Saints

"The centurion then, seeing the strife excited by the Jews, placed the body in the midst of the fire, and consumed it. Accordingly, we afterwards took up his bones, as being more precious than the most exquisite jewels, and more purified than gold, and deposited them in a fitting place, whither, being gathered together, as opportunity is allowed us, with joy and rejoicing, the Lord shall grant us to celebrate the anniversary of his martyrdom, both in memory of those who have already finished their course, and for the exercising and preparation of those yet to walk in their steps."

"With the apostles and all the righteous [in heaven], rejoicingly glorifies God, even the Father, and blesses our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of our souls, the Governor of our bodies, and the Shepherd of the catholic church throughout the world."

"When the funeral pile was ready, Polycarp, laying aside all his garments, and loosing his girdle, sought also to take off his sandals, — a thing he was not accustomed to do, inasmuch as every one of the faithful was always eager who should first touch his skin. For, on account of his holy life, he was, even before his martyrdom, adorned with every kind of good. Immediately then they surrounded him with those substances which had been prepared for the funeral pile."

"Whosoever does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, is antichrist."

"Pray for all the saints. Pray also for kings, and potentates, and princes, and for those that persecute and hate you, and for the enemies of the cross, that your fruit may be manifest to all, and that ye may be perfect in Him."

"As soon as he had ceased praying, having made mention of all that had at any time come in contact with him, both small and great, illustrious and obscure, as well as the whole catholic church throughout the world, the time of his departure having arrived, they set him upon an ass, and conducted him into the city, the day being that of the great Sabbath."

"We have written to you, brethren, as to what relates to the martyrs, and especially to the blessed Polycarp, who put an end to the persecution, having, as it were, set a seal upon it by his martyrdom."

"Let the presbyters be compassionate and merciful to all, bringing back those that wander, visiting all the sick, and not neglecting the widow, the orphan, or the poor."

"I have greatly rejoiced with you in our Lord Jesus Christ, because ye have followed the example of true love [as displayed by God], and have accompanied, as became you, those who were bound in chains, the fitting ornaments of saints, and which are indeed the diadems of the true elect of God and our Lord; and because the strong root of your faith, spoken of in days long gone by, endureth even until now, and bringeth forth fruit to our Lord Jesus Christ, who for our sins suffered even unto death."

"The deacons be blameless before the face of His righteousness, as being the servants of God and Christ."

"Did not he also live in the desert who was greater than any man born of woman, he who was a voice crying in the desert? In the desert he instituted baptism, and in the desert he preached repentance. In the desert the Kingdom of Heaven was first heard of. In the desert he first commanded those mysteries to his listeners, because by going into the desert they could sooner merit them. It was highly fitting that this desert dweller, this angel sent before the face of the Lord, should open the way to the heavenly kingdom. He was both a precursor of Christ and a witness worthy to hear the Father speaking from heaven, to touch the Son as he baptized him, and to see the Holy Spirit descending."

"Scripture says that the Lord Jesus was accustomed to go into a desert place to pray. The desert may rightly be called a place of prayer, for God himself has approved it and taught by his example that it is appropriate for prayer. The prayer of a humble petitioner will more easily penetrate the clouds if it rises from the desert, because that solitary place gives it increased merit. The Lord Jesus, seeking that place for prayer, showed us where he prefers us to pray."

"You show how strong in you is the love of solitary places, since the strongest human love must yield to it. What shall I call that love of the desert if not the love of God in you?"

"I would say that the desert deserves to be called a temple of our God without walls. Since it is clear that God dwells in silence, we must believe that he loves the solitary expanses of the desert. ... Although God is present everywhere, and regards the whole world as his domain, we may believe that his preferred place is the solitudes of heaven and of the desert."

"The story is told that someone once asked a wise man where he could be sure to find God. The wise man told his questioner to come along where he would lead him, and together they went into the solitude of the open desert. ‘Behold’, he said, ‘where God is’. God is more promptly believed to be there, since he is more easily found there."

"I am convinced that God, in foreknowledge of the future, prepared the desert for the saints to come. I believe he wanted some parts of the world to be rich in the fruits of agriculture and other parts, with drier climate, to abound with holy men. In this way the desert would bear fruit. When he ‘watered the hills from the heights above’, the valleys were filled with plentiful crops. And he planned to endow the sterile deserts with inhabitants, lest any land go to waste."

"The cell in the desert truly deserves to be called the ark of strength, the seat of faith, the tabernacle of charity, the treasury of piety, the storehouse of justice. For just as in a home precious objects and valuables are kept in a hidden place behind locked doors, so also those magnificent gifts of desert sanctity are put away in a cell in some desert protected by natural inaccessibility, lest they decay because of exposure to worldliness. The desert is an ideal place for the Lord of all to preserve his precious ornament of sanctity, not only to store it there but to bring it out of its hiding place when it is needed."

"From the dwelling places in the desert, the road lies always open to our true homeland. Let those who desire “to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalms 27:13; 116:9) take up their residence in an uninhabitable wasteland. Let those who strive to become citizens of Heaven be guests first of the desert."

