Where there are no labors, there are stagnation and the extinction of the

sparks of life.

St. Theophan the Recluse

In order to test yourself, whether you love your neighbour in

accordance with the Gospel, pay attention to yourself at the time when
others offend you... If you remain calm on such occasions, are not filled
with the spirit of enmity, hatred, impatience — if you continue to love
these persons as much as previously, before their offences or
negligence, then you do love your neighbour in accordance with the
Gospel.

Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

Faith and love are inseparable between them and one relates to the
other, and confirms one another and defines each other, and wherever
one is absent the other is also absent from there and wherever one is
found the other is found there too. Amen.

Elder Arsenios Galanopoulos, the Cave-dweller

A man becomes entirely human when he comes to self-awareness and
independence of mind, when he becomes the complete master and
commander of his own ideas and deeds and holds certain ideas not
because others have given these to him, but because he himself finds
them to be true. A man, when he becomes a Christian, still remains a
man, and therefore in his Christianity he must also be rational, only this
rationality he should turn to the profit of holy faith. Let him become
rationally convinced that the holy faith which he confesses is the only
faithful path of salvation, and that all other paths which are not in
agreement with it lead to perdition. It is no honor to a man to be a blind
confessor; he must be a conscious confessor, so that acting in this way,
he acts as he should.

St. Theophan the Recluse, bishop of Tambov

Even in conversations, we must be careful, because sometimes they

begin as spiritual conversations and end up as gossip. And it is not only
that we are wasting our time; we are also wasting our souls when
condemning someone else, for we have no right to judge other people
or other situations.

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos

Consider yourself worse and more infirm than all others in spiritual
respects, and despise, hate yourself for your sins, — this is pious and
right— and be indulgent to others, respect and love them in spite of
their sins...

Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

As a novice, when I read something I liked, I wrote it down so as not to

forget it, and I would try to apply it to my life. I didn’t read just to pass
my time pleasantly. I had a spiritual restlessness and, when I could not
understand something, I would ask for an explanation. I read relatively
little, but I checked myself a great deal on what I read. “What point am
I at? What must I do?” I would sit myself down and go through such a
self-examination.

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos

Because happiness in both this world and the next consists of doing
God's will, the Holy Fathers, as experts in the spiritual life, beckon us to
pay careful attention to our conscience. If we do so, they tell us, then it
will reliably and precisely show us the clear and direct will of God.
They term this the "guarding of one's conscience."

Archbishop Averky Taushev

One must not demand too much of oneself. It is best to humble oneself
before God. Open yourself to Him in all your filthiness and say, like the
leper: Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean Luke :. Do not put
time limits on God for this. Do all that is needed according to your
strength, and the Lord will do everything necessary for your salvation.
Just do not forsake God.

Abbot Nikon Vorobiev

Rejoice, my brethren, in thinking that together with this short life there
will also end all our earthly sorrows, needs, and suffering, which
merciful providence sends for our spiritual good.

Protopriest Gregory Dyachenko

I constantly think of those who lived a wretched life and are now
struggling; I love and cherish them more than those who do not suffer
from passions. Even a shepherd will be more compassionate with the
injured or sickly sheep and will give it more attentive care until it gets
back on its feet again.
 Saint Paisios of Mount Athos

With sincere Christians prayer is continual, because we continually sin;

gratitude is perpetual, because every day, every moment we receive
fresh mercies from God, besides the old mercies which are numberless.
Praise is also perpetual, because we perpetually see the glory of our
God’s works in ourselves and in the world, especially the glory of His
infinite love to us.

Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

When someone begins to say, 'What does it matter if I say that word,
eat that little morsel, feast my eyes on that?' he falls into bad habits and
runs the risk of gradually falling into insensibility. For both virtues and
vices start from slight things and lead to greater ones, either good or
bad.

Archbishop Averky Taushev

Fasts and vigils, the study of Scripture, renouncing possessions and
everything worldly are not in themselves perfection, as we have said;
they are its tools. For perfection is not to be found in them; it is acquired
through them. It is useless, therefore, to boast of our fasting, vigils,
poverty, and reading of Scripture when we have not achieved the love
of God and our fellow men. Whoever has achieved love has God within
himself and his intellect is always with God.

St. John Cassian

...excessive conveniences make life difficult for people.

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos

If we become aware of how God cares for us like an all-loving Father,

and even more gently, like an adoring mother, then our hearts will be
filled to overflowing with ardent and reverent love for Him.

Archbishop Averky Taushev

In order to acquire humility, be silent when you are mocked and when
they are angry with you, and pray within yourself the prayer “O
Theotokos and Virgin.”

Archbishop Seraphim Sobolev of Bogucharsk

If we call upon the saints with faith and love, then they will
immediately hear us. The faith is the connecting element on our part,
and love on theirs, as well as ours; for they are in God, and we are in
God, Who is Love.

Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

And how can one work for God? You already know: you must pray
and be vigilant over yourself, struggle with thoughts, not argue over
trifles, humble yourself before others even if this causes your work to
suffer; afterwards you will gain all the more, make peace quickly,
reveal your thoughts, partake more often of the Holy Mysteries, and so
forth.

Abbot Nikon Vorobiev

Is it not the same with man? When he lives in full liberty, in abundance
and prosperity, then he grows in body and does not grow in spirit, does
not bring forth fruits— good works; whilst when he lives in straitness,
in poverty, sickness, misfortune, and afflictions, in a word, when his
animal nature is crushed, then he grows spiritually, bears flowers of
virtue, ripens and brings forth rich fruits. This is why the path of those
who love God is a narrow one.

Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

Vainglory, like a moth, eats away all our good deeds, and therefore it is
better to do all our good deeds in secret so that we do not lose the
reward from our Father Who is in heaven.

Archbishop Averky Taushev

Many of our departed neighbors, especially those who reposed without
proper preparation, need our help incomparably more than those
among the living who are extremely impoverished, because the reposed
are now incapable of helping themselves. Only we the living can offer
help.

Metropolitan Gregory Postnikov of St. Petersburg

A wandering mind is made stable by reading, vigil and prayer. Flaming

lust is extinguished by hunger, labor and solitude. Stirrings of anger are
calmed by psalmody, magnanimity and mercifulness. All this has its
effect when used at its proper time and in due measure. Everything
untimely or without proper measure is short-lived; and short-lived
things are more harmful than useful.

Abba Evagrius the Monk

With all diligence ask the Lord for the greatest and most needful of all
gifts — to see your own sins and cry over them. He who has this gift
has everything.
 Abbot Nikon Vorobiev

I realized that we all worry about ourselves too much and that only he
who leaves everything to the will of God can feel truly joyous, light,
and peaceful.

Elder Thaddeus Strabulovich of Vitovnica

Someone who faces every problem spiritually is not exhausted.

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos

Worthless is the charity of the man who bestows it unwillingly, because

material charity is not his, but God’s gift, whilst only the disposition of
the heart belongs to him. This is why many charities prove almost
worthless, for they were bestowed unwillingly, grudgingly, without
respect for the person of our neighbour.

Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

The cross is not merely a sort of beautiful spiritual meditation. It is also

enduring suffering in order to stand against the sinful world.

