a year later. In his unquenchable love for God, he continually added labours to labours, increasing in virtue and prayer with titan strides. Once, during the Divine Liturgy of Holy and Great Thursday he was counted worthy of a vision of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who appeared encompassed by the heavenly hosts. After this dread vision, he gave himself over to greater labours. "In 1794, Saint Seraphim took up the solitary life in a cell in the forest. This period of extreme asceticism lasted some fifteen years, until 1810. It was at this time that he took upon himself one of the greatest feats of his life. Assailed with despondency and a storm of contrary thoughts raised by the enemy of our salvation, the Saint passed a thousand nights on a rock, continuing in prayer until God gave him complete victory over the enemy. On another occasion, he was assaulted by robbers, who broke his chest and his head with their blows, leaving him almost dead. Here again, he began to recover after an appearance of the most Holy Theotokos, who came to him with the Apostles Peter and John, and pointing to Saint Seraphim, uttered these awesome words, 'This is one of my kind.' "In 1810, at the age of fifty, weakened by his more than human struggles, Saint Seraphim returned to the monastery for the third part of his ascetical labours, in which he lived as a recluse, until 1825. For the first five years of his reclusion, he spoke to no one at all, and little is known of this period. After five years, he began receiving visitors little by little, giving counsel and consolation to ailing souls. In 1825, the most holy Theotokos appeared to the Saint and revealed to him that it was pleasing to God that he fully end his reclusion; from this time the number of people who came to see him grew daily. It was also at the command of the holy Virgin that he undertook the spiritual direction of the Diveyevo Convent. He healed bodily ailments, foretold things to come, brought hardened sinners to repentance, and saw clearly the secrets of the heart of those who came to him. Through his utter humility and childlike simplicity, his unrivalled ascetical travails, and his angel-like love for God, he ascended to the holiness and greatness of the ancient God-bearing Fathers and became, like Anthony for Egypt, the physician for the whole Russian land. In all, the most holy Theotokos appeared to him twelve times in his life. The last was on Annunciation, 1831, to announce to him that he would soon enter into his rest. She appeared to him accompanied by twelve virgins martyrs and monastic saints with Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Theologian. With a body ailing and broken from innumerable hardships, and an unspotted soul shining with the light of Heaven, the Saint lived less than two years after this, falling asleep in peace on January 2, 1833, chanting Paschal hymns. On the night of his repose, the righteous Philaret of the Glinsk Hermitage beheld his soul ascending to Heaven in light. Because of the universal testimony to the singular holiness of his life, and the seas of miracles that he performed both in life and after death, his veneration quickly spread beyond the boundaries of the Russian Empire to every corner of the earth. See also July 19." (Great Horologion) July 19 is the commemoration of the uncovering of St Seraphim's holy relics, which was attended by Tsar Nicholas II. Saint Seraphim's life became a perpetual celebration of Pascha: in his later years he dressed in a white garment, greeted everyone, regardless of the season, with "Christ is Risen!" and chanted the Pascha service every day of the year
Here's a special re-release of a classic episode as we celebrate Holy Nativity! Elissa Bjeletich Davis and Kristina Wenger tell about St. Seraphim of Sarov.
Here's a special re-release of a classic episode as we celebrate Holy Nativity! Elissa Bjeletich Davis and Kristina Wenger tell about St. Seraphim of Sarov.
Joi, Ianuarie 2 - Inaintepraznuirea Botezului Domnului; Sf. Silvestru, Episcopul Romei; Sf. Serghie; Sf. Serafim de Sarov
Though he has not been glorified by the Church, Fr Lazarus was a pioneer and exemplar of Orthodoxy in the West. He was born in England in 1902. In his early manhood he moved to western Canada, where he worked as a farm laborer for several years. While working in Alberta, he sensed a call to become a missionary and went to an English missionary college for five years. Sad to say, our sources are unclear about how he came to the Orthodox faith from this unlikely beginning. But in 1934 he spent seven weeks on Mt Athos, then lived as a monk in Yugoslavia. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Theophan (Russian Orthodox Church Abroad), then sent to Palestine to serve the Russian Mission in Jerusalem. In 1948, the new State of Israel gave the Mission's property to the Soviet Union and the mission was left dispossessed. Fr Lazarus served as priest to the Russian Convent in Aïn Karim and Transjordan, then was sent to India in 1952, where he helped in Orthodox missionary work for twenty years. Several of his books and translations, such as his biography/study of St Seraphim of Sarov, were written while he lived in India. While there, he met Mother Gavrilia of Greece, whose beautiful biography Ascetic of Love includes good descriptions of him during his life in India. Though very strict in his Orthodoxy, he was flexible in externals: in India he wore a white rather than a black cassock, because black clothing had offensive connotations to the Indian people. In 1972 Fr Lazarus was called to Greece, then in 1974 to Australia, where he served for nine years. In 1983 he moved to California in answer to call from Fr Peter Gillquist to assist members of the former 'Evangelical Orthodox Church' in their move to Orthodoxy. In 1989 he moved to Alaska, where he continued this work. He reposed in Eagle River, Alaska in 1992. Following is an excerpt from an account of his last days by members of his community in Eagle River: "Father always signed his name with TWA, "Traveling With Angels". A few days before his death, after battling cancer many years, faithfully using the Jesus Prayer as the medicine for his affliction, the Archangel Michael appeared to help him. His final journey homeward had begun, TWA... 'the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.' (2 Timothy 4: 6-8)."
