“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.”

Saint Mary and Saint Elizabeth both are great examples of humility and this was revealed when they met each other. Thus, we discovered the secret of their greatness, and the reason for one to deserve being the mother of the incarnate God, while the other being the mother of the greatest one born of women.

The annunciation of Archangel Gabriel to St. Mary for the birth of our Savior was a clear transition in the history of humanity. Through it, the divine incarnation started, and blessings has outpoured on mankind.  Therefore, the Church counts the Annunciation feast as the first major feast of the Lord, as it is indeed the first among all feasts.

This article will conclude some of the great teachings and spiritual experiences of the Russian Orthodox father, Seraphim of Sarov.

By the grace of the Lord, we will continue presenting some of the delightful teachings of father Seraphim, the Russian monk, who lived nearly two hundred years ago and was a great model for the fiery work of the Holy Spirit in the life of mankind.

Throughout the week I have been reading from a book about the life and sayings of Father Seraphim of Sarov, one of the monks of the Russian Orthodox Church in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century (1759-1833 AD). In fact, there is a great collection of spiritual experiences and teachings in his biography and sayings.  I thought of sharing the delight of these teachings with as many readers as possible. Therefore, I selected some excerpts of this book to present it in this article:

A happy marriage is the longing of every married couple. It is also a great focus of the church as a mother who embraces everyone and always prays that the houses of her children to be houses of prayer, houses of purity, houses of blessing, and houses that are filled with Love, Joy, and peace.

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) These are the words that our Lord Jesus wanted to implant in hearts of His disciples at the end of His mission on earth, so that the church becomes one heart and one spirit. Love is what keeps the unity of the church, like the nerves that connect the whole body to the head, and allow each member to feel one another.

The miracle of our Lord Jesus Christ when He raised the son of the widow of Nain is one that is only mentioned in the Gospel of St. Luke (Luke 7: 11-17). It is one of the three miracles regarding raising the dead mentioned in details in the Bible, along with raising the daughter of Jairus (Matthew 9, Mark 5, and Luke 8), and raising Lazarus (John 11).

This unique miracle took place at the beginning of the ministry of Jesus Christ on earth, and it is only mentioned in the Gospel of Saint Luke (Luke 5: 1-11). This miracle is full of magnificent meanings, let’s see some of them:

She grew up as a young woman in the second half of the fourth century in the city of Alexandria. When she was about thirteen yeas old, her father died, and her youthful energy burst out immersing herself in the worst form of sin and defilement. She indulged in obscene songs, lewd behavior, drunkenness, promiscuous dancing, fornication, and adultery to the lowest level of moral decay.

This is from the third Psalm, with which we pray Matins prayer everyday and it is one of the Psalms that consoles the soul. It was written by David the prophet through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He sang it while he was in difficult circumstances, when his son Absalom stirred up and rose against him to kill him and take the kingdom from him. However, David escaped from evil, and resorted to God in prayers, tears, and supplications, confident that Salvation is only in Him (2 Sam. 15-18). Here, we see the power of faith in God in such harsh situations.