A perverse man sows strife, And a whisperer separates the best of friends.
"In all temptation, do not complain about anyone else, but say about yourself, 'These things happen to me because of my sins.' " + St. Or of Nitria (+390)
A good man deals graciously and lends; He will guide his affairs with discretion.
"Let us be ashamed of our slowness in thanking God when He gives, and of our quickness in grumbling at Him when He takes away." + St. Nikolaj Velimirović (+1956)
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
"If a person endures the trials that befalls him with gratitude to God, then these trials will help him attain eternal salvation." + St. Theophan the Recluse (+1894)
But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine:
"A person is humble when he knows his very existence is loan to him." + St. Maximos the Confessor (+662)
For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed," Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.
"If you happen to fall, rise up quickly; if you are wounded, heal yourself. Do not allow the enemy to rejoice over your despair, but always start anew with hope in the Lord." + St. Sava of Serbia (+1235)
A little that a righteous man has Is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the Lord upholds the righteous.
"This is how you pray continually — not by offering prayer in words, but by joining yourself to God through your whole way of life, so that your life becomes one continuous and uninterrupted prayer." + St. Basil the Great (+379)
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
"Is sweet really the taste that saving medicine must necessarily have? Many have been saved by bitterness, while sweet things often do more harm than good." + St. Gregory the Theologian (+390)
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
"To give thanks in the midst of afflictions is a greater virtue than giving alms." + St. Demetrius of Rostov (+1709)
For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.
“When we struggle against demonic thoughts, the struggle will be considered as a martyrdom. This is because one suffers a great deal when evil thoughts attack, and God, seeing the toil and pain of his soul, considers it to be a martyrdom.” + Elder Ephraim of Arizona (+2019)
It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy, And afterward to reconsider his vows.
"I am a visitor on the earth, it is truth that I care about and no threats will make me silent." + St. Philip of Moscow (+1569)
Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.
"If there are some men you hate and some you neither love nor hate, and others you love strongly and others again you love but moderately, recognize from this inequality that you are far from perfect love. For perfect love presupposes that you love all men equally." + St. Maximus the Confessor (+662)
He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
"He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease." + St. John the Baptist (+30)
But this is what I commanded them, saying, 'Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the way that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.'
"Just as the blessings of God are unutterably great, so their acquisition requires much hardship and toil undertaken with hope and faith." + St. Macarius the Great (+391)
Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth.
"Silence is the cross on which we must crucify our ego." + St. Seraphim of Sarov (+1833)
So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done.
"Our life and our death is with our neighbor. If we gain our brother, we have gained God, but if we scandalize our brother, we have sinned against Christ." + St. Anthony the Great (+356)
The Lord is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works.
"God doesn't want religious people, but deified ones." + St. Paisios of Mount Athos (+1994)
Take words with you, And return to the Lord. Say to Him, "Take away all iniquity; Receive us graciously, For we will offer the sacrifices of our lips.
"Nothing is so useful to the beginner as insults. The beginner who bears insults is like a tree that is watered every day." + St. Isaiah the Solitary (+491)
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
"The mind which has succeeded in stilling all thought can begin to glimpse the glory of God." + St. Gregory Palamas (+1359)
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
"How can we guard our hearts when our mouths and our stomachs are open?" + St. Tithoes of the Thebaid (+4th. Century A.D.)
For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
"Don't let anything deprive you of hope." + St. Nektarios of Aegina (+1920)
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
"If you are truly merciful, do not grieve inwardly when you are unjustly deprived of something you possess, and do not tell others of your loss. Nay rather, let the loss you suffer from others be swallowed up by your mercy, as the sharp edge of wine is swallowed up by much water." + St. Isaac the Syrian (+700)
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
"The Cross is not a source of torture and sorrow; it is the means to defeat sin and attain spiritual joy, to overcome the world and inherit Heaven." + Fr. Seraphim Rose (+1982)
He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.
"Imitate the publican, and you will not be condemned with the Pharisee. Choose the meekness of Moses and you will find your heart which is a rock changed into a spring of water." + St. Syncletica of Alexandria (+350)
As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
"Correct faith does not benefit in anything, when life is corrupted" + St. John Chrysostom (+407)
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
"Just as a treasure that is exposed loses its value, so a virtue which is known vanishes; just as wax melts when it is near fire, so the soul is destroyed by praise and loses all the results of its labour." + St. Syncletica of Alexandria (+350)
"Let us, then, O brothers and sisters, bring these virtues as a gift to the One Who was born for the sake of our salvation – let us bring them in place of the gold, frankincense and myrrh which the Magi brought Him, as to One Who is King, God, and Man, come to die for us. This, from us, shall be the most-pleasing form of sacrifice to God and to the Infant Jesus Christ." + St. John of Kronstadt (+1909)
So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.
“Live as if you will die tomorrow, and pray as if you will live forever.” + St. Ambrose of Optina (+1891)
praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—
"A life without sorrows is a sign of God's disapproval. We should not envy those who live without sorrows, for the end of their sorrowlessnes is grievous." + St. Nikon of Optina (+1931)
Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
"Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!"
"Be humble, for the worst thing in the world is of the same stuff as you; be confident, for the stars are of the same stuff as you." + St. Nikolai Velimirovich (+1956)
As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
"Begin each year not with the noise of the world, but with the silence of the soul — seeking Christ, and all will be well." + St. Ephraim the Syrian (+373)
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
"Preserve gratitude like a precious deposit within your soul, and from it you will receive a double portion of delight." + St. Basil the Great (+379)