Metropolitan Saba Esber

Since we value and think of ourselves so highly, we naturally look at

others as if from on high as if from a judgment seat, judging and
despising them. For we seem to exempt ourselves from those faults we
think others possess. Right there our enemy, the devil, who constantly
looks for an opportunity to damage us, finds an opening.

Fr. Jack Sparks

Do not fear bodily privations, but fear spiritual privations.

Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

We must acknowledge all such everyday work that is not opposed to

moral law and that we must do according to our position, as God's
work, as work entrusted to us by the Lord God Himself. We must
acknowledge our daily work as such because the Lord God established
various sanctioned positions and professions in human society, and it
was the Lord God, and not we, Who put us or allows us to be in the
positions or professions in which we find ourselves in life.

Metropolitan Gregory Postnikov of St. Petersburg

True, unselfish, pure love for God and man is impossible except under
the action of faith in the divinity of Christ the Saviour—faith in the fact
that He is the Incarnate Son of God who came down to earth to save
mankind.
 Archbishop Averky Taushev

Yet we, who are slothful and weak-willed, remain hardened, and our
fruits never ripen; for we have not the resolve to labor without sparing
ourselves, in order to ripen in good works and rightly be gathered into
the storehouse of life.

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian

If you are praised, be silent. If you are scolded, be silent. If you incur
losses, be silent. If you receive profit, be silent. If you are satiated, be
silent. If you are hungry, also be silent. And do not be afraid that there
will be no fruit when all dies down; there will be! Not everything will
die down. Energy will appear, and what energy!

St. Feofil - Fool for Christ

When Christ is in our heart, we are contented with everything: what
has been discomfort to us becomes the greatest comfort, what was bitter
to us becomes sweet, poverty becomes wealth, our hunger is satisfied,
and our sorrow turns into joy!

Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

As wax cannot take the imprint of a seal unless it is warmed or softened

thoroughly, so a man cannot receive the seal of God's holiness unless he
is tested by labours and weaknesses.

St. Diadochus, bishop of Photike in Epirus

Thus let us purify our heart! Let us throw out all the dusty trash that is
stored there; let us scrub the dirty floor, wash the windows and open
them, in order that light and air may come into the room we are
preparing as a sanctuary for the Lord. Then let us put on clean
garments, so that the old musty smell may not cling to us and we find
ourselves thrust out Luke :.

Tito Colliander, Way of the Ascetics

Sweet life is not experienced by those who enjoy it in a worldly way,
but rather by those who live spiritually and accept bitterness with joy,
like a healing herb for the soul's health, and eat only for their bodily
preservation.

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos

Enter ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way
that leadeth unto destruction and many there be that go in thereat,
because straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life
and few there be that find it.

KJV Matthew
But love will not come of itself without our zeal, efforts and activity.

Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

Say to yourself, “It is not me that they slander, but my evil passions; not
me that they strike, but that viper which nestles in my heart, and smarts
when anybody speaks ill of it. I will comfort myself with the thought
that, perhaps, these good people will drive it from my heart by their
caustic words, and my heart will then cease to ache.”

Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

The forgetting of wrongs is a sign of true repentance. But he who

dwells on them and thinks that he is repenting is like a man who thinks
he is running while he is really asleep.

St. John Climacus

Those who consider it a misfortune to lose children, slaves, money or
any other of their belongings, must realize that in the first place they
should be satisfied with what is given them by God; and then, when
they have to give it back, they should be ready to do so gratefully,
without any indignation at being deprived of it, or rather at giving it
back — for since they have been enjoying the use of what was not their
own, they are now in fact returning it.

Venerable and Godbearing Father Anthony the Great

Philokalia, Vol. p.

Spiritual pride manifests itself by the fact that a proud man dares to
make himself a judge of religion and of the Church, and says: “I do not
believe in this, and I do not acknowledge this; this I find superfluous,
that unnecessary, and this strange or absurd.”

Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

He who loses his cross loses his Christianity.

Metropolitan Saba Esber

This is the aim of the enemy of the human race, the devil: to continually
sift us like wheat, forcing us to constantly spin in the whirlwind of
entertainments and diversions, not allowing us to collect ourselves and
contemplate our inner state, our soul.

Archbishop Averky Taushev

We must be prepared to accept the will of God. The Lord permits all
sorts of things to happen to us contrary to our will, for if we always
have it our way, we will not be prepared for the Kingdom of Heaven.
Neither heaven nor earth will receive those who are self-willed. God
has a Divine plan for each one of us, and we must submit to His plan.
We must accept life as it is given to us, without asking, "Why me?" We
must know that nothing on earth or in heaven ever happens without
the will of God or His permission.

Elder Thaddeus Strabulovich of Vitovnica

Philokalia, Vol. p..

If you love true knowledge, devote yourself to the ascetic life; for mere
theoretical knowledge puffs a man up cf. Cor. :.

St Mark the Ascetic

Philokalia, Vol. p..

We see the water of a river flowing uninterruptedly and passing away,

and all that floats on its surface, rubbish or beams of trees, all pass by.
Christian! So does our life. . . I was an infant, and that time has gone. I
was an adolescent, and that too has passed. I was a young man, and
that too is far behind me. The strong and mature man that I was is no
more. My hair turns white, I succumb to age, but that too passes; I
approach the end and will go the way of all flesh. I was born in order to
die. I die that I may live. Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom!

St. Tikhon of Zadonsk

The Devil also manifests his presence in our hearts by unusually violent
irritation. We sometimes become so sick with our own self-love that we
cannot even endure the slightest contradiction, any spiritual or material
obstacles; cannot bear a single, rough, harsh word. But then is the very
time for endurance when the waters of malice and impatience reach the
depths of our souls.

Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

A monk was once asked: What do you do there in the monastery? He
replied: We fall and get up, fall and get up, fall and get up again.

Tito Colliander

Strive never to offend anyone. Never grow angry. Never teach. When
something happens against your will, say: “Glory to God! Glory to
God!” One needs to restrain oneself.

Archbishop Seraphim Sobolev of Bogucharsk

When you perceive in yourself something worthy of praise, and you

feel a desire to tell others about it, try immediately to destroy this desire
with the thought that you will not receive any benefit from relating it,
but only harm.

Metropolitan Gregory Postnikov of St. Petersburg

The more goods people acquire today, the more problems they have.
They neither thank God for His benefactions, nor do they take notice of
the misfortunes suffered by their fellowmen to offer their charity.

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos

A monk also asked Sisoes: How can I attain humility? The saint replied:
When someone learns to acknowledge every man as being better than
himself, then he has attained humility.

The Prologue of Ohrid. St. Sisoes the Great

Faith is not an issue of great knowledge and learning but humble

submission not to the prevailing knowledge but to the truth of the
Church, timeless and eternal.

Protopresbyter Theodore Zissis

You see people abusing and reviling holy and sacred things and others
not saying anything. Being meek on such an occasion is demonic.

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos

Turn your face toward light, o son of light. The Father of light calls you
with a fiery love.

