QUOTATIONS:
"If we live in the way we have promised, we will receive,
as daily and life-giving bread for the nourishment of our souls and the
maintenance of the good state with which we have been blessed, the Logos
Himself; for it was He Who said, 'I am the bread that comes down from heaven and
gives life to the world' (cf. John 6:33-35). In proportion to our capacity the
Logos will become everything for us who are nourished through virtue and wisdom;
and in accordance with His own judgment He will be embodied differently in each
recipient of salvation while we are still living in this age. This is indicated
in the phrase of the prayer which says, 'Give s this day our daily bread' (Mt.
6:11)." St. Maximos the Confessor.
"If you help a poor person in the name of the Lord, you
are making a gift and at the same time granting a loan. You are making a gift
because you have no expectation of being reimbursed by that poor person. You are
granting a loan because the Lord will settle the account. It is not much that
the Lord receives by means of the poor, but He will pay a great deal on their
behalf. 'They who are kind to the poor lend to the Lord' [Prov. 19:17]."
St. Basil the Great.
"Intelligent silence is the mother of prayer, freedom from bondage, custodian of zeal, a guard on our thoughts, a watch on our enemies, a prison of mourning, a friend of tears, a sure recollection of death, a painter of punishment, a concern with judgment, servant of anguish, foe of license, a companion of stillness, the opponent of dogmatism, a growth of knowledge, a hand to shape contemplation, hidden progress, the secret journey upward." St. John Climacus.
"Let us guard our mouth
constantly, set reason on it to close it, not for it to be constantly closed
but for it to open appropriately in season: there are times when silence is of
more value than speech, as likewise speech more than silence. This is the
reason why that most sage composer said, 'A time for keeping silence, and a
time for speaking.' After all, if being open at all times was necessary, there
would be no doors, while if being closed was required at all times, there
would be no need of a guard. I mean, what would you guard if things were
closed up? Door and guard are for this reason, however, for us to use each at
the proper time."
St. John Chrysostom.
"A fox pretends to be asleep; the body and the demons pretend to be chaste. The former is on the watch to seize a bird, the latter to catch a soul. So as long as you live, never trust that clay of which you are made and never depend on it until the time you stand before Christ Himself. And never imagine that abstinence will keep you from falling. It was a being who never ate that was nevertheless thrown out of heaven." St. John Climacus.
"The eyes can distract the mind very quickly
and cause it in a flash to slip into the place of sin. The eyes look upon
something passionately; they fondly dwell upon the idol of beauty; in an
instant it is impressed upon the mind; the soul is pleased by the sight of
the idol; the mind transmits it appetite and desire to the heart, and the
sin is committed without a witness, according to St. Basil. This then is
what the Lord meant when He said: 'whoever looks at a woman to lust for
her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.' (Matt. 5:28).
This is why Solomon reminded us: 'Do not lust after her beauty in your
heart, Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.' (Prv. 6:25)."
St. Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain.
"If we attempted to make an image of the invisible
God, this would be sinful indeed. It is impossible to portray one who is without
body: invisible, uncircumscribed, and without form. Again, if we made images of
men and believed them to be gods, and adored them as if they were so, we would
be truly impious. We do neither of these things. But we are not mistaken if we
make images of God incarnate, who was seen on earth in the flesh, associated
with men, and in His unspeakable goodness assumed the nature, feeling, form, and
color of our flesh. For we yearn to see how He looked as the apostle says, 'Now
we see through a glass darkly.' Now the icon is also a dark glass, fashioned
according to the limitations of our physical nature. Though the mind wear itself
out with effort, it can never cast away its bodily nature,"
St. John of Damascus.
"The Lives of the Saints are a sort of Orthodox
Encyclopedia. In them can be found everything which is necessary for the soul
which hungers and thirsts for eternal righteousness and eternal truth in this
life, and which hungers and thirsts for Divine immortality and eternal life.
If faith is what you need, there you will find it in abundance: and you will
feed your soul with food which will never make it hungry. If you need love,
truth, righteousness, hope, meekness, humility, repentance, prayer, or
whatever virtue or spiritual struggle and will obtain grace-filled help for
every virtue."
Fr. Justin Popovich.
"Nothing done in humility for the sake of God is bad. But things and pursuits differ. Everything not strictly necessary is a hindrance to salvation - everything, that is to say, that does not contribute to the soul's salvation or to the body's life. For it is not food, but gluttony, that is bad; not money, but attachment to it; not speech, but idle talk; not the world's delights, but dissipation; not love of one's family, but the neglect of God that such love may produce; not the clothes worn only for covering and protection from cold and heat, but those that are excessive and costly; not the houses that also protect us from heat and cold, as well as from anything human or animal that might harm us, but houses with two or three floors, large and expensive; not owning something, but owning it when it has no vital use for us." St. Peter of Damascus.
But as we cannot imitate God, let us imitate the
Apostles whom the world held in hatred for they were not of this world.
Imitate them, follow them. Perhaps you are thinking that it is difficult to
ascend above the world by merely human virtue. Well said! but even the
Apostles in their following of the Lord (not as equals but as disciples),
merited to rise above the world. You too should be Christ's disciple and an
imitator of Christ; He will pray for you as He prayed for them. And He said,
'Not only do I pray for the Apostles, but for those who will believe in Me
through their word, so that all my be one.'"
St. Ambrose of Milan.
"The Christian has no reason to have in his heart any ill-feelings whatever against anyone - such ill-feeling, like every other evil, is the work of the devil; the Christian must only have love in his heart; and as love cannot think of evil, he cannot have any ill-feeling against others. For instance, I must not think that anyone else is evil or proud without having positive reasons to think so, or I must not think that it will make him proud if I show him respect, or that if I forgive him he will again offend me and will mock at me. We must not let evil in any form nestle in our heart; but evil generally appears in too many forms." St. John of Kronstadt
"These are the works of
righteousness: fasting, alms, vigil, holiness, and the rest of such works
performed with the body. Love for one's neighbor, humility of heart, forgiving
those who have sinned, recollection of good things, investigation of the
mysteries concealed in the holy Scriptures, the mind's occupation with good
works, the bridling of the soul's passions, and the rest of such virtues, are
performed in the soul. All these require knowledge, for knowledge guards them
and teaches their order."
