Great Throughts Treasury

"Forgive those who trespass against you, so that God may forgive your trespasses, incomparably greater than the trespasses of others against you."

"God is inexhaustible in His gifts to men? Everywhere we see plenty and joy; only the greedy rich lay their hands on and keep in their treasuries too many of God's gifts, which might plentifully nourish hundreds and thousands of poor. Man! Believe firmly in God's inexhaustibility in His gifts, and willingly 'deal your bread to the hungry' (Isa. 58:7)?"

"God?s saints are near to believing hearts and, like the truest and kindest of friends, are ready in a moment to help the faithful and pious who call upon them with faith and love. We have for the most part to send, and have sometimes to wait long for earthly helpers, whilst we have not to send for nor wait long for spiritual helpers: the faith of Him who prays can place them close to his very heart in a moment, and he will as speedily receive through faith full spiritual help... Probably some would say that this is the action of simple and firm faith, and a determined assurance in our deliverance from affliction, and not the intercession of the saints for us before God. No, it is not so. How can this be proved? It can be proved by the fact that if I do not call upon the saints known to me in hearty prayer, without making any distinction, if I do not see them with my spiritual vision, then I shall obtain no help, however great assurance I may have felt of being saved without their help. I recognize, I feel clearly, that I receive help through the names of those saints upon whom I have called, because of my lively faith in them. This happens just as everything happens in the usual order of earthly things. First, I see my helpers by means of earnest faith; then, seeing them, I pray to them also with my whole heart, invisibly but intelligibly to myself; after this, having received invisible help in quite an imperceptible manner, but sensibly to my soul, I simultaneously receive a strong conviction that this help has been obtained from them, just as a sick man, cured by a doctor, is convinced that he has been cured precisely by that doctor, and not by anyone else; that his illness has passed away not by itself, but through the help of this particular doctor. All this comes to pass so simply that it is only necessary to have eyes in order to see."

"He says: I was dead, and behold, I am alive for, evermore, amen; and you also will be alive forever. This is the meaning of the words of Him Who arose: I am the first and the last; I am He that liveth and was dead for you, for your redemption from death, and I; that is: I conquered your death by My innocent death for your sake, and behold, I am also forever and will sit with My Father on His throne; I was not separated from Him, even though I was on earth accomplishing My great work for you who are subject to sin and death. Therefore, do you also, My followers, work and struggle against sin and do righteous deeds, and where I am, there shall My servant be also--that is, in the eternal Kingdom."

"Hearty faith is indispensable for man, because the light of our intellect is very limited, and cannot contain much mental light, while the Lord our God is Infinite Light, and the world is an abyss of His omnipotence and wisdom, whilst in us there is only, so to say, a drop of His power and wisdom, because only so much, and not more, can be contained of them in our perishable flesh."

"How do we receive the highest mystery of Divine love to us ? ?With our mind, heart and life; with our free will? Are all the three powers of our souls penetrated by holy faith, as were the souls of the saints? The kingdom of heaven 'is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till the whole was leavened' (Lk. 13:21). The three measures are the three powers of the soul."

"How indifferent a priest should be to earthly things, in order that when celebrating such services, such high and most heavenly sacraments, he may not be ensnared by the enemy, but may always burn with pure love for God and his fellow men, who are lost through sins and are saved by the grace of Christ in the Holy Spirit! But how greatly we are wont to sin! How strong are our earthly attachments! Even when celebrating the sacraments, we sometimes, through being accustomed to them, do not completely lay aside worldly cares and attachments, and therefore the enemy disturbs, darkens and perverts our mind, binds our heart, and takes us prisoners. And deservedly! Do not dream. A priest should be an angel by the elevation of his thoughts, by the purity of his soul and body, by the ardor of his love for God, the Creator of all things and the Savior, and for men, his brethren."

"How many of us become irritated and lose their temper when they are deprived, not of their last coin, but only of some small part of by no means their last property! How much agitation, anger, bile, bitter reproaches, murmuring, sometimes even curses! Righteous God! Can this dross called money, or this food and drink produce such storms in our souls, in us who know the words of our sweetest Savior? 'Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body what you shall put on. Behold the birds of the air, they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you' (Mt. 6:25, 26, 33). Or: 'A man's life does not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses' (Lk. 12:15)."

