Working for Christ ( Elder Paisios )

Those who work for Christ but are prideful pollute their virtues, just as fried eggs are contaminated when bird’s droppings fall on them. They then can only be thrown in the trash along with the frying pan.


Elder Paisios

Why does evil exist ? ( Elder Paisios )

In Orthodox teaching we learn that all of Creation is good. After each step of Creation, God said that everything is "very good." (Gen 1:31) So what is the source of evil?


Here is how Elder Paisios explained it to a pilgrim.

Evil exists when we make wrong use of the things of God granted to us for our benefit.
It is not bad for someone to have money, but it is bad to be avaricious. Drugs are not an evil thing, when used to relieve the pain of people who suffer. They are bad when used for a different purpose. A knife is a useful utensil, when we use it to cut bread. However, when it is used to hit someone, it becomes a deadly weapon. In this case, it is not the knife which is evil, but the inner disposition of the murderer.
Therefore, we must use everything in the right way, the natural way, not abuse them and go against nature.
Since we are weak by nature, when we are inclined to give in to a passion, we should try to avoid anything that makes us feel vulnerable. We should also be aware that the reason we avoid the causes of our passions is not because they are evil themselves; but rather, because our ill inner disposition does not permit us to use them correctly.
Since we cannot benefit from them, it is better to avoid them, so they do not harm us. At the same time, we should glorify God for His gifts, and blame ourselves for abusing them and thus provoking the evil.



Elder Paisos

Humility in the modern world ( Elder Paisios )

In our modern world culture, humbleness is not something that is given a high value. More common is the encouragement to become self assertive, forceful, to act independently. Yet Scripture and the Church Fathers continually emphasize the need for humbleness for our spiritual growth.

We know God loves us and wants to protect us. He knows our problems. He is omnipotent so there is no problem that he cannot help us with, except for one. That is overcoming our lack of humbleness.

Elder Paisios says,
The difficulty God faces, and I repeat, it is the only one, is the He “cannot” help us when our soul is not humble. God “feels sad” because, while he sees His creature suffer, He “cannot” offer any help. What ever help He offers, it will harm the person because he lacks a humble mind.
This is when we are overtaken by our passions and God allows this to happen. He cannot help us because our soul is filled with pride and self-centered thoughts. In a sense, in these moments we have rejected God and instead put all our trust in our own being. We are intent on gaining whatever it is we desire.

The Elder says,
God will not give us what we are asking for, no matter how hard we try, unless we humble ourselves. If our aim is humility, then God will give us everything for free.
God desires only one thing from us: our humbleness. He does not need anything else; just humble ourselves, so He can actually make us partakers of his divine grace, which was granted to us through the mystery of Holy Baptism.... He is only asking from us to humble ourselves and respond out of gratefulness and appreciation of His love. Thus, divine grace, will make us love God and get to know Him; it will do everything for us, if we only humble ourselves and allow for it to act.
Saint Peter advises us,
Cloth yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you. Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you. (1 Peter 5:5-7)Source: Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain, pp 88-89

Elder Paisios on the Jesus Prayer

Elder Paisios is another holy person among many who place an emphasis on the practice of what is called the “Jesus Prayer.”

He says,
We should constantly and unceasingly repeat the Jesus prayer. Only the name of Christ must remain inside our communication with God, then the devil finds the chance to confuse us with negative thoughts. Thus, we end up not knowing what we want, do, or say.


Source: Elder Paisios on the Holy Mountain, p 79