Gleanings from Orthodox Christian Authors and the Holy Fathers
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We should live on the earth as a wheel turns - as one point touches the earth, all the rest reaches upward; but we lie on the earth and cannot get up.
REF:St. Ambrose of Optina (+1891)
The person who listens to Christ fills himself with light; and if he imitates Christ, he reclaims himself. "
St. Thalassios, "On Love, Self-control and Life in accordance with the Intellect" Philokalia (Vol. 2)", p. 321)
Now since the Church is one, and that oneness consists primarily and universally of perfect agreement in Orthodox doctrines, it necessarily follows that all those who do not conform to those Orthodox doctrines, whether by addition or omission, or by any innovation of their own, thus changing the truth, are outside this one Holy Church, as one may also ascertain from a review of the sixth and seventh canons of the Second Ecumenical Council, and the first canon of St. Basil the Great.
Excerpt from Divine Prayers and Services of the Catholic Orthodox Church of Christ, compiled and arranged by the Late Reverend Seraphim Nassar (Englewood, NJ: Antiochian Archdiocese of N. America, 1979), p. 1031.
'According to the glorious Gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.' (1 Tim. 1:11) Thus the Law is still necessary for the confirmation of the Gospel, yet to those who obey it is unnecessary. And he calls the Gospel 'glorious.' There we some who were ashamed of its persecutions, and of the sufferings of Christ, and so for the sake of these, as well as for others, he has called it 'the glorious Gospel,' thus showing that the sufferings of Christ are our glory. And perhaps he glances too at the future. For if our present state is exposed to shame and reproach, it will not be so hereafter; and it is to things future, and not to things present, that the Gospel belongs.
St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Timothy.
'All the vessels that Hiram made for King Solomon for the house of the Lord were of fine bronze. In the plains of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground' (1 Kings 7:45-6). It is appropriate that the vessels of the Lord's house were cast in the region of the Jordan, namely, in the river in which our Lord deigned to be baptized and by His immersion in the waves of its waters changed the element for us into a bath for sins, because every baptism of the faithful in which they are consecrated to the Lord is celebrated on the model of His baptism whereby He Himself sanctified the waters. It is proper that the vessels of the Lord's house should have been made in the country of the Jordan, for there is no other way for us to become vessels of election and mercy than by looking to His baptism which He underwent in that river and making sure that we too are washed in that life-giving river.
The Venerable Bede. On the Temple.
'And I fell upon my face' (3:23). The glory of the Lord being manifest, the Prophet falls on his face because although a man is raised to the understanding of the sublime yet, through the contemplation of the majesty of God, he realized the weakness of his own condition and, as it were, has no standing, he who sees himself as dust and ashes before the eyes of God. Then follows: 'And the Spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet' (3:24). When we humbly prostrate before God, when we know ourselves to be dust and ashes, when we ponder the weakness of our proper condition and do not adopt a stance of stiffness and pride, Almighty God through His Spirit raises us and sets us upon our feet ...
Homilies of St. Gregory the Great on the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel
'And the Spirit took me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great commmotion, saying: Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place' (Ez. 3:12). Why is it that the Prophet, after he is sent to the transmigration of the sons of his people, hears behind him the voice of great commotion, saying: 'Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place?' For he had turned towards the sinners at Babylon, and he heard the voice of the glory of the Lord from His place behind his back. For the place of God is Jerusalem, viz. the vision of peace, because surely those hearts which do not go down to the Babylonian transmigration, i.e., to the vices of confusion, see the things which are of God. For God lives where true peace is sought and and the glory of inward contemplation is loved. But those who descend to perversity disdain to be the place of God. Therefore the place of the glory of God is either every holy soul or each angelic spirit abinding in the heavens. And the glory of the Lord is blessed from His place when eternal praise is sung by the elect among men or by the Holy Angels to the Creator of all.
Homilies of St. Gregory the Great on the Book of Ezekiel.
'And when the house was being built it was with stones hewn and dresssed, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built' (3 Kings. 6:7 [LXX]). This properly pertains to the part of the Church which after the toils and struggles of this life has merited admittance to eternal rewards. There, indeed, only the perfect and spotless and those purified from every stain of inquity enter. For nothing defiled shall enter that city, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, as John has written in the Aprocalypse. No hammer, axe or any iron implement is heard because here below we are hammered by adversities and trained by the teaching of truth so that there we may be ranged in appropriate places according to our deserts.
The Venerable Bede, On the Temple, Book I.
'And when they had prayed, the place where they were gathered was shaken' (Acts 4:31). Those who sought the power of a stout heart against the deception of their enemies received a token, in the shaking of the earth, that their prayer had already been heard. This was so that they might recognize that earthly hearts would pass away from those under whose feet the earth itself was shaken with dread at the coming of the Holy Spirit. And even the fear of those who, by believing, were to be subject to the apostles, can be understood as joyful, since in shaking off their infirm depression they had learned to rise with Christ and to taste of heavenly things.
The Venerable Bede, Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles.
'But go your way, tell His disciples and Peter.' He names Peter separately from the other disciples, as Peter was the foremost of the apostles. Also, because Peter had denied the Lord, the angel singles him out by name so that, when the women came and said that the Lord had commanded them to tell the disciples, Peter could not say, 'I denied the Lord, and therefore I am no longer His disciple. He has rejected me and abhors me.' The angel added the words, 'and Peter,' so that Peter would not be tempted to think that Jesus found him unworthy of mention, and unworthy to be ranked among the Lord's disciples, because of his denial.
Blessed Theophylact, The Explanation of the Holy Gospel According to St. Mark.
'But the chief priest rose up and all those who were with him, that is, the sect of the Sadducees,' and so forth. In Greek the word for sect (heresis) takes its name from the word for choice, because everyone chooses for himself what he thinks should be followed, scorning what others have said. Therefore 'the Sadducees, whose name is interpreted as righteous (for they claimed to be what they were not,' as we read below) entirely denied the resurrection of the body and said that the soul perishes with the flesh. Indeed, they did not even believe 'that there are any angels or spirits, and accepting only the five books of Moses, they scorned' the honoring of the prophets. Therefore it was they who especially supported the leaders in persecuting the apostles. They were moved by zeal because the apostles, with great power and miraculous signs, were giving witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ the Lord.
The Venerable Bede, Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles.
'But they engaged in joy and gladness, slaying calves, and killing sheep, so as to eat flesh and drink wine; saying, let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die' (Isa. 22:13). Distinguish these matters, and, because you are spiritual, judge between them. The unholy are like the everlasting, but they are not everlasting, because they cannot receive eternity from one who is not eternal. And so, he cannot give what he does not have; nor can one who does not possess the light give light, but he transforms himself into an angel of light to deceive the unbelieving (cf. 2Cor. 11:14).
St. Ambrose of Milan, quoted in Isaiah Through the Ages by JohannaManley.
'Darkness will not be darkness with Thee and night shall be bright as day for me, for Thou hast taken possession of my mind' (cf. Ps. 139:12-13). It is as if David were saying that not only has God become the sole object of his soul's desire, but also that any spark of this desire in his body has returned to the soul that produced it, and through the soul has risen to God, hangs upon Him and cleaves to Him. For just as those who cleave to the perishable pleasures of the senses expend all the soul's desire in satisfying their fleshly proclivities and become so entirely materialistic that the Spirit of God cannot abide in them (cf. Gen. 6:3), so in the case of those who have elevated their intellect to God, and who through divine longing have attached their soul to Him, the flesh is also transformed, is exalted with the soul, communes together with the soul in the Divine, and itself likewise becomes the possession and dwelling-place of God, no longer harboring any enmity towards Him or any desires that are contrary to the Spirit (cf. Gal. 5:17).
St. Gregory Palamas (Those Who Practice a Life of Stillness no. 9, The Philokalia Vol. 4 edited by Palmer, Sherrard and Ware; Faber and Faber pg. 339)
'For just as in the case of the limbs of the body, their individual needs are fulfilled by one another, so too the inhabitants of the world fill in the common need from the common excess. We should rejoice in this need on the part of us all, for out of it is born harmony for us all; for in that people need one another, those in high position stoop to the lowly and are not ashamed, and the insignificant reach our to the powerful and are not afraid. Even in the case of animals, seeing that we have a need for them, we take care of them. Clearly our need for everything binds us with a love for everything.'
St. Ephraim the Syrian, Letter to Hypatius
'Fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead, uprooted' (Jude 12). It is a dead tree which does not produce good fruit; but anyone who has also brought forth the fruit of evil work is called a twice-dead tree. And if anyone who has been unwilling to bear the fruit of good work is said to be worthy of being cut down for his barrenness and be cast into the fire, what punishment do you think the person deserves who either by acting perversely or perverting others has yielded rotten fruit? Nor is it astonishing if those who are proven to have been uprooted are said to be fruitless and twice-dead [like] trees. For it is said of the saints, 'Rooted and grounded in charity.' But those who do not fear to uprrot themselves from the firmness of charity deservedly lose whatever good fruit they appear to have, such as these are deservedly compared to trees in autumn, that it may be shown that their salvation is without hope. For in autumn not only are no fruits usually formed but even those which were formed and are ripe fall off. To the condition of this time, namely, are they compared who themselves both neglect to yield the fruits of faith and are eager to root out those good things they see any other believers producing and to make culls of them.
The Venerable Bede, Commentary on the Seven Catholic Epistles.
'I have hid the words of His mouth in my breast' (Job 23:12). For we 'hide the words of His mouth in the bosom of our heart' when we hear His commandments not in a passing way, but to fulfil them in practice. So it is that of the Virgin Mother herself it is written, 'But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart' (Lk. 2:19).
St. Gregory the Great, quoted in Wisdom, Let Us Attend by JohannaManley.
'I raised my eyes to the mountains, whence my help will come' (Ps. 121:1). Observe a soul at a loss and bewildered from being in trouble, and wishing to attain comfort from God, Who is not unaware. This again is a good effect and advantage of temptations, exciting and stirring up the soul, making it look for influence from on high and sever connections with everything of this life. I mean, if the Jews, materialistic and attached to the earth as they were, were made so zealous by hardship in captivity and set their eyes on heaven, much more would it be right for us to do this in our situation and have recourse to God, required as we are to display a greater diligence than they. Since, you see, they were isolated in the midst of their enemies, and had no city of their own, no rampart, no tower, no weapons, no humann assistance, no abundance of resources, nothing else of this kind, but dwelt as captives and slaves amidst people who were their masters and enemies together, they took refuge in the invincible hand when oppressed by the magnitude of the disasters, and deprived of human help they began to come to their senses from this isolation.
St. John Chrysostom, Commentary on the Psalms, Vol. 2.
'If therefore' (he says) 'perfection were by the Levitical priesthood.' Haiving spoken concerning Melchisedec, and shown how much superior he was to Abraham, and having set forth the great difference between them, he begins from this point forward to prove the wide differnece as to the covenant itself, and how the one is imperfect and the other perfect. However he does not even yet enter on the matters themselves, but first contends on the ground of the priesthood, and the tabernacle. For these things would be more easily received by the unbelieving, when the proof was derived from things already allowed, and believed.
St. John Chrysostom, Homily on Hebrews 7:11.
'In the day of His power.' You could say the day of His power is both the day already arrived and the day to come: each is a desmonstration of His immense power. Does it not strike you as a mighty example of power when death is abolished through death, when doors of bronze are broken down, when sin is cancelled, when a curse is annulled, when all the ancient vices are overturned, and new virtues instroduced in their place? I mean, what could match this power, whether it is the miracles you scrutinize or the other achievements?
St. John Chrysostom, Commentary on the Psalms, Vol. 2
'O God, we have heard with our ears, and our fathers told us...' (Ps. 44:1). Listen to this, all you who are heedless of your children, who ignore their singing diabolical songs, while you pay no attention to the divine stories. Those men were not like that, however, on the contrary, they passed their life without interruption in stories of God's great deeds, and achieved a double advantage. On the one hand, it was a good experience for them to keep in mind the divine favors, and they were the better for it; on the other, their offspring gained no little grounding in the knowledge of God from these stories, and were moved to imitation of virtue. For them, you see, books were the mouths of their forebears, and these stories were a feature of every study and every employment, nothing being more agreeable nor more profitable.
St. John Chrysostom, Commentary on the Psalms, Vol. I.
'O Lord, my heart is not exalted, neither have mine eyes been lifted up.' This Psalm, a short one, which demands an analytical rather than a homiletical treatment, teaches us the lesson of humility and meekness. Now, as we have in a great number of other places spoken about humility, there is no need to repeat the same things here. Of course we are bound to bear in mind in how great need our faith stands of humility when we hear the Prophet thus speaking of it as equivalent to the performance of the highest works: 'O Lord, my heart is not exalted.' For a troubled heart is the noblet sacrifice in the eyes of God. The heart, therefore, must not be lifted up by properity, but humbly kept within the bounds of meekness through the fear of God.
St. Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms.
'O mystery brought about on earth!' After the birth Anna prayed To our God and Maker Who knows all in advance: 'Thou has heard me, O Lord, as Thou hast heard Hannah who was accused by Eli of being drunk. She promised Samuel after his birth to the Lord To become a priest. Just as formerly, Thou hast give me, too, a gift,' The barren woman gives birth to the Mother of God, And the nurse of our life.
St Romanos the Melodist - On the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.
'Suffer children to come to Me, and forbid them not; for of such is the Kinddom of God' (Lk. 18:16). And this age is weak in strength, feeble in intelligence, and immature in counsel. Thus, age is not preferred to age; moreover, it would be hurtful to grow up. What need is there for prayers that maturity of age ensue, if it is to take from me the merit of the Heavenly Kingdom? So did God give the course of life for vices and not for the increase of virtue? And why did He choose Apostles who were not youthful, but of mature years? But why does He say that children are fit for the Kingdom of Heaven? Perhaps, because they do not know malice, they have not learned to deceive, they dare not strike back, they neglect to search for wealth, they do not strive after honor and ambition. But virtue is not to be ignorant of those things, but to despise them, nor is there praise of abstinence where there is integrity through weakness. For not childhood, but goodness rivalling childlike simplicity is meant. For it is not a virtue to be unable to sin, but to be unwilling so to do and to retain perseverance of will, so that the will imitates childhood and one man imitates nature. Finally, our Saviour Himself expressed this saying, 'Unless ye be converted, and become as this boy, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of the Heavens' (Mt. 18:3).
St. Ambrose of Milan, Exposition of the Holy Gospel According to Saint Luke.
'Those who sow in tears will reap in joy' (Ps. 126:5). While this is said in reference to the Jews, in many places it could also be referred elsewhere. Virtue is like that, you see: it offers conspicuous reward for its labors; we need firstly to toil land struggle, and then to seek rest. After all, you would find this happening everywhere even in things of this life. For this reason the psalmist also focused on these things, sowing and harvesting. In other words, just as the sower needs to apply effort, sweat and tears, and winter is also required, so too the person practicing virtue: nothing is so unsuited to laxity as a human being. Hence God made this way narrow and constrained - or, rather, not only the practce of virtue; even the things of this life He made laborious, and in fact far more so.
St. John Chrysostom, Commentary on the Psalms, Vol. 2
'Tis the whole Being of the Supernal Godhead (saith the Scripture) that the Absolute Goodness hath defined and revealed. For in what other sense may we take the words of Holy Writ when it tells us how the Godhead spake concerning Itself, and said: 'Why asketh thou me concerning the good? None is good save one, that is, God.' Now this matter we have discussed elsewhere, and have shown that all the Names proper to God are always applied in Scripture not partially but to the whole, entre, full, complete Godhead, and that they all refer indivisibly, absolutely, unreservedly, and wholly to all the wholeness of the whole and entire Godhead.
St. Dionysius the Areopagite, The Divine Names.
'To declare a year of grace of the the Lord and the day of retribution; to comfort all that mourn.' He has not only granted us the remission of sins, delivered us from the tyranny of the devil, and shown us the divine light, but He has likewise promised the future life and warned of a just judgment. For I think that by 'a year of grace' His first coming is meant, and the day of judgment by 'the day of retribution.' 'To comfort all that mourn,' for by the hope of the resurrection He has mitigated the despondence that death provokes.
Theodoret of Cyrus, quoted in Isaiah Through the Ages by Johanna Manley.
'Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is give;' so, too, is the grace of the Spirit given. But why should I hesitate to say that the holy Spirit also is given to us, since it is written: 'The love of God is shed forth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, Who is given to us.' And since captive breasts certainly could not receive Him, the lord Jesus first led captivity captive, that our affections being set free, He might pour forth the gift of divine grace.
St. Ambrose of Milan, Of the Holy Spirit, Book I.
(Acts 8:35) 'Philip opened his mouth..." and so forth. Philip means 'the mouth of a lamp,' and there is a beautiful meaning in 'the mouth of a lamp' opening his mouh as he brought the obscurities of prophecy into the light of knowledge.
The Venerable Bede, Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles.
(John 11:21)
See how great is the heavenly wisdom of the women, although their understanding be weak. For when they saw Christ, they did not break out into mourning and wailing and loud crying, as we do when we see any of those we know coming in upon our grief; but straightway they reverence their Teacher. So then both those sisters believed in Christ, but not in a right way; for they did not yet certainly know either the He was God, or that He did these things by His own power and authority; on both which points He taught them. For they showed their ignorance of the former, by saying, `If thou hadst been here our brother had not died'; and of the latter by saying, `Whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, He will give it thee.'
St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on St. John.
-The Apostles are bidden not to carry staffs in their hands, for thus Matthew thought it should be written (cf. Mt. 10:10). What is a staff if not a sign of the exercise of power and an instrument for inflicting pain? Therefore, the Disciples obey the precept of their humble Lord - for `in His humiliation His judgement was taken away' [Is. 53:8] - their humble Lord, I say, through the obligation of His humiliation; for He sent them to sow the faith, not to enforce it, but to teach it, and not emphasize the force of power, but extol the doctrine of humility.
St. Ambrose of Milan, Exposition of the Holy Gospel According to Saint Luke.
... God brought forth many men who by means of things perceptible to the senses became blessedly enriched with divine wisdom, with virtue, with knowledge and divine favour: for example, Seth, Enos, Enoch, Noah, Melchisedec, Abraham, and those who were their contemporaries or who have lived before them and after them, and who proved to be their equals, or nearly so.
But there was no one among these great men who passed his life utterly free from sin, so that he might retrieve the defeat which our forefathers has suffered, heal the wound at the root of our race and be sufficient warranty for the sanctification, blessing and return to life of all who followed.
God foreknew this; and during the course of time He chose out people from among the races and tribes who would produce that celebrated staff from which would blossom the Flower that was to accomplish the saving economy of our whole race (cf. Num. 17:8; Is. 11:1).
St. Gregory Palamas (Topics of Natural and Theological Science no. 53, The Philokalia Vol. 4 edited by Palmer, Sherrard and Ware; Faber and Faber pg. 371)
... avoid in all possible ways communion with people, who can be a temptation to you ... The wise Solomon calls a man wise, who fears and avoids the causes of sin; and he calls foolish a man who, with great self-reliance, confidently neglects to avoid them, saying: 'A wise man fears, and departs from evil: but the fool rages, and is confident'...(Prov. 14:16).
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 19)
... exclude all pleasing of yourself even in the spiritual order of life. If you introduce into it, or choose exclusively deeds which please you, even if they belong to the spiritual order of things, you will ruin your work...You will seem to have something spiritual, but in actual fact it will not be so.
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 13)
... had the serpent been rejected, along with sin, they would have eaten of the Tree of Life, and the Tree of Knowledge would no longer have been withheld from them. From the latter they would have acquired infallible knowledge, while from the former they would have received immortal life. They would have acquired divinity in humanity. And had they thus acquired infallible knowledge and immortal ife, they would have done so in this body.
St. Ephrem the Syrian, quoted in The Luminous Eye by Sebastian Brock.
... men of unrestrained life and character greatly desire all others to be worse than themselves, thinking to find themselves excused by the fact that the wicked are many ...
St. Antony the Great(170 Texts on Saintly Life no. 8)
... perfection ... consists in nothing but coming near to God and union with Him...With this is connected a heartfelt realization of the goodness and greatness of God, together with consciousness of our own nothingness and our proneness to every evil; love of God and dislike of ourselves; submission not only to God but also to all creatures, for the sake of our love for God; renunciation of all will of our own and perfect obedience to the will of God; and moreover desire for all this and its practice with a pure heart to the glory of God (I Cor. 10:31), from sheer desire to please God and only because He Himself wishes it and because we should so love Him and work for Him.
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare Chapter 1)
... the Book of Psalms thus has a certain grace of its own, and a distinctive exactitude of expression. For in addition to the other things in which it enjoys an affinity and fellowship with the other books, it possesses, beyond that, this marvel of its own - namely, that it contains even the emotions of each soul, and it has the changes and rectifications of these delineated and regulated in itself. Therefore anyone who wishes boundlessly to receive and understand from it, so as to mold himself, it is written there. For in the other books one hears only of what one must do and what one must not do. And one listens to the Prophets so as solely to have knowledge of the coming of the Savior. One turns his attention to the histories, on the basis of which he can know the deeds of the kings and saints. But in the Book of Psalms, the one who hears, in addition to learning these things, also comprehends and is taught in it the emotions of the soul, and, consequently, on the basis of that which affects him and by which he is constrained, he also is enabled by this book to possess the image deriving from the words. Therefore, through hearing, it teaches not only not to disregard passion, but also how one must heal passion through speaking and acting.
St. Athanasius the Great, Letter to Marcellinus.
... the greatest and most perfect thing a man may desire to attain is to come near to God and dwell in union with Him.
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare Chapter 1)
...God brought forth many men who by means of things perceptible to the senses became blessedly enriched with divine wisdom, with virtue, with knowledge and divine favour: for example, Seth, Enos, Enoch, Noah, Melchisedec, Abraham, and those who were their contemporaries or who have lived before them and after them, and who proved to be their equals, or nearly so. But there was no one among these great men who passed his life utterly free from sin, so that he might retrieve the defeat which our forefathers has suffered, heal the wound at the root of our race and be sufficient warranty for the sanctification, blessing and return to life of all who followed. God foreknew this; and during the course of time He chose out people from among the races and tribes who would produce that celebrated staff from which would blossom the Flower that was to accomplish the saving economy of our whole race (cf. Num. 17:8; Is. 11:1)."
St. Gregory Palamas (Topics of Natural and Theological Science no. 53, The Philokalia Vol. 4 edited by Palmer, Sherrard and Ware; Faber and Faber pg. 371)
...If 'The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise' (John 5:19), and the Spirit 'shall not speak of Himself' (john 16:13), who can think that he has reached such heights of virtue that he has no need of someone's guidance amid mysteries?
St. Gregory of Sinai (On Silence and Prayer no. 15)
...advance into battle without hesitation. Should you be visited by the troubling thought of the hatred and undying malice, which the enemies harbor against you, and of the innumerable hosts of the demons, think on the other hand of the infinitely greater power of God and of His love for you, as well as of the incomparably greater hosts of heavenly angels and the prayers of saints. They all fight secretly for us and with us against our enemies...
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 15)
...although expecting no good from ourselves and not relying on ourselves is the work of God in us, we on our side must make every effort to acquire this disposition, doing all we can, all within our power. And so, my brother, I offer you here four activities, by means of which, with God's help, you may end by acquiring disbelief in yourself, and learn never to rely on yourself in anything. (a)Realize your nothingness and constantly keep in your mind the fact that by yourself you can do nothing good which is worthy of the kingdom of heaven...(b)Ask for God's help in this with warm and humble prayers; for this is His gift...(c)Accustom yourself to be wary and to fear your innumerable enemies whom you cannot resist even for a short time...(d)If you fall into some transgression, quickly turn to the realization of your weakness and be aware of it. For God allows you to fall for the very purpose of making you aware of your weakness...This is the foundation and beginning of true humility, since it is based on realization, by experience, of your impotence and unreliability.
Lorenzo Scupoli(Unseen Warfare, Chap. 2)
...among our people there exists an ascetic spirit as created by Orthodoxy through the centuries. The Orthodox soul of our people leans towards the Holy Fathers and the Orthodox ascetics. Ascetic exertion, at the personal, family, and parish level, particularly of prayer and fasting, is the characteristic of Orthodoxy. Our people is a people of Christ, an Orthodox people, because -- as Christ did -- it sums up the Gospel in these two virtues: prayer and fasting. And it is a people convinced that all defilement, all foul thoughts, can be driven out of man by these alone (Matt. 17:21). In its heart of hearts our people know Christ and Orthodoxy, they know just what it is that makes an Orthodox person Orthodox. Orthodoxy will always generate ascetic rebirth. She recognizes no other.
St. Justin Popovich, The Inward Mission of Our Church: Bringing About
Orthodoxy. From Divine Ascent, Vol. 1 Number 1.
...do what a warrior in physical warfare does sometimes when he is hard pressed by the enemy; he steps back a little, to find a better point of vantage and see more clearly how best to speed his arrow at the heart of the foe. So you too, collect your thoughts within, and, re-establishing the consciousness and feeling of your nothingness and of your impotence to achieve by yourself what this moment demands, appeal to God to Whom all is possible, calling for His help against the attack of passion with warmth of trust and tears...
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 14)
...enter with attention into the heart and examine carefully with what thoughts, dispositions and passionate attachments it is specially occupied, and which passion is most predominant and tyrannically rules there. Then against this passion first of all take up arms and struggle to overcome it. On this one concentrate all your attention and care, except only at the times when some other passion happens to arise in you. In that case you should deal with this one without delay and drive it away, after which you must once more turn your weapons against your chief passion, which constantly manifests its presence and power.
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 17)
...every time you feel in God's creatures something pleasing and attractive, do not let your attention be arrested by them alone, but, passing them by, transfer your thought to God and say: 'O my God, if Thy creations are so full of beauty, delight and joy, how infinitely more full of beauty, delight and joy art Thou Thyself, Creator of all!'
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 21)
...get accustomed to looking at visible things, without your attention dwelling solely on their external aspect, but penetrating within them to their divine content, to their unseen and hidden beauty, thus revealed to the mind...evoking and feeding its spiritual contemplation and inciting you to praise the Lord.
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 21)
...how could this Universe have come into being or been put together, unless God had called it into existence, and held it together? For everyone who sees a beautifully made lute, and considers the skill with which it has been fitted together and arranged, or who hears its melody, would think of none but the lutemaker, or the luteplayer, and would recur to him in mind, though he might not know him by sight.
St. Gregory Nazianzen (Second Theological Oration no. 6)
...if a man seeks God with obedience, questioning and wise humility, he will always be protected from harm by the grace of Christ, Who desires all men to be saved.
St. Gregory of Sinai (Instructions to Hesychasts no. 7)
...in looking at trees, grasses and other plants, and seeing in your mind how they live, feed, grow and reproduce their kind, and that their life and all they have comes not from themselves, but from the Creative Spirit, Whom you do not see, but Who alone animates them, you can cry: 'Here is the true Life in Whom, from Whom and by Whom all live, feed and multiply! O life-giving Delight of my heart!'
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare:Chapter 21)
...in much the same way as a builder is to be seen in his work, so the sovereign artificer is to be found and as it were perceived in the creative wisdom inherent in living things, and in His providential care, governance, unification, guidance and conservation of them.
St. Theognostos (On the Practice of the Virtues no. 35)
...it is not authority that is bad, but the love of authority; not glory, but the love of glory and - what is worse - vainglory; not the acquisition of virtue, but to suppose that one has acquired it; not spiritual knowledge, but to think that one is wise and - worse than this - to be ignorant of one's own ignorance; not true knowledge but what is falsely called knowledge (cf. I Tim. 6:20); not the world, but the passions; not nature, but what is contrary to nature; not agreement, but agreement to do what is evil and does not contribute to the soul's salvation; not the body's members, but their misuse.
St. Peter of Damaskos (Book 1:A Treasury of Divine Knowledge, The Philokalia Vol. 3 pgs. 156-157)
...it is not enough for you merely to desire and seek to please God always and in everything; you must desire it as if moved by God Himself, and for one single aim - to please Him with a pure heart.
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare:Chapter 10)
...let us at least agree upon this, that we will mutter Mysteries under our breath, and holy things in a holy manner, and we will not cast to ears profane that which may not be uttered, nor give evidence that we possess less gravity than those who worship demons, and serve shameful fables and deeds...
St. Gregory Nazianzen (First Theological Oration no. 5)
...let us recognize that as in dress and diet and laughter and demeanor there is a certain decorum, so there is also in speech and silence; since among so many titles and powers of God, we pay the highest honor to The Word. Let even our disputings then be kept within bounds.
St. Gregory Nazianzen (First Theological Oration no. 5)
...looking at the...elements...and thinking of their essence, power and action, you will be filled with great spiritual delight and will call to the great Creator Who has made them: 'Great God,immeasurable Power and wondrous Action! I rejoice and am glad that You alone are the origin and cause of the essence, power and action of every creature!'
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 21)
...love every man as yourself - that is, do not wish him anything that you would not wish for yourself; think, feel for him just as you would think and feel for your own self; do not wish to see in him anything that you do not wish to see in yourself; do not let your memory keep in it any evil, caused to you by others, in the same way as you would wish that evil done by yourself should be forgotten by others; do not intentionally imagine either in yourself or in another anything guilty or impure; believe others to be as well-intentioned as yourself, in general, if you do not see clearly that they are evilly disposed; do unto them as you would to yourself, or even do not do unto them as you would not do unto yourself, and then you will see what you will obtain in your heart - what peace, what blessedness!
St. John of Kronstadt (My Life in Christ, Part 1; Holy Trinity Monastery pgs.34-35)
...love every man as yourself - that is, do not wish him anything that you would not wish for yourself; think, feel for him just as you would think and feel for your own self; do not wish to see in him anything that you do not wish to see in yourself; do not let your memory keep in it any evil, caused to you by others, in the same way as you would wish that evil done by yourself should be forgotten by others; do not intentionally imagine either in yourself or in another anything guilty or impure; believe others to be as well-intentioned as yourself, in general, if you do not see clearly that they are evilly disposed; do unto them as you would to yourself, or even do not do unto them as you would not do unto yourself, and then you will see what you will obtain in your heart - what peace, what blessedness!"
St. John of Kronstadt (My Life in Christ, Part 1; Holy Trinity Monastery pgs.34-35)
...make it your rule every morning, while you still sit at home, to review in your mind all the occasions you may meet with in the course of the day, both favorable and unfavorable, and visualize the passionate impulses, lusts and irritations they may provoke; then prepare in yourself beforehand how to stifle them at the very inception, without allowing them to develop... This review of what may happen should be practiced especially when you have to go out and visit places where you are bound to meet people, who can either attract or irritate you.
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 18)
...seeing the dumb animals you can soar with your mind to God, Who gave them their senses and the power to move from place to place, and say: 'O prime Mover of all things, Who, setting all things in motion, Thyself remains at rest! How I rejoice and am glad in Thy immobility and Thy firm immutability!'
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare:Chapter 21)
...the Spirit of Christ...abides wholly in all the members of Christ's body, and moves and gives life to those who can take part in life. But those also whose weakness prevents them, it still mercifully keeps as its own. Thus each believer, though sharing through faith in spiritual sonship, may remain passive and unenlightened through lack of faith and zeal, deprived of the light and life of Jesus. So, although every believer, as a member of Christ, possesses the Spirit of Christ in him, he may remain passive and unmoving, as one incapable of sharing in grace.
St. Gregory of Sinai (Texts on Commandments and Dogmas no. 129)
...the enemy - wanting to overpower the intelligence, a skilled commander - first addles its wits with gluttonous and promiscuous thoughts, treating it derisively and dismissing it from its command as though it were a drunken general; then he uses anger and desire as servants of his own will. Free in this way from the control of the intelligence, these powers - the desiring and the incensive powers - use the five senses as aids in sinning openly.
St. Philotheos of Sinai(Texts on Watchfulness no. 18)
...the material body...cannot enshrine the essence of the intellect until the material body itself truly lives by adopting a form of life appropriate to union with the intellect."
St. Gregory Palamas (Those Who Practise a Life of Stillness no. 6, The Philokalia Vol. 4 edited by Palmer, Sherrard and Ware; Faber and Faber pg. 337)
...there is nothing He[God] loves and desires to see in us more than a sincere consciousness of our nothingness and a firm and deep-felt conviction that any good we may have in our nature and our life comes from Him alone, since He is the source of all good, and that nothing truly good can ever come from ourselves, whether a good thought or a good action. Therefore He takes care to plant this heavenly seed in the hearts of His beloved friends, urging them not to value themselves and not to rely on themselves. Sometimes He does this through the action of grace and inner illumination, or sometimes through external blows and tribulations, sometimes through unexpected and almost unconquerable temptations, and sometimes by other means, not always comprehensible to us.
Lorenzo Scupoli(Unseen Warfare, Chap. 2 )
...to say that God turns away from the wicked is the same as to say that the sun hides itself from those who lose their sight.
St. Anthony the Great (170 Texts on Saintly Life no. 150)
...watch, my beloved, with all attention and protect yourself from liking or disliking a thing out of passion, before you have had time to examine it properly in the light of reason and the just word of the Divine Scriptures, in the light of grace and prayer, and with the help of the judgment of your spiritual father; otherwise you may sin in taking for evil what is truly good, and good what is truly evil. This mostly happens in the case of certain actions, which are good and holy in themselves, but which according to circumstances, namely that if they are done at a wrong time, or are out of place, or are not done in the right measure, cause considerable harm to those who do them.
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 8)
...we carry as in earthen vessels - that is to say, in our bodies - the Father's Light in the Person of Jesus Christ, and so can experience the glory of the Holy Spirit...
St. Gregory Palamas (Those Who Practice a Life of Stillness, The Philokalia Vol. 4 edited by Palmer, Sherrard and Ware; Faber and Faber pg. 333
...when desire is not restrained from forming likes and dislikes before a thing is properly examined, then both these powers of the soul - mind and will - always work wrongly, plunging ever deeper and deeper from darkness to darkness, and from sin to sin.
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 8)
...when did the Father come into being. There never was a time when He was not. And the same thing is true of the Son and the Holy Ghost...How then are They not alike unoriginate, if They are co-eternal? Because They are from Him, though not after Him. For that which is unoriginate is eternal, but that which is eternal is not necessarily unoriginate, so long as it may be referred to the Father as its origin. Therefore in respect of Cause They are not unoriginate; but it is evident that the Cause is not necessarily prior to its effects, for the sun is not prior to its light.
St. Gregory Nazianzen (Third Theological Oration no. 3)
...when one listens with faith and the other teaches with love, speaking of virtues without arrogance or vanity...then the soul accepts the word of teaching as a teacher; the word of reading as a nourisher; the word derived from practice (the most inner word) as the loveliest bridal adornment; the illumining word of the Spirit as the word of the bridegroom, joining her with Himself and rendering her glad.
St. Gregory of Sinai (Texts on Commandments and Dogmas no. 96)
...when you see a thing with your eyes, or visualize it in your mind, keep a firm grip on your desires and do not allow yourself at the first glance either to conceive a liking for the thing or a dislike for it, but examine it in a detached way with the mind alone. Unobscured by passion, the mind then remains in a state natural to it, which is free and pure, and has the possibility to know the truth and to penetrate into the depths of a thing, where evil is often concealed under a deceptively attractive exterior and where good is sometimes hidden under a bad appearance.
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare, Chapter 8)
...while the kings of particular nations have bounds set to their authority, the Holy Church Catholic alone extends her power without limit over the whole world; 'for God', as it is written, 'has made her border peace' (Ps. 147:14).
St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Catechetical Lectures: Lecture 18 no. 27)
...who are the permitted persons [to philosophize about God]? They to whom the subject is of real concern, and not they who make it a matter of pleasant gossip, like any other thing, after the races, or the theatre, or a concert, or a dinner, or still lower employments. To such men as these, idle jests and pretty contradictions about these subjects are a part of their amusement.
St. Gregory Nazianzen (First Theological Oration no. 3)
...whom the Lord loves He chastens, and a rebuke is a fatherly action; while every soul which is unchastised, is unhealed. Is not then freedom from chastisement a hard thing? But to fail to be corrected by the chastisement is still harder.
St. Gregory Nazianzen (On His Father's Silence no. 15)
A certain man travelling to Constantinople from the East fell among robbers who stole from him everything that he had with him, mutilated his body, cut the sinews of his knees and leaving him half dead, went their ways; but by the providence of God they had not inflicted any mortal wound on him. Some wayfarers who came to that place picked him up and carried him to the city of Ancyra, for it was close to that city that this had befallen him.
There they took him to the bishop who ordered him to be conveyed to the hospital and cared for there. But while his wounds were tended he was not able to walk. He therefore made this request of the bishop, 'I was travelling to Constantinople in fulfillment of a vow making my way to our lord Daniel, who stands on the column, when I met with this accident; and now that, thanks to you, I have been healed it behoves me to fulfill my vow. I pray you, therefore, servant of God, to send me safely to Constantinople to the holy man'
The bishop, since he thought that this was a pious request; gave him money for his expenses, also a beast and two men to conduct him to the holy man Daniel. So the men took him and brought him to the holy man's enclosure and then carried him and laid him in front of the column. The man cried aloud and told the holy man the reason for which he had come and related what had happened to him and how he had been saved by the help of God and the bishop. The holy man sent thanks to the bishop for the kindness he had shown to the man and after furnishing those who had brought him with supplies for their journey he dismissed them in peace with presents for the bishop. He handed over the man to some of the servants with orders to carry him and bring him to the enclosure daily at the hour of prayer, and to anoint him with the oil of the saints; the man's legs hung down as if they did not belong to him. After a few days, one Friday when the Saint had said the prayers as usual and all had said 'Amen', the man suddenly leapt from the litter, and stood on his feet and said with a loud voice, 'Bless me, oh servant of God'. And he quickly ran up the steps and embraced the column giving thanks the while to God
A certain woman had a son of twelve years, Damianus by name, dumb from birth; him she brought to the holy man's enclosure and signing to him not to go away, she left him and departed. Then when the brethren saw the boy staying there and saying nothing to anybody, they brought him to the holy man. He, beholding him, ordered that he should remain in the monastery, saying, 'The boy shall be God's minister'. The brethren said, 'He is dumb, master !' He said to them, 'Moisten his tongue with the oil of the saints'. But the brethren suspected that from stress of poverty the mother had suggested to him to feign dumbness; so very often when the boy was asleep they woke him suddenly by making a noise; and at other times they would prick him in the body with needles or pens to try whether he would speak. But he said nothing, as he was held by the power of dumbness. One Sunday, after some considerable time had passed, when the holy Gospel was going to be read aloud, and the deacon had announced the lesson from the holy Gospel of St. Matthew, the boy shouted out ahead of the others, 'Glory be to thee, oh Lord!' And after uttering this first cry he in future surpassed all the brethren in his singing of the psalms. A certain chamberlain, Calopodius by name, had built an oratory to the holy Archangel Michael and came to the holy man asking him to give him some brethren for this oratory in Parthenopolis. And together with the brethren the holy man gave him this boy to sing the psalms and he became God's minister, as the servant of God had foretold about him. So great are the achievements of grace, so great the gifts of our Master to His sincere servants; he came not speaking and became a good speaker, he came voiceless and gained a beautiful voice, he was deserted by his mother as dumb and he proved to be the wonderful herald of the church.
the Life of Daniel the Stylite, commemorated 11 December
A great evil is it when we theologize cold-heartedly with our mind, passing off our mind for the Holy Spirit. This is called "encephalogy" [theology of the brain], which gives birth to Babel (confusion). In theology, however, there are many tongues (many gifts), but all tongues are in agreement because they have one Master, the Holy Spirit of the Pentecost, and the tongues are of fire. He, who disregards divine enlightenment, gives primacy to the mind and creates an impressive sermon with beautiful wording, is related to the Arians who believed that Christ is a creature of God.
We, the Orthodox, believe and confess that the Word of God was not created, but was born "of the Father before all ages" and was incarnate "of the Holy Spirit" and the Virgin Mary and brought salvation to the world. The word of the mind does not bring change to souls, for it is flesh. The word of God that is born of the Holy Spirit has divine energy and changes souls.
the forthcoming book "The Epistles of Fr. Paisios," published by St. John the Evangelist Monastery in Souroti, Greece.
A human being who does not endure courageously the unpleasant burdens of temptations, will never produce fruit worthy of the divine wine-press and eternal harvest, not even if one possess all other virtues. For one is only perfected through zealously enduring both all the voluntary and involuntary afflictions. Some of these afflictions are inflicted upon u s externally and others are borne internally. That which happens to the earthly plants naturally, during the changes of the season when cultivation is done by the vinedressers - who are us, the intelligent branches of Christ who are obedient to that Vinedresser of souls - is endured from self-determined free choice. Furthermore, without enduring the involuntary afflictions which come upon us, nor those voluntary things, one will not acquire divine blessings. For love towards God is received especially through the sorrows which are a result of the trial of temptations.
St. Gregory Palamas, Treatise on the Spiritual Life.
A hypocrite, hunting after glory the comes from apparent righteousness, is untroubled so long as he thinks that he escapes notice. But when he is detected, he utters streams of imprecation, imagining that by abusing others he can hide his own deformity. Because of his craftiness Scripture has compared him to the offspring of vipers and commanded him to bring forth appropriate fruits of repentance, that is, to refashion the hidden state of his heart so that it conforms to its outward behavior
St Maximus the Confessor - First Century on Theology (Text 23)
A man becomes perfect in the sight of God to the extent that he follows in His footsteps; in the true age God will reveal His face to him. For the righteous, to the degree that they enter into contemplation of Him, behold His image as in a mirror; but there they will behold the revelation of Truth.
St Seraphim of Sarov - Spiritual Instructions
A man cannot receive spiritual knowledge except he be converted, and become as a little child. For only then does he experience that delight which belongs to the Kingdom of the Heavens. By `Kingdom of the Heavens' the Scriptures mean spiritual divine vision. This cannot be found through the workings of our deliberations, but by grace it can be tasted. Until a man has been purified, he is not even capable of hearing of it, for no one is able to acquire it by instruction.
The Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian.
A man who is wrathful with us is a sick man; we must apply a plaster to his heart - love; we must treat him kindly, speak to him gently, lovingly. And if there is not deeply-rooted malice against us within him, but only a temporary fit of anger, you will see how his heart, or his malice, will melt away through your kindness and love - how good will conquer evil. A Christian must always be kind, gracious, and wise in order to conquer evil by good.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ.
A mind that has found spiritual wisdom is like a man who finds a fully equipped ship at sea, and once he has gone aboard, it brings him from the sea of this world to the isle of the age to come. In like manner, the perception of the future age while in this world is like an islet in the ocean; and he who approaches it toils no longer amid the billows of the appearances of this age.
The Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian.
A person must first spend a long time in ascetic practice. He must begin by purifying his body from the actual committing of sin, whether great or small, and then purge his soul of every form of desire or anger. His moral impulses need to be disciplined by good habit, so that he does not do anything whatsoever through his five senses that is contrary to the purpose of his intellect, nor does his inner self consent to any such thing. It is then, when finally he becomes subject to himself, that God makes all things subject to him through dispassion and by the grace of the Holy Spirit. For a man must first submit to the law of God, and then he will rule as an intelligent being over all around him. His intellect will reign as it was originally created to reign, with judgment and self-restraint, with courage and justice. Now he will calm his wrath with the gentleness of his desire, now quieten his desire with the austerity of his wrath; and he will know that he is a king.
St. Peter of Damaskos(24 Discourses; Discrimination)
A person standing at an open window hears the sounds from outside; it is impossible not to do so. But he can give the voices his attention or not, as he himself wishes. The praying person is continually beset by a stream of inappropriate thoughts, feelings and mental impressions. To stop this tiresome stream is as impracticable as to stop the air from circulating in an open room. But one can notice them or not. This, say the saints, one learns only through practice.
Tito Colliander, The Way of the Ascetics
A person who through the grace of God partakes of divine blessings is under an obligation to share them ungrudgingly with others.
St. Maximos the Confessor (First Century on Theology no. 29)
A scholar attracts by his knowledge, a wealthy man by riches, a handsome man by beauty, an artist by his skill. Each of these attracts a limited number of individuals. Only love attracts all human beings. The attraction of love is unlimited. And educated or uneducated, rich or poor, skilled or unskilled, beautiful or ugly, healthy or sick, and young or old - all want to be loved. Christ spread His love on everyone, and lovingly drew all to Himself. With His great love he encompassed even the dead, long decomposed and forgotten by men.
Kassiana: Lessons in Divine and Christian Love. From the Collected Works of Bp. Nikolai Velimirovic.
A sensible sick man could say equally well to his doctor: 'Take pity on me, according to your instruction: take care of me, as your discipline prescribes.' He who makes this demand knows the manner in which this care will be exercised. Often, indeed, God assures our salvation by His correction. The chastisement comes because God loves mankind.
Theodoret of Cyrus
A sinner like me does not ask God that he may see visions for that is against his will, and wrong. Hear all the same about a great miracle: If you see a man pure and humble, that is a great vision: for what is greater than such a vision, to see the invisible God in his temple, a visible man?"
St. Pachomius
A soul's motivation is rightly ordered when its desiring power is subordinated to self-control, when its incensive power rejects hatred and cleaves to love, and when its power of intelligence, through prayer and spiritual contemplation, advances towards God.
St. Maximos the Confessor (Fourth Century on Love no. 15)
A tale of wonder has now stirred within me to be told: Hearken lovingly, O men of discernment, with the ear of the soul, Mary's history has been roused in me with wonder, that it might reveal itself: Prepare your minds with discretion. The holy Virgin hath bid me speak of her this day; Let us purify our hearing for her pure account, lest we bring dishonor upon us. She is a second Heaven; for in her womb the Lord of the Heights has dwelt, And dawned from her to drive the darkness from every quarter; The blessed among women, by whom the cursing of the earth was torn out by the roots, And the full term of the sentence was thenceforth fulfilled; Grave, venerable, filled with the virtues of holiness, Whose history my mouth is too little to tell; The daughter of the poor, who became the Mother of the Lord of kings, And gave riches to the needy world for it to live by; The Ship bearing treasures and blessings from the House of the Father, Which came and poured out riches on our destitute realm; The good Field that seedlessly yielded a crop, Whence abounded a great harvest, being yet untilled; The second Eve who gave birth to Life among those subject to death, Redeeming and rending the bond of Eve her mother.
Mar Jacob of Serugh, Homily on the Blessed Virgin Mary.
A true Christian is made by faith and love toward Christ. Our sins do not in the least hinder our Christianity, according to the word of the Saviour Himself. He deigned to say: not the righteous have I come to call, but sinners to salvation; there is more joy in heaven over one who repents than over ninety righteous ones. Likewise concerning the sinful woman who touched His feet, He deigned to say to the Pharisee Simon: to one who has love, a great debt is forgiven, but from one who has no love even a small debt will be demanded. From these judgements a Christian should bring himself to hope and joy, and not in the least accept an inflicted despair. Here one needs the shield of faith.
St. Herman of Alaska, in The Orthodox Word, Vol. 5 #6, 1969.
A very simple Athonite elder said, "These learned people get into trouble when they try to research the Divine. When the rope is too short, how does one dare to descend into the depths of the ravine?
