Quotes

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

Prayer

The joint prayer of husband and wife is a great force.

St. Macarius of Optina

Prayer

O man, learn the humility of Christ and the Lord will give you to taste of the sweetness of prayer. And if you would pray cleanly, be humble and temperate, confess yourself thoroughly, and prayer will feel at home in you. Be obedient, submit with a good conscience to those in authority; be content with all things, and your mind will be cleansed of vain thoughts. Remember that the Lord sees you, and be fearful lest you anywise offend your brother, whom neither dispraise nor grieve, even by a look, and the Holy Spirit will love you and will Himself be your help in all things.

St. Silouan of the Holy Mountain

Prayer

Do not attempt to assess the quality of your prayer. God alone can judge its value. To us, our own prayer must always appear so poor an effort, so inadequate an achievement, that the cry of the publican spontaneously rises from our lips.

St. Macarius of Optina

Prayer

The prayers of those who hold grudges is sowing on stone.

St. Isaac the Syrian

Prayer

If a man tries to overcome temptations without prayer and patient endurance, he will become more entangled in them instead of driving them away.

St. Mark the Ascetic

Prayer

When we return to prayer after a period of reading we find a rejuvenated and invigorated soul, stirred by the desire for God. The best form of prayer is one that implants the clearest idea of God in the soul and thus makes space for the presence of God within us. We become a temple of God when our continuous meditation on Him is not constantly interrupted by ordinary worries, and the spirit is not disturbed by unexpected emotions. Thus, in flight from all things, the spirit who loves God can approach God who drives out everything that leads us to evil, and holds steadfastly to everything that leads to virtue.

St. Basil the Great

Prayer

Until we have acquired true prayer, we are like those who introduce children to walking. Make the effort to raise up, or rather, to enclose your mind within the words of your prayer; and if, like a child, it gets tired and falters, raise it up again. The mind, after all, is naturally unstable, but the God Who can do everything can also give it firm endurance. Persevere in this, therefore, and do not grow weary...

St. John Climacus

Prayer

Pray firstly to be purified of passions, secondly to be freed from ignorance and forgetfulness, and thirdly to be delivered from all temptation and forsaking.

St. Nilus of Sinai

Commandments

Unless a man keeps the commandments of God, he cannot progress, even in a single virtue.

Abba Agathon

Prayer

Whenever our prayer subtly conceals that sharp icicle, our pride, it acts as a poison and can only lead us further away from God.

St. Macarius of Optina

Prayer

The prayer of one who does not consider himself sinful is not well-pleasing to God.

St. Isaac the Syrian

Prayer

And when you pray, see that you ask not for what is alien to your life, and provoke the Lord. Ask not for money, not for human glory, nor power, nor for any of the things that pass away. But seek for the kingdom of God, and all that is needed for your body will be provided; as the Lord Himself has said: Seek ye the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things will be added unto you (Matthew 6:33).

St. Basil the Great

Prayer

Before the war begins, seek out your ally; before you fall ill, seek out your physician; and before grievous things come upon you, pray, and in the time of your tribulations you will find Him, and He will listen to you.

St. Isaac the Syrian

Prayer

Stand at prayer before the invisible God as if you saw Him, and with the conviction that He sees you and is looking at you attentively.

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

Prayer

Ask the angels and the saints to intercede for you, just as you'd ask people who are alive. Stand face to face with them, in the belief that they are also standing face to face with you.

St. John of Kronstadt

Prayer

Bear in mind that prayer alone, unaccompanied by moral improvement, is useless.

St. Macarius of Optina

Prayer

That prayer may be poured forth with that fervor and singleness of heart that it ought to have, these rules must always be observed. In the first place, anxiety concerning the things of the flesh must be altogether be put away; then we must not allow to enter our minds any thought or even memory of worldly cares or business. We must cut off slanderings, vain words or many words, jestings and the like. We must root out the disturbances of anger especially, and despondency, and also tear up the evil roots of carnal lust and avarice. And so with these and similar faults done entirely away with and cut off, - things which can also be discerned by human eyes - and with such a cleansing and purifying as we have mentioned first carried out in the sincerity of simplicity and innocence, we must lay the unshakable foundations of humility strong enough to sustain a tower which shall pierce the heavens.

St. John Cassian

Prayer

It is natural for the poor man to beg, and it is natural for man made poor by the fall into sin to pray.

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

Parish

Faith

Ministries

News

Calendar

Contact

The joint prayer of husband and wife is a great force.

Do not attempt to assess the quality of your prayer. God alone can judge its value. To us, our own prayer must always appear so poor an effort, so inadequate an achievement, that the cry of the publican spontaneously rises from our lips.

The prayers of those who hold grudges is sowing on stone.

If a man tries to overcome temptations without prayer and patient endurance, he will become more entangled in them instead of driving them away.

Pray firstly to be purified of passions, secondly to be freed from ignorance and forgetfulness, and thirdly to be delivered from all temptation and forsaking.

Unless a man keeps the commandments of God, he cannot progress, even in a single virtue.

Whenever our prayer subtly conceals that sharp icicle, our pride, it acts as a poison and can only lead us further away from God.

The prayer of one who does not consider himself sinful is not well-pleasing to God.

Before the war begins, seek out your ally; before you fall ill, seek out your physician; and before grievous things come upon you, pray, and in the time of your tribulations you will find Him, and He will listen to you.

Stand at prayer before the invisible God as if you saw Him, and with the conviction that He sees you and is looking at you attentively.

Ask the angels and the saints to intercede for you, just as you'd ask people who are alive. Stand face to face with them, in the belief that they are also standing face to face with you.

Bear in mind that prayer alone, unaccompanied by moral improvement, is useless.

It is natural for the poor man to beg, and it is natural for man made poor by the fall into sin to pray.

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

St. Thalassios the Libyan

Join our Parish Mailing List