• Indeed, when we’re harmed by others, we feel sorrow, but not when we harm ourselves. God demonstrates that those unjustly harmed by others gain renown, while those who harm themselves receive injury. This distinction encourages us to endure external injustices courageously but avoid self-inflicted harm.

    —St. John Chrysostom

  • The love of friends is good, but friends must be loved in God, not for themselves alone, for only God does not perish or change. People look for rest in the physical world and fix their hearts on things that pass away, not moving through them to recognition of the God who made them. True life and true love are found in Christ alone.

    —St. Augustine

  • By enduring his tribulations with fortitude and acknowledging his Creator…a wise individual can benefit from all situations.

    —Clement of Alexandria

  • Friendship can be a dangerous enemy, a seduction of the mind lying beyond the reach of investigation.

    Use careful scrutiny when choosing friends due to the susceptibility to corruption as a result of an unhealthy group of peers.

    —St. Augustine

  • Even good and beautiful things, like the love of friends, can become stumbling blocks if people set them up as substitutes for the God who is their ultimate source. All human loves pass away, and people err in loving friends as substitutes for God, who alone is eternal and unchangeable.

    —St. Augustine

  • True luxury is having an admirable soul and experiencing a state of pleasure. For example, a person may eat, drink, and engage in revelry, yet if they suffer from cares and loss of spirits, can they truly be considered to be in a state of delight?So, true luxury is found in having a life without sorrows. Let us explore who can attain such a life—whether the rich or those who are not rich. It is not exclusive to either group, but rather to those who order their souls in a way that minimizes grounds for sorrows. Now, where can we find such a life? This pleasure, this true luxury, does not depend on meats, wine, sauces, silk robes, or a sumptuous table. If I can demonstrate that such a life is achievable without relying on these external factors, then welcome this pleasure and this way of life.

    First, acknowledge that true luxury is to have no sorrows causing annoyance. Don’t ask for indulgences but recognize that a life without sorrow is the ultimate pleasure. Often, our sorrows arise from miscalculations. Who, then, will have more sorrows? The one who cares for none of these things or the one who cares for them? The one who fears changes or the one who does not fear? The one in dread of jealousy, envy, false accusations, plottings, and destruction or the one who stands aloof from these fears? The one who wants many things or the one who wants nothing? The one enslaved to numerous masters or the one enslaved to none? The one with many needs or the one who is free? The one fearing one lord or the one fearing innumerable despots? Clearly, the greater pleasure lies in the latter. 

    —St. John Chrysostom

  • Just as a body left idle grows sickly and unattractive, exercise and labor make it healthy and attractive. The same applies to the soul: like iron left unused, it rusts, but when active, it shines brightly. Adversity keeps the soul in motion, just as arts perish without activity. Adverse circumstances stir the soul to action; without them, it would languish.

    —St. John Chrysostom

  • The person who just expresses love for his friends but fails to acknowledge their love for him is not a true friend.

    —St. John Chrysostom, On Living Simply

  • Parthenope (2024)
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  • God dwells in those who have abhorred the world, and even themselves, and who have carried the cross. He feeds their souls with a joy that enriches them and makes them grow noticeably. Among those who accept this celestial joy are a few to whom God reveals His heavenly secrets. He also shows them their celestial positions while they are still in the body. Such people have boldness before Him and He gives them all that they ask for. They are gifted with talents and help people. In every generation, some people have reached that status. And the coming generations will continue to have examples of such people, not only among men, but also among women. Each one of them will be an example to his or her generation and condemn it, because these people struggled until they became perfect.

    —St. Anthony the Great