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

The beginning of evil is heedlessness.

Humble yourself, reproach yourself, consider yourself the very last and the very worst of all, condemn no one - and you will receive God's mercy.

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

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

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

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

This prayer should never be absent from you: 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son and Logos of the living God, through the Theotokos and all the Saints, have mercy upon me, Thy sinful and unworthy servant.' (This is the actual Jesus Prayer: 'O LORD JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD, HAVE MERCY UPON ME, A SINNER.') Always say this prayer both with your mouth and with your mind, day and night, wherever you may be, whether eating, walking, working, or sitting. Always meditate on it, as it benefits you a great deal, frees you here from every evil, delivers you there from eternal Hell, and renders you worthy of going to Paradise, our heavenly country.

Labor conscientiously, pray, and ask God for patience. Tribulations are a good sign; they show that we are on the narrow way.

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

Be glad and rejoice that you were granted to be pious Orthodox Christians. Likewise again cry and mourn for the impious and unbelievers who walk in darkness, in the hands of the devil.

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

If you abandon God and are a slave to the passions, you cannot reap God's mercy.

A man who falls into sin is different from the way he was created. He is different, because he changes by his own actions the way he was meant to be. Man renounces himself when he becomes a different person through repentance. He leaves a corrupted man, which he had become through sin, and becomes such as he once was created, through mercy.

Presumption and boastfulness are causes of blasphemy. Avarice and self-esteem are causes of cruelty and hypocrisy.

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

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

Love and self-control purify the soul.

Struggle until death to fulfill the commandments: purified through them, you will enter into life.

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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)