“The body at work but the thought with God – such should be the state of a true Christian.”
“Whatever you are doing, with whomever you are speaking, whether you are going somewhere or sitting, let your mind be with the Lord.”
“Vain fussing about is not made up of many tasks, but of the manner in which they are carried out. When one is being carried out and hundreds jostle in your head. You must chase all those out, and carry out the one task, and do it with your hands at that, while with your mind abide in your place.”
“Pursue daily affairs as tasks assigned by God, and done for Him. This way, no worldly task will distract from God, rather draw you closer to Him.”
“Some Icons are Miraculous because God wants it so. The power here is not in the Icon and not in the people who come running, but in God’s Mercy.”
“All Christians are called; chosen are those Christians who believe and live in a Christian manner.”
“Love not only those close to you and your benefactors, but even your enemies, so that you might thereby pacify them, correct them, and make them good people.”
“One must ensure that the Soul does not only make petition to God when standing in Prayer, but during the whole day, as much as possible, one must unceasingly ascend to Him and remain with Him. In order to begin this task, one must first, during the course of the day, cry out to God more often, even if only with a few words, according to need and the work of the day. Beginning anything, for example, say ‘Bless, O Lord!’ When you finish something, say, ‘Glory to Thee, O Lord’, and not only with your lips, but with feeling in your heart. If passions arise, say, ‘Save me, O Lord, I am perishing.’ If the darkness of disturbing thoughts comes up, cry out: ‘Lead my Soul out of prison!’ If dishonest deeds present themselves and sin leads you to them, Pray, ‘Set me, O Lord, in the way’, or ‘do not give up my feet to stumbling.’ If sin takes hold of you and leads you to despair, cry out with the voice of the publican, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ Do this in every circumstance, or simply say often, ‘Lord, have mercy’, ‘Most Holy Theotokos save us’, ‘Holy Angel, my guardian, protect me’, or other such words. Say such Prayers as often as possible, always making the effort for them come from your heart, as if squeezed out of it. When we do this, we will frequently ascend to God in our hearts, making frequent petitions and Prayers. Such increased frequency will bring about the habit of mental conversation with God.”
“Accustom the mind to living in the presence of God. Let him force himself to ceaselessly behold God, for He is near; and let him ascend to the feeling that he is seen by God. This practice is the doorway to God, the opening of Heaven to the mind.”
“Worry disturbs our thoughts and does not even allow us to focus on the task at hand. I suggest, therefore, that you look into this, and if you find that such worry occasionally overwhelms you, try to drive it out and do not give it any ground. Have enthusiasm for your work and, performing it with utmost care, expect success from God, dedicating the task itself to Him, no matter how small it is, and you will get rid of worry.”
“The Lord chose the Apostles, that they should be with Him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils.”
“God arranges for us to meet certain people so that we could pass on the good given to us by God and enriched each other Souls. The devil will try to do everything to make sure these meeting become useless and even harmful. Keep this in mind!”
“Remembrance of God is something that God Himself grafts upon the Soul, but the Soul must also force itself to persevere and to toil. Work, making every effort to attain the unceasing remembrance of God. And God, seeing how fervently you desire it, will give you this constant recollection of Himself.”