"How will it be with us in the future life, when everything that has gratified us in this world: riches, honors, food and drink, dress, beautifully furnished dwellings, and all attractive objects-how will it be, I say, when all these things leave us-when they will all seem to us a dream, and when works of faith and virtue, of abstinence, purity, meekness, humility, mercy, patience, obedience, and others will be required of us?"

"If God does not leave a blade of grass, a flower, or a small leaf of a tree without His good providence, will He leave us?"

"If God has given us Himself, if He abides in us and we in Him, according to His own true words, then what will He not give me, what will He spare for me, of what will He deprive me, how can He forsake me? 'The Lord is my shepherd: therefore I lack nothing' (Ps. 23:1)."

"If he trespass against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to you, saying, I repent; you shall forgive him' (Lk. 17:4). As the Searcher of hearts, the Lord knows that men are liable to very frequent trespass, and that, having fallen, they often rise up again; therefore He has given us the commandment to frequently forgive trespasses, and He Himself is the first to fulfill His holy word. As soon as you say from your whole heart, 'I repent,' you will be immediately forgiven."

"If you see the fury and hear the howling of the tempest, or read of shipwrecks, think of the storm of human passions causing daily groans and disturbance in the hearts of men, wrecking the spiritual ship of the soul or the ship of human society; and pray fervently to the Lord that He may subdue the tempest of sins, as He once subdued the tempest at sea by His word, and that He may root our passions from our hearts, and re-establish in them unceasing tranquility."

"Images or symbols are a necessity of human nature in our present spiritually sensual condition; they explain visually many things of the spiritual world which we could not apprehend without images and symbols."

"In order not to be subjected to the continual harassments of the evil spirit, we must constantly have in our hearts this prayer to Jesus Christ: Jesus, Son of God, have mercy upon me!"

"In order that you should have steadfast assurance during prayer, of receiving every spiritual blessing from the Lord, believe that by uniting yourself unto the Lord during your prayer you become one spirit with Him (cf. I Cor. 6:17), and that God is most gracious, almighty and wise. He is all-perfect perfection, therefore, you, too, according to your perceptivity, according to your faith and love, will become a partaker of His Divine perfections. In the union of your soul with God, do not consider anything impossible or difficult of fulfillment, 'for with God all things are possible' (Mk. 10:27) - not only the things which you can think of, or are thinking of, but also those which you cannot think of, or which you think of as impossible, for God is an infinite Being, and all His perfections are infinite."

"In reference to the fulfillment of that which you ask of God in prayer, believe that it is as easy, and even incomparably easier, for the Lord to fulfill each of your words than it is for you to pronounce the words, and that if there is the word, there is also the deed; for with the Lord there is no word without the deed; no word shall return unto Him void (cf. Isa. 55:11), according to His word. Remember constantly during prayer that God is That Which Is, and that from Him everything proceeds: both the thought concerning anything, and the word concerning anything and everything ? that He is all wise, almighty and all gracious."

"It is necessary to rouse the heart to pray, otherwise it will become quite dry. The attributes of prayer must be: love of God, sincerity, and simplicity."

"It is written: 'I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall come to all people' (Lk. 2:10) - not just to some people. Again, it is written: 'Let all the earth worship You and sing to You' (Ps. 66:4 LXX) - not just part of the earth. This singing is an expression not of grief but of rejoicing. Since this is so, let us not despair, but pass through this present life cheerfully, conscious of its joys."

"Keep a strict watch against every appearance of pride: it appears imperceptibly, particularly in time of vexation and irritability against others for quite unimportant causes."

"Learn to conquer evil by good, malice by kindness, meekness, and humility."

"Leave all human injustices to the Lord, for God is the Judge, but as to yourself, be diligent in loving everybody with a pure heart, and remember that you yourself are a great sinner and in need of God?s mercy. But in order to deserve God?s mercy, we must forgive others in every way. So be it! So be it! The Lord is everything to all: he is the Judge as well as the generous giver of gifts, and mercy, and the cleansing from sins, and the light, the peace, the joy and the strength of heart."

