“Throw your weakness before God, and the Lord will become your strength.”
Saint Moses the Strong
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“When you Pray to God in time of temptation do not say, ‘Take this or that away from me’, but Pray like this: ‘O Jesus Christ, Sovereign Master, help me and do not let me sin against Thee…’.
Saint Isaiah the Solitary
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“Our purpose should be to have the Paraclete in our heart, even when we have the… parasite in our head.”
Saint Gavrilia, the Ascetic of Love
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“When a bad or gloomy thought, fear or temptation threatens to afflict you, don’t fight it to try and get rid of it. Open your arms to Christ’s Love and He will embrace you, then it will vanish by itself.”
Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia
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“Thou knowest, O Lord, my passions hidden in darkness; the sores of my Soul are known to Thee. Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed.”
Saint Ephrem the Syrian
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“In my deepest wound I saw Your Glory, and it dazzled me.”
Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo
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“Escape from temptation through patience and Prayer. If you oppose temptation without these, it only attacks you more strongly.”
Saint Mark the Ascetic
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“The powers of darkness are not fought with sweets and turkish delight, but with conduits of tears, with pain of the Soul until death, with extreme humility and great patience, with unceasing painful Prayer.”
Saint Joseph the Hesychast
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“The greatest thing a man can do is to throw down before God all his struggles and temptations and say: ‘Lord, I am too weak for this fight – help me.'”
Saint Anthony the Great
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“How can we have victory over the enemy? By running to God for shelter.”
Saint John Chrysostom
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“Help me, my God, to conquer the world within myself.”
Saint Nikolai Velimivoric
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“You don’t see how, with every Prayer you utter, many demons fall and turn back. You only see how much you are wounded. Know that they, also, are being beaten, and flee. Each time we show patience they flee in leaps, and with each Prayer they are seriously wounded. So, in the time of war, don’t expect that while you are firing bullets and cannonballs that they’ll retaliate with turkish delight and chocolates!”
Saint Joseph the Hesychast
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“A man wanted to do evil, but first Prayed as usual; and finding himself prevented by God, he was then extremely thankful.”
Saint Mark the Ascetic
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“God can never leave a contrite heart without solace.”
Saint Isaac the Syrian
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“Cleave to God and all His Strength will be with you. Confess your weakness before Him and He will send you His All-Powerful Grace.”
Saint Nikolai Velimirovich
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“To conquer demons, do not argue with them – flee to Christ. Let humility be your sword, and Prayer your shield, and no attack will overcome you.”
Saint Isidore of Pelusium
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“Sometimes we do not see any outlet, any escape from our sins, and they torment us: on account of them, the heart is oppressed with sorrow and weary. But Jesus looks upon us, and streams of tears flow from our eyes, and with the tears all the evil in our Soul vanishes. We weep with joy that such Mercy has suddenly and unexpectedly been sent to us.”
Saint John of Kronastadt
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“Take courage my child and Christ will be the Victor.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“Purified by tears of repentance, and Sanctified by frequent Prayer, the body mysteriously transforms into the temple of the Holy Spirit, making all the attacks of the enemy futile.”
Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov
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“People who struggle against sin write the most lovely pages in God’s book. Because everything’s written there.”
Elder Evsevios Yannakakis
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“In times of affliction, unceasingly call out to the Merciful God in Prayer. The unceasing invocation of the Name of God in Prayer is a treatment for the Soul which kills not only the passions, but even their very operation. As a doctor finds the necessary medicine, and it works in such a way that the sick person does not understand, in just the same way the name of God, when you call upon it, kills all the passions, although we don’t know how this happens.”
Saint Barsanouphios & Saint John
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“You cannot become passionless all at once. But every time you feel your sinfulness say: ‘Lord, forgive me!’ Only the Lord is able to put love into a person’s heart.”
Saint Ambrose of Optina
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“The time of my life has been squandered in cares and shameful thoughts. Grant me, O Lord, a cure, that I might be completely healed of my hidden sores. Strengthen me, that I might labour diligently in Thy vineyard, if even only for one hour. For my life in its vanity has already reached its eleventh hour.”
Saint Ephrem the Syrian
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“You don’t become Holy by fighting evil. Let evil be. Look towards Christ and that will save you. What makes a person Saintly is love.”
Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia
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“Fight all your battles with Prayer and you shall always win.”
Archbishop Makarios of Australia
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“I have found an unbeatable Prayer that sends away anger, carnal, psychological temptations and demons: ‘Great is the Name of the Holy Trinity. Most Holy Theotokos protect us.'”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“Souls are tortured by the passions and they rest near the Love of God.”
Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia
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“Flee to God and the devil will flee from you.”
Saint Ephrem the Syrian
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“The most powerful weapon against the devil is the precious Cross. It terrifies him. But one must make the sign of the Cross correctly: the three fingers of the right hand should be joined together and touch the forehead, then the abdomen, then the right shoulder, and finally the left shoulder. “This is the sign of the Cross.””
Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia
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“When faced with the eruption of the passions, you should courageously close your senses and totally reject the images and memories of sensible things, and in every way restrict the intellect’s natural tendency to investigate things in the external world. Then, with God’s help, you will abase and overcome the cunning tyrannical power which rises up against you.”
Saint Maximus the Confessor
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“Do not be cast down over the struggle – the Lord loves a brave warrior. The Lord loves the Soul that is valiant.”
Saint Silouan the Athonite
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“We should always remember that the Lord sees us wrestling with the enemy, and so we must never be afraid. Even should all hell fall upon us, we must be brave.”
Saint Silouan the Athonite
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“The passions demand a truly titanic struggle and resistance unto blood before they are overcome. Yet this happens only when the Grace of God triumphs, not man himself.”
Elder Joseph of Vatopedi
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“May the Light of Thy Grace overcome the darkness that is in me.”
Saint Ephrem the Syrian
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“When thought after thought, desire after desire – one worse than the other – begin to disturb the Soul, then everyone forgets about himself and involuntarily cries out with the Prophet: ‘The waters are come in unto my Soul. I am stuck fast in the mire of the deep. (Ps. 68:1-2) ‘O Lord, save now; O Lord, send now prosperity.’ (Ps. 117:25)”
Saint Theophan the Recluse
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“Do not fight to expel darkness from the chamber of your Soul. Open a tiny aperture for the light to enter, and the darkness will disappear.”
Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia
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“My child, it was because of patience that I managed to make it through all the obstacles that presented themselves.”
Saint Nicholas Planas
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On cure of the passions…
“Crucify them. Never indulge them. When you feel hatred to your neighbour; never utter it; never indulge it; never allow or entertain it. But set yourself to love him, and to say and do loving things to him. And, above all, Pray for him. If you are of an envious heart, say and do benevolent things to the man you envy. When you feel pride, dash yourself and it to the ground. Tormented with malice and ill, follow after peace and love. The whole art of curing the diseases of the mind and the heart is by doing violence to them whenever they show themselves, and never, never indulging them.”
Saint John of Kronstadt
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“Let us who are weak and passionate have the courage to offer our infirmity and natural weakness to Christ with unhesitating faith, and confess it to Him; and we shall be certain to obtain His help, even beyond our merit.”
Saint John Climacus
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“We ourselves cannot get rid of any of our faults. He takes them away from us, one by one.”
Saint Gavrilia, the Ascetic of Love
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“In every trial and in all warfare use Prayer as your invincible weapon, and by the Grace of Christ you will be victorious.”
Saint Maximos the Confessor
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“Are you fighting against your passions? Fight, fight, and be good soldiers of Christ. Do not give in to evil and do not be carried away by the weakness of the flesh. During the time of temptation, flee to the Physician…”
Saint Anatoly of Optina
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“Every person who has sin within him is very confused. He must leave open a crack in his Soul so that the Light and Love of Christ might enter in. Thus he will be able to disentangle his Soul.”
Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia
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“Let your Soul, then, trust in Christ, let it call on Him and never fear; for it fights, not alone, but with the aid of a Mighty King, Jesus Christ, Creator of all that is, both bodiless and embodies, visible and invisible.”
Saint Hesychios of Jerusalem
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“For God to help, one must have a desire to struggle. And when we say a desire to struggle, we mean that one must be willing to make some effort to overcome his particular weakness. If God sees even a little true will, He provides abundant help for man, He sends His Grace in great abundance.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“Do you ask for help from Jesus Christ or are you struggling alone?”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“The demons, when they come to fight you, do not go where you will easily defeat them, but test where you are weak. Where you least expect them, there they besiege the castle. And, when they find a weak Soul and a weak part, they always there defeat and make him responsible for his defeat. Are you asking God for a favour? Instead of Grace He leaves you temptation. You can’t stand the war, are you falling? You are not given an addition of Grace. Are you asking again? The temptation again. Defeat again? Again deprivation for life. So you have to come out victorious. Resist temptation unto death. Fall dead in the battle, crying out paralyzed: “I will not leave you, sweet Jesus! I won’t leave you either! I will remain inseparable forever, and for Your love I will die in (Spiritual) battle”. And suddenly He appears in the battle and shouts loudly: “Here I am! Gather all your strength and follow me!”