An Athonite Gerontikon
A worker takes the trouble to get hold of the instruments that he requires. He does so not simply to have them and not use them. Nor is there any profit for him in merely possessing the instruments. What he wants is, with their help, to produce the crafted objective for which these are the efficient means. In the same way, fasting, vigils, scriptural meditation, nakedness, and total deprivation do not constitute perfection but are the means to perfection. They are not themselves the end point of a discipline, but an end is attained through them. To practice them will therefore be useless if someone instead of regarding these as means to an end is satisfied to regard them as the highest good. One would possess the instruments of a profession without knowing the end where the hoped-for fruit is to be found.
St. John Cassian, Conferences
A zealous man never achieves peace of mind. And he who is a stranger to peace is a stranger to joy. If, as it is said, peace of mind is perfect health, and zeal is opposed to peace, then the man who has a wrong zeal is ill with a grievous disease. Though you presume, O man, to send forth your zeal against the infirmities of other men, you have expelled the health of your own soul. Be assiduous, therefore, in laboring for your own soul's health. If you wish to heal the infirm, know that the sick are in greater need of loving care than of rebuke. Therefore, although you do not help others, you expend labor to bring grievous illness upon yourself.
Zeal is not reckoned among men to be a form of wisdom, but one of the illnesses of the soul, namely narrow-mindedness and deep ignorance. The beginning of divine wisdom is clemency and gentleness, which arise from greatness of soul and the bearing of infirmities of men. For, he [the Apostle Paul] says, "let the strong bear the infirmities of the weak', and 'Restore him that has fallen in the spirit of meekness.' The Apostle numbers peace and patience among the fruits of the Spirit.
"On the Harm of Foolish Zeal that Has the Guise of Being Divine", St. Isaac of Nineveh
AND GOD SAID: LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE AFTER OUR LIKENESS
Our likeness to God requires our cooperation. When the intellect begins to perceive the Holy Spirit with full consciousness, we should realize that grace is beginning to paint the divine likeness over the divine image in us. If the intellect does not receive the perfection of the divine likeness through such illumination, although it may have almost every other virtue, it will still have no share in the perfect love.
St. Diadochos of Photiki. On Spiritual Knowledge, Text 89. Philokalia. B#22, Vol. One, p. 288
Abba Poemen said, "If three men meet, of whom the first fully preserves interior peace, and the second gives thanks to God in illness, and the third serves with a pure mind, these three are doing the same work."
The Desert Fathers
Abba Theonas and Abba Theodore related that at Alexandria under the patriarch Paul (538-542), a young girl surviving the death of her parents gained a great fortune. She was not yet baptized. One day, going into an orchard which her parents had left to her -- for there were some orchards in the midst of the city belonging to great persons -- when she had thus gone into the orchard she saw a man who was preparing to do away with himself. She ran to him and said, "What are you doing, my good man?" He replied, "Truly, woman, leave me alone, because I am in great distress." The young girl said to him, "Tell me the truth, and perhaps I can come to your assistance." He said, "I have large debts and I am greatly pressed by my creditors; I prefer to die rather than live such a miserable life." The young girl said to him, "I beseech you, take everything I have, pay what you owe, but don't kill yourself now." He took (what he needed) and paid back what he owed. After this, the young girl found herself in financial trouble, and having no one to look after her, deprived of parents, she was in great need and fell into lewdness/dissoluteness. Those who knew her and who knew what had been the status of her parents said, "Who knows the judgements of God? Who knows why He permits that a soul falls and for what reason?" Sometime afterwards, the young girl fell sick; she returned to her own place and with great remorse she said to her neighbors, "In the name of the Lord, have pity on my soul and ask the Papa (patriarch) if he would make me a Christian." But casting scorn on her they said, "Is he going to receive such a prostitute?" She was greatly afflicted. Since she was in deep despair, the angel of the Lord appeared to her in the guise of the man on whom she had taken pity; and he said to her, "What is it that you want to have?" She replied, "I desire to be a Christian, and no one wishes to speak for me." and he said to her, "Do you truly desire it?" She said, "Ye! s, I pray you." He said to her, "Don't be discouraged anymore. I am going to introduce/conduct some others, and they will bear you to the church." He thus gave her over to two others -- who were also angels -- and they escorted her into the church. And again, they were transformed into important persons, of augustal rank, and the priests summoned those who sponsored the baptisms. The priests said to them, "Are Your Charities responsible/answerable for her?" They responded, "Yes." The priests, having thus performed all of the series of ceremonies for those who wished to be baptized, then baptized her in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. They likewise dressed her in the robes of the newly-baptized; and dressed in white, she returned to her place, borne along by them; and having set her down, they disappeared. The neighbors saw her dressed in white and they said to her, "Who has baptized you?" She told them, "Certain men came, conveyed me to the church! , spoke to the priests, and had me baptized." They demanded of her, "Who were these people?" Since she couldn't find anything to say in reply, they went to report this thing to the Papa. The Papa then summoned those who presided at the baptistery. He said to them, "Are you the ones who baptized her?" They admitted it, saying that they had been bidden to by such and such ones, (who were) augustals. The bishop then sent them out to look among those who were so designated (as augustals), and inform him quickly of those who had answered so well concerning her. They said, "We know nothing, we have no knowledge of having done this thing." Then the bishop recognized that this was the work of God. He called in the young girl and said to her, "Tell me, my daughter, what good deed have you done?" She answered, "I am a prostitute and am poverty-stricken. What good deed could I have done?" He asked her, "You have absolutely no knowledge of having done a good deed?" She responded, "No, except that once I saw someone who was going to kill himself, because he was hard-pressed by his creditors; and I gave to him all of my fortune to deliver him." Saying this, she fell asleep in the Lord, herself delivered from both voluntary and involuntary faults. Then the bishop glorifying God said, "You are just, Lord, and your judgements are true" (Ps. 118: 137).
John Moschus, Leimonarion, (The Spiritual Meadow), 207
Abraham, ready to receive strangers, faithful towards God, devoted in ministering, quick in his service, saw the Trinity in a type; he added religious duty to hospitality, when beholding Three he worshipped One, and preserving the distinction of the Persons, yet addressed one Lord, he offered to Three the honor of his gift, while acknowledging one Power. It was not learning but grace which spoke in him, and he believed better what he had not learnt than we who have learnt.
St. Ambrose, On Belief in the Resurrection, Book II.
According to St. Gregory the Sinaite there are three degrees in eating: temperance, sufficiency, and satiety. Temperance is when someone wants to ear some more food but abstains, rising from the table still somewhat hungry. Sufficiency is when someone eats what is needed and sufficient for normal nourishment. Satiety is when someone eats more than enough and is more than satisfied. Now if you cannot keep the first tow degrees and you proceed to the third, then, at least, do not become a glutton, remembering the words of the Lord, `Woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger' (Lk. 6:25). Remember also that rich man who ate in this present life sumptuously every day, but who was deprived of the desired bosom of Abraham in the next life, simply because of this sumptuous eating.
St. Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain, Handbook of Spiritual Counsel.
According to the Apostle's word, we are forthwith required to acquire every virtue in order to accomplish the perfect man according to God, that is, the man who lacks nothing in any way, and to receive the grace of the Spirit from the heavenly King like soldiers taking their rations from the earthly emperor. And then, when we have become already perfect men, and have risen up to the maturity of Christ and its measure, and have been enrolled with His soldiers and servants, we shall campaign against our hostile enemies since, as Paul the divine Apostle says, no one `ever serves as a soldier at his own expense' (1Cor. 9:7). What does `expense' mean? The royal ration. If, therefore, we should not also receive from God the bread which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world, that is, the grace of the Spirit - for this is the spiritual rations by which they are nourished who campaign with Christ, and with which they are spiritually clothed in place of weapons - then how, tell me, shall we march with God's army? How shall we be ranked among His servants?
St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life, Vol. 2.
According to the Gospel, it should be said that undoubtedly each person is given his own saving cross. This cross has grown on the soil of our heart, and it is only through this cross that we can be saved. From this it follows that if we refuse to carry our cross of obedience for no legitimate reason, we refuse to go by the way of Christ, by the saving way, and we want to invent for ourselves another way, free of labor, for attaining the Kingdom of Heaven. But this cannot be. The Kingdom of God suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force (Cf. Mt. 11:12).
St. Anatoly (Zertsalov) of Optina, A Collection of Letters to Nuns.
According to the text, `We are the body of Christ and each of us is one of its members' (cf. 1Cor. 12:27), we are said to be the body of Christ. We do not become this body through the loss of our own bodies; nor again because Christ's body passes into us hypostatically or is divided into members; but rather because we conform to the likeness of the Lord's flesh by shaking off the corruption of sin. For just as Christ in His manhood was sinless by nature both in flesh and soul, so we too who believe in Him, and have clothed ourselves in Him through the Spirit, can be without sin in Him if we so choose.
St. Maximus the Confessor, Second Century on Theology, Philokalia, Vol.
II.
Accordingly it is the Church's offering, the offering that the Lord has taught us to make throughout the world, which is counted as a pure sacrifice before God and which is acceptable to Him. He needs no sacrifice from us, but the offerer is himself glorified through his offering, if his gift is accepted. Through this gift we show the honor and devotion we are paying to the King. The Lord expressed His desire that we should offer it in all simplicity and innocence in the words: `If you are offering your gift at the altar and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift before the altar and go; for be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift' (Mt. 5:23-24). So we are to offer to God the first-fruits of His own creation, as Moses says: `You shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed' (Deut. 16:16) - the purpose being that man should express his gratitude to God by means of the gifts that have been bestowed on him, and thereby receive the honor which comes from God.
St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies IV
Accordingly when it is said: `God is love,' by this is said that the entire Holy Trinity is Love. The Father is Love and the Son is Love and the Holy Spirit is Love. The source and the original countenance of love between the angels and men, the source Who was giving of Himself without ceasing and receiving without enrichment.
Kassiana, Lessons in Divine and Christian Love.
Accordingly, dearly-beloved, being mindful of our weakness, because we easily fall into all kinds of faults, let us by no means neglect this special remedy and most effectual healing of our wounds. Let us remit, that we may have remission; let us grant the pardon which we crave; let us not be eager to be revenged when we pray to be forgiven. Let us not pass over the groans of the poor with deaf ear, but with prompt kindness bestow our mercy on the needy, that we may deserve to find mercy in the judgment. And he that, aided by God's grace, shall strain every nerve after this perfection, will keep this holy fast faithfully; free from the leaven of the old wickedness, in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, he will reach the blessed Passover, and by newness of life will worthily rejoice in the mystery of man's reformation through Christ our Lord, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.
Sermons of Leo the Great, On Lent I.
Acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit also by practicing all the other virtues for Christ's sake. Trade spiritually with them; trade with those which give you the greatest profit. Accumulate capital from the superabundance of God's grace, deposit it in God's eternal bank which will bring you immaterial interest, not four or sic percent, but one hundred percent for one spiritual rouble, and even infinitely more than that. For example, if prayer and watching gives you more of God's grace, watch and pray; if fasting gives you much of the Spirit of God, fast; if almsgiving gives you more, give alms. Weigh every virtue done for Christ's sake in this manner.
St. Seraphim of Sarov, A Wonderful Revelation to the World
Actually, a man's real life begins with his faith in the Lord Christ, which commits all his soul, all his heart, all his strength to the Lord Christ, Who gradually sanctifies, transfigures, deifies them. And through that sanctification, transfiguration, and deification the grace-filled Divine energies, which give him the all-powerful feeling and consciousness of personal immortality and personal eternity, are poured out upon in. In reality, our life is life inasmuch as it is in Christ. And as much as it is in Christ is shown by its holiness.
St. Justin Popovich, Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ.
After first calling blessed those who gain imperishable wealth because of their poverty in spirit, God, Who alone is blessed, next make those who grieve partakers of His own blessedness, saying, `Blessed are those who grieve, for they will be consoled' (Mt. 5:4). Why did Christ thus join grief to poverty? Because it always coexists with it. But while sorrow over worldly poverty induces the soul's death, grief over poverty embraced in God's name induces the `saving repentance that `saving repentance that is not to be regretted' (2Cor. 7:10). The first kind of poverty, being unsought, is followed by unwished-for grief; the second, being freely embraced, is followed by grief freely embraced. Because the grief here called blessed is linked with the poverty embraced in God's name, necessarily issuing from it and depending on it as its cause, it too possesses a spiritual and voluntary character.
St. Gregory Palamas, To the Most Rev. Nun Xenia. Philokalia, Vol. IV
After having sung hymns of praise to the tomb of the Giver of life, They turned and saw the one seated upon the stone, And from fright they drew back; And feeling awe, they turned aside their faces, And with fear they said this: `What is the figure, whose shape is the? Who is this whom we behold? An angel? A man? Has he come from on high? Or has he just arisen into our presence from below? He is fire; he sends forth light; his glance is like lightning; he shines. Let us flee, maidens, lest we be consumed.' O divine, heavenly shower, descend on those who thirst for Thee, Thou Who offerest resurrection to the fallen.
St Romanos the Melodist - On the Resurrection
After the Savior introduced the lofty doctrines concerning the Spirit to the disciples, at one and the same time, both doing away with their faint-heartedness and theologizing* truly concerning the Spirit, it was only human if their minds were in a turmoil of unlawful thoughts. How grim it is when the soul is consumed with grief and when judgment is muddled by the murk of this state; then that which is for salvation is distorted and becomes baneful. Therefore, as best physician of both body and soul, He prescribes the saving medicine beforehand, so that, inasmuch as the Spirit grants greater gifts, they would not apprehend the Spirit as being superior to the Son, nor would they admit any thought which would insult matter and sunder the equal hypostases into inequality.
St. Photios the Great, On the Mystagogy of the Holy Spirit.
After the resurrection, when our bodies will be re-united to our souls, they will be incorruptible; and the carnal passions which distrub us now will not be present in those bodies; we shall enjoy a peaceful equilibrium in which the prudence of the flesh will not make war upon the soul; and there will no longer be that internal warfare wherein sinful passions fight againt the law of the mind. conquering the soul and taking it captive by sin. Our nature then will be purified of all these tendencies, and one spirit will be in both, I mean in the flesh and in the spirit, and every corporeal affection will be banished from our nature.
St. Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on the Canticle in From Glory to Glory.
After the resurrection, when our bodies will be re-united to our souls, they will be incorruptible; and the carnal passions which disturb us now will not be present in those bodies; we shall enjoy a peaceful equilibrium in which the prudence of the flesh will not make war upon the soul; and there will no longer be that internal warfare wherein sinful passions fight against the law of the mind, conquering the soul and taking it captive by sin. Our nature then will be purified of all these tendencies, and one spirit will be in both, I mean in the flesh and in the spirit, and every corporeal affection will be banished from our nature.
St. Gregory of Nyssa, From Glory to Glory.
After the travelers in virtue had crossed the sea, after the water had been sweetened for them, after their refreshing rest by the springs and palms, and after their drinking from the rock, the supplies from Egypt ran completely out. And thus when they had no more of the foreign food which they had laid by in Egypt, there flowed down from above food which was at the same time varied and uniform. In appearance the food was uniform, but in quality it was varied, for it conformed to each person's desire. What then do we learn here? We learn by what purification one should purify himself of Egypt and the foreign life so that he empties the sack of his soul of all evil nourishment prepared by the Egyptians. In this way he receives in himself with his pure soul the food which comes down from above, which was not produced for us by any sowing in cultivated soil. Coming down from above, the bread is found upon the earth already prepared without the wheat's having been sown or ripened.
St. Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of Moses
After this period of childhood and the full development of reason, the mind may learn on its own or may learn by hearing Holy Scripture and the holy Fathers that its natural and appropriate pleasure is something altogether different. What happens then? The mind, being by nature rational and prudent and loving whatever is good, cannot suffer to see the senses of its body so enslaved to their pleasurable objects. The mind cannot continue to be a co-prisoner with the senses the senses and a contradiction: the king becoming a slave; the ruler becoming the ruled; who by nature is self-ruled and in authority becoming the obedient subject. The mind, finally, cannot bear to receive such harm that it will gradually bring it to annihilation and to hell.
St. Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain, Handbook of Spiritual Counsel.
Again we would say `If Adam died because of sin, He Who removed sin had to take away death too.' But just as Adam was told `The day you eat of the forbidden tree, you shall die,' but in fact he did not die; but rather he received a pledge of his death in the form of being stripped naked of the gory and his expulsion from Paradise, after which he was daily pondering on death. It is exactly the same with life in Christ: we have eaten His Body in place of the fruit of the Tree, and His altar has taken the place of the Garden of Eden for us; the curse has been washed away by His innocent blood, and in the hope of resurrection we await the life that is to come, and indeed we already walk in the new life, in that we already have a pledge of it.
St. Ephrem the Syrian, quoted in The Luminous Eye by Sebastian Brock.
Again, it is from the Scriptures that we learn how to travel on the road of virtuous conduct, for in them all the fine deeds of the just life are delineated. Just as one cannot see anything without light, for it is light that enables us to see, as it is written `By Thy light we see light,' similarly, without the light of the Scriptures we are unable to see God, Who is Light, or His justice, which is filled with light.
Abba Martyrius, in The Syriac Father on Prayer and the Spiritual Life.
Ages, times and places belong to the category of relationship, and consequently no object necessarily associated with these things can be other than relative. But God transcends the category of relationship; for nothing else whatsoever is necessarily associated with Him. Therefore if the inheritance of the saints is God Himself, he who is found worthy of this grace will be beyond all ages, times and places: he will have God Himself as his place, in accordance with the text, 'Be to me a God who is a defender and a fortified place of my salvation' (Ps. 71:3. LXX).
St. Maximos the Confessor (First Century on Theology no. 68)
Alas! We are in exile and we do not want to realize it. We do not want to see from what heights we have fallen. But with our own evil will, we cover our ears and shut our eyes, blinding ourselves willingly so that we might not see the truth. Woe to us, for we consider the darkness here to be light, and for a paltry pleasure that this world offers, we avoid the light there as if it were darkness. We avoid it because of the small sorrow that the body encounters, and lose the repose there. Woe to our wretchedness! For God calls out to us to become His children, but we become sons of darkness. We exchange eternity for a little bit of honey. For the small pleasure of luxury or glory, we deny and fall away from the glory of the kingdom of God. So blessed is he who sees this deception and abstains from the fleeting pleasures of this world, and aspires to the enjoyment that awaits us.
Monastic Wisdom: The Letters of Elder Joseph the Hesychast
All Scripture of our, my son - both ancient and new - is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, as it is written. But the Book of Psalms possesses a certain winning exactitude for those who are prayerful. Each sacred book supplies and announces its own promise. The Pentateuch, for instance, relates the beginning of the world and the deeds of the patriarchs, both the exodus of Israel out of Egypt and the decree of the legislation. The Triteuch [Joshua, Judges and Ruth] tells the possession of the land and the exploits of the judges, as well as David's ancestral line. The books of the Kings and Chronicles recount the stories of the rulers. And Esdras describes the release from the captivity, the return of the people, and the construction of the temple and the city. The books of the Prophets contain foretellings about the sojourn of the Savior, admonitions concerning divine commands and reprimands against transgressors, as well as prophecies for the gentiles. Yet the Book of Psalms is like a garden containing things of all these kinds, and it sets them to music, but also exhibits things of its own that it gives in song along with them.
St. Athanasius the Great, Letter to Marcellinus
All images reveal and make perceptible those things which are hidden. For example, a man does not have immediate knowledge of invisible things, since the soul is veiled by the body. Nor can man have immediate knowledge of things which are distant from each other or separated by place, because he himself is circumscribed by place and time. Therefore the image was devised that he might advance in knowledge, and that secret things might be revealed and made perceptible. Therefore, images are a source of profit, help, and salvation for all, since they make things so obviously manifest, enabling us to perceive hidden things. Thus, we are encouraged to desire and imitate what is good and to shun and hate what is evil.
St. John of Damascus, On the Divine Images.
All men are made in God's image; but to be in His likeness is granted only to those who through great love have brought their own freedom into subjection to God. For only when we do not belong to ourselves do we become like Him Who through love have reconciled us to Himself. No one achieves this unless he persuades his soul not to be distracted by the false glitter of this life.
St. Diadochos of Photiki, On Spiritual Knowledge and Discrimination,
Philokalia, Vol. I.
All my happiness and unhappiness are in the thoughts and desires of my heart. If the thoughts of my heart are in accord with God's truth, with the will of God, then I am at rest, filled with divine light, joy and blessedness; if not, I am uneasy, filled with spiritual darkness that corrupts the soul, with heaviness and despondency. If I replace the false and ungodly thoughts of my heart by true and godly ones, then rest, blessedness and joy return.
St. John of Kronstadt
All the Beatitudes make man a god by grace; he becomes gentle, longs for righteousness, is charitable, dispassionate, a peacemaker, and endures every pain with joy out of love for God and for his fellow men. For the Beatitudes are gifts from God and we should thank Him greatly for them and for the rewards promised: the kingdom of heaven in the age to be, spiritual refreshment in this world, the fullness of all God's blessings and mercies, His manifestation when we contemplate the hidden mysteries found in the Holy Scriptures and in all created things, and the great reward in heaven (cf. Matt. 5:12). For if we learn while on earth to imitate Christ and receive the blessedness inherent in each commandment, we shall be granted the highest good and the ultimate goal of our desire. As the apostle says, `God, Who dwells in unapproachable light, alone is blessed' (cf. 1 Tim. 6:15-16). We, for our part, have the duty of keeping the commandments - or, rather, of being kept by them, but through them God in His compassion will give to the believer rewards both in this world and in the world to be.
St. Peter of Damaskos, The Seven Commandments, Philokalia, Vol. 3.
All the holy Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, Monastic Saints, and Righteous ones, old and new, would not have attained salvation without humility. All their deeds, their virtues, their labors, their sweat, their struggles, their prayers, their fasts, their almsgiving would not have benefited them, as they did not benefit that proud and boastful Pharisee.
Blessed Elder Philotheos Zervakos, Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 11 by
Constantine Cavarnos.
All things belong to God. All our brothers and sisters. Among us it is best that all inherit equal portions.
St. Gregory of Nyssa
All things, then, that Christ our God enjoined upon the apostles, He likewise also commanded us to observe. We have the ability to observe them in the world, yet we do not will to do so because we are weak in faith and love towards Christ. That this is true, we have the witness borne by all who have pleased the Lord before the Law, under the Law, and after the coming of the Savior. Though they had children and wives and were occupied with the cares and concerns of all the affairs of this life they were pleasing to Him. They were separated from all these things by their will of detachment, and shone more brightly in faith and life than those who `are in mountains and caves' (Heb. 11:38).
St. Symeon the New Theologian, The Discourses
All those who praise the divine and sacred Word correctly and without error are, we affirm, the allies of the doctrines of truth, and its best teachers; well knowing how to guide whosoever wish to advance in Christ, rightly unto every good word, and to the life incorruptible, and to participation in the blessings bestowed upon us. Of these most wise Paul also declares, that they are `the lights of the world, holding the word of life.' Now of these illustrious and famous men the divine disciples were the commencement, and stand foremost in order, for they had as a schoolmaster Him Who is the Giver of all understanding, and Who richly bestoweth His light upon those who love Him. For He is the true light Who illumineth the heavens, even the powers who are above; and delivereth from ignorance and darkness those also upon earth.
St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke
All who have firm hope in God are raised to Him and illumined by the radiance of the eternal light. If a man does not let excessive concern for himself turn him away from love for God and for acts of virtue, then this hope is true and wise. But if a man places all his hope in his own affairs and turns to God with prayer only when unforeseen misfortunes befall him, and seeing no means in his own power to avert them begins to rely on the help of God, his hope is vain and deceptive. True hope seeks first of all the Kingdom of God, and is confident that every earthly necessity of temporal life will doubtless be given.
St. Seraphim of Sarov, in Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 5
All who have firm hope in God are raised to Him and illumined by the radiance of the eternal light. If a man does not let excessive concern for himself turn him away from love for God and for the acts of virtue, then this hope is true and wise. But if a man places all his hope in his own affairs and turns to God with prayer only when unforeseen misfortunes befall him, and seeing no means in his own powers to avert them begins to rely on the help of God, his hope is vain and deceptive. True hope seeks first of all the Kingdom of God and is confident that every earthly necessity of temporal life will doubtless be given. It is of this hope that our Savior's most holy words speak to us: `Come unto me, all ye that labor and are burdened, and I shall give you rest' (Matt. 11:28); that is, hope in Me and you shall be comforted in your labor and cares.
St. Seraphim of Sarov, Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 5.
All you mortals who have within yourselves a desire to behold the supreme Good, when you are told that the majesty of God is exalted above the heavens, that the divine glory is inexpressible, its beauty indescribable, its nature unaccessible, do not despair at never being able to behold what you desire. ?For you do have within your grasp the degree of the knowledge of God which you can attain. For, when God made you, He at once endowed your nature with this perfection: upon the structure of your nature He imprinted an imitation of the perfections of His own nature, just as one would impress upon wax the outline of an emblem. But the wickedness that has been poured all over this divine engraving has made your perfection useless and hidden it with a vicious coating. You must then wash away, by a life of virtue, the dirt that has come to cling to your heart like plaster, and then your divine beauty will once again shine forth.
St. Gregory of Nyssa, From Glory to Glory.
Allow the Spirit of God to dwell within you; then in His love He will come and make a habitation with you; He will reside in you and live in you. If your heart is pure you will see Him and He will sow in you the good seed of reflection upon His actions and wonder at His majesty. This will happen if you take the trouble to weed out from your soul the undergrowth of desires, along with the thorns and tares of bad habits.
Evagrius of Pontus - in The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life
Almighty God has allowed His chosen to succumb to certain sins. This is so that He may restore hope of forgiveness to others, who are under sin's domination, if they will only rise up to Him wholeheartedly: for then God can open up for them the way to heaven through sorrow and repentance. Let us then embrace sorrow, let us rid ourselves of our sins by tears and `fruits worthy of repentance.' We must not squander the time that has been granted us. We see so many freshly washed clean of the wrongs they have done: what else so we have in them except a pledge of the compassion from on high!
St. Gregory the Great, Be Friends of God
Almost every sin is committed for the sake of sensual pleasure; and sensual pleasure is overcome by hardship and distress arising either voluntarily from repentance, or else involuntarily as a result of some salutary and providential reversal.
St. Maximos the Confessor (Second Century on Love no. 41)
Although God's saints have no need of glory and honor from men, since they enjoy heavenly and divine glory, living in eternity according to Solomon, and their souls are in the hand of God, and their names are recorded in the book of life, nevertheless it is our indispensable duty to write their lives and achievements for their glorification and honor, and consequently to praise them and pronounce them blessed, as faithful servants of God, or rather as genuine friends of His. For according to St. Basil the Great, the honor that is given to the best of fellow-servants is proof of goodwill towards our common Lord. This is especially true if these good servants of God are not simply saints, if they did not simply struggle for their own salvation, but were also public benefactors, who struggled for the salvation of many, and made myriads of efforts towards this end.
St. Nikephoros of Chios, Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 4.
Although the soul is one and the members of the body are many, the soul sustains them all, giving life and movement to those that can be animated. Should some of them have withered because of some disease and become as if dead and inert, yet they are still sustained by the soul, even in their lifeless and insensate state. Similarly, the Spirit of Christ is present with integral wholeness in all who are members of Christ, activating and generating life in all capable of participating in it; and in His compassion He still sustains even those who through some weakness do not actively participate in the life of the Spirit. In this way each of the faithful participates, by virtue of his faith, in adoption to sonship through the Spirit; but should he grow negligent and fail to sustain his faith he will become inert and benighted, deprived of Christ's life and light. Such is the state of each of the faithful who, though a member of Christ and possessing the Spirit of Christ, fails to activate this Spirit within himself and so is stagnant, incapable of participating positively in the life of grace.
St. Gregory of Sinai, On Commandments and Doctrines, in The Philokalia,
Vol. IV.
Although...it is very important not to rely on our own efforts in this unseen warfare, at the same time, if we merely give up all hope of ourselves and despair of ourselves without having found another support, we are certain to flee immediately from the battlefield or to be overcome and taken prisoner by our enemies. Therefore, together with complete renunciation or ourselves, we should plant in our heart a perfect trust in God and a complete confidence in Him.
Lorenzo Scupoli(Unseen Warfare, Chapter 3)
Amma Sarah said, `If I prayed God that all men should approve of my conduct, I should find myself a penitent at the door of each one, but I shall rather pray that my heart may be pure towards all.'
Benedicts Ward, The Desert Christian
Amma Theodora said that a teacher ought to be a stranger to the desire for domination, vain-glory, and pride; one should not be able to fool him by flattery, nor blind him by gifts, no conquer him by the stomach, nor dominate him by anger; but he should be patient, gentle and humble as far as possible; he must be tested and without partisanship, full of concern, and a lover of souls.
Sr. Benedicta Ward, "The Desert Christian," (New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1975), pp. 83-84
Among the virtues some are practical, others are natural, and others are divine and conferred by the Holy Spirit. The practical virtues are the products of our resolution, the natural virtues are built into us when we are created, the divine virtues are the fruits of grace.
St. Gregory of Sinai, On Commandments, The Philokalia, Vol. IV.
An Athonite elder said: "Whether you are a mirror or only the lid of a tin can, you still won't dazzle if the sun's rays don't fall on you."
an Athonite Gerontikon
An old man said, Just as no one can cause harm to someone who is close to the king, no more can Satan do aything to us if our souls are close to God, for truly He said, 'Draw near to Me, and I shall be near to you.' But since we often exalt ourselves, the enemy has not difficulty in drawing our poor souls into shameful passions.
The Wisdom of the Desert Fathers, trans. by Benedicta Ward.
And He bids them have not only gentleness as sheep, but also the harmlessness of the dove. For thus shall I best show forth My might, when sheep get the better of wolves, and being in the midst of wolves, and receiving a thousand bites, so far from being consumed, do even work a change on them: a thing far greater and more marvellous than killing them, to alter their spirit, and to reform their mind; and this, being only twlve, while the whole world is filled with the wolves.
St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew.
And He is called Life, because He is Light, and is the constituting and creating Power of every reasonable soul. For in Him we live and move and have our being, according to the double power of that Breathing into us; for we were all inspired by Him with breath, and as many of us as were capable of it, and in so far as we open the mouth of our mind, with God the Holy Spirit. He is Righteousness, because He distributes according to that which we deserve, and is a righteous Arbiter both for those who are under the Law and for those who are under Grace, for soul and body, so that the former should rule, and the latter obey, and the higher have supremacy over the lower; that the worse may not rise in rebellion against the better. He is Sanctification, as being Purity, that the Pure may be contained by Purity. And Redemption, because He sets us free, who were held captive under sin, giving Himself a Ransom for us, the Sacrifice to make expiation for the world. And Resurrection, because He raises up from hence, and brings to life again us, who were slain by sin.
St. Gregory Nazianzen , Fourth Theological Oration.
And as to what kind of man receives repose and peace from meekness, St. John Chrysostom writes: There is nothing stronger than meekness, nothing more powerful; it preserves our soul in constant quiet, and strives to lead it as into a harbor, and is the cause of every kind of satisfaction for us; and nothing else can give the soul repose and great quiet as well as meekness and humblemindedness. This is the most honorable of all crowns for one who acquires these virtues; it is more profitable than all dignity and glory.
Abbot Nazarius, A Short Spiritual Ladder, in A Little Russian Philokalia,Vol. II.
And by Isaiah He speaks thus concerning another Israel: `In that day shall there be a third Israel among the Assyrians and the Egyptians, blessed in the land which the Lord of Sabaoth has blessed, saying, blessed shall My people in Egypt and in Assyria be, and Israel Mine inheritance, (Isa. 19:24ff). Since then God blessed this people, and calls them Israel, and declares them to be His inheritance, how is it that you do not repent of the deception you practice on yourselves, as if you alone were the Israel, and if execrating the people whom God has blessed? For when He speaks to Jerusalem and its environs, He thus added: `And I will beget men upon you, even My people Israel; and they shall inherit you, and you shall be a possession for them; and you shall be no longer bereaved of them.'
St. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, quoted in Isaiah Through the Ages, by Johanna Manley.
And everywhere we, more readily than all men, endeavor to pay to those appointed by you the taxes both ordinary and extraordinary, as we have been taught by Him; for at that time some came to Him and asked Him, if one ought to pay tribute to Caesar; and He answered, `Tell Me, whose image does the coin bear?' And they said, `Caesar's.' And again He answered them, `Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's.' Whence to God alone we render worship, but in other things we gladly serve you, acknowledging you as kings and rulers of men, and praying that with your kingly power you be found to possess also sound judgment. But if you pay no regard to our prayers and frank explanations, we shall suffer no loss, since we believe (or rather, indeed, are persuaded) that every man will suffer punishment in eternal fire according to the merit of his deed, and will render account according to the power he has received from God, as Christ intimated when He aid, `To whom God has given more, of him shall more be required.'
St. Justin the Martyr, The First Apology.
And finally, did not the Lord Jesus Himself begin His divine ministry of the salvation of mankind with a long, forty-day fast? And did not He, in this way, clearly show that we must make a serious beginning to our life as Christians with fasting? First, the fast, and then all the rest comes together with, and through, the fast. By His own example, the Lord showed us how great a weapon fasting is. With this weapon, He vanquished Satan in the wilderness, and with it was victorious over the three chief satanic passions with which Satan tempted Him: love of ease, love of praise and love of money. These are three destructive greeds, the three greatest traps into which the evil enemy of the human race lures Christ's soldiers.
Bp. Nikolai Velimirovic, Homilies, Vol. I (On Cheesefare Sunday).
And having now come to the house of His suppliant, ;He quiets their lamentations, silences the musicians, and stops the tears of the weepers, saying, `The damsel if not dead, but rather sleepeth.' And they, it says, laughed at Him. Observe here, I pray, the great skill of the management. For though He well knew that the damsel was dead, He said, `She is not dead, but rather sleepeth.' For what reason? That by their laughing at Him, they might give a clear and manifest acknowledgement that the damsel was dead. For probably there would be some of that class who always resist His glory, who would reject the divine miracle, and say, that the damsel was not yet dead, and that in being delivered from sickness, there was nothing done by Christ very extraordinary. To have, therefore, the acknowledgement of many that the damsel was dead, He said, that she was rather sleeping. And let no man affirm that Christ spoke untruly. For to Him, as being Life by nature, there is nothing dead. And this is the reason why we, having a firm hope of the resurrection of the dead, call them `those that sleep.' For in Christ they will arise; and, as the blessed Paul says, `They live to Him,' in that they are about to live..
St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke - 8:49-56
And he shows another thing too, by sainging, that `God tempted Abraham.' What then? Did not God know that the man was noble and approved? Why then did He tempt him? Not that He might Himself learn, but that He might show to others, and make his fortitude manifest to all. And here also he shows the cause of trials, that they may not suppose they suffer these things as being forsaken [of God]. For in their case indeed, it was necessary that they should be tried, because there were many who persecuted or plotted again them; but in Abraham's case, what need was there to devise trials for him which did not exist.? Now this trial, it is evident, was by His command. The others indeed happened by His allowance, but this even by His command. If then temptations make men approved in such wise that, even where there is no occasion, God exercises His own athletes; much more ought we to bear all things nobly.
St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Hebrews 11:17-19.
And if any one believes not that death is abolished, that Hades is trodden under foot, that the chains thereof are broken, that the tyrant is bound, let him look on the martyrs deporting themselves in the presence of death, and taking up the jubilant strain of the victory of Christ. O the marvel! Since the hour when Christ despoiled Hades, men have danced in triumph over death. `O death, were is thy sting! O grave, where is thy victory?'
St. Gregory the Wonderworker, Sermon the All the Saints.
And if one considers accurately, it is not the death of our being, but of evil, for being continues, it is evil that perishes. That which has been rises again; would that as it is now free from sinning, so it were without former guilt! But this very thing is a proof that it is not the death of being, that we shall be the same persons as we were. And so we shall either pay the penalty of our sins, or attain to the reward of our good deeds. For the same being will rise again, now more honorable for having paid the tax of death. And then 'the dead who are in Christ shall rise first; then, too, we who are alive' it is said, 'shall together with them be caught p on the clouds into the air to meet the Lord, and so we shall always be with the Lord.' They first, but those that are alive second. They with Jesus, those that are alive through Jesus. To them life will be sweeter after rest, and though the living will have a delightful gain, yet they will be without experience of the remedy.
St. Ambrose of Milan, On Belief in the Resurrection.
And let no one of you say that this very flesh shall not be judged, nor rise again. Consider ye in what state ye were saved, in what ye received sight, if not while ye were in this flesh. We must therefore preserve the flesh as the temple of God. For as ye were called in the flesh, ye shall also come to be judged in the flesh. As Christ the Lord Who saved us, though He was first the Word became flesh, and thus called us, so shall we also receive the reward in this flesh. Let us therefore love one another, that we may all attain to the kingdom of God. While we have an opportunity of being healed, let us yield ourselves to God that healeth us, and give to Him a recompense. Of what sort? Repentance our of a sincere heart; for He knows all things beforehand, and is acquainted with what is in our hearts. Let us therefore give Him praise, not with the mouth only, but also with the heart, that He may accept us as sons., For the Lord has said, `Those are my brethren who do the will of My Father.'
St. Clement of Rome
And may these words be spoken now again over you also, `Sing, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth,' and then, `for the Lord has had mercy on His people, and comforted the lowly of His people (Is. 49:13). And this shall come to pass through the loving-kindness of God, Who says to you, `Behold, I will blot out as a cloud your transgressions, and as a thick cloud your sins.' But you have been counted worthy of the name of Faithful of whom it is written: `Upon my servants shall be called a new name which shall be blessed on the earth' (Is. 65:15); you shall say with gladness, `Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ' (Eph. 1:3); in Whom we have our redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of His grace, wherein He abounded towards us' (Eph. 5:7), and what follows, and again, `But God being rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, when we were dead through trespasses, quickened us together with Christ' (Eph. 2:4).
St. Cyril of Jerusalem, quoted in Isaiah Through the Ages by Johanna
Manley.
And not only is the operation of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit everywhere one but also there is one and the same will, calling, and giving of commands, which one may see in the great and saving mystery of the Church. For as the Father called the Gentiles to the Church, saying: `I will call her My people which was not My people, and her beloved who was not beloved;' and elsewhere: `My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations,' so, too, the Lord Jesus said that Paul was chosen by Him to call forth and gather together the Church, as you find it said by the Lord Jesus to Ananias: `Go, for he is a chosen vessel unto Me to bear My name before all nations.'
St. Ambrose of Milan, On the Holy Spirit, Book II.
And shall we, whom the Lord, the great worker of marvels, calls to the contemplation of His own works, tire of looking at them, or be slow to hear the words of the Holy Spirit? Shall we not rather stand around the vast and varied workshop of divine creation and, carried back in mind to the times of old, shall we not view all the order of creation? Heaven, poised like a dome, to quote the words of the prophet; earth, this immense mass which rests upon itself; the air around it, of a soft and fluid nature, a true and continual nourishment for all who breathe it...
St. Basil the Great, The Hexaemeron
And so, brother, hate perfectly so as to love perfectly. Depart completely, so as to draw near completely. Disdain one kind of adoption, in order to receive another adoption. Cease to fulfill desires, and you will fulfill desire. Wound yourself, and treat yourself. Mortify yourself, and bring yourself to life. Forget yourself, and know yourself. And you will have the works of a monk.
"Saints Barsanuphius and John: Guidance Toward Spiritual Life," trans. by Fr. Seraphim Rose, (Platina, California: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1990)
And the Saviour also, when He manifested Himself to the world in the Jordan, began at this point. For after His baptism the Spirit led Him into the wilderness and He fasted for forty days and forty nights. Likewise all who set out to follow in His footsteps make the beginning of their struggle upon this foundation. For this is a weapon forged by God, and who shall escape blame if he neglects it? And if the Lawgiver Himself fasts, who among those who keep the law has no need of fasting? This is why the human race knew no victory before fasting, and the devil had never experienced defeat from our nature; but this weapon has made him powerless from the outset.
The Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian
And the fathers tell us many such things in different ways to secure us against the harm suspicions do us. Let us strive with all our power never to put our trust in our own conjectures. For nothing separates us so completely from God or prevents us from noticing our own wrong doing or makes us busy about what does not concern us, as this. No good comes from it but only troubles without number and they leave us no time to acquire the fear of God. Should worthless suspicions germinate in our minds, let us turn them into charitable thoughts and they will not harm us. For entertaining suspicions is wrong and it never allows the mind to be at peace. This is all I have to say about falsehood in the mind.
St. Dorotheos of Gaza, Discourses and Sayings.
And there are some who suppose that God is fashioned after a bodily manner, when they read of His hand or finger, and they do not observe that these things are written not because of any fashion of a body, since the Godhead are neither members nor parts, but are expressions of the oneness of the Godhead, that we may believe that it is impossible for either the Son or the Holy ~Spirit to be separated from God the Father; since the fullness of the Godhead dwells as it were bodily in the substance of the Trinity. For this reason, then, is the Son also called the Right Hand of the Father, as we read: `The Right Hand of the Lord hath done mighty things, the Right Hand of the lord hath exulted me.'
St. Ambrose of Milan, Exposition of the Holy Spirit, Book II.
And though men also have raised the dead, still they did this not of their own power, but in the Name of Christ. To ask is one thing, to command is another; to obtain is different from bestowing. Elias, then, raised the dead, but he prayed - he did not command. Elisseus raised one to life after laying himself upon the dead body, in accordance with its posture; and again, the very contact of Elisseus' corpse gave life to the dead, that the prophet might foreshow the coming of Him, Who, being sent in the likeness of sinful flesh, should, even after His burial, raise the dead to life.
St. Ambrose of Milan, On the Christian Faith, Book III.
And thus it was fitting in all justice for the one who had become corruptible and mortal by reason of the transgression of the commandment, to live upon the corruptible earth and be nourished with corruptible food; for since a life without labor and an abundant food which grew by itself had caused him to forget God and the good things which He had given him and to disdain His commandment, he was therefore justly condemned to work the earth in the sweat of labor and in this way receive from it food little by little as from some kind of steward. Do you see how then the earth received the criminal after it had been cursed and had been deprived of its original productivity by which fruits were produced from it by themselves without labor? And why was this? In order that it might be worked by him in sweat and labors and thus give him that little which it grows for his need, for the support of life, and if it will not be worked, to remain fruitless and to grow only thorns and thistles!
St. Symeon the New Theologian, quoted in The Lament of Eve by Johanna Manley
And what is the permitted occasion [to philosophize about God]? It is when we are free from all external defilement or disturbance, and when that which rules within us is not confused with vexatious or erring images; like persons mixing up good writing with bad, or filth with the sweet odors of unguents. For it is necessary to be truly at leisure to know God; and when we can get a convenient season, to discern the straight road of the things divine.
St. Gregory Nazianzen (First Theological Oration no. 3)
And what was the nature of the invitation? `Come, for lo! all things are ready.' For God the Father has prepared in Christ for the inhabitants of earth those gifts which are bestowed upon the world through Him, even the forgiveness of sins, the cleansing away of all defilement, the communion of the Holy Spirit, the glorious adoption as sons, and the kingdom of heaven. Unto these blessings Christ invited by the commandments of the gospel Israel before all others. For somewhere He has even said by the voice of the Psalmist: `But I have been set as a king by Him; that is, by God the Father; upon Zion His holy mount, to preach the commandment of the Lord.' And again, `I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'
St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke.
(14:15-24)
And when his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. And for three days he could not see.
By no means would he [Saul] have been able to see well again unless he had first been fully blinded. Also, when he had rejected his own wisdom, which was confusing him, he could commit himself totally to faith. Since he had not believed that the Lord had conquered death by rising on the third day, he was now taught by his own experience of the replacement of three days of darkness by the return of the light.
the Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles from the Venerable Bede
And when you hear that we look for a kingdom, you suppose, without making any inquiry, that we speak of a human kingdom; whreas we speak of that which is with God, as appears also from the confession of their faith made by those who are charged with being Christians, though they know that death is the punishment awarded to him who so confesses. For if we looked for a human kingdom, we should also deny our Christ, that we might not be slain; and we should strive to escape detection, that we might obtain what we espect. But since our thoughts are not fixed on the present, we are not concerned when men cut us off; since also death is a debt which must at all events be paid.
First Apology of St. Justin, Martyr.
And who are the Christians? Christians are those through whom the holy Divine-human life of Christ is continued from generation to generation until the end of the world and of time, and they all make up one body, the Body of Christ - the Church: they are sharers of the Body of Christ and members of one another. The stream of immortal divine life began to flow and still flows unceasingly from the Lord Christ, and through Him Christians flow into eternal life. Christians are the Gospel of Christ continued throughout all the ages of the race of men. In the Lives of the Saints, everything is ordinary as in the Holy Gospel, but everything is extraordinary as in the Holy Gospel - both one and the other, uniquely true and real. And everything is true and real by the same Divine-human reality; and the same holy power - Divine and human - bears witness to it: Divine in an all-perfect way, and human - also in an all-perfect way.
St. Justin Popovich, Introduction to the Lives of the Saints, in Orthodox
Fr Justin Popovich, Faith and Life in Christ.
And who but holy Church should teach you how to hold on to Christ? Even now she is teaching you if you understand what you read: `Scarcely had I passed them, when I found Him Whom my soul loves. I held Him, and would not let Him go.' By what, therefore, is Christ held? not by painful fetters for by knotted rope, but by the bonds of charity; He is bound by things of the mind and held by the affection of the soul. If you also wish to hold on to Christ, be continually on the lookout, and fear no pain.
St. Ambrose of Milan, On Virginity.
Anger is given to us so that we might fight against the demons and strive against every pleasure. Now it happens that the angels suggest spiritual pleasure to us and the beatitude that is consequent upon it so as to encourage us to turn our anger against the demons. But these, for their part, draw our anger to worldly desires and constrain us - contrary to our nature - to fight against our fellow men to the end that, blinded in mind and falling away from knowledge, our spirit should become a traitor to virtue.
Evagrius Ponticus, The Praktikos and Chapters on Prayer.
Anna, whose name means `grace,' was one with her husband in heart as well as home; that although she abounded in all good qualities, she was, for some mysterious reason, afflicted by the complaint of sterility. For grace was truly sterile [then], unable to bear fruit in human souls. Therefore `all people were in a state of decline and frustration'; no one `had understanding, no one sought after God' (Ps. 13:3,. Then the good God looked down and had pity on the creatures of his own hand; willing to save his creation, he put an end to the sterile period of grace - I mean the sterility of Anna, whose thought were turned to God. She bore a child, one such as never before had been, and never again will be. And the healing of her sterility revealed most clearly that the world's sterility in good was also about to be healed, and that its bare trunk was about to bear the fruit of indescribable blessedness.
St. John of Damascus, Homily I, On the Dormition of the Mother of God.
Anna| `It is a great thing for me, good Lord, that I have given birth to one who will produce Thee, The Master and Lord before all time. Thou wilt guard Thy mother as a virgin after Thy birth. I present her to Thee, O Merciful One, in the Temple. She will be the gate of the One from on high Whom with joy The barren woman gives birth to, the Mother of God And the nurse of our life.'
St Romanos the Melodist - On the Nativity of the Theotokos.
Apologies - this was sent last night without the subject...
Lo, the day has dawned which I longed to see, A time favorable for me. My God is lodged in the house of Simon. I shall hasten to Him and weep, just as Anna did about her sterility. Simon may consider me drunk, Just as Elias then considered Anna. I shall keep on praying And saying, `Lord, I do not ask for a child. I seek my very own soul which I have lost! O Emmanuel, born of a virgin, just as Thou hast removed the stigma of sterility when Samuel was born Of the childless woman, so deliver me, a harlot, From the slime of my deeds.'
St Romanos the Melodist - On the Sinful Woman.
Armed with faith, take a stand; bow down your necks, And bend your bodies to the earth, looking up in the spirit of Christ, Watching eagerly, and hastening to withdraw from this life And dwell in the abode of the holy angels along with them, So that from there you may shout aloud the song, Hallelujah.
In your heart cherish the monastic rule, which you have chosen well and wisely If you compare one with another, do not make way for the devil; Let no one incline toward a way out, for the all-evil one hunts you, And, encircling the fold, he seeks the food of the lambs. Hence, let no one at any time neglect the psalm, Hallelujah.
St Romanos the Melodist - Vol. II, On Life in the Monastery.
As He heals the ills of all, it is not with the magic of words that He discovers those who are disobedient, But with deeds He attends to our healing, For He shakes all creation and makes the earth roar as a result of our sins. Bewailing the time of the earthquake, again as usual, Running away in forgetfulness, we gave ourselves up to every fear, And so He commanded the clouds, By no means with a view to giving showers of rain, But in order that He might arouse our sluggishness, So that He would be petitioned for Eternal life.
St Romanos the Melodist - On Earthquakes and Fires
As I have said, it is because of their love of mend that the saints speak, so far as this is possible, about things ineffable, rejecting the error of those who in their ignorance imagine that, after the abstraction from beings, there remains only an absolute inaction, not an inaction surpassing all action. But, I repeat, these things remain ineffable by their very nature. This is why the great Denys [Dionysius the Areopagite] says that after the abstraction from beings, there is no word but `an absence of words'; he also says, `After every elevation we will be united with the Inexpressible.
St. Gregory Palamas, The Triads
As a hard stone with sharp corners has all its sharpness and hard formation dulled by knocking and rubbing against other stones, and is made round, so in the same way, a sharp and curt soul, by living in community and mixing with hard, hot-tempered men, undergoes one of two things: either it cures its wound by its patience, or by retiring it will certainly discover its weakness, its cowardly flight making this clear to it as in a mirror.
St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
As a pilot calls on winds and a storm-tossed mariner looks homeward, so the times call on you to win your way to God. As God's athlete, be sober; the stake is immortality and eternal life.
St. Barsanuphius
As for those works of piety and charity of which you speak, these are neessary in this present life for as long as inequality prevails. Their workings here would not be required were it not for the superabundant numbers of the poor, the needy, and the sick. These are there because of the iniquity of men who have held for their own private use what the common Creator has made available to all. As long as this iniquity rages in the world, these good works will be necessary and vauable to anyone practicing them and they shall yield the reward of an everlasting inheritance to the man of good heart and concerned will.
St. John Cassian, The Conferences
As long as man was holy and passionless, he had no need of law. But now we know we do need our Lord's commandments. The loving God, wanting to teach s that we have a Creator Who produced us and all visible realities, wished also to reveal His own dominion and preeminence. Although our Lord entrusted us with His earthly creation, He knew we could be prone to fall ilnto pride, exaggerate our importance as humans, and to regard visible things and even ourselves as self-sufficient.
The Lament of Eve by Johanna Manley
As many therefore as are children of the light also become sons of the Day which is to come, and are enabled to walk decently as in the day. The Day of the Lord will never come upon them, because they are already in it forever and continually. The Day of the Lord, in effect, is not going to be revealed suddenly to those who are ever illumined by the divine light, but for those who are in the darkness of the passions and spend their lives in the world hungering for the things of the world, for them it will be fearful and they will experience it as unbearable fire. However, this fire which is God will not appear in an entirely spiritual manner but, one might say, as bodilessly embodied, in the same way as, according to the Evangelist, Christ of old was seen by the Apostles after having risen from the dead.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life
As material salt give a savour to bread and to all food, and keeps meat from rotting, even for a long time; so in this same way should you think of guarding the inner savour of the mind and the wonderful doing in the heart. For it sweetens divinely both the inner and the outer man, drives away the evil smell of wicked thoughts, and preserves us continually in what is good.
Hesychius of Jerusalem, Bishop, Texts on Sobriety and Prayer
As much as possible, seek to do the will of God, which `is good and acceptable and perfect' (Rom. 12:2). The `good' will of God is to simply do that which is good either by deed or by word or thought. God's `acceptable' will is to do the good for no other reason that for God only. The `perfect' will of God is to do the good with all of your heart and power and love. In this regard, St. Theophylact said, `First of all, look to see the will of God as good, when you realize this, look to see it as acceptable; many things that are good are not always acceptable either because of the time or because of the person.... But when the will of God is both good and acceptable, seek to have it be perfect, complete, and observed fully as it is required and not only partially.'
St. Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain, Handbook of Spiritual Counsel.
As our body, whether ill or not, is unable to move or even live at all without a soul, so our soul, too, whether it sins or not, is dead without the Holy Spirit and can in no way live everlastingly. If sin is death's sting, clearly he who has sinned has been stung and is dead; and, if no one is without sin - for everyone, Paul says, has sinned and been deprived of God's glory (Rom. 3:23) - then, obviously, all we who have sinned have died and are dead. So imagine yourself together with me as spiritually dead. Then tell me how you may truly live without having been united with the true life, that is, the Holy Spirit, through Whom every believer is regenerated and made alive again in Christ? `I am the Truth,' He says, `and the resurrection, and the life' ((Jn. 14:16 and 11:25). The servants and disciples of Christ are light and truth and life. `He who receives you,' He says, `receives Me, and he who received Me receives Him Who sent Me' (Mt. 10:40). If we are dead and He alone is life everlasting, let us not say that we serve Him before we have been united with Him and live. How can the dead ever serve anyone? Unless we put Him on consciously, like a cloak, let us not think that we have been freed at all from our infirmities and the passions which trouble us.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life, Vol. 2
As quickly as the pleasure of eating and drinking passes away in those sitting at the table dining, for instance, so quickly shall pass, and passes away the present life, with all its pleasures, joys, sorrows, and sickness. It is like morning dew, vanishing at the appearance of the sun. Therefore the Christian, who is called to a heavenly country, who is only a stranger and a sojourner upon earth, ought not attach his heart to anything earthly, but should cling to God alone, the Source of life, our resurrection, and the Life eternal.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ.
As soon as yoiu realize that you have sinned against the Lord, add no more wounds to your bruises. But if as a human you fall again, don't get despondent, don't despair. For how will the loving Lord, Who told Peter to forgive seventy times seven in a day, not forgive us?
Monastic Wisdom: The Letters of the Elder Joseph the Hesychast.
As the death of the soul is authentic death, so the life of the soul is authentic life. Life of the soul is union with God, as life of the body is its union with the soul. As the soul was separated from God and died in consequence of the violation of the commandment, so by obedience to the commandment it is again united to God and is quickened. This is why the Lord says in the Gospels, `The words I speak to you are spirit and life' (Jn. 6:63). And having experienced the truth of this, St. Peter said to Him, `Thy words are the words of eternal life' (Jn. 6:68). But they are words of eternal life for those who obey them; for those who disobey, this commandment of life results in death (cf. Rom. 7:10).
St. Gregory Palamas, Philokalia, Vol. 4.
As the old passes away, and the new comes into being, as rusted iron turns to brilliant steel; as a hill layered with dirt collapses into the abyss, these burdens weigh on the shoulders of humanity. For this, a power greater than man is necessitated for all creatures, even those who despise themselves. On earth, such a force does not exist, neither such love, nor such heroism. This needed to come from heaven. And it has come, For "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believed in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (Jn. 3:16). Therefore the Son of God came down from heaven, "the power of God and the wisdom of God" to revive by his love the world that was dead.
Kassiana: Lessons in Divine and Christian Love
As the perfect God-man, nothing within the categories of human life remain unknown. It is precisely for this reason the He became man, although remaining God, in order to give to human nature divine power which would lead humanity to an intimate, divine-human, union with God. This divine power continuously acts within His divine-human body, that is, the Church, by uniting men with God through a holy life in grace. The Church is nothing other than that wondrous divine-human organism where, through cooperation of divine grace and the free activity of man, the entire man and everything that is human, save sin, is immortalized and refashioned in a divine-human way.
Fr Justin Popovich, Faith and Life in Christ
As the physical eye looks at written letters and receives knowledge from them through the senses; so the mind, when it becomes purified and returns to its original state, looks up to God and receives Divine knowledge from Him. Instead of a book it has the Spirit, instead of a pen, thought and tongue ('my tongue is the pen' says the Ps. [45:1]); instead of ink - light. Plunging thought into light, so that thought itself becomes light, the mind, guided by the Spirit, traces words in the pure hearts of those who listen. Then it understands the words: 'And they shall be all taught of God' (John 6:45)...
St. Gregory of Sinai (Texts on Commandments and Dogmas no. 23)
As they went up into Olivet, He that filleth all things then spake unto His disciples and said: `Go ye forth unto every land and preach to the nations, teaching them the word which ye have heard from Mine own mouth. Then the Lord ascended in glory as upon a chariot. Wherefore, the Apostles trembled and were seized with awe.
Aposticha from Thursday Vespers of the Ascension. The Pentecostarion.
As to those who life in the world, they must force themselves to use the things of this world in conformity with the commandments of God, Will not the passionate part of the soul, as a result of this violence, be also brought to act according to the commandments? Such forcing, by dint of habituation, makes easy our acceptance of God's commandments, and transforms our changeable disposition into a fixed state. This condition brings about a steady hatred towards evil states and disposition of soul, and hatred of evil duly produces the impassibility which in turn engenders love for the unique Good. Thus one must offer to God the passionate part of the soul, alive and active, that it may be a living sacrifice. As the Apostle said of our bodies, `I exhort you, by the mercy of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God.'
St. Gregory Palamas, The Triads.
As we approach then, dearly-beloved, the beginning of Lent, which is a time for the more careful serving of the Lord, because we are, as it were, entering on a kind of contest in good works, let us prepare our souls for fighting with temptations, and understand that the more zealous we are for our salvation, the more determined must be the assaults of our opponents. But `stronger is He that is in us that he that is against us,' and through Him are we powerful in Whose strength we rely: because it was for this that the Lord allowed Himself to be tempted by the tempter, that we might be taught by His example as well as fortified by His aid. For He conquered the adversary, as ye have heard, by quotations from the law, not by actual strength, that by this very thing He might do greater honor to man, and inflict a greater punishment on the adversary by conquering the enemy of the human race not only as God but as Man. He fought then, therefore, that we too might fight thereafter: He conquered that we too might likewise conquer. For there are no works of power, dearly beloved, without the trials of temptations, there is no faith without proof, no contest without a foe, no victory without conflict.
St. Leo the Great of Rome. Sermon 39.
Astonishing are all things wrought at the hands of Moses, For he depicted Thee all along the path he took. In the rod, he took Thee from Thy Father on Mount Sinai, And he cleaved to Thee as the shadow to its great Body. As he entered Egypt, he showed her the Cross of Thy reproach, And she shuddered at it and gave way to its might. He carried the great image through the desert as he crossed it, And the mountains skipped because they saw Thine image on the Hebrews. The hills saw Thy great Passover and they leapt like lambs, To honor the procession of Thine image through their regions.
Mar Jacob of Serugh, On the Serpent of Brass that Moses Lifted up in the
Desert, in The True Vine, #6.
At dawn, before the light of the day, the women sought the Sun Who was ere the sun was made. They sought the noetic Daystar which had then set in the tomb. And a brilliant Angel call to them and said: The Light hath dawned forth and shown upon those slumbering in the dark. Proclaim the tidings to His radiant disciples now; in this wise transform their deep sorrow to brightest joy. This is the gladsome Pascha, the salvation of all the world. With a heart sure and undoubting, strike up a dance as ye clap your hands. For Christ hath arisen, even He that doth bestow His great mercy on the world.
Stichera from Vespers of Sunday Evening of the Third Week after Pascha,
Pentecostarion
At the beginning of every task call on the name of the Lord your God, and begin it with prayer, that the Lord may prosper you to begin it and complete it. And from this it is evident that a Christian ought not to begin anything that is contrary to the Law of God, but only that which is in agreement with it.
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Journey to Heaven.
At the creation of man the love of God towards the human race was manifested, unutterably and incalculably, for God gave to man feelings of soul and body. The feelings of the soul are mind, thought or understanding, word, imagination, feeling of the heart. The feelings of the body are the following: sight, smell, hearing, taste, touch. By means of the one and the other, we perform virtues of the soul and body. It was pleasing to Christ our God that books should be written so that a man might, by their means, judge properly and be instructed in the fear of God, the beginning of spiriitual wisdom.
St. Paisius Velichkovsky, Little Russian Philokalia, Vol. IV.
At the sixth hour the Well-spring of miracles came to the well to capture the fruit of Eve, for Eve at this same hour departed from Paradise through the deceit of the serpent. The Samaritan woman, therefore, drew nigh to draw water, and the Saviour, upon seeing her, said to her: Give Me water to drink, and I shall fill thee with living water. And running to the city, that prudent woman at once announced to the multitudes: Come, behold Christ the Lord, the Saviour of our souls.
Glory of the Stichera of Vespers of Wednesday evening of the week of the
Samaritan Woman. The Pentecostarion.
At the times when you stand before your Lord in prayer, do not start off in a languid fashion, otherwise you will perform your entire prayer in a lax and lazy way. Rather, when you stand in prayer sign yourself wih the cross, collect your thoughts together and prepare yourself properly; concentrate on Him to Whom you are praying, and take care that your thought does not depart from Him untl your prayer has teached its conclusion.
Anonymous I, The Syriac Fathers and Prayer and the Spiritual Life.
At whatever time God should open up your mind from within and you give yourself over to unceasing kneeling, do not give your heart over to care for anything, even though the demons secretly try to persuade you otherwise. Then look and be amazed at what is born within you as a result. So do not compare any of the ascetic practices with falling on one's face before the Cross night and day, with one's hands clasped behind one's back. Do you wish that your fervor should never cool and that your tears [or repentance] should never dry up? Then practice this. Blessed are you if you meditate on what I have told you, and seek for nothing else alongside God night and day. Your light shall be like the morning's and your righteousness will quickly shine forth; and you will be like a jubilant paradise of flowers and a fountain whose water never fails.
St. Isaac the Syrian (of Nineveh) 7th century
Attentiveness is the heart's stillness, unbroken by any thought. In this stillness the heart breathes and invokes, endlessly and without ceasing, only Jesus Christ who is the Son of God and Himself God. It confesses Him who alone has power to forgive our sins, and with His aid it courageously faces its enemies. Through this invocation enfolded continually in Christ, who secretly divines all hearts, the soul does everything it can to keep its sweetness and its inner struggle hidden from men, so that the devil, coming upon it surreptitiously, does not lead it into evil and destroy its precious work.
St. Hesychios the Priest(On Watchfulness and Holiness no. 5)
BROTHER: Is it helpful to the soul to make oneself a stranger?
OLD MAN: With perfect thanksgiving it does help, provided that the soul bears chastely afflictions, and rejoices in our Lord who gives pleasure; but if it does not, its good seed is made of no effect because it does not give fruit beloved of God, and if it endures and utters blessing it has a reward, but if it lack these things, it becomes a mere wandering of the mind and a sight which is without profit. The best thing of all is the quietness of the mind which is akin to God.
E. A. Wallis Budge, "The Paradise of the Holy Fathers," (Seattle, St. Nectarios Press, 1984), pp. 268-269
BROTHER: What is the way of life?
OLD MAN: The going forth of a man from this world on his entrance into another. But if a man forsakes his childhood of humility and comes to the old age of the world in his love, he reveals the way of life. To go forth truly from this world is to be remote from it.
E. A. Wallis Budge, "The Paradise of the Holy Fathers," Seattle, St. Nectarios Press, 1984, pp. 265-266
BROTHER: Who is the mighty man, he who is remote from the world, or he who dwelleth therein?
OLD MAN: The mighty man conquers in every place, whether he be in the world or without. Nevertheless, the fathers departed to the wilderness, the place which is preserved from the uproar of those who are afraid that as long as they dwell in the body the passions which trouble will cleave to them. Now, for those who have ended the great strife of their conflict in the world, Divine Grace has worked with its power, and it still works for the remembrance and benefit of the community, and truly great is the crown of those whose spiritual ship has not sunk to the bottom of the tossed and troubled sea of this world, and has not ceased its course heavenwards by the straight road which is full of fear.
E. A. Wallis Budge, "The Paradise of the Holy Fathers," (Seattle, St. Nectarios Press, 1984), pp. 268-269
BROTHER: Who is, indeed, the man of excellence?
OLD MAN: He who cries out always that he is a sinner, and asks mercy from on high, whose word is laden with the feeling of discernment, and his senses with the watchfulness of deeds; and who, being silent, yet speaks; and who, though speaking, holds his peace, and whose actions are wholly good fruits for the life of time and the revelation of Christ.
E. A. Wallis Budge, "The Paradise of the Holy Fathers," Seattle, St. Nectarios Press, 1984, pp. 265-266
Baptized in Christ by the Spirit, we have received the first incorruptibility of the flesh; we await the final incorruptibility of Christ in the Spirit, that is, in keeping undefiled the first incorruptibility by a free gift of good works and by a voluntary death; according to this final incorruptibility no one who enjoys it will lose the benefits he has acquired.
St. Maximus the Confessor, Chapters on Knowledge.
Be as kind, meek, humble, and simple as possible in your intercourse with all, considering yourself not hypocritically inferior to all in respect to your spiritual condition, that is, more sinful and weaker than all. Say to yourself, `Of all sinners I am the first.' From pride proceeds self-sufficiency, coldness, and insincerity in our behavior to our inferiors, or to those from whom we do not expect to obtain any advantage.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ.
Be eager to have companions on your way toward God. Any of you going to the market, or perhaps to the public baths, will invite someone you see has nothing else to do to come along. It is so natural we make it a habit. So, if you are going toward God take care not to go to Him alone. It is written, `Let him who hears say, Come!' Those who have received in their hearts a word of heavenly love an respond with a word of encouragement to their neighbors. They may have no bread to give as an alms to another who is in need, but one who has a tongue has something greater with which to make an offering. It is worth more to offer a nourishing word to refresh a heart that is going to live forever than to satisfy with earthly bread the stomach of a body that is going to die.
St. Gregory the Great, Be Friends of God.
Be emulous, brethren, and in eager rivalry about the things that pertain to salvation. Study the sacred Scriptures, which are true and given by the Holy Spirit. Bear in mind that nothing wrong or falsified is written in them. You will not find that upright men have ever been thrust out by holy men. The upright have been persecuted, to be sure, but by the lawless; they have been imprisoned, but by the impious; they have been stones, but by transgressors; they have been slain, but by such as have been possessed by a depraved and unjust jealousy. Yet they endured gloriously the suffering of such things.
St. Clement of Alexandria in The Apostolic Fathers
Be extremely careful not to offend anyone in word or deed, for it s a grave sin. When someone is offended, God, Who loves the man, is also offended, for there can be no offending man without offending God. Whoever sins against man, also sins against God. This is a serious matter, as you can see for yourself. And when you offend your neighbor, straightway humble yourself before Him and beg forgiveness of him humility, lest you fall under God's just condemnation.
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Journey to Heaven.
Be free, though you are bound in a body, and for Christ's sake show forth obedience in your freedom. But also be prudent in your simplicity, lest you be plundered. Love humility in all your activities, that you be delivered from the imperceptible snares that are always found outside the pathways of humble men. Do not reject afflictions, for through them you will enter into the knowledge of the truth; and do not fear temptations, because therein you will find precious things. Pray that you enter not into the temptations of the soul, but with all your strength prepare yourself for those of the body. Without these you cannot draw nigh to God, because divine rest is laid up within them.
St. Isaac the Syrian, Ascetical Homilies
Be zealous, therefore, to stand squarely on the decrees of the Lord and the Apostles, `that in all things whatsoever you may prosper,' in body and in soul, in faith and in love, in the Son and the Father and the Spirit, in the beginning and the end, together with your most reverend bishop and with your presbytery - that fittingly woven spiritual crown! - and with your deacons, men of God. Submit to the bishop and to each other's rights, just as did Jesus Christ in the flesh to the Father and as the Apostles did to Christ and the Father and the Spirit, so that there may be oneness both of flesh and of spirit.
St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Magnesians.
Because the Deity is goodness itself, true mercy and an abyss of loving bounty - or, rather, He is that which embraces and contains this abyss, since He transcends every name that is named and everything we can conceive - we can receive mercy only by union with Him. We unite ourselves to Him, in so far as this is possible, by participating in the godlike virtues and by entering into communion with Him through prayer and praise. Because the virtues are similitudes of God, the participate in them puts us in a fit state to receive the Deity, yet it does not actually unite us to Him.
St. Gregory Palamas, Philokalia, ~Vol. IV.
Because today an assault of the devil has aroused some hatred in you, do not judge as base and wicked a brother whom yesterday you regarded as spiritual and virtuous; but with long-suffering love dwell on the goodness you perceived yesterday and expel today's hatred from your soul.
St. Maximos the Confessor (Fourth Century on Love no. 26)
Become guileless and be like the guileless sheep whose wool is sheared off without their saying a word. Do not go from one place to another saying, “I will find God here or there.” God has said, “I fill the earth, I fill the heavens” (Jeremiah 23:24). And again, “If you cross over water, I am with you” (Isaiah 43:2); and again, “The waves will not swallow you up” (Isaiah 43:2). My son, be aware that God is within you, so that you may dwell in his law and commandments. Behold, the thief was on the cross, and he entered Paradise; but behold Judas was among the Apostles and he betrayed his Lord. Behold, Rahab was in prostitution, and she was numbered among the saints; but behold, Eve was in Paradise, and she was deceived. Behold, Job was on the dungheap, and he was compared with his Lord; but behold, Adam was in Paradise, and he fell away from the commandment.
St Pachomious, “Pachomian Koinonia vol III,” trans. by Fr. Armand Veilleux, a monk of Mistassini, (Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications, no. 47, 1982), pp. 23-24.
Before a man gives way to his passions, even if his thoughts mount an assault against him, he is always a free man in his own city and he has God as an ally. If, therefore, he humbles himself before God and bears the yoke of his trial and affliction with thanksgiving, and puts up a little fight, the help of God will deliver him. But if he flees labor and goes after bodily pleasures, then he is necessarily led into the land of the Egyptians and without wishing it becomes their slave.
St. Dorotheos of Gaza, ,Discourses and Sayings.
Before any fall into sin the demons bring upon a man the following passions: dark forgetfulness; fierce anger, that is, inhuman and beastlike malice; and ignorance, like darkness which has no trace of light. These three passions precede every sin. For a man does not perform a single sin before he has become disposed towards every sin, towards every evil, either by forgetfulness or by anger or by ignorance. From these proceed insensitivity of soul, that is, the mind, which is the eye of the soul, remains dark and is then captivated by all the passions. The first to be born is a weakness of faith; weakness of faith gives birth to self-love, the beginning and end, the root and origin of every evil.
St. Paisius Velichkovsky, Field Flowers, Little Russian Philokalia, Vol.
IV.
Before our Fall, we lived, Adam and I and God's presence in our lives, in perfect love and harmony. But as soon as we listened to God's adversary and had eaten of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, we had the boldness, the audacity, the arrogance, the gracelessness to judge and blame others rather than ourselves. Confess I must that our feeble attempt to imitate God our Maker and think ourselves ready for true contemplation, produced only cowardly recriminations, quarrels, enmity, entirely untempered by love and mercy.
The Lament of Eve by Johanna Manley
Before the advent of the Lord, Satan never ventured to blaspheme God, inasmuch as he was not yet sure of his own damnation, since that was announced concerning him by the prophets only in parables and allegories. But after the advent of the Lord, learning plainly from the discourses of Christ and His apostles that eternal fire was prepared for him who voluntarily departed from God, and for all who, without repentance, persevere in apostasy, then, by means of a man of this sort, he as if already condemned, blasphemes that God who inflicts judgment upon him, and imputes the sin of his apostasy to his Maker, instead of to his own will and predilection.
St. Justin the Philosopher, Martyr, Fragments.
Behold, the angels were in heaven, and they were hurled into the abyss; but behold Elijah and Enoch who were raised into the kingdom of heaven. “In every place, then, seek out God; at every moment seek out his strength” (Psalms 105:4). Seek Him out like Abraham, who obeyed God, who called Him “my friend.” Seek Him out like Joseph, who did battle against impurity, so that he was made ruler over his enemies. Seek him out like Moses, who followed his Lord, and He made him lawgiver and let him come to know His likeness. Daniel sought Him out, and He taught him great mysteries; He saved him from the lions gullet. The three saints sought Him out, and found Him in the fiery furnace. Job took refuge with Him and He cured him of his sores. Susanna sought Him out, and He saved her from the hands of the wicked. Judith sought Him out, and found Him in the tent of Holofernes. All these sought Him out and he delivered them; and he delivered others also.
St Pachomious, “Pachomian Koinonia vol III,” trans. by Fr. Armand Veilleux, a monk of Mistassini, (Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications, no. 47, 1982), pp. 23-24.
Behold, you have learned that you are clay, poor, and naked. Now, seek from Him Who is able to regenerate nature to make you rich. And whether He gives you a lot or a little, acknowledge your Benefactor. And do not boast of foreign things as your own. You will receive grace with pain and tears. And then with tears, thanksgiving, and fear of God, you will keep it. With fervency and zeal it is attracted; with coldness and negligence is it lost.
Monastic Wisdom: The Letter of the Elder Jospeh the Hesychast.
Beholding the undreamed-of richness of God's gifts, an obedient man is filled with fear and amazement both at God's almightiness and his own sin. He would then want to hide from God, that God should depart from him and he himself return to his old spirit and his old life. But as soon as God's splendor and His mercy are revealed to a man, his own sinfulness, unworthiness and long estrangement from God are instantly revealed to him.
Bp. Nikolai Velimirovic, Homilies, Vol. 2
Being the source of goodness, God, even after our failures, calls us anew, not effacing entirely from our mind the knowledge of good, even if we have turned away from virtue through sin. This is what God, at present, also does for Adam in calling him although he has hidden himself, saying to him: 'Adam, where art thou?' Adam, in fact, had been placed there by God for the purpose of working and guarding Paradise; he had received this place from Him to be his own. Having distanced himself from there by disobedience, it is proper that he should hear from God: 'Where art thou?'
St. Didymus the Blind, quoted in The Lament of Eve by Johanna Manley.
Bethlehem opened Eden, come let us behold; We have found joy in this hidden place, come let us seize The pleasures of Paradise within the cave; There appeared an unwatered root which sprouted forgiveness; There was found an undug well From which David one yearned to drink; And there the Virgin brought forth an infant Who at once quenched their thirst, that of Adam and of David. Come, then, let us hasten to this place where there has been born A newborn babe, the God before time.
The Kontakia of Romanos the Melodist, On the Nativity I
Beware of despair. You do not serve a tyrant, but your service is to a kind Lord, Who, taking nothing from you, he has given you all. And when you did not exist at all, He fashioned you so that you would be in that [state] in which you now are. Who is sufficient to render Him thanks for the fact that He has brought us into existence? O the immeasurable grace! Who can sufficiently honor Him with hymns? For He has given us knowledge of all things. And not only of those which are manifest, but also of hidden things. For we know that if there is anything we do not know, it is necessary for us only to ask this [knowledge] from Him.
St. Isaac the Syrian, The Ascetical Homilies
Beware of envy. Wherever there is envy, God's spirit does not exist. Control the tongue, so that it will not utter empty words. Whoever preserves his tongue, preserves his soul from grief. Life and death both come from the tongue. The old should teach the young and the inexperienced. Everyone should have humility, kindness, and love. It is necessary to strength oneself by the fear of God and by the memory of death and eternal sufferings.
Quoted from: Starets Paisii Velichkovskii by Fr. Sergii
Chetverikov
Blessed are you, drawer of ordinary water, who turned out to be a drawer of living water. You found the treasure, another Source, from Whom a flood of mercies flows. The spring had dried up, but it broke through to you and gave you to drink. He was poor, but He asked in order to enrich you. You left behind your pitcher, but you filled understanding and gave your people to drink. Blessed are you to whom He gave living water to drink, and you did not thirst again, as you said. For He called the truth 'living water,' since all who hear it will not thirst again. Blessed are you who learned the truth and did not thirst; for one is the Messiah and there are no more.
St. Ephrem the Syrian, Hymns
Blessed are you, woman, living in poverty, who put two treasures on High. It is a wonder on which Greatness gazed. The two obols were weighed and they surpassed a talent on God's scale. Her life depended on the obols she lent and, impoverished, she stood [there]. Who is not reproved by greed? And in whom is not hidden a foul manner of life? Who has not stored up and set aside too much, so that it reproaches him that he has not been purified? Let one who resembles you, O widow, praise you, for my mind is too poor to gaze at you. By your poverty is convicted and exposed the provision of our greed.
St. Ephrem the Syrian, Hymns (on Virginity and on the Symbols of our
Lord).
Blessed is He Who once came in humility and Who will hereafter come in glory: at the first lowly, and seated upon an ass's colt, and by infants extolled in order that it might be fulfilled that which was written: Thy goings have been seen, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary; but at the second time seated on the clouds, in terrible majesty, by angels and power attended. O the mellifluous tongue of the children! O the sincere doctrine of those who are well pleasing to God! David in prophecy hid the spirit under the letter; children, opening their treasures, brought forth riches upon their tongues, and, in language full of grace, invited clearly all men to enjoy them. Therefore let us with them draw forth the unfading riches. In our bosoms insatiate, and in treasure-houses which cannot be filled, let us lay up the divine gifts. Let us exclaim without ceasing, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord!
St. Methodius, Oration on the Psalms.
Blessed is He Whose power came down and was mingled with his churches! Bestow on yourselves, my brothers, the treasure of consolation from the word our Lord spoke about His church, 'The bars of Sheol cannot conquer her.' If, indeed, she is mightier than Sheol, who among mortals can frighten her? Blessed is He Who made her great yet has tested her that she might be greater!
St. Ephraim the Syrian, Hymns (On the Church).
Blessed is he who always has before his eyes that "the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof" (Ps. 23:1), and keeps in mind that God is powerful to arrange for His servants as is pleasing to Him.
St. Gregory the Great
Blessed is the person who has consented to become the close friend of faith and of prayer: he lives in singlemindedness and makes prayer and faith stop by wit him. Prayer that rises up in someone's heart serves to open up for us the door of heaven: that person stands i converse with the Divinity and gives pleasure to the Son of God. Prayer makes peace with the Lord's anger and with the vehemence of His wrath. In this way too, tears that well up in the eyes can open the door of compassion.
St. Ephrem the Syrian in The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the SpiritualLife.
Blessed is the person who has consented to become the close friend of faith and of prayer: he lives in singlemindedness and makes prayer and faith stop by with him. Prayer that rises up in someone's heart serves to open up for us the door of heaven: that person stands in converse with the Divinity and gives pleasure to the Son of God. Prayer makes peace with the Lord's anger and with the vehemence of His wrath. In this way too, tears that well up in the eyes can open the door of compassion.
St. Ephrem in The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life.
Bringing doxology to the One born of the Virgin in church hymns and spiritual songs, we must, outside the church as well, unceasingly praise Him and give Him thanks for His ineffable lovingkindness to us sinners, who are atoned by His honorable blood and who have received through this promise life eternal, blessed, and unceasing.
St. Paul of Obnora
But after receiving the knowledge of the truth and winning regeneration and adoption as sons, and tasting of the Divine Mysteries, we must strive hard to keep our feet lest we fall. For to fall becometh not the athlete, since many have fallen and been unable to rise. Some, opening a door to sinful lusts and clinging obstinately to them, have no more had strength to hasten back to repentance; and others, being untimely snatched by death, and having not made speed enough to wash them from the pollution of their sin, have been damned. And for this cause it is perilous to fall into any kind of sinful affection whatsoever. But if any man fall, he must at once leap up, and stand again to fight the good fight; and, as often as there cometh a fall, so often must there at once ensue this rising and standing, unto the end. For `Turn ye unto me, and I will turn unto you,' saith the Lord God.
St. John Damascene, Barlaam and Ioasaph.
But again, say to yourself, `If it is the will of my Master that evil beings should hold dominion over what He has fashioned, I am not vexed at this, as one who would wish to hinder the will of his Lord.' And thus even in temptations you will be filled with joy, as one who knows and is fully aware that his Master's signal steers him through all. Establish your heart, therefore, by the confidence [of faith] in the Lord, and be not afraid `for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day,' for the righteous man's faith in God, they say, tames wild beasts as though they were sheep.
Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian
But and if thou readily obey Him that calleth thee to salvation, and thou run unto Him with desire and joy, and be signed with His light, and follow Him without turn, renouncing every thing, and cleaving only unto Him, hear what manner of security and happiness shall be thine. 'When thou sittest down, thou shalt not be afraid of sudden fear. When thou liest down, sweet shall be thy sleep.' And thou shalt not be afraid of terror coming or of the assaults of evil spirits, but shalt go thy way bold as any lion, and shalt live in bliss and everlasting joy...
St. John Damascene, Barlaam and Ioasaph
But as we cannot imitate God, let us imitate the Apostles whom the world held in hatred for they were not of this world. Imitate them, follow them. Perhaps you are thinking that it is difficult to ascend above the world by merely human virtue. Well said! but even the Apostles in their following of the Lord (not as equals but as disciples), merited to rise above the world. You too should be Christ's disciple and an imitator of Christ; He will pray for you as He prayed for them. And He said, 'Not only do I pray for the Apostles, but for those who will believe in Me through their word, so that all my be one.'
St. Ambrose of Milan, On Virginity.
But day by day renew thyself in righteousness and holiness and truth: for this is possible with every man that willeth, as thou hearest that unto them that believe on His name He hath given power to become the sons of God; so that we can no longer say that the acquiring of virtues is impossible for us, for the road is plain and easy. For, though with respect to the buffeting of the body, it hath been called a strait and narrow way, yet through the hope of future blessings is it desirable and divine for such as walk, not as fools, but circumspectly, understanding what the will of God is, clad in the whole armor of God to stand in battle against the wiles of the adversary.
St. John Damascene, Barlaam and Ioasaph.
But even those who have fallen from the state of righteousness into evil actions must not despair because behold the Prophet is sent to the Transmigration at Babylon. And the Lord says through another Prophet: 'And thou shalt come even unto Babylon; and there shalt thou be delivered' (Mic. 4:10). For often someone, after he has fallen in the confusion of vices, ashamed of the evils which he has committed, returns to penitence and raises himself by a good life from his failings. What therefore is this but that he came even unto Babylon and was there delivered?
The Homilies of St. Gregory the Great on the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel.
But if we diligently look into the words of our Lord and Savior, in which He exhorts us to ask God our Father, after the example of an earthly parent, we quickly recognize what especially in the justice which can open for us the way to the heavenly kingdom. `Which one of you,' He says, `if his son asks his father for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent in place of the fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will hand him a scorpion?' This is indeed a clear comparison, and one easy for all hearers to understand: if any human being, mortal and weak and still burdened with sinful flesh, does not refuse to give the good things which he possesses, though they be earthly and weak, to the children whom he loves, much more does our heavenly Father lavish the good things of heaven, which do not perish, upon those who ask of Him and are endowed with the fear and love Him.
Venerable Bede, Homilies on the Gospels, Book 2.
But in all that mass of people by the Jordan, there was one man, and one only, who truly knew Him. This was John the Baptist himself. The eyes of the strict ascetic shone, and the thunder of his voice was for an instant silenced. John forgot all about the rest of the crowd gathered around the water and in it and, pointing to Jesus, he quietly said: `Behold the Lamb of God! (Jn. 1:29).
Bishop (St.) Nikolai Velimirovic, Homily on Theophany.
But incense is not just a symbolic representation of the heart that is praying to God. It is also an expression of worship, of deep gratitude for His countless blessings to mankind, of which the greatest is that He sent His only begotten Son to sacrifice Himself to save the world. That is why the priest takes the censer at cretain sacred moments when the Divine Liturgy is being celebrated and censes the Altar Table, the icons, and all of the church. He censes especially when the Divine Sacrifice is being offered and the bread becomes the Body of Christ and the wine becomes the Blood of Christ.
Orthodox House of Worship by Augoustinos N. Kantiotes
But it is not enough for us to abandon our possessions if we do not abandon ourselves as well. What does it mean to abandon ourselves? If we abandon ourselves, where shall we go outside of ourselves? And who is it who departs, if a person has forsaken himself? But we are one thing when we have fallen into sin, and another in the nature with which we were created; what we did is one thing, what we have become is another. Let us abandon the selves we have made by sinning, and let us continue to be the selves we have become by grace.
St. Gregory the Great, Forty Gospel Homilies.
But it often happens that certain people, while glorying in such gifts as they have particularly, lose the gift of concord which is the greater gift; for example, if a man should perchance, by restraining his gluttony, subdue the flesh more than others do, but despise concord with those whom he surpasses in abstinence. But he who separates abstinence from concord should consider well the admonition of the Psalmist, who says: 'Praise Him with timbrel and choir.' For in the timbrel, the dried skin, when struck, resounds, but in the choir, voices are joined together in concord. A man, therefore, who afflicts the body but forsakes concord, praises God, indeed, on the timbrel, but not in choral harmony. Often, however, when superior knowledge exalts certain people, it separates them from the society of others, and the greater the knowledge, the less wise they are in the virtue of concord.
St. Gregory the Great, Pastoral Care.
But let no one imagine that humility can be achieved easily and without labor. On the contrary, it needs more effort than the practice of any other virtue. Why? Though man had received good seeds, the chief of the opposite seeds - the tares of pride - sown by the enemy of our life, took root while he was asleep. For the same thing by which the devil had caused his own downfall to earth, caused the miserable human race to fling itself down with him into the common ruin; and there is no other evil so harmful to our nature as that which is caused by pride.
St. Gregory of Nyssa , The Beatitudes.
But let us examine ourselves and test whether we are truly Christians. According to the apostolic injunction, `Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith (II Cor. 13:5), for without faith it is not possible to be a Christian. We show the outward signs of Christianity, as we said above, but do we have true ?Christianity within us? For everything outward is nothing without the inward, and outward signs apart from very truth are a lie and hypocrisy.
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Journey to Heaven.
But mark both their faith, and their obedience [Simon Peter and Andrew]. For though they were in the midst of their work ( and ye know how greedy a thing fishing is), when they heard His command, they delayed not, they procrastinated not, they said not, 'let us return home, and converse with our kinfolk,' but 'they forsook all and followed,' even as Elisha did to Elijah. Because such is the obedience which Christ seeks of us, as that we delay not even a moment of time, though something absolutely most needful should vehemently press on us. Wherefore also when some other had come unto Him, and was asking leave to bury his own father, not even this did He permit him to do; to signify that before all we ought to esteem the following of Himself.
St. John Chrysostom, Homily XIV on the Gospel of St. Matthew.
But nothing causes such exceeding grief as when anyone, lying under the captivity of sin, calls to mind from w here he has fallen, because he turned aside to carnal and earthly things, instead of directing his mind in the beautiful ways of the knowledge of God. So you find Adam concealing himself, when he knew that God was present and wishing to be hidden when called b y God ;with that voice which wounded the soul of him who was hiding: `Adam, where art thou?' That is to say, Why do you hide yourself? Why are you concealed? Why do you avoid Him Whom you once longed to see? A guilty conscience is so burdensome that it punishes itself without a judge, and wishes for covering, and yet is bare before God.
St. Ambrose of Milan, Concerning Repentance
Quoted in The Lament of Eve by Johanna Manley (excellent Lenten reading).
But nothing causes such exceeding grief as when anyone, lying under the captivity of sin, calls to mind from where he has fallen, because he turned aside to carnal and earthly things, instead of directing his mind in the beautiful ways of the knowledge of God. So you find Adam concealing himself, when he knew that God was present and wishing to be hidden when called by God with that voice which wounded the soul of him who was hiding: `Adam, where art thou?' That is to say, Why do you hide yourself? Why are you concealed? Why do you avoid Him Whom you once longed to see? A guilty conscience is so burdensome that it punishes itself without a judge, and wishes for covering, and yet is bare before God. ` St. Ambrose of Milan, Concerning Repentance - quoted in The Lament of Eve
by Johanna Manley.
But perchance some one possibly may say to our common Savior Christ, `What doest Thou, O Lord? Goest Thou to lodge with Zacchaeus? and deignest Thou to abide with the chief of the publicans? He hath not yet washed away the stain of his greedy love of lucre; he is still sick with covetousness, the mother of all crimes; still full of the blame of rapine and extortion.' But yes, He says, I indeed know this, in that I am God by nature, and see the ways of every individual upon earth. And more than this, I know also thing to come. I have called him to repentance because he is ready thereto; and even though men murmur, and blame My gentleness, facts themselves shall prove that they are wrong. For Zacchaeus, is says, `stood up, and said unto the Lord, Behold, the half of whatever I possess I give unto the poor, and if I have defrauded any man, I make four-fold restoration.'
St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Luke.
But seek with all your heart and you will receive the pearl (of great price) or the drop (of life-giving water) or like the grain of mustard or like a divine spark you will receive the seed. How will you seek for what I am describing to you? Listen and then act with energy and you will find it quickly. Take my image that will clarify my point, that of a stone and iron. For there is inherent in them truly the nature of fire; yet no one can see it at all. But if you continue striking them, they will give off sparks of fire and then everyone will at once see them.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, Hymns of Divine Love.
But since some find fault with us for worshipping and honoring the image of our Saviour and that of our Lady, and those, too, of the rest of the saints and servants of Christ, let them remember that in the be ginning God created man after His own image. On what grounds, then, do we show reverence to each other unless because we are made after God's image? For as Basil, that much-versed expounder of divine things, says, the honor given to the image passes over tot he prototype.
St. John of Damascus, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith.
But since, following the sayings of the fathers, we have briefly touched on these things concerning the priestly vesture, we suppose that we should also note that those four selected colours from which it was made are well suited to be compared with the four elements of the world: fine linen or linen with earth, because it comes forth from it; purple with water, because it is produced with dye from snails of the sea; blue and scarlet with air and fire, on account of the similarity of colour; and the scarlet was twice dyed because fire is endowed with the twofold power of giving light and setting ablaze. Therefore, the Hebrews say that the high priest carried the figure of all the elements in his vesture, because when he offered sacrifice he was under an obligation to pray not for Israel alone, but also for the whole world. Nor would it be inconsistent with these things if we should make bold to add that every individual human being contains the figure of all the elements: fire, in the heat [of the body]; air, for its sustenance; water, in its fluids; earth, in the very solidity of its members. For this same reason Greek natural science refers to the human being as a 'microcosm,' that is, a 'little world.'
The Venerable Bede: On the Tabernacle
But the whole of our treatment and exertion is concerned with the hidden man of the heart, and our warfare is directed against that adversary and foe within us, who uses ourselves as his weapons against ourselves, and, most fearful of all, hands us over to the death of sin. In opposition then, to these foes we are in need of great and perfect faith, and of still greater cooperation on the part of God, and, as I am persuaded, of no slight countermanoeuvring on our own part, which must manifest itself both in word and deed, if ourselves, the most precious possession we have, are to be duly tended and cleansed and made as deserving as possible.
St. Gregory Nanzianzen, In Defense of His Flight to Pontus.
But then what advocate shall we have? What pretext? What false excuse? What plausible artifice? What device contrary to the truth will impose upon the court, and rob it is its right judgment, which places in the balance for us all, our entire life, action, word, and thought, and weighs against the evil that which is better, until that which preponderates wins the day, and the decision is given in favor of the main tendency; after which there is no appeal, no higher court, no defense on the ground of subsequent conduct, no oil obtained from the wise virgins, or from them that sell, for the lamps going out, no repentance of the rich m man wasting away in the flame, and begging for repentance for his friends, no statute of limitations; but only that final and fearful judgment-seat, more just even than fearful; or rather more fearful because it is also just; when the thrones are set and the Ancient of days takes His seat, and the books are opened, and the fiery stream comes forth, and the light before Him, and the darkness prepared; and they that have done good shall go into the resurrection of life, now hid in Christ and to be manifested hereafter in Him, and they that have done evil, into the resurrection of judgment, to which they who have not believed have been condemned already by the word which judges them.
St. Gregory Nazianzen, Select Orations.
ions.
But this discourse of the Lord (Jn. 16:20) is also appropriate to all believers who are striving to arrive at eternal joys through the tears and distress of the present life; who rightly lament and weep and are sorrowful during the present time, since they are not yet capable of seeing Him Whom they love. As long as they are in their body they recognize that they are on a journey and absent from their fatherland and kingdom. They have no doubt that they must reach their crown by labors and contests. Their sorrow will be changed to joy when, after the struggle of this present life is over, they receive the prize of everlasting life, about which it is said in the psalm, `Thou who sow in tears will reap in joy.'
Homilies on the Gospels, Book Two by Bede the Venerable.
But today, the One Whom the inspired Prophet called `the cornerstone' has wonderfully accomplished the transferral of His own mountain, which looms over all creation in the height of its glory .From this mountain, Christ our God, has been 'cut without touch [of human hands],' and has `set the whole universe right'; He has constructed in the world communities of right faith, so that whose who reverently take refuge in Him by way of that mountain might be saved from all impious heretical belief, just as Holy Scripture says, `Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.' She who remained a Virgin, the `sealed fountain' of divine gifts, has been led out to meet Him; through her, the garden of the Orthodox Church is watered, and is tended by the second Adam, born of her.
St. Modestus of Jerusalem, An Encomium, in On the Dormition of Mary; Early Patristic Homilies.
But we also know that the fulfillment of the commandments of God gives true knowledge, since it is through this that the soul gains health. How could a rational soul be healthy, if it is sick in its cognitive faculty? So we know that the commandments of God also grant knowledge, and not that alone, but deification also. This we possess in a perfect manner, through the Spirit, seeing in ourselves the glory of God, when it pleases God to lead us to spiritual mysteries, in the manner indicated by St. Isaac.
St. Gregory Palamas, The Triads
But we know that natural perfection is itself a gift of God, even though knowledge is not only a gift of God, but a state of perfection of the rational nature. However, this state, since it is not supernatural, is not a deifying gift, because the deifying gift is supernatural. Otherwise all men and angels without exception would be more or less gods, and the race of demons would be imperfect gods or demi-gods. Thus, whatever the state in which the rational nature attains perfection, whether it is a knowledge, a constitution, a natural perfection of body and soul, whether it comes from within them or from outside a man, it can truly make perfect those rational beings who possess it, but it cannot make them gods.
St. Gregory Palamas, The Triads
But we must first ask why Ezekiel the Prophet, both when he sees subline things and when he is ordered to perform some mystic acts, is first called Son of man? For he is often lifted to the heights and his mind feeds on hidden and invisible things. Therefore it is needful that he be called "Son of man" amid the hidden things he penetrates, in order that he may always recognize what is, and never be lifted away from that to which he is led. For why is the Prophet always addressed as "Son of man" when he is lifted to spiritual things save to remind him of his own infirmity? So that conscious of his infirm condition he should not be elevated in his thoughts through the magnitude of his contemplation.
