When you see your body wasted through sickness, do not murmur against God, but say: “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” You are accustomed to look upon your body as upon your own inalienable property, but that is quite wrong, because your body is God’s edifice.
— Saint John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)
Bear with humble submission to the will of God every sorrow, every sickness and infirmity, every labor, every offense and disappointment, saying: “Thy Will be done,” knowing that God’s mercy orders everything for your good, and that the Lord can easily change every disappointment into happiness and joy.
— Saint John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)
God’s love is unconditional. Be sure that yours is too!
–Saint Augustine (354-430)
Accordingly, whether we have our requests granted or not, let us persist in asking and render thanks not only when we gain what we ask but also when we fail to. Failure to gain, you see, when that is what God wants, is not worse than succeeding; we do not know what is to our advantage in this regard in the way he does understand. The result is, then, that succeeding or failing we ought to give thanks. Why are you surprised that we don’t know what is to our advantage? … So we ought to yield to the Creator of our nature, and with joy and great relish accept those things that he has decided on and have an eye not to the appearance of events but to the decisions of the Lord. After all, he who knows better than we what is for our benefit also knows what steps must be taken for our salvation.
–Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)
For herein consists the material of my gain, herein consists my wealth, herein consists the means of getting rid of my sins: that my journey is continually encompassed by trials of this kind, that they are inflicted upon me by persons from whom they were quite unexpected.
–Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)