Though he has not been glorified by the Church, Fr Lazarus was a pioneer and exemplar of Orthodoxy in the West. He was born in England in 1902. In his early manhood he moved to western Canada, where he worked as a farm laborer for several years. While working in Alberta, he sensed a call to become a missionary and went to an English missionary college for five years. Sad to say, our sources are unclear about how he came to the Orthodox faith from this unlikely beginning. But in 1934 he spent seven weeks on Mt Athos, then lived as a monk in Yugoslavia. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Theophan (Russian Orthodox Church Abroad), then sent to Palestine to serve the Russian Mission in Jerusalem. In 1948, the new State of Israel gave the Mission's property to the Soviet Union and the mission was left dispossessed. Fr Lazarus served as priest to the Russian Convent in Aïn Karim and Transjordan, then was sent to India in 1952, where he helped in Orthodox missionary work for twenty years. Several of his books and translations, such as his biography/study of St Seraphim of Sarov, were written while he lived in India. While there, he met Mother Gavrilia of Greece, whose beautiful biography Ascetic of Love includes good descriptions of him during his life in India. Though very strict in his Orthodoxy, he was flexible in externals: in India he wore a white rather than a black cassock, because black clothing had offensive connotations to the Indian people. In 1972 Fr Lazarus was called to Greece, then in 1974 to Australia, where he served for nine years. In 1983 he moved to California in answer to call from Fr Peter Gillquist to assist members of the former 'Evangelical Orthodox Church' in their move to Orthodoxy. In 1989 he moved to Alaska, where he continued this work. He reposed in Eagle River, Alaska in 1992. Following is an excerpt from an account of his last days by members of his community in Eagle River: "Father always signed his name with TWA, "Traveling With Angels". A few days before his death, after battling cancer many years, faithfully using the Jesus Prayer as the medicine for his affliction, the Archangel Michael appeared to help him. His final journey homeward had begun, TWA... 'the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.' (2 Timothy 4: 6-8)."
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Vineri, Iulie 19 - Cuvioasa Macrina, sora Sf. Vasile cel Mare ; Cuviosul Serafim din Sarov; Cuviosii Dia si Teodor;
As many celebrate the USA's Independence Day, Presvytera Melanie reflects on the societal ideal of independence, examined through the lens of Trinitarian relationship and interdependence. How do families raising children with disabilities strike a balance in encouraging their children's independence, while being at peace with, and understanding where, extra supports are needed? How independent is any human being, truly? Saints Seraphim of Sarov and Theodore of Tobolsk help answer these questions.
As many celebrate the USA's Independence Day, Presvytera Melanie reflects on the societal ideal of independence, examined through the lens of Trinitarian relationship and interdependence. How do families raising children with disabilities strike a balance in encouraging their children's independence, while being at peace with, and understanding where, extra supports are needed? How independent is any human being, truly? Saints Seraphim of Sarov and Theodore of Tobolsk help answer these questions.
Today's True Weird Stuff - Secret City Sarov is a town in Russia that no longer exists...officially, that is. In the 1940s, Sarov was removed from all unclassified maps, and the entire town was transformed into a center for research and development of nuclear weapons. Dozens of cities like these popped up in the Soviet Union at the time, as Stalin led the charge to bolster their nuclear weapons program. But strict rules and harsh conditions meant...sometimes mistakes were made.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
For May, we're diving into Searching for and Maintaining Peace by Fr. Jacques Phillipe. God is a God of peace. He does not speak and does not operate except in peace, not in trouble and agitation. Let us remember the experience fo the prophet Elijah of Horeb: God was not in the hurricane, nore the earthquake, nor in the fire, but in the whsiper of a gentle breeze. It is an invitation to act, even to act considerably sometimes, but under the impulse of the Holy Spirit, which is a gentle and peaceful spirit. Only one who possesses this interior peace can efficaciously help his neighbor. "Acquire interior peace and a multitude will find its salvation through you," said Saint Seraphim of Sarov.