Missionary Letters of Saint Nikolai Velimirovich

If you read worldly magazines and newspapers, and derive some profit
from them, as a citizen, a Christian, and a member of a family, then you
ought still more and still oftener to read the Gospel and the writings of
the Holy Fathers; for it would be sinful for a Christian, who reads
worldly writings, not to read divinely-inspired ones.

Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

/

One may have a good worldly relationship with non-believers, but one
cannot have a relationship in prayer and one must not carry on
arguments about religion so that the name of God not be offended
during an argument.

St. Nektary of Optina

God in His goodness has arranged things perfectly, so that with our
gifts, we can help each other, and with our faults, we can be humbled
by each other. For every person has some gifts; but everyone also has
some faults which one must struggle to overcome.

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos

The crucified flesh reconciles itself with the spirit and with God; whilst
the flesh that is cherished, that is abundantly and daintily fed, fights
hard against the spirit and against God...
 Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

It is preferable for a sensitive person to die once out of love in order to

protect his neighbour, rather than be neglectful or cowardly and then to
be constantly tormented by his conscience for the rest of his life.

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos

In our time we see that if a person prays a little more than is customary,
reads a little of the Psalter, keeps the fast—he already thinks of himself
as better than others, he judges his neighbors, and begins to teach
without being asked. All this shows his spiritual emptiness, his
departure from the Lord. Fear a high opinion of yourself.

Abbot Nikon Vorobiev

If the work that you are doing is prolonged, unpleasant, hard, and is
someone else's as well, then to keep your soul in a holy and God-
pleasing disposition and to protect yourself from any foolish
disposition of soul, support yourself while you work with edifying
singing, as long as it is not ruled out by the work itself or the place and
time. Edifying singing greatly cheers, softens, and calms the soul. If, as
is well known, even unedifying, foolish singing during work greatly
cheers a person as he works, so much more will edifying singing.

Metropolitan Gregory Postnikov of St. Petersburg

If you wish, you can be a slave of passions, and if you wish, you can
remain free and not submit to their yoke; for God has created you with
that power.

St. Antony the Great

Is some poor person asking you for help? Even if you doubt his
situation, vou should still help him discreetly so that you are not
tempted by negative thoughts.

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos

Everyone recognizes as vile those who are ungrateful to other people;
even more so should we acknowledge as vile those who are ungrateful
to the Lord God. The holy Apostle numbers the ingratitude of people
among the vices of the people of the last time II Timothy :, that is, of the
most depraved time.

Metropolitan Gregory Postnikov of St. Petersburg

Sometimes people call prayer that which is not prayer at all; for
instance: a man goes to church, stands there for a time, looks at the
icons or at other people, their faces and dress, and says that he has
prayed to God; or else he stands before an icon at home, bows his head,
says some words he has learnt by heart, without understanding and
without feeling, and says that he has prayed, although with his
thoughts and heart he has not prayed at all, but was elsewhere with
other people and things, and not with God.

Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

If, therefore, we desire to be set free and to enjoy perfect freedom, let us
learn to cut off our desires.

Dorotheos of Gaza
Why did not the Almighty create the world at once, but in six days? In
order to teach man, by deeds, to perform his work gradually, not
hurriedly, but with consideration.

Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

If we do commit some sin again, we should without delay ask

forgiveness once again, and the Lord will forgive us, for He came not to
save the righteous but the sinners, i.e., those who acknowledge their
sins.

Abbot Nikon Vorobiev

- Geronda, when someone is not needy but pretends to be, should we

help him?
- Christ said, We should give to him who begs from us without
examining. Even if someone who begs from you is not in need, you
should still give to him. Be happy in giving to him.

Elder Paisios of Mount Athos

Satiety is extremely harmful for the soul. Whoever overindulges in food

or drink is incapable of spiritual exercises and can neither pray nor
reflect on any thing divine, because excess in food draws a person into
laziness, sleepiness, idleness, idle talk, ludicrous behavior, and a great
multitude of impure thoughts and desires.

Metropolitan Gregory Postnikov of St. Petersburg

The Christian today—not unlike Christians of other eras, but in ways

that are continually “updated” as society carries on—is not told simply
that he mustn’t fight the passions, that he mustn’t battle the devil: he is
told that the passions are unreal, that the devil does not exist. He is told
that ascesis is unnatural, that spiritual warfare is delusional. He is told
that judgment is oppressive and the desire to become something
defined by another even God! is psychologically unhealthy. He is told
that to believe in the Church’s tradition is a simplistic, pietistic
adherence to the past; that he had better “think for himself.”

Bishop Irenei Steenberg

One cannot love God if one has unkind feelings for even a single
human being.

Abbot Nikon Vorobiev

Do not spare yourself, but pray earnestly, even if you have been toiling
all day. Do not be negligent in holy prayer; say it to God unto the end
from your whole heart, for it is a duty you owe to God.

Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

Let this always be the aim of your conduct: to be courteous and

respectful to all.

Venerable Isaac the Syrian, bishop of Nineveh

Rationalism considers the understanding to be an infallible organ of

knowledge. Therefore, in relationship with the whole human person, it
appears as an anarchic apostate. It is like a branch that has cut itself off
from the vine, which can have no full life or creative reality on its own.
It is in no state to come to a knowledge of the truth, for in its egocentric
isolation it is divided, scattered, and full of gaps. Truth, by contrast, is
given to an intellect that has been purified, enlightened, transfigured
and deified by the action of the virtues.

Venerable Justin Popovic of Chelije in Serbia

The person who does not despise all material things, glory and bodily
comfort, even his own rights, cannot cut off his own will, nor can he be
delivered from wrath and sadness or comfort his neighbor.

Abba Dorotheos

Obedience is love, but disobedience is non-love, it is the trampling

upon love. Never decline from obedience.

Archbishop Seraphim Sobolev of Bogucharsk

Let’s not mix things up. Did the Saints have the kind of joy we are
seeking today? Did Panagia have such joy? Did Jesus go around
laughing? Which Saint has gone through this life without pain? Which
Saint had the joy sought by many present-day Christians who do not
want to hear anything unpleasant, who do not want to worry or lose
their serenity?

Elder Paisios of Mount Athos

Intending to offer up your prayer to God, cast aside all earthly thoughts
and cares. Do not engage in the thoughts which come to you at that
time, however important or brilliant or necessary they might seem.
Render to God the things that are God’s and you will have time to
render what is necessary for temporal life in its own time.

St. Igantius Brianchaninov

This is a great day, it is better than all the other days of my life, for
today my soul departs from bodily suffering and goes to rest in its
heavenly habitation. Today my body will find respite from its many
labors and illnesses. Today the light of my rest will receive me.

St Mark of Thrace
It is a good thing to believe in Christ, because without faith in Christ it
is impossible for anyone to be saved; but one must also be instructed in
the word of truth and understand it. It is a good thing to be instructed
in the word of truth, and to understand it is essential; but one must also
receive Baptism in the name of the Holy and Life-giving Trinity, for the
bringing to life of the soul. It is a good thing to receive Baptism and
through it a new spiritual life; but it is necessary that this mystical life,
or this mental enlightenment in the spirit, also should be consciously
felt. It is a good thing to receive with feeling the mental enlightenment
in the spirit; but one must manifest also the works of light. It is a good
thing to do the works of light; but one must also be clothed in the
humility and meekness of Christ for perfect likeness to Christ. He who
attains this and becomes meek and humble of heart, as if these were his
natural dispositions, will unfailingly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven
and into the joy of His Lord.

