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The Holy Fathers - On the Incarnation
"What is the purpose of the Incarnation of the Divine Logos which is proclaimed throughout the Scriptures, about which we read and which yet we do not recognize? Surely it is that He has shared in what is ours so as to make us participants in what is His. For the Son of God became the Son of man in order to make us human beings sons of God, raising us up by grace to what He is by nature, giving us a new birth in the Holy Spirit and leading us directly into the kingdom of heaven. Or, rather, He gives us the grace to possess this kingdom within ourselves (cf. Luke 17:21), so that not merely do we hope to enter it but, being in full possession of it, we can affirm: 'Our life is hid with Christ in God' (Col. 3:3). "
- St. Symeon the New Theologian
"The divine Logos, who once for all was born in the flesh, always in His compassion desires to be born in spirit in those who desire Him. He becomes an infant and molds Himself in them through the virtues. He reveals as much of Himself as He knows the recipient can accept; He does not diminish the manifestation of His own greatness out of lack of generosity but estimates the receptive capacity of those who desire to see Him. "
- St. Maximos the Confessor
"With this purpose did the God of all things become man, that is, in order that by suffering in the flesh, which is susceptible of suffering, He might redeem our whole race, which was sold to death; and that by working wondrous things by His divinity, which is unsusceptible of suffering, through the medium of the flesh He might restore it to that incorruptible and blessed life from which it fell away by yielding to the devil; and that He might establish the holy orders of intelligent existences in the heavens in immutability by the mystery of His Incarnation, the doing of which is the recapitulation of all things in Himself. He remained therefore, also, after His incarnation, according to nature, God infinite, and more, having the activity proper and suitable to Himself, - an activity growing out of His divinity essentially, and manifested through His perfectly holy flesh by wondrous acts economically, to the intent that He might be believed in as God, while working out of Himself by the flesh, which by nature is weak, the salvation of the universe. "
- St. Hippolytus of Rome
"'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,' (Jn.1:14) the Word of the Father. 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' (Jn.1:1) He came and took on flesh and became man, and the world came into being through Him - He made the world! He gave us the right to become children of God. (Jn.1:12) He came to His creatures and they did not receive Him. Now just think - He made the world and the people, and they were cold and callous and did not receive Him. He came as a stranger; He was given hospitality on the wood of the Cross instead of on a mattress; He was given hospitality in a grave; the earth was shaken, the veil was rent, the sun was darkened, the universe was terrified! 'Who is so great a God as our God?' (Ps.76:13) 'Great art Thou, 0 Lord, and wondrous are Thy deeds, and no word will ever suffice to hymn Thee fittingly!' "
- Elder Ephraim
"Charging the Ephesians, St. Paul speaks thus, 'According to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand' (Eph. 1:19-20)... It was not after His coming in the flesh that He obtained the dignity of this seat; no, for even before all ages, the Only-begotten Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, ever possesses the throne on the Right Hand of the Father. Now may He Himself, the God of all, Who is Father of the Christ, and our Lord Jesus Christ, Who came down, and ascended, and sits together with the Father, watch over your souls; keep unshaken and unchanged your hope in Him Who rose again; raise you together with Him from your dead sins to His heavenly gift... "
- St. Cyril of Jerusalem
From the Life of St. Herman
"Once Father Herman was invited to dine aboard the frigate which had arrived from St. Petersburg, with Captain G., who had been sent, on Imperial instructions, to inspect all the colonies. Captain G. was a very intelligent and educated man. At his table there were some 25 officers, chosen from the best in the fleet, all well educated and learned. And in such a company of educated men, together at table with them, sat a simple monk, a small man, wearing threadbare clothes, ill-educated. And he put to them questions which stumped them all, which they could not answer. Captain G. told me this himself: 'We had no answers, we were like fools in front of him!' He put to them the question, 'What do you love most and dearest of all? What would make you happy?' Many wishes were expressed in answer to this: one wanted riches, another fame, another a beautiful wife. another a splendid ship to sail on, and many other things.
Father Herman said, 'Is it not true that of all your answers and desires one thing may be concluded: each of you gentlemen requires that which he thinks best and loves most?' They all answered that this was so. Then he said to them, 'What could be better, higher, more worthy of love and more splendid than Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who created the firmament, and adorned everything, gave life to everything, Who keeps everything, feeds everything and loves everything — Who is Himself love, more splendid than all men!
Should you not love God above all things, wish for Him and seek Him?" They all answered, 'Of course we love God; how can one not love God?' At this he sighed, let fall a tear, and said, 'I, poor sinner, have been trying to learn how to love God for more than forty years, and I cannot say even now that I love Him properly.' And he showed them how one should love God, 'If we love someone, then we think of them always. We try to please them day and night, our heart and mind are full of the object of our love. So then, gentlemen, do you love God? Do you turn to Him often? Do you remember Him always, always pray and perform His will, His Holy Scriptures?' They had to admit that they did not.
