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

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

Four monks of Scetis, clothed in skins, came one day to see the great Pambo. Each one revealed the virtue of his neighbor. The first fasted a great deal; the second was poor; the third had acquired great charity; and they said of the fourth that he had lived for twenty-two years in obedience to an old man. Abba Pambo said to them, 'I tell you, the virtue of this last one is the greatest. Each of the others has obtained the virtue he wished to acquire; but the last one, restraining his own will, does the will of another. Now it is of such men that the martyrs are made, if they persevere to the end.'

Strive to love every man equally, and you will simultaneously expel all the passions.

Make the body serve the commandments, keeping it so far as possible free from sickness and sensual pleasure.

Go and have pity on all, for through pity, one finds freedom of speech before God.

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

According to the degree to which the intellect is stripped of the passions, the Holy Spirit initiates the intellect into the mysteries of the age to be.

Self-love -- that is, friendship for the body -- is the source of evil in the soul.

Concern for one's soul means hardship and humility, for through these God forgives us all our sins.

Patient endurance is the soul's struggle for virtue; where there is struggle for virtue, self-indulgence is banished.

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

Long-suffering and readiness to forgive curb anger; love and compassion wither it.

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

Break the bonds of your friendship for the body and give it only what is absolutely necessary.

It is an insult to the intelligence to be subject to what lacks intelligence and to concern itself with shameful desires.

The person who is unaffected by the things of this world loves stillness; and he who loves no human thing loves all men.

Keep the commandments, and you will find peace; love God, and you will attain spiritual knowledge.

Blessed stillness gives birth to blessed children: self-control, love and pure prayer.

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

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