Orthodox Spirituality

How do we overcome the state of sadness that afflicts the world?
We overcome it by going to church drunk with pain, like the Prophetess Hannah, and by pouring out our hearts to God. God will receive our prayer and grant our petition, according to His will. There is no other way. ‘Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning, says the Psalm. In fact, the people of God take the provocation of every pain or calamity of life and convert its energy into strength for converse with God. This is a well-known practice in the life of monks and of the people of God in general: they strive to transform every energy that assaults them into spiritual energy, which helps them to rise above every affliction of this life.
We must not forget that our Saviour Jesus Christ is the Man Who bore affliction, pain and abandonment more than anyone else on earth. Saint Sophrony writes:

Therefore, when we turn to Him with a suffering heart, it is easy for Him to relate to us and transmit to us the incorruptible consolation of His Holy Spirit. This is the grandiose reality of Christianity: we do not strive to rid ourselves of every pain and every difficulty in order to find tranquillity in our life, but rather, following the example of our Lord, we take on the pain and suffering of the whole world; we bring it before God and we ask Him to spread upon it His incorruptible consolation and blessing.

–Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou

Remember God, that He too might always remember you; and when He has kept you in His memory and preserved you safe to the end, you will receive every blessing from Him. Do not forget Him, your mind being distracted with futile concerns, lest He forget you in the time of your warfare. When you enjoy abundance, be obedient to Him, so that in the time of your afflictions you may have boldness before Him through the heart’s persevering prayer to Him.

+St. Isaac the Syrian

‘Those pursuing the spiritual way must always keep the mind free from agitation in order that the intellect, as it discriminates among the thoughts that pass through the mind, may store in the treasuries of its memory those thoughts which are good and have been sent by God, while casting out those which are evil and come from the devil. When the sea is calm, fishermen can scan its depths and therefore hardly any creature moving in the water escapes their notice. But when the sea is disturbed by the winds, it hides beneath its turbid and agitated waves what it was happy to reveal when it was smiling and calm; and then the fishermen’s skill and cunning prove vain. The same thing happens with the contemplative power of the intellect, especially when it is unjust anger which disturbs the depths of the soul.’

+St. Diadochos of Photiki

Our country is covered with the ice of materialism and of atheism, and we are all called to take part in their defeat. Only when this ice dissipates will we be able to find and to enjoy once again that true earth which the apostolic ploughs cultivated, and which the blood of martyrs and the sweat of monastic Saints watered. Only then will the noetic sun warm the soil, which will immediately sprout forth flowers in bloom and will bear fruit, as before, to the glory of God.

-Elder Amphilochios

The iniquitous mouth is stopped during prayer, for the condemnation of the conscience deprives a man of his boldness. A good heart joyously sheds tears in prayer. Voluntary and steadfast endurance of nuro injustice purifies the heart. Patient endurance of injustice springs from disdain for the world; and a man endures calumny cheerfully because his heart has begun to behold the truth. Joy arising from voluntary endurance of calumny and injustice exalts the heart. They for the world is dead submit to contumelies with joy. But they for whom the world still lives cannot submit to injustice: either, moved by vainglory, they are provoked to anger and are troubled, being stirred up in the manner of brutes, or else they are overcome by grief. O how difficult it is to attain this virtue, and how much glory it procures from God! He who would attain to this virtue must depart from his kinsmen and live the life of a stranger, for he cannot attain it in his homeland. Only such as are great and mighty are fit to endure the anguish of this virtue among their kindred; to these this world has died, and they have no hope of consolation from this present age.

+St. Isaac the Syrian

If a man has no worries about himself at all for the sake of love toward God and the working of good deeds, knowing that God is taking care of him, this is a true and wise hope. But if a man takes care of his own business and turns to God in prayer only when misfortunes come upon him which are beyond his power, and then he begins to hope in God, such a hope is vain and false. A true hope seeks only the Kingdom of God... the heart can have no peace until it obtains such a hope. This hope pacifies the heart and produces joy within it.

+St. Seraphim of Sarov

The beginning of a fruit is a blossom, while the beginning of a productive life is self-restraint. A sufficient quantity of matter will fill a container, but a stomach, even if it bursts, will not say: enough. A body sparsely fed is like a well-ridden horse — it will never throw its rider. Just as a dead enemy will not evoke fear, so a body mortified through fasting will not disturb your soul.

+St. Nilus of Sinai

For even the demons with all their fierceness, their bitterness, and all their boastful thinking, become like dust as soon as they come before a humble man. All their wickedness becomes folly, their stratagems are undone and their wiles and pernicious cunning a rendered powerless.

+St. Isaac the Syrian

Let us become like Christ, since Christ became like us. Let us become gods because of Him, since He for us became man. He took upon Himself a low degree that He might give us a higher one. He became poor, so through His poverty we might become rich (II Cor. 8:9). He took upon Himself the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7) so we might be delivered from slavery (Rom. 8:21). He came down so we might rise up. He was tempted, so we might learn to overcome. He was despised so we might be given honor. He died so He might save us from death. He ascended to heaven so we who lie prone in sin may be lifted up to Him.

+St Gregory Nazianzus

Seat yourself before the Lord continually, keeping the memory of Him in your heart, lest having lingered outside His memory, you are unable to speak boldly when you enter in before Him, because boldness with God comes from constant conversing with Him and from much prayer. Our connection and continuance with men is through the body; but our connection and continuance with God is through the soul’s recollection and the vigilance and whole-burnt offering of frequent prayer. From long continuance in recollection of Him, a man is transported at times to astonishment and wonder. For, ‘The heart of them that seek the Lord shall rejoice.’ ‘Seek ye the Lord,’ ye condemned, and ‘be strengthened’ with hopes seek His face through repentance, and sanctify yourselves by the holiness of His face, and you will be thoroughly purged from your sins. Run to the Lord, all you that are guilty of sin, to Him that has the power to pardon sins and overlook transgressions. For He has spoken to His Prophet an oath, saying, ‘As I live, saith the Lord, I desire not the death of a sinner, but that he return and live? And again, ‘I have spread out My hands all the day, unto a rebellious and gainsaying people’ And again, ‘Wherefore do ye die the death, O house of Israel?’ And again, ‘Return to Me, and I will return unto you?’ And again, ‘In what day soever the sinner shall return from his way, and return unto the Lord, and execute judgment and righteousness, I will not remember his iniquities; but living he shall live, saith the Lord. And if the righteous shall forsake his righteousness, and if sinning he do wrong, I will not remember his righteousness, but will lay a stumbling-block before him; and he shall die in the darkness of his works, because he abode in them.’ Why so? Because the sinner will not stumble over his sin when he returns to the Lord. And the righteousness of the just will not redeem him when he sins, if he persists in such sinning.

+St. Isaac the Syrian

According to the Apostle, if we are truly interested in competing lawfully and being crowned with victory (Il St. Timothy 2:5), when we have conquered the spirit of fornication, let us not base our courage on our own power or on our asceticism, but in the aid of God our Master. For a man will never cease being beset by this spirit, until he truly believes that he cannot be freed from this infirmity and be lifted up to the loftiness of purity, save by the protection and aid of God, and not by his own care and labor.

For, indeed, the matter is beyond human nature and, in a certain way, one who wishes to overcome the passions of the flesh and its pleasures must overcome the limits of nature. However, it is impossible for man to achieve this on his own—that is, to ascend on his own wings, if I may put it this way, to this lofty and heavenly prize of holiness and become an imitator of the Angels—if Divine Grace does not lift him above the world and its mire. For by no other virtue whatever, except for chastity, are fleshly men rendered like unto the spiritual and supernatural Angels. By this virtue, that is, even if they are found living on the earth, men have, according to the Apostle, their conversation in Heaven (Philippians 3:20).

