Knowledge of the Word of God

“He who enriches himself through knowledge of the word of God is overshadowed by the pillar of cloud which guided the Israelites in the desert.”

- Saint Theophan the Recluse

The Eyes of the Lord

“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good (Prov. 15:3). Oh, if only rational creatures would always keep this in mind! Then not only would they not dare to commit excesses openly and to give themselves over to dissoluteness of the flesh, but also inwardly, in their thoughts, and in the movements of their heart, they would not allow anything unpleasing to God. They would stand then like soldiers at the front before the king, with all attention and strictness toward themselves, that they not be found ignorant of their orders, and not be subject to the king’s wrath and punishment. The orders given to rational creatures are the commandments of God, which determine the proper form of their thoughts, and how their feelings and dispositions ought to be; they would then be quite well-ordered.”

- Saint Theophan the Recluse

Reference: http://days.pravoslavie.ru/en/Days/20120313.htm

Lest You Grow Proud

"To love your neighbour as yourself, to sympathise with him in his joy and sorrow, to feed, clothe him, if he is in need of food and clothing; to breathe, so to say, the same air with him--look upon all this as the same thing as feeding and warming yourself, and do not count these as virtues or as works of love to your neighbour, lest you grow proud of them. "For we are members one of another." Ephesians 4:25

- Saint John of Kronstadt

The Change of Heart in True Believers

"The Lord had said unto Abraham: Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee (Gen. 12:1). This is an explicit image for the change of heart which occurs in true believers, when they sincerely take upon themselves their cross, and follow Christ. They leave their father—selfishness, crucifying it through self-denial; they leave their kindred—their personal sinful leanings, passions and habits, crucifying them through the resolution to follow unswervingly and in all things the passion-slaying commandments of the Lord; they leave their country, the entire sinful realm, the world with all of its demands, crucifying it with the resolution to be alien to it—although for this it might be necessary to endure not only loss of property and social status, but even to endure death itself."

- Saint Theophan the Recluse

Reference: http://days.pravoslavie.ru/en/Days/20120310.htm

Total Dispassion

"Total dispassion renders our conceptual images passion-free: perfect spiritual knowledge brings us into the presence of Him who is utterly beyond knowledge."

- Saint Thalassios the Libyan

Comprehending Our Orthodox Faith

“If some Christians cannot comprehend our Orthodox faith, its Sacraments, it proves that the minds and hearts of such persons are too impure and passionate to bear its purity and brightness, just as sick eyes cannot bear the light of the sun. This heavenly treasure can only be comprehended by the hearts of those who free their minds and feelings from worldly attachments.”

Saint John of Kronstadt

Creation is the Accuser of the Ungodly

“Creation is the accuser of the ungodly. For through its inherent spiritual principles creation proclaims its Maker; and through the natural laws intrinsic to each individual species it instructs us in virtue. The spiritual principles may be recognized in the unremitting continuance of each individual species, the laws in the consistency of its natural activity. If we do not ponder on these things, we remain ignorant of the cause of created being and we cling to all the passions which are contrary to nature.”

- Saint Maximos the Confessor