"It is absurd to be grateful to doctors who give us bitter and unpleasant medicines to cure our bodies, and yet to be ungrateful to God for what appears to us to be harsh, not grasping that all we encounter is for our benefit and in accordance with His providence. For knowledge of God and faith in Him is the salvation and perfection of the soul.” + St Anthony the Great

St Anthony the Great - God's Medicine

Non-spiritual people do not even suspect how difficult it is to control the wandering of thoughts. Being occupied with worldly affairs, they consider their thoughts to be busy with worthwhile concerns. Only when they begin to strive toward a spiritual life and try to reflect on spiritual topics, do they begin to notice that their thoughts are murky. This is somewhat like the waters of a shallow lake. As long as its surface remains undisturbed, it looks clear; but when it is stirred, the silt from its bottom darkens the water, making it appear murky. 
Likewise, in the depths of our heart there lay various passions. Like silt, they rise and darken the soul when a Christian attempts to expose and struggle with them. As the Holy Fathers have explained, when people turn to God, the devil strives to darken their soul with bad thoughts and feelings in order to confuse them and distract them from their good intentions. But do not yield to his snares, and do not stray from the path of salvation. Remember that no one can simultaneously think about two subjects. If you occupy your mind with good thoughts (reading spiritual books or studying some worthwhile subject), the bad ones will not be able to linger in your mind.

Love reveals itself in works of mercy. Among such works are to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to visit and help the sick and the imprisoned, to give refuge to the homeless, and to be concerned about orphans. All this should be done with sincere and unselfish love, without any boasting or expectations of gratitude. The Savior teaches regarding this: Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly (Matt. 6:3-4).

... So, my brethren, in order to avoid eternal perdition, let us definitely concern ourselves with our future. We know that beyond the grave there awaits one of the following two outcomes: either the Heavenly Kingdom or everlasting perdition in hell. There is no middle state, only everlasting bliss or everlasting torment. As there exist only two conditions past the grave, so there exist only two paths in this life. The one that seems wide and easy is taken by the majority. The other that seems narrow and thorny is taken by few. Those who follow the narrow path will be a hundredfold more happy than those who do not.

Work for your salvation while it is still daylight, for the night will come in which there will be no chance to change anything. Strive for the Heavenly Kingdom while you can still walk. Walk even a little bit, even if by crawling, but do it in the right direction. Then in eternity you will truly rejoice for every step you have taken!

May the All-merciful Lord help us all in this! Glory and thanksgiving be to Him throughout the ages of ages. Amen. (Saint Innocent of Alaska, from The Way Into the Kingdom of Heaven)

Saint Innocent of Alaska, on striving (from The Way Into the Kingdom of Heaven)

"All-Merciful Mother of the All-Merciful God, the Word"

“When you are about to pray to our Lady the Holy Virgin, be firmly assured, before praying, that you will not depart from her without having received mercy. To think thus and to have confidence in her is meet and right. She is, the All-Merciful Mother of the All-Merciful God, the Word, and her mercies, incalculably great and innumerable, have been declared from all ages by all Christian Churches; she is, indeed, an abyss of mercies and bounties...” + St John of Kronstadt

St John Kronstadt on Praying to the All-Merciful Mother of the All-Merciful God, the Word

The perfect person does good through love.

His actions are not motivated by desire for personal benefit, so he does not have personal advantage as his aim. But as soon as he has realized the beauty of doing good, he does it with all his energies and in all that he does.

He is not interested in fame, or a good reputation, or a human or divine reward.

The rule of life for a perfect person is to be in the image and likeness of God.

+ Clement of Alexandria

St Clement of Alexandria on Love and Perfection

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

King James Version (KJV)


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Psalm 90 (Psalm 91 Hebrew numbering)

God is with us! Understand this, O nations, and submit yourselves for God is with us. Hear this, even to the farthest bounds of the earth, for God is with us. Submit yourselves, O mighty ones, for God is with us. If you rise up again in your might, you will be overthrown, for God is with us. The Lord shall destroy all who take counsel together, and the word which you speak shall not abide with you, for God is with us. For we do not fear your terror, and we are not troubled, for God is with us. But we will ascribe holiness to the Lord our God, and Him will we hold in awesome fear, for God is with us. And if I put my trust in Him, He shall be my sanctification, for God is with us. I will set my hope on Him, and through Him I shall be saved -lo, I and the children whom God has given me, for God is with us. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness - on them a light has shined, for God is with us. For unto us a Child is born; to us a Son is given, for God is with us. And the government shall be upon His shoulder, and of His peace there will be no end, for God is with us. And His name shall be called the Messenger of Great Counsel, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, the Father of the World to Come, for God is with us.

God Is With Us - Russian Znamenny Chant (English) Vaalam Monastery

On November 16, we honour the precious memory of the The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew. As the Kontakion to the Apostle Matthew declares: "Summoning you from the custom house," (Matthew 9:9) Christ "revealed you as a chosen apostle, the proclaimer of the Gospel to the whole world!"

