Quotes of the Day for March 13, 2026 – Thoughts on going deeper
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
“Reading and meditating daily on Holy Scripture is a practice greatly commended by the Church Fathers. “And we, too…should devote ourselves to [the Scriptures] and meditate on them so constantly that through our persistence a longing for God is impressed upon our hearts…Reading Scripture regularly leads us deeper into the ways of Lord, so that we may acquire His perspective on the activities of the world. Scripture provides a light to our minds amidst the swirl of popular opinion, trends, and fads…Grounding in Scripture will always draw God’s servant closer to Him. Let us empower ourselves with this most effective knowledge (Jn 16:1, 13).” (Dynamis 6/16/2021, Saint Peter of Damascus)
“And when we read attentively, there’s the feeling that we’re hearing the Savior speak, following Him, and practically seeing all of it, although we don’t force ourselves to any figurative perception. The Gospel must be read simply, that is, attentively. We don’t need any thoughts, any reasonings, any interpretations of our own—we need to read attentively. You understand the Gospel not when you can talk about it in detail, ornately and subtly, but when one or another Gospel phrase reaches your heart with all its vital power…Holy Scripture, especially the Gospel, must be understood with the heart. We have to go deeper into reading just as we go deeper into prayer. From such careful repeated reading, those truths that seem simple and even primitive to us gradually reach our hearts.” (Schema-Archimandrite Avraam Reidman)
“Dionysius takes this word “teleute” to describe the sacraments as they work in us to complete and bring to “perfection” the fullness of their intention within us. He places this in a classical framework…Purification, Illumination, Theosis. First, the sacrament grants “perfection” (completeness) to those who are being purified…Second, it illuminates with teaching those who have been purified…Third, it initiates into completion those who have been illumined. This is, to a certain extent, a description of the catechumenate, but can be extended to describe the whole process of the Christian life. It is a life-long liturgy (of which Pascha and the rite of Baptism are the most singular example) as we move deeper into union with God through Christ in the Holy Spirit.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“…the vow of stability is the seed of true Christian love. In a world where even the closest human relationships all too often seem to have become more or less disposable, the monastic makes a solemn promise before God to remain in the same community, with the same people, until the day he or she dies. To live — all day every day — shoulder to shoulder with people whom we did not choose (and whom we may not even like) is not always a small or easy thing. But it is a path to a love far deeper and truer and more meaningful than even the closest worldly friendship can attain: it is a path to the love of Christ, to a love capable of seeing and serving and knowing the image of God in every single person that we meet. It is a path that our rootless, lonely, and atomized age needs now more than ever. Not everyone is called to the monastic life, and the monastic vows are of course not meant for those living in the world. But the virtues enshrined in the monastic vows are simply the virtues preached by Christ in the Gospels, belonging equally to every Christian.” (Hieromonk Gabriel)
“We often hear that creation teaches us about God—and this is true—but the reality is much deeper than that. Creation not only teaches us, not only reveals God to us, but it allows—in fact, requires—that we participate in the life of God, either for good or for ill.” (Andrew Williams)