Difference between revisions of "User:Flux"

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“At meals don't speak about food: that's vulgar and unworthy of you. Speak about something noble -- of the soul or of the mind -- and you will have dignified this duty.” —St. Josemaria Escriva
 
“At meals don't speak about food: that's vulgar and unworthy of you. Speak about something noble -- of the soul or of the mind -- and you will have dignified this duty.” —St. Josemaria Escriva
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“When someone learns to acknowledge every man as being better than himself, then he has attained humility.” —St. Sisoes the Great
  
 
“It is a spiritual gift from God for a man to perceive his sins.” —St. Isaac the Syrian
 
“It is a spiritual gift from God for a man to perceive his sins.” —St. Isaac the Syrian

Revision as of 06:17, July 20, 2014

welcome… me… just the sinner… a listener, an observer, a thinker, an admirer… I am an Orthodox Catholic Christian interested in computers, electronics, automation, soccer, music, life, love, Truth, Holy Tradition, the Holy Trinity, the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, the Holy Bible/Holy Scripture, ethics, morality, philosophy, religion, spirituality, asceticism, Creation, and pro-life.

The Orthodox Church in America received me into membership by Chrismation by priest/monk Fr. Rev. E.A. (Simeon) Weare, memory eternal, in the parish St. Nicholas the Wonder-Maker in 1992.

Orthodoxy [one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church] is the true faith believed by all the Saints, everywhere, at all times.

We are Orthodox… but not Jewish… We are Evangelical… but not Protestant… We are Catholic… but not Papist… We are Pre-Denominational… but not Divided… We are the Christian Church… but not a Church… We have believed, taught, preserved, defended, and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost… We are the ORTHODOX CATHOLIC CHURCH… Est. 33 AD

Favorite Quotations: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” —Edmund Burke

“The problem with the future is that it keeps turning into the present.” —Bill Watterson

“The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.” — Friedrich Hegel

“[Behold] I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” —J. Robert Oppenheimer (chapter 11 verse 32 of the Bhagavad Gita)

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” —John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton

“Democracy is the dictatorship of the ignorant masses.” —Plato

“You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.” —William Wilberforce

“He who strikes terror in others is himself continually in fear.” —Claudius Claudianus

“Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; Our meddling intellect - Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:-- We murder to dissect.” —William Wordsworth

“Real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time.” —Terry Pratchett

“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.” —Albert Einstein

“The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.” —Marcus Aurelius

“The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any.” —Fred Astaire

“Political correctness is tyranny with manners.” —Charlton Heston

“In the time of heroes and tyrants, the true heroes are the small men.” —unknown

“All such action would cease if those powerful elemental forces were to cease stirring within us.” —Albert Einstein

“It doesn't take an expert to be an expert on experts.” —Dr. Bruce Dovey

“In the genius lies the defect.” —Imposter (2001)

“You were born an original. Don't die a copy.” —John Mason

“Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't.” —unknown

“And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years.” —Abraham Lincoln

“One today is worth two tomorrows.” —Benjamin Franklin

“Life is the art of drawing without an eraser.” —John W. Gardner

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” —Maria Robinson

“Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth, are never alone or weary of life.” —Rachel Carson

“You've got to love life to have life, and you've got to have life to love life.”—Thornton Wilder (Our Town, Act II, Part I)

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” —Mark Twain

“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” —Nelson Henderson

“One who can laugh at himself will never be without entertainment.” —Chinese Proverb

“Blood is thicker than water.” —German Proverb

“Birds of a feather flock together.” —English Proverb

“You can want a women for her body, but you can only love her for her character.” —Spanish Proverb

“If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” —English Proverb

“One picture is worth a thousand words.” —Traditional Proverb

“Silence speaks volumes.” —Traditional Proverb

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” —Mark Twain

“The wise speak because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something.” —Plato

“You never miss the water 'till the well runs dry.” —English Proverb

“Do not judge by appearances; a rich heart may be under a poor coat.” —Scottish Proverb

“A fool and his money are soon parted.” —English Proverb

“The rich would have to eat money if the poor did not provide food.” —Russian Proverb

“Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.” —Napoleon Bonaparte

“Before managing to make poverty history, we have to consider the history of poverty.” —Vandana Shiva

“First the man takes a drink; then the drink takes a drink; then the drink takes the man.” —Japanese Proverb

“Better to be slapped with the truth than kissed with a lie.” —Russian Proverb

“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” —George Orwell

“The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.” —George Orwell

“Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth because they don't want their illusions destroyed.” —Friedrich Nietzsche

“Many people, especially ignorant people, want to punish you for speaking the truth, for being correct, for being you. Never apologize for being correct, or for being years ahead of your time. If you’re right and you know it, speak your mind. Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is still the truth.” —Gandhi

“Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil.” —Plato

“A liberal is someone who only wants to be free from the consequences of freedom.” —Mike Adams

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” —Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“Those who are unaware they are walking in darkness will never seek the light.” —Bruce Lee

“Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.” —Bruce Lee

“Simplicity is the key to brilliance.” —Bruce Lee

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” —Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“To err is human; to forgive, divine.” —Alexander Pope

“When the solution is simple, God is answering.” —Albert Einstein

“My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.” —Abraham Lincoln

“If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.” —Woody Allen

“Loneliness belongs to all the things of the past.” —unknown

“Two purposes in human nature rule. Self-love to urge, and reason to restrain.” —Alexander Pope

“There is no task more difficult for human beings than the victory over themselves.” —Bulgakov

“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” —Voltaire

“A man is still a slave who is afraid to speak his heart.” —Raiders of the Seven Seas (1953)

“Sometimes when you're troubled and hurt, you pour yourself into things that can't hurt back.” —Gentleman's Agreement (1947)

“Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never is, but always to be blest: The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home, Rests and expatiates in a life to come.” —Alexander Pope (An Essay on Man, Epistle I, 1733)

“They knew that the tree is known by its fruit and that injustice corrupts a tree, that its fruit withers and shrivels and falls at last to that dark ground of history where other great hopes have rotted and died, where equality and freedom remains still the only choice for wholeness and soundness in a man or in a nation.” —Gentleman's Agreement (1947)

“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.” —Abraham Lincoln

“A coward is incapable of showing love, it is reserved for the brave.” —Gandhi

“Only the courteous can love, but it is love that makes them courteous.” —C. S. Lewis, The Allegory of Love

“How long is love blind? Love has eyes and sees. And if love can see, and seeing, you love anyway, that's love.” —Gertrude Berg (The Goldbergs, s1e10, 1955)

“You never receive love until you learn how to accept it.” —Mr. Roarke (Fantasy Island, s4e7)

“You never deny love until you learn how to reject it.” —th

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” —Charles Caleb Colton

“Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.” —G. K. Chesterton

“Truth can never be told so as to be understood and not be believed.” —William Blake

“Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man's growth without destroying his roots.” —Frank A. Clark

“When we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with the source of life, it will be possible to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manipulative.” —Henri Nouwen

“The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.” —K'ung Fu-Tzu (Confucius)

“If names are not correct, language will not be in accordance with the truth of things.” —K'ung Fu-Tzu (Confucius)

“They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.” —K'ung Fu-Tzu (Confucius)

“The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort.” ——K'ung Fu-Tzu (Confucius)

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” —K'ung Fu-Tzu (Confucius)

“And she [Athens] has brought it about that the name "Hellenes" suggests no longer a race but an intelligence, and that the title "Hellenes" is applied rather to those who share our culture then to those who share a common blood.” —Isocrates

“He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare; and he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I teach them all the good I can, and recommend them to others from whom I think they will get some moral benefit. And the treasures that the wise men of old have left us in their writings I open and explore with my friends. If we come on any good thing, we extract it, and we set much store on being useful to one another.” —Socrates

“Art like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere.” —G. K. Chesteron

“What a lot of things there are a man can do without.” —Socrates

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” —Aristotle

“We walk by the light we are given.” —Frank Shaeffer

“Beware the wrath of a patient man.” —John Dryden

“Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.” —William Congreve (The Mourning Bride, spoken by Zara in Act III, Scene VIII)

“Control thy passions lest they take vengeance on thee.” —Epictetus

“Give me that man That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him In my heart’s core, ay, in my heart of heart, As I do thee.” —William Shakespeare (Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 2, Page 3)

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” —C. S. Lewis

“There are more things in heaven and earth, … Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” —William Shakespeare (Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5, Page 8)

“A philosophical vogue is as irresistible as a gastronomic one: an idea is no better refuted than a sauce.” —E. M. Cioran

“No man is an island, Entire of itself, Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. As well as if a promontory were. As well as if a manor of thy friend's Or of thine own were: Any man's death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind, And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.” —John Donne

“All men are born brothers, and anything that hurts my brother hurts me. If my brother commits a crime, I am a criminal; if he sings, there is music in my heart. Before you have dealings with any man, ask yourself: ‘Am I my brother's keeper?’ The answer is ‘Yes.’” —Henry Hassett Browne

“Compared to what we ought to be, we are half awake.” —William James

“It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish.” —Aeschylus

“I am indeed amazed when I consider how weak my mind is and how prone to error.” —Descartes

“It is strictly and philosophically true in nature and reason that there is no such thing as chance or accident; it being evident that these words do not signify anything really existing, anything that is truly an agent or the cause of any event; but they signify merely men's ignorance of the real and immediate cause.” —Samuel Clark

“While the admission of a design for the universe ultimately raises the question of a Designer (a subject outside of science), the scientific method does not allow us to exclude data which lead to the conclusion that the universe, life and man are based on design. To be forced to believe only one conclusion--that everything in the universe happened by chance would violate the very objectivity of science itself.” —Werner Von Braun, Ph.D., the father of the NASA space program

“Relativity applies to physics, not ethics.” —Albert Einstein

“Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.” —Mark Twain

“When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing—they believe in anything.” —G. K. Chesterton

“If everyone has his own truth, then where is falsehood?” —Archbishop Stephan (Kalaidjishvili)

“Faith is not the clinging to a shrine but an endless pilgrimage of the heart.” —Abraham Joshua Heschel

“God tends the pagans too, but the Christian knows the donor.” —St. Tikhon of Voronezh

“They [Rome] do not know and do not wish to know the truth; they argue with those who proclaim the truth to them, and assert their heresy.” —St. Basil the Great

