Words from the Saints -- June 26, 2025

“God will judge not merely the actions but the secrets of men’s hearts. Let no one think to escape by ignorance, for the conscience is our constant accuser or defender.” --St. Cyril of Jerusalem

“There is a law of God within the heart of every man. The conscience cries out in the silence and darkness, even without Scripture. That cry is either a blessing or a condemnation.” --St. Theophan the Recluse

“A good conscience is the palace of Christ; the temple of the Holy Spirit; the joy of the angels. It is our natural law restored in grace.” --St. Basil the Great

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: that is, those who have humbled themselves in everything, even in the knowledge they think they possess. These are truly rich in the Kingdom.” --St. John Climacus

“To mourn is to grieve not only for one’s own sins but for the brokenness of the whole world. This is the mourning that draws God’s comfort.” --St. Maximus the Confessor

“To be blessed means to be full of divine joy, even amid suffering. The Beatitudes are not human logic, but divine vision, showing us the face of true joy.” --St. Nikolai Velimirovich

“Obedience to Christ begins with the renunciation of the world, just as the apostles left their nets. Such obedience brings light to the heart and purifies it for the vision of God.” --St. Anthony the Great

Words from the Saints -- June 19, 2025

“This life has been given to you for repentance; do not waste it in vain pursuits.” --St. Isaac the Syrian

 “In our times, we need to be confessors. We must not be ashamed of our faith.” --St. Paisios the Athonite

 “Every saint is a proof of the victory of Christ over the devil, sin, and death.” --St. Nikolai Velimirovich

 “We must not measure our efforts by the standards of men, but by the example of the saints who followed Christ to the end.” --St. Basil the Great

 “Faith is the door to the mysteries. What the eyes are for the visible world, faith is for the invisible.” --St. Theophan the Recluse

 “The lives of the saints are nothing else but the life of the Lord Christ, repeated in every saint, more or less clearly and more or less completely.” --St. Justin Popovich

 “The road to the kingdom is not easy. Many are the sorrows of the righteous. But [the sorrows] do not overcome them. For Christ walks with them.” --St. John Chrysostom

Words from the Saints -- June 12, 2025

"On this day the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and turned them into men of fire. They were no longer the same—they became powerful, bold, and full of divine wisdom." --St. John Chrysostom

 "The Spirit is the source of sanctification, spiritual light, and the source of every grace. Through Him, we become temples of the living God." --St. Basil the Great

 "The Spirit descended upon the Lord in the form of a dove, to show that He was the same Spirit who now descends upon the Church at Pentecost in the form of tongues of fire." --St. Cyril of Jerusalem

 "Where the Church is, there is the Spirit of God; and where the Spirit of God is, there is the Church and all grace." --St. Irenaeus of Lyons

 "Blessed is the soul that has been made worthy to become the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. In the Spirit, we see Christ; in Christ, we see the Father." --St. Ephraim the Syrian

"The coming of the Spirit fulfills the mystery of divine adoption, making those who receive Him sons of God by grace." --St. Maximus the Confessor

"The true aim of the Christian life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God. Pentecost is the beginning of that aim being fulfilled in the life of the Church." --St. Seraphim of Sarov

Words from the Saints -- June 5, 2025

"'Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock' (Acts 20:28). This is the first thing: that a man watch over himself. Then over others; for he who is not able to govern himself, how shall he take care of others?" --St. John Chrysostom

"'Father, the hour has come' (John 17:1). This is the hour of the cross, the hour of the passion, the hour of the redemption of mankind. It is the hour when the Son glorifies the Father by obedience unto death." --St. Gregory the Theologian

"The Church is the body of Christ, united by the Holy Spirit. As the body has many members but is one, so the Church, though composed of many, is one in faith and love." --St. Basil the Great

"It is within the power of all, therefore, in every Church, who may wish to see the truth, to contemplate clearly the tradition of the apostles manifested throughout the whole world." --St. Irenaeus of Lyons