SHARE this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ministry-of-the-word-uk — LINKS for all our podcasts: https://anchor.fm/orthodox-christian-teaching — A CONFERENCE HOMILY of Metr. Anthony Bloom of Sourozh, of blessed memory.
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Born in 1866, he married and had three children. In 1920, at the age of 54, he and his wife quietly separated and each entered monastic life. Eventually he became the spiritual father of the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, where, as a clairvoyant staretz, he also confessed thousands of laity. He said, "I am the storage room where people's afflictions gather." In imitation of his patron saint, he prayed for a thousand nights on a rock before an icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov. He reposed in the Lord in 1949 and the Church of Russia glorified him in August of 2000. Thus his whole life as a monk was spent under Communist persecution.
Born in 1866, he married and had three children. In 1920, at the age of 54, he and his wife quietly separated and each entered monastic life. Eventually he became the spiritual father of the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, where, as a clairvoyant staretz, he also confessed thousands of laity. He said, "I am the storage room where people's afflictions gather." In imitation of his patron saint, he prayed for a thousand nights on a rock before an icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov. He reposed in the Lord in 1949 and the Church of Russia glorified him in August of 2000. Thus his whole life as a monk was spent under Communist persecution.
Born in 1866, he married and had three children. In 1920, at the age of 54, he and his wife quietly separated and each entered monastic life. Eventually he became the spiritual father of the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, where, as a clairvoyant staretz, he also confessed thousands of laity. He said, "I am the storage room where people's afflictions gather." In imitation of his patron saint, he prayed for a thousand nights on a rock before an icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov. He reposed in the Lord in 1949 and the Church of Russia glorified him in August of 2000. Thus his whole life as a monk was spent under Communist persecution.
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'If riches increase, set not your heart on them."* When opportunities come, when all the doors are thrown open, because of how you've opened yourself to Grace, set not your heart on them. Keep your heart Here. Remembering that God is your provider, not what He has turned into, what he seems to become. The riches don't provide, the opportunities don't provide, they appear because of Him. Because of This... that you're hearing in abundance, that you're feeling in abundance. It's always Here, and when you live out from this, you'll always Have. I Love you, Nik ******God is afoot! I'm writing, and working on something BIG (and very useful) for your practice! I'll share #ListenerFavorite episodes until I return with new ones in Spring! Look out for announcements soon! Support the show: ▶▶https://www.patreon.com/goodmornings __________________________________________ Today's Quotes: "Lead me to the rock that is higher than I."* -Psalm 61:2 "There is really only one problem, distraction. And therefore only one solutions, mindfulness." -Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche "My most frequent complaint toward my partner or loved one reveals my greatest emotional need, not their greatest flaw." -Anonymous via @Mikefoster2000 "Forgive them, all of your thems. The more thems you can forgive, the lighter you'll feel." - via IG @Mikefoster2000 "Ask yourself: where am I Answer: here Ask yourself: what time is it? Answer:Now Say it until you can hear it." -Ram Dass "In a conversation between St. Seraphim of Sarov and Motovilov in the middle of a cold and snowy forest, the latter asked the saint, "How can I discern for myself the true manifestation of the Spirit of God in me?" The old St. Seraphim firmly took Motovilov by the shoulder and said, "We are both in the Spirit of God now, my dear.Why don't you look at me?" Motovilov replied, "| cannot look, Father, because your eyes are flashing like lightning. Your face has become brighter than the sun, and my eyes ache with pain."St. Seraphim said, "Don't be alarmed, your God-lovingness! Now you yourself have become as bright as I am. You are now in the fullness of the Spirit of God yourself; otherwise you would not be able to see me as I am." -via IG @annapolozicons "Stop focusing on the forms and focus on what's inside." -Rumi
Saints du jour 2024-01-14 Saint Séraphim de Sarov by Radio Maria France
"Saint Seraphim was born in the town of Kursk in 1759. From tender childhood he was under the protection of the most holy Mother of God, who, when he was nine years old, appeared to him in a vision, and through her icon of Kursk, healed him from a grave sickness from which he had not been expected to recover. At the age of nineteen he entered the monastery of Sarov, where he amazed all with his obedience, his lofty asceticism, and his great humility. In 1780 the Saint was stricken with a sickness which he manfully endured for three years, until our Lady the Theotokos healed him, appearing to him with the Apostles Peter and John. He was tonsured a monk in 1786, being named for the holy Hieromartyr Seraphim, Bishop of Phanarion (Dec. 4), and was ordained deacon a year later. In his unquenchable love for God, he continually added labours to labours, increasing in virtue and prayer with