If you
cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door, you will not find Him in
the chalice.
Prayer is
the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of
constant happiness, a protection against sadness.
Not to
share our own wealth with the poor is theft from the poor and deprivation of
their means of life; we do not possess our own wealth, but theirs.
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.
No matter
how just your words may be, you ruin everything when you speak with anger.
Happiness
can only be achieved by looking inward & learning to enjoy whatever life
has and this requires transforming greed into gratitude.
The road
to Hell is paved with the bones of priests and monks, and the skulls of bishops
are the lamp posts that light the path.
When you
are weary of praying, and do not receive, consider how often you have heard a
poor man calling, and have not listened to him.
The bee
is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she
labors for others.
If you
wish to leave much wealth to your children, leave them in God's care. Do not
leave them riches, but virtue and skill. For if they learn to expect riches,
they will not mind anything besides, and their abundant riches shall give them
the means of screening the wickedness of their ways.
It is
impossible to be saved without the help of the Most Blessed Virgin, because
those who are not saved by the justice of God are saved by the intercession of
Mary.
When we
teach our children to be good, to be gentle, to be forgiving (all these are
attributes of God), to be generous, to love their follow men, to regard this
present age as nothing, we instill virtue in their souls, and reveal the image
of God within them.
Why not
learn to enjoy the little things-there are so many of them.
There is
nothing colder than a Christian who does not seek to save others.
I am a
Christian. He who answers thus has declared everything at once-his country,
profession, family; the believer belongs to no city on earth but to the
heavenly Jerusalem.
To
destroy the fetus 'is something worse than murder.' The one who does this 'does
not take away life that has already been born, but prevents it from being
born.'
Do you
fast? Then feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, visit the sick, do not
forget the imprisoned, have pity on the tortured, comfort those who grieve and
who weep, be merciful, humble, kind, calm, patient, sympathetic, forgiving,
reverent, truthful and pious, so that God might accept your fasting and might
plentifully grant you the fruits of repentance.
The rich
man is not one who is in possession of much, but one who gives much.
The
Eucharist is a fire that inflames us, that, like lions breathing fire, we may
retire from the altar being made terrible to the devil.
We must
not mind insulting men, if by respecting them we offend God.
A mother
experiences more than one death, even though she herself will only die once.
She fears for her husband; she fears for her children; again she fears for the
women and children who belong to her children. ... For each of these-whether
for loss of possessions, bodily illness, or undesired misfortune-she mourns and
grieves no less than those who suffer.
You
cannot pray at home, like you can at church, where there is a great multitude;
where exclamations are cried out to God as from one great heart, and where
there is something more: the unions of minds, the accord of souls, the bond of
charity, the prayers of priests.
You can
set up an altar to God in your minds by means of prayer. And so it is fitting
to pray at your trade, on a journey, standing at a counter or sitting at your
handicraft.
God loves
us more than a father, mother, friend, or any else could love, and even more
than we are able to love ourselves.
Since it
is likely that, being men, they would sin every day, St. Paul consoles his
hearers by saying 'renew yourselves' from day to day. This is what we do with
houses: we keep constantly repairing them as they wear old. You should do the
same thing to yourself. Have you sinned today? Have you made your soul old? Do
not despair, do not despond, but renew your soul by repentance, and tears, and
Confession, and by doing good things. And never cease doing this.
Source: http://www.azquotes.com/author/21940-Saint_John_Chrysostom
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