St. Symeon the New Theologian

When we read the lives of saints we gain two things. Firstly, the
example of their struggles wakes us from the numbness of negligence
and, secondly, when we read the lives of saints with reverence, the
saints intercede to Christ for us.
 Elder Arsenios the Cave-dweller -

Most importantly, preserve peace with your close ones, insofar as this
depends on you. Consider that all sorts of sick people have gathered
there in a group; this is so. For this reason you must relate to everyone
as they do in a hospital. They don’t berate people there i.e., in a hospital
for having an ailing lung or heart or stomach; they don’t say: “O you
good-for-nothing blind woman, what’s the matter with you that your
eyes are infected?”! So, too, you mustn’t rail at each other about your
spiritual illnesses.

Abbot Nikon Vorobiev

...if we are scandalized, the evil is within us not outside. When you feel
scandalized, you should ask yourself, How many do I scandalize? In
God’s name, shouldn’t I tolerate my brother or sister? How does God
tolerate me with all the things I do?

Elder Paisios of Mount Athos

/

Those who keep the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven, if they do not see
in a Christian the likeness of Christ, as a son to his father, will by no
means open them to him and allow him to enter.

St. Symeon the New Theologian

Even if we cannot endure much labor because we are weak let us be set
on humbling ourselves.

Dorotheos of Gaza

There are saints who were very anxious, who had nervous tics, and also
those who were very brusque. Others were exceptionally slow. Some
saints had physical defects. What makes a saint is not outward
perfection, it's that the old man is conquered on the inside. The saints
are not yet totally transfigured, and the old man continues to be visible
on the outside. These appearances can trick us and hide their inner
reality from us.

Elder Sergei of Vanves

If you see a man who has sinned and you do not pity him, the grace of
God will leave you. Whoever curses bad people, and does not pray for
them, will never come to know the grace of God.

St Silouan the Athonite

For if we refrain from sin merely out of fear of punishment, it is quite

clear that, unless punishment had awaited us, we should have done
things deserving punishment, since our propensity is for sinning. But if
we abstain from evil actions not through threat of punishment, but
because we hate such actions, then it is from love of the Master that we
practice the virtues, fearful lest we should fall away from Him.

St. Theodoros the Great Ascetic

The self-indulgent person loves wealth because it enables him to live
comfortably; -- the person full of self-esteem loves it because through it
he can gain the esteem of others; -- the person who lacks faith loves it
because, fearful of starvation, old age, disease, or exile, he can save it
and hoard it. He puts his trust in wealth, rather than in God, the
Creator who provides for all creation, down to the least of living things.

St Maximos the Confessor

It is not enough to simply make your confession to the Spiritual Father;

you must also truly repent of what you have done.

Elder Paisios of Mount Athos

Someone is tested through the trials of life. It is there that you see if he
has real love, a true spirit of sacrifice. And when we say that someone
has the spirit of sacrifice, we mean that at the time of danger he does
not consider himself but thinks of the others.

Elder Paisios of Mount Athos

...the more closely we imitate the Fathers in their way of life, the more
we will be able to attain their successful end.

Archimandrite Cherubim

Be extremely careful not to offend anyone in word or deed, for it is a

grave sin. When someone is offended, God, Who loves the man, is also
offended, for there can be no offending man without offending God.

St. Tikhon of Zadonsk

The rule of life for a perfect person is to be in the image and likeness of
God

St. Clement of Alexandria

I was diluted in the past when, while still in my childhood, I tried to

start by applying to the Divine Scriptures critical discussion rather than
pious research. Through my lax morals I closed off my own access to
the Lord. In my pride I dared to seek that which no one can find unless
he practices humility.

St. Augustine

In our age of moral and spiritual decline, only the heroic example of
righteous men and women is able to ignite a zeal for godly living in
accordance with the Divine commandments.

Hieromonk Seraphim Rose

Humility restrains the heart.

St. Isaac the Syrian

...know who you are in truth, and not who you imagine you are. With
this knowledge you become the wisest man.

Elder Joseph the Hesychast

In order to acquire true humility in Christ, one must first bear the
humiliation of Christ, one must be the last among his brothers and a
servant to them, in order to be a true disciple of Jesus.

Elder Basilisk

He who abandons prayer abandons his salvation; he who is careless

about prayer is careless about his salvation; he who quits prayer
renounces his salvation.

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

It is sinful to give up to sadness. We are exiles on earth. Exiles do not

wonder at insult an injury. We are under God's penance and a penance
consists of deprivations and difficulties. We are ill in soul and body and
bitter medicine is useful for the ill.

St. Theophil of the Kiev Caves

When we approach someone with pain and true love, then this true
love of Christ transforms our neighbor.

St. Paisios of Mount Athos

A man may seem to be silent, but if his heart is condemning others, he

is babbling ceaselessly. But there may be another who talks from
morning till night and yet he is truly silent, that is, he says nothing that
is not profitable.

Abba Pimen

A false understanding or conception of prayer always leads to a

fruitless or harmful practice of it.
 St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

He who is silent for a good end nourishes friendship and goes on his
way rejoicing, for he has received the enlightenment which dispels
darkness.

St. Maximos the Confessor

By the purity of our thoughts we can see everyone as holy and good.
When we see them as fools, this comes from our frame of mind.

St. Macarius of Optina

God loves us very much; He has us in mind in each and every moment
and He protects us. We should know this and not be afraid of anything.

Elder Porphyrios
/

Wherefore on no account suffer any evil habit to master thee; but, while
it is yet young, pluck the evil root out of thine heart, lest it fasten on
and strike root so deep that time and labor be required to uproot it.

St John Damascene

Comments by students:
А.С., Ю.К.

Because when we say, "Thy will be done," and wholly surrender

ourselves to God, it is then that the will of God is indeed done. But we,
on one hand, say, "Thy will be done," and on the other hand, keep
persisting in our own will. Well, what is God supposed to do then?

St. Paisios of Mount Athos

Comments by students:
А.С., А.Д., М.П., А.Щ.
Those who labor for the vain things in life strive to make those who
labor for God's sake stumble, that they might not be confronted with
examples that accuse their conscience; but in so doing they only
embellish the crowns of conscientious laborers.

Ephraim the Syrian

Comments by students:
А.С., С.Ф., А.Щ.

If one loses his cross, his life becomes cold and tepid, without
cooperation with God.

Metropolitan Saba Esber

Comments by students:
А.С., А.Д., М.П., А.Щ., М.К., Ю.К.

It is difficult for you, but think of how it was for the Savior on the
Cross. The end is near; life passes quickly. We are guests on earth,
migratory birds.

Archbishop Seraphim Sobolev of Bogucharsk

 Comments by students:
А.С., М.П., Ю.К.,
М.С.

