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

Greater therefore is the rejoicing of heaven over the sinner converted than upon the soul that remained just. A captain in battle will feel a warmer regard for the soldier who at first faltered and ran, and then had bravely fought back, than over the one who had never yielded yet had never thrust bravely forward. So will the farmer love more the fields that cleaned of their weeds now bear a fruitful yield, than the land which had never known thorns, yet had never yielded a bountiful crop.

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

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

Strive to love every man equally, and you will simultaneously expel all the passions.

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

You cannot destroy the passions on your own, but ask God, and He will destroy them, if this is profitable for you.

Believe me, brethren, the more we are now in earnest to keep ourselves free from sin, the more confident shall we then be in His Presence.

When we turn our spirit from the contemplation of God, we become the slaves of carnal passions.

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

If we cut off the causes of the passions for only a short while, and occupy ourselves with spiritual contemplation without making it our sole and constant concern, we easily revert to the passions of the flesh, gaining nothing from our labor but theoretical knowledge coupled with conceit. The result is a gradual darkening of this knowledge itself and a complete turning of the intellect towards material things.

If you feel no pang in committing minor offences you will through them fall into major transgressions.

If however any one thinks that he is not being burned when sinning, to him the Scripture saith, Shall a man wrap up fire in his bosom, and not burn his clothes? For sin burns the sinews of the soul, and breaks the spiritual bones of the mind, and darkens the light of the heart.

Let us not put off from day to day, without observing how sin is injuring us.

When a passion arises, when it is young and feeble, cut it off, lest it stiffen and cause you a great deal of trouble. It is one thing to pluck out a small weed and quite another thing to uproot a great tree.

Free me from my wanton habits before the end overtakes me...

If you abandon God and are a slave to the passions, you cannot reap God's mercy.

Woe is he who knowingly chooses to sin with the intention to repent when morning comes, for he knows not what the coming day or the night that precedes it will bring.

Even if thy soul should suffer somewhat from an offense, keep the sorrow within thyself. For it is said: 'Within me my heart is troubled' (Psalm 142:4), that is, the passion has not come out, but has been humbled like a wave that has broken up on the shore. Calm thy raging heart. Let thy passions be ashamed at the presence of reason in thee, as playful children are ashamed before a man commanding respect.

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5025 E. Mill Rd
Broadview Heights, Ohio 44147

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