The Wisdom of the Holy Fathers - Quotes for daily living

[MariaRegina]

This new thread will be a collection of quotes and essays from various Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church to be used for daily spiritual readings.

Note: Anyone may post quotes here -- just be sure to give the author and book (and page number) or online credits (and url) if taken from copyrighted sources, so that Erwin and CF won't be cited for copyright violations. Please be sure to check the quote for accuracy.
P.S. Remember your signatures can change, so don't reference those.

Alphabetical index of the Holy Fathers:
St Ambrose of Optina - post 19
Elder Amphilochios of Patmos - post 38
St. Athanasios of Alexandria - post 8
St. Augustine - post 20
Father Averky of Jordansville - post 37
St. Basil the Great - post 3, 16
Archimandrite Callistratus - post 12
Dionysius the Areopagite - post 24
St. Dorotheos of Gaza - posts 33-4
Abba Epiphanius- post 8
Evagrius Ponticus - post 22
St. Gregory Palamas - post 25
St. Ignatius of Antioch - post 17
St. Issac the Syrian - post 40
St. John Chrysostom - posts 27, 42
John of Damascus - post 2
St. John of Kronstadt - post 4, 13
Elder Joseph the Hesychast Monastic - post 15
St. Justin (Popovich), Attributes of the Church - post 18, 28
Blessed Mother Maria of Ravensbruck - post 6
St. Maximus the Confessor - post 17
St Nilus of Sora - post 31
Bl. Elder Paisios the Athonite (+1994) - post 9, 11, 36
Abba Poemen- post 39
Saint Paul the Simple - post 30
Seventh Holy Ecumenical Council - post 21
Saint Seraphim - post 29
Saint Silouan of Mount Athos - post 10, 14
St. Symeon the New Theologian - post 27
St. Theophan the Recluse, On Judging - post 35
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk - post 5, 7

Alphabetical index by topic:
Achieving theosis - post 25
Ad Monachos, Part I, by Evagrius Ponticus - post 22
Agitation, Sources of, St Ambrose of Optina - post 19
The attraction of love, Archimandrite Callistratus - post 12
Be gentle, Monastic Wisdom: The Letters of Elder Joseph the Hesychast Monastic - post 15
Be not afraid, St. Silouan of Mt. Athos - post 14
In times of calamity - St. Issac the Syrian - post 40
Carpus’ story (“Letter 8: To Demophilus”) - post 24
Catholicity of the Church - post 28
Conversation of St. Seraphim with N. A. Motovilov - post 29
Correcting others, Elder Paisios the Athonite - post 9
In Defense of Icons, John of Damascus - post 2
Desire God - Saint Ignatius of Antioch - post 17
Despair not in your struggles, Bl. Elder Paisios the Athonite - post 11
Every man is an image of God, St. John of Kronstadt - post 13
Harm is done by battling over dogmas, Bl. Elder Paisios the Athonite - post 11
Hesychasm - post 31
The Holy Spirit, St. Basil the Great - post 3
Holy Tradition - St. Justin (Popovich), Attributes of the Church - post 17
Humility - post 36
Imitate Christ, Journey to Heaven, St. Tikhon of Zadonsk - post 7
Jesus Prayer - post 27
Lenten Triodion- post 23
Meditation on Matthew 25:31-45, Bl. Mother Maria - post 6
Monastic Life - post 30
Not Judging others - post 33-35
Paradise - post 38
The Paradise of the Fathers - post 39
Path to holiness, Paradise of the Fathers, Abba Epiphanius - post 8
Plato and Cicero - post 20
The Poor - post 41
Praise the Lord all the days of your life, Letter III for Pascha, St. Athanasios of Alexandria - post 8
Prayer - post 37
Praying to the Saints- posts 10, 26
On Refusal to judge our neighbor - posts 33-34
Strive to keep the Commandments - St. Maximus the Confessor - post 17
Synodikon of Orthodoxy - post 21
Temptations and trials, Journey to Heaven - St. Tikhon of Zadonsk - post 5
Union with God, My Life in Christ, St. John of Kronstadt - post 4

MODS: Please feel free to edit this post as necessary.

 

[Moros]

John of Damascus - In Defense of Icons
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/johndam-icons.html

 

[Oblio]

Whence is it that we are Christians? Through our faith would be the
universal answer. And in what way are we saved? Plainly because we were
regenerate in the grace given in our baptsm. How else could we be? And
after recognizing that this salvation is established through the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, shall we fling away that form of
doctrine which we received? Would it not rather be ground for great
groaning if we are found now further off from our salvation than when we
first believed, and deny now what we when received.

