Brandon Strain

“Bodily purity is primarily attained by fasting, and, through bodily purity, spiritual purity is also attained. Abstinence from food, according to the words of that son of grace, St. Ephraim the Syrian, means: “Not to desire or ask for various foods, either sweet or costly; not to eat anything outside the designated time; not to succumb to the spirit of gluttony; not to excite hunger in oneself by looking at good food; and not to desire at one moment one kind of food and at another moment another kind of food.” Great is the fallacy that fasting and Lenten food harm the health of the body.”
― Nikolaj Velimirović, The Prologue of Ohrid

“The true servant of the Lord is the one who in body is standing before men, but in his mind is knocking at heaven with his prayer.”
― John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent

“Either we are fools to the world because of Christ or we are fools to Christ because of the world.”
― Nikolaj Velimirović, The Prologue of Ohrid

“The Lord has forgiven sinners seventy times seven and more, but beyond that, if sinners remain sinners, will the Lord save them against their will? He will not, for that is not the principle of the salvation of men. The principle of salvation is that men voluntarily consent to being saved by God. If men, seventy times seven and more, do not desire to be saved by God, then God will not save them.”
― Nikolaj Velimirović, The Prologue of Ohrid