By talents we mean not only wealth, education, or fame. Talents are

good conditions for salvation of the soul. Each of us has his own given
talents. Poverty, sickness, various sorrows — these are all talents. From
the worldly point of view, talents mean scholarly, musical, or artistic
abilities. They are not sinful; it is good when such abilities are
combined with a Christian life, and when they are dedicated to God. If
an ability prevents us from living in a godly manner and saving our
souls, then it should be abandoned. It is better to be a little stupider and
simpler, but to be saved. What benefit is it to you if you gain the whole
world but destroy your soul?

St. Nikon of Optina

Comments by students:
А.Д., М.П., С.Ф., А.Щ., М.К., Ю.К.,
М.С., П.П.

He whose will and desire in conversation is to establish his own

opinion, even though what he says is true, should recognize that he is
sick with the devil's disease.

St. John Climacus

 Comments by students:
А.С., А.Д., М.П., С.Ф., А.Щ., В.К., Ю.К.,
Д.К., М.С.

Steep and thorny is the path that leads to the Heavenly Kingdom. What
is your path? It is the struggle unto blood against fleshly passions and
self-love. Self-love is the soil upon which grow passions, emptiness of
life, and sorrow.

Archbishop Seraphim Sobolev of Bogucharsk

Comments by students:
А.С., М.П., А.Щ., Ю.К.,
А.К., Е.З., М.С., Н.Т., А.Я., Ю.К.

The Christian who is struggling in the world is helped when he has

relationships with spiritual people.

Elder Paisios of Mount Athos

Comments by students:
А.С., М.П., С.Ф., А.Щ., Ю.К.,
Ю.Г., А.К., Е.З., М.С., Н.Т., А.Я., Ю.К..
Those who inconsiderately toss out comments, even if they are true, can
cause harm.

Elder Paisios

Comments by students:
А.С., М.П., С.Ф., А.Щ., М.К., В.К., Ю.К.,
Ю.Г., А.К., М.С., Н.Т., А.Я., Ю.К.

As it is impossible to verbally describe the sweetness of honey to one

who has never tasted honey, so the goodness of God cannot be clearly
communicated by way of teaching if we ourselves are not able to
penetrate into the goodness of the Lord by our own experience.

St. Basil the Great

Comments by students:
А.С., М.П., С.Ф., А.Щ., М.К., Ю.К.,
Ю.Г., А.К., Е.З., М.С., А.Я., Ю.К., П.П.

Learn patience, patience, and patience, and humility will sprout with it
- "grow out of it". Out of this comes true spiritual life, and not an
imitation of it.
 Fr. John Krestiankin

Comments by students:
А.С., А.Д., М.П., М.К., С.Ф., А.Щ., М.К., Ю.К.,
Ю.Г., Е.З., М.С.

The aim is for one to struggle with discretion and philotimo responsive
gratitude, according to one's powers... God knows the struggle of each
person and what strength he gave to each person and he will reward
each accordingly. I love all equally and am moved by those who
struggle with responsive gratitude.

Elder Paisios of Mount Athos

Comments by students:
А.С., М.П., С.Ф., Ю.К.,
Ю.Г., М.С..

...God comes into our lives when we invite Him with all our being,
opening the gates of our heart from the inside. He will not come
uninvited... The moment you are willing to give over your whole self to
God - surrendering your life, your loved ones, your health, your
victories and defeats - He will come to you and help you in ways you
never dreamed possible.
 Fr. Vojislav Dosenovich

Comments by students: А.С., А.Д., М.К., Д.К..

The way of humility is this: self-control, prayer, and thinking yourself

inferior to all creatures.

Abba Thithoes

Comments by students: А.С., А.Щ., М.К., М.П., А.К., А.Б., Е.З., М.С., Н.Т., Д.К..

God does not come near to where flesh is in charge: God's contact with
man is through his spirit, and the spirit in such a person is out of its
proper order. He will feel God's calling for the first time when his spirit
begins to claim its rights in the voice of conscience and the fear of God.
And when a man finally makes his free deliberate choice for the spirit,
then God will join that man and dwell in him. From that moment on
begins the conversion of his soul and body, the whole inner and outer
man, until "God may be all in all" Cor. :, and the man which once was
carnal, transforms into a spiritual being and becomes sanctified. What a
marvelous privilege of mankind, and how few of us know about it,
appreciate it and seek it!

St. Theophan the Recluse

 Comments by students: А.Щ., С.Ф., А.С., М.П., А.К., А.Б., Е.З., М.С., Д.К..

Orthodoxy is life. If we don't live Orthodoxy, we simply are not

Orthodox, no matter what formal beliefs we might hold.

Fr. Seraphim Rose

Comments by
students: А.Щ., А.С., М.К., С.Ф., А.М., М.П., А.К., А.Я., Ю.К., Е.З., П.П., М.С., 
Н.Т., Д.К..

Cheerfulness is not a sin. It drives away weariness; and it is from

weariness that despondency comes, and there is nothing worse than
that. It brings with it everything negative.

St. Seraphim of Sarov

Comments by
students: А.С., А.Щ., В.К., А.М., А.Я., Ю.Г., А.К., А.Б., П.П., Ю.К., Е.З., Н.Т., Д.
К..
We should never say that nothing is important. On the contrary,
everything is important. Even the smallest of our actions impacts our
eternal salvation.

Elder Sergei of Vanves

Comments by
students: А.С., А.Щ., В.К., С.Ф., М.П., Е.З., А.К., Ю.Г., А.Б., Ю.К., Н.Т., Д.К..

A believer is not one who thinks that God can do everything, but one
who believes that he will obtain all things. Faith paves the way for what
seems impossible...

St. John Climacus

Comments by
students: С.Ф., А.Щ., А.С., М.П., А.К., Ю.Г.б А.Б., А.Я., Ю.К., Е.З., П.П., Н.Т., Д
.К..

God give us the strength to pursue the path of crucifixion; there is no

other way to be Christian.

Fr. Seraphim Rose

Comments by
students: М.П., С.Ф., А.С., А.Щ., М.К., А.Я., Е.З., А.К., Ю.Г., Ю.К., П.П., М.С., 
Н.Т., Д.К..

Only really great faith does not fear ridicule, or shrink from failure; it
does not even think of ridicule and failure, as it does not doubt success.

Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich

Comments by
students: С.Ф., А.С., А.Щ., М.К., Ю.Г., А.К., Ю.К., М.С., Н.Т., Д.К..

A human being who does not endure courageously the unpleasant

burdens of temptations, will never produce fruit worthy of the divine
wine-press and eternal harvest, not even if one possesses all other
virtues. For one is only perfected through zealously enduring both all
the voluntary and involuntary afflictions.

St. Gregory Palamas

Comments by
students: С.Ф., А.М., А.Щ., А.С., М.П., М.К., С.Ф., А.М., Е.З., Ю.Г., А.К., А.Б., 
Ю.К., М.С., Д.К..
If a person wants to get an idea about the pyramids of Egypt, he must
either trust those who have been in immediate proximity to the
pyramids, or he must get next to them himself. There is no third option.
In the same way a person can get an impression of God: He must either
trust those who have stood and stand in immediate proximity to God,
or he must take pains to come into such proximity himself.

