“ We are horrified, and quake with fear, at the punishments inflicted by judges and governors in this world, which, after all, are only temporary ; what will we think then of the tortures of hell which endure for ever? It will help us in our endeavours if we remember that the things of this world are like dreams : the body perishes, its appetites fail, and all things are as fleeting as the web of the spider.
We must be vigilant and fight, for no man who slumbers receives the prize, and we must give no slumber to our eyes, and must watch against the Crafty One, who seeks to devour the soul. ”

“ He upon Whose Word hang the seven heavens, and the firmament, and the earth, and Hades, was Himself hung upon a Cross of wood. He Who took a clod of dead earth, and fashioned it into a living man, bare patiently the scorn of those who mocked Him, in order that by the contempt of Himself He might save man, who had gone to perdition through his own sins. He gave His soul of salvation for the soul of man.
He gave His holy flesh on behalf of the whole race of Adam. And He gave His Blood on behalf of all. He gave Man for man, and His death for our death. ”

“ When you keep His commandments, He Himself will take care of your soul, and you will say concerning yourself, 'Whosoever touches you will be as one who touches the apple of His eye.'
And, O beloved, now that you have set your hand to the plough, do not turn back, and you will not become like a pillar of salt. Let your tongue speak at all times concerning the judgement which is to come, and make you yourself to be useful, and you will become a chosen man, through the fear of the place of judgement in the Other World. ”

“ If God were to judge us according to our misdeeds, evil indeed would be our case. We hear of the goodness of God, and are careless, but He whets His sword, and stretches His bow, and it is foolish to presume overmuch on His character for mercy. Let us beseech the Merciful God not to deliver us over into the hands of the demons who, together with the Devil, will accuse us in the Day of Judgement. Who has ever loved us as God the Father has loved us? ”

“ O you form of earth wherein grief is abundant ! O you form of man which grows [only] for destruction, and flourishes only in sorrows and sighings ! The joy of those who are upon the earth is only for a moment, and yet they are wont to think that it is great; but it slips away speedily through their hands. Behold, one man rejoices, and takes a woman to wife, and soon after he weeps for her, for she is dead ! Behold, one man rejoices in his son, and behold, soon after he weeps over his grave ! ”

“ Moreover, because of Sin there was to be weeping in the world which was to come, and sorrow of heart was to be in all created beings. Because of Sin there was a deluge upon the earth, and the cataracts of heaven poured down from heaven the waters of wrath upon the earth, and the fountains of the great deep were opened, and they belched forth the waters of vengeance. Because of Sin God meditated the blotting out of every created thing which was on the face of the whole earth. ”

“ You are the joy which has its being in grief, and the merriment which has its being in tears. The fruits of Repentance ripen fully in the strength of the Spirit. For even if the man who has repented holds his peace, the fruits of the Spirit are manifest in his face. O Repentance, in your gracious gentleness, and in your soft speech, and in your quiet behaviour, you are a rebuke to every man; for you are that which has pointed out the way for all the saints into the fight and into suffering. ”

“ Let us hear beforehand the sound of the trumpets, and the awful voice of the Judge, and let us see beforehand how the angels of doom will tie up those who are condemned into bundles, like garden waste, and cast them into the furnace of fire. Others will be bound hand and foot and cast into outer darkness, others will be delivered over to the worm which sleeps not, and to the gnashing of teeth. ”

“ Observe lest death go up into your windows. But let there be at all times in front of your eyes the commandments which concern chastity of life, and in your ears let there be the similitude of the admonitions of God, and in your mouth hymns of praise and meditation on the Old and the New Testaments. These windows it is meet for us to open to God and to shut to sin. ”

“ Truly and surely the Holy Virgin Mary is the miracle, for no human being has been created on earth like unto her. Mary is the temple which is more exalted and more honourable than the temple of Solomon, for it is she who has become the temple of the True God, Jesus Christ, Jesus our Lord, through Whom is the glory, and with Him the Father and the Holy Spirit for all ages of ages. ”

