SO GOOD QUOTES

Category: BEST OF

  • “The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away; as it seemed good unto the Lord even so has it come to pass, blessed be the name of the Lord forever.” Let this speech be our utterance also over each event which befalls us, whether it be loss of property, or infirmity of body, or insult, or false accusation, or any other form of evil that happens to mankind, let us say these words:

    “The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away; as it seemed good to the Lord so has it come to pass; blessed be the name of the Lord forever.”

    If we practice this spiritual wisdom, we shall never experience any evil, even if we undergo countless sufferings, but the gain will be greater than the loss, the good will exceed the evil.

    By these words you will cause God to be merciful to you, and will defend yourself against the tyranny of Satan. For as soon as your tongue has uttered these words, immediately the devil flees from you. And when he has hastened away, the cloud of dejection also is dispelled and the thoughts which afflict us take to flight, hurrying off in company with him. And in addition to all this you will win all manner of blessings both here and in Heaven. And you have a convincing example in the case of Job and of the apostle, who having for God’s sake despised the troubles of this world, obtained the everlasting blessings. Let us then be trustful and in all things which befall us let us rejoice and give thanks to the merciful God, that we may pass through this present life with serenity and obtain the blessings to come, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ to Whom be glory, honor and might always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

    Saint John Chrysostom
    On the Two Paralytics in the Gospels
    Homilies on Profitable Subjects

  • You feel after [sinning] void of inner peace, you feel unhappy, you feel there is no support, you feel the fear that bad things will happen, you feel that the Lord will not answer me because we live with this comfortable thing that God is supportive, but if God is not supportive, where can I go? I cannot afford life without having support from God.

    —Fr. Jacob Magdy

  • How long do you expect life to be? No one can guarantee its extent or quality. But temporary pleasures are not worth the eternal consequence. Consider all your deeds within an eternal perspective.

    ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM ON REPENTANCE & DEFEATING DESPAIR
    Letters to Theodore

  • When someone steals another’s clothes, we call them a thief. Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes; the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor.

    —St. Basil the Great

  • “Beware of passionate attachments to the world. Although they deceive you with peace and comfort, they are so fleeting that you do not notice how you are deprived of them, and in their place come sorrow, longing, despondency, and no comfort whatsoever.”

    —St. Leonid of Optina

  • We want something from Him, not Him at all. Is that a relationship? Do we behave in that way with our friends? Do we aim at what friendship can give us or is it the friend whom we love?

    —Met. Anthony Bloom, Beginning To Pray

  • We cannot afford to waste our time doing things that don’t glorify God. Every second of every day was given to us as an opportunity.
    …
    Every detail matters; no factor in life is insignificant. Our mannerisms, our works, our thoughts, the music we listen to and our hobbies… these are all small, but proactive ways to glorify God.

    And we must trust that the reward is worth it.

    —Fr. Antony Paul, BATTLING AGAINST SPIRITUAL LAZINESS

  • A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attach him saying, ‘You are mad; you are not like us.’

    —St. Anthony the Great

  • “Honesty is unmeddling thought, sincere character, frank and unpremeditated speech.”

    —St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent

  • Some, I know not why (for I have not learned to pry conceitedly into the gifts of God) are by nature, I might say, prone to temperance, or silence, or purity, or modesty, or meekness, or contrition. But others, although almost their own nature itself resists them in this, to the best of their power force themselves; and though they occasionally suffer defeat yet, as men struggling with nature, they are in my opinion higher than the former.

    St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent