sunday after the exaltation of the holy cross

“Amma (Mother) Theodora said, “Let us strive to enter by the narrow gate. Just as the trees, if they have not stood before the winter’s storms cannot bear fruit, so it is with us; this present age is a storm and it is only through many trials and temptations that we can obtain an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven.’

Amma Syncletica said, ‘Great endeavors and hard struggles await those who are converted, but afterwards inexpressible joy. If you want to light a fire, you are troubled at first by smoke, and your eyes water. But in the end you achieve your aim. Now it is written: “Our God is a consuming fire.” So we must light the divine fire in us with tears and struggle.’”

-The Sayings of the Desert Fathers