3/1/2026
Sorrows and temptations are acknowledged by Holy Scripture and the holy fathers to be the greatest gift of God.
If you feel some good inclination in your heart, stop—do not dare to be carried away by it. Check it against the Gospel.
Whoever is meek is perfect and God-like; he is filled with joy and is the dwelling-place of the Spirit of God.
Do not mock or condemn one who has fallen into temptation, but pray more often that you yourself may not fall into temptation.
Humility is the salt of the virtues. As salt gives taste to food, so humility imparts perfection to the virtues. Without salt food easily spoils; without humility virtue easily becomes corrupted by pride, vainglory, impatience, and perishes.
As we bless the Mother of God and ask for her mercy, we must carefully reflect and ask ourselves: are we worthy to glorify her? Are we worthy of her love?
In the Canon are gathered and set forth all the exhortations to fasting and repentance, and the Holy Church now repeats it in full in order to breathe new strength into us for the successful completion of the Fast.
Love of money is idolatry. Idle talk and jesting give birth to falsehood.
These words must be spoken from the whole heart, with love, bearing those persons whose names you commemorate in your soul…
When you make the sign of the Cross, remember all the power of the Cross, all the work of our salvation, and you will quench your anger and all other passions.
The Cross is the measure of the bounds of love—by the height of heaven, the depth of the earth, and the length and breadth of the universe.
What does his cross mean? Why is his [our] cross, that is, the separate cross of each person, called also the Cross of Christ?
If there had been no Cross, Life would not have been nailed to the tree. And if Life had not been nailed to the tree, then from His side would not have flowed the streams of immortality—blood and water that cleanse the world.
If you trace the sign of the Cross upon yourself with great faith, not one of the unclean spirits will dare approach you, seeing that sword from which it once received its mortal wound.
Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov)
In praying for the reposed, we thereby witness our love for them, express our compassion and mercy.
Sin is the transgression of the Law of God, the failure to fulfill the holy commandments of God.
What is a pure heart? A meek, humble, guileless, simple, trusting, truthful, unsuspecting, harmless, kind, unselfish, unenvious, and chaste heart.
A man who has undertaken the path of inner watchfulness must first of all possess the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom.
The Church again calls unceasingly to repentance. The Savior calls us to faith. Let us believe, and we shall be healed.
Thus the foundation of the establishment of these Saturdays is love.
According to the teaching of the ancient Fathers, a healthy infant does not fast only while still nourished by its mother’s milk—that is, approximately until the age of three.
Let no one think, my Christian brethren, that only those in holy orders and monks have the duty to pray unceasingly and at all times, and not laypeople.
Nothing so contributes to progress in virtue as frequent converse with God.
St. Macarius of Egypt says, “He who practices abstinence without prayer—how shall he stand without its help?”
Fasting is a period of spiritual exertion. If we cannot give our whole life to God, let us at least dedicate to Him wholeheartedly the period of the fast—intensifying our prayer, increasing our works of mercy, restraining our passions, and reconciling ourselves with our enemies.