“Even if the whole universe holds communion with the [heretical] patriarch, I will not communicate with him. For I know from the writings of the holy Apostle Paul: the Holy Spirit declares that even the angels would be anathema if they should begin to preach another Gospel, introducing some new teaching.” —St. Maximus the Confessor, The Life of St. Maximus the Confessor

“Chrysostomos loudly declares not only heretics, but also those who have communion with them, to be enemies of God.” —St. Theodore the Studite, Epistle of Abbot Theophilus

“Some have suffered final shipwreck with regard to the faith. Others, though they have not drowned in their thoughts, are nevertheless perishing through communion with heresy.” —St. Theodore the Studite

“Guard yourselves from soul-destroying heresy, communion with which is alienation from Christ.” —St. Theodore the Studite

“All the teachers of the Church, and all the Councils, and all the Divine Scriptures advise us to flee from the heterodox and separate from their communion.” —St. Mark of Ephesus

“Concerning the Patriarch I shall say this, lest it should perhaps occur to him to show me a certain respect at the burial of this my humble body, or to send to my grave any of his hierarchs or clergy or in general any of those in communion with him in order to take part in prayer or to join the priests invited to it from amongst us, thinking that at some time, or perhaps secretly, I had allowed communion with him. And lest my silence give occasion to those who do not know my views well and fully to suspect some kind of conciliation, I hereby state and testify before the many worthy men here present that I do not desire, in any manner and absolutely, and do not accept communion with him or with those who are with him, not in this life nor after my death, just as (I accept) neither the Union nor Latin dogmas, which he and his adherents have accepted, and for the enforcement of which he has occupied this presiding place, with the aim of overturning the true dogmas of the Church. I am absolutely convinced that the farther I stand from him and those like him, the nearer I am to God and all the saints, and to the degree that I separate myself from them am in union with the Truth and with the Holy Fathers, the Theologians of the Church; and I am likewise convinced that those who count themselves with them stand far away from the Truth and from the blessed Teachers of the Church. And for this reason I say: just as in the course of my whole life I was separated from them, so at the time of my departure, yea and after my death, I turn away from intercourse and communion with them and vow and command that none (of them) shall approach either my burial or my grave, and likewise anyone else from our side, with the aim of attempting to join and concelebrate in our Divine services; for this would be to mix what cannot be mixed. But it befits them to be absolutely separated from us until such time as God shall grant correction and peace to His Church.” —St. Mark of Ephesus, The Example of, [as quoted in The Orthodox Word, June-July, 1967, pp. 103ff.]

“With all our strength let us beware lest we receive Communion from or give it to heretics. ‘Give not what is holy to the dogs,’ says the Lord. ‘Neither cast ye your pearls before swine’, lest we become partakers in their dishonour and condemnation.” —St. John of Damascus, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, IV, 13

“In sum, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, in theory embracing almost the whole universe and in fact extending its authority only over several dioceses, and in other places having only a higher superficial supervision and receiving certain revenues for this, persecuted by the government at home and not supported by any governmental authority abroad: having lost its significance as a pillar of truth and having itself become a source of division, and at the same time being possessed by an exorbitant love of power--represents a pitiful spectacle which recalls the worst periods in the history of the See of Constantinople.” —St. John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco, from Orthodox Word, vol. 8, no. 4 (45), July-August 1972, pp. 166-168, 174-175.

"True Christianity is glorifying God with our own lives. To glorify God with our own life is possible only when we have true faith and when that faith indeed exists, we express it in words and in deeds.” —St. John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco

“Never, never, never let anyone tell you that, in order to be Orthodox, you must also be eastern. The West was Orthodox for a thousand years, and her venerable liturgy is far older than any of her heresies.” —St. John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco

“I beseech you to do and to carry out good to all men with care and assiduity, becoming all things to all men, as the need of each is shown to you; I want and pray you to be wholly harsh and implacable with the heretics only in regard to cooperating with them or in any way whatever supporting their deranged belief. For I reckon it hatred towards man and a departure from Divine love to lend support to error, so that those previously seized by it might be even more greatly corrupted.” —St. Maximus the Confessor, Patrologia Graeca, Vol. 91

“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, My Life in Christ

“If he seeks answers to questions related to his faith, his purpose in life, he will find happiness.” —Elder Justin (Pârvu) of Romania

“He is "the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Orthodox Christians are committed to the truth claim of the Christian Faith not as ideology but as an expression of holiness.” —Rev. Dr. George C. Papademetriou

“Where the bishop is, there let the multitude of believers be; even as where Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church.” —St. Ignatius of Antioch (1st c. AD)

“Moreover, in the Catholic Church itself, all possible care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all. For that is truly and in the strictest sense "Catholic," which, as the name itself and the reason of the thing declare, comprehends all universally. This rule we shall observe if we follow universality, antiquity, consent. We shall follow universality if we confess that one faith to be true, which the whole Church throughout the world confesses; antiquity, if we in no wise depart from those interpretations which it is manifest were notoriously held by our holy ancestors and fathers; consent, in like manner, if in antiquity itself we adhere to the consentient definitions and determinations of all, or at the least of almost all priests and doctors.” —St. Vincent of Lérins, Commonitory, For the Antiquity and Universality of the Catholic Faith Against the Profane Novelties of All Heresies., Chapter II (circa 434 AD)

“The person who loves God values knowledge of God more than anything created by God, and pursues such knowledge ardently and ceaselessly.” —St. Maximus the Confessor

“Only the Religion of Christ unites and all of us must pray that they come to this. Thus union will occur, not by believing that all of us are the same thing and that all religions are the same. They are not the same… our Orthodoxy is not related to other religions.” —St. Porphyrios the Kapsokalyvite

“Orthodoxy is life, one must not talk about it, one must live it.” —St. Nektary of Optina

“Orthodoxy can't be comfortable unless it is fake.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose

“As for all those who pretend to confess sound Orthodox Faith, but are in communion with people who hold different opinion, if they are forewarned and still remain stubborn, you must not only be in communion with them, but you must NOT even call them brothers.” —St. Basil the Great

“Today, while the overall teachings of the Fathers is under attack and the shipwrecks of Faith are numerous, the mouths of the faithful are silent. Anyone who is capable of speaking the truth but remains silent, will be heavily judged by God, especially in this case, where the faith and the very foundation of the entire Church of the Orthodox is in danger. To remain silent under these circumstances is to betray these, and the appropriate witness belongs to those that reproach (stand up for the faith).” —St. Basil the Great, ep. 92

“Our afflictions are well known without my telling; the sound of them has now gone forth over all Christendom. The doctrines of the fathers are despised; apostolical traditions are set at nought; the speculations of innovators hold sway in the churches. Men have learned to be theorists instead of theologians. The wisdom of the world has the place of honour, having dispossessed the boasting of the cross. The pastors are driven away, grievous wolves are brought in instead, and plunder the flock of Christ, Houses of prayer are destitute of preachers; the deserts are full of mourners: the old bewail, comparing what is with what was; more pitiable are the young, as not knowing what they are deprived of. What has been said is sufficient to kindle the sympathy of those who are taught in the love of Christ, yet compared with the facts, it is far from reaching their seriousness.” —St. Basil the Great

“The candles lit before icons of saints reflect their ardent love for God for Whose sake they gave up everything that man prizes in life, including their very lives, as did the holy apostles, martyrs and others. These candles also mean that these saints are lamps burning for us and providing light for us by their own saintly living, their virtues and their ardent intercession for us before God through their constant prayers by day and night. The burning candles also stand for our ardent zeal and the sincere sacrifice we make out of reverence and gratitude to them for their solicitude on our behalf before God.” —St. John of Kronstadt

“Each person is an icon of God, of God in heaven and of God on the cross. Yet, each person is also an icon of the Mother of God, who bears Christ through the Holy Spirit. Our soul, therefore, unites itself in two images; participating in the principles and realities of both Christ and his Mother. These are age old archetypes, symbols by which the soul orients itself on the journey.” —St. Maria Skobtsova, On The Imitation of the Mother of God

“Concerning the charge of idolatry: Icons are not idols but symbols. Therefore, when an Orthodox venerates an icon, he is not guilty of idolatry. He is not worshiping the symbol, but merely venerating it. Such veneration is not directed toward wood, or paint or stone, but towards the person depicted. Therefore relative honor is shown to material objects, but worship is due to God alone.” —St. John of Damascus

“We do not bow before the nature of wood, but we revere and bow before the one who is depicted.” —St. John of Damascus

“We do not make obeisance to the nature of wood, but we revere and do obeisance to Him who was crucified on the Cross… When the two beams of the Cross are joined together I adore the figure because of Christ who was crucified on the Cross, but if the beams are separated, I throw them away and burn them.” —St. John of Damascus

“I do not worship matter, but the Creator of matter, who for my sake became material and deigned to dwell in matter, who through matter effected my salvation…” —St. John of Damascus

“That which the word communicates by sound, the painting shows silently by representation.” St. Basil the Great, on the 40 Martyrs

“We depict Christ as our King and Lord, and do not deprive Him of His army. The saints constitute the Lord's army. Let the earthly king dismiss his army before he gives up his King and Lord. Let him put off the purple before he takes honour away from his most valiant men who have conquered their passions. For if the saints are heirs of God, and co-heirs of Christ, (Rom. 8.17) they will be also partakers of the divine glory of sovereignty.” —St. John of Damascus

“Therefore, brethren, let us stand on the rock of faith and on the tradition of the Church, and not remove the boundaries which our Holy Fathers have set. Thus, we will not give the opportunity to those who wish to innovate and destroy the edifice of the holy, catholic and apostolic Church of God. For if permission is granted to everyone who wants it, little by little the whole body of the Church will be destroyed. Do not, brethren, do not, oh Christ-loving children of the Church of God …” —Patriarch Jeremias II, prophetic warning of to the Lutheran scholars

“He who learns must suffer And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget Falls drop by drop upon the heart, And in our own despite, against our will, Comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.” —Aeschylus

“The greatest wisdom often emerges from the deepest wounds.” —Jane Lee Logan

“Monarchy can easily be debunked, but watch the faces, mark well the debunkers. These are the men whose taproot in Eden has been cut: whom no rumour of the polyphony, the dance, can reach - men to whom pebbles laid in a row are more beautiful than an arch. … Where men are forbidden to honour a king they honour millionaires, athletes or film stars instead: … For spiritual nature, like bodily nature, will be served; deny it food and it will gobble poison.” —C. S. Lewis

