الخمسة المبروكة

The Blessed Five

In the early twentieth century, there was a lady living with her husband, who worked as a railway worker in the United States of America. They resided in a small room with their children, and she always thanked God for His blessings and never complained about their modest means.

This small family was shaken to its core by a very difficult event. While the head of the family was working on the railway, a collision between two trains occurred, claiming the life of this worker among others. The wife was deeply saddened, but she turned to God and went to the church, and her many prayers were answered with peace from God. She stood by her children with God’s strength, comforting them after their father’s death.

The lady tried to earn a little money to raise her children, but the cost of living was beyond her means, leading to financial crises and debts. She cried out to God to save her and her children.

God sent this poor woman a peculiar idea: to appeal to the “king of the railway” in America, Mr. “Cornelius Vanderbilt,” hoping he would take pity on her and help her with some money to meet some of her and her children’s needs. When she prayed, God gave her peace and courage to meet this great man.

Driven only by her faith in God’s supporting hand, the woman went to this important meeting. God facilitated her meeting with Mr. Vanderbilt. She asked him for a $5 aid to pay her small room’s rent, explaining that her husband worked on the railway and died while working in a train collision. “Mr. Vanderbilt” was very moved by her story and promised to look into the matter, asking her to return in a few days.

Mr. Vanderbilt verified her story and what happened to her husband, then gave her a check to withdraw from the bank as aid from the railway. She thanked him and left, joyfully going to the bank, rejoicing in God’s work with her.

At the bank, the clerk gave her five hundred dollars instead of five, to which she responded:

“This is a mistake because the check is only for five dollars.”

The clerk confirmed that the check was indeed for five hundred dollars.

The woman did not accept the money from the bank and returned the check to Mr. Vanderbilt telling him: “There was a mistake, sir, in the check. It was written for the amount of five hundred dollars and not five dollars as I had requested.”

Mr. Vanderbilt was amazed at the honesty of this very poor woman and said to her:

“Indeed, this check was written in error.”

He took the check from her and wrote another check for five thousand dollars, telling her:

“This amount is the least that can be offered to you for your honesty.”

The woman was astonished. Mr. Vanderbilt continued, telling her:

“This amount is for your and your children’s needs. God blesses you for your honesty.”

The woman went on her way, thanking God, holding fast to her honesty. She taught her children to live honestly in their lives, regardless of their financial circumstances because God blesses the honest.

Thank God for the little you have, ask Him for your needs, and trust that He is responsible for managing your life. He will not leave you no matter how difficult things get, for the One who feeds the birds of the sky will surely take care of your needs.

No matter how difficult your situation, be honest for the sake of God, even if everyone around you is not. Hold onto your honesty, and God, who sees you, will reward you and give you many blessings for your honesty.

From: Your Supervision Surpasses Our Understanding – Part Seven.

I will never leave you nor forsake you

Father Joseph was a priest in the city of Ascalon, one of the oldest cities in the world, home to the temple of the goddess of beauty among the Greeks and the birthplace of Herod the Great, which was completely destroyed in 1270 AD. This city was filled with corruption, and Fr. Joseph strived with all his heart for the city’s residents to experience a life of chastity and purity.

He told them many stories about the life of purity, including the following story: A merchant borrowed money from his friends to trade merchandise. During his sea voyage, a strong storm blew, causing him to lose all his merchandise and barely survive. When he returned to the city, his creditors seized him and demanded he repay the debt. Since he had no possessions with which to repay his debts, they took his house and threw him in jail. But the merchant was still thankful to God even for the hardship that befell him. His wife began to beg, and when the enemy of the good tempted them, he instilled in one of the city’s rich men a lustful desire towards the wife. He offered to pay off a significant portion of their debts in exchange for sinning with her.

Hearing this, the wife immediately fled to her husband in jail. The husband saw her sad and broken-spirited and thought she was upset because of what had befallen them. But she told him that she accepts every hardship with gratitude from the Hand of God, but what saddened her was an attempt by one of the rich to seduce her into sin. They sat together, comforting each other with the word of God and bade each other farewell. The husband said to her, “I have faith and confidence in our God that He will never neglect or leave us.”

And amazingly, one of the prisoners approached this imprisoned merchant and said to him, “I heard what your wife said to you.” He showed how he was very moved by her appreciation for a life of purity, no matter the cost. Then he told him how he was touched by the consolation they found in the word of God and by their prayers, so he decided to repent and return to God before leaving this world. The prisoner continued his conversation and told him that he knows that in a few days, he will be sentenced to death. Then he asked the merchant to tell his wife about a treasure he had buried in a certain place and to urge her to dig up the treasure. He requested that she give fifty dinars to someone he had stolen from and use the rest to pay off their debts so the merchant would be freed from prison, and they could pray for him.

Father Joseph recounted this story, commenting on the blessings of purity and clinging to the promises of God.

Dictionary of Church Fathers and Saints

A verse to memorize:

✝”He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:6).