"But God said, I require mercy, and not sacrifice; and the
acknowledgement of God, and not whole burnt offerings" Hosea 6:6.
What is meant by mercy? and what by sacrifice? By mercy then is signified
Justification and grace in Christ; even that which is by faith. For we
have been justified, not by the works of the law that we have done, but
by His great mercy. And sacrifice means the law of Moses.
St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel
of St. Luke.
"He that does not believe in the God Who saves us in difficult circumstances,
but is faint-hearted; he that does not wish to render glory to God, that
represents Him as not vigilant, but sleeping, not all-powerful and not
merciful, thinks falsely of the God of truth, and thus sins grievously.
Especially inexcusable are faint-heartedness and unbelief in the man who
has already been deemed worthy of often receiving marvelous help God the
Saviour. O, how great a sinner I am!"
St. John of Kronstadt (My Life in Christ, Part 1;
Holy Trinity Monastery pg. 25)
...a man has no right to be called faithful, if his faith is a bare
word and if he has not in him a faith made active by love or the Spirit.
Thus faith must be made evident by progress in works, or it must act in
the light and shine in works, as the divine Apostle says: 'Shew me thy
faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works' (James
2:18), thus showing that the faith of grace is made evident by works performed
in accordance with the commandments, just as the commandments are fulfilled
in deed and are made bright through the faith which is in grace.
St. Gregory of Sinai (Texts on Commandments and Dogmas
no. 119)
...all things that are accomplished in the world, even by those who
are aliens from the Church, are accomplished by faith.
St Cyril of Jerusalem (Catechetical Lectures: Lecture
5 no. 3)
...faith is that which completes our argument.
St. Gregory Nazianzen (Third theological Oration no.
21)
...there is one kind of faith, the dogmatic, involving an assent of
the soul on some particular point...But there is a second kind of faith
which is bestowed by Christ as a gift of grace...The faith then which is
given of grace from the Spirit is not merely doctrinal, but also works
things above man's power.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Catechetical Lectures: Lecture
5 nos. 10-11)
...though remission of sins is given equally to all, the communion of
the Holy Spirit is bestowed in proportion to each man's faith. If you have
labored little, you receive little; but if you have wrought much, the reward
is great. You are running for yourself, see to your own interest.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Catechetical Lectures: Lecture
1)
...while the Lord's victory is certainly an accomplished fact, my personal
participation in that victory is as yet far from complete...My trust is,
therefore in Christ, not in myself, and I am confident that Christ is faithful
and stands firm.
Bishop Kallistos Ware (How are We Saved? pg. 4)
2. For the method of godliness consists of these two things, pious doctrines,
and virtuous practice: and neither are the doctrines acceptable to God
apart from good works, nor does God accept the works which are not perfected
with pious doctrines.
Catechetical Lectures Of Our Holy Father, Cyril, Archbishop
Of Jerusalem - Lecture Iv: On The Ten[1] Points Of Doctrine.
A brother questioned Abba Poemen saying, "Give me a word." And he said
to him, "The fathers put compunction as the beginning of every action."
The brother said again, "Give me another word." The old man replied, "As
far as you can, do some manual work so as to be able to give alms, for
it is written that alms and faith purify from sin." The brother said, "What
is faith?" The old man said, "Faith is to live humbly and to give alms."
From the Desert Fathers
A fiery dart of desire of base indulgence is often cast forth from the
devil: but faith, suggesting a picture of the judgment, cools down the
mind, and quenches the dart.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Catechetical Lectures: Lecture
5 no. 4)
A man advises his neighbor in accordance with what his neighbor knows.
Correspondingly, God acts on one who hears Him according to the degree
of his faith.
Abba Mark, The Evergetinos
An old man and a brother led their life together. Now the old man was
charitable. It happened that there was a famine and the people came to
his door seeking alms, and in charity the old man gave to all who came.
Seeing what was happening, the brother said to the old man, "Give me my
share of the loaves, and do what you like with yours." The old man divided
the loaves and gave alms from his share.
