Many years to Hieromonk Parthenius on his name day!
A portrait of his heavenly patron, St. Parthenius of Chios, painted by the Monastery Workshop:
Fasting and the Immune System
An article in Tech Times dated June 7, 2014, presents a case for an unintended side-effect of fasting, namely the "re-generating" of stem cells.
"Damaged and older cells" were destroyed in the process. The article states that "This process is akin to recycling for the immune system."
The process is held to be particularly valuable for persons undergoing chemo-therapy.
The Tech Times article can be accessed here.
Orthodox Christians undertake fasting for its spiritual values, but given the Church's traditional inclusion of the body within our ascetic practices, it seems that the spiritual blessings derived from integral fasting are extensive indeed.
+Bishop Sergios
Dead Works and Good Desires: A Sermon for the Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt
A sermon preached at St. Silouan of Athos Chapel at St. Gregory of Sinai Monastery on April 6, 2014, by Hieromonk Parthenius, with the blessing of His Grace, Bishop Sergios of Portland, Igoumenos of the Monastery.
Epistle: Heb 9:11-14
Gospel: Mark 10:32-45
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Great Lent is drawing to a close. And as Great Lent is a struggle over a certain span of time, so too our lives. The span of life given us is a struggle, and does not last forever. Man does not go on living this life forever, for “it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgement.” [1] At the end of our lives, will we be disappointed when we realize we did not struggle hard enough? Last week, we heard of the Ladder of Divine Ascent. Will we be disappointed to realize that in climbing up the Ladder of Divine Ascent, we did not reach the heights we should have? When we ask ourselves those final, soul-searching questions, will we have a good answer?
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