“Patience adorns the Soul with diamonds which are not of the Earth, but belong to the Jerusalem that is above.”
Saint Raphael of Lesvos
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“When we bravely and quietly endure the afflictions sent to us, we participate a little, albeit not fully, in the sufferings of Christ.”
Saint Macarius of Optina
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“Sufferings bear so much fruit that if we were a little wiser we would not want to ‘come down from the cross’.”
Saint Sophrony of Essex
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“We should refer all our problems, whatever they are, to God, just as we say in the Divine Liturgy that we ‘commend our whole life to Christ our God.’ We leave everything to You, O Lord. Whatever You Will. Let Your Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.”
Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia
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“If you bear an illness with patience and gratitude to God, you’ll be Crowned as a Martyr and a fighter.”
Saint Seraphim of Sarov
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“The knowledge of the Cross is concealed in the sufferings of the Cross.”
Saint Isaac the Syrian
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“God is Unconditional Love and knows what you are going through.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“My child, endure everything, for a Crown is being woven invisibly for the head of each one of us. Winter is bitter, but Paradise is sweet. Endure the frost of trials, that your feet may joyously dance in Heaven.”
Elder Ephraim of Arizona
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“Trust God, Who is good, powerful, living and He will bring you to rest. After trials there follows spiritual joy. The Lord watches over all those who for His love endure trials and sorrows. So don’t cower and don’t be fainthearted.”
Saint Nektarios of Aegina
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“If you examine your life well, you will find many instances when God showed His unmistakable Mercy to you.”
Saint Theophan the Recluse
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“If in all of this there is sorrow to be borne, I trust in the Lord that it will not be without its use to you.”
Saint Basil the Great
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“Not knowledge you learn, but knowledge you suffer. That’s Orthodox Spirituality.”
Mother Gavrilia
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“Those who come close to people in pain, naturally draw near to God, because God is always by the side of His children who are in pain.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“Those of us who have passed through pains, either psychical or physical, know that we never Prayed as hard and with such quality and length, as we did when we were in the bed of pain or when some heavy psychical sadness tested us.”
Elder Epiphanios of Athens
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“Our sicknesses do us well when we endure them ungrudgingly, ask God to forgive our sins, and Glorify His Name.”
Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia
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“Father, if I knew back then how Eternal Life would be and the Heavenly beauty the Souls enjoy by being next to God, I honestly would have asked for my Martyrdom to last for ever, as it was absolutely nothing compared to the Gifts of Grace of God!”
Holy Great Martyr Euphemia to Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“God does not forsake you… Keep up your courage…”
Saint John Chrysostom
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“Saint Pachomios Prayed that healing come only if it were for the good of a person’s Soul. And the Lord did many healings through Saint Pachomios, but if he Prayed over someone for his healing and wasn[t granted his request by the Lord, he wouldn’t be afflicted that his Prayer wasn’t heard, he would instead say ‘Lord, let Your Will be done.'”
From the Life of Saint Pachomios the Great
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“When we are in pain, we must not forget the great honour bestowed upon us by the Lord in sharing His Crown of Thorns.”
Mother Gavrilia
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“God always helps. He always comes in time, but patience is necessary. He hears us immediately when we cry out to Him, but not in accordance with our own way of thinking.”
Saint Joseph the Hesychast
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“I have a heart, and I have many afflictions. But ‘the afflictions of the present time lead to glory in the age to come’, and so I don’t reckon them as anything. Daily I see my grave, that I am a dead man. But within this dead flesh dwells an eternal Soul. I care for my Soul which is something eternal. Because of this, my child, you also should care for your Soul, near the Fathers of the Church.”
Saint Iakovos Tsalikis of Evia
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“We should be prepared to put up with everything, happily, for the sake of God. Our life is but a moment compared to Eternity and therefore, as Saint Paul says: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the Glory that will be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).”
Saint Seraphim of Sarov
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“By His suffering our Lord eased our suffering. He endured the greatest of pain and emerged as the Victor. That is why He can encourage us in our lesser sufferings.”
Saint Nikolai Velimirovich
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“If we don’t Pray for the sick, then the sickness will develop naturally. But if we Pray for them, it can change its natural course. Therefore, always Pray for the sick.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“Sorrow is a true school of Prayer.”
Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk
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“The Lord allows those who love Him to be tested, first, so that their faith in Him may grow stronger, and second, to set an example for those around.”
Mother Gavrilia
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“You are the joy of my heart, Creator, God and my Father. My Soul burdened with sins longs for Heaven, where the afflictions and the illnesses will stop. Glory to the Great God and Lord! Chant my spirit with joy, my heart longs for Your Holy Church, where is the Sweetest Lord Jesus!”
Saint Seraphim of Viritsa
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“No matter how much we may suffer, the time will come when all will end and each one of us will be given repose in accordance with his labours. Are you afflicted? Are you in pain? Do you weep from the pressure of sorrowful events? Are you weary? Take courage, for through such things the Kingdom of God is acquired. But if you have it easy in everything and do not remember God, then grieve, for you are not walking the path that leads to God. Afflictions, sicknesses, and torments weary us continually so that we abhor this world and desire the world there, where Cherubim and Seraphim Hymn God, where there is the real and true repose, the day without evening, the Blessed Light; while things here, in comparison with the Eternal things, are dark and abominable. May our Holy God grant us Spiritual understanding, so that we always prefer the Everlasting things, the highest good, Our Sweet God.”
Elder Ephraim of Arizona
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