Why pain and suffering? ( St. Paisios )

The world is full of pain, fear and suffering. These feelings, without any exceptions, are experienced by all humans. It’s what causes our heart to ache, our mind to go hay-wire, and our emotions to become distorted. People often wonder: How have we had to handle all these problems? Why God allows these tragedies to happen? Some times the questions are complicated and the answers very simple. Elder Paisios of Mount Athos, famous for his spiritual teachings, provides encouragement and support to those who are suffering afflictions.

The struggle to sanctify the soul

..Life of course, is no summer camp; it has joys but also sorrows. The Resurrection is always proceeded by the Crucifixion. The blows of life’s trials are essential for the salvation of the soul, for the soul is refined through them. Just as with clothes; the more we rub them in the wash, the cleaner they become. Even with the octopus, the more it is beaten, the more it is cleaned and tenderized. And the fish, too, appears so graceful when alive and swimming in the sea, or even when displayed in the market with the scales and entrails intact. But it becomes useful only once it is cleaned and made to look less appetizing on the outside before it is broiled. It is much the same with people; when a person sheds all things secular-his scales, if you will- it may seem that he is losing life, his worldly liveliness, but in fact, he is merely removing all useless matter in order to be “ broiled”. Only then is he made useful…

Elder Paisios, Spiritual awakening, Souroti: Holy Monastery Evangelist John the Theologian, vol. II, p. 105.

What Helps Spiritual Progress

People who have been buffeted by rough winds, either because God allowed it in order to rein them in, or because of the devil’s envy, are in need of much sunshine and spiritual refreshment before they can blossom and bear fruit. They are like trees that have grown bold during winter’s halcyon days, only to face the cold north wind afterwards; they will need constant spring sunshine ad showers for their sap to circulate again and to blossom and bear fruit.

…Trust in God, simplicity, and struggle with philotimo will lead to inner peace and security and then the soul fills with hope and joy…

Christ helps those who are fighting the good fight that all Saints embraced in order to subdue the flesh to the spirit. Even when wounded, we must never lose our composure, but should instead ask for God’s help in continuing with the struggle courageously. The Good Shepherd will hear us and rush to our aid, just as a shepherd responds to the bleating of a lamb that is lost or wounded, or threatened by a wolf.

Elder Paisios, Spiritual awakening, Souroti: Holy Monastery Evangelist John the Theologian, vol. II, pp. 106-107.

Divine Energies are Omnipotent

…God never abandons us; we are the ones who forget and abandon Him. When man does not live spiritually, he is no entitled to divine help. But when he does live spiritually and is near God, he is entitled to it. Then if something happens and he dies, he is read for the other life, in which case he gains both in this life and in the next.

God’s help can’t be obstructed, neither by men nor demons. Nothing is difficult for God or a Saint. The obstacle for us humans is our lack of faith, which prevent the great divine energies from coming to us. And while there is such a great power next to us, we, because there is such a great amount of the human element in us, cannot understand the divine energies which exceed all of the world’s human powers, because they are omnipotent.

We sit for hours on end in vain, trying by ourselves to find solution to a problem, using all of our inexperience. Our head spins, our eyes burn, sleep escapes us, because the little demon has hooked us with obsessive thoughts. We may finally find a solution, but later God will found for us a better solution, which we had not thought of, leaving us with the headaches and the sleepless nights. No matter how right our thought might be, if God is not foremost, the head will tire and ache, while prayer with trust in God brings restfulness. For this reason, we can leave to God those activities which are difficult to achieve by human means and not be dependent upon our human efforts, reassured that God will do what is best.

For everything you think of doing, remember to say, “God willing”

A good disposition

-Geronda, what will become of the kind people who don’t believe?

-…Benevolent God will find a way for these kind-hearted people, either with trials and tribulations, with illnesses, hardships, with an earthquake, a lightning bolt, a deluge, or even some word, to bring them around and in the end to lead them to Paradise….

Elder Paisios, Spiritual awakening, Souroti: Holy Monastery Evangelist John the Theologian, vol. II, p 326-328.

