The nub of the matter rests in faith. This is what brings us close to God and makes us his children. This is what introduces us to God. On the last day of this fleeting life and at the dawn of the eternal day, this is what will set us on the right of God’s throne, where we shall gaze on God for ever, rejoice with him for ever and reign with him for ever. Saint Ignatij Brianchaninov
When the mind is united to God and remains with him in prayer and love, it becomes wise, good, strong, caring, merciful and slow to anger. In a word, it has all the divine attributes. But when it removes itself from God and attaches itself to worldly things, it either becomes a monstrosity, wallowing in pleasures, or it becomes a wild beast, ravaging people over material things. Saint Maximos the Confessor
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ handed down to us the perfect teaching on salvation. And he himself was the first to implement what he taught. It is he who ‘practices and teaches’ (Matth. 5, 19). He also gave us the parable of the Good Samaritan as an example of real love. But the most outstanding Good Samaritan is Christ himself, who took upon himself our nature tortured by robbers, that is the demons, the passions, and human wickedness, then raised it and gave it life through his death on the Cross and his resurrection. We all know now that perfect Christian love is universal; it’s love for everyone, even for our enemies. This is something we all know but find ...
Examine yourself continually in case you’ve sinned in thought, in case your tongue has erred by being hasty over something, in case your deeds aren’t in accordance with the will of God. And if this self-examination reveals that your sins are many- as it certainly will, because you’re human- then say the words of the tax-collector: ‘God, have mercy on me a sinner’ (Luke 18, 13). Elder Ilie Cleopa
You’re suffering from sadness? It doesn’t matter. A heart that’s full of gratitude, humility and wisdom- a heart that’s been filled with gratitude, humility and wisdom by its struggles and labors- will be richly comforted and blessed with the acquisition of serenity and joy. Saint Makarij of Optina
Holy Scripture tells us that the devil is ‘fallen Lucifer’. This is why the Lord says: ‘I saw Satan falling like lightning from heaven’ (Luke 10, 18). He’s the leader, the general of the order of angels who fell from heaven when they wanted to rebel against the divine will. Then they were automatically put to flight and fell from their office and position. At the same time, they lost the stunning, radiant beauty of their form. They became such grisly monsters that the mere recollection of them is repellent. In the diabolical hypostasis there’s nothing good, blessed, just, straightforward, rational or true. Through his rebellion against God, the devil, who was once the bearer of the light of righteousness, love ...
Are the recent crimes simply a matter of violence and oppression against women, or do they have to do with the fact that love* has lost its bearings? We live in a time when love is treated as enjoyment, as enthusiasm, and, if it doesn’t last long, well, never mind. A lot of people snicker when they hear the Church’s teaching that love is sanctified in marriage, in its sacramental dimension. Even in marriage, they start out from the perspective that they won’t need to sacrifice anything of themselves, their habits, that they won’t have to work on their character, but rather that the other person should provide them with whatever they want in the way they want it. How ...
Given the fallen state in which we find ourselves, we’re unable to judge our brothers and sisters properly. Don’t be too sure that they’re in error. Don’t judge them. Elder Sophrony, Essex
Let’s bind ourselves tightly in order to carry out the Lord’s commandments, so that we’re not bound tightly with the chains of wicked impulses and soul-destroying pleasures. These are difficult to loose and we don’t want to suffer the verdict on the barren fig tree: ‘Cut it down from its roots, because it’s a waste of space’. Because all those who don’t bear good fruit are cut down and cast into the fire. Saint Theodoros of Edessa
We can’t deny God, because, in order to deny something we have to be strong enough to abolish it. In our lack of belief, we can boast that God really doesn’t exist, that we’ve destroyed him. But even if we deny him, as Saint Paul says, he remains faithful to us. So, if that’s the way things are, where’s the denial? The denial is in breaking the commandment. Elder Iosif Vatopaidinos
If your mind is freed of every hope in this world, this is a sign that sin has died within you. If it remains free of worldly things, then the distance that exists between you and God disappears. You then find yourself in a new life and you think new things, which are divine and imperishable. Saint Isaiah the Anchorite
For God, time is the waiting period between when he ‘knocks at the door’ and we open it wide for him (‘If someone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter and dine with them and they with me’ (Rev. 3, 20). In this sense, time also denotes our freedom and the respect which God has for his creatures. God doesn’t enter our heart through violence. Union with him in love can be achieved only through our free acceptance of the offer of it. This is why God gives us time. And because of the respect God has for those whom he fashioned, he experiences time just as we do. Because there can be no doubt that when we ...
