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

If you lay down rules for yourself, do not disobey yourself; for he who cheats himself is self-deluded.

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

He who knows himself pays no heed to the sins of others, but looks at his own and is always repenting over them; he reflects concerning himself, and condemns himself, and does not interfere in anything apart from his own position.

I suppose that it is sometimes better to fall oneself and rise, than to judge one's neighbor; because one who has sinned is incited to self-abasement and repentance, while he who judges one who has sinned becomes hardened in an illusion about himself and in pride. Therefore everyone must guard himself, as much as possible, so as not to judge.

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

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

Control your stomach, sleep, anger, and tongue, and you will not 'dash your foot against a stone.'

We are sons of God or of Satan according to whether we conform to goodness or to evil.

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

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

Labor to acquire meekness. Concerning the heavenly virtues, meekness and humility, the Lord Himself teaches us, saying: Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls (Matt. 11:29). Learn not from angels, nor from men, but from Me, He says; that is, from the higher wisdom.

The study of divine principles teaches knowledge of God to the person who lives in truth, longing and reverence.

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

Spiritual reading and prayer purify the intellect, while love and self-control purify the soul's passionate aspect.

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

The person who listens to Christ fills himself with light; and if he imitates Christ, he reclaims himself.

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

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.

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

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