Words from the Saints -- August 7, 2025

"The Kingdom of Heaven, O man, requires no other price than yourself. The value of it is yourself. Give yourself for it and you shall have it." --St. Augustine of Hippo

"So, morning or evening, immediately before you begin to repeat your prayers, stand awhile, sit for awhile, or walk a little and try to steady your mind and turn it away from all worldly activities and objects. After this, think who He is to whom you turn in prayer, then recollect who you are; who it is who is about to start this invocation to Him in prayer. Do this in such a way as to awake in your heart a feeling of humility and reverent awe that your are standing in the presence of God. It is the beginning of prayer, and a good beginning is half the complete task." --St. Theophan the Recluse

"Before the war begins, seek after your ally; before you fall ill, seek out your physician; and before grievous things come upon you, pray, and in the time of your tribulations you will find Him, and He will listen to you." --St. Isaac the Syrian

Words from the Saints -- July 31, 2025

"A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love." --St. Basil the Great

"To cling always to God and to the things of God--this must be our major effort, this must be the road that the heart follows unswervingly." --St. John Cassian

"Prayer is an excellent task for the servants of Christ above all others, for the other things are ministries and secondary... Truly this is the task entrusted to us by God, and the crown of all else." --St. Simeon of Thessalonica

"So then, brethren, let us not fall, let us not lose heart, but let us all stand together, as good soldiers of Christ, bearing our arms, not physical ones, but ones empowered by God, for the destruction of strongholds, that is to say: prudence, courage, temperance and justice; and with them fulfilling that which was said by God." --St. Theodore the Studite

Words from the Saints -- July 24, 2025

"The love of God inspires the love of our neighbor, and the love of our neighbor serves to keep alive the love of God." --St. Gregory the Great, Pope of Rome

"The person who fears the Lord has humility as his constant companion and, through the thoughts which humility inspires, reaches a state of divine love and thankfulness. For he recalls his former worldly way of life, the various sins he has committed and the temptations which have befallen him since his youth; and he recalls, too, how the Lord delivered him from all this, and how He led him away from a passion-dominated life to a life ruled by God. Then, together with fear, he also receives love, and in deep humility continually gives thanks to the Benefactor and Helmsman of our lives." --St. Maximos the Confessor

"You are indignant that God is indignant, as if you deserved anything good by living evilly, as if all those things that happen were still not less and lighter than your own sins." --St. Cyprian of Carthage

"When you pray, try to let the prayer reach your heart; in other words, it is necessary that your heart should feel what you are talking about in your prayer, that it should wish for the blessing for which you are asking…. Observe, during prayer, whether your heart is in accord with that which you are saying." --St. John of Kronstadt

"The principal vices - stupidity, cowardice, licentiousness, injustice - are the "image" of the "earthy" man. The principal virtues - intelligence, courage, self-restraint, justice - are the "image" of the "heavenly" man. As we have borne the image of the earthy, let us also bear the image of the heavenly (1 Corinthians 15:49)." --St. Maximos the Confessor

Words from the Saints -- July 17, 2025

"As we lift up our hearts to [our Lord] we shall behold the great spectacle of our nature united forever with the fire of the divinity. And laying aside everything to do with the coats of skin in which we were clothed because of the transgression (Genesis 3:21), let us stand on holy ground (Exodus 3:5), each one of us marking out his own holy ground through virtue and steadfast inclination towards God. In this way we shall be bold when God comes in fire, and run forward to be enlightened and once enlightened live with Him forever, to the glory of Him Who is the Light above all glory, might, honor and worship, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen." --St. Gregory Palamas

"Do not shun poverty and afflictions, these wings of buoyant prayer." --St. Nilus of Sinai

"Through the prayer, man is cleansed, brightened, sanctified." --Elder Amphilochios of Patmos

"Do all in your power not to fall, for the strong athlete should not fall. But if you do fall, get up again at once and continue the contest. Even if you fall a thousand times because of the withdrawal of God's grace, rise up again each time, and keep on doing this until the day of your death. For it is written, 'If a righteous man falls down seven times'—that is, repeatedly throughout his life—'seven times shall he rise again' [Proverbs 24:16]." --St. John of Karpathos

Words from the Saints -- July 10, 2025

"True, one may know man’s final goal: communion with God. And one may describe the path to it: faith, and walking in the commandments, with the aid of divine grace. One need only say in addition: here is the path-start walking!" --St. Theophan The Recluse

"Watch your heart during all your life—examine it, listen to it, and see what prevents its union with the most blessed Lord. Let this be for you the science of all sciences, and with God’s help you will easily observe what estranges you from God, and what draws you towards Him and unites you to Him. It is the evil spirit more than anything else that stands between our hearts and God; he estranges God from us by various passions, or by the desires of the flesh, by the desires of the eyes, and by worldly pride." --St. John of Kronstadt

"If you pray truly, you will receive assurances of many things, and angels will come to you as they came to Daniel, and will enlighten you with understanding of causes, the wherefore of all things." --St. Nilus of Sinai

"Brethren, let us endeavor to be a holy material for a holy house of the Kingdom of Christ which He builds day and night that He, by the end of time, finishes it completely." --St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"God, heal your creature, that he not be ruled by the enemy." --St. Poemen

"Just as water and fire cannot be combined, so self-justification and humility exclude one another." --St. Mark the Ascetic

"In the eyes of the sovereign Judge the merit of our actions depends on the motives which prompted them." --St. Gregory the Great

"With what hope will we meet Christ if we are still enslaved to the pleasures of the flesh?" --St. Thalassios the Libyan

"On our own, without Divine help, we are not even capable of praying. We cannot pray as needed, and we do not know how to pray or what to pray for." --St. Nikon of Optina

Words from the Saints -- July 3, 2025

"Be ashamed when you sin, not when you repent." --St. John Chrysostom

"It is God, Who is merciful and grants everyone what he needs, Who is building him up when He gives him more than he needs; in doing so He shows the abundance of His love for men and teaches him to give thanks. When He does not grant him what he needs, He makes him compensate for the thing he needs through the working of the mind and teaches him patience." --St. Dorotheos of Gaza

"Through repentance the filth of our foul actions is washed away. After this, we participate in the Holy Spirit, not automatically, but according to the faith, humility and inner disposition of the repentance in which our soul is engaged. For this reason it is good to repent each day as the act of repentance is unending." --St. Simeon the New Theologian

"There is no possession more precious than prayer in the whole of human life. Never be parted from it; never abandon it. But, as our Lord said, let us pray that our toil may not be for nothing, ‘When you stand in prayer, forgive if you have anything against anyone, that your heavenly Father may forgive you your faults.'" --St. Ephraim the Syrian

"Every day you provide your bodies with good to keep them from failing. In the same way your good works should be the daily nourishment of your hearts. Your bodies are fed with food and your spirits with good works. You aren’t to deny your soul, which is going to live forever, what you grant to your body, which is going to die." --St. Gregory the Great

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