www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Scripture and Patristic Writings Quote for the day

I love this!

Here is another one:

“There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, "All right, then, have it your way”--C.S. Lewis

'Man is like a tree, bodily asceticism is the foliage, interior vigilance the fruit. According to that which is written, "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire" (Matt. 3:10) it is clear that all our care should be directed toward the fruit, that is to say, guard of the spirit; but it needs the protection and the embellishment of the foliage, which is bodily asceticism.'

St. Agathon

For Lent!

Anyone looking for quotes for food or to add to this thread can find them on Inspirational Quotes from the Saints [saintsquotes.net], if I may say so.

"All right, then have it your way." reminds me of a sermon I was reading recently, where the priest said a key reason many prayers were not answered was that people in fact, did not actually mean it.

Then he went line by line through the Our Father, and put some steel into the sermon.

Quote from: St. Athanasius of Alexandria

from On the Incarnation:

The body of the Word, then, being a real human body, in spite of its having been uniquely formed from a virgin, was of itself mortal and, like other bodies, liable to death. But the indwelling of the Word loosed it from this natural liability, so that corruption could not touch it. Thus is happened that two opposite marvels took place at once: the death of all was consummated in the Lord's body; yet, because the Word was in it, death and corruption were in the same act utterly abolished.”


St. Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation

The Early Fathers had such an amazing ability to express the actions of God by his Holy Spirit.  

I think this is an awesome quote to ponder as we enter this season of Great and Holy Lent.  Along with the fact that Christmas and the beginning of Lent are so close together, thinking of how the 'swaddling clothes' foretold his burial, his death.

That's one I haven't heard before! And I've read a lot of the Desert Fathers!

I'm sure I won't forget it however! Hahahaha!

'The body of the Word, then, being a real human body, in spite of its having been uniquely formed from a virgin, was of itself mortal and, like other bodies, liable to death. But the indwelling of the Word loosed it from this natural liability, so that corruption could not touch it. Thus is happened that two opposite marvels took place at once: the death of all was consummated in the Lord's body; yet, because the Word was in it, death and corruption were in the same act utterly abolished.'

What a deep quote from St. Athanasius!

'As a fiery light shone in the night's darkness upon those wandering in the desert, so those who dwell in the spiritual monasteries are often lightened by the rays of a supernal light, which dispels the darkness of fleshly passions and bathes them in the brilliance of inward contemplation.'

St. Peter Damian

from The Desert Fathers, translated by Helen Waddell, 1936 (edits mine):

There were three earnest men, that loved one another, and they became monks. And one of them (chose to follow the Gospel passage that says) "Blessed are the peacemakers." The second chose to visit the sick. But the third went away to be quiet in solitude.

Now the first, (trying very hard to mediate people who took each other to court) the contentions of men was not able to appease them all. And overcome with weariness, he cam to him who tended the sick, and found him also failing in spirit, and unable to carry out his purpose. And the two agreed . . . to see him who had withdrawn to the desert, and they told him their tribulations. And they asked him to tell them how he himself had fared.

And he (the third) was silent for awhile, and then poured water into a vessel and said, "Look upon the water." And it was murky. And after a little while he said again, "Look now, how clear the water has become." And as they looked into the waterthey saw their own faces, as in a mirror. And then he said to them. "So is he who abides in the midst of men: because of the turbulence, he sees not his sins: but when he hath been quiet, above all in solitude, then does he recognise his own faults."_______________________________________

I think the lesson for us, as people living in the world, is the need we all have for a period of quiet to regain our perspective and get our spirit back on track with what is truly important. We get worn down with all the "busyness" we allow ourselves to get wrapped up in. The need for a Sabbath day of rest is one reason that Genesis tells us God "rested" as an example for us to follow. The holy seasons of fasting and preparation--before the Apostles, the Dormition, Christmas and now before Pascha--are for the same thing. The spiritual athlete needs time to withdraw a bit, recharge his spiritual batteries, get refocused on what are his real, true essential, core needs. Some things we can put off for a bit like eating and drinking to sharpen our focus. Some things, like breathing we can't. So it is in the spiritual life. We need that essential, vital relationship with Our Lord to be built up and strengthened because He is our most essential need. Food, drink, the TV, the computer, the smart phones, the texts, (you fill in), are all things we can do with a bit less of to achieve the essential relationship that takes the same amount of time to build as all our relationships do.

I tell everyone to simply throw out the TV. It will do a person a world of good, and solve a world of evil entering into the house.

And in general, in the spiritual life, the less we have materially, the more we have. Less is more.

How many people truly live the Sabbath as a day of rest dedicated to the contemplation of God?

'Thus saith the Lord: Take heed to your souls and carry no burdens on the Sabbath day: and bring them not in by the gates of Jerusalem'

Jeremias 17:21

Interpreted spiritually, and in different ways, one can at least get a good deal out of Jeremias here.

NEED A LIKE BUTTON FOR THEM ALL!!!

This was posted on FB by FrDeacon Daniel G. Dozier

‎"Christ's death on the cross is a judgment of judgment." -Maximus the Confessor (580-662)

Pondering!

“When you are tempted to lose patience with someone, think how patient God has been with you all the time.”