• A lot of times, we think there is a problem in my life because of this or that. We rarely think that it’s my sins that are causing a problem. 

    It’s not my coworker, it’s not my life situation, it’s not my illness, not my family situation, or anything else; it’s my sins. My sins are making me incapable of dealing with this problem in a way that a true christian would deal with it. No matter your problems, no matter whose fault it is, it’s also always your fault. That’s the way a Christian thinks.

    —Fr. Seraphim Holland

  • “If you are weak, do not despair of your weakness… and if you see a person who is weak, do not despise their weakness.”

    —H.H. Pope Shenouda III

  • “God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.”

    —St. Augustine

  • “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