Quotes

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

Compunction

The way to attain compunction is an attentive life. ‘The beginning of repentance comes from the fear of God and attention,’ as the holy martyr Boniface says.

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

Possessions

The desire for possessions is dangerous and terrible, knowing no satiety; it drives the soul which it controls to the heights of evil. Therefore, let us drive it away vigorously from the beginning. For once it has become master it cannot be overcome.

St. Isidore of Pelusium

Possessions

Go, sell all that belongs to you and give it to the poor and taking up the cross, deny yourself; in this way you will be able to pray without distraction.

St. Nilus of Sinai

Sinners

The flow of history confirms the reality of the Gospel: the Church is filled to overflowing with sinners. Does their presence in the Church reduce, violate, or destroy her sanctity? Not in the least! For her Head—the Lord Christ, and her Soul—the Holy Spirit, and her divine teaching, her mysteries, and her virtues, are indissolubly and immutably holy. The Church tolerates sinners, shelters them, and instructs them, that they may be awakened and roused to repentance and spiritual recovery and transfiguration; but they do not hinder the Church from being holy. Only unrepentant sinners, persistent in evil and godless malice, are cut off from the Church either by the visible action of the theanthropic authority of the Church or by the invisible action of divine judgment, so that thus also the holiness of the Church may be preserved.

Fr. Justin Popovich

Lent

In this time of fasting and prayer, brethren, let us with all our hearts forgive anything or imaginary we have against anyone. May we all devote ourselves to love, and let us consider one another as an incentive to love and good works, speaking in defense of one another, having good thoughts and dispositions within us before God and men. In this way our fasting will be laudable and blameless, and our requests to God while we fast we will readily received. We shall rightly call upon Him as our Father by grace and we can boldly say to Him, 'Father, forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors' (Matt. 6:12),

St. Gregory Palamas

Possessions

A man who has embraced poverty offers up prayer that is pure, while a man who loves possessions prays to material images.

St. John Climacus

Possessions

He who has tasted the things on high easily despises what is below. But he who has not tasted the things above finds joy in possessions.

St. John Climacus

Possessions

The fathers say that a man who sets store by the gold and silver he can amass does not believe that there is a God who provides for him.

St. Nilus of Sora

Possessions

All other possessions do not really belong to the one who has them or to the one who has acquired them for they are exchanged back and forth like a game of dice. Only virtue among our possessions cannot be taken away, but remains with us when we live and when we die.

St. Basil the Great

Possessions

The wealth is not a possession, it is not property, it is a loan for use.

St. John Chrysostom

Possessions

Do not the angels differ from us in this respect, that they do not want so many things as we do? Therefore the less we need, the more we are on our way to them; the more we need, the more we sink down to this perishable life.

St. John Chrysostom

Possessions

The more you love money, the more securely you close the Kingdom of God.

St. Basil the Great

Possessions

We must resist and avoid like deadly poison the desire to possess earthly goods.

St. Nilus of Sora

Sinners

Love sinners, but hate their works; and do not despise them for their faults, lest you be tempted by the same trespasses.

St. Isaac the Syrian

Possessions

As earth thrown over it extinguishes a fire burning in a stove, so worldly cares and every kind of attachment to something, however small and insignificant, destroys the warmth of the heart which was there at first.

St. Symeon the New Theologian

Compunction

Compunction comes when you consider how much you have grieved God Who is so good, so sweet, so merciful, so kind, and entirely full of love; Who was crucified and suffered everything for us. When you meditate on these things and other things the Lord has suffered, they bring compunction.

St. Joseph the Hesychast

Possessions

It is impossible for the soul to be liberated from turbulent thoughts without the virtue of non-possessiveness. And without peace of the bodily senses it is impossible for the soul to have a peaceful intellect. And if it does not come into temptations it will not acquire wisdom of the Holy Spirit. And without laborious and persistence in reading, it will not come to the discernment of thoughts. And without the stillness of thoughts, the intellect cannot move to seek the hidden mysteries of God.

St. Isaac the Syrian

Possessions

Rivalry over material possessions has made us forget the counsel of the Lord, who urged us to take no thought for earthly things, but to seek only the kingdom of heaven (cf. Matt. 6:33).

St. Nilus of Sinai

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The way to attain compunction is an attentive life. ‘The beginning of repentance comes from the fear of God and attention,’ as the holy martyr Boniface says.

The desire for possessions is dangerous and terrible, knowing no satiety; it drives the soul which it controls to the heights of evil. Therefore, let us drive it away vigorously from the beginning. For once it has become master it cannot be overcome.

Go, sell all that belongs to you and give it to the poor and taking up the cross, deny yourself; in this way you will be able to pray without distraction.

A man who has embraced poverty offers up prayer that is pure, while a man who loves possessions prays to material images.

He who has tasted the things on high easily despises what is below. But he who has not tasted the things above finds joy in possessions.

The fathers say that a man who sets store by the gold and silver he can amass does not believe that there is a God who provides for him.

All other possessions do not really belong to the one who has them or to the one who has acquired them for they are exchanged back and forth like a game of dice. Only virtue among our possessions cannot be taken away, but remains with us when we live and when we die.

The wealth is not a possession, it is not property, it is a loan for use.

Do not the angels differ from us in this respect, that they do not want so many things as we do? Therefore the less we need, the more we are on our way to them; the more we need, the more we sink down to this perishable life.

The more you love money, the more securely you close the Kingdom of God.

We must resist and avoid like deadly poison the desire to possess earthly goods.

Love sinners, but hate their works; and do not despise them for their faults, lest you be tempted by the same trespasses.

As earth thrown over it extinguishes a fire burning in a stove, so worldly cares and every kind of attachment to something, however small and insignificant, destroys the warmth of the heart which was there at first.

Compunction comes when you consider how much you have grieved God Who is so good, so sweet, so merciful, so kind, and entirely full of love; Who was crucified and suffered everything for us. When you meditate on these things and other things the Lord has suffered, they bring compunction.

Rivalry over material possessions has made us forget the counsel of the Lord, who urged us to take no thought for earthly things, but to seek only the kingdom of heaven (cf. Matt. 6:33).

"What salt is for any food, humility is for every virtue. To acquire it, a man must always think of himself with contrition, self-belittlement and painful salf-judgment. But if we acquire it, it will make us sons of God."

St. Isaac the Syrian

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