St. Basil the Great

When you sit down to eat, pray.
When you eat bread, do so thanking Him for being so generous to you.
If you drink wine, be mindful of Him who has given it to you for your pleasure and as a relief in sickness.
When you dress, thank Him for His kindness in providing you with clothes.
When you look at the sky and the beauty of the stars, throw yourself at God’s feet and adore Him who in His wisdom has arranged things in this way.
Similarly, when the sun goes down and when it rises, when you are asleep or awake, give thanks to God, who created and arranged all things for your benefit, to have you know, love and praise their Creator.

– St. Basil the Great

Featured image: St. Basil The Great. Illustration in Synodicon, 1700. source

Seek out, with much care and thought, a teacher who will be a safe guide for you; one who knows well how to lead such as are journeying towards God; a teacher who is rich in virtues and wise in the Holy Scriptures.

– St. Basil the Great

Featured image: Sisters at the Olenevsky Skete, 1897. Photographer Maxim Dmitriev. source

Be a help to your friends, kind to the ones with whom you live, gentle to your servant, patient with those who are troublesome, loving towards the lowly, comforting those in trouble, visiting those in affliction, never despising anyone, gracious in friendship, cheerful in answering others, courteous, approachable to everyone, never speaking your own praises, nor getting others to speak of them, never taking part in unbecoming conversations, and concealing where you may whatever gifts you possess.

– St. Basil the Great

Featured image: Monks in Palaiokastrizza, 1910.

As it is impossible to verbally describe the sweetness of honey to one who has never tasted honey, so the goodness of God cannot be clearly communicated by way of teaching if we ourselves are not able to penetrate into the goodness of the Lord by our own experience.

– St. Basil the Great

This is how you pray continually – not by offering prayer in words, but by joining yourself to God through your whole way of life, so that your life becomes one continuous and uninterrupted prayer.

– St. Basil the Great

Featured image: Fr. Filaret (Pisarik) preparing a meal at Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, NY. 1948. Holy Trinity Monastery/Seminary Photograph Collection. source

The Christian ought not to grudge another’s reputation, nor rejoice over any man’s faults; he ought in Christ’s love to grieve and be afflicted at his brother’s faults, and rejoice over his brother’s good deeds. He ought not to be indifferent or silent before sinners. He who shows another to be wrong ought to do so with all tenderness, in the fear of God, and with the object of converting the sinner. He who is proved wrong or rebuked ought to take it willingly, recognizing his own gain in being set right.

– St. Basil the Great

Featured image: Monks in rowboats on Lake Ladoga, Valaam Monastery in background. Photographer Einar Erici, 1930s.