He who loves God first loved his neighbor because the latter is undoubtedly proof of the former.
Saint Maximus the Confessor
If Orthodox Christians were merciful and compassionate faithful, there would be no non-believers and heretics.
Saint Ioannis Chrysostomos
My soul longs for God and I tearfully ask for Him. Merciful Lord, You see my fall and my sorrow. I humbly ask Your mercy: Grant me, the sinner, the grace of Your Holy Spirit. The memory of Holy Grace leads my mind to find Your mercy again.
Saint Silouan the Athonite
When you pray, do not speak of the others’ sins to God, so that He does not remind you of your own.
Saint Ioannis Chrysostomos
Whoever holds the prayer stick in his hand will not stumble. Even if he stumbles, he will not fall.
Agios Ioannis Sinaitis, Author of “the Ladder”
If you are a theologian, you will truly pray. If you pray truly, then you are a theologian!
Saint Nile the Ascetic
During the prayer, try to unite your will with God’s will and do not try to adjust God’s will to your own will.
Saint Nicodemus of Mount Athos
Whoever loves the Lord always thinks of Him. The memory of God begets prayer. If you do not remember the Lord, then you will not pray, and without prayer, the soul will not remain steadfast in God’s love because the grace of the Holy Spirit comes with prayer.
Saint Silouan the Athonite
When you discover the gate of your heart, you discover the gate of heaven.
Saint Ioannis Chrysostomos
Prayer protects man from sin because when praying, the mind is attached to God and stands humbly before the Lord, Whom the soul of the prayer knows.
Saint Silouan the Athonite
The people who misunderstood you and hurt you do not even know that old myth, about the wind and the sun, that they quarrelled, who is the strongest and they bet that whoever takes off the shepherd’s cape, who at that time was going up the mountain, will be the strongest. The wind blew and blew again, but the shepherd got cold and wrapped himself tighter in his cloak. Then the sun came out of the clouds, scattered goodness and warmth around, then the shepherd warmed up and took off his cape. Then the sun cried out to the wind, “Have you seen which of us is the strongest?” You do not win a man over with savagery, but only through goodness.
Saint Porphyrios the Kapsokalyvite
The physical effort and study of the Divine Scriptures keeps the mind pure. The world is strengthened by the hope and fear of God. Hope and fear are supported within us by the flight from worldly people and the unceasing prayer.
Saint Isaac the Syrian
If we turn our attention to our mind, we will observe a torrent of successive thoughts and ideas. This torrent is continuous, running fast in every direction and every moment – at home, at church, at work, when we read, when we talk… We usually call it “thought”, writes Bishop Theophan the Recluse, but in reality it is a disorder of the mind, a scattering, a lack of concentration and attention.
Saint John Maximovitch
