Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;
"The grace of theosis is not made known by lessons but through purity." + St. Gregory Palamas
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
"Let us Love Christ and let our only hope and care be for Him. Let us love Christ for His own sake only. Never for our sake. Let Him put us wherever He likes. Let Him gives us whatever He wishes." + St. Porhpyrios of Kafsokalyvia
Done on 30.04.2025.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
"Despair is worse than anything - and it is blasphemy against God, as if God were incapable of saving us, as if the scale of our sins could transcend the measure of Divine compassion" + St. Silouan the Athonite
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
"In this world, nothing is permanent, so in our life - always be ready to follow the will of God, whether we like it or not." + St. Ambrose of Optina
knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, <19> but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
"Understand two thoughts, and fear them. One says, "You are a saint," and the other, "You won't be saved." Both of these thoughts are from the enemy, and there is no truth in them. But think this way: I am a great sinner, but Lord is merciful. He loves people very much, and He will forgive my sins." + St. Silouan the Athonite
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
"My dear, suffering is a gift from God! It is a mistake to run from your own suffering. You are truly free only when you are struggling, when you are present on the cross. Suffering brings deep wisdom and make you reflect more seriously on your salvation." + Elder Arsenie Papacioc
Done on 17.04.2025.
“If the world hates you, just remember that it has hated me first. If you belonged to the world, then the world would love you as its own. But I chose you from this world, and you do not belong to it; that is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘Slaves are not greater than their master.’ If people persecuted me, they will persecute you too; if they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours too. But they will do all this to you because you are mine; for they do not know the one who sent me. They would not have been guilty of sin if I had not come and spoken to them; as it is, they no longer have any excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. They would not have been guilty of sin if I had not done among them the things that no one else ever did; as it is, they have seen what I did, and they hate both me and my Father. This, however, was bound to happen so that what is written in their Law may come true: ‘They hated me for no reason at all.’
"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 sorrowlessness is grievious." + St. Nikon of Optina
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
"It is necessary to rouse the heart to pray, otherwise it will become quite dry. The attributes of prayer must be: love of God, sincerity, and simplicity." + St. John of Kronstadt
My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
“Do not rush one prayer after another but say them with orderly deliberation, as one addressing a great person for a favor. Do not just pay attention to the words, but rather let the mind be in the heart, standing before the Lord in full awareness of His presence, in full consciousness of His greatness and grace and justice.” + St. Theophan the Recluse
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.
“The desire to rule is the mother of heresies.” + St. John Chrysostom
This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’
“The only hope of salvation from the delusions and the heresies, the innovations and the traps of wicked people and of the devil is prayer, repentance and humility.” + St. Joseph the Hesychast
Done on 16.04.2025.
Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
"If God is love, he who has love, has God within himself" + St. Maximus the Confessor
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.
"Don't criticize or judge other people - regard everyone else as an angel, justify their mistakes and weaknesses, and condemn only yourself as the worst sinner. This is step one in any kind of spiritual life." + Fr. (hopefully, a Saint in the future) Seraphim Rose
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives. If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!
"Those who were raised Orthodox from childhood have patience, but lack zeal. The converts have zeal, but lack patience." + Fr. (hopefully, a Saint in the future) Seraphim Rose
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
“When we mortify the passions, utterly destroy desires, and subjugate the will of the flesh to the spirit, we take up the cross and follow Christ.” + St. Theodore of Edessa
This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
“If people knew how much God loves them, they would weep for joy” + St. Silouan the Athonite
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
“In the end days a man will be saved by love, humbleness and kindness. Kindness will open the gates of Heaven; humbleness will lead him into Heaven; a man, whose heart is filled with love, will see God.” + St. Gabriel Urgebadze
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
“Hate the world and all that is in it. Hate the peace that comes from the flesh. Renounce this life, so that you may be alive to God.” + St. Anthony the Great
As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will reign over you with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath. I will bring you from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered—with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath. I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations and there, face to face, I will execute judgment upon you. As I judged your ancestors in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will take note of you as you pass under my rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
“Death is transfiguration. Don't be afraid of death; rather be afraid of the Judgment Day.” + St. Gabriel Urgebadze
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
“In former times, God, who is without form or body, could never be depicted. But now when God is seen in the flesh conversing with men, I make an image of the God whom I see. I do not worship matter; I worship the Creator of matter who became matter for my sake.” + St. John of Damascus
For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
"Patient endurance kills the despair that kills the soul; it teaches the soul to take comfort and not to grow listless in the face of its many battles and afflictions." + St. Peter of Damascus
Done on 08.04.2025.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
"After prayer, whether in church or at home, silence is necessary in order to preserve the prayerful, compunctionate mood of the soul. The fruit of prayer is spoiled by idle talking right after prayer and from daydreaming. Silence after prayer keeps the prayer in the mind, heart, and even in the mouth, audible to you." + St. Nikon of Optina
Done on 07.04.2025.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
"As it is impossible to verbally describe the sweetness of honey to one who has never tasted honey, so the goodness of God cannot be clearly communicated by way of teaching if we ourselves are not able to penetrate into the goodness of the Lord by our own experience." + St. Basil the Great
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.
“Death never comes early to the ready.” + St. Theophan the Recluse