So, to repeat the first point: we watch the signs of the times in order to recognize Christ when He comes, because there have been many false Christs, many more false Christs will come, and at the very end of the world there will finally come one who is called Antichrist. The Antichrist will unite all those who are deceived into thinking he is Christ, and this will include all those whose interpretation of Christianity has gone off. Often you can look at some people who confess Christianity, and it seems that many of their ideas are correct—they go according to the Bible. Then you look here and there, and you see that here’s a mistake, there’s a mistake.
Just recently Fr. Dimitry Dudko, in the little newspaper he puts out, said there came t him someone who claimed to be Christian. As he began to talk to him, he began to feel that this person wasn’t Orthodox, and he said, “What confession are you?” “Oh, that’s not important. We’re all Christians. The only important thing is that we be Christians.” He said, “Well, no, no, we have to be more precise than than that. For example, if you’re a Baptist and I’m an Orthodox, I believe that we have the Lord’s Body and Blood, and you don’t.” We must be precise because there are many differences. It’s good to have the attitude: I have respect for you, and I won’t interfere with your faith, but nonetheless there’s a true way of believing and there are ways which go away from the truth. I must be according to the truth.
In the same way we can see that many people who ae not Orthodox have many good things about them, and then they go off in some respect. In the end it’s up to God to judge, not to us. But we can see what will happen if all these little ways people go off now are projected into the last times, if people still believe that way when the last times come. These mistakes cause people, when they see Antichrist, to think that he is Christ. There are very many sects now which believe that Christ is coming to rule for a thousand years form the Temple in Jerusalem. Therefore, when the Jews start building the Temple, these sects will only rejoice because, to them, this is the sign of Christ’s coming. On the contrary, we know that this isn’t he sign of the Antichrist coming, because Christ will no more come ot the Temple. The Temple has been destroyed. Christ comes only at the end of the world to begin the eternal kingdom of heaven. The only one who will come to the Temple is Antichrist.
So, this is why the correct Orthodox Christian understanding and preparation based upon this understanding are absolutely necessary. The closer we get to the very last times, the more indispensable this understanding and preparation are.
Fr. Seraphim Rose
The Elder (Paisios) was in the front yard of his retreat when he was visited by one of his spiritual children. He was repeating, from the heart, "Glory to You, O God", over and over again.
"Can someone be rendered useless - in a good sense?" the Elder suddenly asked him.
"Who would that be, Elder?"
"Well, I was sitting in my cell quietly, then she came here and drove me crazy with excitement. They are having such a good time, 'up there'."
"What's troubling you, Elder?"
"I will tell you, but don't you tell anyone."
He went on to narrate the following:
I had just returned from the world, to deal with an ecclesiastic matter (he had a meeting with the late Mayor of Athens, Mr.Tritsis). It was Tuesday, around ten in the morning, I was in my cell reciting the Hours. I hear a knock on my door, and a woman's voice saying:
"With the blessings of our Holy Fathers" (the traditional monastic manner of requesting permission to enter another's quarters).
I thought to myself: "How did a woman come to be on the Holy Mountain?" And yet, I could feel a divine sweetness flow through me, so I asked: "Who is it?"
"Euphemia" (replied the voice).
I thought to myself: "Who is this Euphemia? Could it be a woman who did something foolish and came to the Mountain wearing men's clothes? What am I supposed to do now?" A second knock was heard. I asked again: "Who is it?"
"Euphemia" (replied the voice again).
I thought it over and decided to not open the door. At the third knock, the door opened on its own, even though it was bolted from the inside. I heard footsteps outside, in the corridor. I dashed out of my cell and saw a woman who was wearing a head veil. She was accompanied by someone who resembled Luke the Evangelist, but he vanished. Despite my certainty that this was not a sinister phenomenon because the woman's presence glowed with a radiant light, I asked her who she was.
"The martyr Euphemia"* (she replied).
"If you are indeed the martyr Euphemia, come with me, and let us prostrate ourselves before the Holy Trinity. Whatever I do, you must do."
I went into the chapel, prostrating myself and saying "In the name of the Father..." She repeated it, also prostrating herself.
"And of the Son..."
"And of the Son..." she repeated in a soft voice.
"Louder, so I can hear you" I said to her, and she repeated it, in a louder voice.
While still in the corridor, her prostrations were not in the direction of the chapel, but towards my cell. At first I was puzzled, but then I remembered I had a tiny paper icon of the Holy Trinity pasted onto a piece of wood, which was hanging above the door of my Cell. After our third prostration, saying, "And of the Holy Spirit," I said to her:
"Now, let me prostrate myself before you." I prostrated myself and kissed her feet and then the tip of her nose. I thought it too impertinent to kiss her face.
The Saint sat down on a stool and I sat myself down on the small chest, and she proceeded to give me the solution to my concern (regarding the ecclesiastic matter).
Then she told me about her life. I knew that a Saint Euphemia existed, but I didn't know anything about her life. When she described her martyrdoms, I didn't only hear them being described; it was as though I could actually see them and feel them. I shuddered...oh my God!!
"How did you survive such tortures?" I asked.
"If I had known what kind of glory the Saints have, I would have done whatever I could to undergo much worse tortures."
Well, after that occurrence, I was unable to do anything for three whole days. I was beside myself with elation and was constantly praising God. I didn't want to eat, I didn't want anything. I was constantly glorifying!
In one of his letters the Elder had mentioned:
"In all my life, I will never be able to repay my huge obligation to Saint Euphemia, who, although entirely unknown to me, and without being obliged to, bestowed on me such a great honour...."
When describing the incident, he added very humbly that Saint Euphemia appeared before him, "not because I was deserving, but only because I was preoccupied at the time with an issue that had to do with the state of the Church in general, and for two other reasons."
What had especially impressed the Elder was "how that petite, frail person could last through such tortures.... If she were more of a...(implying a woman of a bigger and stronger physique), but she was so tiny...."
While in that paradisiacal state, the Elder composed a Canon in honour of the Saint:
"With what complimentary songs can we praise Euphemia, who condescended from above and visited a wretched resident monk in Kapsala? On knocking the third time, the door opened miraculously and she, the Martyr of Christ, entered with heavenly glory, and we worshipped together the Holy Trinity."
He also composed a closing hymn, which began with the words:
"Glorious Great Martyr of Christ, Euphemia, I love you very very much, after the Most Holy Mother...."
(Of course he did not intend these compositions for liturgical use, nor did he chant them in public.)
Contrary to his custom, the Elder left (Kapsala) for the town of Souroti and made the sisters of the monastery there participants of that celestial joy. With his help and his instructions, they painted an icon of the Saint exactly as she had appeared before him (depicted above).
The Elder himself had fashioned a negative of the Saint's icon onto a metal mold, which he used to print small, stamped icons that he distributed as blessings to visitors, in honour of Saint Euphemia. While sculpting the mold of the icon, he had trouble fashioning the fingers of her left hand. He said: "I struggled to fashion her hand, but then I put forward a positive thought to explain it: 'Perhaps it is because I had also oppressed the poor girl'...."
-------------------------
*During the Fourth, Holy and Ecumenical Synod, which was convened in Chalcedon by the pious emperors Marcian and Pulcheria in the grand basilica of Saint Euphemia, the 630 Fathers undertook the retraction of the heretical views of Archmandrite Eutychius, who was supported by Archbishop Dioscorus of Alexandria. To resolve the dispute through a divine decision, the Patriarch - Saint Anatolius - proposed to both sides to compose a tome containing their respective Confession of Faith, and both documents would then be placed inside the reliquary of Saint Euphemia. The two parchments, on which were inscribed the definitions of the Faith with regard to the Person of Christ, were placed on the Saint's chest and after the reliquary was sealed shut, the Fathers began to pray. After eight days, they all went to the witnessing place, where, upon opening the reliquary, they discovered to their amazement that the Saint was hugging the Orthodox tome in her arms, as though she wanted to place it inside her heart, whereas the tome of the heretics appeared to have been thrown down to her feet. In the face of such a splendid proof of the truth, the Orthodox offered up thanks to God, and the heretics were scorned and jeered by the crowd of faithful.
Other miracles have been mentioned, which the precious relics of saint Euphemia have performed. During a Persian invasion, the barbarians stormed Chalcedon and attempted to destroy her relics with fire. However, they remained intact and furthermore, blood was seen pouring out of the hole that was made to open the reliquary. This miracle repeated itself occasionally at later times and would heal the faithful who came to collect some of the blood of Saint Euphemia. However, her tomb would more frequently exude a fragrant aroma, thus witnessing the favour that God had bestowed on the Saint.
To protect them from another vandalization, the precious relics were translated to Constantinople where they were deposited in the Church of Saint Euphemia, near the Hippodrome. During the years of Iconoclastic persecutions by Constantine V Kopronymos, her temple was turned into an arsenal, while her precious relics were thrown into the sea and were washed ashore on the coast of Limnos Island, where they were salvaged by two fishermen. They were rediscovered during the reign of the Empress Irene and were transferred officially to the Capital (Constantinople) in 796, where they continued to work miracles. After many other adventures, the relics are now venerated in the Church of Saint George of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Phanar.
