- “በፖለቲካ ውስጥ ዘላቂ ወዳጅነት እና ዘላቂ ጠላትነት የለም” (Common Sense)
- “ገንዘብ ተቀብሎ ስለ እግዚአብሔር የሚሰብክ የበለጠ ገንዘብ ከተሰጠው ስለ ሰይጣንም ይሰብካል” (Common Sense)፤
- “በገንዘብ የሚበልጥህን በእውቀት ብለጠው፤ በእውቀት የሚበልጥህን በፍቅር ብለጠው፤ በፍቅር የሚበልጥህን ግን እሱን ውደደው”
- “እግዚአብሔርን ማወቅ ከፈለክ ቃሉን እወቅ” (Common Sense)።
- “ለልጅ ግብረ ገብነትን ሳያስተምፉ፣ የቀለም ትምህርት ማስተማር በቀጣዩ ትውልድ ላይ የአደጋ ምልክት ማስቀመጥ ነው” (በውጭው ዓለም ያለች ቤ. ክ ችግር)።
- “ገንዘብ ሊሰጥህ የሚችለው ትልቁ ነጻነት ስለገንዝብ ከመጭነቅ ነጻ መሆን ብቻ ነው”
- “አንድን ሰው ከወደድከው ስሙን በክብ ቀለበት ላይ እንጅ በልብህ አታስቀምጠው፤ የሰው ልብ ይሰበራል፤ ክብ ነገር ግን ለዘለዓለም ሲሽከረከር ይኖራል”
- “የእውቀትና የጥበብን ትርጉም ለይተህ እወቅ፤ አንደኛው በዓለም ላይ መኖር ያስችልሃል፤ ሁለተኛው ግን ሕይወትህን ያቃናልሃል”
- “In peace the sons bury their fathers, but in war the fathers bury their sons”
- “በራስ እስከአልመጣ ድረስ በሌላው ላይ የሚደርስ ሁሉ አስቂኝ ነው” (የሰው ልጆች የተለመደ ችግር)።
- “መልካም ጎደኛ ማለት ትንሽ ስንጥቃት ያለብህ መሆኑን ቢያውቅም ቆንጆ እንቁላል ነው ብሎ በጥንቃቄ የሚይዝህ ነው” (ራሳችንን ብቻ ፍጹምና እንከን የለሽ አድርገን እንዳንመለከት ይረዳናል)።
- “ያቀረበውን ምግብ ጨርስ መብላት የማይችል መሆኑን ሲያውቅ ሰው ሁሉ ለመስጠት ለጋስ ነው” (ምጽዋት)
- Marriage is a three ring circus: engagement ring, wedding ring, and suffering.
- “ጊዜ ያልፋል፤ ትዝታ ግን ለዘለዓለም ይኖራል”
- “ፀሐይና ጨረቃን እሰጥኃለሁ ብለህ ቃል አትግባልኝ፤….ከፀሐይና ከጨረቃ በታች ከእኔ ጋር እንደምትቆም አረጋግጥልኝ”
Jacob of Serug About Holy Virgin Mary
Second Heaven, in whose womb the Lord of heaven dwelt and shone forth from her to expel the darkness from the land.
Blessed of the women, by whom the curse of the land was eradicated, and the sentence henceforth has come to an end.
Daughter who wove a garment of glory and gave it to her father. He covered himself because he was stripped naked among the trees.
Bride who conceived although the bridegroom had never been seen by her, she gave birth to a baby without her coming to the place of His Father.
Second Heaven, in whose womb the Lord of heaven dwelt and shone forth from her to expel the darkness from the land.
Blessed of the women, by whom the curse of the land was eradicated, and the sentence henceforth has come to an end.
Daughter who wove a garment of glory and gave it to her father. He covered himself because he was stripped naked among the trees.
Bride who conceived although the bridegroom had never been seen by her, she gave birth to a baby without her coming to the place of His Father.
Different Quotes by the Desert fathers from DESERT WISDOM, Sayings from the desert fathers by Henri J.M. Nouwen
St. Cyril of Alexandria about Virgin Mary
Hail to Mary, mother of God, Majestic treasure of the whole world, the lamp unquinchable, the crown of virginity.
