Words from the Saints -- July 9, 2020
Gerald Largent
"It is not fit for the sinner to despair of salvation, nor for the righteous to relax in peace concerning his virtue." --St. Jerome
"If you are a Christian, no earthly city is yours. Of our City 'the Builder and Maker is God.' Though we may gain possession of the whole world, we are but strangers and sojourners in it all! We are enrolled in Heaven: our citizenship is there! Let us not, after the manner of little children, despise things that are great, and admire those which are little." --St. John Chrysostom
"As I ponder the true nature of compunction, I find myself amazed by the way in which inward joy and gladness mingle with what we call mourning and grief, like honey in a comb. There must be a lesson here, and it surely is that compunction is properly a gift from God, so that there is a real pleasure in the soul, since God secretly brings consolation to those who in their heart of hearts are repentant."--St. John Climacus
"In all respects belittle yourself before all men, and you will be raised above the princes of this age." --St. Isaac the Syrian
"...The true fulfillment of the commandments does not require merely forbearance from excesses or defects, it also demands an aim acceptable to God, that is the fulfillment in everything of God's will alone." --St. Gregory of Sinai
"The fact that a man slips into accidental sins demonstrates the weakness of his nature; for to our profit God has permitted our nature to be susceptible to sinful occurrences. For He has not thought it good to make the soul superior to these occurrences before the second regeneration. It is profitable for the soul to be susceptible to accidental sins because this pricks the conscience. To persist in them is, however, audacious and shameful. " --St. Isaac the Syrian
"True, one may know man’s final goal: communion with God. And one may describe the path to it: faith, and walking in the commandments, with the aid of divine grace. One need only say in addition: here is the path-start walking!" --St. Theophan The Recluse