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“By His suffering Our Lord eased our suffering. He endured the greatest of pain and emerged as the Victor. That is why He can encourage us in our lesser sufferings.”
“The path is thorny, but there are roses in Paradise; Sufferings are bitter, but Christ is sweet.”
“What does it mean to take up your cross? It means the willing acceptance, at the hand of Providence, of every means of healing, bitter though it may be, that is offered. Do great catastrophes fall on you? Be obedient to God’s Will, as Noah was. Is sacrifice demanded of you? Give yourself into God’s hands with the same faith as Abraham had when he went to sacrifice his son. Is your property ruined? Do your children die suddenly? Suffer it all with patience, cleaving to God in your heart, as Job did. Do your friends forsake you, and you find yourself surrounded by enemies? Bear it all without grumbling, and with faith that God’s help is at hand, as the Apostles did.”
“Blessed is the man who uses his sufferings, knowing that all suffering in this brief life is loosed on men by God in His love for mankind, for the benefit and assistance of men. In His Mercy, God looses suffering on men because of their sins – by His Mercy and not His justice. For, if it were by His justice, every sin would inevitably bring death, as the Apostle says: “Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1: 15). In place of death, God gives healing through suffering. Suffering is God’s way of healing the Soul of its sinful leprosy and its death.”
“God allows proud people to be humbled and brought low when they think that they’re secure in their own strength.”
“Why is it that much is said and written about the sufferings of Holy men and women? Because the Saints, alone, are considered Victors. Can anyone be a victor without conflict, pain, and suffering? He who does not engage in combat for the sake of Christ, either with the world, with the devil or with one’s self, how can he be counted among the soldiers of Christ?”
“To be constantly persecuted is a distinguishing mark of the True Faith and of the Orthodox Church.”
“All the troubles of life on earth will seem like a drop of salt water in a fresh water river when compared to life in Paradise: ‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what the heart of man has not conceived – God has prepared for those who love Him.'”
“Do not ever succumb to the insane thought that God has abandoned you. God knows exactly how much one can endure and, according to that, measures the sufferings and pains of everyone.”
“Those who clothe themselves with patience will see victory and the glory of God. For those who love the Lord, even the straitest and narrowest path is more than wide enough. The greatest pain is a light yoke and the most violent death a joyous wedding service.”
“If your entire life passed smoothly and without worry, then weep for yourself. For the Gospel and the experience of the people, with one accord assert that no one has, without great suffering and pain, left behind any great and beneficial work on Earth or was glorified in the Heavens. If, however, your earthly sojourn is completely adorned with sweat and tears to attain justice and truth, rejoice and be exceedingly glad for truly great is your reward in the Heavens.”
“Just a little longer, brethren, and our journey will end. Sustain us just a little longer, O Conqueror of death.”
“Only the foolish think that suffering is evil. A sensible man knows that suffering is not evil but only the manifestation of evil and healing from evil. Only sin in a man is a real evil, and there is no evil outside sin. Everything else that men generally call evil is not, but is a bitter medicine to heal from evil. The sicker the man, the more bitter the medicine that the doctor prescribes for him. At times, even, it seems to a sick man that the medicine is worse and more bitter than the sickness itself! And so it seems at times to the sinner: the suffering is harder and more bitter than the sin committed. But this is only an illusion – a very strong self-delusion. There is no suffering in the world that could be anywhere near as hard and destructive as sin is. All the suffering borne by men and nations is none other than the abundant healing that eternal Mercy offers to men and nations to save them from eternal death. Every sin, however small, would inevitably bring death if Mercy were not to allow suffering in order to sober men up from the inebriation of sin; for the healing that comes through suffering is brought about by the Grace-filled power of the Holy and Life-giving Spirit.”
