Do you know, my child, why the clouds are closed when the fields are thirsty for rain? And why they open when the fields have no thirst for rain? Nature has been confused by the wickedness of men and has abandoned it's order. Do you know, my child, why the fields produce heavy fruit in the springtime and yield a barren harvest in the summer? Because the daughters of men have hated the fruit of their womb and kill it while it is still in blossom. Do you know my child why the springs have gone dry and why the fruits of the earth have no longer the sweetness that they used to have? Because of the sin of man, from which infirmity has invaded all of nature. Do you know, my child, why a victorious nation suffers defeats as a result of it's own disunity and discord, and eats bread made bitter by tears and malice? Because it conquered the bloodthirsty enemies around itself, but failed to conquer those within itself. Do you know, my child, how a mother can feed her children without nourishing them? By not singing a song of love to them while nourishing them, but a song of hatred towards a neighbor. Do you now, my child, why the people have become ugly and have lost the beauty of their ancestors? Because they cast away the image of God, which fashions the beauty of the soul within and removes the mask of earth. Do you know, my child, why the diseases and epidemics have multiplied? Because the men have begun to look upon good health as an abduction of nature, and not as a gift from God. And what is abducted with difficulty, it must be with difficulty protected. Do not cry my child, the Lord will soon return, and set everything right.
St Nikolai, the Bishop of Ohrid and Žiča (+1956) (Prayers by the lake)