Now many people hastened to the old man, learning that he supplied
everyone, and God -- seeing that he supplied everyone -- blessed these
loaves. But when the brother had consumed his own food he said to the old
man, "Since I have only a little food left, Abba, take me back into the
common life again." The old man said, "I will do as you wish." So they
began to again to live in common.
When scarcity came again, the needy came back seeking alms. Now one
day the brother came in and saw they were short of loaves. A poor man came,
and the old man told the brother to give him alms. He said, "It is no longer
possible, father." The old man said to him, "Go in and look." The brother
went inside and found the bin full of loaves. When he saw that, he was
filled with fear, and taking some he gave to the poor. In this way he learned
the faith and virtue of the old man, and he gave glory to God.
"The Wisdom of the Desert Fathers," by Benedicta Ward,
(Oxford: SLG Press, 1985), p. 42
And just as tools without the workmen and the workmen without tools
are unable to do anything, just so neither is faith without the fulfillment
of the commandments, nor the fulfillment of the commandments without faith
able to renew and re-create us, nor make us new men from the old. But,
whenever we do possess both within a heart free of doubt, then we shall
become the Master's vessels, be made fit for the reception of the spiritual
myrrh. Then, too, will He Who makes darkness His hiding-place renew us
by the gift of the Holy Spirit and raise us up new instead of old, and
part the veil of His darkness and carry our mind away and allow it to peek
as through some narrow opening, and grant it to see Him, still somehow
dimly, and one might look on the disk of the sun or moon. It is then that
the mind is taught -- or, put better -- knows and is initiated, and is
assumed that that truly in no other way does one arrive at even partial
participation in the ineffable good things of God except by way of the
heart's humility, unwavering faith, and the resolve of the whole soul to
renounce all the world and everything in it, together with one's own will,
in order to keep all of God's commandments.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life,
Vol. I.
As the memory of fire does not warm the body, so faith without love
does not bring about the illumination of knowledge in the soul.
Maximus Confessor
Before anything else one must believe in God, "that He is, and that
He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).
St Seraphim of Sarov - Spiritual Instructions
Belief is a matter of dying for Christ and His commandments. It is believing
that such a death is life-giving. It is to count poverty as riches, and
to consider the lowest humiliation as true honor and nobility. Faith is
believing that when one has nothing, one has everything. More than this,
it is to possess the incomprehensible riches of the knowledge of Christ
and to look upon all visible things as but clay and smoke.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, The Practical and Theological
Chapters
Citizens fear enemy invasions so long as they have no help from the
king. When the news comes that a military commander has entered their town,
they cease to worry in the knowledge that the authorities will take care
of them. Even if they hear that the enemy approaches, they are not afraid
since they have a protector. In the same way, if we believe in God, we
do not fear the demons, for God sends us His help.
St. Barsanuphius and St. John, from Writings from
the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart.
Complete salvation depends not on the faith of the heart alone, but
also upon confessing it, for the Lord said, `Whosoever shall deny Me before
men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in Heaven' (Mt. 10:33).
Also, the divine Apostle teaches: `For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation' (Rom.
10:10). If, then, God and the divine Prophets and Apostles command that
the mystery of faith be confessed in words and with the tongue, and this
mystery of faith brings salvation to the whole world, then people must
not be forced to keep silence with regard to confession, lest the salvation
of people be hindered.
St. Maximus the Confessor (in the Life).
Faith and love which are gifts of the Holy Spirit are such great and
powerful means that a person who has them can easily, and with joy and
consolation, go the way Jesus Christ went. Besides this, the Holy Spirit
gives man the power to resist the delusions of the world so that although
he makes use of earthly good, yet he uses them as a temporary visitor,
without attaching his heart to them. But a man who has not got the Holy
Spirit, despite all his learning and prudence, is always more or less a
slave and worshipper of the world.
