SO GOOD QUOTES

Author: SO GOOD QUOTES

  • The intellect that has shut out the senses, and has achieved a balance in the body’s temperament, has to fight only against its memories.

    —St. Thalassios the Libyan

  • The thoughts that encompass all evil are eight in number: those of gluttony, unchastity, avarice, anger, dejection, listlessness, self-esteem and pride. It does not lie within our power to decide whether or not these eight thoughts are going to arise and disturb us. But to dwell on them or not to dwell on them, to excite the passions or not to excite them, does lie within our power. 

    —St John of Damaskos

  • If we never unnecessarily open our mouths, we may enjoy many moments of communion even when unavoidably detained in society.

    —François Fénelon, Spiritual Progress

  • When you are not permitted to enjoy long seasons of leisure, economize the short ones; ten minutes thus faithfully employed before God, in the midst of your distractions, will be as valuable to you as whole hours devoted to Him, in your more unoccupied moments. Farther, these little odds and ends of time, will amount to quite a sum in the course of the day, and present this advantage, that God will very likely have been more in mind than if you had given it to Him all at once.

    —François Fénelon, Spiritual Progress

  • Your glory is in your personality, not in your position or authority or outer appearance. Your glory is in your essence, in your spirituality, in your nature, in your sense, in your wisdom, in all that is found within your heart of virtues and good qualities.

    —H.H. Pope Shenouda III

  • We refrain from committing sin, because we love God, others, and ourselves.

    —H.E. Metropolitan Youssef, How to Develop Your Personality

  • ​​In Ecclesiastes, he says:

    I have seen everything in my days of vanity: there is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness. Do not be overly righteous, nor be overly wise: why should you destroy yourself? Do not be overly wicked, nor be foolish: why should you die before your time? It is good that you grasp this, and also not remove your hand from the other; for he who fears God will escape them all.

    Here, by the statement “Do not be overly righteous,” he means that you should accept yourself, with your weakness and helplessness, and do not let the ideal self reject the true self, appearing to be a righteous self at all time, and do not use worldly, self-centered wisdom, with which you deceive yourself and believe that you are overly righteous.

    —H.E. Metropolitan Youssef, How to Develop Your Personality

  • She may say, “Until when do I continue giving him my love?” The matter, however, requires that we do not take things personally, and that we understand that his lack of expression of his feelings has something to do with his upbringing and his way of thinking about his ideal self. This understanding liberates the wife from the bonds that he does not love her, and she begins to say, “He loves me but he does not know how to express his feelings. Therefore, I will teach him how to do so, by expressing my feelings and offering him love.” My advice to you is that you should not look at this matter personally, because you will not be able to offer [him] love, except if you look at this as a matter related to his personality, education, and upbringing.

    —H.E. Metropolitan Youssef, How to Develop Your Personality

  • You must get rid of the thought of competition. You are to create, not to compete for what is already created.

    —Wallace D. Wattles, The Science of Getting Rich