Quotes

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

Commandments

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

St. Thalassios the Libyan

Mourning

Let your very dress urge you to the work of mourning, because all who lament the dead are dressed in black. If you do not mourn, mourn for this cause. And if you mourn, lament still more that, by your sins, you have brought yourself down from a state free of labors to one of labor.

St. John Climacus

Mourning

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.

St. John Climacus

Mourning

If you are enclosed within yourself through prayer, humility, and mourning, you will find a spiritual treasure -- only let pride and criticism be far from you.

Elder Ephraim of Mt. Athos

Sin

Those who have sinned must not despair. Let that never be. For we are condemned not for the multitude of evils, but because we do not want to repent...

St. Mark the Ascetic

Sin

Sin, to one who loves God, is nothing other than an arrow from the enemy in battle. The true Christian is a warrior fighting his way through the regiments of the unseen enemy to his heavenly homeland.

St. Herman of Alaska

Mourning

If you possess the gift of mourning, hold on to it with all your might. For it is easily lost when it is not firmly established. And just as wax melts in the presence of fire, so it is easily dissolved by noise and bodily cares, and by luxury, and especially by talkativeness and levity.

St. John Climacus

Vocation

Strive to walk worthily of the vocation to which you were called.

St. Philotheus of Sinai

Mourning

The man who follows Christ in solitary mourning is greater than he who praises Christ amid the congregation of men.

Abbot Nazarius

Mourning

Those who mourn and those who are insensitive are not subject to fear, but the cowardly often have become deranged. And this is natural. For the Lord rightly forsakes the proud that the rest of us may learn not to be puffed up.

St. John Climacus

Mourning

He who really keeps account of his actions considers as lost every day in which he does not mourn, whatever good he may have done in it.

St. Symeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica

Sin

The man who has come to loathe sin has mounted the first rung of the heavenly ladder.

St. Silouan of the Holy Mountain

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

Sin

Sin disfigures a man, while grace brings beauty.

St. Silouan of the Holy Mountain

Mourning

He who really keeps account of his actions considers as lost every day in which he does not mourn, whatever good he may have done in it.

St. John Climacus

Sin

He who does not consciously choose to distance himself from a cause for sin, will be drawn to sin, even against his will.

St. Isaac the Syrian

Sin

Every man who has committed sin, has stopped up the senses of his soul with the mud of pleasure.

St. Symeon the New Theologian

Mourning

As the gradual pouring of water on a fire completely extinguishes the flame, so the tears of mourning are able to quench every flame of anger and irritability. Therefore, we place this next in order. (after mourning).

St. John Climacus

Parish

Faith

Ministries

News

Calendar

Contact

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

Let your very dress urge you to the work of mourning, because all who lament the dead are dressed in black. If you do not mourn, mourn for this cause. And if you mourn, lament still more that, by your sins, you have brought yourself down from a state free of labors to one of labor.

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.

If you are enclosed within yourself through prayer, humility, and mourning, you will find a spiritual treasure -- only let pride and criticism be far from you.

Those who have sinned must not despair. Let that never be. For we are condemned not for the multitude of evils, but because we do not want to repent...

Sin, to one who loves God, is nothing other than an arrow from the enemy in battle. The true Christian is a warrior fighting his way through the regiments of the unseen enemy to his heavenly homeland.

If you possess the gift of mourning, hold on to it with all your might. For it is easily lost when it is not firmly established. And just as wax melts in the presence of fire, so it is easily dissolved by noise and bodily cares, and by luxury, and especially by talkativeness and levity.

Strive to walk worthily of the vocation to which you were called.

The man who follows Christ in solitary mourning is greater than he who praises Christ amid the congregation of men.

Those who mourn and those who are insensitive are not subject to fear, but the cowardly often have become deranged. And this is natural. For the Lord rightly forsakes the proud that the rest of us may learn not to be puffed up.

He who really keeps account of his actions considers as lost every day in which he does not mourn, whatever good he may have done in it.

The man who has come to loathe sin has mounted the first rung of the heavenly ladder.

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.

Sin disfigures a man, while grace brings beauty.

He who really keeps account of his actions considers as lost every day in which he does not mourn, whatever good he may have done in it.

He who does not consciously choose to distance himself from a cause for sin, will be drawn to sin, even against his will.

Every man who has committed sin, has stopped up the senses of his soul with the mud of pleasure.

As the gradual pouring of water on a fire completely extinguishes the flame, so the tears of mourning are able to quench every flame of anger and irritability. Therefore, we place this next in order. (after mourning).

"Silence of the lips is better and more wonderful than any edifying conversation. Our fathers embraced it with reverence and were glorified through it."

St. Barsanuphius the Great and St. John the Prohpet

Join our Parish Mailing List