Elder Cleopa (Ilie) of Sihastria: Humility

 Brother: Reverend Father, as a simple and slow to understand person, it seems to me that these Holy Fathers talk too intricate and too little about humility. This is why, Reverend Father, please, if you can, tell me some teachings about humility, which are simpler and closer to my understanding.

Abbot: Brother John, if the testimonies on humility from these three Holy Fathers seem too difficult and subtle for you and you want to understand easier teachings about humility, read the Lives of the Fathers,

especially chapter 4 and 10 where you can find among others: A brother asked an old man: “Father, what is humility“. And the old man answered, "Humility is considering yourself unworthy and more of a sinner than everyone else and be meek with everyone”. And the brother asked: “What it means to be meek with everyone?” And the old man said, “To not search and see other people’s sins, but to see your sins and evils, and to pray unceasingly to God for your forgiveness” (Chapter 10, 13).

Brother John, here is a rather simple and easy teaching about humility. Let’s pray for God’s help not to forget it, and to do as this happy old man is teaching us, to always have in front of our mind’s eyes the

weight of our sins, to weep because of them and to never condemn anyone.

+Elder Cleopa (Ilie) of Sihastria, from On Pride and Humbleness: St. George Monastery (Elder Cleopa Book 6)

St. Antony the Great: Endeavor to possess only the Kingdom

 Let us endeavor to possess nothing except what we shall take with us to the grave, namely, charity, meekness, righteousness and so on. Virtue, that is to say, the Kingdom of Heaven, needs only our good will, for it is within us. Actually, it consists simply in keeping the spiritual part of our soul in the purity and beauty in which it has been created.

+St. Antony the Great, from The Life of St. Antony, by St. Athanasius.

St. Philaret of Moscow: He comes as a newly born babe

 He comes not as a fierce man of war, threatening all things living with death, but as a newly born babe, bringing the hope of rebirth and life into the entire realm of death; He comes—but the land of destruction does not meet, does not embrace, does not praise, does not even see its Savior, and does not hear the Word of God keeping silence in a manger. Virtually in vain does the glory which Jesus Christ had with God the Father before the world was (John 17:5) on the lips of the angels, follow Him descending into the world and pursuing Him, attain even unto the earth.

St. Philaret of Moscow, from Select Sermons, Sermon 21 On the Necessity of the Incarnation

St. John Climacus: On simplicity and meekness

 Let all of us who wish to attract the Lord to ourselves draw near to Him as disciples to the Master, simply, without hypocrisy, without duplicity or guile, not out of idle curiosity. He Himself is simple and absolute, and He wants souls that come to Him to be simple and innocent. For you will surely never see simplicity separated from humility.

+St. John Climacus, from The Ladder of Divine Ascent, step 24, #16

St. Philotheos Zervakos: Advice to a deacon

Be forever God-loving [φιλόθεος] and humble. These two counsels do I give to you, to be philotheos [God-loving] all your life long, that is to love God and be humble. If you love God, Who is love, God will remain with you and you with God. If God is with us no one is against us, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest in the hearts of the meek. Wherever there is humility, pride flees away; wherever Christ is, the devil flees away. On these two commandments and virtues hang all the Law and the Prophets.
+St. Philotheos Zervakos, from Paternal Counsels, Vol 1, Advice to a deacon