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

It is the binding duty of every Christian, when he reaches maturity, to know his faith thoroughly.

But let thine apparel be plain, not for adornment, but for necessary conversing: not to minister to thy vanity, but to keep thee warm in winter, and to hide the unseemliness of the body: lest under the pretence of hiding the unseemliness, thou fall under another kind of unseemliness by thy extravagant dress.

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

It is important also to study our God-given faith in detail, since he who is indifferent toward truth is in danger of becoming easy prey for false teachers.

Listlessness is an apathy of soul; and a soul becomes apathetic when sick with self-indulgence.

The Lord is loving unto man, and swift to pardon, but slow to punish. Let no man therefore despair of his own salvation.

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

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

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

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

Love reveals itself in works of mercy.

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

Just as the most bitter medicine drives out poisonous things, so prayer joined to fasting drives evil thoughts away.

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

Jesus Christ said that the Holy Spirit blows where it wills and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes (Jn. 3:8). This means that a person cannot force the Holy Spirit to come to him or predict the time when He may decide to do so. You can only feel His touch when this happens. Indeed, the book of Acts states that when the Holy Apostles and other Christians received the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it was always unexpectedly. He seldom descends immediately on those beseeching Him but does so when it suits Him, as God, to do so. No one should attempt to foretell when or what gifts, if any, he will receive or to consider himself worthy of His descent! The Grace of the Holy Spirit is a gift of His endless mercy. And gifts by definition are given when it suits the giver, and only those deemed suitable by the giver.

He shall be known by his crimes of inhumanity and lawlessness, so as to outdo all unrighteous and ungodly men who have gone before him; displaying against all men, but especially against us Christians, a spirit murderous and most cruel, merciless and crafty.

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

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