After Christ's call, Matthew, formerly Levi the tax-collector, acknowledging his sinfulness, repaid fourfold anyone he had cheated, distributed his remaining possessions to the poor, and followed after Christ. With the other apostles he preached to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt. 10:6) and witnessed the suffering, death, and Resurrection of the Savior, and His glorious Ascension into Heaven.

After the resurrection of our Lord, Matthew preached amongst the Jews. The earliest copies of the Gospel he wrote are in Greek but the original writings may have been in Hebrew or even Aramaic, since it was composed in Palestine. It is placed first in the order of the books of the New Testament. Matthew's Gospel's primary affirmation is that Jesus Christ is the awaited Messiah foretold by the prophets, and that there would not be another (Mt. 11:3). 

According to Tradition, the holy Apostle Matthew wrote his Gospel at the request of the Jewish converts at Jerusalem, before leaving to preach the Gospel in Syria, Media, Persia, Parthia, and eventually Ethiopia. It was there that he was martyred by Fulvian, the ruler of the region, by being set on fire head downwards, in a pile of brushwood.

When the fire failed to harm Matthew, Fulvian called for more wood and had the fire surrounded by pagan idols, which melted as St Matthew prayed. This finally shocked Fulvian enough to entreat the holy martyr for mercy. 

By Matthew's prayers the fire went out, and while the saint willingly gave up his soul to the Lord-- his body remained unharmed. At this sight, Fulvian was deeply repentant but still had doubts. He had the body of St Matthew placed in an iron coffin and thrown into the sea. Fulvian declared that if the God of Matthew would preserve the body of the apostle in the water as He preserved him in the fire, then this would be proper reason to worship this One True God preached by Matthew.

That night the Apostle Matthew appeared to Bishop Platon in a dream, and commanded him to go with clergy to the where his body had washed up at the site of the church he had built. On witnessing this, Fulvian immediately repented of his deed, renounced his position of worldly power, took the name of Matthew in baptism, and was made a presbyter by the Bishop Platon. 

When Platon died, the apostle appeared to the priest and told him to assume the bishop's throne.

Troparion to St Matthew (Tone 3): 
"With zeal, you followed Christ the Master,
who in His goodness, appeared on earth to mankind.
Summoning you from the custom house,
He revealed you as a chosen apostle:
the proclaimer of the Gospel to the whole world!
Therefore, divinely eloquent Matthew,
we honor your precious memory!
Entreat merciful God that He may grant our souls remission of transgressions."

Life of the Holy Apostle Matthew

PSALM 50 (51 Hebrew numbering)

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great goodness, according to Your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions. 
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin! 
For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. 
Against You, You only, have I sinned and done that which is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified in Your sentence and blameless in Your  judgment. 
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. 
Behold, You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. 
Purge me with  hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. 
Fill me with joy and gladness; let the bones which You have broken rejoice. 
Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my  iniquities. 
Create in me a clean heart, O God and put a new and right spirit within me. 
Cast me not away from Your presence and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit. 
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways and sinners will return to You. 
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, you God of my salvation and my tongue  will sing aloud of Your deliverance. 
O Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall show forth Your praise. 
For You have no delight in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, You would not be pleased.  
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. 
Do good to Zion in Your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem; then will You delight  in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on Your altar.

Psalm 50 (51 Hebrew numbering)

St Isaiah the Solitary 

On Guarding the Intellect 
Twenty- Seven Texts 

There is among the passions an anger of the intellect, and this anger is in accordance with nature. Without anger a man cannot attain purity: he has to feel angry with all that is sown in him by the enemy. When Job felt this anger he reviled his enemies, calling them "dishonorable men of no repute, lacking everything good, whom I would not consider fit to live with the dogs that guard my flocks' (cf Job 30:1, 4. LXX). He who wishes to 
acquire the anger that is in accordance with nature must uproot all self-will, until he establishes within himself the state natural to the intellect. 

If you find yourself hating your fellow men and resist this hatred, and you see that it grows weak and withdraws, do not rejoice in your heart; for this withdrawal is a trick of the evil spirits. They are preparing a second attack worse than the first; they have left their troops behind the city and ordered them to remain there.  If you go out to attack them, they will flee before you in weakness. But if your heart is then elated because you 
have driven them away, and you leave the city, some of them will attack you from the rear while the rest will stand their ground in front of you; and your wretched soul will be caught between them with no means of escape. The city is prayer. Resistance is rebuttal through Christ Jesus. The foundation is mcensive power. 

