---
title: "Best Maximus the Confessor Quotes"
description: "Maximus the Confessor, also spelled Maximos, otherwise known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople, was a Christian monk, theologian, ..."
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# Maximus the Confessor

(0578–0662)   Theologian

 **91** quotes in **698** categories

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Maximus the Confessor was a theologian, best known for *On the Ecclesiastical Mystagogy*.

## Quick Facts About Maximus the Confessor

Born November 30, 0578

Died August 13, 0662

Profession Theologian

Notable works On the Ecclesiastical Mystagogy

## About Maximus the Confessor

Maximus the Confessor, also spelled Maximos, otherwise known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople, was a Christian monk, theologian, and Neoplatonic scholar.

##  Quotes by Maximus the Confessor · Page 2

> [If God suffers in the flesh when He is made man, should we not rejoice when we suffer, for we have God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/if-god-suffers-in-the-flesh-when-he-is-made-man-should-we-not-rejoice/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b8/maximus-the-confessor-7435_christian_if-god-suffers-in-the-flesh-when-he-is-m_2436474.jpg)

> [But I say to you, the Lord says, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/but-i-say-to-you-the-lord-says-love-your-enemies-do-good-to-those-who/)

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[Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8a/maximus-the-confessor-7435_christian_but-i-say-to-you-the-lord-says-love-your_2004903.jpg)

> [When what has been created in time according to the temporal order has reached maturity, it ceases from natural growth. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/when-what-has-been-created-in-time-according-to-the-temporal-order/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea9/maximus-the-confessor-7435_aging_when-what-has-been-created-in-time-accor_69418.jpg)

> [A man of discernment, meditating on the healing Divine Providence, bears with thanksgiving the misfortunes that come to him. He sees their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/a-man-of-discernment-meditating-on-the-healing-divine-providence/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/maximus-the-confessor-7435_bears_a-man-of-discernment-meditating-on-the-h_1873390.jpg)

> [We must not only put bodily passions to death but also destroy the soul's impassioned thoughts. Hence the Psalmist says, 'Early in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/we-must-not-only-put-bodily-passions-to-death-but-also-destroy-the/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/735/maximus-the-confessor-7435_body_we-must-not-only-put-bodily-passions-to_1996591.jpg)

> [To harbor no envy, no anger, no resentment against an offender is still not to have charity for him. It is possible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/to-harbor-no-envy-no-anger-no-resentment-against-an-offender-is-still/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99e/maximus-the-confessor-7435_anger_to-harbor-no-envy-no-anger-no-resentment_2461424.jpg)

> [Temptations come on some people for the cleansing of previous sins, on other for the beautification of their current perfection, and on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/temptations-come-on-some-people-for-the-cleansing-of-previous-sins-on/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Beautification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautification/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09a/maximus-the-confessor-7435_beautification_temptations-come-on-some-people-for-the_781172.jpg)

> [A passion is a contranatural movement of the soul or an irrational love, or an blindfold hatred toward any material thing, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/a-passion-is-a-contranatural-movement-of-the-soul-or-an-irrational/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Accounts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accounts/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3e/maximus-the-confessor-7435_accounts_a-passion-is-a-contranatural-movement-of_177939.jpg)

> [Those who, animal-like, live solely according to the senses... misuse God's creation in order to indulge the passions. They do not understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/those-who-animal-like-live-solely-according-to-the-senses-misuse-god/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26e/maximus-the-confessor-7435_age_those-who-animal-like-live-solely-accord_2299132.jpg)

> [... for our sake loosing within Himself the bonds of bodily birth, He granted us through spiritual birth, according to our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/for-our-sake-loosing-within-himself-the-bonds-of-bodily-birth-he/)

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[Adam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adam/)

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> [“In company with all of these achievements, and yet after them all, God fulfilled for our sake the truly new mystery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/in-company-with-all-of-these-achievements-and-yet-after-them-all-god/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/)

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> [If you are remembering evil against someone, then pray for him; and as you remove through prayer the pain of the remembrance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/if-you-are-remembering-evil-against-someone-then-pray-for-him-and-as/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Affectionate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affectionate/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/maximus-the-confessor-7435_affectionate_if-you-are-remembering-evil-against-some_1389779.jpg)

