Quotes

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

Sin

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

St. Silouan of the Holy Mountain

Sin

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

St. Macarius the Great

Simplicity

Where there is simplicity, there are a hundred Angels, but where there is cleverness – there are none.

St. Ambrose of Optina

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

Simplicity

The garment of your soul must shine with the whiteness of simplicity.

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

Sin

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.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

Sin

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.

St. Ephraim the Syrian

Sin

Just as desire and rage multiply our sins, so self-control and humility erase them.

St. Thalassios the Libyan

Sin

For never is a man forced into sin by another’s fault, unless he have, stowed away in his heart, matter for evil deeds. Nor is a man to be held a victim of sudden deception if at the sight of a woman’s beauty he fall into an abyss of vile lust. Rather is it that diseases of soul, deeply hidden away and lost to view, come then to the surface on the occasion of the sight.

St. John Cassian

Sin

Being delivered from bodily sins is not enough, we must also cleanse the inner energy which dwells in our souls.

St. Gregory Palamas

Rules

It is not always possible to fulfill the usual rules; one must take circumstances into account and try to fulfill what they make possible, as far as one can. The demons themselves are not unmindful of this law. So, being in constant enmity with us, they prevent us from doing what is possible and urge us to do what is impossible.

St. Evagrius the Solitary

Sin

'And forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors.' For we have many sins. For we offend both in word and in thought, and very many things we do worthy of condemnation; and 'if we say that we have no sin' (I Jn. 1:8), we lie, as John says...The offenses committed against us are slight and trivial, and easily settled; but those which we have committed against God are great, and need such mercy as His only is. Take heed, therefore, lest for the slight and trivial sins against you, you shut out for yourself forgiveness from God for your very grievous sins.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

Sin

All sin is due to sensual pleasure, all forgiveness to hardship and distress.

St. Thalassios the Libyan

Simplicity

May simplicity go before you everywhere; especially be simple in your faith, hope, and love, for God is an Essence of Simplicity, a Unity that is worshipped everlastingly, and our soul is simple. The simplicity of our soul is hindered by our flesh, when we please it.

St. John of Kronstadt

Sin

There is a sin which is always 'unto death' [1 Jn 5:16]; the sin which we have not repented. Even a saint's prayers will not be heard for the unrepented sin. The person who repents correctly does not imagine that his sins are cancelled through his own effort; but knows that through this effort he makes peace with God.

St. Mark the Ascetic

Sin

Do not hate the sinner. Become a proclaimer of God's grace, seeing that God provides for you even though you are unworthy.

St. Isaac the Syrian

Sickness

The most important thing during illness is to offer to God patience and thanksgiving for His merciful visitations. Sickness purifies sins and gives one time to meditate on the past.

St. Macarius of Optina

Sin

The only thing God requires of us is that we do not sin. But this is achieved, not by acting according to the law, but by carefully guarding the divine image in us and our supernal dignity. When we thus live in our natural state, wearing the resplendent robe of the Spirit, we dwell in God and God dwells in us. Then we are called gods by adoption and sons of God, sealed by the light of the knowledge of God.

St. Symeon the New Theologian

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

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

Where there is simplicity, there are a hundred Angels, but where there is cleverness – there are none.

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.

The garment of your soul must shine with the whiteness of simplicity.

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.

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.

Just as desire and rage multiply our sins, so self-control and humility erase them.

Being delivered from bodily sins is not enough, we must also cleanse the inner energy which dwells in our souls.

All sin is due to sensual pleasure, all forgiveness to hardship and distress.

May simplicity go before you everywhere; especially be simple in your faith, hope, and love, for God is an Essence of Simplicity, a Unity that is worshipped everlastingly, and our soul is simple. The simplicity of our soul is hindered by our flesh, when we please it.

Do not hate the sinner. Become a proclaimer of God's grace, seeing that God provides for you even though you are unworthy.

The most important thing during illness is to offer to God patience and thanksgiving for His merciful visitations. Sickness purifies sins and gives one time to meditate on the past.

"You have a mouth sealed by the Spirit? When you are speaking, think first of what you are saying, of what words are fitting for a mouth such as yours."

St. John Chrysostom

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