St. Isaac the Syrian.
"Nothing is more unsettling than talkativeness and more
pernicious than an unbridled tongue, disruptive as it is of the soul's proper
state. For the soul's chatter destroys what we build each day and scatters what
we have laboriously gathered together. What is more disastrous than this
'uncontrollable evil' (Jas. 3:8)? The tongue has to be restrained, checked by
force and muzzled, so to speak, and made to serve only what is needful. Who can
describe all the damage that the tongue does to the soul?"
St. Philotheos of Sinai.
"In addition to its own efforts to nourish itself spiritually, the mind also
attempts as much as possible to bring back the senses toward the mind so that
they too may enjoy with it spiritual pleasures and thus become accustomed
gradually to prefer them. This is how it happened before with the mind when it
became accustomed through the senses to prefer physical pleasures. At first,
generally speaking, the body attempted through the senses and the physical
pleasures to make the mind and the spirit of man into flesh. On the contrary
now, the mind seeks purposely through the enjoyment of the immaterial and
spiritual realities to uplift the body also from its physical heaviness, and in
a sense to make it into spirit..."
St. Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain.
"Wherefore, as children of light and truth, flee from
division and wicked doctrines; but where the shepherd is, there do ye as sheep
follow. For there are many wolves that appear worthy of credit, who, by means
of a pernicious pleasure, carry captives those that are running towards God;
but in your unity they shall have no place."
St. Ignatius of Antioch.
The man who lives daily with the
thought of death is to be admired, and the man who gives himself to it by the
hour is surely a saint. And yet not every desire for death is good. A habitual
sinner prays humbly for death, but the man who does not want to change his ways
may, in sheer despair, actually long for death."
St. John Climacus.
"A person who suffers bitterly when
slighted or insulted should recognize from this that he still harbors the
ancient serpent in his breast. If he quietly endures the insult or responds with
great humility, he weakens the serpent and lessens its hold. But if he replies
acrimoniously or brazenly, he gives it strength to pour its venom into his heart
and to feed mercilessly on his guts. In this way the serpent becomes
increasingly powerful; it destroys his soul's strength and his attempts to set
himself right, compelling him to live for sin and to be completely dead to
righteousness."
St. Symeon the New Theologian.
"What is the purpose
of the incarnation of the Divine Logos which is proclaimed throughout the
Scriptures, about which we read and which yet we do not recognize? Surely it is
that He has shared in what is ours so as to make us participants in what is His.
For the Son of God became the Son of man in order to make us human beings sons
of God, raising us up by grace to what He is by nature, giving us a new birth in
the Holy Spirit and leading us directly into the kingdom of heaven. Or, rather,
He gives us the grace to possess this kingdom within ourselves (cf. Luke 17:21),
so that not merely do we hope to enter it but, being in full possession of it,
we can affirm: 'Our life is hid with Christ in God' (Col. 3:3)."
St. Symeon the New Theologian.
IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES
Author Unknown
Jan 18, 2007
"If I knew it would be the last time that I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly and pray the Lord your soul to keep.
If I knew it would be the last time that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss and call you back for one more.
If I knew it would be the last time I'd hear your voice lifted up in
praise, I would video tape each action and word, so I could play them
back day after day.
If I knew it would be the last time, I could spare an extra minute or
two to stop and say "I love you," instead of assuming, you would KNOW I
do.
If I knew it would be the last time I would be there to share your
day, well I'm sure you'll have so many more, so I can let just this one
slip away.
For surely there's always tomorrow to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance to make everything right.
There will always be another day to say our "I Love You's",
and certainly there's another chance to say our "Anything I can do's?"
But just in case I might be wrong, and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you and I hope we never forget.
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike,
and today may be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight.
So if you're waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today? For if
tomorrow never comes, you'll surely regret the day that you didn't take
that extra time for a smile, a hug, or a kiss and you were too busy to
grant someone, what turned out to be their one last wish.
So hold your loved ones close today, whisper in their ear,
tell them how much you love them and that you'll always hold them
dear.
Take time to say "I'm sorry," "please forgive me," "thank you" or
"it's okay".
And if tomorrow never comes, you'll have no regrets about today."
Asceticism and Purity
by Father Matta El Maskeen (Matthew the Poor)
A few pointers on how to wisely practice asceticism to crucify the will
and allow the soul to flourish in God.
1. We should not see
austerity, or asceticism, as an end in itself. Neither should we delight in
practicing it to the exclusion of everything else. By doing so we are only
allowing it to distract us from progressing toward God and
completing our union with him in mature love.
2. Ascetic disciplines
are nothing more than the means to mortify the old Adam and crucify our will,
our passions, and the desires that work in us for iniquity. Ascetic is only a
way of showing our love and tender feelings toward
God. 3.
Perseverance in practicing the kinds of austerities after being renewed and
filled with grace serves only to counter the tendency to hanker after what the
world offers. It helps to
restrain the will from inclining toward sin. 4.
If we make progress
in such a discipline, this should not become a matter of pride. If it
does, we will open ourselves up to the spirit of self-righteousness.
This will immediately arrest our spiritual growth.
5. The most
austere asceticism can never erase even a single sin. It cannot atone
for the slightest transgression we may have committed. Such is the case if that
austerity is devoid of love toward God or of the intercession of free grace. For
this is only attainable by the blood of Christ.
6. Our asceticism should not be so severe as to be
cruel to our own body. It should not prevent us from performing the daily
tasks of life actively. 7.
Our attention should be inwardly focused upon the will, which drives us to lust
and sin. This perverse will of ours craves for what belongs to it. All its aims
terminate at one point: the ego. The ego is our enemy. We have to struggle
against it with our fasts and vigils until it dies completely. It is only then
that we will possess the new will, which carries our the will of God alone. (See
the article on "The Ego".) 8.