The Homilies of St. Gregory the Great on the Book of the Prophet
Ezekiel.
But we must look attentively at this - that not everyone who seems to pray before other people is proven to ask or to seek or to knock at the entrance of the heavenly kingdom in the sight of the Searcher of hearts. The prophet would not have said, 'The Lord is near to all who call upon Him in truth,' unless he roecgnized that there are some who call upon the Lord, but not in truth. They do indeed call upon the Lord in truth who do not contradict in their lives what they say in their prayers. They call upon the Lord in truth who, as they are about to offer their petitions, first busy themselves with carrying out His orders. Those who, as they are about to say to Him in prayer, 'And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors,' have fulfilled that mandate of His which says, 'And whenever you stand to pray, grant pardon if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father too Who is in heaven, may forgive you your sins.' Hence about such persons the prophet appropriately adds, 'He will fulfill the will of those who fear Him, and will hearken to their prayers, and will save them.' Accordingly, they call upon the Lord in truth who are acknowledged to fear Him. He hearkens to their prayers when they cry out [to Him]; He accomplishes their pious desires when they long for Him; He raises them up to eternal salvation when they have passed from this life.
The Venerable Bede, Homilies on the Gospels, Book 2.
But what advantage is it to us to foreknow these things, if it is not our lot to escape them? Therefore, with the whole bent of our mind, we must make it our business, that when the opportunity of being at liberty is ours, that we should escape the avenging torments of evildoers by the implementation of righteous life. For it is so said by Solomon, 'Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave where you are going' (Eccles. 9:10). So Isaiah says, 'Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near' (Is. 55:6). And so Paul says, 'Behold now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation' (2Cor 6:2). And he says again, 'While we have opportunity, let us do good to all men" (Gal. 6:10).
St. Gregory the Great, quoted in Wisdom. Let Us Attend: Jobe, the Fathers, and the Old Testament, by Johanna Manley.
But when you hear the sayings of the prophets spoken as in the person of someone, you must not suppose that they are spoken by the inspired persons themselves, but by the divine Word Who moves over them. For sometimes He speaks things that are to happen, in the manner of one who foretells the future; sometimes He speaks as in the person of God the Master and Father of all; sometimes as in the person of Christ; sometimes as in the person of the people answering the Lord or His Father, just as you can see even in your own writers, one man being the composer of the whole, but introducing the persons who converse.
St. Justin, Martyr, The First Apology
But when you hear the sayings of the prophets spoken as in the person of someone, you must not suppose that they are spoken by the inspired persons themselves, but by the divine Word Who moves them. For sometimes He speaks things that are to happen, in the manner one who foretells the future; sometimes He speaks as in the person of God the Master and Father of all; sometimes as in the person of the people answering the Lord or His Father, just as you can see even in your own writers, one man being the composer of the whole, but introducing the persons who converse.
St. Justin Martyr, The First and Second Apologies
But why are our death, burial, and resurrection all at the same time, for we do arise at the same moment that we are buried [at baptism], whereas our Master's resurrection was delayed? He arose after three days. Why, then, does our resurrection come at once and His come more slowly? The truth is that He did so to help us to understand that weakness is not the reason for the delay. Surely He Who could make His servant arise in an instant of time was all the more able to raise up Himself. Why, then, the delay? Why the three days in the tomb? So that the fact of His resurrection after a death which was slow in coming might, because of this delay, be established by a proof beyond all dispute. Even now, after such strong proof, there are men who say that He only appeared to suffer. What would these men have said if there had not been such a delay in His resurrection?
St. John Chrysostom, Baptsmal Instructions.
But why did not Jesus require faith of this man, as He did in the case of others, saying, `Believest thou that I am able to do this?' It was because this man did not yet clearly know who He was; and it is not before, but after the working of miracles that He is seen so doing. For persons who had beheld His power exerted on others would reasonably have this said to them, while of those who had not yet learned who He was, but who were to know afterwards by means of signs, it is after the miracles that faith is required... Observe however in this way the faith of the paralytic. When he had heard, `Take up thy bed and walk,' he did not mock, nor say, 'what can this mean? An Angel cometh down and troubleth the water, and healeth only one, and does Thou, a man, by a bare command and word hope to be able to do greater things than Angels?... But he neither said nor imagined anything like this, but at one he heard and arose, and becoming whole, was not disobedient to Him that gave the command.
St. John Chrysostom, Homily 37 on the Gospel of St. John.
But why is the excess greater from the five thousand (cf. Lk. 9:17) and less from the four thousand (cf. Mt. 15:37)? Because those four thousand spent three days with Christ and, therefore, received more of the heavenly food. Not idly were the fragments from the crowd taken up by the Disciples, because ye will find the things which are of God more easily among the elect than among the Gentiles. Would that it were my fate to hear, 'Gather what remains" (Jn. 6:12)! If I had heard and done so, I should have many things which the crowds, which the children and the women, could not eat. Blessed is he who can gather what remains also from the learned.
St. Ambrose, Exposition of the Holy Gospel According to St. Luke.
But why when He was about to restore the paralytic did He not pray, nor when He was raising the dead, or bridling the sea, while He doth so here over the loaves? It was to show, then when we begin our meals, we ought to give thanks unto God. Moreover, He doth it especially in a lesser matter, that thou mayest learn that He doth it not as having any need; for were this the case, much more would He have done so in greater things; but when He did them by His own authority, it is clear that it was through condescension the He acted as He did in the case of the lesser. Besides, a great multitude was present, and it was necessary that they should be persuaded that He had come according to the will of God. Wherefore, when He doth miracles in the absence of witnesses, He exhibiteth nothing of the kind; but when He doth them in the presence of many, in order to persuade them that He is no enemy of God, no adversary of Him Who hath begotten Him, He removeth the suspicion by thanksgiving.
St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on St. John (6:8-9)
But, that we may lead you to the light in every respect, when you hear `light of knowledge,' do not imagine that this is mere knowledge of what is said and no light at all. The prophet did not say an `account' or `lecture about light,' but `light of knowledge' and `of knowledge light' (Hos. 10:12). There is no other way for anyone to know about God unless it is by means of the contemplation of the light which is sent by Him. It is just as in the case of someone who is telling some others about some man or city. He first talks to them about what he has seen and heard. His listeners, who have not seen either the man or city about which they are hearing, cannot by merely hearing about them know them in the same way as the man who has actually seen them and is telling them about it. It is just the same with regard to the Jerusalem on high and the invisible God Who dwells within it, or concerning the unapproachable glory if His countenance, or about the energy and power of His all-Holy Spirit -- in other words, His light. No one can say anything unless he has first seen the light with the eyes of his soul and knows precisely its illumination and activities as they occur within himself.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, On Thy Mystical Life, Vol. 2. (Just
published)
By faith the intellect is confirmed in pondering God. The way of salvation is that of the constant remembrance of God. The intellect separated from remembrance of God is like a fish out of water. The freedom of a true man consists in his freedom from the passions, in his resurrection with Christ, and in a joyous soul.
Fr Justin Popovich, Faith and Life in Christ
By the Anointed again and by His power, lamps resist in the darkness, and by the Holy Spirit the prophets were strong with the People. Oil strengthens lamps to struggle with darkness until the sun comes with its breath and dispels it. The Spirit sustained the prophets so that falsehood was mitigated by truth before the Sun Who pursues error by the twelve rays that He extends. Again, oil served as a beam in the temporal Tabernacle since in a seven-branched candlestick its flow served seven flames in a symbol of our Lord from Whom seven lights of seven spirits shone. The seven-branched candlestick brought forth the light of its seven brightnesses by which the temporal Tabernacle enlightens. Mary brought forth the Luminary of the seven holy brightnesses that illuminate for us all creation.
St. Ephraim the Syrian, Hymns
By the death of One the world was redeemed. For Christ, had He willed, need not have died, but He neither thought that death should be shunned as though there were any cowardice in it, nor could He have saved us better than by dying. And so His death is the life of all. We are signed with the sign of His death, we show forth His death when we pray; when we offer the Sacrifice we delcare His death, for His death is victory, His death is our mystery, His death is the yearly recurring solemnity of the world. What now should we say concerning His death, since we prove by this Divine Example that death alone found immortality, and that death itself redeemed itself. Death, then, is not to be mourned over, for it is the cause of salvation for all; death is not to be shunned, for the Son of God did not think it unworthy of Him, and did not shun it. The order of nature is not to be loosed, for what is common to all cannot admit of exception in individuals.
St. Ambrose of Milan, On Belief in the Resurrection.
By what other example could human beings more fittingly be aroused to faith in the glory in which they were to share and in the immortal life which they were to merit, than by their acknowledging that God Himself had been made a sharer in their humanity and mortality? By what means might they be more effectively stirred up to tolerate adversities of every kind for their salvation, than by their learning that their Maker had been subject to countless kinds of abuses at the hands of the wicked, and even to the sentence of death, for their salvation? For what other reason might they more fittingly receive the hope of their own resurrection, than by their remembering that through His sacraments they had been cleansed and sanctified, united to the body of Him Who, when He had tasted death for them, presented an example of a speedy rising from death?
Venerable Bede, Homilies on the Gospels, Book 2.
Certainly it is desirable that every age bring some human vices forward for the inquiry into a life without fault, because it is profitable to correct oneself, even belatedly, in doing away with these vices. But for shaping a man who will please God, the Prophet does not wait until he will have been formed -- after a long a durable habit of faults -- for the instruction of God and the precepts of fear of Him. But he desires that those years which do not have the experience of sins, and the age that is still ignorant of them be formed, not only by intermittent aspirations for a life without fault, but also by the associated habit gained during adolescence. Indeed, it is difficult to renounce habits; it is hard to abstract oneself from things familiar...Also, the best worshipper of God will be not only he who has remitted his sins, even those rendered without intent, but those who are even in ignorance of vices would be assured of being without fault.
Commentary on Ps. 117, V. 9-16.St. Hilary of Poitiers, quoted in The Lament of Eve by Johanna Manley
Certainly it is desirable that every age bring some human vices forward for the inquiry into a life without fault, because it is profitable to correct oneself, even belatedly, in doing away with these vices. But for shaping a man who will please God, the Prophet does not wait until he will have been formed -- after a long and durable habit of faults - for the instruction of God and the precepts of fear of Him. But he desires that those years which do not have the experience of sins, and the age that is still ignorant of them be formed, not only by intermittent aspirations for a life without fault, but also by the associated habit gained during adolescence. Indeed, it is difficult to renounce habits; it is hard to abstract oneself from things familiar.
St. Hilary of Poitiers in The Way, The Truth and the Life (Commentary on
Psalm 118), Epilogue to The Lament of Eve, by Johanna Manley.
Certainly, when it is said that 'the kingdom of heaven is like to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom' the meaning is that all of them entered upon the same path of life, for this is signified by the letter 'I.' They went forth all equially pledged to the same life, and this is why they are said to be ten, for they chose, and I have said, the same purpose. But they did not all go forth to meet the bridegroom in the same way: some had provided themselves with abundant fuel, enough even for the repeated replenishing of their oil lamps; the others had been careless, thinking only for the present. And so they are divided equally, five and five: that is to say, the first group kept their five senses, which are generally called the portals of wisdom, virginally pure of sin; the second group, on the contrary, mingling their senses with wickedness, dishonored them with innumerable sins. They practiced their abstinence and sobriety by keeping away from justice, and only reaped a greater harvest of transgressions; and hence, of course, it happened that they were locked out and excluded from the divine precincts. For whether we act virtuously or commit sin, it is through these our senses that our deeds, both good and evil, are strengthened.
St. Methodius, The Symposium: A Treatise on Chastity.
Charity, it is said, `rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.' It often happens to us to see the unrighteous, sinful doings of men, or to hear of them, and we have a sinful habit of rejoicing at such doings, and of shamelessly expressing our joy by foolish laughter. This is wrong, unchristian, uncharitable and impious. It shows that we have not Christian love for our neighbor in our hearts: for charity `rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth .' Let us therefore, cease doing this so that we may not be condemned with the workers of iniquity.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ.
Christ Himself accuses us of hypocrisy: `This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. In vain do they worship Me" (Mt. 15:8-9). Precisely these words that the Lord was speaking to reprove the Pharisees I feel He is speaking to us, the hypocrites of today who have been enriched with so much grace and yet have remained in a worse state than the hypocrites of yesterday. Do we not also require others to carry crushing weights while we do not touch them even with a finger? Is it not possibly true that we too look for the best seats at banquets, the front places in meetings and like to be called experts? And do we not have a mortal hatred for anyone who does not offer us these honors? Have not we too, perhaps, thrown away the key of true knowledge and shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in the face of other people, so that we neither enter it ourselves nor allow others to enter (cf. Lk. 11:46, Mt. 23:6-7,13)?
St. Maximus the Confessor, quoted in Drinking from the Hidden Fountain.
Christ and We Only where Christ dwells is there blessedness. Where Christ blesses there is heavenly repose. Where Christ turns His benevolent gaze there is inexpressible true joy. Christ, with His unceasing love for us and His great humility, loves us and invisibly reproves us and reminds us through His miracles that there is life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Modern Orthodox Saints Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene of Lesvos., by Constantine Cavarnos., INSTITUTE FOR BYZANTINE AND MODERN STUDIES., Belmont, Massachusetts., 1990., pp. 145-155
Christ compares the kingdom of heaven to a treasure hidden in a field. Someone finds this treasure and hides it, and in the joy of discovery, goes and sells everything he or she possess and buys the field. We should note that the treasure, once discovered, is hidden for protection's sake. It is not enough for us to stake our claim to the joy of heaven, guarding it from the forces of evil., if we do not also hide it from human praise. In this present life we are traveling on the road which will lead us to our homeland. Evil lies in wait along our route like a highway robber. Those who carry their treasure openly on the road are asking to be robbed.
St. Gregory the Great, Be Friends of God.
Christ is Born, glorify Him!
`I do not disregard the grace which I receive from Thee, Master. I do not discount the value which I attained when I gave birth to Thee; For I rule over the world, Since bearing Thy power in my womb, I am sovereign of all. Thou hast transformed my worthlessness by The condescension; Thou hast humbled Thyself and exalted my race. Now rejoice with me Heaven and earth, For I carry your Creator in my arms. Earthborn, lay aside sadness as you behold the joy Which I brought forth from my immaculate womb as I heard myself called: Mary, full of grace.'
The Kontakia of Romanos, On the Nativity II
Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
Let us all who seek grace, praise with one accord the true living and endlessly flowing source, the most divine Spring, which doth pour forth its streams most abundantly. So much doth it pour forth healings daily unto all men, by comparison a river's streams are counted as nought. Wherefore, as is due, as we all draw nigh with longing, with faith let us now draw up from the Spring inexhaustible and immortal strength in all truth, which clearly doth bedew the hearts of the pious; and with our lips let us cry: Thou art the comfort and solace of the faithful flock, O Maid.
Sessional Hymn of Matins of Friday of New (Bright) Week. Feast of the
Life-Giving Spring. The Pentecostarion .
Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
Suddenly the bodies of the dead became animated; they were resurrected, and they trampled on Hades, Crying out, 'O unjust one, where is thy victory and Death, where is thy sting?' Suddenly all of the tombs were opened of themselves And all of the dead were released from them and formed a chorus;
And an angel coming down rolled the stone from the tomb of the Savior. 'O Lord, Master, Thou hast opened the tombs At a command, not needing anyone. How is it then that Thou hast need of someone To roll away the stone from Thy tomb? Thou, The Life and Resurrection.'
St Romanos the Melodist - On the Resurrection IV
Christ is Risen! When the men heard this and were rejoicing in the words, They were immediately astonished and said to the women: `What is this, women, do you understand what you say? And angel spoke?' `Yes,' they said, `he both spoke and showed us: In fact, the God of the angels, and the Creator Was seen by Mary and said, -Tell My people, The Lord is risen.-' Come, then, like rams, like sheep, Let us all of the flock, skip as we say: `Our shepherd, some, gather together those of us Who were scattered through fear. Thou hast tread upon death; come near those who love Thee, Thou Who dost offer resurrection to the fallen.'
St Romanos the Melodist - On The Resurrection, VI.
Christ is Risen! `I wish that you knew, Hades, my ally, that He endured all because H wished to save the race of mortals. Because of men, He has been seen as a man and of His own will took on flesh, In order that, as God, He might save Adam with Eve.' Belial, lamenting, said these things to Hades. `If only I had not worked to kill Christ He would not ever have conquered us; But we made great haste to seize him as though He were a mortal And to barricade ourselves with the gates, and secure ourselves with the bars, And how He has captured our thoughts, He Who has destroyed the weapons of Belial, the victory of Hades, and the sting of Death.
St Romanos the Melodist - On the Resurrection V.
Christ loves us in spite of our senseless behavior. He calls to us, is always ready to respond to our cries for help and guide our fragile steps through all the obstacles that lie in our path. He respects us on a par with Himself. His ultimate idea for us is to see us in eternity verily His equals, His friends and brothers, the sons of the Father. He strives for this, He longs for it. This is our Christ, and as Man He sat on the right hand of the Father.
Archimandrite Sophrony, from His Life is Mine
Christ our God is born and becomes man by adding to Himself flesh endowed with an intellective soul. He Who from non-being brings created things into being is Himself born supernaturally of a Virgin who does not thereby lose her virginity. For just as He Himself became man without changing His nature or altering His power, so He makes her who bore Him a Mother while keeping her a Virgin. In this way He reveals one miracle through another miracle, at the same time concealing the one with the other. This is because in Himself, according to His essence, God always remains a mystery. He expresses His natural hiddenness in such a way that He makes it the more hidden through the revelation. Similarly, in the case of the Virgin who bore Him, He makes her a Mother in such a way that by conceiving Him the bonds of her virginity become even more indissoluble.
St. Maximus the Confessor, Various Texts on Theology, The Philokalia, Vol.
II.
Christ the Lord came, as the strongest expression of God's unchanging love for mankind, to rekindle the extinct fire of love in the hearts of God's children, and to make natural once more that which had, at one time, been completely normal to man, as to the angels, and had in time become unnatural. Were a mother not to love her child, could that child love its mother? Were God not to love man, could man love God? But God, from the beginning - and from before the beginning - loves man, and it is therefore natural for man to love God.
(St.) Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich, Homilies, Vol. 2.
Christ's light, by which He illumines the world and enlightens men, reveals itself before our eyes in its true radiance only when we see it against human darkness. And what followed on from the miraculous healing of the blind man presents, in very truth, the thickest and most frozen darkness of the human heart and mind; a darkness that, in today's Gospel, lies like a deep shadow under the blazing light of Christ the Sun. This is the terrible darkness of the blind hearts and minds of the Pharisees. Not only did the Pharisees not rejoice that the blind beggar in front of their Temple could now see, but they but they were even insulted and embittered.
St. Nikolai Velimirovic, Homilies, Vol. I.
Christ's prayer [`Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, as We are.'] is not only for the apostles - although it is firstly for them - but is also for all those who have and will come to faith in Christ through their word. This prayer, then, was also for the holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, that we commemorate today. `Keep them!' - the Lord prayed to His Father. And the Father kept them from the errors of Arius , and inspired, illumined and strengthened them by the Holy Spirit to defend and confirm the Orthodox Faith. This prayer is for all of us who are baptized in the apostolic Church and who have from the apostles and their successors, come to know the saving name of Christ the Saviour.
Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic, Homilies, V. 1, on the 6th Sunday after Pascha.
Christ's words, opposed to every kind of evil, instruct us unceasingly on every page of Scripture. Thus even now Christ is doing what the gospel says, `And He was teaching daily in the temple.' Truth is teaching daily in the temple when He subtly instructs us, His faithful people, to avoid evil. We are truly being instructed by His words when we fearfully and ceaselessly keep before our eyes our last end, in accord with what a certain wise man said: `In all that you do remember your end, and you will never sin.'
St. Gregory the Great, Be Friends of God.
Christ, out o love, sought us - but not hours. But men, because of their meager love, seek His good things rather than Him. They expect from Him bread, rain, fertility, health, and earthly good in general. And He gives all with sadness that it is not Him, Himself they seek. They have forgotten that when they received Him, they have received all along with Him. The Apostle said: `I do count them all as dung, that I may win Christ' (Phil. 3:8. Elsewhere he writes to the faithful: `I seek not yours but you' (2 Cor. 12:14).
Kassiana: Lessons in Divine and Christian Love.
Christians are not distinguished from the rest of mankind by either country, speech, or customs; the fact is, they nowhere settle in cities of their own; they use no peculiar language; they cultivate no eccentric mode of life. Certainly, this creed of theirs is no discovery due to some fancy or speculation of inquisitive men; nor do they, as some do, champion a doctrine of human origin. Yet while they dwell in both Greek and non-Greek cities, as each one's lot was cast, and conform to the customs of the country in dress, food, and mode of life in general, the whole tenor of their way of living stamps it as worthy of admiration and admittedly extraordinary. They reside in their respective countries, but only as aliens. They take part in everything as citizens and put up with everything as foreigners. Every foreign land is their home, and every home a foreign land.
The Epistle to Diognetus in The Didache.
Christians therefore ought to strive continually, and never to pass judgment on anyone - no, not upon the harlot on the street, or upon open sinners and disorderly persons - but to regard all men with singleness of intention and purity of eye, so that it may become like a fixed law of nature to despise no one, to judge no one, to abhor no one, to make no distinctions between them. If you see a man with one eye, be not divided in your heart, but look upon him as if he were whole. If a man is maimed of of one hand, see him as not maimed, the lame as straight, the palsied as whole. This is purity of heart, when you see sinners or sick people, to have compassion on them and be tender-hearted towards them. It happens sometimes that the saints of the Lord sit in theatres and behold the deceit of the world. According to the inner man they are conversing with God, while according to the outer man they appear to men as contemplating what goes on in the world.
The Spiritual Homilies of St. Macarius the Great.
Cleansed through fervent ascetic labor, the soul is illumined by divine light and begins little by little to perceive the natural beauty which God originally bestowed on it and to expand in love for its Creator. And as through its purification the rays of the Sun of righteousness grow more lucid in it, and as its natural beauty is increasingly revealed to it and recognized, so in order to become yet more pure it extends its ascetic practice. In this way it acquires a clear vision of the glory of the gift it has received, regains its former nobility and restores to its Creator His own image pure and unalloyed. And it continues to add to its labors until it has cleansed itself of every stain and impurity and is privileged to contemplate and commune with God.
Nikitas Stithatos (On the Inner Nature of Things no. 86)
Come now, my brethren - all who have received the name of faith, who have been deemed worthy to be called people of Christ - do not put aside our calling; let us not voilate our faith through improper works. It is not enough for someone merely to be known as a believer, so let us show our faith through works. A father had, Christ says, two sons, and he said to one: 'Go, and work in my vineyard' (Mt. 11:28). That son promised to go, but failed to fulfil his promise. Later, the second son was addresssed likewise. This one refused with his words, but fulfilled the command with his actions. In this way the first was blamed while the second was praised. Let us likewise remember what we renounced and what we accepted by baptism! We renounced the devil and his angels and all his works and all his service and all his retinue. Let us hold fast this renunciation; let us not return like a dog to our vomit.
St. John of Damascus, Homily on the Withered Fig Tree and the Parable of
the Vineyard.
Come, Adam and Eve, our first father and mother, who fell from the choir on high through the envy of the murderer of man, when of old with bitter pleasure ye tasted from the tree in Paradise. See, the Tree of the Cross, revered by all, draws near! Run with haste and embrace it joyfully, and cry to it with faith: O precious Cross, thou art our succor; partaking of thy fruit, we have gained incorruption; we are restored once more to Eden, and we have received great mercy.
Stichera from Vespers, Sunday of the Cross, The Lenten Triodion.
Come, come," said this good friend, "come and dwell with us, and for living water drink derision at every hour. For David, having tried every pleasure under heaven, last of all said in bewilderment: Behold now, what is so good or so joyous as for brethren to dwell together in unity.
St. John of the Ladder
Common bread is improperly called our daily bread, because it strengthens only our body and not our soul. Properly and principally the term daily bread denotes the Body of our Lord and the word of God, because they strengthen the soul as well as the body. For this reason, those of us who have received spiritual regeneration through Divine Baptism must continually eat this spiritual food with warm love and a contrite heart.
St. Macarios of Corinth, Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 2.
Compared with the righteousness of the age to be, all earthly righteousness fulfills the role of a mirror: it contains the image of archetypal realities, not the realities themselves as they subsist in their true and universal nature. And compared with knowledge there, all spiritual knowledge in this world is an indistinct image: it contains a reflection of the truth but not the truth itself as it is destined to be revealed (cf. 1 Cor. 13:12).
St. Maximos the Confessor, Philokalia, Vol. 2
Concerning Faith: The first virtue is faith, for by faith even mountains are moved and men receive everything they wish, as the Lord said. Each one, in all glorious and wondrous deeds, is confirmed by his faith. By our own free will faith either decreases or increases.
St. Paisius Velichkovsky, Little Russian Philokalia, Vol. IV
Consider to what a dignity he exalts himself who esteems his brother's salvation as of great importance. Such a man is imitating God, as far as lies with the power of man. And God says so through His Prophet [Jer. 15:19]. What He says is that he who is eager to save a brother who has fallen into careless ways, he who hastens to snatch his brother from the jaws of the devil, that man imitates Me as far as lies in human power. What could equal that? This is greater than all good deeds; it is the peak of all virtue.
S
t. John Chrysostom, quoted in The Lives of the Holy Prophets, compiledby Holy Apostles Convent.
Consider, therefore, the grace of the Spirit, how it is all-sufficient, enough for such a wide world in so many ages: far from being circumscribed or used up, it fills all with wealth and grace while itself in no way being consumed. Then, since the word 'spirit' is something with many meanings (it is called angel as well, remember, and soul, and breath, and many other names), He added 'some of My Spirit,' As, then a human being's spirit is related to the human being, so too God's, but remaining in a distinct person. Paul, too, suggested this in saying, 'I mean, what human being knows the depths of a human being if not the spirit of the human being that is within. Likewise, too no one knows the depths of God if not the Spirit of God,' not confusing the divine Persons - perish the thought - but revealing the nobility of the Spirit. At any rate, as complete as the soul's harmony with itself, so complete is the relation of the Spirit to the Father.
S _____________________________________________
t. John Chrysostom, Commentary on the Psalms, translated by Robert Charles Hill.
Consider, therefore, the grace of the Spirit, how it is all-sufficient, enough for such a wide world in so many ages; far from being circumscribed or used up, it fills all with wealth and grace while itself in so way being consumed. Then, since the word 'spirit' is something with many meanings (it is called angel as well, remember, and soul, and breath, and many other names), he added 'some of my Spirit.' As, then, a human being's spirit is related to the human being, so too God's but remaining in a distinct person. Paul, too, suggested this in saying, 'I mean, what human being knows the depths of a human being if not the spirit of the human being that is within? Likewise, too, no one knows the depths of God if not the Spirit of God,' not confusing the divine persons - perish the thought - but revealing the nobility of the Spirit.
St. John Chrysostom, Commentary on the Psalms.
Contemplation of God can be understood in more than one fashion. For God is not solely known by way of that astonished gaze at His ungraspable nature, something hidden thus far in the hope that comes with what has been promised us. He can also be sensed in the magnificence of His creation, in the spectacle in His justice, and in the help He extends each day to the running of the world. He can be sensed too when with well-purified minds we consider what He has achieved in each generation by means of His saints. He can be sensed when we gaze with trembling hearts at that power of His which controls, guides, and rules everything, when we contemplate His immense knowledge and His knowing look which the secrets of the heart cannot evade. His presence is known when we meditate on the fact that the sands of the sea are numbered by Him, that He keeps a count of the waves. Astounded, we reflect that every drop of rain, every day and every hour of all the centuries, everything past and everything to come are all facts of which He is aware.
St. John Cassian, Conferences
Contrary to the rest of men enlist for yourself in an army without weapons, without war, without bloodshed, without wrath, without stain pious old men, orphans dear to God, widows armed with gentleness, men adorned with love. Obtain with your wealth as guardians of body and soul such as these whose commander is God.
St. Clement of Alexandria
Creating man according to His image, God diffused into man's very being the longing for the divine infinitude of life, of knowledge, and of perfection. It is precisely for this reason that the immeasurable longing and thirst of humanity is not able to be completely satisfied by anything or anyone except God. Declaring divine perfection as the main purpose for humanity's existence in the world - `Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father Who is in heaven is perfect.' (Mt. 5:48) - Christ, the Savior, answered the most elemental demand and need of our God-like and God-longing humanity.
Fr Justin Popovich, Faith and Life in Christ
Creating man according to His image, God diffused into man's very being the longing for the divine infinitude of life, of knowledge, and of perfection. It is precisely for this reason that the immeasurable longing and thirst of humanity is not able to be completely satisfied by anything or anyone except God. Declaring divine perfection as the main purpose for humanity's existence in the world -- `Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father Who is in heaven is perfect.' (Mt. 5:48) -- Christ, the Savior, answered the most elemental demand and need of our God-like and God-longing humanity.
(St.) Fr. Justin Popovich, Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ
Dearly beloved, I have briefly discussed the Gospel lesson. It now remains for me to say something concerning the excellence of this great solemnity. I am right to speak of the excellence of this solemnity, because it surpasses all others. For just as in the sacred scriptures the Holy of Holies and the Song of Songs are so called because of their importance, so this festival can be properly called the solemnity of solemnities. In truth in this solemnity a prefiguration has been given us of our resurrection, we have been given the hope of reaching our heavenly country, and we can already anticipate the glory of the kingdom on high.
St. Gregory the Great, Forty Gospel Homilies.
Demons often transform themselves into angels of light and take the form of martyrs, and make it appear to us during sleep that we are in communication with them. Then, when we wake up, they plunge us into unholy joy and conceit. But you can detect their deceit by this very fact. For angles reveal torments, judgments and separations; and when we wake up we find that we are trembling and sad. As soon as we begin to believe the demons in dreams, then they make sport of us when we are awake too. He who believes in dreams is completely inexperienced. 'But he who distrusts all dreams is a wise man. Only believe dreams that warn you of torments and judgments. But if despair afflicts you, then such dreams are also from demons.
St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Deny yourself sensual delights in the hope that, instead of them, you will obtain higher spiritual, heavenly delights. Do good to all in the hope that, in accordance with God's justice, `with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again'; that the good you have done to your neighbor shall be sooner or later returned into your bosom, just as the evil you have done him shall sooner or later be returned into your bosom. Remember that we are one body. `We being many are one bread.' Remember that God is just to the highest degree, to an iota.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ.
Discrimination is born of humility. On its possessor it confers spiritual insight, as both Moses and St. John Klimakos say: such a man foresees the hidden designs of the enemy and foils them before they are put into operation. It is as David states: `And my eyes looked down upon my enemies' (Ps. 54:7). Discrimination is characterized by an unerring recognition of what is good and what is not, and the knowledge of the will of God in all that one does. Spiritual insight is characterized, first, by awareness of one's own failing before they issue in outward actions, as well as of the stealthy tricks of the demons; and, second, by the knowledge of the mysteries hidden in the divine Scriptures and in sensible creation.
St. Peter of Damaskos, The Philokalia, Vol. 3.
Do not be deluded by thoughts that virtue exceeds your powers and is impossible for you; but, inspired by faith, boldly make a beginning, show before God your good will and diligence - and you will see the help He will send you to practice virtue. Imagine two ladders, one leading up to heaven, the other down to hell, while you stand on earth between the two. Do not think or say, 'How can I fly upwards from the earth and suddenly find myself as high as heaven, that is at the top of the ladder? All you have to care about is to refrain from going down by doing evil. As to going up, strive to climb little by little by doing the good that offers. Each action will be a step upwards. Climbing thus with God's help from one rung to another, you will finally reach the top of the ladder.
St. Abba Dorotheus, Directions on Spiritual Training, Early Fathers fromthe Philokalia trans. by Kadloubovsky and Palmer.
Do not be irritated either with those who sin or those who offend; do not have a passion for noticing every sin in your neighbor, and for judging him, as we are in the habit of doing. Everyone shall given an answer to God for himself. Everyone has a conscience; everyone hears God's Word, and knows God's Will either from books or from conversation with other people. Especially do not look with evil intention upon the sins of your elders, which do not regard you; `to his own master he standeth or falleth.' Correct your own sins, amend your own life.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ.
Do not be over-anxious and strain yourself so as to gain an immediate hearing for your request. The Lord wishes to confer greater favors than those you ask for, in reward for your perseverance in praying to Him. For what greater thing is there than to converse intimately with God and to be preoccupied with His company? Undistracted prayer is the highest act of the intellect.
Evagrius Ponticus, The Praktikos and Chapters on Prayer
Do not consider the merits of individuals, but the office of the priests. Or, if you look at the merits, consider the priest as Elijah. Look upon the merits of Peter also, or of Paul, who handed down to us this mystery. which they had received of the Lord Jesus. To those of old a visible fire was sent that they might believe; for us who believe, the Lord works invisibly; for them that happened for a figure, for us for warning. Believe, then, that the Lord Jesus is present at the invocation of the priest, Who said: `Where two or three are, there I am also.' How much where the Church is, and where His Mysteries are, does He vouchsafe to impart His Presence.
St. Ambrose of Milan. On the Mysteries.
Do not consider your riches as belonging to yourselves alone; open wide your hand to those who are in need; assist those in poverty and pain; comfort those who have fallen into extreme distress; console with those who are in sorrow or oppressed with bodily maladies, and the want of necessities; and also comfort the saints who embrace a voluntary poverty so they may serve God without distraction. Nor will your doing so be unrewarded.
St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke.
Do not despair of whatever sins you may have committed since baptism and find yourself in true repentance, but await God's mercy. However many and however great and burdensome your sins may be, with God there is greater mercy. Just as His majesty is, so likewise is His mercy. Only guard yourself from sinning henceforth, and walk according to the aforementioned points.
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Journey to Heaven.
Do not fear bodily privations, but fear spiritual privations. Do not fear, do not be faint-hearted, do not be irritated when you are deprived of money, food, drink, enjoyments, clothes, dwelling, even of your body itself; but fear when the enemy deprives your soul of faith, of trust, and love for God and your neighbor; when he sows hatred, enmity, attachments to earthly things, pride, and other sins in your heart. `Fear not them which will kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul' (Matt. 10:23).
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ.
Do not passionately care for your flesh; do not cherish it; do not gratify it; and do not strengthen it against the spirit. Otherwise, when it is necessary to labor in spirit - for instance, to pray or write a spiritually moral work - you will find that the flesh has overpowered the spirit and has bound it hand and foot. The flesh overthrows all the impulses of the spirit, and will not let it rise and come to its full power. The spirit will then be the slave of the flesh.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ
Do not rail against anyone, but rather say, 'God knows each one.' Do not agree with him who slanders, do not rejoice at his slander and do not hate him who slanders his neighbor. This is what it means not to judge. Do not have hostile feelings towards anyone and do not let dislike dominate your heart; do not hate him who hates his neighbor. This is what peace is: Encourage yoaurself with this thought, 'Afflliction lasts but a short time, while peace is for ever, by the grace of God the Word.
St. Moses the Ethiopian, Sayings of the Desert Fathers trans. by
Benedicta Ward.
Do not regard the feelings of a person who speaks to you about his neighbor disparingly, but rather say to him: `Stop, brother! I fall into graver sins every day, so how can I criticize him?' In this way you will achieve two things: you will heal yourself and your neighbor with one plaster. This is one of the shortest ways to the forgiveness of sins; I mean, not to judge. `Judge not, and ye shall not be judged.'
St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent.
Do not say that you are the temple of the Lord, says the divine Jeremiah. Neither should you say, only faith in our Lord Jesus Christ can save me. For this is impossible unless you acquire love for Him, and love testified by deeds. As regards faith that is bare, 'the devils also believe, and tremble' (Jas. 2:19).
St. Maximus the Confessor, in Early Fathers From the Philokalia.
Do not sit with folded hands, putting off the sewing of your wedding garment to the moment when it is time to go out in festive raiments to meet the coming bridegroom, Christ our Lord. Remind yourself every day that 'now' is in our hands, but 'tomorrow' is in the hands of God, and that He Who gave you this morning has not bound Himself with the promise to give you the evening too...
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 20)
Do not think that those who bring you reports which fill you with resentment and make you hate your brother are affectionately disposed towards you, even if they seem to speak the truth.
St. Maximos the Confessor (Fourth Century on Love no. 31)
Do violence to no man.
St. John the Baptist, from Luke 3:14, King James Version
Do we forgive our neighbors their trespasses? God also forgives us in His mercy. Do we refuse to forgive? God, too, will refuse to forgive us. As we treat our neighbors, so also does God treat us. The forgiveness, then, of your sins or unforgiveness, and hence also your salvation or destruction, depend on your yourself, man. For without forgiveness of sins there is no salvation. You can see for yourself how terrible it is.
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Journey to Heaven.
Do we, then, consider it a great and remarkable thing if the Creator of the universe will bring about a resurrection of those who have piously served Him in the assurance engendered by honest faith, when He uses even a bird to illustrate the sublime nature of His promise? For somewhere it is said: `And thou wilt raise me, and I will give Thee praise:' and, `I lay down to sleep, and I slept; and I awoke again, for Thou art with me.' And, again, Job says, `Thou wilt raise up this body of mine, which has patiently endured all these things.'
Epistle of St. Clement of Rome.
Do you know what eternity is? Eternity is beginning without end. That is, one it begins it never ends. Or, it is always and never. That is, it shall always be and never cease. This is eternity. All the ages from the foundation of the world to the end are as the smallest speck as compared to the whole world, or as a minute as compared to thousands of years.
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Journey to Heaven.
Do you marvel at His power on the earth? Think again how the heaven was made, not yet being; how the innumerable stars, how the sun, how the moon; and all these things not yet being. Again, tell me how after they were made they stood fast, and upon what? What foundation have they? and with the earth? after that which came next o the earth? Do you see into what an eddy the eye of your mind is plunged, unless you quickly take refuge in faith and the incomprehensible power of the Maker?
St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on First Corinthians.
Do you see from this their confusion and contradiction? But who are these other husbandmen to whom the householder will give the vineyard? I must firstly be clear that the vineyard will be a new one, as the husbandmen will be new. From the time of Christ's coming, God's vineyard will be extended to comprise the whole human race. It will not be composed only of the Israelites, but of all nations on earth. This new vineyard will be called the Church of God, and the workers, or husbandmen, in it will be the apostles, the saints, the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, the martyrs and confessors, bishops and priests, devout and Christ-loving kings and queens and all who serve in the Lord's vineyard. They will 'render Him the fruits in their seasons.' They will, after Christ's coming, become a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation (1 Pet. 2:9).
Bp. (St.) Nikolai Velilmirovich, Homilies, Vol. 2
Do you see how all who hear His word and do it He elevates to the rank of His mother, and says they are His brothers, and calls them all His kinsmen? Still, as we said above, she who was His mother in the body is alone properly so, as she gave birth to Him ineffably without a man. Yet, all the saints who conceive Him by grace and gift do possess Him. Thus, while from His immaculate mother He borrowed her immaculate flesh, and have her in return His own divinity - O strange and new exchange! - He takes no flesh from the saints, but He does make them sharers of His own, deified flesh. Consider with me, please, the depths of this mystery! While the grace of the Spirit, that is, the flame of the Godhead is of the one Savior and God, from His nature and essence, His body is not from that source but, on the contrary, is taken from the all-pure and holy flesh of the Theotokos and from her all-immaculate blood. This He took from her and made His own, according to the holy saying: `And the Word became flesh' [Jn.1:14]. As we have said, it is by means of this flesh that He Who is Son of God and son of the Virgin communicates the grace of the Spirit - i.e., of divinity - from, on the one hand, the nature and essence of His co-eternal Father, as He says Himself through His prophet, `And it will come to pass that in those days I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh' [Joel 2:28], on all flesh, clearly, that believes; and on the other hand, from the flesh which He took from her who, truly and in the proper sense, gave Him birth.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life, Vol. 1.
Do you see the humility of the saints and how their hearts were set on it? Even when messengers straight from God were sent to them they were not turned away from humility but fled from self-glorification. As men clad all in silk flee if a filthy rag is thrown at them, so that their noble robes will not be stained, so the saints, clad in virtue, take flight from human glory lest they be stained by it. Those who desire that sort of glory are like the naked man who always wishes to find a few rags, anything at all, to cover his shame. So too one who is naked of virtue desires to be praised by men. Therefore the holy men who are sent from God to help men, do not let go of humility.
St. Dorotheos of Gaza, Discourses and Sayings.
Do you see, how all that he has said, tends to turn them to this one thing, advancement in virtue? `Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ.' What means this word `only,' but that this, and nought else, is the only thing we should seek? If we have this, nothing grievous will befall us. `That whether I come and see you, or be absent, I may hear of your state.' This he says not as if he had changed his purpose, and no longer meant to visit them. But if this come to pass, he says, even though absent I am able to rejoice.' `If,' that is, `I hear that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one soul.' This is what above all things unites believers, and maintains love unbroken, `that they may be one.' For a `kingdom' divided against itself shall not stand.'
St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Philippians (1:27).
Do you want us, our brethren, to tell you what you ought to fear? It is this: to deny Christ, instead of courageously confessing Him. This alone is truly to be feared. For if you deny Christ, then He will deny you on the day of Judgment: 'But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father Who is in heaven.' (Mt. 10:33).
St. Macarios of Corinth in Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 2
Dost thou abstain from food? Thou doest well. For this is a weapon against the passions for those who use it rightly. Abstain also from envy, so that thy fasting may be considered as fasting by God too, and not be a mask, hiding the other evils as with a veil behind the feigned abstinence from food; but that it should take root in the folds of thy soul like a flourishing and many-branched stock, and should propagate the other virtues, and show them, along with itself, fructified with that blessed and truly immortalizing joy of paradise.
St. Photios the Great, Sermon on Wednesday of Cheese Fare Week.
Draw near to the Lord by following His footsteps through humility, and He will draw near to you by freeing you from your difficulties through His mercy. For not everyone is far from God by distances, but by dispositions. For though both he who is inclined to virtues and he who falls away in the filth of vices dwell in one place on the earth, the one is far from God, the other has God near. Hence the psalmist also says, `The Lord is near to all who call upon Him in truth,' and again, `Salvation is far from sinners,' that salvation is certainly of which we sing, `The Lord is my light and my salvation.' And the Lord himself, when He was urging us to draw near to Him, saying, `Come to Me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you,' immediately pointed out that this was to be fulfilled not by the feet but by actions when He appended, `Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart.
The Venerable Bede, Commentary on the Seven Catholic Epistles (James 4:8)
During prayer, intentional, deliberate, extreme humility is indispensable. We must remember who speaks and what he says, this is especially necessary during the Lord's Prayer: `Our Father...' Humility destroys all the snares of the enemy. Ah! how much secret pride there is in us. This, we say, I know; this I do not need; this is not for me; this is superfluous; in that I am not a sinner. How much sophistry of our own!
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ
Earthly wisdom must be conjoined with heavenly wisdom. Or, to speak more aptly, heavenly wisdom, which is reverence for God, must be the starting point and foundation of education, for 'the feart of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.'
St. Nikephoros of Chios, Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 4
Easy is Christ's yoke, and His burden light. For what is lighter than to check the tongue? What is easier than to have a reverent mouth? What is milder than not to begrudge thy brethren? No need for thee to suffer toils, to undergo sleepless vigils, distressed all day and all night, or to dig a ditch, or erect an mound of earth, or to work i clay and brick-making, which the Egyptians devised against t the Jews, or to carry out any other toilsome act. There will be need only to contain thy tongue behind thy teeth, like a fair bride guarded in her natural chamber, wherein the Creator has enclosed her with a double rampart, safeguarding her proneness to slip and her vulnerability, and teaching thee by the example of His creation not to abuse her at random, especially in matters which do not concern thee; but if thou fulfillest the divine laws, and sot not outrage the limits of nature, thou oughtest to keep her in her natural chamber like a good virgin.
St. Photios the Great, Sermon XIV on Friday of Cheese Fare Week.
Emmanuel is interpreted `God is with us.' And so, test yourselves, whether in truth God be with us. If we have removed ourselves from evils and become strangers to their inventor, the devil, then in truth God is with us. And if the sweetness of evil deeds has become bitter to us, and we take sweet enjoyment of the desire for good deeds and of having forever a dwelling in the heavens, then in truth God is with us. If we look on all men alike, and if all days (sorrowful and successful) are equal for us, the in truth God is with us. If we love those who hate us, who insult, reproach, despise, oppress us, and cause us detriment just like those who love us, praise us, furnish us gain, and give us repose - then in truth God is with us. The sign of one who has attained to this measure is this: that (such a man) always has God with him, for he is always with God. If he is not with God, and God is not with him, then of necessity he will have the adversary with him, and from this the rest is clear for those who have intelligence.
St. Barsanuphius the Great, Sts. Barsanuphius & John, Guidance Toward
Spiritual Life.
Enter eagerly into the treasure-house that lies within you, and so you will see the treasure-house of heaven: for the two are the same, and there is but one single entry to them both. The ladder that leads to the Kingdom is hidden within you, and is found in your own soul. Dive into yourself and in your soul you will discover the rungs by which to ascend.
St. Isaac the Syrian in The Art of Prayer
Enter eagerly into the treasure-house that lies within you, and so you will see the treasure-house of heaven: for the two are the same, and there is but one single entry to them both. The ladder that leads to the Kingdom is hidden within you, and is found in your own soul. Dive into yourself and in your soul you will discover the rungs by which to ascent.
St. Isaac the Syrian in The Art of Prayer
Even if ten thousand obstacles stand in the way, the promises of God cannot fail. Just as He is Himself unchangeable and immutable, and abides continuously and always, so too His promises are infallible and never change, except if somehow we prevent them from coming to pass.
St. John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions
Even if ten thousand obstacles stand in the way, the promises of God cannot fail. Just as He is Himself unchangeable and immutable, and abides continuously and always, so too His promises are infallible and never change, except if somehow we prevent them from coming to pass. But in human affairs the opposite is true. Just as man's nature is corruptible and subject to death, so also the gifts which come from man are corruptible and wither away. And this is as it should be, since all of us who are human are corruptible, and the nature of human gifts imitates the nature of human beings. We cannot suspect anything like this in the case of God's promises. His promises, and only His, endure and stand steadfast, fixed, and firm.
St. John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions.
Even if we should have mounted to the very pinnacle of virtue, let us consider ourselves last of all; having learned that pride is able to cast down even from the heavens themselves him who takes not heed, and humbleness of mind to bear up on high from the very abyss of sins him who knows how to be sober. For this it was that placed the publican before the Pharisee.
St. John Chrysostom, Concerning Lowliness of Mind.
Even should a person be guilty of countless evils, the judgement exercised by conscience is not destroyed; it is part of our nature, after all, having been placed within us by God from the beginning. Even if we dispute its rulings countless times, it keeps on protesting, punishing, condemning, and there is no one living in sin who does not suffer countless pangs, both in intending evil and in putting the intention into effect.
