Blessed is he who bears affliction with thankfulness.
Abba Copres
Labour to acquire thanksgiving towards God for everything, and
the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and then you will
find peace.
St. Barsanuphius
Even though there is only one baptism for the whitening of
stains, yet there are two eyes which, when filled with tears,
provide a baptismal font for the limbs. For the Creator knew well
beforehand that sins multiply in us at all times, and though
there is only a single baptism, he fixed in the single body two
fonts that give absolution.
St. Ephraim the Syrian: Hymns on the Ascetic Abraham
To serve God is bliss itself.
St. John of Kronstadt
He who conceals his thoughts remains unhealed, and he is
corrected only by frequently asking the spiritual Fathers about
them.
St. Barsanuphius
Christ is the Saviour of the whole world, and has conferred on
men the gift of repentance so that they may be saved.
St. Thalassius
If a man does not say in his heart, in the world there is only
myself and God, he will not gain peace.
Abba Alonius
God tends the pagans too, but the Christian knows the donor.
St. Tikhon of Voronezh
When a man comes to know that he can fall away from God as a
dry leaf from a tree, then he knows the power of his soul.
St. Isaac the Syrian
Hourly thank God for all.
St. Makary of Optina
Give us this day our daily bread - means the bread which is
sufficient for our nature and existence. He removes the care for
the morrow. The body of Christ is the daily bread, and we pray
that we may share in it blamelessly.
St. Germanus of Constantinople
The fathers strictly forbid us to wring feelings from
ourselves, to strain our breathing, or to squeeze our tears. But
what must the labourer in prayer strain? His attention! He must
reflect on the words of the prayer, not just go through them with
his eyes or voice, but represent in his mind what he is saying to
God.
Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky
Let us accomplish all the things that are pleasing to God:
singing, prayer, reading, spiritual instruction, manual labour,
and service of every kind, living in interior communion with God.
St. Nilus of Sora
Tend to yourself and it is enough.
Elder Joseph of Optina
I have often repented of having spoken, but never of having
been silent.
Abba Arsenius the Great
No matter how little you love God, He still loves you.
Elder Makary of Optina
Take care. Thy death is at hand.
Fr. Alexei of Bortsumany
Our heart is like the darkened earth; the Gospel is like the
sun, enlightening and giving life to our hearts. May the true sun
of Thy righteousness shine in our hearts, O Lord!
St. John of Kronstadt
What shall we say of the belly, the queen of passions? If you
can slay it or half kill it, keep a tight hold. It has mastered
me, beloved, and I serve it as a slave and a vassal. It is the
colleague of the demons and the home of passions. Through it we
fall, and through it we rise again, if it behaves itself.
St. Gregory of Sinai
God rejoices when a man offers Him a wise prayer.
St. Isaac the Syrian
If a man does not carry out the will and law of God 'in his
inward parts', that is, in his heart, he will not be able to
carry them out easily in the outward sphere of the senses either.
St. Hesychius the Priest
Glory is like the human shadow: if you follow it, it runs
away; if you run away, it follows.
St. Martin of Braga
When the soldiers of the emperor are standing at attention,
they cannot look to the right or left; it is the same for the man
who stands before God and looks towards Him in fear at all times;
he cannot then fear anything from the enemy.
Abba Serapion
If we want to do something but cannot, then before God, Who
knows our hearts, it is as if we have done it. This is true
whether the intended action is good or bad.
St. Mark the Ascetic
As he was dying, Abba Benjamin said to his sons, "If you
observe the following, you can be saved: 'Be joyful at all times,
pray without ceasing, and gives thanks for all things.'"
Sayings of the Fathers
Pay heed to yourself so you will not be repenting for endless
ages.
St. Paisy Velichkovski
When the Lord leaves a man to himself, the devil is ready to
grind him, as a millstone grinds kernels of wheat.
St. Seraphim of Sarov
He who sufficiently knows and judges himself has not time to
judge others.
Metropolitan Philaret of Moscos
Who is as strong as the lion? And yet, because of his greed,
he falls into the net, and all his strength is brought low.
Abba John the Dwarf
No man has been entrusted with great things without having
first been tried in small ones.