St. Innocent of Irkutsk, Indication of the Way into
the Kingdom of Heaven.
Faith consists not only of being baptized in Christ, but also in fulfilling
His commandments. Holy Baptism is perfect and gives us perfection, but
does not make perfect those who do not follow the commandments.
St. Mark the Ascetic
Faith consists not only of being baptized in Christ, but also in fulfilling
His commandments. Holy Baptism is perfect and gives us perfection, but
does not make perfect those who do not follow the commandments.
St. Mark the Ascetic
Faith gives wings to prayer, and without it we cannot fly up to Heaven.
St. John Climacus, "The Ladder of Divine Ascent,"
(Boston: Holy Transfiguration Monastery, 1978), Step28: On Holy and Blessed
Prayer, the Mother of Virtues, and on the Attitude of Mind and Body in
Prayer
Faith is a comprehensive knowledge of the essentials, and knowledge
is the strong and sure demonstration of what is received by faith, built
upon faith by the Lord's teaching, conveying the soul on to infallibility,
science, and comprehension. And, in my view, the first saving change is
that from heathenism to faith, and the second, that from faith to knowledge.
And the latter terminating in love, thereafter gives the loving to the
loved, that which knows to that which is known.
St. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata.
Faith is the beginning of love; the end of love is knowledge of God.
"Instructions to Cenobites and Others", Abba Evagrius,
"Early Fathers From the Philokalia," translated from the Russian text,
"Dobrotolubiye," by E. Kadloubovsky and G.E.H. Palmer, eighth edition,
(London: Faber and Faber, Ltd., 1981), pp. 115 - 116.
Faith, according to the teaching of St. Antioch, is the beginning of
our union with God. One who truly believes is a stone in the temple of
God; he is prepared for the edifice of God the Father, raised to the heights
by the power of Jesus Christ, that is, of the Cross, with the aid of ropes,
that is, the grace of the Holy Spirit.
St Seraphim of Sarov - Spiritual Instructions
Faith, like active prayer, is a grace. For prayer, when activated by
love through the power of the Spirit, renders true faith manifest - the
faith that reveals the life of Jesus. If, then, you are aware that such
faith is not at work within you, that means your faith is dead and lifeless.
In fact you should not even speak of yourself as one of the 'faithful'
if your faith is merely theoretical and not actualized by the practice
of the commandments or by the Spirit. Thus faith must be evidenced by progress
in keeping the commandments, or it must be actualized and translucent in
what we do. This is confirmed by St. James when he says, 'Show me your
faith through your works and I will show you the works that I do through
my faith" (cf. Jas. 2:18.)
St. Gregory of Sinai, The Philokalia, Vol. 4.
For the man who believes, all things are possible because:`Faith is
counted as righteousness,' and `Christ is the end of the Law.' Belief in
Him justifies and perfects the believer, for belief in Christ is considered
to correspond to the works of the law. It is confirmed and witnessed by
the evangelic precepts and so earns for the faithful a participation in
eternal life, in Christ Himself.
St. Symeon the New Theologian, The Practical and Theological
Chapters.
Have faith Have faith that is as unshakeable as a rock, so that nothing
frightens you...The person who has deep faith within himself, and fixes
his attention on the good path, and seeks to improve the condition of his
soul and to adapt his thought to the good is happy... The happiness of
man consists in faith in God and in good acts which are done with love.
We cure those who believe in us and come to us with faith.
Modern Orthodox Saints Saints Raphael, Nicholas and
Irene of Lesvos., by Constantine Cavarnos., INSTITUTE FOR BYZANTINE AND
MODERN STUDIES., Belmont, Massachusetts., 1990., pp. 145-155.
If a man resolves to treat and heal his soul, he must first apply himself
to a careful examination of his whole being. He must learn to distinguish
good from evil, the things of God from those of the devil, for `discernment
is the greatest of the virtues.' The acquisition of the virtues is a progressive
and organic process: one virtue follows another. One depends on the other,
one is born of the other: `Every virtue is the mother of the next.' Among
the virtues there is not only an ontological order, but also a chronological
one. The first among them is faith.