And an indication that we have attained perfectly to this virtue is that our hearts, when we sleep, do not retreat into indecent dreams. Because, even if this movement of the heart during sleep is not considered a sin, nonetheless it indicates that the heart is infirm and that it has not yet been freed from passion. Thus, we must understand that the indecent fantasies that come to us in sleep expose our earlier indolence and weakness. The infirmity that is hidden in the recesses of our heart is revealed by the pollution which befalls us during the rest of sleep. For those who have reached the acme of holiness do not, even in sleep, retreat into the sinful fantasies of dreams, nor, when they are awake do they feel at all the impulse of sinful desire.

+St. John Cassian

A few men endeavor both to root their mind in God the Savior and to keep their kinship with Him: and this is manifest through their actions and holiness of life. But most men, being foolish in soul, have renounced that divine and immortal sonship, turning towards a deadly, disastrous and short-lived kinship with the body. Concerning themselves, like animals, with material things and enslaved by sensual pleasures, they separate themselves from God: and through their desires they drag down their soul from heaven to the abyss.

+St. Anthony of the Desert

If the soul, through attentiveness, reduces the blindness caused by love of this world, it will consider its slightest faults to be very grave and will continually shed tears with deep thankfulness.

+St. Diadochos of Photiki

God’s Son did not disdain to become a baby. Although with the passing of the years he moved from infancy to maturity, and although with the triumph of his passion and resurrection all the actions of humility which he undertook for us were finished, still today’s festival renews for us the holy childhood of Jesus born of the Virgin Mary. In adoring the birth of our Saviour, we find we are celebrating the commencement of our own life, for the birth of Christ is the source of life for Christian folk, and the birthday of the Head is the birthday of the body.
Every individual that is called has his own place, and all the sons of the Church are separated from one another by intervals of time. Nevertheless, just as the entire body of the faithful is born in the font of baptism, crucified with Christ in his passion, raised again in his resurrection, and placed at the Father’s right hand in his ascension, so with Him are they born in this nativity.

For this is true of any believer in whatever part of the world, that once he is reborn in Christ he abandons the old paths of his original nature and passes into a new man by being reborn. He is no longer counted as part of his earthly father’s stock but among the seed of the Saviour, who became the Son of man in order that we might have the power to be the sons of God.
For unless He came down to us in this humiliation, no one could reach his presence by any merits of his own.

The very greatness of the gift conferred demands of us reverence worthy of its splendour. For, as the blessed Apostle teaches, We have received not the spirit of this world but the Spirit which is of God, that we may know the things which are given us by God. That Spirit can in no other way be rightly worshipped, except by offering him that which we received from him.
But in the treasures of the Lord’s bounty what can we find so suitable to the honour of the present feast as the peace which at the Lord’s nativity was first proclaimed by the angel-choir?
For it is that peace which brings forth the sons of God. That peace is the nurse of love and the mother of unity, the rest of the blessed and our eternal home. That peace has the special task of joining to God those whom it removes from the world.

So those who are born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God must offer to the Father the unanimity of peace-loving sons, and all of them, adopted parts of the mystical Body of Christ, must meet in the

First-Begotten of the new creation. He came to do not his own will but the will of the one who sent him; and so too the Father in his gracious favour has adopted as his heirs not those that are discordant nor those that are unlike him, but those that are one with him in feeling and in affection. Those who are re-modelled after one pattern must have a spirit like the model.
The birthday of the Lord is the birthday of peace: for thus says the Apostle, He is our peace, who made both one; because whether we are Jew or Gentile, through Him we have access in one Spirit to the Father.

+Saint Leo the Great

It is not right for a lion to pasture sheep, and it is not safe for a man still subject to the passions to rule over passionate men.

A fox found in the company of hens is an unseemly sight, but nothing is more unseemly than an enraged shepherd. The former agitates and destroys but hens, while the latter agitates and destroys rational souls.

+St. John Climacus

The Name of Jesus Christ for the believer is like a high fortress-wall. It is not easy for the enemy to cheat his way through the heavy iron gates if our attention is not distracted by outside concerns. The Jesus Prayer gives the soul the strength to resist harmful influences from outside. It does even more. It affords us the possibility of influencing the milieu in which we live—to emerge, as it were, from the inner depths of our mind and heart and mix with our brethren in love and peace. Increasing peace and love, commanded by God, induce ardent prayer for the whole world. The spirit of Christ draws us into expanses of love embracing all creation, so that the soul prays urgently: “O Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, have mercy upon us and upon thy world.”

+St. Sophrony

Flee vainglory, and you will be glorified; fear pride, and you will be magnified. For pomposity has not been assigned to the sons of men, nor haughtiness to the offspring of women. If you have voluntarily renounced all things in this life, by no means quarrel with any man over anything at all. If you have come to detest praise, avoid those who chase after glory. Avoid the acquisitive even as you would acquisition. Keep yourself away from the wanton even as you would from wantonness. Avoid the intemperate even as you would intemperance. For if even the memory of the people mentioned troubles our thought, how much more will the sight of them and the life conducted by them? Draw nigh to the righteous, and through them you — will come near to God. Associate with those who have humility, and you will learn their ways. For if the mere sight of those here mentioned is beneficial, how much more the example of their lives and instruction of their mouths?

+St. Isaac the Syrian

The man of intelligence, being deeply concerned for participation in the divine and union with it, will never become engrossed with anything earthly or base, but has his intellect always turned towards the heavenly and eternal. And he knows it is God’s will that man should be saved, this divine will being the cause of all that is good and the source of the eternal blessings granted to men.

+St Anthony of the Desert

Does thanksgiving coincide with the desire for God?

When we thank God for all His benefits, God gives us greater gifts. Then, we begin to love Him even more deeply, and the presence of grace becomes stronger in our life. We cannot truly thank God from the heart without desire, and desire comes from the heart. Saint Silouan’s refrain throughout his life was: ‘My soul longs after the Lord and I seek Him with tears.”

This question of desire is very important because it involves the heart and is the very value of our life and of our prayer. Thanksgiving is always present, because we cannot stop thanking God for all His gifts. Thanksgiving leads to repentance out of gratitude and love, which is ever new and knows no end on earth. Compared to the incorruptible blessings that we continually receive from God, our thanksgiving is never enough.

With thanksgiving comes self-hatred, the awareness that we cannot worthily thank God for all His incalculable gifts. Especially in the life of the monk, love for God suddenly turns into hatred of self; and from then on, he ascends steadily. Saint Gregory Palamas says that in this state, the mind ascends mounting and beholds the depths, rivals the angels and becomes an intercessor for the whole world, bringing every creature before God in his prayer of intercession.

–Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou

A man must have a refined knowledge of all the passions, and recognize their symptoms, so that with every step he takes he may be conscious of the place he has reached, and in what terrain his soul has begun to walk: in the land of Canaan, or beyond the Jordan. Give heed to this also: is your knowledge, through the illumination of your soul, competent for the discernment of these things, or does it discern them dimly; or is it bereft of such capacities?
St. Isaac the Syrian

No matter how much the waves of temptation rise up against your soul, always hasten to Christ. The Saviour will always come to your aid and will calm the waves. Believe that the Lord has providentially arranged such experiences for your soul’s healing and do not reject them, seeking bodily peace and imaginary tranquility, for it is better to be shaken and yet to endure. If you will gain an insight from this, it will greatly lighten your struggle and you will gain more peace than if you do not.

+St. Leo of Optina

The Word took to himself the sons of Abraham, says the Apostle, and so had to be like his brothers in all things. He had then to take a body like ours. This explains the fact of Mary’s presence: she is to provide him with a body of his own, to be offered for our sake. Scripture records her giving birth, and says: She wrapped him in swaddling clothes. Her breasts, which fed him, were called blessed. Sacrifice was offered because the child was her firstborn. Gabriel used careful and prudent language when he announced his birth. He did not speak of “what will be born in you” to avoid the impression that a body would be introduced into her womb from outside; he spoke of “what will be born from you,” so that we might know by faith that her child originated within her and from her.
By taking our nature and offering it in sacrifice, the Word was to destroy it completely and then invest it with his own nature, and so prompt the Apostle to say: This corruptible body must put on incorruption; this mortal body must put on immortality.

