Brief Quotes from Various Saints
Abba Macarius - Have Mercy
"There is no need at all to make long discourses; it is enough to stretch out one's hand and say, "Lord, as you will, and as you know, have mercy." And if the conflict grows fiercer say, "Lord help!" God knows very well what we need and He shows us His mercy."
Abba Peomen - Covering Sin
A brother asked Abba Poemen, "If I see my brother sin, is it right to say nothing about it?" The old man replied, "whenever we cover our brother's sin, God will cover ours; whenever we tell people about our brother's guilt, God will do the same about ours."
Abba Peomen - No Greater Love
"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 Sisoes - Never Give Up
A young monk said to the great ascetic Abba Sisoes: "Abba, what should I do? I fell." The elder answered: "Get up!" The monk said: "I got up and I fell again!" The elder replied: "Get up again!" But the young monk asked: "For how long should I get up when I fall?" "Until your death," answered Abba Sisoes.
Sayings of the Desert Fathers
Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia - Liturgy
"Let us go forth in peace" is the last commandment of the Liturgy. What does it mean? It means, surely, that the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy is not an end but a beginning. Those words, "Let us go forth in peace," are not merely a comforting epilogue. They are a call to serve and bear witness. In effect, those words, "Let us go forth in peace," mean the Liturgy is over, the liturgy after the Liturgy is about to begin.
This, then, is the aim of the Liturgy: that we should return to the world with the doors of our perceptions cleansed. We should return to the world after the Liturgy, seeing Christ in every human person, especially in those who suffer. In the words of Father Alexander Schmemann, the Christian is the one who wherever he or she looks, everywhere sees Christ and rejoices in him. We are to go out, then, from the Liturgy and see Christ everywhere."
Dostoevsky - Change
"Everybody wants to change the world, but nobody thinks about changing himself."
Joseph of Panephysis - Become All Flame
Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, `Abba, as far as I can I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as far as I can, I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?" Then the old man stood up and stretched his hands towards heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said to him, "If you will, you can become all flame!"
Joseph of Panephysis
Joseph the Hesychast - True Humility and Others
"When you humble yourself, everyone will seem saintly to you; when you are proud, everyone will seem bothersome and bad."
Monk Moses of Mount Athos - The Mature Fruit of Prayer
The power of prayer is to be found in its mature fruit, increasingly savored by the believer as he persists in long struggle. Abba Neilos says that prayer is protection against sadness and discouragement, which means that prayer protects the soul from the sins of dispirited sadness, despondency, oppression and despair. And he adds: "It is prayer which blossoms the spirit of meekness and peacefulness." These virtues are fruits of prayer, not acquired by momentary action, but requiring continuous fervent effort.
The most discerning St. John of the Ladder refers to prayer as the source of virtues, the nourishment of the soul, the enlightenment of the mind, the weapon which cuts off despair, the overcoming of grief, the reduction of wrath, the mirror of progress, the indicator of moderation, and the true reflection of our spiritual condition.
From Athonite Flowers: Seven Contemporary Essays on the Spiritual Life
Mother Maria of Paris - Love
"However hard I try, I find it impossible to construct anything greater than these three words, 'Love one another' —only to the end, and without exceptions: then all is justified and life is illumined, whereas otherwise it is an abomination and a burden."
Prayer For Orthodox Evangelism
Lord, give me the strength to greet the coming day in peace. Help me in all things to rely on Your holy will. Reveal Your will to me every hour of the day. Bless my dealings with all people. Teach me to treat all people who come to me throughout the day with peace of soul and with firm conviction that Your will governs all. In all my deeds and words guide my thoughts and feelings. In unexpected events, let me not forget that all are sent by you. Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without embittering and embarrassing others. Give me the physical strength to bear the labors of this day. Direct my will, teach me to pray, pray in me. Amen.
(taken from Morning Prayer of Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow):
St. Clement of Alexandria - The Perfect Person's Rule of Life
The perfect person does not only try to avoid evil. Nor does he do good for fear of punishment, still less in order to qualify for the hope of a promised reward. The perfect person does good through love. His actions are not motivated by desire for personal benefit, so he does not have personal advantage as his aim. But as soon as he has realized the beauty of doing good, he does it with all his energies and in all that he does. He is not interested in fame, or a good reputation, or a human or divine reward. The rule of life for a perfect person is to be in the image and likeness of God.
St. Gregory of Nyssa - Lightness of Virtue
"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 - On Prayer
...the man who makes prayer without being properly taught, will not lift himself up to the height of the Giver, but wants the Divine power to descend to the mean, earthly level of his own desires. Therefore he offers unruly cravings to Him who sees into the hearts, not desiring Him to heal the perverse movements of his mind, but to make them worse, for through the help of God the evil desire would become fact. Because someone gives me pain and my heart hates him it says to God: Strike him;... it is also clear that he who tries to set God against his enemy, asks Him to share his own angry excitement. But this means that the Divine should succumb to passion, behave in a human manner and change from His own natural goodness into the ferocity of a beast.
Such is the behavior of a man mad after fame, or of one who in his arrogance lusts for more; these are the manners of men bent on winning a lawsuit, pressing for the crown in the games or ambitious for fame in the theatre, often also of those consumed with the insane passions of youth. They all do not pray to God that they might be delivered from the disease that holds them captive, but that the disease might be brought to perfection… Truly they babble nonsense, imploring God to become their fellow patient in this mental disease. Worst of all, they want to move the Divine towards contrary desires, they would divide the power of God into two, namely into savagery and lovingkindness. One the one hand they want Him to be gracious and gentle to themselves, on the other they ask Him to show Himself hard and bitter to their enemies.
Homily 1 on the Lords Prayer, page 28-29
St. Gregory the Theologian - God Is
God always was, and always is, and always will be. Or rather, God always Is. For Was and Will be are fragments of our time, and of changeable nature, but He is Eternal Being. And this is the Name that He gives to Himself when giving the Oracle to Moses in the Mount. For in Himself He sums up and contains all Being, having neither beginning in the past nor end in the future; like some great Sea of Being, limitless and unbounded, transcending all conception of time and nature, only adumbrated [intimated] by the mind, and that very dimly and scantily.
St. Gregory Palamas
Whereas humility is the virtue of the good angels, and defeats any human evil that comes upon fallen mankind. Humility is the chariot by which we ascend to God, like those clouds which are to carry up to God those who would dwell for endless ages with Him, as foretold by the apostle: “We shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess, 4:17). Humility is the same as such a cloud. It is formed by repentance, releases streams of tears; brings out the worthy from among the unworthy and leads them up to unite them with God, justified by His free gift for the gratitude of their free disposition
St. Herman of Alaska - Hope and Joy
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. Likewise concerning the sinful woman who touched His feet, He deigned to say to the Pharisee Simon: to one who has love, a great debt is forgiven, but from one who has no love, even a small debt will be demanded. From these judgments a Christian should bring himself to hope and joy, and not in the least accept an inflicted despair. Here one needs the shield of faith.
Letters of St. Herman of Alaska
St. Isaac of Syria - Mercy and Compassion
"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, Directions on Spiritual Training
St. John Chrysostom - God's Mercy Saves
Even if we have thousands of acts of great virtue to our credit, our confidence in being heard must be based on God's mercy and His love for men. Even if we stand at the very summit of virtue, it is by mercy that we shall be saved.
St. John Chrysostom - The Desire To Rule
"The desire to rule is the mother of heresies."
St. John Chrysostom - To Love Christ
"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 - Truly Noble Life
"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 - Vice and Virtue
Let no man then of those who live in vice despair; let no man who lives in virtue slumber.
St. John Climacus - Judgment Of Others
"Fire and water do not mix, neither can you mix judgment of others with the desire to repent. If a man commits a sin before you at the very moment of his death, pass no judgment, because the judgment of God is hidden from men. It has happened that men have sinned greatly in the open but have done greater deeds in secret, so that those who would disparage them have been fooled, with smoke instead of sunlight in their eyes."