“ No lamb which could have been offered up on the altar could ever have carried away the sins of the world, except at that time when God took the form of a servant. And He fashioned an ineffable body for Himself, and He clothed Himself therewith ; now this was His flesh, the life. His blood is the redemption. The Spirit is the seal. The nature of God is without beginning. ”

“ Never before did there exist passion and death, which were without sin, in the smelting furnace of sin. Never before was one who was without a father, according to the flesh, condemned to death by the governor. Never before was there one who was hung upon the tree to draw every one to him, and to give life unto them. ”

“ Who is there that would not wish to be a companion of Repentance, and to make himself a stranger unto all these evil things, which blind the eyes of our hearts so that they are unable to see the marvellous light?
For Repentance makes a man to spread out his wings like the eagle, and makes him to penetrate into the heights of heaven through her spiritual excellences. ”

“ Have mercy upon my body, and upon my soul. Have mercy upon me in this world, and in that which is to come. Have mercy upon me because of the weakness of nature, and because of the sea of your goodness.' Do you desire earnestly healing, and the Physician will be ready to heal you at the earliest moment with His medicine. For He who seeks after your salvation is He who brought back the sheep which had gone astray. And He it is Who sends forth His servant into the highways to invite both the wicked and the good to the marriage feast. ”

“ If your mouth be bitter through fasting, ponder you that to Him Who created sweetness did they give gall for your sake. And if you weep it is for yourself, for hitherto you have not poured out tears, like Paul, for the redemption of others.
Give courage to your soul with all these things. Labour is for a little time, but the rest is everlasting. Conquer the world by hope. Tribulation receives enjoyment. Consider that lust is of time, that everlasting punishment is prepared for you, and flee from pleasure because of the penalty which is attached to the fight. ”

“ Does there exist a physician who, supposing it to be his wish to make him that is sick to recover a little, would reproach him? The physician does not treat him with contempt, neither does he award him the just retribution for his disgraceful state, but he administers unto him the medicine with gentleness. How much more then will God, Who is in truth the Good Physician of our souls [act thus towards us] ? Above all things let us not despair of our own salvation. For he who contends in the games is wont to fall down often, but in the end he rises up, and receives the crown of victory. ”

“ For the matter is like unto the gold to which the furnace does no injury, that is to say, tribulation does no harm to him that bears himself with fortitude. What does the furnace do to the gold except to purify it more and more? That is to say, he who rises up before tribulation, when the suffering which has to be endured comes to him, is exalted thereby. Cowardly inaction weakens the soul, but trial gives victory to the layman. Know, moreover, that those who endure no trial receive shame, and that those who endure trial receive election. ”

“ Therefore it is meet to curb sin from the very beginning, like a fierce and obstinate horse. For after our departure from this world we can neither repent nor correct our ways, even as the athlete cannot be crowned when the contest is ended. Therefore let us snatch for ourselves the glory of the crown in this world that we may escape the disgrace of the next, for disgrace is more evil than burning. For if the servant of a man burn he suffers loss, but every disgrace is more severe than burning. Now if we seek not to be disgraced no one will disgrace us. ”

“ Earth cried out, Spare me, O Lord, and free me from the curse which is on me, and from the wickedness of the Devil, for your Body was buried in me. You have sought for the members of men whom You madest. ”

“ And what was the cause of his vigil except that no sheep might be eaten by a wild beast? Now if he manifested such earnest care for a dumb animal, is it meet that we ourselves should be like unto those who have no solicitude for the rational soul, that soul which is more valuable than all the world, that soul which will stand up with us before that awful Throne of God, that it may make an apology for the things which have been done in the body? ”

“ In the soul there is, it is true, no ark of gold, but in it there dwell the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. If we feel pain for those who die, and weep for them, who is there so devoid of feeling that he will not weep over his own soul? He who feeds his body with dainties kills his soul, but he who cares for his soul to live does not make his body to be in a healthy state.
For this reason we ought not to lament for the dead, but we ought to repent for our soul's sake, and pour out floods of tears ”