“Sometimes a man's happiness is so deep inside him that he may forget it's there and start looking elsewhere hunting a fantasy, an illusion.” —Mr. Roarke (Fantasy Island, s2e14)

“The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man.” —unknown

“People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used.” —unknown

“If we could look into each others hearts, and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care.” —Marvin J. Ashton

“The human heart can see what is hidden to the eyes, and the heart knows things that the mind does not begin to understand.” —They Might Be Giants (1971)

“The greatest thing a man can do to a woman is to lead her closer to God than to himself.” —unknown

“God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself because it is not there. There is no such thing.” —C. S. Lewis

“It is hardly complimentary to God that we should choose him as an alternative to hell.” —C. S. Lewis

“If you die before you die, than when you die, you will not die.” —written on a cell wall, St. Paul's Monastery, Mt. Athos

“War in the name of religion is war against religion.” —His All Holyness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

“Believe me, if God revealed to us the disasters to which we were exposed and from which He protected us, our whole lives would not suffice to offer Him thanks.” —H.H. Pope Shenouda

“In heaven, God will not ask us why we have sinned; He will ask us why we did not repent.” —H.H. Pope Shenouda III

“Even if all spiritual fathers, patriarchs, hierarchs, and all the people forgive you, you are unforgiven if you don’t repent in action.” —St. Kosmas Aitolos

“Nobody is as gracious and merciful, as the Lord is, but even He does not forgive the sins of the man who does not repent; … we are being condemned not because of the multitude of our evils, but because we do not want to repent.” —St. Mark the Ascetic

“As a handful of sand thrown into the ocean, so are the sins of all flesh as compared with the mercy of God.” —St. Isaac the Syrian

“Just as a strongly flowing fountain is not blocked up by a handful of earth, so the compassion of the Creator is not overcome by the wickedness of his creatures.” —St. Isaac the Syrian

“Your accumulated offenses do not surpass the multitude of God's mercies; your wounds do not surpass the great physician's skill.” —St. Cyril of Jerusalem

“Years are not needed for true repentance, and not days, but only an instant.” —St. Ambrose of Optina

“There is no sin which cannot be pardoned except that one which lacks repentance, and there is no gift which is not augmented save that which remains without acknowledgement. For the portion of the fool is small in his eyes.” —St. Isaac the Syrian

“When a man abandons his sins and returns to God, his repentance regenerates him and renews him entirely.” —St. Isaiah the Solitary

“And so it is incumbent upon us to strive, rather, to correct our faults and to improve our behavior.” —St. John Cassian

“Let us strive to purify ourselves through repentance and humility, and to unite all our senses as one to the God who is good, and transcends the good. Then, truly, everything which I have not quite been able to say or to demonstrate with my many words, you will be taught in an instant, all at once. You will hear with your sight, and see with your hearing. You will be taught while seeing and, again, hear what is unveiled.” —St. Symeon the New Theologian

“The Spirit offers its own light to every mind, to help it in its search for truth.” —St. Basil the Great

“A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying, 'You are mad; you are not like us.'” —St. Anthony the Great

“Adorn yourself with truth, try to speak truth in all things; and do not support a lie, no matter who asks you. If you speak the truth and someone gets mad at you, don’t be upset, but take comfort in the words of the Lord: Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of truth, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 5:10).” —St. Gennadius of Constantinople, The Golden Chain, 26,2

“You that are strong with all might in the inner man ought by rights to carry on the struggle against the enemies of the truth, and not to shrink from the task, that we fathers may be gladdened by the noble toil of our sons; for this is the prompting of the law of nature: but as you turn your ranks, and send against us the assaults of those darts which are hurled by the opponents of the truth, and demand that their hot burning coals and their shafts sharpened by knowledge falsely so called should be quenched with the shield of faith by us old men.” —St. Gregory of Nyssa

“If we have obtained the grace of God, none shall prevail against us, but we shall be stronger than all who oppose us.” —St. John Chrysostom

“In imitation of the method of the bee, I shall make my composition from those things which are conformable with the truth and from our enemies themselves gather the fruit of salvation. But I shall reject all that is worthless and falsely labeled as knowledge.” —St. John of Damascus

“But our opinion is in accordance with the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn establishes our opinion.” —St. Irenaeus

“If the poison of pride is swelling up in you, turn to the Eucharist; and that Bread, Which is your God humbling and disguising Himself, will teach you humility. If the fever of selfish greed rages in you, feed on this Bread; and you will learn generosity. If the cold wind of coveting withers you, hasten to the Bread of Angels; and charity will come to blossom in your heart. If you feel the itch of intemperance, nourish yourself with the Flesh and Blood of Christ, Who practiced heroic self-control during His earthly life; and you will become temperate. If you are lazy and sluggish about spiritual things, strengthen yourself with this heavenly Food; and you will grow fervent. Lastly, if you feel scorched by the fever of impurity, go to the banquet of the Angels; and the spotless Flesh of Christ will make you pure and chaste.” —St. Cyril of Alexandria

“Don't be anxious about what you have, but about what you are.” —St. Gregory the Great

“The man who cries out against evil men, but does not pray for them will never know the grace of God.” —St. Silouan the Athonite

“Those who dislike and reject their fellow-man are impoverished in their being. They do not know the true God, who is all-embracing love.” —St. Silouan the Athonite

“If we detect hatred in our hearts against any man whatsoever for committing any fault, we are utterly estranged from love for God, since love for God absolutely precludes us from hating any man.” —St. Maximus the Confessor

“Do not ask for love from your neighbor, for if you ask and he does not respond, you will be troubled. Instead show your love for your neighbour and you will be at rest, and so will bring your neighbour to love.” —St. Dorotheos of Gaza

“Love should never be sacrificed for the sake of some dogmatic difference.” —St. Nektarios of Aegina

“Even the slightest thought that is not founded on love destroys peace.” —Archimandrite Thaddeus Strabulovich

“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 eyes to see misery and want. It has ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.” —St. Augustine of Hippo

“Your Lord is love: love Him and in Him all men, as His Children in Christ. Your Lord is fire: do not let your heart be cold, but burn with faith and love. Your Lord is light: do not walk in darkness of mind, without reasoning or understanding, or without faith. Your Lord is a God of mercy and bountifulness: be also a source of mercy and bountifulness to your neighbors. If you will be such, you will find salvation yourself with everlasting glory.” —St. John of Kronstadt

“I guard you in advance against beasts in the form of men, whom you must not only not receive, but if it is possible not even meet, but only pray for them, if perchance they may repent…” —St. Ignatius of Antioch

“Whatever of that which is best has flowed into the heart, we should not pour out without need; for that which has been gathered can be free of danger from visible and invisible enemies only when it is guarded in the interior of the heart.” —St. Seraphim of Sarov

“No one professing faith sins, nor does does anyone possessing love hate. The tree is known by its fruit; thus those who profess to be Christ's will be recognized by their actions. For the work is a matter not of what one promises now, but of persevering to the end in the power of faith.” —St. Ignatius of Antioch (to the Ephesians)

“Indeed, man wishes to be happy even when he so lives as to make happiness impossible.” —St. Augustine

“The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works.” —St. Augustine

“The evil powers love the darkness and tremble at every light, especially at that which belongs to God and to those who please Him.” —St. Nikolai Velimirovich

“The one who has not yet obtained divine knowledge activated by love makes a lot of the religious works he performs. But the one who has been deemed worthy to obtain this says with conviction the words which the patriarch Abraham spoke when he was graced with the divine appearance, ‘I am but earth and ashes.’” —St. Maximus the Confessor

“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. So does our life. I was an infant, and that time has gone. I was an adolescent, and that too has passed. I was a young man, and that too is far behind me. The strong and mature man that I was is no more. My hair turns white, I succumb to age, but that too passes; I approach the end and will go the way of all flesh. I was born in order to die. I die that I may live. Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom!” —St. Tikhon of Voronezh

“You should look downward. Remember: you are earth and you will return to the earth.” —St. Ambrose of Optina

“Just as a pauper, seeing the royal treasures, all the more acknowledges his own poverty; so also the spirit, reading the accounts of the great deeds of the Holy Fathers, involuntarily is all the more humbled in its way of thought.” —St. John Climacus

“Do not shun poverty and affliction, the fuel that gives wings to prayer.” —Evagrios the Solitary

“Some suffer much from poverty and sickness, but are not humbled, and so they suffer without profit. But one who is humbled will be happy in all circumstances, because the Lord is his riches and joy, and all people will wonder at the beauty of his soul.” —St. Silouan the Athonite

“My joy, I beg you, acquire the Spirit of Peace. That means to bring oneself to such a state that our spirit will not be disturbed by anything. For one must go through many sorrows to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the way all righteous men were saved and inherited the Heavenly Kingdom…” —St. Seraphim of Sarov

“Peace is not absence of struggle, but absence of uncertainty and confusion.” —Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh

“Humility is perfect quietness of heart, it is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble.” —Andrew Murray

“However great the afflictions we suffer, what are they compared with the promised future reward.” —St. Makarios of Egypt

“Shun the praise of men and love the one who, in the fear of the Lord, reprimands you.” —St. Pachomius

“When people begin to praise us, let us hurry to remember the multitude of ours transgressions, and we will see that we are truly unworthy of that which they say and do in our honor.” —St. John Climacus

“…Don't be frightened at your burden; our Lord will help you to carry it.” —St. John Vianney

“Every tribulation reveals the state of our will.” —St. Mark the Ascetic

“Every affliction tests our will, showing whether it is inclined to good or evil. That is why an unforeseen affliction is called a test, because it enables a man to test his hidden desires.” —St. Mark the Ascetic

“Many are the wiles of the enemy to despoil us of inner peace, so watch!” —St. Theophan the Recluse

“In every situation confusion is from the devil, from whom may the Lord shield and protect us.” —St. Leo of Optina

“It should be noted that when the fallen spirit wants to get dominion over Christ's ascetics, he does not act imperiously or domineeringly, but tries to draw a man to consent to the proposed delusion, and after getting his consent he takes possession of the person who has given his consent. Holy David, in describing his the fallen angel attacks man, has very rightly said: "He lurketh in secret as a lion in his den, that he may ravish the poor; to ravish the poor, when he getteth him into his net."” —St. Ignaty Bryanchaninov, The Arena, chapter 11, On the Solitary Life

“The devil presents minor sins as insignificant in our eyes, because otherwise he would not be able lead us into major ones.” —St. Mark the Ascetic

“Do not leave unobliterated any fault, however small, for it may lead you on to greater sins.” —St. Mark the Ascetic

“He who honours the Lord does what the Lord bids. When he sins or is disobedient, he patiently accepts what comes as something he deserves.” —St. Mark the Ascetic

“It is a great error to think that you must undertake important and great labors, whether for heaven, or, as the 'progressives' think, in order to make one's contribution to humanity. That is not necessary at all. It is necessary only to do everything in accordance with the Lord's commandments.” —St. Theophan the Recluse

“When we are immersed in sins, and our mind is occupied solely with worldly cares, we do not notice the state of our soul.” —St. John Maximovitch

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

“I saw the snares that the enemy spreads out over the world and I said groaning, "What can get through from such snares?" Then I heard a voice saying to me, "Humility."” —St. Anthony the Great

“The greatness of a man consisteth of humility, for in proportion as a man descendeth to humility, he becometh exalted to greatness.” —Paradise of the Holy Fathers, Vol. 2

“It is easier to measure the entire sea with a tiny cup than to grasp God's ineffable greatness with the human mind.” —St. Basil the Great

“You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.” —C. S. Lewis

“Learn to love humility, for it will cover all your sins. All sins are repugnant before God but the most repugnant of all is pride of the heart.