Asceticism should not assume the form of a bodily
suppression or repression For once the practice of ascetics disappears, the
result is an acute reaction. Man returns to his former state or even to a more
depraved one. Asceticism should be soberly and wisely practiced, not out of
grief or pain but in joy and happiness. The limits of the ascetic life should be
set by the guidance of a prudent spiritual father. Those who practice it should
not under reach or overreach the limits of their abilities. Otherwise, the
practice may cease altogether, in which case the
ascetic life will lose its desired fruit. Ascetic discipline should begin below
the level of one's ability. It should then ascend and grow until it turns into a
natural personal quality that forms a major part of one's way of life.
9. If ascetic
discipline is devoid of love and joy in the Lord, it turns into a source
of depression, sullenness, and perturbation. It may also be a cause of
pride and self-righteousness.
10. Many are those who have
struggled and freed themselves from the world by the most severe austerities.
However, since they did not submit themselves to the hand of God and the work of
grace in lowliness and humility, they have gone astray. If we are freed from the
world, we must also be freed from ourselves, so that God can take us and shape
us freely.
See also:
http://www.stmina-monastery.org/FrMatta/
"Our works in this life are the sowing, and the future life is the harvest of
what we have sown. Whatever one sows here, that is what he shall reap there. If
one hastens to cultivate the field of his heart, to fertilize it and to sow in
it the seeds of immortal grain, he can confidently expect to see a corresponding
harvest unto eternal rest and delight. He that sows with tears of repentance
shall reap with rejoicing and 'shall be filled,' says the Prophet (Ps. 16:16 and
125:6), for sweet rest follows upon the labors of piety. But rest and
refreshment are denied to him who has not labored in the work of piety - he that
is idle should not eat, it is said (cf. 2 Th. 3:10)."
Elder Moses of Optina.
Do you know what eternity is? Eternity is beginning without end. That is, one it begins it never ends. Or, it is always and never. That is, it shall always be and never cease. This is eternity. All the ages from the foundation of the world to the end are as the smallest speck as compared to the whole world, or as a minute as compared to thousands of years." St. Tikhon of Zadonsk.
عرفنى يارب نهايتى ومقدار أيامى كم هى فأعلم كم أنا زائل مز 4:39
It was said
concerning Abba Agathon that some monks came to find him having heard tell of
his great discernment. Wanting to see if he would lose his temper they said to
him, "Aren't you Agathon who is said to be a fornicator and proud man? '"Yes, it
is very true," he answered. They resumed. "Aren't you that Agathon who is always
talking nonsense?" "I am" Again they said, "Aren't you Agathon the heretic?" But
at that he replied "I am not a heretic." So they asked him, "Tell us why you
accepted everything we cast you, but repudiated this last insult." He replied,
"The first accusations I take to myself, for that is good for my soul. But
heresy is separation from God. Now I have no wish to be separated from God." At
this saying they were astonished at his discernment and returned, edified.
From the Desert Fathers.
"For not he who commends
himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends." 2 Corinthians 10:18
"Grace is not merely faith, but also active prayer. For the
latter shows in practice true faith, made living by Jesus, for it comes from the
Spirit through love. And so faith is dead and lifeless in a man who does not see
it active in himself. More than that - a man has no right to be called faithful,
if his faith is a bare word and if he has not in him a faith made active by love
or the Spirit. Thus faith must be made evident by progress in works, or it must
act in the light and shine in works, as the divine Apostle says: 'Show me thy
faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works (James
2:18).'"
St. Gregory of Sinai.
"It is not possible to correct yourself rightly if you do not recognize the evil
hidden in your heart and the calamities that proceed from it. An unrecognized
disease remains untreated. The beginning of health is to know your disease, and
the beginning of blessedness is to know your misfortune and wretchedness. For
who having recognized his illness does not seek healing, and who knowing his
misfortune does not seek deliverance from it?"
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk
"Faith is the key of God's
treasury. She dwells in simple, kind, loving hearts. `All things are possible
to him that believeth.' Faith is a spiritual mouth, the more freely it opens
the greater the stream by which the Divine springs enter into it; let this
mouth freely open, as your bodily one does; do not let your lips be compressed
by doubt and unbelief: if you compress them by doubt and unbelief, the
treasury of God's blessings will be closed to you. The more openly, the more
heartily you believe in God's omnipotence, the more bountifully will God's
heart be opened to you. `What things so ever ye desire, when ye pray believe
that ye receive them and ye shall have them.'"
St. John of Kronstadt
"Do not fear bodily privations, but fear spiritual privations. Do not fear, do not be faint-hearted, do not be irritated when you are deprived of money, food, drink, enjoyments, clothes, dwelling, even of your body itself; but fear when the enemy deprives your soul of faith, of trust, and love for God and your neighbor; when he sows hatred, enmity, attachments to earthly things, pride, and other sins in your heart. `Fear not them which will kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul' (Matt. 10:23)." St. John of Kronstadt.
"Faith is the key of God's treasury. She dwells in simple, kind, loving
hearts. `All things are possible to him that believeth.' Faith is a spiritual
mouth, the more freely it opens the greater the stream by which the Divine
springs enter into it; let this mouth freely open, as your bodily one does; do
not let your lips be compressed by doubt and unbelief: if you compress them by
doubt and unbelief, the treasury of God's blessings will be closed to you. The
more openly, the more heartily you believe in God's omnipotence, the more
bountifully will God's heart be opened to you. `What things so ever ye desire,
when ye pray believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them.'"
St. John of Kronstadt.
"When the foolish thought of counting up any of your good works enters into your head, immediately correct your fault and rather count up your sins, your continual and innumerable offences against the All-merciful and Righteous Master, and you will find that their number is as the sand of the sea, whilst your virtues in comparison with them are as nothing." St. John of Kronstadt
"What the soul is in the body, that are Christians in the world." Author Unknown
"If the body in accordance with St. John of Sinai
alters the intellect to
become fleshy and clay-like and passionate, it defiles and darkens the
intellect with its indecent and profane desires, the same body with its
practical virtues (especially fasting and vigil) assists to illuminate
the
intellect and take the road of dispassion."
Archimandrite Ioannikios Kotsonis.
