Abba Macarius said, "If slander has become to you the same as praise, poverty as riches, deprivation as abundance, you will not die. Indeed it is impossible for anyone who firmly believes, who labors with devotion, to fall into the impurity of the passions and be led astray by the demons." In the monastery our daily prayers open with "Oh God, come to my assistance. Oh Lord, make haste to help me." Without God, we are powerless and our words and prayer are empty.
