We shall think about how generous God was when he has bestowed so many gifts upon us. How many times did we fall in spiritual perils and this Lord saved us! How many times did we listen to the mischievous devils and we did their will, trampling under our feet God’s will! But He did not leave us nor did he entrust us to the devil. He watched upon us, feeding and balancing our life, patiently waiting for us to repent, to return and haste to Him.

(Translation from St. Theodore of Studium, Cuvântări duhovnicești, Editura Episcopiei Alba-Iulia, Alba-Iulia, 1994, p. 96)