Unnamed Elder from Pherme: Do not suppose you have done good

 It is prideful for you to suppose that when you were in the world you did good and lived well; for this is how the Pharisee thought (when he was boasting in the Temple) and he lost all the good that he had accomplished.(cf. Luke 18:11-12,14) Now if, on the other hand, you think that you are not doing anything good, this is sufficient for you to be saved; for this is humility. It was in the way (through humility and self-deprecation) that the Publican, who had done nothing good, was justified. (cf. Luke 18:13-14). A sinful and negligent man who feels contrition of heart and humility is more pleasing before God that one who does many good deeds, but is of the opinion that he has completely succeeded in accomplishing something good.

+Unnamed Elder¹ from Pherme, from Themes in Orthodox Patristic Psychology, book one: Humility
¹Possibly Abba Theodorus or Abba Lucianus.

Elder Cleopas (Ilie): Working to cast out the demons

 

Through humility, self-knowledge, self-deprecation, by enduring the troubles and miseries, and by doing all the good deeds in the name of God — this is how the demon of pride can be expelled; by doing good deeds in secret, by praying often and by self-reproaching, the demon of vainglory can be cast out; through labors, we can banish the demon of laziness and sloth; by thinking thoughtfully of death and Gehenna, through fasting and humility, we can expel the demon of gorging the belly; by loving God and thy neighbor, one can cast out and expel the demon of anger and wrath, and the demons love for pleasures; by praying for the one who wronged you, the demon of hatred and denigration can be cast out; by thinking of death, by fasting and praying, the demon of indifference and hardening of the heart can be expelled; by loving God, by being humble, abstinent, and by guarding the eyes and mind, we can chase away the demon of fornication; the same demon of fornication can be cast out by running away from women‘ friendship, by guarding ourselves against laziness, by fasting and praying, and by not judging anyone who fell into this passion or others; by fearing God, by keeping the mind awake, and by praying, we keep away the demon of forgetfulness; heading and paying attention, fearing God and keeping the mind awake help us help us cast out many different demons battling and warring against us, disturbing and wavering our minds during prayer; by enduring the troubles and miseries, and by thanking God for all the things that bring us sorrow and pain, we cast away the demons of blasphemy, slander, and discontent; by weeping and willful poverty, we cast out the wicked devil of love of silver; by maintaining a thoughtful and understanding silence, by weeping, and by thinking of death, the demons of defamation and vain words is expelled; through faith and great hope in God, mentioning the dead, and tasting the goods from above, we cast away the wealth love and vain wealth-gathering demon; by singing the psalms, by praying, by reading the holy books, and by talking with the skillful Fathers about the spiritual matters, we cast away and expel the demon of sorrow and grief; by being aware of our nothingness, by fearing our weaknesses and by repenting wholeheartedly, we expel the demon of self-trust and self-hope; through love and honest prayer for the one who wronged us, we expel the demon of hatred and calumny.

+Elder Cleopas (Ilie), from On Dreams and Visions: St. George Monastery (Elder Cleopa Book 8) Book 1: On Dreams

St. George the Chozebite: On obedience and humility

 Believe me, even if someone were able to make heaven and earth anew, but regarded his neighbor with proud contempt, he would labor in vain and his portion would be with the hypocrites (cf Matt 24:51). A man cannot approach God unless he is at peace with his neighbor. The sins and passions all have pride as their common source and they lead to death; while obedience and submission to the Lord are life, joy, and light.

+St. George the Chozebite, from The Synaxarion, volume 3, in his entry for January 8th.

St. Dorotheos of Gaza: On Arrogance and Humility

 Hear what the Lord says, "Learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matt 11:29). Here briefly, in one word, He has shown us the root and cause of every evil and the treatment for it and also the cause of every good. He has shown us that arrogance defeated us, and that it is not possible to receive mercy, other than through its opposite, humility. As arrogance produces contempt and destructive disobedience, so humility produces obedience and the salvation of our souls. I have real humility in mind, not that of words and external forms, but of a true humble disposition that is cultivated in the heart itself and within this mind-set. This is what He means when He says, "for I am gentle and lowly in heart".

+St. Dorotheos of Gaza, from Abba Dorotheos: Practical Teaching on the Christian Life, Lesson 1 On Renunciation, #7.

