A Monk In The World

No man knows how bad he is until he has tried very hard to be good. C.s lewis

You call yourself a sinner, but in effect you show that you do not feel yourself to be one. A man, who admits himself to be a sinner and the cause of many evils, disagrees with no one, quarrels with no one, is not wroth with anyone, but considers every man better and wiser than himself. If you are a sinner, why do you reproach your neighbor and accuse him of bringing afflictions upon you? It seems that you and I are as yet far from regarding ourselves as sinners. + Saint Barsanuphius of the Great

Time is flying as if on wings. How short is this earthly life of ours in comparison to the eternal life to come - like a grain of sand in the sea. And yet we give so little thought to eternity and prepare ourselves poorly for it. Indeed we have made ourselves very worldly and have forgotten to ponder the one thing needful. Lord, give me remembrance of death. (Letters from a Russian Monk)

The only time that does not go to waste is the time you have with Christ. Whatever else you do, it will remain here and does not stand beyond the grave. Dimitrios Panagopoulos

Every hour expect your death and the coming of Christ, and say: "Now I will survive to work over my soul; in the evening I can die." When the evening comes, think, "will I not die in this very night? or death will suddenly come, my breath will suddenly stop, and as a flower falls I will fade. As the grass dries up, I shall die and then will be without a trace. God alone knows where I will then be, for He will judge each according to his deeds, saying 'I assign him to go there.'" Think then every day, and so not be concerned about anything, only about your own sins, and in this way your soul will enter into humility and lamentation and you will consider yourself as a frightful sinner and will ceaselessly gush forth founts of tears. but in necessities, in clothing, vessels, and things, observe simplicity, poverty, modesty, not because there is nothing to buy these things with, but because by this the soul is humbled and is not removed from God, and then everywhere it will be easy to find them. - St. Paisios

We are naturally  attracted to the all-highest but our pilgrimage must start with a desent into the pit of hell. Saint Sophrony

Oh Christ, You pray for those who crucify You, and You crucify those who love You! + Father Arsenie (Papacioc)

"It is impossible for one to live without tears who considers things exactly as they are." ~St Gregory of Nyssa

“According to materialism, men are like little flies in hot weather. They crowd one another in a vast swarm, push one another, fly around in confusion, mate, feed and warm themselves, and then disappear in a disordered process, only to give space to tomorrow’s swarm of exactly the same kind.” ~Father I. Vino­gradov