> [Without the power of intelligence there is no capacity for spiritual knowledge; and without spiritual knowledge we cannot have the faith from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/without-the-power-of-intelligence-there-is-no-capacity-for-spiritual/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Capacity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capacity/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/440/maximus-the-confessor-7435_capacity_without-the-power-of-intelligence-there_1962335.jpg)

> [For him who is perfect in love and has reached the summit of dispassion there is no difference between his own or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/for-him-who-is-perfect-in-love-and-has-reached-the-summit-of/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/maximus-the-confessor-7435_attention_for-him-who-is-perfect-in-love-and-has-r_263409.jpg)

> [Whatever a man loves he inevitably clings to, and in order not to lose it he rejects everything that keeps him from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/whatever-a-man-loves-he-inevitably-clings-to-and-in-order-not-to-lose/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Attachment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attachment/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/maximus-the-confessor-7435_attachment_whatever-a-man-loves-he-inevitably-cling_162784.jpg)

> [Many have said much about love, but you will find love itself only if you seek it among the disciples of Christ.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/many-have-said-much-about-love-but-you-will-find-love-itself-only-if/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/663/maximus-the-confessor-7435_age_many-have-said-much-about-love-but-you-w_808546.jpg)

> [...the Lord said as He drew near His passion, 'Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/the-lord-said-as-he-drew-near-his-passion-now-is-the-son-of-man/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba5/maximus-the-confessor-7435_christian_the-lord-said-as-he-drew-near-his-passio_1238506.jpg)

> [He has as yet no perfect love, whose disposition towards men depends on what they are like, loving one and despising another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/he-has-as-yet-no-perfect-love-whose-disposition-towards-men-depends/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Blessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessed/)

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> [The person who truly wishes to be healed is he who does not refuse treatment. This treatment consists of the pain and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/the-person-who-truly-wishes-to-be-healed-is-he-who-does-not-refuse/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Accomplish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplish/)

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> [Some passions are bodily, other spiritual. Bodily passions have their sources in the body, while spiritual ones come from external things. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/some-passions-are-bodily-other-spiritual-bodily-passions-have-their/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c8/maximus-the-confessor-7435_body_some-passions-are-bodily-other-spiritual_3012830.jpg)

> [There are lots of those who speak but few who do. However, no one should distort the word of God by his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/there-are-lots-of-those-who-speak-but-few-who-do-however-no-one/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/203/maximus-the-confessor-7435_christian_there-are-lots-of-those-who-speak-but-fe_120736.jpg)

> [“For indeed, what is more dire than the evils which today afflict the world? What is more terrible for the discerning than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/for-indeed-what-is-more-dire-than-the-evils-which-today-afflict-the/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Evils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evils/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/maximus-the-confessor-7435_quote_for-indeed-what-is-more-dire-than-the-ev_848207.jpg)

> [Do not say that faith in Christ alone can save you, for this is not possible if you do not attain love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/do-not-say-that-faith-in-christ-alone-can-save-you-for-this-is-not/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4c/maximus-the-confessor-7435_action_do-not-say-that-faith-in-christ-alone-ca_1254595.jpg)

> [...the aim of every hierarchy is always to imitate God so as to take on His form... the task of every hierarchy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/the-aim-of-every-hierarchy-is-always-to-imitate-god-so-as-to-take-on/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Aim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aim/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e61/maximus-the-confessor-7435_aim_the-aim-of-every-hierarchy-is-always-to_3142303.jpg)

> [A pure heart is perhaps one which has no natural propulsion towards anything in any manner whatsoever. When in its extreme simplicity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/a-pure-heart-is-perhaps-one-which-has-no-natural-propulsion-towards/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12b/maximus-the-confessor-7435_christian_a-pure-heart-is-perhaps-one-which-has-no_2996412.jpg)

> [As long as I remain imperfect and refractory, neither obeying God by practising the commandments nor becoming perfect in spiritual knowledge, Christ…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/as-long-as-i-remain-imperfect-and-refractory-neither-obeying-god-by/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08e/maximus-the-confessor-7435_becoming_as-long-as-i-remain-imperfect-and-refrac_2619715.jpg)