St. John Chrysostom, Commentary on the Psalms
Even when men are extremely poor, they often either borrow or buy a clean robe when they are invited to an earthly wedding, and garbed in this they go to meet those who have invited them. But you have been invited to a spiritual wedding and a royal banquet; consider, then, what sort of wedding garment you should buy. On the other hand, there is no need for you to buy it, because He Who has invited you gives you the garment as a gift, so that you cannot offer your poverty as an excuse.
St. John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions.
Even without any other passion, self-esteem can ruin a man; and in the same way, if we have formed the habit of judging, we can be utterly ruined by by this alone; for indeed, the Pharisee was condemned for this very thing.
St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Every evening we must test ourselves as to how the day passed with us, and every morning we again should test ourselves as to how the night passed. And not only at some definite time but at every time and in every place and concerning everything we must give account o ourselves, and reflect concerning the virtues and the passions, in what condition of life we are: in the beginning, at the middle, or at the end; whether we are laboring worthy of the rewards and performing virtues, or only laboring without receiving rewards.
St. Paisius Velichkovsky, Little Russian Philokalia, Vol. IV.
Every kind of help comes to our souls through Him, and an appropriate title has been devised for each particular kind of care. When He presents a blameless soul to Himself, a soul which like a pure virgin has neither spot nor wrinkle, He is called `Bridegroom,' but when He receives someone paralyzed by the devil's evil strokes, and heals the heavy burden of his sins, He is called `Physician.' Because He cares for us, will this make us think less of Him? Or will we not be struck with amazement at our Savior's mighty power and love for mankind, who patiently endured to suffer our infirmities with us, and condescended to our weakness?
St. John Chrysostom, On the Holy Spirit
Every person who has been renewed in the Spirit and has preserved this gift will be transformed and embodied in Christ, experiencing ineffably the supernatural state of deification. But he will not hereafter be one with Christ or be engrafted into His body unless in this life he has come to share in divine grace and has enbodied spiritual knowledge and truth.
St. Gregory of Sinai, On Commandments and Doctrines, Philokalia, Vol. 4.
Every soul, by the grace of the Holy Spirit and by its own work and diligence, can conjoin and combine in itself the following qualities: word with mind, action with contemplation, virtue with science, faith with knowledge free of all forgetfulness, in such a way, moreover, that none of these qualities would be greater or less than another. For then it will be united with God, Who is good and true, and with Him alone.
"Reflections on the Eight Thoughts", Abba Evagrius, "Early Fathers From the Philokalia," translated from the Russian text, "Dobrotolubiye," by E. Kadloubovsky and G.E.H. Palmer, eighth edition, (London: Faber and Faber, Ltd., 1981), pp. 113 - 114
Every virtue has its beginning from God, but in terms of time, it is eternal as God is. St. Maximos has noted: `All good things and virtue itself are obviously works of God. All virtuous things have a beginning; there was a time when they were not. But virtue itself has no such beginning in time, for there was no time when it was not.' The mind rejoices and the heart is happy when we acquire the virtues. Besides this, every virtue and especially the fear of God produces knowledge, prudence, and wisdom, making those who have this fear of God virtuous, prudent, knowledgeable, and wise. Moreover, it makes those who have it praiseworthy, happy, and zealous.
St. Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain, A Handbook of Spiritual Counsel.
Every word proceeding from God's lips is either a word from the mouth of the saints made active by the Spirit, or the most delectable inspiration from the Spirit which not all, but only a few, are given to enjoy. For, although all intelligent beings enjoy words, there are very few in this world who rejoice in the words of the Spirit.
St. Gregory of Sinai (Texts on Commandments and Dogmas no.96)
Everyone possessing experience can but laugh when contradicted by those who lack experience; for such a person is taught not by argument but by the exertions he makes and the experience that comes from these exertions. It is from experience that we reap what is profitable, and it is experience that refutes the fruitless arguments of contentious braggarts.
St. Gregory Palamas (Those Who Practice a Life of Stillness no. 8, The Philokalia Vol. 4 edited by Palmer, Sherrard and Ware; Faber and Faber pg. 338)
Examine your self and strive to adorn it with love, humility, compassion and hope. Seek the regeneration of your soul, enlightened by the voice of the Gospel and helped by God. With fear and love for the Heavenly Father, proceed to sow the seeds of God's word on good soil. Cultivate the talen given by Christ for the salvation of your soul.
Spiritual counsels of St. Raphael, Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 10.
Exile means that we leave forever everything in our own country that prevents us from reaching the goal of piety. Exile means modest manners, wisdom which remains unknown, prudence not recognized as such by most, a hidden life, an invisible intention, unseen meditation, desire for humiliation, longing for hardship, constant determination to love God, abundance of love, renunciation of vainglory, depth of silence.
St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent.
Explaining the precise significance of Christ's Descent into Hades, the great eleventh century Orthodox mystic Saint Symeon the New Theologian says, `Christ descended into Hades, and freed from the eternal fetters and resurrected the souls of the holy ones who were enslaved there [that is, took them into Paradise]. However, He did not resurrect their bodies, but left them in the graves until the Common Resurrection of all.' Thus, Christ's lifting of Adam and Eve from the graves, shown in the icon, symbolizes His resurrection of the souls.
Constantine Cavarnos, Guide to Byzantine Iconography, Vol. I.
Ezekiel forecalled thee 'gate' and said: 'This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no one shall pass through it' (Ez. 44:4). The gate spoken of by Ezekiel also foretells that just as the great King enters and exits, He will again close the gate. Thus, the great King desires to be born. He will leave thee virgin, just as thou art now.
the Canons of the Feast of the Presentation of the Mother of God, quoted in The Life of the Virgin Mary, The Theotokos, by Holy ApostlesConvent.
Fairer in my eyes, is the beauty which we can gaze upon than that which is painted in words: of more value the wealth which our hands can hold, than that which is imagined in our dreams; and more real the wisdom of which we are convinced by deeds, than that which is set forth in splendid language.
St. Gregory Nazianzen (On His Father's Silence no. 3)
Faith and hope are not merely casual or theoretical matters. Faith requires a steadfast soul, while hope needs a firm will and an honest heart. How without grace can one readily believe in things unseen? How can a man have hope concerning the hidden things held in store unless through his own integrity he has gained some experience of the Lord's gifts? These gifts of grace are a gage of the blessings held in store, which they manifest as present realities. Faith and hope, then, require both virtue on our part and God's inspiration and help. Unless both are present we labor in vain.
St. Theognostos, on the Practice of the Virtues in Philokalia, Vol. II.
Faith is the door to mysteries. What the bodily eyes are to sensory objects, the same is faith to the eyes of the intellect that gaze at hidden treasures. Even as we have two bodily eyes, we possess two eyes of the soul, as the Fathers say; yet both have not the same operation with respect to divine vision.With one we see the hidden glory of God which is concealed in the natures of things; that is to say, we behold His might, His wisdom, and His eternal providence for us which we understand by the magnitude of His governance on our behalf. With this same eye we also behold the heavenly orders of our fellow servants. With the other we behold the glory of His holy nature. When God is pleased to admit us to spiritual mysteries, He opens wide the sea of faith in our minds.
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian.
Faith is the key of God's treasury. She dwells in simple, kind, loving hearts. `All things are possible to him that believeth.' Faith is a spiritual mouth, the more freely it opens the greater the stream by which the Divine springs enter into it; let this mouth freely open, as your bodily one does; do not let your lips be compressed by doubt and unbelief: if you compress them by doubt and unbelief, the treasury of God's blessings will be closed to you. The more openly, the more heartily you believe in God's omnipotence, the more bountifully will God's heart be opened to you. `What things soever ye desire, when ye pray believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them.'
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ.
Faith, according to the teaching of St. Antioch, is the beginning of our union with God. One who truly believes is a stone in the temple of God; he is prepared for the edifice of God the Father, raised to the heights by the power of Jesus Christ, that is, of the Cross, with the aid of ropes, that is, the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual Instruction of St. Seraphim of Sarov (Little Russian Philokalia,
Vol. 1).
Faith, the fear of God, and the observance of His commandments, bring us a reward in proportion to our purity. For as we are purified, so we rise from fearing God to loving Him. It is like making progress and passing out of fear into God's love. It is then that we hear: 'He who accepts My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me.' So then, let us redouble our efforts to prove our love by our works. For when we have done this, He Himself loves us just as He promised and His Father loves us in the same way, and the Holy Spirit, of course, comes before Him to prepare a dwelling place. So it is that by the indwelling unity of the hypostases, we become the home of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
St. Simeon the New Theologian, The Practical and Theological Chapters
Faithfully worship, with honor and reverence, the venerable likeness of the features of the lord, the Word of God, Who for our sake was made man, thinking to behold the Image of your Creator Himself. 'For the honor of the Image, says one of the Saints, passes over to the original.' The original is the thing imagined, and from it comes the derivation. For when we see the drawing in the Image, in our mind's eye we pass over to the true form of which it is an Image, and devotedly worship the form of Him Who for our sake was made flesh, not making a god of it, but saluting it as an image of God made flesh, with desire and love of Him Who for us man emptied Himself, and even took the form of a servant. In the same way also for this reason we salute the icons of His undefiled Mother, and of all the Saints.
S
t. John Damascene, The Precious Pearl (The Lives of Saints Barlaam andIoasaph).
Far beyond the bright beam of the sun The brilliance of these saints shines out. Clouds conceal the light of the former, but night does not succeed their brightness. Their light as it rises sends forth bright flashes, And as it sets, draws all people with it; And the day proclaims The shining brightness of the all-blessed ones, And the night again wonders very much How their light is strong enough to scatter the storm of deeds, For the very famous One is near the man who glorifies the faithful, And he hears from Christ, "You have glorified Me among men, And I shall speak in similar terms for you in Heaven, As I offer you good things, Glory from the Heavens and an abundance of crowns."
Kontakia of Romanos On the Forty Martyrs of Sebasteia II
Fasting is acceptable to God when abstention from food is accompanied by refraining from sins, from envy, from hatred, from calumny, from vainglory, from wordiness, from other evils. He who is fasting the true fast `that is agreeable' to God ought to shun all these things with all his strength and zeal, and remain impregnable and unshakeable against all the attacks of the Evil one that are planned from that quarter. On the other hand, he who practices abstention from food, but does not keep self-control in the face of the aforesaid passions, is like unto one who lays down splendid foundations for a house, yet takes serpents and scorpions and vipers as fellow-dwellers therein. For just as the establishment of goodly foundations for that house becomes a deadly trap to those that come nigh, as the lurking reptiles fall upon them unawares with their poison, so also that person who has established his fame among men by means of fasting, while fostering within him the beast like heads of the passions, is fatal to those that meet him.
St. Photios the Great, Sermon on Wednesday of Cheesefare Week.
Fear is necessary for human nature in order that it might keep within the bounds of obedience to God. But the love of God incites a man to desire the works of virtue and through love he is caught away to the doing of good. Spiritual knowledge naturally comes after the performance of the virtues, but both are preceded by fear and love; and again, fear precedes love. Whoever says with presumption that it is possible to acquire the more perfect virtues before he accomplishes the elementary has, without a doubt, laid the first foundation for the ruin of his soul. For the Lord's way is that the more perfect be born of the former virtues.
The Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian.
First of all it must be understood that it is the duty of all Christians - especially of those whose calling dedicates them to the spiritual life - to strive always and in every way to be united with God, their creator, lover, benefactor, and their supreme good, by Whom and for Whom they were created. This is because the center and the final purpose of the soul, which God created, must be God Himself alone, and nothing else - God whom Whom the soul has received its life and its nature, and for Whom it must eternally live.
Unknown
First the intellect seeks and finds, and then it is united to what it has found. The searching is effectuated by means of the intelligence, the union by means of love. The search by means of the intelligence is undertaken for the sake of truth, the union by means of love is consummated for the sake of sanctity.
Theoliptos, Metropolitan of Philadelphia, Philokalia, V. 4
Foolish Virgins:
O Savior, nod acquiescense. Open Thy door to us, too, Thou Who alone art a just Judge. Receive into Thy bridal chamber Thy virgiins, O Redeemer, And do not turn away Thy face, Christ, from those who invoke Thee, So that we may not be deprived of Thy immortal grace, And so that we may not face shame and disgrace before the angels. And do not ever permit us To stand outside Thy bridal chamber, Christ. They have not practiced chastity any more than we have, Those to whom Thou dost offer The incorruptible crown.
Christ spoke as follows, in answer to the foolish virgins who were speaking to the Judge of all; "The judgment set out just now is just and in line with truth; The time for mercy has been shut off; it is no longer a case for sympathy; The door of mercy is no longer open to men, Since indeed the time for repentance has not been given men down on earth. He Who was merciful a short time ago is not longer sympathetic, But the Merciful One is a severe judge. You who were lacking in charity in the world, How can you ask for The incorruptible crown?"
St Romanos the Melodist - On the Ten Virgins I
For Christ really was and is, being 'in the beginning with God' and being Himself God, the Commander-in-Chief and the Shepherd of all that is in the heaven, the while He marshals in orderly ranks and numbers the multitudes of the blessed angels, He to whom all rational creatures pay homage and obey. Now this constituted the even and perfect number of immortal creatures, distributed by race and tribe, the fact that man was also included in this flock; for he too had been created in incorruptibility that he might celebrate the King and Creator of all things in a song which would be an antiphon to the angelic voices wafted from heaven. But then is happened that he transgressed the Commandment and suffered a terrible and destructive Fall and was transformed into death; for this reason, the Lord tells us, He came from the heavens into the world, leaving the ranks and the hosts of the angels.
St. Methodius, The Symposium: A Treatise on Chastity
For 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. We neither have authority granted us by law to restrain sinners, nor, if it were, should we know how to use it, since God gives the crown to those who are kept from evil, not by force, but by choice.
St. John Chrysostom, "Six Books on the Priesthood
For 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. We neither have authority granted us by law to restrain sinners, nor, if it were, should we know how to use it, since God gives the crown to those who are kept from evil, not by force, but by choice.
St. Dorotheos of Gaza
For Christians are set apart from other men neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked out by any singularity. The course of conduct which they follow has not been devised by any speculation or deliberation of inquisitive men; nor do they, like some, proclaim themselves the advocates of any merely human doctrines. But, inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of them has determined, and following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and confessedly striking method of life. They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a foreign land. They marry, as do all [others]; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonored, and yet in their very dishonor are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless; they are insulted, and repay the insult with honor; they do good, yet are punished as evil-doers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners, and are persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred.
To sum up all in one word -- what the soul is in the body, that are Christians in the world. The soul is dispersed through all the members of the body, and Christians are scattered through all the cities of the world. The soul dwells in the body, yet is not of the body; and Christians dwell in the world, yet are not of the world. The invisible soul is guarded by the visible body, and Christians are known indeed to be in the world, but their godliness remains invisible. The flesh hates the soul, and wars against it, though itself suffering no injury, because it is prevented from enjoying pleasures; the world also hates the Christians, though in nowise injured, because they abjure pleasures. The soul loves the flesh that hates it, and [loves also] the members; Christians likewise love those that hate them. The soul is enclosed within the body, yet preserves that very body; and Christians are confined in the world as in a prison, and yet they are the preservers of the world. The immortal soul dwells in a mortal tabernacle; and Christians dwell as sojourners in corruptible [bodies], looking for an incorruptible dwelling in the heavens. The soul, when but ill-provided with food and drink, becomes better; in like manner, the Christians, though subjected day by day to punishment, increase the more in number. God has assigned them this illustrious position, which it were unlawful for them to forsake.
the anonymous Epistle to Diognetus, 5-6 2nd century
For He is said to make His Angels spirits, and His Ministers a flame of fire (Ps. 103:4) - though perhaps this 'making' means preserving by that Word by which they came into existence. The Angel then is called spirit and fire; Spirit, as being of a purifying nature; for I know that the same names belong to the First Nature. But , relatively to us at least, we must reckon the Angelic Nature incorporeal, or at any rate as nearly so as possible.
St. Gregory Nazianzen, The Second Theological Oration.
For He was not, as might be imagined, circumscribed in the body, nor, while present in the body, was He absent elsewhere; nor, while He moved the body, was the universe left void of His working and Providence; but, thing most marvellous, Word as He was, so far from being contained by anything, He rather contained all things Himself; and just as while present in the whole of creation, He is at once distinct in being from the universe, and present in all things by His own power, -- giving order to all things, and over all and in all revealing His own providence, and giving life to each thing and all things, including the whole without being included, but being in His own Father alone wholly and in every respect.
St. Athanasius the Great, On the Incarnation.
For `every one,' He saith, `that hath forsaken brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, or house, for My name's sake shall receive an hundredfold in this world, and shall inherit eternal life.' For lest any after having heard the word `ye,' should suppose this a thing peculiar to the disciples (I mean now the enjoying the greatest and first honors in the things to come), He extended the word, and spread the promise over the whole earth, and from the things present establishes the things to come also. And to the disciples also at the beginning, when they were in a more imperfect state, He reasoned from the things present. For when He drew them from the sea, and took them from their trade, and commanded them to forsake the ships, He made mention not of Heaven, not of thrones, but of the things here, saying, `I will make you fishers of men;' but when He had wrought them to be of higher views, then after that He discourses of the things to come also.
St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew.
For by His own power He is united wholly with each and all, and orders all things without stint, so that no one could have called it out of place for Him to speak, and make known Himself and His Father, by means of sun, if He so willed, or moon, or heaven, or earth, or waters, or fire; inasmuch as He holds in one and all things at once, and is in fact not only in all, but also in the part in question, and there invisibly manifests Himself. In like manner, it cannot be absurd if, ordering as He does the whole, and giving life to all things, and having willed to make Himself known through men, He has used as His instrument a human body to manifest the truth and knowledge of the Father. For humanity, too, is an actual part of the whole.
St. Athanasius the Great, On the Incarnation of the Word.
For everything lies at the innermost recess of the soul. When the devil has been chased away from it and when sin is no longer in charge of it, then the kingdom of God is established there. This is what the evangelist conveys to us when he says, `The kingdom of God will not come as something to be observed nor will people cry -Here it is! There it is! - Amen, I tell you the kingdom of God is within you' (Luke 17-20-21.
St. John Cassian, The Conferences
For if a man draws near to grace, then Jesus will say to him, `I will no longer call you servants, but I will call you My friends and My brothers: for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you' (Jn. 15:15). For those who have drawn near, and have been taught by the Holy Spirit, have known themselves according to their intellectual substance. And in their knowledge of themselves they have cried out and said, `For we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father' (Rom. 8:15): that we may know what God has given us -- `If we are sons, then are we heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with the saints' (Rom. 8:17).
The Letters of St. Anthony the Great, Trans. by Derwas J. Chitty.
For it seems to me that in another sense the heavenly trumpet becomes a teacher to the one ascending as he makes his way to what is not made with hands. For the wonderful harmony of the heavens proclaims the wisdom which shines forth in the creation and sets forth the great glory of God through the things which are seen, in keeping with the statement, 'the heavens declare the glory of God.' It becomes the loud sounding trumpet of clear and melodious teaching, as one of the Prophets says, 'The heavens trumpeted from above.'
St. Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of Moses
For just as the deeds of the wicked are their accusers before the righteous Judge, making them bend and bow down their heads silently in shame, so also their beautiful deeds plead cause for the good before the Good One. For the deeds of all mankind are both silent and speak - silent by their nature yet they speak when one sees them.
St. Ephrem the Syrian, Letter to Publius
For myself, I listen to the father who says, 'Woe to body when it does not consume the nourishment that is from without, and woe to the soul when it does not receive the grace that is from above!' He speaks justly - for the body will perish once it has passed into the world of inanimate things, and the soul will become enmeshed in the demonic life and the thoughts of demons if it turns away from that which is proper to it.
St. Gregory Palamas, The Triads
For see how exactly He expresses it, even though in a dark saying. For He said not, 'In the earth,' but, 'In the heart of the earth;' that He might designate His very sepulchre, and that no one might suspect a mere semblance. And for this intent too did He allow three days, that the fact of His death might be believed. For not by the cross only doth He make it certain, and by the sight of all men, but also by the time of those days. For to the resurrection indeed all succeeding time was to bear witness; but the cross, unless it had at the time many signs bearing witness to it, would have been disbelieved; and with this disbelief would have gone utter disbelief of the resurrection also. Therefore He calls it also a sign. But had He not been crucified, the sign would not have been given. For this cause too He brings forward the type, that the truth may be believed. For tell me, was Jonah in the whale's belly a mere appearance? Nay, thou canst not say so. Therefore neither was Christ in the heart of the earth such. For surely the type is not in truth, and the truth in mere appearance. For this cause we everywhere show forth His death, both in the mysteries, and in baptism, and in all the rest.
St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew.
For she is ark and vase and throne and heaven. She was judged worthy to be entrusted with ineffable mysteries; she was judged worthy to reveal things hidden and sealed in the Book of Daniel, and through her 'all of us, with faces unveiled, will gaze on the glory of the Lord' (2Cor 3:18). Through her the veil on Moses' face has been lifted.
Theoteknos, Bishiop of Livias, An Encomium on the Assumption of the Holy
Mother of God.
For the mind which greatly loves its Bridegroom there is usually one consolation in the delay of this present life, if because it is separated from its vision the souls of others are benefited by its word and inflamed with the firebrands of love for the Heavenly Bridegroom. It mourns because it sees itself as separated; it is saddened by all that it perceives because it still does not behold Him Whom it yearns to behold. But it is, as I said, no small consolation if, when a fervent soul is separated, many are collected thereby so that late in time it beholds together with many Him Whom it wished to see sooner alone.
The Homilies of St. Gregory the Great On the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel
For the person who has crossed the sea and has seen this Egyptian dead in it, as we interpret the sea and has seen this Egyptian dead in it, as we interpret it, no longer looks to Moses alone as the staff-bearer of virtue; but in keeping with the foregoing he believes in God, even as the Scripture says, and is obedient to His servant Moses. We see this happening even now with those who truly cross the water, who dedicate themselves to God and are obedient and submissive, as the Apostle says, to those who serve the Divine in the priesthood.
St. Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of Moses.
For the prophetical gifts remain with us, even to the present time. And hence e you ought to understand that the gifts formerly among your nation [the Jewish nation] have been transferred to us. And just as there were false prophets contemporaneous with the holy prophets, so are there now many false teachers among us, of whom our Lord forewarned us to beware; so that in no respect are we deficient, since we know that He foreknew all that would happen to us after His resurrection from the dead and ascension to heaven.
St. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho.
For there are two loves from which proceed all wishes, as different in quality as they are different in their sources. For the reasonable soul, which cannot exist without love, is the lover either of God or the world. In the love of God there is no excess, but in the love of the world all is hurtful. And therefore we must cling inseparably to external treasures, but things temporal we must use like passersby , that as we are sojourners hastening to return to our own land, all the good things of this world which meet us may be as aids in the way, not snares to detail us.
Sermons of St. Leo the Great.
For this purpose, then, the incorporeal and incorruptible and immaterial Word of God comes to our realm, howbeit He was not far from us before. For no part of creation is left void of Him: He has filled all things everywhere, remaining present with His own Father. But He comes in condescension to show loving kindness upon us, and to visit us. And seeing the race of rational creatures in the way to perish, and death reigning over them by corruption; seeing, too, that the threat against transgression gave a firm hold hold to the corruption which was upon us, and that it was monstrous that before the law was fulfilled it should fall through: seeing, once more, the unseemliness of what was come to pass: that the things whereof He Himself was Artificer were passing away: seeing further, the exceeding wickedness of men, and how by little and little they had increased it to an intolerable pitch against themselves: and seeing, lastly, how all men were under penalty of death: He took pity on our race, and had mercy on our infirmity, and condescended to our corruption, and unable to bear that death should have the mastery-lest the creature should perish, and His Father's handiwork in men be spent for nought - He takes unto Himself a body, and that of no different sort from outs.
St. Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation of the Word.
For this reason the Lord calls blessed those who are opposed to worldly possessions, saying: 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' Why to the words, 'Blessed are the poor,' does He add, 'in spirit'? So that by this would be shown that He considers blessedness to be the humility of the soul. Why did He not say, blessed are the poor-spirited -- and thus would be demonstrated the humility of thinking -- but rather He says, 'poor in spirit'? By this He wants to teach us that bodily poverty is also a blessedness, in that through this one can receive the kingdom of heaven, when it is done for the sake of the humility of the soul. This is the case when bodily poverty is united with the humility of the soul, and when it is for the person the principle of humility of the soul. Having called blessed 'those poor in spirit,' He demonstrated in a wonderful way what are the root and cause of the visible poverty of the saints -- that is, their spirit.
St. Gregory Palamas, Treatise on the Spiritual Life.
For those under the law, and dwelling in Judea, the Baptist was, as it were, a lamp, preceding Christ; and God so spake before of him; `I have prepared a lamp for My Christ.' And the law also typified him in the lamp, which in the first tabernacle it commanded should be ever kept alight. But the Jews, after being for a short time pleased with him, flocking to his baptism, and admiring his mode of life, quickly made him sleep in death, doing their best to quench the ever-burning lamp. For this reason the Savior also spake concerning him, `He was a burning and shining lamp, and ye were willing a little to rejoice for a season in his light.'
St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke.
For those who believe in Him, Christ will become all this and even more, beyond enumeration, not only in the age to come but first i this life, and then in the world to come. Thou in an obscure way here below and in a perfect manner in the Kingdom, those who believe see clearly nonetheless and receive as of now the first-fruits of everything they will have in the future life. Indeed, if they do not receive on earth everything that was promised to them, they do not have any part of foretaste of the blessings to come, their higher hope being set on the hereafter. However, it is through death and the resurrection that God in His foresight has given us the Kingdom, incorruptibility, the totality of life eternal. Given these conditions, we unquestionably become partakers of the good things to come, that is, incorruptible, immortal, sons of God, sons of the light and of the day, inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven, since we carry the Kingdom within.
In The Light of Christ: St. Symeon the New Theologian
For to despise the present age, not to love transitory things, unreservedly to stretch out the mind in humility to God and our neighbor, to preserve patience against offered insults and, with patience guarded, to repel the pain of malice from the heart, to give one's property to the poor, not to covet that of others, to esteem the friend in God, on God's account to love even those who are hostile, to mourn at the affliction of a neighbor, not to exult in the death of one who is an enemy, this is the new creature whom the Master of the nations seeks with watchful eye amid the other disciples, saying: `If, the, any be in Christ a new creature, the old things are passed away. Behold all things are made new' (2Cor. 5:17).
The Homilies of St. Gregory the Great on the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel.
For to despise the present age, not to love transitory things, unreservedly to stretch out the mind in humility to God and our neighbor, to preserve patience against offered insults and, with patience guarded, to repel the pain of malice from the heart, to give one's property to the poor, not to covet that of others, to esteem the friend in God, on God's account to love even those who are hostile, to mourn at the affliction of a neighbor, not to exult in the death of one who is an enemy, this is the new creature whom the Master of the nations seeks with watchful eye amid the other disciples, saying:"If, then, any be in Christ a new creature, the old things are passed away. Behold all things are made new" (2 Cor. 5:17).
Apophthegmata Patrum
For to despise the present age, not to love transitory things, unreservedly to stretch out the mind in humility to God and our neighbor, to preserve patience against offered insults and, with patience guarded, to repel the pain of malice from the heart, to give one's property to the poor, not to covet that of others, to esteem the friend in God, on God's account to love even those who are hostile, to mourn at the affliction of a neighbor, not to exult in the death of one who is an enemy, this is the new creature whom the Master of the nations seeks with watchful eye amid the other disciples, saying:"If, then, any be in Christ a new creature, the old things are passed away. Behold all things are made new" (2 Cor. 5:17).
St. Isaac the Syrian
For to us there is but One God, the Father, of Whom are all things, and One Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom are all things; and One Holy Spirit, in Whom are all things; yet these words, of, by , in , whom, do not denote a difference of nature (for if this were the case, the three propositions, or the order of the three names would never be altered), but they characterize the personalities of a nature which is one and unconfused. And this is proved by the fact that They are again collected into one, if you will read - not carelessly - this other passage of the same Apostle, `Of Him and through Him and to Him are all things; to Him be glory forever, Amen.'
St. Gregory the Great, Oration on the Holy Lights.
For truly the assistance which God gives to our nature is provided to those who correctly live the life of virtue. This assistance was already there at our birth, but it is manifested and made known whenever we apply ourselves to diligent training in the higher life and strip ourselves for the more vigorous contests.
St. Gregory of Nyssa, On the Life of Moses.
For truly the boundary line of faith was subscribed for me By the hand of Thomas; for when he touched Christ He became like the pen of a fast-writing scribe Which writes for the faithful. From it gushes forth faith. From it, the robber drank and became sober again; From it the disciples watered their hearts; From it, Thomas drained the knowledge which he sought, For he drank first and then offered drink To many who had a little doubt. He persuaded them to say, `Thou art our Lord and God.'
St Romanos the Melodist - On Doubting Thomas.
For we all know that the voice of the trumpet suddenly, as the angel sounds it, Will raise up the dear who through the centuries awaited Christ, The beautiful Bridegroom, the Son of God, our eternal God. When the cry suddenly sounds, all will be present, And those who are ready with their lamps filled with oil Will enter at once with the Bridegroom As inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven. For then their faith, along with works, Will justly give them The incorruptible crown.
St Romanos the Melodist - On the Ten Virgins I
For what is so wondrous as to offer the other cheek to an assailant? Is not every attack of the indignant broken and his anger assuaged? Does it not happen through patience that his own penitence rebounds the more on the assailant? Thus, it ensues that ye ward off injury and seek grace. And often the causes of the greatest love arise when patience is rendered for arrogance and grace for insult.
St. Ambrose of Milan, Exposition of the Holy Gospel According to St.
Luke.
For whereas we ought to mourn for our own transgressions, and repent, and punish sin with fasting, and, by not judging our neighbor, anticipate beforehand the goodwill of the common Judge, and obtain His mercy, we pay to all this no sort of attention; we leave our own sores unattended, but set ourselves up as severe investigators into those of others, which are no concern of ours; we pry into their talking and walking and smiling (need I say that our habit of malice, exercised by daily practice, most easily and convincingly forges for them actions which they have never committed, and, fostering these forgeries by our ingenuity, brings pain and injustice into human life?); and this we do as though a righteous judge, presiding according to divine decrees, had given license to the flow of our tongue, and we do not blush at acting thus shamefully all day long.
St. Photios the Great, Homily on Cheese Fare Week
For who does not know that the Egyptian army - those horses, chariots and their drivers, archers, slingers, heavily armed soldiers, and the rest of the crowd in the enemies' lines of battle - are the various passions of the soul by which man is enslaved? For the undisciplined intellectual drives and the sensual impulses to pleasure, sorrow, and covetousness are indistinguishable from the aforementioned army. Reviling is a stone straight from the sling and the spirited impulse is the quivering spear point. The passion for pleasures is to be seen in the horses who themselves with irresistible drive pull the chariot.
St. Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of Moses
For, when enlightened by faith, the soul has visions of God, and as far as possible beholds God, and ranges round the bounds of the universe, and before the end of this world already beholds the Judgment, and the payment of the promised rewards.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Catechetical Lectures: Lecture 5 no. 11)
Forming a heavenly chorus in the middle of the furnace, The Children made the boundaries of the furnace a celestial church As they sang with the angel a psalm to the Creator of angels, Imitating all the liturgy of the immortals. Then, when they were quite filled with the Holy Spirit from the service, They saw another thing that was more marvelous: He Whom they had just beheld as human On the instant was changed in appearance And appeared now as divine, now as a man; At times He commanded, and at times He sang the psalm with them: `Hasten, Merciful One, and in compassion come quickly To our aid, since Thou art able to do what Thou dost will.'
St Romanos the Melodist - On the Three Children
Fortunate is the man who has come to have God as his helper and to have his hopes in Him alone. Let the Devil bear malice towards him, let all men persecute him and plot against him, let all his adversaries fight against him - he never fears anyone, because he has God as his helper. He remains always a victor, always glorified, always happy, always rich, always cheerful and joyful, even if he happens to fall into extreme poverty and into a great many adverse and grievous circumstances of the present life. For inasmuch as he hopes in Almighty God, he does not despair, he is not sorry, is not anxious, but expects help from Above. Fortunate, then, is such a man and worthy to be deemed happy, just as the Prophet-king David regards such a man as happy, saying: `Blessed is he whose helper is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.' Such were all the Prophets, the Apostles, the Martyrs, the Holy Ascetics and all the Saints from the beginning of time.
Selection from Cavarnos, Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 4, St. Nikephoros of
Chios.
Fortunate is the man who has come to have God as his helper and to have his hopes in Him alone. Let the Devil bear malice towards him, let all men persecute him and plot against him, let all his adversaries fight against him - he never fears anyone, because his has God as his helper. He remains always a victor, always glorified, always happy, always rich, always cheerful and joyful, even if he happens to fall into extreme poverty and into a great many adverse and grievous circumstances of this present life. For inasmuch as he hopes in Almighty God, he does not despair, he is not sorry, is not anxious, but expects help from Above. Fortunate, then, is such a man and worthy to be deemed happy, just as the Prophet-king David regards such a man as happy, saying: "Blessed is he whose helper is the God of Jacob, whose hoe is in the Lord his God." Such were all the Prophets, the Apostles, the Martyrs, the Holy Ascetics and all the Saints from the beginning of time.
St. Nikephoros of Chios, Modern Orthodox Saints, V. 4
Fortunate is the man who has come to have God as his helper and to have his hopes in Him alone. Let the Devil bear malice towards him, let all men persecute him and plot against him, let all his adversaries fight against him - he never fears anyone, because his has God as his helper. He remains always a victor, always glorified, always happy, always rich, always cheerful and joyful, even if he happens to fall into extreme poverty and into a great many adverse and grievous circumstances of this present life. For inasmuch as he hopes in Almighty God, he does not despair, he is not sorry, is not anxious, but expects help from Above. Fortunate, then, is such a man and worthy to be deemed happy, just as the Prophet-king David regards such a man as happy, saying: "Blessed is he whose helper is the God of Jacob, whose hoe is in the Lord his God." Such were all the Prophets, the Apostles, the Martyrs, the Holy Ascetics and all the Saints from the beginning of time.
St. Symeon the New Theologian
Fortunate is the man who has these two loves in his heart, that for God and that for his brethren. He surely has God; and whoever has God has every blessing and does not bear to commit sin. Again, wretched is the man who does not have these two loves. surely he has the devil and evil, and always sins. God, my brethren, asks us to have these two loves. As He Himself says in His Holy Gospel: `On these two commandments hang all the law and the Prophets.' Through these two loves all the Saints of our Church, men and women, attained sainthood and won Paradise.
St. Cosmas Aitolos, Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 1
From long-suffering in prayer the fruit of live arises, and expectation is a firm helper during prayer to those who possess it. When you pray, bring to mind the ploughman who sows in hope. He Who causes to return twofold the seed that the ploughman sows with hope, Who has esteemed the seeking of His Kingdom and His righteousness to be greater than temporal things, He Himself will reward your entreaty according to His promise.
The Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian.
From the beginning, he says, God was everywhere, giving life to every man coming into the world, and before He made the world He was in the world. How? Because all things pre-existed with Him and all were in Him. For, in the case of those who have not yet been born, it is not as if they did not exist, but they are one with God as if they had already come into being. Then, says the Scripture, when He made the world He was not separated from it by from it by space, but was in it and the world did not know Him.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life: The Ethical Discourses
From the fact of our praying it so happens that we are with God; and whoever is with God is well away from the Enemy: prayer thus preserves chastity, it beats down anger, it drowns pride, it gets rid of resentment, it destroys envy, it causes evil to vanish, it reforms wicked ways. Prayer, then, is the seal of virginity, the firm basis of marriage, the armor of those who travel, the protection of those who are asleep, the source of confidence for those who are awake. In brief, prayer is talking to, and encountering God.
Anonymous (6th Century) from The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the
Spiritual Life.
Full of meaning is also the addition `of this day,' when He says: `Give us this day our daily bread.' These words contain yet another teaching. For you should learn through what you say that the human life is but the life of a day. Only the present each one of us can call his own; the hope of the future is uncertain, for we know not `what the day to come may bring forth.' Why then do we make ourselves miserable worrying about the future? He says, `Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof,' evil here means the enduring of evil. Why are we disturbed about the morrow? By the very fact that He gives you the commandment for today, He forbids you to be solicitous for the morrow. He says to you as it were: He Who gives you the day will give you also the things necessary for the day.
St. Gregory of Nyssa, On The Lord's Prayer.
Gabriel announcing the word of joy to the Virgin, sowed the WORD in her And through the Holy Spirit greeted the pregnancy of her who was unwed. Lo, the Lord is with you, and He Who was before you will come from you, He Who is thy Father and thy Son. In anticipating this He sent me to you, And after the birth He will keep you pure In order that everyone may proclaim: The Virgin gives birth, and after birth remains a virgin.
St Romanos the Melodist - On The Annunciation II
Go forth, then, to all the world, and cast the seed of repentance in the ground and water it with doctrinal teachings. See to it that no one who repents remains outside your net. For I rejoice in those who are converted, as you know. Would that the one who betrayed me had turned back to me after the sale.
But I have wiped out his sins and united him with you, I who alone know what is in the heart.
St Romanos the Melodist - On the Mission of the Apostles.
God belongs to all free beings. He is the life of all, the salvation of all - faithful and unfaithful, just and unjust, pious and impious, passionate and dispassionate, monks and laymen, wise and simple, healthy and sick, young and old - just as the effusion of light, the sight of the sun, and the changes of the seasons are for all alike; `for there is no respect of person with God.'
St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
God heard their wants and His Comforter Descended on those who were praying, The Ineffable One was not removed from one place to the other, Nor was there alteration, nor accomodation, nor did He endure diminution, For He was above, and below, and everywhere; For the divine nature is ineffable and not to be touched; It is not seen by the eyes, but it is apprehended through faith; It is not grasped in the hands; but it is felt in hearts of faith -- The All-Holy Spirit.
St Romanos the Melodist - On Pentecost.
God in His abundant and unfeigned love came to us, saying by His Saints, `Son of man, make to thyself vessels of captivity' (Ezek. 12:3). and He, `being in the form of God, counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross: wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father' (Phil. 2:6-11). Now therefore, beloved, let this word be manifest among you, that the bounty of the Father spared not His Only-begotten for our sakes, but delivered Him up for the salvation of us all (cf. Rom. 8:32): `He gave Himself for our sins' (Gal. 1:4), and our iniquities humbled Him, and `by His stripes we were healed' (Isa. 53:5), and by the word of His power He gathered us out of all lands, from one end of the earth to the other end of the world, and made resurrection of our minds, and remission of our sins, and taught us that we are member one of another.
St. Anthony the Great.
God is Spirit, invisible, immortal, inaccessible, incomprehensible. Those who are born of Him He makes to be such as Himself, like the Father who has begotten them. They may be touched and seen in body only, in other respects they are known to God alone and know only Him; or, rather, they wish to be known to God alone and constantly strive to look to Him and are anxious to be seen by Him. To express it differently, just as the illiterate cannot read books like those who are literate, neither can those who have refused to go through the commandments of Christ by practicing them be granted the revelation of the Holy Spirit like those who have brooded over them and fulfilled them and shed their blood for them.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, Discourses.
God is a fire that warms and kindles the heart and inward parts. And so, if we feel in our hearts coldness, which is from the devil, - for the devil is cold - then let us call upon the Lord, and He will come and warm our hearts with perfect love not only for Him, but for our neighbor as well. And from the presence of warmth the coldness of the heater of good will be driven away.
St. Seraphim of Sarov, Spiritual Instructions
God is a fire that warms and kindles the heart and inward parts. Hence, if we feel in our hearts the cold which comes from the devil - for the devil is cold - let us call on the Lord. He will come to warm our hearts with perfect love, not only for Him but also for our neighbor, and the cold of him who hates the good will flee before the heart of His countenance.
St. Seraphim of Sarov, in Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 5.
God is everywhere. He draws near to those who live devoutly and fight the spiritual battle, to those whose religion goes further than mere pronouncements, but who are distinguished by their deeds. Where God is present, who would wish to hatch conspiracies? Who would be strong enough to inflict any hurt?
The Spiritual Meadow of John Moschos.
God is goodness, He is like inexhaustible chrism; the spiritual world is the development of this goodness, like an ocean of fragrant chrism, the material world also. How can we not hope to obtain all good things from such goodness? The Lord in His goodness has diffused Himself into all creatures, like chrism, without having in any wise exhausted Himself.
St. John of Kronstadt , My Life in Christ.
God is long-suffering and merciful to you: this you experience many times every day. Be long-suffering and merciful to your brethren, also fulfilling the words of the Apostle, who thus speaks of charity {love] before everything: `Charity suffereth long, and is king.' You desire that the Lord should rejoice you by His love, rejoice on your part the hearts of others by your tender love and kindness.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ.
God is not like a stone that is once cast into a man, and there remains with no reference to the man's will. God is a power, finer and stronger than light and air; a power that fills a man or leaves him in response to the man's free will and God's limitless goodness. So, from one day to another, a man is not filled by God in equal measure. This depends, more than anything else, on a man's openness to God. Were a man's soul to be fully open only towards God (and this means being, at the same time, closed to the world), then that man would return to the primal delight of gazing upon God. But it is very difficult to attain to this in the mortal milieu in which man's soul finds itself, in which there is only one opening by which a man can come into contact with God as the Source of life, and that is faith.
(St.) Bisop Nikolai Velimirovich, Homilies, Vol. 2
God is praised as "Logos" [word] by the sacred scriptures not only as the leader of word, mind, and wisdom, but because He also initially carries within His own unity the causes of all things and because He penetrates all things, reaching, as scripture says, to the very end of all things. But the title is used especially because the divine Logos is simpler than any simplicity and, in its utter transcendence, is independent of everything. This Word is simple total truth. Divine faith revolves around it because it is pure and unwavering knowledge of all. It is the one sure foundation for those who believe, binding them to the truth, building the truth in them as something unshakably firm so that they have an uncomplicated knowledge of the truth of what they believe.
St. Dionysios the Areopagite, The Divine Names (in The Complete Works)
God is present in every place, and He is with us wherever we may be. And we, anything we may go, we do before Him and before His holy eyes. How, then, shall we transgress before God and violate His holy Law before His eyes? We are ashamed and stand in fear before an earthly king, how much more ought wee be ashamed and fear to give offence before God, for every sin is an offense before God.
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Journey to Heaven.
God is the teacher of prayer; true prayer is the gift of God. To him who prays constantly with contrition of spirit, with the fear of God and with attention, God himself gives gradual progress in prayer. From humble and attentive prayer, spiritual action and spiritual warmth make their appearance and quicken the heart. The quickened heart draws the mind to itself and becomes a temple of grace-given prayer and a treasury of the spiritual gifts which are procured by such prayer as a matter of course.
St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, On The Prayer of Jesus.
God judges our intention, but in that which is within our power He, in man-befriendingwise, also requires us to act. Great is he who leaves undone nothing that is within his power; but greater is he who humbly attempts what is beyond his power.
St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent.
God loved men, and it was for their sake that He made the world; at their service He placed everything on earth; to them He gave reason and intelligence; them alone He endowed with the ability to look up to Him; them He formed after His own image; to them He sent His Only-begotten Son; to them He promised the kingdom in heaven, and this He will give to those that love Him. And when you have acquired this knowledge, with what joy do you think you will be filled! Or how intensely will you love Him Who first loved you so! And once you love Him, you will be an imitator of His kindness. And you must not be surprised that man can become an imitator of God. He can, since He so wills.
The Epistle to Diognetus, The Didache.
God planted the tree of life and the tree of knowledge. The tree of knowledge was for trial, and proof, and exercise of man's obedience and disobedience: and hence it was named the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or else it was because to those who partook of it was given power to know their own nature. Now this is a good thing for those who are mature, but an evil thing for the immature and those whose appetites are too strong.
St. John of Damascus, Exposition on the Orthodox Faith quoted in The
Lament of Eve by Johanna Manley.
God seeks nothing else from us men except that we do not sin; this alone. But this is not a work of law; it is rather a careful guarding of the image and dignity from above. In these things, affirmed in our nature and bearing the radiant garment of the Spirit, we shall abide in God and He in us. We shall be called good, and sons of God by adoption, marked in the light of our knowledge of God.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, The Practical and Theological Chapters
God seeks only one thing: that you honor Him, love Him, and keep His commandments, acknowledging that He is your Maker. He does not want you to divide His glory and to worship other things instead of Him. He does not want you to love anything more than Him. For this reason, when He gave His commandments to Moses through the divinely written law, He said, 'Hear, O Israel: thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy soul, and with all thine heart, and with all thy might, and with all my mind.'
Monastic Wisdom, The Letters of the Elder Joseph the Hesychast.
God your Protector is incomparably stronger than all others in this battle. As it is written: 'The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle' (Ps. 24:8). Moreover His desire to save you is greater than that of your enemy to destroy you.
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 16)
God's commandments excel all the treasures of the world. A man who has gained inward possession of them finds the Lord in them. The man who always goes to bed with rumination upon God has gained Him as his Chamberlain; and he who desires the fulfillment of God's will, will have the angels of heaven as his guides. A man who fears sins will traverse a terrible passage without stumbling, and at a time of darkness he will find light before him and within himself. The Lord carefully watches the steps of the man who fears sins, and God's mercy forestalls him when he slips. A man who considers his transgressions to be slight, falls into worse sins than he formerly committed and he will pay his penalty sevenfold. Sow your alms in humility, and you will reap mercy at the judgement.
St. Isaac the Syrian, Ascetical Homilies
God's saints had `the eyes of their understanding enlightened,' (Ephesians 1:18) and with these eyes they clearly saw the wants of our sin-corrupted nature; clearly saw for what we should pray, for what we should ask, for what we should give thanks, how we should praise the Lord, and they left us the most perfect examples of prayers of various kinds. O, how beautiful these prayers are! Sometimes we do not feel and do not know their value, whilst we well know the value of food and drink, of fashionable desire, of well-furnished rooms, of theatres, of music, of worldly literature, especially of novels, that fluent, empty mass of words -- and, alas! we trample under feet the precious pearls of prayer; and whilst everything worldly finds a welcome, wide shelter in the hearts of most people, prayer -- alas! does not find even a narrow corner of in them, cannot get into them. And when t begs us to let it in, it is thrust
out like a mendicant, like the man who had not a wedding garment.
God's saints value more than any of us the great act of the redemption of mankind by God, the descent of the Son of God from heaven, His teaching, likewise, His sufferings, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension into heaven; for they spent all their lives in working out their own and others' salvation, sincerely, firmly, infallibly, with their whole hearts; for the sake of their own and others' salvation, they renounced themselves, fasted, prayed, watched, wrestled, tabored in deed and word with their intellect and pen. But we do not understand how to value such great acts; we are cold, distracted, heedless, and are more occupied with the visible world and of its good, which are but smoke.
St. .John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ
God, Who is merciful, has not forgotten us to the point that the wicked one might rejoice as our loss. On the contrary, in His love He wakens us from the sleep of death, and in His mercy he goes on prodding us day by day, saying to our hearts, 'Wake up, you who sleep, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.' Knowing the great grace we have inherited - for 'he has not dealt with us according to our sins, and He has not punished us according to our inquities' - let us repent, let us be watchful and let us give thanks to Him.
