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"

Our severe judgment of others comes from a high opinion of ourselves and the instigation of the devil. How to overcome this tendency ( St.Nikodemos The Hagiorite )

Saint Nikodemos The Hagiorite

Unseen Warfare


Self-love and high opinion of ourselves give birth in us to yet another evil which does us grievous harm; namely, severe judgment and condemnation of our neighbours, when we regard them as nothing, despise them and, if an occasion offers) humiliate them.
This evil habit or vice, being born of pride, feeds and grows on pride; and in turn feeds pride and makes it grow. For every time we pass judgment our pride takes a step forward, through the accompanying effect of self-importance and self-gratification.

Since we value and think of ourselves so highly, we naturally look at others from on high, judge and despise them, for we seem to ourselves far removed from such faults as we think others possess. And here, seeing our evil disposition, our ever-wicked enemy stands by watchfully and, opening our eyes, teaches us to keep a sharp watch for what others say and do. From these observations he makes us draw conclusions as to their thoughts and feelings; and, on these suppositions, form an opinion of them, generally not good, exaggerating this supposed defect into a deep-rooted feature. These judges do not see and realise that the very origin of their judgment, the suspicion of wrong in others, is impressed on the mind by the action of the enemy, and then fanned by him into a conviction that they are actually such, although it is not so at all.
So, brother, since the enemy watches you constantly, waiting for an opportunity to sow evil in you, be doubly watchful over yourself, lest you fall into the nets spread for you. As soon as he shows you some fault in your neighbour, hasten to repel this thought, lest it take root in you and grow. Cast it out, so that no trace is left in you, and replace it by the thought of the good qualities you know your neighbour to possess, or of those people generally should have. If you still feel the impulse to pass
judgment, add to this the truth, that you are given no authority for this and that the moment you assume this authority you thereby make yourself worthy of judgment and condemnation, not before powerless men, but before God, the all-powerful Judge of all.
This reversal of thoughts is the strongest means, not only for repelling accidental critical thoughts, but also for completely freeing yourself of this vice. The second method, equally very strong, is never to let go from your mind the memory of your own wickedness, your unclean and evil passions and actions, and correspondingly to hold on to the constant realisation of your own unworthiness.
You will certainly find in yourself no small number of such passions and passionate actions. If you have not given up and shrugged your shoulders, saying: ‘Come what may”, you cannot help caring about finding a cure for these ills, which are killing you. But if you act sincerely in this, you should have no time free to concern yourself in the affairs of others and to pass sentence on them.
For then, if you let yourself do this, the sayings will keep ringing in your ears: “Physician, heal thyself” (Luke iv. 23). “First cast out the beam out of thine own eye” (Matt. vii. 5).
Moreover, when you judge severely some wrong action of your neighbour, you must know that a small root of the same wickedness is also in your own heart, which, by its passionate nature, teaches you to make suppositions about others and to judge them. “An evil man out of the evil treasure” (of the heart) “bringeth forth evil things ‘ (Matt. xii. 35). But an eye, that is pure and without passion, looks too without passion on the actions of others, and not with evil. “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil” (Habakkuk i. 13).
Therefore when the thought comes to condemn another man for some fault, be indignant with yourself as a perpetrator of the same actions and guilty of the same fault; and say in your heart: ‘ Unworthy as I am, how can I raise my head to see the faults of others and accuse them, when I am submerged in the same sin and my trespasses are even greater?’ By doing this you will turn against yourself the weapon, which evil thought urges you to use against another; and instead of wounding your brother you will put plasters on your own wounds.
If the sin of your brother is not hidden but obvious to everyone, try to see its cause, not in what the wicked passion for judging suggests, but in what a brotherly feeling towards him may indicate, and say to yourself: since this brother has many hidden virtues, so, to protect them from being harmed by vainglory, God has allowed him to fall into the present sin, or to stay a short time in this unbecoming guise, so that he should appear unworthy in his own eyes and, being despised for it by others, should gather the fruits of humility and become even more pleasing to God; in this way the present instance will do him more good than harm.
Even if a person’s sin is not only obvious, but very grievous and comes from a hardened and unrepentant heart, do not condemn him, but raise your eyes to the wondrous and incomprehensible judgments of God; then you will see that many people, formerly full of iniquity, later repented and reached a high degree of sanctity, and that, on the other hand, others, who were on a high level of perfection, fell into a deep abyss. Take care, lest you also suffer this calamity through judging others.

So stand always on guard in fear and trembling, fearing more for yourself than for others. And be assured that every good word you may utter for your neighbour, and every rejoicing for his sake is the action and fruit of the Holy Spirit in you, whereas every bad word and scornful condemnation comes from your evil nature and suggestions of the devil. Therefore, when you are tempted by some wrong action of your brother, do not let your eyes sleep until you have driven this temptation from your heart and wholly made peace with your brother.


Taken from "Unseen Warfare" By St Nikodemos The Hagiorite