titan strides. Once, during the Divine Liturgy of Holy and Great Thursday he was counted worthy of a vision of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who appeared encompassed by the heavenly hosts. After this dread vision, he gave himself over to greater labours. "In 1794, Saint Seraphim took up the solitary life in a cell in the forest. This period of extreme asceticism lasted some fifteen years, until 1810. It was at this time that he took upon himself one of the greatest feats of his life. Assailed with despondency and a storm of contrary thoughts raised by the enemy of our salvation, the Saint passed a thousand nights on a rock, continuing in prayer until God gave him complete victory over the enemy. On another occasion, he was assaulted by robbers, who broke his chest and his head with their blows, leaving him almost dead. Here again, he began to recover after an appearance of the most Holy Theotokos, who came to him with the Apostles Peter and John, and pointing to Saint Seraphim, uttered these awesome words, 'This is one of my kind.' "In 1810, at the age of fifty, weakened by his more than human struggles, Saint Seraphim returned to the monastery for the third part of his ascetical labours, in which he lived as a recluse, until 1825. For the first five years of his reclusion, he spoke to no one at all, and little is known of this period. After five years, he began receiving visitors little by little, giving counsel and consolation to ailing souls. In 1825, the most holy Theotokos appeared to the Saint and revealed to him that it was pleasing to God that he fully end his reclusion; from this time the number of people who came to see him grew daily. It was also at the command of the holy Virgin that he undertook the spiritual direction of the Diveyevo Convent. He healed bodily ailments, foretold things to come, brought hardened sinners to repentance, and saw clearly the secrets of the heart of those who came to him. Through his utter humility and childlike simplicity, his unrivalled ascetical travails, and his angel-like love for God, he ascended to the holiness and greatness of the ancient God-bearing Fathers and became, like Anthony for Egypt, the physician for the whole Russian land. In all, the most holy Theotokos appeared to him twelve times in his life. The last was on Annunciation, 1831, to announce to him that he would soon enter into his rest. She appeared to him accompanied by twelve virgins martyrs and monastic saints with Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Theologian. With a body ailing and broken from innumerable hardships, and an unspotted soul shining with the light of Heaven, the Saint lived less than two years after this, falling asleep in peace on January 2, 1833, chanting Paschal hymns. On the night of his repose, the righteous Philaret of the Glinsk Hermitage beheld his soul ascending to Heaven in light. Because of the universal testimony to the singular holiness of his life, and the seas of miracles that he performed both in life and after death, his veneration quickly spread beyond the boundaries of the Russian Empire to every corner of the earth. See also July 19." (Great Horologion) July 19 is the commemoration of the uncovering of St Seraphim's holy relics, which was attended by Tsar Nicholas II. Saint Seraphim's life became a perpetual celebration of Pascha: in his later years he dressed in a white garment, greeted everyone, regardless of the season, with "Christ is Risen!" and chanted the Pascha service every day of the year
"Saint Seraphim was born in the town of Kursk in 1759. From tender childhood he was under the protection of the most holy Mother of God, who, when he was nine years old, appeared to him in a vision, and through her icon of Kursk, healed him from a grave sickness from which he had not been expected to recover. At the age of nineteen he entered the monastery of Sarov, where he amazed all with his obedience, his lofty asceticism, and his great humility. In 1780 the Saint was stricken with a sickness which he manfully endured for three years, until our Lady the Theotokos healed him, appearing to him with the Apostles Peter and John. He was tonsured a monk in 1786, being named for the holy Hieromartyr Seraphim, Bishop of Phanarion (Dec. 4), and was ordained deacon a year later. In his unquenchable love for God, he continually added labours to labours, increasing in virtue and prayer with titan strides. Once, during the Divine Liturgy of Holy and Great Thursday he was counted worthy of a vision of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who appeared encompassed by the heavenly hosts. After this dread vision, he gave himself over to greater labours. "In 1794, Saint Seraphim took up the solitary life in a cell in the forest. This period of extreme asceticism lasted some fifteen years, until 1810. It was at this time that he took upon himself one of the greatest feats of his life. Assailed with despondency and a storm of contrary thoughts raised by the enemy of our salvation, the Saint passed a thousand nights on a rock, continuing in prayer until God gave him complete victory over the enemy. On another occasion, he was assaulted by robbers, who broke his chest and his head with their blows, leaving him almost dead. Here again, he began to recover after an appearance of the most Holy Theotokos, who came to him with the Apostles Peter and John, and pointing to Saint Seraphim, uttered these awesome words, 'This is one of my kind.' "In 1810, at the age of fifty, weakened by his more than human struggles, Saint Seraphim returned to the monastery for the third part of his ascetical labours, in which he lived