St. Basil the Great, The Holy Spirit.

 

[Photini]

Brethren! Prepare yourselves for union with God. Give up earthly vanity. Apply yourselves to the great work of self-purification and self-improvement. Love to progress in faith and virtue, and not to progress in the things of this world. Even here on earth we prepare ourselves to see there in eternity the Maker of every visible creature, the Beauty of all.

--St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ

 

[Photini]

Okay...the psalter readings I originally had here, are now in the Daily Prayers thread started by chanter. Thanks Elizabeth.


"Temptations and trials show what hides in the heart of man. Temptation is similar to the medicine called an emetic. An emetic reveals what is hidden in the stomach. So temptations and trials make manifest what is inside a man. The holy word of God and other Christian books point out the corruption of our nature, but we recognize it by actual experience or deed in temptations and trials.
Thus, vainglory becomes apparent through the deprivation of glory, avarice through the deprivation of riches, envy through the success of one's neighbor, and anger through disappointment. If, then, you fall into various temptations, O Christian, this all happens by God's permission for your great benefit, that you may thereby know what is hidden in your heart, and so knowing it you may correct yourself. Many flatter themselves and consider themselves to be good, humble, and meek, but they will discover the contrary under temptation. Do not become despondent in temptations, then, but give all the more thanks to God that He thus brings you to knowledge of yourself and wishes you to be corrected and be saved."

--St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Journey to Heaven

 

[Reader Nilus]

The bodies of fellow human beings must be treated with greater care than our own. Christian love teaches us to give our brethren not only spiritual gifts, but material gifts as well. Even our last shirt, our last piece of bread must be given to them. Personal almsgiving and the most wide-ranging social work are equally justifiable and necessary. The way to God lies through love of other people and there is no other way. At the Last Judgment I shall not be asked if I was successful in my ascetic exercises or how many prostrations I made in the course of my prayers. I shall be asked, did I feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the prisoners: that is all I shall be asked.

Blessed Mother Maria of Ravensbruck​

__________________________________________________​

Jeff the Finn​

 

[MariaRegina]

Imitate Christ

"...Set the holy life of Christ before the eyes of your soul, and look upon it often and imitate its example. And even though your heart, corrupt as it is, does not wish it, force and convince yourself to imitate the beautiful virtues of Christ.

You look into a mirror so that you may know what is in your face, whether there are any blemishes in it, and having seen the blemishes, you cleanse them. Let the immaculate life of Christ be a mirror to your soul, look into it often and know what is in your soul. Does it desire the same thing that Christ desires? And does it do what Christ did when He lived on earth? And in it you will see what is contrary to the life of Christ, and you will cleanse it all like blemishes with repentance and contrition of heart."

St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Journey to Heaven

 

[MariaRegina]

Courtesy of Nicodemus:

Path to holiness

Know yourself and you will never fall. Give your soul
work, that is to say, constant prayer, and love of
God, before another can give it evil and filthy
thoughts, and pray that the spirit of error may be
remote from you.

Abba Epiphanius, Paradise of the Fathers

-----

Praise the Lord all the days of your life

But the faithful and true servants of the Lord,
knowing that the Lord loves the thankful, never cease
to praise Him, ever giving thanks unto the Lord. And
whether the time is one of ease or affliction, they
offer up praise to God with thanksgiving, not
reckoning these things of time, but worshipping the
Lord, the God of times.

St. Athanasios of Alexandria, Letter III for Pascha

 

[Photini]

"If a passionate man tries to correct an egotist, steel hits flint and fires are ignited! If he tries to correct a sensitive person, he hurts him greatly. It would be like a wild man taking a thick wire brush to clean out a little mucus from a baby's eye."
~~Elder Paisios the Athonite

 

[nicodemus]

Many people are under the impression that the Saints
are far from us. They are indeed far from those who
have, of their own will, withdrawn themselves, but
they are very near to those who keep the commandments
of Christ and have the grace of the Holy Spirit. In
the heavens, all live and all are sustained by the
Holy Spirit; but the Spirit is the same also upon the
earth. The Holy Spirit unites all men and that is why
the Saints are near to us. When we pray to them, by
the Holy Spirit they hear our prayers and our souls
feel that they are praying for us.

