"According to St. Paul (cf. Rom. 15:16), you 'minister' the Gospel only when,

having yourself participated in the light of Christ, you can pass it on actively

to others. Then you sow the Logos like a divine seed in the fields of your

listeners' souls. 'Let your speech be always filled with grace', says St. Paul

(Col. 4:6), 'seasoned' with divine goodness. Then it will impart grace to those

who listen to you with faith. Elsewhere St. Paul, calling the teachers tillers

and their pupils the fields they till (cf. 2 Tim. 2:6), wisely presents the

former as plowers and sowers of the divine Logos and the latter as the fertile

soil, yielding a rich crop of virtues. True ministry is not simply a celebration

of sacred rites; it also involves participation in divine blessings and the

communication of these blessings to others."



St. Gregory of Sinai.



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"The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not

lack any good thing." Psalm 34:10

"After the resurrection, when our bodies will be reunited to our souls, they

will be incorruptible; and the carnal passions which disturb us now will not be

present in those bodies; we shall enjoy a peaceful equilibrium in which the

prudence of the flesh will not make war upon the soul; and there will no longer

be that internal warfare wherein sinful passions fight against the law of the

mind. conquering the soul and taking it captive by sin. Our nature then will be

purified of all these tendencies, and one spirit will be in both, I mean in the

flesh and in the spirit, and every corporeal affection will be banished from our

nature."



St. Gregory of Nyssa.

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"Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good

conscience, and from sincere faith" 1 Timothy 1:5

"Knowledge comes like light from the sun. The foolish man through lack of faith

or laziness deliberately closes his eyes - that is, his faculty of choice - and

at once consigns the knowledge to oblivion because in his indolence he fails to

put it into practice. For folly leads to indolence, and this in turn begets

inertia and hence forgetfulness. Forgetfulness breeds self-love - the love of

one's own will and thoughts which is equivalent to the love of pleasure and

praise. From self-love comes avarice, the root of all evils (cf. 1 Tim. 6:10),

for it entangles us in worldly concerns and in this way leads to complete

unawareness of God's gifts and of our own faults."



St. Peter of Damaskos.



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"We love Him because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

"It is good not to get angry, but if this should happen, the Apostle does not

allow you a whole day for this passion, for he says: 'Let not the sun go down'

(Eph.4:25). Will you wait till all your time is ended? Why hate the man who has

grieved you? It is not he who has done the wrong, but the devil. Hate sickness

but not the sick person."



Amma Syncletica.



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"The fear of the Lord delights the heart, and gives gladness and joy and long

life." Sirach 1:12

"Jesus is a true Bridegroom. He does not force you to love Him. He asks: "Will

you give Me your love?", and He gets what He wants when you do this. Only one

thing will satisfy Him - your love. All else is too small for Him: that you

believe in Him, that you obey Him, that you come to Him for forgiveness. He is

not only your Physician who heals you. He is not only your Redeemer who delivers

you from your bonds. He wants to be your Bridegroom, and as Bridegroom He gives

you His great, His tender, His most intimate love. Now He is waiting for you to

give Him your love. He who loves wants to be loved in return."



Basilea Schlink.

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"Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of

trouble." Psalm 40:1

"Prayer is the lifting up of the mind and heart to God. From this it is evident

that it is quite impossible for anyone to pray whose mind and heart are attached

to anything carnal - for instance, to money or to honors - or who has in his

heart passions such as hatred or envy for others, because passions usually

contract the heart, in the same way as God expands it and gives it true

freedom."



St. John of Kronstadt.



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"Do not let your hand be stretched out to receive and closed when it is time to

give." Sirach 4:31

"Passions which are produced from the love of money become invincible when one

loses faith in the providence of God. For the one who does not believe, trusts

in money. And such a person who hears the saying of the Lord, 'that it is easier

for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter

the kingdom,' considers the kingdom as nothing - even the heavenly and

everlasting kingdom! - and still yearns for wealth, which is both earthly and

transient. Those who crave such riches do not obtain them, and they are injured

enormously by the desire itself. For, according to what Paul says, 'they who

yearn to be rich fall into temptations and the snares of the devil."



St. Gregory Palamas.



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"Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful;

nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those

who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11

"The intellect cannot be peaceful during prayer unless it has acquired

self-control and love. With God's help the first strives to put an end to the

body's hostility towards the soul, the second to our hostility towards our

fellow-men."



Ilias the Presbyter.



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"Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our

salvation!." Psalm 68:19

Some philosophers once visited an elder, and after he had offered a prayer he

remained silent, braiding cord and paying no attention to them. They besought

him, saying, "Say something to us, father," but he held his peace. They said to

him, "This is what we came for, to hear you say something and to benefit from

it." The old man said to them, "You spend your money to learn how to speak. I

left the world to learn how to keep silent." They were filled with amazement on

hearing this and went their way edified.



From the Desert Fathers.



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"Your years are throughout all generations. Of old You laid the foundation of

the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You

will endure." Psalm 102:24-26

"If you give something to someone who is in need then let a cheerful face

precede your gift, along with kind words and encouragement for his suffering.

