Heal the soul.

HEALING THE SOUL  

FAVORITE SPRING  

I remember my grandmother’s stories about her childhood very well. These stories seemed like fascinating fairy tales to me — they were wrapped in charm and the light of bygone times.  

Once, my grandmother told me about her sister, who suffered from eczema. No matter where they went for treatment — it was all useless. They had to constantly treat her hands, bandaging them. Then they learned about a spring that was considered holy. And just then, a religious procession was planned from the village church. The whole family went. With hymns. At the head of the procession was the rector of the church.  

They approached the spring. Father Gavriil placed Lyudmilochka (that was my grandmother’s sister’s name) right by the water. He began to read the Gospel. Then he interrupted the prayer service and advised the girl to put her hands in the water and hold them there. He said: “Lyudushka, pray all the while.” And so she did. After that, her hands began to heal again and they went home.  

In the evening, when they removed the bandages to change the dressing, they were amazed to see clean, pink little hands. Not a trace of eczema, not a scar. The illness never returned.  

I also have a special relationship with holy springs. I can’t share any particularly vivid personal stories, but what I do know is that the water from such springs makes me feel better, as if I’m filled with strength — I always notice this.  

That’s why I want to tell you about my favorite spring in honor of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God. It is located in the Leningrad Region, not far from the village of Pillovo. Here, people can be healed of various illnesses. At the spring, there is a covered font. And there’s also a stone which, according to legend, bears the footprints of the Mother of God.  

The water in the spring is not just tasty, but beneficial. That’s why people come with their problems, sorrows, and fears. The miraculous water especially helps with diseases of the legs and eyes.  

On holidays, there are always many people at the spring. But if you come on a weekday, there’s no one there. Silence and the grace of a prayerful place.  

A chapel was built over the stone with the footprints of the Mother of God. It would seem the stone is sheltered from rain and snow, but the footprints of the Mother of God on the stone are always filled with water.  

Where does the liquid come from? It’s a mystery! Local residents say that there is always water in the footprints on the stone, no matter how much you scoop out. They take it for washing. They say the water is healing. So I collect it too. Now I wash with it, waiting for healing, I hope and I believe!  

Ilko I.E., Kingisepp  

HOPE AND FAITH GIVE STRENGTH  

Our faith in God, the Most Holy Mother of God, and the holy fathers gives a person everything: love, hope itself, faith itself. In every family, in our difficult times, all of this is needed.  

Prayer, short prayer, helps everyone to believe in themselves, in their loved ones, in children, a husband in his wife, and a wife in her husband. And the Gospel, that wise and complex book, answers all the questions of today. Only you must read it thoughtfully, not once or twice, but every day.  

Every person needs to have a special Orthodox calendar, where the chapters of the Gospel and the Apostles are indicated for each day. Such a calendar can be bought both in a bookstore and in a church. Once you read it, and it’s not much, your head becomes clear, and your soul is at peace.  

I write all this because I am 82 years old, I have lived a long, difficult life, I understand people, I have learned to forgive, but to humble myself I succeed, it seems, not always — I try. I wish every person goodness, faith in God, the Most Holy Mother of God, the holy fathers. I wish everyone health, well-being, peace.  

I wish prosperity to the newspaper. Your newspaper teaches people to understand pain and the joy of every reader.  

Krestyaninova Evgeniya, Belarus, Brest Region (address in the editorial office)  

NO MEDICINE NEEDED  

When I read about miracles, I think, “How wonderful that such things happen.” And here we ourselves came into contact with a miracle.  

My husband suddenly developed inflammation and an old scar on his arm became suppurated (a trace from a surgical operation he had long ago). We had just arrived at the dacha at that time, starting to tidy up the garden. We wondered: should we return home right away to see a doctor, or wait a day?  

I had oil with me, which I had acquired shortly before this event at the chapel of Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg. I was in St. Petersburg for several days for work, and one evening I went to the chapel. Of course, oil can be bought at any church shop, but I wanted to get it specifically from the saint’s chapel. And since then, the treasure has always been with me — in my bag.  

But let’s return to the story at the dacha. I moistened a cotton pad with the oil and applied it to my husband’s inflamed scar, securing it with a bandage. I prayed to Blessed Xenia.  

The next day we decided to change the dressing. We peeled off the bandage, removed the cotton, and on my husband’s arm — no pus, only redness. We did another treatment with the oil, then another. As a result, the inflammation almost disappeared.  

And then my husband smeared the scar with the miraculous oil for about a couple more months. And the scar became unnoticeable. My husband lived with this scar for almost 20 years, and now you can’t even tell which arm had the mark!  

Zhukova I.Yu., Aprelevka