Wisdom from the Desert

(Found here)

“Abba Zeno said, ‘If a man wants God to hear his prayer quickly, then before he prays for anything else, even his own soul, when he stands and stretches out his hands towards God, he must pray with all his heart for his enemies. Through this action God will hear everything that he asks.’”

“Abba Elias, the minister, said, ‘What can sin do where there is penitence? And of what use is love where there is pride?’”

“(Abba Isidore of Pelusia) said, ‘Prize virtues and do not be the slave of glory; for the former are immortal, while the latter soon fades.’

He also said, ‘The heights of humility are great and so are the depths of boasting; I advise you to attend to the first and not to fall into the second.’”

~From The Paradise of the Desert Fathers