“Desire and effort must come from you. God will provide the power and the results.”

“The goal is to rise spiritually, not simply to avoid sin.”

“The soft life makes people useless. Without toil and struggle Sanctification doesn’t come.”

“We must struggle with philotimo to be saved, and so that we not sadden Christ. Christ will say to us: ‘My child, I did so much to save you. I shed my blood and endured so many passions, what did you do to save yourself?'”

“Selfishness is the root of all the passions.”

“Ruler over our passions are pious thoughts.”

“If the enemy decides to attack you with lustful thoughts, don’t be put off by it, but use the demon for your own benefit, saying: ‘It is good that you have brought me these thoughts, now l am encouraged to Pray otherwise I keep forgetting to Pray unceasingly.’ Right away the enemy will retreat.”

“Thoughts are like airplanes flying in the air. If you ignore them, there is no problem. If you pay attention to them, you create an airport inside your head and permit them to land!”