"Today let me stop and wonder at what God is showing me in my life, rather than fight to attain control of the situations and people He sends me today. Because “salvation” or “recovery” is a something, and indeed a Someone, I receive. It is not a Someone I “figure out” or control. Let me be open to meeting Christ today, in openness to His light-giving will. In wonder at, and surrender to, His incomprehensible grace." (Sr. Dr. Vassa Larin)
“Faith is not found in rules…but in relationship to God…Faith includes our assent to articles of belief, but it is also our openness to God’s action in our lives.” (Orthodox Study Bible, James 1:5, Philippians 3:7-9)
“God is not a unit, but a union. God is love in the sense of shared love, the mutual love of three Persons in one. God is shared love, not self-love. God is openness, exchange, solidarity, self-giving.” (Metropolitan Kallistos Ware)
“Almost all of the spiritual fathers of the Church emphasize the absolute necessity of openness of heart… One of the major purposes of openness of heart is to reveal the disposition of the heart…The purpose of this openness is to incite penthos, that is to say, compunction…Penthos is the mourning for the loss of God's presence; the sorrow at His absence and our thirst for Him. The psalmist (147:3) tells us: “[God] heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.” (Fr. George Morelli)
“As physical training requires proper nourishment to keep up the vigor of the body, so too do spiritual exercises need prayer to maintain the harmony of the soul. Prayer is not just another activity in addition to fasting and vigilance, but rather the inner state which gives meaning and direction to all life in the spirit. One does not, properly speaking, "say" his/her prayers. One rather becomes a prayer by means of concentrated effort, regular practice and openness to the Holy Spirit.” (Fr. Peter G. Rizos)