Learn to pray; force yourself to prayer. In the beginning it will be difficult; but afterwards the more you force yourself, the easier it will be for you to pray. But in the beginning it is always necessary to force oneself.

—St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ

When you pray for the repose of the soul of the departed, force yourself to pray with your whole heart, remembering that to do so is your essential duty, mid not only that of a priest or ecclesiastic. Represent to yourself how necessary repose is to the departed one, and how greatly he (or she) needs the prayers for him (or her) of the living, being a member of the one body of the Church; how the demons are contesting his (or her) soul from the angels, and how it trembles, not knowing what its eternal destiny will be. Our prayer of faith and love for the departed means much in the Lord’s sight. Represent to yourself, further, how necessary rest is for you when you are bound by the fetters of sin, and how fervently, with what sincerity, ardor, and power you then pray to the Lord and to the Most-pure Mother of the Lord, and how you rejoice and triumph when, after your fervent prayer, you obtain the remission of your sins and peace of heart. Apply all this to the soul of the departed. His (or her) soul also needs prayer—your prayer now—because it cannot pray fruitfully any longer itself; the soul of the departed also requires the rest which you can implore for it by means of your ardent prayer, joined to works of charity for the benefit of that soul, and especially by the offering of the bloodless sacrifice on its behalf.

—St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ

Pray for the departed as though your own soul were in hell, in the flame, and as though you yourself were in torment; feel their torments with your whole heart and pray most fervently, most ardently that they may rest in peace in the place of light and green pastures, in the place of refreshing.

—St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ

We often take the name of Jesus for granted; failing to recognize its power and how uttering it with love can transform the heart and mind. It is of this we are reminded on the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus!

“Jesus Name is a concrete and powerful way of transfiguring men in their deepest and most divine reality. The men and women we meet in the street, factory, office, and especially those who seem to be irritating and unlikable, let us go toward them with Jesus’ name in our heart and on our lips …If we see Jesus in each man, if we say ‘Jesus’ over each person, we will go through the world with a new vision and with a new gift in our heart. We can thus transform the world, as much as it is within us, and make our own the word Jacob spoke to his brother: ‘I saw your face and it was like seeing God’s face.’”

—Fr. Lev Gillet

“If we don’t pray for the sick, then the sickness will develop naturally. But if we pray for them, it can change it’s natural course. Therefore, always pray for the sick.”

—St. Paisios the Athonite