as a recluse, until 1825. For the first five years of his reclusion, he spoke to no one at all, and little is known of this period. After five years, he began receiving visitors little by little, giving counsel and consolation to ailing souls. In 1825, the most holy Theotokos appeared to the Saint and revealed to him that it was pleasing to God that he fully end his reclusion; from this time the number of people who came to see him grew daily. It was also at the command of the holy Virgin that he undertook the spiritual direction of the Diveyevo Convent. He healed bodily ailments, foretold things to come, brought hardened sinners to repentance, and saw clearly the secrets of the heart of those who came to him. Through his utter humility and childlike simplicity, his unrivalled ascetical travails, and his angel-like love for God, he ascended to the holiness and greatness of the ancient God-bearing Fathers and became, like Anthony for Egypt, the physician for the whole Russian land. In all, the most holy Theotokos appeared to him twelve times in his life. The last was on Annunciation, 1831, to announce to him that he would soon enter into his rest. She appeared to him accompanied by twelve virgins martyrs and monastic saints with Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Theologian. With a body ailing and broken from innumerable hardships, and an unspotted soul shining with the light of Heaven, the Saint lived less than two years after this, falling asleep in peace on January 2, 1833, chanting Paschal hymns. On the night of his repose, the righteous Philaret of the Glinsk Hermitage beheld his soul ascending to Heaven in light. Because of the universal testimony to the singular holiness of his life, and the seas of miracles that he performed both in life and after death, his veneration quickly spread beyond the boundaries of the Russian Empire to every corner of the earth. See also July 19." (Great Horologion) July 19 is the commemoration of the uncovering of St Seraphim's holy relics, which was attended by Tsar Nicholas II. Saint Seraphim's life became a perpetual celebration of Pascha: in his later years he dressed in a white garment, greeted everyone, regardless of the season, with "Christ is Risen!" and chanted the Pascha service every day of the year
"Saint Seraphim was born in the town of Kursk in 1759. From tender childhood he was under the protection of the most holy Mother of God, who, when he was nine years old, appeared to him in a vision, and through her icon of Kursk, healed him from a grave sickness from which he had not been expected to recover. At the age of nineteen he entered the monastery of Sarov, where he amazed all with his obedience, his lofty asceticism, and his great humility. In 1780 the Saint was stricken with a sickness which he manfully endured for three years, until our Lady the Theotokos healed him, appearing to him with the Apostles Peter and John. He was tonsured a monk in 1786, being named for the holy Hieromartyr Seraphim, Bishop of Phanarion (Dec. 4), and was ordained deacon a year later. In his unquenchable love for God, he continually added labours to labours, increasing in virtue and prayer with titan strides. Once, during the Divine Liturgy of Holy and Great Thursday he was counted worthy of a vision of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who appeared encompassed by the heavenly hosts. After this dread vision, he gave himself over to greater labours. "In 1794, Saint Seraphim took up the solitary life in a cell in the forest. This period of extreme asceticism lasted some fifteen years, until 1810. It was at this time that he took upon himself one of the greatest feats of his life. Assailed with despondency and a storm of contrary thoughts raised by the enemy of our salvation, the Saint passed a thousand nights on a rock, continuing in prayer until God gave him complete victory over the enemy. On another occasion, he was assaulted by robbers, who broke his chest and his head with their blows, leaving him almost dead. Here again, he began to recover after an appearance of the most Holy Theotokos, who came to him with the Apostles Peter and John, and pointing to Saint Seraphim, uttered these awesome words, 'This is one of my kind.' "In 1810, at the age of fifty, weakened by his more than human struggles, Saint Seraphim returned to the monastery for the third part of his ascetical labours, in which he lived as a recluse, until 1825. For the first five years of his reclusion, he spoke to no one at all, and little is known of this period. After five years, he began receiving visitors little by little, giving counsel and consolation to ailing souls. In 1825, the most holy Theotokos appeared to the Saint and revealed to him that it was pleasing to God that he fully end his reclusion; from this time the number of people who came to see him grew daily. It was also at the command of the holy Virgin that he undertook the spiritual direction of the Diveyevo Convent. He healed bodily ailments, foretold things to come, brought hardened sinners to repentance, and saw clearly the secrets of the heart of those who came to him. Through his utter humility and childlike simplicity, his unrivalled ascetical travails, and his angel-like love for God, he ascended to the holiness and greatness of the ancient God-bearing Fathers and became, like Anthony for Egypt, the physician for the whole Russian land. In all, the most holy Theotokos appeared to him twelve times in his life. The last was on Annunciation, 1831, to announce to him that he would soon enter into his rest. She appeared to him accompanied by twelve virgins martyrs and monastic saints with Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Theologian. With a body ailing and broken from innumerable hardships, and an unspotted soul shining with the light of Heaven, the Saint lived less than two years after this, falling asleep in peace on January 2, 1833, chanting Paschal hymns. On the night of his repose, the righteous Philaret of the Glinsk Hermitage beheld his soul ascending to Heaven in light. Because of the universal testimony to the singular holiness of his life, and the seas of miracles that he performed both in life and after death, his veneration quickly spread beyond the boundaries of the Russian Empire to every corner of the earth. See also July 19." (Great Horologion) July 19 is the commemoration of the uncovering of St Seraphim's holy relics, which was attended by Tsar Nicholas II. Saint Seraphim's life became a perpetual celebration of Pascha: in his later years he dressed in a white garment, greeted everyone, regardless of the season, with "Christ is Risen!" and chanted the Pascha service every day of the year
Though he has not been glorified by the Church, Fr Lazarus was a pioneer and exemplar of Orthodoxy in the West. He was born in England in 1902. In his early manhood he moved to western Canada, where he worked as a farm laborer for several years. While working in Alberta, he sensed a call to become a missionary and went to an English missionary college for five years. Sad to say, our sources are unclear about how he came to the Orthodox faith from this unlikely beginning. But in 1934 he spent seven weeks on Mt Athos, then lived as a monk in Yugoslavia. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Theophan (Russian Orthodox Church Abroad), then sent to Palestine to serve the Russian Mission in Jerusalem. In 1948, the new State of Israel gave the Mission's property to the Soviet Union and the mission was left dispossessed. Fr Lazarus served as priest to the Russian Convent in Aïn Karim and Transjordan, then was sent to India in 1952, where he helped in Orthodox missionary work for twenty years. Several of his books and translations, such as his biography/study of St Seraphim of Sarov, were written while he lived in India. While there, he met Mother Gavrilia of Greece, whose beautiful biography Ascetic of Love includes good descriptions of him during his life in India. Though very strict in his Orthodoxy, he was flexible in externals: in India he wore a white rather than a black cassock, because black clothing had offensive connotations to the Indian people. In 1972 Fr Lazarus was called to Greece, then in 1974 to Australia, where he served for nine years. In 1983 he moved to California in answer to call from Fr Peter Gillquist to assist members of the former 'Evangelical Orthodox Church' in their move to Orthodoxy. In 1989 he moved to Alaska, where he continued this work. He reposed in Eagle River, Alaska in 1992. Following is an excerpt from an account of his last days by members of his community in Eagle River: "Father always signed his name with TWA, "Traveling With Angels". A few days before his death, after battling cancer many years, faithfully using the Jesus Prayer as the medicine for his affliction, the Archangel Michael appeared to help him. His final journey homeward had begun, TWA... 'the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.' (2 Timothy 4: 6-8)."
Though he has not been glorified by the Church, Fr Lazarus was a pioneer and exemplar of Orthodoxy in the West. He was born in England in 1902. In his early manhood he moved to western Canada, where he worked as a farm laborer for several years. While working in Alberta, he sensed a call to become a missionary and went to an English missionary college for five years. Sad to say, our sources are unclear about how he came to the Orthodox faith from this unlikely beginning. But in 1934 he spent seven weeks on Mt Athos, then lived as a monk in Yugoslavia. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Theophan (Russian Orthodox Church Abroad), then sent to Palestine to serve the Russian Mission in Jerusalem. In 1948, the new State of Israel gave the Mission's property to the Soviet Union and the mission was left dispossessed. Fr Lazarus served as priest to the Russian Convent in Aïn Karim and Transjordan, then was sent to India in 1952, where he helped in Orthodox missionary work for twenty years. Several of his books and translations, such as his biography/study of St Seraphim of Sarov, were written while he lived in India. While there, he met Mother Gavrilia of Greece, whose beautiful biography Ascetic of Love includes good descriptions of him during his life in India. Though very strict in his Orthodoxy, he was flexible in externals: in India he wore a white rather than a black cassock, because black clothing had offensive connotations to the Indian people. In 1972 Fr Lazarus was called to Greece, then in 1974 to Australia, where he served for nine years. In 1983 he moved to California in answer to call from Fr Peter Gillquist to assist members of the former 'Evangelical Orthodox Church' in their move to Orthodoxy. In 1989 he moved to Alaska, where he continued this work. He reposed in Eagle River, Alaska in 1992. Following is an excerpt from an account of his last days by members of his community in Eagle River: "Father always signed his name with TWA, "Traveling With Angels". A few days before his death, after battling cancer many years, faithfully using the Jesus Prayer as the medicine for his affliction, the Archangel Michael appeared to help him. His final journey homeward had begun, TWA... 'the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.' (2 Timothy 4: 6-8)."
