Blessed Are The Stumps

[patristic-corgis]

“The memories of the saints are precious to God, and therefore they ought also to be so to us; and such persons who serve God by holy living, industrious preaching, and religious dying, ought to have their names preserved in honour, and God be glorified in them, and their holy doctrines and lives published and imitated; and we, by so doing, give testimony to the article of the communion of saints.”

- Jeremy Taylor, The Shakespeare of Divines

[patristic-corgis]

Evagrius said, ‘Cut the desire for many things out of your heart and so prevent your mind being dispersed and your stillness lost’.

- Sayings of the Desert Fathers

[patristic-corgis]

‘...as if I heard this Thy voice from on high:

“I am the food of grown men. Grow, and thou shalt feed upon Me;

nor shalt thou convert Me, like the food of thy flesh into thee, but thou shalt be converted into Me.”’

- Saint Augustine, Confessions, Book VII, Chapter X

[patristic-corgis]

God requires not the doing of the commandments for their own sake, but the correction of the soul, for whose sake He established the commandments.

- St. Isaac the Syrian, Homilies, 34

[patristic-corgis]

As God illumines all people equally with the light of the sun, so do those who desire to imitate God let shine an equal ray of love on all people. For wherever love disappears, hatred immediately appears in its place. And if God is love, then hatred is the devil. Therefore as one who has love has God within himself, so he who has hatred within himself nurtures the devil within himself.

- Saint Basil the Great, Homilies on Asceticism 3

[patristic-corgis]

Learn to be silent more, and you will not sin and judge others. When you will cease complaining and will zealously care for the sick for God’s sake, then you will be freed from your illnesses, not only of the body, but also of the soul. If after your correction the illness does not leave, then it means that for your patience you will be given a crown in the future unending life.

- Saint Joseph of Optina, “Living Without Hypocrisy”

[patristic-corgis]

I am well aware, almighty God and Father, that in my life I owe you a most particular duty. It is to make my every thought and word speak of you

- Saint Hilary of Poitiers

[patristic-corgis]

We have within us deeply rooted weaknesses, passions, and defects…

Only with the passage of time and with fervor will they be conquered.

Don’t let anything deprive you of hope.

- St. Nectarios of Aegina

[patristic-corgis]

“One should nourish the soul with the word of God: for the word of God, as St. Gregory the Theologian says, is angelic bread, by which are nourished souls who hunger for God”.

- Saint Seraphim of Sarov, Spiritual Instructions

[patristic-corgis]

If you are a theologian, you will pray truly. And if you pray truly, you are a theologian.

- Evagrius Ponticus, On Prayer

[patristic-corgis]

Patience is continuous good humour.

- Saint Nikon of Optina

[patristic-corgis]

If any man be devout and love God, let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast. If any man be a wise servant, let him rejoicing enter into the joy of his Lord. If any have labored long in fasting, let him now receive his recompense. If any have wrought from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward. If any have come at the third hour, let him with thankfulness keep the feast. If any have arrived at the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings; because he shall in nowise be deprived thereof. If any have delayed until the ninth hour, let him draw near, fearing nothing. If any have tarried even until the eleventh hour, let him, also, be not alarmed at his tardiness; for the Lord, who is jealous of his honor, will accept the last even as the first; He gives rest unto him who comes at the eleventh hour, even as unto him who has wrought from the first hour.

And He shows mercy upon the last, and cares for the first; and to the one He gives, and upon the other He bestows gifts. And He both accepts the deeds, and welcomes the intention, and honors the acts and praises the offering. Wherefore, enter you all into the joy of your Lord; and receive your reward, both the first, and likewise the second. You rich and poor together, hold high festival. You sober and you heedless, honor the day. Rejoice today, both you who have fasted and you who have disregarded the fast. The table is full-laden; feast ye all sumptuously. The calf is fatted; let no one go hungry away.

Enjoy ye all the feast of faith: Receive ye all the riches of loving-kindness. let no one bewail his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one weep for his iniquities, for pardon has shown forth from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Savior’s death has set us free. He that was held prisoner of it has annihilated it. By descending into Hell, He made Hell captive. He embittered it when it tasted of His flesh. And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry: Hell, said he, was embittered, when it encountered Thee in the lower regions. It was embittered, for it was abolished. It was embittered, for it was mocked. It was embittered, for it was slain. It was embittered, for it was overthrown. It was embittered, for it was fettered in chains. It took a body, and met God face to face. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen.

O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory? Christ is risen, and you are overthrown. Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen. Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen, and life reigns. Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave. For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages. Amen.

- The Paschal Homily of Saint John Chrysostom

[patristic-corgis]

Let us take refuge in the Lord, and ascend a little to the place where thoughts dry up, and stirrings vanish. Where memories fade away and the passions die, where human nature becomes serene, and is transformed as it stands in the other world.

+ Saint Isaac of Syria (Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium, translated by Sebastian Brock)

[patristic-corgis]

“…. Fire melts wax and dries up mud:  in the same way secret meditation melts our evil thoughts and withers the passions of the soul; it enlightens our mind, makes the understanding radiant, and fills the heart with joy.   Secret meditation wounds devils, and drives away thoughts of wickedness.  He who arms himself with this secret meditation, making his inner man resplendent, is strengthened by God, fortified by the angels, and glorified by men.  Secret meditation and reading turn the soul into an impregnable stronghold, an invincible fortress, a peaceful haven, and they preserve it undisturbed and unshaken ….

Secret meditation is a mirror for the mind and a light for the conscience; it tames lust, calms fury, dispels wrath, drives away bitterness, puts irritability to flight, banishes injustice.  Secret meditation Illuminates the mind and expels laziness.  From it is born the tenderness that warms and melts the soul.  Through it the fear of God enters and dwells within you, troubling you to tears.

By secret meditation a monk is given true humility of mind, untroubled prayer, a vigil blessed by tenderness and warmth. Secret meditation disperses evil thoughts, flogs the demons, sanctifies the body, teaches us long-suffering and self-restraint, and keeps us mindful of Gehenna. Secret meditation preserves the mind free of distractions and helps it to reflect upon death. Secret meditation is full of every kind of good work, adorned with every virtue; and it is far removed from every evil deed.”

Abba Isaiah of Scetis, The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology

[patristic-corgis]

Take heed often to come together to give thanks to God and show forth His praise.

For when you assemble frequently in the same place, the powers of Satan are destroyed, and the destruction at which he aims is prevented by the unity of your faith.

Nothing is more precious than peace, by which all war, in heaven and earth, is brought to an end.

— St. Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Ephesians, 13

[patristic-corgis]

Be at peace with your soul; then heaven and earth will be at peace with you.

Enter eagerly into the treasure house that is within you, and so you will see the things that are in heaven; for there is but one single entry to them both.

The ladder that leads to the kingdom is hidden within your soul.

Flee from sin, dive into yourself, and in your soul you will discover the stairs by which to ascend.

- Saint Isaac the Syrian, Mystic Treatises

[patristic-corgis]

“Love does not reflect. Love is simple. Love never mistakes. Likewise believe and trust without reflection, for faith and trust are also simple; or better: God, in whom we believe and in whom we trust, is an incomplex Being, as He is also simply love.”

+ Saint John of Kronstadt