Friends, The following is from Prayers by the Lake, a volume from one of the great saints of the 20th c., the Serbian bishop St Nikolai Velimirovich. St Nikolai was imprisoned in Dachau during WWII by the Nazis and later came to America. He taught at St Tikhon’s Seminary where he reposed in the Lord on March 18, 1956.Holy Father Nikolai, pray to God for us! With love in Christ, Fr John Prayer LXXV Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them. Enemies hav

Friends, I recently came across the following letter from Elder Joseph the Hesychast - one of the great spiritual fathers of the 20th c. - to one of his spiritual children and was struck by the need to share it with you. It is profound in its simplicity and beauty. May it benefit you in your spiritual struggle. With love in Christ, Fr John I received your letter, my child, and I saw your anxiety. But don’t be sad, my child. Don’t worry so much. Even though you have fallen aga

Let us be happy, beloved brothers and sisters that we belong to the Holy Orthodox Church, worthily and rightly glorifying the Most Holy Sovereign Theotokos on this eminent day out of all the days of the year with special solemnity. There exists on earth many societies and entire governments that do not consider the need nor the obligation to call upon and glorify the Queen of heaven and earth, the Mother of Our Divine Lord Jesus Christ, and other saints and angels; to submiss

Except for one week spent visiting my mother in Texas, we have spent almost the entire summer in Arkansas with you. Of course, the “Arkansas” part was good—even if it was kinda hot and humid. (I really did come to look forward to driving through the Ozarks on the trip between Rogers and Fort Smith.) But it’s the “with you” part of “Arkansas with you” that was the real highlight. For myself and for my family, spending the summer with you has been a great experience. We loved b