In addition to its own efforts to nourish itself
spiritually, the mind also attempts as much as possible to bring back the
senses toward the mind so that they too may enjoy with its spiritual pleasures
and thus become accustomed gradually to prefer them. This is how it happened
before with the mind when it becomes accustomed through the senses to prefer
physical pleasures. At first, generally speaking, the body attempted through
the senses and the physical pleasures to make the mind and the spirit of man
into flesh. On the contrary now, the mind seeks purposely through the
enjoyment of the immaterial and spiritual realities to uplift the body also
from its physical heaviness, and in a sense to make it into spirit, as St.
Maximos has witnessed in many of his writings."
St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain.
"You contend against Him, because He has not replied to all your words, God will speak once, and will not repeat the same thing a second time. As if he were to say, God does not reply in private speaking to the hearts of men one by one, but fashions His word in such a manner as to satisfy the inquiries of all men. For if we look to our own cases one by one, we are sure to find them in the teaching of His Scriptures, nor is there need to seek for a special answer from the voice of God, in our own special sufferings. For there a general reply is given to all of us in our own special sufferings: there the conduct of those who go before is a model for such as come after." St. Gregory the Great.
"Fasting is acceptable to God when abstention from food is accompanied by refraining from sins, from envy, from hatred, from calumny, from vainglory, from wordiness, from other evils. He who is fasting the true fast `that is agreeable' to God ought to shun all these things with all his strength and zeal, and remain impregnable and unshakeable against all the attacks of the Evil one that are planned from that quarter. On the other hand, he who practices abstention from food, but does not keep self-control in the face of the aforesaid passions, is like unto one who lays down splendid foundations for a house, yet takes serpents and scorpions and vipers as fellow-dwellers therein. For just as the establishment of goodly foundations for that house becomes a deadly trap to those that come nigh, as the lurking reptiles fall upon them unawares with their poison, so also that person who has established his fame among men by means of fasting, while fostering within him the beastlike heads of the passions, is fatal to those that meet him." St. Photios the Great.
"Take care, beloved, that His blessings, numerous as
they are, do not turn to our condemnation in case we do not - through a life
unworthy of Him - do with perfect accord what is good and pleasing in His
sight. For somewhere it is said: `The Spirit of the Lord is a lamp that
searches the deep recesses of the soul.' Let us understand how nigh He is, and
that none of the thoughts we entertain or the plans we devise are hidden from
Him. It is right, therefore, that we should not desert the place His will has
assigned to us." St. Clement of Rose.
"A man cannot be so perfect as to be free from sin, and since everything
is subject to recompense, the righteous man receives for sin a
proportionate punishment, even though his sin may be minor. So too, if a
righteous man endures some misfortune he will receive his recompense here
in order that he might cast off his sin and enter cleansed into the
Kingdom of Heaven."
(St. John Chrysostom: "Homily on Lazarus")
"By faith the intellect is confirmed in pondering God. The way of
salvation is that of the constant remembrance of God. The intellect
separated from remembrance of God is like a fish out of water. The freedom
of a true man consists in his freedom from the passions, in his
resurrection with Christ, and in a joyous soul."
St. Justin Popovich.
"Faith in Christ is the new Paradise. Thus God knew before the foundation of the world all who believed and will believe in Him, whom He called and will not cease calling until the end, whom He glorified and will glorify, justified and will justify; those, clearly, whom He reveals as conformed to the glory of the image of His Son through holy Baptism and the grace of the Holy Spirit. He makes them mystically all His sons, and establishes them as new out of old, immortals out of mortals, and gives them commandments as one He gave to Adam. As many, then, as shall keep His commandments until death, the same show forth their love for God and ascend progressively towards yet greater glory." St. Symeon the New Theologian
"It is written: `Not everyone who says to Me: -Lord, Lord - shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father' (Mt.
7:21). The will of the Father is indicated in the words: `You who love the
Lord, hate evil' (Ps. 97:10). Hence we should both pray the Prayer of
Jesus Christ and hate our evil thoughts. In this way we do God's will."
St. Hesychios the Priest.
"Discrimination (Discernment) is born of humility. On its possessor it confers spiritual insight, as both Moses and St. John Climacos say: such a man foresees the hidden designs of the enemy and foils them before they are put into operation. It is as David states: `And my eyes looked down upon my enemies' (Ps. 54:7). Discrimination is characterized by an unerring recognition of what is good and what is not, and the knowledge of the will of God in all that one does. Spiritual insight is characterized, first, by awareness of one's own failing before they issue in outward actions, as well as of the stealthy tricks of the demons; and, second, by the knowledge of the mysteries hidden in the divine Scriptures and in sensible creation." St. Peter of Damascus
Let no one think that he endures suffering and achieves holiness through
his own powers. For God is the cause of all the good that comes to us,
just as the demon that deceives our souls is the cause of all the evils.
Therefore, give thanks to their Cause for whatever good acts you perform;
and attribute to their instigator the evils that trouble you."
St. Theodoros the Great Ascetic
اقتُل الغضب قبل أن يقتلك
"Fundamentalists are people to be diagnosed rather than heard!"
"But let no one imagine that humility can be achieved easily and without
labor. On the contrary, it needs more effort than the practice of any
other virtue. Why? Though man had received good seeds, the chief of the
opposite seeds - the tares of pride - sown by the enemy of our life, took
root while he was asleep. For the same thing by which the devil had caused
his own downfall to earth, caused the miserable human race to fling itself
down with him into the common ruin; and there is no other evil so harmful
to our nature as that which is caused by pride."
St. Gregory of Nyssa.
"Life in this world is like a manuscript of writings that is still in rough draft. When a man wishes of desires to do so, he can add something or subtract from it, and make changes in the writings. But the life in the world to come is like documents written on clean scrolls and sealed with the royal seal, where no addition or deletion is possible. Therefore, so long as we are found in the midst of change, let us pay heed to ourselves; and while we have power over the manuscript of our life, which we have written by our own hand, let us strive earnestly to add to it by leading a good manner of life, and let us erase from it the failings of our former life." St. Isaac the Syrian.