Hail to Mary, mother of God, Majestic treasure of the whole world, the lamp unquinchable, the crown of virginity.
From the Desert Fathers
Abba Isaiah said: When someone wishes to render evil for evil, he is able to hurt his brother's conscience even by a single nod.
Abba Sisoes said: Seek God, and not where God lives.
One of the fathers said: Just as it is impossible to see your face in troubled water, so also the soul, unless it is clear of alien thoughts, is not able to pray to God in contemplation.
Abba John the Little said: We have abandoned a light burden, namely self-criticism, and taken up a heavy burden, namely self-justification.
Abba Anthony said: The time is coming when people will be insane, and when they see someone who is not insane, they will attack that person saying: You are insane because you are not like us.
Abba Sisoes said: Seek God, and not where God lives.
One of the fathers said: Just as it is impossible to see your face in troubled water, so also the soul, unless it is clear of alien thoughts, is not able to pray to God in contemplation.
Abba John the Little said: We have abandoned a light burden, namely self-criticism, and taken up a heavy burden, namely self-justification.
Abba Anthony said: The time is coming when people will be insane, and when they see someone who is not insane, they will attack that person saying: You are insane because you are not like us.
St Mark the monk
“Unless a man gives himself entirely to the Cross, in a spirit of humility and self-abasement; unless he casts himself down to be trampled underfoot by all and despised, accepting injustice, contempt and mockery; unless he undergoes all these things with joy for the sake of the Lord, not claiming any kind of human reward whatsoever – glory or honor or earthly pleasures – he cannot become a true Christian”
“Unless a man gives himself entirely to the Cross, in a spirit of humility and self-abasement; unless he casts himself down to be trampled underfoot by all and despised, accepting injustice, contempt and mockery; unless he undergoes all these things with joy for the sake of the Lord, not claiming any kind of human reward whatsoever – glory or honor or earthly pleasures – he cannot become a true Christian”
Abba Antony said, "Our life and our death are with our neighbour. If we gain our brother, we have gained our God; but if we scandalize our brother, we have sinned against Christ."
Reveal not every secret you have to a friend, for how can you tell but that friend may hereafter become an enemy. And bring not all mischief you are able to upon an enemy, for he may one day become your friend.
Saadi
St. Anthony the Great
1. When the holy Abba Anthony lived in the desert he was beset by lethargy, and attacked by many sinful thoughts. He said to God, ‘Lord, I want to be saved, but these thoughts will not leave me alone. What shall I do in my affliction? How can I be saved?’ A short while afterward, when he got up to go out, Anthony saw a man like himself sitting at his work, getting up from his work to pray, then sitting down and plaiting a rope, then getting up again to pray. It was an angel of the Lord sent to correct and reassure him. He heard the angel saying to him, “Do this and you will be saved.” At these words, Anthony was filled with joy and courage. He did this, and he was saved.
2. When the same Abba Anthony thought about the depth of the judgments of God, he asked, “Lord, how is it that some die when they are young, while others drag on to extreme old age? Why are there those who are poor and those who are rich? Why do wicked men prosper and why are the just in need?” He heard a voice answering him, “Anthony, keep your attention on yourself; these things are according to the judgment of God, and it is not to your advantage to know anything about them.’
3. Someone asked Abba Anthony, “What must one do in order to please God?” The old man replied, “Pay attention to what I tell you: whoever you may be, always have God before your eyes, whatever you do, do it according to the testimony of the Holy Scriptures; in whatever place you live do not easily leave it. Keep these three precepts and you will be saved.”
4. Abba Anthony said to Abbe Poemen, “This is the Great Work of a man: always to take the blame for his own sins before God and to expect temptation to his last breath.”
5. Abbe Pambo asked Abba Anthony, “What ought I to do?” and the old man said to him, “Do not trust in your own righteousness, do not worry about the past, but control your tongue and your stomach.”
