Quotes of Christian saints – part 1

I’m thinking about starting on this blog a series of articles that contain nothing but quotes of Christian saints, quotes that I find helpful and that I hope will impact you in positive ways.

Without further ado, let’s start with this Instagram post from https://www.instagram.com/gottabesaints:

  1. “In the twilight of life, God will not judge us on our earthly possessions and human successes, but on how well we have loved.” ~ Saint John of the Cross
  2. “The guest of our soul knows our misery; He comes to find an empty tent within us – that is all He asks.” ~ Saint Therese of Lisieux
  3. “Often the Lord allows a fall so that the soul will be more humble, and when it returns to the right way of acting and grows in self-knowledge, it advances further in the service of our Lord, as we see among many saints.” ~ Saint Theresa de Avila
  4. “May my life be a continual prayer, a long act of love.” ~ Saint Elizabeth of The Trinity
  5. “Never give up prayer, and should you find dryness and difficulty, persevere in it for this very reason. God often desires to see what love your soul has, and love is not tried by ease and satisfaction.” ~ Saint John of the Cross
  6. “If I did not simply live from one moment to another, it would be impossible for me to be patient, but I only look at the present, I forget the past, and I take good care not to forestall the future.” ~ Saint Therese of Lisieux
  7. “Leave it all to God and leave your interests in His hands. He knows what is fitting for us.” ~ Saint Theresa de Avila
  8. “Here in Carmel, there is nothing, nothing but God. He is all, He suffices, and one lives for Him alone and for His glory… this life of prayer and contemplation, interceding always for His people before the Face of God.” ~ Saint Elizabeth of The Trinity

Interesting info about Orthodox prayer ropes

Today I want to present to you two YouTube channels, related to Orthodox Christianity, whose content I hope will bless your life.

The first one is Fr. Zacharias Thornbury‘s, who is the presiding priest at the Saint Katherine Greek Orthodox Church in Melbourne, Florida, USA.

Although he doesn’t upload often, the videos he has uploaded so far contain sound Orthodox theology and are very interesting. Fr. Thornbury tries to appeal to the younger audience through the use of modern terminology, catchy titles and thumbnails.

One particular video I’d like to share in this article is the one in which he explains how to make an Orthodox prayer rope (also called a Komboskini):

How to Tie an Orthodox Prayer Rope Komboskini, Chotki – Fr. Zacharias Thornbury

In the video description, he added a PDF file that contains a detailed, step-by-step tutorial with photos. I highly recommend you check it out.

The second channel I want to introduce you to is called Orthodox Handmade. Although still small, the channel is very promising, and caught my attention through the following video:

Orthodox Prayer Ropes **WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW** – Orthodox Handmade

This episode (which is the third one of their podcast) is jam-packed with useful information on Orthodox prayer ropes. From materials, symbolism and usage, to knot counts and points on colour, in this video you can find answers to many of the questions you might have about Orthodox prayer ropes.

I also encourage you to subscribe to the channels and check out their other content.

Let me know your thoughts on the topic of Orthodox prayer ropes and feel free to share any other sources that present information not covered in the above videos.

Jesus Christ – true God and true man

I invite you to check out this video from The Thomistic Institute YouTube channel. In it, Fr. Dominic Legge presents a summary of the historical beliefs about the nature of Jesus Christ, and explains what the official Catholic position is on the topic.

The video is part of a series called Aquinas 101, a project seeking to promote Catholic through through short video lessons, which can be found on their YouTube channel and their website: https://aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org/.

I found it very informative and I hope it will benefit you. I also invite you to subscribe to their YouTube channel and follow them on their social media sites.

Jesus Christ: True God and True Man w/ Fr. Dominic Legge, O.P. (Aquinas 101)

Orthodox Iconography vs Western Sacred Art (Fr. Maximos Constas)

In this interview, conducted at the conclusion of the 2022 Annual Patristic Nectar Conference, held at Saint Andrew Orthodox Christian Church, in Riverside California, Fr. Maximos Constas shares some insight on the differences between the Christian Orthodox iconography and the Western sacred art from the Catholic and Protestant Churches.

Traditional Iconography vs Western Sacred Art (Fr. Maximos Constas)

I invite you to share your thoughts on the similarities and the differences between the Orthodox iconography and the Western sacred art in the comments section.

20 Truths in the Battle with Porn Addiction – Pure Life Ministries

I want to share with you a YouTube video series that I think will come in helpful to those who want to quit porn and find freedom from porn addiction.

