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“Some people lost their body in war and some lost their soul. The former loss less. In some gain their soul. These are the true winners. There are some who went to war like wolves and came back as lambs. I know a lot of those. These are those who like you felt through some miraculous event that the invisible God is walking before them. As the glorious psalmist has said, ‘I beheld God before me; He is at my right hand so I don’t stumble.’”
St. Nikolai Velimirovich
~Missionary Letters #1

“Take an icon for example: it is made by hand out of wood and colors. It depicts the form of Christ, the Panagia or some saint. Whatever we do to this icon – even though it is something material – passes on to the prototype. That is where acts of reverence or irreverence go. Likewise, and Elder is an icon of God and in His image and place. For a disciple an Elder is even above a bishop. For other people he is nothing but for you a disciple he is everything.”
Ephraim of Arizona
~My Elder Joseph

“Human righteousness is not for spiritual people; it merely serves to restrain worldly people. A spiritual person is a fool if he relies on human righteousness which is nothing compared to divine righteousness. But even a worldly person, though he may achieve something in this life by applying human righteousness, will not have real joy and peace.”
Elder Paisios
~Spiritual Struggle

“The right approach is found in the heart which tries to humble itself and simply knows that it is suffering and that there somehow exists a higher truth which not only can help the suffering that can bring it into a totally different dimension. This passing from suffering to transcendent reality reflects the life of Christ, Who went to His suffering on the cross, endured the most horrible and shameful type of death, and didn’t totally to the consternation of His own disciples, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, sent Is Holy Spirit and begin the whole history of Is Church.”
Fr. Seraphim Rose
~God’s Revelation

“As for myself poor soul…… I’m very weak. I haven’t managed to love Christ so very fervently and for my soul too long for Him I feel that I have a very long way to go. I haven’t arrived at where I want to be; I don’t experience this love. But I’m not discouraged. I trust in the love of God. I say to Christ: I know I’m not worthy. Send me whatever Your love wishes. That’s what I desire, that’s what I want. During my life I always worshiped you.”
Elder Porphyrios
~Wounded by Love

“This old Elder, good willed and everything else, and indeed a struggler in his monastic duties remained with this delusion until he was very old… Nevertheless I was informed with great joy… That a little before the elders death he retracted all that he believed and said, foreseeing his sin, “Forget everything I told you. I am shortly leaving for the other life.” After his holy repose and the end of my anxiety a contemporary co-struggler of his solved my question saying: ‘This Elder passed the first stage of his life in obedience. Since he pleased his Elder he desired greater physical struggles. He went to the desert and performed his monastic duties with precision and frequently took communion. Well he was protected because he had sound foundations and the evil one did not have the power to finish him off despite deluding and deriding him his whole life.”
Abbot Haralambos
~Abbot Haralambos Dionysiatis

“All the Saints pass their lives in afflictions and manifold sufferings in spite of the fact that sin did not have any power over them to afflict them. Nevertheless, many times their life was a true martyrdom. Now what justification will we give – we who have fallen into an occupied ourselves with many sins – to claim the right to pass our lives without afflictions and sufferings? Most certainly we are accountable for sin and consequently we need the flip of salvific discipline of the Lord that we may have the fortune of being saved into the kingdom of heaven by grace of the mercies of our God Who loves mankind.”
Elder Ephraim of Arizona
~Counsels from the Holy Mountain

“Once when he was flooded by great sorrow because of all these things as he was praying with tears and pain in darkness of his cell he came to theoria and everything around him shown with supernatural light. Did he saw the living Lord nailed to the Cross and base income created light from His blameless hands and feet blood streamed profusely. Then Christ tilted His head toward Geronda and said to him: “Behold how much I suffered out of love for you. What have you suffered? Can you not endure a single affliction?” And that it was dark again. With those words Geronda’s sorrow was dispelled and he was filled with joy and peace. He said rivers of tears experiencing the love of God and amazed at the Lord’s immense condescension. From then on he had great consolation in his sorrows, torments and trials. He grew strong in spirit and in this manner was patient with those people until they decided to leave of their own accord.”
Elder Ephraim of Arizona
~My Elder Joseph

“In our day, you usually hear these words from parents: “We want to secure the life of our child.” That is why they work very hard to amass wealth— often unjustly— to educate their child in the calling that brings the greatest physical security and material benefit. And this is done by so -called Christians! They do this because their concept of real life and the real security of life is erroneous. Here is how a true Christian mother prepares her son for real life: At the time of her death, Blessed Euphrosyne spoke to her son, Clement of Ancyra: “Do me the honor, O my son, and bravely stand up for Christ and confess Him firmly and without hesitation! In my heart I hope that the crown of martyrdom will soon blossom on you, in my honor and for the salvation of many. Do not be afraid of threats, or swords , or pains, or wounds, or fire. Let nothing separate you from Christ, but look up to heaven— and from there you can expect your great, eternal and rich reward from God. Fear God’s majesty; be afraid of His awesome judgment ; tremble at His all -seeing Eye; for all those who deny Him will receive the punishment of unquenchable fire and the eternally vigilant worm…”
Saint Nikolai Velimirovich
~The Prologue