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No Difference
"For him who is perfect in love and has reached the summit of dispassion, there is no difference between his own or another's, or between Christians and unbelievers, or between slave and free, or between male and female. But because he has risen above the tyranny of the passions and has fixed his attention on the single nature of man, he looks on all in the same way and shows the same disposition to all. For in him there is neither Greek nor Jew, male nor female, bond or free, but Christ Who 'is all and in all' (Col. 3:11; Gal. 3:28). "
- St. Maximus the Confessor
Homily on the Blessed Man
"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful." (Psalm 1:1)
"Brethren, most blessed is he who is not so hardened by sin that he can hear and fulfill this counsel of God that has come through the Prophet. The ungodly are those who, in every way,
think contrary to God and His will. The sinners are those who walk the path of their own desires, and their thoughts are contrary to the will of God and His law. The scornful are those who destroy themselves and others by their evil deeds.
The danger is this: first comes the ungodly counsel (either from wicked men or from sinful thoughts); then the actual committing of sin; then the unrepentant sinner becomes a scandalous example of evil to others. Therefore, blessed is the man who neither heeds the counsel of ungodly men or thoughts, but finds sufficient counsel for his salvation in the Law of God. Blessed is the man who has not even once walked in the way of sinners, or, if he has walked on that path, he has repented and returned to the path of life that is the Lord's. Blessed is the man who has not sat in the presence of the scorner of innocent souls who, by his seductive example, corrupts such souls. For it is said of the corrupter: It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea (Matthew 18:6). 0 my brethren, blessed be all of you, men and women, who cautiously avoid these three evils: ungodly thoughts and counsels, sinful deeds, and the corrupting of others. These three evils are like one poisonous serpent that grows from a small snake into a giant serpent.
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- St. Nikolai of Ochrid, from the Prologue
Wisdom from the Fathers
"Glory be to God for everything! Glory be to God for having created me in His image and likeness. Glory be to God for having redeemed me, the fallen. Glory be to God for having extended His solicitude to me, the unworthy. Glory be to God for having led me, the sinner, to repentance. Glory be to God for having offered me His holy words, like a lamp in a dark place, thus setting me on the path of righteousness. Glory be to God for having illumined the eyes of my heart. Glory be to God for having made known to me His holy name. Glory be to God for having washed away my sins through the bath of baptism. Glory be to God for having shown me the way to eternal bliss. This way is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who says of Himself, 'I am the way and the truth and the life.' "
- St. Tikhon of Zadonsk
"Men have fallen into unbelief because they have either completely lost the spirit of prayer, or never had it at all, nor have it now"in short, because they do not pray. The prince of this world has full scope for action in the hearts of such men; he becomes their master. They have not asked and do not ask God's grace in prayer (for God's gifts are only given to those who ask and seek), and thus their hearts, corrupt by nature, become dried up without the vivifying dew of the Holy Ghost, and at last from their extreme dryness they take fire, and blaze with the infernal flame of unbelief and various passions, and the Devil only knows how to inflame the passions that keep up this terrible fire, and triumphs at the sight of the ruin of the unfortunate souls that were redeemed by the blood of Him who has trampled the power of Satan under foot. "
- St. John of Kronstadt
"It is true. therefore, that a man's life is not from his possessions, by reason of his having a superfluity; but very blessed, and of glorious hope is he who is rich towards God. And who is he? Evidently one who loveth not wealth, but virtue rather, and to whom few things are sufficient; one whose hand is open to the necessities of the indigent, comforting the sorrows of those in poverty, according to his means, and the utmost of his power. It is he who gathers in the storehouses that are above, and lays up treasures in heaven. "
- St. Cyril of Alexandria
"Even the devil, having lost the knowledge of God, and so inevitably becoming ignorant in his ingratitude and pride, cannot of himself know what to do. On the contrary, he sees what God does to save us and maliciously learns from this and contrives similar things for our destruction. For he hates God and, being unable to fight Him directly, he fights against us who are in God's image, thinking to avenge himself on God in this way... "
- St. Peter of Damascus
"We should not ask for luxury and delight, but our essential bread, the basic and necessary things ... Let us pay attention to the following: The temporary consuming way of life is totally opposed to the spirit of this petition. It is not eucharistic but un-eucharistic. It is not brotherly but selfish and individualistic. It does not delight in austerity, the essential bread, but it pursues unreasonable extravagance and luxury. Nevertheless, we all know that our over-consuming society ultimately turns out to be our grave and leads to many injustices and social evils. "
- Archimandrite George of the Holy Mount
"And, indeed, we know that there are four cardinal virtues: temperance, justice, prudence and fortitude. He who is poor in spirit is not greed; he who weeps is not proud, but is meek and tranquil; he who mourns is humble; he who is just does not deny what he knows is given jointly to all for us; he who is merciful confers of his own; he who bestows his own does not seek another's, nor does he contrive a trap for his neighbor. Then, the virtues are interwoven and interlinked, so that he who has one may be seen to have several, and a single virtue befits the Saints; but where virtue abounds, the reward too abounds. "