Faith is the door to mysteries...( Saint Isaac The Syrian )

What the bodily eyes are to sensory objects,the same is faith to the eyes of the understanding that gaze at hidden treasures.Even as we have two bodily eyes,we possess two eyes of the soul,as the Fathers say;yet both have not the same operation with respect to divine vision.With one we see the hidden Glory of God which is concealed in the natures of things;that is to say,we behold His power,His wisdom, and His eternal providence for us,which we understand from the magnitude of His governance on our behalf.With this same eye we also behold the heavenly orders of our fellow servants.With the other,we behold the glory of His Holy nature.When God is pleased to admit us to spiritual mysteries,He opens wide the sea of faith in our minds.


Repentance is given to the sons of men as grace after grace,for repentance is a second regeneration by God.That of which we have received an earnest by baptism, we receive as a gift by means of repentance.Repentance is the door of mercy, opened to those who seek it.By this door we enter into the mercy of God, and apart from this entrance we shall not find mercy.'For all have sinned',according to divine Scripture,'being justified freely by His grace.

'Repentance is the second grace and is begotten in the heart by faith and fear.


Fear is the paternal rod that guides our way until we reach the spiritual paradise of good things;and when we have attained thereto,it leaves us and turns back.

Paradise is the love of God,wherein is the enjoyment of all blessedness,and there the blessed Paul partook of supernatural nourishment.When he tasted there of the tree of life,he cried out,saying,'eye that hath not seen,nor ear heard,neither have entered into the heart of man,the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him'.Adam was barred from this tree through the devil's counsel.


The tree of life is the love of God from which Adam fell away,and thereafter he saw joy no longer,and he toiled and labored in the land of thorns.Even though they make their way in righteousness,those who are bereft of the love of God eat in their work the bread of sweat,which the first-created man was commanded to eat after his fall.

Until we find love,our labor is in the land of thorns,and in the midst of thorns we both sow and reap,even if our seed is the seed of righteousness,and in every hour we are pricked by the thorns,and however much we render ourselves righteous,we live by the sweat of our brow.

But when we find love,we partake of heavenly bread and are made strong without labor and toil.The heavenly bread is Christ,Who came down from Heaven and gave life to the world.This is the nourishment of the angels.

The man who has found love eats and drinks Christ every day and hour and hereby is made immortal.;He that eateth of this bread,;He says,;which i will give him,shall not see death unto eternity.'Blessed is he who eats the bread of love,which is Jesus!He who eats of love eats Christ,the God over all,as John bears witness,saying,'God is love.'

Wherefore,the man who lives in love reaps life from God,and while yet in this world,he even now breathes the air of the resurrection;in this air the righteous will delight in the resurrection.

Love is the kingdom,whereof the Lord mystically promised His disciples to eat in his Kingdom.For when we hear Him say,'Ye shall eat and drink at the table of My Kingdom,;what do we suppose we shall eat,if not love?Love is sufficient to nourish a man instead of food and drink.


This is the wine that 'maketh glad the heart of man.'Blessed is he who drinks of this wine!Profligates have drunk this wine and felt shame;sinners have drunk it and have forgotten the pathways of stumbling;drunkards have drunk this wine and become fasters,the rich have drunk it and desired poverty;the poor have drunk it and been made rich with hope;the sick have drunk it and become strong;the unlearned have taken it and been made wise.

As it is not possible to cross over the great ocean without a ship,so no one can attain to love without fear.This fetid sea,which lies between us and the noetic paradise,we can cross with the boat of repentance, whose oarsmen are those of fear.

But if the oarsmen of fear do not pilot this barque of repentance wherewith we cross over the sea of this world to God,we shall be drowned in the fetid sea.Repentance is the ship,and fear is the pilot;love is the divine haven.



Thus fear sets us in the ship of repentance,transports us over the foul sea of this life(that is,of the world),and guides us to the divine port,which is love.

Hither proceed all that labor and are afflicted and heavy laden in repentance.When we attain love,we attain to God.Our way is ended and we have passed unto the isle that lies beyond the world,where is the Father,and the Son,and the Holy Spirit,to Whom be glory and dominion,and may He make us worthy of His glory and His love through the fear of Him.Amen.

Saint Isaac the Syrian

In the Kingdom of Christ to come, there will no longer be need for receiving the Body and Blood of Christ.. ( St. John Maximovitch )

In the Kingdom of Christ to come, there will no longer be need for receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, for all who have been vouchsafed it will be in closest converse with Him and will enjoy the pre-eternal light of the Life originating Trinity, experiencing that blessedness which no tongue can express, and which is incomprehensible to our feeble mind. For this reason after partaking of the Holy Mysteries at Liturgy, in the altar is always pronounced the prayer which we sing on Paschal days: "O Christ, Thou great and most sacred Pascha! O Wisdom, Word and Power of God! Grant us to partake of Thee more fully in the unwaning day of Thy kingdom" (Paschal Canon, 9th Ode).

St. John Maximovitch

Do not have confidence in your wealth...

Do not take pride in your education and wisdom because these are of no help to you, unless your
knowledge helps to improve your conduct and way of life. If the knowledge you acquire does not increase your love for God, then it actually
becomes a cause of greater blindness for you.


When darkness covered the entire land of Egypt, there was broad daylight for the servants of God:
“And there was thick darkness in all the land
of Egypt for three days. No one saw his brother for three days; nor did anyone rise from his bed
for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings”(Ex.10:23).


When a person is void of the love of God, even if he happens to be the wisest of men, he will always
remain and walk in the darkness—for only the love of God enlightens the mind. In the absence of this light, even if you possess the wisdom of
Solomon, you will walk as the Egyptians within darkness.