- When the righteous Akakios, who did his ascesis in a desolate skete of Kafsokalyvia (Mount Athos), was asked to speak on sleep and vigil, he replied: "Half an hour of sleep is enough for a true monk!" He himself either stood up all night long or knelt, praying and chanting with great courage, in spite of the fact that he suffered from a hernia and was very old. He would sleep very little in the mornings, sometimes leaning on his arm or on anything else, long enough not to lose clarity of mind from extreme sleeplessness. He viewed sleep as a treacherous and undermining enemy of the soul. He said that nothing increases sinful desires more than excessive sleep. And nothing subdues them as much as sleeplessness.
- One monk made a bed with thick, knotted tree branches nailed sparsely together, without a mattress, so that he could not rest his body as well as it would have liked, and so that he could be awakened easily. He slept no more than four hours a day.
- Even the blessed St. Gregory Palamas had an ongoing battle against the flesh and sleep. For three whole months in his hermitage above the Holy Monastery of Lavra he remained sleepless and in prayer. He did, however, then interrupt this ascetic labour so that his mind might not be harmed by too extended a vigil.
- The Athonite Russian, St. Silouan the New, who was canonized in 1987, was born in 1866 and died in 1938. He was a monk of St. Panteleimon's Monastery. He lived a righteous and pure life of universal love, unceasing prayer, and humility. His life came to a peaceful end in peace, and he left behind the memory of a holy man. His biography was written by Archimandrite Sophronios, the hegumen of the Holy Patriarchal and Stavropegic Monastery of the Honoured Forerunner in England.
St. Silouanos, among his many virtues, laboured especially for sleeplessness, as he knew from experience how much it contributes to attaining cleansing of mind, uplifting in prayer and cultivation of joyful mourning. He would not lie on a bed to sleep; instead he would spend the entire night praying, either standing up or sitting on a stool. He would sleep for only fifteen to twenty minutes and then rise again to pray. He would rest again later, intermittently. His entire sleep in twenty-four hours would total only two hours.
- We asked the blind elder Simeon the Kafsokalyvitan: "How can the soul be cleansed from impure thoughts, desires and other passions?" and he replied: "By not knowing what it is like to get any sleep."
- In an Iviritan skete there lived a most pious hieromonk, Gerasimos the Hymnographer. When he was to celebrate the Divine Liturgy the next day, he would stay awake all night long in reading and in prayer. God took him away at a young age. His brief life had been very full, for he had pleased the Lord.
- A struggling hermit said: "By sleeping a lot, our mind becomes opaque."
- Hadji-Giorgis rested standing up at his bench in the church all night long. He hardly knew his cell. He devoted his entire days to his suffering brothers and his nights to prayer.
- One day a young monk asked Father N., who was 86 years old: "Elder, how many hours should a monk sleep?"
"Listen, my brother: St. Theodore the Studite and St. Symeon the New Theologian say that four to five hours a day should be enough sleep. But Abba Arsenios in the Gerontikon declares that for a labouring monk, one hour of sleep should be sufficient. St. Akakios the Kafsokalyvitan used to say that 'I find half an hour of sleep not enough, but if the saints say so ... we should try it'."
"And you, how long do you rest?"
"My brother, what is the need for such a question?"
"For my benefit and for the love of Christ, tell me."
"I'll tell you. One hour in twenty-four is enough."
"Do you sleep one hour through or with interruptions?"
"With interruptions of course! A quarter of an hour, here or there."
"And how is your time spent?"
"Unfortunately, now that I have a double hernia, I do not stand to read the Psalter or the Gospels and to say the Jesus Prayer."
"The entire Psalter and New Testament?"
"Naturally, the entire ones."
"Every day?"
"Every day, every day. The only thing is, I cannot read standing up any more. That is what happens with old age."
- An elder said: "Sleep should become a servant, not a master."
- An Hagiorite conclusion:
It is not possible for a spiritual life to exist without vigil. According to his contemporaries, Elder Artemios the Gregoriatan never sat down on his chair during any service, including the all-night vigils. Until his death, he remained an upstanding steadfast pillar of the Church and of prayer.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.
Continuing our commentary on the Beatitudes by Saint Gregory of Nyssa:
We have now climbed great heights. In this beatitude we are promised “for they shall see God.” But John says, “no man hath seen God at any time.”(John 1:18)
Gregory writes:
This is the slippery, steep rock that affords no basis for our thoughts, which the teaching of Moses, too, declared to be so inaccessible that our mind can nowhere approach Him. For all possibility of apprehension is taken away by this explicit denial, No man can see the Lord and live.(Exodus 33:20) Yet to see the Lord is eternal life.
What does Jesus mean when he promises we will see God?
Gregory says,
Hence the man who sees God possesses in this act of seeing all there is of the things that are good. By this we understand life without end, eternal incorruption, undying beatitude. With these we shall enjoy the everlasting Kingdom of unceasing happiness; we shall see the true Light and hear the sweet voice of the Spirit; we shall exult perpetually in all that is good in the inaccessible glory.
Jesus tells us here that seeing God depends on having a pure heart. But if the effort is impossible as Moses says, what’s the use, Gregory asks. The Lord surely would not tell us to do something that is impossible.
First Gregory reasons the Divine nature is beyond all mental concepts. Therefore the way to knowledge of Divine Essence cannot be through thought. So how doe we grasp what is not know by mental concepts?
Gregory writes,
Since such is He whose nature is above every nature, the Invisible and Incomprehensible is seen and apprehended in another manner. Many are the modes of such perception. For it is possible to see Him who has made all things in wisdom by way of inference through the wisdom that appears in the universe. It is the same as with human works of art where, in a way, the mind can perceive the maker of the product that is before it, because he has left on his work the stamp of his art. In this, however, is seen not the nature of the artist, but only his artistic skill which he has left impressed on his handiwork. Thus also, when we look at the order of creation, we form in our mind an image not of the essence, but of the wisdom of Him who has made all things wisely. And if we consider the cause of our life, that He came to create man not from necessity, but from the free decision of His Goodness, we say that we have contemplated God by this way, that we have apprehended His Goodness–though again not His Essence, but His Goodness. It is the same with all other things that raise the mind to transcendent Goodness, all these we can term apprehensions of God, since each one of these sublime meditations places God within our sight.
Hence it is clear through what has just been said that the Lord speaks the truth when He promises that God will be seen by those who have a pure heart; nor does Paul deceive when he asserts in his letters that no one has seen God nor can see Him. For He is invisible by nature, but becomes visible in His energies, for He may be contemplated in the things that are referred to Him.
http://orthodoxwayoflife.blogspot.ca/2009/09/6th-beatitude-blessed-are-clean-of.html
Η προφητεία του Αββά Παμβώ προς μαθητήν του
…Σου λέγω και τούτο Τέκνον μου, ότι θα έρθει καιρός, οπόταν οι χριστιανοί θα προσθέτουν και θα αφαιρούν και θα μεταβάλουν τας βίβλους των Αγίων Ευαγγελίων και των Αγίων Αποστόλων και των Θεσπέσιων Προφητών και των Ιερών Πατέρων και θα μαλακώνουν τας Αγίας Γραφάς και θα γράφουν τροπάρια και άσματα και λόγους τεχνολογικούς.
Και ο νους των θα ξεχυθεί εις αυτούς, θα απομακρυνθούν δε από τα Θεϊκά πρότυπα.
Και δια τούτον τον λόγον οι Άγιοι Πατέρες είχαν προαναγγείλει ότι οι μονασταί της ερήμου πρέπει να γράφουν τους βίους των Πατέρων όχι επάνω εις μεμβράνας, αλλά επάνω εις χάρτινους διφθέρας, διότι η ερχόμενη γενεά θα τους μεταβάλλει σύμφωνα με την δική των αρέσκεια. Όθεν και το κακό που μέλλει να προέλθει θα είναι φρικτόν.
Κατόπιν λέγει ο μαθητής:
-Ώστε λοιπόν, Γέροντα, πρόκειται να αλλάξουν οι παραδόσεις και τα έθιμα των Χριστιανών; Μήπως δεν θα υπάρχουν πλέον ιερείς εις την Εκκλησίαν αφού θα βαδίσει προς αυτό το κατάντημα;
Τότε ο αββάς εσυνέχισεν:
-Εις τους καιρούς εκείνους πλέον, θα κρυώσει η αγάπη του Θεού από τις περισσότερες ψυχές και θα πέσει θλίψις μεγάλη εις τον κόσμον.
Το ένα έθνος θα ρίχνεται εναντίον του άλλου. Οι λαοί θα μετακινούνται από τους τόπους των.
Οι άρχοντες θα ανακατωθούν, οι ιερωμένοι θα το ρίξουν εις την αναρχίαν, οι δε μοναχοί θα ξεκλίνουν εις την αμέλειαν.
Οι εκκλησιαστικοί ηγέτες θα θεωρούν ανάξιον πράγμα να φροντίζουν για την σωτηρίαν τόσον της ιδικής των ψυχής, όσον και του ποιμνίου των και θα περιφρονούν παντελώς ένα τοιούτον ζήτημα.
Όλοι θα δείχνουν προθυμίαν και δραστηριότητα προ πάντων δια τα τραπέζια και διά τας ορέξεις των. Θα είναι οκνηροί εις τας προσευχάς και πρόχειροι εις τας κατακρίσεις.
