On St. Nicholas of Japan. - In his first eight years of ministry (1861-1869), St. Nicholas of Japan succeeded in baptizing only 12 people and receiving 25 catechumens. Yet, upon his return to Japan in 1871 and with the help of a lithograph, the translation of the Bible and other publications into Japanese, the establishment of a school for missionaries and teachers, and the beginning of the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in Japanese, the Church had grown to over 4000 baptized believers by 1878. Therefore, let us not judge the effectiveness of our ministry too quickly or solely on numbers. The good fruit often begins its growth in the shade before being exposed to the light of the sun. Only with patience can we see and enjoy the produce of our labors at the time of harvest.

"'Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess...who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day...' (Luke 2:36-37). For the elderly and lonely who wonder what they can do to serve God, Anna's fastings and prayers are a wonderful example." -- From the Orthodox Study Bible

“O Lord, God of gods and King of kings, the Most holy of all holies, I thank Thee that Thou has made me worthy to complete my ascetic labors without faltering. And now I pray to Thee, that the hand of the invisible demon may not touch me; that the demon not drag me into the abyss of destruction. Rather, let thy holy angels lead me into Thy beautiful dwelling place and make me an heir of Thy desired Kingdom. Receive my soul and hearken to the prayer of all those who will offer sacrifices to Thee in my remembrance. Gaze upon them from Thy holy dwelling place and grant them abundant and incorruptible gifts. For Thou art the only good and merciful Gift-giver unto the ages of ages. Amen.”  - The Prayer of St. Tryphon before his death.

"Do not establish your previously committed sins in your soul by thinking about them so that they not be repeated in you. Be assured that they were forgiven you from the time that you gave yourself to God and to repentance. In that, do not doubt." -– St. Anthony the Great

"On this glorious celebration of the Three Holy Hierarchs, let us pause and reflect upon our own ministry and take a spiritual inventory of our work as priests before the Lord. My understanding of the ordination and ministry of the priesthood, which also pertains to the episcopal office, is found in the ordination prayer itself: We ask the Lord to '...fill with the gift of Thy Holy Spirit this man whom it hath pleased Thee to advance to the degree of Priest; that he may be worthy to stand in innocency before Thine Altar; to proclaim the Gospel of Thy Kingdom; to minister the Word of Thy Truth; to offer unto Thee spiritual gifts and sacrifices; and to renew Thy people through the laver of regeneration.' Ordination does not concern merely the one ordained, but rather, the whole Church.  The essence of the priesthood is love.  The priest must, in the words of St. Paul, '...become all things to all men' (I Cor. 4:22). He must manifest the presence of Christ to everyone, reveal that the end and meaning of all things are in Christ, and help everyone find his own life in Christ." -- His Eminence, Archbishop JOSEPH

"God will not judge us about psalmody, nor for the neglect of prayer, but because by abandoning them we have opened our door to the demons." -- St. Isaac the Syrian

"Be dead in life, and you will not live in death. Let your soul die strenuously, and not live in weakness. Not only those who suffer death for the sake of faith in Christ are martyrs; but also those who die because of their observance of His commandments." -- St. Isaac the Syrian

"Are you rich? Display much bountifulness! Have you become poor? Show much endurance and patience! For neither is wealth an evil, nor poverty in itself; but these things, either of them, become so according to the free choice of those who make use of them." -- St. John Chrysostom

"There is only one way into the Kingdom of Heaven, and that is the very way that Jesus Christ went when He lived on earth." -– Bishop INNOCENT, Bishop of Kamchatka, the Kurilian and Aleutian Islands

"These three things God requires of all the baptized: right faith in the heart, truth on the tongue, temperance in the body." -- St. Gregory the Theologian

"Be careful that your mind be not defiled with the remembrance of former sins – that the remembrance of those sins not be renewed in you." -- St. Anthony the Great

St. Anthony said that three kinds of impulse exist in the body: "The first is from nature, the second is from lack of restraint in food and the third is from the demons."

When Domentian struck him in the face, spat upon him and broke his teeth, the holy Hieromartyr Clement, Bishop of Ancyra replied, "You are doing me great honor, O Domentian, and you are not torturing me, for the mouth of my Lord Jesus Christ was also beaten and struck in like manner – and behold: I, the unworthy one, have now been made worthy of this!"

"In the beginning, passion and pain were not created together with the body; nor forgetfulness and ignorance together with the soul; nor the ever-changing impressions in the shape of events with the mind. All these things were brought about in man by his disobedience." -- St. Maximos the Confessor

"The most important work that a spiritual wrestler can do is to enter within the heart, there to fight Satan; to hate and repel the thoughts that he inspires and to wage war upon him." -- St. Macarius of Egypt

"The good God has given them a share in His own Image, that is, in our Lord Jesus Christ, and has made even themselves after the same Image and Likeness. Why? Simply in order that through this gift of God-likeness in themselves they may be able to perceive the Image Absolute, that is the Word Himself, and through Him to apprehend the Father; which knowledge of their Maker is for men the only really happy and blessed life." -- Athanasius the Great (On the Incarnation)

"Learn to love humility, for it will cover all you sins. All sins are repulsive before God, but the most repulsive of all is pride of the heart. Do not consider yourself learned and wise; otherwise, all your effort will be destroyed, and your boat will reach the harbor empty. If you have great authority, do not threaten anyone with death. Know that, according to nature, you too are susceptible to death, and that every soul sheds its body as its final garment." -- St. Anthony the Great

St. Anthony rebukes those who refuse to receive back penitents: "A ship suffered shipwreck and lost its cargo, and only with great difficulty did that boat reach the harbor – and you want to sink even that which was saved from sinking!"

"The Kingdom of Heaven is peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit. Acquire inward peace, and thousands around you will find their salvation." -- St. Seraphim of Sarov

"Keep this piety of my faith undefiled, I beseech you, and let this be the utterance of my convictions even to the last breath of my spirit: that I may always hold fast to that which I profess in the creed of my regeneration when I was baptized in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, namely, that I may adore you, our Father, and your Son together with you, and that I may gain the favor of your Holy Spirit who is from you through the only-begotten. He is a suitable witness for my faith who says: 'Father, all things that are mine are thine, and thine are mine,' my Lord Jesus Christ, who always abides as God in you, from you and with you who is blessed forever and ever. Amen.'" -- St. Hilary of Poitiers

"Be fearful that you do not become famous because of some work that you do. If they begin to praise you because of your work, do not rejoice or take delight in it, but keep your works secret as much as you can, and do not allow anyone to speak about them." -- St. Anthony

When the judge-torturer Sevirus asked the young holy martyr Peter Apselamus: “Of what lineage are you?” Peter replied: “I am a Christian.”

"The goal of human freedom is not in freedom itself, nor is it in man, but in God. By giving man freedom, God has yielded to man a piece of His divine authority, but with the intention that man himself would voluntarily bring it as a sacrifice to God, a most perfect offering." -- St. Theophan the Recluse

“It is not one’s own efforts which lead to the goal, because without grace, efforts produce little. Nor does grace without effort bring what is sought, because grace acts in us and for us through our efforts.” -- St. Theophan the Recluse