Grammy-nominated Kirtan singer and GoOD Friend, Krishna Das (KD) joins Nikki to talk about the first mantra he was given by Ram Dass (that saved him from a car accident), his experiences meeting Indian saints like Anandamayi Ma, his personal spiritual practice (chanting versus meditating), one of his favorite Christian Saints, St. Seraphim of Sarov, his time in India with Neem Karoli Baba aka Maharajji, and his time now, still living in the boundless presence that is his Guru. They cover how to manage doubt, how to grow in Faith, and KD shares the mantra he turns to when maya/illusion gets very loud. Finally, KD leads a the beautiful 'Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram' chant. Watch on Youtube! राम राम राम राम राम राम राम राम राम राम राम "The words of these chants are called the divine names and they come from a place that's deeper than our hearts and our thoughts, deeper than the mind. And so as we sing them they turn us towards ourselves, into ourselves. They bring us in, and as we offer ourselves into the experience, the experience changes us. These chants have no meaning other than the experience that we have by doing them. They come from the Hindu tradition, but it's not about being a Hindu, or believing anything in advance. It's just about doing it, and experiencing. Nothing to join, you just sit down and sing. The repetition of the holy names reveals a presence hidden within the heart. Something begins to happen that's very disturbing - we get happy." - Krishna Das The 'Sri Ram' Mantra is known as the victory mantra. 'One gets success and victory in all his ventures who chants this mantra. It is a miracle mantra which can make the impossible tasks possible.' Sri - Honorific title to show respect and reverence Ram - the Light of your Soul Jai - Victory or Triumph Victory to the Light within me. "Just take Ram's name and all desires will be fulfilled." - Maharajji to Dada in Miracle of Love "Q: Maharajji, what can I do to gain pure love for Ram? -- Maharajji's Answer: You will get pure love for Ram by the blessings of Christ. Hanuman and Christ are one. They are the same." - Miracle of Love "Standing or sitting, eating or lying down, if one chants 'Ram, Ram' constantly, one will be able to gain His Grace, there is no doubt about it. A person, who is anxious to gain God's Grace, can experiment on this and test its truth. He, who constantly chants 'Ram, Ram', will become Ram." -Sri Sitaramdas Omkarath Aditya Hridiyam Mantra Meditation with Ram Dass - "All evil vanishes from life for him who keeps the Sun in his heart." "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2: 8-10 Chants of a Lifetime by Krishna Das राम राम राम राम राम राम राम राम राम राम राम To claim your free gift, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, screenshot it and send it to me at nikki@curlynikki.com! Join us on Patreon to support the show, and tune into and participate in live video Q&As with me! Support the show राम राम राम राम राम राम राम राम राम राम राम
You read about Me. You share about Me. Sometimes you even believe in Me, but you still don't trust Me.What you call faith is often just distraction, from the appearances,with other appearances. True Faith is when you face the problem, the appearance, and all you see is My Face, all you hear is My Voice, all you feel is My Promise.That's the difference between yesterday and today-LOVE, sustained. "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His Love endures forever."-Psalm 136:1 ********Today's Practice:Instead of Where's Waldo, keep asking, 'where's Jesus'? Where's the Christ?And keep seeing It shining through appearances, as appearances, as you. I Love you, Niknikki@curlynikki.comPlease help me keep the show ad free + Get Merch!▶▶https://www.patreon.com/goodmornings________________________________Today's Quotes: "God, may I focus more on what I'm trying to get to, than on where I'm trying to get away from."-@Dayal.gauranga"Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, That my thoughts may all be holy.Act in me, O Holy Spirit, That my work, too, may be holy.Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, That I love but what is holy.Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, To defend all that is holy.Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, That I always may be holy."-St. Augustine"When the Lord God, the Holy Spirit, visits us [he says] and comes to us in the fuliness of his ineffable goodness, then we have to stop praying and refrain from prayer itself. The praying soul speaks and offers up words, but at the descent of the Holy Spirit it must be utterly silent so that it can clearly hear and truly understand the words of eternal life which the Spirit condescends to bring to it."-St Seraphim of Sarov "The will of God will never take you where the grace of God won't sustain you."-Unknown "We live in a Christ-soaked universe that is pulling us into the abundant, resurrection life of Jesus. We can either let go and trust the process or we can resist and suffer. Either way, death is the inevitable entryway into resurrection life."-Brandy Anderson"Just because something hasn't manifested, doesn't mean it can't. You are not miles away from what you want, and you are not years, or hours, or months, or weeks away from what you want. You're only vibrations away from what you want."- Esther Hicks"If you can recognize and accept your pain without running away from it, you will discover that although pain is there, joy can also be there at the same time."- Thich Nhat Hanh, No Mud, No Lotus"God desires to give us everything we just have to be empty enough to receive it."-Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Support the show
