Sayings of The Holy Fathers:

"If a king wanted to take possession of his enemy's city, he would begin by cutting off the water and the food and so his enemies, dying of hunger, would submit to him. It is the same with the passions of the flesh; if a man goes about fasting and hungry the enemies of his soul grow weak."

Abba John the Dwarf

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"Prayer and praying make men temples of God. As gold, precious stones and marble adorn the palaces of kings, so do prayers adorn the temples of Christ - the souls of believers."


Monks Callistus and Ignatius
Directions to Hesychasts no. 29, Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart; Faber and Faber pg. 200

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"By throwing off the outer bonds, you throw off the inner as well. While you are freeing yourself from external concerns, your heart is freed from inner pain. It follows from this that the hard warfare you are compelled to wage with yourself is exclusively a means. As such it is neither good nor bad; the saints often liken it to a prescribed cure. However painful it may be to follow out, it nevertheless remains only a means to regain health."

The Way of the Ascetics

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"Compassion has a divine descent, because it is born of God; with God it develops and with God it matures."

Fr Justin Popvitch +1979
[source unknown]