A Miracle of Saint John Jacob of Hozeva
Holy Father John, bring us into the wondrous mountain of faith, where the heavenly rays of the Kingdom of Heaven always shine.
A sample chapter from a new book titled “I Hid Myself in the Desert and Tears” about the life, miracles, and prayers to Saint John Jacob of Hozeva—a contemporary Romanian hermit and grace-filled ascetic who struggled in the Holy Land and spent the last seven years of his life in a cave in the Hozeva Valley, “the Valley of the Shadow of Death.” The book was recently published by St. George Press.
AS A MUSTARD SEED
While Saint John lived in the cave in the Hozeva Valley, a group of people came with flashlights in the middle of the night to search the caves where hundreds of hermits had once lived. They rummaged and dug around, looking for antique objects that they could sell to tourists or museums for large sums of money.
Not far from Saint John’s cave was another cave with tens of skulls and hundreds of bones belonging to the Holy Fathers who had died in those places.
When the looters approached that cave, Saint John saw their flashlights and, listening to what they were saying to each other, understood their plans.
Sighing deeply from his heart, Saint John lifted his arms to Heaven and said: “O Lord, will you allow the lawless to disturb the peace of your chosen ones?”
And a great miracle took place at that moment: the face of the mountain fell and closed off the entrance to that cave. The robbers, terrified by what they witnessed, ran away, and, because of the confusion in their minds, fell into a deep ravine and managed to climb out with great difficulty because of their many wounds.
Behold how, through Saint John’s prayer, God caused the mountain to shake, closing the entrance to the cave and thus not allowing the brigands to desecrate the cave and disturb the peace of His Saints. This wondrous circumstance showed the truth of the Savior’s words: If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. (Matthew 17:20)
†
We cannot stop rummaging through the cravings and illusions of this world, thinking that we will find the precious thing we desire, but in the depths of our conscience, we know that we are lying to ourselves, burying the eternity of our soul in fickle earth. Save us from this bitter illness, Holy Father John, and bring us into the wondrous mountain of faith, where the heavenly rays of the Kingdom of Heaven always shine.