V V V
"Christians therefore ought to strive continually, and never to pass judgment on anyone - no, not upon the harlot on the street, or upon open sinners and disorderly persons - but to regard all men with singleness of intention and purity of eye, so that it may become like a fixed law of nature to despise no one, to judge no one, to abhor no one, to make no distinctions between them. If you see a man with one eye, be not divided in your heart, but look upon him as if he were whole. If a man is maimed of one hand, see him as not maimed, the lame as straight, the palsied as whole. This is purity of heart, when you see sinners or sick people, to have compassion on them and be tender-hearted towards them. It happens sometimes that the saints of the Lord sit in theatres and behold the deceit of the world. According to the inner man they are conversing with God, while according to the outer man they appear to men as contemplating what goes on in the world." St. Macarius the Great
V V V
"Do not fear bodily privations, but fear spiritual privations. Do not
fear, do not be faint-hearted, do not be irritated when you are deprived
of money, food, drink, enjoyments, clothes, dwelling, even of your body
itself; but fear when the enemy deprives your soul of faith, of trust, and
love for God and your neighbor; when he sows hatred, enmity, attachments
to earthly things, pride, and other sins in your heart. `Fear not them
which will kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul'."
(Matt. 10:23). St. John of Kronstadt.
V V V
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you,
then you win." - Mahatma Gandhi
"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far
one can go." - T. S. Eliot
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Subject: Gnostic Texts of Nag Hammadi
http://www.orthodoxwiki.org/Gnostic_Texts_of_Nag_Hammadi
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"Every evening we must test ourselves as to how the day passed with us, and every morning we again should test ourselves as to how the night passed. And not only at some definite time but at every time and in every place and concerning everything we must give account o ourselves, and reflect concerning the virtues and the passions, in what condition of life we are: in the beginning, at the middle, or at the end; whether we are laboring worthy of the rewards and performing virtues, or only laboring without receiving rewards." St. Paisius Velichkovsky
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Tell me, what is more foolish than he who disobeys God and does not strive
to attain to His adoption of sons? He who believes that God exists has
great thoughts of Him. He knows that God is the only Master, Creator, and
Lord of all things, that He is immortal, eternal, infinite, ineffable,
incorruptible, and that there will be no end of His kingdom. How should he
not be eager to lay down his life unto death for the love of Him, in order
that he might be worthy, if not to become His on and His heir, at least to
become on of His genuine servants who stand near Him? . Everyone on who
strives to keep all God's commandments without fail become both a child of
God and a son of God born form above and is known to all as a true
believer and a Christian."
St. Symeon the New Theologian
"If a man cannot feel intuitively that he has put on the image of our
heavenly Lord Jesus Christ, man and God, over his rational and
intellectual nature, then he remains but flesh and blood. He cannot gain
experience of spiritual glory by means of his reason, just as men who are
blind from birth cannot know sunlight by reason alone."
St. Symeon the New Theologian.
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"Do not be over-anxious and strain yourself so as to gain an immediate hearing for your request. The Lord wishes to confer greater favors than those you ask for, in reward for your perseverance in praying to Him. For what greater thing is there than to converse intimately with God and to be preoccupied with His company? Undistracted prayer is the highest act of the intellect." Evagrius Ponticus
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"Let yourself be persecuted, but do not persecute. Let yourself be
crucified, but do not crucify. Let yourself be insulted, but do not
insult."
St. Isaac the Syrian.
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"Try not to talk excessively in prayer, in case your mind is distracted by
the search of words. One word from the publican sufficed to placate God,
and a single utterance saved the thief." St. John
Climacus
"God's commandments excel all the treasures of the world. A man who has gained inward possession of them find the Lord in them. The man who always goes to bed with rumination upon God has gained Him as his Chamberlain; and he who desires the fulfillment of God's will, will have the angels of heaven as his guides. A man who fears sins will traverse a terrible passage without stumbling, and at a time of darkness he will find light before him and within himself. The Lord carefully watches the steps of the man who fears sins, and God's mercy forestalls him when he slips. A man who considers his transgressions to be slight, falls into worse sins than he formerly committed and he will pay his penalty sevenfold. Sow your alms in humility, and you will reap mercy at the judgment." St. Isaac the Syrian
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Rich is the Lord, and enriching; powerful is He. and He gives
unconquerable power; wise is He, and He gives wisdom; holy is He and He
hallows. For every gift is good and every gift is perfect that comes from
Him to those who strive to follow Him."
St. Theophan the Recluse.
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"It seems to me that few people understand the extent of the cunning
wickedness of these demons and the way in which they assist one another. I
have known the demon of cowardice to fight and work together with that of
listlessness. One comes to the aid of the other and reinforces him. The
first brings fear and obduracy into the soul, the second produces
darkness, negligence, blindness of heart and mind, and finally despair.
Listlessness is a real trial for all those engaged in the spiritual
struggle, but it becomes for them the ambassador of humility."
St. Symeon the New Theologian
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A brother confessed to Abba Sisoes: “I fell, Father. What do I do now?” “Get up,” the holy elder told him, with his characteristic simplicity. “I got up, Father, but I fell again into the cursed sin,” the brother confessed grievingly. “And what prevents you from getting up again?” “Until when?” asked the brother. “Until death finds you, whether standing or falling down. It is written, ‘wherever I shall find you, there I will also judge you,’ the elder explained. Just pray to God that you are found at your last moment standing upright in holy repentance.”
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"The Son of God suffered unto the death, not that men might not suffer, but that their suffering might be like His." ( George Macdonald )
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"You look into a mirror so that you may know what is in your face, whether there are any blemishes in it, and having seen blemishes, you cleanse them. Let the immaculate life of Christ be a mirror to your soul, look into it often and know what is in your soul. Does it desire the same things that Christ desires? And does it do that Christ did when He lived on earth? And in it you will see what is contrary to the life of Christ, and you will cleanse it all like blemishes with repentance and contrition of heart. Christ the Lord despised honor, glory, and riches in this world, thought He was able to have everything as the Master of all. Do you not seek honor, riches, and glory in this world?" St. Tikhon of Zadonsk
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"It is glorious to be the child of an earthly king; it is incomparably
more glorious to be the child of God the Heavenly King. This honor,
glory, merit, nobility, and name is more excellent than all titles of
this world. For this, glory to God Who loves mankind!"
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk
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"When tested by some trial you should try to find out not why or through whom it came, but only how to endure it gratefully, without distress or rancor." St.Mark the Ascetic.
