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Wisdom and teachings of
Christianity

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I f we keep remembering the wrongs which men have done us, we destroy the power of the remembrance of God…

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quote 3347 | Desert Fathers
Abba Macarius the Great: The sayings of the Desert Fathers : the alphabetical collection. Trans. Benedicta Ward, SLG. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications Inc., 1984, 1975, p. 136, Macarius 36

W atching means to sit in the cell and be always mindful of God. This is what is meant by, "I was on the watch and God came to me."

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quote 3346 | Desert Fathers
Abba John the Dwarf: The sayings of the Desert Fathers : the alphabetical collection. Trans. Benedicta Ward, SLG. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications Inc., 1984, 1975, p. 91, John the Dwarf 27

{see Mt. 25:36; and Lk. 12:37-40}

S omeone asked Abby Anthony, "What must one do in order to please God?" The old man replied, "… whoever you may be, always have God before your eyes…"

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quote 3345 | Desert Fathers
Abba Anthony the Great: The sayings of the Desert Fathers : the alphabetical collection. Trans. Benedicta Ward, SLG. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications Inc., 1984, 1975, p. 2, Anthony the Great 3

I t is possible to be a solitary in one's mind while living in a crowd, and it is possible for one who is a solitary to live in the crowd of his own thoughts.

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quote 3344 | Desert Fathers
Amma Syncletica: The sayings of the Desert Fathers : the alphabetical collection. Trans. Benedicta Ward, SLG. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications Inc., 1984, 1975, p. 234, Syncletica 19

I f the soul is vigilant and withdraws from all distraction and abandons its own will, then the spirit of God invades it and it can conceive because it is free to do so (cf. Jn. 3:3-8).

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quote 3343 | Desert Fathers
Abba Cronius: The sayings of the Desert Fathers : the alphabetical collection. Trans. Benedicta Ward, SLG. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications Inc., 1984, 1975, p. 115, Cronius 1

B e joyful at all times… and give thanks for all things.

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quote 3342 | Desert Fathers
Abba Benjamin: The sayings of the Desert Fathers : the alphabetical collection. Trans. Benedicta Ward, SLG. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications Inc., 1984, 1975, p. 44, Benjamim 4

B lessed is he who bears affliction with thankfulness.

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quote 3341 | Desert Fathers
Abba Copres: The sayings of the Desert Fathers : the alphabetical collection. Trans. Benedicta Ward, SLG. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications Inc., 1984, 1975, p. 118, Copres 2

D o not be always wanting everything to turn out as you think it should, but rather as God pleases, then you will be undisturbed and thankful in your prayer.

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quote 3340 | Desert Fathers
Abba Nilus: The sayings of the Desert Fathers : the alphabetical collection. Trans. Benedicta Ward, SLG. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications Inc., 1984, 1975, p. 154, Nilus 7

R emember 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.

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quote 3339 | Desert Fathers
Abba Anthony the Great:(p. 8, Anthony the Great 33)

D o not give your heart to that which does not satisfy your heart.

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quote 3338 | Desert Fathers
Abba Poemen (called the Shepherd) p. 178, Poemen 80)

T he desire for possessions is dangerous and terrible, knowing no satiety; it drives the soul which it controls to the heights of evil.

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quote 3337 | Desert Fathers
Abba Isidore of Pelusia: p. 99, Isidore 6)

C ome, then, my beloved souls, let us fly to that love which calls us.
Why are we waiting?
Let us set out at once,
Let us lose ourselves in the very heart of God and become intoxicated with His love.
Let us snatch from His heart the key to all the treasures of the world and start out right away on the road to heaven.

There is no need to fear that any lock will hold us back.
Our key will open every door.

There is no room we cannot enter.
We can make ourselves free of the garden, the cellar, and the vineyard as well.
If we want to explore the countryside, no one will hinder us.
We can come and go;
We can enter and leave any place we wish,
Because we have the key of David, the key of knowledge, and the key of the abyss that holds the hidden treasures of divine wisdom.
It is this key that opens the doors of mystical death and its sacred darkness.
By it we can enter the deepest dungeons and emerge safe and sound.
It gives us entrance into that blessed spot where the light of knowledge shines and the Bridegroom takes His noonday rest.

There we quickly learn how to win His kiss and ascend with surety the steps of the nuptial couch.
And there we learn the secrets of love-
Divine secrets that cannot be revealed and which no human tongue can ever describe.

