…unless you have suffered affliction – virtue has not been tested. ~ St. Mark the Ascetic
Virtue is nothing without the trial of temptation, for there is no conflict without an enemy, no victory without strife. ~ St. Leo the Great
…For the Holy Spirit, sweet and gracious, draws the soul to love the Lord, and in the sweetness of the Holy Spirit the soul loses her fear of suffering. ~ St. Silouan the Athonite
For one to be ill is a divine visitation. Illness is the greatest gift from God, and when the only thing that man can give back to God is pain. ~ Anonymous old monk
It is absurd to be grateful to doctors who give us bitter and unpleasant medicines to cure our bodies, and yet be ungrateful to God for what appears to us to be harsh, not grasping that all we encounter is for our benefit and in accordance with His providence. For knowledge of God and faith in Him is the salvation and perfection of the soul. ~ St. Anthony the Great
I have consciousness of my sinfulness, but I live with hope. It is bad to despair, because someone who despairs becomes embittered and loses willingness and strength. Someone who has hope, on the contrary, advances forward. ~ St. Porphyrios
Prayer should be our first response, not the last hope. ~ Archpriest Andrei Tkachev
We are like broken glass that reflects in small fragments until the power if God makes us whole again. ~ Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
Glory be to God for everything! Dry your tears. Your Guardian Angel will carry those little tears away to the Throne of God. ~ St. Barsanuphius