St. Symeon the New Theologian Orthodox Church

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The Church was Built by the Holy Spirit

The Apostle Peter declared that the Church was built by the Holy Spirit. For you read that he said: ‘God, Who knows the hearts of men, bore witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as was given to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith’ (Acts 15:8-9). In which is to be considered, that as Christ is the Cornerstone, Who joined together both peoples into one, so, too, the Holy Spirit made no distinction between the hearts of each people, but united them. "

- St. Ambrose of Milan

Force Yourself

"Struggle, my child, as much as you can to become forceful---force yourself in everything... When we are silent, we have the time for interior prayer, which brings full assurance, and the time for luminous thoughts, which fill the intellect and heart with light. Therefore, my child, compel yourself in everything, for the good beginning is praised, but the negligent beginning is censured, for its end is most lamentable. "

- Elder Ephraim

Good WiFi

"There is nothing we can offer to God more precious than good will. But what is good will? To have good will is to experience concern for someone else’s adversities as if they were our own, to give thanks for our neighbor’s prosperity as for our own; to believe that another person’s loss is our own, and also that another’s gain is ours; to love a friend in God, and bear with an enemy out of love, to do to no one what we do not want to suffer ourselves, and to refuse to no one what we rightly want for ourselves; to choose to help a neighbor who is in need not only to the whole extent of our ability, but even beyond our means. What offering is richer, what offering is more substantial than this one? What we are offering to God on the altar of our hearts is the sacrifice of ourselves. "

St. Gregory the Great

Those Who Fear Death

"Those who fear death and love this vain life are even afraid of germs and bacteria and, hence, it is their lot to be found continually conquered by cowardice, which keeps them perpetually in this spiritual death. "

- Elder Paisios

New Eyes and New Ears

"With the help of the Spirit, who makes everything new, let him (a human being) attain new eyes and new ears and look not in the ordinary human manner, as the sensual one looks at the sensual things: but he, who grew more than a human being, let him look at the sensual things as the immaterial one. "

- St. Simeon the New Theologian

More Pearls from Our Fathers

"Prayer, fasting, vigil and all other Christian practices, however good they may be in themselves, do not constitute the aim of our Christian life, although they serve as the indispensable means of reaching this end. The true aim of our Christian life consists in the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God. "

- St. Seraphim of Sarov

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"When a person is in a state of natural well-being, he sings the psalms with a full voice and prefers to pray out loud. But when he is energized by the Holy Spirit, with gladness and completely at peace he sings and prays in the heart alone.
The first condition is accompanied by a delusory joy, the second by spiritual tears and, thereafter, by a delight that loves stillness. For the remembrance of God, keeping its fervour because the voice is restrained, enables the heart to have thoughts that bring tears and are peaceful. In this way, with tears we sow seeds of prayer in the earth of the heart, hoping to reap the harvest of joy (cf. Ps. 126:5). But when we are weighed down by deep despondency, we should for a while sing psalms out loud, raising our voice with joyful expectation until the thick mist is dissolved by the warmth of song. "

- St. Diadochos of Photiki

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"This is the knowledge of the perfect Saints: (it is not as some people explain it, but it has its own special power) to put it simply, one must confess that even when one is at the heavenly height of virtue, it is possible--if God abandons him--for him to fall into the abyss of corruption and debauchery! It is not a matter of just saying this with empty words, but one must really feel this way. But one cannot say this with conviction if one does not first pass through the Babylonian furnace of temptations, and if one’s human nature does not slip by God’s permission, so that he realizes his weak constitution. He then sees with whom he has to wrestle, what the wickedness and malice of his adversary (the devil) is, and how difficult it is to rise after a fall! In brief, this is what 'know thyself' means.
When one obtains this knowledge, the Holy Trinity dwells in his heart. Then bliss gushes forth endlessly, and he reaches the point of seeing revelations! This is what Abba Isaac writes - that great boast of hesychasts. "

