Category: LOVE

  • H.H. Pope Shenouda III on Fr. Faltaous El Souriany:

    Despite the fact that Fr. Faltaous led a life full of struggles, solitude, and silence, he still has a great sense of humour. I recall that one time when we were baking pita bread, I noticed that the bread he was baking was very large in size, so I asked him, ‘Why are you making the bread so large, father?’ So he responded, ‘Some of the monks are training themselves to eat only one pita, so I am making the pita bread bigger so that it would be equivalent to three pitas
    Combined!’

    The Star of the Sheheet Desert

  • Frankness 

    You want to be sincere in defending the Truth. But your frankness often hurts people, they become upset and take a stand against you… 

    Take a good look at yourself. With how many people have you employed this hurtful ‘frank’ manner and done a lot of damage for no reason?! What is more, you have not won their souls for the Lord either. 

    You ought to have spoken gently and wisely, with consideration for the feelings of others, as our Lord spoke to the Samaritan woman, so that he won her soul without hurting her feelings (John 4) . 

    If God were to send an angel to speak to everyone about his actions, the hidden ones and those that are plain to see, could anyone bear it? 

    We thank God that He does not use this method, this hurtful ‘frankness’, with us, out of His great love and kindness and His sympathy for people’s feelings

    —H.H. Pope Shenouda III, Experiences in Life

  • You mustn’t wage your Christian struggle with sermons and arguments, but with true secret love. When we argue, others react. When we love people, they are moved and we win them over. When we love, we think that we offer something to others, but in reality we are the first to benefit.

    — St Porphyrios

  • “You will always be able to tell your parents or siblings or close friends’ voices even if you can’t see them or they are really far away. If you love someone, you can easily recognize their voice. Can you say the same for Christ? Do you know His voice? You must be able to recognize God’s voice even if you can’t see Him.”

    —Fr. Bishoy El Antony

  • It says in Proverbs, “He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends.”(Proverbs 17:9) If I learn that my brother has sinned, and I accept him and cover his sin, then I am seeking love, but if I begin speaking about his sin, and continue talking about him, I separate people.

    “We should not snoop on people, and places, to discover others’ sins. If the sins of others were presented to us, being forced upon us, we should not examine them nor turn to them.”

    —Abba Pimen the Solitary—

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

  • When God has granted you a degree of spiritual knowledge, do not neglect love and self-control; for it is these which, once they have purified the soul’s passible aspect, always keep open for you the way to such knowledge.

    —St Maximos the Confessor