St. John of Kronstadt - The Holy Ghost
It is easy for a believer to attract the Holy Ghost to himself, as it is easy to draw air into one's self; like air, He fills everything and penetrates everything "Who art everywhere present and fillest all things." He who prays fervently, draws the Holy Ghost into himself, and prays by the Holy Ghost.
St. John of Kronstadt - What is our Life?
What is our life? The burning of a candle; He Who gave it has but to blow -- and it goes out. What is our life? The journey of a traveller; as soon as it reaches a certain limit, the gates are opened to him, he lays aside his travelling dress (the body) and his staff, and enters into his house. What is our life? A prolonged bloody war for the possession of the true country and true freedom. When the war is over we shall be either conquererors or conquered; we shall be called from the place of combat to the place of reward, and obtain from the Recompenser either eternal reward, eternal glory, or eternal punishment, eternal shame.
St. John of Kronstadt - The Saints' Images
God rests in the saints and even in their very names, in their very images; it is only necessary to use their images with faith, and they will work miracles.
St. John of Kronstadt - A Changing Heart
"The heart can change several times in one moment - to good or evil, to faith or unbelief, to simplicity or cunning, to love or hatred, to benevolence or envy, to generosity or avarice, to chastity or fornication. O, what inconstancy! O, how many dangers! O, how sober and watchful we must be!"
St. John of Kronstadt - Curing Others
"Evil is corrected by good; faults by love, kindness, meekness, humility and patience. Acknowledge yourself as the greatest of sinners. Of those who appear to you to be sinners, or are sinners in fact, consider yourself worse and lower than all. Be rid of all pride and malice against your neighbor, all impatience and bad-temper, and only then - with love and long-suffering towards them - try to cure others. Until then, cover the sins of others with your indulgent love."
St. John of Kronstadt - Healing a Wrathful Man
"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, "My Life in Christ".
St. John of Kronstadt - Oneness
"As the Holy Trinity, our God is One Being, although Three Persons, so, likewise, we ourselves must be one. As our God is indivisible, we also must be indivisible, as though we were one man, one mind, one will, one heart, one goodness, without the smallest admixture of malice - in a word, one pure love, as God is Love. "That they may be one, even as We are One" (John 17:22).
St. John of Kronstadt - Praying alone
"When you are praying alone, and your spirit is dejected, and you are wearied and oppressed by your loneliness, remember then, as always, that God the Trinity looks upon you with eyes brighter than the sun; also all the angels, your own Guardian Angel, and all the Saints of God. Truly they do; for they are all one in God, and where God is, there are they also. Where the sun is, thither also are directed all its rays. Try to understand what this means."
St. John of Kronstadt - What Faith Accomplishes
"There is nothing impossible unto those who believe; lively and unshaken faith can accomplish great miracles in the twinkling of an eye. Besides, even without our sincere and firm faith, miracles are accomplished, such as the miracles of the sacraments; for God's Mystery is always accomplished, even though we were incredulous or unbelieving at the time of its celebration... Our wickedness shall not overpower the unspeakable goodness and mercy of God;..."
St. Maximos the Confessor - Judgment and Repentance
"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-(Third Century on Love no. 55)
St. Maximus the Confessor - Love Your Enemies
"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. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain - God's Way
Fear of torment is the way of a slave, desire of reward in the heavenly kingdom is the way of a hireling, but God's way is that of a son, through love.
St. Silouan the Athonite.
One of you may protest: he does nothing but discourse on the love of God. But what else should we deliberate on but God? Did He not create us that we might live eternally with Him and behold His glory? When a man loves, his desire is to talk of the object of his love; and then habit enters in—if you make a habit of thinking of God, you will always carry God with you in your soul. If you are for ever thinking of earthly matters, they will absorb your mind. Make a habit of meditating on the Lord’s sufferings, or on eternal fire, and they will become engrained in your soul.
St. Symeon the New Theologian - Coming Life
"In the future life the Christian is not examined if he has renounced the whole world for Christ's love, or if he has distributed his riches to the poor or if he fasted or kept vigil or prayed, or if he wept and lamented for his sins, or if he has done any other good in this life, but he is examined attentively if he has any similitude with Christ, as a son does with his father."
St. Symeon the New Theologian - Worthy Life
"Provided they live a worthy life, both those who choose to dwell in the midst of noise and hubbub and those who dwell in monasteries, mountains and caves can achieve salvation. Solely because of their faith in Him God bestows great blessings on them. Hence those who because of their laziness have failed to attain salvation will have no excuse to offer on the day of judgment. For He who promised to grant us salvation simply on account of our faith in Him is not a liar."
St. Theophan the Recluse-State of the true Christian
"The body at work, but the mind and heart with God: such should be the state of the true Christian."
St. Tikhon of Veronezh-Yoke of Christ
"My poor soul! Sigh, pray and strive to take upon you the blessed yoke of Christ, and you will live on earth in a heavenly manner. Lord, grant that I may carry the light and goodly yoke, and I shall be always at rest, peaceful, glad and joyous; and I shall taste on earth of crumbs which fall from the celestial feast, like a dog that feeds upon the crumbs which fall from the master's table."
St. Tikhon of Voronezh - Life Is Passing Away
"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!"
The Elevation of the Cross
The Cross is the preserver of the entire universe. The Cross is the comeliness of the Church. The Cross is the might of kings. The Cross is the stead fastness of believers. The Cross is the glory of the angels and the sting of Satan.
Today the Cross is elevated and the world sanctified; for Thou Who sittest with the Father and the Holy Spirit, when Thou didst stretch Thy hands thereon, didst draw the whole world to Thy knowledge. Make worthy, therefore, of Thy divine glory those who rely on Thee.
Exapostilaria from Orthros for the Elevation of the Cross
Venerable Elias the Egyptian - Guard Your Mind
“Guard your mind from evil thoughts concerning your neighbors, knowing that the demons put them there, aiming to blind you to your own sins and prevent you from directing yourself toward God.”
"There is no need at all to make long discourses; it is enough to stretch out one's hand and say, "Lord, as you will, and as you know, have mercy." And if the conflict grows fiercer say, "Lord help!" God knows very well what we need and He shows us His mercy."
Abba Peomen - Covering Sin
A brother asked Abba Poemen, "If I see my brother sin, is it right to say nothing about it?" The old man replied, "whenever we cover our brother's sin, God will cover ours; whenever we tell people about our brother's guilt, God will do the same about ours."
Abba Peomen - No Greater Love
"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 Sisoes - Never Give Up
A young monk said to the great ascetic Abba Sisoes: "Abba, what should I do? I fell." The elder answered: "Get up!" The monk said: "I got up and I fell again!" The elder replied: "Get up again!" But the young monk asked: "For how long should I get up when I fall?" "Until your death," answered Abba Sisoes.
Sayings of the Desert Fathers
Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia - Liturgy
"Let us go forth in peace" is the last commandment of the Liturgy. What does it mean? It means, surely, that the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy is not an end but a beginning. Those words, "Let us go forth in peace," are not merely a comforting epilogue. They are a call to serve and bear witness. In effect, those words, "Let us go forth in peace," mean the Liturgy is over, the liturgy after the Liturgy is about to begin.
This, then, is the aim of the Liturgy: that we should return to the world with the doors of our perceptions cleansed. We should return to the world after the Liturgy, seeing Christ in every human person, especially in those who suffer. In the words of Father Alexander Schmemann, the Christian is the one who wherever he or she looks, everywhere sees Christ and rejoices in him. We are to go out, then, from the Liturgy and see Christ everywhere."
Dostoevsky - Change
"Everybody wants to change the world, but nobody thinks about changing himself."
Joseph of Panephysis - Become All Flame
Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, `Abba, as far as I can I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as far as I can, I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?" Then the old man stood up and stretched his hands towards heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said to him, "If you will, you can become all flame!"
Joseph of Panephysis
Joseph the Hesychast - True Humility and Others
"When you humble yourself, everyone will seem saintly to you; when you are proud, everyone will seem bothersome and bad."
Monk Moses of Mount Athos - The Mature Fruit of Prayer
The power of prayer is to be found in its mature fruit, increasingly savored by the believer as he persists in long struggle. Abba Neilos says that prayer is protection against sadness and discouragement, which means that prayer protects the soul from the sins of dispirited sadness, despondency, oppression and despair. And he adds: "It is prayer which blossoms the spirit of meekness and peacefulness." These virtues are fruits of prayer, not acquired by momentary action, but requiring continuous fervent effort.
The most discerning St. John of the Ladder refers to prayer as the source of virtues, the nourishment of the soul, the enlightenment of the mind, the weapon which cuts off despair, the overcoming of grief, the reduction of wrath, the mirror of progress, the indicator of moderation, and the true reflection of our spiritual condition.
From Athonite Flowers: Seven Contemporary Essays on the Spiritual Life
Mother Maria of Paris - Love
"However hard I try, I find it impossible to construct anything greater than these three words, 'Love one another' —only to the end, and without exceptions: then all is justified and life is illumined, whereas otherwise it is an abomination and a burden."
Prayer For Orthodox Evangelism
Lord, give me the strength to greet the coming day in peace. Help me in all things to rely on Your holy will. Reveal Your will to me every hour of the day. Bless my dealings with all people. Teach me to treat all people who come to me throughout the day with peace of soul and with firm conviction that Your will governs all. In all my deeds and words guide my thoughts and feelings. In unexpected events, let me not forget that all are sent by you. Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without embittering and embarrassing others. Give me the physical strength to bear the labors of this day. Direct my will, teach me to pray, pray in me. Amen.
(taken from Morning Prayer of Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow):
St. Clement of Alexandria - The Perfect Person's Rule of Life
The perfect person does not only try to avoid evil. Nor does he do good for fear of punishment, still less in order to qualify for the hope of a promised reward. The perfect person does good through love. His actions are not motivated by desire for personal benefit, so he does not have personal advantage as his aim. But as soon as he has realized the beauty of doing good, he does it with all his energies and in all that he does. He is not interested in fame, or a good reputation, or a human or divine reward. The rule of life for a perfect person is to be in the image and likeness of God.
St. Gregory of Nyssa - Lightness of Virtue
"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 - On Prayer
...the man who makes prayer without being properly taught, will not lift himself up to the height of the Giver, but wants the Divine power to descend to the mean, earthly level of his own desires. Therefore he offers unruly cravings to Him who sees into the hearts, not desiring Him to heal the perverse movements of his mind, but to make them worse, for through the help of God the evil desire would become fact. Because someone gives me pain and my heart hates him it says to God: Strike him;... it is also clear that he who tries to set God against his enemy, asks Him to share his own angry excitement. But this means that the Divine should succumb to passion, behave in a human manner and change from His own natural goodness into the ferocity of a beast.
Such is the behavior of a man mad after fame, or of one who in his arrogance lusts for more; these are the manners of men bent on winning a lawsuit, pressing for the crown in the games or ambitious for fame in the theatre, often also of those consumed with the insane passions of youth. They all do not pray to God that they might be delivered from the disease that holds them captive, but that the disease might be brought to perfection… Truly they babble nonsense, imploring God to become their fellow patient in this mental disease. Worst of all, they want to move the Divine towards contrary desires, they would divide the power of God into two, namely into savagery and lovingkindness. One the one hand they want Him to be gracious and gentle to themselves, on the other they ask Him to show Himself hard and bitter to their enemies.
Homily 1 on the Lords Prayer, page 28-29
St. Gregory the Theologian - God Is
God always was, and always is, and always will be. Or rather, God always Is. For Was and Will be are fragments of our time, and of changeable nature, but He is Eternal Being. And this is the Name that He gives to Himself when giving the Oracle to Moses in the Mount. For in Himself He sums up and contains all Being, having neither beginning in the past nor end in the future; like some great Sea of Being, limitless and unbounded, transcending all conception of time and nature, only adumbrated [intimated] by the mind, and that very dimly and scantily.