- Saint Silouan of Mount Athos

 

[nicodemus]

two from Elder Paisios:

Unfortunately, in our days, there are many people who
upset the Church. Of these, those that are educated
have understood the dogmas with their minds and not
with the spirit of the Holy Fathers. At the same
time, those who are unlettered have grabbed hold of
dogma with their teeth; which is why they grind their
teeth when they speak about ecclesiastical topics. In
this way, greater harm is caused by those in the
Church than by those who battle it from without.

===============

We must not despair when we struggle and continuously
see nothing but the slightest progress. We all do
nearly nothing --- some a little more, some a little
less. When Christ sees our little effort, He gives us
an analogous token; and so our nearly nothing becomes
valuable, and we can see a little progress. For this
reason we must not despair, but hope in God.


Blessed Elder Paisios the Athonite, +1994

 

[nicodemus]

A scholar attracts by his knowledge, a wealthy man by
riches, a handsome man by beauty, an artist by his
skill. Only love attracts all human beings. The
attraction of love is unlimited. And educated or
uneducated, rich or poor, skilled or unskilled,
beautiful or ugly, healthy or sick, and young or old –
all want to be loved. Christ spread His love on
everyone, and lovingly drew all to Himself. With His
great love He encompassed even the dead, long
decomposed and forgotten by men.

- Archimandrite Callistratus

 

[nicodemus]

Contempt for creation touches the Creator; therefore
do not dare to speak the following words or any
similar to them, “I dislike that man’s face, though he
may, perhaps, be a good man;” for this is diabolical
hatred of God’s creature and odious. Remember that
every man is an image of God, and that all his glory
is within him, in his heart. Man looks upon the face,
whilst God looks upon the heart.

St. John of Kronstadt

 

[Photini]

We must always remember that the Lord sees us
wrestling with the Enemy, and so we must never
be afraid. Even should all hell fall upon us, we
must be brave.

~St. Silouan the Athonite

 

[MariaRegina]

"Whatever gentleness you use in speaking with others, that very same gentleness
will Christ use with you. With whatever measure you measure out to others, with
that very same measure will He apportion out to you. Just as you forgive the
failings of others, He forgives yours. With whatever love and gentleness you
seek Him, likewise will He appear to you."

Monastic Wisdom: The Letters of Elder Joseph the Hesychast Monastic

 

[Orthodox Andrew]

Do not measure your loss by itself; if you do, it will seem intolerable; but if you will take all human affairs into account you will find that some comfort is to be derived from them.
-Saint Basil

 

[nicodemus]

Let yourself die in striving rather than living in
laziness. For those who die trying to keep the
Commandments are martyrs just as much as those who
died for Christ’s Faith. “
- St. Maximus the Confessor

Do not look for status or glory on this earth, but
seek only the good opinion of God Himself. Desire God
alone, that He may desire you, and so guide you into
His eternal Kingdom. Listen to me not because I am
your chosen pastor, but because as someone who is
shortly to die I have no reason to deceive you: as
death approaches, the truth is all that matters.
-Saint Ignatius of Antioch

 

[Photini]

Holy Tradition? It is the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man Himself, with all the riches of His divine Hypostasis and, through Him and for His sake, those of the Holy Trinity. That is most fully given and articulated in the Holy Eucharist, wherein, for our sake and for our salvation, the Savior's entire theanthropic economy of salvation is performed and repeated. Therein wholly resides the God-man with all His wondrous and miraculous gifts; He is there, and in the Church's life of prayer and liturgy. Through all this, the Savior's philanthropic proclamation ceaselessly resounds: "And, Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world: (Mt 28:20); He is with the apostles and, through the apostles, with all the faithful, world without end. This is the whole of the holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church of the apostles: life in Christ = life in the Holy Trinity; growth in Christ, growth in the Trinity (cf. Mt. 28: 19-20).


~St. Justin (Popovich), Attributes of the Church

 

[Photini]

An agitated state of soul comes, first of all, from self-love when something happens that we did not wish or is not in accordance with our way of thinking about things; and secondly, from lack of faith, the feeling that even if a person does fulfill the commandments of God in a given situation, it still will prove to be of no benefit.

~St Ambrose of Optina

 

[Orthodox Andrew]

"I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are wise and very beautiful; but I have never read in either of them: Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden.''

-St. Augustine