This issue of The Orthodox Word features selections from a new book of St. Herman Press, Cancer, My Love. In this memoir of personal transformation, author Mioara Grigore of Romania recounts her intense struggle with cancer. With the help of her husband and five children, of her spiritual father, and then of new friends who sacrificed themselves for her and her family, she turned that struggle into a journey of spiritual self-discovery. In her cross-bearing, she found what it means, at the deepest level, to love and be loved by others and by God. The original Romanian edition of this book has been extremely popular in Mioara’s native land. Presented here are the introductions by the American and Romanian editors, as well as a chapter from the book.

Also in this issue are excerpts from a forthcoming book of St. Herman Press, Eternity in the Moment: The Life and Wisdom of Elder Arsenie Papacioc. An article on this great Romanian elder has already appeared in the pages of The Orthodox Word. Elder Arsenie had a major impact on the life of Mioara Grigore.

This issue also includes an article by Bishop Irenei of Sacramento—“The Song of a Repentant Heart: The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete.” Here Bishop Irenei not only gives us an edifying interpretation of the Great Canon, but also gives insights into St. Andrew’s reasons for compiling it, based on the saint’s Life.