Instructions of Theodore, Pachomian Koinonia III
Good and God-loving men accuse people of something bad when they are present, but when they are absent they not only refrain from accusing them, but do not permit others to do so when they attempt to speak of them.
St. Antony the Great(170 Texts on Saintly Life no. 30)
Grace is not merely faith, but also active prayer. For the latter shows in practice true faith, made living by Jesus, for it comes from the Spirit through love. And so faith is dead and lifeless in a man who does not see it active in himself.
St. Gregory of Sinai (Texts on Commandments and Dogmas no. 118)
Grace is not merely faith, but also active prayer. For the latter shows in practice true faith, made living by Jesus, for it comes from the Spirit through love. And so faith is dead and lifeless in a man who does not see it active in himself. More than thtat - a man has no right to be called faithful, if his faith is a bare word and if he has not in him a faith made active by love or the Spirit. Thus faith must be made evident by progress in works, or it must act in the light and shine in works, as the divine Apostle says: 'Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works (James 2:18).'
St. Gregory of Sinai, Writings From the Philokalia on the Prayer of theHeart.
Grant Thou speedy and lasting consolation unto Thy servants, O Jesus, when our spirits are despondent. Be Thou not parted from out souls when they be in affliction; be Thou not far from our minds when we are in perils, but do Thou ever anticipate our needs. Draw nigh unto us, draw nigh, O Thou Who art everywhere present, and even as Thou art ever with Thine Apostles, thus do Thou also unite unto Thyself us who long for Thee, O Compassionate One, that, being united with Thee, we may praise and glorify Thine All-holy Spirit.
Eikos of the Canon of Monday of the Holy Spirit. The Pentecostarion.
Great is the height of humility, according to the word of St. Macarius, and eminent are the dignity and honor of humble-mindedness. /there is no one higher than a humble man, or one more glorious than he who is poor in Christ; and there is no other path leading to heaven, into eternal life, than that of humility, according to the testimony of the Truth.
:Abbot Nazarius, Little Russian Philokalia, Vol. III.
Greater than baptism itself is the fountain of tears after baptism, even though it is somewhat audacious to say so. For baptism is the washing away of evils that were in us before, but sins committed after baptism are washed away by tears. As baptism is received in infancy, we have all defiled it, but we cleanse it anew with tears. And if God in His love for mankind had not given us tears, those being saved would be few indeed and hard to find.
St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent.
Had Moses not received the rod of power from God, he would not have become a god to Pharaoh (cf. Exod. 7:1) and a scourge both to him and to Egypt. Correspondingly the intellect, if it fails to grasp the power of prayer, will not be able to shatter sin and the hostile forces ranged against it.
St. Gregory of Sinai, Philokalia, Vol. 4.
Hast thou not seen him who owed the ten thousand talents, and then, after he was forgiven that debt, took his fellow-servant by the throat for an hundred pence, what great evils he underwent, and how he was delivered over to an endless punishment? Hast thou not trembled at the example? Hast thou no fear, lest thou too incur the same? For we likewise owe to our Lord many and great debts: nevertheless, He forbears, and suffers long, and neither urges us, as we do our fellow-servants, nor chokes and takes us by the throat; yet surely had he been minded to exact of us but the least part thereof, we had long ago perished.
St. John Chrysostom, Homily XV on St. Matthew.
Having Christ in your heart, fear that you may lose Him, and with Him the peace of your heart. It is hard to begin again; efforts to attach oneself afresh to Him after falling away will be very grievous, and in many cases will cause bitter tears. Cling to Christ with all your might, hold fast to Him, and do not lose boldness in approaching Him.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ
He cuts away from our minds a very unmanageable passion, the commencement and begetter of pride. For while it is men's duty to examine themselves, and to order their conduct according to God's will, they leave this alone to busy themselves with the affairs of others, and if they see any infirm, forgetting as it seems their own frailties; they make it an excuse for faultfinding, and a handle for calumny. For they condemn them, not knowing that being equally afflicted with the same infirmities as those whom they censure, they condemn themselves. For so also the most wise Paul writes, `for wherein thou judgest the other, thou condemnest thyself: for thou that judgest doest the same things.' And yet it were rather our duty to have compassion on the infirm, as those who have been overcome by the assaults of the passions, and entangled without hope of escape in the meshes of sin, and to pray on their behalf, and exhort them, and rouse them up unto soberness, and endeavor ourselves not to fall into similar faults.
St.. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke.
He is free who is not a slave of pleasures (sensory pleasures), but rules over the body by means of good judgment and chastity, and who is content with what God provides, however moderate, with wholehearted gratitude.
St. Antony the Great(170 Texts on Saintly Life no. 56)
He is not like the earthly kings, in need Himself of His subordinates to ask after something for His own service and needs, for He is without need and, unless He first makes His own servants wealthy, does not enter into their homes. He is without need, as we said, and when He has made you wealthy and without need by means of His own wealth, pay attention to what He says within you Who has come down from so great a height, from heaven, and come forth without separation from the blessed bosom of the Father even to your own lowliness. You will never find that He has done this off-handedly. Rather, our good and beneficent Master has ever been used to do this for the salvation of many others as well. Therefore if, as we said, you honor and accept Him, and give Him a place and provide Him with silence, know well that you will hear ineffable things from the treasuries of the Spirit.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life, Vol. 2.
He mentions the cause of his angelic appearance: `But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And when he said, `I see the heavens opened, they stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord.' And yet in what respect are these things deserving of accusation? `Upon him,' the man who has wrought such miracles, the man who has prevailed over all in speech, the man who can hold such discourse! As if they had got the very thing they wanted, they straightway gave full scope to their rage. `And the witnesses,' he says, `laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man, whose name was Saul. Observe how particularly he relates what concerns Paul, to show thee that the Power which wrought in him was of God. But after all these things, not only did he not believe, but also aimed at Him with a thousand hands: for this is why it says, `And Saul was consenting unto his death.' - And this blessed man does not simply pray, but does it with earnestness: `having kneeled down.' Mark his divine death! So long only the Lord permitted the soul to remain in him `And having said this, he fell asleep.'
St. John Chrysostom, Homily on the Acts of the Apostles.
He was baptized as Man -- but He remitted sins as God -- not because He needed purificatory rites Himself, but that He might sanctfy the element of water. He was tempted as Man, but He conquered as God; yea, He bids us be of good cheer, for He has overcome the world. He hungered -- but He fed thousands; yea, He is the Bread that giveth life, and That is of heaven. He thirsted -- but He cried, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. Yea, He promised that fountains should flow from them that believe. He was wearied, but He is the Rest of them that are weary and heavy laden. He was heavy with sleep, but He walked lightly over the sea. He rebuked the winds, He made Peter light as he began to sink. He pays tribute, but it is out of a fish; yea, He is the King of those who demanded it.
St. Gregory Nanzianzen, The Fourth Theological Oration.
He who aspires to divine realities willingly allows providence to lead him by principles of wisdom towards the grace of deification. He who does not so aspire is drawn, by the just judgment of God and against his will, away from evil by various forms of discipline. The first, as a lover of God, is deified by providence; the second, although a lover of matter, is held back from perdition by God's judgment. For since God is goodness itself, He heals those who desire it through the principles of wisdom, and through various forms of discipline cures those who are sluggish in virtue.
St. Maximos the Confessor(Third Century of Various Texts no. 36)
He who believes in God's Providence undoubtingly does not concern himself with worry over what kind of death he will happen to die, whether from men, or from wild beasts, or from hunger, or from the heaviness of great labors, or from any other occasion. There will not be two deaths, and the one no one can escape. However, one who has once placed himself in God's care for all his needs, for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, and who has died to the world, will no longer be concerned about how he will die. He who has once placed his hope in God no longer is concerned over himself, and in whatever he does, in everything, he will find profit for his soul. But such a one who knows that he who gives himself over to all sorrows for the sake of God will find salvation in any place. According to our faith, the grace of God also is given to us.
St. Paisius Velichkovsky, Little Russian Philokalia, Vol. IV.
St. Paisius Velichkovsky, Little Russian Philokalia, Vol. IV.
He who celebrates alone in the heart of the wilderness is a great assembly. If two celebrate along the rocks, thousands and tens of thousands are present there. If three and gathered together, a fourth in among them. If there are six or seven together, twelve thousand thousand are assembled. If they range themselves in ranks, they fill the firmament with prayer. If they be crucified on the bare rock, they are marked with a cross of light. The Church is constituted when they come together. Then they come together, the Spirit hovers over their heads. When they end their prayer, the Lord rises to serve his servants.
A hymn of St Ephrem (5th century)
He who has been united with humility as his bride is above all gentle, kind, easily moved to compunction, sympathetic, calm, bright, compliant, inoffesnive, vigilant, not indolent and (why say more?) free from passion; for the Lord remembered us in our humility, and redeemed us from our enemies, and our passions and impurities.
St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
He who has love in Christ must observe the commandments of Christ. The binding power of the love of God - who is able to set it forth? The radiance of His beauty - who can voice it to satisfaction? The sublimity to which love leads up is unutterable. Love unites us with God; love covers a multitude of sins, love endures everything, is long-suffering to the last; there is nothing vulgar, nothng conceited, in love; love creates no schism; love does not quarrel; love preserves perfect harmony. In love all the elect of God reached perfection, apart from love nothing is pleasing to God. In love the Master took us to Himself. Because of the love which He felt for us, Jesus Christ Our Lord gave His Blood for us by the will of God, His body for our bodies, and His soul for our souls.
St. Clement of Rome, Epistle to the Corinthians.
He who is commanded to keep silent because of his fear should seek refuge in God; he who is commanded to listen should be ready to obey the commandments; and he who pursues spiritual knowledge should call ceaselessly to God, beseeching Him for deliverance from evil and thanking Him for communion in His blessings.
St. Maximos the Confessor (First Century on Theology no. 30)
He who loves God both believes truly and performs the works of faith reverently. But he who only believes and does not love, lacks even the faith he thinks he has; for he believes merely with a certain superficiality of intellect and is not energized by the full force of love's glory. The chief part of virtue, then, is faith energized by love.
St. Diadochos of Photiki, Philokalia, Vol. 1.
He who puts on a show of friendship in order to do his neighbor some injury is a wolf hiding his wickedness under sheep's clothing. Whenever he finds a custom or saying which is genuinely Christian, although somewhat naive, he seizes on it and attacks it; in numberless ways he finds fault with these sayings or customs, prying into the liberty which the brethren have in Christ.
St Maximus the Confessor - First Century on Theology (Text25 )
He who remains in sin and continues to anger God, and who shamelessly strives to understand Divine things and to acquire transubstantial prayer, should remember the warning of the Apostle that it is not without danger for him to pray with head uncovered. In the words of the Apostle, such a soul ought "to have power on her head because of the angels" (I Corinthians 11:10), having clothed itself in modesty and suitable humility for the sake of those present.
"153 Texts on Prayer", St Nilus of Mt Sinai, "Early Fathers From the Philokalia," translated from the Russian text, "Dobrotolubiye," by E. Kadloubovsky and G.E.H. Palmer, eighth edition, (London: Faber and Faber, Ltd., 1981), pp. 127 - 135.
He, then, who knows what is to his benefit should struggle to acquire this virtue before anything else, according to St. Basil the Great. For St. Basil advises us not to fight against all the passions at once, since if we are unsuccessful we might turn back and no longer be fit for the kingdom of heaven. Rather we should fight the passions one at a time, and start by patiently enduring whatever befalls us. This is right; for the person who lacks patient endurance will never be able to stand fast even in an ordinary battle; but will bring only flight and destruction upon himself and others by retreating. This is why God told Moses not to allow anyone who was cowardly to go out with the army (cf. Deut. 20:8).
St. Peter of Damascus, Philokalia, Vol. III.
He, therefore, who sets himself to act evilly and yet wishes others to be silent, is a witness against himself, for he wishes himself to be loved more than the truth, which he does not wish to be defended against himself. There is, of course, no man who so lives as not sometimes to sin, but he wishes truth to be loved more than himself, who wills to be spared by no one against the truth. Wherefore, Peter willingly accepted the rebuke of Paul; David willingly hearkened to the reproof of a subject. For good rulers who pay no regard to self-love, , take as a homage to their humility the free and sincere words of subjects. But in this regard the office of ruling must be tempered with such great art of moderation, that the minds of subjects, when demonstrating themselves capable of taking right views in some matters, are given freedom of expression, but freedom that does not issue into pride, otherwise, when liberty of speech is granted too generously, the humility of their own lives will be lost.
St. Gregory The Great, Pastoral Care
Hence Christ also said of 'the good shepherd,' not that he is honored and served, but that he 'lays down his life for his sheep.' This is the meaning of leadership, this the art of being a shepherd, ignoring one's own concerns and being preoccupied with those of one's people. What a physician is, after all, so is a leader - or, rather, more than a physician. While the physician, you see, procures people's welfare through skill, the leader does it through risk to hmself. Christ also did this, being scourged, crucified, suffering countless torments.
St. John Chrysostom, Commentary on the Psalms, Vol. 2.
Hence it is clear that someone who occasionally shows compassion is not compassionate, and someone who occasionally practices self-control is not self-controlled. A compassionate and self-controlled man is someone who fully, persistently, and with unfailing discrimination strives all his life for total virtue; for discrimination is greater than any other virtue, and is the queen and crown of all the virtues. The same is true of the vices: we call a man a fornicator, a drunkard or a liar not on account of a single lapse, but only when he keeps on falling into the sin in question and makes no attempt to correct himself.
St. John of Damascus, Philokalia , Vol. 3
Hence it is valuable and proper that each one should strive with zeal and diligence to achieve perfection in whatever work he has undertaken, whether this be something he has chosen to do or something he has been given the grace to do. He can praise and admire the virtues of others, but he ought never to depart from the profession which he himself has picked. For, as the apostle says, he knows that the body of the Church is one but its members are numerous, that `our gifts differ in accordance with the grace given to us. If one's gift is administration then let it be used for administration, if teaching then let it be used for teaching, if exhortation then let it be used in exhortation. Let the one who distributes do so in all simplicity. Let the one who is in charge be so solicitously and let the one doing the works of mercy be cheerful' (Rom. 12:6-8). One member cannot undertake the work of others. The eyes do not perform the task of the hands nor does the nose do the work of the ears. Not everyone can be apostle, prophet, or doctor. Not everyone has the grace of healing. Not everyone speaks in tongues. Not everyone is an interpreter.
St. John Cassian, Conferences
Hence the Beatitude commands moderation and meekness, but not complete absence of passion; for the latter is outside the scope of nature, whereas the former can be achieved by virtue. If, therefore, the Beatitude ordered man to be unmoved by desires, the blessing would be quite useless for life. Indeed, who could attain to such a state while still united to flesh and blood?
St. Gregory of Nyssa, On the Beatitudes.
Hence when a man suffers the loss of that Good, how are we to represent the magnitude of that catastrophe? The great David rightly shows us how impossible this is. Lifted out of himself by the Spirit, he glimpsed in that blessed ecstasy God's infinite and incomprehensible beauty. He saw as much as a mere mortal can see, leaving the covering of the flesh, and by thought alone entering into contemplation of that immaterial and spiritual realm. And though yearning to say something which would do justice to his vision, he can only cry out (in words that all can echo after him): `Every man is a liar" (Ps. 115:11). And this I take to mean that anyone who attempts to portray that ineffable Light in language is truly a liar - not because of any abhorrence of the truth, but merely because of the infirmity of his explanations.
St. Gregory of Nyssa, On Virginity (In From Glory to Glory)
Hence when the Lord says: `Love your enemies; do good to them that hate you,' and what follows, He does not command the impossible, but clearly what is possible; for He would not otherwise rebuke the transgressor. The Lord Himself makes it clear and has shown it to us by His very works; and so too all His disciples, who strove till death for love of their neighbor and prayed fervently for those that killed them. But since we are lovers of material things and of pleasure, preferring them above the commandment, we are then not able to love them that hate us; rather we often, because of these things, repulse them that love us, being worse disposed than beasts and creeping things. And that is why, not being able to follow in the steps of God, we are likewise unable to know His purpose, so that we might receive strength.
St. Maximus the Confessor, The Ascetic Life.
Henceforth be immortal, women; do ot be subject to death. You seek to behold the Creator of angels, Then why do you fear the sight of one angel? I am the servant of the One Who inhabited the tomb; I have the rank and the nature of a slave. As I have been commanded, I am here to announce to you, 'The Lord is risen; He has broken the bronze doors of Hades, And He has crushed his iron bars, And He has brought prophecy to fulfillment, And exalted the horn of the saints,' Come, see, young women, where the Immortal was lying, He Who offers resurrection to the fallen.
St Romanos the Melodist - On the Resurrection VI.
Here is a man - the only one! Here is the Lord - more compassionate than a kinsman or a friend, of more service than a servant. He did not set out on this long and tiring road from Galilee to Jerusalem for the Sabbath and the Feast, but for the sake of this sufferer. He came so that He might, with deeds and not just with words, denounce the terrible lack of compassion of a people whose senses are blunted. The Man came for the man's sake.
Bp Nikolai Velimirovic, Homily on the Third Sunday after Pascha.
His merciful and mysterious self-revelations are in no wise inconsistent with His true heavenly nature; and His faithful saints never fail to penetrate the guise He has assumed in order that faith may see Him. The types of the Law foreshew the mysteries of the Gospel; they enable the Patriarch to see and to believe what hereafter the Apostle is to gaze on and publish. For, since the Law is the shadow of things to come, the shadow that was seen was a true outline of the reality which cast it. God was seen and believed and worshipped as Man, Who was indeed to be born as Man in the fulness of time. He takes upon Him, to meet the Patriarch's eye, a semblance which foreshadows the future truth.
St. Hilary of Poitiers, On the Trinity, Book V.
Hold to patience in your hearts, my friends, and put it into action when the situation calls for it. Don't let any abusive word from your neighbor stir up hatred in you, and don't allow any loss of things that pass away to upset you. If you are steadfast in fearing the loss of those things that last forever, you will never take seriously the loss of those that pass away; if you keep your eyes fixed on the glory of our eternal recompense, you will not resent a temporal injury. You must bear with those who oppose you, but also love those you bear with. Seek and eternal reward in return for your temporal losses.
St. Gregory the Great, Be Friends of God.
Holy Communion causes great progress in the life according to Christ. For what the external accidents of bread and wine effect in the body, the same is effected in the immaterial soul mystically and invisibly by the Body of Christ. And just as bread sustains and nourishes the body, so the Body of Christ sustains and nourishes our soul; and again, just as we are regenerated through Holy Baptism and receive the being of grace, in place of the being of sin which we had, so, as we are nourished by Holy Communion we grow in the grace of God and make progress.
St. Macarios of Corinth, Modern Orthodox Saints, V. 2
Holy Communion illumines, brightens, and sanctifies all the power and senses of man's soul and body; and strengthens the soul in doing the commandments of the Lord and every other virtuous act. It is the true food of the soul and of the body, as our Lord says: 'My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed' (Jn. 6:55).
St. Macarios of Corinth, Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 2
Holy Scripture tells us man and all creation are involuntarily subject to futility, groaning inwardly as they wait for the liberation of the children of God. Is it not that secret groan of all creation, that inward tendency of every soul toward its God, a form of inner, mental prayer? And man, without realizing it, has this prayer innate in the very depths of his being. That groan, the Christocentric nostalgia, the deep search for Christ, is natural in each one of us. We only need to pull it up from the abyss of our existence ike an intact and unexploited treasure.
Archimandrite Ioannikios Kotsonis, Themes from the Philokalia, #1:Watchfulness and Prayer.
Holy Writ tells us that not only the character of those who are praiseworthy, but also their parents must be praised, so that, as it were, the transmitted inheritance of immaculate purity in those whom we wish to praise may be exalted. For what other intention is there in this passage [Lk. 1:5-6] of the Holy Evangelist, save that Saint John the Baptist be renowned for his parents, his wonders, his duty, and this passion? Thus, Anna, the mother of Saint Samuel is praised; thus, Isaac received from his parents nobility of piety, which he handed down to his descendants. Therefore, the Priest Zacharias is not only a Priest, but also of the course of Abia, viz., a noble among his wife's forebears. 'And his wife,' it says, 'was of the daughters of Aaron..' So Saint John's nobility was not handed down only from his parents, but also from his forebears, not exalted through worldly power, but venerable through the religious succession.
St. Ambrose of Milan, Exposition of the Holy Gospel According to Saint
Luke.
Homes and communities depend on concerns of daily life and society. These concerns are God-appointed obligations; fulfilling them is not a step toward the ungodly, but is a walking in the way of the Lord. All who cleave to these erronious premises fall into the bad habit of thinking that once they accept worldly obligations, they no longer need to strive towards God.
St. Theophan the Recluse, On Prayer
Hope always draws the soul from the beauty which is seen to what is beyond, always kindles the desire for the hidden through what is constantly perceived. Therefore, the ardent lover of beauty, although receiving what is always visible as an image of what he desires, yet longs to be filled with the very stamp of the archetype.
St. Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of Moses
How blessed and wonderful, beloved, are the gifts of God! Life in immortality, splendor in righteousness, truth in perfect confidence, faith in assurance, self-control in holiness! And all these fall under the cognizance of our understandings now, what then shall those things be which are prepared for such as wait for Him? The Creator and Father of all worlds, the Most Holy, alone knows their amount and their beauty. Let us therefore earnestly strive to be found in the number of those that wait for Him, in order that we may share in His promised gifts.
St. Clement of Rome, First Epistle
How blessed and wonderful, beloved, are the gifts of God. Life in immortality, splendor in righteousness, truth in perfect confidence, faith in assurance, self-control in holiness! And all these fall under the cognizance of our understandings now; what then shall those things be which are prepared for such as wait for Him? The Creator and Father of all worlds, the Most Holy, alone knows their amount and their beauty. Let us therefore earnestly strive to be found in the number of those that wait for Him, in order that we may share in His promised gifts.
First Epistle of Clement
How blessed, beloved, and marvellous are the gifts of God! Life with immortality; joyousness with observance of the law; truth with boldness; faith with confidence; continence with holiness! And all these blessings even now fall within our comprehension! What then, are the things that are prepared for those who wait patiently! The Creator and Father of the ages, the All-holy, alone grasps their number and beauty. Let us, therefore, exert ourselves to be found in the number of those who patiently wait for Him, so that we may partcipate in the promised gifts.
The St. Clement of Rome
How blessed, beloved, and marvellous are the gifts of God! Life with immortality; joyousness with observance of the law; truth with boldness; faith with confidence; continence with holiness! And all these blessings even now fall within our comprehension! What then, are the things that are prepared for those who wait patiently! The Creator and Father of the ages, the All-holy, alone grasps their number and beauty. Let us, therefore, exert ourselves to be found in the number of those who patiently wait for Him, so that we may participate in the promised gifts.
St. Clement of Rome, from his Epistle
How does an Orthodox Christian feel in the presence of Christ the God-man? He feels totally and completely sinful. That is his feeling, his attitude, his manner, his mindset, his speech, his conscience, his confession, his entire being. That feeling of total personal sinfulness in the presence of the Most Sweet Lord is the soul of his soul and the heart of his heart. Briefly examine the prayers of repentance, the odes, the hymns, the Stichera in the `Parakletike' of Monday and even of Tuesday, and you will immediately verify that this sentiment constitutes a sacred duty and a prayerful reality for every Orthodox Christian without exception. This path has been explored by our immortal teachers, the Holy Fathers, who continuously direct us. Let us remember at least two of them, St. John of Damascus and St. Symeon the New Theologian. Their saintliness is cherubic beyond any doubt. Their prayer is assuredly seraphic. Nevertheless, they themselves express a feeling and consciousness of utter personal sinfulness and simultaneously a deeply-felt attitude of repentance. This is the existential contradiction (antinomy) in our Orthodox, evangelical, apostolic faith, and our humility in this faith.
St. Justin Popovich, Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ.
How does the Orthodox Church preserve her greatest treasure, that is, the All-holy Person of the God-man Christ? She safeguards Him through her one and unique, holy, catholic, and apostolic faith. Through the unity of her faith, the Orthodox Church preserves through the centuries the unity and uniqueness of divine-human life and truth; through her holilness she preserves the unique holiness of life and truth in her divine-human body; through her catholicity she preserves the catholicity and wholeness of divine-human life and truth; through her apostolicity she preserves the unchangeable and continuous historical reality and life of the divine-human body and work of Christ.
(St.) Justin Popovich, Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ
How immense is the grace of the divine compassion and condescension that knows no limit! God comes down to the level of sinful men and women; the good Lord speaks with His rebellious servants; the Holy One calls those who are impure to forgiveness. Humanity created out of mud addresses its Fashioner with familiarity, dust converses with its Maker. Let us, therefore, show awe when we sinners stand in the presence of this Majesty and speak. Even though we are so impure in our deeds He draws us close to the sight of Himself in the spirit; let us therefore repeat with trembling the words of the blessed Prophet Isaiah: `Woe is me, for I am dazed. I am a man of unclean lips, yet my eyes have beheld the King, the Lord Almighty.'
Martyrius, in The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life.
How is it that all nature, and everything in nature, is so wisely arranged and moves in such wonderful order? It is because the Creator Himself directs and governs it. How is it that in the nature of man - the crown of creation - there is so much disorder? Why are there so many irregularities and deformities in his life? Because he took upon himself to direct and govern himself, against the Will and Wisdom of his Creator. Sinful man! give yourself up wholly, all your life unto the Lord your God, and all your life will move in wise, beautiful, stately, and life-giving order, and will all become beautiful as the lives of God's Saints, who gave themselves up entirely to Christ their God, and whom the Church daily offers to us, as an example to emulate.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ
How many times I have prayed for what seemed a good thing for me, and persisted with my petition, foolishly importuning God's will, and not leaving it to God to do what, as He knows best, is useful for me. But, having obtained (what I had asked for) I found myself in great distress, and precisely because I had not asked for it to be, rather, according to God's will; for the thing proved not what I thought it to be.
St. Nilus of Sinai, Early Fathers from the Philokalia.
How much sorrow the Voice causes To the careless and to All sinners, of whom I am chief, For it roots us out As the fig tree of old That did not produce its fruit. And we shall become the fodder For Gehenna, as we are Cut down with the blow of an ax, In the way in which Jesus, Who controls the distribution Of souls, said. My Spirit, let us be renewed, And we shall create Good work, seed of good seed, In order that when He comes To gather into the granaries His good fruit, We shall not remain outside, Calling, "Open."
St Romanos the Melodist - On the Ten Virgins II
Human affairs are fainter than a shadow; more deceitful than a dream. Youth fades more quickly than the flowers of spring; our beauty wastes with age or sickness. Riches are uncertain; glory is fickle. The pursuit of arts and sciences is bounded by the present life; the charm of eloquence, which all covet, reaches but the ear: whereas the practice of virtue is a precious possession for its owner, a delightful spectacle for all who witness it. Make this your study; so will you be worthy of the good things promised by the Lord.
St. Basil the Great, Letter 278.
Humanity therefore, having, long been enslaved by the power of ancestral sins, the birth of its daughter, heralding Him Who shall remove these sins, gives manifest signs of our deliverance from that domination and our release from servitude. Wherefore Adam, too, along with Eve, having cleansed themselves of the ancient stains of their transgression, and putting off the sullenness of despondency, gladly join the choir of the Virgin's feast with a confident voice and face, or rather, they are become its leaders. For they, through whom the seed of sin had become ingrown in the whole race and had perverted it, are especially fit, once the seed has been uprooted, to lead the joyful choir, to seek out and call together their descendants. Since, moreover, the disease of the trespass has been transmitted from the first transgressors down through all men, and since everyone needs the same treatment; since universal salvation is being founded today with the Virgin's birth, it was fitting that we should organize a common festival of all nations, and strike up public songs of thanksgiving transcending our world, since universal salvation requires thanks that transcend our world.
St. Photios t he Great, Homily IX: The Birth of the Virgin.
Humble Service: For the Lord wishes and admonishes this when He said, :'He who wishes to be first and great among you, let him be the last and the minister and servant of all.' Therefore it is necessary that service before others be without a reward, nor should it bestow on the server any honor or glory, so as not to contradict Scripture by appearing 'pleasing to men' or 'serving to the eyes.' Not serving men, but the Lord alone, let him keep to the narrow path. Let him submit promptly to the single yoke of the Lord and carry it patiently in order to be brought with pleasure to his end with positive love.
St. Macarius the Great, The Great Letter.
Humility is total perfection, so that when man first beholds God, then he behaves humbly. For Moses was humble, a great one among all men; God went down to him on the mountain in revelation. Again humility is seen in Abraham, for although he was just, he called himself dust and ashes. Again also John was humble because he was proclaiming that he was not worthy to loose the sandals of the Bridegroom, his Lord. By humility, the heroic in every generation have been pleasing, because it is the great way by which one draws near to God. But no one on earth was brought low like Mary, and from this it is manifest that no one was exalted like her.
Jacob of Serug, On the Mother of God.
I do not...say you must not admit sorrow, for this is not in our power. What I mean is - do not let sorrow take possession of your heart and agitate it; keep it outside the bounds of your heart and hasten to soften and restrain it, so that it may not prevent you from reasoning soundly and acting rightly. With God's help this is in our power...
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 27)
I enkindle your purpose in singing and delighting the Lord, In order that, when your reward is given you, you will remember that I am with you. So, hear my words, but avoid my deeds. Cherish the words, aside from the deeds, For I am not able to sing anything except the psalm, Hallelujah.
St Romanos the Melodist - On Life in the Monastery.
I exhort you therefore - no, not I , but the love of Jesus Christ: partake of Christian food exclusively; abstain from plant of alien growth, that is, heresy. Heretics weave Jesus Christ into their web - to win our confidence, just like persons who administer a deadly drug mixed with honeyed wine, which the unsuspecting gladly take - and with baneful relish they swallow death!
St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Trallians.
I have covered `the way' a little of the time, he says, not just a single commandment, but all `Thy commandments' while accomplishing by my works and in my deeds those things they ordain. This is why Paul -- who also accomplished the same, said: `I have finished my course, I have kept the faith' (2 Tim.4:7). He covers `the way of Thy commandments,' those which are not straitened by bad thoughts, but which, after a great purification, are enlarged by God. Two conditions are indeed required: that the thorns of life do not choke `the good seed' which is in us and that we be helped by God.
Eusebius of Caesarea, quoted in Grace for Grace by Johanna Manley.
I have heard Holy Scripture somewhere condemn those who are guilty of blaspheming God. `Woe to those,' it says, `through whom my Name is blasphemed among the Gentiles.' Now the meaning g of these words is something like this: Those who have not yet believed the word of truth closely examine the lives of those who have received the mystery of the faith. If, therefore, people are `faithful' only in name, but contradict this name by their life, whether by committing idolatry for the sake of gain or by disgracing themselves by drunkenness and revelry, being immersed in profligacy like swine in the mud - then the pagans immediately attribute this not the free choice of these evil-living men, but to the mystery which is supposed to teach these things. For, they say, such and such a man who has been initiated into the Divine mysteries would not be such a slanderer, or so avaricious and grasping, or anything equally evil, unless sinning was lawful for them. `Woe to those through whom my Name is blasphemed among the Gentiles.
St. Gregory of Nyssa, The Lord's Prayer.
I myself have seen these marvels, and I have admired the wisdom of God in all things. If beings deprived of reason are capable of thinking and of providing for their own preservation; if a fish knows what it ought to seek and what to shun, what shall we say, who are honored with reason, instructed by law, encouraged by the promises, made wise by the Spirit, and are nevertheless less reasonable about our own affairs than the fish? They know how to provide for the future, but we renounce our hope of the future and spend our life in brutal indulgence. A fish traverses the extent of the sea to find what is good for it; what will you say then - you who live in idleness, the mother of all vices? Do not let any one make his ignorance an excuse.
St. Basil the Great, The Hexaemeron.
I note that the mystery of Jesus' love for humanity was first revealed to the angels and that the gift of this knowledge was granted by the angels to us. It was the most divine Gabriel who guided Zechariah the hierarch into the mystery that, contrary to all hope and by God's favor, he would have a son who would be a prophet of the divine and human work of Jesus, who was beneficently about the appear for the salvation of the world. Gabriel revealed to Mary how in her would be born the divine mystery of the ineffable form of God. Another angel forecast to Joseph the true fulfillment of the divine promises made to his ancestor David. Yet another angel brought the good news to the shepherds who, because of their quiet life withdrawn from the crowd, had somehow been purified. And with him 'a multitude of the heavenly host' passed on to those on earth that famous song of jubilation.
St. Dionysios the Areopagite, The Celestial Hierarchy.
I once used to deride secular rulers because they distributed honors, not on grounds of inherent merit, but of wealth or seniority or worldly rank. But when I heard that this stupidity had swaggered into our own affairs [within the Church] too, I no longer reckoned their actions so strange. For why should we be surprised that worldly people, who love the praise of the mob and do everything for money, should make this mistake, when those who claim to have renounced all these desires are no better? For although they are contending for heavenly rewards, they act as though they had to decide merely about acres of land or something else of the kind. They simply take common place men and put them in charge of those things for which the only begotten Son of God did not disdain to empty Himself of His own glory and to be made man and to receive the form of a servant and to be spitted upon and buffeted and to die the most shameful death. And they do not stop at this, but go on to other actions stranger still. . . Christians damage Christ's cause more than His enemies and foes.
St. John Chrysostom On the Priesthood, A.D. 386
I pray you, brethren, understand this great dispensation, that He was made like unto us, apart from sin (Heb. 4:15). And each of the rational natures, for which principally the Saviour came, ought to examine his pattern, and know his mind, and discern between bad and good, to that he may be set free by His advent. For as many as are set free by His dispensation, are called the servants of God. And this is not yet perfection, but in its own time it is righteousness, and it leads to the adoption of sons.
St. Anthony the Great
I read the opening of this book [Genesis] and was filled with joy, for its verses and lines spread out their arms to welcome me; the first rushed out and kissed me, and led me on to its companions. And when I reached that line where the story of Paradise is written, it lifted me up and transported me` from the bosom of the Book to the very bosom of Paradise.
St. Ephraim the Syrian in The Luminous Eye by Sebastian Brock
I read the opening of this book and was filled with joy, for its verses and lines spread out their arms to welcome me; the first rushed out and kissed me, and led me on to its companions. And when I reached that line where the story of Paradise is written, it lifted me up and transported me from the bosom of the Book to the very bosom of Paradise.
The eye and the mind travelled over the lines as over a bridge, and entered all at once the tale of Paradise. In its reading the eye had transported the mind, in return the mind too let the eye rest from its reading, for when the Book had been read the eye had rest but the mind was engaged.
St. Ephrem the Syrian, quoted in The Luminous Eye by Sebastian Brock.
I repeat that the aim of Christ, our Master, is precisely to teach us how we come to commit all our sins; how we fall into all our evils. First he sets us free through Holy Baptism, as I have already said, giving us the forgiveness of our sins, and he has given us the power to do good if we desire to and no longer to be dragged down into sin, so to speak, by force. For one who has consented to sin is weighed down and dragged away by it. As it is written: `By his sins is everyone put in bondage.' Then He teaches us by His holy precepts how to be cleansed fro our own passions so that we do not fall again into those same sins. Finally He shows us how we come to despise and disobey the commandments of God and adds the medicine that all may be able to obey and be saved. What then is the medicine and what the cause of our contempt? Listen to what the Lord himself tells us: `Learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart and you shall find rest for your souls.'
St. Dorotheos of Gaza, Discourses and Sayings.
I say that the ineffable speech which Paul heard spoken in Paradise were the eternal good things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived. These things, which God has prepared for those who love Him, are not protected by heights, nor enclosed in some secret place, nor hidden in the depths, nor kept at the ends of the earth or sea. They are right in front of you, before your very eyes. So, what are they? Together with the good things stored up in heaven, these are the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which we see every day, and eat and drink. These, we avow, are those good things. Outside of these you will not be able to find one of the things spoken of, even if you were to traverse the whole of creation. If you do want to know the truth of my words, become holy by practicing God's commandments and then partake of the holy things, and you will know precisely the force of what I am telling you.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life, Vol. 1.
I see that the Angels, too, were first initiated into the divine Mystery of Jesus in His love for man, and through them the gift of that knowledge was bestowed upon us; for the divine Gabriel announced to Zachariah the high-priest that the son who should be born to him through Divine Grace, when he was bereft of hope, would be a prophet of that Jesus Who would manifest the union of the human and divine natures through the ordinance of the Good Law for the salvation of the world; and he revealed to Mary how of her should be born the Divine Mystery of the ineffable Incarnation of God.
St. Dionysius the Areopagite, The Celestial Hierarchies
I shall, then, go to Him; I shall be enlightened, as the Scripture records. I shall draw night God and not feel shame before Him. He does not upbraid me; He does not say, `Hitherto you were in darkness; now you have come to see me, the Sun.' Therefore, I take the perfume and go forward. I shall make the house of the Pharisee a baptistery, For there I shall be cleansed of my sin And purified of my lawlessness. I shall mix the bath with weeping, with oil and with perfume; I shall cleanse myself and escape From the slime of my deeds.
St Romanos the Melodist - On the Sinful Woman.
I suppose that it is sometimes better to fall oneself and rise, than to judge one's neighbor; because one who has sinned is incited to self-abasement and repentance, while he who judges one who has sinned becomes hardened in an illusion about himself and in pride. Therefore everyone must guard himself as much as possible, so as not to judge.
Abbot Nazarius, Little Russian Philokalia, Vol. III.
I want creation to penetrate you with as much admiration that everywhere, wherever you may be, the least plant may bring to you the clear remembrance of the Creator. If you see the grass of the fields, think of human nature, and remember the comparison of the wise Isaiah. 'All flesh is grass, that all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field.' Truly the rapid flow of life, the short gratification and pleasure that an instant of happiness gives a man, all wonderfully suit the comparison of the prophet.
St. Basil the Great, The Hexaemeron.
I want the marvel of creation to gain such complete acceptance from you that, wherever you may be found and whatever kin of plants you may chance upon, you may receive a clear reminder of the Creator. First, then, whenever you see a grassy plant or a flower, thin of human nature, remembering the comparison of the wise Isaiah, the `all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.' For, the short span of life and the briefly-enduring pleasure and joy of human happiness have found a most apt comparison in the words of the prophet. Today he is vigorous in body, frown fleshy from delicacies, with a flower-like completion, in the prime of life, fresh and eager, and irresistible in attack; tomorrow that same one is piteous or wasted with age, or weakened by disease.
St. Basil the Great, Homily 5 on the Hexaemeron - quoted in Wisdom, Let Us Attend, by Johanna Manley.
If 'Christ died on our account in accordance with the Scriptures' (Rom 5:8; I Cor. 15:3), and we do not 'live ourselves', but 'for Him who died and rose' on our account (2 Cor. 5:15), it is clear that we are debtors to Christ to serve Him till our death.
St. Mark the Ascetic (No Righteousness by Works no. 20)
If Christ is in you through the frequent communion of the Holy Sacrament, then be yourself wholly like unto Christ: meek, humble, long-suffering, full of love, without attachment to earthly things, meditating upon heavenly ones, obedient, reasonable. Have His spirit unfailingly within you. Do not be proud, impatient, partial to earthly things, avaricious, and covetous.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ.
If God is slow in answering your request, and you ask but do not promptly receive anything, do not be upset, for you are not wiser than God. When you remain as you were before, without anything happening, it is either because your behavior is not worthy of your request, or because the paths in which your heart was travelling were far removed from the aim of your prayer, or because your interior condition is far too childish, when compared with the magnitude of the thing for which you have asked.
St. Isaac of Nineveh [Syria], The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the
Spiritual Life.
If Lazarus had a stain of dishonor, because of his sins (A slight thing on examination) he is condemned here below briefly Until the time when his sin is removed By his physical suffering, as though by fire. For no one is without sin except the Lord; And the least among m will be judged with forbearance, While the powerful will be mightily tested, As Solomon has already said in his Book of Wisdom. For those who neglect God and stray from justice Will become the fodder of fire. From this deliver us. Have pity, Lord.
St Romanos the Melodist - On Dives (the rich man) and Lazarus.
If a man cannot feel intuitively that he has put on the image of our heavenly Lord Jesus Christ, man and God, over his rational and intellectual nature, then he remains but flesh and blood. He cannot gain experience of spiritual glory by means of his reason, just as men who are blind from birth cannot know sunlight by reason alone.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, The Practical and Theological Chapters.
If a man had no adversaries, there would be no struggles and contests; and if there were no contests, there would be no crowns of victory. There is a more spiritual sense which you should learn as well: the man who has demons within him and wears no garment and makes his home ouside the house, is anyone who does evil and demonic deeds, and who has stripped himself of his baptismal robe, and who dwells outside the Church. Such a man is not worthy to enter into the Church, but instead he lives in the tombs of dead and and rotting deeds, for example, in brothels and in the chambers of publicans and graft. These indeed are tombs of iniquity.
The Explanation by Blessed Theophylact of the Holy Gospel According to
St. Luke (8:26-33).
If a man has no care whatever for himself because of love for God and virtuous deeds, knowing that God will take care of him, - such hope is true and wise. But if a man takes care for his own affairs and turns with prayer to God only when unavoidable misfortunes overtake him and he sees no way of averting them by his own power, only then beginning to hope in God's aid, - such hope is van and false. True hope seeks the Kingdom of God alone and is convinced that everything earthly that is necessary for this transitory life will unfailingly be given.
St. Seraphim of Sarov, Spiritual Instructions.
If a single word of an earthly king causes great deeds to come to pass in his kingdom -- he speaks the work begins and is accomplished -- then will not the word of the Lord of all material and spiritual, visible and invisible creatures, accomplish everything He desires? Shall He speak and it not be created? Shall He speak and it not be done? O Almighty Power, able to accomplish everything in one single moment, do not leave us on account of our sins, and above all on account of our incredulity and despair, to be tormented by our own infirmities, lest we be destroyed like earthen vessels. Grant that we may not doubt in the fulfillment of our every right request.
St. John of Kronstadt, \my Life of Christ.
If anyone claims to be able to be completely self-sufficient, to be capable of reaching perfections without anyone else's help, to succeed in plumbing the depths of Scripture entirely unaided, he is behaving just like someone trying to practice the trade of a carpenter without touching wood. The Apostle would say to such: 'It is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the Law who will be justified" (Rom. 2:13).
St. Basil the Great quoted in Drinking From the Hidden Fountain.
If anyone is burdened with a sickness, it is, nevertheless, possible that he may have certain of his members sound and healthy, for example, his vision or some other faculty, while the rest of his members are weak. So also in the spiritual life. It is possible that someone way be healthy in three areas of his spirit, but he is not perfect just because of this. You see how many stages and ways of the Spirit's acting there are. Evil is cut out little by little and diminished, not all at once. All things that exist come about by divine providence and economy, both the rising of the sun as well as all creatures, all exist for the kingdom, which the elect die to possess by right of inheritance, so that they may make up the kingdom of peace and harmony.
St. Macarius the Great, Fifty Spiritual Homilies
If anyone things that he has love but does not have the same love for all, but distinguishes between persons, separating the lowly from the rich, the infirm from the healthy, a sinner from a righteous man, one far off from one near, one who is an enemy from one who loves you, such love is not perfect, but partial. Actual and perfect love consists in considering everyone and loving them equally, both those who love you and those who hate you. Such love, with which mercy is inseparable, is, in brief, a net for all the virtues. It embraces and contains all the commandments of God within itself.
St. Paisius Velichkovsky, Little Russian Philokalia, Vol. IV.
If anything had existed before the formation of this sensible and perishable world, no doubt we conclude it would have been in light. The orders of angels, the heavenly hosts, all intellectual natures named or unnamed, all the ministering spirits, did not live in darkness, but enjoyed a condition fitted for them in light and spiritual joy. No one will contradict this; least of all he who looks for celestial light as one of the rewards promised to virtue, the light which, as Solomon says, is always a light to the righteous, the light which made the Apostle say `Giving thanks unto the Father, which has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.' (Col. 1:12)
St. Basil the Great, The Hexaemeron
If everything that exists was made by God and for God, and God is superior to the things made by Him, he who abandons what is superior and devotes himself to what is inferior shows that he values things made by God more than God Himself.
St. Maximos the Confessor(First Century on Love, no. 5)
If it had been permitted to Paul to utter what the Third Heaven contained, and his own advance, or ascension, or assumption thither, perhaps we should know something more about God's Nature, if this was the mystery of the rapture. But since it was ineffable, we too will honor it by silence. This much we will hear Paul say about it, that we know in part and we prophesy in part. This and the like to this are the confessions of one who is not rude in knowledge, who threatens to give proof of Christ speaking in him, the great doctor and champion of the truth. Wherefore he estimates all knowledge on earth only as through a glass darkly, as taking its stand upon little images of the truth. Now, unless I appear to anyone too careful, and over anxious about the examination of this matter, perhaps it was of this and nothing else that the Word Himself intimated that there were things which could not now be borne, but which should be borne and cleared up hereafter, and which John the Forerunner of the Word and great Voice of the Truth declared even the whole world could not contain.
St. Gregory Nanzianzen, Second Theological Oration.
If only people would care as much for good things as they care about that which is bad. If only they would transfer to a yearning for piety all the attention they lavish on spectacles, magnificent festivals, on avarice, vain-glory and injustice. We are not ignorant of how highly God values us, nor are we powerless against the demons.
The Spiritual Meadow of John Moschos
If sinners should tremble because they have angered God, those who have been shielded by His grace because of their weakness and proneness to despair should tremble even more, since they are deeply in His debt. St. Epiphanius says that ignorance of the Scriptures is a huge abyss, worse still is evil consciously committed, while great is the benefit that the soul receives through Scripture and through prayer. To bear with our neighbor, not to distress him when he wrongs us but to help him to be at peace when he is troubled, as St. Dorotheos puts it; to show compassion towards him, sharing his burden and praying for him, full of longing that he may be saved and may enjoy every other blessing of body and soul - this is true forbearance, and it purifies the soul and leads it towards God.
St. Peter of Damascus, A Treasury of Divine Knowledge, The Philokalia,
Vol. III.
If the Holy Spirit is peace of soul, as He is said to be and as He is in reality, and if anger is disturbance of heart, as it actually is and as it is said to be, then nothing so prevents His presence in us as anger.
St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent.
If the body in accordance with St. John of Sinai alters the intellect to become fleshy and clay-like and passionate, it defiles and darkens the intellect with its indecent and profane desires, the same body with its practical virtues (especially fasting and vigil) assists to illuminate the intellect and take the road of dispassion.
Themes of the Philokalia, #2 The Intellect, by Archimandrite Ioannikios Kotsonis.
If the highest end of virtue is that which aims at the advancement of most, gentleness is the most lovely of all, which does not hurt even those whom it condemns, and usually renders those whom it condemns worthy of absolution. Moreover, it is the only virtue which has led to the increase of the Church which the Lord sought at the price of His own Blood, imitating the loving kindness of heaven, and aiming at the redemption of all, seeks this end with a gentleness which the ears of men can endure, in presence of which their hearts do not sink, nor their spirits quail.
St. Ambrose of Milan, Concerning Repentance.
