Quotes

A collection of scriptural meditations from Saints and Fathers of the Church.

Tears

Satiety of the stomach dries the tear sprints, but the stomach when dried produces these waters.

St. John Climacus

Detachment

In detachment, the spirit finds quiet and repose for coveting nothing. Nothing wearies it by elation, and nothing oppresses it by dejection, because it stands in the center of its own humility.

St. John Climacus

Chastity

Offer to the Lord the weakness of your nature, fully acknowledging your own powerlessness, and imperceptibly you will receive the gift of chastity.

St. John Climacus

Hymns

Praise God continually with spiritual hymns and always remain in meditation and in this way you will be able to bear the burden of the temptations that come upon you. A traveler who is carrying a heavy load pauses from time to time and draws in deep breaths; it makes the journey easier and the burden lighter.

Abba Hyperechius

Possessions

He who has tasted the things on high easily despises what is below. But he who has not tasted the things above finds joy in possessions.

St. John Climacus

Marriage

Some people living carelessly in the world have asked me: 'We have wives and are beset with social cares, and how can we lead the solitary life?' I replied to them: 'Do all the good you can; do not speak evil of anyone; do not steal from anyone; do not hate anyone; do not be absent from Divine services; do not offend anyone; do not wreck another man's domestic happiness, and be content with what your own wives can give you. If you behave in this way, you will not be far from the Kingdom of Heaven.'

St. John Climacus

Judging

Fire and water do not mix, neither can you mix judgment of others with the desire to repent. If a man commits a sin before you at the very moment of his death, pass no judgment, because the judgment of God is hidden from men. It has happened that men have sinned greatly in the open but have done greater deeds in secret, so that those who would disparage them have been fooled, with smoke instead of sunlight in their eyes.

St. John Climacus

Meekness

Meekness consists in praying calmly and sincerely for a neighbor when he causes many turmoils.

St. John Climacus

Ascetical Efforts

Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your around courageously. And assuredly the angel who guards you will honor your patience, while a wound is still fresh and warm it is easy to heal, but old, neglected and festering ones are hard to cure, and require for their care much treatment, cutting, plastering and cauterization. Many from long neglect become incurable. But with God all things are possible...

St. John Climacus

Monaticism

Let us monks, then, be as trustful as the birds are; for they have no cares, neither do they gather into barns.

St. John Climacus

Fear of God

He who has obtained the fear of the Lord has forsaken lying, having within himself an incorruptible judge – his own conscience.

St. John Climacus

Animals, Saints

Obedience with abstinence gives men control over wild beasts.

Abba Antony

Pride

Those who mourn and those who are insensitive are not subject to fear, but the cowardly often have become deranged. And this is natural. For the Lord rightly forsakes the proud that the rest of us may learn not to be puffed up.

St. John Climacus

Prayer

When you are praying, don’t rack your brains to find words. On many occasions the simple, monotonous stammering of children has satisfied their Father who is in heaven. Don’t bother to be loquacious lest the mind is bewildered in the search for words. The tax-collector gained the Lord’s forgiveness with a single sentence, and a single word charged with faith was the salvation of the robber. Loquacity in prayer often fills the head with foolish fancies and provokes distractions. Brevity on the other hand - sometimes only one word is enough - in general favors recollection.

St. John Climacus

Sorrows

As too many sticks often choke a fire and put it out, while making a lot of smoke, so excessive sorrow often makes the soul smoky and dark, and dries the stream of tears.

St. John Climacus

Slander

It is better to eat meat and drink wine and not to eat the flesh of one's brethren through slander.

Abba Hyperechius

Mourning

Mourning according to God is sadness of soul and the disposition of a sorrowing heart, which ever madly seeks that for which it thirsts; and when it fails in its quest, it painfully pursues it, and follows in its wake grievously lamenting. Or thus: mourning is a golden spur in a soul which is stripped of all attachment and of all ties, fixed in a soul which is stripped of all attachment and of all ties, fixed by holy sorrow to watch over the heart.

St. John Climacus

Solitude

A fish swiftly escapes a hook and a sensual soul shuns solitude.

St. John Climacus

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Satiety of the stomach dries the tear sprints, but the stomach when dried produces these waters.

In detachment, the spirit finds quiet and repose for coveting nothing. Nothing wearies it by elation, and nothing oppresses it by dejection, because it stands in the center of its own humility.

Offer to the Lord the weakness of your nature, fully acknowledging your own powerlessness, and imperceptibly you will receive the gift of chastity.

He who has tasted the things on high easily despises what is below. But he who has not tasted the things above finds joy in possessions.

Meekness consists in praying calmly and sincerely for a neighbor when he causes many turmoils.

Let us monks, then, be as trustful as the birds are; for they have no cares, neither do they gather into barns.

He who has obtained the fear of the Lord has forsaken lying, having within himself an incorruptible judge – his own conscience.

Animals, Saints

Obedience with abstinence gives men control over wild beasts.

Those who mourn and those who are insensitive are not subject to fear, but the cowardly often have become deranged. And this is natural. For the Lord rightly forsakes the proud that the rest of us may learn not to be puffed up.

As too many sticks often choke a fire and put it out, while making a lot of smoke, so excessive sorrow often makes the soul smoky and dark, and dries the stream of tears.

It is better to eat meat and drink wine and not to eat the flesh of one's brethren through slander.

A fish swiftly escapes a hook and a sensual soul shuns solitude.

St. John Chrysostom

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