• And my search for love and acceptance outside of God’s presence then leads to dangerous places. The world’s plan always leads us to places of pain, loneliness, and a deep ache for belonging that seems just out of reach. Because the need to be loved and accepted runs so deep, we find ourselves doing things we never thought possible just to try to satisfy those desires. What starts off as a seemingly small compromise can easily become a complete contradiction to the people we long to be.

    Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely
    Lysa TerKeurst

  • If we feel lonely we must pray. But the object of our prayer must be God and not our loneliness. The loneliness is a sign that our relationship with God needs fixing.

    —Fr. Peter Farrington

  • Grace does not depart from a person completely, but only partially, for a period of time. Sometimes if a person becomes proud, grace withdraws, so the person falls, recognizing his own weakness, and therefore he does not go back to being prideful. In this case, this withdrawal is a kind of medicine. Other times, grace withdraws a little as a form of divine providence so the person yearns for grace, prays for grace, thus in the process they grow in prayer, giving thanks to God for responding to their petitions, while not slacking, struggling, and so on.

    —H.H. Pope Shenouda III, Struggle and Grace

  • We use our cars and clothing and career credentials to craft images of ourselves we wish to promote and project to others, while keeping much about ourselves carefully hidden from view.

    Vainglory: The Forgotten Vice
    Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung

  • 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