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The soul must be provided with the word of God, for the word of God, as St. Gregory the Theologian tells us, is the bread of angels of which souls partake that hunger after God. Most importantly, one must practice reading the New Testament and the Psalter. By so doing the mind is enlightened and undergoes a divine change." St. Seraphim of Sarov.V V V
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God is a fire that warms and kindles the heart and inward parts. And so, if we feel in our hearts coldness, which is from the devil, - for the devil is cold - then let us call upon the Lord, and He will come and warm our hearts with perfect love not only for Him, but for our neighbor as well. And from the presence of warmth the coldness of the heater of good will be driven away." St. Seraphim of Sarov.V V V
""Nobody who gets enough food and clothing in a world where most are hungry and cold has any business to talk about " misery ". C. S. Lewis
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"Faith and hope are not merely casual or theoretical matters. Faith requires a steadfast soul, while hope needs a firm will and an honest heart. How without grace can one readily believe in things unseen? How can a man have hope concerning the hidden things held in store unless through his own integrity he has gained some experience of the Lord's gifts? These gifts of grace are a gage of the blessings held in store, which they manifest as present realities. Faith and hope, then, require both virtue on our part and God's inspiration and help. Unless both are present we labor in vain." St. Theognostos
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"Greater than baptism itself is the fountain of tears after baptism, even though it is somewhat audacious to say so. For baptism is the washing away of evils that were in us before, but sins committed after baptism are washed away by tears. As baptism is received in infancy, we have all defiled it, but we cleanse it anew with tears. And if God in His love for mankind had not given us tears, those being saved would be few indeed and hard to find." St. John Climacus
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"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us." Helen Keller
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To have faith in Christ means more than simply despising the delights of this life. It means we should bear all our daily trials that may bring us sorrow, distress, or unhappiness, and bear them patiently for as long as God wishes and until He comes to visit us. For it is said: `I waited on the Lord and He came to me.'" St. Symeon the New Theologian.
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"What is meant by 'prepare ye the way of the Lord' is further expounded by the Prophet Isaiah in these words: 'Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low' (Is. 40:4). This means: all that you think to be lowly and feeble shall be raised up on high, and all that you think to be high and mighty shall be brought low. Or, in other words: you thought of God as a low valley, although He is the greatest height: and you thought of the material world as the greatest height, while it is lowly, a footstool to God's feet. Sin has turned the whole world upside-down. Cast sin away, and the world will once more stand the right way up. So, repent and confess your sins, and the baptise with the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." St. Nikolai Velimirovic
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"Let us not therefore be
anxious, for we shall gain nothing by it, but tormenting ourselves. For
whereas He gives both when we take thought, and when we do not, and more
of the two, when we do not; what dost thou gain by thine anxiety, but to
exact of thyself a superfluous penalty? Since one on the point of going to
a plentiful feast will not surely permit himself to take thought for food;
how is he that is walking to a fountain anxious about drink.. Therefore
seeing we have a supply more copious than either any fountain, or
innumerable banquets made ready, the providence of God; let us not be
beggars, nor little minded."
St. John Chrysostom.
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Every affliction and oppression arises either from want of faith or from some passion concealing itself within the man, or from some other impurity visible to the Almighty, and shows that the Devil is in the heart. Christ is the peace, the freedom, and the ineffable light of the soul." St. John of Kronstadt.
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Some say that the kingdom of heaven is the life which the worthy lead in heaven. Others that it is the state of the saved similar to the angels. Still others claim it is the very form of divine beauty possessed by those who bear the image of the heavenly Being. All three opinions on the subject are in harmony with the truth, it seems to me, for to all there is given a future grace in proportion to their righteousness in quantity and quality." St. Maximus the Confessor.
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" Do not consider your riches as belonging to yourselves alone; open wide your hand to those who are in need; assist those in poverty and pain, comfort those who have fallen into extreme distress, console with those who are in sorrow or oppressed with bodily maladies and the want of necessities." St. Cyril of Alexandria
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"Faith in Christ is the new Paradise. Thus God knew before the foundation of the world all who believed and will believe in Him, whom He called and will not cease calling until the end, whom He glorified and will glorify, justified and will justify; those, clearly, whom He reveals as conformed to the glory of the image of His Son through holy Baptism and the grace of the Holy Spirit. He makes them mystically all His sons, and establishes them as new out of old, immortals out of mortals, and gives them commandments as one He gave to Adam. As many, then, as shall keep His commandments until death, the same show forth their love for God and ascend progressively towards yet greater glory." St. Symeon the New Theologian.
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"Disputation do more to aggravate schism than to heal it: united action, prayer, fortitude and united death for Christ - these will make us one." C. S. Lewis
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They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." (Psalm 126:5)V V V
"Pride which we have called the roots of vices far from being satisfied with the extinction with one virtue, raises itself up against all the members of the soul, and as universal and deadly disease corrupt the whole body." St. Gregory I
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"`The Lord hath made known His salvation.' The psalmist did not say He `has shown' but `has made known.' The point is that the human race had known God, but by reason of its vice had forgotten that it knew Him. God in coming by His own will, therefore, manifested to man what had lost; hence, the verse says: He, whom Adam had known, whom Seth had known, and Noah had known, but afterwards the human race had forgotten, came again into the world in order that mankind, who had forgotten Him, might come to know Him once more." St. Jerome.
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"He (God) makes each soul unique. If He had no use for all these differences, I do not see why He should have created more souls than one. Be sure that the ins and outs of you individually are no mystery to Him; and one day they will no longer be a mystery to you." C. S. Lewis
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"Neither the sinner nor the righteous man is free from remorse: the first, because he has not altogether abandoned evil; the second, because he has not yet attained perfection." Ilias the presbyter
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"If the body is the cause of sin, why does not the dead body sin? The body sins not of itself, but the soul sins through the body".