Τους βίους και τας διδαχάς και τα παραδείγματα των αγίων Πατέρων δεν θα ενδιαφέρονται μήτε να τα μιμηθούν, μήτε καν να τα ακούσουν, αλλά μάλλον θα κατηγορούν και θα λέγουν ότι, εάν εζούσαμε και μεις εις εκείνα τα χρόνια, έτσι θα συμπεριφερόμεθα.
Οι δε αρχιερείς θα υποχωρούν μπροστά στους ισχυρούς της γης. Και θα λύνουν τις διάφορες υποθέσεις, βγάζοντες από πολλές μεριές δώρα και απολαβές λογιών λογιών για λογαριασμό των.
Τον πτωχόν δεν θα τον υπερασπίζουν, θα θλίβουν τας χήρας γυναίκας και θα καταπονούν τα ορφανά. Αλλά και εις τον λαόν θα εισχωρήσει ασωτία.
Οι περισσότεροι δεν θα πιστεύουν εις τον Θεόν, θα μισούνται αναμεταξύ των και θα αλληλοτρώγονται ωσάν τα θηρία, θα κλέπτουν ο ένας τον άλλον και θα μεθύουν και θα περπατούν ωσάν τυφλοί.
Τέλος ξαναρωτά ο μαθητής:
-Τι λοιπόν πρέπει να κάνει κάποιος σε κείνη την περίστασιν;
Και ο Γέρων Παμβώ απεκρίθη:
-Τέκνον μου, εις εκείνους πλέον τους καιρούς, όποιος αν ημπορέσει να σώσει την ψυχή του και να παρακινά και τους άλλους δια να σωθούν, αυτός θα ονομασθεί μέγας εις την βασιλείαν των Ουρανών.
Αββά Παμβώ
http://www.agioritikovima.gr/diafora/theologikos-log/diafora/26259-peri-tis-%CE%BFtiri
The All-Holy Virgin: the spiritual adornment of Orthodoxy
The Virgin Mary is the spiritual adornment of Orthodoxy. For us Greeks she is the pained mother, the comforter and the protector, who stands by us in every circumstance. In every part of Greece countless churches and monasteries are built, palaces of this humble queen, and a large number of small country-churches are scattered on the mountains, the plains and the islands, sweet-scented by the fragrance of her virginity and spirituality. Within each of these shrines, one finds the old and venerable icon with the dark and golden-waxed face, which is constantly wet from the tears of our tortured people, because we have no other to help us, except the All-Holy Virgin Mary, "for as sinners we have no other constant mediator before God in times of trouble and affliction as we bend beneath our multiple faults." The beauty of Mary is not carnal, but spiritual, because where there is pain and holiness, there is only spiritual beauty. Carnal beauty brings carnal excitement, whereas spiritual beauty brings devotion, respect and pure love. This is the beauty that the All-Holy Virgin has. And this beauty is imprinted on her Greek icons which were made by pious people who were fasting, chanting and clad in broken-heartednesss and spiritual purity. It is this mystical beauty, depicted on the face of the Virgin, that draws like a magnet pious souls, quietening and comforting them. And this spiritual fragrance is the so-called Joyful Mourning (1), which is granted to us by the religion of Christ, an herb unknown to people who do not go near Him who is the good shepherd. This joyful sorrow is depicted in every creation of Orthodox art, and sheds a fragrance like myrrh and aloe, whether this creation is an icon, or hymnody, or chanting, or manuscript, or vestments, or words, or actions, or blessings, or greetings, or monastery, or monastic cell, or carved wood, or embroidery, or candel, or lectern, or candelabra, or whatever is a vehicle for sanctification.
The Orthodox names of the All-Holy Virgin
From the names alone that Orthodoxy gave to the All-Holy Virgin, they fully adorned Her person – not as a theatrical spectacle, as is done elsewhere, namely, depicting Her as a doll that was loaded with rings and earrings and a whole cluster of other profane and senseless things – from these alone, I say, it becomes obvious how truly spiritual is the veneration of the All-Holy Virgin in Greek Orthodoxy. First of all is Her holiest name: Panagia (All-Holy One). Then, the other names: the Superbly-Blessed, the Theotokos (God-bearer), the All-pure One, More Honorable than the Cherubim and More Glorious than the Seraphim, the Living and Plentiful One, the Fountain, the Ensouled Ark, the Undefiled One, the Immaculate One, the Fully-Graced One, the Ever-Blessed and All-Blameless One, the Protection, the Listening One, the Speedily-Acting One, the Quick-Responding One, the Sanctified Temple, the Rational Paradise, the Unwithering Rose, the Golden Censer, the Golden Light, the Mana-Receiving Jar, the Heavenly Ladder, the Fervent Intercessor, the Unconquerable Fortress, the Source of Mercy, the World’s Shelter, the King’s Throne, the Gold-Claded Tower and Twelve-fold Walled City, the Sun-Illumined Throne, the Protective-Shelter of the World, the Fine-Fruit-Bearing Tree, the Good-Shading Tree of Rich Foliage, the Ray of the Spiritual Sun, Holy Zion, God’s Habitation, the Heavenly Gate, the Patron of the aggrieved, the Staff of the Blind, the Joy of the Afflicted, and a thousand others, which are recorded in the books of the Church. Close to them are the names that hagiographers inscribe upon Her holy icons: the Guide, the Sweet-Kissing One, the One that is Wider than Heaven, the Hope of the hopeless, the Speedy Visitation, the Spotless One, the Hope of the Christians, the Consolation, the Merciful One, and many others, which are written under the abbreviation: ΜΡ ΘΥ, which means Mary Mother of God. How much love, how much reverence and how many tears of devotion these names alone reveal, which were not pronounced as easily as the words that exit from the mouth, but as names that were engraved in souls with pain and humility and faith.
The Orthodox hymns to the All-Holy Virgin
The same is the case with the hymns to the All-Holy Virgin, which are innumerable like the stars of heaven and are exquisite in beauty, and which were composed by saintly hymnographers who “constituted a spiritual chorus!” In this fragrant orchard are placed all the unfading flowers and sweet herbs of speech. Indeed, it was the All-Holy Virgin herself that prophesied of herself, when she went to the house of Zachariah and Elizabeth embraced Her, that all generations will call Her blessed: "In those days, Mary arose and went to the mountainous region in the region of Judah and entered the house of Zachariah and greeted Elizabeth. And as Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary the child jumped inside her womb (2).
And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried with a loud voice and said: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And from where did this good come to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Because, as soon as the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the child jumped in my womb, and blessed is she who believed in what the Lord said of her (3).” And Mariam said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, because He condescended to look upon His humble servant. Henceforth, all generations will call me blessed, because the Mighty One has made great things in me, and sanctified is His name, and His mercy goes on from generation to generation to those who have the fear of Him.”
The Orthodox Icons of the All-Holy Virgin
Just as there are countless hymns of the Virgin Mary, so there are countless icons of Her in unobtrusive colors, which embellish our churches and are painted on plank or wall. In every Orthodox church there stands her icon on the iconostasis at the right side of the Holy Gate. In other icons she is painted as a nun, but in the icons of the iconostasis she is always depicted holding Christ in her arms on her left side, but rarely on her right (then she is called Dexiokratousa=Right-holder). Her head is covered modestly and solemnly with a maphorion, a loosely fitting and priestly dress, of dark crimson color, falling on her shoulder in a spacious setting, leaving uncovered only her elongated face and her hands. Inside the cover is shown a narrow strip from the bonding of her head which tightens her forehead and allows only the edges of the ears to appear. Her forehead is like dark ivory, pure, simple and crystal clear. The eyebrows are arched, vibrant and long, reaching near her ears, her eyes almond-like, with shadowy, brown, deep, serious but luscious, as egg whites clean but shaded. Her look is melancholic, simple, direct, quiet, nice, dear, but sorrowful and joyous together, strict but also compassionate, most holy, spiritual, innocent, thoughtful, unblemished, hopeful, patient, meek, most unassuming, distant from all carnal consideration, a mystical mirroring of paradise, royal and humble, human and divine, harmless, brotherly, courteous, examining, alert, serene, philanthropist, motherly, maiden, cool, caustic for those who have evil thoughts, tender, piercing, searching, unpretentious, pedominant, condescending, supplicatory, unshakable. Her nose is long and narrow, moderate, Jewish, fleshless, with thin nostrils, slightly overturned, modest. Her mouth small, shy, prudent, closed, clean, shaded in the cheek, as if smiling slightly. Her chin is flared, respectable, unpretentious, humble. Her cheek, virginal, clean, soft, fragrant, shy, pale with very slight redness. Her neck, bent humbly, joins the chin with a gentle shade which was called sweetness by the older icon-painters. Her whole face is priestly and religious, and reveals an ancient tribe. Her immaculate hands are small, narrow with long fingers and thin nails. With the left hand she holds Christ, while her right hand is leaning modestly on her chest, in a supplicatory position, with the index finger away from the others. In more ancient icons this hand is more upright and higher, near the neck.
The most severe type of the All-Holy Virgin is the so called Odegetria=The Guide, which has her head erect, her expression more impassive and her whole posture more priestly. On the other hand the Glykofilousa=Sweet-kissing Virgin has her head reversely curved towards her Child, whom she embraces more tightly, and her expression is more emotional. The Platytera=Wider than the Heavens Virgin is depicted seated on the throne, rigorous and unbending, and holding Christ on her knees, leaning one of her hands on his shoulder and with the other holding his foot or a cloth.
