Weakness for wealth and for collecting and owning things of different kinds; the urge for physical (sensuous) enjoyment; the longing for honour, whic….

There are three kinds of nature in man, as Nicetas Stethatos further explains: the carnal man, who wants to live for his own pleasure, even if it har….

Through practice he has accustomed himself to wish for nothing, and for a person with no wishes, everything goes just as he wishes, explains the Abbo….

He has made peace with himself, as Isaac the Syrian says, and heaven and earth have made peace with him. He is gathering the fruit of humility. But t….

Faith comes not through pondering but through action..

However weighed down and entangled in earthly fetters you may be, it can never be too late..

As soon as you direct such a question outward to your fellow man and not inward to yourself, you have set yourself on a judgment seat and thereby jud….

Nothing happens accidentally or in such a way that you cannot learn from it; you must understand this at once, for this is how your trust grows in th….

If you were not full of self-pity you would soon observe that we ourselves are to blame for all this evil, because we refuse to understand that it is….

It is precisely our egoism, our self-centeredness and self-love that cause all our difficulties, our lack of freedom in suffering, our disappointment….

It begins here, and has no end, and no earthly power can coerce it; and it is to be found in the human heart..

The saints' deep secret is this: do not seek freedom, and freedom will be given you..

It is for us to begin. If we take one step towards the Lord, he takes ten towards us -- he who saw the prodigal son while he was at a distance, and h….

We notice the person who is for ever bowing and fussily servile, and perhaps say, How humble he is! But the truly humble person escapes notice: the w….

You must learn to follow privately the Lord's bidding: not to speak empty words, not to adorn yourself, always to obey authority, not to look at a wo….

This obstinate will to personal happiness is the cause of unrest and division in your soul. Give it up and work against it: the rest will be given yo….

Thus you are led from moment to moment in your halter of preoccupation with self, and kindled instantly to displeasure, impatience or anger if an obs….

A truly unselfish act is not mine, but God's. It cannot be obstructed. Only for my own plans, my own wishes to study, to work, to rest, eat, or do a ….

Say nothing of the new life you have begun or of the experiment you are making and experiences you expect to have. All this is a matter between God a….

Instinct seeks satisfaction. Love is free of all demands..

Cast off the burden of sin and you will find within you the upward path that will make your ascent possible..