Quotes about Spirituality

Well, let's distinguish religion from spirituality. I am Catholic, so religion for me is a way of having discipline and collective worship with persons who share the same mystery.

When we have many things within ourselves which are neither known nor accepted, then such things complicate our lives horrifyingly, and in fact provoke all sorts of situations which could be avoided through knowledge of ourselves.

Death is the return to the very beginning of one's life, with the possibility of repeating it again.

Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. 

The meaning of spirituality is to be healthy and happy; to be physically, emotionally and mentally strong. We can't find this with imaginataion. We must practice.

Christ is our hope, our cleansing and santification, our resurrection, life and repose.  He alone is what we all need, and therefore, the Orthodox Church constantaly pronounces these words aloud so that we may hear them during Holy Services of the Church, and be constantly renewed.  For we are inclined to forget the only thing we need.  With death all will be taken from us, all earthly goods, riches, beauty of body and raiment, spacious dwellings, etc., but the virtue of the soul, that incorruptible raiment, shall remain with us eternally.

Saint John of Kronstadt

"Keep from prying into other people's affairs, for such prying gives occasion for slander, judgment, and other grievous sins. Why do you need to be concerned about others? Know and examine your own self." -- St. Tikhon
of Zadonsk

Arise my soul, and review your deeds which have preceeded from you.  Scrutinize them closely, and shed the rain of your tears, declaring openly to Christ your thoughts and deeds, so that you may be justified.

Saint Andrew of Crete

Continually forgive others.  Forgive AT ONCE, not one second latter, not one half second later, because if you hesitate to forgive, jealousy comes in the door, then hatred and envy.  Forgive instantly as Christ forgives instantly.

Do not be careless.  Pray as much as you can - more frequently and more fervantly.  Prod yourself - force yourself to do so, for the Kingdom of God is taken by force.  You will never attain it without forcing yourself.

Saint Innocent of Alaska

Patience, forgiveness and joy are the three greatest characteristics of divine love.  They are characteristics of all real love - if there is such a thing as real love outside of divine love.  Without these three characteristics, love is not love.  If you give the name 'love' to anything else, it is as though you were giving the name 'sheep' to a goat or a pig.

Saint Nikolai Velimirovich

Our Father awaits us with great zeal and desire, and with love He will see us returning from afar, and He will look upon us with compassionate eyes, and we shall be dear to Him, and He will fall on our neck running and embrace us and kiss us with His Holy Love.  He will not reproach us, and He will no longer remember our sins and iniquities, and all the holy angles and all His elect will begin to rejoice over us.

There are very many unpleasant states that occur within each person; without knowledge one can never be free of them.

"If we do not see the beauty of God in this life then we will never see it in the next life.  We must see the glory of God in the smallest flower."

Gerontissa Makrina (+ 1995)

Sin, first and foremost, is the cause of every damage in this world. The evil one is the master of this sin, the master of this damage, but we have the Lord Jesus Christ, the Master of the Kingdom of God to defeat any kind of sin.

Your Father in Christ,
Bishop JOSEPH
http://www.antiochianladiocese.org/

A man must practice good works for a long time, with great effort and determination, and "at last God comes, dwells within him and he in the Lord, and the Lord Himself sows His own commandments within him, filling him with spiritual fruit." - St. Marcarius the Great - Homily 19

I stood in the midst of the world, and incarnate I appeared to
them. I found them all drunk, I found none among them athirst. And my soul was grieved for the sons of men, for they are blind in their hearts and do not see that empty they have come into the world and that empty they are destined to come forth again from the world. However, now they are drunk--when they have shaken off their wine, then shall they rethink. 

'We were created for eternal life by our Creator, we are called to it by the word of God, and we are renewed by holy Baptism. And Christ the Son of God came into the world for this, that He should call us and take us there, and He is the one thing needful. For this reason your very first endeavor and care should be to receive it. Without it everything is as nothing, though you have the whole world under you.'
-- St. Tikhon of Zadonsk

Without temptation it is impossible to aquire a strong constitution of the soul.  But again, to withstand them is not in our power.  How could perishable clay withstand the action of water unless Divine fire makes it strong?  If we submit to the yoke of God's will and pray with constant desire and humility, then, through patience, we also shall recieve everything form our Lord Jesus Christ.

Monks Callistus and Ignatius, from the Philokalia

Richness comes from God, not from our money. Every beauty comes from God, not from any human aspect.

Your Father in Christ,
Bishop JOSEPH
http://www.antiochianladiocese.org/

"Be ashamed when you sin, don't be ashamed when you repent [To repent means to have a change of heart and mind.  It is not simply a feeling of sorrow ,but a psycho/spiritual growth away from evil/death and a turning to God/life].  Sin is the wound, repentance is the medicine.  Sin is followed by shame; repentance is followed by boldness [ Boldness means to beg God for undeserved mercy].  Satan has overturned this order and given boldness to sin and shame to repentance."

Saint John Chrysostom

Die daily, that you might live eternally, for the one who fears God will live forever.

Saint Anthony the Great

If we are to become filled with a joy that the world cannot take away, we must give up everything, even our own selfish lives, so that we can be alive in our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Our Lord teaches us that all things come from Him. He is the source of all good. If we follow Him, even in times of sorrow and hardship, He increases us by allowing us to participate in His divinity.

Your Father in Christ,
Bishop JOSEPHhttp://www.antiochianladiocese.org/

Remember and have no doubt!  The God who can punish us for our sins is also capable in His limitless mercy of absolving us from our sins.  There is no heavy sin or curse that cannot be redeemed by deeds and prayer.

Father Arseny

"Sometimes God allows a relative or fellow worker to cause us problems in order to exercise our patience and humbleness; however, instead of being grateful for the chance God gives us, we react and refused to be cured.  It is like refusing to pay the doctor who is giving us a shot when we are ill."

Father Paisios Eznepides (+1994)

"If you want to go straight before God, you need two walls.  Not of brick or stone or earth, but two spiritual walls.  Have fear of God on the right, because the Prophet Daniel says, 'With fear of God, man is diverted from all evil.'  On the left have fear of death because the Son of Sirach says, 'Son, remember your end and you will not sin.'  These two good deeds --- fear of God and remembrance of death --- deliver a man from all sin."

Elder Cleopa Ilie (+1998)

Examine yourself to see whether you have within you a strong sense of your own self importance, or negatively, whether you have failed to realize that you are nothing.  This feeling of self-importance is deeply hidden, but it controls the whole of our life.  Its first demand is that everything should be as we wish it, and as soon as this is not so we complain to God and are annoyed with people.

Saint Theophan the Recluse

"Many flatter themselves and consider themselves to be good, humble, and meek, but they will discover the contrary under temptation.  Do not not become despondent in temptations, then, but give all the more thanks to God that He thus brings you to what is hidden in your heart - the knowledge of yourself - and wishes you to be corrected and be saved.

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk

For at the center of all spiritual traditions is the beacon of a truly radical proposal: Open your heart to everybody. Everybody.

"Prayer is all-powerful on account of the all-powerful God Who acts in it.  It is the sword of the Spirit ,which is the Word of God.  Prayer by its nature is communion and union of man with God; by its action it is the reconciliation of man with God, the mother and daughter of tears, a bridge for crossing temptations, a wall of protection from afflictions, a crushing of conflicts, boundless activity, the spring of virtues, the source of spiritual gifts, invisible progress, food of the soul, the enlightening of the mind, an axe for despair, a demonstration of hope, release from sorrow, the wealth of monks."

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov)