Orthodox Parables and Stories: Miracle on Epiphany Day

On the eve of Epiphany in 2000 in Belliori, a village near the town of Himara in the north of Epirus the priest came out of the car that brought him there and began preparing for the house (sprayed with holy water) blessings.

The village lies in the beautiful historic Himalayas, the road is rough and dangerous. The car was full of mud and rain.

The young priest, appointed only two months ago, came from Greece with three deacons to help him with the sexton, who carried with him all that was required for the activities of the priests in the surrounding villages and wherever needed.

Upon entering the village, they first visited the church. The gruesome system has made it a "home for people" and then a warehouse. Sad sight! The door is locked. No sign of life. And it seemed to ruin time.

The children ran around the village to announce the priest's arrival. The news soon spread everywhere because there hasn't been a priest for years.

"When Thou wast baptized in the Jordan, O Lord, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest..." chanting from house to house in the entire village.

The shoes of the children and the priest were covered in mud. But everyone was happy.

It took three and a half hours before he could bless all the houses. There's only one house left at the end of the village.
Some suggested that they bring them holy water because the priest is too tired. However, this should not happen. There are two women in the house. An old woman and her daughter are eagerly waiting for the priest and so they went to this house.

The old woman introduced them to a girl sitting on the bed in one of the rooms and said:

"Son, this is my 18-year-old granddaughter and she's a very good girl."

Next to her, her mother cries warmly, both women want to say something to the priest, but they hesitate.

"Father... We would like to ask you a favor... our daughter is paralyzed.

She has been fasting ever since and has not tasted meat and eats food without oil on Wednesdays and Fridays. She prays and waits for a priest to serve her communion. So we thought you were the priest who could help her?"

The priest said: "Tomorrow is Epiphany. There will be a lot of people in the city of Himara. People will participate, and then we will throw the Holy Cross into the sea, we will be late for you, but we will come."

"My daughter is waiting for you no matter how late."

The next day in the afternoon, they drove the same car to the house of the paralyzed girl and the two women were very happy with him. The woman took the priest to the room and she communed the Divine Body and Blood. And then something happened. He closed his eyes. It was as if there was something to obscure. The priest left the holy spoon in the cup and rubbed his eyes, because he could not see at that moment, wondering what was happening. Her face was shining so much, the distraught priest could no longer distinguish her face, as a strong light was shining into the room. The priest felt that the light was touching him. He was scared. This light had no color but it was white, strong, soft and unimpressive. So much so that the priest could not see the spoon but felt that the holy spoon touched her mouth. And the voice of the girl says: "Thank you very much, Father". The priest was trembling, thanking the Lord for what he saw...