St. Nicholas of Serbia

Comments by
students: А.Щ., А.С., М.П., А.Д., М.К., Е.З., Ю.Г., А.К., Ю.К., П.П., М.С., Н.Т., 
Д.К..

The man who endures accusations against himself with humility has
arrived at perfection. He is marveled at by the holy angels, for there is
no other virtue so great and so hard to achieve.

St Isaac of Syria

Comments by
students: В.К., М.К., А.Щ., А.С., А.М., М.П., А.Я., Е.З., Ю.Г., А.К., П.П., Ю.К., 
Н.Т., Д.К..

Struggle to the very end. The whole point of the struggle is not to be
delivered from the struggle, as it will go on forever. The reason to
struggle is that the more you do, the better chances you have of being
successful in your struggle.

Elder Sergei of Vanves

Comments by
students: А.Щ., А.М., А.С., С.Ф., М.П., В.К., М.К., Е.З., Д.К., А.Я., Ю.Г., А.К., П.
П., Ю.К., Н.Т..

The all-good Providence of God always arranges what is most

beneficial for us, while in our ignorance, we very often strive for the
very opposite.

St. Ambrose of Optina

Comments by students: А.Я., Ю.Г., М.С., Д.К.

...human reason has been corrupted since the fall of man; therefore, it
must be submitted to faith and revelation and thus raised up to a
higher level.

Father Seraphim Rose

 Comments by students: Н.Т., Ю.Г., Я.Б., А.Б., М.С..

Nobody can become a Christian by being lazy. It needs work, lots of

work.

Elder Porphyrios

Comments by students: Н.Т., Ю.Г., А.Я., М.Я., А.Б., Е.Е., Т.Д. Я.Б., М.С., Д.К..

There is no greater love than that a man lays down his life for his
neighbor. When you hear someone complaining and you struggle with
yourself and do not answer him back with complaints; when you are
hurt and bear it patiently, not looking for revenge; then you are laying
down your life for your neighbor.

Abba Poemen

Comments by students: Н.Т., Д.К..
When there is a respect for small things, there will be an even greater
respect towards the bigger things. When there is no respect for small
things, then neither will there be for the bigger ones. This is how the
Fathers maintained Tradition.

Elder Paisios

Comments by students: Н.Т., А.Я., П.П., М.С..

Do not believe brother, that inner thoughts can be controlled without

the control of the body. Fear bad habits more than devils.

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

Comments by students: Н.Т., П.П., Я.Б., М.С..

A discerning man, when he eats grapes, takes only the ripe ones and
leaves the sour. Thus also the discerning mind carefully marks the
virtues which he sees in any person. A mindless man seeks out the
vices and failings … Even if you see someone sin with your own eyes,
do not judge; for often even your eyes are deceived.

St. John Climacus

 Comments by students: Н.Т., А.Я., Ю.Г., Н.Т., П.П., Т.Д., Е.Е., А.В..

He who has realized love for God in his heart is tireless, as Jeremiah
says, in his pursuit of the Lord his God, and bears every hardship,
reproach and insult nobly, never thinking the least evil of anyone.

St Maximos the Confessor

Comments by students: Н.Т., А.К., Н.Т., А.Я., Е.Е., П.П., А.В..

One day, while St. Antony was sitting with a certain Abba, a virgin
came up and said to the Elder: "Abba, I fast six days of the week and I
repeat by heart portions of the Old and New Testament daily." To
which the Elder replied: "Does poverty mean the same to you as
abundance?" "No", she answered. "Or dishonour the same as praise?"
"No, Abba." "Are your enemies the same for you as your friends?" "No",
she replied. At that the wise Elder said to her: "Go, get to work, you
have accomplished nothing."

St. Peter of Damaskos

Comments by students: Ю.Г., А.О., П.П., А.Б., Е.Е., Д.К..
A dog is better than I am, for he has love and he does not judge.

Abba Xanthios

Comments by students: Ю.Г., Н.Т., Т.Д., А.Я., П.П., Е.Е., А.В., Д.К..

When conversion does take place, the process of revelation occurs in a

very simple way; a person is in need, he suffers, and then somehow the
other world opens up. The more you are in suffering and difficulties
and are desperate for God, the more He is going to come to your aid,
reveal who He is, and show you the way to get out.

Fr. Seraphim Rose

Comments by students: А.Я., Ю.Г., Н.Т., Т.Д., П.П., А.П., Е.Е..

What salt is for any food, humility is for every virtue. To acquire it, a
man must always think of himself with contrition, self-belittlement and
painful salf-judgment. But if we acquire it, it will make us sons of God.
 St. Isaac the Syrian

Comments by students: Е.З., А.К., Ю.Г., Н.Т., А.В., Е.Е., П.П..

Beware of the spirit of despondency, for it gives birth to every evil. A

thousand temptations come from it: agitation, rage, blame, complaint
against one's fate, profligate thoughts, constant change of place. The
soul then avoids people, believing them to be the cause of its trouble,
and does not understand that the cause of the illness is within itself.

St. Seraphim of Sarov

Comments by students: А.К., А.Я., Ю.Г., Н.Т., А.О..

Hell does not appear to the faithless; it is clear and obvious to the
faithful....

St. John Chrysostom

Comments by students: А.К., Ю.Г., Д.К.
You should continually and unceasingly call to mind all the blessings
which God in His love has bestowed on you in the past, and still
bestows for the salvation of your soul. You must not let forgetfulness of
evil or laziness make you grow unmindful of these many and great
blessings, and so pass the rest of your life uselessly and ungratefully.

St. Mark the Ascetic

Comments by students: А.Я., Д.К., П.П., А.К., Ю.Г., Н.Т..

Maladies in our eyes only appear painful, unpleasant and terrible. It is

seldom that any one of us during the time of sickness represents to
himself the profit which his illness brings to his soul; but in God's all
wise and most merciful Providence, not a single malady remains
without some profit to our soul.

St. John of Kronstadt

Comments by students:

If, therefore, we desire to be set free and to enjoy perfect freedom, let us
learn to cut off our desires.
 Dorotheos of Gaza

Our mind is so darkened by the fall that unless we force ourselves to

remember death we can completely forget about it. When we forget
about death, then we begin to live on earth as if we were immortal, and
we sacrifice all our activity to the world without concerning ourselves
in the least either about the fearful transition to eternity or about our
fate in eternity. Then we boldly and peremptorily override the
commandments of Christ; then we commit all the vilest sins; then we
abandon not only unceasing prayer but even the prayers appointed for
definite times -we begin to scorn this essential and indispensable
occupation as if it were an activity of little importance and little needed.
Forgetful of physical death, we die a spiritual death.

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

One must do good deeds but not place hope in them. To place hope in
one's deeds is a sign of self-reliance.

Elder Macarius of Optina

We see people sinning but we do not see them repenting.

St. John Climacus

Comments by students: Д.К..

Since this habit has acquired power over your heart through frequent
repetition of certain actions, which satisfy the passion dwelling in the
heart, opposing it in the heart is not enough to weaken and destroy this
power; you must use actions which are contrary to the former ones,
actions opposed to the passion, smashing and destroying it.

Unseen Warfare

For anything that is quickly obtained is also easily lost, whereas

everything found with toil is also kept with careful watching.

