Clergyman's

153. When you give yourself to prayer, rise above every other joy — then you will find true prayer.
- Evagrius Ponticus

153. When you give yourself to prayer, rise above every other joy — then you will find true prayer.
- Evagrius Ponticus

97. One of the brethren owned only a book of the Gospels. He sold this and gave the money for the support of the poor. He made a statement that deserves remembrance: ""I have sold the very word that speaks to me saying: 'Sell your possessions and give to the poor.'
- Evagrius Ponticus

97. One of the brethren owned only a book of the Gospels. He sold this and gave the money for the support of the poor. He made a statement that deserves remembrance: ""I have sold the very word that speaks to me saying: 'Sell your possessions and give to the poor.'
- Evagrius Ponticus

119. Happy is the spirit that becomes free of all matter and is stripped of all at the time of prayer.
- Evagrius Ponticus

120. Happy is the spirit that attains to complete unconsciousness of all sensible experience at the time of prayer.
- Evagrius Ponticus

36. Do you wish to pray? Renounce all things. You then will become heir to all.
- Evagrius Ponticus

The demon of avarice, it seems to me, is extraordinarily complex and is baffling in his deceits. Often, when frustrated by the strictness of our renunciation, he immediately pretends to be a steward and a lover of the poor; he urges us to prepare a welcome for strangers who have not yet arrived or to send provisions for absent brethren. He makes us mentally visit prisons in the city and ransom those on sale as slaves. He suggests that we should attach ourselves to wealthy women, and advises us to be obsequious to others who have a full purse. And so, after deceiving the soul, little by little he engulfs it in avaricious thoughts and then hands it over to the demon of self-esteem.
- Evagrius Ponticus

The demon of avarice, it seems to me, is extraordinarily complex and is baffling in his deceits. Often, when frustrated by the strictness of our renunciation, he immediately pretends to be a steward and a lover of the poor; he urges us to prepare a welcome for strangers who have not yet arrived or to send provisions for absent brethren. He makes us mentally visit prisons in the city and ransom those on sale as slaves. He suggests that we should attach ourselves to wealthy women, and advises us to be obsequious to others who have a full purse. And so, after deceiving the soul, little by little he engulfs it in avaricious thoughts and then hands it over to the demon of self-esteem.
- Evagrius Ponticus

The demon of avarice, it seems to me, is extraordinarily complex and is baffling in his deceits. Often, when frustrated by the strictness of our renunciation, he immediately pretends to be a steward and a lover of the poor; he urges us to prepare a welcome for strangers who have not yet arrived or to send provisions for absent brethren. He makes us mentally visit prisons in the city and ransom those on sale as slaves. He suggests that we should attach ourselves to wealthy women, and advises us to be obsequious to others who have a full purse. And so, after deceiving the soul, little by little he engulfs it in avaricious thoughts and then hands it over to the demon of self-esteem.
- Evagrius Ponticus