> [If you expound the teaching of the Logos from the standpoint of the moral life, using materialistic words and examples which correspond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/if-you-expound-the-teaching-of-the-logos-from-the-standpoint-of-the/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Capacity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capacity/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/maximus-the-confessor-7435_capacity_if-you-expound-the-teaching-of-the-logos_1624638.jpg)

> [The person who loves God cannot help loving every man as himself, even though he is grieved by the passions of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/the-person-who-loves-god-cannot-help-loving-every-man-as-himself-even-2/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/097/maximus-the-confessor-7435_bounds_the-person-who-loves-god-cannot-help-lov_1587526.jpg)

> [Blessed is he who like Joshua (cf. Josh. 10:12-13) keeps the Sun of righteousness from setting in himself throughout the whole day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/blessed-is-he-who-like-joshua-cf-josh-10-12-13-keeps-the-sun-of/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72a/maximus-the-confessor-7435_able_blessed-is-he-who-like-joshua-cf-josh-10_1660661.jpg)

> ['The long-suffering man abounds in understanding' (Prov. 14:29), because he endures everything to the end and, while awaiting that end, patiently bears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/the-long-suffering-man-abounds-in-understanding-prov-14-29-because-he/)

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[Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/maximus-the-confessor-7435_bears_the-long-suffering-man-abounds-in-unders_412451.jpg)

> [Those who seek the Lord should not look for Him outside themselves; on the contrary, they must seek Him within themselves through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/those-who-seek-the-lord-should-not-look-for-him-outside-themselves-on/)

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[Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/maximus-the-confessor-7435_action_those-who-seek-the-lord-should-not-look_1548032.jpg)

> [Humility and ascetic hardship free a man from all sin, for the one cuts out the passions of the soul, the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/humility-and-ascetic-hardship-free-a-man-from-all-sin-for-the-one/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Blessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessed/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae1/maximus-the-confessor-7435_blessed_humility-and-ascetic-hardship-free-a-man_933462.jpg)

> [Created man cannot become a son of God and god by grace through deification, unless he is first through his own free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/created-man-cannot-become-a-son-of-god-and-god-by-grace-through/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/)

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> [A soul that is nurtured by hatred toward man can not be at peace with God, Who has said: If you forgive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/a-soul-that-is-nurtured-by-hatred-toward-man-can-not-be-at-peace-with/)

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[Can not](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-not/)

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> [The Logos came down out of love for us. Let us not keep Him down permanently, but let us go up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/the-logos-came-down-out-of-love-for-us-let-us-not-keep-him-down/)

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[Behinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behinds/)

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> [In the beginning, passion and pain were not created together with the body; nor forgetfulness and ignorance together with the soul; nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/in-the-beginning-passion-and-pain-were-not-created-together-with-the/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/maximus-the-confessor-7435_body_in-the-beginning-passion-and-pain-were-n_1527842.jpg)

> [He who through virtue and spiritual knowledge has brought his body into harmony with his soul has become a harp, a flute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/he-who-through-virtue-and-spiritual-knowledge-has-brought-his-body/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1b/maximus-the-confessor-7435_becoming_he-who-through-virtue-and-spiritual-know_2895302.jpg)

> [No benefit comes from a just man's prayer if he who asks for it finds more pleasure in sin than in virtue.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/no-benefit-comes-from-a-just-man-s-prayer-if-he-who-asks-for-it-finds/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

[Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/maximus-the-confessor-7435_able_no-benefit-comes-from-a-just-man-s-praye_2748819.png)

> [The person who loves God cannot help loving every man as himself, even though he is grieved by the passions of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/the-person-who-loves-god-cannot-help-loving-every-man-as-himself-even/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

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> [The man who has struggled bravely with the passions of the body, has fought ably against unclean spirits, and has expelled from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/the-man-who-has-struggled-bravely-with-the-passions-of-the-body-has/)

[Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/)

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## Maximus the Confessor by topic

