"Does toil frighten you? No athlete is crowned but in the sweat of his brow. Are you anxious as regards food? Faith fears no famine."
St. Jerome (+420)
Letter 14
"One hates his enemies only when he fails to realize that they are not enemies, but cruel friends."
St. Nikolai Velimirovich (+1956)
Prayers By the Lake (A Treasury of Serbian Orthodox Spirituality, Volume 5)
"He does not show humility who accuses himself (for who will not accept rebukes from himself?), but he who, being rebuked by another, does not decrease his love toward him."
St. John of the Ladder (+649)
Ladder, 22.17
"Just as bread is the most necessary of all foods, so the thought of death is the most essential of all works."
St. John Climacus (+649)
The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 6.4
"God will cleanse your sins if you yourself are dissatisfied with yourself and will keep on changing until you are perfect."
St. Augustine (+430)
Sermons on I John, I.7
"There is your brother, naked, crying, and you stand there, confused over the choice of an attractive floor covering."
St. Ambrose of Milan (+397)
De Nabuthe Jezraelite, XIII.56
"Today people want to be loved and for this reason they are unsuccessful. The correct way is to not be interested in whether or not people love you, but whether or not you love Christ and people. This is the only way that the soul is filled."
St. Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia +1991
"To yield and give way to our passions is the lowest slavery, even as to rule over them is the only liberty."
St. Justin Martyr (+165)
Fragments, Fragment 18
“The only hope of salvation from the delusions and the heresies, the innovations and the traps of wicked people and of the devil is prayer, repentance and humility.”
St. Joseph the Hesychast (+1959)
Elder Joseph the Hesychast: Struggles, Experiences, Teachings
"Do not desire to hear about the misfortunes of those who oppose you. For those who listen to such speech later reap the fruits of their evil intention."
St. Mark the Ascetic (+360)
Homilies, 2.173
"Are you a sinner? Do not become discouraged, and come to Church to put forward repentance."
St. John Chrysostom (+407)
On Repentance and Almsgiving, Homily 2
"Are you angry? Be angry at your sins, beat your soul, afflict your conscience, but be strict in judgment and a terrible punisher of your own sins. This is the benefit of anger, wherefore God placed it in us."
St. John Chrysostom (+407)
Conversation of Ephesians, 2
"Woe to our times: we now depart from the narrow and sorrowful path leading to eternal life and we seek a happy and peaceful path."
St. Macarius of Optina (+1860)
Living Without Hypocrisy: Spiritual Counsels of the Holy Elders of Optina
"You must teach yourself how to eat less, but with discernment, insofar as your work allows. The measure of temperance should be such that after lunch you want to pray."
St. Silouan the Athonite (+1938)
Writings, V.8