Do not consider yourself learned and wise; otherwise, all your effort will be destroyed and your boat will reach the harbor empty.

If you have great authority, do not threaten anyone with death. Know, that according to nature, you too are susceptible to death and that every soul sheds its body from itself as the final garment.

In Byzantium there existed an unusual and instructive custom during the crowning of the emperors in the Church of the Divine Wisdom [St. Sophia]. The custom was that when the patriarch placed the crown on the emperor's head, at the same time, he handed him a silk purse filled with dirt from the grave.

Then, even the emperor would recall death and to avoid all pride and become humble.” —St. Anthony the Great

“Pride more than anything else, deprives people of both their good deeds and help from God. Where there is no humility, pride takes its place.” —St. Macarius of Optina

“This is the wisdom and power of God: to be victorious through weakness, exalted through humility, rich through poverty.” —St. Gregory Palamas

“Where can I flee? A place cannot save you because there is no place you can flee from yourself.” —St. Nikon of Optina

“You will lose nothing of what you have renounced for the Lord’s sake. For in its own time it will return to you greatly multiplied.” —St. Mark the Ascetic

“A life lived in the world can be as good, in the eyes of God, as one spent in a monastery. It is indeed only the keeping of God's commandments, love of all, and a true sense of humility that matter, wherever we are.” —Elder Macarius of Optina

“Those who, because of the rigor of their own ascetic practice, despise the less zealous, think that they are made righteous by physical works. But we are even more foolish if we rely on theoretical knowledge and disparage the ignorant.” —St. Mark the Ascetic

“A remedy against straying thoughts is mental attention, attention to the fact that the Lord is before us and we are before Him.” —St. Theophan the Recluse

“The roots of evil thoughts are the obvious vices, which we keep trying to justify in our words and actions.” —St. Mark the Ascetic

“Guard your speech from boasting and your thoughts from presumption; otherwise you may be abandoned by God and fall into sin. For man cannot do anything good without the help of God, who sees everything.” —St. Mark the Ascetic

"The higher a person’s position in society the more he should help others without ever reminding them of his position.” —Tsar St. Nicholas II

“If any man is able in power to continue in purity, to the honour of the flesh of our Lord, let him continue so without boasting; if he boasts, he is undone; if he become known apart from the bishop, he has destroyed himself.” —St. Ignatius of Antioch

“Guarding the mouth wakes up the conscience to God, if it is with knowledge that a man keeps silence.” —St. Isaac the Syrian

“Silence is more profitable than speech, for as it has been said, "The words of wise men are heard even in quiet."” —St. Basil the Great

“Never give your opinion if you are not asked for it, even if you think that your view is the best.” —St. Josemaria Escriva

“Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, that without distance closeness cannot cure.” —Henri Nouwen

“Let your mouth continually administer blessing; then the scorn of anyone will never hurt you.” —St. Isaac the Syrian

“Just as swine run to a place where there is mire, and bees dwell where there are fragrances and incense, likewise demons gather where there are carnal songs and the grace of the Holy Spirit settles where there are spiritual melodies, sanctifying both mouth and soul.” —St. John Chrysostom

“Through the Holy Spirit comes our restoration to paradise, our ascension into the kingdom of heaven, our return to the adoption of sons, our liberty to call God our Father, our being made partakers of the grace of Christ, our being called children of light, our sharing in eternal glory, and, in a word, our being brought into a state of all "fulness of blessing," both in this world and in the world to come, of all the good gifts that are in store for us, by promise hereof, through faith, beholding the reflection of their grace as though they were already present, we await the full enjoyment.” —St. Basil the Great

“Humility consists, not in condemning our conscience, but in recognizing God's grace and compassion.” —St. Mark the Ascetic

“Children, I beseech you to correct your hearts and thoughts, so that you may be pleasing to God. Consider that although we may reckon ourselves to be righteous and frequently succeed in deceiving men, we can conceal nothing from God. Let us therefore strive to preserve the holiness of our souls and to guard the purity of our bodies with all fervor. Ye are the temple of God, says the divine Apostle Paul; If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy.” —St. Nicholas of Myra

“Those who suffer for the sake of true devotion receive help. This must be learnt through obeying God's law and our own conscience.” —St. Mark the Ascetic

“When you are wronged and your heart and feelings are hardened, do not be distressed, for this has happened providentially; but be glad and reject the thoughts that arise within you, knowing that if they are destroyed at the stage when they are only provocations, their evil consequences will be cut off, whereas if the thoughts persist the evil may be expected to develop.” —St. Mark the Ascetic

“Struggle to become immortal from now, by dying here on the earth to your bad self. In this way, you won't be sad, but you'll be very glad, living together with Christ.” —Elder Porphyrios

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

“In advising against being carried away by artificial practices such as Transcendental Meditation I am but repeating the age-old message of the Church … The way of the Fathers requires firm faith and long patience, whereas our contemporaries want to seize every spiritual gift, including even direct contemplation of the Absolute God, by force and speedily, and will often draw a parallel between prayer in the Name of Jesus and yoga or Transcendental Meditation and the like. I must stress the danger of such errors … He is deluded who endeavors to divest himself mentally of all that is transitory and relative in order to cross some invisible threshold, to realize his eternal origin, his identity with the Source of all that exists, in order to return and merge with him, the nameless transpersonal Absolute. Such exercises have enabled many to rise to suprarational contemplation of being, to experience a certain mystical trepidation, to know the state of silence of mind, when mind goes beyond the boundaries of time and space. In such like states man may feel the peacefulness of being withdrawn from the continually changing phenomena of the visible world, may even have a certain experience of eternity. But the God of Truth, the Living God, is not in all this.

It is man’s own beauty, created in the image of God, that is contemplated and seen as divinity, whereas he himself still continues within the confines of his creatureliness. This is a vastly important concern. The tragedy of the matter lies in the fact that man sees a mirage which, in his longing for eternal life, he mistakes for a genuine oasis. This impersonal form of ascetics leads finally to an assertion of the divine principle in the very nature of man. Man is then drawn to the idea of self-deification—the cause of the original Fall. The man who is blinded by the imaginary majesty of what he contemplates has in fact set his foot on the path to self-destruction. He has discarded the revelation of a personal God … The movement into the depths of his own being is nothing else but attraction towards the non-being from which we were called by the will of the Creator.” —Archimandrite Sophrony of Mount Athos, His Life is Mine, 115–116

“Christ said, 'I came not to send peace, but a sword' and 'division'. Christ summoned us to war on the plane of the spirit, and our weapon is 'the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.' Our battle is waged in extraordinarily unequal conditions. We are tied hand and foot. We dare not strike with fire or sword: our sole armament is love, even for enemies. This unique war in which we are engaged is indeed a holy war. We wrestle with the last and only enemy of mankind death. Our fight is the fight for universal resurrection.” —Archimandrite Sophrony of Mount Athos, His Life is Mine

“If our purpose is to fight the spiritual fight and to defeat, with God’s help, the demons of malice, we should take every care to guard our heart from the demon of dejection, just as a moth devours clothing and a worm devours wood, so dejection devours a man’s soul. It persuades him to shun every helpful encounter and stops him accepting advice from his true friends or giving them a courteous and peaceful reply. Seizing the entire soul, it fills it with bitterness and listlessness. Then it suggests to the soul that we should go away from other people, since they are the cause of its agitation. It does not allow the soul to understand that its sickness does not come from without, but lies hidden within, only manifesting itself when temptations attack the soul because of our ascetic efforts.

