Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky): Self-justification

The priest must warn [his flock] particularly persistently against the spirit of self-justification,  which is one of the principal enemies of our salvation. Some people accepted the preaching of our Savior and His Apostles, and others rejected it. Within both groups there were great sinners and people of righteous life. What were the spiritual qualities which caused them to accept of reject the Gospel of salvation? It was almost always this: whoever had the spirit of self-justification and considered himself a decent enough person rejected the preaching of repentance, the preaching of the Gospel; and whoever considered himself a guilty sinner before God and men accepted it and was saved, like Zacchaeus, like the Wise Robber on the cross.
It is the same with Christians who have come to believe. They difference between those who are being saved and those who are perishing, or are far from salvation, lies not so much in the number of their sins, but in the inclination, or lack of it, to admit that they are guilty and sinful.
+Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), from Confession, A Series of Lectures on the Mystery of Repentance, chapter 7, Fear of Admitting a Sin

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.