Quotes

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

Evil

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

St. Syncletica of Alexandria

Self-Criticism

Humble yourself, reproach yourself, consider yourself the very last and the very worst of all, condemn no one - and you will receive God's mercy.

St. Joseph of Optina

Commandments

Struggle until death to fulfill the commandments: purified through them, you will enter into life.

St. Thalassios the Libyan

Self-Criticism

He who smells the smell of one's own foul odor doesn't smell the foul odor of anyone else.

St. Barsanuphius the Great, St. John the Prophet

Self-Criticism

As for uprooting your passions, begin with self-reproach and with awareness of your own weaknesses; and consider yourself to be deserving of afflictions.

St. Anatoly of Optina

Self-Criticism

How much joy, how much peace of soul would a man not have wherever he went... if he was one who habitually accused himself.

St. Dorotheus of Gaza

Self-Criticism

He alone knows himself in the best way who thinks of himself as being nothing.

St. John Chrysostom

Self-Criticism

The martyrs will show their torments, the ascetics their good works; but what will I have to show but my apathy and my incessant indulgence?

St. Ephraim the Syrian

Self-Criticism

If a man accuses himself, he is protected on all sides.

Abba Poemen

Self-Criticism

Self-accusation before God is something that is very necessary for us; and humility of heart is extremely advantageous in our lives, above all at the time of prayer. For prayer requires great attention and needs a proper awareness, otherwise it will turn out to be unacceptable and rejected, and `it will be turned back empty' to our bosom.

Martyrius of Edessa

Commandments

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

St. Thalassios the Libyan

Self-Criticism

A prayer offered while one has any cause to reproach a fellow man is an impure prayer. There is only one whom the praying person may and must reproach, and that is himself. Without self-reproach, your prayer is as worthless as it is while you are reproaching someone else in your heart. Perhaps you ask: How can one learn this? The answer is: One learns it through prayer.

Tito Colliander

Self-Criticism

The more a man struggles to do good, the more fear grows in him, until it shows him his slightest faults, those which he thought of as nothing while he was still in the darkness of ignorance.

St. Peter of Damascus

Evil

Along with an evil thought, a hostile power enters into us, and then the soul is clouded, and evil thoughts harass her.

St. Silouan of the Holy Mountain

Evil

He who fears God will pay careful attention to his soul and will free himself from communion with evil.

St. Thalassios the Libyan

Commandments

Almsgiving heals the soul's incensive power; fasting withers sensual desire; prayer purifies the intellect and prepares it for contemplation of created beings. For the Lord has given us commandments which correspond to the powers of the soul.

St. Maximus the Confessor

Self-Criticism

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

St. John Climacus

Self-Criticism

There is yet another reason that may cause our prayer to go unanswered: namely, that though we pray we yet continue in sin.

St. John Chrysostom

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

Humble yourself, reproach yourself, consider yourself the very last and the very worst of all, condemn no one - and you will receive God's mercy.

Struggle until death to fulfill the commandments: purified through them, you will enter into life.

He who smells the smell of one's own foul odor doesn't smell the foul odor of anyone else.

St. Barsanuphius the Great, St. John the Prophet

As for uprooting your passions, begin with self-reproach and with awareness of your own weaknesses; and consider yourself to be deserving of afflictions.

How much joy, how much peace of soul would a man not have wherever he went... if he was one who habitually accused himself.

He alone knows himself in the best way who thinks of himself as being nothing.

The martyrs will show their torments, the ascetics their good works; but what will I have to show but my apathy and my incessant indulgence?

If a man accuses himself, he is protected on all sides.

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

The more a man struggles to do good, the more fear grows in him, until it shows him his slightest faults, those which he thought of as nothing while he was still in the darkness of ignorance.

Along with an evil thought, a hostile power enters into us, and then the soul is clouded, and evil thoughts harass her.

He who fears God will pay careful attention to his soul and will free himself from communion with evil.

Almsgiving heals the soul's incensive power; fasting withers sensual desire; prayer purifies the intellect and prepares it for contemplation of created beings. For the Lord has given us commandments which correspond to the powers of the soul.

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

There is yet another reason that may cause our prayer to go unanswered: namely, that though we pray we yet continue in sin.

Fr. Justin Popovich

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