Fire cannot last long in water, nor can a shameful thought in a heart that loves God. For every man who loves God suffers gladly, and voluntary suffering is by nature the enemy of sensual pleasure.
–Saint Kosmas Aitolos (c.1714 – 1779)
One should always endure any trial for the sake of God with gratitude. Our life is a single minute in comparison with eternity; and therefore, according to the Apostle, the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18).
–Saint Seraphim of Sarov (1754-1833)
The mercy of God is hidden in sufferings not of our choice; and if we accept such sufferings patiently, they bring us to repentance and deliver us from everlasting punishment.
–Saint Cosmas Aitolos (c. 1714 – 1779)
We should humbly and realistically accept our limitations both in prayer and in action. It rests with us to devote ourselves to prayer, to prepare ourselves for it, to begin to pray, and to advance as best as we can, but we will come up against a limit beyond which only the Holy Spirit can enable us to pass. It is the same with action. We can indeed expend ourselves on a variety of activities but we shall find our limitations in the strength we bring to them, in our courage an detachment, and, above all, in the perfecting of our charity. Only the Holy Spirit can take us beyond these limitations. Whether in prayer or in action, we are, then, wholly dependent on the Holy Spirit.
–René Voillaume (1905–2003)