"'This is eternal life, that they may know You' (John 17:3). To know God is not merely to believe in Him, but to love and live in communion with Him, which is the essence of eternal life." --St. Augustine

"Take heed to yourselves; this is the beginning of spiritual life. Without attention to oneself, there is no progress, for the enemy sows tares when men sleep." --St. Theophan the Recluse

Words from the Saints -- May 29, 2025

"Blessed is he who prays with fervor, for the devil never approaches him." --St. Ephraim the Syrian

"He did not merely say, ‘Let there be sight,’ but made clay and anointed the eyes--showing that He is the same who formed man from the earth in the beginning." --St. John Chrysostom

"He who tries to conquer his own will by means of obedience and prayer is following a wise ascetic method. His renunciation of external things indicates his inward struggle." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"That blind man washed the clay from his eyes in the pool of Siloam and came back seeing. So too are our hearts washed in the waters of Baptism, that we might behold the Light of the world." --St. Augustine of Hippo

"The work of God is manifest in the healing of the man born blind, for God forms man not only in body, but renews him unto life by His own hand." --St. Irenaeus of Lyons

"In God's Church, simple, faithful and kind souls are like children in the House of the Heavenly Father. Here they are free and are totally at ease." --St. John Kronstadt

"The devil, with all his powers, 'walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour' (I Pt. 5:8). So you must never relax your attentiveness of heart, your watchfulness, your power of rebuttal or your prayer to Jesus Christ our God. You will not find a greater help than Jesus in all your life, for He alone, as God, knows the deceitful ways of the demons, their subtlety and their guile." --St. Hesychios the Priest

Words from the Saints -- May 22, 2025

"When in His compassion for man the Word of God became flesh, He changed neither what He was nor what He became." --St. Thalassios the Libyan

"Just as the Samaritan woman abandoned her water jar to follow the Savior, let us abandon the cares of this world to follow Christ with all our hearts." --St. Seraphim of Sarov:

"The Lord speaks with each of us in the same way He spoke to the Samaritan woman: not to condemn but to reveal the living water that flows from His side." --St. Augustine of Hippo

"The woman at the well represents all of us. We, too, are thirsty for the living water of Christ, which He alone can give, and when we drink of it, we are transformed." --St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"Sometimes people are tested by pleasure, sometimes by distress or by physical suffering. By means of His prescriptions the Physician of souls administers the remedy according to the cause of the passions (spiritual struggles) lying hidden in the soul." --St. Maximos the Confessor

"Try to know yourself, your own wickedness. Think on the greatness of God and your wretchedness. Meditate on the suffering of Christ, the magnitude of whose love and suffering surpass our understanding. Ascribe the good that you do to God alone. Do not think about the sin of a brother but about what in him is better than in yourself .... Flee from glory, honors and praise, but if this is impossible, be sorry that such is your lot. Be benevolent to people of low origin. Be freely and willingly obedient not only to those above you but to those below .... The lowlier we are in spirit, the better we know ourselves, and without humility we cannot see God." --St. Tikhon of Zadonsk

Words from the Saints -- May 15, 2025

"God has granted us existence - the greatest gift of His goodness, and after we had fallen away from Him, from life into death, He gave us for our regeneration, to bring us back to life, His Son. How small in proportion are all the other gifts which we ask of Him in prayer, and how easy it is for Him to give them to us at the first word of true faith, if they are really necessary for us! Therefore it is perfectly unpardonable in us if we still doubt that we shall obtain what we ask of God in prayer. The Lord said plainly: 'Ask, and it shall be given you.' (Matthew 7:7)." --St. John of Kronstadt

"It is good that we make God's mercy known to all and speak to those close to us of the compassion and inexpressible bounty He has shown us." --St. Symeon the New Theologian

"He who does not make his will agree with God is tripped up by his own schemes and falls into the hands of his enemies." --St. Mark the Ascetic