'For our good, for our happiness,' he said, 'let us make a vow: at least from this day, from this hour, from this very minute, we should try to love God above all else and carry out His teachings.'
"
- A Letter from Simeon Yanovsky to Igumen Damascene of VaIaam, 22 November 1865
God's Mercy
"Nothing equals the mercy of God or surpasses it. To despair is therefore to inflict death on oneself. "
- St. John Climacus
At the Crossroads
"Man stands at the crossroads between righteousness and sin, and chooses whichever path he wishes. But after that the path he has chosen to follow, and the guides assigned to it, whether angels and saints or demons and sinners, will lead him to the end of it, even if he has no wish to go there. The good guides lead him toward God and the kingdom of heaven, the evil guides toward the devil and age long punishment. But nothing and no one is to blame for his destruction except his own free will. For God is the God of salvation, bestowing on us, along with being and well-being, the knowledge and strength that we cannot have without the grace of God. Not even the devil can destroy a man, compelling him to choose wrongly, or reducing him to impotence or enforced ignorance, or anything else: he can only suggest evil to him. "
- St. Peter of Damascus
True Prayer
"God is the teacher of prayer; true prayer is the gift of God. To him who prays constantly with contrition of spirit, with the fear of God and with attention, God himself gives gradual progress in prayer. From humble and attentive prayer, spiritual action and spiritual warmth make their appearance and quicken the heart. The quickened heart draws the mind to itself and becomes a temple of grace-given prayer and a treasury of the spiritual gifts which are procured by such prayer as a matter of course. "
- St. Ignatius Brianchaninov
The Holy Forefathers
"Now we have said that the Synagogue could be denoted by the tabernacle which Moses and the children of Israel built in the desert, but the Church of the Gentiles by the temple which Solomon and the children of Israel erected with the help of the proselytes and Gentiles. The worship and religion of the tabernacle lasted four hundred and eighty years and then work began on the building of the temple because the writing of the Old Testament overflows with such perfection that, if one understands it properly, it contains in itself all the mysteries of the New Testament. Besides, a great many of the Patriarchs of the Old Testament attained such a peak of perfection by the way they lived that they are not in any way to be considered inferior to the Apostles or apostolic men. "
- The Venerable Bede
"The all-wise Moses initiated us into true spiritual knowledge and the holy prophets, apostles and evangelists who came after him did not deviate from his teaching. The same single theological approach may be seen in all of them and one will not find them at odds with each other in any matter whatsoever. Truly inspired by God, they derive what they say from the one Holy Spirit. Our Lord Jesus Christ does not allow us to entertain any doubt on this point, for He says most clearly in their presence: 'It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you' (Mt. 10:20). Since we possess an authentic doctrine concerning God that has come down to us from above through holy Fathers, we exult in it... "
- St. Cyril of Alexandria
"'The tribes of Judah and Levi were united by a fusion of their lines of descent, and that is why Matthew assigns Christ's family to the tribe of Judah. And the Apostle says, 'for our Lord has sprung out of Judah' (Heb. 7:14). Thus from the tribe of Levi maybe counted a heritage that is priestly and filled with holiness, while from the tribe of Judah - to which David and Solomon and the rest of kings belonged - there shines forth the splendor of a royal descent. And so, by the testimony of the Scriptures, Christ is shown to be at once both king and priest. "
- St. Ambrose of Milan
More Thoughts from the Fathers
"A person is never entirely bad. Each person has his good and bad points. When you remember his good points, you pray for him, you are moved, your soul feels for him, and you entreat God for him. And as for his bad side, he is not to blame, but our enemy the devil is. Therefore, don't be sad, my child, and don't remember the past. For those things have passed. "
- Elder Joseph the Hesychast
"We celebrate the holy and life-giving and bloodless sacrifice in the churches, not in the belief that the offering is the body of an ordinary man like ourselves, and similarly with the precious blood, but instead accepting that it has become the very own body and blood of the Word who endows all things with life. The Savior Himself testifies to this when He says: 'The flesh is of no avail; it is the spirit that gives life' (Jn. 6:63). Because it became the Word's own flesh it is therefore regarded as life-giving and actually is so. "
- St. Cyril of Alexandria
"The Lord is everything to me: He is the strength of my heart and the light of my intellect. He inclines my heart to everything good; He strengthens it; He also gives me good thoughts; He is my rest and my joy; He is my faith, hope and love; He is my food and drink, my raiment, my hope and love; As a mother is everything to her infant, so, likewise the Lord is everything to me, when I yield myself wholly unto Him. "
- St. John of Kronstadt
"The humility which in due time and by God's grace, after many struggles and tears, is given from heaven to those who seek it is something incomparably stronger and higher than the sense of abasement felt by those who have lapsed from holiness. This higher humility is granted only to those who have attained true perfection and are no longer under the sway of sin. "