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

People of high spirit bear offence nobly and gladly, but only the holy and righteous can pass through praise without harm.

Do not condemn, even if you see with your eyes, for they are often deceived.

Just as water when it squeezed on all sides shoots up above, so does the soul when it is pressed hard by dangers often rise to God and be saved.

Think also of this: the person who is bound to earthly things may rejoice but may also be upset or disturbed or grieved over earthly things: his mind is exposed to continual changes. But the joy of your master (Matthew 25:21) is enduring, for God is unchangeable. Thus control your tongue at the same time as you discipline your body with fasting and strictness. Talkativeness is a great enemy of prayer. A spate of fluttering words stands in the way of the words of prayer. This is the reason that we shall render account for every careless word we utter (Matthew 12:36). One does not bring the dust of the road into a room that one wishes to keep clean; thus keep your heart free from gossip and chatter about the events of the day that is past.

Spiritual activity embodies Christ in our soul. This involves continual remembrance of the Lord: you hide Him within, in your soul, your heart, your consciousness.

When tested by some trial you should try to find out not why or through whom it came, but only how to endure it gratefully, without distress or rancor.

The man who pets a lion may tame it, but the man who coddles the body makes it ravenous.

A sign of deliverance from our falls is the continual reckoning of ourselves as debtors.

Take remarks without grumbling: be thankful when you are scorned, disregarded, ignored. But do not create humbling situations; they are provided in the course of the day as richly as you need. We notice the person who is for ever bowing and fussily servile, and perhaps say, How humble he is! But the truly humble person escapes notice: the world does not know him (I John 3:I); for the world he is mostly a 'zero.'

I consider those fallen mourners more blessed than those who have not fallen and are not mourning over themselves; because as a result of their fall, they have risen by a sure resurrection.

In the hearts of the meek the Lord finds rest, but a turbulent soul is a seat of the devil.

Meekness is an unchangeable state of mind, which remains the same in honor and dishonor.

Love and humility form a holy pair; what the first builds, the second binds, thus preventing the building from falling asunder.

A vigilant monk is a foe to fornication, but a sleepy one is its mate.

A servant of the Lord is he who in body stands before men, but in mind knocks at Heaven with prayer.

Just as over-drinking is a matter of habit, so too from habit comes over-sleeping. Therefore we must struggle with the question of sleep, especially in the early days of obedience, because a long-standing habit is difficult to cure.

It seems to me that, in all cases when indignity is offered to us, we should be silent; for it is our moment of profit.

Meekness is a rock overlooking the sea of anger, which breaks all the waves that dash against it, yet remains completely unmoved.

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

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440-526-5192 (Phone)