If the humble man has any kind of virtue, he attributes it not to his own strength, but to God's help, in agreement with the words of Jesus Christ Who said: 'When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, we are unprofitable servants' (Lk. 17:10). 'Without Me,' the Lord says, 'ye can do nothing' (Jn. 15:5). Humility is to understand oneself to be nothing. The best helps in avoiding temptations are meekness and humility of spirit and constant vigilance of mind.
St. Nazarius, Little Russian Philokalia, Vol. 2
If the indestructible might of the unfading kingdom is given to the humble and the meek, who would at this point be so deprived if love and desire for the divine gifts as not to tend as much as possible toward humility and meekness to become, to the extent that this is possible toward humility and meekness to become,, to the extent that this is possible for man, the image of God's kingdom by bearing in himself by grace the exact configuration in the Spirit to Christ, Who is truly by nature and essence the great King? In this configuration, says the divine Apostle, `there is neither male nor female,,' that is to say, neither anger nor lust. Indeed anger tyranically destroys the exercise of reason and make thought take leave of the law of nature.
St. Maximus the Confessor, Commentary on the Our Father.
If the law, according to the apostle, is spiritual, containing the images `of future good things,' come then, let us strip off the veil of the letter which is spread over it, and consider its naked and true meaning. The Hebrews were commanded to ornament the Tabernacle as a type of the Church, that they might be able, by means of sensible things, to announce beforehand the image of divine things. For the pattern which was shown to Moses in the mount, to which he was to have regard in fashioning the Tabernacle, was a kind of accurate representation of the heavenly dwelling, which we now perceive more clearly than through types, yet more darkly than if we saw the reality. For not yet, in our present condition, has the truth come unmingled to men, who are here unable to bear the sight of pure immortality, just as we cannot bear to look upon the rays of the sun.
St. Methodius, The Banquet of the 10 Virgins.
If the point needs to be put more forcefully, let us say that the entire Holy Scripture is a teacher of virtues and of the truths of faith, while the Book of Psalms possesses somehow the perfect image for the souls' course of life. For as one who comes into the presence of a king assumes a certain attitude, both of posture and expression, lest speaking differently he be thrown out as boorish, so also the one who is running the race of virtue and withes to know the life of the Savior in the body, the sacred book first calls to mind the emotions of the soul through the reading, and in this way represents the other things in succession, and teaches the readers by those words.
St. Athanasius the Great, The Letter to Marcellinus.
If the truth of something has been revealed in the Word of God, has been investigated and explained to us by the Divinely enlightened mind of the saints, whom God has glorified, and has been recognized by the heart in is light and life-giving effect, then it is a great sin and diabolical pride of the intellect and heart to doubt it and to be perplexed about it.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ.
If those attacked by many passions of soul ad body endure patiently, do not out of negligence surrender their free will, and do not despair, they are saved. Similarly, he who has attained the state of dispassion, freedom from fear and lightness of heart, quickly falls if he does not confess God's grace continually by not judging anyone. Indeed, should he dare to judge someone, he makes it evident that in acquiring his wealth he has relied on his own strength, as St. Maximus states.
St. Peter of Damaskos, Philokalia, Vol. 3
If thou desirest joy, seek not after riches, nor bodily health, nor glory, nor power, nor luxury, nor sumptuous tables, nor vestures of silk, nor costly lands, nor houses splendid and conspicuous, nor anything else of that kind; but pursue that spiritual wisdom which is according to God, and take hold of virtue; and then naught of the things which are present, or which are expected, will be able to sadden thee.
St. John Chrysostom, Homily 18 Concerning the Statues
If till now your senses sometimes broke out and rushed to sensory pleasures, from now on try to the utmost to curb them and turn them back from these enticements. Control them well, so that, wherever they were previously enslaved by vain and harmful delights, they should now receive profitable impressions from every creature and every thing, and introduce these into the soul. Giving birth to spiritual thoughts in the soul, such impressions will collect the soul within itself and, soaring on wings of mental contemplation, will raise it to the vision and praise of God.
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 21)
If we abandon our own desires and opinions, and endeavor to fulfill God’s wishes and understanding, we will save ourselves, no matter what our position, no matter what our circumstance. But if we cling to our own desires and opinions, neither position nor circumstance will be of help. Even in Paradise, Eve transgressed God’s commandment, and life with the Savior Himself brought the unfortunate Judas no good. As we read in the Holy Gospels, we require patience and an inclination to pious living.
Spiritual Counsels of Holy Elder Amvrossy of Optina
http://www.stjohndc.org/Fathers/0010d.htm
If we are the temple of God, let us take great care and busy ourselves with good deeds, so that He may deign to come more often into this temple of His, and to make His dwelling place there. Let us avoid winter's image, lest the Lord, on coming into our hearts, find them numb from [lack of] charity's ardor, and so, since He has been turned away, quickly leave them. For why did the evangelist trouble to record that it was winter time, except that he wished to indicate by the harshness of winter winds and storms the hardness of the Jews' unbelief, and that His utterance was appropriate for many of those He found then in the temple, whom He told, `because iniquity will abound, the charity of many grows cold.'
Venerable Bede, Homilies on the Gospels, Vol. II.
If we are unwilling to lament in this life, there will be no option at all in the next life but to mourn and lament; there to no purpose, here on the contrary with profit; there to our shame, here on the contrary in all propriety. For proof, you see, that it is necessary, listen to what Christ says: 'There will be weeping there and gnashing of teeth.' But it will not be like that for those who weep here; instead, they will enjoy great consolation: 'Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be consoled.'
St. John Chrysostom, Commentary on the Psalms.
If we follow our own will, God no longer sends His power which prospers and establishes all the ways of men. For if a man does something, imagining that it comes from God, when really his own will is involved in it, then God does not help him and you will find his heart embittered and feeble in everything to which he sets his hand. It is on the pretext of better progress that the believer can go wrong and end up by being mocked.
The Letters of Ammonas
If we live in the way we have promised, we will receive, as daily and life-giving bread for the nourishment of our souls and the maintenance of the good state with which we have been blessed, the Logos Himself; for it was He Who said, 'I am the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world' (cf. John 6:33-35). In proportion to our capacity the Logos will become everything for us who are nourished through virtue and wisdom; and in accordance with His own judgment He will be embodied differently in each recipient of salvation while we are still living in this age. This is indicated in the phrase of the prayer which says, 'Give s this day our daily bread' (Mt. 6:11).
St. Maximos the Confessor, On the Lord's Prayer, Philokalia, Vol. 2
If we study our Lord's precept we find that we are capable of both hating and loving, but we have to make a distinction. We must love those who are united to us by some natural relationship in that they are our neighbors, and we must hate them and avoid them insofar as they hold us back on our way to God. We can say that we love those who are wise in the world's ways by hating them when we refuse to listen to the evil things they suggest to us.
St. Gregory the Great, Be Friends of God.
If we watch carefully, we shall often find a bitter joke played on us by the demons. For when we are full, they stir us up to compunction; and when we are fasting, they harden our heart so that, being deceived by spurious tears, we may give ourselves up to indulgence which is the mother of passions. We must not listen to them but rather do the opposite.
St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent.
If we wear our heavenly robe, we shall not be found naked, but if we are found not wearing this garment, what shall we do, brethren? We, even we also, shall hear the voice that says, "Cast them into outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth." (Matt. 22:13) And, brethren, there will be great shame in store for us, if, after having worn this habit for so long, we are found in the hour of need not having put on the wedding garment. Oh what compunction will seize us! What darkness will fall upon us, in the presence of our fathers and our brethren, who will see us being tortured by the angels of punishment!
St. Amvrosy of Optina
If you are offended by anything, whether intended or unintended, you do not know the way of peace...
St. Maximos the Confessor (First Century on Love no. 69)
If you are suffering for your faith in Christ, the Lives of the Saints will console you and encourage you and make you bold and give you wings, and your torments will be changed into joy. If you are in any sort of temptation, the Lives of the Saints will help you overcome it both now and forever. If you are in danger from the invisible enemies of salvation, the Lives of the Saints will arm you with the 'whole armor of God.' and you will crush them all now and forever and throughout your whole life. If you are in the midst of visible enemies and persecutors of the Church of Christ, the Lives of the Saints will give you the courage and strength of a confessor, and you will fearlessly confess the one true God and Lord in all worlds - Jesus Christ - and you will boldly stand up for the holy truth of His Gospel unto death, unto every death, and you will feel stronger than all deaths, and much more so than all the visible enemies of Christ; and being tortured for Christ you will shout for joy, feeling with all your being that your life is in heaven, hidden with Christ in God, wholly above all deaths.
Fr. (St.) Justin Popovich, Introduction to the Lives of the Saints, in
Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ.
If you believe in Christ, have hope in Him, love Him with all your soul and heart, whatever you seek from Him with faith and is to your benefit He will give you. Seek above all the Kingdom of Heaven. When you love Him and do His commandments, He too will love you, and you will be united with Him. `God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.'
St. Arsenios of Paros, Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 6
If you cannot be merciful, at least speak as though you are a sinner. If you are not a peacemaker, at least do not be a troublemaker. If you cannot be assiduous, at least in your thought be like a sluggard. If you are not victorious, do not exalt yourself over the vanquished. If you cannot close the mouth of a man who disparages his companion, at least refrain from joining him in this.
The Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian.
If you cannot be merciful, at least speak as though you are a sinner. If you are not a peacemaker, at least do not be a troublemaker. If you cannot be assiduous, at least in your thought be like a sluggard. If you are not victorious, do not exalt yourself over the vanquished. If you cannot close the mouth of a man who disparages his companion,m at least refrain from joining him in this.
The Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian
If you distract your intellect from its love for God and concentrate it, not on God, but on some sensible object, you thereby show that you value the body more than the soul and the things made by God more than God Himself. Since the Light of Spiritual Knowledge is the intellect's life, and since this Light is engendered by love for God, it is rightly said that nothing is greater than divine love. (cf. I Cor. 13) When in the intensity of its love for God the intellect goes out of itself, then it has no sense of itself or of any created thing. For when it is illumined by the Infinite Light of God, it becomes insensible to everything made by Him, just as the eye becomes insensible to the stars when the sun rises.
St. Maximos the Confessor in, "Prayer of the Heart -- Writings from the Philokalia," Shambhala books
If you happen to smell some perfumed ointment or the scent of flowers, transfer your thought from this physical fragrance to the secret fragrance of the Holy Spirit and say: 'O the fragrance of the all-sweetest Flower, and inexhaustible Ointment, Which was poured out on all God's creatures, as the Song of Songs says: "I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys" (2:1); and: "Thy name is an ointment poured forth" (1:3). O all-pervading source of fragrance, richly breathing Thy divine breath upon all things, from the highest and most pure Angels to the basest creatures, bathing all things in Thy fragrance.'
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Watfare: Chapter 21)
If you have received the remission of your sins through confession..., it should be a great occasion of love and thanksgiving and humility for you. For even though you have earned a thousand punishments, you have not only been released, but have even gained sonship, glorification, and the kingdom of heaven. Meditate on these things and ponder them always, and be ready and careful never to dishonor Him Who has honored you and forgiven you a thousand faults. In all that you do give Him glory and honor, so that He may in return glorify you all the more. He has already honored you above all visible creation, and He will call you His true friend.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, The Practical and Theological Chapters.
If you hear a pleasant voice or a harmony of voices and singing, turn your mind to God, and say: 'Harmony of harmonies, O my Lord! How I rejoice in Thy boundless perfections, all blending in Thee in transubstantial harmony; thence are they reflected in the hosts of Angels in the heavens, and in the countless creatures here below; this is the symphony of all, perfect beyond imagining!'
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 21)
If you help a poor person in the name of the Lord, you are making a gift and at the same time granting a loan. You are making a gift because you have no expectation of being reimbursed by that poor person. You are granting a loan because the Lord will settle the account. It is not much that the Lord receives by means of the poor, but He will pay a great deal on their behalf. 'They who are kind to the poor lend to the Lord' [Prov. 19:17].
St. Basil the Great, On Psalm 14, in Drinking From the Hidden Fountain.
If you make provision for the desires of the flesh (cf. Rom. 13:14) and bear a grudge against your neighbor on account of something transitory, you worship the creature instead of the creator.
St. Maximos the Confessor(First Century on Love no. 20)
If you read continually spiritual books with eagerness and diligence, know that this continuous eagerness and diligence will open up your mind and will make it receptive to spiritual meanings. And what you did not succeed in understanding the first time you will easily understand when you read it two or three times. For God, seeing your continuous diligence, will illumine your mind to understand even what is difficult.
St. Nicodemos the Hagiorite, in Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 3
If you see or hear someone sin, keep from slandering him and judging him. You tell someone else about him, he tells it to another, the other to the third, the third to the fourth, and so everyone will come to know it and be tempted. And they will judge the one who sinned, which is a very serious thing. And you will be the cause of all of this, by publishing your brother's sin. Slanderers are like lepers that harm others by their foul odor, or like those stricken by the plague who carry their disease from place to place and destroy others. Keep yourself, then, from slandering your neighbor, lest you sin gravely and give someone else cause for sin.
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Journey to Heaven.
If you want Christ to bless you and what you have, when you meet some poor individual, who is hungry and asks you for food, give him. Also, when you know that some poor man, or a widow, or an orphan are hungry, do not wait for them to ask you for food, but give them. Give with pleasure, and be not afraid that your will become indigent. Have faith that Christ invisibly blesses your few possessions, and you shall never starve, ,nor will you be in want till the end of your life.
St. Arsenios of Paros, Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 6
If you wish to be saved and 'to come unto the knowledge of the truth' (1 Tim. 2:4), endeavor always to transcend sensible things, and through hope alone to cleave to God. then you will find principalities and powers fighting against you (cf. Eph. 6:12), deflecting you against your will and provoking you to sin. But if you prevail over them through prayer and maintain your hope, you will receive God's grace, and this will deliver you from the wrath to come.
St. Mark the Ascetic, Philokalia, Vol. 1
If you wish to pray as your ought, you have need of God, Who gives prayer to him who prays. So call to Him in prayer, saying, 'Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come' (Mt. 6:9-10), that is, the Holy Spirit and Thine only-begotten Son. For thus did the Lord Himself teach us, saying, 'God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth' (Jn. 4:24).
St. Nilus of Sinai in Early Fathers From the Philokalia.
If you wish to pray then it is God Whom you need. He it is Who gives prayer to the man who prays. On that account call upon Him saying: `Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come,' that is, the Holy Spirit and Your Only-Begotten Son. This is what our Lord taught us when He said: `The Father is worshipped in Spirit and in Truth,'
Evagrius Ponticus, Chapter on Prayer
If, according to the Apostle, 'Christ dwells in oiur hearts by faith,' and 'all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him,' then all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in our hearts. They are revealed to the heart in proportion to each one's purification by the commandments.
St. Maximus the Confessor, Selected Writings (400 Chapters on Love).
If, according to the Apostle, `the Law is spiritual' and contains within itself the images `of the good things to come,' then let us remove `the veil' of the letter which is spread over it and contemplate its true meaning stripped bare. The Jews were commanded to adorn their Tabernacle as an imitation of the Church, that through the things of sense they might be able to prefigure the image of things divine. For the exemplar which was shown forth on the mountain and on which Moses gazed when he constructed the Tabernacle, was in a way an accurate picture of the dwelling in heaven, to which indeed we pay homage insofar as it far surpasses the types in clarity, and yet is far fainter than the reality. The fact is that the unmingled truth has not yet come to men as it is in itself, for here we would be unable to contemplate its pure incorruptibility, just as we cannot endure the rays of the sun with unshielded eyes. The Jew announced what was a shadow of an image, at a third remove from reality, whereas we ourselves clearly behold the image of the heavenly dispensation. But the reality itself will be accurately revealed after the resurrection when we shall see the holy Tabernacle, the heavenly city, `whose builder and maker is God, face to face,' and not `in a dark manner' and only `in part.'
St. Methodius, The Symposium: A Treatise on Chastity
If, as St. Paul says, Christ dwells in our hearts through faith (cf. Eph 3:17), and all the treasures of wisdom and spiritual knowledge are hidden in Him (cf. Col. 2:3), then all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in our hearts. They are revealed to the heart in proportion to our purification by means of the commandments. "This is the treasure hidden in the field of your heart (cf. Matt. 13:44), which you have not yet found because of your laziness. Had you found it, you would have sold everything and bought that field. But now you have abandoned that field and give all your attention to the land nearby, where there is nothing but thorns and thistles.
St. Maximos the Confessor (Fourth Century on Love no. 70-71)
If, in the case of one human being who has done wrong to another, God in His grace has commanded that we should be forgiving to the offender seventy times seven, how much lmore will God forgive the person who offers up supplication for his sins?
John the Solitary, in The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the SpiritualLife.
If, therefore, we are lovers of learning, we shall also be learned in many things. For by care and toil and the grace of God the Giver, all things are accomplished. `For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened' (Lk. 11:10). Wherefore let us knock at that very fair garden of the Scriptures, so fragrant and sweet and blooming... Let us not know carelessly but rather zealously and constantly, lest knocking we grow weary. For in this way it will be opened to us. If we read once or twice and do not understand what we read, let us not grow weary, but let us persist, let us talk much, let us inquire. For `ask your Father,' he says, `and He will show you, your elders and they will tell you (Deut. 32:7). For `there is not in every man that knowledge' (I Cor. 8:7).
St. John of Damascus, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, quoted in Wisdom.Let us Attend, by Johanna Manley.
If, therefore, we find the city let us enter it, let us look at its light, its wall, its tribes, the foundations of its walls, and let us also see the watchmen on the walls. But how may we enter? In this city there is only one way, leading to life, for Christ is the way. Hence, let us follow Christ. But this city is in heaven. The manner in which we may ascend to heaven is taught by the Evangelist who says, 'And the Spirit carried me away to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven.' That is, we may ascend in spirit, since flesh cannot reach her. Let us, in the interim, rise to heaven so that from heaven this city may later descend to us. In it the light is like a precious stone, such as the stone of jasper and crystal, and its wall is great and high.
St. Ambrose of Milan, On Virginity
Imagine that the love of God is sown in us in just the same way as they say that the pearl in the open shell is conceived by the dew of heaven and the lightning. When the soul hears of the sufferings of Christ just recounted and little by little believes in them, it opens up in proportion to its faith where before, it had been closed by unbelief. And, when it has been opened, the love of God, like a kind of heavenly dew which is joined with an ineffable light, falls immaterially on the heart in the guise of lightning and takes the form of a shining pearl. Concerning this pearl, our Lord says that when the merchant has fount it, he went off and sold all his belongings and bought it. So, too, he who has been deemed worthy of believing in the way we have said, and of finding the intelligible pearl of the love of God in himself, does not stop at merely despising all things and distributing all his belongings to the poor, but allows those who wish even to pillage them in order that he may keep his love for God inviolate and wholly undiminished.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life, Vol. 2.
In His coming, Christ has humbled your proud strength; In assuming my whole natural form, He has put you to flight. I am now bought by His precious blood; He Who knows no corruption has freed me from corruption. Wherever you may turn, you see on all sides Tombs which are emptied, and you, shameless one, naked. Where are your bolts and bars, strong one? My Jesus has come down and shivered to atoms all your possessions. Where, O Death is your victory, or where is your power? God has destroyed your strength Through the Resurrection.
St Romanos the Melodist - On the Resurrection III.
In a loud voice Sophronias cried to Adam: 'He is here Whom you awaited up to the day of resurrection, as I prophesied to you.'
After him, Nahum announced the good news to the poor, saying, 'From the earth He has arisen, breathing on your face, He Who frees from oppression.' And Zacharias with joy cries out, 'Thou hast comem, our God, with Thy saints,' And David sang a song of good omen, 'How like a mighty one, roused out of sleep The Lord is risen.'
St Romanos the Melodist - On the Resurrection II
In a word: what the soul is ins the body, that the Christians are in the world. The soul is spread through all the members of the body, and the Christians throughout the cities of the world. The soul dwells in the body, but is not part and parcel of the body; so Christians dwell in the world, but are not part and parcel of the world. Itself invisible, the soul is kept shut up in the visible body; so Christians are known as such in the world, but their religion remains invisible. The flesh, though suffering no wrong from the soul, yet hates and makes war on it, because it is hindered from indulging its passions; so, too, the world, though suffering no wrong from Christians, hates them because they oppose its pleasures. The soul loves the flesh that hates it, and its members; so, too, Christians love those that hate them. The soul is locked up in the body, yet is the very thing that holds the body together; so, too, Christians are shut up in the world as in a prison, yet it is precisely they that hold the world together. Immortal, the soul is lodged in a mortal tenement; so, too, Christians though residing as strangers among corruptible things, look forward to the incorruptibility that awaits them in heaven. The soul, when stinting itself in food and drink, fares the better for it; so, too, Christians, when penalized, show a daily increase in numbers on that account. Such is the important post to which God has assigned them, and they are not at liberty to desert it.
The Epistle to Diognetus, in The Didache.
In accordance with God's most wise order in this world, one thing precedes another, and one is changed into another: dishonor and honor, poverty and wealth, health and sickness. Before bestowing wealth upon anyone, God often tries him by extreme poverty, depriving, on the other hand, the rich of everything; before honor, by dishonor; and those raised to honor, by humiliation, so that we may learn to value God's gifts, and not be proud in our prosperity, knowing that it is the gift of the Master, undeserved by us.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ.
In addition to its own efforts to nourish itself spiritually, the mind also attempts as much as possible to bring back the senses toward the mind so that they too may enjoy with its spiritual pleasures and thus become accustomed gradually to prefer them. This is how it happened before with the mind when it becomes accustomed through the senses to prefer physical pleasures. At first, generally speaking, the body attempted through the senses and the physical pleasures to make the mind and the spirit of man into flesh. On the contrary now, the mind seeks purposely through the enjoyment of the immaterial and spiritual realities to uplift the body also from its physical heaviness, and in a sense to make it into spirit, as St. Maximos has witnessed in many of his writings.
St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain, Handbook of Spiritual Counsel.
In considering the sin by which Adam sinned when he was in the glory and enjoyment of Paradise, no one will find that it was done out of necessity or infirmity, or for any good reason at all, but solely out of disdain for the commandment of God, out of the ingratitude and apostasy which Adam showed with relation to God his Creator. Besides, there was given him by God an opportunity to repentance, that he might obtain forgiveness; and this was for the two following reasons: first, because he had not himself devised the evil, but he was deceived and led into error by the counsel of the devil; secondly, because he was clothed with flesh, for Adam as a creature was subject to change, but could not fall into complete apostasy from God, as did the devil and the demons who followed him, who did not have flesh.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, The Sin of Adam, quoted in The Lament of
The Lament of Eve by Johanna Manley
In creating man God implanted in him something Divine - a certain thought, like a spark, having both light and warmth, a thought which illumines the mind and shows what is good and what bad. This is called conscience and it is a natural law. By following this law - conscience - the patriarchs and all the saints pleased God, even before the law was written. But then, through the fall, man covered up and trampled down conscience, there arose the need of written law, of the holy Prophets, of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, to uncover and raise it up, to rekindle this buried spark by the keeping of His holy commandments.
St. Abba Dorotheos in Early Fathers from the Philokalia.
In his contemplation of the holiness and humility of God, man's spiritual understanding develops more quickly than does his ability to harmonize his conduct with God's word. Hence the impression that the distance separating him from God continually increases. The analogy is remote but this phenomenon is known to every genuine artist or scientist. Inspiration far outstrips the capacity to perform. It is normal for the artist to feel his objective slipping farther and farther from his grasp. And if it is thus in the field of art, it is still more so where knowledge of the unoriginate, incomprehensible Divinity is concerned. Every artist knows the torment of trying to materialize his aesthetic vision. The soul of the man of prayer is often even more dreadfully racked. The dismay that invades him when he sees himself in the grip of base passions drives him ever deeper into the core of his being. This concentration within may take the form of a cramp whereby heart, mind and body are contracted together, like a tightly clenched fist. Prayer becomes a wordless cry, and regret for the distance separating him from God turns to acute grief.
Archimandrite Sophrony (His Life is Mine,Chapter 9; SVS Press pgs. 74-75):
In invoking the intercession of the saints, the Church believes that the saints, who interceded with the Lord for the peace of the world and for the stability of the holy churches of Christ while living, do not cease doing this in Christ's heavenly, Triumphant Church, and listen to our entreaties in which we invoke them, and pray to the Lord, and become bearers of the grace and mercy of the Lord.
St. Nectarios of Pentapolis, Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 7 by.
Constantine Cavarnos
In its natural state, the human intelligence is subject to the divine intelligence and itself rules over the non-intelligent element in us. Let this order be maintained in all things, and there will be no evil among creatures nor anything which draws us towards evil.
St. Maximos the Confessor (Second Century on Love no. 83)
In order than some such confusion not occur in us the reason intends the soul that possesses the mind of Christ, as the Apostle said, to use this as a leader, and by it both to be a master of its passions and to govern the body's members, so as to comply with reason. Thus, as in music there is a plectrum, so the man becoming himself a stringed instrument and devoting himself completely to the Spirit may obey in all his members and emotions, and serve the will of God. The harmonious reading of the Psalms is a figure and type of such undisturbed and calm equanimity of our thoughts.
St. Athanasius, The Letter to Marcellus.
In order that He might bring and end to the mourning of Martha, the Savior of all spoke to her and addressed these divine words to her: "I exist as the light of the world and the resurrection of all from the dead; He who believes on me shall never die; It was for this end that I appeared to resurrect Adam and the descendants of Adam And on the fourth day to resurrect Lazarus taking pity, as a Merciful One, on The tears of Mary and Martha."
St Romanos the Melodist - On the Raising of Lazarus II
In order that man's free will which God gave to man from the beginning might more clearly be manifested and confirmed, a great providence is at work in this matter, and the dissolution of the bodies takes place so that it is a question of man's will choosing to embrace what is good or evil. For even the man confirmed in evil, or the one completely immersed in sin and making himself a vessel of the devil by whom he is totally bound, caught up in a certain necessity, still employs free will to become a chosen vessel (Acts 9:15), a vessel of life. Similarly, on the other hand, those who are intoxicated with God, even if they are full and dominated by the Holy Spirit, still are not bound by any necessity, but they possess free will to choose and do what pleases them in this life.
St. Macarius the Great, Fifty Spiritual Homilies
In order that men should esteem and love each other, should not be proud, should not be arrogant to each other, the most wise Lord has given to different men different natural and beneficial advantages, so that they may have need of each other. In this manner each one of us must involuntarily acknowledge this or that infirmity and humble himself before God and man.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ
In order that men should esteem and love each other, should not be proud, should not be arrogant to each other, the most wise Lord has given to different men different natural and beneficial advantages, so that they may have need of each other. In this manner each one of us must involuntarily acknowledge this or that infirmity and humble himself before God and men.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Lie in Christ.
In order that men should esteem and love each other, should not be proud, should not be arrogant to each other, the most wise Lord has given to different men different natural and beneficial advantages, so that they may have need of each other. In this manner each one of us must involuntarily acknowledge this or that infirmity and humble himself before God and men.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ.
In order that we may all learn the very bright glory That virtue has and affords, Let us hasten to introduce the subject of Joseph, if it seems right, And through our continence let us claim a life of temperance. He was sold because of the passion of envy; but he was not found in any way a slave of passion, For he has a spirit ruling like a wise general, And he controlled the passions of the flesh. For this reason he was not moved by the flattery of a woman, But in manly fashion he repulsed her flatteries. She let loose on him a storm of words So that she might overthrow the dwelling of chastity; She scattered drunkenness like rain *and offered rivers of gold. But although he was young, the noble Joseph Stood firm on the unshaken rock, For the eye that never sleeps observes all things.
St Romanos the Melodist - On Joseph II.
In order that you may move your will more easily to this one desire in everything - to please God and to work for His glory alone - remind yourself often, that He has granted you many favors in the past and has shown you his love.
Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 11)
In order to be firm in the faith, it is necessary that you lead a Christian life in accordance with that faith, that is, a life accompanied by good works. For just as the true and Holy faith began and makes firm the true and holy life, so conversely, the holy life begets and makes firm the Holy faith: the one is a constituent of the other, according to the divine Chrysostom. And we see, indeed, that those who deny the faith of Christ, or fall into evil doctrines, have prior to this become corrupt by a wicked life, full of passions and perverted. If you lead a Christian life, not only will you keep the Orthodox faith yourselves, not only will you not provoke the impious to curse the Holy Name and faith of Christ, but you will even incite those of another faith to embrace it, by seeing your good deeds, as the Lord has said: `Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father Who is in heaven' (Matt. 5:16).
St. Macarios of Corinth, Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 2 by Constantine
Cavarnos.
In order, then, that man might not be an undying or ever-living evil, as would have been the case if sin were dominant within him, as it had sprung up in an immortal body, and was provided with immortal sustenance, God for this cause pronounced him mortal, and clothed him with mortality. For this is what was meant by the coats of skins, in order that, by the dissolution of the body, sin might be altogether destroyed from the very roots, that there might not be left even the smallest particle of root from which new shoots of sin might again burst forth.
St. Methodius, Discourse on the Resurrection.
In our day too, then, we must abundantly supply the pure oil of wisdom and good works, an oil strained of every form of corruptibility: we do not want our lamps to go our in the same way `while the Bridegroom tarries.' The time of tarrying is, of course, the period before Christ's final coming, and the drowsiness and sleep of the ten virgins is their departure from this life. Midnight stands for the reign of the Antichrist, when the destroying angel will pass over the houses. And the cry that was raised, `Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him,' is the voice that will come from heaven, and the trumpet call, when all the saints with their risen bodies `shall be taken up' and walk upon the `clouds to meet the Lord.' For it is to be noticed that the Word says that after the cry all the virgins got up, meaning that after the voice is heard from heaven the dead will rise again.
St. Methodius, The Symposium: A treatise on Chastity.
In patience is the assembly of all the virtues by which our souls are saved, as. St. Ephraim says: He who acquires patience touches on every virtue, for he rejoices in sorrows, is well tested in misfortunes, is glad in perils, is ready for obedience, is filled with love, gives praise when provoked, is humble when reproached, is unwavering in misfortunes.
Abbot Nazarius , Little Russian Philokalia, V. II
In response to what they heard from Christ, the apostles acted with speed. At His command, they immediately had the crowd Recline in set order and in suitable fashion. The ground served them both as tables and beds. Christ had brought to Him the five loaves of bread, And straightway, lifting His eyes to the Father, He said: "I am doing Thy deeds; for I am Thy Son; For in the beginning, I created the whole world Together with Thee and the Holy Spirit; for I am The heavenly bread of immortality."
Behold how the masters, the servants of Christ, were arranged and attended The Servant, Jesus; and thy found Him at once. For the Lord blessed the five loaves of bread, Speaking to them as follows in spiritual fashion: "Grow and multiply perceptibly, And nourish now all who are assembled here." And immediately the loaves obeyed the Lord; They multiplied invisibly As Christ spoke to them, for He is The heavenly bread of immortality.
St Romanos the Melodist - On the Multiplication of Loaves.
In speaking of God, when there is a question of His Essence (or Being), then `is the time to keep silence.' When, however, it is a question of His operation, a knowledge of which can come down even to us, that is the time to speak of His omnipotence by telling of His works and explaining His deeds, and to use words to this extent. In matters that go beyond this, however, the creature must not exceed the bounds of its nature, but must be content to know itself. And indeed...if the creature never comes to know itself, never understands the nature of the body, the cause of being,...how can it ever explain things which are beyond it?
St. Ephrem the Syrian, in The Luminous Eye.
In teaching that in one’s spiritual life one must not disregard even the most seemingly insignificant matter, the Elder sometimes repeated, “Moscow was consumed by the flames of a tiny candle.”
Elder Amvrossy of Optina
In the Book of Proverbs it says, 'Those who have no guidance fall like leaves but there is safety in much counsel.' Take a good look at this saying, brothers. Look at what Scripture is teaching us. It assures us that we should not set ourselves up as guide posts, that we should not consider ourselves sagacious, that we should not believe we can direct ourselves. We need assistance, we need guidance in addition to God's grace. No one is more wretched, no one is more easily caught unawares, that a man who has no one to guide him along the road to God..
St. Dorotheos of Gaza, Discourses and Sayings.
In the Church, the pas is contemporary, and that which is present remains so on account of the living past, since the God-man Christ Who is `the same yesterday, today and forever' (Heb. 13:8), continuously lives in His divine-human body by means of the same truth, the same holiness, the same goodness, the same life and establishes the past in the present. Thus, to a living Orthodox understanding and conscience, all the members of the Church, from the Holy Apostles to those who have recently fallen asleep, are contemporary since they continuously live in Christ. Further, today in every true Orthodox individual one can find all the Holy Apostles, Martyrs, and holy Fathers. For the Orthodox Christian these are more real than many of his contemporaries.
St. Justin Popovich, Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ.
In the Gospel, our Lord says: `He that shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before my Father Who is in heaven; but he that shall deny me, I will also deny him.' If He is not to deny the man who denies Him, neither will He confess him who confesses Him; the Gospel cannot in part stand and in part fail: either both parts must hold, or both must lose their authority. If those who deny Him are not to be held guilty of a crime, neither shall those who confess Him receive the reward of virtue. But if the victory of faith receives its crown, the defeat of faithlessness must receive its punishment. Therefore, either the martyrs avail nothing, if the Gospel fails; or, if the Gospel cannot fail, then those whom the Gospel enables to become martyrs, cannot act in opposition to the Gospel. But let none, my dear brethren, let none besmirch the fair name of the martyrs, let non rob them of the glory of their crown. The strength and purity of their faith stands unimpaired: nothing can be said or done against Christ by one who whole hope and faith, whose whole strength and glory abides in Christ; those who themselves have fulfilled the commands of God, cannot instigate the bishops to act against the command of God.
St. Cyprian, The Lapsed.
In the end you will become worthy of God by the fact that you do nothing unworthy of Him.
"Reflections on the Eight Thoughts", Abba Evagrius, "Early Fathers From the Philokalia," translated from the Russian text, "Dobrotolubiye," by E. Kadloubovsky and G.E.H. Palmer, eighth edition, (London: Faber and Faber, Ltd., 1981), pp. 113 - 114
In the face of sufferings, his whole life was crucified unto him, And by stripes was he refreshed as by savory foods. Nothing availed to gladden him except sufferings: 'I rejoice in the sufferings I have borne for you.' Who ever so rejoiced in his own afflictions as he rejoiced? I marvel at him, and tell his tale, I cannot. 'I rejoice in these sufferings for you' -- Expound unto us wherefore, that we might see why thou rejoicest! 'I fulfill that which is lacking of all the afflictons of Christ In my flesh for the Church's sake, which is His body. In the stead of Jesus, behold, I stand ready to receive with gladness Every suffering for the Church's sake. He is in Heaven and neither dieth nor suffereth; I fill up His place that I may be beated by the persecutors. He that would smite Jesus, let him come and smite me; He in whom zeal is roused against Him, let him sate his wrath in me. If there be any who would menace Him, here I stand: Let him bring against me all sufferngs that can be: I accept them.
Mar Jacob, Bishop of Serugh, A Second Homily on Paul the Apostle.
In the matter of piety, poverty serves us better than wealth, and work better than idleness, especially since wealth becomes an obstacle even for those who do not devote themselves to it. Yet, when we must put aside our wrath, quench our envy, soften our anger, offer our prayers, and show a disposition which is reasonable, mild, kindly, and loving, how could poverty stand in our way? For we accomplish these things not by spending money but by making the correct choice. Almsgiving above all else requires money, but even this shine with a brighter luster when the alms are given from our poverty. The widow who paid in the two mites was poorer than any human, but she outdid them all.
St. John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions
In the mirror of the commandments I will behold my interior face so that I may wash off the dirt on my soul and clean away the filth of my mind, lest the Holy One to Whom I am betrothed sees me and stands back from me in abhorrence.
St. Ephraim the Syrian, in The Luminous Eye by Sebastian Brock.
In the parable the householder hired workers to cultivate his vineyard in the morning, and at the third, sixth, ninth, and eleventh hours. God's preachers have not ceased to preach from the beginning of the world up to its end: the morning extended from Adam to Noah, the third hour from Noah to Abraham, the sixth from Abraham to Moses, the ninth from Moses to the coming our our Lord, and the eleventh hour is from the Lord's coming to the end of the world. It was during this last period that the holy Apostles, who received a full reward even though they came late, were sent out as preachers.
St. Gregory the Great, Be Friends of God.
In the same way as slumber is the commencement of sleep, one can also say of the soul, when she begins to sin, she is falling into slumber: she is lured as in sleep by sin, but she redresses and awakens herself by the remembrance of good. The more one examines oneself, the more one accuses oneself of this, in confession, as of a former fault. But if You give me to understand Your statures, I will be 'strengthened with Thy words.'
Eusebius of Caesarea, quoted in The Lament of Eve by Johanna Manley.
In the same way as slumber is the commencement of sleep, one can also say of the soul, when she begins to sin, she is falling into slumber: she is lured as in sleep by sin, but she redresses and awakens herself by the remembrance of good. The more one examines oneself, the more one accuses oneself of this, in confession, as of a former fault. But if You give me to understand of Your statutes, I will be `strengthened with Thy words.'
Eusebius of Caesarea in Epilogue III of The Lament of Eve by Johanna
Manley.
In these words Scripture makes us see how the one who does not perfectly those who offend him and who does not present to God a heart purified of rancor and shining with the light of reconciliation with one's neighbor will lose the grace of the blessings for which he prays. Moreover, by a just judgment, he will be delivered over to temptation and to evil in order to learn how to cleanse himself of his faults by canceling his complaints against another. He here calls `temptation' the law of sin which the first man did not bear when he came into existence, and `evil' the devil, who mingled this law of sin with human nature and who by trickery persuaded man to transfer his soul's desire from what was permitted to what was forbidden, and to be turned around to transgress the divine commandments. And the result of this transgression was the loss of incorruptibility given by grace.
St. Maximus the Confessor, Commentary on the Our Father, in Selected
Writings.
In this present life, however, it is impossible for anyone to become perfect, though he may receive as it were a pledge of the blessings promised him. For just as those who have not received God's gifts should humble themselves because of their indigence, so those who have received them should likewise humble themselves, since they have received them from God, otherwise they will be condemned for their lack of gratitude.
St. Peter of Damaskos, Philokalia, Vol. 3
In true Christians as in spiritual temples, God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, abides with love. The Lord says of this, `If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode in him (Jn. 14:23). What can be more honorable and noble than that soul in which the Tri-hypostatic God abides with grace and love? It is a glorious thing for people to receive an earthly king into their house; it is incomparably more glorious to receive the Heavenly King into the house of their soul, and to have Him living therein. What also could be more blessed than that soul in which God lives as in a temple? The paradise of sweetness and joy, the Kingdom of God is in it. O blessedness! O the worthiness! O the nobility of the Christian soul! God, a Being that is without beginning, without end, supremely good, and uncreated, will to live in the holy Christian soul rather than in heaven or in any other temple.
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Journey to Heaven.
Inasmuch, then, as the Church offers with single-mindedness, her gift is justly reckoned a pure sacrifice with God. As Pual also says to the Philippians, 'I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things that were sent from you, the odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, pleasing to God.' For it behoves us to make an oblation to God, and in all things to be found grateful to God our Maker, in a pure mind, and in faith without hypocrisy, in well-grounded hope, in fervent love, offering the first-fruits of His own created things.
St. Iraeaeus, Against Heresies.
Indeed, it is clear that one who reads the books [Old Testament] utters them not as his own words, but as the words of the saints and those who are signified by them. But contrariwise, remarkably, after the prophecies about the Savior and the nations, he who recites the Psalms is uttering the rest as his own words, and each sings them as if they were written concerning him, and he accepts them and recites them not as if another were speaking, nor as if speaking about someone else. But he handles them as if he is speaking about someone else. But he handles them as if he is speaking about himself. And the things spoken are such that he lifts them up to God as himself acting and speaking them from himself.
St. Athanasius the Great, The Letter to Marcellinus.
Intellectual faith does not suffice, but confession of faith with one's mouth is required as well. Since man himself is two-fold, let his sanctification be two-fold as well. For the soul is sanctified by faith, but the body is sanctified by confessing. Whosoever therefoer shall be ashamed to confess that the Crucified One is his God, of him also shall the Crucified One be ashamed. For the Lord shall judge that man to be an unworthy servant, when He comes with glory, escorted by the angels, no longer in lowly form. At the second coming He will not appear, as He did before, to be of base origin and curcumstance, an object of scorn. Since He speaks of His own glory, wishing to show that He is not vainly boasting, He says, 'There be some of them that stand here,' namely, Peter, James, and John, who shall not die until I have shown them at the Transfiguration the glory with which I shall appear at the second coming. For the Transfiguration was nothing else than a foreshadowing of the second coming, and as He appeared shining then, so will He shine at the second coming, as will also all the righteous.
Bl. Theophylact, Explanation of the Holy Gospel According to St. Mark.
Is not the Father Lord? Is not the Son Lord? Is not the Spirit Lord? As each of them is also God? Of course. So then are there three Gods and Lords? What impiety! There is one God and Lord. And, sir, you must understand the same in the case of icons. Even if there are many representations, still there is only one Christ, and not many; just as the same one is Lord, and not different individuals. For just as in the former case the single appellation of 'God' and 'Lord' applies inclusively to the nature which cannot be divided into its three persons, so in the latter case the use of an identical name brings together the many representations into one form; and so your objection is invalid.
St. Theodore the Studite, On The Holy Icons.
It also sometimes happens that we seek things entirely related to salvation without our eager petitions and devoted actions, and yet we do not immediately obtain what we ask. The result of our petition is postponed to some future time, as when we daily ask the Father on bended knees, saying, 'Thy kingdom come,' and nevertheless we are not going to receive the kingdom as soon as our prayer is finished, but at the proper time. It is a fact that this is often done with benevolent foresight by our Maker, sot that the desires [inspired by] our devotion may increase by deferment. When they have advanced more and more by daily growth, at length they embrace perfectly the joys we are seeking.
The Venerable Bede, Homilies on the Gospels, Book 2.
It happens sometimes that in doing good to one man you suffer harm from another, so that, meeting with injustice, you may say or do something unseemly and thus lose what you have gained. This is precisely the aim of the evil demons. So pay intelligent heed to yourself.
"153 Texts on Prayer", St Nilus of Mt Sinai, "Early Fathers From the Philokalia," translated from the Russian text, "Dobrotolubiye," by E. Kadloubovsky and G.E.H. Palmer, eighth edition, (London: Faber and Faber, Ltd., 1981), pp. 127 - 135.
It has always been the custom, and still is, to prove the true faith in these two ways; first by the authority of the Divine Canon, and next by the tradition of the Universal Church. Not that the Canon alone does not of itself suffice for every question, but seeing that the more part, interpreting the divine words according to their own persuasion, take up various erroneous opinions, it is therefore necessary that the interpretation of divine Scripture should be ruled according to the one standard of the Church's belief, especially in those articles on which the foundations of all doctrine rest.
St. Vincent of Lerins, A Commonitory.
It i death that has brought men to old age and corruption; death, therefore, has made old, that is to say, has corrupted; for that which is `made old, and is growing aged, is near corruption,' as Scripture saith; but Christ renews, in that He is the Life. For He Who in the beginning created, is able again to renew unto incorruption and life. For one may well affirm that it is the office of one and the same energy and power, to effect both the one and the other. Therefore, as the Prophet Esaias says, `He hath swallowed up death, having become mighty.' And again, `The Lord hath taken away all weeping from every countenance. He hath taken away the reproach of the people from all the earth.' By the reproach of the people he means sin, which disgraces and depraves men; and which, together with destruction, shall be slain, and sorrow and death shall perish, and the tears cease which are shed on its account.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke
It is God's desire that men be unequal in all externals: riches, power, status, learning, position and so forth, but He does not recommend any sort of competitiveness in this. 'Sit not down in the highest room,' commanded the Lord Jesus (Lk. 14:8). God desires that men compete in the multiplying of the inner virtues: faith, goodness, charity, love, meekness and gentleness, humility and obedience. God gave both inward and outward gifts, although He considers outward gifts as lower and of less significance than inward ones.
Bp. Nikolai Velimirovich, Homilies, Vol. 2
It is a strange phenomenon that with events of a purely earthly character the word of a single bystander is often relied on even by learned historians. But when the event is on another plane the testimony of hundreds of witnesses fails to awaken the right response. Why is this? I suggest that it is less because the testimony is false and does not correspond to actual fact than because the majority of us, satisfied with the things of the flesh, feel little desire for higher knowledge."
Archimandrite Sophrony (His Life is Mine, Chapter 11; SVS Press pg. 83)
It is a true saying, that the fruit of good deeds is honorable. For those who wish to lead lives pure and kundefiled as far as is possible for men, Christ iwll adorn with His gifts, and grant them an abundant recompense for all their saintly deeds, and make them partakers of His lgory. For it is impossible that He should ever lie who says: As I live, saith the Lord, those who honor Me, I will honor.
St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke
It is a true saying, that the fruit of good deeds is honorable. For those who wish to lead lives pure and undefiled as far as is possible for men, Christ will adorn with His gifts, and grant them an abundant recompense for all their saintly deeds, and make them partakers of His glory. For it is impossible that |H|e should ever lie who says: `As I live,' saith the Lord, `those who honor Me, I will honor.'
St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke.
It is always a good thing to devote ourselves to seeking God, as we have been commanded. For although in the present life we are unable to arrive at the limit of God's depth, yet at least by reaching in some small way His depth we would see the holier among holy things and the more spiritual among spiritual things. This is clearly indicated in the figure of the high priest who from the holy place which is more sacred than the courtyard enters into the Holy of Holies which is more sacred than the holy place.
St. Maximus the Confessor, Chapters on Knowledge.
It is aptly said of our Redeemer that: 'He is going on ahead of you into Galilee. You will see Him there, as He said to you.' Galilee is interpreted, 'the passing has been completed.' In truth our Redeemer had not passed from His passion to His resurrection, from His death to life, from punishment to glory, from corruption to incorruption. After His resurrection He was first seen by His disciples in Galilee, because we will happily see the glory of His resurrection later if we now pass from vices to the height of virtue.
St. Gregory the Great, Forty Gospel Homilies.
It is better to elude the passions by the recollection of the virtues than by resisting and disputing with them. For when the passions leave their place and arise for battle, they imprint on the mind images and idols, and this warfare has great force, able to weaken the mind and violently to perturb and confuse a man's thinking. But if a man acts by the first rule we have mentioned, when the passions are repulsed they leave no trace in the mind.
Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian.
It is dangerous for anyone to teach who has not first been trained in the 'practical' life. For if someone who owns a ruined house receives guests there, he does them harm because of the dilapidation of his dwelling. It is the same in the case of someone who has not first built an interior dwelling; he causes loss to those who come. By words one may convert them to salvation, but by evil behaviour, one injures them.
Amma Syncletica, in The Desert Christian by Benedicta Ward.
It is enough to know yourself.
Glinsk elder Schema-hieromonk Andronicus Lukasha (1889-1974) (Glinsk Mosaic: Pilgrims’ Recollections of the Glinsk Hermitage, 1942-1961, Pilgrim Publishers, Moscow, 1997.)
