A Word from Father Valentin Mordasov

Praying for those who offended us is something we need to do. It is not easy to teach ourselves not to be angry - it requires time and effort. If you are stop yourself from getting angry, you would do yourself much good. Holy fathers would ask the Lord to send them the kind of people who would offend and insult them in order to remain humble. And how are you going to learn not to get angry without getting offended by other people?

Good Advice to the Faithful

Before you ask forgiveness from the Lord, you must forgive first... That is in the Lords Prayer. Silence is good for the soul. When we talk, it becomes difficut sometimes to not judge or engage in gossip. But there is also silence which comes when someone is angry and that is bad. In order to protect your lips from evil, Apostle Augustine would do as follows: he kept a sign above his table that said "If you like to judge others and gossip about them behind their back, you have no place here." Always remember a rule of spiritual life: if you get annoyed or irritated by a bad habit or a weakness of another person and will judge him for that, you will also ended up doing the same and will suffer from the same weakness. Whoever does not seek from God a heart that is contrite and humble, he will not receive any benefit from his works. ~ Author unknown