When you do this, the pleasure he feels in his mind at your gift will be greater

than the needs of his body. A person who, while having God in mind, honors

everyone, will find everyone to be his helper, thanks to the hidden will of God.

Someone who speaks in defense of a person who suffers injustice will find an

advocate in his Creator. Whoever gives a hand to help his neighbor is helped by

God's own hand. But the person who accuses his brother for his evil deeds will

find God as his accuser."



St. Isaac the Syrian.



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"Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct aright I

will show the salvation of God." Psalm 50:23

"...if a man seeks God with obedience, questioning and wise humility, he will

always be protected from harm by the grace of Christ, Who desires all men to be

saved."



St. Gregory of Sinai.

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"The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, And his tongue talks of justice. The

law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide." Psalm 37:30-31

A brother asked an old man, saying, "How is it that, though I desire the gift of

tears, of which I have heard the old men speak, they do not come? I am very

worried about it." And the old man said to him, "The children of Israel entered

the promised land after forty years. When you reach that land, you will no

longer fear the battle. God, indeed, wills that you should be concerned, so that

you may ceaselessly desire to enter into that land."



From the Desert Fathers.

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"Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, And whoever spreads slander is a fool."

Proverbs 10:18

"'O Lord, my heart is not exalted, neither have mine eyes been lifted up.' This

Psalm, a short one, which demands an analytical rather than a homiletical

treatment, teaches us the lesson of humility and meekness. Now, as we have in a

great number of other places spoken about humility, there is no need to repeat

the same things here. Of course we are bound to bear in mind in how great need

our faith stands of humility when we hear the Prophet thus speaking of it as

equivalent to the performance of the highest works: 'O Lord, my heart is not

exalted.' For a troubled heart is the noblest sacrifice in the eyes of God. The

heart, therefore, must not be lifted up by propriety, but humbly kept within the

bounds of meekness through the fear of God."



St. Hilary of Poitiers.



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"Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God." Matthew 5:9

"The blessings of the kingdom within us - which the world-loving eye has not

seen, and the presumptuous ear has not heard, and which have not entered into a

heart empty of the Holy Spirit (cf. I Cor. 2:9) - are a pledge and foretaste of

the blessings to be given by God to the righteous in the kingdom that is to

come. If we do not savor the first, which are the fruits of the Spirit (cf. Gal.

5:22), we will not be able to enjoy the second."



Ilias the Presbyter.



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"Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And

whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do

those things that are pleasing in His sight." 1 John 3:21-22

"If the humble man has any kind of virtue, he attributes it not to his own

strength, but to God's help, in agreement with the words of Jesus Christ Who

said: 'When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, we

are unprofitable servants' (Luke 17:10). 'Without Me,' the Lord says, 'ye can do

nothing' (John 15:5). Humility is to understand oneself to be nothing. The best

helps in avoiding temptations are meekness and humility of spirit and constant

vigilance of mind."



St. Nazarius.



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"Walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering

and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma." Ephesians 5:2

"When the heart feels the arrows of the demons with such burning pain that the

man under attack suffers as if they were real arrows, then the soul hates the

passions violently, for it is just beginning to be purified. If it does not

suffer greatly at the shamelessness of sin, it will not be able to rejoice fully

in the blessings of righteousness."



St. Diadochos of Photiki.



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"So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm

90:12

"Mortal men, as you look upon the universe, see in it your own nature. What you

see on earth in the heavens, what you behold in the sun and contemplate in the

sea, apply this to yourselves and to your own nature. In the sun we have a

symbol of the rise and setting of our nature. There is one path for all; there

is one cycle for all in life's journey. By birth we rise, and then we are drawn

back again into our connatural place. And when we come to life's setting, our

light too goes below the earth with the sense faculty which perceives light.

What is of earth is completely resolved into its element, and so that cycle

continues on and on in the same way."



St. Gregory of Nyssa.



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"Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set

him on high, because he has known My name." Psalm 91:14

"Perseverance in prayer cleanses the intellect, illumines it, and fills it with

the light of truth. The virtues, led by compassion, give the intellect peace and

light. The cleansing of the intellect is not a dialectical, discursive and

theoretical activity, but an act of grace through experience and is ethical in

every respect. The intellect is purified by fasting, vigils, silence, prayer,

and other ascetic practices."



St. Isaac the Syrian.



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"You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he

trusts in You." Isaiah 26:3

"Blessed is the soul that, because it expects its Lord daily, thinks nothing of

the day's toil or the night's, since He is going to appear in the morning."



Ilias the Presbyter.



--------------------------------------------------------------



"The king shall have joy in Your strength, O Lord; And in Your salvation how

greatly shall he rejoice! You have given him his heart's desire, And have not

withheld the request of his lips." Psalms 21:1-2

"No man has understanding if he is not humble, and he who lacks humility is

devoid of understanding. No man is humble if he is not peaceful, and he who is

not peaceful is not humble. And no man is peaceful without rejoicing. In all the

paths upon which men journey in this world they will find no peace, until they

draw nigh to hope in God."



