Quotes

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

Prayer

As a bird without wings, as a soldier without arms, so is a Christian without prayer.

St. Tikhon of Zadonsk

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

A characteristic of those who are still progressing in blessed mourning is temperance and silence of the lips; and of those who have made progress – freedom from anger and patient endurance of injuries; and of the perfect – humility, thirst for dishonors, voluntary craving for involuntary afflictions, non- condemnation of sinners, compassion even beyond one’s strength. The first are acceptable, the second laudable; but blessed are those who hunger for hardship and thirst for dishonor, for they shall be filled with the food whereof there can be no satiety.

St. John Climacus

Prayer

It is natural for the poor man to beg, and it is natural for man made poor by the fall into sin to pray.

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

Prayer

Everything you do in revenge against a brother who has harmed you will come back to your mind at the time of prayer.

St. Nilus 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

Prayer

The enemy of our salvation especially strives to draw our heart and mind away from God when we are about to serve Him, and endeavours to adulterously attach our heart to something irrelevant. Be always, every moment, with God, especially when you pray to Him. If you are inconstant, you will fall away from life, and will cast yourself into sorrow and straitness.

St. John of Kronstadt

Prayer

When you pray fervently, watch, for there will be temptations. This happens to everyone.

St. Ambrose of Optina

Prayer

If a man tries to overcome temptations without prayer and patient endurance, he will become more entangled in them instead of driving them away.

St. Mark the Ascetic

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

Prayer

Pray simply. Do not expect to find in your heart any remarkable gift of prayer. Consider yourself unworthy of it. Then you will find peace. Use the empty cold dryness of your prayer as food for your humility. Repeat constantly: I am not worthy; Lord, I am not worthy! But say it calmly; without agitation.

St. Macarius of Optina

Prayer

Prayers at home are an introduction, a preparation for prayers in Church. Thus he who is not accustomed to pray at home can seldom pray diligently in Church. Experience bears witness to this: anyone can observe it for himself.

St. John of Kronstadt

Prayer

Ask the angels and the saints to intercede for you, just as you'd ask people who are alive. Stand face to face with them, in the belief that they are also standing face to face with you.

St. John of Kronstadt

Prayer

'If our prayer is not in harmony with our deeds, we labor in vain,' Abba Moses often told the young monks. 'How are we to accomplish such harmony?' they asked him one day. 'When we make that which we seek fitting to our prayer,' explained the saint. 'Only then can the soul be reconciled with its Creator and its prayer be acceptable, when it sets aside all of its own evil intentions.'

St. Moses the Black

Prayer

The joint prayer of husband and wife is a great force.

St. Macarius of Optina

Prayer

Until we have acquired true prayer, we are like those who introduce children to walking. Make the effort to raise up, or rather, to enclose your mind within the words of your prayer; and if, like a child, it gets tired and falters, raise it up again. The mind, after all, is naturally unstable, but the God Who can do everything can also give it firm endurance. Persevere in this, therefore, and do not grow weary...

St. John Climacus

Mourning

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

St. Isaac the Syrian

Prayer

Bear in mind that prayer alone, unaccompanied by moral improvement, is useless.

St. Macarius of Optina

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As a bird without wings, as a soldier without arms, so is a Christian without prayer.

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.

It is natural for the poor man to beg, and it is natural for man made poor by the fall into sin to pray.

Everything you do in revenge against a brother who has harmed you will come back to your mind at the time of prayer.

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

When you pray fervently, watch, for there will be temptations. This happens to everyone.

If a man tries to overcome temptations without prayer and patient endurance, he will become more entangled in them instead of driving them away.

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.

Prayers at home are an introduction, a preparation for prayers in Church. Thus he who is not accustomed to pray at home can seldom pray diligently in Church. Experience bears witness to this: anyone can observe it for himself.

Ask the angels and the saints to intercede for you, just as you'd ask people who are alive. Stand face to face with them, in the belief that they are also standing face to face with you.

The joint prayer of husband and wife is a great force.

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

Bear in mind that prayer alone, unaccompanied by moral improvement, is useless.

"It is important also to study our God-given faith in detail, since he who is indifferent toward truth is in danger of becoming easy prey for false teachers."

St. Innocent of Alaska

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