From a Spark to an Unquenchable Flame

[I was shown that] faith will never die on earth. Many people carry it within them - some with ardor, others with a trembling respect, others again just carry a spark - and it is essential for them that a good priest help them as a pastor to turn this spark into an unquenchable flame of faith. The Lord showed me that the people who carry the faith, and especially the shepherds of human souls, must help fight for each person to the end of their own strength, until their last breath. The basis of the fight for a soul is love, kindness and helping your neighbor, help given not for one's own sake, but for the sake of one's brother. People judge faith, and judge even Jesus Christ Himself based on the behavior of others.

- Excerpt from Father Arseny, the true-to-life story of a priest who was imprisoned in a Siberian Soviet labor camp under Stalin and was given grace to replace the terrible abuses commited against him with a seed of love and faith.