A man can be harmed by another only through the causes of the passions which lie within himself. It is for this reason that God, the Creator of all and the Doctor of men’s souls, who alone has accurate knowledge of the soul’s wounds, does not tell us to forsake the company of men; He tells us to root out the causes of evil within us and to recognize that the soul’s health is achieved not by a man’s separating himself from his fellows, but by his living the ascetic life in the company of holy men. When we abandon our brothers for some apparently good reason, we do not eradicate the motives for dejection but merely exchange them, since the sickness which lies hidden within us will show itself again in other circumstances.” —St. John Cassian

“A wise heart can transfer an affliction into a blessing, even sin!! He benefits from it: contrition, humility, keenness and sympathy for sinners.” —H.H. Pope Shenouda III

“Humility and suffering free a man from all sin; for the first cuts out spiritual passions, and the latter bodily.” —St. Maximus the Confessor

“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” —C. S. Lewis

“The heart of a perfectly healthy man becomes weakened for faith and love to God and his neighbor, and easily gives itself up to carnal desires: to slothfulness, negligence, coldness, gluttony, avarice, fornication, pride. Whilst the heart of a sick man, or a wounded, oppressed, weary heart, is strengthened in faith, hope, and love, and is far removed from carnal passions. This is why the Heavenly Father, Who careth for our salvation, chastises us by various sicknesses. The oppression and afflictions of sickness make us turn again to God.” —St. John of Kronstadt

“Suffering reminds the wise man of God, but crushes those who forget Him.” —St. Mark the Ascetic

“We must be prepared to accept the will of God. The Lord permits all sorts of things to happen to us contrary to our will, for if we always have it our way, we will not be prepared for the Kingdom of Heaven.” —Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica, "Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives"

“What should not be heard by little ears, should not be said by big mouths.” —unknown

“I am incurably convinced that the object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.” —G. K. Chesteron

“What is slander? It is every sort of wicked word we would dare not speak in front of the person whom we are complaining about.” —St. Anthony the Great

“If you want to overcome the spirit of slander, blame not the person who falls, but the demon that prompted them to sin.” —St. John Climacus

“You cannot be too gentle, too kind. Shun even to appear harsh in your treatment of each other. Joy, radiant joy, streams from the face of him who gives and kindles joy in the heart of him who receives. All condemnation is from the devil. Never condemn each other. We condemn others only because we shun knowing ourselves. When we gaze at our own failings, we see such a swamp that nothing in another can equal it. That is why we turn away, and make much of the faults of others. Instead of condemning others, strive to reach inner peace. Keep silent, refrain from judgment. This will raise you above the deadly arrows of slander, insult and outrage and will shield your glowing hearts against all evil.” —St. Seraphim of Sarov

“A man may seem to be silent, but if his heart is condemning others, he is babbling ceaselessly. But there may be another who talks from morning till night and yet he is truly silent, that is, he says nothing that is not profitable.” —Abba Poemen

“If your tongue is used to chattering, your heart will remain dim and foreign to the luminous intuitions of the Holy Spirit.” —St. John of Dalyatha

“He who does not control his tongue when he is angry, will not control his passions either.” —Abba Hyperchius

“Firmly purpose in your soul to hate every sin of thought, word, and deed, and when you are tempted to sin resist it valiantly and with a feeling of hatred for it; only beware lest your hatred should turn against the person of your brother who gave occasion for the sin. Hate the sin with all your heart, but pity your brother; instruct him, and pray for him to the Almighty, Who sees all of us and tries our hearts and innermost parts.” —St. John of Kronstadt

“We must consider all evil things, even the passions which war against us, to be not our own, but of our enemy the devil. This is very important. You can only conquer a passion when you do not consider it as part of you.” —St. Nikon of Optina

“A sinful soul, full of passions, cannot have peace and rejoice in the Lord, even if it had charge over all earthly riches, even if it ruled over the whole world. If it was suddenly said to such a king, happily feasting and sitting on his throne, 'King, now you will die,' his soul would be troubled and he would tremble with fear, and he would see his powerlessness. But how many beggars there are, whose only wealth is love for God, and who, if you said to them, 'You will die now,' would answer peacefully, 'Let God's will be done. Glory to the Lord, that He has remembered me and wants to take me to Himself.'” —St. Silouan the Athonite

“Man’s will, out of cowardice, tends away from suffering, and man, against his own will, remains utterly dominated by the fear of death, and, in his desire to live, clings to his slavery to pleasure.” —St. Maximus the Confessor

“Sin makes man a coward; but a life in the Truth of Christ makes Him bold.” —St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Statues, VIII. 2

“Of all the good things in the world, life is dearest to men, and men love life better than truth, although there is no life in truth. The highest good, then, is life, but truth is the foundation of life. He who loves life must also love truth. But what is the way to truth? 'I am the way', says the Lord. 'I am the way', that none should think that there is some other way to the truth besides the Lord Jesus. It was for that He was born as a man: to show men the way. And for this that He was crucified, to make the way plain by His blood.” —St. Nikolai Velimirovich

“The natural passions become good in those who struggle when, wisely unfastening them from the things of the flesh, use them to gain heavenly things. For example they can change appetite into the movement of a spiritual longing for divine things; pleasure into pure joy for the cooperation of the mind with divine gifts; fear into care to evade future misfortune due to sin and sadness into corrective repentance for present evil.” —St. Maximus the Confessor

“How good it is to conquer the passions! After the victory one feels such lightness of heart, such peace and greatness of spirit!” —St. John of Kronstadt

“He who believes, fears; he who fears is humble; he who is humble becomes gentle.” —St. Maximus the Confessor

“For every humble person is gentle, and every gentle person is invariably humble. A person is humble when he knows that his very being is on loan to him.” —St. Maximus the Confessor

“A humble person lives on earth as if in the Kingdom of Heaven - always happy, peaceful and satisfied with everything.” —St. Anthony of Optina

“Not every quiet man is humble, but every humble man is quiet.” —St. Isaac the Syrian

“You wish to be great, begin from the least. You are thinking to construct some mighty fabric in height; first think of the foundation of humility. And how great soever a mass of building one may wish and design to place above it, the greater the building is to be, the deeper does he dig his foundation.” —St. Augustine

“A humble person lives on earth as if in the Kingdom of Heaven - always happy, peaceful and satisfied with everything.” —St. Anthony of Optina

“In them [the Lives of the Saints] it is clearly and obviously demonstrated: There is no spiritual death from which one cannot be resurrected by the Divine power of the risen and ascended Lord Christ; there is no torment, there is no misfortune, there is no misery, there is no suffering which the Lord will not change either gradually or all at once into quite, compunctionate joy because of faith in Him.” —St. Justin Popovich

“A servant of the Lord is he who in body stands before men, but in mind knocks at Heaven with prayer.” —St. John Climacus

“In the Christian East – in fact, in the East in general – we love old age because we think that it is made for praying. When one is old, and feels the nearness of God across the increasingly transparent surface of biological life, one becomes in consciousness a child, returned to the Father, made light in spirit by the proximity of death, transparent to another kind of light.

A civilization in which one no longer prays is a civilization in which old age has no meaning. One walks backward towards death, pretending to be young; it’s an agonizing spectacle, because a wonderful possibility is offered, a journey towards ultimate relinquishment, and it is not taken advantage of.

We need old people who pray, who smile, who live with a disinterested love, who marvel; they alone can show young people that that living is worth the effort, and that oblivion is not the last word.

Every monk whose spiritual practice has born fruit is called in the East, whatever his age, 'a beautiful old man.' He is beautiful with the beauty that rises from the heart. In him all the periods of his life have come into harmony, as with a symphony, one might say. And especially the original child is found again: shining with a transfigured shining, the beautiful old man has the eyes of a child.” —Olivier Clément

“It is of great significance if there is a person who truly prays in a family. Prayer attracts God’s grace and all the members of the family feel it, even those whose hearts have grown cold. Pray always.” —Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica

“Prayer is the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness.” —St. John Chrysostom

“He who angers you, controls you!” —Bishop Melchisedek Pleska

“[The desire for] equality is from the Devil, because it comes entirely from envy.” —Fr. Alexander Schmemann

“Men are converted to God not because someone was able to give brilliant explanations, but because they saw in him that light, joy, depth, seriousness, and love which alone reveal the presence and power of God in the world.” —Fr. Alexander Schmemann

“In your prayer seek only righteousness and the kingdom of God, that is, virtue and spiritual knowledge; and everything else 'will be given to you' (Matt. 6:33).” —St. Evagrius of Ponticus

“Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance. Prayer suppresses anger. Prayer prevents emotions of pride and envy. Prayer draws into the soul the Holy Spirit, and raises man to Heaven.” —St. Ephrem the Syrian

“Even if we stand at the very summit of virtue, it is by mercy that we shall be saved.” —St. John Chrysostom

“The goodness of God is so rich in graces, that it seeks a cause to have mercy on a person.” —St. Anthimus of Chios

“The Holy Spirit has accomplishing in each believer the work of Christ. Each Christian is a communicant of the spirit. This is something so necessary, that in fact whoever does not have the Spirit is not of Christ.” —St. Theophan the Recluse

“The Church is nothing but the world on the way to deification; for the Church, the world is no longer a tomb but a womb.” —Olivier Clément

“The church is an earthly heaven in which the super-celestial God dwells and walks about. ” —St. Germanus of Constantinople

“Nothing is more abiding than the Church: she is your salvation; she is your refuge.” —St. John Chrysostom

“There is no need to weep much over the destruction of a church; after all, each of us, according to God's mercy, has or should have his own church - the heart - go in there and pray, as much as you have strength and time. If this church is not well made and is abandoned (without inward prayer), then the visible church will be of little benefit.” —Archbishop Barlaam

“Our prayer reflects our attitude towards God. He who is careless of salvation has a different attitude toward God from him who has abandoned sin and is zealous for virtue but has not yet entered within himself and works for the Lord only outwardly. Finally, he who has entered within and carries the Lord within himself, standing before Him, has yet another attitude. The first man is negligent in prayer, just as he is negligent in life, and he prays in church and at home merely according to the established custom, without attention or feeling. The second man reads many prayers and goes often to church, trying at the same time to keep his attention from wandering and to experience feelings in accordance with the prayers which are read, although he is seldom successful. The third man, wholly concentrated within, stands with his mind before God, and prays to Him in his heart without distraction, without long verbal prayers, even when standing for a long time at prayer in his home or in church. … Every prayer must come from the heart and any other prayer is no prayer at all. Prayer-book prayers, your own prayers and very short prayers, all must issue forth from the heart to God, seen before you.” —St. Theophan the Recluse

“It is sometimes well during prayer to say a few words of your own, breathing fervent faith and love to the Lord. Yes, let us not always converse with God in the words of others, not always remain children in faith and hope; we must also show our own mind, indite a good matter from our own heart also. Moreover, we grow too accustomed to the words of others and grow cold in prayer. And how pleasing this lipsing of our own is, coming from a believing, loving, and thankful heart. It is impossible to explain this; it is only needful to say that when you are praying to God with your own words the soul trembles with joy, it becomes wholly inflamed, vivified, and beatified. You will utter few words, but you will experience such blessedness as you would not have obtained saying the longest most touching prayers of others, pronounced out of habit and insincerely.” —St. John of Kronstadt

“Chastisement through the trials imposed on us is a spiritual rod, teaching us humility when in our foolishness we think too much of ourselves.” —St. Thalassios the Libyan

“Goodness is not confirmed without trial. Every Christian is tested by something: one by poverty, another by illness, a third by various thoughts, a forth by some calamity or humiliation, while another by various doubts. And, through this, firmness of faith, hope and love of God are tested.” —St. Ambrose of Optina

