“Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
Saint Dismas, the Repentant Thief
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“There is one thing, O Christ, that I want, one thing I desire, one thing I ask for, and that is to be with You.”
Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia
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“Your Eternal Life or eternal death depends on you. Consider well then, how careful and circumspect you need to be. Eternity’s not a game.”
Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov
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“We carnal humans do not turn our minds to death. God tells us to prepare ourselves, because we do not know the hour and the moment.”
Saint Methodia of Kimolos
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“Strive to be united first with the Lord, and then with the Saints, so that after death they may receive you as familiar friends into the everlasting dwellings.”
Saint Anthony the Great
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“When you are walking somewhere, think at each step that every stride takes you nearer the grave.”
Saint Theophan the Recluse
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“Don’t be sad, for we will all depart from here. We are passing travellers.”
Saint George Karslides
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“Don’t be deceived regarding the knowledge of what will be after your death: what you sow here, you will reap there. After leaving here, no one can make progress. Here is the work, there the reward; here the struggle, there the crowns.”
Saint Barsanuphius the Great
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“If you cling to God with all your heart, you will never fear the hour of death. Rather, death and separation from the body will become a joy for you.”
Saint Ephrem the Syrian
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“We see the water of a river flowing uninterruptedly and passing away, and all that floats on its surface, rubbish or beams of trees, all pass by. Christian! So does our life… I was an infant, and that time has gone. I was an adolescent, and that too has passed. I was a young man, and that too is far behind me. The strong and mature man that I was is no more. My hair turns white, I succumb to age, but that too passes; I approach the end and will go the way of all flesh. I was born in order to die. I did that I may live. Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom.”
Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk
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“The meaning of life is to prepare ourselves for our Eternal dwelling place.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“In Paradise, each person will see the Glory of God in accordance with the purity of the eyes of their Soul. The degree of visibility will not be determined by God, but will depend on each person’s purity.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“You must not be greatly troubled about many things, but you should care for the main thing preparing yourself for death.”
Saint Ambrose of Optina
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“When the Soul of a man departs from the body, a certain great mystery is there enacted. If a person is under the guilt of sin, bands of demons and fallen angels approach along with the powers of darkness which capture the Soul and drag it as a captive to their place. No one should be surprised by this fact. For if, while a man lived in this life, he was subject to them and was their obedient slave, how much more, when he leaves this world, is he captured and controlled by them?”
Saint Makarios the Great of Egypt
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“If you die before you die, then you won’t die when you die.”
Inscribed on a wall in Saint Paul Monastery, Mount Athos
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“Eternal torment and eternal bliss are not things that only come from the outside. They are primarily found within man himself. The Kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). The feelings a person plants in his Soul during his or her lifetime will go into Eternity with Him.”
Saint Barsanuphius of Optina
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“A bed is a grave. We do not know if we will arise in the morning. We should always be prepared.”
Saint Ieronymos of Aegina
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“Which friend did you gain in Heaven to welcome you when you leave this world? In whose field did you work to receive your wages? Cleanse the filth of the heart, so that the Holy Spirit may rest in you.”
Saint Isaac the Syrian
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“The meaning of life is to prepare ourselves for our Eternal dwelling place.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“God takes each person at the very best time of his life, in a particular manner, in order to save his Soul. If He sees that someone will improve, God will give him time to live. But if He sees that he’ll become worse, God takes him in order to save him.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“All my hope is in God’s Mercy.”
Saint Ephrem the Syrian
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“We will see our Guardian Angel on the day of our departure from the life. But what kind of meeting this will be depends upon us and our deeds. Will our Guardian Angel rejoice or Will He sorrow at our careless life?”
Saint Sebastian of Optina
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“After our death, when we come face to face with Christ, we will understand the why and how of our lives and we will be told everything we went through in this world. Then, with all the power of our existence, we will say to Him, “Thank you, my God, for allowing these for me!””
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“The other day a lady asked me what would happen with the ‘toll booths’ after death. I said to her, “I will tell them the Light of Christ shines to All! You however are in darkness and I don’t see you!””
Saint Gavrilia, the Ascetic of Love
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“Your hair turned white, you’ve grown old, you will depart from this Earth – what will you find in the other world? Your plate is empty and your oil lamp is extinguished.”
Saint George Karslides
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“Salvation consists in the restoration of our communion with God.”
Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov
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“Brothers and Sisters, one day we will die.”
Saint Makarios the Great of Egypt
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“The gate into Paradise isn’t narrow. There is room for all those who bow humbly and aren’t puffed up with pride, as long as they repent and give the burden of their sins to Christ; then there is plenty of room to pass through the gate.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“Our purpose is to begin Eternity here and now… for the Lady of All to receive us there above with the ranks of Angels… and for us to live eternally in the Light of Christ.”
Saint Gavrilia, the Ascetic of Love
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“Live each day as if you were about to die on that day… We must be ready at any time. Always be what you want to be at the moment of death.”
Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov
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“All my hope is in God’s Mercy.”
Saint Ephrem the Syrian
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“The Saints always had the next life in mind. The recollection of death is a gift.”
Saint Amphilochios Makris of Patmos
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“You are royalty, destined for the Heavenly Bridal Chamber.”
Saint Amphilochios Makris of Patmos
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“Salvation of the Soul is the only meaning of all the labours of man on Earth.”
Saint Nikolai Velimivoric
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“Hell is full of saints but prideful saints and Paradise is full of sinners but humble sinners…”
Saint Tikhon of Mount Athos
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“Oh if you only knew what joy, what sweetness awaits a Righteous Soul in Heaven.”
Saint Seraphim of Sarov
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“You are a stranger and a sojourner here on Earth; your true homeland is in Heaven.”
Saint John Chrysostom
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“Let us always be ready, because we do not know when we will be called from this life. Let us not say, ‘It won’t happen to me today, it will happen tomorrow.” Who knows the hour? The hour belongs to God!”
Saint Iakovos Tsalikis of Evia
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“You ask, will the heterodox be saved… Why do you worry about them? They have a Saviour Who desires the Salvation of every human being. He will take care of them. You and I should not be burdened with such a concern. Study yourself and your own sins…”
Saint Theophan the Recluse
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“How good it is to meet death with Prayer! But for this you have to get used to it, while you are healthy.”
Saint Nikon of Optina
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“The trees are already growing from which your coffin will be made.”
Saint Nektarios of Aegina
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“The Soul is greater than the body: the body becomes sick, and with that it is finished. But a Spiritual sickness extends into Eternity. Deliver us, O Lord, from such illness, and grant us healing.”
Saint Macarius of Optina
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“After our death, when we come face to face with Christ, we will understand the why and how of our lives and we will be told everything we went through in this world. Then, with all the power of our existence, we will say to Him, ‘Thank you, my God, for allowing these for me!'”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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