The Orthodox Churches of the All-Holy Virgin
In Greece, most of the churches of the All-Holy Virgin hold their Feast on the Dormition of the Theotokos, i.e. on the 15th of August. The hymns chanted on this Feast are the most exquisite. The Doxastikon of Vespers is the only hymn that is chanted in the eight tones, each phrase has a different tone. It starts with the first tone and ends again with the first. But the whole of Greece praises the All-Holy Virgin not only with the chanters and the priests in the churches, but also with everything it has, with the villages, the mountains, the islands, which bear Her holy name. The boats sail in the cool sea, passing by the headlands where Her monasteries are built, having carved on their stern Her much loved and venerated name. Anyone sailing in Greek waters, in whatever place may find himself on the Feast Day of the All-Holy Virgin, will hear bells ringing from the sea. Some come from the Holy Mount Athos which is known as the Garden of the All-Holy Virgin, others from Tinos, where one of Her most famous palaces is located, others from Salamis where the Monastery of the Phaneromeni=The Revealed One keeps Her Feast, others from Mytilene, from the All-Holy Virgin of Agiassos and Petra, others from the Monastery of Siphnos, others from Skiathos, others from Naxos - from every island, from every headland, from every dry land.
Photis Kontoglou
Η σύγχρονή μας «χριστιανική»κοινωνία έχη μια παράξενη τάση: Να ψάχνη για θαύματα και να κάνη θαύματα! Την τάση αυτή δεν πρέπει να την αφήσωμε να περάση απαρατήρητη. Με κανένα τρόπο. Και για πολλούς λόγους. Και ιδιαίτερα, γιατί την τάση αυτή, την τάση που έχουν πολλοί να θέλουν να κάνουν θαύματα και να ψάχνουν για θαύματα, οι άγιοι πατέρες μας την καταδικάζουν πολύ αυστηρά. Και την καταδικάζουν, επειδή κάτω από το «ευσεβές» κάλυμμα της τάση αυτής κρύβεται η φιλαυτία. Και είναι πολύ φοβερό να μπορή η φιλαυτία να κρύβεται στην ψυχή. Γιατί τότε δεσπόζει σ’ αυτήν ανενόχλητα. Και την διαλύει.
Ο μεγάλος διδάσκαλος των μοναχών άγιος Ισαάκ ο Σύρος λέγει τα εξής:
Ο Κύριος είναι πάντοτε κοντά μας, έτοιμος να βοηθήση τους εκλεκτούς Του. Μα ποτέ και σε τίποτε δεν δείχνει φανερά την δύναμή Του, αν δεν υπάρχη σοβαρός λόγος. Και αυτό για να μη καταντήσωμε να παρανοήσωμε την βοήθειά Του. Γιατί τότε θα μας βγη σε κακό. Και ενεργεί έτσι από την φροντίδα Του για τους εκλεκτούς Του. Επειδή θέλει να τους δείξη, ότι ούτε στιγμή δεν παύει να φροντίζει γι’ αυτούς, έστω κι αν δεν γίνεται αντιληπτός. Τους αφήνει, λοιπόν, ο,τιδήποτε κι αν τους συμβή, να κάμουν ένα αγώνα• ο καθένας ανάλογα με την δύναμή του• κοπιάζοντας στην προσευχή. Και μόνο, να κάτι είναι τόσο πολύ δύσκολο, ώστε να τους καταβάλη, (όταν δηλαδή φανούν ανίκανοι να το αντιμετωπίσουν μόνοι τους, όταν είναι έτοιμοι να εγκαταλείψουν τον αγώνα τους, επειδή η φύση τους δεν είναι άξια για τέτοιο αγώνισμα), τότε τον αγώνα τον τελειώνει Εκείνος με την μεγάλη Του δύναμη. Τότε τους βοηθεί. Με τον τρόπο που Εκείνος ξέρει. Και στο μέτρο που είναι άξιοι. Τους ενισχύει σε όσο μέτρο απαιτούν οι περιστάσεις, χωρίς εκείνοι να το καταλαβαίνουν. Και τους βοηθεί, μέχρι που να δυναμώσουν οι ίδιοι, και να μπορούν πια να ξεπερνούν τις δοκιμασίες τους μόνοι τους. Τους βοηθεί να λύσουν το δύσλυτο γι’ αυτούς πρόβλημα των δοκιμασιών τους με την γνώση, που τους χαρίζει. Και η γνώση αυτή, και μόνο που την σκέπτονται, τους ξυπνάει σε προσευχή που τους ωφελεί κι από τις δύο πλευρές. Και όταν υπάρχη λόγος, να φανερωθή η εργασία τους και να έλθη η υπόθεση αυτή σε γνώση πολλών, και τότε, ο Θεός αναγκάζεται και το κάνει. Και ο τρόπος, που ακολουθεί, είναι σοφώτατος. Και αντέχει και στην ανάγκη και στην φτώχεια. Γιατί δεν ενεργεί ποτέ ανόητα.
Όποιος, χωρίς τίποτε να τον αναγκάζει, προχωρεί τολμηρά (ή επιθυμώντας τα θαύματα, παρακαλεί τον Θεό να γίνουν «δυνάμεις» δια των χειρών του), είναι φανερό, ότι πειράζεται στον λογισμό του από τον διάβολο, που προσπαθεί να γελοιοποιήση τα πάντα• ότι είναι υπερήφανος και ότι εσωτερικά, κατά βάθος, είναι άρρωστος. Την βοήθεια του Θεού πρέπει να την ζητούμε μόνο σε ώρα δοκιμασίας. Όταν δεν υπάρχει λόγος, είναι επικίνδυνο σε μας να πειράζωμε τον Θεό. Δεν είναι αληθινά άγιος εκείνος που ζητεί την βοήθεια του Κυρίου, εκεί που δεν εξάντλησε ακόμη τις δικές του δυνάμεις. Μη ξεχνάμε ότι πράγματα, που τα κάνει μεν ο Θεός, αλλά όχι γιατί Του αρέσουν, τα βρίσκομε στους πιο πολλούς αγίους. Μα όποιος αυτά τα γυρεύει και τα επιθυμεί ολόψυχα, με όλη του την καρδιά, χωρίς να υπάρχη κάποιος λόγος, ακόμα κι αν τον φυλάη ο Θεός, πέφτει μόνος του• γιατί μόνος του ξεφεύγει από την γνώση της αληθείας. Γιατί, αν ο Θεός τον ακούση σε εκείνο, που από εγωκεντρικό φρόνημα ζητάει, ο πονηρός βρίσκει σ’ αυτόν τόπο και τον κάνει σιγά-σιγά να πέση σε πολύ μεγάλα κακά. Οι αληθινά άγιοι άνθρωποι, όχι μόνο δεν τα επιθυμούν αυτά, αλλά και όταν τους τα δίδη από μόνος Του ο Θεός, στενοχωριούνται και δυσαρεστούνται. Και δεν τα θέλουν αυτά τα χαρίσματα. Όχι μόνο γιατί είναι δυνατό να γίνουν γνωστά στους ανθρώπους. Δεν τα θέλουν• έστω κι αν πρόκειται να μείνουν χωρίς καμμιά δημοσιότητα. Δεν τα θέλουν αυτά καθ’ εαυτά*.
Ένας από τους αγίους πατέρας, από την πολύ του καθαρότητα, έλαβε (πριν ακόμη φθάση σε τελειότητα), το χάρισμα να προγνωρίζη, ποιος επήγαινε να τον επισκεφθή. Και τι νομίζετε έκαμε; Παρακάλεσε τον Θεόν, και έβαλε και άλλους να Τον παρακαλέσουν, να του πάρη πίσω το χάρισμα.
Συμπέρασμα:
Όσοι επήραν χαρίσματα, ο Θεός τους τα έδωσε• ή επειδή είχαν πολλή απλότητα, ή επειδή το απαιτούσε κάποιος ιδιαίτερος λόγος. Χωρίς αυτές τις προϋποθέσεις, να το ξέρετε ότι εκείνους που φαίνονται πως έχουν χαρίσματα, δεν τους κινεί το θείο νεύμα• πάντως όμως δεν πρέπει και να φαντασθούμε ότι το «χάρισμά» τους είναι εντελώς τυχαίο.
Ἡ αἰωνιότητα εἶναι φρικιαστικὴ δίχως Θεάνθρωπο, γιατὶ καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἶναι φοβερὸς δίχως τὸν Θεάνθρωπο. Καθετὶ τὸ ἀνθρώπινο, μονάχα στὸν Θεάνθρωπο ἔχει τὴν τελικὴ καὶ λογικὴ του ἑρμηνεία. Δίχως τὸν θαυμαστὸ Κύριο Ἰησοῦ Χριστό, ὅλα τὰ ἀνθρώπινα μεταβάλλονται ἀναπόφευκτα σὲ χάος, σὲ φρίκη, σὲ θάνατο, σὲ κόλαση: ἡ φρόνηση σὲ ἀφροσύνη, ἡ αἴσθηση σὲ ἀπόγνωση, ἡ ἐπιθυμία σὲ αὐτοδιάσπαση μέσα ἀπὸ τὴν αὐτοθέωση ἤ τὴν αὐτοεξουθένωση.
Τι είπε τελικά ο Γέροντας Παϊσιος στους Μοναχούς που τον είδαν πριν από μερικές μέρες να περπατάει στο Άγιο Όρος ;
Το Θέμα αυτό αναρτήθηκε από τον κ. ΑΝΑΣΤΑΣΙΟ ΤΣΟΡΛΙΔΗ
Είναι δύσκολο να γράψεις ένα άρθρο για κάτι που άκουσες και δεν μπορείς ο ίδιος σου να ερευνήσεις αν τελικά αυτό ισχύει.
Όμως είναι τόσο μεγάλη η πίστη μου στο θεό, που τέτοια γεγονότα, δε θέλουν έρευνα (προσωπικά για μένα).
Ειδικά αν έχεις διαβάσει βιβλία,όπως του Γέροντα Παίσιου.
Συγκεκριμένα,χθες μετά τη Θεία λειτουργία στην Παναγία Δεξιά της Θεσσαλονίκης, αγιορείτης μοναχός που νοσηλευόταν τις τελευταίες μέρες στο Νοσοκομείο Γεννηματάς της Θεσσαλονίκης, μας εκμυστηρεύτηκε κάτι πολύ δυνατό για την πίστη μας που του το είπαν "συνάδελφοι" του μοναχοί από το Άγιο όρος, μιας και τον επισκέφτηκαν πρόσφατα στο Νοσοκομείο, μετά τη χειρουργική επέμβαση (επέμβαση ρουτίνας) που του έκαναν οι γιατροί.
Συγκεκριμένα...:
Ο Γέροντας Παίσιος, περπατούσε πριν από δύο εβδομάδες έξω από τη Μονή του Αγίου Παντελεήμονος, ώσπου το συνάντησαν 3 νέοι Μοναχοί (νέοι σε ηλικία).
Ανεξάρτητα από την έκπληξη που νιώσαν στην αρχή οι Μοναχοί, πήγαν αμέσως να ζητήσουν την ευχή του Γέροντος.
Μόνο που ο Γέροντας τραβήχτηκε, δεν τους έδωσε την ευχή του, αλλά με τρεμάμενη φωνή τους είπε:
`Τραβήξτε στο Γέροντα σας, και πείτε του να αγοράσει μεγάλες ποσότητες λάδι και αλεύρι, γιατί σε 3 μήνες από τώρα, θα έχουμε `πόλεμο` στην Ελλάδα, κι ο κόσμος θα πεινάσει`
και συνέχισε...:
`Να του πείτε του Γέροντα, να επικοινωνήσει και με τα υπόλοιπα Μοναστήρια...`
Μέχρι να συνέλθουν οι Μοναχοί, ο Γέροντας Παίσιος είχε χαθεί μέσα στο μονοπάτι...
[ΑΝΑΣΤΑΣΙΟΣ ΤΣΟΡΛΙΔΗΣ ]
Δεν πιστεύω να είχε κανένα λόγο ο (Χ)αγιορείτης να έπλασε το συγκεκριμένο γεγονός, γιατί έχει και συνέχεια, όμως μέσα από ένα πολιτικό μπλόγκ, όπως είναι το δικό μου, καλύτερα είναι να το σταματήσουμε εδώ.
Η είδηση είναι πως όντως την τελευταία εβδομάδα στα ΣΟΥΠΕΡ-ΜΑΡΚΕΤ ΜΑΚΡΟ (τα γνωστά των εμπόρων...εργάζεται ο φίλος μου ο Κώστας), εδώ στη Θεσσαλονίκη, παρατηρήθηκε πως μοναχοί αγιορείτες `σήκωσαν` από τα ράφια πολλά κιλά ελαιόλαδο, αλλά και αλεύρι, και μάλιστα δημιούργησε πολλά ερωτηματικά στους υπεύθυνους τόσο του υποκαταστήματος Εγνατίας, όσο και της Ν.Ιωνίας.
Τα συμπεράσματα δικά σας...
Εγώ θα αναμείνω το 3μηνο, αν και πιστεύω όταν λέει ο Γέροντας πόλεμο, εννοεί μάλλον πως ο λαός μας θα ξεσπάσει απέναντι στο Δ.Ν.Τ. και κατ επέκταση στην ΤΡΟΪΚΑ και στην σκληρή πολιτική τους και θα γίνουν χειρότερα από αυτά που ζήσαμε μετά τη δολοφονία του Γρηγορόπουλου.
Που αλλού να πάει δηλαδή το μυαλό μου ;
Γέροντας Παϊσιος
1. Any place may become a place of Resurrection, if the Humility of Christ becomes the way of our life.
2. You may sleep, as long as you are in a state of watchfulness.
3. There are some who stay awake for a few, and some who stay awake for all.
4. Orthodox spirituality is knowledge acquired through suffering rather than through learning.
5. Do not wish for many things, whether they are within or out of reach. Instead, take care to sanctify the little you have.
6. To learn how to love God: this is the one and only Education.
7. There is nothing cheaper than money.
8. Better Hell in this world than in the other.
9. It is not what we say, but what we live. It is not what we do, but what we are.
10. I put on the Rasson (Monastic habit) and do not speak unless I am asked. The Rasson speaks.
11. If you have love for all the world, the whole world is beautiful.
12. Someone said that a Christian is he who purifies love and sanctifies work.
15. Our purpose should be to have the Paraclete* in our heart, even when we have the… Parasite in our head.
16. We become a reflection of Heaven by saying: ‘Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven’.
17. He who loves is not aware of it, as he is not aware of his own breathing.
18. When doors are open in Heaven, they are also open on Earth.
19. When the mind is not distracted by worldly matters and remains united to God, then even the ‘Good day’ that we say becomes a blessing.
20. By saying ‘no’ and by refusing, we forfeit our purpose.
21. We must not ‘exist’ in the presence of the other person, who is God’s ‘image and likeness’.
22. In the early steps of our life we need the presence of someone we love. As we advance, the One, God, fills us with His Love and Joy so much that we no longer need anyone. The soul does this at the beginning because she does not know yet Whom she loves, and thinks it is this or that person.
23. Many times what God expects from us is the intention rather than the act itself. Our readiness to follow His Commandment is enough for Him.
24. Jesus Christ gave us the golden mean: both alone and with others.
25. When God created us, He gave us Life and breathed His Spirit into us. This Spirit is Love. When love deserts us, we become as dead as corpses. We are not alive any more.
26. A Christian must have reverence for the Mystery of Existence in everyone and everything.
27. To reach the state of non-existence, love and love and love until you identify yourself completely with the Other One, whoever this may be at the time. Then, at the end of the day you may ask yourself: Is there anything I want? No. Is there anything I wish ‘No. Is there anything I lack’ No… So, that’s it!
28. The spiritually advanced person is the one who has reached a state of “non-existence” and has deeply understood that whatever happens to him is either because God Wills it or because God Permits it.
29. True inner progress begins only when a person stops reading anything but the Gospel. It is only then that, united with God through the Jesus Prayer, he can hear God’s Will.
30. Never wish for anything but the Will of God and accept with love any trials that may come your way.
31. Never identify a person with the wrong way in which he is treating you, but see Christ in his heart.
32. Never ask: “Why has this happened to me” ‘When you see somebody suffering from gangrene or cancer or blindness, never say: “Why has this happened to him”‘ Instead, pray God to grant you the vision of the other shore… Then, like the Angels, you will be able to see things as they really are: Everything in God’s plan. EVERYTHING.
33. A wise man said: If you are to live only for yourself, it would have been better if you had not been born.
36. A person’s most vulnerable spot is found in much talking and discussing.
37. To be meek is to wish never to have a guilty conscience.
38. When thoughts of passing judgement on another person cross your mind, pray God to take them away at once, so that you may love this person as He does. Then God will help you see your own faults. If Christ were visible, could you have such thoughts?
39. If you do not like somebody, think that you see Christ in that person. Then, you would not even dare utter a word of criticism.
40. We must love people and accept them in our hearts as God presents them to us. It has been thus ordained by the Lord Himself and by the Orthodox Tradition.
41. No one should become the servant of another man. We are only servants of God. ‘For ye are bought with a price’, says the Apostle (1Cor.6:20). Therefore, there should be no servility in human relations.
42. What we say remains in Eternity.
43. Only when you are perfected in Love can you reach the state of Dispassion (Apatheia).
44. Only those who act without true love face adversities.
45.The faculty of judgement (Krisis) comes naturally to man. Criticism (Katakrisis) and reproval spring from malice. Discernment (Diakrisis) is a gift from God and we should pray for it. It is essential to our protection and progress.
46. The life of the Church extends beyond moral discipline and religious duty. It is the transcendence of Morality to Spirituality.
47. An irresolute person does not participate in life.
48. When we must be helped, God will send someone to us. We are all fellow-travellers.
49. The voice of God is silence.
50. Whoever lives in the Past is like a dead man.Whoever lives in the Future in his imagination is naive, because the Future belongs to God. The Joy of Christ is found only in the Present, in the Eternal Present of God.
51. Our destination is to worship God and love our fellow-men.
52. We find happiness and peace only by living according to God’s Commandments.
53. The most essential act of Philanthropy is to speak well of our fellow-men.
54. I could not get worried, even if I tried. When we worry it is as if we say to God: “I do not agree. You don’t do things right”. Besides, this is sheer ingratitude.