- Elder Ephraim

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"It is dangerous to isolate oneself completely, relying on one’s own judgment with no one else as witness; and it is equally dangerous to live with those who are inexperienced in spiritual warfare.. .Thus one should try to live with those who possess spiritual knowledge, or at least to consult them continually... "

- St. Mark the Ascetic

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"The Lord does not permit demons to invade the fortress of our soul when we cry out to Christ fervently, with feeling, tirelessly, unceasingly and carefully. And this is a great profit, because the demons are accustomed to secretly teaching wickedness to the soul by means of bad thoughts. And, as St. Diadochos of Photiki says, when the demons enter the heart, they fortify themselves well, and from there they make their war, trying to camouflage themselves and trick us that they are attacking from the outside. "

- Archim. Ioannikios Kotsonis

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"The heart-stirrings of a good man are good; those of a wicked person are wicked; but everyone must learn how to combat intrusive thoughts, and turn the bad into good. This is the mark of the soul that is well versed. How does this come about, you will ask? Here is the way of it: just as a man knows when he is cold or when he feels hot, so does the man who has experienced the Holy Spirit know when grace is in his soul, or when evil spirits approach. The Lord gives the soul understanding to recognize His coming, and love Him and do His will. In the same way the soul recognizes thoughts which proceed from the enemy, not by their outward form but by their effect on her [the soul]. This is knowledge born of experience; and the man with no experience is easily duped by the enemy. "

- St. Silouan the Athonite

Fr. Thomas Hopko’s 55 Maxims (from Mind in the Heart Blog by Joseph Patterson )

1. Be always with Christ and trust God in everything
2. Pray as you can, not as you think you must
3. Have a keepable rule of prayer done by discipline
4. Say the Lord’s Prayer several times each day
5. Repeat a short prayer when your mind is not occupied
6. Make some prostrations when you pray
7. Eat good foods in moderation and fast on fasting days
8. Practice silence, inner and outer
9. Sit in silence 20 to 30 minutes each day
10. Do acts of mercy in secret
11. Go to liturgical services regularly
12. Go to Confession and Holy Communion regularly
13. Do not engage intrusive thoughts and feelings
14. Reveal all your thoughts and feelings to a trusted person regularly
15. Read the Scriptures regularly
16. Read good books, a little at a time
17. Cultivate communion with the Saints
18. Be an ordinary person, one of the human race
19. Be polite with everyone, first of all family members
20. Maintain cleanliness and order in your home
21. Have a healthy, wholesome hobby
22. Exercise regularly
23. Live a day, even a part of a day, at a time
24. Be totally honest, first of all with yourself
25. Be faithful in little things
26. Do your work, then forget it
27. Do the most difficult and painful things first
28. Face reality
29. Be grateful
30. Be cheerful
31. Be simple, hidden, quiet and small
32. Never bring attention to yourself
33. Listen when people talk to you
34. Be awake and attentive, fully present where you are
35. Think and talk about things no more than necessary
36. Speak simply, clearly, firmly, directly
37. Flee imagination, fantasy, analysis, figuring things out
38. Flee carnal, sexual things at their first appearance
39. Don’t complain, grumble, murmur or whine
40. Don’t seek or expect pity or praise
41. Don’t compare yourself with anyone
42. Don’t judge anyone for anything
43. Don’t try to convince anyone of anything
44. Don’t defend or justify yourself
45. Be defined and bound by God, not people
46. Accept criticism gracefully and test it carefully
47. Give advice only when asked or when it is your duty
48. Do nothing for people that they can and should do for themselves
49. Have a daily schedule of activities, avoiding whim and caprice
50. Be merciful with yourself and others
51. Have no expectations except to be fiercely tempted to your last breath
52. Focus exclusively on God and light, and never on darkness, temptation and sin
53. Endure the trial of yourself and your faults serenely, under God’s mercy
54. When you fall, get up immediately and start over
55. Get help when you need it, without fear or shame