Love does not depend on time

Love does not depend on time, and the power of love continues always. There are some who believe that the Lord suffered death for love of man but because they do not attain to this love in their own souls it seems to them that it is an old story of bygone days. But when the soul knows the love of God by the Holy Spirit she feels without a shadow of doubt that the Lord is our Father, the closest, the best and dearest of fathers, and there is no greater happiness than to love God with all our hearts, with all our souls, and with all our minds, according to the Lord’s commandment, and our neighbor as ourself. And when this love is in the soul, everything rejoices her; but when it is lost sight of man cannot find peace, and is troubled, and blames others as if they had done him an injury, and does not realize that he himself is at fault – he has lost his love for God and has accused or conceived hatred for his brother.

- St. Silouan the Athonite  

Whom have we, Lord, like you?

Whom have we, Lord, like you? -
The Great One who became small, the Wakeful who slept,
The Pure One who was baptized, the Living One who died,
The King who abased himself to ensure honor for all.
Blessed is your honor!

It is right that man should acknowledge your divinity,
It is right for heavenly beings to worship your humanity.
The heavenly beings were amazed to see how small you became,
And earthly ones to see how exalted.

- St. Ephrem the Syrian

Have God before your eyes

Whoever you may be, always have God before your eyes; whatever you do, do it according to the testimony of the holy Scriptures; in whatever place you live, do not easily leave it. Keep these three precepts and you will be saved.

- St. Antony the Great 

Blessed are those who…

Blessed are those who, when grace is withdrawn, find no consolation in themselves, but only continuing tribulation and thick darkness, yet do not despair; but, strengthened by faith, they endure courageously, convinced that they do indeed see Him who is invisible.

- St. John of Karpathos

Have God always on your mind

When you are alone with God, time passes incredibly quickly — more quickly than when you are with company… Yet while living in the world, you can still be united with God. How? By thinking of Him, whatever you may be doing, by glorifying Him for any good that comes your way, by thanking Him for any trial He may send you.

- Eldress Gavrilia

In order to enter Paradise…

In order to enter Paradise, one must have a heart as wide as the heavens, a heart that embraces all men. If a heart excludes just one person, it will not be accepted by the Lord because He will not be able to dwell in it.

- Fr. Zechariah

An extraordinarily precious phenomenon

A single Saint is an extraordinarily precious phenomenon for all mankind. By the mere fact of their existence – unknown, maybe to the world but known to God – the Saints draw down on the world, on all humanity, a great benediction from God…

- St. Silouan the Athonite

We need these two loves

If we want to fare well in this life and go to Paradise, and to call our God love and father, we must have two loves: the love for God and the love for our neighbor.  It is natural for us to have these two loves, and contrary to nature not to have them. Just as a swallow needs two wings in order to fly in the air, so we need these two loves, because without them we cannot be saved.

- St. Cosmas Aitolos, Modern Orthodox Saints, Vol. I

He does not force any of us

We all receive God’s blessings equally. But some of us, receiving God’s fire, that is, His word, become soft like beeswax, while the others like clay become hard as stone. And if we do not want Him, He does not force any of us, but like the sun He sends His rays and illuminates the whole world, and he who wants to see Him, sees Him, whereas the one who does not want to see Him, is not forced by Him. And no one is responsible for this privation of light except the one who does not want to have it.

- St. Peter of Damascus

Doing What is Pleasing to God

If you do what is pleasing to God, you will be taking a step toward the ultimate goal, the inheritance of heaven. Generalize this occurrence, and you find that in every situation and at every encounter one must do what God wants him to do. And we know truly what He wants from the commandments He has given us. If someone seeks help, then help him. If someone has offended you, forgive him. If you yourself have offended someone, then hasten to ask forgiveness and to make peace.

- Saint Theophan the Recluse, Letter to a Young Girl

Remember…

Remember, never to fear the power of evil more than your trust in the power and love of God.

- Hermas, one of the Seventy

A sign of the mercy of God

The tears which flow during the time of prayer are a sign of the mercy of God, which the soul has been made worthy to receive through its repentance. The tears are also an assurance that the prayer of the soul has been received by God, and that it has begun to enter into the valley of purity through its very tears of compunction.

- Saint Isaac the Syrian

The words of God

The words of God refresh the heat of the soul. Suckle the words of God like an infant so that you may grow.

- St. Ephraim the Syrian

Humility is acquired after struggles

Humility is acquired after struggles. When you know yourself you acquire humility, which become a (permanent) condition. Otherwise one can become humble for a moment, but your thought will say to you that you are something although in reality you’re nothing. and you’ll be deluded like that to the moment of death. If death finds you with the thought that you are nothing, then God will speak. If however your thought says at the hour of death that you are something and you don’t understand it, all your effort goes to waste.

- Elder Paisios

On Allowing God to Visit You

If you put something fragrant on to burning coals, you motivate those who approach to come back again and to stay near, but if instead you put on something with an unpleasant, oppressive smell, you repel them and drive them away. It is the same with the mind. If your attention is occupied with what is holy, you make yourself worthy of being visited by God, since this is the sweet savour which God catches scent of. On the other hand, if you nurture evil, foul and earthly thoughts within you, you remove yourself from God’s supervision and unfortunately make yourself worthy of His aversion.

- St. Gregory Palamas, Homily Nineteen para. 9, The Homilies Vol. 1; St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press pg. 243