-- Saint Cyril of Jerusalem
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"But, in fact, the one who prays to receive this super- substantial bread does not receive it altogether as this bread is in itself, but as he is able to receive it. For the Bread of Life, out of His love for men, gives Himself to all who ask Him but not in the same manner to everyone: to those who have done great works, He gives Himself more fully, to those who have done smaller ones, less; to each, then, according to the spiritual dignity enabling him to receive it. St. Maximos the Confessor
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"`Let us come before His countenance with thanksgiving' (Psa.94) `Presence" [countenance] here means the appearance of the Savior. Let us not wait at home until He comes, but let us go out to meet Him with thanksgiving, that is with hymns of praise. `And with psalms let us shout in jubilation unto Him,' let us give Him the honor which is due to God. He has chosen to appear in the form of a slave; but let us not ignore our Master, nor be scandalized by His flesh; let us not be led by His appearance into having unworthy thoughts concerning the Most High. `For the Lord is a great God and a great king over all the earth,' even He Who is veiled in our flesh. And the Psalmist continues his praise of God. Such are the prophetic verses, well-fitted to be sung at this point." St. Nicholas Cabisilas.
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St. John Chrysostom On Fasting:
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"Our virtue, therefore, must not be contaminated with fault, but must be single-minded and blameless, and free from all that can bring reproach. For what profit is there in fasting twice in the week, if thy so doing serve only as a pretext for ignorance and vanity, and make thee supercilious and haughty, and selfish?" ( St. Cyril of Alexandria. )
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"There are no bounds to perfection, for even the perfection of the most perfect is naught but imperfection. Hence, until the moment of death neither the time nor the works of repentance can ever be complete." ( St. Isaac the Syrian )
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"To have faith in Christ means more than simply despising the delights of this life. It means we should bear all our daily trials that may bring us sorrow, distress, or unhappiness, and bear them patiently for as long as God wishes and until He comes to visit us. For it is said: `I waited on the Lord and He came to me.'" St. Symeon the New Theologian.
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"Say inwardly, from your whole heart: `The Lord is everything to me; I myself am nothing; I am powerless, I am infirm.' `For without Me ye can do nothing,' (Jn. 15:5) says the Lord Himself, for it might be added: `I am everything to you.' Be heartily convinced of this every moment of your life, and have recourse to the Lord absolutely in everything, trusting to obtain from Him everything necessary for your salvation, and even for this temporal life besides." St. John of Kronstadt.
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"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. "Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?" (Rom. 3:3). Our wickedness shall not overpower the unspeakable goodness and mercy of God; our dullness shall not overpower God's wisdom, nor our infirmity God's omnipotence." St. John of Kronstadt.
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"We will find benefit for ourselves when we start seeking benefit for our neighbor."
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"Hold to patience in your hearts, my friends, and put it into action when the situation calls for it. Don't let any abusive word from your neighbor stir up hatred in you, and don't allow any loss of things that pass away to upset you. If you are steadfast in fearing the loss of those things that last forever, you will never take seriously the loss of those that pass away; if you keep your eyes fixed on the glory of our eternal recompense, you will not resent a temporal injury. You must bear with those who oppose you, but also love those you fear with. Seek an eternal reward in return for your temporal losses." St. Gregory the Great.
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"The Lord's Day is a mystery of the knowledge of the truth that is not received by flesh and blood, and it transcends speculations. In this age there is no eighth day, nor is there a true Sabbath. For he who said that `God rested on the seventh day,' signified the rest [of our nature] from the course of this life, since the grave is also of a bodily nature and belongs to this world. Six days are accomplished in the husbandry of life by means of keeping the commandments; the seventh is spent entirely in the grave; and the eighth is the departure from it." St. Isaac of Syrian
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"In the Book of Proverbs it says, `Those who have no guidance fall like leaves
but there is safety in much counsel.' Take a good look at this saying, brothers.
Look at what Scripture is teaching us. It assures us that we should not set
ourselves up as guide posts, that we should not consider ourselves sagacious,
that we should not believe we can direct ourselves. We need assistance, we need
guidance in addition to God's grace. No one is more wretched, no one is more
easily caught unawares, than a man who has no one to guide him along the road to
God." St. Dorotheos of Gaza.
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"Repentance is the renewal of baptism. Repentance is a contract with God for a second life. A penitent is a buyer of humility. Repentance is constant distrust of bodily comfort. Repentance is self-condemning reflection, and carefree self care. Repentance is the daughter of hope and the renunciation of despair. A penitent is an un -disgraced convict. Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord by the practice of good deeds contrary to the sins. Repentance is purification of conscience. Repentance is the voluntary endurance of all afflictions. A penitent is the inflictor of his own punishments. Repentance is a mighty persecution of the stomach, and a striking of the soul into vigorous awareness." St. John Climacus.
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"If thou
desire joy, seek not after riches, nor bodily health, nor glory, nor power, nor
luxury, nor sumptuous tables, nor vestures of silk, nor costly lands, nor houses
splendid and conspicuous, nor anything else of that kind; but pursue that
spiritual wisdom which is according to God, and take hold of virtue; and then
naught of the things which are present, or which are expected, will be able to
sadden thee."
St. John Chrysostom.
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"For sin is what is not swiftly washed away by penitence,
or sin is the cause of sin, or sin is also the punishment for sin, or sin is at
once both the cause and the punishment of sin. For every act which is committed
is first sin. But if it is not cleansed swiftly by penitence Almighty God by
righteous judgment allows the guilty mind of the sinner to fall to further
guilt, so that the mind which was unwilling to cleanse what it had done by
weeping and correction begins to add sin to sin. Therefore the sin which is not
washed away by the lament of penitence is at the same time the cause of sin,
because from it arises whence the spirit of the sinner plunges deeper into
guilt. Truly sin which follows from sin is at the same time a sin and the
penalty for sin, because with increasing blindness it is generated from the
retribution of prior guilt so that certain punishments are, as it were, the very
increase of vices in the sinner."
St. Gregory the Great
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"Every day you provide your bodies with good to keep them
from failing. In "the same way your good works should be the daily nourishment
of your hearts. Your bodies are fed with food and your spirits with good works.
You aren't to deny your soul, which is going to live forever, what you grant to
your body, which is going to die."
St. Gregory the Great.
