The Journey towards Love

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The strongest walls between people and between nations are not built of iron or steel but are created by fear, hate, and prejudice. The only way to break down these walls is through the practice of forgiveness.

- Fr. Anthony Coniaris

 

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The main thing is to remember that the goal of our life is not material well-being and external happiness, but in acquiring the grace of God and in the preparation for life eternal, and for this, first of all, one must gather spiritual treasures which no one can ever take away.

- Metropolitan Hilarion

 

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Faith and love which are gifts of the Holy Spirit are such great and powerful means that a person who has them can easily, and with joy and consolation, go the way Jesus Christ went. Besides this, the Holy Spirit gives man the power to resist the delusions of the world so that although he makes use of earthly good, yet he uses them as a temporary visitor, without attaching his heart to them. But a man who has not got the Holy Spirit, despite all his learning and prudence, is always more or less a slave and worshiper of the world.

- St. Innocent of Alaska

 

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An old man was asked, 'How can I find God?'

He said, 'In fasting, in watching, in labours, in devotion, and, above all, in discernment. I tell you, many have injured their bodies without discernment and have gone away from us having achieved nothing. Our mouths smell bad through fasting, we know the Scriptures by heart, we recite all the Psalms of David, but we have not that which God seeks: charity and humility.'

- The Desert Fathers

 

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Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

- Matthew 6:19-21

 

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The remembrance of God is an all-powerful weapon, a mighty suit of armor against satan and the various sins. When the mind ceases to remember God and meditate upon divine things, man is overcome by negligence, indolence, forgetfulness, and then by evil desires! If you see your mind rushing towards the world, know that your soul lacks divine consolation, which is why it turns to the world for consolation. When a person’s soul is warm towards God, he is enlightened and feels compunction, and it is impossible for his mind to incline towards the world at the same time. The soul inclines towards the world when it is united, in a sense, with God.

- Elder Ephraim of Philotheou

 

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By faith the intellect is confirmed in pondering God. The way of salvation is that of the constant remembrance of God. The intellect separated from remembrance of God is like a fish out of water. The freedom of a true man consists in his freedom from the passions, in his resurrection with Christ, and in a joyous soul.

- St. Justin Popovich

 

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When you thus enter into the place of the heart, as I have shown you, give thanks to God and, praising his mercy, keep always to this doing, and it will teach you things that in no other way you will ever learn. Moreover you should know that when your mind becomes firmly established in the heart, it must not remain there silent and idle, but it should constantly repeat the Jesus prayer: "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me!" and never cease. For this practice, keeping the mind from dreams, renders it elusive and impenetrable to enemy suggestions and every day leads it more and more to love and longing for God.

- St. Niceforous

 

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Just as the blessings of God are unutterably great, so their acquisition requires much hardship and toil undertaken with hope and faith.

- St. Macarius the Great

 

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What toil we must endure, what fatigue, while we are attempting to climb hills and the summits of mountains! What, that we may ascend to heaven! If you consider the promised reward, what you endure is less. Immortality is given to the one who perseveres; everlasting life is offered; the Lord promises His Kingdom.

- St. Cyprian

 

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A servant of the Lord is he who in body stands before men, but in mind knocks at Heaven with prayer.

- St. John Climacus

 

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It is one thing neither to be stung nor angered by affronts and insults, nor by temptations and trials, and another to be pleased by them. It is one thing to pray for the people who do such things, and another to impress on one’s spirit the face of each one of them, and then, with tears of sincere love, to embrace them dispassionately as true friends without the least trace of dislike making its nest in the soul.

- St. Symeon the New Theologian

 

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As long as man lives self-centeredly, he cannot forgive his fellowmen. His offended ego does not allow him to. However, when repents and decides to place God in the center of his life, then he forgives those who distressed, harmed, and were unjust to him. We must put up a hard struggle in order to liberate our souls from resentment, because egoism tyrannizes our soul. For this reason the Lord taught just to seek forgiveness from God, on the condition that we forgive those who trespass against us.

- Archimandrite George Capsanis

 

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Each person must bear the weaknesses of others. Who is perfect? Who can boast that he has kept his heart undefiled? Hence, we are all sick, and whoever condemns his brother does not perceive that he himself is sick, because a sick person does not condemn another sick person.

- Elder Ephraim

 

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We cannot be saved by seeking just our own individual salvation; we need to look first to the good of others. In warfare, the soldiers who take to flight to save his own skin brings disaster on himself as well as on the others, whereas the good solider who takes up arms on behalf of his comrades saves his own life along with theirs. Many of our brothers and sisters have fallen in this battle, wounded and covered with blood, with no one to care for them. There is no one to look after then, no layman, no priest, no friend, no brother, because we are all of us seeking our own individual salvation, and thereby spoiling our chance of attaining it.

- Saint John Chrysostom

 

[jmdrake]

We cannot be saved by seeking just our own individual salvation; we need to look first to the good of others. In warfare, the soldiers who take to flight to save his own skin brings disaster on himself as well as on the others, whereas the good solider who takes up arms on behalf of his comrades saves his own life along with theirs. Many of our brothers and sisters have fallen in this battle, wounded and covered with blood, with no one to care for them. There is no one to look after then, no layman, no priest, no friend, no brother, because we are all of us seeking our own individual salvation, and thereby spoiling our chance of attaining it.

- Saint John Chrysostom

^That reminds me of "He who saves his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for My sake will save it."

 

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What do I need? I need true and active Christian love; I need a loving heart which takes compassion on its neighbors; I need joy over their prosperity and well-being, and sorrow over their sorrows and illnesses, their sins, failings, disorders, woes, poverty; I need warm and sincere compassion for all the circumstances of their lives, joy for those who are joyous and tears for those who are in tears. Enough of selfishness, egoism, living only for oneself and acquiring everything only for oneself: riches, pleasures, the glory of this world; enough of spiritual dying instead of living, grieving instead of rejoicing, and carrying within oneself the poison of selfishness, for selfishness is a poison that is continuously poured into our hearts by Satan.

- St. John of Kronstadt

 

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I have heard people slandering, and I have rebuked them. And these doers of evil replied in self-defense that they were doing so out of love and care for the person whom they were slandering. I said to them: ‘Stop that kind of love, otherwise you will be condemning as a liar him who said: “Him that privily talked against his neighbor, did I drive away” (Ps. 100:5). If you say you love, then pray secretly, and do not mock the man. For this is the kind of love that is acceptable to the Lord. But I will not hide this from you (and of course be careful, lest you judge the offender): Judas was in the company of Christ’s disciples, and the thief was in the company of murderers. Yet it is a wondrous thing, how in a single instant, they exchanged places.

- St. John of Sinai

 

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The highest prayer is that in which a person forgets all his needs, even the loftiest ones, burning with a single desire – to get as close as possible to the Lord, to place himself at His feet, to give Him all his heart. This is sublime love and sublime prayer, when one wishes to live only in the Lord, to love Him, to hide in His nearness, to be filled with His indescribable love.

- St John the Wonderworker

 

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Never be jealous of wealth. Always live modestly and humbly, without egotism. Egotism is a terrible sin. When you hear someone being accused, even though it may be true, never add more accusations, but always say something positive and be sorry for the person. Take care to always love the poor, the elderly, the orphans, the sick. Spend time with poor people and with those whom others humble. Earn your living with the honest sweat of your brow. Don’t forget to give alms. This is the path you must tread. Always think of what good thing you will do. These are the things that make up the life of a Christian.

- Elder George of Drama