"Let no one think that sin is something unimportant?no, sin is a terrible evil, that destroys the soul, both now and in the future life. The sinner in the future life will be bound hand and foot (meaning the soul) and cast into outer darkness. As the Savior said: " Bind him hand and foot and cast him into outer darkness;"2 that is, he entirely loses the freedom of his spiritual powers, which, being created for free activity, suffer through this a kind of overwhelming inactivity for every good work: in his soul the sinner recognizes his powers and at the same time he feels that these powers are bound by unbreakable chains?" he shall be holden with the cords of his sin." l To this must be added the terrible torment arising from the very sins themselves, from the consciousness of our own foolishness during the earthly life, and from the image of the angry Creator. Even in this present life sin binds and destroys the soul. What God-fearing man does not know what sorrow and oppression strike his soul, what torturing, burning fire rages in his breast when he has sinned 1 But besides binding and destroying the soul as it does temporarily, sin also destroys it eternally if we do not repent here of our sins and our iniquities from our whole heart. Here is also a proof by experience that sin destroys the soul temporarily and eternally. If it happens to any God-fearing person to go to sleep without having repented of the sin, or the sins, he has committed during the day, and which have tormented his soul, these torments will accompany him the whole night, until he has heartily repented of his sin, and washed his heart with tears (this is also from experience). The torments of sin will wake him up from sweet sleep, because his soul will be oppressed, bound a prisoner by sin. Now, suppose that the man who has gone to sleep in any sin and is tormented by it, is overtaken during the night by death : is it not clear that his soul will go into the other life in torment, and that as after death there is no place for repentance, he will be tormented there according to the measure of his sins 1 The Holy Scriptures also testify to this."

"Let others mock at you, oppose you, when you are under the influence of any passion; do not be in the least offended with those who mock at or oppose you, for they do you good; crucify your self-love and acknowledge the wrong, the error of your heart. But have the deepest pity for those who mock at words and works of faith and piety, of righteousness; for those who oppose the good which you are doing... God preserve you from getting exasperated at them."

"Let us measure the worth of our prayers by human measure or by the quality of our relation to other men. How do we behave to other people?"

"Let us put away from us our spiritual short-sightedness, and let us cease concentrating all our attention upon temporal, earthly things; let us foresee with our mental vision the future, everlasting life, and rise in our hearts to our heavenly country. Indeed, it is incredible short-sightedness for the immortal soul only to look upon the present, visible things, generally relating to the senses, and flattering our carnal nature, and not contemplate the life of the world to come ? the blessings which 'eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man,' but which the Most Merciful and Most Wise 'God has prepared for those who love Him' (I Cor. 2:9). Of what do we not deprive ourselves through this voluntary short-sightedness?"

"Life without activity is not life, but something monstrous--a sort of phantom of life."

"Likewise every true thought contains in itself a proof of its truth. This proof is its vivifying effect upon the heart."

"Love every man in spite of his falling into sin. Never mind the sins, but remember that the foundation of the man is the same--the image of God."

"Love every person, regardless of his sinful state. Sin is sin, but the basis of a human being is one and only ? the image of God. Sometimes, the weaknesses of people are apparent when, for example, they are malicious, proud, envious, stingy, greedy. But remember, that you yourself are not without evil, and perhaps, there may be more of it in you than in others. In any case, with regard to sin, all people are alike; ?For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God? (Romans 3:23); we all are guilty before God and we are all in need of His mercy. That is why we have to tolerate and mutually forgive one another, so that our Heavenly Father may forgive us our transgressions (Mat. 6:14). Look how much God loves us, how much He has done and continues to do for us, how He punishes us lightly yet pardons us so abundantly and benevolently!"

"Man builds himself a house, and lives in it; the animal a lair, and lives in it; the bird a nest, and hatches it?s young ones; the bee a hive with honeycomb, and lives in it, preparing honey for itself; the spider weaves a web, and, living in it, catches food for itself by means of it. Was it not, therefore, fitting that the Creator should build Himself a house not made with hands? His Body?as He built it in the womb of the Virgin Mother, as He even now creates temples for His Body in the life-giving mysteries?the Creator, Who has built and continues to build bodily houses for all sentient or sentiently-spiritual creatures?"

"Many rich men and high dignitaries would willingly exchange their palaces for the poor man's cottage if they could only acquire his peace of heart."

