On trials

God has not forgotten the man to whom He sends suffering and trials, but in this way is proving His closeness to him.

- St. John Chrysostom

Preserve your faith…

Preserve your faith, fight for individuality of thought, pray more, read the Scriptures, and God will preserve you.

-Fr. Arseny

Forget not the poor

Above all things: forget not the poor, but support them to the extent of your means. Give to the orphan, protect the widow, and permit the mighty to destroy no man. Take not the life of the just or the unjust, nor permit him to be killed. Destroy no Christian soul, even though he be guilty of murder.

- St. Prince Vladimir

Only God…

In this life we must prepare ourselves for life in the Heavenly Kingdom and we must attain Divine peace. No one can give us that peace; only God can give peace to created beings…

- Elder Thaddeus

Do not refuse to learn…

Do not refuse to learn, even though you may be very intelligent. For what God provides has more value than our own intelligence.

- Saint Kosmas Aitolos

Everything in this life passes away…

Everything in this life passes away — only God remains, only He is worth struggling towards. We have a choice: to follow the way of this world, of the society that surrounds us, and thereby find ourselves outside of God; or to choose the way of life, to choose God Who calls us and for Whom our heart is searching.”

― Fr. Seraphim Rose

To recall past sins

To recall past sins in detail inflicts injury on the man who hopes in God. For when such recollection brings remorse it deprives him of hope; but if he pictures the sins to himself without remorse, they pollute him again with the old defilement.

-St. Kosmas

This is prayer of the heart!

For what is prayer? Prayer is the raising of the mind and heart to God- for praise and thanksgiving and beseeching Him for the good things necessary for soul and body. The essence of prayer, then is the mental ascent to God from the heart. The mind stands in the heart consciously before the face of God and, filled with proper and necessary reverence, it begins to pour out its heart before Him. This is prayer of the heart!

- Saint Theophan the Recluse

I long to give thanks to Him for everything

I long to give thanks, to give thanks every minute for everything that the Lord has given me. I long to bring Him my insignificant gratitude, serving Him and His suffering children.

- Saint Elizabeth the New Martyr

Let us worship the Holy Lord Jesus

Having seen the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the Holy Lord Jesus, the only sinless one. We worship your Cross, O Christ, and we hymn and glorify your holy Resurrection. For you are our God, we know no other but you, we name you by name. Come all the faithful, let us worship the holy Resurrection of Christ; for behold through the Cross, joy has come in all the world. Ever blessing the Lord, we hymn his Resurrection. For having endured the Cross for us, he has destroyed death by death.

On the brink

Often a soul that is close to despair doesn’t know that it’s already standing on the brink, beyond which there lies a new path.

- Saint Barsanuphius of Optina

Ruinous talkativeness

Nothing is more ruinous than talkativeness and more harmful than an uncontrolled tongue; and nothing is more destructive and disorganizing to the treasure of the soul. For whatever we succeed in building in ourselves every day is destroyed by much talking, and what we collect together with great labor our soul dissipates again through this disease of the tongue.

- Saint Philotheus of Sinai, “Forty Texts on Sobriety (#15), The Philokalia”

Humility

I saw the snares that the enemy spreads out over the world and I said groaning, “What can get through from such snares?” Then I heard a voice saying to me, “Humility.” 

- St. Anthony the Great

Voice of the soul

Modesty must be further guarded in our very movements and gestures and gait.  For the condition of the mind is often seen in the attitude of the body.  For this reason the hidden man of our heart (our inner self) is considered to be either frivolous, boastful, or, on the other hand, steady, firm, pure, and dependable. Thus the movement of the body is a sort of voice of the soul.

- Saint Ambrose of Milan, “Duties of the Clergy”

I weep…

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.

- St. Basil the Great