Sayings of the Holy Fathers:

I shall speak first about control of the stomach, the opposite to gluttony, and about how to fast and what and how much to eat. I shall say nothing on my own account, but only what I have received from the Holy Fathers. They have not given us only a single rule for fasting or a single standard and measure for eating, because not everyone has the same strength; age, illness or delicacy of body create differences. But they have given us all a single goal: to avoid over-eating and the filling of our bellies... A clear rule for self-control handed down by the Fathers is this: stop eating while still hungry and do not continue until you are satisfied.

St. John Cassian

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"Do you know what eternity is? Eternity is beginning without end. That is, one it begins it never ends. Or, it is always and never. That is, it shall always be and never cease. This is eternity. All the ages from the foundation of the world to the end are as the smallest speck as compared to the whole world, or as a minute as compared to thousands of years."


St. Tikhon of Zadonsk

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"If we watch carefully, we shall often find a bitter joke played on us by the demons. For when we are full, they stir us up to compunction; and when we are fasting, they harden our heart so that, being deceived by spurious tears, we may give ourselves up to indulgence which is the mother of passions. We must not listen to them but rather do the opposite."

St. John Climacus