The State of Christians...

"The state of Christians is like merchandise, and like leaven. As merchants amass earthly gains, so Christians gather together their thoughts that were scattered about the world. As leaven turns the whole lump into leaven, so the leaven of sin permeates the whole race of Adam; but Christ puts a heavenly leaven of goodness in faithful souls..."

- Saint Macarius the Egyptian

...the Rich in This Present Age

"As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life."

I Timothy 6:17-21, ESV

Avoiding the Extremes

"As the Fathers say, the extremes from both sides are equally harmful (We must) go on the royal path, avoiding the extremes on both sides." 

- Saint John Cassian

The Shipwreck of Humanity

"Then, in spite of our sinfulness and inadequacy, our Faith will survive the shocks ahead of us and be a source of inspiration and salvation for those who will still be seeking Christ even amidst the shipwreck of humanity which has already begun today."

- Father Seraphim Rose

‘Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.’

"St. John Karpathisky in The Philokalia says that when in the prayer of Jesus we call upon the holy name and say, 'Have mercy on me, a sinner,' then to every such petition the voice of God answers in secret, ‘Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.’ And he goes on to say that when we say the prayer there is at that moment nothing to distinguish us from the saints, confessors, and martyrs."

Reference: French, R.M. The way of a pilgrim ; and, The pilgrim continues his way. Hope Pub House, 1991.

Riches or Learning

“We do not need riches or learning in order to know the Lord: we must simply be obedient and sober, have a humble spirit and love our fellow-men.”  

- Saint Silouan the Athonite

Destroying All the Passions

"When the intellect rescues the soul’s senses from the desires of the flesh and imbues them with dispassion, the passions shamelessly attack the soul, trying to hold its senses fast in sin; but if the intellect then continually calls upon God in secret, He, seeing all this, will send His help and destroy all the passions at once."

- Saint Isaiah the Solitary