To have special reverence towards some Saint,
the Saint must have spoken within him in one way or another.
Again
To have special reverence towards some Saint,
the Saint must have spoken within him in one way or another.
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who will describe something you may not have heard before!
who will describe something you may not have heard before!
Holy Great Martyr Barbara,
St. John of Damascus
Once, while her father was away from the city, she came down from the tower and, according to God's providence, met some Christian women who revealed the true Faith of Christ to her. Barbara's heart became inflamed with love for Christ the Lord. She ordered that a third window be cut open in the bath so that the three windows would represent the Holy Trinity. On one wall she traced a Cross with her finger, and the Cross etched itself deep in the stone as if cut by a chisel. A pool of water sprang forth from her footprints on the floor of the bath, which later gave healing of diseases to many.
Learning of his daughter's faith, Diascoros beat her severely and drove her from the tower. He pursued her in order to kill her, but a cliff opened up and hid Barbara from her brutal father. When she appeared again, her father brought her to Martianus, the magistrate, who handed her over for torture. They stripped the innocent Barbara and flogged her until her entire body was covered with blood and wounds, but the Lord Himself appeared to her in prison with His angels and healed her. A certain woman, Juliana, upon seeing this, desired martyrdom for herself. Both women were severely tortured and with mockery were led through the city. Their breasts were cut off and much blood flowed from them. They were finally led to the place of execution, where Diascoros himself slaughtered his daughter, and Juliana was slain by the soldiers. That same day, lightning struck the house of Diascoros, killing him and Martianus.
Saint Barbara suffered in the year 306. Her miracle-working relics rest in Kiev. Glorified in the Kingdom of Christ, she has appeared many times even in our own day, sometimes alone and sometimes in the company of the Most-holy Theotokos.
John was first the chief minister to Caliph Abdul-Malik and later a monk in the Monastery of St. Sava the Sanctified. Because of his ardent defense of the veneration of icons during the reign of the iconoclastic Emperor Leo the Isaurian, John was maligned by the emperor to the Caliph, who cut off his right hand. John fell down in prayer before the icon of the Most-holy Theotokos, and his hand was rejoined and miraculously healed. Seeing this miracle the Caliph repented, but John no longer desired to remain with him as a nobleman. Instead, he withdrew to a monastery, where, from the beginning, he was a model to the monks in humility, obedience and all the prescribed rules of monastic asceticism.
John composed the Funeral Hymns and compiled the Octoechos (The Book of Eight Tones), the Irmologion, the Menologion and the Paschal Canon, and he wrote many theological works of inspiration and profundity. A great monk, hymnographer, theologian and soldier for the truth of Christ, Damascene is numbered among the great Fathers of the Church. He entered peacefully into rest in about the year 776 at the age of 104.
Galatians 3:23-4:5
King James Version
23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
4 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Saint Mark 5:24-34
King James Version
24 And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.
25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
King James Version
23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
4 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Saint Mark 5:24-34
King James Version
24 And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.
25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
RELATIONSHIP WITH A SAINT
Saint Paisios the Athonite
To have special reverence towards some Saint, the Saint must have spoken within him in one way or another. Each, after some event which occurred through the help of a Saint, has a special love for that Saint. This event can be serious, or it can be simple. For example, because when I was young and I went to the Chapel of St. Barbara in Konitsa, I had great reverence towards St. Barbara. The Saint helped me in the army, when they took me to the radio operators, though I was illiterate, she helped me. And later she also helped me when I was in the hospital after surgery on my lungs. Then the doctors told me that, as soon as they cleaned the lungs, they would take away the chest tubes and the machines. And though they should have been removed in five days, twenty-five days had passed, and they were still there, and I suffered greatly.
Saturday December 3rd I was waiting for the doctors to free me from this martyrdom, but unfortunately, they did not appear. Sunday morning, which was the feast of St. Barbara, I said: "If the Saint were to help me, she would have helped me. The doctors left. Today, Sunday, they wouldn't come. Now, who would remove these?" I then said a few words of complaint: "I went to light the vigil lamps many times at the Chapel of the Saint, with oil I brought,. She couldn't remove these two tubes?" After a short time though, I said: "It appears that I saddened St. Barbara, and for this, she did not arrange that they be removed."
Immediately I heard a commotion. I said: "What's going on? Did something happen?" They said: "The doctors are coming". I don't know what convinced the director to tell his doctors early in the morning: "Go take out the tubes from the monk!" They entered the room and told me: "We have an order to take out the tubes."
Immediately I heard a commotion. I said: "What's going on? Did something happen?" They said: "The doctors are coming". I don't know what convinced the director to tell his doctors early in the morning: "Go take out the tubes from the monk!" They entered the room and told me: "We have an order to take out the tubes."
It appears that I guilted St. Barbara, because I said a few complaints! You must grumble a bit! But it is better to not grumble, to have nobility and not grumble.
Do you see how a Saint sometimes immediately gives what we seek, and sometimes gives it later? Sometimes they hearken to him who prays because he is in a good spiritual state, and other times, because he cries and grumbles like a small child.
Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!
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