“If you succeed in having God always before your eyes,” another Father says, “whether you are lying down to sleep, or rising from your bed, or doing some kind of work, the devil will not dare to harm you. The grace of God will protect you, to the extent that your mind is united with Him.”
“What wretches we are,” laments one elder. “We are ashamed to commit some evil act before men, but we are not afraid or ashamed to act impiously and to sin before God, who knows all of the hidden things of our hearts.”
From The Ancient Fathers of the Desert: Translated Narratives from the Evergetinos on Passions and Perfection in Christ by Archimandrite Chrysostomos, Hellenic College Press