Words from the Saints -- May 8, 2025

"Just like a shadow follows a body, so does temptation follow good deeds — for no one will enter the Kingdom of Heaven without temptation. Thus, endure without anxiety and pray — the good Lord will reward you for your diligence and patience." --St. Dorotheos of Gaza

"When you pray to God in time of temptation do not say, 'Take this or that away from me', but pray like this: 'O Jesus Christ, sovereign Master, help me and do not let me sin against You...'" --Abba Isaiah

"Do not think that you have a right to complain when your prayers are not answered. God fulfills your desires in a manner that you do not know." --St. Nektarios the Wonderworker

"If we knew at what time we were to depart from this world, we would be able to select a season for pleasure and another for repentance. But God, who has promised pardon to every repentant sinner, has not promised us tomorrow. Therefore we must always dread the final day, which we can never foresee. This very day is a day of truce, a day for conversion. And yet we refuse to cry over the evil we have done! Not only do we not weep for the sins we have committed, we even add to them... If we are, in fact, now occupied in good deeds, we should not attribute the strength with which we are doing them to ourselves. We must not count on ourselves, because even if we know what kind of person we are today, we do not know what we will be tomorrow. Nobody must rejoice in the security of their own good deeds. As long as we are still experiencing the uncertainties of this life, we do not know what end may follow...we must not trust in our own virtues." --St. Gregory the Great

Words from the Saints -- May 1, 2025

"Many have fought in various ways against circumstances; but without prayer and repentance no one has escaped evil." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"If someone shuts a snake and a scorpion up in a bottle, in time, they will be completely destroyed. So it is with evil thoughts: they are suggested by the demons; they disappear through patience." --St. Poemen

"A wise man is one who accepts advice, especially that of a spiritual father counseling him in accordance with the will of God." --St. Thalassios the Libyan

"Every sin is a war against God. But - O infinite gift of God's love to men! - When we had fallen so low by having sinned against the Creator, when we had fallen from life into death, by turning away from God, our Life; when we had corrupted ourselves by sins, and when everlasting death threatened us - God sent upon earth the Redeemer of the World, His own Only-begotten Son, in flesh like ours, to suffer for our offenses and thus cleanse us from sins, through repentance and faith in Him, and bring us again to His Father, from Whom we had fallen away. Let us value this, God's greatest benefit to us, and let us not 'neglect so great a salvation'! Let us constantly remember our sinful corruption, and the means of grace offered by the Church for our regeneration." --St. John of Kronstadt

Words from the Saints -- April 24, 2025

"Through the Cross joy has come into all the world. For the enemy was defeated, and death was slain, and Christ is risen." --St. Basil the Great

"Christ is risen! What joy, what sweetness, what peace! No other word in any language brings such gladness." --St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"The Resurrection of Christ is the foundation of our faith, the light of our hope, and the joy of our hearts." --St. Seraphim of Sarov

"He has become man, that we might become divine; He has risen from the dead, that we might rise with Him." --St. Athanasius the Great

"The Savior's death procured life for the world, for He did not remain among the dead, but rose again and ascended to the Father." --St. Cyril of Jerusalem

"The Resurrection is not a myth--it is the very heart of the Church’s life. It is the triumph over death and corruption." --St. Justin Popovich

"Pascha is the beginning of the eternal day, the radiant dawn that never sets, shining from the empty tomb." --St. Sophrony of Essex

"The Lord’s Resurrection is not a past event--it is the continual rising of the soul in God through grace." --St. Gregory Palamas

Words from the Saints -- April 17, 2025

“Blessed is He who came to suffer for us, and by His stripes heals our wounds.” --St. Ephraim the Syrian

“He who truly mourns with Christ in His Passion will also rejoice with Him in His Resurrection.” --St. Simeon the New Theologian

“He became man so that He might die for men. He suffered that we might be made incorruptible.” --St. Athanasius the Great

“The Cross is the greatest love of God toward man. In that love lies our resurrection.” --St. Nikolai Velimirovich

“The Savior endured the Cross, despising the shame, and freely offered Himself to death, that we might be delivered from death.” --St. Cyril of Jerusalem