“Sometimes men are tested by pleasure, sometimes by distress or by physical suffering. By means of His prescriptions the Physician of souls administers the remedy according to the cause of the passions lying hidden in the soul.” —St. Maximus the Confessor, Philokalia

“If you want, or rather intend, to take a splinter out of another person, then do not hack at it with a stick instead of a lancet, for you will only drive it in deeper.” —St. John Climacus

“To exalt oneself is one thing, not to do so another, and to humble oneself is something less entirely. A man may always be passing judgement on others, while another man passes judgement neither on others nor on himself. A third, however, though actually guiltless, may always be passing judgement on himself.” —St. John Climacus

“If a man accuses himself, he is protected on all sides.” —St. Poemen

“It is not then wealth that is the foundation of pleasure, nor poverty of sadness, but our own judgment and the fact that the eyes of our mind neither see clearly nor remain fixed in one place, but flutter abroad.” —St. John Chrysostom

“In whatever state a person is, he sometimes finds himself making pure and intense prayers. For even from that first and lowest sort, which has to do with recalling the future judgment, the one who is still subject to the punishment of terror and the fear of judgment is occasionally so struck with compunction that he is filled with no less joy of spirit from the richness of his supplication than the one who, examining the kindnesses of God and going over them in the purity of his heart, dissolves into unspeakable gladness and delight. For, according to the words of the Lord, the one who realizes that more has been forgiven him begins to love more.” —St. John Cassian

“The pure heart sees God as in a mirror.” —Abba Philemon

“God rests within gentle hearts. The gentle and merciful shall sit fearless in His regions, and will inherit Heavenly glory.” —St. John Climacus

“We don't understand that happiness is in eternity and not in vanity.” —Elder Paisios of Mt. Athos

“The sun shines on all alike, and vainglory beams on all activities. For instance, I am vainglorious when I fast; and when I relax the fast in order to be unnoticed, I am again vainglorious over my prudence. When well-dressed I am quite overcome by vainglory, and when I put on poor clothes I am vainglorious again. When I talk I am defeated, and when I am silent I am again defeated by it. However I throw this prickly-pear, a spike stands upright.” —St. John Climacus

"Have you ever observed the life of the heart? Try it even for a short time and see what you find. Something unpleasant happens, and you get irritated; some misfortune occurs, and you pity yourself; you see someone whom you dislike, and animosity wells up within you; you meet one of your equals who has now outdistanced you on the social scale, and you begin to envy him; you think of your talents and capabilities, and you begin to grow proud… All this is rottenness: vainglory, carnal desire, gluttony, laziness, malice-one on top of the other, they destroy the heart.” —St. John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco

“As water and fire oppose one another when combined, so are self-justification and humility opposed to one another.” —St. Mark the Ascetic

“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 Climacus

“Christians, above all men, are forbidden to correct the stumblings of sinners by force… it is necessary to make a man better not by force but by persuasion. God gives the crown to those who are kept from evil, not by force, but by choice.” —St. John Chrysostom

“Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly, the angel who guards you will honor your patience.” —St. John Climacus

“The life of the righteous was radiant. How did it become radiant if it wasn’t by patience? Love patience, O monk, as the mother of courage.” —St. Ephrem the Syrian

“Faintness of heart is a sign of despondency, and negligence is the mother of both. A cowardly man shows that he suffers from two diseases: love of his flesh and lack of faith; for love of one’s flesh is a sign of unbelief. But he who despises the love of the flesh proves that he believes in God with his whole heart and awaits the age to come … A courageous heart and scorn of perils comes from one of two causes: either from hardness of heart or from great faith in God. Pride accompanies hardness of heart, but humility accompanies faith. A man cannot acquire hope in God unless he first does His will with exactness. For hope in God and manliness of heart are born of the testimony of the conscience, and by the truthful testimony of the mind we possess confidence towards God.” —St. Isaac the Syrian, Homily 40

“I have seen pride lead to humility. And I remembered him who said: Who hath known the mind of the Lord? The pit and offspring of conceit is a fall; but a fall is often an occasion of humility for those who are willing to use it to their advantage.” —St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 15, Section 38

“Humility is the only thing that no devil can imitate.” —St. John Climacus

“An angel fell from Heaven without any other passion except pride, and so we may ask whether it is possible to ascend to Heaven by humility alone, without any other of the virtues.” —St. John Climacus

“Run from pride, for it is a passion more treacherous than any other.” —St. John Chrysostom

“Pride more than anything else, deprives people of both their good deeds and help from God. Where there is no humility, pride takes its place.” —St. Macarius of Optina

“Day and night I pray the Lord for love, and the Lord gives me tears to weep for the whole world. But if I find fault with any man, or look on him with an unkind eye, my tears will dry up, and my soul sink into despondency. Yet do I begin again to entreat forgiveness of the Lord, and the Lord in His mercy forgives me, a sinner.

Brethren, before the face of my God I write: Humble your hearts, and while yet on this earth you will see the mercy of the Lord, and know your Heavenly Creator, and your souls will never have their fill of love.” —St. Silouan the Athonite

“He who in his heart is proud of his tears and secretly condemns those who do not weep is like a man who asks the king for a weapon against his enemy and then commits suicide with it.” —St. John Climacus

“… One must clean the royal house from every impurity and adorn it with every beauty, then the king may enter into it. In a similar way one must first cleanse the earth of the heart and uproot the weeds of sin and the passionate deeds and soften it with sorrows and the narrow way of life, sow in it the seed of virtue, water it with lamentation and tears, and only then does the fruit of dispassion and eternal life grow. For the Holy Spirit does not dwell in a man until he has been cleansed from passions of the soul and body.” —St. Paisius Velichkovsky, 'Field Flowers'

“If you rebuke yourself, accuse yourself, and judge yourself before God for your sins, with a sensitive conscience, even for this you will be justified. If you are sorrowful for your sins, or you weep, or sigh, your sigh will not be hidden from Him and, as St. John Chrysostom says, ‘If you only lament for your sins, then He will receive this for your salvation.’” —St. Moses of Optina

“Where there is pride there cannot be grace, and if we lose grace we also lose both love of God and assurance in prayer. The soul is then tormented by evil thoughts and does not understand that she must humble herself and love her enemies, for there is no other way to please God.” —St. Silouan the Athonite

“A good heart produces good thoughts: its thoughts correspond to what it stores up in itself.” —St. Thalassios the Libyan

“Fasting is for the purification of the soul and body.” —St. John Chrysostom

“Fasting is wonderful, because it tramples our sins like a dirty weed, while it cultivates and raises truth like a flower.” —St. Basil the Great

“Fasting is the mother of health; the friend of chastity; the partner of humility.” —St. Symeon the New theologian

“As salt is needed for all kinds of food, so humility is needed for all kinds of virtues.” —St. Isaac the Syrian

“Let it be known to you that if in your life you have mastered every virtue and every good deed such as mercy, prayer, fast, and other virtues but have no humility in you, your toil will be in vain. For humility in all these virtues is the solid foundation. Without it, we cannot master any of the virtues and all these virtues will become impure, filthy, and discarded before God because they were not sown with humility and love.” —St. John Chrysostom

“Fasting is the mother of health; the friend of chastity; the partner of humility.” —St. Symeon the New theologian

“What can sin do where there is penitence? And of what use is love where there is pride?” —Abba Elias

“Pride is poverty of the soul, which imagines itself to be rich, and being in darkness, thinks it has light.” —St. John Climacus

“Modern society calls the beggar bum and panhandler and gives him the bum's rush. But the Greeks used to say that people in need are the ambassadors of the gods.” —Peter Maurin

“Who is the greedy man? One for whom plenty does not suffice. Who defrauds others? One who keeps for himself what belongs to everyone. Aren’t you greedy, don’t you defraud, when you keep for yourself what was given to give away? When someone steals a man’s clothes, we call him a thief. Shouldn’t we give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not?” —St. Basil the Great

“The bread you do not use is the bread of the hungry. The garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of the person who is naked. The shoes you do not wear are the shoes of one who is barefoot. The money you keep locked away is the money of the poor. The acts of charity you do not perform are the injustices you commit.” —St. Basil the Great

“You are not making a gift of what is yours to the poor man, but you are giving him back what is his. You have been appropriating things that are meant to be for the common use of everyone. The earth belongs to everyone, not to the rich.” —St. Ambrose of Milan

“Do not consider your riches as belonging to yourselves alone; open wide your hand to those who are in need.” —St. Cyril of Alexandria

“The man who loves his neighbor as himself possesses no more than his neighbor…thus, as much as your wealth increases, so much does your love decrease.” —St. Basil the Great

“No one in creation is rich but he that fears God; no one is truly poor but he that lacks the truth.” —St. Ephrem the Syrian

“In all your undertakings and in every way of life, whether you are living in obedience, or are not submitting your work to anyone, whether in outward or in spiritual matters, let it be your rule and practice to ask yourself: Am I really doing this in accordance with God’s will?” —St. John Climacus

“Those who submit to the Lord with simple heart will run the good race. If they keep their minds on a leash, they will not draw the wickedness of the demons onto themselves.” —St. John Climacus

“A hypocrite is someone who teaches his neighbor something he makes no effort to do himself.” —St. Poemen

“I prefer a man who sins and repents to one who does not sin and does not repent. The first has good thoughts, for he admits that he is sinful. But the second has false, soul-destroying thoughts, for he imagines himself to be righteous.” —Abba Poemen the Great

“At meals don't speak about food: that's vulgar and unworthy of you. Speak about something noble -- of the soul or of the mind -- and you will have dignified this duty.” —St. Josemaria Escriva

“When someone learns to acknowledge every man as being better than himself, then he has attained humility.” —St. Sisoes the Great

“It is a spiritual gift from God for a man to perceive his sins.” —St. Isaac the Syrian

“The man who is deemed worthy to see himself is greater than he who is deemed worthy to see angels.” —St. Isaac the Syrian

“The truly blessed are not the ones who can work miracles or see angels; the truly blessed are the ones who can see their own sins.” —St. Anthony the Great

“The way to perfection is through the realization that we are blind, naked and poor.” —St. Theophan the Recluse

“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. Clement of Alexandria

“Everyday I lay a foundation for building my repentance, and again with my own hands I demolish it.” —St. Ephrem the Syrian

“…should we fall, we should not despair and so estrange ourselves from the Lord's love. For if He so chooses, He can deal mercifully with our weakness. Only we should not cut ourselves off from Him or feel oppressed when constrained by His commandments, nor should we lose heart when we fall short of our goal...let us always be ready to make a new start. If you fall, rise up. If you fall again, rise up again. Only do not abandon your Physician, lest you be condemned as worse than a suicide because of your despair. Wait on Him, and He will be merciful, either reforming you, or sending you trials, or through some other provision of which you are ignorant.” —St. Peter of Damascus

“Every day at nightfall, before sleep comes upon you, excite the judgment of your conscience, demand an account from it, and whatever evil counsels you may have taken during the day … pierce them, tear them to pieces, and do penance for them.” —St. John Chrysostom

“As I became more wretched you drew nearer to me.” —St. Augustine

“Sin is the fruit of free will. There was a time when sin did not exist, and there will be a time when it will not exist.” —St. Isaac the Syrian

“Prove your love and zeal for wisdom in actual deeds.” —St. Callistus Xanthopoulos

“Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing.” —St. Thérèse de Lisieux

“Sometimes Japanese protestants come to me and ask me to clarify some place in the Holy Scriptures.