"O admirable desert, how right it is for the holy monks to live or desire to live near you and within you, for you are rich and fertile in all the good things of him in whom all things are held."

"Then our prowling adversary howls in vain, like a wolf in the sheepfold when the sheep are well guarded, as the vast expanse of the desert protects them like a strong wall."

"Who can number adequately all the benefits of the desert and the advantages for virtue enjoyed by those who live there? Finding themselves placed in this world, they in a way go beyond this world. As the Apostle says, ‘They wander through desert places, in mountains and caves and in holes of the earth’. Quite correctly the Apostle says that the world is not worthy of such people, for they are alien to the confusion of human society; they are distant, quiet, silent, and free now both from sin and from inclination to sin."

"In former times it was customary for illustrious men, after wearing themselves out in business affairs, to turn to philosophy as to their proper home. How much more fitting is it for people today to direct themselves to the study of the highest wisdom, and how wonderful for them to withdraw into the leisure of solitude and the solitary places of the desert! This enables them to be free for philosophy alone and to wander in the desert with more pleasure than athletes exercising in the gymnasium."

"Nowhere but in those solitary places in which it is easy to find God and never lose him again."

"The desert holds them as in their mothers’ lap while they long for eternity, despising this brief life; indifferent to the present life, they are confident of the life to come. In this way, by hastening toward the world’s end, they manage to attain the world without end."

"It is right for a holy man aflame with divine passion to leave his own home and choose the desert as his dwelling. It is right for him to sell all his goods and prefer the desert to father and mother and children. It is right to abandon the land of one’s birth and seek a provisional homeland in the desert, never to be called back by fear or longing or joy or sadness. Clearly this desert dwelling is worthy of total devotion."

"How pleasant is the solitude of a remote place to those who thirst for God! How attractive for those who seek Christ are those solitary lands stretching in every direction under protecting nature. All things are silent there, and the joyful mind is spurred on by silence in its search for God, finding nourishment in ineffable ecstasies. No sound is heard in the desert save the voice of God. Only that sound that is sweeter than silence, the holy activity of a moderate and holy way of life, breaks into the state of quiet peace, while only the sound of the desert outpost interrupts the silence."

"Do you want to learn to love God? Separate yourself from any word, deed, thought and feeling forbidden by the Gospels."

"He who has felt spiritual love will only despise carnal love, seeing it for the unsightly parody of love that it is."

"If you think that you love God, but in your heart lives an unpleasant disposition toward even one person, you are grievously self-deluded."

"A desire fulfilled is a desire that will return with twice the demands."

"Let us guard our senses, not allowing them to be the channel for sin to enter into the cell of the soul."

"The prince of this world tries to keep us in constant diversion, darkening us through the pleasures of the body!"

"Even in Eden, the mind tried to acquire knowledge without wisdom and attentiveness, and the knowledge proved to be lethal!"

"The light of Christ's teaching is heavy and intolerable for the sons of the world. They run from it into their dark, soundless pits—into distraction, into various earthly pastimes, into carnal pleasures. There, in their moral darkness, they live their earthly life with no spiritual, eternal goals."

"Being offended at the sins of others is a serious spiritual disease."

"The spiritual harvest requires a heart that is harrowed by repentance, softened by compunction, and irrigated by tears."

"It is harder to fool the conscience than the mind.The conscience is capable of fighting long and hard against the mind deluded by its love of sin."

"Those who desire to learn attentiveness must reject all empty activity in their lives."

"Our helmsman, the mind, sometimes loses his way and takes our whole life along with him down the wrong path."

"All the saints assiduously avoided distraction. Constantly, or at the very least as often as possible, they concentrated their thoughts within themselves, paying attention to every movement of the mind and heart, directing these according to the commands of the Gospels."

"The books of the Holy Fathers, according to the words of one of their number, are like a mirror—the soul who looks at them often and with attention will be able to see its deficiencies."

"Our heart distracts us when it inclines to the fulfillment of its own fallen desires, when it leaves the path of God's will."

"Despair is a mortal sin; it is the rejection of an active, living faith in Christ."

"The fall has become so assimilated to the essence of all mankind that rejection of the fall has become tantamount to rejection of our very life."

"Brothers! Let us study the all-powerful and life-giving commandments of our great God, Creator, and Redeemer. Let us learn them assiduously, by word and by life. They are read in the holy Gospels, but they are known only as much as they are done in actual fact."

"Do you want to belong in heaven and to its society; do you want to be a sharer of its blessedness? From this moment, begin to spend your time with the saints. When you leave your mortal body, they will accept you as their own, as an acquaintance, as a friend."

"The world pushes us off course because it serves vanity and death and tries to force everyone else to serve its fallen masters, sometimes with kind words, sometimes with outright persecution.."

"Conversation and acquaintance with a saint will impart sanctity."

"Guard your conscience. Do not forget that you are the image and likeness of God, that you are obliged to present this image in purity and holiness to God himself.Woe to you if God will not recognize His image, will not find in it any similarity with Himself! He will utter the dreadful words: "I do not know you.""

"As someone who is in one mind and heart with the Holy Fathers, you will be saved."