Saint Joseph the Hesychast
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“For the Lord demands of you that you be angry with yourself and engage in battle with your mind, neither consenting to nor taking pleasure in wicked thoughts. The uprooting of sin and the evil that is so embedded in our sinning can be done only by Divine Power. For it is impossible and outside man’s competence to uproot sin. To struggle, yes, to continue to fight, to inflict blows and to receive setbacks is in your power. To uproot, however, belongs to God alone. If, indeed, you could have done it on your own, what would have been the need for the coming of the Lord? For just as an eye cannot see without light, just as one cannot speak without a tongue, nor hear without ears, nor walk without feet, nor carry out ones works without hands, so you cannot be saved, nor enter into the Kingdom of Heaven without Jesus.”
Saint Makarios the Great of Egypt
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“Whoever fears the Lord will not fear the sickly attacks of demons or the threats of evil people. Like a flame or a burning fire, he goes about day and night through dark and hidden places, and instead of fleeing from the demons he makes them flee from him, so as not to be scorched by the flaming rays of Divine fire that pour from him.”
Saint Symeon the New Theologian
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“Remember that after temptations follows Spiritual joy and the Lord watches over those who endure temptations and sufferings for the sake of His Love. So, don’t lose heart and don’t be afraid.”
Saint Nektarios of Aegina
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“…unless the Grace of God comes to the help of our frailty, to protect and defend it, no man can withstand the insidious onslaughts of the enemy nor can he damp down or hold in check the fevers which burn in our flesh with nature’s fire.”
Saint John Cassian
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“God loves your effort, not your perfection.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“At the moment of temptation, the easiest thing to do is to turn to God, and to look to Him steadfastly and expectantly and you will be filled with strength at once”
Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia
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“The heart is but a small vessel; and yet dragons and lions are there, and there likewise are poisonous creatures and all the treasures of wickedness; rough, uneven paths are there, and gaping chasms. There also is God, there are the Angels, there life and the Kingdom, there light and the Apostles, the Heavenly cities and the treasures of Grace: all things are there.”
Saint Makarios the Great of Egypt
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“We mustn’t despair when we struggle and continuously see nothing but the slightest progress. We all do nearly nothing, some a little more, some a little less. When Christ sees our little effort He gives us an analogous token and so our nearly nothing becomes valuable and we can see a little progress. For this reason we mustn’t despair, but hope in God.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“No one can heal my disease except He who knows the depths of the heart.”
Saint Ephrem the Syrian
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“Ascetic labours are necessary for a Christian, but the labours themselves do not free a person from his passions. Only the right hand of the Almighty can free him, only the Grace of the Holy Spirit.”
Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov
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“Blessed are the children who were born holy “from their mother’s womb”, but even more Blessed are those born with all the accumulated worldly passions who struggled until they sweated, eradicating them within themselves and inheriting the Kingdom of God by the sweat of their brow. Blessed are the children who, from infancy, lived in a Spiritual environment and therefore tirelessly progressed in the Spiritual Life. But thrice Blessed are those deprived children who were never taught anything useful – and were, on the contrary, constantly pushed toward evil – but whose eyes sparkled as soon as they heard about Christ; turning 180 degrees, they immediately purified their Souls to a radiant glow and emerged from the confines of Earthly gravity into a Spiritual orbit.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“Some people tell me that they are scandalized because they see many things wrong in the Church. I tell them that if you ask a fly, ‘Are there any flowers in this area?’ it will say, ‘I don’t know about flowers, but over there in that heap of rubbish you can find all the filth you want.’ And it will go on to list all the unclean things it has been to. Now, if you ask a honeybee, ‘Have you seen any unclean things in this area?’ it will reply. ‘Unclean things? No, I have not seen any; the place here is full of the most fragrant flowers.’ And it will go on to name all the flowers of the garden or the meadow. You see, the fly only knows where the unclean things are, while the honeybee knows where the beautiful iris or hyacinth is. As I have come to understand, some people resemble the honeybee and some resemble the fly. Those who resemble the fly seek to find evil in every circumstance and are preoccupied with it; they see no good anywhere. But those who resemble the honeybee only see the good in everything they see. The stupid person thinks stupidly and takes everything in the wrong way, whereas the person who has good thoughts, no matter what he sees, no matter what you tell him, maintains a positive and good thought.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“We should do whatever can be humanly achieve; the rest which is beyond our power must be left in God’s hands.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite