At the choir rehearsal, the choirmaster, driven to complete despair by the false singing of the basses, stops the choir. He removes his glasses, wipes them with a handkerchief for a long time, and says quietly, with deep pain:

– Brothers... I fully understand that you are singing not by notes, but exclusively by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. But could you perhaps ask the Lord for the grace to stay at least within one key?

“Father,” he whispers, “this week I have partaken of nothing but air and prayer. I feel my spirit rising, while my flesh is wasting away!”

The elder looked at him, sighed, and said:

“It is good, my child, that the flesh is wasting away. But take care that your humility does not waste away along with it. After all, the devil does not eat at all either, yet he has not become an angel because of it. Go and have a bowl of soup – otherwise they won’t admit you to paradise by weight; you’ll be too light for eternity!”

Real life. A little girl in church is watching a wedding. She whispers to her mother:

– Mom, why is the bride all in white?
– Because today is the happiest day of her life!
– Oh… now I understand why the groom is all in black.

An Orthodox girl prays:

– I am not asking for myself, Lord, please send my mother a very good son-in-law…

Despondency is when you long to take your soul out for a change of scenery, and it dislikes every view.

Just when you’re about to pray, “Lord, crush the bones of sinners!” – your own bones start aching so bad you don’t know what to say anymore.

– Father, I think the smear campaign against the UOC was ordered from the top.
– No, son. It wasn’t from the top. It came from the bottom. Rock bottom.