Isaac the Syrian on mercy

 Do you wish to commune with God in your mind? Strive to be merciful . . . A man should first of all begin to be merciful in the measure that our heavenly Father is merciful. (Directions on Spiritual Training, Text 14)

I think it was Myrrha Lot-Borodine who drew a sharp distinction between eastern and western approaches to spirituality by suggesting that Roman Catholicism focused on imitation of Christ while Orthodoxy sought union with God (deification). This short quotation from St Isaac the Syrian suggests that the two ways are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary, for Orthodoxy imitation of Christ is the first step on the path to deification.