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“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 —Josemaria Escriva
“Not only for every idle word must man give an account, but for every idle silence.” —St. Ambrose of Milan
“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 —Josemaria Escriva
“When someone learns to acknowledge every man as being better than himself, then he has attained humility.” —St. Sisoes the Great
“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 —Josemaria Escriva
“Behold, for years and generations, the way of God has been leveled by the cross and by death. How is this with thee, that thou seest the afflictions of the way as if they were out of the way? Doest not thou wish to follow the steps of the saints? Or doest thou wish to go a way which is especially for thee, without suffering? The way unto God is a daily cross. No one can ascend unto heaven with comfort, we know where the way of comfort leads.” —St. Isaac the Syrian, Mystic Treatises, Homily LIX
Therefore fight against every worldly enticement, against every material enticement that hinders you from fulfilling Christ’s commandments, love God with all your heart, and care with all your strength for the salvation of your own soul, and the souls of others, be soul-loving.” —St. John of Kronstadt
“Let us show that we eat for the sake of living, and not be guilty of living for the sake of eating.” —St. Maximus the Confessor
“[R]eal Orthodox can never be chauvinists. I recall once, in a conversation with me in 1926, the blessedly reposed metropolitan [A. Khrapovitsky] related to me the following: "On Athos there is a custom that a monk who does not forgive offences is punished by being made to omit the words ‘and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,’ at the reading of the Lord’s Prayer, until such a time when he has forgiven the offence committed against him. And I myself have suggested," added the great saint, "that the chauvinist-nationalists not read the ninth article of the Symbol of Faith."
“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 —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