It was created by the Pure Life Ministries, an organization that – according to their channel description – exists to serve Christian individuals and organizations dealing with sexual sin throughout the world by providing biblically based counseling, teaching resources, and a public speaking ministry with the goal of leading Christians to victory over sexual sin through a deeper life in God.

To learn more about Pure Life Ministries, visit their website at https://www.purelifeministries.org.

1. There is a way out

2. Sexual sin is a liar

3. Sexual sin comes with a price

4. Go near the prostitute’s house and you will get burned

5. Sexual addiction is the epitome of insanity

6. Sexual addiction and the pleasure hormone

7. satan wants to plant a stronghold inside you

8. Lust begins in the heart

9. The fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom

10. The root of sexual addiction

11. A form of godliness won’t deliver you from sin

12. You must repent of sexual sin

13. Hedonism opens the door to pornography

14. Scripture will restructure a pornographic mind

15. Overcome temptation through a prayer life

16. Temptation is a winnable battle

17. The spirit of the world wants to seduce you

18. Failure isn’t defeat in battling sexual sin

19. Faith is the victory over sexual addiction

20. An obedient life is a life of blessing

I invite you to share your thoughts in the comments section.

Also, if you find these helpful, subscribe to Pure Life Ministries’ YouTube channel and follow them on their social media pages:

https://www.facebook.com/purelifeministries
https://twitter.com/purelifemin
https://www.instagram.com/purelifemin/
https://pinterest.com/purelifemin/

How does purification work?

In this video from Ascension Present’s YouTube channel, Fr. Mike Schmitz explains how God purifies us, what types of purification are there and what part do we play in this process. I invite you to check it out and let me know your opinions about it in the comment section.

Fr. Mike Schmitz – How does purification work?

Blessed Pascha (Orthodox Easter), 2022!

The Orthodox Churches that follow the Julian calendar (the Orthodox churches of Constantinople, Albania, Alexandria, Antioch, Bulgaria, Japan, Cyprus, Greece, America, and Romania) celebrate Easter (Pascha) today, on April 24th, 2022.

If you are interested in finding out more about the holiday, here are some articles from the previous years: 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Easter (Pascha) is a celebration of the resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, The Son of God, The Second Person of The Holy Trinity.

He is risen!

I wish you a joyous Easter celebration and a blessed year ahead!

And I leave you with this video on how Romanians celebrate Easter:

R&R Partners Bucharest – Orthodox Easter in Romania

Orchids and God’s sense of humor

In the following video, Fr. Mark Goring talks about how God’s sense of humor can be seen in the various shapes of His creation, a particular example being the different types of orchid flowers:

Orchids – The is a God – He has a sense of humor – Fr. Mark Goring

I invite you to watch the video, check out Fr. Goring’s YouTube channel and watch his other online videos for more interesting Catholic content.

See yourself as Jesus sees you

I invite you to watch this video from Ascension Presents’ YouTube channel. In it, Fr. Mark Toups, an experienced spiritual director, leads readers inward to invite the Lord to heal those areas where they need it most.

You are invited to imagine what it would be like if you could see yourself the way Jesus sees you. Even in the midst of our sins, struggles, and failures, Jesus looks upon us with love as His Beloved. All He asks for us is to meet His gaze and fall in love with Him in return.

Turn toward Jesus and let’s allow ourselves to be fully seen by Him no matter where we find ourselves in life. Be not afraid of standing before Jesus unhidden and allow God to clearly see and completely love you. God wants to give you more.

See yourself as Jesus sees you – Fr. Mark Toups

A Great Christian YouTube channel: Called to More (Fr. Columba Jordan)

The series of mini-articles in which I present YouTube channels that are related to the Christian faith and that have impacted me in a positive ways continues. Today’s article is about the channel Called to More.

The channel’s about page mentions that its aim is to form and encourage a generation of Catholics to #liveforheaven. “Called to More is a not-for-profit media apostolate based in Ireland. We create videos, articles, and a podcast for Catholics to deepen their relationship with Christ and His church.”

The earlier videos feature Fr. Mike Schmitz and Dr. Scott Hahn (among others), while the later videos constitute the series called “Little by little”, presented by Fr. Columba Jordan.

Tackling a wide variety of interesting topics related to the Catholic beliefs and Christianity in general, the Called to More YouTube channel can be of great help to everyone who is looking to learn a few things about improving their walk with God.

I invite you to subscribe to the Called to More YouTube channel, check out their website, their Facebook page, and let me know in the comments section what positive impact watching their videos has made in your life.