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| This digital greeting created with Smilebox |
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Happy Birthday, Elina!
It's a run of birthdays in November! Today we celebrate Elina Pelikan - our daughter-in-law and wife to Jesse, and mommy to Misha, Elijah and Ella.
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| Elina, just before Ella was born |
Happy Birthday, Elina and Many Years!
Love,
Mom & Dad
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Happy Birthday, Johnny!
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| Christmas 2010 with niece, Ella - She loves her Uncle Johnny |
Happy 36th Birthday, Johnny! May God grant you many more years to come!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Happy Birthday, Elijah
You are a very special boy to us and we love you very much!
Your Mimi & Papa
Friday, October 28, 2011
Ah. . . Venice!
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| Another slideshow by Smilebox |
We finally have pictures of our trip to Venice. We've set them to music for you so they're a little more fun to see. Hope you enjoy them. Our trip was back in the middle of JULY!! It's hard to believe it's been so long since we were there. So much has happened since then. I have a lot of catching up to do on my blog.
Well, here's a start
(((abbracci)))
Papa & Mimi
Papa & Mimi
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Nativity of the Theotokos
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| Nativity of the Mother of God |
This is the day of the Lord; wherefore, rejoice ye nations; for behold the chamber of Light, the scroll of the Word of life hath come forth from the womb; the gate facing the east hath been born. Wherefore, she awaiteth the entrance of the High Priest. And she alone admitted Christ into the universe for salvation of our souls.
+ Doxastikon of the Feast, Tone 6
http://www.antiochian.org/
I love the way Fr. Andrew Damick writes in his blog today when he says, “And just as the Ark of the Old Covenant was carefully constructed and prepared by human hands, so, too, was the new Ark carefully prepared. But instead of the preparation of carpenters and goldsmiths, the preparation of the Virgin Mary was by her quiet and humble obedience to and cooperation with the will of God.”
As a Protestant considering Orthodoxy, this was probably the hardest area for me; anything to do with “Mary” being more—just more anything. I struggled in the beginning, but fortunately I had wonderful mentors (one being my husband), to help me understand the full meaning of what she accomplished for all of us.
Again, in his blog, Roads from Emmaus, the entry today goes on to say, “This is why we honor the Virgin Mary, not because we want to elevate her to the status of a goddess and worship her, but because she is the carefully prepared vessel which bore the God of the Universe, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Through her came our salvation. Through her came a new life for every human being and the whole world. Through her came union between God and man.”
Doesn’t this make such incredibly beautiful sense?
Fr. Damick again saying, “Therefore, we approach her today and venerate her on her birthday because we desire to approach and come close to the Son of God. We respect her and sing about her glory because that glory is the glory of the awesome God. We call upon her here at the center of our worship just as the Hebrews placed the old Ark at the center of theirs, not because she or a golden box are to be the object of worship, but because the Ark is the place of worship, because the Ark of the Old Covenant and now the Ark of the New Covenant are the place where God has chosen to draw near to His people.”
Living here in Italy, we see a Roman Catholic Church practically everywhere we look. They too will celebrate this special day. The Western and the Eastern Catholic churches have some very specific and important theological differences; however, both venerate her (not worship her), and honor her in accordance with the Scripture where she declares in the Magnificat:
And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord: And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowliness of His maidservant: for, behold, from henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His Name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy; as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.
Hence forth shall all men call me blessed.” Luke 1:46-55
"As we look upon the icon of the Holy Virgin, we see that she points us to her Son. Today, as we celebrate her birth into this world, may we hear her call to draw near to her holy Son. As we gaze upon the glory that surrounds her as more honorable than the cherubim and more glorious beyond compare than the seraphim, may we be drawn into a true encounter with that glory, the glory which is God’s and may also be ours if we are in union and communion with Him, just as she is." (Fr. Damick)
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Sunday, August 28, 2011
In the Name of the Father, Son , and Holy Spirit:
"God of power and might, You have kept Jesse and Elina together for seven years of marriage. Thank you for the joy of celebrating their life together today and for the many ways their marriage has touched all of us. Indeed, You have blessed us all with Jesse and Elina. Please strengthen them, guide them, and sustain them for many more years with each other and with us, that we all may live in the light of Your love." Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, have mercy on us, and save us, Amen.
Love,
Dad and Mom
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Happy 57th Anniversary!!
Friday, August 13, 1954! Who says Friday the 13th is supposed to be bad luck! You've proved them all wrong, time and time again.
WE LOVE YOU!!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Saint Joanna the Myrrh-bearer
Saint Joanna the Myrrh-bearer, wife of Chusa, the household steward of King Herod, was one of the women following and attending the Lord Jesus Christ during the time of His preaching and public ministry. She is mentioned in Luke 8:3 and 24:10. Together with the other Myrrh-bearing Women, St. Joanna went to the Sepulchre to anoint the Holy Body of the Lord with myrrh after His death on the Cross, and she heard from the angels the joyful proclamation of His All-Glorious Resurrection. According to Tradition, she recovered the head of St. John the Baptist after Herodias had disposed of it (February 24).
St. Joanna is also commemorated on the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women
By permission of the Orthodox Church in America (http://www.oca.org/)
'Verily, the angel came to the tomb and said to the ointment-bearing women, the ointment
is meet for the dead, but Christ is shown to be remote from corruption. But cry ye: The
Lord is risen, granting the world the Great Mercy'.
St. Joanna was of the household of King Herod Antipas who was tetrarch, or local ruler, of certain areas of Palestine from the years 4 B.C. to 39 A.D. and like his father before him, King Herod, he ruled the area with the permission of the Roman government where, by this time, controlled much of the Mediterranean region. This Herod "Antipas" was credited with building a city on the Sea of Galilee and naming it for his friend, the Roman emperor Tiberius. According to Holy Scripture, he also ordered the beheading of John the Baptist at the request of his own daughter. It makes sense now that St. Joanna, being married to the household steward of the King, would've known where to find the severed head of John the Baptist after it had been disposed of, and as Eastern tradition says, give the head of John the Baptist an honourable burial.
[I've always wondered about that]
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Happy Anniversary to John & Rondi Pelikan
Happy 9th Anniversary today to our son and daughter-in-law, John & Rondi Pelikan!
May God grant you many years!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Help us find a home for "Kong"!
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| Create a photo slideshow |
Look who showed up in our lives! It seems that animals are drawn to me like magnets - always have been. Well this guy is just the sweetest thing in the world, and deserves to be living with a family that will love him and give him a great home. Or maybe a Sailor or Marine who wants to go for a run on the beach with a dog who won't run away, and will keep ya company during your tour in Italy - Kong is your boy!
He's gentle, funny, and has a gentle bark that is as loud as a freight-train! If you know of anyone that might be interested in this beautiful guy, please leave a comment here on my blog and I'll get back with you right away!
Thanks!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Lunar Eclipse
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| It's 11:00 PM, and we just looked outside and can still see it - for those who want to run outside and take a peek! As Papa was closing the shudders for the night, he looked out the window and yelled down to me, "Is there supposed to me a lunar eclipse tonight?" So, I quickly looked it up on the internet and sure enough, a total lunar eclipse was going to be visible from South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and parts of Australia this evening! |
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| But not in North America! Suddenly we felt very far away from home! This further emphasized just how far away we are from our family. |
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| When we first noticed it the moon was completely in the earth's shadow and had a redish glow. Then as we continued to watch a sliver of white light began to appear on the edge as the moon started to move out of the earth's shadow, I ran downstairs, got the camera and zoomed back up the marble stairs - and for those of you who understand this - Sherman in toe the entire time . . . and somehow snapped these photos! It was June 15, 2011, Naples, Italy! |
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Buon Compleanno, Luigi!
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| Luigi Pisa - 75 years' young |
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| This is the patio of Luigi's home |
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| Paulo and Papa grilling lamb and beef on his "Weber" grill |
We received our customary call. “I’m Luigi,” our landlord says in his own special broken-English way. “Venire[come] alla mio[my] festa di compleanno, [birthday party]! settanta cinque[75] anni – years old! Yikes . . . ok, so I’m on the other end of the phone and the listening carefully. The best I could do with this at the time happened to be pretty close – whew! The Italian I’ve been studying was coming in handy after all. Luigi Pisa was turning 75 and wanted us to come to his birthday party the following weekend!