St. Isaac the Syrian

There are two paths. One, the path of self-reproach and humility. And
two, the path of self-justification and despondency.

Elder Michael

To love Christ means not to be a hireling, not to look upon a noble life
as an enterprise or trade, but to be a true benefactor and to do
everything only for the sake of love for God.

St John Chrysostom

A true Christian is made by faith and love toward Christ. Our sins do
not in the least hinder our Christianity, according to the word of the
Savior Himself. He deigned to say: not the righteous have I come to
call, but sinners to salvation; there is more joy in heaven over one who
repents than over ninety righteous ones.

St. Herman of Alaska

It is through victories in small things that the fathers won their great
battles.

St. Peter of Damaskos

It is not what man does which counts in eternal life, but what he is;
whether he is like Jesus Christ, our Lord, or if he is different and unlike
Him.

St. Symeon the New Theologian

We have to be aware that what is being pounded in upon us is all of

one piece; it has a certain rhythm, a certain message to give us, this
message of self-worship, of relaxing, of letting go, of enjoying yourself,
of giving up any thought of the other world... It is actually an education
in atheism. We have to fight back by knowing just what the world is
trying to do to us...

Fr. Seraphim Rose

We have to be aware that what is being pounded in upon us is all of
one piece; it has a certain rhythm, a certain message to give us, this
message of self-worship, of relaxing, of letting go, of enjoying yourself,
of giving up any thought of the other world... It is actually an education
in atheism. We have to fight back by knowing just what the world is
trying to do to us...

Fr. Seraphim Rose

In each matter about which a man boasts himself, God permits that he
change, so that he should be humbled, and learn humility.

St. Isaac the Syrian

Ever let mercy outweigh all else in you. Let our compassion be a mirror
where we may see in ourselves that likeness and that true image which
belong to the Divine nature and Divine essence. A heart hard and
unmerciful will never be pure."

St. Isaac of Syria

Whoever says that it is impossible to be saved with a wife and children
is a deceiver. Abraham had a wife and children and three hundred and
eighteen servants, and also much gold and silver, and he was called the
friend of God! Many servants of the Church have been saved, and
many lovers of the desert; many aristocrats, and many soldiers; many
craftsmen, and many farm laborers. Be devout towards God and loving
towards men, and you will be saved.

St. Niphon

. Be always with Christ and trust God in everything.

. Pray as you can, not as you think you must.
. Have a keepable rule of prayer done by discipline.
. Say the Lord's Prayer several times each day.
. Repeat a short prayer when your mind is not occupied.
. Make some prostrations when you pray.
. Eat good foods in moderation and fast on fasting days.
. Practice silence, inner and outer.
. Sit in silence to minutes each day.
. Do acts of mercy in secret.
. Go to liturgical services regularly.
. Go to confession and holy communion regularly.
. Do not engage intrusive thoughts and feelings.
. Reveal all your thoughts and feelings to a trusted person regularly.
. Read the scriptures regularly.
. Read good books, a little at a time.
. Cultivate communion with the saints.
. Be an ordinary person, one of the human race.
. Be polite with everyone, first of all family members.
. Maintain cleanliness and order in your home.
. Have a healthy, wholesome hobby.
. Exercise regularly.
. Live a day, even a part of a day, at a time.
. Be totally honest, first of all with yourself.
. Be faithful in little things.
. Do your work, then forget it.
. Do the most difficult and painful things first.
. Face reality.
. Be grateful.
. Be cheerful.
. Be simple, hidden, quiet and small.
. Never bring attention to yourself.
. Listen when people talk to you.
. Be awake and attentive, fully present where you are.
. Think and talk about things no more than necessary.
. Speak simply, clearly, firmly, directly.
. Flee imagination, fantasy, analysis, figuring things out.
. Flee carnal, sexual things at their first appearance.
. Don't complain, grumble, murmur or whine.
. Don't seek or expect pity or praise.
. Don't compare yourself with anyone.
. Don't judge anyone for anything.
. Don't try to convince anyone of anything.
. Don't defend or justify yourself.
. Be defined and bound by God, not people.
. Accept criticism gracefully and test it carefully.
. Give advice only when asked or when it is your duty.
. Do nothing for people that they can and should do for themselves.
. Have a daily schedule of activities, avoiding whim and caprice.
. Be merciful with yourself and others.
. Have no expectations except to be fiercely tempted to your last breath.
. Focus exclusively on God and light, and never on darkness,
temptation and sin.
. Endure the trial of yourself and your faults serenely, under God's
mercy.
. When you fall, get up immediately and start over.
. Get help when you need it, without fear or shame.

Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko // – //. “ Maxims” – On Living a

Christian Life

Источник

Previously, I wanted everything to go my way, but seeing that nothing

was done as I wanted, I began to wish that everything be done as it is
done; so it was that everything started to be done as I wanted.

Elder Joseph of Optina

One day, while St. Antony was sitting with a certain Abba, a virgin
came up and said to the Elder: "Abba, I fast six days of the week and I
repeat by heart portions of the Old and New Testament daily." To
which the Elder replied: "Does poverty mean the same to you as
abundance?" "No", she answered. "Or dishonour the same as praise?"
"No, Abba." "Are your enemies the same for you as your friends?" "No",
she replied. At that the wise Elder said to her: "Go, get to work, you
have accomplished nothing."

St. Peter of Damascus

The thoughts which originate from God bring internal peace and joy to
the person. On the contrary, the thoughts which originate from the
devil are filled with agitation, disturbance and grief.

Abba Barsanouphios

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul:
but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matt. : KJV

Compel yourselves; say the prayer; stop idle talk; close your mouths to
criticism; place doors and locks against unnecessary words. Time
passes and does not come back, and woe to us if time goes by without
spiritual profit.

Elder Ephraim

Perfection... is clearly not achieved simply by being naked, by the lack

of wealth or by the rejection of honors, unless there is also that love
whose ingredients the apostle described cf. I Cor. and which is to be
found solely in purity of heart. Not to be jealous, not to be puffed up,
not to act heedlessly, not to seek what does not belong to one, not to
rejoice over some injustice, not to plan evil - what is this and its like if
not the continuous offering to God of the heart that is perfect and truly
pure, a heart kept free of all disturbance?

St. John Cassian

...for to be Christian is to be crucified in this time and in any time since

Christ came for the first time. His life is the example and warning to us
all. We must be crucified personally, mystically; for through crucifixion
is the only path to resurrection, if we would rise with Christ, we must
be humbled with him even to the ultimate humiliation, being devoured
and spit forth by the uncomprehending world...

Fr. Seraphim Rose

Because we put ourselves out of the sight of God we are led captive by
the passions of the body.

Abba Theona

When the mind forgets the purpose of piety, then visible works of
virtue become useless.

St. Mark the Ascetic

"But I say to you," the Lord says, "love your enemies, do good to those
who hate you, pray for those who persecute you." Why did he
command these things? So that he might free you from hatred, sadness,
anger and grudges, and might grant you the greatest possession of all,
perfect love, which is impossible to possess except by the one who
loves all equally in imitation of God.

