Because their hands were so generous, the hand of God shielded them from every evil intent of men and demons. The generous hands of Zenόbios, which gave to the poor, were endowed by God with the gift of miracle-working, and Zenόbios healed the sick of every kind of infirmity merely by touching them. Zenόbios was appointed Bishop of Aegea.
During a persecution, the Prefect Lysias arrested him and said: "I offer you two choices: life or death; life if you worship the gods, or death if you do not.'' St. Zenόbios replied: "Life without Christ is not life but death, whereas death for the sake of Christ is not death but life.''
When Zenόbios was subjected to cruel tortures, Zenobίa came to the judge and said: "I also want to drink from this cup of suffering, and be crowned with that wreath.''
After being tortured in fire and in boiling pitch, both were beheaded with the sword in about the year 285. Thus this brother and sister took up their habitation in the Kingdom of the Immortal Christ the King.
4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
5 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
Saint Luke 11:14-23 KJV
11:14 And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.
15 But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.
16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.
17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.
18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.
19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.
20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.
21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:
22 But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.
23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.
Saint Theophan the Recluse
We are the creation of the God of all. Has He forgotten us or have we forgotten Him?
The Lord is on the Cross. Stand in front of Him in your thoughts and ponder, how would the Lord meet you once He comes down from the Cross? Keep thinking about this for some time, and your conscience will clearly tell you the truth.
Adam and Eve made a choice and reaped the result. The saint tells us how we can reverse it
The heart is like a sponge that has absorbed various liquids. Squeeze it and the liquid will come out. The pressures upon the heart are the life experiences and circumstances of this world, which can produce either good or evil depending on which part of the heart pressure is placed upon. Pay attention. Such thoughts can lead to a good level of self realization.
Faith is a requirement but the promise given
Learn about the teachings of the Orthodox Christian Church and hold onto them in your heart - and you will see the way to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Again, the choice is ours. Shall we refuse the Gift and be justified?
Knowing what is contained in the Holy Mysteries of the church, be a communicant of the Mysteries as often as possible, with faith and with the Holy Tradition of the church. Then the Divine power of God, will direct you to the Kingdom of Heaven.
ARISE MY SOUL
WHY ARE YOU SLEEPING?
YES ETERNAL BUT ...
Yes, we're eternal. It is our nature given to us by our Creator - The Holy Trinity, Who is beginningless and without end, yet so many people believe that we are product of anonymity or Mother Nature, driven mostly by superego (Freud), experience and instinct. If we affiliate ourselves more with corruptible attachments and passions than with Christ, we end up alienated from Him. Did He not say we must love Him with ALL our heart, mind and soul and love our neighbors as ourselves.
Q: Does God speak to all those He created, people, animals, the wind? 
Please note:
ABOUT HOMILIES
If, especially prior to prayers, we read, contemplate and reflect on the God-given guidance found in the testimony of the saints in homilies, we will find not only crucial clarity in scripture but also clarity of our spiritual status in our journey from transient darkness to the Eternal Light of the Holy Trinity.
If, especially prior to prayers, we read, contemplate and reflect on the God-given guidance found in the testimony of the saints in homilies, we will find not only crucial clarity in scripture but also clarity of our spiritual status in our journey from transient darkness to the Eternal Light of the Holy Trinity.
- The Ascetical Homilies and Vignette portions of the PARAGON will no longer be linked/archived to PARADISE NOW since one need only scroll down for past posts which include homilies and vignettes.
- When irregular sized fonts appear on the PARAGON, they are not always errors but often glitches created by Google.
- Texts in blue are the comments made by the creator of the PARAGON.
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