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quote 3097 | Jean Pierre de Caussade
Beevers, John, trans. Abandonment to Divine Providence. New York: Doubleday, 1975, pp. 25, 3 7,40, 70, 73, 81-82

F aith transforms the earth into a paradise.
By it our hearts are raised with the joy of our nearness to heaven.
Every moment reveals God to us.
Faith is our light in this life.
By it we know the truth without seeing it, we are put in touch with what we cannot feel, recognize what we cannot see, and view the world stripped of all its outer shell.
Faith unlocks God's treasury.
It is the key to all the vastness of His wisdom.
The emptiness of all created things is disclosed by faith, and it is by faith that God reveals Himself …

With faith,
All that is dark becomes light, and what is bitter becomes sweet.
Faith transforms ugliness into beauty, and malice into kindness.
Faith is the mother of tenderness, trust, and joy …

There is nothing faith cannot overcome;
It passes beyond all shadows and through the darkest clouds to reach the truth, which it embraces and can never be parted from.

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quote 3096 | Jean Pierre de Caussade
Ramiere, Rev. H., trans. Abandonment. New York: Benziger Brothers, 1887, pp. 112

O Lord, let others ask for every kind of gift, with more and more prayers; I ask for one gift with but one prayer: "Grant me a pure heart!" How blessed are the pure of heart. By the power of their faith they see God within themselves; they see Him above and below, in all things, at all times. They become the instruments of this Divine Play, as God guides them everywhere and leads them to everything.

A pure heart and good will! The one foundation of every spiritual state! … The pure heart could well say to every soul: "Look at me carefully. It is I who generate that love which always chooses the better part. I produce that mild but effective fear which arouses such a dread of wrong-doing that it can easily be avoided. I impart that excellent understanding which reveals the greatness of God and the merit of virtue. And it is also I who causes that passionate and holy yearning which keeps the soul resolute in virtue and in expectation of God."

Yes, 0 Pure Heart, you can invite everyone to gather round you and enrich themselves with your inexhaustible treasures. There is not one single kind of spiritual practice, not one path to holiness, which does not find its source in you.

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quote 3095 | Jean Pierre de Caussade
Ramiere, Rev. H., trans. Abandonment. New York: Benziger Brothers, 1887

T he essence of all spirituality is this: "Complete and utter abandonment to the Will of God!

We must offer ourselves to God like a clean, smooth canvas and not worry ourselves about what God may choose to paint on it, but at each moment, feel only the stroke of His brush … It is the same with a piece of stone. Each blow from the sculptor's chisel makes it feel-if it could-as if it were being destroyed. As blow after blow descends, the stone knows nothing of how the sculptor is shaping it. All it feels is a chisel chopping away at it, cutting it, and mutilating it. For example, let's take a piece of stone destined to be carved into a crucifix or a statue. We might ask it: 'What do you think is happening to you?" And it might answer: "Don't ask me. All I know is that I must stay immobile in the hands of the sculptor … I have no idea what he is doing, nor do I know what lie will make of me. But I know his work is the best possible. It is perfect and so I welcome each blow of his chisel as the best thing that could happen to me, although, if I'm to be truthful, I feel that every one of these blows is ruining me, destroying me, and disfiguring me."

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quote 3094 | Jean Pierre de Caussade
Beevers, John, trans. Abandonment to Divine Providence. New York: Doubleday, 1975, pp. 25, 3 7,40, 70, 73, 81-82

C ome, all you simple souls those without piety, grand talents, or lessons learned.

Come, all you who understand nothing of spiritual terms, who are filled with amazement at the eloquence of the learned.
Come, and I will teach you the secret, unreachable by those brilliant scholars-
The secret of perfection.
You will find this perfection within you, above you, below you, with every step you take.
Then you will be united with Godhand in hand you will walk.

Come, not to study the map of spiritual terrain,
But to possess it for yourself; To walk about in it without fear of going astray.

Why learn the theory of Divine Grace, and what it has been doing throughout the ages, when you can become and be the very instrument of its operation?

Come, not to discuss the words of others,
But to listen…
For in the sacredness of every moment
Divine Grace is telling you alone all that is required

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quote 3093 | Jean Pierre de Caussade
Ramiere, Rev. H., trans. Abandonment. New York: Benziger Brothers, 1887,pp. 79

H e who is thus a spiritual lover knows well what that voice means which says: You, Lord God, are my whole love and desire. You are all mine, and I all Yours. Dissolve my heart into Your love so that I may know how sweet it is to serve You and how joyful it is to praise You, and to be as though I were all melded into Your love. 0h, I am urged on by love and go far above myself because of the great fervor I feel through Your unspeakable goodness. I shall sing to You the song of love; I shall follow You, my Beloved, in flights of thought wherever You go, and my soul will never be weary in praising You with the joyful songs of unconditional love.

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quote 3092 | Thomas a Kempis
Whitford, Richard, trans. The Imitation of Christ, adapted by Harold C. Cardiner. New York: Doubleday and Co., 1955, pp. 109-111.