Let us stand firm in the fear of God, rigorously practicing the virtues and not giving our conscience cause to stumble. In the fear of God let us keep our attention fixed within ourselves, until our conscience achieves its freedom. Then there will be a union between it and us, and thereafter it will be our guardian, showing us each thing that we must uproot. But if we do not obey our conscience, it will abandon us and we shall fall into the hands of our enemies, who will never let us go. This is what 
our Lord taught us when He said: 'Come to an agreement with your adversary quickly while you are with him in the road, lest he hand you over to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer and you are cast into prison (Matt. 5:25). The  conscience is called an 'adversary' because it opposes us when we wish to carry out the desires of our flesh; and if we do not listen to our conscience, it delivers us into the hands of our enemies. 

4. If God sees that the intellect has entirely submitted to Him and puts its hope in Him alone. He strengthens it, saying: 'Have no fear Jacob my son, my little Israel" (Isa. 41:14. LXX), and: 'Have no fear: for I have delivered you, I have called you by My name; you are Mine. If you pass through water, I shall be with you, and the rivers will not drown you. If you go through fire, you will not be burnt, and the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, who saves you' (cf . Isa. 43:1-3. LXX). 

When the intellect hears these words of reassurance, it says boldly to its enemies: 'Who would fight with me? Let him stand against me. And who would accuse me? Let him draw near to me. Behold, the Lord is my helper; who will harm me? Behold, all of you are like an old moth-eaten garment' (cf Isa. 50:8-9. LXX). 

If your heart comes to feel a natural hatred for sin, it has defeated the causes of sin and freed itself from them. Keep hell's torments in mind: but know that your Helper is at hand. Do nothing that will grieve Him, but say to Him with tears: 'Be merciful and deliver me, Lord, for without Thy help I cannot escape from the hands of my enemies. " Be attentive to your heart, and He will guard you from all evil. 

The monk should shut all the gates of his soul, that is, the senses, so that he is not lured astray. When the intellect sees that it is not dominated by anything, it prepares itself for immortality, gathering its senses together and forming them into one body. 




St Isaiah On Guarding The Heart

A small but always persistent discipline is a great force-- for a soft drop falling persistently, hollows out hard rock. + St Isaac of Syria

... we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance. (Romans 5:3)

St Isaac of Syria - A Small But Always Persistent Discipline

Desire and effort must come from you. God will provide the power and the results. + St Paisios 

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12)

St Paisios - Desire And Effort Must Come From You

Grumbling is caused by misery and it can be put aside by doxology (giving praise)...  doxology begets doxology. + St Paisios of Mt. Athos 

Do all things without complaining and disputing (Philippians 2:14)

St Pisisios - Grumbling Is Caused By Misery

Happiness... can only be achieved by looking inward... and this requires transforming greed into gratitude. + St John Chrysostom 

Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness,  while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. (2 Corinthians 9:10-11)

St John Chrysostom - Happiness Can Only Be Achieved By

He who is able to pray correctly, even if he is the poorest of all people, is essentially the richest. + St John Chrysostom 

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. (Luke 18:1)			

St John Chrysostom - He Who Is Able To Pray Correctly

It is not thou that shapest God, it is God that shapest thee. + St Irenaeus	

But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand. (Isaiah 64:8)

St Irenaeus - It Is Not Thou

Just as in Paradise God walks in the Holy Scriptures seeking man. + St Ambrose of Milan	

But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:14-16)"	;			

St Ambrose of Milan - Just As In Paradise God Walks In The Holy Scriptures

My soul thirsts for the living God. Times and again my soul seeks fullness of delight in the Lord. + St Silouan the Athonite 

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? (Psalm 41/42:2)

St Silouan the Athonite - My Soul Thirsts For The Living God

Let us become like Christ, since Christ became like us. He assumed the worse that He might give us the better. + St Gregory Nazianzus 

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. (1 John 3:2)

St Gregory Nazianzus - Let Us Become Like Christ

The knowledge of the Cross is concealed in the sufferings of the Cross. + St Isaac of Syria

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18)	

St Isaac of Syria - The Knowledge Of The Cross Is Concealed In The Sufferings Of The Cross

The man who follows Christ in solitary mourning is greater than he who praises Christ amid the congregation of men. + St Isaac of Syria

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. (2 Corinthians 1:13)

St Isaac of Syria - The Man Who Follows Christ In Solitary

The thought that you could live like a Christian while holding on to the world and worldliness is an empty, deluded thought. + St Theophan

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. (1 Corinthians 3:18)

St Theophan - The Thought That You Could Live Like A Christian

We have learned the plan of our salvation from no one else other than from those through whom the gospel has come down to us. + St Irenaeus 

The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs... And He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.'(Acts 1:1-3, 7-8)	

St Irenaeus - We Have Learned The Plan

Wrestle for your own soul, especially in such days as these. + St Cyril of Jerusalem 

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:12)

St Cyril of Jerusalem - Wrestle For Your Own Soul

Blessed are those who have Christ as their heart's axis and joyfully revolve around His Holy Name. + St Paisios of Mount Athos 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. (Matthew 5:6)

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