This was not done in outward show only, as some have imagined. This is not so. Our Saviour truly became man, and from this has followed the salvation of man as a whole. Our salvation is in no way fictitious, nor does it apply only to the body. The salvation of the whole man, that is, of soul and body, has really been achieved in the Word himself.
What was born of Mary was therefore human by nature, in accordance with the inspired Scriptures, and the body of the Lord was a true body: It was a true body because it was the same as ours. Mary, you see, is our sister, for we are all born from Adam.

The words of St John, the Word was made flesh, bear the same meaning, as we may see from a similar turn of phrase in St Paul: Christ was made a curse for our sake. Man’s body has acquired something great through its communion and union with the Word. From being mortal it has been made immortal; though it was a living body it has become a spiritual one; though it was made from the earth it has passed through the gates of heaven.
Even when the Word takes a body from Mary, the Trinity remains a Trinity, with neither increase nor decrease. It is for ever perfect. In the Trinity we acknowledge one Godhead, and thus one God, the Father of the Word, is proclaimed in the Church.

+ Saint Athanasius

Briefly, we may say that in the nature of things, if someone wants to be saved, no person and no time, place or occupation can prevent him. He must not, however, act contrary to the objective that he has in view, but must with discrimination refer every thought to the divine purpose. Things do not happen out of necessity: they depend upon the person through whom they happen. We do not sin against our will, but we first assent to an evil thought and so fall into captivity. Then the thought itself carries the captive forcibly and against his wishes into sin.

The same is true of sins that occur through ignorance: they arise from sins consciously committed. For unless a man is drunk with either wine or desire, he is not unaware of what he is doing; but such drunkenness obscures the intellect and so it falls, and dies as a result. Yet that death has not come about inexplicably: it has been unwittingly induced by the drunkenness to which we consciously assented. We will find many instances, especially in our thoughts, where we fall from what is within our control to what is outside it, and from what we are consciously aware of to what is unwitting. But because the first appears unimportant and attractive, we slip unintentionally and unawares into the second. Yet if from the start we had wanted to keep the commandments and to remain as we were when baptized, we would not have fallen into so many sins or have needed the trials and tribulations of repentance.

+ St. Peter of Damascus

When you find someone arguing, and contesting what is true and self-evident, break off the dispute and give way to such a man, since his intellect has been petrified. For just as bad water ruins good wines, so harmful talk corrupts those who are virtuous in life and character.

If we make every effort to avoid death of the body, still more should it be our endeavor to avoid death of the soul. There is no obstacle for a man who wants to be saved other than negligence and laziness of soul.

Those who scorn to grasp what is profitable and salutary are considered to be ill. Those, on the other hand, who comprehend the truth but insolently enjoy dispute, have an intelligence that is dead; and their behavior has become brutish. They do not know God and their soul has not been illumined.

+St. Anthony of the Desert

External circumstances can never serve as excuses for the deficiencies in our interior life.

-Elder Sergei of Vanves

Our spirit, imperishable according to God’s design for us, wearies in the prison cell of sinful passions. The more acute our distress over our distance from God because of sin, the fiercer our soul’s upsurge towards him; and the soul prays in anguish, sheds many tears, seeking to be united to him. And he does not despise the repentant heart, and comes to us; and the “deep” heart of man realizes its kinship with him “perceptibly” present and active within us. From this it is evident that our body, too, reacts characteristically and breathes the breath of the living God: “O Jesus, Son of the living God, have mercy upon us.”

+St. Sophrony

Weep over your sin: it is a spiritual ailment; it is death to your immortal soul; it deserves ceaseless, unending weeping and crying; let all tears flow for it, and sighing come forth without ceasing from the depths of your heart. In profound humility I weep for all my sins, voluntary and involuntary, conscious and unconscious, covert and overt, great and little, committed by word and deed, in thought and intention, day and night, at every hour and minute of my life. I weep over my pride and my ambition, my self-love and my boastfulness; I weep over my fits of anger, irritation, excessive shouting, swearing, quarreling and cursing; I weep for having criticized, censured, gossiped, slandered, and defamed, for my wrath, enmity, hatred, envy, jealousy, vengeance and rancor; I weep over my indulgences in lust, impure thoughts and evil inclinations; covetousness, gluttony, drunkenness, and sloth; I weep for having talked idly, used foul language, blasphemed, derided, joked, ridiculed, mocked, enjoyed empty gaiety, singing, dancing and every pleasure to excess; I weep over my self-indulgence, cupidity, love of money and miserliness, unmercifulness and cruelty; I weep over my laziness, indolence, negligence, love of comfort, weakness, idleness, absent-mindedness, irresponsibility, inattention, love of sleep, for hours spent in idle pursuits, and for my lack of concentration in prayer and in Church, for not observing fasts and not doing charitable works. I weep over my lack of faith, my doubting, my perplexity, my coldness, my indifference, my weakness and unfeelingness in what concerns the Holy Orthodox Faith, and over all my foul, cunning and reviling thoughts; I weep over my exaggerated sorrow and grief, depression and despair, and over sins committed willingly. I weep, but what tears can I find for a worthy and fitting way to weep for all the actions of my ill-fated life; for my immeasurable and profound worthlessness? How can I reveal and expose in all its nakedness each one of my sins, great and small, voluntary and involuntary, conscious and unconscious, overt and covert, every hour and minute of sin? When and where shall I begin my penitential lament that will bear fitting fruit? Perhaps soon I may have to face the last hour of my life; my soul will be painfully sundered from my sinful and vile body; I shall have to stand before terrible demons and radiant angels, who will reveal and torment me with my sins; and I, in fear and trembling, will be unprepared and unable to give them an answer; the sight and sound of wailing demons, their violent and bold desire to drag me into the bottomless pit of Hell will fill my soul with confusion and terror. And then the angels of God will lead my poor soul to stand before God’s fearful seat of judgment. How will I answer the Immortal King, or how will I dare, sinner that I am, to look upon My Judge? Woe is me! I have no good answer to make, for I have spent all my life in indolence and sin, all my hours and minutes in vain thoughts, desires and yearnings! And how many times have I taken the Name of God in vain! How often, lightly and freely, at times even boldly, insolently and shamelessly have I slandered others in anger; offended, irritated, mocked them! How often have I been proud and vainglorious and boasted of good qualities that I do not possess and of deeds that I have not done! How many times have I lied, deceived, been cunning or flattered, or been insincere and deceptive; how often have I been angry, intolerant and mean! How many times have I ridiculed the sins of my brother, caused him grief overtly and covertly, mocked or gloated over his misdeeds, his faults or his misfortunes; how many times have I been hostile to him, in anger, hatred or envy! How often have I laughed stupidly, mocked and derided, spoke without weighing my words, ignorantly and senselessly, and uttered a numberless quantity of cutting, poisonous, insolent, frivolous, vulgar, coarse, brazen words!

+St. Basil the Great

A man who has dedicated himself once and for all to God goes through life with a restful mind. Without non-possessiveness the soul cannot be freed from the turmoil of thoughts; and without stillness of the senses she will not perceive peace of mind. Without entering into temptations, no man will ever gain the wisdom of the Spirit; and without assiduous reading, he will know no refinement of thoughts. Without tranquillity of thoughts, the mind will not be moved in hidden mysteries; and without the confidence that comes through faith, the soul cannot dare to withstand temptations with boldness. Moreover, without actual experience of God's protection, the heart cannot hope in Him; and if the soul does not taste Christ's sufferings consciously, she will never have communion with Him.

