Let’s not be overwhelmed
Saint Ambrose of Milan ‘Don’t let us fall into temptation that we can’t withstand’. As if we were athletes wishing to compete and asking for the strength to resist our opponent, which in this case is sin. The Lord, Who took our sins upon His shoulders and forgave our...
It seems hard
Saint Theophan the Recluse If you pray in the morning as you should, your whole day will be blessed. Don’t be downcast over efforts that seem fruitless. Remember how you learned to knit, or read and write. What efforts you made then… Now you can do all of these...
It’s passing
Saint John of Kronstadt Don’t confuse people, who are images of God, with the wickedness they bear inside therm. This evil is merely incidental, it’s their misfortune, their sickness, the devil’s deceit. Their real being, the image of God, is always there inside them. Source: pemptousia.com ABOUT...
This is the measuring-stick
Saint Nicholas Velimirovich Christian love moves in a circle. First comes love for yourself, then love for your friends and, finally, love for God. Christ took our love for our self as the standard for measuring our love for our enemies and our love for God. He said: ‘Love...
He weighs up our impulses
Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi The devil doesn’t have foresight, nor does he know what people are thinking. He draws conclusions from the impulses of our emotions and then stimulates our members and senses with corresponding, impassioned thoughts. When he sees that our intentions are inclining towards an image conjured...
We need to decide
Elder Amvrosios Lazaris We can’t be with Christ and with the evil one. We have to decide. What does the Lord want? Truth, justice and faith. And what’s in our heart to be on our lips. Not the heart to say one thing and the lips another. Source: pemptousia.com...
A savior on a daily basis
Saint John of Kronstadt Sin wears away at people every day, so they need a savior on a daily basis. This Savior is Jesus Christ. If you call upon Him in living and unshakable faith, He will save you. Source: pemptousia.com ABOUT THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN NETWORK Orthodox...
On earth and heaven
Saint Ambrose of Milan With Christ’s blood, everything was pacified, on earth and in heaven. The heavens were sanctified, the devil expelled. Now he’s where the people are whom he deceived. ‘Your will be done’ means; ‘May peace come to earth as it exists in heaven’. Source: pemptousia.com ...
A creator of poverty
Saint Nectarios of Pentapolis Avarice makes many people unjust, in the hope of acquiring wealth, and it becomes the cause of much evil among people. It’s a passion of the soul that causes a thirst for gold, and that eats away at it no matter how much gold is...
To die a perfect death
Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica Unless you sacrifice your self for the sake of the slightest virtue or shed blood in order to receive the Spirit, you’ll never achieve virtue. This is how God arranged things, with his providential power: that we should gain eternal life through our voluntary death....
