Quotes

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

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

Mourning

He who really keeps account of his actions considers as lost every day in which he does not mourn, whatever good he may have done in it.

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

Patience

Patience is an unbroken labor of the soul which is never shaken by deserved or undeserved blows.

St. John Climacus

Vainglory

The Lord often humbles the vainglorious by causing some dishonor to befall them. And indeed the first step in overcoming vainglory is to remain silent and to accept dishonor gladly. The middle stage is to check every act of vainglory while it is still in thought. The end—insofar as one may talk of an end to an abyss—is to be able to accept humiliation before others without actually feeling it.

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

Humility

As with the appearance of light, darkness retreats; so, at the fragrance of humility, all anger and bitterness vanishes.

St. John Climacus

Anger

Wrath is a reminder of hidden hatred, that is to say, remembrance of wrongs. Wrath is a desire for the injury of the one who has provoked you. Irascibility is the untimely blazing up of the heart. Bitterness is a movement of displeasure seated in the soul. Anger is an easily changeable movement of one’s disposition and disfiguration of soul.

St. John Climacus

Repentance

Painstaking repentance, mourning cleansed of all impurity, and holy humility in beginners, are as different and distinct from each other as yeast and flour from bread. By open repentance the soul is broken and refined; it is brought to a certain unity, I will even say a commingling with God, by means of the water of genuine mourning. Then, kindled by the fire of the Lord, blessed humility becomes bread and is made firm without the leaven of pride. Therefore, when this holy three-fold cord or, rather, heavenly rainbow, unites into one power and activity, it acquires its own effects and properties. And whatever you name as an indication of one of them, is a token also of another. The first and paramount property of this excellent and admirable trinity is the acceptance of indignity with the greatest pleasure, when the soul receives it with outstretched hands and welcomes it as something that relieves and cauterizes diseases of the soul and great sins. The second property is the loss of all bad temper, and humility as its subsiding. The third and highest degree is a true distrust of one’s good qualities and a constant desire to learn.

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

Anger

He who has put a stop to anger has also destroyed remembrance of wrongs; because childbirth continues only while the father is alive.

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

Dreams

Demons often transform themselves into angels of light and take the form of martyrs, and make it appear to us during sleep that we are in communication with them. Then, when we wake up, they plunge us into unholy joy and conceit. But you can detect their deceit by this very fact. For angels reveal torments, judgments and separations; and when we wake up we find that we are trembling and sad. As soon as we begin to believe the demons in dreams, then they make sport of us when we are awake too. He who believes in dreams is completely inexperienced. 'But he who distrusts all dreams is a wise man. Only believe dreams that warn you of torments and judgments. But if despair afflicts you, then such dreams are also from demons.

St. John Climacus

Demons

The demons, murderers as they are, push us into sin. Or if they fail to do this, they get us to pass judgment on those who are sinning, so that they may defile us with the stain which we ourselves are condemning in another.

St. John Climacus

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

Judging

Do not condemn, even if you see with your eyes, for they are often deceived.

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

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

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He who really keeps account of his actions considers as lost every day in which he does not mourn, whatever good he may have done in it.

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

Patience is an unbroken labor of the soul which is never shaken by deserved or undeserved blows.

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.

As with the appearance of light, darkness retreats; so, at the fragrance of humility, all anger and bitterness vanishes.

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.

He who has put a stop to anger has also destroyed remembrance of wrongs; because childbirth continues only while the father is alive.

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.

The demons, murderers as they are, push us into sin. Or if they fail to do this, they get us to pass judgment on those who are sinning, so that they may defile us with the stain which we ourselves are condemning in another.

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

Do not condemn, even if you see with your eyes, for they are often deceived.

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

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.

"Put aside bodily considerations when you stand in prayer, lest the bite of a flea, a gnat or a fly deprive you of the greatest gain afforded by prayer."

St. Nilus of Sinai

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