Quotes

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

Simplicity

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

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

Scriptures

The ignorance of Scripture is a great cliff and a deep abyss; to know nothing of the divine laws is a great betrayal of salvation.

St. John Chrysostom

Sleep

The night was not made to be spent entirely in sleep. Why did Jesus Christ pass so many nights amid the mountains, if not to instruct us by His example? It is during the night that all the plants respire, and it is then also that the soul of man is more penetrated with the dews falling from Heaven; and everything that has been scorched and burned during the day by the sun's fierce heat is refreshed and renewed during the night; and the tears we shed at night extinguish the fires of passion and quieten our guilty desires. Night heals the wounds of our soul and calms our griefs.

St. John Chrysostom

Scriptures

Put aside bodily considerations when you stand in prayer, lest the bite of a flea, a gnat or a fly deprive you of the greatest gain afforded by prayer.

St. Nilus of Sinai

Scriptures

Ignorance of the scriptures is a precipice and a deep abyss.

St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis

Simplicity

Live simply and God will not leave you...

St. Leonid of Optina

Scriptures

Reading the Scriptures is a great means of security against sinning.

St. John Chrysostom

Sleep

Just as over-drinking is a matter of habit, so too from habit comes over-sleeping. Therefore we must struggle with the question of sleep, especially in the early days of obedience, because a long-standing habit is difficult to cure.

St. John Climacus

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

Simplicity

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

St. Ambrose of Optina

Scriptures

God in His mercy gave us the Holy Scriptures that we might read them, and reading them we might fulfill what is sent by God to man, revealing His Holy Will and teaching us how to live. Consider with what attention and willingness that we ought to read God's letter to us. If an earthly king...wrote to you a letter, would you not read it with great joy? Certainly, with great rejoicing and careful attention. The King of Heaven has sent a letter to you, an earthly and mortal man; yet you almost despise such a gift, so priceless a treasure. Whenever you read the Gospel, Christ Him self is speaking to you. And while you read, you are praying and talking with Him. God speaks to man, the King of Heaven talks with the corruptible creature, the Lord holds converse with the servant. What can be more pleasant... more instructive?

St. Tikhon of Zadonsk

Scriptures

The Holy Fathers teach us how to become familiar with the Gospel, how to read it and how to understand it, what helps and what opposes its understanding. Therefore, at first you must devote more time to reading the Holy Fathers...

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

Scriptures

The Scriptures were not given merely that we might have them in books, but that we might engrave them on our hearts.

St. John Chrysostom

Sleep

A vigilant eye makes the mind pure; but much sleep hardens the soul.

St. John Climacus

Scriptures

Holy Scripture is presented to the mind’s eye like a mirror in which the appearance of our inner being can be seen.

St. Gregory the Great

Simplicity

Walk before God in simplicity, and not in subtleties of the mind. Simplicity brings faith; but subtle and intricate speculations bring conceit; and conceit brings withdrawal from God.

St. Isaac the Syrian

Self-Knowledge

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

St. Peter of Damascus

Scriptures

Do not approach the words of the mysteries contained in the divine Scriptures without prayer and beseeching God for help, but say: 'Lord, grant me to perceive the power in them!' Reckon prayer to be the key to the true understanding of the divine Scriptures.

St. Isaac the Syrian

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

The ignorance of Scripture is a great cliff and a deep abyss; to know nothing of the divine laws is a great betrayal of salvation.

Put aside bodily considerations when you stand in prayer, lest the bite of a flea, a gnat or a fly deprive you of the greatest gain afforded by prayer.

Ignorance of the scriptures is a precipice and a deep abyss.

Live simply and God will not leave you...

Reading the Scriptures is a great means of security against sinning.

Just as over-drinking is a matter of habit, so too from habit comes over-sleeping. Therefore we must struggle with the question of sleep, especially in the early days of obedience, because a long-standing habit is difficult to cure.

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.

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

The Holy Fathers teach us how to become familiar with the Gospel, how to read it and how to understand it, what helps and what opposes its understanding. Therefore, at first you must devote more time to reading the Holy Fathers...

The Scriptures were not given merely that we might have them in books, but that we might engrave them on our hearts.

A vigilant eye makes the mind pure; but much sleep hardens the soul.

Holy Scripture is presented to the mind’s eye like a mirror in which the appearance of our inner being can be seen.

Walk before God in simplicity, and not in subtleties of the mind. Simplicity brings faith; but subtle and intricate speculations bring conceit; and conceit brings withdrawal from God.

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

Do not approach the words of the mysteries contained in the divine Scriptures without prayer and beseeching God for help, but say: 'Lord, grant me to perceive the power in them!' Reckon prayer to be the key to the true understanding of the divine Scriptures.

"In that time, infants will die on their mother’s lap, and the mothers will die over their children, fathers will die with their wives and children in the marketplace, and there will be nobody there who will bury them."

St. Ephraim the Syrian

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