“All the pain suffered by every human being, from Adam to the end of the ages, was felt by the Saviour as well.”
Saint Nikodemus the Athonite
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“Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?… The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the Name of the Lord.”
Prophet Job
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“Five minutes of Prayer when the whole body is in pain are more precious than a whole night of Praying with bodily ease.”
Saint Sophrony of Essex
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“Those of us who have passed through pains, either psychical or physical, know that we never Prayed as hard and with such quality and length, as we did when we were in the bed of pain or when some heavy psychical sadness tested us.”
Elder Epiphanios of Athens
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“God does not expect physical deeds from a sick person, but only patience with humility and gratefulness.”
Saint Ambrose of Optina
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“When you see your body wasted through sickness, do not murmur against God, but say; “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; Blessed be the Name of the Lord.”
Saint Ambrose of Optina
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“Stop making Prostrations for awhile; illness has taken their place. But do not stop Praying with heartfelt compunction.”
Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov
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“Our sicknesses do us well when we endure them ungrudgingly, ask God to forgive our sins, and Glorify His Name.”
Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia
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“When we are in pain, we must not forget the great honour bestowed upon us by the Lord in sharing His Crown of Thorns.”
Mother Gavrilia
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“I have a heart, and I have many afflictions. But ‘the afflictions of the present time lead to glory in the age to come’, and so I don’t reckon them as anything. Daily I see my grave, that I am a dead man. But within this dead flesh dwells an Eternal Soul. I care for my Soul which is something Eternal. Because of this, my child, you also should care for your Soul, near the Fathers of the Church.”
Saint Iakovos Tsalikis of Evia
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“You are the joy of my heart, Creator, God and my Father. My Soul burdened with sins longs for Heaven, where the afflictions and the illnesses will stop. Glory to the Great God and Lord! Chant my spirit with joy, my heart longs for Your Holy Church, where is the Sweetest Lord Jesus!”
Saint Seraphim of Viritsa
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“Your few works, done with all your infirmity, if offered with repentance and self-approach, will be received by God more favourably than great feats and labours performed with arrogance and a high opinion of oneself.”
Saint Macarius of Optina
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“I heard some brothers who are constantly sick and cannot fast, and they said to me: “How can we get rid of the devil and passions without fasting?” To them we must say that, not only by abstaining from food, but also by the cry of the heart you will be able to draw out and banish both evil and those who submit evil. Because the Scripture says: “They cried to the Lord when they were in trouble and He saved them” (Ps. 106, 6), and again: “From the belly of Hades I cried and You heard my voice; let my life rise from decay” (Jonah 2, 3-7). That’s why he says: “Until the iniquity passes away – that is, the nuisance of sin – I will cry out to the Most High God” (Ps. 56, 1-2), so that he will do me the greatest favour and remove its insult of sin by His authority and to blot out the images of the passionate mind. So if you have not received the gift of temperance, know that the Lord will hear you if you ask Him with Prayer and with hope. Therefore, when you have learned the despotic decision, do not be sorry and small-minded about the weakness of the exercise; rather, work to get rid of the enemy with Prayer and thanksgiving patience. So if the thoughts of illness and suffering drive you away from the city of fasting, you go to the other (Matthew 10, 23), that is, to Prayer and thanksgiving.”
Saint John Karpathos
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“Don’t fear sicknesses, even when you suffer up to the edge of death. As God is constantly present, why do you worry? “In Him we live and move.” Our struggle is in His embrace. We breathe God, we are surrounded by God, we touch God, we Mystically eat God. Wherever we turn, wherever we look, God is everywhere: in Heaven on Earth, in the abyss, in wood, in rocks, in your mind, in your heart. So doesn’t He see what you bear? That you suffer? Tell Him your complaints and you will see.. healing both in your Soul and in your body.”
Saint Joseph the Hesychast
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“Ask the doctor’s help, but Pray to the Lord and His Saints to give him wisdom.”
Saint Theophan the Recluse
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“We must take care of our health, for God has given us doctors and medicine and we mustn’t be indifferent.”
Saint Iakovos Tsalikis of Evia
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“He alone made the doctor and his medicines.”
Saint Theophan the Recluse
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