How can one laugh at a clergyman? So what if he serves poorly? He still has grace. He is ordained. One must not, must not, laugh!
+ St. Anatoly of Optina, quoted from Living Without Hypocrisy: Spiritual Counsels of the Holy Elders of Optina
How can one laugh at a clergyman? So what if he serves poorly? He still has grace. He is ordained. One must not, must not, laugh!
+ St. Anatoly of Optina, quoted from Living Without Hypocrisy: Spiritual Counsels of the Holy Elders of Optina
In the beginning, envy is revealed through inappropriate zeal and rivalry, and later by fervour with spite and the blaming of the one who is envied.
+ St. Ambrose of Optina, quoted from Living Without Hypocrisy: Spiritual Counsels of the Holy Elders of Optina
Do not claim to have acquired virtue unless you have suffered affliction, for without affliction virtue has not been tested.
+ St. Mark the Ascetic, On the Spiritual Law Two Hundred Texts, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
“You must not be greatly troubled about many things, but you should care for the main thing — preparing yourself for death.”
+ St. Ambrose of Optina, quoted from Living Without Hypocrisy: Spiritual Counsels of the Holy Elders of Optina
Let all involuntary suffering teach you to remember God, and you will not lack occasion for repentance.
+ St. Mark the Ascetic, “On the Spiritual Law: Two Hundred Texts” No. 57, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
“Wherever God is — there is peace. And the opposite is self-evident: where there is envy, enmity, impatience, self-love — there is the devil. Wherever the devil is — there, everything is ruinous, proud and hostile.”
+ St. Anatoly of Optina, quoted from Living Without Hypocrisy: Spiritual Counsels of the Holy Elders of Optina
“A man can never learn what divine power is while he abides in comfort and spacious living.”
+ St. Isaac the Syrian, “Homily 72: On Faith and Humility,” Ascetical Homilies of St Isaac the Syrian
“It is not difficult to get rid of material things if you so desire; but only with great effort will you be able to get rid of thoughts about them…”
+ St. Thalassios the Libyan, “On Love, Self-Control and Life in Accordance with the Intellect,” 3.23, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 2)
“The first renunciation is that of material things, the second that of the passions, the third that of ignorance.”
+ St. Thalassios the Libyan, “On Love, Self-Control and Life in Accordance with the Intellect,” 3.23, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 2)
“The person advancing in the spiritual life studies three things: the commandments, doctrine, and faith in the Holy Trinity.”
+ St. Thalassios the Libyan, “On Love, Self-Control and Life in Accordance with the Intellect,” 3.28, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 2)