The Heart

"The heart itself is but a small vessel, yet dragons are there, and there are also lions; there are poisonous beasts and all the treasures of evil. There also are rough and uneven roads; there are precipices. But there too is God, the angels, the life and the Kingdom, the light and the apostles, the heavenly cities and the treasures of grace—all things are there." — St. Macarius

Cultivating Love

Macarius the Great says:

"Just as a bee builds its honeycomb in its hive, unnoticed by people, so does benevolence secretly build its love in the heart of a person, changing bitterness to sweetness and a cruel heart — to a kind one. Just like a master silversmith, in making cuttings in a plate and slowly covering it with patterns, does not show his work in all its beauty until he had finished it."

Prepare for Temptation

St. Isaac the Syrian says:

"Whenever you wish to make a beginning in some good work, first prepare yourself for the temptations that will come upon you, and do not doubt the truth. For it is the enemy's custom, whenever he sees a man beginning a good mode of life with fervent faith, to confront him with diverse and fearful temptations…. It is not that our adversary has such power - for then no one could ever do good - but that God concedes it to him, as we have learned with the righteous Job. Therefore prepare yourself manfully to encounter temptations."

Remembering the Incarnation

"Through His goodness, God the Father did not spare His Only Son but surrendered Him to deliver us from our sins and iniquities. Because of us, the Son of God humbled Himself, cured us of our spiritual ills and arranged for our salvation from sin. That is why it is essential that we recognize this and constantly bear in mind God's magnificent arrangement — that because of us, God the Word became like us in all respects except in sin. It is worthwhile for everyone to remember this and genuinely endeavor in reality, with God's help, to liberate ourselves from sin."
--St. Anthony the Great

The Conscience - Adversary and Guardian

"Let us stand firm in the fear of God, rigorously practicing the virtues and not giving our conscience cause to stumble. In the fear of God let us keep our attention fixed within ourselves, until our conscience achieves its freedom. Then there will be a union between it and us, and thereafter it will be our guardian, showing us each thing that we must uproot. But if we do not obey our conscience, it will abandon us and we shall fall into the hands of our enemies, who will never let us go. This is what our Lord taught us when He said:

Come to an agreement with your adversary quickly while you are with him in the road, lest he hand your over to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer and you are cast into prison. (Matt. 5:25).

The conscience is called an 'adversary' because it opposes us when we try to carry out the desires of the flesh; and if we do not listen to our conscience, it delivers us into the hands of our enemies."

--St. Isaiah the Solitary

St. Isaiah the Solitary was a monk in Scetis (Northern Egypt) who lived around 370 and was a contemporary of St. Macarius the Great. He moved to Palestine after 431 and died there in great old age around 491 as a hermit near Gaza. He is known for 27 "texts" on guarding the intellect

How to love in the urban thebaid

What is a merciful and compassionate heart? "It is a heart which burns with love for the whole of creation: for humankind, for the birds, for the beasts, for the demons, for every creature. When those with a heart such as this think of the creatures or look at them, their eyes are filled with tears. An overwhelming compassion makes their heart grow small and weak, and they cannot endure to hear or see any suffering, even the smallest pain, inflicted upon any creature. Therefore they never cease to pray with tears even for the irrational animals, for the enemies of truth and for those who do them evil, asking that those for whom they pray may be guarded and receive God's mercy. And for the reptiles also they pray with a great compassion, which rises up endlessly in their hearts until they shine again and are glorious like God." -- St. Isaac the Syrian,