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Quotes

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

If Nabuzardan, the court cook of the King of the Babylonians, had not gone to Jerusalem, then the Temple would not have burned (cf. 2 Kings 24), That is to say, a person’s mind is not attacked by the flames of carnal pleasures, if a person is not conquered by gluttony.

It is not safe to swim in one's clothes, nor should a slave of passion touch theology.

Do not allow a passion to harden into a habit.

Nothing is better than to realize one's weakness and ignorance, and nothing is worse than not to be aware of them.

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

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.

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

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

If we want to do something but cannot, then before God, Who knows our hearts, it is as if we have done it. This is true whether the intended action is good or bad.

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

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

Self-knowledge is a true idea of one's spiritual growth, and an unbroken remembrance of one's slightest sins.

One who is capable of seeing himself is better than one who has been made worthy to see angels.

Strive with all your might to bring your interior activity into accord with God, and you will overcome exterior passions.

So long as the soul is sick with passions, its senses have no perception of the spiritual; and the soul does not even know how to desire it, but desires it only from hearsay and writings. The power of the soul is cured of these diseases by the hidden practice of commandments, with sharing in Christ's passion.

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.

In all our actions God looks at the intention, whether we do them for Him or from some other motive.

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

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Archangel Michael Orthodox Church
5025 E. Mill Rd
Broadview Heights, Ohio 44147

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