St. Isaac the Syrian.



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"Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry

to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy." Psalms

61:1-3

"Do not rail against anyone, but rather say, 'God knows each one.' Do not agree

with him who slanders, do not rejoice at his slander and do not hate him who

slanders his neighbor. This is what it means not to judge. Do not have hostile

feelings towards anyone and do not let dislike dominate your heart; do not hate

him who hates his neighbor. This is what peace is: Encourage yourself with this

thought, 'Affliction lasts but a short time, while peace is for ever, by the

grace of God the Word.'"



St. Moses the Ethiopian.



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"The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.

He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry

and save them." Psalm 145:18-19

"Let us seek to discover the things of heaven through the sweat of our efforts,

rather than by mere talk, for at the hour of death it is deeds, not words, that

must be displayed."



St. John Climacus.



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"Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion; And to You the vow shall be performed.

O You who hear prayer, To You all flesh will come." Psalm 65:1-2

"Eyes show different colors and the sun of the spirit may shine in different

ways in the soul. There is the way of bodily tears and there is the way of the

tears of the soul. There is the way of the contemplation of what is before us

and the way of the contemplation of what remains unseen. There is the way of

things heard at second hand and the way of spontaneous joy within the soul.

There is the way of stillness and the way of obedience. And in addition to these

there is the way of rapture, the way of the mind mysteriously and marvelously

carried into the light of Christ."



St. John Climacus.



--------------------------------------------------------------



"In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is

wise." Proverbs 10:19

"Faith is the door to mysteries. What the bodily eyes are to sensory objects,

the same is faith to the eyes of the intellect that gaze at hidden treasures.

Even as we have two bodily eyes, we possess two eyes of the soul, as the Fathers

say; yet both have not the same operation with respect to divine vision. With

one we see the hidden glory of God which is concealed in the natures of things;

that is to say, we behold His might, His wisdom, and His eternal providence for

us which we understand by the magnitude of His governance on our behalf. With

this same eye we also behold the heavenly orders of our fellow servants. With

the other we behold the glory of His holy nature. When God is pleased to admit

us to spiritual mysteries, He opens wide the sea of faith in our minds."



St. Isaac the Syrian.



--------------------------------------------------------------



"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall

be added to you." Matthew 6:33

"We are accustomed to the works of God, and therefore value them but little; we

do not, for instance, value even man as we ought to - that greatest work and

miracle of God's omnipotence and grace. Look upon every man, whether he is one

of your household, or a stranger to you, as upon something perpetually new in

God's world, as upon the greatest miracle of God's omnipotence and grace, and do

not let the fact of your being accustomed to him serve as a reason for you to

neglect him. Esteem and love him as your own self, constantly, and

unchangeably."



St. John of Kronstadt.



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"But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness,

faith, love, patience, gentleness." 1 Timothy 6:11

"Greater practice is rewarded by greater knowledge; and from the understanding

thus acquired we gain control of the passions and learn how to endure our

sufferings patiently."



St. Peter of Damaskos.



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"The Lord is their strength, And He is the saving refuge of His anointed. Save

Your people, And bless Your inheritance; Shepherd them also, And bear them up

forever." Psalm 28:8-9

"...those who wish to live virtuously should not hanker after praise, be

involved with too many people, keep going out, or abuse others (however much

they deserve it), or talk excessively, even if they can speak well on every

subject."



St. Diadochos of Photiki.

--------------------------------------------------------------

"And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He

has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having

wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was

contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the

cross." Colossians 2:13-14

"...one needs to acquire discrimination, either through the humility given by

God or through questioning those who possess the gifts of discrimination. For

without discrimination nothing that comes to pass is good, even if we in our

ignorance think that is. But when through discrimination we learn how it lies in

our power to attain what we wish, then what we do begins to conform to God's

will."

St. Peter of Damaskos.

--------------------------------------------------------------

"Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of

trouble." Psalm 40:1

"With regard to patience the Lord says, 'You will gain possession of your souls

through your patient endurance' (Luke 21:19). He did not say 'through your

fasting' or 'through your vigils'. I refer to the patience bestowed by God,

which is the queen of virtues, the foundation of courageous actions. It is

patience that is peace amid strife, serenity amid distress, and a steadfast base

for those who acquire it. Once you have attained it with the help of Christ

Jesus, no swords and spears, no attacking armies, not even the ranks of demons,

the dark phalanx of hostile powers, will be able to do you any harm."

St Gregory of Sinai.

--------------------------------------------------------------

"But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God,

That I may declare all Your works." Psalm 73:28

"We do not all receive blessings in the same way. Some, on receiving the fire of

the Lord, that is, His word, put it into practice and so become softer of heart,

like wax, while others through laziness become harder than clay and altogether

stone-like."

St. Peter of Damaskos.

--------------------------------------------------------------

"The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And

the perverse mouth I hate." Proverbs 8:13