If you are purified from the passions, then you can leave your heart freely to its will. But the more active its passions are, if you leave your heart to its will, it’ll condemn itself to general instability and insecurity. “Saint Theophan the Recluse”
The spirit which hasn’t been darkened by sin looks up high into the heavens, it doesn’t look down at the tomb. But the spirit that’s been darkened by sin looks into the grave and doesn’t see the heavens at all. Sin and virtue govern our spiritual vision, depending on the aims of each, and each reveals its own world. “Saint Nicholas Velimirovich”
The tears of gratitude shed by the poor for your acts of charity towards them will be burnished pearls for you in the life beyond the grave. “Elder Arsenie Boca”
The supposedly ‘pious’ parents, whose concern was to make their children into ‘good Christians’, oppressed them through their human love and achieved the opposite to what they wanted. Children are pressed when they’re little and then, when they become sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, they go off in a different direction. “Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia”
If you give all your love to God, you’ll receive all of His in return, to pass on to other people. “Saint Paisios the Athonite”
Even if you can’t become a first class saint. like Saint Anthony, don’t just shrug your shoulders and say ‘There’s nothing I can do about it’. Try even harder and double the talent that God gave you. “Saint Nicholas Velimirovich”
It’s enormously important that there should be someone in the family who really prays. Prayer draws down the Grace of God and all of the members of the family feel it, even those whose hearts have frozen over. Always pray. “Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica”
The righteous are made sad by the just trials they undergo, but benefit from them, to the glory of God. The unrighteous, on the other hand, are at the mercy of their sins. “Saint John Chrysostom”
In every age, not everyone betrays, not everybody deserts. Some remain faithful. Some keep up the struggle. Some don’t exchange their faith in the true God for anything worldly and secular. This, in any case, is why we have martyrs. “Abbot Georgios Kapsanis of Gregoriou”
If you don’t want to be enslaved to the passions and the devil on a daily basis, you have to set yourself an aim that you’ll always bear in mind and that you’ll try to achieve, overcoming all obstacles through the Lord’s assistance. “Saint John of Kronstadt”
Christians exchange their distorted intellect for that of Christ, their distorted heart for the heart and tenderness of Christ, their distorted ethos for that of Christ. “Abbot Georgios Kapsanis of Gregoriou”
Fill yourself greedily with the word of God. Fill yourself greedily with observing Christ’s commandments. Fill yourself greedily with the food on the table which has been prepared before you by the Lord and get drunk on His exquisite wine. “Saint Ignatius Brianchaninoff”
The devil’s managed to diminish himself to such an extent that he’s got people to use other names for him. They don’t accept that it’s the devil who moves and incites people to egotism. “Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia”
We labor in vain, in vain, pointlessly and to our detriment when we attempt to acquire the sublime gifts of the spirit prematurely. Our merciful God gives them at the appropriate time to those who steadfastly, patiently and humbly observe the Gospel commandments. “Saint Ignatius Brianchaninoff”
It’s not food or favourable living conditions that ensure our health. It’s a holy life, the life of Christ. I know ascetics who fasted very strictly and never had anything wrong with them. Nobody risks getting ill from fasting. Nobody’s ever done so. “Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia”
All the virtues are aspects of the one, great virtue, the virtue of love. When, as a Christian, you acquire love, you’ve got all the virtues. It’s love that expels from our soul the root cause of all evil and all the passions, which, according to the Fathers, is selfishness. “Abbot Georgios Kapsanis of Gregoriou”
Sacrifice everything for Christ. For Christ, though, not for anything or anyone. “Saint Paisios the Athonite”
You can’t go to Church on Sunday because you’re working? You can make yourself an altar at that time by saying a prayer. “Elder Ephraim of Katounakia”
Cultivate the Jesus prayer and the time will come when your heart will leap for joy, as it does when you’re about to meet someone dear to you. “Elder Amphilochios Makris of Patmos”
When He came into the world, Our Lord Jesus Christ had complete respect for the freedom of us His servants: ‘Let those who wish to do so follow me’. So, are we, His supporters, to declare implacable warfare against anyone who does not accept our views, against those who disagree with our views on ideology, politics or party? “Archimandrite Gabriel Dionysiates”
God wants a clean heart from us. That we should take notice only of Him. God doesn’t want company in our heart. He wants to rule there alone. “Elder Ephraim of Katounakia”
In careful people, the intellect is like a watchful guard and sentinel of the inner Jerusalem. From the height of the spiritual life it sees its surroundings with a clear eye, as it does the opposing forces within the soul. With their flesh, people are like lit candles. The candle’s destined to melt and people are destined to die. The soul is immortal, however, which is why our concern should be directed more to the soul than to the body: ‘For what does it profit people if they gain the whole world but lose their soul? Or what will people […]
With a good word about your neighbor, in their defense, you buy Paradise. “Elder Amphilochios Makris of Patmos”
If you’re busy, if you’ve got something to attend to, don’t abandon the Jesus prayer, because it’ll glorify you. “Saint Ephraim of Katounakia”
We say that mental prayer is for all Christians. Mental prayer is also called prayer of the heart. You ask if prayer spoken aloud can also be called prayer of the heart… Unless it’s pure, neither mental nor spoken prayer can be called prayer of the heart. “Elder Charalambos of Dionysiou”
Take care that you know the health and sickness of your soul. “Saint Basil the Great”
It’s great to walk, to work, to move and to have your health. But first you should have your spiritual health. Your spiritual health is fundamental, then comes bodily health. Almost all sicknesses come from the lack of trust in God and this creates stress. “Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia”
God allows proud people to be humbled and brought low because they think that their power is assured for ever. “Saint Nicholas Velimirovich”