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

A wise man is one who pays attention to himself and is quick to separate himself from all defilement.

The soul's health consists in dispassion and spiritual knowledge; no slave to sensual pleasure can attain it.

The Lord commands all men to repent (Matt. 4:17), so that even the spiritual and those making progress should not neglect this injunction and fail to give attention to the smallest and most subtle errors.

Spiritual freedom is release from the passions; without Christ’s mercy you cannot attain it.

He who fears God will pay careful attention to his soul and will free himself from communion with evil.

If we want to do something but cannot, then before God, Who knows our hearts, it is as if we have done it. This is true whether the intended action is good or bad.

Listlessness is an apathy of soul; and a soul becomes apathetic when sick with self-indulgence.

May Peter, who wept so efficaciously for himself, weep for us and turn towards us Christ's benignant countenance.

Bring before your eyes the blessings, whether physical or spiritual, conferred on you from the beginning of your life down to the present, and call them repeatedly to mind in accordance with the words: 'Forget not all His benefits' (Ps. 102:2). Then your heart will readily be moved to the fear and love of God, so that you repay Him, as far as you can. by your strict life, virtuous conduct, devout conscience, wise speech, true faith and humility - in short, by dedicating your whole self to God. When you are moved by the recollection of all these blessings which you have received through God's loving goodness, your heart will be spontaneously wounded with longing and love through this recollection or, rather, with the help of divine grace.

Do not neglect the practice of the virtues; if you do, your spiritual knowledge will decrease, and when famine occurs you will go down into Egypt (Genesis 41:57, 46:6).

Just as desire and rage multiply our sins, so self-control and humility erase them.

Guard your mind with extreme intensity of attention.

The intellect becomes a stranger to the things of this world when its attachment to the senses has been completely sundered.

Worldly virtues promote human glory, spiritual virtues the glory of God.

Self-control and strenuous effort curb desire; stillness and intense longing for God wither it.

Chastise your soul with the thought of death, and through remembrance of Jesus Christ concentrate your scattered intellect.

Reveal yourself to the Lord in your mind. 'For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart' (l Sam. 16:7)

If a man tries to overcome temptations without prayer and patient endurance, he will become more entangled in them instead of driving them away.

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Archangel Michael Orthodox Church
5025 E. Mill Rd
Broadview Heights, Ohio 44147

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440-526-5192 (Phone)