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"As for those works of piety and charity of which you speak, these are necessary in this present life for as long as inequality prevails. Their workings here would not be required were it not for the superabundant numbers of the poor, the needy, and the sick. These are there because of the iniquity of men who have held for their own private use what the common Creator has made available to all. As long as this iniquity rages in the world, these good works will be necessary and valuable to anyone practicing them and they shall yield the reward of an everlasting inheritance to the man of good heart and concerned will." St. John Cassian
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O strange and inconceivable thing! We did not really die, we were not really
buried, we were not really crucified and raised again, but our imitation was but
a figure, while our salvation is in reality. Christ was actually crucified, and
actually buried, and truly rose again; and all these things have been vouchsafed
to us, that we, by imitation communicating in His sufferings, might gain
salvation in reality. O surpassing loving-kindness! Christ received the nails in
His undefiled hands and feet, and endured anguish; while to me without suffering
or toil, by the fellowship of His pain He vouchsafed salvation."
St. Cyril of Jerusalem
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"Believe that dishonors and reproaches are medicines that heal the pride of thy soul, and pray for those who reproach thee, as for true physicians of the soul, being assured that he who hates dishonor, hates humility, and he who avoids those who grieve him, flees from meekness." Venerable Dorotheos
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"I bind to myself today: God's power to guide me, God's might to uphold me, God's wisdom to teach me, God's eye to watch over me, God's ear to hear me, God' word to give me speech, God's hand to guide me." St. Patrick, St. Patrick's Breast - Plate
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"Now the health of the soul is the accomplishment of the Divine Will, just as,
on the other hand, the disease of the soul that ends in death is the falling
away from this good Will. We fell ill when we forsook the wholesome way of life
in Paradise and filled ourselves with the poison of disobedience, through which
our nature was conquered by this evil and deadly disease. Then there came the
true Physician who cured the evil perfectly by its opposite, as is the law of
medicine. For those who had succumbed to the disease because they had separated
themselves from the Divine Will, He frees once more from their sickness by
uniting them to the Will of God. For the words of the prayer bring the cure of
the disease which is in the soul. For He prays as if His soul was immersed in
pain, saying, `Thy Will be done.' Now the Will of God is the salvation of men."
St. Gregory of Nyssa
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"Moses sought to see God, and this is the instruction he receives on how he is to see Him: seeing God means following Him wherever He might lead. Anyone who does not know the way cannot travel safely without following a guide. The guide shows him the way by walking ahead of him, and the one following will not get off the right path if he keeps constantly watching the back of the guide. On the other hand, if he moves off to one side, or tries to bring himself face to face with his guide, he will be setting out on a different path from the one which his guide is showing him. Thus the Lord says to those who are being guided: You shall not see My face, or, in other words: Do not face your guide. For then you will be going in a completely opposite direction." St. Gregory of Nyssa.
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"God does not call us to do great things, but to do small things with great
love." Blessed Mother Teresa ( 1910 - 1997 )
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Do all the good you can by all the means
you can in all the ways
you can in all the places you can to all the people you can as
long as you ever can.
-- John Wesley
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"Do not consider your riches as belonging to yourselves alone; open wide your hand to those who are in need; assist those in poverty and pain, comfort those who have fallen into extreme distress, console with those who are in sorrow or oppressed with bodily maladies and the want of necessities." Saint Cyril of Alexandria
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"Love him who loved you when he was a child and who suffered cold for you and wept in the manger for you. Love him who loved you. He was only eight days old when he first shed blood for you. He could not speak then, but he could love. And as he grew older, his love grew too and was shown in the works which he did among us. As his body grew, his trials grew, his pains and tortures and crosses. Love, then, him who first loved you and loves you now in heaven." - John of Avila
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"In order to attract us, the Lord grants us many graces that we believe can easily obtain Heaven for us. We do not know, however, that in order to grow, we need hard bread: the cross, humiliation, trials and denials." Padre Pio
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" All that man pursues in his life has no existence except in his mind, not in reality: Opinion, honor, dignities, glory, fortune: all these are the work of his life's spiders. ...But those who rise to the highs escape, with the flick of a wing, from the spiders of the world. Only those who like flies, are heavy and without energy remain caught in the glue of this world and are taken and bound, as though in nets, by honors, pleasures, praise and manifold desires, and thus they become the prey of the beast that seeks to capture them." Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on the Psalms.
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"If you help a poor person in the name of the Lord, you are making a gift and at the same time granting a loan. You are making a gift because you have no expectation of being reimbursed by that poor person. You are granting a loan because the Lord will settle the account. It is not much that the Lord receives by means of the poor, but He will pay a great deal on their behalf. 'They who are kind to the poor lend to the Lord' [Pr. 19:17]" St. Basil the Great
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"There is nothing stronger than meekness, nothing more powerful; it preserves our soul in quiet, and strives to lead it as into a harbor, and is the cause of every kind of satisfaction for us; and nothing else can give the soul repose and great quiet as well as meekness and humble mindedness." St. John Chrysostom
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"If one were to consider how much Jesus has suffered, one would not commit the smallest sin." Blessed Gianna
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"What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has the eyes to see the misery. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men."
--St. Augustine
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"If John [the Baptist], who was equal to or greater than all the world, considers himself as unworthy to minister to Christ, what shall we say who are full of ten thousands of sins?" --St. John Chrysostom
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Christ Is Risen ! Truly He Is Risen!
" For He was not, as might be imagined, circumscribed in the body, nor, while present in the body, was He absent elsewhere; nor, while He moved the body, was the universe left void of His working and Providence; but, thing most marvelous, Word as He was, so far from being contained by anything, He rather contained all things Himself; and just as while present in the whole of creation, He is at once distinct in being from the universe, and present in all things by His own power, -- giving order to all things, and over all and in all revealing His own providence, and giving life to each thing and all things, including the whole without being included, but being in His own Father alone wholly and in every respect." ( St. Athanasius the Great. )
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"The roof of any house stands upon the foundations and the rest
of the structure. The foundations themselves are laid in order to carry the
roof. This is both useful and necessary, for the roof cannot stand without the
foundations and the foundations are absolutely useless without the roof - no
help to any living creature. In the same way the grace of God is preserved by
the practice of the commandments, and the observance of these commandments is
laid down like foundations through the gift of God. The grace of the Spirit
cannot remain with us without the practice of the commandments, but the practice
of the commandments is of no help or advantage to us without the grace of God."
St. Symeon the New Theologian.
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