What a disease, gossip and judging others ! ( St. Theophan the Recluse )

What a disease, gossip and judging others !

Everyone knows that this is a sin, nevertheless, there is nothing more common in our words than judgment of others...the sentence of the Lord for this sin is stern and resolute; he who judges others will not be justified.


St. Theophan the Recluse

Let us run to the Panagia... ( St. Anthimos of Chios )

Let us run to the Panagia in every circumstance to ask her , to have her as our aide.

St. Anthimos of Chios

If human beings, could see their inner ugliness, they would not pursue external beauty... ( St. Paisios )

 

If human beings, could see their inner ugliness, they would not pursue external beauty.

When our souls have so many stains, so many smudges, are we going to be concerned, for instance, about our clothes ?

We wash our clothes, we even iron them and we are clean outside, while inside, well, do not ask!


St. Paisios

Hatred is the Devil’s Poison ( St. Kosmas Aitolos )

Even if we perform upon thousands of good works, my brethren: fasts, prayers, almsgiving; even if we shed our blood for our Christ and we don’t have these two loves [love of God and love of brethren], but on the contrary have hatred and malice toward our brethren, all the good we have done is of the devil and we go to hell. But, you say, we go to hell despite all the good we do because of that little hatred?

Yes, my brethren, because that hatred is the devil’s poison, and just as when we put a little yeast in a hundred pounds of flour it has such power that it causes all the dough to rise, so it is with hatred. It transforms all the good we have done into the devil’s poison.

A mother should not be satisfied by giving her child a physical caress, but should also coddle it with the caress of prayer. ( St. Porphyrios )

A child needs to be surrounded by people who pray and pray ardently. A mother should not be satisfied by giving her child a physical caress, but should also coddle it with the caress of prayer.

In the depths of its soul the child senses the spiritual caress that its mother conveys to it and is drawn to her.

It feels security and certainty when its mother mystically embraces it with constant, intense and fervent prayer and releases it from whatever is oppressing it.

St. Porphyrios