St. Gregory Palamas
Whereas humility is the virtue of the good angels, and defeats any human evil that comes upon fallen mankind. Humility is the chariot by which we ascend to God, like those clouds which are to carry up to God those who would dwell for endless ages with Him, as foretold by the apostle: “We shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess, 4:17). Humility is the same as such a cloud. It is formed by repentance, releases streams of tears; brings out the worthy from among the unworthy and leads them up to unite them with God, justified by His free gift for the gratitude of their free disposition
St. Herman of Alaska - Hope and Joy
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. Likewise concerning the sinful woman who touched His feet, He deigned to say to the Pharisee Simon: to one who has love, a great debt is forgiven, but from one who has no love, even a small debt will be demanded. From these judgments a Christian should bring himself to hope and joy, and not in the least accept an inflicted despair. Here one needs the shield of faith.
Letters of St. Herman of Alaska
St. Isaac of Syria - Mercy and Compassion
"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, Directions on Spiritual Training
St. John Chrysostom - God's Mercy Saves
Even if we have thousands of acts of great virtue to our credit, our confidence in being heard must be based on God's mercy and His love for men. Even if we stand at the very summit of virtue, it is by mercy that we shall be saved.
St. John Chrysostom - The Desire To Rule
"The desire to rule is the mother of heresies."
St. John Chrysostom - To Love Christ
"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 - Truly Noble Life
"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 - Vice and Virtue
Let no man then of those who live in vice despair; let no man who lives in virtue slumber.
St. John Climacus - Judgment Of Others
"Fire and water do not mix, neither can you mix judgment of others with the desire to repent. If a man commits a sin before you at the very moment of his death, pass no judgment, because the judgment of God is hidden from men. It has happened that men have sinned greatly in the open but have done greater deeds in secret, so that those who would disparage them have been fooled, with smoke instead of sunlight in their eyes."
St. John of Kronstadt - The Holy Ghost
It is easy for a believer to attract the Holy Ghost to himself, as it is easy to draw air into one's self; like air, He fills everything and penetrates everything "Who art everywhere present and fillest all things." He who prays fervently, draws the Holy Ghost into himself, and prays by the Holy Ghost.
St. John of Kronstadt - What is our Life?
What is our life? The burning of a candle; He Who gave it has but to blow -- and it goes out. What is our life? The journey of a traveller; as soon as it reaches a certain limit, the gates are opened to him, he lays aside his travelling dress (the body) and his staff, and enters into his house. What is our life? A prolonged bloody war for the possession of the true country and true freedom. When the war is over we shall be either conquererors or conquered; we shall be called from the place of combat to the place of reward, and obtain from the Recompenser either eternal reward, eternal glory, or eternal punishment, eternal shame.
St. John of Kronstadt - The Saints' Images
God rests in the saints and even in their very names, in their very images; it is only necessary to use their images with faith, and they will work miracles.
St. John of Kronstadt - A Changing Heart
"The heart can change several times in one moment - to good or evil, to faith or unbelief, to simplicity or cunning, to love or hatred, to benevolence or envy, to generosity or avarice, to chastity or fornication. O, what inconstancy! O, how many dangers! O, how sober and watchful we must be!"
St. John of Kronstadt - Curing Others
"Evil is corrected by good; faults by love, kindness, meekness, humility and patience. Acknowledge yourself as the greatest of sinners. Of those who appear to you to be sinners, or are sinners in fact, consider yourself worse and lower than all. Be rid of all pride and malice against your neighbor, all impatience and bad-temper, and only then - with love and long-suffering towards them - try to cure others. Until then, cover the sins of others with your indulgent love."
St. John of Kronstadt - Healing a Wrathful Man
"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, "My Life in Christ".