It is fitting, moreover, to examine here how the words of Paul, `It is appointed unto men once to die' (Heb. 9:27) remain true in this case. For if Elias and Enoch were carried away to be now and always in very dense bodies, the words of the wise and holy Paul are untrue according to which all men die. But they are not false. There is a sense which applies to Enoch and Elias, although they did not participate in the death which is now common to other men, one must understand that they are dead in that material life was removed from them in a divine manner that is hidden from us. If the Savior is `firstborn from the dead' (Col. 1:18), He should also be that firstborn of Enoch and Elias, for it would be paradoxical if this principle did not apply to them; besides, if they had not been removed from material life, as we have said, they would not have participated in the divine resurrection, in which we will all receive a body, changed from dishonorable to honorable, from ignoble to glorious, from weak to strong, from earthly to spiritual (cf. Phil. 3:21).
St. Didymus* the Blind, quoted in The Lament of Eve, by Johanna Manley.
It is good not to get angry, but if this should happen, the Apostle does not allow you a whole day for this passion, for he says: 'Let not the sun go down' (Eph.4:25). Will you wait till all your time is ended? Why hate the man who has grieved you? It is not he who has done the wrong, but the devil. Hate sickness but not the sick person.
Amma Syncletica, in The Desert Christian.
It is impossible for someone to acquire a catholic knowledge of the spirit except by being incorporated into the life of the Church. The entire significance of the perseverance of Orthodoxy through the centuries lies exactly in the numerical identity of the Church, in her uniquely catholic, universal, and continuous existence, with an uninterrupted and continuous hierarchical succession, with the performance of the mysteries, with the communion of the faith, and by the action of the One Spirit and one grace in all of these. This is none other than the unity of the Body of Christ, the unity of the house of God, in which all who have fallen asleep in the faith and piety presently live and dwell along with all the saints and holy fathers.
Fr Justin Popovich, Faith and Life in Christ
It is impossible for the mind not to be approached by thoughts, but it is in the power of every earnest man either to admit them or to reject them. As then their rising up does not entirely depend on ourselves, so the rejection or admission of them lies in our own power. But because we said that it is impossible for the mind not to be approached by thoughts, you must not lay everything to the charge of the assault, or to those spirits who strive to instill them into us, else there would not remain any free will in man, nor would efforts for our improvement be in our power; but it is, I say, to a great extent in our power to improve the character of our thoughts and to let either holy and spiritual thoughts or earthly ones grow up in our hearts.
St. John Cassian, Conferences
It is impossible not to realize that there must be a being superior to earthly objects, which is invisible but gives unto to their multiplicity, and orders their existence. If such a being did not exist and did not function, in what way could there be a mutual harmonization of heavy and light bodies, of dry and wet, of round and square, of fire and frost, of sea and land, of sun and clouds? The nature of each of them is different from that of every other. A terrible discord would be inevitable! One is causing heat and the other cold, a heavy body sinks while a light one goes up, the sun give light and the clouds bring shadow... But in the universe there is no disorders, only order; no disharmony, only concord. So we need to reflect: there has always been the Lord to unite so many different elements and to make of them a complete harmony.
St. Athanasius the Great, quoted in Drinking from the Hidden Fountain.
It is impossile for those who learn a craft whole-heartedly not to make daily advance in it. But some know their progress, while others by Divine providence are ignorant of it. A good banker never fails in the evening to reckon the day's profit or loss. But he cannot know this clearly unless he enters it every hour in his ledger. For the hourly account brings to light the daily account.
St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent.
It is much better and more beneficial, without separating from the whole body, but as members of it, to correct each other and to correct ourselves, rather than prematurely to condemn others by one's excommunication, and thus, having destroyed trust, to later imperiously demand correction, as it is typical for despots, rather than brethren.
St. Gregory the Theologian, Oration 6, On Peace
It is necessary for the following reason to pray at this hour and truly those men of holy memory who handed on the Tradition to us taught us thus: because in this hour every creature hushes for a brief moment to priase the Lord; stars and plants and waters stand still in that instant; all the hosts of the angels ministering unto Him together with the souls of the righteous praise God. Wherefore it is right for all them that believe to be careful to pray at that hour. And to this the Lord says thus, 'Behold a cry was made a midnight of them that said, 'Behold the Bridegroom has come; arise to meet Him; and He adds, saying, Watch therefore, for ye know not in what hour He comes.'
St. Hippolytus of Rome, The Treatise on The Apostolic Tradition.
It is necessary to rouse the heart to pray, otherwise it will become quite dry. The attributes of prayer must be: love of God, sincerity, and simplicity. We must pray in spirit, because God is a spirit, and not flesh; with truth, and not falsely, because God is the Truth. The same may be said in regard to prayers to the saints. Do not call upon them only with the lips - for they have neither lips nor voice, nothing corporeal - but with your heart or soul burning within you. They they will hear you; for everything seeks that which is akin to it. Yes; not flesh and blood will inherit the kingdom of God, but the pure spirit burning with love to God.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ.
It is not God's foreknowledge of those who, by their free choice and zeal, will prevail which is the cause of their victory, just as, again, it is not His knowing beforehand who will fall and be vanquished which is responsible for their defeat. Instead, it is the zeal, deliberate choice, and courage of each of us which effects the victory. Our faithlessness and sloth, our irresolution and indolence, on the other hand, comprise our defeat and perdition. So, while reclining on our bed of worldly affection and love of pleasure, let us not say: `Those whom God fore-knew, them also He predestined,' without perceiving just what it is we are saying. Yes, indeed, He truly knew you beforehand as inattentive and disobedient and lazy, but this is certainly not because He ordered or foreordained it that you should have no power to repent yourself nor, if you will it, to get up and obey.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, On The Mystical Life
It is not enough for a plant to be rooted in soil, but it also needs sunlight and to be irrigated by the rain, otherwise, it will not glow and will not bear fruit. Likewise, for the successful completion of our deeds, blessing from above is always needed. A person gathers all the resources for the success of his undertaking, so that by all accounts a good end seems imminent after such a good beginning. However, suddenly an unexpected change in circumstances ruins all hopes and wrenches success from his hands, as a sudden head of water ruins a strong bulwark, or as a powerful storm topples big trees.
On Self-Reliance, from `A Collection of Short Homilies...' (in Russian)compiled by Priest Andrew Smirnoff, in Orthodox Life, #5, 1977.
It is not enough if you have the food, drink, and bed of John the Baptist. In order to reach perfection, you must also have his spirit.
St. Isidore of Pelusium, commemorated 4 February
It is not free will but `it is the Lord Who sets the captives free' (Ps. 145:7). It is not our own virtue but `it is the Lord Who lifts up those who were laid low' (Ps. 145:8). It is not application to reading but `it is the Lord Who gives wisdom to the blind.' It is not our cautiousness but 'it is the Lord Who protects the stranger' (Ps. 145:9). It is not our endurance but 'it is the Lord Who raises or gives support to the fallen' (Ps. 144:14).
St. John Cassian, The Conferences
It is not just from the passions that are of evil origin that we should distance ourselves in prayers, but also from any kind of contempt that stems from lassitude or negligence. For even if our prayer should be pure of the other bitter passions and of self-love, nevertheless if it is offered accompanied by signs of contempt or scorn it will be rejected, in that the pristine beauty of divine and reverential love is not raised up with it, to convey it eagerly and with joy to God.
Martyrius, in Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life.
It is not possible to correct yourself rightly if you do not recognize the evil hidden in your heart and the calamities that proceed from it. An unrecognized disease remains untreated. The beginning of health is to know your disease, and the beginning of blessedness is to know your misfortune and wretchedness. For who having recognized his illness does not seek healing, and who knowing his misfortune does not seek deliverance from it?
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Journey to Heaven.
It is not possible without temptations for a man to grow wise in spiritual warfare, to know his Provider and perceive his God, and to be secretly confirmed in his faith, save by virtue of the experience which he has gained.
Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian.
It is not riches that are evil. It is instead those who hold onto wealth who deserve to be accused. For one ought not to hold onto riches, that is, to keep them in one's possession, but instread one should use them for what is necessary. For, as the saying goes, riches are for use, not for safekeeping. Those who keep their riches under lock and key are those who will find it hard to enter the kingdom of God. Understand 'hard' here to mean 'impossible.'
The Explanation by Blessed Theophylact of the Holy Gospel According to St. Mark.
It is one thing to avoid sin but another matter to practice the commandments. The former is for those who have reached the first stage of impassibility; the latter for those who have struggled and lived in accordance with the Gospel.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, The Practical and Theological Chapters.
It is one thing to be content with shabby clothes and have no desire for magnificent array, but a different matter to put on the light of God. They are two different things. Caught up in a myriad of desires, some have easily been negligent, but only they [put on the light] who costantly search for it through all kinds of penitence; those who become children of light and of the day through the fulfilment of the commandments.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, The Practical and Theological Discourses.
It is only when we pray fervently, on then that we feel calm, warm, at ease, and bright in soul, because then we are with God and in God; but as soon as we cease thus praying, then temptations and various troubles begin. O, most blessed time of prayer!
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ
It is pleasing to consider who we are who discuss these matters. Surely we come from the nations; our ancestors were worshippers of wood and stone. What then have we that we may comprehend the profound mysteries of Ezekiel the Prophet which the Hebrews even now do not understand? Then let us give thanks to the One Who fulfilled in action all that is written of Him in the Scriptures, so that the sayings which could not be understood when heard could be explained when shown forth. For there a contained His Incarnation, He Passion, His Death, His Resurrection and His Ascension. But who of us on hearing these would believe if he did not know they had happened? Therefore, as it says in St. John's Apocalypse, the Lion of the tribe of Judah opened the sealed book which not could open and read, because in His Passion and Resurrection He reveals to us all His mysteries. And in that He bore the sins of our weakness He shows to us the goodness of His power and His splendor.
The Homilies of St. Gregory the Great on the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel.
It is right for us to believe, with unshaken faith, that nothing is done in this world without God. It must be admitted that everything happens either by His well or with His permission. The good is achieved with God's will and help; the opposite happens with His permission when as a punishment for our misdeeds and for the hardness of our hearts He abandons us to the devil's mastery or to the ignoble passions of our bodies. This is the very clear teaching of the apostle when he says: `This is why God has handed them over to the ignoble passions' (Rom. 1:26). `Because they did not trouble to know God, God handed them over to reprobate sensuality so that they might do what was unfitting'(Rom. 1:28). And the Lord Himself speaks through the prophet: `My people did not listen to My voice and Israel has not obeyed Me. That is why I have abandoned them to the contrivances of their own hearts and they shall walk in accordance with their own decisions' (Ps. 80:12-13).
St. John Cassian, The Conferences
It is said in Proverbs, 'Those who have no direction fall like leaves; safety lies in many advisors.' Not 'in many advisors,' as if one had to consult the first person to come along, but one must tell everything to the person one trusts, and ask advice on everything. Without this, the devil has an easy turn deceiving by means of virtue itself. His trump card is one's own will. This is why Abba Poemen said, that 'one's own will is a brass wall between man and God.'
Abba Poemon, Alphabetical Sayings
It is somewhere said by one of the holy prophets, 'Will the Lord God do anything without revealing the teaching thereof to His servants the prophets?' For the God of all made known to the holy prophets those things which were hereafter to take place, in order that they might previously declare them, that so they might not be disbelieved, when in due time what had been foretold arrived at its fulfillment. And those who will may see that what we have now affirmed is true, even from the present lessons. For the seventy, it says, 'returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject to us in Thy Name.'
St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke.
It is true, therefore, that a man's life is not from his possessions, by reason his his having a superfluity: but very blessed, and of glorious hope is he who is rich towards God. And who is he? Evidently one who loveth not wealth, but virtue rather, and to whom few things are sufficient; one whose hand is open to the necessities of the indigent, comforting the sorrows of those in poverty, according to his means, and the utmost of his power. It is he who gathers in the storehouses that are above, and lays up treasures in heaven. Such a one shall find the usury of his virtue, and the recompense of his upright and blameless life; Christ shall bless him; by Whom, and with Whom, to God the Father be praise and dominion with the Holy Spirit, unto ages of ages. Amen.
St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Luke.
It is true, therefore, that a man's life is not from his possessions, by reason of his having a superfluity; but very blessed, and of glorious hope is he who is rich towards God. And who is he? Evidently one who loveth not wealth, but virtue rather, and to whom few things are sufficient; one whose hand is open to the necessities of the indigent, comforting the sorrows of those in poverty, according to he means, and the utmost of his power. It is he who gathers in the storehouses that are above, and lays up treasures in heaven. Such a one shall find the usury of his virtue, and the recompense of his upright and blameless life; Christ shall bless him, to Whom, and with Whom, to God the Father be praise and dominion with the Holy Spirit, unto ages of ages. Amen.
St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Luke.
It is true, therefore, that a man's life is not from his possessions, by reason of his having a superfluity; but very blessed, and of glorious hope is he who is rich towards God. And who is he? Evidently one who loveth not welath, but virtue rather, and to whom few things are sufficient; one whose hand is open to the necessities of the indigent, comforting the sorrows of those in poverty, according to his means, and the utmost of his power. It is he who gathers in the storehouses that are above, and lays up treasures in heaven.
St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke.
It is truly a new spectacle, never before conceived of: a woman who surpasses the heavens in purity of nature enters the holy tabernacle of the heavenly sanctuary; a virgin, who surpasses the very nature of the Seraphim by the miracle of giving birth to God, draws near to God, the first of natures and begetter of all things; a mother, who has brought forth life itself, produces an ending of her own life to match that of her Son. It is a miracle worthy both of God and of our faith! For as her womb was not corrupted in giving birth, so her flesh did not perish in dying. What a miracle!
Homily of St. Andrew of Crete in On the Dormition of Mary; Early Patristic Homilies.
It is very useful to spend time reading the word of God in solitude and to read the whole Bible with understanding. In return for this exercise alone, without the addition of any other virtuous deeds, the Lord grants man His mercy and fills him with the gift of understanding. When a man provides his soul with the word of God, then he is granted the understanding of what is good and what is evil.
St. Seraphim of Sarov, in Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. 5.
It is well said, 'And his soul within him shall mourn over himself' (Job 14:22), in that whoever desires to rejoice in himself, by this alone is later in woe, as he has gone far from the true joy. For the true joy of the soul is the Creator. Therefore, it is proper that man should ever find sorrow in himself, when, forsaking his Creator, he has sought joy in himself.
St. Gregory the Great, quoted in Wisdom, Let Us Attend, by JohannaManley.
It is written, `The righteous man shall blossom like the palm tree' (Ps. 91:12). Now these words make known that the soul acquireth height, and straightness of stature, and sweetness from beautiful deeds. But there is another quality which is found in the palm, that is, a single, white heart, which is wholly suitable for work (or useful for being worked). And this must be found in the righteous man, for his heart must be single and simple, and it must be accustomed to look towards God only. Now the heart of the palm tree is also white by reason of that fire which it possesseth naturally, and all the service of the righteous man is in his heart; and the hollowness and the evenness of the tops of the leaves typify the setting up of sharpness of the soul of the righteous man against the calumniator.
The Paradise of the Fathers, Vol. II
It is written: `Not everyone who says to Me: -Lord, Lord - shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father' (Mt. 7:21). The will of the Father is indicated in the words: `You who love the Lord, hate evil' (Ps. 97:10). Hence we should both pray the Prayer of Jesus Christ and hate our evil thoughts. In this way we do God's will.
St. Hesychios the Priest, Philokalia Vol. I.
It is, perhaps, not very difficult for the intellect to find itself in the threefold state - for itself to be, that is to say, both the guard, that which is guarded, and that which prays while it is keeping guard; but it is extremely difficult to persevere for a long time in this state that gives birth to things ineffable. For the effort involved in acquiring every other virtue is slight and altogether easy to sustain when compared with this. Hence, many, unable to endure the self-constraint needed for acquiring the virtue of prayer, do not attain a plenitude of divine gifts; but those who do persist are rewarded with greater manifestations of divine aid, which sustain, support and joyfully carry them forward. Then what is difficult to accomplish is easily achieved, for they are invested with what one might call an angelic capacity, which empowers our human nature to commune with what lies beyond it. This accords with the words of the prophet, that those who persist will grow wings and will gain new strength (cf. Isa. 40:31)."
St. Gregory Palamas (On Prayer and Purity of Heart no. 2, The Philokalia Vol. 4 edited by Palmer, Sherrard and Ware; Faber and Faber pg. 344)
It must therefore belong to Jesus Christ's grace itself to grant both to us to speak without deficiency, and you to hear with discretion; for discretion is needful not to them only who speak, but also to them that hear, lest they hear one thing, and misconceive another in their mind.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Catechetical Lectures: Lecture 16 no. 2)
It often happens that saints born of a saint retain from him birth both according to the flesh and according to the soul. In this way Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac of Jacob, and Jacob of Joseph; for they are descended from them in a human sense and also imitators of their virtue. Esau was begotten of Isaac only according to the flesh, since he was a stranger to him in intentions, for he became worthless. Seth, then, born to replace a just man, generates Enos: the just engendering one who is just; and the latter, instead of having a proper name of his own, is called `man.' Such a naming demonstrates the virtue of his soul which preserved that which was `in the image,' and the truly real state of man, for in Hebrew Enos signifies 'man.'
Didymus the Blind, quoted in the Prologue of The Lament of Eve by Johanna
Manley.
It was in the way that God of old fashioned our mother, Eve, when He took the rib from Adam's already living side and guilt it up into the woman - for it was on account of this that He did not breathe on it, as with Adam, the breath of life; rather, with the part which He took from his flesh, He completed the whole body of the woman, and the first fruits of the Spirit already present in the living flesh He made into a living soul having indeed already created both as man at the same time - in just the same fashion, taking living flesh from the holy Theotokos and ever-Virgin Mary as a kind of leaven and first-fruit from the dough of our common nature - soul and body both - God the Maker and Fashioner united it with His own incomprehensible and unapproachable divinity. Rather, it was with our essence that He united essentially the whole substance [hypostasis] of His divinity, mingling unmingeldly the one with the Other, the human with His own, building it up into a temple consecrated to Himself. "Thus, without alteration or change, did the Creator of Adam become Himself perfect man.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life: The Ethical
St. John Cassian, The Discourses, Vol. 1
It was meet that she who contained Him that fills all things and who surpasses all should outstrip all and become by her virtue superior to them in the eminence of her dignity. Those things which sufficed the most excellent among men that have lived throughout the ages in order to reach such excellency, and that which all those graced of God have separately, both angels and men, she combined, and these she alone brings to fulfillment and surpasses. And this she now has beyond all|: That she has become immortal after death and alone dwells together with her Son and God in her body. For this reason she pours forth from thence abundant grace upon those who honor her - for she is a receptacle of great graces - and she grants us even our ability to look towards her.
St. Gregory Palamas, A Homily on the Dormition of Our Supremely Pure Lady
Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. (Orthodox Life, July-August, 1982).
It was necessary, then, that spiritual things should be made known as in a mirror and in a riddle; `For now we see by means of a mirror, but then face to face.' Now we are after the flesh, then in the Spirit we shall see the divine mysteries. Let then, the character of the true law be expressed in our manner of life, who walk in the image of God, for the shadow of the Law has now passed away. The carnal Jews had the shadow, the likeness is ours, the reality theirs who shall rise again. For we know that according to the Law there are these three, the shadow, the image or likeness, and the reality; the shadow in the Law, the image in the Gospel, the truth in the judgement. But all is Christ's, and all is in Christ, Whom now we cannot see according to the reality, but we see Him, as it were, in a kind of likeness of future things, of which we have seen the shadow in the Law.
St. Ambrose of Milan, On the Belief in the Resurrection.
It was said of Abba John the Persian that when some evildoers came to harm him, he took a basin and wanted to wash their feet. But they were filled with confusion, and began to do penance.
The Desert Fathers
It will be shown that God's holy Church, an image confirming to its Archetype, does God's work in us. The men, women, and children coming into the Church, reborn and recreated by her in the Spirit, are just about infinite in number; they are very different from each other in race and appearance, they are of all languages, life styles, and ages; there are great differences in their mentalities, customs, and interests, their social station, their skills and their professions; their fortunes, their characters, and their abilities are all very different, but the Church confers one and the same divine character and title equally on all: that they be, and be called, Christians; the Church bestows unity in that simple, indivisible relationship which comes from faith, and does not allow the many untold differences to stand out, even though they exist in every one.
St. Maximus the Confessor, The Mystagogia
Jesus Christ, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is an unfathomable abyss of love to men. In this abyss of mercy plenteousness of mercy for all will be found, only turn to God with faith, hope and hearty contrition for your iniquities and your offences against the Lord our Master and Benefactor.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ
Jesus Who chose the fishermen, Himself also useth a net, and changeth place for place. Why? Not only that He may gain more of those who love God by His visitation; but also, as it seems to me, that He may hallow more places. To the Jews He becomes a Jew that He may gain the Jews; to them that are under the Law as under the Law, that He may redeem them that are under the Law; to the weak as weak, that He may save the weak. He is made all things to all men the He may gain all.
St. Gregory the Theologian, On kthe Words of the Gospel.
Job 12:13: `If He should break down, there is none that can build again; if He should shut up a man, there is none that can open' Almighty God `breaks down' the heart of man when He forsakes it; He `builds it up" when He fills it. For Hew does not destroy man's soul by consummation of war, but by withdrawing Himself from it: when it is left to itself, it tends to nothing but its own ruin. So it commonly happens that, when the heart of the hearer, because of his sins, is not filled with Almighty God's grace, it is in vain that he is outwardly admonished by a preacher. For every mouth that speaks is as if mute, if He does not utter a voice in the heart within, He Who inspires the words that are admitted into the ears. So the Prophet says, `Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it' (Ps. 126:1).
St. Gregory the Great, quoted in Wisdom, Let us Attend by Johanna Manley.
Job 19:9: `He has stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head.' That all this suits the person of the blessed man set in the midst of tribulation, there can be no doubt. But since the words of the historical account are plain, they do not require explaining after the letter; therefore they have to be traced out in their mystical senses. He says, `He has stripped me of my glory,' for the glory of each individual is his righteousness. Now just as a garment protects from the cold, so does righteousness defend from death. In this way, righteousness is not improperly likened to a garment, as it is said by the Prophet: ``Let Thy priests be clothed in righteousness (Ps. 131:9).
St. Gregory the Great, quoted in Wisdom, Let Us Attend, by Johanna Manley.
Job is called an 'upright' man that 'feared God' because he effectively practised true piety towards God. For he who worships God only in mere word, but in deed sets His commandments at nought, is an unjust worshpper, and he shall hear it said: 'Why callest thou Me Lord, Lord, and doest not the things which I say?"
Blessed John of Karpathos, A Supplement to the Philokalia.
Just as God is unconfusedly and indivisibly worshipped in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, so in turn does man, without confusion or division, become in God a god by grace in both his soul and body. The body is not changed into soul, nor the soul transformed into divinity, nor is God confused with the soul, but God remains what He is as God, and the soul what it is by nature, and the body such as it was fashioned, of clay. He Who has paradoxically bound all these together, Who has mingled what is both intellible and immaterial with clay, unites Himself unconfudly with both of these, and I myself am in His image and likeness.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life, Vol. 2.
Just as a man dies when he stops breathing, so, too, does the soul die without continuous and endless prayer. It dies because that living flesh which is beginning to be conceived by the perpetuity of the prayer falls asleep, and the passions are rejuvenated. For the enemy does not sleep, but fights continuously. And just as an infant which is conceived in its mother's womb suffocates and dies if it ceases to breathe, the same thing happens with spiritual conception if the noetic work ceases.
Monastic Wisdom: The Letters of Elder Jospeh the Hesychast.
Just as a man who has been away from home, when he returns is beside himself with joy at seeing again his children and wife, embraces them and cannot talk to them enough, so the mind, when it unites with the heart, is filled with unspeakable joy and delight. Then a man sees that the kingdom of heaven is truly within us; and seeing it now in himself, he strives with pure prayer to keep it and strengthen it there...
Nicephorus the Solitary (Profitable Discourse on Sobriety)
Just as an antidote for snake poison or a powerful purge is beneficial when taken in time and in case of need, it does harm if taken habitually, without necessity. It may be appropriate to dissimulate once in a while in a case of dire necessity but not to make a practice of it; and if ever the need and the occasion arise, and one acts with fear and trembling in the sight of God, he will be sheltered from transgression, since he is under constraint; otherwise he would be doing himself harm.
St. Dorotheos of Gaza: Discourses and Sayings
Just as by the rays of the sun the face of the earth is unviled from the darkness of the atmosphere that enshrouds it, even so is prayer able to dissolve and scatter the clouds of passions from our soul, and make our mind transparent to the light of gladness and comfort, which, indeed, it customarily produces in our thoughts, but especially when it possesses material from the divine Scriptures and vigilance, which burnish the mind. For continual study in the writings of the saints fills the soul with incomprehensible wonder and divine gladness.
The Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian.
Just as faith gives substance to the things for which we hope (cf. Heb. 11:1), so moral judgment gives substance to the soul and humility to virtue. And it is extraordinary how things perfect in themselves become imperfect when deprived of the qualities that should be associated with them.
Ilias the Presbyter, Philokalia, Vol. 3
Just as it is impossible to be at the same moment both a plant and a seed, so it is impossible for us to be surrounded by worldly honour and at the same time to bear heavenly fruit"
Amma Syncletica
Just as long and persistent staring at the sun in its noonday brilliance will bring no good to weak eyes, so imagination about the awesome and transubstantial prayer in spirit and in truth will bring no good to a passionate and impure mind. On the contrary, the Godhead will rise against it in wrath.
"153 Texts on Prayer", St Nilus of Mt Sinai, "Early Fathers From the Philokalia," translated from the Russian text, "Dobrotolubiye," by E. Kadloubovsky and G.E.H. Palmer, eighth edition, (London: Faber and Faber, Ltd., 1981), pp. 127 - 135.
Just as many lamps may be lit from the same oil and from a single light, and yet often do not give out an equal radiance, so the gifts that come from different virtues reflect the light of the Holy Spirit in different ways. Or as the many inhabitants of a single city all use bread and water, though some of them are men, some infants, some children, some old people, and there is a great variety and difference among them; or as whet sown in the same field may bear dissimilar ears of corn, though they are all brought to the same threshing-floor and stored in the same barn: so it seems to me that in the resurrection of the dead different degrees of glory will be distinguished and recognized among those who are resurrected, depending on the level of virtue they have attained and the extent of their participation during this present life in the Holy Spirit that already dwells within them. This is the significance of the phrase, `Star differs from star in glory' (1Cor. 15:41).
St. Macarios of Egypt, The Philokalia, Vol. III.
Just as one who comes from the darkness into the light and again returns to the darkness, so it is likewise with him who came from the darkness of sin to the light of Christ, the true Light, and returned again to that same darkness. Just as one who was freed from slavery and captivity comes to freedom and again returns to that same bitter bondage, so likewise a Christian who commits iniquity was delivered by the grace of Christ from the bitter slavery and captivity of the devil, but he returns to that misfortune.
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Journey to Heaven
Just as the darkness does not go away unless the light is present, so the disease of the soul is not banished unless He Who takes away our infirmities comes and unites Himself with us. He is called health when He comes because He chases away every disease and infirmity of the soul and gives us back our health; and He is called light, Who transcends all light, because He illumines us; and life, Who is beyond all life, because He vivifies us. Shining around us all, and encircling and cherishing us with the glory of His divinity, He is called raiment, and so we say that we clothe ourselves with Him Who is intangible in every way and Who cannot be grasped. Uniting Himself without mingling with our souls, and making it all as light, He is said to indwell us and, uncircumscribed, become circumscribed. O the miracle!
St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life, Vol. 2.
Just as the mountain upon which Moses received the law designates the height of the perfection that was written down in that law, so does the cloud which covered the mountain suggest the grace of divine protection, which is enjoyed more and more the higher one ascends in order to search out the wonders of God's law, as the eyes of one's heart are opened. For surely the cloud covered not only the mountain upon which Moses went up, but also the people who were travelling through the wilderness. They were by no means able to ascend to the higher regions, but the cloud sent from heaven overshadowed them nevertheless. Hence it is written that `He spread out a cloud for their protection,' since the Lord surely protects with heavenly benediction `all those who fear him, both small and great.'
Venerable Bede: On the Tabernacle.
Just as the result of disobedience is sin, so the result of obedience is virtue. And just as disobedience leads to breaking the commandments and to separation from Him Who give them, so obedience leads to keeping the commandments and to union with Him Who gave them. Thus he who through obedience has kept the commandments has achieved righteousness and, moreover, he has not cut himself off from union in love with |Him Who gave them; and the opposite is equally true.
St. Maximus the Confessor, Second Century on Theology, The Philokalia,Vol. 2.
Just as the simple thought of human realities does not oblige the mind to disdain the divine, so neither does the simple knowledge of divine things persuade it fully to disdain human things, for the reason that the truth exists now in shadows and figures. Hence there is a need for the blessed passion of holy love, which binds the mind to spiritual realities and persuades it to prefer the immaterial to the material and intelligible and divine things to those of sense.
St. Maximus the Confessor, 400 Chapters on Love.
Just as unleavened bread was eaten in the mystery of the Pasch (which is the name of the sacrificial victim whose blood prevents the death of the one using it), even so the Law now commands us to eat unleavened bread at the Pascha (unleavened would be unmixed with stale yeast - the practice of wicked things). The Law gives us to understand by this that no remnant of evil should mix with the subsequent life. Rather we should make a totally new beginning in life after these things, breaking the continuity with evil by a radical change for the better. Thus also he means here that after we have drowned the whole Egyptian person (that is, every form of evil) in the saving baptism we emerge alone, dragging along nothing foreign in our subsequent life. This is what we hear through the history, which says that in the same water the enemy and the friend are distinguished by death and life, the enemy being destroyed and the friend given life.
St. Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of Moses.
Just as we all receive of His fulness, so do we all partake of the immaculate flesh of His all-holy Mother which He assumed, and so, just as Christ our God, true God, became her son; even so we, too - O, the ineffable love for mankind! - become sons of His mother, the Theotokos, and brothers of Christ Himself, as through the all-immaculate and ineffable marriage which took place with and in her, the Son of God was born of her, and from Him in turn, all the saints.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mysitical Life, Vol. I.
Just as we recognize different nations by their clothing and most people by their voice and speech, just so then do we recognize the saints by, on the one hand, their decency and attractive behavior and other outward signs; but it is their speech, on the other hand, which truly and accurately reveals their real identity. What the heart does not have, the mouth is unable to produce. If such a person should then speak, he is immediately reproved as speaking badly by his words themselves. For the Lord says, `The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil' (Mt. 12:35).
St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life, Vol. 2.
Just as, for example, a mighty tree that sends its roots to great depth in the earth resists any blast of wind, whereas one that rests on the surface is dislodged with a slight breeze blowing aginst it, is uprooted and falls to the earth, so too do the prayers rising from below after sending roots to the depths remain intense and unyeilding, and they never fail even if countless distractions come to the attack, or the devil's whole battle array. Prayers that proceed from the mouth and the lips, on the contrary, and do not rise up from the depths cannot rise up to God, either, on account of the indifference of the suppliant. I mean, should any alarm arise, it would upset such people; any distraction, it would draw them away from supplication; and though their mouth gives vent, the heart is empty and the mind vacant.
St. John Chrysostom, Commentary on the Psalms (Ps. 130), Vol. 2
Justice was above the world when the devil offered all the kingdoms of the world and all its glory. He was above the world Who touched nothing concerning the world, Who said: The prince of this world is coming, but in Me he shall find nothing. Learn, therefore, to be above the world even while in this world, and if you bear a body, may your interior wings soar up. He is above the world who bears God in his body.
St. Ambrose of Milan, On Virginity.
Keep also in mind the Lord's command, or rather His awesome and terrible curse, as He threatens, 'Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger,' and , 'Take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares; for as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the earth.' If, after attacking through every species of sin, and havine been repulsed with the aforesaid weapons, he falls back on God's goodness and mercy, trying to persuade thee to disregard the punishments (for the enemy is shifty and resourceful, and skilled in preparing for sin our natural impulse which is prone to it), be not neglectful: thou hast again swords and shields forged by God, afforded to thee from divine Scripture, wherewith arming thyself and struggling against the enemy, thou wilt show him vanquished, and filled with every shame and dishonor; for Cain's groaning and fear, and his life worse than death, if we make them our study, have the power to shatter and rout the battle-line of his vain designs.
St. Photios the Great, Homily I: The Beginning of Lent
Know that the attributes of our nature similar to those of beasts - given to them for self-preservation - can easily in us become the passions: greed, gluttony, vainglory, lust, envy, anger, and so on. And yet if reason and faith assume sway over base emotions, each passion can be transmuted to a form of virtue: anger produces courage; terror caution, bear obedience, hatred aversion from vice; and the power of love the desire for divine love and beauty.
The Lament of Eve by Johanna Manley.
Knowing, therefore, that after the grace of God everything depends on us and on our zeal, let us be grateful for the gifts which have already been given, so that we may make ourselves worthy of still greater gifts. Therefore, I exhort you who have just deserved the divine gift to keep careful watch and to guard the spiritual garment bestowed on you, keeping it clean and spotless. Let those of us who received this gift in the past show a far-reaching change in our lives. It is possible, if we are willing, it is possible for us to return and go back to our former beauty and luster, if only we will do our fair share.
St. John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions
Knowledge is good by nature, and so likewise is health, but their opposites have benefited even more than have they. In the wicked knowledge does not result in good, even though, as was said, it is good by nature. The same is true for health or wealth or joy. These are not used profitably by them. So it is, then, that their opposites are profitably, and therefore it happens that they are not evil in themselves even though they seem to be evil.
St. Maximus the Confessor, Four Centuries on Love.
Learn this too, my brethren, after building the ark and gathering all the animals into it, Noah would open the ark and they would go out to graze. In the evening he would ring the bell and they would all gather into the ark. The bell that the priests ring dates from that time. The bell is a flag for the people. The priest is the preacher of the ark and the holy Church is the ark. And whatever brethren gather into the church will have their sins forgiven and will not drown from their errors.
Vaporis, Father Kosmas, The Apostle of the Poor.
Let both men and women listen and learn about the just man's [Enoch] virtue, and not consider marriage to be an obstacle to pleasing God. I mean, it was to this effect that in more than one place Sacred Scripture made a point of saying that he had a son Methuselah and then pleased God, and said the same thing over again in the words, `was well-pleasing to God. after his begetting Methuselah,' in case anyone thought it was an obstacle to virtue. You see, as long as we are on our guard, neither marriage nor bringing up children nor anything else will be able to stand in the way of our being pleasing to God. ...Dearly beloved, had marriage or the raising of children been likely to prove a stumbling block on the way to virtue, the Creator of all would not have introduced marriage into our life lest it prove our undoing in difficult times and through severe problems. Since, however, family life not only offers us no obstacle to wisdom in God's eyes as long as we are prepared to be on our guard, but even brings us much encouragement and calms the tumult of our natural tendencies, not allowing the billows to surge but constantly ensuring that the barque dock safely in the harbor, consequently He granted the human race the consolation that comes from this source...
St. John Chrysostom, Homily on Genesis - in `The Lament of Eve' by Johanna Manley.
Let each one, I entreat you, brethren, confess his sin while he who has sinned is still in this world, while his confession can still be heard, while satisfacton and forgiveness granted through the priests are pleasing to God. Let us turn back to the Lord with our whole heart and, expressing our repentance in deep sorrow, implore God for His mercy. Let our souls bow before Him, let our sorrow be offered to Him in satisfaction, let our hopes all rest in Him. He Himself has told us how to ask: 'Return to me from all your heart, along with fasting and weeping and mourning, and rend your hearts and not your garments' (Joel 2:12). Let us return to the Lord with all our hearts, let us appease His anger and displeasure, by fasting, tears, and lamentations, as He Himself enjoins.
St. Cyprian of Carthage, The Lapsed.
Let no man seek his own, but every man another's (I Cor. 10:24) That is the principle of the saints of God, both in times past and at the present time, from all ages to the end of the world. That is the principle of all true social structure. On that principle can be founded a human society that is the most perfect, the most pleasing to God and the happiest. It is a saving principle in every kind of difficulty that people today encounter, against which they struggle without victory and without hope. A holy soul cares for his neighbor, either close at hand or far away. He cares where the homeless will spend the night, how the hungry will be fed, with what the naked will be clothed. He cares and he prays for the salvation of his neighbors; that their hearts may be filled with love towards God, that their minds may be directed towards God, that the wicked may turn from the paths of wickedness, that the hesitant may be confirmed in the Faith, that the firm may persevere, that the departed may behold the Face of God, that the living may be written in the book of Life in the Kingdom of Light.
Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic, The Prologue of Ochrid
Let no one deceive you! God is light, and to those who have entered into union with Him He imparts of His own brightness to the extent that they have been purified. When the lamp of the soul, that is, the mind, has been kindled, then it knows that a divine fire has taken hold of it and inflamed it. How great a marvel! Man is united to God spiritually and physically, since the soul is not separated from the mind, neither the body from the soul.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, The Discourses.
Let no one think that he endures suffering and achieves holiness through his own powers. For God is the cause of all the good that comes to us, just as the demon that deceives our souls is the cause of all the evils. Therefore, give thanks to their Cause for whatever good acts you perform; and attribute to their instigator the evils that trouble you.
St. Theodoros the Great Ascetic, Philokalia, Vol. 2
Let none 'seek what is his own, but what is another's' as the Apostle says: 'Let each one of you please his neighbor for his good unto edifying.' For the cementing of our unity cannot be firm unless we be bound by the bond of love into an inseparable solidity: because 'as in one body we have many members, but all the members have not the same office; so we being many are one body in Christ, and all of us members one of another.' The connexion of the whole body make all alke healthy, all alike beautiful; and this connexion requires the unanimity indeed of the whole body.
The letters of St. Leo the Great.
Let pure faith, therefore, have this confidence, and doubt not that amid the persecutions at the hand of man and the dangers to the soul, it still has God for hits helper, knowing that, if at length it comes to a violent and unjust death, the soul on leaving the tabernacle of the body finds rest with God its upholder; let it have, moreover, perfect assurance of the requital in the thought that all evil deeds return upon the heads of those that work them. God cannot be charged with injustice, and perfect goodness is unstained by the impulses and motions of an evil will.
St. Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms.
Let the counting of the tithing in fasting, my friends, be clear, For the seven weeks of fasting are at hand. The five days are liake the candidates for an election; In each week will be revealed those who will fast, So that there are thirty-five days on which we fast, And added to them we have The day and night fasting of the Sabbath of Easter, So that there are thirty-six and one-half days in all - A tenth of the year; Through this we possess eternal life.
St Romanos the Melodist - Vol. II, On Fasting.
Let the good thief show us the confidence we can have in pardon. He was not good because he was a thief, since his cruelty led him to that. His confession of guilt made him good. Think how incomprehensible is the mercy of our all-powerful God! The thief was caught red-handed in his thievery and hanged on a cross. There he confessed his guilt, there he was forgiven, there he was found worthy to hear Jesus say to him: 'Today you will be with me in paradise.' How can we begin to describe God's great goodness! How can we begin to value it? From a criminal's punishment the thief came to the prize for virtue.
St. Gregory the Great, Be Friends of God.
Let those of us who have wisely finished the course of fasting And who celebrate with love the beginning of the suffering of the Passion of the Lord, Let us all, my brothers, zealously imitate the purity of self-controlled Joseph; Let us fear the sterility of the fig tree; Let us dry up through alms-giving the sweetness of passion. In order that we may joyously anticipate the Resurrection, Let us procure like myrrh pardon from on high Because the eye that never sleeps observes all things.
St Romanos the Melodist - On Joseph II.
Let us accomplish all the things that are pleasing to God: singing, prayer, reading, spiritual instruction, manual labor, and service of every kind, living in interior communion with God.
St. Nilus of Sora
Let us accustom our body to virtuous and orderly habits, nourishing it with moderation. For in this way the upsurges of the soul's desiring power are more easily calmed and subdued by its sovereign aspect, the intelligence...
St. Philotheos of Sinai(Texts on Watchfulness no. 15)
Let us admire the skillfulness of the method employed in making them a prey who were to make prey of the whole earth, even the holy Apostles, who, though themselves well skilled in fishing, yet fell into Christ's meshes, that they also, letting down the drag-net of the Apostolic preachings, might gather unto Him the inhabitants of the whole world. For verily He somewhere said by one of the holy prophets, `Behold I send many fishers' saith the Lord, d`and they shall hunt them as game.' By the fishers He means the holy Apostles, and by the hunters, those who successively became the rulers and teachers of the holy churches.
St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke.
Let us all confess our faith in Christ, let us praise the Father and the Holy Spirit. Let us rejoice with the Mother of God; let us sing along with the choirs of angels, and let us celebrate, as the festival of festivals, the assumption of the Ever-virgin. On earth she was radiant, as the treasure and teacher of virgins; in heaven she is available to us all as our intercessor. She has free access to God, and so bestows on us spiritual gifts; she gives grace to our words, and teaches us wisdom, for she is the mother of wisdom.
Theoteknos, Bishop of Livias, Encomium in `On the Dormition of Mary; Early Patristic Homilies.
Let us all honor as it meet those divine instruments of grace, and the tuneful harps of the Spirit of our God, auspicious trumpets of preaching and the thunders that sounded forth from on high most awesome things in the hearing of all mankind, and who did make known our God's glory to the end sof the world, yea, the great Trinity's three Heralds, even John, Basil and Gregory.
Stichera from Great Vespers of The Three Hierarchs.
Let us all, with love, hurry to Bethany to see Christ there, weeping for His friend. He suffers as son of David; as Son of God, He redeems the whole world from all the evil of the serpent, And on the fourth day, He raised up Lazarus, taking pity on The tears of Mary and Martha.
St Romanos the Melodist - On the Raising of Lazarus II
Let us also imitate and trust in God's promises, not allowing time to undermine our resolve, nor any obstacles to intervene in the meantime to weaken our determination. Trusting instead in God's power as if we already had before our eyes the revelation of the promises, let us give evidence of unalloyed faith. Extraordinarily great, you see, are the promises the Lord has made to us, too, surpassing our imagination - I mean enjoyment of the kingdom, a share in those ineffable goods, life with angels, escape from hell. On the other hand, let us never lose confidence because these things are not visible to bodily eyes; rather, let us consider the fidelity of the One promising and the greatness of His power, and thus view them with the eyes of faith and on the basis of what has already been given let us maintain sound hope in what is to come.
St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Genesis, Vol. 3
Let us also ponder this: how we, who are mortal beings continually bespattered with the mud of sins, have been held worthy to stand before the King of kings, and Lord of lords who dwells in the resplendent light that none can approach, to Whose honor thousands upon thousands and myriads of myriads of angels and archangels minister as they stand before Him in fear and trembling; how He before Whom even the heavens are not pure, even though He strikes wonder in His angels, yet He condescends to speak with weak and wretched human beings who have rendered themselves unclean by sins. For He said through the prophet to the sinful people of Israel who were befouled by ugly deeds: Wash, and be cleansed; remove the foulness of your actions from My sight. Come let us speak with one another, says the Lord.
Martyrius, in The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life
Let us be just, and acknowledge that our enemies are of great assistance to us in our spiritual development. Were there no enmity on the part of men, very, very many of those pleasing to God would not have become His friends. Even the enmity of Satan is of assistance to those who are zealous for the holy things of God and the salvation of their souls. Who was more zealous for the holy things of God, or had greater love for Christ, than the Apostle Paul? This same apostle, however, speaks of how, when God revealed many mysteries to him, He allowed the wicked demon to be with him and trouble him: 'Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundace of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan, to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure' (2 Cor. 12:7).
Bp. (St). Nikolai Velimirovich, Homilies, Vol. 2
Let us become like children. For, saith the Lord, 'Except ye turn and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.' Let us become children in guilelessness, by not inserting anything wicked or deceitful in our soul, but by receiving and inscribing the pious faith in a soul entirely clean and freed from the marks of impiety, that we may enter the kingdom of heaven. Let us bring branches of charity and fellow-love to the Lord, that we may enter the eternal joy of the righteous. Let us go forth to meet Him as He comes riding on a young ass, and is proclaiming the folly of the Jews, and is adopting the gentiles as His children. Let us go forth to meet Him spreading out our garments. How are we to spread them out? By spreading them under the poor; for He takes upon Himself the plight of the poor, and cries out, 'Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.' Oh, what merciful and divine words! You are spreading out your garments under My feet, He says, when you clothe the poor; you are cherishing Me when you release them from the bitter sting of the cold. Let us spread out our garments for Him, that we may be entitled to cry out with the children, 'Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.'
The Homilies of Photios, Patriarch of Constantinople, VIII: On PalmSunday.
Let us charge into the good fight with joy and love without being afraid of our enemies. Though unseen themselves, they can look at the face of our soul, and if they see it altered by fear, they take up arms against us all the more fiercely. For the cunning creatures have observed that we are scared. So let us take up arms against them courageously. No one will fight with a resolute fighter.
St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent.
Let us consider, then, brethren, of what matter we were formed, who we are, and with what nature we came into the world, and how He Who formed and created us brought us into His world from the darkness of a grave, and prepared his benefits for us before we were born. Since, therefore, we have everything from Him, we ought in everything to give Him thanks, to Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
St. Hesychius the Presbyter
Let us contemplate with faith the mystery of the divine incarnation and in all simplicity let us simply praise Him who in His great generosity became man for us. For who, relying on the power of rational demonstration, can explain how the conception of the divine Logos took place? How was flesh generated without seed? How was there an engendering without loss of maidenhood? How did a mother after giving birth remain a virgin? How did He who was supremely perfect develop as He grew up (cf. Luke 2:52)? How was He who was pure baptized? How did He who was hungry give sustenance (cf. Matt. 4:2; 14:14-21)? How did He who was weary impart strength (cf. John 4:6)? How did He who suffered dispense healing? How did He who was dying bestow life? And, to put the most important last, how did God become man?...Faith alone can embrace these mysteries, for it is faith that makes real for us things beyond intellect and reason (cf. Heb. 11:1).
St. Maximos the Confessor (First Century of Various Texts no. 13, The Philokalia Vol. 2 edited by Palmer, Sherrard and Ware; Faber and Faber pgs. 167-168)
Let us examine the feast now lavishly prepared For the prodigal who has become wise His father, who is rather to be call the Father of man, Receives him as he repents, for He is a lover of man. Rejoicing in His son's repentance, He says to the servants: `Hasten, and prepare for us a sacred dinner. Hurry, sacrifice by all means a calf That a virgin heifer has produced, For My son who was lost a while ago Has now been found. Indeed, let us rejoice; He who was dead is alive again -- he whom I received in my embrace, I, the Lord and Master of the ages.
St Romanos the Melodist - On The Prodigal Son.
Let us guard our mouth constantly, set reason on it to close it, not for it to be constantly closed but for it to open apppropriately in season: there are times when silence is of more value than speech, as likewise speech more than silence. This is the reason why that most sage composer said, 'A time for keeping silence, and a time for speaking.' After all, if being open at all times was necessary, there would be no doors, while if being closed was required at all times, there would be no need of a guard. I mean, what would you guard if things were closed up? Door and guard are for this reason, however, for us to use each at the proper time.
St. John Chrysostom, Commentary on the Psalms, Vol. 2.
Let us hearken, the covetous, for even to us is the word spoken. |Let us hearken also, the merciless, and the cruel, for not to others are we cruel, but to ourselves. When then thou art mindful to be revengeful, consider that against thyself art t