Fr. Nicolaie shares insights into Michael's baptism on Lazarus Saturday.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Brother Luke and Father Nicholaie share snippets of life at the mission, encouraging us to pray like a child, forgive as the Theotokos learned to do, and work towards peace.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Fr. Nicolaie looks at the role of faithful fasting and prayer in bringing healing.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Fr. Nicolaie shares experiences that are helping the community to "water the dying plants" in their midst, embracing resurrection instead of neglecting it.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

By St. John the Compassionate Mission

The community explores the beauty of God's forgiveness as it meets us in our messiness.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Fr. Nicolaie explores the truth that hunger, if met with kindness, heals deep gulfs between us and creatively brings about unity.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Fr. Nicolaie encourages the community to be faithful to the work that God has prepared for them, specifically acts of mercy, and to do so with joy, unlike the older brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Padre Roberto and Fr. Nicolaie encourage us to take this Triodion season to prepare our hearts to say YES! to Christ, just as members of the community are doing.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Father Nicolaie shares stories of the prayers of community members, and reflects on the value of their prayers for the entire community.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

The community processes Zacchaeus' outcast status, observing how repentance first opened his home to Christ, then turned his heart to the poor; then considers how this relates to their own situations.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Fr. Nicolaie shares stories of community members who emulate the one leper who returns to give thanks.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Fr. Nicolaie shares the week's scriptures and how they are playing out in the community.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

The community is becoming a witness of Theophany through the signs of healing it lives and experiences.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Fr. Nicolaie shares a reflection on new life and loss in the community, noting how both are part of the Nativity story.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Fr. Nicolaie shares glimpses at Nativity events in the community.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Fr. Nicolaie and Brother Luke reflect on fasting and Christmas in the context of the community.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

A look at the Gospel reading of the woman who was bent over for many years, through the lens of community members' experiences.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

John, a volunteer at the mission, is helping others to see Christ more clearly, even though he himself is legally blind.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Fr. Nicolaie tells stories from the community in the context of the week's Gospel readings, encouraging us to keep walking, because when we do so, we walk through the door that is Christ; a door that is already opened to us.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

The icon of the small community who cares for all is the healing source of the modern soul today.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Father Nicolaie shares stories of community members finding the kind of comfort both in the chapel and amidst the community that is similar to Lazarus' experience in the bosom of Abraham.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Fr. Nicolaie invites us to join the community in looking into the eyes of the Theotokos from a humble position at the feet of her icon; and to live ascetically in a way that opens our own eyes to charity and mercy.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Brother Luke shares three stories from community life.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

It is the cry of the poor who are in solidarity with those who suffer the most, today. The poor are not indifferent to the suffering, but lift it in prayer, with faith that God hears them.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

A discussion of Saturday's gospel leads community members to search for Resurrection.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

How can poverty, hunger, and mourning be considered "blessed?" Father Nicolai looks at the Beatitudes through the lens of the community, revealing the "Good Word," "Bene Dicere," or "Blessing" that is poured out in and through someone with a sincere heart.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

In this Sunday's gospel, Jesus provides an abundance of life out of the abyss. The plentiful fish are a testimony of the authority that He has over the living and the dead, revealing that His mercy is deeper than the heart of the sea.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

The church is called today to care for life, to offer an open space where the soul of man can pray and sing, and have an encounter with Christ, who listens to us from the cross.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Brother Luke shares some new stories from the mission.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Brother Luke shares a collection of recent interactions and experiences from within the community.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Father Nicolai reflects on recent hopeful learnings in the community.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Notes from the community that offer a peek at how the community members are seeing God at work in and through each other.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Through Matthew's arrival at the community this week, we learn that communion makes us look for the one that is lost: Through the wounds of the poor, Christ pours out His grace.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Fr. Nicolaie tells how the faith of people who saw (and see) evil in the face of war is a faith that can guide those of us who live in a society tempted by the illusion of death.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Father Nicolae writes about how both the blind man in the Gospel reading, and Angela (a member of the community) have been changed by Christ to such an extent that they are nearly unrecognizable. This gives all of us hope of restoration through Christ.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Healing happens within the community in different ways, and at times it is given to us to witness little miracles. In the end it heals us all, in our heart. And this is the real miracle.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Brother Luke reflects on Holy Week experiences in the community.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Brother Luke reflects on some scenes from every day at the mission.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

A community member and Father Nicolaie each reflect on their experience with an aspect of the Gospel story of the young man who was possessed.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

It is always better to give than to receive. When we try to help other people, we tend to forget their need to also be able to give.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

St. Gregory Palamas believed in beholding through prayer the uncreated energies of God. A young volunteer reveals to the community that this is not one quick event that pierces the soul. It is rather an encounter for the whole day.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Frank (or Isaac, in the Church), a regular member of the community, passed away suddenly near the end of March. A mixup with his phone provided the community with the chance to learn of his passing, and opened the door for his daughter to share her grief with others who also loved her father.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

A question recently posed at the mission caused Fr. Nicolaie to recall an experience he had when he was a teacher in Romania; and to reflect on how we each have our very own occasional "Emmaus" roads.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Brother Luke shares a collection of interactions and experiences from within the community.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

In the heart of every prodigal son, at the time of prayer, God prepares a real place ready to offer hospitality to the one that is wounded.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Members of the community interact with the story of the Canaanite woman's faith, sharing their crumbs of wisdom.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

By St. John the Compassionate Mission

Most servants are faithful with the talents entrusted to them. Even though broken and poor, they keep nothing for themselves. This is the reality of the gospel that we see within the community: there is an abundance of good done by the people.By St. John the Compassionate Mission

When someone is in need, they seek to be listened to, to be heard by a heart that cares about their story and about the injustice done.By St. John the Compassionate Mission