55. To speak in the presence of Beauty is superfluous. It disturbs its harmony.
56. Through the invocation of the name of Christ, we batter our Ego.
57. It is the oil-lamp of our soul that must be always lighted, burning forever.
58. We are the first to feel the joy we give to others.
59. Better a prayer of the lips than no prayer at all.
60. Let God intervene between you and your purpose, instead of letting your purpose intervene between you and God.
61. The agony of dying is the effort made by the soul to free herself and run towards the Lord.
62. Correspondence is the only way that combines solitude and company.
63. Miracle is the normal course of events according to God’s Will. What we call a Miracle is only what is natural to God.
65. If we meet with an adversity, let us not ask who is to blame. Because the blame is only ours. We shall find the reason if we ask for it in our Prayer: perhaps we have not loved enough, or we have disobeyed another Commandment, or we have mishandled the situation, or we have moved faster than we should, or we have relied on the wrong person.
66. When we lose something, let us say: ‘In this manner, Lord, deliver me also from any evil thought I may have for my neighbour’.
67. Anxiety is for those who have no Faith.
68. Love is only on the Cross.
69. Human relationships become difficult when the “I” stands above the “You”.
70. God loves your enemies as much as He loves you.
71. Do you want to Pray? Prepare yourself to meet the Lord in secret.
72. By God’s Permission some people become instruments of the Power of Darkness for our own testing and progress.
73. You must not get upset, because a restless heart drives away all Help.
74. If one can live in the world and yet not mix with it – just as the oil and water do not mix in the oil-lamp – then he can live in God. He is in this world but not of this world.
75. We are all vessels, sometimes of Light and sometimes of Darkness.
76. Keep your mouth shut in the hour of crisis, when a problem is acute. Do not say anything, because you may regret it a thousand times. Instead, tell it to the Angels so that they may place it at the Lord’s Feet, and pray the Lord for an Angel of Peace to calm your soul.
77. Sometimes people ask for your advice or instruction, so that they may put the “blame” on you afterwards if things go wrong. Quite probably though, whatever you say will be ignored, in which case it will all be a waste of trouble.
78. When the ‘I’ breaks and becomes ‘You’ and the ‘You’ also breaks so that they may both become ‘He’, then we all become ‘His’.
79. If you ever feel fear in your heart, close your eyes and say the Jesus Prayer: ‘Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon me’…
80. Only when we are still, do we give the Angels an opportunity to do something.
81. Do what you must do, and God will do what He must do.
82. When you feel a fluttering in your heart, a deep yearning for something, this will come true after a lapse of time determined by God.
83. We ourselves cannot get rid of any of our faults. He takes them away from us, one by one.
84. We should ask God everyday to break our will and make it His, so that we may become as He wants us to be.
85. We must not ‘surrender’ to His Will. This is what soldiers do. We, who are His Children, must offer Him our own will along with all our being – in whatever pitiful state we may be – and tell him: “Lord, take all my faults and imperfections and set them right.”
86. The Grace of God comes when we raise our hand. It is Faith that draws God’s Grace to us. God is ‘pouring down’ His Grace, but where is the hand reaching out to receive it? Instead, we are wearing hats or carrying umbrellas…
87. If a foreigner speaks evil of Greece and the Orthodox Faith, do not identify the man with his words. Still, never speak to him about such significant events like the discovery of Holy Relics and other miraculous things that happen here.
88. You must not talk about persons who are absent.
89. We live in Vanity, and believe that this is life. How pitiable we are!
90. O Lord! Forgive us if we sometimes walk in pride, like little cockerels that think they are great.
91. Poor human beings! We consider the perishable as Immortal and the Immortal as non-existant.
92. Poor onion! It also offers what it can.
93. How beautiful is the ‘Mystery’, the ‘Sacrament’ of Tomorrow!
94. A person takes his lesson only once. If he does not learn the first time, it means that there is something wrong in his subconscious which prevents him from doing so.
95. The Lord said: Whoever wants something, believing, he will receive – As long as the request is in accordance with God’s Commandments, that is to say, with Love.
96. Do not deny others the crumbs falling off your table from the Bread of Life which is given to you whole by the Lord. So many hunger and thirst for Love, like Lazarus who fed on the crumbs falling off the table of the rich man.
97. We have no right not to reflect the Light of the Lord. Nothing should be left in the shade, ‘under the meal-tub’.
98. Everything has two sides, like a two-edged knife. What creates today, destroys tomorrow. ‘Let him understand, he who may understand’.
99. Some of the sailors on a ship may quarrel and fight each other, but the ship sails on and reaches its destination. The same is true of the Church, because Christ Himself is at the helm.
100. If you knew that you are not Here, you would be There.
They surrender their lives to the “Geronta” or “Elder” or “Starets” trusting him to lead them to perfection and sanctification-”theosis”.
They always gaze toward the Cross of Christ seeking the strength and consolation of the Crucified and Risen Lord.
Through Prayer, Obedience and Humility they become “like Christ”. They crucify their flesh and their will so that they may transform themselves from fallen human beings to “transfigured children of God”.
As our two small buses rolled through the arid desert, my mind wondered “where on earth have they come to live?” Then, the oasis appeared suddenly ahead of us transforming the “coldness” of the land to a warm and welcoming embrace; I felt the heartbeat of the monastic prayer rising around me “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner,” and my heart was filled with joy of anticipation: What couldn’t come from five days in an Athonite-style monastery in the desert of Arizona? How will this experience affect us individually and as a group?
The buses drove into the dusty parking lot surrounded by ancient cactuses and “jumping joys” and stopped in front of the arched gateway that leads to the courtyard of the monastic settlement.
The group members quickly disembarked from the two buses and carried their luggage to the covered kiosk.
Sighing with relief (mission accomplished!), I deposited my things on the bench and took out my camera. The byzantine style church rising humbly into the crystal clear blue sky, while hiding shyly behind a mixture of desert and tropical trees and beautiful flowers, the black-clad monks coming up politely to offer us water and “loukoumi”, and the women of our group unrecognizable behind their head scarfs and long dresses, provided the backdrop of the setting that we were to become accustomed to for the next five days.
This was different, very different from whatever I had experienced in my last thirty years of traveling to monasteries. It was bound to be a unique experience.
A tall monk from Russia, in his early thirties (speaking fluent Greek)) showed us to our rooms. The women had to walk all the way to the outskirts of the desert settlement to two brand-new buildings where they shared rooms together. The men were led to the nearby guest house and I was taken to the “Episcopal residence”-a spacious apartment where the priests would stay in rooms with two beds each; the bishop’s section (where metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco stays when he visits here) was locked. The spacious kitchen and living-room soon became a gathering place for the visiting priests. As I entered the apartment I was greeted by Fr. Photios from the Pittsburgh Metropolis, a retired priest who was here since Saturday, waiting to see Fr. Ephraim, the Geronda. He offered to show me around and helped me get oriented.
At 3:30 pm the sound of the wooden “symandron” filled the air with its hoarse sounds; it was time for Vespers. I put on my Exorason and Kalimafki and headed for the “katholikon”.
The church was already crowded with pilgrims. Our group members quickly disappeared in the crowd. I took my seat next to Fr. Photios at the front left side where the guest-priests stand. The service of the ninth hour finished and the priest on duty moved from the back of the church to the royal gate; the Vespers began. I looked around searching for my wife’s god-son who lives here in this monastery as a monk, Fr. Vasilios. He was received into the Orthodox Church in Orlando and my wife became his sponsor some twenty five years ago. He later followed the route to Mount Athos, where he became an Orthodox monk. After several years on the Holy Mountain, Fr. Vasilios was asked by Geron Ephraim to return to the U.S. to serve in the newly founded monasteries here. He reluctantly obeyed.
Tonight, there he was at the left chanter’s stand singing the “Kekragaria”. His proficiency in Greek surprised me even more than his ability to chant in the Byzantine mode. He stands out as the first African American to serve on Mount Athos for so many years. His life is a testimony of the yearning of the human heart for the higher existence. I had not seen him in seventeen years, so a sense of joy filled my heart tonight. There he was, worshiping, singing and living in this ascetic setting.
At the conclusion of the Vespers, the monks sang the Paraklesis Service of St. John Chrysostom – today was the celebration of his memory (November 13).
We exited the church heading for the “Trapeza” (the Dining Hall). The priests sat on a table next to the abbot’s, the monks along the wall on one side, the men in the middle tables and the women along the wall on the other side. Prayers were offered and the meal began. A monk from the “amvon” of the refectory read aloud in a monotone voice about the life of St. John Chrysostom. We all ate quietly and waited for the abbot to ring the bell so that we can pour water in out stainless-steel cups to quench our thirsts. The food was plain (Monday is a fasting day for the monks), but it tasted so good-it always does in monasteries. I remember, we discussed this several times with George and Ted during my last trip to Mount Athos with them in 2004; there is no other explanation, we concluded, the prayers of the monks who prepare this food must be the reason why it tastes so good. Most of us would not eat this way at home and yet the food here tasted as if it was the best on earth. The bread, especially – four different kinds of it – fresh out of the oven, was unbelievably tasty.