'If riches increase, set not your heart on them."*When opportunities come, when all the doors are thrown open, because of how you've opened yourself to Grace,set not your heart on them. Keep your heart Here. Remembering that God is your provider, not what He has turned into, what he seems to become. The riches don't provide, the opportunities don't provide,they appear because of Him. Because of This...that you're hearing in abundance,that you're feeling in abundance.It's always Here, and when you live out from this,you'll always Have. I Love you, Niknikki@curlynikki.com ▶▶LOVE CHARGING STATION- Free Forum and Live Chat at 6:30am EThttps://forum.curlynikki.com/▶▶Join our new forum, GoOD Friends and enter the Mala Giveaway!Support the show:▶▶https://www.patreon.com/goodmornings__________________________________________Today's Quotes:"Lead me to the rock that is higher than I."*-Psalm 61:2"There is really only one problem, distraction. And therefore only one solutions, mindfulness."-Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche "My most frequent complaint toward my partner or loved one reveals my greatest emotional need, not their greatest flaw."-Anonymous via @Mikefoster2000"Forgive them, all of your thems. The more thems you can forgive,the lighter you'll feel."- via IG @Mikefoster2000"Ask yourself: where am I Answer: hereAsk yourself: what time is it?Answer:NowSay it until you can hear it."-Ram Dass"In a conversation between St. Seraphim of Sarov and Motovilov in the middle of a cold and snowy forest, the latter asked the saint, "How can I discern for myself the true manifestation of the Spirit of God in me?" The old St. Seraphim firmly took Motovilov by the shoulder and said, "We are both in the Spirit of God now, my dear.Why don't you look at me?" Motovilov replied, "| cannot look, Father, because your eyes are flashing like lightning. Your face has become brighter than the sun, and my eyes ache with pain."St. Seraphim said, "Don't be alarmed, your God-lovingness! Now you yourself have become as bright as I am. You are now in the fullness of the Spirit of God yourself; otherwise you would not be able to see me as I am."-via IG @annapolozicons"Stop focusing on the forms and focus on what's inside."-Rumi Support the show
You are what the Christ has transformed Itself into. It's become you, me, your neighbors, your friends, your coworkers, and your enemies. And this year we're loving ALL of our Self-- remembering that where ourselves appear,only He is.Only Joy is,right behind the person, right behind their eyes, beyond those hands,look down at them...Right beyond those hands, is His hand,stretched out still.* Stilling you,enough to feel His Grace ,as that breath that you just took. And that one. And that one. Continue this way.This is The Way. *Isaiah 9:12, 17I Love you, Niknikki@curlynikki.com ▶▶LOVE CHARGING STATION- Free Forum and Live Chat https://forum.curlynikki.com/▶▶Join our new forum, GoOD Friends and enter the Mala Giveaway!Support the show:▶▶https://www.patreon.com/goodmornings__________________________________________Today's Quotes:"That breath you just took is by God's grace."- @NeilVermillion via IG"Be in love with existence! And let love be like breathing. Breathe in, breathe out, but let it be love coming in, going out. By and by with each breath you have to create that magic of Love. "-Osho"[The Self]...might equally be called the "God within us".-Carl Jung"There is no 'other'.The truth is that you are always alone.Even when you are with others,you are essentially alone. However, it is a beautiful aloneness; it is not psychological.You are not alone anymore as a person.You are alone as everything--as the only One.All the various 'others' are only forms of the single Self."-Mooji"Who are youwhen youare justwith you?"- @sophia.joan.short via IG"This is important. But let me spin this for a moment also and ask you something:How often do you see someone's open hand and hold it?Look at your hands for a moment. There are people out there whose hand yours will fit into. That's why you have hands - to hold the hands of others, to lift up others by their hands, to place things in the hands of others, to work with your hands alongside others. May God give us eyes to see the open hands; and the willingness to hold them as long as they need."- Mark Gladman @monkindocs via IG"And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.The Lord will guide you always;he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."-Isaiah 58:10-11"…ContinueTo dare to love deeplyAnd risk everythingFor the good thingContinueTo floatHappily in the sea of infinite substanceWhich set aside riches for youBefore you had a nameContinueAnd by doing soYou and your work Will be able to continueEternally"- excerpt from , 'Continue' by Maya Angelou "Your life is to be put out for others.... if you keep it to yourself, it rots...Put your life out there for people & Divinity.."-Sri Sri Ravi Shankar"Acquire the spirit of peace and a thousand souls around you will be saved."-St. Seraphim of Sarov"Our self (I) is what Maharaj transformed himself into leaving behind the image of what is the medium which holds us together with a string of Love. His Love is inifite just like His presence."-Bodhi_Jeevatma via IGSupport the show
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