7. A hunter in the desert saw Abba Anthony enjoying himself with the brethren and he was shocked. Wanting to show him that it was necessary sometimes to meet the needs of the brethren, the old man said to him, “Put an arrow in your bow and shoot it.” So, he did. The old man said, “Shoot another,” and he did so. Then the old man said, “Shoot yet again,” and the hunter replied “If I bend my bow so much I will break it.” Then the old man said to him, “It is the same with the work of God. If we stretch the brethren beyond measure they will soon break. Sometimes it is necessary to come down to meet their needs.” When he heard these words the hunter was pierced by compunction and, greatly edified by the old man, he went away. As for the brethren, they went home strengthened.
8. The brothers praised a monk before Abba Anthony. When the monk came to see him, Anthony wanted to know how he would bear insults, and seeing that he could not bear them at all, he said to him, “You are like a village magnificently decorated on the outside, but destroyed from within by robbers.”
13. Three Fathers used to go and visit Blessed Anthony every year and two of them used to discuss their thoughts and the salvation of their souls with him, but the third always remained silent and did not ask him anything. After a long time, Abba Anthony said to him, ‘You often come here to see me, but you never ask me anything,’ and the other replied, ‘It is enough for me to see you, Father.’
14. One day Abba Anthony received a letter from the Emperor Constantius, asking him to come to Constantinople, and he was wondering if he ought to go. So he said to Abba Paul, his disciple, “Ought I to go?” He replied, “If you go, you will be called Anthony, but if you stay here, you will be called Abba Anthony.”
15. “I no longer fear God, but I love Him. For love casts out fear.” (Jn 4:18)
16. “Always have the fear of God before your eyes. Remember Him Who gives death and life. Hate the world and all that is in it. Hate all peace that comes from the flesh. Renounce this life, so that you may be alive to God. Remember what you have promised God, for it will be required of you on the Day of Judgment. Suffer hunger, thirst, nakedness, be watchful and sorrowful; weep, groan in your heart; test yourselves, to see if you are worthy of God; despise the flesh, so that you may preserve your souls.”
St. John Climacus (John of the Ladder)
1. “A servant of the Lord is he who in body stands before men, but in mind knocks at Heaven with prayer.”
2. “Do not say that you are collecting money for the poor; with two mites the Kingdom was purchased.”
3. “An angel fell from Heaven without any other passion except pride, and so we may ask whether it is possible to ascend to Heaven by humility alone, without any other of the virtues.”
4. “The Christian is one who imitates Christ in thought, word and deed, as far as is possible for human beings, believing rightly and blamelessly in the Holy Trinity.”
St. Moses the Black/the Strong
1. A brother asked Abba Moses, ‘Here is a man who beats his servant because of a fault he has committed; what will the servant say?’ The old man said, ‘If the servant is good, he should say, “Forgive me, I have sinned.”‘ The brother said to him, ‘Nothing else?’ The old man said, ‘No, for from the moment he takes upon himself responsibility for the affair and says, “I have sinned,” immediately the Lord will have mercy on him. The aim in all these things is not to judge one’s neighbour. For truly, when the hand of the Lord caused all the first-born in the land of Egypt to die, no house was without its dead.’ The brother said, ‘What does that mean?’ The old man said, ‘If we are on the watch to see our own faults, we shall not see those of our neighbor. It is folly for a man who has a dead person in his house to leave him there and go to weep over his neighbour’s dead. To die to one’s neighbour is this: To bear your own faults and not pay attention to anyone else wondering whether they are good or bad. Do no harm to anyone, do not think anything bad in your heart towards anyone, do not scorn the man who does evil, do not put confidence in him who does wrong to his neighbour, do not rejoice with him who injuries his neighbour. This is what dying to one’s neighbour means. Do not rail against anyone but rather say, “God knows each one.” Do not agree with him who slanders, do not rejoice at his slander and do not hate him who slanders his neighbour. This is what it means not to judge. Do not have hostile feelings toward anyone and do not let dislike dominate your heart; do not hate him who hates his neighbour. This is what peace is: Encourage yourself with this thought, “Affliction lasts but a short time, while peace is for ever, by the grace of God the Word.”
