A Strongly Flowing Fountain

As a handful of sand thrown into the ocean, so are the sins of all flesh as compared with the mind of God. Just as a strongly flowing fountain is not blocked by a handful of earth, so the compassion of the Creator is not overcome by the wickedness of his creatures. As the flame of a fire cannot be prevented from ascending upwards, so the prayers of the compassionate cannot be held back from ascending into heaven.

~ Isaac of Syria

~~Photo of fountain near the Parthenon in Rome, Italy, by Frank Logue

Meditation

Saint Isaac the Syrian said, "Meditation on the scriptures teaches the soul to discourse with God."

~~Painting, Meditation, by Goro Fujita, 2005

Meekness and Humility

Man becomes fearful of judging others and looks upon every other person as better than himself. And if he sees other people, be they adulterers or unrighteous, he considers them as better than himself ~ a fact that he truly feels in his hidden conscience and not something just claimed in his outward speech. This he does from a heart free of all impurities. He looks upon everything as good, for he looks and thinks with God's mind.

~St. Isaac the Syrian, Bishop of Nineveh

~~photo by Frank Logue