Do not claim to have acquired virtue unless you have suffered affliction, for without affliction virtue has not been tested.
+ St. Mark the Ascetic, On the Spiritual Law Two Hundred Texts, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
Do not claim to have acquired virtue unless you have suffered affliction, for without affliction virtue has not been tested.
+ St. Mark the Ascetic, On the Spiritual Law Two Hundred Texts, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
Let all involuntary suffering teach you to remember God, and you will not lack occasion for repentance.
+ St. Mark the Ascetic, “On the Spiritual Law: Two Hundred Texts” No. 57, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
God ‘tested Abraham’ (cf. Gen. 22:1-14), that is, God afflicted him for his own benefit, not in order to learn what kind of man Abraham was – for He knew him, since He knows all things before they come into existence – but in order to provide him with opportunities for showing perfect faith.
St. Mark the Ascetic, “On the Spiritual Law: Two Hundred Texts” No. 203, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
“When you suffer some dishonor from men, recognize at once the glory that will be given you by God. Then you will not be saddened or upset by the dishonor; and when you receive the glory you will remain steadfast and innocent.”
+ St. Mark the Ascetic, “On Those Who Think They are Made Righteous by Works: Two Hundred and Twenty-Six Texts” No. 68, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
“He who hates the passions gets rid of their causes. But he who is attracted by their causes is attacked by the passions even though he does not wish it.”
+ St. Mark the Ascetic, “On Those Who Think They are Made Righteous by Works: Two Hundred and Twenty-Six Texts” No. 119, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
“He who is ignorant of the enemy’s ambush is easily slain; and he who does not know the causes of the passions is soon brought low.”
St. Mark the Ascetic, “On the Spiritual Law: Two Hundred Texts” No. 76, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
“The sign of sincere love is to forgive wrongs done to us. It was with such love that the Lord loved the world.”
+ St. Mark the Ascetic, “On Those Who Think They are Made Righteous by Works: Two Hundred and Twenty-Six Texts” No. 48, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
“Whoever prays for those who hurt him lays the demons low; but he who opposes his affronter is bound to the demons.”
+ St. Mark the Ascetic, “On the Spiritual Law: Two Hundred Texts” No. 45, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
“We must receive the one who curses us as a messenger from God, rebuking our hidden evil thoughts, so that we, seeing our thoughts with exactness, might correct ourselves. For we do not know how many hidden evils we have; Only a perfect man can understand all of his own shortcomings.”
+ St. Mark the Ascetic, Homilies, 6
“When you have been insulted, cursed, or persecuted by someone, do not think of what has happened to you, but of what will come from it, and you will see that your insulter has become the cause of many benefits to you, not only in this age, but in that which is to come”
— St. Mark the Ascetic, Homilies, 1.114
“The devil makes small sins seem smaller in our eyes, for otherwise he can’t lead us to greater evil.”
+ St. Mark the Ascetic, “On the Spiritual Law: Two Hundred Texts” No. 94, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
“You should continually and unceasingly call to mind all the blessings which God in His love has bestowed on you in the past, and still bestows for the salvation of your soul. You must not let forgetfulness of evil or laziness make you grow unmindful of these many and great blessings, and so pass the rest of your life uselessly and ungratefully.
For this kind of continual recollection, pricking the heart like a spur, moves it constantly to confession and humility, to thanksgiving with a contrite soul, and to all forms of sincere effort, repaying God through its virtue and holiness. In this way the heart meditates constantly and conscientiously on the words from the Psalms: ‘What shall I give to the Lord in return for all His benefits towards me?’ (Psalm 116:12).”
— St. Mark the Ascetic, Letter to Nicolas the Solitary, The Philokalia Vol. 1
“When you are wronged and your heart and feelings are hardened, do not be distressed, for this has happened providentially; but be glad and reject the thoughts that arise within you, knowing that if they are destroyed at the stage when they are only provocations, their evil consequences will be cut off, whereas if the thoughts persist the evil may be expected to develop.”
— St. Mark the Ascetic
“Think nothing and do nothing without a purpose directed to God. For to journey without direction is wasted effort.”
+ St. Mark the Ascetic, “On the Spiritual Law: Two Hundred Texts” No. 54, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
“Understand the words of Holy Scripture by putting them into practice, and do not fill yourself with conceit by elaborating on theoretical ideas.”
+ St. Mark the Ascetic, On the Spiritual Law Two Hundred Texts, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
“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.”
+ St. Mark the Ascetic, “Letter to Nicolas the Solitary”, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)