Abbot Nikon (Vorobiev): The path of humility

The Lord had to choose a path for man which would preclude his becoming proud, as the devil did, even in the afterlife, and which would help him to consciously grow in his love for God, to submit to Him wholly forever, without the possibility of falling away.
And since the characteristic of the soul opposite pride is humility, the Word of God, the Mother of God and the Holy Fathers value humility above all. Without humility no spiritual labor will help a person, for he can always fall into pride and fall away from God. Love also joins man to God, but without humility there can be no love.
+Abbot Nikon (Vorobiev), from Letters to Spiritual Children, letter #24

Abba Isaiah of Scetis: Not judging one's neighbor

Not judging one's neighbor is a protection for those who struggle in knowledge, but blaming one's neighbor destroys this protection in ignorance. Taking care of one's tongue¹ is the sign a person who practices the virtues. Not controlling one's tongue shows that a person has no inner virtue. Goodness gives rise to purity. Distraction give rise to passions, and hardheartedness gives rise to anger. Discipline of the soul is hatred of distraction, and disciple of the body is poverty. The fall of the soul is loving distraction, and its rise is silence in knowledge. Excessive sleep disturbs the passions within the body, and vigil in measure is the heart's salvation. Too much sleep thickens the heart, but vigil in measure refines it. It is better to sleep in silence and knowledge, than to keep vigil with idle talk. Compunction calmly expels all evil. Not offending your neighbor's conscience gives rise to humility. Human glory very gradually gives rise to pride. Loving to boast expels knowledge.
+Abba Isaiah of Scetis, from Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 16 On the Joy that Comes to the Soul that Desires to Serve God.

¹ St. John Climacus, from The Ladder, Step 22

St. Joseph (Litovkin) of Optina: That which is imposed is difficult

A woman said to [Elder Joseph], "Give me a rule of prayer; but I fear I'll find it difficult." The Elder answered, "That which is imposed is always difficult." Thereupon he told about Archimandrite Isaaky, who while living world was preparing for monasticism by ascetic feats; he did a thousand prostrations daily. After he entered the monastery, he told the Elder Lev about this and he had him do fifty prostrations instead of a thousand. In a short time he came to the Elder and said, "Forgive me, Batiushka, I'm ashamed to confess it, but for some reason I can't do fifty prostrations." The Elder had him do twenty-five. A little time passed and he again appeared before the Elder and said that could in no way understand why when he was living in the world he had been doing a thousand prostrations, whereas here he couldn't do even twenty-five. Then the Elder Lev explained to him: "In the world the enemy was helping you. You did them and became proud of it; but here you are doing them not of your own will, but from obedience. Now you can recognize your feebleness and are being humbled; that is why it is difficult."
+St. Joseph (Litovkin) of Optina, from Elder Joseph of Optina, Chapter V, The Elder Joseph's Instructions.

How difficult is our approach to God, especially in the case of some of us, when everything - even nature, heredity, and the entire composition of man - builds up a wall between him and God.
The kind of man we most often encounter presents a combination of three traits: (1) pride - faith in his own strength, delight in his own creation; (2) a passionate love of earthly life; and (3) the absence of any sense of sin. How can such men approach God? As they now are, they are hopelessly isolated from God; they do not even feel the need of Him. And this is precisely the kind of personality that is developed in the conditions of modern life, through education, literature and so on. The idea of God is erased from the soul What catastrophes are required, before such a man can be reborn!
+Father Alexander Elchaninov, from The Diary of a Russian Priest, Fragments of a Diary.

Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos: Hannah's Despondency

Hannah [the mother of the prophet Samuel, 1 Kings 1:7] did not want a child in order to satisfy her selfishness, but to dedicate it to God. As St. John Chrysostom again comments, Hannah did not simply long for a child, "but to offer up fruit to God". She did not even want a child to satisfy [her husband] Elkanah and to attract his attention, "but so that she might display some fruit for God". It is obvious here that her purpose was holy. Her aim was the glory of God.
The conclusion for all this is that Hannah's sorrow and grief were not psychologically unhealthy but purely theological. For that reason they were blessed by God, because the intention behind what we do plays and important role and has great significance. If we weep and are distressed on account of our passions, particularly on account of pride and self-centeredness, that is not blessed by God. Not only, is it not blessed, but it has terrible consequences for our psychosomatic constitution. Dealing in an unhealthy way with various problems that arise in our life wears out out body and deadens our soul, because when there is bitterness in us, the All-Holy Spirit cannot act. It is a fact that, when we are embittered for psychological reasons, the Holy Spirit is unable to act and consequently spiritual life cannot develop within us.
+Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, from The Seer: The Life of the Prophet Samuel and its Relevance Today, Chapter 1, God, Hannah and Elkanah. Hannah's despondency.

St. Sophrony (Sakharov): God is humility

Generation and generation of those who have prayed before us - and, indeed, the Holy Scriptures also - have addressed God after His theophany, in respect of His relations to us, His manifestations: God is Light, God is Truth, Love, Mercy, and much else. I would make bold to add: God is humility. Nothing which is unclean - which means proud - can draw near Him. Pride is abomination, the opposite of Divine goodness. Pride is the principle of evil, the root of all tragedy, the sower of enmity, the destroyer of peace, the adversary of divinely-established order. In pride lies the essence of hell.
Pride is the 'outer darkness' where man loses contact with the God of love. "Men loved darkness" (John 3:19). Repentance alone can deliver us from this hell.
+St. Sophrony (Sakharov) from We Shall See Him as He Is, chapter 3, Concerning Repentance.