St Isaac the Syrian
Someone asked an old man, "How is it that some say, 'We
have seen visions of angels'?" - and he replied, "Happy
is he who always sees his sins."
Apophthegmata Patrum
Think good thoughts about what is good by nature, and think
well of every man.
St. Thalassius
How near is the Lord unto him who believes!
St. John of Kronstadt
Let us enter into the words of St. Paul: "I had rather
speak five words with my understanding than ten thousand words in
a tongue" (I Cor. 14:15,19). I am unable to express how
fortunate we are that we have become worthy to utter these five
words. What joy! "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a
sinner." Just think! O Lord! Whose Name am I pronouncing?
That of the Creator, the Founder of everything, before Whom all
heavenly powers tremble! Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God! Thou hast
shed Thy blodd for me, hast saved me, hast come down to earth...
Put your understanding and heart together, close your eyes, raise
your mental eyes to the Lord... O sweetest and dearest Lord Jesus
Christ, Son of God...
Elder Nazarius
To the Lord a single repenting sinner is more pleasing than
ten self-satisfied righteous men.
Holy New Hieromartyr Barlaam
All sin is due to sensual pleasure, all forgiveness to hadship
and distress.
St. Thalassius
How many trifling and incessant pretexts the hater of mankind
offers us for hating our neighbour, so that we are almost
constantly angry with others, almost constantly bearing malice
against others, and living in accordance with his infernal
all-destructive will. But do not let us chase his phantoms; let
us put aside all enmity, and love everyone, for love is of God.
St. John of Kronstadt
The eyes of pigs have a natural conformation which makes them
turn towards the ground and they can never look up to heaven; so
is the soul of one who lets himself be carried away by pleasure.
Once the soul is allowed to slip into the slough of enjoyment,
she can no longer get out again.
Apophthegmata Patrum
When the soul humbles herself the enemy is vanquished, and the
soul finds deep rest in God.
Staretz Silouan
To one who is attentive to his own salvation and is sober,
every place is a place for saving the soul.
Elder Hilarion
The Lord mercifully watches over us, and not one prayer nor a
single good thought is lost with God.
Staretz Silouan
The more the rain falls on the earth, the softer it makes it;
similarly, Christ's holy name gladdens the earth of our heart the
more we call upon it.
St. Hesychius the Priest
If this ephemeral world, which is said to be a place of exile
and punishment for those who have transgressed the commandments
of God, is so beautiful, how much more beautiful must be the
eternal, inconceivable blessing 'that God has prepared for those
who love Him' (I Cor. 2:9). And if these blessings are beyond our
conception, how much more so must be God Who created all things
from nothing.
St. Peter of Damascus
Christians have a glory and a beauty and a heavenly wealth
which is beyond words, and it is won with pains, and sweat, and
trials, and many conflicts, and all by the grace of God.
St. Macarius the Great
There is no need to weep much over the destruction of a
church; after all, each of us, according to God's mercy, has or
should have his own church — the heart. Go in there and
pray, as much as you have strength and time. If this church is
not well made and is abandoned (without inward prayer), then the
visible church will be of little benefit.
Holy New Hieromartyr Barlaam
Fastings, vigils, meditation on the Scriptures, self-denial,
and the abnegation of all possessions are not perfection, but
aids to perfection; because the end of that science does not lie
in these, but by means of these we arrive at the end.
St. John Cassian
When at prayer in church it is profitable to stand with closed
eyes in internal mindfulness, and to open your eyes only when you
become downcast, or when sleep should weigh you down and incline
you to doze; then you should fix your eyes upon an icon and the
candle burning before it.
St. Seraphim of Sarov
'Come, my people, enter into your inner room' — the
shrine of your heart, which is closed to every conception derived
from the sensible world, that image-free dwelling-place illumined
by dispassion and the overshadowing of God's grace; 'shut your
door' — to all things visible; 'hide yourself for a brief
moment' — the whole of man's life is but a moment.
St. John of Karpathos
An old man said, "What condemns us is not that thoughts
enter into us, but that we use them badly; indeed, through our
thoughts we can be shipwrecked, and through our thoughts we can
be crowned."
Apophthegmata Patrum