• “I will not forsake you; I will not desert you.” If a person made such a promise, you would trust him. God makes it, and you hesitate?

    —St. Augustine

  • Patience is also a form of action.

    —Auguste Rodin

  • Do not say, I have given you much advice, but it’s useless; you should have long-suffering.

    Hearken to the apostle, saying, “…uphold the weak, be patient with all” (1 Thess. 5:14). Overcoming a deep-rooted struggle needs time and patience, so be patient with the weak until God’s grace visits and delivers them. Remember that you also have a similar nature, and put before you the words of the apostle, “Remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering” (Heb. 13:3).

    —H.H. Pope Shenouda III, Life of Hope

  • If a man has a friend and he is absolutely certain that his friend loves him, and if that friend does something to cause him suffering and be troublesome to him, he will be convinced that his friend acts out of love and he will never believe that his friend does it to harm him. How much more ought we to be convinced about God who created us, who drew us out of nothingness to existence and life, and who became a man for our sake and died for us, and who does everything out of love for us?

    —Abba Dorotheos of Gaza

  • “Do not offend others, even in your thoughts.”

    — Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica

  • Parents, after all, recognize their imperfections, yet they strive to shield their children, even if the façade eventually unravels as kids grow up, detest their all-too-human parents, and understand and hopefully forgive them.

    Bimbo Ubermensch, The Ocean

  • The sun did not set before God initiated the reconciliation process in the same day, as we read in Genesis 3:8: “In the cool of the day.” When Adam sinned, he hid from the presence of God, but before the sun went down, God was looking for him: “The Lord God called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9).

    Note that the reconciliation process takes time.

    Nevertheless, our Lord started on the same day that Adam sinned. He did not wait, being upset with him, or avoid him for a month or so and then begin to look for him. He looked for Adam on that very day, “in the cool of the day,” before the sun went down.

    —H.E. Metropolitan Youssef, Inner Healing

  • For example, in trying to reconcile a couple, you might say, “Come, let us talk to your wife.” If the husband replies, “No! She offended me, so she must come to me” —that is a worldly response. But the Bible says clearly that you should go first to the person who sinned against you.

    —H.E. Metropolitan Youssef, Inner Healing

  • In Ephesians 4:25, Saint Paul says, “Therefore, putting away lying, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor.” If I come to ask if you are upset with me, and you answer, “No, nothing is wrong,” but in your heart you are upset, then you are lying. If I ask you if something is wrong, you could answer, “Yes, actually something is bothering me.” The verse continues, “For we are members of one another. Be angry, and do not sin.”

    —H.E. Metropolitan Youssef, Inner Healing

  • Some people use trickery. If they are at odds with someone standing in the first row in church, they stand five rows back, so that when the deacon says to greet one another, they are too far to greet one another. However, you can deceive yourself and your father of confession, but it is impossible to deceive our Lord. When the deacon says “greet one another” that includes not only those in your same bench in church, but every person in your life, whether they are present at church or not; you should be able to greet that person with a holy kiss.

    —H.E. Metropolitan Youssef, Inner Healing