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| Everyone raved about this cantelope and tomatoe dish! |
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| The Mayor of Pozzouli and Luigi's American friends |
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| Valentina and Giovanni |
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| Gelato and strawberries drenched in a sweet wine reduction! |
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| Yum! |
What is the custom in Italy for the man who has everything? So, we asked the protocol officer at Papa’s work – a lady who handles all that kind of stuff for the Admirals. I was so surprised by her answer! She said, “Bring him something American; some kind of food, like Philadelphia Cheese Cake.” (which, of course, we sell at the Base Commissary) So, that’s just what we did. He never really said if they enjoyed it or not or even really knew what it was – but that’s ok! It was the thought that counts . . . and we all know how deeelicious it will be! At first they wanted to bring it out with the rest of the fabulous meal, frozen solid as a rock, and all! We had to explain that it was for the family to eat later and that they should begin to ‘thaw’ it about two hours before eating it. We aren’t sure if we did the right thing. We brought the toppings to go with the cheesecake, and a lovely card in English, which his son read to him in front of everyone, translating directly to Italian . . . and then proceeded to have the most incredible meal EVER!! The mayor of our town, Pozzouli, was one of the invited guests, as well as longtime friends, retired head of the Carabinieri, a Gendarmerie-like military corps with police duties. They also serve as the Italian military police. His entire family, and newly engaged son and soon-to-be, daughter-in-law were there too; an Admiral friend and his wife and young daughter joined by some other American friends. It was quite the evening!
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| Luigi's grandson blew out the candles |
It was a wonderful celebration and we consider ourselves blessed and honored to have been a part of it!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Vice President Biden's visit to Naples!!
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| Waiting. . . |
. . . and what to our wondering eyes should appear? Our Vice President, with very little notice to spare! Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden made somewhat of a surprise visit to NSA Naples, Italy, this past Saturday, June 4th, to speak to the service members and their families, with what I think may have been less than a week’s notice. As you can imagine, people have been scrambling like crazy to prepare for his impromptu stopover; nonetheless, it appeared to come off without a hitch! (thanks to some mighty fine planning and execution, no doubt!)
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| A sea of blue . . . |
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| Can you spot the Marine? (ha!) |
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| Me shaking hands and saying a few words to Dr. Biden. |
Both the Vice President and his wife, Dr. Biden, were gracious, encouraging and compassionate to the troops and all those on the Piazza of Capodichino on Saturday. They each identified with having a son serving overseas (their son having served in Iraq), and how often the VP would see his wife preparing coffee, for example, in the morning her lips silently moving in prayer for their son.
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| The V.P. commenting to me that being a Chaplain's wife was one of the hardest and most important in the military! |
They each spoke of their thankfulness for our sacrifice, the service member as well as the families, and how much it means to our country. It was actually pretty inspiring when you’re just a few feet away listening to him. I could feel how genuine he was - they both were! It was a clear, hot day, and the Vice President seemed to go “off-speech” about half-way through his prepared remarks, out of compassion, no doubt, for the fact that it was so hot and that our heads and arms were roasting in the hot sun! He and his wife then took a lot of time afterwards to go around the line of people waiting to say hello and take a photos with them. And he did . . . with far more people than I’d ever imagined he would have. In fact, he ended up staying and extra two and a half hours - until every last person who wanted a picture with him was able to get one. Much to the chagrin of his staff, his courteous lingering with the troops caused Air Force Two to depart much later than originally planned.
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| This is my favorite picture! |
Ci Vediamo ~ Mimi
(this means "so long" in Italian)
Friday, June 3, 2011
The Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ
As the angels, O Savior, wondered at Thy strange elevation, and the Disciples were amazed at Thy dread rising, Thou didst ascend in glory, being God, and the gates were lifted up for Thee. Wherefore, the heavenly powers were surprised, shouting, Glory to Thy condescension, O Savior; glory to Thy reign; glory to Thine Ascension, O Thou Who alone art the Lover of mankind.
--Orthros of the Feast
On the fortieth day after Jesus was resurrected from the dead, He was taken up into the heavens in a cloud. The Ascension of Jesus Christ is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated forty days after Pascha (and thus always falling on a Thursday -- yesterday!
From the Heart: Resting in the Ascension
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By Douglas Cramer
Summer is almost here. It’s a good time to just take a deep breath, and relax. You know, go to the beach if you live close to it, have a barbeque, invite some friends over. I remember doing this on a grand scale as a child growing up in New Jersey. But how often do most of us do this anymore? We’re so busy, we’ve forgotten that true rest and relaxation, the kind that really restores you, is vital to our survival.
