The elder said: My son, man can do nothing greater than to open his heart to Christ, for Life does not come through your toil, but through His coming. Bring only your will, even if it is weak; bring your thirst, even if it is small; bring your emptiness, even if you are ashamed of it. Christ does not ask man for strength, but for truth and the truth of the heart is this, without Him we cannot live. Therefore, my son, do not ask what you must do to reach Christ, but what you must let go of so that you may let Him enter.
Apophthegm
The elder said: Christ knocks at the door of the heart, but He enters only through the door that man can no longer close.
The brother, not fully understanding, asked: Father, how can a man be unable to close a door that he himself has shut all his life?
Pustia Inimii 