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)
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)
God ‘tested Abraham’ (cf. Gen. 22:1-14), that is, God afflicted him for his own benefit, not in order to learn what kind of man Abraham was – for He knew him, since He knows all things before they come into existence – but in order to provide him with opportunities for showing perfect faith.
St. Mark the Ascetic, “On the Spiritual Law: Two Hundred Texts” No. 203, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
“When you suffer some dishonor from men, recognize at once the glory that will be given you by God. Then you will not be saddened or upset by the dishonor; and when you receive the glory you will remain steadfast and innocent.”
+ St. Mark the Ascetic, “On Those Who Think They are Made Righteous by Works: Two Hundred and Twenty-Six Texts” No. 68, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
“He who is ignorant of the enemy’s ambush is easily slain; and he who does not know the causes of the passions is soon brought low.”
St. Mark the Ascetic, “On the Spiritual Law: Two Hundred Texts” No. 76, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
“The sign of sincere love is to forgive wrongs done to us. It was with such love that the Lord loved the world.”
+ St. Mark the Ascetic, “On Those Who Think They are Made Righteous by Works: Two Hundred and Twenty-Six Texts” No. 48, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
“Whoever prays for those who hurt him lays the demons low; but he who opposes his affronter is bound to the demons.”
+ St. Mark the Ascetic, “On the Spiritual Law: Two Hundred Texts” No. 45, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
“We must receive the one who curses us as a messenger from God, rebuking our hidden evil thoughts, so that we, seeing our thoughts with exactness, might correct ourselves. For we do not know how many hidden evils we have; Only a perfect man can understand all of his own shortcomings.”
+ St. Mark the Ascetic, Homilies, 6
“When you have been insulted, cursed, or persecuted by someone, do not think of what has happened to you, but of what will come from it, and you will see that your insulter has become the cause of many benefits to you, not only in this age, but in that which is to come”
— St. Mark the Ascetic, Homilies, 1.114
“The devil makes small sins seem smaller in our eyes, for otherwise he can’t lead us to greater evil.”
— St. Mark the Ascetic, Homilies, 2:94
