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From the Russian ascetic Tychon:
"My child, you must wash Jesus' feet with your tears, and He will, in turn, wash your sins away. "
- An Athonite Gerontikon
On the Apostles
"If a trial benefited the Apostle Paul—as he said: 'A thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan to torment me, lest I be exalted above measure' (2 Cor 12:7) — how much more will trials benefit us when we bear them patiently?
The Apostle Paul was a chosen vessel, the mouth of Christ, dead to the world, one in whom the Holy Trinity dwelt. And even though the trial hindered his apostolic preaching, and even though he entreated God so much to take away the trial, God, looking after the benefit of his soul, did not fulfill his prayer—although he besought Him three times—but he received the answer, 'My grace is sufficient for you: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' (2 Cor
12:9). My grace, He said to him, is sufficient for your consolation; you will have this trial in order to benefit by acquiring more humility.
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" But as we cannot imitate God, let us imitate the Apostles whom the world held in hatred for they were not of this world. Imitate them, follow them. Perhaps you are thinking that it is difficult to ascend above the world by merely human virtue. Well said! but even the Apostles in their following of the Lord (not as equals but as disciples), merited to rise above the world. You too should be Christ's disciple and an imitator of Christ; He will pray for you as He prayed for them. And He said, 'Not only do I pray for the Apostles, but for those who will believe in Me through their word, so that all my be one.' "
- Gerontissa Macrina
On St. Paul
"According to Paul the Apostle, the virtue of a man is brought to perfection not amid idleness and pleasure but in infirmity. And then this saying: Today I have set you up into a fortified city, into a pillar of iron and a wall of bronze over all the land, over the leaders and kings of Judah, over its priests and over all the people of the earth. And they shall make war against you, and they shall not be victorious because I am with you, says the Lord, so that I may protect you' (Jer. 1:18-19). "
- St. John Cassian
"If a trial benefited the Apostle Paul—as he said: 'A thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan to torment me, lest I be exalted above measure' (2 Cor 12:7) — how much more will trials benefit us when we bear them patiently?
The Apostle Paul was a chosen vessel, the mouth of Christ, dead to the world, one in whom the Holy Trinity dwelt And even though the trial hindered his apostolic preaching, and even though he entreated God so much to take away the trial, God, looking after the benefit of his soul, did not fulfill his prayer—although he besought Him three times—but he received the answer, 'My grace is sufficient for you: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' (2 Cor 12:9). My grace, He said to him, is sufficient for your consolation; you will have this trial in order to benefit by acquiring more humility.
Therefore, my children, bear with joy whatever trial God sends you, whether it be grief or ferocity of the passions, for God sends them to us for our benefit, in order that patience in all these things may be considered as ascesis which we are otherwise unable to do. So thank God; glorify Him with your mouth and heart, because the consolation of grace will come after the trial when we bear it with patience and thanksgiving.
Is there anyone who has entered paradise by a different path, a path without temptations, whom we can imitate? No. All the Saints passed through fire and water, through various temptations and afflictions, and they glorified God with their patience and received crowns of eternal glory!
Do not lose courage in the struggle; our Christ is invisibly standing by, observing the struggle of each one of us. Therefore, struggle patiently; call out the name of our Jesus, so that it may be implanted within your hearts and so that you may become rich in the grace of God. Struggle to acquire a pure intellect, so that you may feel the grace of the Holy Resurrection.
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- Elder Ephraim
The Bonds of His Love
"As the world attracts us with its appearance, and abundance and variety, it is not easy to turn away from it unless in the beauty of things visible the Creator rather than the creature is loved; for, when He says, Thou shall love the Lord thy God from all thy heart, and from all thy mind, and from all thy strength' (Mt. 22:37), He wishes us in nothing to loosen ourselves from the bonds of His love. And when He links the love of our neighbor also to this command, He enjoins on us the imitation of His own goodness, that we should love what He loves and do what He does. "
- St. Leo the Great
On Trials and Temptations
"Struggle, my children, struggle. No matter how much the enemy fights against you, take courage and we shall overcome him. We have our Christ, the Commander-in-Chief Who said, 'I have overcome the world.' (Jn. 16:33). We, too, will overcome it; Just do not lose hope. God will not overlook the supplication of anyone who has hope and calls upon Him, if he prays humbly.
Humble yourselves. Do not think highly of yourselves, and you will attain lofty things. The more gold is tried in the fire, the purer it becomes. And the more a Christian is tried by temptations, the more his soul is purified. The more deeply we plow the earth and the more often we prune and look after the vine, the sweeter and more abundant will the fruit be. The more deeply and frequently afflictions and temptations plow the heart of a Christian, the more pure and fruitful he will become.
Therefore, have courage, hope, and patience to receive the crown of glory! Temptations and afflictions will save us, whereas whoever flees from afflictions should not expect joyful things to come.
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