Dorotheus of Gaza

“'He who does not hold to his own will always has what he will; for externally he does not get his own way but whatever happens, no matter what it is, gives him quiet satisfaction and he discovers for himself that he has what as they he will. For he does not want things to happen as he wishes; he wants things to have happened as they happened.'”

“'In all things that come upon me I never desire to run around in quest of human wisdom, but I always act with the small power I have on whatever it is, and at the same time leave the whole thing to God.'”

“'As was said about Abbot Anthony, brethren, namely, that when he was visiting the whatever good he saw in each he set about to acquire for himself. From one he picked up self-control, from another humility,from another hard work, from another serenity. And so he was found to have in himself the good found in each of the others. This then is what we ought to do and why we ought to come together, and when we return to our cell let us examine ourselves and learn where we have been helped and: what good we have received. '”

“'Do not desire to know the evils of your neighbor and do not entertain suspicions about him, but if suspicious thoughts burst out of your own wickedness, take care to mould them into noble thoughts, and in all things give thanks in accord with God’s goodness and holy love.'”

“'Hold fast to indifference in knowledge and believe that everything that concerns us, even the most trivial thing, happens through God’s providence, and you will bear anything that comes upon you without being troubled. '”

“'If a man has a friend and he is absolutely certain that his friend loves him, and if that friend does something to cause him suffering and be troublesome to him, he will be convinced that his friend acts out of love and he will never believe that his friend does it to harm him. How much more ought we to be convinced about God who created us, who created us out of nothingness to existence and life, and who became a man for our sakes and died for us, and who does everything out of love for us?'”