+St. Isaac the Syrian

Woe to the souls where Christ does not dwell!

When God was displeased with the Jews, he delivered Jerusalem to the enemy, and they were conquered by those who hated them; there were no more sacrifices or feasts. Likewise angered at a soul who had broken his commands, God handed it over to its enemies, who corrupted and totally dishonoured it. When a house has no master living in it, it becomes dark, vile and contemptible, choked with filth and disgusting refuse. So too is a soul which has lost its master, who once rejoiced there with his angels. This soul is darkened with sin, its desires are degraded, and it knows nothing but shame.

Woe to the path that is not walked on, or along which the voices of men are not heard, for then it becomes the haunt of wild animals. Woe to the soul if the Lord does not walk within it to banish with his voice the spiritual beasts of sin. Woe to the house where no master dwells, to the field where no farmer works, to the pilotless ship, storm-tossed and sinking. Woe to the soul without Christ as its true pilot; drifting in the darkness, buffeted by the waves of passion, storm-tossed at the mercy of evil spirits, its end is destruction. Woe to the soul that does not have Christ to cultivate it with care to produce the good fruit of the Holy Spirit. Left to itself, it is choked with thorns and thistles; instead of fruit it produces only what is fit for burning. Woe to the soul that does not have Christ dwelling in it; deserted and foul with the filth of the passions, it becomes a haven for all the vices. When a farmer prepares to till the soil he must put on clothing and use tools that are suitable. So Christ, our heavenly king, came to till the soil of mankind devastated by sin. He assumed a body and, using the cross as his ploughshare, cultivated the barren soul of man. He removed the thorns and thistles which are the evil spirits and pulled up the weeds of sin. Into the fire he cast the straw of wickedness. And when he had ploughed the soul with the wood of the cross, he planted in it a most lovely garden of the Spirit, that could produce for its Lord and God the sweetest and most pleasant fruit of every kind.

+St Macarius

“The life of the heart is love, while malice and enmity against our brother are the heart’s death. The Lord keeps us on this earth in order for love for God and neighbour to completely penetrate our heart. This is what He expects from us all. This is, indeed, the purpose of the world’s continued existence.”
+ St. John of Kronstadt

“God does not matter to us more than we matter to ourselves. What matters to us is that he should be there in order to save us, he should be there in order to protect us, he should be there at our beck and call, in order to serve us whenever we need him. When, therefore, something puts us to shame, we feel that infinitely more intensely and deeply than we feel the glory of God that could follow from the vision we could give of what we were, in contrast with what we are or are becoming. Apart from being already a great success in the spiritual life, it is already an immense achievement to have become someone who has the integrity and the respect for God which is needed to say, ‘This is what I am and I am ashamed of it, I am sorry and I want to start anew.’ I think it is probably a greater and more difficult step from being a hidden sinner to being a sinner that exposes himself to the judgement of God and other people, than all the subsequent path to holiness.”

–Metropolitan Anthony Bloom

“If people could behold in what glory a priest celebrates the Divine Office they would swoon at the sight; and if the priest could see himself, could see the celestial glory surrounding him as he officiates, he would become a great warrior and devote himself to feats of spiritual endurance, that he might not offend in any way the grace of the Holy Spirit living in him.

As I pencil these lines my spirit rejoices that our pastors are in the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. But we, the flock, though we have grace but in small measure – we, too, are in the likeness of the Lord. Men ignore this mystery but St. John the Divine told us clearly: “We shall be like him”, (1 John iii:2) and this not only after death but even here and now, for the merciful Lord has given the Holy Spirit on earth, and the Holy Spirit lives in our Church, lives in all virtuous pastors; lives in the heart of the faithful. The Holy Spirit teaches the soul to fight the good fight; gives the strength necessary to fulfill the commandments of the Lord; stablishes us in all truth; and has so adorned man that he has become like unto the Lord.

We must always bear in mind that a father-confessor performs the duties of his office in the Holy Spirit, wherefore we must venerate him. Know this, brethren, that if anyone should die with his confessor present, and, dying, say to him: ‘O holy father, give me the blessing that I may behold the Lord in the Kingdom of Heaven,’ and the confessor should answer, ‘Go, child, and look upon the Lord,’ it would be with him according to the confessor’s blessing, for the Holy Spirit both in heaven and on earth is one and the same.

Great power lies in the prayers of a spiritual father. For my pride I suffered much from devils but the Lord humbled me and had mercy on me because of my spiritual father’s prayers, and now the Lord has revealed to me that the Holy

Spirit dwells in our father-confessors, wherefore I hold them in deep respect. Because of their prayers we receive the grace of the Holy Spirit, and joy in the Lord, Who loves us and has given us all things needful for our soul’s salvation.

If a man does not open his heart to his confessor, his will be a crooked path that leads not to salvation; whereas he who keeps nothing back will go straightway to the Kingdom of Heaven (…)

Whoever would pray without ceasing must have fortitude and be wise, and in all things consult his confessor. And if your father-confessor has not himself trodden the path of prayer, nevertheless seek counsel of him, and because of your humility the Lord will have mercy on you, and keep you from all wrong. But if you think to yourself, ‘My confessor lacks experience and is occupied with vain things, I will be my own guide with the help of books,’ your foot is set on a perilous path and you are not far from being beguiled and going astray. I know many such who reasoned thus and so deceived themselves, and they did not thrive because they despised their confessors. They forgot that the saving grace of the Holy Spirit is at work in the sacrament of confession. In such wise does the enemy delude those who fight the good fight – the enemy would have no men of prayer – while the Holy Spirit gives good counsel to the soul when we harken to the advice of our pastors.

Through the father-confessor the Holy Spirit operates in the sacrament (of confession), and this is why the soul, on leaving her confessor, feels renewed through peace and love for her neighbour. But if you are troubled when you leave your confessor, it means that you have not made a clean confession of your sins, and have not in your soul forgiven your brother his transgressions.

A confessor should rejoice when the Lord brings him a soul for repentance, and according to the grace given to him he should heal that soul, wherefore he will receive great mercy from God, as a good sheperd of his sheep.”

+ St. Silouan the Athonite

Nothing, whether it be good or bad, happens to a person by blind chance. There is a provident God who steers the affairs of this world, and with each one of us there is a Guardian who does not miss anything, and whose watchfulness never relaxes or grows weak.
+St. Isaac the Syrian

Those who deny the possibility of perfection inflict the greatest damage on the soul in three ways. First, they manifestly disbelieve the inspired Scriptures. Then, because they do not make the greatest and fullest goal of Christianity their own, and so do not aspire to attain it, they can have no longing and diligence, no hunger and thirst for righteousness (cf Matt. 5:6); on the contrary, content with outward show and behavior and with minor accomplishments of this kind, they abandon that blessed expectation together with the pursuit of perfection and of the total purification of the passions. Third, thinking they have reached the goal when they have acquired a few virtues, and not pressing on to the true goal, not only are they incapable of having any humility, poverty and contrition of heart but, justifying themselves on the grounds that they have already arrived, they make no efforts to progress and grow day by day.

+St. Symeon Metaphrastis

“The goal towards which the convert should direct all his attention and labors is the final goal of a man and the economy of salvation, namely: pleasing God, a living unity with God, becoming worthy of His kingdom.The searching, zealous spirit will only be at peace when he attains God, tastes Him and is filled. Therefore the first law for him is: seek ye the Lord and be strengthened; seek ye His face at all times (Ps. 104:4). The blessedness of this is incomprehensible to man…”

+St Theophan the Recluse

This earth is a place where we can gain merit; therefore it is not a place of rest, but of labours and sufferings; and it is for this end that God makes us live here, that by patience we may obtain the glory of paradise.

-St. Alphonsus

Pride does not allow the soul to set out on the path of faith. Here is my advice to the unbeliever: let him say, “Lord, if you exist, then illumine me, and I will serve you with all my heart and soul.” And for this humble thought and readiness to serve God, the Lord will immediately illumine him… And then your soul will sense the Lord; she will sense that the Lord has forgiven her, and loves her, and you will know this from experience, and the grace of the Holy Spirit will be a witness in your soul of your salvation, and you will want to cry out to the whole world: “The Lord loves us so much!”

+St. Silouan the Athonite

How can we overcome anger? To give in to anger is to be destroyed in one instant. We read in the Old Testament that ‘A man full of anger cannot be justified, for the sway of his anger shall be his destruction. And Saint John of the Ladder says that ‘Anger is a sign of every kind of presumption.’ Once, when I was twenty years old, I fell into anger. I felt my heart swing like a pendulum, and in one instant I was stripped naked of all grace. When I confessed it to Father Sophrony, he said: ‘Anger can burn in one second all the good things we have gathered in our barn over many years. To avoid anger, we must learn to weep and reproach ourselves. According to Saint John of the Ladder: "As the gradual pouring of water on a fire completely extinguishes the flame, so the tears of true mourning are able to quench every flame of anger and irritability."

When a man rebelled against king David and threw stones at him, one of his soldiers offered to kill him. But David said, ‘No, let him; God has allowed this because He wants to cleanse me from my sins.’ When we humbly take the blame and reproach ourselves in all things, we become wise and see all life with different eyes, from God’s perspective. Then we will no longer fall prey to anger so easily. For ‘as it is impossible to destroy a wild beast without a weapon, so without humility it is impossible to obtain freedom from anger?’

–Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou

Divine care surrounds all human beings all the time, but it is only seen by those who have purified themselves from sins and who have God in mind at every moment.
+ St. Isaac the Syrian

Blessed is he who has in the Lord become completely free of all earthly things in this troublesome life, and who has loved the one good and merciful God.
Blessed is he who has become a doer of good works and, like a fruitful field, brings forth a great abundance of the fruits of life in the Lord.
Blessed is he who stands at prayer in service to God and, like the heavenly angels, at all times has pure thoughts and does not allow the evil one to approach him, that he may not enslave his soul and lead it away from God the Savior.
Blessed is he who loves sanctity (purity) like light, and has not defiled his body before the Lord with shameful acts of the evil one.
Blessed is he who always retains in himself remembrance of God, for such a person on earth is like a heavenly angel, constantly celebrating the Lord with fear and love.
Blessed is he who loves repentance, which saves all sinners, and does not delight in sin, that he might not appear ungrateful before God our Savior.
Blessed is he who, like a courageous warrior defending heavenly treasures, preserves his soul and body without reproach in the Lord.
Blessed is he who like the heavenly angels, has pure thoughts, and who with his lips sings praises to the One who has authority over all that breathes.
Blessed is he who has become like unto the seraphim and cherubim and is never slothful in spiritual service, who ceaselessly glorifies the Lord.

+St. Ephraim the Syrian

If we are sheep, we overcome; if wolves, we are overcome.

As long as we are sheep, we overcome and, though surrounded by countless wolves, we emerge victorious; but if we turn into wolves, we are overcome, for we lose the shepherd’s help. He, after all, feeds the sheep, not wolves, and will abandon you if you do not let him show his power in you.

What he says is this: “Do not be upset that, as I send you out among the wolves, I bid you be as sheep and doves. I could have managed things quite differently and sent you, not to suffer evil nor to yield like sheep to the wolves, but to be fiercer than lions. But the way I have chosen is right. It will bring you greater praise and at the same time manifest my power.” That is what he told Paul: My grace is enough for you, for in weakness my power is made perfect. “I intend,” he says, “to deal in the same way with you.” For, when he says, I am sending you out like sheep, he implies: “But do not therefore lose heart, for I know and am certain that no one will be able to overcome you.”

The Lord, however, does want them to contribute something, lest everything seem to be the work of grace, and they seem to win their reward without deserving it. Therefore he adds: You must be clever as snakes and innocent as doves. But, they may object, what good is our cleverness amid so many dangers? How can we be clever when tossed about by so many waves? However great the cleverness of the sheep as he stands among the wolves – so many wolves! – what can it accomplish? However great the innocence of the dove, what good does it do him, with so many hawks swooping upon him? To all this I say: cleverness and innocence admittedly do these irrational creatures no good, but they can help you greatly.

What cleverness is the Lord requiring here? The cleverness of a snake. A snake will surrender everything and will put up no great resistance even if its body is being cut in pieces, provided it can save its head. So you, the Lord is saying, must surrender everything but your faith: money, body, even life itself. For faith is the head and the root; keep that, and though you lose all else, you will get it back in abundance. The Lord therefore counselled the disciples to be not simply clever or innocent; rather he joined the two qualities so that they become a genuine virtue. He insisted on the cleverness of the snake so that deadly wounds might be avoided, and he insisted on the innocence of the dove so that revenge might not be taken on those who injure or lay traps for you. Cleverness is useless without innocence.

Do not believe that this precept is beyond your power. More than anyone else, the Lord knows the true natures of created things; he knows that moderation, not a fierce defence, beats back a fierce attack.

+St John Chrysostom

What glory attained on earth will remain incorruptible? Every stack of hay is of the weakest stuff and all dreams are most illusory. In one hour death receives all of these. ... And so, reflect on the vanity of this world to which during our life we are so attached and for which we work in vain. The road on which we journey is so short. Our life is nothing but smoke, vapor, a cloud, and ash. It appears and quickly vanished. Even to call it a road does not have much meaning.

+Nil Sorsky

"As quickly as possible break the knots of the passions, which have become entangled by desires and emotions combining and frequently recurring. It is easier to break the individual threads of desires and the individual threads of emotions than the knots of passions. Nevertheless you must break them even if it causes you to bleed, if you want a new childhood, a new youth, more beautiful and eternal than your former youth. Cast the world out of yourself, my heart, and then observe how feeble it is. And then observe yourself, and you will feel unheard-of power. The world seems powerful to us only when we serve it as its slave."

+St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Blessed is he who has obtained such love and yearning for God as a mad lover has for his beloved. Blessed is he who fears the Lord as much as men under trial fear the judge. Blessed is he who is as zealous with true zeal as a well-disposed slave towards his master. Blessed is he who has become as jealous of the virtues as husbands who remain in unsleeping watch over their wives out of jealousy. Blessed is he who stands in prayer before the Lord as servants stand before a king. Blessed is he who unceasingly strives to please the Lord as others try to please men.

+St. John Climacus

Fasting and vigils are the foundation of all the virtues; for when they are undertaken with discretion, these virtues help a man to attain every good. That is, the beginning of all evils is the comfort of the belly and the softness that comes from sleep, which excites the desire for fornication, dulls the mind, and makes one continually gross and darkened. Just as the desire for light comes to healthy eyes, so also he who fasts with discernment desires prayer; for when one begins to fast, as a result of this fasting, his mind starts gradually to wake up and he experiences the desire to converse with God. But also the body, when it fasts, and is not burdened with satiety, does not need to sleep for the entire night in bed, but wakes up eagerly to serve God.

To the extent, then, that the seal of fasting is placed on a man’s body, his mind contemplates with compunction, his heart wells up with prayer, and austerity is imprinted on his face, while shameful thoughts remain far from this man. Fasting is the adversary of evil desires and vain associations. Fasting is a good road that leads to every good deed and he who neglects it confounds all the virtues....

+ Abba Isaac

If a man resolves to treat and heal his soul, he must first apply himself to a careful examination of his whole being. He must learn to distinguish good from evil, the things of God from those of the devil, for "discernment is the greatest of the virtues."

