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

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

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

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

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

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

The person who is unaffected by the things of this world loves stillness; and he who loves no human thing loves all men.

You were commanded to keep the body as a servant, not to be unnaturally enslaved to its pleasures.

Do not neglect the practice of the virtues; if you do, your spiritual knowledge will decrease, and when famine occurs you will go down into Egypt (Genesis 41:57, 46:6).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Patient endurance is the soul's struggle for virtue; where there is struggle for virtue, self-indulgence is banished.

In no art do the artists judge the result of their work by the tools they use, but they await the work's completion and by it judge the art. Adopting such a practice with regard to food, not placing all your hope on fasting, but fasting moderately and according to the amount of your strength, strive toward mental activity. In this way you can avoid pride and will not spurn God's good works, sending up praises to God for everything.

If anyone thinks that he has love but does not have the same love for all, but distinguishes between persons, separating the lowly from the rich, the infirm from the healthy, a sinner from a righteous man, one far off from one near, one who is an enemy from one who loves you, such love is not perfect, but partial. Actual and perfect love consists in considering everyone and loving them equally, both those who love you and those who hate you. Such love, with which mercy is inseparable, is, in brief, a net for all virtues. It embraces and contains all the commandments of God within itself.

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

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440-526-5192 (Phone)