"You have your own missionary teachers," I tell them, "Go ask them. What do they say?" "We have asked them. They say: understand as you know how. But I need to know the real thought of God, not my own personal opinion."

…It's not like that with us. Everything is clear, trustworthy and simple, since we accept Holy Tradition in addition to the Holy Scriptures. And Holy Tradition is a living, unbroken voice of our Church from the time of Christ and His Apostles until now, and which will exist until the end of the world. In it all the meaning of the Holy Scriptures are preserved.” —St. Nicholas of Japan

“It is Christ Himself, not the Bible, Who is the true Word of God. The Bible, read in the right spirit, and with the guidance of good teachers, will bring us to Him.” —C. S. Lewis

“The humility of Jesus is not a superfluous detail in the gospel narrative. The humility of Jesus is essential to the gospel. If Jesus lacked humility, there would be no incarnation, no crucifixion, and no redemption.” —Jack Wisdom

“A false interpretation of Scripture causes that the gospel of the Lord becomes the gospel of man, or, which is worse, of the devil.” —St. Jerome

“How long shall we continue in this manner, our intellect reduced to futility, failing to make the spirit of the Gospel our own, not knowing what it means to live according to our conscience, making no serious effort to keep it pure?” —St. Mark the Ascetic

“Do not leave unobliterated any fault, however small, for it may lead you on to greater sins.” —St. Mark the Ascetic

“Having fulfilled a commandment, expect temptations; because love toward Christ is tested by difficulties.” —St. Mark the Ascetic

“So in every test, let us say: "Thank you, my God, because this was needed for my salvation."” —Elder Paisios of Mount Athos

“Make sure that you do not limit your prayer merely to a particular part of the day. Turn to prayer at anytime.” —St John Chrysostom

“The Lord knows that I love you all, but I cannot speak with God and people at the same time.” —St. Arsanius the Great

“A Christian…is not his own master; he puts his time at God's disposal.” —St. Ignatius of Antioch

“Do not seek the perfection of the Law in human virtues … Its perfection is hidden in the Cross of Christ.” —St. Mark the Ascetic

“The knowledge of the Cross is concealed in the sufferings of the Cross.” —St. Isaac the Syrian

“God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering.” —St. Augustine

“Man is, by nature, afraid of both death and the dissolution of the body; but there is this most startling fact: that he who has put on the faith of the Cross despises even what is naturally fearful, and for Christ's sake is not afraid even of death.” —St. Athanasius the Great

“Only struggle a little more. Carry your cross without complaining. Don't think you are anything special. Don't justify your sins and weaknesses, but see yourself as you really are. And, especially, love one another.” —Fr. Seraphim Rose

“Remember that each of us has his own cross. The Golgotha of this cross is our heart: it is being lifted or implanted through a zealous determination to live according to the Spirit of God. Just as salvation of the world is by the Cross of God, so our salvation is by our crucifixion on our own cross.” —St. Theophan the Recluse

“Everyone has a cross to carry. Why? Since the leader of our faith endured the cross, we will also endure it. On one hand, the cross is sweet and light, but, on the other, it can also be bitter and heavy. It depends on our will. If you bear Christ’s cross with love then it will be very light; like a sponge or a cork. But if you have a negative attitude, it becomes heavy; too heavy to lift.” —Elder Ephraim of Katounakia, 20th Century staretz on Mt. Athos, Suffering; Trials

“When you meet with suffering, contempt, the Cross, your thought should be: what is this compared with what I deserve?” —St. Josemaria Escriva

“Understand two thoughts, and fear them. One says, 'You are a saint,' the other, 'You won't be saved.' Both of these thoughts are from the enemy, and there is no truth in them. But think this way: I am a great sinner, but the Lord is merciful. He loves people very much, and He will forgive my sins.” —St. Silouan the Athonite

“He made Him who was righteous to be a sinner, that He might make sinners righteous.” —St. John Chrysostom

“Love sinners, but hate their deeds, and do not disdain sinners for their failings.” —St. Isaac the Syrian

“Love every man in spite of his falling into sin. Never mind the sins, but remember that the foundation of the man is the same - the image of God.” —St. John of Kronstadt

“Never confuse the person, formed in the image of God, with the evil that is in him: because evil is but a chance misfortune, an illness, a devilish reverie. But the very essence of the person is the image of God, and this remains in him despite every disfigurement.” —St. John of Kronstadt

“Our life and our death is with our neighbor.

If we gain our brother, we have gained God, but if we scandalize our brother, we have sinned against Christ.

This is the great work of a man: always to take the blame for his own sins before God and to expect temptation to his last breath.” —St. Anthony the Great

“Unless we look at a person and see the beauty there is in this person, we can contribute nothing to him. One does not help a person by discerning what is wrong, what is ugly, what is distorted. Christ looked at everyone he met, at the prostitute, at the thief, and saw the beauty hidden there. Perhaps it was distorted, perhaps damaged, but it was beauty none the less, and what he did was to call out this beauty.” —Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh

“As long as we pay attention to the negative sides of various people we meet, we will not find peace and repentance. As long as we keep in ourselves the thought of offense, caused to us by enemies, friends, family and neighbours, we will not find peace and quiet and we will live in a hellish state.” —Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica

“If you are offended by anything, whether intended or unintended, you do not know the way of peace, which through love brings the lovers of divine knowledge to the knowledge of God.” —St. Maximus the Confessor

“In hell there is democracy and in Heaven there is a Kingdom.” —St. John of Kronstadt

“We shall not care what people think of us, or how they treat us. We shall cease to be afraid of falling out of favour. We shall love our fellow men without thought of whether they love us. Christ gave us the commandment to love others but did not make it a condition of salvation that they should love us. Indeed, we may positively be disliked for independence of spirit. It is essential in these days to be able to protect ourselves from the influence of those with whom we come in contact. Otherwise we risk losing both faith and prayer. Let the whole world dismiss us as unworthy of attention, trust or respect – it will not matter provided that the Lord accept us. And vice versa: it will profit us nothing if the whole world thinks well of us and sings our praises, if the Lord declines to abide with us. This is only a fragment of the freedom Christ meant when He said, ‘Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’ (John 8.32). Our sole care will be to continue in the word of Christ, to become His disciples and cease to be servants of sin.” —His Life is Mine, Archimandrite Sophrony

“When you are depressed, bear in mind the Lord’s command to Peter to forgive a sinner seventy times seven. And you may be sure that He Who gave this command to another will Himself do very much more.” —St. John Climacus

“The time of this present life is a time for harvesting, and each person gathers spiritual food - as pure as possible - and stores it up for the other life. It is not the clever, the noble, the polished speakers, or the rich who win, but whoever is insulted and forbears, whoever is wronged and forgives, whoever is slandered and endures, whoever becomes a sponge and mops up whatever they might say to him. Such a person is cleansed and polished even more. He reaches great heights. He delights in the theoria of mysteries. And finally, it is he who is already inside paradise, while still in this life.” —Elder Joseph the Hesychast and Cave-dweller

“When you are ready to stand in the presence of the Lord, let your soul wear a garment woven from the cloth of your forgiveness of others. Otherwise, your prayer will be of no value whatsoever.” —St. John Climacus

“Forgiveness is better than revenge.” —St. Tikhon of Zadonsk

“When God forgave you, it means He forgave you for eternity.” —Elder Arsenios Papacioc

“Love alone harmoniously joins all created things with God and with each other.” —St. Thalassios the Libyan

“A monk is he who withdrawing from all men, is united with all mankind. … A monk is he who regards himself as existing with all men and sees himself in each man.” —St. Nilus of Sinai

“Love towards Christ is without limits, and the same is true of love towards our neighbour. It should radiate everywhere, to the ends of the earth, to every person. I wanted to go and live with the hippies at ....... in order to show them the love of Christ and how great it is and how it could transfigure them. Love is above everything.” —Wounded by Love, Elder Porphyrios, pg 188

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” —Genesis 1:27

“For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” —Genesis 3:5

“You shall not murder.” —Exodus 20:13

“Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person.” —Deuteronomy 27:25

“He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.” —Isaiah 2:4

“But Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.’” —Matthew 26:52

“You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’” —Luke 18:20

“So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’” —John 8:7

“Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” —1 John 3:15

“And the second commandment of the Teaching; Thou shalt not commit murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not commit paederasty, thou shalt not commit fornication, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not practise magic, thou shalt not practise witchcraft, thou shalt not murder a child by abortion nor kill that which is begotten.” —Didache 2:2

“The mold in the womb may not be destroyed.” —Tertullian

“The woman who purposely destroys her unborn child is guilty of murder. The hair-splitting difference between formed and unformed makes no difference to us.” —St. Basil the Great

“Those who use abortifacients commit homicide.” —St. Clement of Alexandria

“For every argument there is a counter-argument, but who can argue against life?” —St. Gregory Palamas

