They wanted you to dirty yourself first
They put me on a table and one of them, Țurcanu (who was the devil, who was demon possessed and was executed by them) told me, “I don’t care what you believe, what you have in your mind. What I want is for you to compromise”, because he himself compromised. So this is the devil… They didn’t want to kill us. The devil doesn’t want to fill heaven with martyrs. He wants you to die after you compromise, to lose your heavenly life and this life too. That was the point of this Satanic torturing in Pitești. They didn’t want you to die. They wanted you to dirty yourself first, so the people would not consider you a hero or a martyr, and then you could die anywhere. This, I saw, is how Satan works.
God’s judgment is hidden from men
If you see a man commit a sin just before he dies, do not pass judgment on him, because God’s judgment is hidden from men. It has happened that men have sinned greatly in the open but have done greater good deeds in secret, so that those who would look down on them have been fooled, with smoke in their eyes instead of sunlight. So listen to me, all you accountants of other people’s faults, listen well; for if, as is certain, it is true that “you will be judged with the same measure you yourselves judge” (Mt. 7:2), then whatever bodily or spiritual sin we ascribe to our neighbor we will surely fall into ourselves.
St. John Climacus
Step 10, on Slander, p. 156 The Ladder of Divine Ascent Partly reworded by AH. PermalinkCANON 50: On the Sickness of Gambling
From now on, no one, whether a clergyman or a layman, is permitted to gamble (or to play dice, etc.). If any clergyman is caught doing this, let him be deposed from office; but if he is a layman, let him be excommunicated.
Interpretation by St. Nikodemos: These Fathers forbid everyone to gamble, in other words, to play dice, cards, checkers, or any other such games, whether a clergyman or a layman. Any clergyman who plays these games after the publication of this Canon is to be deposed from office; but if he is a layman, he is to be excommunicated. (See also Ap. Canon XLII)
Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite
102 Canons of the Holy and Sixth Ecumenical Council, p. 350. The Rudder Paraphrased by AH. PermalinkQ. If Jesus were walking among us today, do you think He would ever wear sunglasses?
…Sunglasses can create a subtle barrier, making eye contact harder and possibly signaling detachment. Given Jesus’ emphasis on connection, presence, and transparency, it’s reasonable to think He’d avoid anything—even something small—that might interfere with truly seeing and being seen.
Why God allows some to become rich but not others
Why does God allow wicked men to prosper, some of whom became rich by theft, some by inheritance, and some by violence? We answer: Because God does not reward according to our merits now, but in the future.
How does this happen? Well, someone says, “Give me my reward now, and I won’t look for it later”. Here is why you don’t receive it even though you seek it: If the earthly enjoyments you try to obtain so eagerly in this present life are unattainable (and you would even prefer to enjoy them now than in the future), tell me, what would you do if you had nothing but pleasures all the time? Thus, by keeping them out of your reach, God is showing you that these worldly things are not important, that they are neutral, because if they were important, He wouldn’t let such men obtain them.
You will agree that it doesn’t matter whether one is tall or short, or dark or light complected, nor if one is rich or poor. Tell me, aren’t the essentials bestowed equally on everyone? For example, the capacity to acquire virtues and the distribution of spiritual gifts? If you correctly understood God’s charity, you wouldn’t complain about not having the worldly things, because you would be enjoying the best gifts [the spiritual] equally with His fellow servants; and since you would know that the spiritual gifts are distributed equally, you wouldn’t desire to have the most worldly ones.
It’s like there is a servant somewhere enjoying more than enough of his master’s food and clothing and lodging and all the other necessities, which all the servants have an equal share of, and he prides himself in having longer fingernails or more hair on his head; this is what it’s like when a Christian is elated to have those worldly things, things he will enjoy for but a short time. This is why God puts those things far away from us, so that we might extinguish this burning desire for them and transfer our attachment from them to heaven.
Saint John Chrysostom
Homily 1 on First Timothy 1:1-2 Ante and Post Nicene Fathers Series (www.newadvent.org/fathers) www.newadvent.org/fathers/230601.htm. Paraphrased by A.H. PermalinkCandidates for sainthood
We should see every criminal as a candidate for sainthood, to become holy.
Blessed Fr. Roman Braga
From an interview transcription on www.orthodoxwitness.org Beyond Torture The full video interview PermalinkDo you rejoice when you hear someone say ‘I believe’? Not so fast.