Do not have confidence in your wealth or in any other temporary thing because all such things
deteriorate and become worthless. A judge who makes a verdict without first listening to both parties lacks common sense.


If you have a preference for the things of this
present world, it is because you have not seen the heavenly and divine things through the eyes of
our precious faith. They who love earthly
pleasures praise and vote in favor of the world, and they choose the earth’s clay and dirt because they have never wanted to hear the other side, the testimony of the spirit.


Thus, they value and desire worldly things
because they have never seen or experienced
the things of God. When someone tastes the grace of the Spirit, he then despises the flesh; and when someone adequately experiences the grace of God, he henceforth completely disregards all the pleasures of the flesh.


Therefore, do not be overcome by the sensual pleasures of the flesh lest you become similar to the animals,as the prophet David states:
“Man, being in honor, did not understand; he is compared to the mindless animals, and is become like unto them”(Ps. 48:20).


In other words, man, who was created with so
much honor and nobility by God, did not
understand the purpose for which he was created; rather, he became like the irrational animals. He did not perceive what lies ahead (i.e. the bitter
end of worldly vanity). He only paid attention to and was captivated by the momentary honor and pleasure that was in front of him, without
considering and taking into account the future retribution that awaited him. 


from the book The Salvation of Sinners

To fast is to banquet with angels. ( St. Athanasius the Great )

Devils take great delight in fullness, and drunkenness and bodily comfort. Fasting possesses great power and it works glorious things. To fast is to banquet with angels.

St. Athanasius the Great

How St.Iakovos Tsalikis would visit the shrine of St. John the Russian

“Elder Iakovos Tsalikis would regularly visit the Shrine of St. John the Russian in Evia.

He said: “Once, I saw the Saint alive inside of his reliquary. I asked him: “My Saint, how did you live in Asia Minor, what virtues and blessings did you have?

The Saint responded to me: “I slept in the cave in which was the stable and covered myself with straw to take cover in the winter so I wouldn’t freeze. I had humility and faith.”

In a short while he said to me: “Wait, Fr. Iakovos, because now two people have come to pray for a sick child. Wait until I go help him.”

Immediately the reliquary appeared empty, because the Saint left. In a short while, he returned, though I didn’t see how he did, but I saw him inside his reliquary like a [living] man!”

Never take love for granted...Beautiful story

A very poor man lived with his wife. One day, his wife, who had very long hair asked him to buy her a comb for her hair to grow well and to be well-groomed. The man felt very sorry and said no. He explained that he did not even have enough money to fix the strap of his watch he had just broken. She did not insist on her request. 

The man went to work and passed by a watch shop, sold his damaged watch at a low price and went to buy a comb for his wife. He came home in the evening with the comb in his hand ready to give to his wife. He was surprised when he saw his wife with a very short hair cut. She had sold her hair and was holding a new watch band. Tears flowed simultaneously from their eyes, not for the futility of their actions, but for the reciprocity of their love.


MORAL: To love is nothing, to be loved is something but to love and to be loved by the one you love,that is EVERYTHING. Never take love for granted.

Every Christian can be a Saint....

Saints come from every class and occupation, every temperament and background. They show us how Christ can be imitated in everyone's life including our own. As we have models in business, science, homemaking, etc., so we have faith models. 

We have soldier-saints, scholar-saints, politician- saints. missionary--saints, parent-saints, praying-saints, healer-saints, worker-saints, and most important of all, sinner-saints. 

Saints are not perfect people: to be a saint is to be the best one can be by God's grace. That is why every saint is different and why every Christian can be one.

Sensitive people must be very careful of self-accusation.. ( St. Paisios )

Sensitive people must be very careful of self-accusation, because the devil tries to convert it into despair (through hypersensitivity).

 Self-accusation must always be accompanied by hope in God. When someone feels anxiety in this case, he must realize that the evil one has his tail in it.

St. Paisios

The power of God is effective when a person asks for the help from God. ( St. John Maximovitch )

God’s grace always assists those who struggle, but this does not mean that a struggler is always in the position of a victor. Sometimes in the arena the wild animals did not touch the righteous ones, but by no means were they all preserved untouched.

What is important is not victory or the position of a victor, but rather the labor of striving towards God and devotion to Him.

Though a man may be found in a weak state, that does not at all mean that he has been abandoned by God. On the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ was in trouble, as the world sees things. But when the sinful world considered Him to be completely destroyed, in fact He was victorious over death and hades. The Lord did not promise us positions as victors as a reward for righteousness, but told us, “In the world you will have tribulation — but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33).

The power of God is effective when a person asks for the help from God, acknowledging his own weakness and sinfulness. This is why humility and the striving towards God are the fundamental virtues of a Christian.

St. John Maximovitch

The power of God is effective when a person asks for the help from God,... ( St. John Maximovitch )

God’s grace always assists those who struggle, but this does not mean that a struggler is always in the position of a victor. Sometimes in the arena the wild animals did not touch the righteous ones, but by no means were they all preserved untouched.

What is important is not victory or the position of a victor, but rather the labor of striving towards God and devotion to Him.

Though a man may be found in a weak state, that does not at all mean that he has been abandoned by God. On the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ was in trouble, as the world sees things. But when the sinful world considered Him to be completely destroyed, in fact He was victorious over death and hades. The Lord did not promise us positions as victors as a reward for righteousness, but told us, “In the world you will have tribulation — but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33).

The power of God is effective when a person asks for the help from God, acknowledging his own weakness and sinfulness. This is why humility and the striving towards God are the fundamental virtues of a Christian.

St. John Maximovitch