Once we enter properly into the spiritual life, we feel from the first moment the light of hope in God beginning to dawn in us. But we’re definitely on a journey and that journey demands struggle, demands patience, demands endurance and, above all, faith that, as a good physician, God has our course of treatment in hand. This is a collaboration between our own freedom and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol
From the 1st to the 14th of August we fast in honor of Our Most Holy Lady, the Mother of God. It’s a strict fast, with fish eaten only on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Savior (6 August). If 15 August falls on a Wednesday or Friday there is a dispensation only for fish. Fasting is a commandment from God. The first. The oldest of all. He gave it to Adam in paradise. The meaning of the fast was: with the weapon of the fast, people were to become accustomed to obedience to God and to the struggle against the devil. According to tradition it was common practice to fast for a period for this particular feast and this became ...
Self-absorption is a cancer in the soul and has been so from the time of the first human beings until today. It can be defined simply as love for yourself. ‘Is that bad?’, it might be asked. The problem is that you love your ‘old’ self. How do I know if I’m self-absorbed? According to Saint Païsios, gluttony, egotism, stubbornness and jealousy all have self-absorption as their starting-point. More simply: ‘…out of self-absorption, some people seek their own comfort, their ease, and they don’t care about others. Some are very particular about their food or their sleep in case their health suffers. Others demand to be take seriously and if they don’t get just the right amount of recognition fall into dejection, ...
A single word we say or a single thought we think doesn’t matter much. Yes, but a thought then brings on another one, a word brings on another one, one concession brings on another one and gradually people become vindictive. Abba Dorotheos
In the first part of the Epistle, the author writes in such a way as to attract the attention of an educated, pagan Greek. He then moves on to present two of the most important pillars of Christian apologetics: the fact that all things were made through Christ, as we say in the Creed; and that the martyrs preferred torture and death to denial of the Lord. The manifestation of Christ For, as I said, this was no mere earthly invention which was delivered to them, nor is it a human construct, which they deem it proper to preserve carefully. Neither is it a compilation of human mysteries which has been entrusted to them, but, in truth, the invisible God himself, who ...
Faith in Christ is firstly a matter of the heart and then of reason. The Lord didn’t say ‘Keep my commandments if you understand me’, but ‘if you love me’, which means that we can understand him only to the extent to which we love him. Our love for him, expressed as the observance of his holy commandments, opens the way for him to dwell in our soul and body, at which point understanding him becomes empirical in nature- the believer is literally taught by God. Besides, this is what he promised: when we keep his commandments, he appears within us; the whole of the holy Trinity finds a place to build a monastery. And his fundamental commandment is to have ...
We’re brought to perfection by the Lord who comes and dwells within us when we keep his commandments. And one of his first commandments is that God’s will be done in our life, not our own. And should be carried out with the same precision as it is by the angels in heaven. Saint Nektarios of Pentapolis
To our unnatural and ‘illogical’ logic, it appears that each person does not bear full responsibility individually. The main weight lies with the all-powerful nature of the prevailing, impersonal social outlook and the uncontrollably frenzied times in which we live. These times have many characteristics and certainly their achievements are impressive. Our era has, on its own, identified incredible boundaries which it has also gone on to reach. It has broken the barriers of the earth’s gravity. It has produced people with features hitherto unknown, with artificial or animal organs, or with parts from other people. It has made species which did not exist before. It alters nature and eliminates its laws. It enters the body, influences the soul, creates ...