St. Justin Popovich, Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ
If any here is a slave of sin, let him promptly prepare himself through
faith for the new birth into freedom and adoption; and having put off the
miserable bondage of his sins, and taken on him the most blessed bondage
of the Lord, so may he be counted worthy to inherit the kingdom of heaven.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem(Catechetical Lectures: Lecture
1)
If we desire to acquire faith the foundation of all blessings, the door
to God's mysteries, unflagging defeat of our enemies, the most necessary
of all the virtues, the wings of prayer and the dwelling of God within
the soul--we must endure every trial imposed by our enemies and by our
many and various thoughts....if we forcibly triumph over the trials and
temptations that befall us, it will not be we who are victorious, but Christ,
Who is present in us through faith.
St. Peter of Damaskos
If you have faith in the Lord you will fear punishment, and this fear
will lead you to control the passions. Once you control the passions you
will accept affliction patiently, and through such acceptance you will
acquire hope in God. Hope in God separates the intellect from every worldly
attachment, and when the intellect is detached in this way it will acquire
love for God.
St. Maximos the Confessor(First Century on Love no.
3)
If you wish to save your soul and win eternal life, arise from your
lethargy, make the sign of the Cross and say:In the name of the Father,
and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Faith comes not through pondering
but through action. Not words and speculation but experience teaches us
what God is. To let in fresh air we have to open a window; to get tanned
we must go out into the sunshine. Achieving faith is no different; we never
reach a goal by just sitting in comfort and waiting, say the Holy Fathers.
Let the Prodigal Son be our example. He "arose and came" (Luke 15:20).
Tito Colliander The Way of the Ascetics.
It is by faith that all things, both human and spiritual are sustained.
For without faith neither does the farmer cut his furrow, nor does the
merchant commit his life to the raging waves of the sea on a small piece
of wood, nor are marriages contracted, nor any other step in life taken.
St. John Damascene
It is true that God, in His unbounded mercy, often does good to men
without their faith; but in seeking faith from men, God lays emphasis on
the dignity of men as free and rational beings. How is man free and rational
if he, on his part, is not ready to contribute to his own salvation? God
seeks of men the least that it is possible to seek: faith in the living
God, in His love for men and His constant readiness to give to man, and
do for him, all that works towards his good.
Bp. (St.) Nikolai Velimirovic, Homilies, Vol. 2
Let us contemplate with faith the mystery of the divine incarnation
and in all simplicity let us simply praise Him who in His great generosity
became man for us. For who, relying on the power of rational demonstration,
can explain how the conception of the divine Logos took place? How was
flesh generated without seed? How was there an engendering without loss
of maidenhood? How did a mother after giving birth remain a virgin? How
did He who was supremely perfect develop as He grew up (cf. Luke 2:52)?
How was He who was pure baptized? How did He who was hungry give sustenance
(cf. Matt. 4:2; 14:14-21)? How did He who was weary impart strength (cf.
John 4:6)? How did He who suffered dispense healing? How did He who was
dying bestow life? And, to put the most important last, how did God become
man?...Faith alone can embrace these mysteries, for it is faith that makes
real for us things beyond intellect and reason (cf. Heb. 11:1).
St. Maximos the Confessor (First Century of Various
Texts no. 13, The Philokalia Vol. 2 edited by Palmer, Sherrard and Ware;
Faber and Faber pgs. 167-168)
Let us, then, cling to His blessing, and study the ways and means of
securing this blessing. Let us unroll the records of antiquity. For what
reason was our father Abraham blessed? Was it not that he did what was
right and lived up to the truth, enabled by faith? With confidence because
he knew the future, Isaac cheerfully let himself be led to the altar. Jacob
was humble enough to leave his country because of his brother, and went
to Laban and lived in servitude, and the twelve tribes were given to him.