Soon, the abbot rang the bell and we all stood for thanksgiving prayers. The monk who read throughout the meal descended from the amvon and headed to the abbot. After he received a blessing and a piece of bread the dinner was concluded with the “special prayer after a meal” and the abbot walked to the entrance of the “trapeza”, raised his right hand in the mode of blessing and blessed us all as we exited, first the priests, then the monks, the men and finally the women. After everyone came out, we followed the abbot back to the church for the reading of the Small Compline, followed by the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos. Evening services were over at about 6:15 pm and “lights out” would be at 8:00 pm.
We regrouped to evaluate our first experiences; a feeling of awkwardness hang over us. For most of the members of the group this was the first exposure to a monastic setting. The black attire of the monks, their long beards, their covered heads, the fast reading in church (all in Greek), but above all the distance the monks placed between them and us made most of us uncomfortable (I was later told by one of the monks that only few of them have permission to speak with the guests). One of the members of the group expressed that this awkwardness was almost a kind of fear of the monks. They were different. They were unusual. They were from a different world. I pointed out that this was a natural reaction. We were coming from a different world. This was a culture shock for us. Let’s give ourselves time to adjust.
We closed our meeting and headed for bed. I was exhausted. I arrived at the “Episcopal residence” to discover that I had a roommate, Fr. Theodoros. We quickly found out that our paths had crossed at the seminary during my last year at Holy Cross, when he joined the program himself. I felt like I knew him for ever. He expressed that same feeling too.
The “symandron” rang at 1:50 am,. In a matter of minutes we were in church. The Midnight service had already begun. I took my seat with the guest-priests as the monks moved into place, their dark silhouettes moving about quickly in the dimly lit church as they venerated the icons and took their seats on either side at the front of the church. The Fisrt Hour was followed by the Third Hour and then we entered the Orthros. The order of the services is a bit different at the monasteries; they follow the Typicon of St. Savvas. In the parishes we follow the Cathedral Typicon. The monasteries read extra Psalms, sing the Canon of the Feast and do the services of the Hours. The Sixth Hour followed the Orthros and then we entered the Divine Liturgy. This was the Feast of St. John Chrysostom and the services were richer in content as the great father of the Church was honored today.
All the monks lined up for Holy Communion. They have Liturgies every day, but they usually receive Holy Communion on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays after they had fasted strictly on the previous days (Monday, Wednesday and Friday). Fasting is a constant askesis for them. They never eat meat and their diet is mostly vegetables, beans, olives and salads. Eggs and cheese are consumed on days of no fasting and fish or shell-fish on days of celebration.
I had asked our group not to go for Holy Communion today. We wanted to immerse ourselves in prayer and the monastic life for a couple of days, have Confession on Wednesday and then receive on Thursday. That would make Holy Communion more meaningful and raise our experience to a higher spiritual level.
Breakfast was available for us at about 5:30 am as we exited the Divine Liturgy. Eggs, cheese and milk were served, but the monks were not there. They have only two meals a day. By six o’clock we were finished. It was still dark outside and the stars shown brighter than I had seen in a long time. The group members agreed to meet at 10:30 am for a tour of the monastic settlement. We then headed back to bed to catch up on our missed sleep. There was a lot more to see and experience, but it all could wait.
Our rendezvous was at the kiosk by the main entrance. The women were all there, but the men had gone to the kitchen to help set up for lunch. The monks had asked them to lend a hand. The dining room had to be ready by 12:30 pm for over 150 people. The monastery was at full capacity. A bus of 55 Arab speaking Palestinian Christians from California had arrived late last night. Men, women and children accompanied by two priests, father and son, were here to stay for two nights. The monks have to feed everyone, prepare our beds, wash the sheets and towels, clean the rooms and also take care of the gardens. Some of them were working at the construction site of a new chapel on a nearby hill dedicated to prophet Elias.
The meal at lunch was delicious; baked salmon, potatoes, fresh bread and salad. This was a feast!
The group met after lunch to tour the campus. The men now had a different perspective than last night. The fear of the monks was gone. “They are cool guys, they are our friends,” one of them explained. “After working side by side with them and getting to talk to them, I feel very different.” The fear has been replaced by the warm feeling of friendship. The monastic setting is having an effect on hearts and minds. I am certain we will leave here deeply changed by the experience.
Question yourself as to whether this faith is within you, or perhaps you are led by worldly wisdom. And if you leave all things in the hands of God, behold! You have acquired faith and undoubtedly, without any question, you will find God to be your helper. And so, even should you be tried a myriad of times and should satan tempt you to abandon faith, prefer death a thousand times more and don’t obey worldly wisdom. In this way the door of the mysteries will be opened to you and you will be amazed how the chains of worldly wisdom previously bound you. Now you will fly with divine wings above the earth and breathe the new air of freedom, which, of course, others are deprived of. If, however, you see that within you, you are governed by worldly wisdom, and in the smallest danger you lose hope and despair, know that you have not yet acquired faith, and consequently also hope, in God.
Excerpt taken from the book- Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit.
Elder Joseph the Hesychast
Even if you are not what you should be, you should not despair. It is bad enough that you have sinned; why in addition do you wrong God by regarding Him in your ignorance as powerless? Is He, who for your sake created the great universe that you behold, incapable of saving your soul? And if you say that this fact, as well as His incarnation, only makes your condemnation worse, then repent; and He will receive your repentance, as He accepted that of the prodigal son (cf. Luke 15:20) and the prostitute (cf. Luke 7:37-50). But if repentance is too much for you, and you sin out of habit even when you do not want to, show humility like the publican (cf. Luke 18:13): this is enough to ensure your salvation. For he who sins without repenting, yet does not despair, must of necessity regard himself as the lowest of creatures, and will not dare to judge or censure anyone. Rather, he will marvel at God’s compassion, and will be full of gratitude towards his Benefactor, and so receive many other blessings as well. Even if he is subject to the devil in that he sins, yet from fear of God he disobeys the enemy when the latter tries to make him despair. Because of this he has his portion with God; for he is grateful, gives thanks, is patient, fears God, does not judge so that he may not be judged. All these are crucial qualities. It is as St. John Chrysostom says about Gehenna: it is almost of greater benefit to us than the kingdom of heaven, since because of it many enter into the kingdom of heaven, while few enter for the sake of the kingdom itself; and if they do not enter it, it is by virtue of God’s compassion. Gehenna pursues us with fear, the kingdom embraces us with love, and through them both we are saved by God’s grace (Homily On 1 Timothy 15:3).
If those attacked by many passions of soul and body endure patiently, do not out of negligence surrender their free will, and do not despair, they are saved. Similarly, he who has attained the state of dispassion, freedom from fear and lightness of heart, quickly falls if he does not confess God’s grace continually by not judging anyone. Indeed, should he dare to judge someone, he makes it evident that in acquiring his wealth he has relied on his own strength, as St. Maximus states. St. John of Damascus says that if someone still subject to the passions, and still bereft of the light of spiritual knowledge, is put in charge of anyone, he is in great danger; and so is the person who has received dispassion and spiritual knowledge from God but does not help other people.
Nothing so benefits the weak as withdrawal into stillness, or the man subject to the passions and without spiritual knowledge as obedience combined with stillness. Nor is there anything better than to know one’s own weakness and ignorance, nor anything worse than not to recognize them. No passion is so hateful as pride, or as ridiculous as avarice, “the root of all evils” (1 Tim. 6:10): for those who with great labor mine silver, and then hide it in the earth again, remain without any profit. That is why the Lord says, “Do not store up treasures on earth” (Matt. 6:19); and again: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:21). For the intellect of man is drawn by longing towards those things with which it habitually occupies itself, whether these be earthly things, or the passions, or heavenly and eternal blessings. As St. Basil the Great says, a persistent habit acquires all the strength of nature (Long Rules 6).
A weak person especially ought to pay attention to the promptings of his conscience, so that he may free his soul from all condemnation. Otherwise at the end of his life he may repent in vain and mourn eternally. The person who cannot endure for Christ’s sake a physical death as Christ did, should at least be willing to endure death spiritually. Then he will be a martyr with respect to his conscience, in that he does not submit to the demons that assail him, or to their purposes, but conquers them, as did the holy martyrs and the holy fathers. The first were bodily martyrs, the latter spiritual martyrs. By forcing oneself slightly, one defeats the enemy; through slight negligence one is filled with darkness and destroyed.
From A Treasure of Divine Knowledge in The Philokalia (vol. 3)
St. Peter of Damascus
How are we to come to this humility and leave behind us the deadly swelling of arrogance? By exercising ourselves in it in all things, and by keeping in mind that there is nothing which cannot be a danger to us. For the soul becomes like the things to which it gives itself, and takes the character and appearance of what it does.
Let your demeanor, your dress, your walking, your sitting down, the nature of your food, the quality of your being, your house and what it contains, aim at simplicity.
And let your speech, your singing, your manner with your neighbor, let these things also be in accord with humility rather than with vanity.
In your words let there be no empty pretence, in your singing no excess sweetness, in conversation be not ponderous or overbearing. In everything refrain from seeking to appear important.
Be a help to your friends, kind to the ones with whom you live, gentle to your servant, patient with those who are troublesome, loving towards the lowly, comforting those in trouble, visiting those in affliction, never despising anyone, gracious in friendship, cheerful in answering others, courteous, approachable to everyone, never speaking your own praises, nor getting others to speak of them, never taking part in unbecoming conversations, and concealing where you may whatever gifts you posses."
