"The glory of God is a living person and the life of the person is the vision of God" (Saint Irenaeus).

Let no one think, my brethren Christians, that it is the duty only of priests and monks to pray without ceasing, and not of laymen. No, no; it is the duty of all of us Christians to remain always in prayer.

"But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him: nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Through the Apostolic Constitutions (Book VIII, ch. 42), the Church of Christ has received the tradition to make commemorations for the departed on the third, ninth, and fortieth days after their repose. Since many throughout the ages, because of untimely death in a faraway place, or other adverse circumstances, have died without being deemed worthy of the appointed memorial services, the divine Fathers, being so moved in their love for man, have decreed that a common memorial be made this day for all pious Orthodox Christians who have reposed from all ages past, so that those who did not have particular memorial services may be included in this common one for all. Also, the Church of Christ teaches us that alms (charity) should be given to the poor by the departed one's kinsmen as a memorial for him.

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this, you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming; and is now already in the world" (1 John 4:1-3).

There are conflicting ideas about happiness; some think it is a sum of earthly good things, a kind of social welfare package that makes a person's life comfortable and carefree. Each to his own, but nevertheless, in this case, you either got lucky and are happy, or you are left to drag out the pitiful existence of the luckless. This idea of happiness is primitive and over-simplified.