Whoever considers these details without bias will appreciate the splendor
of the gifts conferred by Him.
St. Clement of Rome, Epistle to the Corinthians.
My soul measured the mighty workings of God, wrought on the scale of
His eternal omnipotence, not by its own powers of perception but by a boundless
faith; and therefore refused to disbelieve, because it could not understand,
that God was in the beginning with God, and that the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us, but bore in mind the truth that with the will to believe
would come the power to understand
St. Hilary of Poitiers
Remember that while you pray, God expects from you a positive answer
to His question: "Do you believe that I can fulfill your prayer?" You must
be able to answer from the bottom of your heart: "Yes, I believe, O God,"
and then you will be answered according to your faith.
St. John of Kronstadt
Stand therefore firm in your hearts, that no one overthrow you, that
no one be able to make you fall. The Apostle has taught us what it is "to
stand," that is what was said to Moses: "The place whereon thou standest
is holy ground;" for no one stands unless he stand by faith, unless he
stands fixed in the determination of his own heart.
Letters of St. Ambrose of Milan
The eternal dogmatic truths, the divine dogmas, are the subject of the
faith, and the faith is an exercise of man, and therefore, the human mind.
All of the evangelical virtues of the exercise and of the grace, with faith
first, are the heavenly bread of the eternal life, with which man nourishes,
makes worthy, sanctifies, perfects himself, and is restored in his God-likeness.
Life within the Church, through grace, inevitably becomes the source of
knowledge, through grace, of the eternal dogmatic truths. Living them as
the content of his life, man comes nearer to the authority, the Truth,
and the saving power. Just as the Lord has said: "If any man will do his
will", (namely, of God the Father, "he shall know the doctrine", for the
dogmas, if they are derived "from God." (John 7:17)
St. Justin Popovich, Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ.
The first and unique effect of the divine gift of genuine spiritual
knowledge is to produce within us by faith the resurrection of God. Faith
needs to be accompanied by the right ordering of our will and purpose -
that is to say, by discrimination - which makes it possible for us bravely
to withstand the spate of trials and temptations, sought or unsought. Thus
faith, rightfully expressing itself through the fulfillment of the commandments,
is the first resurrection within us of the God whom we have slain through
our ignorance.
St. Maximos the Confessor(Second Century of Various
Texts no. 70)
There is a knowledge that precedes faith, and there is a knowledge born
of faith. Knowledge that precedes faith is natural knowledge; and that
which is born of faith is spiritual knowledge. What is natural knowledge?
Knowledge is natural that discerns good from evil, and this is also called
natural discernment, by which we know to discern good from evil naturally,
without being taught. God has implanted this in rational nature, and with
teaching it receives growth and assistance; there is no one who does not
have it.
Spiritual Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian
There is nothing impossible unto those who believe; lively and unshaken
faith can accomplish great miracles in the twinkling of an eye. Besides,
even without our sincere and firm faith, miracles are accomplished, such
as the miracles of the sacraments; for God's Mystery is always accomplished,
even though we were incredulous or unbelieving at the time of this celebration.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ
Through faith man apprehends all that is invisible and apprehensible
by the mind. Faith is a free conviction of the soul as to the truth of
what is proclaimed from God.
St. Antony the Great(170 Texts on Saintly Life no.
141)
To have faith in Christ means more than simply despising the delights
of this life. It means we should bear all our daily trials that may bring
us sorrow, distress, or unhappiness, and bear them patiently for as long
as God wishes and until He comes to visit us. For it is said: `I waited
on the Lord and He came to me.'
St. Symeon the New Theologian, The Practical and Theological
Chapters.
Your past and present torments and sufferings are poured down upon you
to test your faith and 'steel' it; they also work to curb your lusts and
passions. Humble yourself. God gives help to the humble. Judgment of others,
insistence on their shortcomings, can only increase the bitterness of your
sorrow. Choose the better part.
Elder Macarius of Optina
Used with the permission of Fr Seraphim Holland from his
website.
