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Excerpt from a Homily on Fasting and Prayer
"This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting."   (Mark 9:29)

... As long as a man only philosophizes about God, he is weak and completely helpless against an evil spirit.  The evil spirit ridicules the feeble sophistry of the world.  But as soon as a man begins to fast and to pray to God, the evil spirit becomes filled with indescribable fear. In no way can the evil spirit tolerate the fragrance of prayer and fasting.  The sweet-smelling fragrance chokes him and weakens him to utter exhaustion.  In a man who only philosophizes about faith, there is spacious room in him for the demons.  But in a man who sincerely begins to pray to God and to fast with patience and hope, it becomes narrow and constricted for the demon, so the demon must flee from such a man. ...
​from The Prologue of Ohrid, February 21st - St Nikolai Velimirovic

Homily on Pride - The Daughter of a Darkened Mind
"Pride goes before disaster, and a haughty spirit before a fall"   (Proverbs 16:18) 

Of all that exists at the four corners of the earth, what, O mortal man, can make us proud except stupidities and demonic illusions? Did we not enter into the world naked and wretched, and are we not going to depart this world in the same manner? Everything that we have, did we not borrow it? And at our death, are we not going to return everything? Oh, how many times has this been said and ignored? The wise Apostle says: For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out (I Timothy 6:7). And when we offer the sacrifice to God of ordinary bread and wine, we say: “Thine own of Thine own we offer unto Thee” (Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom). For nothing that we have in this world is ours, not even a crumb of bread or a drop of wine—there is nothing that is not of God. In truth, pride is the daughter of stupidity, the daughter of a darkened mind, born of evil ties with the demons.

​Pride is a broad window through which all of our merits and good works evaporate. Nothing makes us so empty before men and so unworthy before God as does pride. If the Lord is not proud, why should we be proud? Who has more reason to be proud than the Lord, Who created the world and Who sustains it by His power? And behold, He humbles Himself as a servant, a servant to the whole world—a servant even to death, to death on the Cross!

O humble Lord, burn up within our hearts the devil’s sowing of pride with the fire of Thy Holy Spirit, and plant within it the noble sowing of humility and meekness.

​To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
​from The Prologue of Ohrid, January 2nd - St Nikolai Velimirovic

How to Make Prosphora - The Bread of Life

What is Prosphora and how do you make it?  This 39-minute video was recorded at one of Saints Peter and Paul's Prosphora-making classes. ​

The History Of Christianity
From An Orthodox Christian Perspective

Videos from the weekly Wednesday evening study, "The History of Christianity from an Orthodox Christian Perspective", are availiable on the web site now.  Check them out here.  They are also available as a Playlist here on our Youtube page.
On Prayer
St. John of Kronstadt

When praying, keep to the rule that it is better to say five words from the depth of your heart than ten thousand words with your tongue only.

When you observe that your heart is cold and prays unwillingly, stop praying and warm your heart by vividly representing to yourself either your own wickedness, your spiritual poverty, misery, and blindness, or the great benefits which God bestows every moment upon you and all mankind, especially upon Christians, and then pray slowly and fervently.

If you have not time to say all the prayers, it does not matter, and you will receive incomparably greater benefit from praying fervently and not hurriedly than if you had said all your payers hurriedly and without feeling:  "I had rather speak five words with my understanding than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue." (1)

But it would, of course, have been very well had we been able to say those ten thousand words in prayer with due understanding and feeling.  The Lord does not forsake those who labor for Him and who stand long before Him; for with what measure they mete, He will measure to them again, and He will reward them for the abundance of the sincere words of their prayer by sending into their souls a corresponding abundance of spiritual light, warmth, peace, and joy.  It is well to pray long and continually; but "All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given."(2)  it is better for those who are not capable of long prayers to say short prayers, but with a fervent spirit.
(1) 1 Corinthians 14:19;  (2) St. matthew 19:11,12

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