“O Lord, I am a suppliant to You; You [The] Good! I am knocking at Your door; Break not, O Lord, Your promise, "Knock, and I will open to you. " Thy door is not closely fastened When the sinner comes and knocks at it; Thy door is always opened To the righteous and the wicked.... Continue Reading →
“If reason (logos)... assumes control over such movements [the passions], each of them is transmuted to a form of virtue; for anger produces courage, terror-caution, fear-obedience, hatred-turning away from evil, the power of love the desire for what is truly beautiful; high-mindedness in our character raises our thought above the passions, and keeps it from... Continue Reading →
“ I was not sent, he says, as the teacher Moses was, to condemn the world with the law or to introduce a command to convict people of sin. Nor do I do the ministry of a servant. Rather, I bring the love for humanity that befits the master. As Son and heir of the... Continue Reading →
"True manhood is not shown in the choice of a celibate life; on the contrary, the prize in the contest of men is won by him who has trained himself by the discharge of the duties of husband and father and by the supervision of a household, regardless of pleasure and pain--by him, I say,... Continue Reading →
"Our Father who art in heaven: these are the words of those who enjoy intimacy with God, like a son in the bosom of his father. Hallowed be thy name: that is to say, may it, being glorified through our witness, be hallowed among us, by people who will say: 'these are true servants of... Continue Reading →
"Do not then despair of the most perfect change [repentance]. For if the devil had such great power as to cast you down from that pinnacle and height of virtue into the extremity of evil doing, much more will God be able to draw you up again to your former confidence; and not only indeed... Continue Reading →
Have you seen the insignificance [the worthlessness] of human affairs? Have you seen the frailty of power? Have you seen the wealth which I [have] always called a runaway and not a runaway only, but also a murderer. For it not only deserts those who possess it, but also slaughters them; for when any one pays attention to it then the most it does for him is to betray him. Why do you pay attention to wealth which today is yours, and tomorrow is another's? Why do you court [or attract] wealth which can never be held fast [close]? Do you desire to court it? Do you desire to hold it near? Do not bury it but give it into the hands of the poor.
"Behold, my brethren, how much a fast can do, and in what manner the law commands us to fast. It is required that not only with the body should we fast, but with the soul. Now the soul is humbled when it does not follow wicked opinions, but feeds on becoming virtues. For virtues and... Continue Reading →
There are some who are clothed in modesty on the outside but are arrayed in licentiousness within. There are some who are fasters outwardly but inwardly are gluttons and greedy.
"And if you see your neighbour sinning, do not take only his sin into consideration. Reflect upon all that he has done or continues to do rightly. If it often the cause, when your examination goes through every detail and you do not judge based on partial information, that you will discover that he is... Continue Reading →
"By those means whereby you have lost goods, by the same will you gain them back again. You owe God a penny, and He will not accept a pearl from you in its place. Having lost chastity, do not allow fornication to remain in its place and give alms because of it: God will not... Continue Reading →
"Without some share in what is Good, nothing has ever existed, nothing does exist and nothing could exist. Take lust, for example. It is devoid of Good because of its senseless covetousness.... but that does not prevent it taking its share in what is Good by means of the feeble echo that remains in it... Continue Reading →