St. Maximus the Confessor

In spite of our sinfulness, in spite of the darkness surrounding our
souls, the Grace of the Holy Spirit, conferred by baptism in the name of
the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, still shines in our hearts
with the inextinguishable light of Christ ... and when the sinner turns to
the way of repentance the light smooths away every trace of the sins
committed, clothing the former sinner in the garments of incorruption,
spun of the Grace of the Holy Spirit. It is this acquisition of the Holy
Spirit about which I have been speaking.

St. Seraphim of Sarov

A man who is wrathful with us is a sick man; we must apply a plaster

to his heart - love; we must treat him kindly, speak to him gently,
lovingly. And if there is not deeply-rooted malice against us within
him, but only a temporary fit of anger, you will see how his heart, or his
malice, will melt away through your kindness and love - how good will
conquer evil. A Christian must always be kind, gracious, and wise in
order to conquer evil by good.

St. John of Kronstadt

We see the water of a river flowing uninterruptedly and passing away,

and all that floats on its surface, rubbish or beams of trees, all pass by.
Christian! So does our life... I was an infant, and that time has gone. I
was an adolescent, and that too has passed. I was a young man, and
that too is far behind me. The strong and mature man that I was is no
more. My hair turns white, I succumb to age, but that too passes; I
approach the end and will go the way of all flesh. I was born in order to
die. I die that I may live. Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom!

St. Tikhon of Voronezh

For virtue is a light and buoyant thing, and all who live in her way "fly
like clouds" as Isaiah says, "and as doves with their young ones"; but
sin is a heavy affair, as another of the prophets says, "sitting upon a
talent of lead".

St. Gregory of Nyssa

I have consciousness of my sinfulness, but I live with hope. It is bad to

despair, because someone who despairs becomes embittered and loses
his willingness and strength. Someone who has hope, on the contrary,
advances forward.

Elder Porphyrios
He who busies himself with the sins of others, or judges his brother on
suspicion, has not yet even begun to repent or to examine himself so as
to discover his own sins...

St. Maximos the Confessor

Look at all the earth supplies in summer and in autumn! Every

Christian, especially the priest, ought to imitate God's bountifulness.
Let your table be open to everybody, like the table of the Lord. The
avaricious is God's enemy.

St. John of Kronstadt

The forgetting of wrongs is a sign of true repentance. But he who

dwells on them and thinks that he is repenting is like a man who thinks
he is running while he is really asleep.

St. John Climacus

The mind that realizes it's own weakness has discovered whence it
might enter upon salvation and draw near to the light of knowledge
and receive true wisdom which does not pass away with this age.

St. Gregory Palamas

He who wants to do something and cannot is, in the eyes of God who
sees our hearts, as though he has done it. This should be understood as
being so in relation to good and evil alike.

St. Mark the Ascetic

God created everything not only for our use, but also that we, seeing
the great wealth of His creations, might be astonished at the might of
the Creator and might understand that all this was created with
wisdom and unutterable goodnness for the honor of man, who was to
appear.

St. John Chrysostom

A life lived in humility and with an irreproachable conscience brings
peace, tranquility, and true happiness. But wealth, honor, glory and
exalted position often serve as the cause of a multitude of sins, and such
happiness is not one on which to rely.

St. Makary of Optina

The chief evil with relation to the body is love for the body and pitying
it. This takes away all the soul's authority over the body and makes the
soul the slave of the body. And on the contrary, one who does not spare
the body will not be disturbed in whatever he does by apprehensions
born of blind love of life. How fortunate is one who is trained to this
from childhood!

St. Theophan the Recluse

The message of this universal temptation that attacks men today - quite
openly in its secular forms, but usually more hidden in its religious
forms - is: Live for the present, enjoy yourself, relax, be comfortable.
 Fr. Seraphim Rose

...know who you really are in truth, and not what you imagine you are.
With this knowledge you become the wisest man.

Elder Joseph the Hesychast

In short, let every action be a cause of your remembering and praising

God, and lo! you will be praying without ceasing and therein your soul
will always rejoice.

St. Peter of Damascus

Only the benumbed soul doesn't pray. Preserve in yourselves the

feeling of need, and you will always have stimulation for prayer.

St. Theophan the Recluse

Every physical and spiritual task which does not involve pain and toil
and trouble never bears fruit for the person who engages in it, for the
Kingdom of Heaven is taken by violence and the violent lay hold of it...

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

Blessed is he who strives to please the Lord as others try to please men.

St. John Climacus

Thus, while you are neglecting yourself and hardly taking stock of
yourself, the evil spirits enter into you and destroy and lay barren your
mind, dissipating your thoughts on things of this world.

St. Macarius of Egypt

Men of the world love the world because they have not yet discovered
its bitterness. They are still blind in soul and do not see what is hiding
behind this fleeting joy.

Elder Joseph the Hesychast

Strive to become for the whole community a good example of every

virtue: of humility, gentleness, active compassion, obedience even in
the least of things, freedom from anger, detachment, unpossessiveness
and compunction, guilelessness and uninquisitiveness, of simplicity
and estrangement from the world.

St. Simeon the New Theologian

Those who pursue the carnal mode of life and in whom the will of the
flesh is imperious - who are, quite simply, carnal - are not able to
conform to God's will cf. Rom. :. Their judgement is eclipsed and they
are totally impervious to the rays of divine light: the engulfing clouds
of the passions are like high walls that shut out the resplendence of the
Spirit and leave them without illumination.

Nikitas Stithatos
For a man to attempt to teach his neighbor, when he hath not been
required [so to do], is the same as offering him a rebuke.

from: "Paradise of the Holy Fathers Vol."

If there is any rest for us in this world, then it consists only in purity of
the conscience and patience. This is a harbor for us who sail upon the
sea of life...

St. Tikhon of Zadonsk

"Beloved brother, the peace that makes you think your way is right is
simply insensitivity and unawareness of your sinfulness due to your
negligent life."

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

I saw that there was no tragedy in God. Tragedy is to be found solely in
the fortunes of the man whose gaze has not gone beyond the confines
of this earth.

Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov

One of the Fathers said, "The eyes of pigs have a natural conformation
which makes them turn toward the ground and they can never look up
to heaven, so is the soul of one who lets himself be carried away by
pleasure. Once the soul is allowed to slip into the slough of enjoyment,
she can no longer get out again."

from: Wisdom of the Desert Fathers

Acts of charity, almsgiving and all the external good works do not
suppress the arrogance of the heart; but noetic meditation, the labor of
repentance, contrition and humility — these humble the proud mind.

Elder Joseph the Hesychast

Beguiling and deceptive is the life of the world, fruitless its labor,
perilous its delight, poor its riches, delusive its honors, inconstant,
insignificant; and woe to those who hope in its seeming goods: because
of this many die without repentance.

Elder Nazarius.

No wonder, then, that it is so hard to be Christian — it is not hard it is

impossible. No one can knowingly accept a way of life which, the more
truly it is lived, leads more surely to one's own destruction. And that is
why we constantly rebel, try to make life easier, try to be half-Christian,
try to make the best of both worlds. We must ultimately choose — our
felicity lies in one world or the other, not in both.

Fr. Seraphim Rose.