“ For the shedding of tears of repentance makes the compassion of God to have regard unto you, and to show mercy unto you. The shedding of tears of repentance makes the Holy Spirit to enter quickly into a man, and to take up His abode in him. By the shedding of tears of repentance God makes you to become a new creature a second time, and He brings back to you the fruit of your health-giving suffering. For the shedding of tears takes not place without the turning of the heart, and the turning of the heart does not take place in those who pass their lives in lewdness and in jesting. ”

“ Blessed is he who has endured sufferings in fastings, and in prayers, and in nights of vigil, and in sighings. For Christ will magnify him, and he will eat and will drink at the feasts of the saints with openness of face.
Blessed is he who has showed himself to be a compassionate man, and a lover of his neighbour in the love of God, for he will enjoy consolation in the bosom of Abraham, in the kingdom which is in the heavens.
Blessed is he who is soaked with tears which he has shed for his sins that he has committed, for he will escape the place of weeping, and the gnashing of teeth. ”

“ We take great trouble about a sick member of the body, but are careless as to our souls. The Good Shepherd stands ready to snatch our souls from the jaws of the lion, and all He asks in return for His salvation is repentance. No mortal lover ever loved his beloved as He loves the soul which repents, and however many times a man falls He stretches out His hands saying, ' Turn you to Me, and I will save you.' If an earthly physician treats the sick man tenderly, how much more will the Good Physician minister to our souls, and tend them till they are healed? ”

“ Remember you the day, that Awful Day, which will be filled with quaking, and that moment when we will take our stand before the Holy Throne, and will have to defend every deed which we have done in this world, and when all the sins which we have committed will be made to appear before the eyes of every one, and when there will be revealed again to us those things which we had forgotten. ”

“ And when the soul ceases to be in its body, the body can never again speak with a pleasing voice, but with a choked and exceedingly sad voice ; and it is like unto a musical instrument which has no sound in it and is speechless. That is to say, the soul is not in the body to give utterance therefrom. And the body perishes in the earth like a broken pot, and it becomes speechless, and it has neither sound nor voice ”

“ In that day the wicked will be separated from the good, and all will stand before the throne of the Son. The building of Solomon's temple was carried out in silence, for it was dedicated to God, Who loves quietness. Now, since God made the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and all that is therein, why will they all be destroyed? And why, since no man knows except the Father, will all things be dissolved suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye? The cause of this overthrow is man's sin and disobedience in Paradise. ”

“ You have fasted from meats, see what sin you have washed away from you thereby, or in what thing you have pleased your Lord, or what spiritual excellence you have acquired, or what breaches you have repaired. Now therefore, because you know that you will stand before the awful Throne, where no tongue can prevail, and no advocate avail when your soul passes through that unquenchable fire, send thither beforehand dew, and pour out fountains of tears. You have a well, from the depth of your heart draw up sufferings and sighings. ”

“ Never before did passion and death exist without sin, never before did the tomb receive the body of One Who could not die, never before did Hades quake, never before did a natural man pass three days and nights in the earth, and rise on the third day, never before was the Resurrection made manifest through the birth-pangs of the Virgin. His flesh was life and His blood redemption. Indeed old things have passed away, and new things have come into being. The new worship is the worship by faith, and the glorification of One Substance in Three Persons. ”

“ Now if we will have set Repentance to be a fellow-worker with us, we will find it straightway, and we will proclaim it at the feet of God, the Father of Good, Who will deliver us from all these necessities, and from the tribulations which will come upon us, and it will lift us out of the hands of these angels who are our pitiless adversaries. And if we will have set humility to be a fellow-worker with us, it will never cease to make supplication to God, until He has scattered these adversaries and has taken us in gladness to the bosom of the saints in the Country of the Living. ”

“ Where are the disturbing emotions which are in passion, and the profane thought, and every thing which is evil? Where are envy, and hatred, and contentiousness? Where are wrath and wickedness? Where are pride of heart and the words which are cruel? ”