• Vespers: Saturdays 5PM
  • Divine Liturgy: Sundays 9:30AM
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Quotes

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

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

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

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

But, say the saints, now that you recognize the darkness in your own heart and the weakness of your flesh, you lose all desire to pass judgment on your neighbor. Out of your own darkness you see the heavenly light that shines in all created things reflected the clearer: you cannot detect the sins of others while your own are so great. For it is in your eager striving for perfection that you first perceive your own imperfection. And only when you have seen your imperfection, can you be perfected. Thus perfection proceeds out of weakness.

For what is denying oneself? He who truly denies himself does not ask, Am I happy? or, Shall I be satisfied?

Always keep this in mind: you are not doing anything virtuous by your continence. Or can it be considered a virtuous act when a man who, out of his own carelessness, has been trapped deep down in a mine shaft, takes a pick and shovel and tries to work his way out? Is it not, on the contrary, quite natural for him to make use of the tools given him by a higher authority to make his way up out of the choking air and darkness? ...From this picture you can gain wisdom. The tools are the implements of salvation, the commands of the Gospel and the holy Sacraments of the Church, that were bestowed upon every Christian at holy baptism. Unused, they are of no profit to you. But used in the right manner they will open your way to freedom and light.

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

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

One of the Fathers said: just as it is impossible for a man to see his face in troubled water, so too the soul, unless it be cleansed of alien thoughts, cannot pray to God in contemplation.

Fear of the Lord conquers desire, and distress that accords with God's will repulses sensual pleasure.

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

Keep the commandments, and you will find peace; love God, and you will attain spiritual knowledge.

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

Therefore we must not grow weary. We must be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord our labor is not in vain (I Corinthians 15:58). Having once begun, we must not cease to perform deeds worthy of our repentance. To rest is the same as to retreat.

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.

One should not ponder divine matters on a full stomach, say the ascetics. For the well-fed, even the most superficial secrets of the Trinity lie hidden.

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

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

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Parish

Mailing Address

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

Email, Phone, and Fax

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