+St. Justin Popovich

When you want to begin a Godly work, first give a promise to God that you will not live for the present life and that you are prepared to die, being thereby indifferent to all earthly things. You should always keep this in your mind, in which case you will be able, with God’s help, to struggle and be victorious. Hope for the present life enervates one’s mind and does not allow a man to make progress in anything good. But as for you, do not approach the performance of good work with dual thoughts, about the world and about God, something which leads to laxity, so that your toil may not prove useless and your efforts at spiritual cultivation may not prove arduous. But begin to do what is good with courage and unhesitating faith in God, since you know that the Lord is merciful and is ever ready to help those who seek Him, rewarding with generosity and great bounties the good toil of those who have labored, granting to us His Grace, not in proportion to our work, but according to the measure of the eagerness and faith of our hearts. For He it is who says: “As thou has believed, so be it done unto thee”.

The Evergetinos

Beloved brothers, our Lord and Saviour sometimes gives us instruction by words and sometimes by actions. His very deeds are our commands; and whenever he acts silently he is teaching us what we should do. For example, he sends his disciples out to preach two by two, because the precept of charity is twofold – love of God and of one’s neighbour.
The Lord sends his disciples out to preach in twos in order to teach us silently that whoever fails in charity towards his neighbour should by no means take upon himself the office of preaching.

Rightly is it said that he sent them ahead of him into every city and place where he himself was to go. For the Lord follows after the preachers, because preaching goes ahead to prepare the way, and then when the words of exhortation have gone ahead and established truth in our minds, the Lord comes to live within us. To those who preach Isaiah says: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God. And the psalmist tells them: Make a way for him who rises above the sunset. The Lord rises above the sunset because from that very place where he slept in death, he rose again and manifested a greater glory. He rises above the sunset because in his resurrection he trampled underfoot the death which he endured. Therefore, we make a way for him who rises above the sunset when we preach his glory to you, so that when he himself follows after us, he may illumine you with his love.

Let us listen now to his words as he sends his preachers forth: The harvest is great but the labourers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into his harvest. That the harvest is good but the labourers are few cannot be said without a heavy heart, for although there are many to hear the good news there are only a few to preach it. Indeed, see how full the world is of priests, but yet in God’s harvest a true labourer is rarely to be found; although we have accepted the priestly office we do not fulfil its demands.
Think over, my beloved brothers, think over his words: Pray the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into his harvest. Pray for us so that we may be able to labour worthily on your behalf, that our tongue may not grow weary of exhortation, that after we have taken up the office of preaching our silence may not bring us condemnation from the just judge.

+St Gregory the Great

He who keeps silent about the truth conceals Christ in a tomb......It is not right, it is not lawful, it is not fitting for those of right belief to be silent at all when those eager to promote deception and error violate the laws of God.

+St. Meletios the Confessor

O God and Lord of all! Who hath the power over every breath and soul, the only One able to heal me, hearken unto the prayer of me, the wretched one, and, having put him to death, destroy the serpent nestling within me by the decent of the All-Holy and Life-Creating Spirit. And vouchsafe me, poor and naked of all virtue, to fall with tears at the feet of my spiritual father, and call his holy soul to mercy, to have mercy on me. And grant, O Lord, unto my heart humility and good thoughts, becoming a sinner, who hath consented to repent unto Thee, and do not abandon unto the end the one soul, which hath united itself unto Thee and hath confessed Thee, and instead of all the world hath chosen Thee and hath preferred Thee. For Thou knowest, O Lord, that I want to save myself, and that my evil habit is an obstacle. But all things are possible unto Thee, O Master, which are impossible for man. Amen.

Prayer before confession of St. Symeon the New Theologian

Why in our fear of not praying as we should, do we turn to so many things, to find what we should pray for? Why do we not say instead, in the words of the psalm: I have asked one thing from the Lord, this is what I will seek: to dwell in the Lord’s house all the days of my life, to see the graciousness of the Lord, and to visit his temple? There, the days do not come and go in succession, and the beginning of one day does not mean the end of another; all days are one, simultaneously and without end, and the life lived out in these days has itself no end.
So that we might obtain this life of happiness, he who is true life itself taught us to pray, not in many words as though speaking longer could gain us a hearing. After all, we pray to one who, as the Lord himself tells us, knows what we need before we ask for it.
Why he should ask us to pray, when he knows what we need before we ask him, may perplex us if we do not realise that our Lord and God does not want to know what we want (for he cannot fail to know it), but wants us rather to exercise our desire through our prayers, so that we may be able to receive what he is preparing to give us. His gift is very great indeed, but our capacity is too small and limited to receive it. That is why we are told: Enlarge your desires, do not bear the yoke with unbelievers.
The deeper our faith, the stronger our hope, the greater our desire, the larger will be our capacity to receive that gift, which is very great indeed. No eye has seen it; it has no colour. No ear has heard it; it has no sound. It has not entered man’s heart; man’s heart must enter into it.
In this faith, hope and love we pray always with unwearied desire.
However, at set times and seasons we also pray to God in words, so that by these signs we may instruct ourselves and mark the progress we have made in our desire, and spur ourselves on to deepen it. The more fervent the desire, the more worthy will be its fruit. When the Apostle tells us: Pray without ceasing, he means this: Desire unceasingly that life of happiness which is nothing if not eternal, and ask it of him who alone is able to give it.

+ St Augustine

...do not despair in any way ignoring God’s help, for He can do whatever He wishes. On the contrary, place your hope in Him and He will do one of these things: either through trials and temptations, or in some other way which He alone knows, He will bring about your restoration; or He will accept your patient endurance and humility in the place of works; or because of your hope He will act lovingly towards you in some other way of which you are not aware, and so will save your shackled soul. Only do not abandon your Physician, for otherwise you will suffer senselessly the twofold death because you do not know the hidden ways of God.

+St. Peter of Damascus

"We should never lack the contemplation of death or other such meditations. All these contemplations create watchfulness in the soul and purity and cleanse the mind so that it may feel the contemplation better. This contemplation is a barrier for evil thoughts. When this spiritual contemplation is within us, we shut out evil thoughts...

We should never at any time stop remembering death. The Holy Fathers said that they were not overcome by negligence in their cells, because they had the remembrance of death night and day. Negligence found no room in them. The Fathers kept thinking, 'If today or tomorrow is my last day, what should I do?' In this way, this remembrance kept their mind on the fear of God, and the fear of God gave light to their conscience regarding how to compel themselves.

What will come more certainly than death? It is the most certain thing that every person will encounter. We ought to keep the remembrance of death alive within us constantly, so that through this most saving remembrance, we may avoid the soul's death . . . Violently compel yourselves, says the Lord in the gospel, for you do not know when the Bridegroom of your soul will visit you, and woe to him whom He finds indolent and neglectful of his salvation.

The truth of God sounds forth like a might trumpet and says, 'Vanity of vanities; all is vanity!' 'For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 'Remember your end and you shall not sin unto the ages.' 'Riches do not remain, glory does not accompany one to the other world, for when death comes, all these things are obliterated.' Behold the truth, which mightily crushes the lie!

When we visit our final dwelling, our grave, we shall see with our own eyes all the vanity of man, as did Abba Sisoes when he saw the tomb of Alexander the Great and cried out, 'Alas, alas, O death! The entire world was not big enough for you, Alexander. How then have you fit into two meters of earth now?'
My child, be careful with this world which is like a theater. For poor and ignoble people on stage in the theater wear the clothes of kings, tycoons, etc. and appear to be different from what they really are and fool the audience. But when the show is over and they take off their masks, then their true faces are revealed."