St. John of Kronstadt - Oneness
"As the Holy Trinity, our God is One Being, although Three Persons, so, likewise, we ourselves must be one. As our God is indivisible, we also must be indivisible, as though we were one man, one mind, one will, one heart, one goodness, without the smallest admixture of malice - in a word, one pure love, as God is Love. "That they may be one, even as We are One" (John 17:22).
St. John of Kronstadt - Praying alone
"When you are praying alone, and your spirit is dejected, and you are wearied and oppressed by your loneliness, remember then, as always, that God the Trinity looks upon you with eyes brighter than the sun; also all the angels, your own Guardian Angel, and all the Saints of God. Truly they do; for they are all one in God, and where God is, there are they also. Where the sun is, thither also are directed all its rays. Try to understand what this means."
St. John of Kronstadt - What Faith Accomplishes
"There is nothing impossible unto those who believe; lively and unshaken faith can accomplish great miracles in the twinkling of an eye. Besides, even without our sincere and firm faith, miracles are accomplished, such as the miracles of the sacraments; for God's Mystery is always accomplished, even though we were incredulous or unbelieving at the time of its celebration... Our wickedness shall not overpower the unspeakable goodness and mercy of God;..."
St. Maximos the Confessor - Judgment and Repentance
"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-(Third Century on Love no. 55)
St. Maximus the Confessor - Love Your Enemies
"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. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain - God's Way
Fear of torment is the way of a slave, desire of reward in the heavenly kingdom is the way of a hireling, but God's way is that of a son, through love.
St. Silouan the Athonite.
One of you may protest: he does nothing but discourse on the love of God. But what else should we deliberate on but God? Did He not create us that we might live eternally with Him and behold His glory? When a man loves, his desire is to talk of the object of his love; and then habit enters in—if you make a habit of thinking of God, you will always carry God with you in your soul. If you are for ever thinking of earthly matters, they will absorb your mind. Make a habit of meditating on the Lord’s sufferings, or on eternal fire, and they will become engrained in your soul.
St. Symeon the New Theologian - Coming Life
"In the future life the Christian is not examined if he has renounced the whole world for Christ's love, or if he has distributed his riches to the poor or if he fasted or kept vigil or prayed, or if he wept and lamented for his sins, or if he has done any other good in this life, but he is examined attentively if he has any similitude with Christ, as a son does with his father."
St. Symeon the New Theologian - Worthy Life
"Provided they live a worthy life, both those who choose to dwell in the midst of noise and hubbub and those who dwell in monasteries, mountains and caves can achieve salvation. Solely because of their faith in Him God bestows great blessings on them. Hence those who because of their laziness have failed to attain salvation will have no excuse to offer on the day of judgment. For He who promised to grant us salvation simply on account of our faith in Him is not a liar."
St. Theophan the Recluse-State of the true Christian
"The body at work, but the mind and heart with God: such should be the state of the true Christian."
St. Tikhon of Veronezh-Yoke of Christ
"My poor soul! Sigh, pray and strive to take upon you the blessed yoke of Christ, and you will live on earth in a heavenly manner. Lord, grant that I may carry the light and goodly yoke, and I shall be always at rest, peaceful, glad and joyous; and I shall taste on earth of crumbs which fall from the celestial feast, like a dog that feeds upon the crumbs which fall from the master's table."
St. Tikhon of Voronezh - Life Is Passing Away
"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!"
The Elevation of the Cross
The Cross is the preserver of the entire universe. The Cross is the comeliness of the Church. The Cross is the might of kings. The Cross is the stead fastness of believers. The Cross is the glory of the angels and the sting of Satan.
Today the Cross is elevated and the world sanctified; for Thou Who sittest with the Father and the Holy Spirit, when Thou didst stretch Thy hands thereon, didst draw the whole world to Thy knowledge. Make worthy, therefore, of Thy divine glory those who rely on Thee.
Exapostilaria from Orthros for the Elevation of the Cross
Venerable Elias the Egyptian - Guard Your Mind
“Guard your mind from evil thoughts concerning your neighbors, knowing that the demons put them there, aiming to blind you to your own sins and prevent you from directing yourself toward God.”