“In the not too distant past there was sincere repentance. When someone repented he repented and did not backslide…now I see some people who as soon as they change their way of life begin to be teachers and instructors to others while their old self is still active inside. One must repent, then stop living the prodigal life of the past and begin living spiritually; and this of course is a positive help to others. But for one to go directly from the state of prodigality to become a spiritual person and an instructor, well, that’s an illusion.”
Elder Paisios
~Spiritual Struggle

“Naturally his first choice in reading was Holy Scripture and especially the New Testament and the Psalms. His mind was so steeped in the concepts found in the Psalms that he wrote his letters with a style similar to that of biblical texts. The also like reading lives of the Saints which relax the mind, sweeten the heart, enrich ones discernment and increase one’s zeal for greater ascetical feats. He said that the lives of the Saints are like a mirror in which one can see one’s faults. His disciples remembered that no matter what problem they had he would always have some beneficial incident from the lives of the Saints to tell which would shed light on their need or on the issue that concerned them.”
Elder Joseph
~My Elder Joseph

“We began our huts at New Skete. The other fathers of the brotherhood agreed with the elder to put in an expensive order without asking me. Since I knew something about building when I was in the world I realized that we would be throwing away money. I ran to the elder to prevent the mistake for everyone’s benefit. What you think happened? The Elder pulled me up without any discussion and literally showered me with insults, abuse and send me away like a dog. I said to myself, “Fine, fine. Thank you for the insults but tomorrow you will throw away a whole lot of money and we will talk about it again.”….All the materials arrived and as I estimated they were unsuitable and we threw them in the shed. Not many days past and they were needed for another job that we began and they fit with such precision is if we had purposely ordered them. Well then, my elder rightly pulled me up and taught me a firm lesson.”
Elder Haralambos
~Elder Haralambos Dionysiastis

“I said to myself, “I’ve stumbled on a house of ill fame.” “Go away,” a woman said to me. “It’s not right for these girls to kiss the cross. Let me kiss the cross and then, please, go away.” “I’m afraid I cannot leave! I am a priest I have come to bless the house… How do we know who should kiss the cross, the girls or you? Because if God were to ask me who should be allowed to kiss the cross I might reply that the girls should kiss it and not you. Their souls are in a better state than your own.” They all kissed the cross. They were all immaculately turned out with their colored skirts and so on. And I said to them, “Blessings on you all my children. God loves all of us. He is very good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. He is the father of all of us and his concern is for each one of us. Only we to must try to come to know Him and to love Him and to become good. Love Him and you’ll see how happy you will be.”
Elder Prophyrios
~Wounded by Love

“The elder underwent the most difficult trials in obedience and blindly obeying Elder John who as was previously mentioned assigned him difficult jobs and strictly censured him without the Abbot’s knowledge. Father Paisios as a good, obedient monk endured all of this silently and with self-reproach. He never criticized Elder John not even in his thoughts and he believed that everything that happened…on account of his own sins. Finally he started hemorrhaging and ended up in the monastery infirmary. From there he gave thanks and prayed for Elder John because he had benefited him. “He beat me like an octopus but he got the ink out of me.””
Elder Paisios
~Elder Paisios of Mt. Athos

“… The peace and pleasantness of the out of body experience may be considered real and not a deception. Deception enters in, however, the instant one begins to interpret these natural feelings as something spiritual – as though this peace was the true peace and reconciliation with God and the pleasantness where the true spiritual pleasure of heaven. This is in fact how many people interpret their out of body and after death experiences, because of their lack of true spiritual experience and awareness. That this is a mistake may be seen from the fact that even the crudest unbelievers have the same experience of pleasantness when they “die””
Fr Seraphim Rose
~The Soul After Death

“At the time of the iconoclasts ten Christians who stoutly defended the icon of Christ at the Bronze Door of the palace in Constantinople were martyred for it. Now Christ’s person is being blasphemed and we must not be indifferent. If knowledgeable and discerning people like us lived at that time they would have said to the ten martyrs, “That’s not how to be spiritual. So the Emperor’s soldiers are coming to destroy the icon – never mind. When things change we will put another icon there and it’ll even be more Byzantine.” We try to make our downfall, our cowardice, are self-serving attitude appear to be something exalted. It makes me shudder.”
Elder Paisios
~Elder Paisios of Mt. Athos

“There are however preconditions for divine grace to come and dwell in a person. Only a person who has humility receives these gifts from God; he attributes them to God and uses them for His glory. The good, humble, devout man who loves God, the man who possesses virtue is not by the grace of God deluded or led astray. He feels in his heart that he is truly unworthy and that all those things are given to him so that he may become good and for that reason he makes his ascetic struggle.”
Elder Prophyrios
~Wounded by Love

“Although he was very strict with himself when he heard a monk say “Spiritual Father I can’t do my prayer rule,” he found alternative solutions for the monk. You can’t do 150 prostrations? Do 100 – but I can’t even do that many. – Well then add to your prayer rule another four lots of 300 prayer ropes with the sign of the cross instead of the prostrations. – I still have difficulty, Elder. – Well then leave it and I will do it for you until you are strengthened. Only don’t leave obedience and the services. Usually this method worked with many and the good thing was that most times he won. The brothers sense of honor was eventually pierced with the thought, “My spiritual father, an old man, is doing the prostrations for me. I should be ashamed.”
Elder Haralambos
~Elder Haralambos Dionysiastis

“No matter what the many fates of humans are on earth, no matter what schemes and obstacles Satan and the godless prepare and no matter how great the apostasy will be in the last times from the love of Christ, the kingdom of Christ will be filled unconditionally. Or did He who told us to calculate whether we can finish a tower before we start building it, did He not calculate how He would fulfill his kingdom? The Church is His body. What would anybody be like without all of its parts, even the smallest parts and the tiniest cells? This is why the Lord will also cleanse and restore many repentant sinners so that they may be worthily called His brides. But repentance is only the beginning of one’s labor in acquiring God’s grace.”
St. Nikolai Velimirovich
~Missionary Letter #2