+Elder Ephraim

Thee alone I follow, Lord Jesus, Who heals my wounds. For what shall separate me from the love of God, which is in Thee? Shall tribulation, or distress, or famine? I am held fast as though by nails, and fettered by the bonds of charity. Remove from me, O Lord Jesus, with Thy potent sword, the corruption of my sins. Secure me in the bonds of Thy love; cut away what is corrupt in me. Come quickly and make an end of my many, my hidden and secret afflictions. Open the wound lest the evil humour spread. With Thy new washing, cleanse in me all that is stained. Hear me, you earthly men, who in your sins bring forth drunken thoughts: I have found a Physician. He dwells in Heaven and distributes His healing on earth. He alone can heal my pains Who Himself has none. He alone Who knows what is hidden, can take away the grief of my heart, the fear of my soul — Jesus Christ. Christ is grace, Christ is life, Christ is Resurrection! Amen.

+St. Ambrose of Milan

“A young person must bring his youth into submission to the Word of God, so that, in keeping with the demand of the Word, "ye present" — as Holy Scripture says—"your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptble unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Romans 12:1); he must exsiccate and chill, as well, every thought of fleshly pleasure by eating and drinking little and by all-night vigils, so that he might be able say from the depth of his heart: "For I am become like a wineskin in the frost; yet have I not forgotten Thy statutes" (Psalm 118:83). Let him keep in mind that he belongs to Christ, so that he might crucify the flesh, along with its affections and lusts (Galatians 5:24), and mortify his members, which are the seat of the earthly and fleshly pleasures (Colossians 3:5).

He who attains to the crown of true, spotless, and total virginity does not stop his struggle there; but he struggles, in accordance with Apostolic teaching, to mortify even the very thought of the passions and their action in the heart. And yet not even in this does one who with keen love struggles to bring to dwell in his soul Angelic and spotless virginity imagine that he does so truly. Therefore, he prays that there might also be expunged from his thoughts even the memory of simple lusts which come into the mind through its wandering, without any incitement by, or action of, the bodily passions. This, of course, can be achieved only by the power and with the aid of God, as well as the strengthening of the Holy Spirit, though there are, indeed, only a few worthy of this Grace.
Thus, he who succeeds in gaining the crown of purity and spotless virginity, and is thus wholly possessed by Divine love, crucifies his flesh with ascetic labors, putting to death his earthly members (thereby) through resistance and the maintenance of self-restraint. And having enfeebled the external man and weakened him, as though he had been emaciated by a famine, he is reduced to a virtual skeleton, wherein the inner man is renewed by faith, struggles, and the energy of Grace, moving daily towards better things. He is enlarged in love, made greater in hope, rendered blissful by spiritual joy, rewarded by the peace of Christ, led by kindness, enlightened with prudence and knowledge, made luminous by wisdom, and inclined to humility.

The spiritual faculty being renewed by the Spirit with these and similar virtues, there is revealed within such a man the imprint of the Divine image; he feels spiritual and indescribable beauty, understanding perfectly the self-taught wisdom which one learns on his own from the richness of the moral law implanted in us.”

+Abba Mark

“The cross is the door to mysteries. Through this door the intellect makes entrance in to the knowledge of heavenly mysteries. The knowledge of the cross is concealed in the sufferings of the cross. And the more our participation in its sufferings, the greater the perception we gain through the cross. For, as the Apostle says, `As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.”

+St. Isaac the Syrian

The name of Jesus should be repeated over and over in the heart as flashes of lightning are repeated over and over in the sky before rain. Those who have experience of the intellect and of inner warfare know this very well. We should wage this spiritual warfare with a precise sequence: first, with attentiveness; then, when we perceive the hostile thought attacking, we should strike at it angrily in the heart, cursing it as we do so: thirdly, we should direct our prayer against it, concentrating the heart through the invocation of Jesus Christ, so that the demonic fantasy may be dispersed at once, the intellect no longer pursuing it like a child deceived by some conjuror.

+St. Hesychios the Priest

During this present, difficult time, when the earth has grown old, is burdened by faithlessness, lawlessness, and ignorance of the knowledge of God’s commandments, has our Fervent Intercessor turned away from us in her zeal for the glory of her Son and God?
No, my dears, this could not be. Needy children are dearer to a mother. As long as there is at least a “little flock” left… to bear and preserve faithfulness to Christ’s commandments and hope in the intercessions of the Mother of God, we will not perish. And so we pray to the Mother of God with our whole heart and with our whole mind and say: “Rejoice, O our joy! Protect us from all evil by Thy precious omophorion!”

–Archimandrite John Krestiankin

This sacrament of unity, this bond of a concord inseparably cohering, is set forth where in the Gospel the coat of the Lord Jesus Christ is not at all divided nor cut, but is received as an entire garment, and is possessed as an uninjured and undivided robe by those who cast lots concerning Christ's garment, who should rather put on Christ. Holy Scripture speaks, saying, "But of the coat, because it was not sewed, but woven from the top throughout, they said one to another, Let us not rend it, but cast lots whose it shall be" (John 19:23-24).

That coat bore with it a unity that came down from the top, that is, that came from heaven and the Father, which was not to be at all rent by the receiver and the possessor, but without separation we obtain a whole and substantial entireness. He cannot possess the garment of Christ who parts and divides the Church of Christ.

+St. Cyprian of Carthage

"Here I am sending you out like sheep with wolves all round you; so be as wise as serpents and yet as harmless as doves. But be on your guard against men." (Matthew 10:16)
What does it mean to be as wise as a serpent? When a serpent is attacked, it is willing to have much of its body severed, as long as it saves its head. So to be as wise as a serpent means to be willing to lose everything: your wealth, your reputation, your friends, as long as you save your faith. Your faith is your head, by which you learn all truth, and by that truth your soul is set free. We should, however, recognize that the wisdom of the serpent is not enough, we must be as honest and innocent as doves. Indeed it is the combination of wisdom and innocence that creates virtue. The person who is wise as a serpent can sustain the most terrible attacks and still continue to flourish as a disciple of Christ. The person who is innocent refuses to retaliate against those who make the attacks. To be as innocent as a dove means never to take revenge on those who wrong you or undermine you. Unless wisdom is tempered by innocence, one attack provokes another, and conflict continues without end. Unless innocence is tempered by wisdom, a person is so vulnerable that he will not even survive a single attack. Rest assured that no one can ever take away you faith, your wisdom guard against that. But be careful never to bear a grudge against anyone who does you wrong.

+St. John Chrysostom

When you see two evil men who have love for each other, know that one cooperates with the other to accomplish their evil will. A haughty man and a vainglorious man will gladly enter into an alliance with each other; for the former praises the vainglorous one, as he slavishly cringes before him, while the latter exults the haughty one, as he continually praises him. Keep yourself far away from them, so that you may not suffer the harm that comes therefrom.

+ Abba Mark

“The servants of Christ are protected by invisible, rather than visible, beings. But if these guard you, they do so because they have been summoned by your prayer.”

+St. Ambrose

In every work you are about to do, always say: “If God visits me now, what happens?” And be attentive to what your thought replies. If it condemns you, immediately stop and abandon the work you have begun. Engage in another that you will complete with certainty. For the spiritual worker must always be ready to set out on his journey (towards eternity). Whether you are sitting at your handiwork or walking on the road or eating, always say within yourself: “If God calls me at this moment, what happens?” Then see what answer your conscience gives you and act without delay according to what it tells you. Wanting to know if you have received mercy, ask your conscience again. Do not stop asking until your heart is informed and your conscience says: “We believe that God’s mercy will definitely have compassion on us.” However, be careful that your heart does not say this word with hesitation. For if there is still even a hair of doubt, God’s mercy is far from you.

The Gerontikon

The spiritual father is the internal teacher of society, the guard of a family’s morals, the consolation of the suffering, and the harbor of those who waver in life’s ocean.