Divine consolation

…With the people I went through so much pain! I didn’t pass over their problems lightly. I was painted by them, I sighed over them, but with every sigh I turned the matter over to God and in the pain I felt for the other person God provided consolation. That is to say, divine consolation came with the spiritual approach, because the pain which carries with it hope in God also has divine consolation. Otherwise how is one to endure! How could I possibly get through all the things that I hear? Yes, I feel the pain, but I also think of the divine reward in those who are suffering. We are in God’s hands. Since there is divine justice, divine reward, nothing is lost. The more one is tormented, the more he will rewarded. Although God sees so much suffering upon the earth, even things which we cannot imagine, He never falters. “You have suffered more?” He asks, “I will provide you with more in the other life”, and He rejoices. Otherwise, how could He endure so much injustice, so much evil that exists? But He keeps in mind the reward of those who suffer and, in a manner of speaking, endures that great pain. We don’t see the glory to be received by the other person and so we feel compassion for him, and for this God rewards us with divine consolation…

Elder Paisios, Spiritual awakening, Souroti: Holy Monastery Evangelist John the Theologian, vol. II, p. 348.

Elder Paisios notes that God allows a calamity to happen due to our fault.

Sins Brings Calamities

Locusts, wars, drought and disease, they are all scourges. They’ re not God’s way of educating human beings but the result of our moving away from God. They happen because we stray from Him. God’s wrath comes to make us remember Him and ask for help. It’s not that He arranges and orders, so to speak, these calamities to happen. Rather, God allows them to happen because He sees how far human evil can go and how unwilling we are to change our ways, and so He tries to bring us to our senses. But they are not of His own making…

…It is good to know that the faithful who obey the commandments of God receives His Grace, and that God is, shall we say, obliged to help them in these difficult times….

Whatever God allows is out of love for Man

-Geronda, why does God allow a calamity to happen?

-There are al kind of reasons. Sometimes God will allow something to happen so that something better may come out of it, and other times He wants to educate us. Some people are rewarded others pay a debt; nothing is wasted. You know, whatever God allows, even when human beings perish, it is done out of love for man, because Goad has a “heart”.

Elder Paisios, With pain and love for contemporary man, Souroti: Holy Monastery Evangelist John the Theologian, vol. I, p. 118-121.

Injustice draws the Wrath of God

Most bad and harmful things happen when we wrong other people. For example, when a fortune is made unjustly, the owners may live a few years like royalty, but in the end, they will spend all their money on doctors. Remember the saying “ What is gathered by the wind is also scattered by the wind.” Or remember what the Psalm says, Better is a little that the righteous hath than the abundance of many wicked. What they collect is spent, blown away. Rarely will an illness, a bankruptcy and so on be sent as a trial from God…

Elder Paisios, With pain and love for contemporary man, Souroti: Holy Monastery Evangelist John the Theologian, vol. I, p. 87-88.

Elder Paisios spoke of various signs of the Times and noticed that we need to make spiritual preparation for the events prophesied.

The Antichrist

…the anticipated Antichrist will, in some manner, be the incarnate devil, who will present himself to the Jewish nation as the Messiah and will mislead the world. Difficult years are ahead; we will be tested very severely. The Christians will suffer great persecution. And, you see, people are not at all aware that we are living during the signs of the times, that the sealing is already advancing. It is as if nothing is happening. This is why the Sacred Scripture says that even the elect will be deceived. Those without a good disposition will not be enlightened and will be misled during the years of apostasy. For whoever does not have divine Grace, does not have spiritual clarity, just like the devil.

Elder Paisios, Spiritual awakening, Souroti: Holy Monastery Evangelist John the Theologian, vol. II, pp. 198-199.

Difficult times lie ahead

…with God’s permission, a strong jolt will come our way. Difficult times lie ahead. We will be greatly tasted. We have to take this warning seriously and live spiritually. It is circumstances that are forcing us and will force us in the future, to labour spiritually. But we should try to do so by choice and joyfully rather than by necessity when various sorrows come upon us. Many Saints would plead to live in our times so that they would have the chance to struggle for Christ…

Elder Paisios, With pain and love for contemporary man, Souroti: Holy Monastery Evangelist John the Theologian, vol. I, 39-40.

