St. Ignatius Brianchaninov: On love of the will of God

 Blessed is the man whose entire will is in the keeping of God's law (cf Ps 1:2). Blessed is the heart that has ripened in the knowledge of God's will, that has seen that "that the Lord is good" (Ps 33:9), that has acquired this vision by tasting of the commandments of the Lord, and that has united its will with the will of the Lord. Such a heart is the blessed man. Blessed is the heart that is afire with divine zeal! Blessed is the heart that burns with the insatiable desire to do the will of God! Blessed is the heart that sweetly suffers beyond all endurance with the love of God! Such a heart is the place, home, bridal chamber, and throne of blessedness!

From the early morning, the eagle sits on the tip of a high crag. Its sparking eyes hungrily seek out prey. It rises into the blue sky, swims in the wide expanse on extended wings, and seeks its prey. And when it finds its prey, it becomes an arrow, a lightning bolt as it attacks; then it rises like an arrow again with its prey and disappears. Once the chicks are fed, the eagle again is on watch, either on the cliff or in the sky. Similar to this is the heart that is infected with the wound of incurable love of the commandments of God! In this love of blessedness. The commandments are not merely found in the doing. Within them is hidden, and through them is revealed, spiritual wisdom.

+St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, from The Refuge, Anchoring the Soul in God, Chapter 1

St. Dorotheos of Gaza: Do you see the humility of the saints?

Do you see the humility of the saints? How their hearts are moved? Even when God sent them to help other people, they did not agree to this easily out of humility and to avoid glory. Like a man wearing an all-silk garment, if someone throws a dirty rag on him he leaves so as not to ruin his expensive clothes, it is with the saints, who are dressed in virtues and avoid human glory in order not to be defiled. However, those who seek glory are like a naked man trying to find a small rag or anything else to cover his indecency. The person who is naked of virtues, seeks the glory of people.
Therefore, when God sent the saints to help other people, they did not agree to this easily because of their humility. Thus, Moses said, "I beg you find another one capable to be sent, since I am weak in speech and slow of tongue" (Ex 4:10). Also Jeremiah said, "I am a youth" (Jer 1:6). To put it simply, each one of the saints obtained humility by keeping the commandments faithfully. Nobody can express what this humility is in words and how it grows within the soul, unless he learns about it through experience. No one can learn about it from words alone.
+St. Dorotheos of Gaza, from Abba Dorotheos: Practical Teaching on the Christian Life, Lesson 2 On Humility, #35