Matrona, our holy and wonderworking Mother, was from Volissos, located on the northwest coast of the island of Chios. Her parents, Anna and Leon Sepsinias, were devout Christians, adorned with every Christian ethic and good work. Moreover, they were quite wealthy and distinguished. They had seven daughters, and Mary (later named Matrona) was one of them. Mary had been named in honor of the Ever-Virgin and Theotokos, the blameless Bride of Christ.
Read moreKnow the Faith (Part V)
Martin Luther whose express mission was to get back to the Holy Scripture, was the first to espouse and define a doctrine of justification by faith alone. As he himself attests, "This one and firm rock, which we all the doctrine of justification, is the chief article of the whole Christian doctrine."
Read moreThe Three Ways of Attention and Prayers (Part IV)
If now you wish to learn the way to achieve this, I will tell you.
There are three things you should preserve above anything else: disinterest in everything reasonable or unreasonable and vain, in other words detachment from anything; then clear conscience in everything, as we have said, by no causing its judgment for anything; then finally complete peace, having your mind detached from anything earthly. When you have all these, find a quiet place, sit lone in a corner, shut the door (Matthew 6:6) and cease your mind from anything ephemeral and vain...try to find the place of your heart...having practiced this method of attention...you will find--greater wonder! The mind, through struggle, will have reached the place of the heart, where you will see the things you have never seen or known. There you will see the heaven which is within you, inside the heart, you will find yourself enlightened, full of all grace and virtue.
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