Sometimes , even the devil tells the truth ....( Protopresbyter Stephanos K. Anagnostopoulos )

A certain hermit once had a conversation with the devil. During the course of the conversation the devil revealed certain truths which are very beneficial for all Christian’s to keep in mind.
They will hopefully assist us to better comprehend how precious the Mystery of Holy Communion is, especially when partaken of with a clean and pure heart.

The devil once appeared to a certain hermit. The hermit mustered up the courage and asked the devil:


‘What things are you most scared of ?’


The devil answered:


‘There are some things that are dreadful and unbearable to us.’


‘Which are they?’ The Elder asked once again.


‘The first and foremost dreadful thing is Baptism, with which we lose dominion and right over you. Then there is the wood, (he means the Holy Cross and the sign of the cross) whose mark torments us, pushes us away and makes us disappear…’


‘However, the most dreadful of all is that which you eat, your Communion….
It is more dreadful than the fire of hell...more dreadful than the hell we live in. ‘Those’, the devil continued ‘who are clean and worthily partake of Holy Communion, not only can we not approach them but we also fear to even look upon.’


And he immediately added:


‘Even though these things persecute and destroy us, we are nonetheless grateful towards people, especially those Christians who are careless; whose own passions willfully pull themselves away from God’s power, energy and Divine Grace of the Mysteries. Subsequently, these Christians, of their own accord, provide us with the right to captivate their hearts and prevent them from ever repenting.’


Experiences During the Divine Liturgy

Dreams can be deceptive ( St. Paisios )

-Elder, I'm tormented by some unpleasant dreams...

-When you have a bad dream,never examine what you saw,how you saw it, or whether you're guilty or how much you may be at fault.The evil one,having failed to tempt you during the daytime,comes to you at night.Sometimes God permits the devil to tempt us in our sleep,so that we may see that the old self has not entirely died.Other times,the enemy approaches a person in his sleep and presents various dreams in order to upset him when he awakes.This is why you shouldn't pay any attention to them.Cross yourself and the pillow,place a cross and an icon on your pillow,and say the Jesus Prayer until you fall asleep.The more importance you attach to such dreams,the more the enemy will come to disturb you.This is something that happens to children,too, even though they are little angels.The enemy comes and scares them in their sleep,and they wake up frightened,running into their mother's arms.Often times,they are approached by Angels who make them smile in their sleep out of joy,or they may wake up from their great joy.As such,dreams brought about by temptations are an external influence of the enemy upon man while he's asleep.

-Elder,what about feeling a certain burden while you're sleeping?

-Sometimes this comes from a stressful situation that one has experienced during the day,or from various fears,various suspicions and so forth.Naturally,the little devil can take advantage of this,forming confusing combinations in order to make the person feel dizzy.Often we sleep so lightly that we may think that we are awake and praying for this unbearably heavy burden to go away.
Once in a while the devil may take the form of a human or of a saint and appear to someone in his sleep.Once he appeared in the form of Saint Arsenios to a sick man who was sleeping and told him,"I am Saint Arsenios;I have come to tell you that you will die.Do you hear me?You will die!"The man was frightened and horrified.A Saint never speaks to a sick person like that.And even if a sick person is about to die and a Saint appears to inform him about his death,he will do so gently and kindly:"God sees how much you are suffering here and this is why he has decided to take you out of this world.See that you prepare yourself."He will never say,"Do you hear me?You will die!"

-Elder,what happens when someone cries out in his sleep?

-It's good,he wakes up...Many dreams are due to worry.When someone is worrying over things or when he is very tired, these things are struggling inside him and he sees them in his dreams.It happens often to me,too;when I deal with various people and their problems during the day,such as unfairness and so on.I later find myself scolding the unjust ones in my sleep:"You godless man,have you no feelings?" and I wake up because of my yelling.

-Elder,can someone foresee something that will happen to him from the dreams he has?