“O God, grant us a deeper sense of fellowship with all living things, our little brothers and sisters to whom in common with us you have given this earth as home. We recall with regret that in the past we have acted high-handedly and cruelly in exercising our domain over them. Thus, the voice of the earth which should have risen to you in song has turned into a groan of travail. May we realize that all these creatures also live for themselves and for you - not for us alone. They too love the goodness of life, as we do, and serve you better in their way than we do in ours. Amen.” —St. Basil the Great

“We follow the ways of wolves, the habits of tigers: or, rather we are worse than they. To them nature has assigned that they should be thus fed, while God has honoured us with rational speech and a sense of equity. And yet we are become worse than the wild beast.” —St. John Chrysostom

“The unspeakable and prodigious fire hidden in the essence of things, as in the bush, is the fire of divine love and the dazzling brilliance of His beauty inside every thing.” —St. Maximus the Confessor

“Blessed the one who observes with spiritual understanding the choirs of stars shining with glory and the beauty of the heavens and longs to contemplate the Maker of all things.” —St. Ephrem the Syrian

“Look at the world around you. It supplies all your bodily needs. It feasts your eyes with its beauty. And its glory reflects the glory of God, so it feasts your soul also. Look at the plants and the trees. Can you count all the different species? Can you describe all the different shapes of the leaves, the color and fragrances of the flowers? Look, too, at the animals and the insects. Are you not enthralled by their different sizes and shapes, by the different colors and textures of their skin and fur, by the different ways in which they move about and gather food? And the wonder why God has created all this. Has he created the marvelous universe just to supply our needs and to feast our eyes and souls? or is there some other purpose in it all? The answer is that he has created all things--for their own sake. Each creature has its own purpose and destiny, which God in his infinite wisdom and love has planned. Do not try to understand God’s plans; the human mind is hardly better than that of an ant in discerning the ways of God. Simply accept all his plans and rejoice in them.” — St. John Chrysostom

“Some people see the houses in which they live as their kingdom; and although in their minds they know that death will one day force them to leave, in their hearts they feel they will stay forever. They take pride in the size of their houses and the fine material with which they are built. They take pleasure in decorating their houses with bright colors, and in obtaining the best and most solid furniture to fill the rooms. They imagine that they can find peace and security by owning a house whose walls and roof will last for many generations. We, by contrast, know that we are only temporary guests on earth. We recognize that the houses in which we live serve only as hostels on the road to eternal life. We do not seek peace or security from the material walls around us or the roof above our heads. Rather we want to surround ourselves with a wall of divine grace; and we look upward to heaven as our roof. And the furniture of our lives should be good works, performed in a spirit of love.” —St. John Chrysostom

“Worldly glory does not lead God's children to heaven.” —St. Raphael, the Newly-revealed Martyr of Lesvos

“Let the hearing of worldly tales be to you as a bitter taste in your mouth, but the discourse of holy men as a honeycomb.” —St. Basil the Great

“All the things of this world are no more than earth. Place them in a heap under your feet and you will be so much nearer to heaven.” —St. Josemaria Escriva

“A man who has dedicated himself once and for all to God goes through life with a restful mind.” —St. Isaac the Syrian

“Do you seek any further reward beyond that of having pleased God? In truth, you know not how great a good it is to please Him.” —St. John Chrysostom

“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” —St. Augustine

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” —Matthew 22:37-40

“And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"” —John 20:28

“For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” —John 5:22-23

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…” —Matthew 5:44

“Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins.” —Proverbs 10:12

“When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.” —Proverbs 11:2

“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.” —Proverbs 12:15

“There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” —Proverbs 14:12

“Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.” —Proverbs 16:18

“Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips.” —Proverbs 27:2

“Open rebuke is better Than love carefully concealed.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” —Proverbs 27:5-6

“If a wise man contends with a foolish man, Whether the fool rages or laughs, there is no peace.” —Proverbs 29:9

“The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.” —Isaiah 32:17

“Reflect on the statutes of the Lord, and meditate at all times on his commandments. It is he who will give insight to your mind, and your desire for wisdom will be granted.” —Sirach 6:37

“Childless with virtue is better than this, For immortality is in its memory; Because it is known both by God and by man.” —Wisdom of Solomon 4:1

“Jesus wept.” —John 11:35

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” —Matthew 5:3-10

“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” —James 4:7-10

“But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” —Luke 12:48

“Then Abraham answered and said, "Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord."” —Genesis 18:27

“And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, "God, be merciful to me a sinner!"” —Luke 18:13

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” —1 Timothy 1:15

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” —Romans 3:23

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” —Matthew 16:18

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” —Matthew 28:19

“Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."” —Acts 2:38

“Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

“So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."” —John 20:19-23

“After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.” —Luke 10:1

“Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word."” —Acts 6:2-4

“Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” —Hebrews 13:17

“Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.” —Acts 20:7

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.“ —John 6:53-56

“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.“ —1 Corinthians 10:16-17

“Do you look at things according to the outward appearance? If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ’s, let him again consider this in himself, that just as he is Christ’s, even so we are Christ’s.” —2 Corinthians 10:7

“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” —Ephesians 5:11

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” —Matthew 12:33-35

“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” —Luke 6:43-45

“Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such we will also be in deed when we are present.” —2 Corinthians 10:11

“…but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” —1 Timothy 3:15

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” —Jeremiah 1:5

“But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

“Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church…” —1 Corinthians 12:20-28

“Do not remove the ancient landmark Which your fathers have set.” —Proverbs 22:28

“For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.” —Acts 20:29-30

“Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.” —Titus 3:10-11

“And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.” —Matthew 10:14

“And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” —Matthew 15:9

“Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.” —2 Thessalonians 2:15

“For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” —Matthew 12:8

“Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” —Colossians 2:14

“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” —Colossians 2:16-17

“…where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.” —Colossians 3:11

“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” —Romans 6:14

“One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.” —Romans 14:5-6

“…and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law.” —1 Corinthians 9:20

“For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God.” —2 Corinthians 9:12

“These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” —Acts 17:11

“So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?"” —Acts 8:30

“So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.” —Nehemiah 8:8

“And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” —Acts 11:26

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” —1 John 4:1

“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.” —1 John 2:19

“…for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” —1 Corinthians 3:3

“Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” —1 Corinthians 1:13

“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” —Matthew 12:25

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” —1 Corinthians 3:16-17

“Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” —1 Corinthians 1:10

“…endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism;” —Ephesians 4:3-5

“For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” —1 Corinthians 3:11

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” —Galatians 2:20

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” —Colossians 3:1-2

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.” —John 15:18

“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. ” —John 17:9-11

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.” —Psalm 23

“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.” —Psalm 34:18

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” —Psalm 46:10

“Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: "Power belongs to you, God, and with you, Lord, is unfailing love"; and, "You reward everyone according to what they have done."” —Psalm 62:1-2,11,12

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” —1 Corinthians 13:4-8

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” —John 15:13

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” —John 13:35

“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” —Matthew 25:34-36,40

“…that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” —Matthew 5:45

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” —James 1:17

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” —John 6:47

“Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.'” —John 8:12

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.” —1 John 2:15-16

“They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.” —1 John 4:5

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” —Mark 8:36

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” —John 3:16-17

“For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For 'He has put all things under His feet.' But when He says 'all things are put under Him,' it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” —1 Corinthians 15:25-28

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” —Philippians 3:20-21

“Therefore it was not one man, but rather the One Universal Church, that received these 'keys' and the right 'to bind and loosen.'” —St. Augustine

“The Lord calls the Holy Spirit the 'voice of a gentle breeze'. For God is breath, and the breath of the wind is shared by all.” —St. Maximus the Confessor

“Nothing is so characteristically Christian as being a peacemaker.” —St. Basil the Great

“Now there is no more chaos, no more death, no more slaying, no more Hell. Now everything is joy, thanks to the resurrection of our Christ. Human nature is resurrected with Him. Now we too can rise again that we might live with Him eternally … What bliss is contained in the Resurrection! In every sorrow, with every failure, in anything that causes you pain, collect yourself for half a minute and slowly say this hymn. Then, you will see that the most important thing in your life and in the life of the entire universe has already been accomplished with the resurrection of Christ. It is our salvation. And then, you realize that all our setbacks are so insignificant, that you don’t need to allow them to spoil your mood.” —Elder Porphryios

“Let no one fear death; for the death of the Savior has set us free.” —St. John Chrysostom

“He who is initiated into the mystery of the Resurrection, learns the end for which God created all things.” —St. Maximus the Confessor

“Since Christ Himself has said, "This is My Body" who shall dare to doubt that It is His Body?” —St. Cyril of Jerusalem

“You freed me from slavery, gave me Your Name and marked me with Your Blood, so that I would always keep You in my heart.” —St. Augustine

“When someone opens your heart, I'd like him to find nothing there but Christ.” —Elder Amphilochios of Patmos

“To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek Him, the greatest adventure; to find Him, the greatest achievement.” —St. Augustine

“Love bestows prophecy; love yields miracles; love is an abyss of illumination; love is a fountain of fire, in the measure that it wells up, it inflames the thirsty soul. Love is the state of angels. Love is the progress of eternity.” —St. John Climacus

“The end of each discovery becomes the starting point for the discovery of something higher, and the ascent continues. Thus our ascent is unending. We go from beginning to beginning by way of beginnings without end.” —St. Gregory of Nyssa

“He is with me, He who left the world behind. He is present in me, He who left His nature. He dwells in me, He who denied Himself. He is wholly for me, He who lost His life for me.” —St. Ambrose of Milan

“You brought us into being out of nothing, and when we fell, You raised us up again.” — St. John Chrysostom

“You did not cease doing everything until You led us to heaven and granted us Your kingdom to come.” —St. John Chrysostom

“For You are God ineffable, beyond comprehension, invisible, beyond understanding, existing forever and always the same.” —St. John Chrysostom

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

“There are far, far better things ahead than anything we leave behind.” —C. S. Lewis

“What, then, is greater than that the Father of the only-begotten Son Himself recognizes in us His members and finds the very form of the Son in our faces?” —St. Nicholas Cabasilas

“The Son of God became man, that we might become god.” —St. Athanasius of Alexandria

“becoming by grace what God is by nature.” —St. Athanasius of Alexandria

“Thine own of Thine own we Offer unto Thee, in behalf of all and for all!” —Anaphora offering (OCA), Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

“Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His saints.” —Psalm 116:15

“…nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.” —Luke 20:36-38

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” —Philippians 4:13

“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” —Matthew 19:26