“He would say, ‘Prayer helps the world so much – when there is heartfelt compassion of course. I don’t feel someone else’s pain when I’m sitting comfortably with my legs crossed and have every comfort and convenience.’  The elder’s prayer was accompanied by fasting, toil, prostrations, and most importantly, humility. He used to say, ‘We should ask humbly. I say my God I’m a brute. Have mercy on me and on the whole world, too.”

“A young child does something wrong; let’s say he breaks one of his father’s tools and then is upset over it because he considers it to be a big mistake… In a similar manner, the more we suffer and grieve over our sinfulness or over our ingratitude to God and out of love cry for having grieved Our  Father with our sins, the more He will reward us with divine gladness and inner sweetness. Such grief is good grief because while it contains pain and also has hoping consolation.”

“God my child, is everywhere, and His eye observes everything but He overlooks our sins because He awaits our repentance. When we are at fault whether slightly are greatly, He sees it because He is present but we do not see Him because we are infants in knowledge. And when He punishes us so that we may turn towards Him, we think that we are suffering unjustly. However, when we humble ourselves, with eyes of our souls are opened and we realize that everything that the Lord does is very good. There we look upon Him as our father abundant in mercy and overflowing with perfect love and kindness.”

“I had a special weakness for my mother. She was a truly holy soul; we lived a whole life together. She washed my things, ironed for me, looked after me, and so on. When the evil one tried to fight me by bringing her to my mind, my desire for her almost ate me up. Since Satan found a means of fighting me what did I do? I thought that all of us who have renounced our mother [as monks] have Panagia as our mother. So I fell to the ground with screams and tears saying ‘Panagia, I beg you, please run. Extinguish the desire for my mother. You are now my mother. I don’t want a carnal mother. I want you and only you. Help me.’”
Elder Haralambos
~Abbott Haralambos Dionystasis

“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
Matthew 10:37