Pay attention carefully. After the sin comes the shame; courage follows repentance. Did you pay attention to what I said? Satan upsets the order; he gives the courage to sin and the shame to repentance.
As enticing as is the temptation of a sinful life, it ultimately leads to the disgust of sin, and then we seek the true path which we find in faith.
A husband full of grace should speak to his wife like this:
Having children is a matter of nature; but raising them and educating them in the virtues is a matter of
Orthodoxy is life. If we don’t live Orthodoxy, we simply are
Sometimes chanting in moderation soothes the temper remarkably. But sometimes, if untimely and immoderate, it lends itself to the lure of pleasure. Let us then appoint definite times for this, and so make good use of it. Correctly used, nothing so arouses the soul, gives it wing, sets it
A certain wise man, when enumerating which blessings are the most important included a wife and husband who live in harmony (Sir. 25:1). In another place he emphasized this:
When we teach our children to be good, to be gentle, to be forgiving (all these are attributes of God), to be generous, to love their follow men, to regard this present age as nothing, we instill virtue in their souls, and reveal the image of God within them. And then,
To sin is human but to remain in sin is devilish; To fall is not ruinous to the soul but to stay on the ground is. That’s why for us
The great secret about the devil is that he cannot do anything. He can only
Wherefore, if you desire to become equal to the apostles, there is nothing to hinder you. For to have arrived at this virtue only suffices for your…
There is more mercy in God than there are sins in us. Confess your sins at once, whatever they may be…
Nothig is so pleased in front of God like a life which brings…
When you see somebody becoming rich through wrong-doing and then living prosperously, sigh and weep for them. Because this wealth adds to their punishment. What they’ve saved is lost and what they’ve wasted remains. Nobody can snatch it from the hand of God. “Saint John Chrysostom”
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”
Savage criticism of others wrecks their souls and sinks them. “Saint John Chrysostom”
Hypocrites want to be called saints and to be venerated by everyone as being pious. You see their outward appearance and you think that they’re doing everything according to God’s will, but their hearts are full of jealousy, guile and every form of evil. “Saint John Chrysostom”
Just as the winter is a good time to turn over the ground, so sorrows are good for the care of the soul. Sorrow brings two benefits: it makes us more estimable and more careful. “Saint John Chrysostom”
Don’t you see the barren trees, how strong and lovely they are, large, smooth and tall? But if we have an orchard, we’d rather have productive pomegranates and olives than them, because they’re only for enjoyment and don’t bring us the slightest benefit. That’s the way those Christians are who care only about their own affairs. In fact, they’re not even like that, because they’re headed for the fire, whereas as decorative trees are at least used, either for construction or for the security of the owners. “Saint John Chrysostom”
There’s nothing worse than Christians who don’t save other people. Don’t cry poverty, because you’ll be condemned by the widow who put in her two mites. Don’t claim that you come from a humble background, because the Apostles were insignificant and then became important. Don’t go on about your illiteracy, because they were also illiterate. Even if you’re a slave, if you’re a fugitive, you can do your duty, because Onisimos was one such. Yet, look at how Saint Paul calls him and advances him to high office ‘so that he might serve me in these chains’. And don’t claim […]
Nothing pleases God so much as when we don’t return evil for evil. “Saint John Chrysostom”