CATECHESIS & DAILY INSPIRATION
The Venerable Hilarion the Great, of Gaza (371)
Reflections and Daily Inspiration
“The more you pray to God in times of sorrow, the sooner you will feel His sweet consolation.”

— St. Anthony of Optina
TODAY'S RECOMMENDATION
Raising Sons: A Webinar Guide

‘Boys will be boys!’ This enduring adage has been understood to imply that a certain amount of mischief from boys is perfectly acceptable and, to an extent, to be ignored. It is crucial, however, for parents to validate the emotions of their sons while maintaining necessary boundaries for healthy growth. “Raising Our Sons: Understanding the Inner Life of Boys” is a webinar presentation from George Papageorge (MA, MFT) that encourages parents to carefully listen to the hearts of their sons to establish better connections. By doing so, it will help structure the emotional maturation boys require—but often miss out on—during critical phases of their development.

To watch the webinar and access the guide visit: bit.ly/raising-sons
FROM THE NEWS
“THE DIAGNOSIS SOUNDED LIKE A VERDICT, BUT A MIRACLE AWAITED US IN THE LAVRA”
A true story


Alexei, a talented young man, a teacher and post-graduate student of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, was completing his thesis on economic theory when he suddenly understood that he was unable to read. Though he had had vision problems since school, the doctors now detected progressive optic nerve atrophy in both eyes—his large, green almond-shaped eyes with very light, fluffy lashes. The optic nerves had become inflamed at the crossing, deep in the brain, in the area where neurosurgical interventions are only possible in extreme cases because after such kinds of surgery patients have to learn to speak and do other basic things from scratch.
SAINT OF THE DAY

NOVEMBER 3 / OCTOBER 21
The Venerable Hilarion the Great, of Gaza (371)

Like a rose growing among thorns, this great saint was born of pagan parents in the village of Tabatha near Gaza in Palestine. His parents sent him to study in Alexandria, where the gifted youngster quickly assimilated both secular learning and spiritual wisdom. Coming to know the Lord Christ, he was baptized, and desired to dedicate himself completely to the service of the Lord. With this de- sire in his heart, Hilarion visited St. Anthony in the desert and became his disciple. Then he returned to his home- land and lived a life of asceticism near Maiuma, at Gaza. Demons tried to terrify him in various ways, but by prayer to God and the sign of the Cross he al- ways overcame them and drove them away. Many lovers of the spiritual life gathered around him. Hilarion became for Palestine what St. Anthony was for Egypt. A divine teacher, a strict ascetic and a wonderful miracle-worker, Hi- larion was revered not only by Christians but also by pagans. However, fear- ing the praise of men and tearfully lamenting, “Woe is me, I have received my reward on earth!” he fled from place to place, to hide from men and remain alone with his soul and with God. Thus, he traveled and lived in Egypt, Sicily, Dalmatia and finally in Cyprus, where his life of great labor came to an end in about the year 371, at the age of eighty. The miracle- working relics of St. Hilarion were translated to Palestine by his disciple Hesychius, and were placed in the monastery founded by him.