Peter says: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Mt. 16:16; Mk. 8:29; Lk. 9:21); and the demons also say, “We know who you are, the Son of God, the Holy One of God” (cf. Mk. 1:24; Lk. 4:34). Peter said the one and the demons the other; the words are the same but the intention is not. And how is it clear that Peter said this with love? Because a Christian’s confession of faith is with love. The demon confesses faith without love. How without love? Peter said it to embrace Christ; the demons said it for Christ to go away, for at other times they had also said: “We know who you are, the Son of God,” (Mk. 1:25) and “What do You want with us? Have you come here to torment us before the time [of our eternal punishment]?” (Mt. 8:29; cf. Mk. 5:7; Lk. 8:28) So then, it is one thing to confess Christ in order to embrace Him and another thing to confess Christ to drive Him away. So you see, then, in what sense the Lord says, Whoever believes; it is one’s own personal belief, and not a belief held in common by all. So then, brethren, don’t let them get away with saying to you, “We also believe.” This is why I gave you the instance with the demons, so that you don’t rejoice if you hear someone say, “I believe”, but to examine the man and his actions.
Saint Augustine of Hippo
Homily 10 on the First Epistle of John, 5:1-3 Ante and Post Nicene Fathers Series (www.newadvent.org/fathers) Paraphrased by A.H. PermalinkLet’s pay attention to our own faults
Say to him [to the one who slanders]: Let’s pay attention to our own faults, and how we’ll have to give an account of our own transgressions; and let’s turn this sort of curiosity and meddlesome behavior upon our own life. What excuse will we find or what pardon could we possibly receive if we never look at our own faults [to try and correct them], but instead [waste all of our time] inquisitively pry[ing] into those of others? And just as it is dishonorable and very shameful to peer inside someone else’s home to see what is inside while one is passing by, it is the lowest of low to look for faults in someone else’s life. But what is even more ridiculous is that those who do this regularly (while completely neglecting to look at how they themselves live), after they have discovered some secret faults and tell someone, they beg him and insist that he not tell anyone else, thus making it quite clear that they have done something deserving of a rebuke. For if you have to beg him not to tell anyone, how much more improper was it for you to tell him these things in the first place. While only you knew, no harm was done; but now, after spilling the beans, you become nervous that it will become known to others. If you don’t want everyone to know, don’t tell anyone; but if you have spilled the beans, you are wasting your time making him swear not to tell anyone.
Saint John Chrysostom
Homilies on the Statutes, Homily 3. Ante and Post Nicene Fathers Series (www.newadvent.org/fathers) Paraphrased by A.H. PermalinkPersecution
To be constantly persecuted, with brief intervals in between, is a characteristic of the Faith and of the Orthodox Church. This persecution existed throughout all of history, either from without or from within; externally from unbelievers and internally from heretics.
Saint Nikolai Velimirović
April 27 The Prologue of Ochrid http://prologue.orthodox.cn/April27.htm PermalinkNo one is on my side
Indeed, when I look around, I seem to have no one on my side. I can only pray that I might be found in the number of those seven-thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal (1 Kg 19:18; Rom. 11:4). I know that those who are persecuting all of us right now seek my life; but this will not lessen the zeal which I owe to the churches of God one bit.
Saint Basil the Great
Letter 156, To the Presbyter Evagrius Ante and Post Nicene Fathers Series (www.newadvent.org/fathers) Revised by Kevin Knight for New Advent, further by A.H. PermalinkA man will listen to a friend
…When you see your friend doing countless evil things, do you prefer his favor over his well-being? Do not, I beg you. No evidence proves true friendship more than when we never overlook the sins of our friends. Did you see them doing something wrong? Try to correct them. For example, are they guilty of covetousness? Call them out. Did you see them being wronged? Stand up and defend them. It is not they who are benefited most, but you. This is why we are friends, that we might be of use to each other. A man will be more open to hear what a friend has to say than someone on the street. He might be suspicious of others, even a teacher, but not a friend.
Saint John Chrysostom
Homily 18 on St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians Ante and Post Nicene Fathers Series (www.newadvent.org/fathers) (paraphrased by A.H.) PermalinkBooks will be your guides
In the last years, evil and heresy will have spread so much that the faithful will not find a priest and shepherd to protect them from error, and to advise them to salvation. The faithful will not be able to receive safe instructions from people, but their other guide will be the texts of the Holy Fathers. Especially in this age, each believer will be responsible for the whole pleroma of the Church…
The real enemy of Christianity is not Atheism
Men became atheists in order to be saved from God, hiding their head and closing their eyes like an ostrich. Atheism, my brothers, is the negation of the Roman Catholic and Protestant God. Atheism is not our real enemy. The real enemy is that falsified and distorted “Christianity”.