+St Nektarios of Aegina

Today out of pride too many people, too many priests, think they are authorized to reform my Church. Instead they should begin by reforming themselves and humbly forming around them faithful disciples who will not listen to what they think, but to what I myself think. You have heard, and can verify, that humanity is currently undergoing a crisis of folly, agitated in every way, without any spiritual realization that would help it regain inspiration in me and stabilize itself. Alone, the few contemplative souls in the world can put a stop to this profound imbalance that leads to catastrophe....

–Gaston Courtois

“There is nothing better than peace in Christ, for it brings victory over all the evil spirits on earth and in the air. When peace dwells in a man’s heart it enables him to contemplate the grace of the Holy Spirit from within. He who dwells in peace collects spiritual gifts as it were with a scoop, and he sheds the light of knowledge on others. All our thoughts, all our desires, all our efforts, and all our actions should make us say constantly with the Church: “O Lord, give us peace!” When a man lives in peace, God reveals mysteries to him..”

+ St. Seraphim of Sarov

Love silence above all things, because it brings you near to fruit that the tongue cannot express. First let us force ourselves to be silent, and then from out of this silence something is born that leads us into silence itself. . . . If you begin with this discipline, I know not how much light will dawn on you from it. . . . Great is the man who by the patience of his members achieves wondrous habits in his soul! When you put all the works of this discipline on one side and silence on the other, you will find the latter to be greater in weight.

+ Saint Isaac the Syrian

Here is merriment, music— there are prayers, hymns, lamentations for the dead; here are riches, luxury, splendour—there naked poverty, need of everything, even of decent and sufficiently warm clothing, overcrowding, disgusting dirt and damp; here is blooming health, superfluity of strength—there maladies, decrepitude, exhaustion; here are enlightenment, much knowledge—there ignorance, darkness; or here worldly education is united with spiritual enlightenment and piety, and in this union there is beautiful and pleasant harmony and spiritual beauty, while there worldly education is accompanied with unbelief immorality, spiritual deformity, want of harmony and dissonance, harrowing the soul; here is success in all undertakings—there failure; here everything is easily obtained (money, position in society, honours, distinctions), whilst there a man strives with all his might and obtains nothing, or only by enormous efforts obtains even a little.
Who shall solve this apparent contradiction? God alone.
We can only conjecture.

+St John of Kronstadt

The start of liberty from anger is stillness of the mouth when the heart is troubled. The middle is a stillness of the mind when there is a small agitation of the soul. The end is an unchanging calm beneath the breath of polluted winds.

+St John Climacus

You are tender-hearted to sinners, please be compassionate to us on judgment day.
Pardon our debts by Your love and at the day of Your coming grant us Your dwelling place.
When the people who are to be sentenced quake before the just judgment and stand in front of You naked and fearful, then, O my Judge, be compassionate to me because I have sung of Your glory.
When the mouths of the wise are shut and Your fearful powerful scepter appears ominously in front of all, then let my lips be open, because I have confessed You.
When no friend or companion can help a man and everyone is presented naked to speak for himself, then, O Lord, be a intercessor for me, because I have relied on You.
When the noise of the trumpet reverberates out, the nations quake and each man receives a reckoning in accord with his labors.
Then, O Lord, my helper, to You I will flee. O Lord, receive our ministry, for You are the hope of those above and those below.
Have mercy upon us. O Lord, be merciful to us and our parents.
Be merciful to our instructors, and our brothers.
O Lord, be merciful to us and grant rest to our relatives who have departed and to the dead who professed and believed in You and who tasted Your flesh and drank Your life-giving blood.
Grant us along with Your sheep to go into Your pasture, and with Your saints to present You praise in agreement with Your greatness forever.

+St. Ephrem the Syrian

“Watch your heart during all your life - examine it, listen to it, and see what prevents its union with the most blessed Lord. Let this be for you the science of all sciences, and with God’s help you will easily observe what estranges you from God, and what draws you towards Him and unites you to Him.”

+St. John of Kronstadt

It is better for you if men think you unlearned and uncouth because of your inexperience in disputation, rather than one of the wise because of your shamelessness. Become poor for humility’s sake, and do not amass riches on account of your shamelessness. Confute those who would strive to dispute with you by the strength of your virtues, and not by the persuasiveness of your words. By the meekness and quietness of your lips, put the impudence of the obstinate to silence, and not by speaking. Reprove the wanton by the nobility of your life, and those who are shameless as regards the senses, by the modest curbing of your eyes.

+St. Isaac the Syrian

At the heart of this wisdom is the insight that in order to learn theology one must learn to pray; or rather, that learning theology is learning prayer, and that a theologian is one who prays well. A corollary is that in order to learn prayer one must above all practice humility, obedience and interior silence, rather than intense mental activity with its attendant pride that frequently accompanies formal theological study in the universities; or rather, that intense intellectual pursuit is itself God-given and beautiful, but requires the discipline of the Spirit (or what the Orthodox saints call “Heart”) if it is not to go astray. All this can be put another way: that our whole life constitutes our prayer before God, but in order to pray truly we must live truly, and this is something that we learn in community and through the chores, disappointments and struggles of daily life. If so, this suggests that most formal seminaries and theological schools of today require a reorientation...

+Fr. Brendan Pelphrey

“Clerics and, in particular, celibate clerics must be chosen from those of a mature age, with excellent education, extreme piety, shining ethos, sterling character and complete spiritual formation: all those things that are acquired with labors and struggles, prayer and study, fasting and vigils, with voluntary poverty and hardships, and through various deprivations. For asceticism is not the privilege or responsibility of monastics alone, but of all the faithful and particularly of clerics, and especially of unmarried clerics. The Church is deeply ascetic and those who don’t love asceticism and who are friends of luxury and comfort don’t have a place within Her.”

–Elder Epiphanios of Athens

“Young people must be made to distinguish between helpful and injurious knowledge, keeping clearly in mind the Christian’s purpose in life. So, like an athlete or the musician, they must bend every energy to one task, the winning of the heavenly crown.”

+St. Basil the Great

It is preferable, then, to live with a few good men than with a multitude of unprofitable men, just as the Divine Scriptures have instructed us. For as the author of the Proverbs says: “Do not desire a multitude of unprofitable men, if the fear of the Lord is not with them.” Indeed, one righteous man is better than a thousand sinners; “for in the assembly of sinners fire will be kindled”. Another passage says: “Do not desire an unprofitable multitude, and if they increase, do not rejoice over them, if the fear of the Lord is not in them; do not entrust yourself to their life, for you will groan with untimely grief. One righteous man who does the Will of God is better than having impious children; for from one wise man a city will be replenished.”

The Evergetinos

“Ever let mercy outweigh all else in you. Let our compassion be a mirror where we may see in ourselves that likeness and that true image which belong to the Divine nature and Divine essence. A heart hard and unmerciful will never be pure.”

+St. Isaac of Syria

You cannot be or become spiritually intelligent in the way that is natural to man in his pre-fallen state unless you first attain purity and freedom from corruption. For our purity has been overlaid by a state of sense-dominated mindlessness, and our original incorruption by the corruption of the flesh.

Only those who through their purity have become saints are spiritually intelligent in the way that is natural to man in his pre-fallen state. Mere skill in reasoning does not make a person’s intelligence pure, for since the fall our intelligence has been corrupted by evil thoughts. The materialistic and wordy spirit of the wisdom of this world may lead us to speak about ever wider spheres of knowledge, but it renders our thoughts increasingly crude and uncouth.

+St Gregory of Sinai

The firmament has the stars for its beauty, and dispassion has the virtues for its adornments; for by dispassion, I mean nothing other than the Heaven of the mind within the heart, which regards the wiles of the demons as mere pranks.
And so he is pre-eminently dispassionate, and is recognized as dispassionate, who has made his flesh incorruptible, who has raised his mind above creatures and has subdued all his senses to it, and who keeps his soul before the face of the Lord, ever reaching out to Him even beyond his strength.

+St. John Climacus