-No,don't pay any attention to dreams.Whether they are pleasant or unpleasant,you are not to pay any attention to them,because there is the danger of being deluded.Ninety five percent of dreams are deceptive.This is why the Holy Fathers say that we should not pay any attention to them.Very few dreams are from God,but in order for someone to interpret even these,he must have purity and other prerequisites,much like Righteous Joseph and the Prophet Daniel in the bible,who both had the gift from God.Daniel said to Nabuchadnezzar,I will tell you what dream you had and what it means.But consider the spiritual maturity he had attained!He was in the den of lions.and they,even though they were hungry,did not hurt him.Habbakuk brought him food and Daniel said,"Has God remembered me?"If God didn't remember the Prophet Daniel in the lions den,whom would He remember?

-Elder, some people don't have any dreams.

-It is better that they don't!But by dreaming,of course,people spend no money for tickets or fuel!In our dreams we can see in an instant something that in reality would take hours,even days,because the concept of time is abolished.This is where one can understand the verse from he psalm:For a thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past.

Beware of Visions

-Elder,What should we say when people come and tell us of visions or of saints they have seen?

-It is better to tell them to be cautious.This is safer,because not everyone can discern if a vision is from God or from the devil.Even if a vision is from God,one should not really accept it.After all,God is moved,in a sense,when He sees His creature not accepting the vision immediately,because this indicates humility.If indeed a Saint appeared in a vision,God would surely find another way to inform the soul and guide it to the desirable purpose.We must be careful and aware that it is possible for the devil to come,press the button and turn on the "television"...

There was a soul who had not received help from people,and for this reason she was entitled to divine help.God revealed something to her in order to help her.But then the devil put some thoughts in her head:"It seems that God has something more sublime in store for you,who knows?Otherwise,why would He have endowed you with that vision?"From the moment she believed this,the devil started his work and controlled her!But in the end,God had pity on her and helped her again.She had a vision and heard a voice telling her,"Write to Father Paisios and tell him all the visions you have seen."So she wrote me a letter relating all the visions she had had.The tempter,the devil,had really confused her.They were real visions;but they were all from the tempter.Of all the visions she had related,only the first and the last were from God.The last one was permitted by God to help her come to her senses and to be rid of the deception.In the end,the poor woman took heart what I told her,and she was freed.

Taken from ELDER PAISIOS OF MOUNT ATHOS,Spiritual Counsels Vol3 "Spiritual Struggle"

The Soul Needs Repetition For Proper Cultivation... ( St. Nikolai Velimirovich )

"Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though you know them, and be established in the present truth" (2 Peter 1:12).

The plower sows in the field. Does not the plower repeat the same task every second? How would he, therefore, plow the field if not plowing from morning to dusk deepening furrow after furrow?

The traveler walks the road. Does not the traveler repeat the same task every second with the same effort? How else would he have traveled the road and reached his destination?

The carpenter prepares the boards in his workshop. Does not the carpenter repeat the same task with every board, with the same labor? How else would he be able to prepare the ordered amount of prepared boards?

Brethren, is not all of our beneficial works comprised of strands and strands of repetition? Therefore, let not the preacher of the truth become slothful and let him not say: "I told them so and I will not repeat it!" Let not the hearer of the truth become proud and let him not say: "I heard it once and I do not need to hear it again!"

O preacher of the truth, do not be afraid to repeat and to repeat: that through repetition you teach and by repetition you remind. Without repetition even the field is not plowed, nor the path traveled, nor the framework [rafters] of the house prepared. And you [preacher of the truth] are to plow, to lead and to prepare.

O hearer of the truth, do not become proud and do not say that you heard the truth once. Truth is food for the soul. You have eaten bread today, yesterday and the day before yesterday and for months and years past. And again you will eat it, so that your body would be healthy. Nourish also the soul. Nourish it with the truth, the same truth, yesterday, today and tomorrow and until death so that your soul may be healthy, strong and radiant.

O Lord Jesus, nourish us every day and every hour with Your truth which is Yourself O Jesus, sweet nourishment! To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

On Reverence For Icons ( St. Paisios )

What reverence we must have for the holy icons!


