Ignatius Bryanchaninov Quotes

Indulging sinful and vain desires always leads to obsession with them, and after the obsession comes slavery, which is death to everything spiritual. Those who allowed themselves to follow their desires and carnal mind became obsessed with them, enslaved by them, forgot God and eternity, and waster their earthly lives pointlessly, dying an eternal death.

When you read the Gospels, do not seek enjoyment, do not search for exalted feelings, do not try to find brilliant thoughts. Seek instead to perfectly see holy Truth.

Despair is a mortal sin; it is the rejection of an active, living faith in Christ.

Brothers! Let us study the all-powerful and life-giving commandments of our great God, Creator, and Redeemer. Let us learn them assiduously, by word and by life. They are read in the holy Gospels, but they are known only as much as they are done in actual fact.

Conversation and acquaintance with a saint will impart sanctity.

Our heart distracts us when it inclines to the fulfillment of its own fallen desires, when it leaves the path of God's will.

Let us guard our senses, not allowing them to be the channel for sin to enter into the cell of the soul.

Do not waste time trying to determine who is right and who is wrong, you or your neighbor. Instead, try to accuse yourself and preserve peace with your neighbor through your humility.

He who has felt spiritual love will only despise carnal love, seeing it for the unsightly parody of love that it is.

All the saints assiduously avoided distraction. Constantly, or at the very least as often as possible, they concentrated their thoughts within themselves, paying attention to every movement of the mind and heart, directing these according to the commands of the Gospels.

Our helmsman, the mind, sometimes loses his way and takes our whole life along with him down the wrong path.

Self-love is a twisted love for one's self. This love is insane and fallen. He who is full of self-love, passionate for fleeting pleasure, for sinful indulgence, is an enemy of himself. He is a self-murderer. Thinking to love himself and pamper himself, he ends up hating and destroying himself eternally.

It is harder to fool the conscience than the mind. The conscience is capable of fighting long and hard against the mind deluded by its love of sin.

The books of the Holy Fathers, according to the words of one of their number, are like a mirror—the soul who looks at them often and with attention will be able to see its deficiencies.

Even in Eden, the mind tried to acquire knowledge without wisdom and attentiveness, and the knowledge proved to be lethal!