Children, pray for your friends as the monk did for the children, and as St. Barnabas did for Saint Paul. This is one way in which you can show love and compassion towards your friends. Don’t worry if you don’t see immediate results. Trust that the Lord of all Creation hears and answers your prayers, sometimes in ways that you don’t see or understand. Just think, if Saint Barnabas hadn’t prayed for Saint Paul, those of us who are not Jewish might not be Christians today, because Saint Paul ended up being an “Apostle to the Gentiles” – he ministered to the new Christians who were not Jewish. Your friends, if they become members of Christ’s Church, will be not just your friends, but your brothers and sisters in Christ. They are like little babies who havn’t yet been born into the physical world, only it is the spiritual world that they haven’t been born into yet – the holy Orthodox Faith.

The Lord said that no greater love hath a man than that he lay down his life for his friends. Children, you can do this by giving a little time each day, before you go to bed as part of your evening prayers, or perhaps with your morning prayers, or at any time during the day. Say a prayer for your friends. If you have trouble remembering to do it, or if you feel that your heart is cold and you really don’t even care to do it, then start by asking the Lord to soften and warm your heart and teach you how to love your friends enough to do this, to pray for them.

Matushka Deborah