[Christian (76)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/maximus-the-confessor/) [Orthodox (75)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orthodox/maximus-the-confessor/) [Orthodox christian (30)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orthodox-christian/maximus-the-confessor/) [Men (27)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/maximus-the-confessor/) [Inspirational (23)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/maximus-the-confessor/) [Religious (22)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/maximus-the-confessor/) [Love (22)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/maximus-the-confessor/) [Ifs (21)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/maximus-the-confessor/) [Spiritual (20)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/maximus-the-confessor/) [Passion (18)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/maximus-the-confessor/) [Soul (17)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/maximus-the-confessor/) [Religion (16)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/maximus-the-confessor/) [Cfs (14)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cfs/maximus-the-confessor/) [Divine (13)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/maximus-the-confessor/) [Christ (13)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christ/maximus-the-confessor/) [Virtue (12)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/maximus-the-confessor/) [God (12)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/maximus-the-confessor/) [Lord (11)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lord/maximus-the-confessor/) [Evil (11)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/maximus-the-confessor/) [Body (11)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/maximus-the-confessor/)

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                        "text": "If God suffers in the flesh when He is made man, should we not rejoice when we suffer, for we have God to share our sufferings? This shared suffering confers the kingdom on us. For he spoke truly who said, 'If we suffer with Him, then we shall also be glorified with Him' (Rom. 8:17).",
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                        "text": "But I say to you, the Lord says, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who persecute you. Why did he command these things? So that he might free you from hatred, sadness, anger and grudges, and might grant you the greatest possession of all, perfect love, which is impossible to possess except by the one who loves all equally in imitation of God.",
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                        "text": "When what has been created in time according to the temporal order has reached maturity, it ceases from natural growth. But when what has been brought about by the knowledge of God through the practice of the virtues has reached maturity, it starts to grow anew. For the end of one stage constitutes the starting point of the next.",
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                        "text": "A man of discernment, meditating on the healing Divine Providence, bears with thanksgiving the misfortunes that come to him. He sees their causes in his own sins, and not in anyone else. But a mindless man, when he sins and receives the punishment for it, considers the cause of his misfortune to be God, or people, not understanding God's care for him.",
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                        "text": "We must not only put bodily passions to death but also destroy the soul's impassioned thoughts. Hence the Psalmist says, 'Early in the morning I destroyed all the wicked of the earth, that I might cut off all evil-doers from the city of the Lord' (Ps. 101:8) - that is, the passions of the body and the soul's godless thoughts.",
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                        "text": "To harbor no envy, no anger, no resentment against an offender is still not to have charity for him. It is possible, without any charity, to avoid rendering evil for evil. But to render, spontaneously, good for evil - such belongs to a perfect spiritual love.",
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                        "text": "Temptations come on some people for the cleansing of previous sins, on other for the beautification of their current perfection, and on yet others, as preparation for things to come, except temptations, which are for the increase of a man's faith and virtue, as it was with Job.",
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                        "text": "A passion is a contranatural movement of the soul or an irrational love, or an blindfold hatred toward any material thing, or because of it: for example, for food, or for women, or for riches, or for worldly glory, or any other sensible thing; or for the sake of such things, as in a senseless hatred for someone on account of the things mentioned above.",
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                        "text": "Those who, animal-like, live solely according to the senses... misuse God's creation in order to indulge the passions. They do not understand the principle of that wisdom which is revealed to all: that we should know and praise God through His creation and that by means of the visible world we should understand whence we came, what we are, for what purpose we were made and where we are going. On the contrary, they travel through this present age in darkness... with... ignorance of God.",
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                        "text": "... for our sake loosing within Himself the bonds of bodily birth, He granted us through spiritual birth, according to our own volition, power to become children of God instead of children of flesh and blood if we have faith in His Name (cf. Jn. 1:12-13). For the Savior the sequence was, first of all, incarnation and bodily birth for my sake; and so thereupon the birth in the Spirit through baptism, originally spurned by Adam, for the sake of my salvation and restoration by grace, or, to describe it even more vividly, my very remaking.",
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                        "text": "“In company with all of these achievements, and yet after them all, God fulfilled for our sake the truly new mystery of his incarnation, a mystery for which and through which all these other things took place. Here again, [1345A] God innovated human nature in terms of its mode, not its principle, by assuming flesh mediated by an intelligent soul; for he was ineffably conceived without human seed and truly begotten as perfect man without corruption, having an intelligent soul together with his body from the very same moment of his ineffable conception. That Every Nature, by its Proper Principle, Always Has Its Own End (τέλος)”",
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                        "text": "If you are remembering evil against someone, then pray for him; and as you remove through prayer the pain of the remembrance of the evil he has done, you will stop the advance of the passion. And when you have attained brotherly love and love for mankind, you will completely cast this passion out of your soul. Then when someone else does evil to you, be affectionate and humble toward him, and treat him kindly, and you will deliver him from this passion.",
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                        "text": "Without the power of intelligence there is no capacity for spiritual knowledge; and without spiritual knowledge we cannot have the faith from which springs that hope whereby we grasp things of the future as though they were present. Without the power of desire there is no longing, and so no love, which is the issue of longing; for the property of desire is to love something. And without the incensive power, intensifying the desire for union with what is loved, there can be no peace, for peace is truly the complete and undisturbed possession of what is desired.",
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                        "text": "For him who is perfect in love and has reached the summit of dispassion there is no difference between his own or another's, or between Christians and unbelievers, or between slave and free, or between male and female. But because he has risen above the tyranny of the passions and has fixed his attention on the single nature of man, he looks on all in the same way and shows the same disposition to all. For in him there is neither Greek nor Jew, male nor female, bond not free, but Christ who 'is all, and in all' (Col. 3:11; cf. Gal. 3:28).",
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                        "text": "Whatever a man loves he inevitably clings to, and in order not to lose it he rejects everything that keeps him from it. So he who loves God cultivates pure prayer, driving out every passion that keeps him from it. He who drives out self-love, the mother of the passions, will with God's help easily rid himself of the rest, such as anger, irritation, rancor and so on. But he who is dominated by self-love is overpowered by the other passions, even against his will. Self-love is the passion of attachment to the body.",
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                        "text": "Many have said much about love, but you will find love itself only if you seek it among the disciples of Christ. For only they have true Love as love's teacher. 'Though I have the gift of prophecy', says St. Paul, 'and know all mysteries and all knowledge? and have no love, it profits me nothing' (I Cor. 13:2-3). He who possesses love possesses God Himself, for 'God is love' (I Jn. 4:8). To Him be glory throughout the ages. Amen.",
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                        "text": "...the Lord said as He drew near His passion, 'Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself; and He will glorify Him at once' (Jn. 13:31-32). From This it is clear that divine gifts follow sufferings endured for the sake of virtue.",
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                        "text": "He has as yet no perfect love, whose disposition towards men depends on what they are like, loving one and despising another for this or that, or sometimes loving, sometimes hating one and the same man. Blessed is the man who can love all men equally.",
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                        "text": "The person who truly wishes to be healed is he who does not refuse treatment. This treatment consists of the pain and distress brought on by various misfortunes. He who refuses them does not realize what they accomplish in this world or what he will gain from them when he departs this life.",
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                        "text": "Some passions are bodily, other spiritual. Bodily passions have their sources in the body, while spiritual ones come from external things. But love and temperance cut out both the one and the other: Love cuts out spiritual passions, and temperance bodily ones.",
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                        "text": "There are lots of those who speak but few who do. However, no one should distort the word of God by his own negligence, but it is better to confess your own weakness, not hiding the truth of God, so that together with the breaking of the commandments you do not also appear guilty of an untrustworthy explanation of the word of God.",
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                        "text": "“For indeed, what is more dire than the evils which today afflict the world? What is more terrible for the discerning than the unfolding events? What is more pitiable and frightening for those who endure them? To see a barbarous people of the desert overrunning another's lands as though they were their own; to see civilization itself being ravaged by wild and untamed beasts whose form alone is human.”",
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                        "text": "Do not say that faith in Christ alone can save you, for this is not possible if you do not attain love for Him, which is demonstrated by deeds. As for mere faith: \"The demons also believe and tremble\" (James, 2:19). The action of love consists in heartfelt good deeds toward one's neighbor, magnanimity, patience, and sober use of things.",
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                        "text": "...the aim of every hierarchy is always to imitate God so as to take on His form... the task of every hierarchy is to receive and to pass on undiluted purification, the divine light, and the understanding which brings perfection.",
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                        "text": "A pure heart is perhaps one which has no natural propulsion towards anything in any manner whatsoever. When in its extreme simplicity such a heart has become like a writing-tablet beautifully smoothed and polished, God comes to dwell in it and writes there His own laws.",
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                        "text": "As long as I remain imperfect and refractory, neither obeying God by practising the commandments nor becoming perfect in spiritual knowledge, Christ from my point of view also appears imperfect and refractory because of me. For I diminish and cripple Him by not growing in spirit with Him, since I am 'the body of Christ and one of its members' (I Cor. 12:27).",
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                        "text": "If you expound the teaching of the Logos from the standpoint of the moral life, using materialistic words and examples which correspond to the capacity of your hearers, you make the Logos flesh. Conversely, if you elucidate mystical theology by means of the higher forms of contemplation you make the Logos spirit.",
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                        "text": "The person who loves God cannot help loving every man as himself, even though he is grieved by the passions of those who are not yet purified. But when they amend their lives, his delight is indescribable and knows no bounds.",
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                        "text": "Blessed is he who like Joshua (cf. Josh. 10:12-13) keeps the Sun of righteousness from setting in himself throughout the whole day of his present life, not allowing it to be blotted out by the dusk of sin and ignorance. In this way he will truly be able to put to flight the cunning demons that rise up against him.",
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                        "text": "'The long-suffering man abounds in understanding' (Prov. 14:29), because he endures everything to the end and, while awaiting that end, patiently bears his distress. The end, as St. Paul says, is everlasting life (cf. Rom. 6:22). 'And this is eternal life, that they might know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent' (Jn. 17:3).",
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                        "text": "Those who seek the Lord should not look for Him outside themselves; on the contrary, they must seek Him within themselves through faith made manifest in action. For He is near you: 'The word is... in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith' (Rom. 10:8) - Christ being Himself the word that is sought.",
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                        "text": "Humility and ascetic hardship free a man from all sin, for the one cuts out the passions of the soul, the other those of the body. This is what the blessed David indicates when he prays to God, saying, \"Look on my humility and my toil, and forgive all my sins\" (Ps. 25:18).",
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                        "text": "Created man cannot become a son of God and god by grace through deification, unless he is first through his own free choice begotten in the Spirit by means of the self-loving and independent power dwelling naturally in him.",
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                        "text": "A soul that is nurtured by hatred toward man can not be at peace with God, Who has said: If you forgive not men their sins, neither shall your Father forgive your sins (Matt. 6:15). If a man does not want to be reconciled, you must at least guard yourself from hating, praying with a pure heart for him, and speaking no evil of him.",
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                        "text": "The Logos came down out of love for us. Let us not keep Him down permanently, but let us go up with Him to the Father, leaving the earth and earthly things behind, lest He say to us what He said to the Jews because of their stubbornness: 'I go where you cannot come (Jn. 8:21).",
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                        "text": "In the beginning, passion and pain were not created together with the body; nor forgetfulness and ignorance together with the soul; nor the ever-changing impressions in the shape of events with the mind.  All these things were brought about in man by his disobedience.",
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                        "text": "He who through virtue and spiritual knowledge has brought his body into harmony with his soul has become a harp, a flute and a temple of God. He has become a harp by preserving the harmony of the virtues; a flute by receiving the inspiration of the Spirit through divine contemplation; and a temple by becoming a dwelling place of the Logos through the purity of his intellect.",
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                        "text": "No benefit comes from a just man's prayer if he who asks for it finds more pleasure in sin than in virtue. For Samuel mourned over Saul when he sinned, but he was not able to obtain God's mercy, for his grief was not supported by the necessary change of life on the part of the sinner. Hence God put an end to the pointless grief of His servant, saying to him, 'How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel?' (I Sam. 16:1).",
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                        "text": "The person who loves God cannot help loving every man as himself, even though he is grieved by the passions of those who are not yet purified. But when they amend their lives, his delight is indescribable and knows no bounds. A soul filled with thoughts of sensual desire and hatred is unpurified. If we detect any trace of hatred in our hearts against any man whatsoever for committing any fault, we are utterly estranged from love for God, since love for God absolutely precludes us from hating any man.",
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                        "text": "The man who has struggled bravely with the passions of the body, has fought ably against unclean spirits, and has expelled from his soul the conceptual images they provoke, should pray for a pure heart to be given him and for a spirit of integrity to be renewed within him (cf. Ps. 51:10). In other words, he should pray that by grace he may be completely emptied of evil thoughts and filled with divine thoughts, so that he may become a spiritual world of God, splendid and vast, wrought from moral, natural and theological forms of contemplation.",
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