Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance. Prayer suppresses anger. Prayer prevents emotions of pride and envy. Prayer draws into the soul the Holy Spirit, and raises man to Heaven.”
Ephrem the Syrian
The Great commission
2 January 2026
Christianity is not a matter of persuading people of particular ideas, but of inviting them to share in the greatness of Christ.
So pray that I may never fall into the trap of impressing people with clever speech,
but instead I may learn to speak with humility, desiring only to impress people with Christ himself.
St. Ignatius of Antioch
On Repentance
1 January 2026
To repent is to look, not downward at my own shortcomings, but upward at God's love; not backward with self-reproach, but forward with trustfulness. It is to see, not what I have failed to be, but what by the grace of Christ I can yet become.
St. John Climacus
True Fasting
31 December 2025
True fasting lies in rejecting evil, holding ones tongue, suppressing ones hatred, and banishing ones lust, evil words, lying, and betrayal of vows.
St. Basil the Great
The Potency of Prayer
30 December 2025
The potency of prayer hath subdued the strength of fire; it had bridled the rage of lions, hushed the anarchy to rest, extinguished wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, burst the chains of death, expanded the gates of heaven, assuaged diseases, repelled frauds, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. Prayer is an all-efficient panoply, a treasure undiminished, a mine which is never exhausted, a sky unobscured by clouds, a heaven unruffled by the storm. It is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings.
John Chrysostom
Guided by God’s Will
28 December 2025
Intelligent men have no need to listen to much talk, but should attend only to that which is profitable and guided by God’s will.
Anthony the Great
The Cross of Christ
25 December 2025
Do not seek the perfection of the law in human virtues, for it is not found perfect in them. Its perfection is hidden in the Cross of Christ.
St. Mark the Ascetic
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)