…disguised as an angel of light and said to him, "I am Gabriel and I have been sent by the Most High to you." The brother said to him, "There has been some mistake. Surely it is to someone else that you have been sent. As for me, I am not worthy of...

Let our compassion be a mirror where we may see in ourselves that likeness and that true image, which belong to the Divine nature and Divine essence. A hard and unmerciful heart will never be pure. St. Isaac the Syrian, 7th century

…about a certain bishop who left his bishopric and went to the holy city (Jerusalem), where he dressed as a workman and served God in the building trade. Now there was at that time a compassionate man given to good works called Ephremius, an imperial...

…the patriarch (Abraham) used to sit at the entrance of his tent (Gen. 18:1), inviting all who passed by, and his table was laden for all comers, including the impious and barbarians, without distinction. Hence he was found worthy of all that wonderful...

What is my praise before Thee? I have not heard the cherubim singing, that is the lot of souls sublime, but I know how nature praises thee. In winter I have thought about the whole earth praying quietly to Thee in the silence of the moon, wrapped...