Almsgiving, fasting, and prayer…
Almsgiving heals the irascible part of the soul; fasting extinguishes the concupisence; and prayer purifies the mind and prepares it for the contemplation of reality.
–Saint Maximos the Confessor (580-662)
Cling to God with open heart…
We cannot acquire pure prayer unless we cling to God with an open heart, since it is God alone who gives the gift of prayer to one who prays, and God who teaches us mystical knowledge.
–Saint Theodoros the Ascetic (Seventh Century)
Let no one despair of being…
Let no one despair of being saved. For if the diseases of wickedness that oppress us are great, there is an almighty mighty doctor coming who can deliver us. But all of us should remember that the same Son of God who comes in meekness to save us will come again in severity to judge us.
–Venerable Bede (c. 673-735)
Anyone who loves God in the…
Anyone who loves God in the depths of his heart has already been loved by God. In fact, the measure of a man’s love for God depends upon how deeply aware he is of God’s love for him. When this awareness is keen it makes whoever possesses it long to be enlightened by the divine light, and this longing is so intense that it seems to penetrate his very bones. He loses all consciousness of himself and is entirely transformed by the love of God.
–Saint Diadochus of Photike (c. 400 – c. 486)
Faith causes and delivers…
Faith causes the barren to sprout forth. It delivers from the sword. It raises up from the pit. It enriches the poor. It releases the captives. It delivers the persecuted. It brings down the fire. It divides the sea. It cleaves the rock, and gives to the thirsty water to drink. It satisfies the hungry It raises the dead, and brings them up from Sheol. It stills the billows. It heals the sick. It conquers hosts. It overthrows walls. It stops the mouths of lions and quenches the flame of fire. It humiliates the proud and brings the humble to honor. All these mighty works are wrought by faith.
–Saint Aphrahat (c. 270–c. 345)
Anxiety proceeds from…
Anxiety proceeds from an inordinate desire to be freed from present evil or to acquire a hoped for good. Yet there is nothing that tends more to increase evil and prevent enjoyment of good that to be disturbed and anxious. Birds stay caught in nets and traps because when they find themselves ensnared they flutter about wildly trying to escape and in so doing entangle themselves all the more.Whenever you urgently desire to escape from a certain evil or obtain a certain good you must be especially careful both to put your mind at rest and in peace and to have a calm judgment and will. Then try gently and meekly to accomplish your desire,taking in regular order the most convenient means.
–Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
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