N othing is sweeter than love; nothing higher, nothing stronger, nothing larger, nothing more joyful, nothing fuller, nothing better in heaven or on earth; for love descends from God, and may not finally rest in anything lower than God. One with such love flies high; he runs swiftly, he is merry in God, he is free in soul. He gives all for all, and has all in all, for he rests in one high Goodness above all things, from whom all goodness flows …

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quote 3091 | Thomas a Kempis
Whitford, Richard, trans. The Imitation of Christ, adapted by Harold C. Cardiner. New York: Doubleday and Co., 1955, pp. 109-111.

T he prayer of my heart gave me such consolation that I felt there was no happier person on earth than I, and I doubted if there could be greater and fuller happiness in the kingdom of Heaven. Not only did I feel this in my own soul, but the whole outside world also seemed to me full of charm and delight. Everything drew me to love and thank God: people, trees, plants, animals. I saw them all as my kinsfolk, I found in all of them the magic of the Name of Jesus.

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quote 3090 | Unknown
Russian Monk, R. M., trans. The Way of a Pilgrim. New York: The Seabury Press, 1965, pp. 1, 7, 31, 4 1, 105.

S ometimes by calling upon the name of Jesus I was overwhelmed with bliss, and now I knew the meaning of the words "The kingdom of God is within you."

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quote 3089 | Unknown
Russian Monk, R. M., trans. The Way of a Pilgrim. New York: The Seabury Press, 1965, pp. 1, 7, 31, 4 1, 105.

A Christian is bound to perform many good works, but before all else what he ought to do is pray, for without prayer no other good work whatever can be accomplished. Without prayer he cannot find the way to the Lord, he cannot understand the truth, he cannot crucify the flesh with its passions and lusts, his heart cannot be enlightened with the light of Christ, he cannot be savingly united to God. None of those things can be effected unless they are preceded by constant prayer.

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quote 3088 | Unknown
Russian Monk, R. M., trans. The Way of a Pilgrim. New York: The Seabury Press, 1965, pp. 1, 7, 31, 4 1, 105.

T he eye by which I see God is the same as the eye by which God sees me. My eye and God's eye are one and the same one in seeing, one in knowing, and one in loving.

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quote 3087 | Meister Eckhart
Pfeiffer, Frantz, and Evans, C de B., trans. Meister Eckhart. London: John M. Watkins, 1924, 193 1, Vol. 1: 118, 157, 221-222, 287, 338, 348, 363, 429, and Vol. 2: 41, 114.

G od has given birth to the Son as you, as me, as each one of us. As many beings as many gods in God.
In my soul, God not only gives birth to me as His son, He gives birth to me as Himself, and Himself as me.
My physical father is my father with but a small part of his being, and I live my life separate from him. He may be dead, and I may live. God, however, is my father with His entire being, and I am never separate from Him. I am always His; I am alive only because He is alive.

In this divine birth I find that God and I are the same: I am what I am and what I shall remain, now and forever. I am carried above was the highest angels. I neither increase nor decrease, for in this birth I have become the motionless cause of all that moves. I have won back what has always been mine. Here, in my own soul, the greatest of all miracles has taken place-God has returned to God!

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quote 3086 | Meister Eckhart
Pfeiffer, Frantz, and Evans, C de B., trans. Meister Eckhart. London: John M. Watkins, 1924, 193 1, Vol. 1: 118, 157, 221-222, 287, 338, 348, 363, 429, and Vol. 2: 41, 114.

N ever has anything become so kindred, so alike, so one with another, as the soul becomes with God in this birth . . . In this birth, God flows into the soul with such dazzling light that God and the soul merge into one-one spirit, one essence, one Being.

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quote 3085 | Meister Eckhart
Pfeiffer, Frantz, and Evans, C de B., trans. Meister Eckhart. London: John M. Watkins, 1924, 193 1, Vol. 1: 118, 157, 221-222, 287, 338, 348, 363, 429, and Vol. 2: 41, 114.

T here is no need to look for God here or there. He is no farther away than the door of your own heart. There He stands waiting till He finds you ready to open the door and let Him enter. No need for you to call Him from afar-He is waiting more impatiently than you for that door to open. He wants you a thousand times more urgently than you want Him. There is only one thing you must do-open the door and enter.

No one has ever longed so much for anything as God longs to bring man to Him. God is so close to us, but we are distant and turned away from Him. God is within, we are without. God is at home with us, but we are strangers to ourselves.

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quote 3084 | Meister Eckhart
Pfeiffer, Frantz, and Evans, C de B., trans. Meister Eckhart. London: John M. Watkins, 1924, 193 1, Vol. 1: 118, 157, 221-222, 287, 338, 348, 363, 429, and Vol. 2: 41, 114.

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Wisdom and teachings ofChristianity

Wisdom and teachings of
Christianity