"O All-merciful Lord! Grant me the divine gift of holy prayer, flowing from the depth of my heart. Gather together the dispersed thoughts of my mind, that it may always strive towards its Creator and Savior. Destroy the burning arrows of the evil one, which tear me away from Thee. Quench the flame of the passionate thoughts that devour me during prayer. Cover me with the grace of Thy Most-holy Spirit, that to the very end of my sinful life I may love Thee alone with all my heart, all my soul and mind, and all my strength, and in the hour when my soul takes leave of my mortal body, O Sweetest Jesus, take into Thy hands my spirit when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom."

"O, woe, woe, woe to us who bear the name of Christ, but have none of the spirit of Christ in us; who bear the name of Christ, but do not follow the teaching of the Gospel!"

"Our requests are necessary expressly to strengthen our faith, through which alone we can be saved. 'By grace are we saved through faith' (Eph. 2:8). 'O woman, great is your faith' (Mt. 15:28). For this reason the Lord made the woman pray earnestly, in order to awaken her faith and to strengthen it."

"Our self-love and pride manifest themselves especially in impatience"

"Our wickedness shall not overpower the unspeakable goodness and mercy of God; our dullness shall not overpower God?s wisdom, nor our infirmity God?s omnipotence."

"People mostly pray as if there were no God with them, or as if He did not heed their prayers. Let us ascribe to the Lord at least the same amount of attention that good parents show to the requests of their children, at least that provident and attentive love which good parents have for their children."

"People offend you, irritate you, breathe contempt and malice against you; do not repay them in the same way, but be gentle, meek, and kind, respectful and loving towards those very persons who behave unworthily to you."

"Prayer is holding all people in our hearts through love. The Divine Liturgy is truly a heavenly service on earth, in which God Himself, in a particular, immediate and most close manner is present and dwells with men, for He Himself is the invisible celebrant of the service; He is both the Offerer and the Offering. There is on earth nothing higher, greater, more holy, than the liturgy; nothing more solemn, nothing more life-giving."

"Prayer is spiritual breathing; when we pray we breathe in the Holy Spirit; "praying in the Holy Spirit" (Jd. 1:20). Thus, all church prayers are the breathing of the Holy Spirit; as it were spiritual air and also light, spiritual fire, spiritual food and spiritual raiment."

"Prayer is the sign of the great dignity with which the Creator has honored me. But at the same time it reminds me of my nothingness (I am of nothing, and have nothing of my own; therefore, I ask God for everything) and of my most high dignity (I am an image of God; I am made godly; I may be called the friend of God, like Abraham, the father of believers, if only I believe undoubtingly in the existence, mercy, and omnipotence of my God, and strive to become like unto Him during this life by works of love and mercy)."

"Prayer is the state of continual gratitude. If I do not feel a sense of joy in God's creation, if I forget to offer the world back to God with thankfulness, I have advanced very little upon the Way. I have not yet learnt to be truly human. For it is only through thanksgiving that I can become myself."

"Prayer offered to God in truth is imperishable. Now and then we may forget what we have prayed about but God preserves our prayer forever."

"Remember that God, during your prayers, is watching for your affirmative answer to the question which He is inwardly asking you: 'Do you believe I am able to do this?' To which question you must from the depth of your heart reply, 'Yes, Lord.'"

"Remember the Love that laid down His life for men, and do not spare your very life itself for your brother, but unmercifully crucify your carnal man, who turns you away from sacrificing yourself for your brother."

"Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?? (Rom. 3:3). Our wickedness shall not overpower the unspeakable goodness and mercy of God; our dullness shall not overpower God?s wisdom, nor our infirmity God?s omnipotence."

"So do not let us stand in church in a state of spiritual prostration, but let the spirit of each one of us on such occasions burn in its working towards God."

"Sometimes during a lengthy prayer only a few minutes are really pleasing to God, and constitute true prayer, true service to Him. The chief thing in prayer is the nearness of the heart to God."

"Sometimes in the affliction of your soul you wish to die. It is easy to die, and does not take long; but are you prepared for death? Remember that after death the judgment of your whole life will follow. You are not prepared for death, and if it were to come to you, you would shudder all over. Therefore do not waste words in vain."