• He looked at me in a reprimanding manner and whispered, “Mariam, do you know the circumstances of every person? I won’t reveal the secrets of this woman, but when you are targeted with a thought about something that does not concern you, tell yourself, ‘This is not my business; I should mind my own business.’”

    A Spring in Sinai: Hieromartyr Mina Abood: His Life, Miracles, and Martyrdom in Post-Revolution Egypt
    Anthony Marcos

  • If you’ve been taught that it is okay to be in this self-sacrificed type of environment and stay away from relationships, you will never, ever grow. That is not spirituality.

    That spirituality that says, I’m going to be on my own—read, pray, do whatever, and I don’t care about anybody else—you are not part of the body of Christ. You are dismembering yourself from the body of Christ.

    —Fr. Paul Girguis, Redeeming the Time: Setting Boundaries

  • Do not easily speak things in confidence. Do you think that someone else will understand better than God?

    –a Cartusian

  • Among the many things he taught me, I learned that I must only actively seek to vent my problems, thoughts, doubts, fears, concerns, and anxieties to God. I must not seek out people, since every troubling issue lies within His hand and is resolved by Him alone.

    A Spring in Sinai: Hieromartyr Mina Abood: His Life, Miracles, and Martyrdom in Post-Revolution Egypt
    Anthony Marcos

  • Above all, he was described as never starting or partaking in a conversation that included speaking ill of a coworker; he was keen on never falling into gossip. Every coworker Saleeb dealt with felt that he became a personal friend to them. This allowed them to feel comfortable enough to open up to him and seek his advice regarding their personal issues.

    A Spring in Sinai: Hieromartyr Mina Abood: His Life, Miracles, and Martyrdom in Post-Revolution Egypt
    Anthony Marcos

  • Kyrillos on one occasion casually approached the lions. Both he and the lions gently accepted the presence of the other. “Why be astonished?” the emperor is remembered as commenting to shocked onlookers, “He is a holy man.”

    A Silent Patriarch: Kyrillos VI (1902 -1971), Life and Legacy
    Fr. Daniel Fanous

  • There is no objection to having old friends if you can attract them to repentance with you. If you cannot, then let your relationship with them be superficial. If they are dangerous to you, then you should prefer your relationship to God over your relationship to them. Even if you encounter difficulty, bear it for the sake of the Lord. Remember what Abram the father of fathers did when the Lord called him. He left his family, kindred, and country to walk behind God (Genesis 12.1). Likewise, in order to preserve your repentance for the sake of God, you leave all who hinder you.

    —H.H. Pope Shenouda III, The Life of Repentance and Purity

  • If remembrance, however, brings sin back to us, we should refrain from it. Remember what we say in the Divine Liturgy, “The remembrance of evil entailing death.” According to the teachings of the fathers, it is better for us to avoid the remembrance of lustful and provocative sins, because this remembrance brings back the wars of sin.

    —H.H. Pope Shenouda III, The Life of Repentance and Purity

  • In his heart, he knows those of whom it was said that they were “light.” The righteous person is light, of whom the Lord said: “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5.14). If such a person is in any place, darkness disappears because of his light. It is as if a lamp were placed in a dark place, so that darkness is dispersed and the place becomes luminous. The same thing happens with the presence of the righteous in any place they stay; light spread and darkness disappears.

    Similarly, with the saints, because of their spiritual reverence, darkness can find no opportunity for itself in their presence. Sinners are embarrassed to be around them on account of their dignity and holiness. No one dares in their presence to act in a degrading way, or say a bad word, but rather he is ashamed of himself and his conduct. The people present feel that a spiritual atmosphere has prevailed in that place as a result of the presence of one of these righteous people. If there was a sinful talk before their entrance, it stops, and everyone is quiet and the darkness disappears when they enter. No one can sin in their presence.

    Are you the same? Have you become light after your repentance? Have you become even a small candle, giving dim light but in any case dispersing darkness? If you have not become such a light, then be very cautious of darkness. Remember at all times the saying of the Lord: “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning” (Luke 12.35).

    —H.H. Pope Shenouda III, The Life of Repentance and Purity

  • Each of us, then, should be cautious. If you have repented, then listen to this advice: It is not enough to come out of Sodom, if you do not continue to Zoar. Lot’s wife came out of Sodom, with her hand in the hand of the angel. She was not burned with the burning city. She did not, however, continue walking with God, but looked back (Genesis 19.16). She perished by one look. How terrifying!

    Be cautious, then, about looking behind you. Think no longer about the world you left for the sake of the Lord. Do not try to remember the pleasures of sin from which you repented. Do not in any way look back, but rather “stretch forward.” Try to grow in your repentance without returning to sin.

    —H.H. Pope Shenouda III, The Life of Repentance and Purity