Saturday, August 18, 2012

NB: FFT - Food from the Parents in the Faith

"Religion cannot and should never be a basis for war and conflict, nor should it be used as an instrument of fundamentalism and fanaticism for purely political motives and ends." --- Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I

"The great plan of God the Father is the secret and unknown mystery of the dispensation which the only-begotten Son revealed by fulfilling in the incarnation, thus becoming a messenger of the great plan of God the eternal Father. The one who knows the meaning of the mystery and who is so incessantly lifted up both in work and in word through all things until he or she acquires what is sent down to them is likewise a messenger of the great plan of God." --- St. Maximus the Confessor

"Invocation of the Name of God the Saviour, uttered in the fear of God, together with constant effort to live in accordance with the commandments, little by little leads to a blessed fusion of all our powers. We must never seek to hurry in our ascetic striving. It is essential to discard any idea of achieving the maximum in the shortest possible time. God does not force us but neither can we compel Him to do anything whatsoever. Results obtained by artificial means do not last long and, more importantly, do not unite our spirit with the Spirit of the Living God." --- Archimandrite Sophrony

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