Words from the Saints -- April 10, 2025

"It is better not to allow anger, however just and reasonable, to enter at all, than to admit it in ever so slight a degree; once admitted, it will not be easily expelled, for, though at first but a small plant, it will immediately grow into a large tree." --St. Augustine of Hippo

"Our heart is like the darkened earth; the Gospel is like the sun, enlightening and giving life to our hearts. May the true sun of Thy righteousness shine in our hearts, O Lord!" --St. John of Kronstadt

"To yield and give way to our passions is the lowest slavery, even as to rule over them is the only liberty." --St. Justin Martyr

"It is said that gold rules everything; but spiritual things are ruled by the grace of God." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"Worldly virtues promote human glory, spiritual virtues the glory of God." --St. Thalassios the Libyan

Words from the Saints -- April 3, 2025

"It is not the self-critical who reveals his humility (for does not everyone have somehow to put up with himself?). Rather it is the man who continues to love the person who has criticized him." --St. John Climacus

"Every Christian should find for himself the imperative and incentive to become holy. If you live without struggle and without hope of becoming holy, then you are Christians only in name and not in essence. But without holiness, no one shall see the Lord, that is to say they will not attain eternal blessedness. It is a trustworthy saying that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners (I Tim. 1:15). But we deceive ourselves if we think that we are saved while remaining sinners. Christ saves those sinners by giving them the means to become saints." --St. Philaret of Moscow

"You must love everyone with your whole soul, but put your hope in the one God, and serve Him alone. For as long as He is protecting us and our friends (the angels) are helping us, our enemies (the demons) cannot inflict evil upon us. But when He forsakes us, then also our friends turn away from us, and our enemies receive power over us." --St. Maximos Confessor

"He who repents rightly does not imagine that it is his own effort which cancels his former sins; but through this effort he makes his peace with God." --St. Mark the Ascetic

Words from the Saints -- March 27, 2025

"Lord, those are your best servants who wish to shape their life on Your answers rather than to shape Your answers on their wishes." --St. Augustine of Hippo

"Beside each believer stands an Angel as protector and shepherd, leading him to life." --St. Basil the Great

"Grace has been given mystically to those who have been baptized into Christ; and it becomes active within them to the extent that they actively observe the commandments. Grace never ceases to help us secretly; but to do good - as far as lies in our power - depends on us." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"In the beginning, passion and pain were not created together with the body; nor forgetfulness and ignorance together with the soul; nor the ever-changing impressions in the shape of events with the mind. All these things were brought about in man by his disobedience." --St. Maximos the Confessor

Words from the Saints -- March 20, 2025

"When you begin to read or listen to the Holy Scriptures, pray to God thus: "Lord Jesus Christ, open the ears and eyes of my heart so that I may hear Thy words and understand them, and may fulfill Thy will." Always pray to God like this, that He might illumine your mind and open to you the power of His words. Many, having trusted in their own reason, have turned away into deception." --St. Ephraim the Syrian

"Never belittle the significance of your thoughts, for not one escapes God's notice." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"Those who submit to the Lord with simple heart will run the good race. If they keep their minds on a leash, they will not draw the wickedness of the demons onto themselves." --St. John Climacus

"Once the soul starts to feel its own good health, the images in its dreams are also calm and free from passion." --St. Maximos the Confessor

Words from the Saints -- March 13, 2025

"It is in vain that we cut off the branches of evil, if we leave intact the root, which continually produces new ones." --St. Gregory the Great

"Perfume is not to be found in mud, nor the fragrance of love in the soul of a rancorous man." --St. Thalassios the Libyan

"As long as we assign the causes for our weaknesses to others, we cannot attain perfection in long-suffering." --St. John Cassian

"Affliction was allowed to make those afflicted more careful and more pious." --St John Chrysostom

"Blessed is the one who has before his eyes the day of departure (from this earthly life) and has hated pride, before the weakness of our nature has been proved as it rots in the tomb." --St. Ephraim the Syrian

