by Vicki Hicks at Nazareth House Apostolate
- “I will leave in the midst of thee and afflicted and poor people and they shall take refuge in the name of theLord” (Zeph. 3:12)
- “I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries” (Jer. 23:2).
- “Even so then, at this present time also there is a remnant” (Rom.11:5).
“Invoke the Name of the Lord God, that’s all we can do on our side until God responds and leaves us wondering in silence. But that moment of silence changes all sounds. After a certain time, we were embellished by misery and certitude grew.” – Seraphim (concerning our time in the Cave).
The hidden ones, the ocean invokers have a motto: “I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.” (Ps. 131:1) and their prayer is: “O God, do not remain quiet; do not be silent, O God, do not be still. For behold your enemies make an uproar and those who hate you have exalted themselves. They make shrewd plans against your people and con- spire together against your hidden ones.” (Ps. 83: 1-3). I conclude: The world seems empty and its significance is no longer apparent, but the hidden ones are fully significant. Beware, there are two ways to be deceived; one is to believe what isn’t hidden; the other is to refuse to accept what is. -Seraphim+
The seven youths of Ephesus: Maximilian, Malchius (who took the old coins to buy bread in Ephesus), Martinian, John, Dionysius, Constantine and Serapion, who lived in the mid-third century. During the reign of Emperor Decius (249-251) and upon persecution, the youths fled from the city and hid in a cave on Mt. Ochlon, where they passed their time in prayer, preparing for martyrdom. Learning where the youths were hidden, the emperor ordered the cave to be sealed with stones so that the Saints would perish from hunger and thirst.
The tale then transports us nearly two centuries to the reign of Emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450), when all persecutions against Christians ceased… having fallen asleep, the youths awake to a Christian Empire, unaware that they had been sleeping for almost 200 years.
The icon of “The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus” is used for the Redemptive Rosary to remind us that the Seven Redemptive Names of God lay waiting in the cave of our heart to be “awakened.” May God send His angel to roll the stone from the entrance of our heart that His Holy Name may come forth into our lives.