But of the fear of the Lord this is what is written: ‘Come, my children, listen to me, I shall teach you the fear of the Lord.’ The fear of the Lord has then to be learned because it can be taught. It does not lie in terror, but in something that can be taught. It does not arise from the fearfulness of our nature; it has to be acquired by obedience to the commandments, by holiness of life and by knowledge of the truth.
–Saint Hilary of Poitiers (c. 300-368)
Blessed the one who always keeps the memory of God in himself, he will be wholly like an Angel from heaven upon earth, ministering to the Lord with fear and love.
–Saint Ephrem of Syria (c. 306-373)
Let us take refuge from this world. You can do this in spirit, even if you are kept here in the body. You can at the same time be here and present to the Lord. Your soul must hold fast to him, you must follow after him in your thoughts, you must tread his ways by faith, not in outward show. You must take refuge in him. He is your refuge and your strength.
–Saint Ambrose of Milan (339-397)
We ought not, as soon as we leave church, to plunge into business unsuited to church, but as soon as we get home, we should take the Scriptures into our hands, and call our wife and children to join us in putting together what we have heard in church.
— Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)
It was not enough for God to give us his Son merely to point out the way. He made the Son himself the way, so that you might journey with him as guide, as he walks in his own way.
–Saint Augustine (354-430)
Now we are conscious of two powers in the human soul: the active and the contemplative; the former maps the way, the latter marks the journey’s end; in the former we toil so that our hearts may be purified for the vision of God, in the latter we are at rest and see God; the former calls for the practice of the commandments of this life that passes away, in the latter we drink in the teachings of the life that shall never pass away.
–Saint Augustine (354-430)
