There will come a time filled with fear and trembling, when all that each person has done in secret and in darkness shall be revealed. Woe to the soul that does not have the Lord as her helper.

My heart sighs and mine eyes long for tears, but my sin holds my mind captive, that I might not feel contrition and beseech the Lord not to cast me into outer darkness.

While we yet have strength, let us work for the Lord in rightness of heart, that in the time of sorrow we might have as our helper Him Who shall deliver us from all misfortune.

Like a man who walks with a candlestick and gives light to those who are with him, so does virtue, which always carries glory with it, also give light.

Until you resolve in your mind finally to leave this life and to consider this world and its glory but a despoiled tabernacle, until such a time, it will be impossible to overcome the earthly passions and worldly lusts that plunge a man into utter destruction and ruin.

It does not take a great effort to lay a foundation, but it is difficult to complete the building. The taller the building, the more work it presents for the builder right up until it is finished.

This is what happens to those who come to work for the Lord: first there is temptation, then sorrows, and next follow labor, despondency, nakedness, suffering, lack of privacy, and humiliation. He will prevail who with all his heart dedicates himself to God’s guidance and God’s will. God requires from us only our consummate determination; it is He Who gives us strength and grants us victory.