The Eucharist is a procession of the Church following the ascension of Christ.

The Eucharist is a journey of the Church into the dimension of the Kingdom.

The Eucharist is a real separation from the world.

We always want to make Christianity understandable and acceptable to the mythical modern man on the street, and we forget that the Christ of whom we speak is not of this world,
and that after his resurrection, he was not recognized, even by his own disciples.

We do not realize that we never get anywhere because we never leave any place behind us.

Fr. Alexander Schmemann

One of the fundamental methods of curing the soul[from the disease of sin, death, and corruption] is stillness [i.e., hesychia] in the full sense of the word.

Contemporary man is seeking healing for his life, especially for his inner condition, precisely because he is over-strained.

Therefore one of the messages which Orthodoxy can offer to the contemporary weary, discouraged, and floundering world is the message of silence…

We have the impression that hesychia and hesychasm are among the most basic medicines for gaining inner health.

And since lack of silence is what creates the problems, the pressures, anxiety and insecurity, as well as the psychological, psychical and physical illnesses, we shall try to look at their causes, which is anti-hesychasm. The anti-hesychastic desert wind that is blowing and burning everything is prevalent everywhere and is the dominant cause of this abnormal situation.

Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos, Orthodox Faith

The remembrance of God is an all-powerful weapon, a mighty suit of armor against satan and the various sins.

When the mind ceases to remember God and meditate upon divine things, man is overcome by negligence, indolence, forgetfulness, and then by evil desires!

If you see your mind rushing towards the world, know that your soul lacks divine consolation, which is why it turns to the world for consolation.

When a person’s soul is warm towards God, he is enlightened and feels compunction, and it is impossible for his mind to incline towards the world at the same time.

Wisdom from Elder Ephraim of Philotheou

Evil lies within us.

There is no love in us, so we don’t feel all people to be brothers and are tempted by [the knowledge of] their sinful ways. But it’s not right when moral failings become known to all.

The injunction of the Gospels to “tell it unto the Church” (Matt. 18:17) doesn’t mean that everything has to become known to everyone. By exposing the moral failings of our brother we arm the enemies of the Church, give them another pretext to escalate the war against Her. And the faith of the weak is shaken in this way too.

If you want to help the Church, then try to mend your own ways, rather than others’.

In straightening yourself out you straighten out a particle of the Church.  If everyone were to do that then the Church would be in perfect order. But today’s people attend to everything under the sun, only not to themselves, because it’s easy to teach others, while mending one’s own ways requires effort.

Elder Paisios

55 Maxims for Christian Living

1. Be always with Christ.
2. Pray as you can, not as you want.
3. Have a keepable rule of prayer that you do by discipline.
4. Say the Lord’s Prayer several times a day.
5. Have a short prayer that you constantly repeat when your mind is not occupied with other things.
6. Make some prostrations when you pray.
7. Eat good foods in moderation.
8. Keep the Church’s fasting rules.
9. Spend some time in silence every day.
10. Do acts of mercy in secret.
11. Go to liturgical services regularly
12. Go to confession and communion regularly.
13. Do not engage intrusive thoughts and feelings. Cut them off at the start.
14. Reveal all your thoughts and feelings regularly to a trusted person.
15. Read the scriptures regularly.
16. Read good books a little at a time.
17. Cultivate communion with the saints.
18. Be an ordinary person.
19. Be polite with everyone.
20. Maintain cleanliness and order in your home.
21. Have a healthy, wholesome hobby.
22. Exercise regularly.
23. Live a day, and a part of a day, at a time.
24. Be totally honest, first of all, with yourself.
25. Be faithful in little things.
26. Do your work, and then forget it.
27. Do the most difficult and painful things first.
28. Face reality.
29. Be grateful in all things.
30. Be cheefull.
31. Be simple, hidden, quiet and small.
32. Never bring attention to yourself.
33. Listen when people talk to you.
34. Be awake and be attentive.
35. Think and talk about things no more than necessary.
36. When we speak, speak simply, clearly, firmly and directly.
37. Flee imagination, analysis, figuring things out.
38. Flee carnal, sexual things at their first appearance.
39. Don’t complain, mumble, murmur or whine.
40. Don’t compare yourself with anyone.
41. Don’t seek or expect praise or pity from anyone.
42. We don’t judge anyone for anything.
43. Don’t try to convince anyone of anything.
44. Don’t defend or justify yourself.
45. Be defined and bound by God alone.
46. Accept criticism gratefully but test it critically.
47. Give advice to others only when asked or obligated to do so.
48. Do nothing for anyone that they can and should do for themselves.
49. Have a daily schedule of activities, avoiding whim and caprice.
50. Be merciful with yourself and with others.
51. Have no expectations except to be fiercely tempted to your last breath.
52. Focus exclusively on God and light, not on sin and darkness.
53. Endure the trial of yourself and your own faults and sins peacefully, serenely, because you know that God’s mercy is greater than your wretchedness.
54. When we fall, get up immediately and start over.
55. Get help when you need it, without fear and without shame

Fr. Thomas Hopko