The Illustrated Sayings of the Holy Fathers

Publication Data: Wildwood, CA: St. Xenia Skete, 2004
Format: softcover
Number of Pages: 48
Dimensions (l × w × h): 21.6 cm × 13.5 cm × 0.3 cm
Additional Information: black-and-white illustrations

   
by Monk John Vranos

“The present book is compiled from the treasures of the writings of the Saints, from their wise sayings and maxims. The counsels of the Saints are not only for monks; they are also for laymen who live in cities and villages, and are relevant to their daily lives. They teach about the subtleties of the various passions, and about how one is reed from them and acquires the virtues. The one who reads this small book will come to understand at least a little the greatness of the monastic state, and perhaps in a few will be born the longing to live the angelic life. This is the joy of every pious monk. Others, studying the various counsels of the Saints, will take them as guides to correct their lives.”
—“INTRODUCTION”

CONTENTS

   Introduction
1. Confession: The Door to Spiritual Life
2. Love for God and One’s Neighbor
3. Obedience is an Abandonment of Discernment in a Wealth of Discernment
4. The Five Signs of Genuine Obedience
5. Unceasing Prayer
6. What is Genuine Prayer
7. The Usefulness of Reading the Scriptures
8. The Value of Tears
9. Spiritual Contemplation—the Remembrance of Death
10. The Remembrance of the Condition of Sinners in Hades
11. The Remembrance of the Kingdom of God
12. Despair, the Great Joy of the Devil
13. Hide Your Virtue Which You Have Acquired with Labor
14. Do Not Consider in Your Heart that You Have Done Any Good, and Your Reward Will be Kept Safe
15. Give Your Staff and Not Your Hand
16. Familiarity, the Destructive Passion
17. Be Attentive to Thyself
18. Patience and Thanksgiving in Affliction
19. The Repose of the Flesh is an Abomination Before God
20. The Value of Fasting
21. Love of Pleasure, Vainglory, Avarice
22. Evil Does Not Conquer Evil