“… Whoever is wronged in this life and wants to seek justice have know that it is this: to bear the burdens of his brother, of his neighbor until his final breath, and to be patient in all the sorrows of this present life. Because every affliction that befalls us whether from men, from the demons, or from our own very nature always has enclosed within it the corresponding profit. And whoever passes through it with patience receives the payment: it’s pledge here and its fulfillment there. So patience is necessary like salt in food. For there is no other road for us to gain, get rich and reign. This is the road that our Christ traced out.”
Elder Joseph
~Monastic Wisdom

“When we feel upset we should chant. Chanting drives away the devil because it’s prayer and at the same time it’s contempt for the tempter. We shouldn’t fight blasphemous thoughts with the Jesus prayer – that just opens up a new front with the devil and he attacks us even more. We ought to chant hymns instead and when the devil sees us treating his suggestions with disdain he’ll get so angry he’ll go to pieces.”
Elder Paisios
~Elder Paisios of Mt. Athos

“For most men today life is a small thing, a fleeting thing of small affirmation and small denial veiled in comforting illusions and the hopeful prospect of ultimate nothingness; such men will know nothing of hell until they live in it. But God loves even such men too much to allow them simply to forget Him and pass away into nothingness, out of His Presence which alone is life to man; He offers even to those in hell His Love which is torment to those who have not prepared themselves in this life to receive it. Many we know are tested and purified in those flames and made fit by them to dwell in the Kingdom of Heaven; but others with the demons for whom hell was made must dwell very eternally.”
Fr. Seraphim Rose
~Nihilism

A certain brother ecstatic after receiving the right answer to his problem asked him how do you receive the message with such precision? “This is not for everyone. It is difficult to discern if the answer is from God. However with the fiery flame of prayer the monk can stand like Moses and discourse with his Creator. So you should all try as much as you can to acquire this flame of prayer.” Another brother mentioned when I pray about a certain issue I asked the Lord and receive a message inside me. “Do you still have passions?” “Yes, Elder I do.” “When the passions still reign in us the seed is mixed. Where you think you have planted seed suddenly tares sprout. I suggest you entreat the Lord but you are not yet ready for receiving messages.”
Elder Haralambos
~Abbot Haralambos Dionysiatis

“When I went through up there for 15 days, struggling with the tempter – it defies description, you can’t even imagine! He was constantly telling me to go down to the monastery to see people and visit with them to be consoled. I’ll tell you one thing: for 15 days, I felt like I was nailed to the Cross. Later on the second Sunday, I came down to the monastery to attend Liturgy. When I communed the Holy Mysteries tasted like meat that was very sweet and I felt strength within me. It was the Body and Blood of Christ.” Strengthened by this sign, looking out his ascetic cell from the monastery, he said to the devil, “Come back now if you want to and will do battle. I’m not afraid of you anymore.”
Elder Paisios
~Elder Paisios of Mt. Athos

“Every sin a person commits is forgiven when he repents; however, the memory of it remains with him until his last breath. When he becomes a little slothful, when he is a little careless, the devil depicts it to him while awake or asleep in order to defile his thoughts and make him guilty of an old sin – or even just to make his mind wander.”
Elder Joseph
~Monastic Wisdom

“How can a religious seeker avoid the traps and deceptions which he encounters in his search? There’s only one answer to this question: the person must be in the religious search not for the sake of religious experiences, which can deceive, but for the sake of truth… The truly Orthodox person always has his feet firmly on the ground facing whatever situation is right in front of him. It is in accepting given situations which requires a loving heart that one encounters God. This loving heart is why anyone comes to a knowledge of the truth even though God sometimes has to break down and humble a heart to make it receptive – as in the case of the Apostle Paul, who at one time was breathing fire against and persecuting Christians. But to God the past, present and future of the human heart are all present and He sees where He can break through and communicate.”
Fr. Seraphim Rose
~God’s Revelation

“The righteous judgment of God is His forbearance, which also contains humility and love. God is very righteous and just but also most compassionate; and His compassion surpasses Is justice. I will give you an example to help you understand. If some person never had the opportunity to learn about God he would not be judged according to the condition in which he was found, but according to the condition he would have been in if he had come to know God. Otherwise, God would not be just. Divine righteousness has its own mathematical principles. One plus one sometimes equals two and sometimes 2 million.”
Elder Paisios
~Spiritual Struggle

“From his childhood he first heard about the Jesus Prayer from the hermit Fr.Theoktistos whom he would visit in his cave, up until ripe old age, Geronda Amphilochios uttered the name of Jesus unceasingly. The Name indeed of the King of Glory. This is precisely why his soul was adorned with all the virtues. He actually acquired that which he would say later on’ Through the Jesus Prayer a person is purified, he is refined and is sanctified.’”
Elder Amphilochios Makris
~Our Geronda

FORGIVENESS AND JUSTICE…
“… The Prophet David cried out when Nathan reproached him because of Bathsheba, “I have sinned against the Lord!” And the prophet told him, “The Lord has put away thy sin.” So, he was forgiven immediately yet he was punished throughout his life: first of all, the child that Bathsheba had, died. Then his son sinned against his sister Tamar. Afterwards his son Absalom pursued him – and he went through all of this after he had been forgiven. Do you see that even though the sin is forgiven the penance remains in proportion to the fault?”
Elder Joseph
~Monastic Wisdom