Words from the Saints -- March 6, 2025

"Let us fast an acceptable and very pleasing fast to the Lord. True fast is the estrangement from evil, temperance of tongue, abstinence from anger, separation from desires, slander, falsehood, and lying. Abstaining from these is true fasting." --St. Basil the Great

"Like the apple of Thine eye preserve me, O Lord God; defend me and beneath Thy wings shelter me from temptations." --St. Ephraim the Syrain

"Without contrition of the heart, it is altogether impossible to rid ourselves of evil. Now the heart is made contrite by threefold self-control: in sleep, in food and in bodily relaxation. For excess of these three things leads to self-indulgence; and this in turn makes us accept evil thoughts, and is opposed to prayer and to appropriate work." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"The devil loves and always rejoices over the ungoverned; those who are not subject to one who has power, under God, to help them and to give them a hand." --St. Dorotheos of Gaza

"There is one antidote for evil passions: the purification of our souls which takes place through the mystery of godliness. The chief act of faith in this mystery is to look to Him who suffered the passion for us. The cross is the passion, so that whoever looks to it? is not harmed by the poison of desire. To look to the cross means to render one's whole life dead and crucified to the world." --St. Gregory of Nyssa

Words from the Saints -- February 27, 2025

"'Like a tree planted by streams of water,' [Psalm 1:3] the soul is irrigated by the Holy Scriptures and acquires vigour, produces tasty fruit, namely, true faith, and is beautified with a thousand green leaves, namely, actions that please God." --St. John of Damascus

"Blessed the one who has cleansed himself of every stain of sins, so that with boldness he may receive into his own house the King of glory, our Lord Jesus Christ." --St. Ephraim the Syrian

"If we were to receive the entire universe as a gift, that gift would be less than the Grace of God." --St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"A good conscience is found through prayer, and pure prayer through the conscience. Each by nature needs the other." --St. Mark the Ascetic

Words from the Saints -- February 20, 2025

"No cloud is formed without a breath of wind; and no passion is born without a thought." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"Of course, it would be easier to get to paradise with a full stomach, all snuggled up in a soft feather-bed, but what is required is to carry one’s cross along the way, for the kingdom of God is not attained by enduring one or two troubles, but many!" --St. Anthony of Optina

"There are three things which produce love of material wealth: self-indulgence, self-esteem and lack of faith. Lack of faith is more dangerous than the other two." --St. Maximos the Confessor

"The memory of insults is the residue of anger. It keeps sins alive, hates justice, ruins virtue, poisons the heart, rots the mind, defeats concentration, paralyzes prayer, puts love at a distance, and is a nail driven into the soul. If anyone has appeased his anger, he has already suppressed the memory of insults, while as long as the mother is alive the son persists. In order to appease the anger, love is necessary." --St. John Climacus

"May God teach every one of us to strive for His truth, and for the good of the Holy Church, rather than something for our own sake." --St. Tikhon of Moscow

Words from the Saints -- February 13, 2025

"We are not without hope of salvation, nor is it at all the right time for us to despair. All our life is a season of repentance, for God 'desires not the death of the sinner', as it is written, 'but that the wicked turn from his way and live' (cf. Ez. 33:11 LXX). For, if there were no hope of turning back, why would death not have followed immediately on disobedience, and why would we not be deprived of life as soon as we sin? For where there is hope of turning back, there is no room for despair." --St. Gregory Palamas

"A self-indulgent heart becomes a prison and chain for the soul when it leaves this life; whereas a diligent heart is an open door." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"As a fish cannot swim without water, and as a bird cannot fly without air, so a Christian cannot advance a single step without Christ." --St. Gregory the Theologian

"Give no ear to the slanderer's talk nor let your talk run on in the fault-finder's hearing, by readily speaking and listening to things against your neighbor; otherwise you will fall from divine charity [love] and be found a foreigner to eternal life." --St. Maximos the Confessor