A monk once prepared an Icon of Saint Nicholas to give to someone as a blessing.He wrapped it in a clear piece of paper and placed it in a cabinet until the time came to give it.But without realizing it,he placed it upside down.After a while,a rattling sound could be heard in the room.The monk looked around to see where the sound was coming from.He did not realize at first that it was coming from the cabinet.The rattle continued for some time,"tap,tap,tap"and would not leave him in peace.Finally,when he approached the cabinet and realized the sound was coming from there ,he opened it and heard the sound coming from the icon."Let me see what is the matter with this Icon,"he said to himself and unwrapped it.He saw what had happened,stood the Icon upright and immediately the sound stopped.

The devout person will especially venerate the holy Icon.And when we say,"He will venerate the holy Icons"we mean he venerates the person depicted on the Icon.When someone has a picture of his father,his mother,his grandfather,or grandmother,his brother,he cannot possibly tear it or step on it.How much more must we venerate the Icons of the Saints.
Jehovah's Witnesses have no Icons.The honour we show to the Icons they consider to be idolatry.I asked one of them once,"Don't you have photographs in your homes?"Yes,we do,"he said."Well then,does a mother kiss the photograph of her child,when that child is far away?" "Yes,she does,"he said"Does she kiss the paper of the photograph or her child?"I asked and he replied,"She kisses her child.""well then,just as she kisses her child when she kisses his photograph,we kiss Christ when we kiss His Icon,we don't kiss the paper or the wood."

 
-Elder,even if a plank of wood had been once painted with an Icon of Christ,οf Panagia(Mother οf God),or of a Saint and the colours have faded away over time,are we not still to show reverence for it?

-Yes,of course.When someone venerates the holy Icons with devoutness and fervent love,he absorbs the colours from them and the Saints are imprinted on his soul.The Saints are pleased when they are lifted up from the paper or the wood and imprinted in people's hearts.When a Christian devoutly kisses the holy Icons and prays for help from Christ,Panagia,the Saints,he draws into his heart not only the Grace of Christ,of Panagia ,and of the Saints,but also the whole of Christ,or of Panagia,or of a Saint,and places them upon the iconostasis of his own temple.Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit(1Cor 6;19.3;16)You see,every divine service begins and ends with the veneration of the Holy Icons.If people could understand this they would feel such joy,they would receive so much power!

-Elder, in the Supplication Service of the Theotokos,why does a verse in the hymns of praise say,Speechless be the lips of the impious who do not venerate your sacred Icon?

When someone is not devout and yet kisses the Icons,are his lips not speechless?And,when the devout kisses the Icons,aren't his lips full of praise?There are some people who do not even touch the Icon when they venerate it.Others touch only their lips to the Icon when they kiss it. Here,like this(Without a sound) Did you hear anything?
No.
Well then,"speechless are the lips.
Whereas the devout person kisses the Icon and you can hear the sound of the kiss.In that case,the lips are "eloquent" with praise.It is not a matter of cursing when the verse says"speechless",but rather that those lips are without a sound,while the others are eloquent with sounds.When we look upon the holy Icons,our hearts should be overflowing with love for God and for the Saints,and we should prostrate ourselves to venerate the Icons and kiss them devoutly.

The Foundation is devoutness.

You see,someone may lean against the wall where an Icon has stood and he receives Grace,while another may own the best Icon,but because he is not devout,receives no benefit.Or one may benefit from a simple wooden cross,while another,who is not devout,may not even benefit from the True Precious Cross itself .Cultivate your devoutness and your modesty as much as you can.This will help you receive the Grace of God.For,if someone is devout and spiritually modest and humble too,he can expect to receive divine Grace.If he has no devoutness and no humility,the Grace of God does not come to him.What does the Sacred Scripture say?But to this man will I look,even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit,and trembleth at My word. ISA 66;2.


Taken from ELDER PAISIOS OF MOUNT ATHOS,Spiritual Counsels Vol 2 "SPIRITUAL AWAKENING"