Words from the Saints -- October 6, 2022

"We only call the Lord, God, but in reality we have our own gods, because we do not do the Will of God, but the will and thoughts of our flesh, the will of our heart, of our passions ; our gods are—our flesh, pleasures, money, dress, etc." --St. John of Kronstadt

"The conscience is a true teacher, and whoever listens to it will not stumble." --St. Thalassios the Libyan

"Do not trust in your own righteousness, do not worry about the past, but control your tongue and your stomach." --St. Anthony the Great (of Egypt)

"Hence it is very clear that disturbing urges are not always aroused in us by other people's faults. Rather, we are to blame -- we who have stored up within ourselves the causes of our offenses and the seeds of our vices that, when the rain shower of temptation drenches our mind, at once break forth into buds and fruits." --St. John Cassian

"Even if you are not what you should be, you should not despair. It is bad enough that you have sinned- why in addition do you wrong God by regarding Him in your ignorance as powerless? Is He, who for your sake created the great universe that you behold, incapable of saving your soul?" --St. Peter Damaskos

"If love is the fulfilling of the law (Romans 13:10), he who is full of rancor towards his neighbor and lays traps for him and curses him, exulting in his fall, must surely be a transgressor deserving eternal punishment." --St. Maximos the Confessor