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

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

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

Love and self-control purify the soul.

If you are not willing to repent through freely choosing to suffer, unsought sufferings will providentially be imposed on you.

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

Do not stir up a memory that will cover your prayer with mud, do not root around in the soil of your old sins.

For what is denying oneself? He who truly denies himself does not ask, Am I happy? or, Shall I be satisfied?

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

All sin is due to sensual pleasure, all forgiveness to hardship and distress.

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

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

Only when you have seen your imperfection, can you be perfected.

It took Noah a hundred years to build his ark; log upon log he dragged to the construction. Do as he did; drag log upon log to your construction, patiently, in silence, day after day, and do not inquire about your surroundings. Remember that Noah was the only on in the whole world who 'walked with God' (Gen. 6:9), that is, in prayer. Imagine the crowding, the darkness, the stench, that he had to live in until he could step out into the pure air and build an altar to the Lord. The air and the altar you will find within you, explains St. John Chrysostom, but only after you have willingly gone through the same narrow gate as Noah.

The greatest weapons of someone striving to lead a life of inward stillness are self-control, love, prayer, and spiritual reading.

Always keep this in mind: you are not doing anything virtuous by your continence. Or can it be considered a virtuous act when a man who, out of his own carelessness, has been trapped deep down in a mine shaft, takes a pick and shovel and tries to work his way out? Is it not, on the contrary, quite natural for him to make use of the tools given him by a higher authority to make his way up out of the choking air and darkness? ...From this picture you can gain wisdom. The tools are the implements of salvation, the commands of the Gospel and the holy Sacraments of the Church, that were bestowed upon every Christian at holy baptism. Unused, they are of no profit to you. But used in the right manner they will open your way to freedom and light.

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

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

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

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

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[email protected]
440-526-5192 (Phone)