Quotes

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

Obedience

Those who live in obedience are strangers to love of money. For where even the body has been given up, what is left to be one's own? Only in one way can they be harmed, namely by being ready and quick to go from place to place. I have seen material possessions make monks patient to remain in one place. But I praise those who are pilgrims for the Lord.

St. John Climacus

Monaticism

Let no one on seeing or hearing something supernatural in the monastic way of life fall into unbelief out of ignorance; for where the supernatural God dwells, much that is supernatural happens.

St. John Climacus

Love

Love, by its nature, is a resemblance to God, insofar as this is humanly possible. In its activity it is inebriation of the soul. Its distinctive character is to be a fountain of faith, an abyss of patience, a sea of humility.

St. John Climacus

World

Live in the world as if only God and your soul were in it; then your heart will never be made captive by any earthly thing.

St. John Climacus

Pride

Where a fall has overtaken us, there pride has already pitched its tent; because a fall is an indication of pride.

St. John Climacus

Ascetical Efforts

A person standing at an open window hears the sounds from outside; it is impossible not to do so. But he can give the voices his attention or not, as he himself wishes. The praying person is continually beset by a stream of inappropriate thoughts, feelings and mental impressions. To stop this tiresome stream is as impracticable as to stop the air from circulating in an open room. But one can notice them or not. This, say the saints, one learns only through practice.

Tito Colliander

Simplicity

Let all of us who wish to attract the Lord to ourselves draw near to Him as disciples to the Master, simply, without hypocrisy, without duplicity or guile, not out of idle curiosity. He Himself is simple and not composite, and He wants souls that come to Him to be simple and guileless. For you will surely never see simplicity bereft of humility.

St. John Climacus

Meekness

Meekness is an immovable state of soul which remains unaffected, whether in evil report or in good report, in dishonor or in praise.

St. John Climacus

Silence

The lover of silence draws close to God. He talks to Him in secret and God enlightens him.

St. John Climacus

Joy

True joy is the joy of consolation, the joy that wells up in the knowledge of one's own weakness and the Lord's mercy, and that does not need the bared teeth of laughter to express itself.

Tito Colliander

Poor

A man who has embraced poverty offers up prayer that is pure, while a man who loves possessions prays to material images.

St. John Climacus

Patience

Bring out the staff of patience, and the dogs will soon stop their insolence. Patience is an unbroken labor of the soul which is never shaken by deserved or undeserved blows. The patient man is a faultless worker, who turns his faults into victories. Patience is the limitation of suffering that is accepted day by day. Patience lays aside all excuses and all attention to herself. The worker needs patience more than his food, because the one brings him a crown, while the other may bring ruin.

St. John Climacus

Ascetical Efforts

Do not trust that because of abstinence you will not fall. One who had never eaten was cast from Heaven.

St. John Climacus

Sleep

Just as over-drinking is a matter of habit, so too from habit comes over-sleeping. Therefore we must struggle with the question of sleep, especially in the early days of obedience, because a long-standing habit is difficult to cure.

St. John Climacus

Gluttony

If a person swallows too much food, he is inviting impure thoughts. If he mortifies the stomach, he is creating pure thoughts. Often a lion if it is caressed becomes domesticated, whereas the more you coddle the body, the more it goes wild.

St. John Climacus

Meekness

In the hearts of the meek the Lord finds rest, but a turbulent soul is a seat of the devil.

St. John Climacus

Possessions

A man who has embraced poverty offers up prayer that is pure, while a man who loves possessions prays to material images.

St. John Climacus

Mourning

I consider those fallen mourners more blessed than those who have not fallen and are not mourning over themselves; because as a result of their fall, they have risen by a sure resurrection.

St. John Climacus

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Let no one on seeing or hearing something supernatural in the monastic way of life fall into unbelief out of ignorance; for where the supernatural God dwells, much that is supernatural happens.

Love, by its nature, is a resemblance to God, insofar as this is humanly possible. In its activity it is inebriation of the soul. Its distinctive character is to be a fountain of faith, an abyss of patience, a sea of humility.

Live in the world as if only God and your soul were in it; then your heart will never be made captive by any earthly thing.

Where a fall has overtaken us, there pride has already pitched its tent; because a fall is an indication of pride.

Meekness is an immovable state of soul which remains unaffected, whether in evil report or in good report, in dishonor or in praise.

The lover of silence draws close to God. He talks to Him in secret and God enlightens him.

True joy is the joy of consolation, the joy that wells up in the knowledge of one's own weakness and the Lord's mercy, and that does not need the bared teeth of laughter to express itself.

A man who has embraced poverty offers up prayer that is pure, while a man who loves possessions prays to material images.

Do not trust that because of abstinence you will not fall. One who had never eaten was cast from Heaven.

Just as over-drinking is a matter of habit, so too from habit comes over-sleeping. Therefore we must struggle with the question of sleep, especially in the early days of obedience, because a long-standing habit is difficult to cure.

If a person swallows too much food, he is inviting impure thoughts. If he mortifies the stomach, he is creating pure thoughts. Often a lion if it is caressed becomes domesticated, whereas the more you coddle the body, the more it goes wild.

In the hearts of the meek the Lord finds rest, but a turbulent soul is a seat of the devil.

A man who has embraced poverty offers up prayer that is pure, while a man who loves possessions prays to material images.

I consider those fallen mourners more blessed than those who have not fallen and are not mourning over themselves; because as a result of their fall, they have risen by a sure resurrection.

"Mourning has a twofold action: like water tears extinguish all the fire of passions and wash the soul clean of their foulness; and, again, through the presence of the Holy Spirit, it is like fire bringing life, warming the heart, and inciting it to love and desire God. "

St. Symeon the New Theologian Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart

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