This week the Church celebrates the Ascension of our Lord, and our worship since Pascha has been rooted in our joy in the Resurrection. In the light of this glorious, peaceful and fulfilling period of the calendar of our Church we should be totally relaxed and fully in the presence of our Lord. But we still struggle to relax and unclench, to be at peace.
Why? In part, because we live our lives in a kind of emotional and spiritual shallows. We’re so busy, we don’t pause to reflect, to listen, to understand our motivations. We are busy for busyness’s sake. We allow others to set our timetable. We often aren’t aware of the reasons we have for doing what we do. We all act a little crazy sometimes, bustling about with all our tasks and projects and responsibilities. It’s important for us to act. But it’s just as important for us to relax, to quietly find our center, to understand what’s driving us to do what we do, to make sure that our choices and actions flow from our deepest values.
How do we turn this around? We start from the heart!
Know Thyself
The Psalms focus this teaching in to a single verse: “Seek peace and pursue it.” We need peace, but we must be active to find it—we must seek and pursue. What does this mean? What is this pursuit? St. Isaac of Syria teaches us the answer: “Enter eagerly into the treasure house that lies within you, and so you will see the treasure house of heaven. The ladder that leads to the Kingdom is hidden within you, and is found in your soul. Dive into yourself, and in your soul you will discover the rungs by which you are to ascend.”
Seek. Pursue. Enter. Ascend. I’m winded just reading this list. However, this is the language of peace. Jesus Christ proclaims: “The kingdom of heaven is within.” We are called to go within, to find our heart, our center, our soul. And to begin our journey there.
The classical philosophers of Greece understood this basic truth of our humanity even before the birth of Christ. The central teaching of Plato, of Socrates, is “Know Thyself.” We must get out of our inner shallows, our superficial sleepwalking through life. We’re called to wake up, to dive deep.
Read the complete article: http://www.antiochian.org/node/17790
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Memorial Day in Italia
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| Sicily - Rome American Cemetery Nettuno, Italy |
We had thought about it for quite some time—here we were in Italy, this country where so many of our American military had fought so nobly in World War II; and with the approach of Memorial Day, wouldn’t it be appropriate to visit one of the many American cemeteries in Italy and pay our respects to our brothers and sisters in arms! Usually, a chaplain from our base in Naples is asked to do the invocation and benediction at Memorial Day observances throughout Europe. And so it was in this year. As the Command Chaplain at NSA Naples, Papa made sure that all the “bases were covered” (so-to-speak), with other chaplains this time, which left us free to select which observance we would attend. We elected to be present at the Memorial Day observance taking place at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery that lies at the north edge of the town of Nettuno, Italy, which is immediately east of Anzio, 38 miles south of Rome.
The World War II Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial site in Italy covers 77 acres, rising in a gentle slope from a broad pool with an island and war memorial flanked by groups of Italian cypress trees. Beyond the pool is the immense field of headstones of 7,861 of American military war dead, arranged in gentle arcs on broad green lawns beneath rows of Roman pines. It is an incredibly moving and even “heavenly” feeling being there among those resting in peace among such beauty. The majority of these men [and women] died in the liberation of Sicily (July 10 to August 17, 1943); in the landings in the Salerno Area (September 9, 1943) and the heavy fighting northward; in the landings at Anzio Beach and expansion of the beachhead (January 22, 1944 to May 1944); and in air and naval support in the regions.
A wide central mall leads to the memorial, rich in works of art and architecture, expressing America's remembrance of the dead. It consists of a chapel to the south, a peristyle, and a map room to the north. On the white marble walls of the chapel are engraved the names of 3,095 of the missing. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified. The map room contains a bronze relief map and four fresco maps depicting the military operations in Sicily and Italy. At each end of the memorial are ornamental Italian gardens.
We rode the bus with the Navy 6th Fleet Band and had the honor of escorting Herman Chanowitz, a 96-year-old American veteran who fought during the war in Italy; beginning in February 1943, when Kasserine Pass became the focal point in the North African campaign - Herman was there! And then on to the landings at Sicily, Solerno and Anzio, then finally the liberation of Rome - Herman was in all of these battles! After the D-Day invasion, he finally finished up in Munich at the end of the war assigned to the unit that liberated the infamous death camp at Dachau. The tragic irony for Herman, he himself being Jewish, is how this made his final operation of the war most profound - He was there!
Backing up a few hours on this Memorial Day morning, we met Herman in front of the NATO Base where he had arranged a ride from a friend to meet us, since we didn’t know where Herman and his wife live. We were bringing him by our car to the bus at the base because he lives fairly close to us in Pozzuoli. So there he was waiting for us at 0400 just as we’d planned, not looking his actual 96 years at all! We were amazed at his quick wit and how spry demeanor even at that time in the morning. After a few minutes and greetings with his friend and driver, we made the transfer and were on our way. And in perfect time, no less! We were due at the bus by 0445 and it was only 0410. We had plenty of time even to spare, just the way we like it! We drove for about 5 minutes before reaching the entrance to the highway, then much to our consternation and shock, hit a very bad pothole and instantly knew that we had blown out a tire! Now mind you . . . it is pitch dark, Papa is in his summer white uniform, and we have very little time to spare!! Yikes! We had never changed a tire in this particular car before and suddenly we are faced with doing so on an on-ramp of a dark highway in what was practically the middle of the night! We both got out of the car and Papa actually said to me, “Well, I can’t exactly strip down and change the tire in my underwear! I’m gonna have to do this in my whites!” So it was hot and muggy, and away we went, as fast as we possibly could. He used his black light-weight military jacket as a place for his knee. Herman had a pocket flashlight – of course! I held the flashlight and Papa just kept praying that things would go smoothly. The first and only glitch we ran into was the car being too low to fit the jack underneath it, so we had to ask Herman to get out of the car for a minute to slide the car-jack underneath it. I could see the sweat-drips running down Papa's face! But, after that, it all went like clockwork! We got everything all put back together with the weird little temporary spare graciously prepared to take us where we needed to go. We all got in the car, turned the key . . . and guess what? The car didn’t start!!! Lord have mercy!
It seems that since we had left the headlights on the entire time, along with the air-conditioner to keep Herman cool, we had sucked up all the juice in the battery, and it was barely making a clickity-click sound! NOW WHAT!! Well, Papa and I both jumped out of the car, lickity-split, and hastily said to each other, “Let’s push and pray and try to pop the clutch.” He didn’t think I could push it with him since it was a little uphill and my arm is hurt, but somehow the whole thing worked! We jumped in the car as it was rolling; started it and we were on our way—time: 0430!!! We actually made it to the base and the met the bus “JUST as it was pulling up.” Now, is that a story or what?
Herman just couldn’t stop talking about “his” experience with us that morning – from his side of things. We are grateful for the outpouring of God’s Grace which kept us both exceptionally calm and trusting in Him that all would work out! Wow! We had made it, and the 3-hour bus ride was a rest well-deserved - for sure!!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
What is Happiness?
"What is Happiness?"
. . . "It is to live as we do now, with L., just the two of us, savoring every hour -- morning coffee, two, three hours of quiet in the evenings. No special conversation. All is clear and therefore so good. If we were to start trying to define the essence of that obvious happiness, we would each do it differently; we might even have an argument! My words would not seem right to her and visa-versa. Misunderstanding! And happiness would become clouded. As one approaches the essence of a thing, fewer and fewer words are needed. In eternity, in the kingdom, only "Holy, Holy, Holy" will be needed, only words of prayer and thanks, only prayer and the brightness of fullness and joy."
http://www.amazon.com/Journals-Father-Alexander-Schmemann-1973-1983/dp/0881412007
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Be Inspired With Hope!
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| St. Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894) |
“Labor with all your strength; bring to the Lord all your concerns about success. Trust in God is the foundation of spiritual life. Nothing will happen all of a sudden; everything will come about in its own time. Everything you seek with faith will come. But when? When the Lord is ready to grant it. Be patient, remaining steadfast in the ways you have begun. Be inspired with the hope that the day will come when the light of joy will glow in the heart and it will be emancipated from all bonds, bringing freedom of movement and raising you to that place where the noble images of spirit ascend. Then you will soar in the realm of the spirit like a bird that has been freed from its cage.”
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| http://www.orthodoxprayer.org/Theophan-Prayer.html |
"If you are not successful in your prayer, you will not be
successful in anything, for prayer is the root of everything."
– Theophan the Recluse
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