St. Basil the Great, Homily on Humility, 20
Ὅποιος ἔχει θυσία καί πίστη στόν Θεό, δέν ὑπολογίζει τόν ἑαυτό του. Ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὅταν δέν καλλιεργήση τό πνεῦμα τῆς θυσίας, σκέφτεται μόνον τόν ἑαυτό του καί θέλει ὅλοι νά θυσιάζωνται γι’ αὐτόν. Ἀλλά ὅποιος σκέφτεται μόνον τόν ἑαυτό του, αὐτός απομονώνεται καί ἀπό τούς ἀνθρώπους, ἀπομονώνεται καί ἀπό τόν Θεό - διπλή ἀπομόνωση -, ὁπότε δέν δέχεται θεία Χάρη. Αὐτός εἶναι ἄχρηστος ἄνθρωπος. Καί νά δῆτε, αὐτόν πού σκέφτεται συνέχεια τόν ἑαυτό του, τίς δυσκολίες του κ.λπ., καί ἀνθρωπίνως κανείς δέν θά τοῦ συμπαρασταθῆ σέ μιά ανάγκη. Καλά, θεϊκή συμπαράσταση δέν θά ἔχη, ἀλλά δέν θά ἔχη καί ἀνθρώπινη. Μετά θά προσπαθῆ ἀπό ἐδῶ-ἀπό ἐκεῖ νά βοηθηθῆ. Θά βασανίζεται δηλαδή, γιά νά βοηθηθῆ ἀπό ἀνθρώπους, ἀλλά βοήθεια δέν θά βρίσκη. Ἀντίθετα, ὅποιος δέν σκέφτεται τόν ἑαυτό του, ἀλλά σκέφτεται συνέχεια τούς ἄλλους, μέ τήν καλή έννοια, αὐτόν τόν σκέφτεται συνέχεια ὁ Θεός, καί μετά τόν σκέφτονται καί οἱ ἄλλοι. Ὅσο ξεχνάει τόν ἑαυτό του, τόσο τόν θυμᾶται ὁ Θεός. Νά, μιά ψυχή φιλότιμη μέσα σέ ἕνα Κοινόβιο θυσιάζεται, δίνεται κ.λπ. Αὐτό, νομίζετε, δέν ἔχει πέσει στήν ἀντίληψη τῶν ἄλλων; Μπορεῖ νά μήν τήν σκεφθοῦν οἱ ἄλλοι αὐτήν τήν ψυχή πού δίνεται ὁλόκληρη καί δέν σκέφτεται τόν ἑαυτό της; Μπορεῖ νά μήν τήν σκεφθῆ ό Θεός; Μεγάλη ὑπόθεση! Ἐδῶ βλέπει κανείς τήν εὐλογία τοῦ Θεοῦ, πώς ἐργάζεται ὁ Θεός.
Στίς δυσκολίες δίνει ἐξετάσεις ό ἄνθρωπος. Ἐκεῖ φαίνεται ἄν ἔχη πραγματική ἀγάπη, θυσία. Καί ὅταν λέμε ὅτι ἕνας ἔχει θυσία, ἐννοοῦμε ὅτι τήν ὥρα τοῦ κινδύνου δέν ὑπολογίζει τόν ἑαυτό του καί σκέφτεται τούς ἄλλους. Βλέπεις, καί ἡ παροιμία λέει «ὁ καλός φίλος στήν ἀνάγκη φαίνεται». Θεός φυλάξοι, ἄν λ.χ. τώρα ἔπεφταν βόμβες, θά φαινόταν ποιός σκέφτεται τόν ἄλλον καί ποιός σκέφτεται τόν ἑαυτό του. Ὅποιος ὅμως ἔχει μάθει νά σκέφτεται μόνον τόν ἑαυτό του, σέ μιά δυσκολία πάλι τόν ἑαυτό του θά σκέφτεται, καί ό Θεός δέν θά τόν σκέφτεται αὐτόν τόν ἄνθρωπο. Ὅταν ἀπό τώρα δέν σκέφτεται κανείς τόν ἑαυτό του ἀλλά σκέφτεται τούς ἄλλους, καί στόν κίνδυνο τούς ἄλλους θά σκεφθῆ. Τότε ξεκαθαρίζουν ποιοί ἔχουν πραγματικά θυσία καί ποιοί εἶναι φίλαυτοι.
Ἄν δέν ἀρχίση κανείς νά κάνη ἀπό τώρα καμμιά θυσία, νά θυσιάση μιά ἐπιθυμία, ἕναν ἐγωισμό, πώς θά φθάση νά θυσιάση τήν ζωή του σε μιά δύσκολη στιγμή; "Ἄν τώρα σκέφτεται τόν κόπο καί κοιτάη νά μήν κοπιάση λίγο παραπάνω ἀπό ἕναν ἄλλο σέ μιά δουλειά, πώς θά φθάση στήν κατάσταση νά τρέχη νά σκοτωθῆ αὐτός, γιά νά μή σκοτωθῆ ὁ ἄλλος; Ἄν τώρα γιά μικρά πράγματα σκέφτεται τόν ἑαυτό του, τότε πού θά κινδυνεύη ἡ ζωή του, πώς θά σκεφθῆ τόν ἄλλον; Τότε θά εἶναι πιό δύσκολα. Ἄν ἔρθουν δύσκολα χρόνια καί ἔχη λ.χ. ὁ διπλανός του πυρετό καί τόν δῆ νά πέση στόν δρόμο, θά τόν ἀφήση καί θά φύγη. Θά πῆ: «Νά πάω νά ξαπλώσω, μήν πέσω καί ἐγώ».
Στόν πόλεμο παλεύει ἡ ζωή ἡ δική σου με τήν ζωή τοῦ ἄλλου. Λεβεντιά εἶναι νά τρέχη ό ἕνας νά γλυτώση τόν ἄλλον. Ὅταν δέν ὑπάρχη θυσία, ὁ καθένας πάει νά γλυτώση τόν ἑαυτό του. Καί εἶναι παρατηρημένο· ὅποιος πάει στόν πόλεμο νά ξεφύγη, τόν βρίσκει ἐκεῖ ἡ οβίδα. Πάει δῆθεν νά γλυτώση καί σπάζει τά μούτρα του. Γι' αὐτό νά μήν κοιτάζη κανείς νά ξεφύγη, καί ἰδίως ὅταν αὐτό εἶναι εἰς βάρος τῶν ἄλλων. Θυμᾶμαι ἕνα περιστατικό ἀπό τόν Ἀλβανικό πόλεμο.
Ἕνας στρατιώτης εἶχε μιά πλάκα, γιά νά προστατεύη τό κεφάλι του. Ἐν τῶ μεταξύ χρειάσθηκε νά πάη λίγο πιό πέρα καί τήν ἀκούμπησε κάτω. Πάει ἀμέσως ό διπλανός του καί τήν παίρνει. Σοῦ λέει: «Εὐκαιρία εἶναι, θά τήν πάρω ἐγώ τώρα». Τήν ίδια στιγμή, τάκ, πέφτει ὁ ὅλμος ἐπάνω του, τόν διέλυσε. Αὐτός ἔβλεπε τά πυρά πού ἔπεφταν καί πῆρε τήν πλάκα, γιά νά γλυτώση· δέν ὑπολόγισε τόν ἄλλον πού θά γύριζε πάλι. Σκέφθηκε μόνον τόν ἑαυτό του καί δικαιολόγησε κάπως καί τήν πράξη του: «Ἀφού πῆγε λίγο πιό πέρα ὁ ἄλλος, μπορῶ νά τήν πάρω τήν πλάκα». Ναί, ἔφυγε, ἀλλά ἡ πλάκα ἦταν δική του. Ἕνας ἄλλος, ὅσο συνεχιζόταν ὁ πόλεμος, προσπαθοῦσε νά γλυτώση. Κανέναν δέν ὑπολόγιζε.
Οἱ ἄλλοι βοηθούσαν, αὐτός καθόταν στό σπίτι του. Κοίταζε μέχρι τήν τελευταία ὥρα πού δυσκόλεψαν τά πράγματα νά ξεφύγη. Ἀργότερα, ὅταν εἶχαν ἔρθει οἱ Ἄγγλοι, πῆγε στό στρατόπεδο, παρουσιάσθηκε στόν Ζέρβα καί, ἐπειδή εἶχε καί ἀμερικανική ὑπηκοότητα, βρῆκε εὐκαιρία καί ἔφυγε γιά τήν Ἀμερική. Μόλις ὅμως ἔφθασε ἐκεῖ, πέθανε! Ἡ γυναίκα του ἡ καημένη ἔλεγε: «Πῆγε νά ξεφύγη ἀπό τόν Θεό!». Αὐτός πέθανε, ἐνῶ ἄλλοι πού πήγαν καί στόν πόλεμο ἔζησαν.
Γεροντας Παϊσιος
- Γιατί μερικές φορές, ενώ η συνείδηση μας ελέγχει, δεν κάνουμε τον ανάλογο αγώνα, για να διορθωθούμε;
- Αυτό μπορεί να συμβή και από ένα τσάκισμα ψυχικό. Όταν είναι κανείς πανικοβλημένος από κάποιον πειρασμό, θέλει να αγωνισθή, αλλά δεν έχει διάθεση, δεν έχει ψυχική δύναμη. Τότε πρέπει να τακτοποιηθή εσωτερικά με την εξομολόγηση. Με την εξομολόγηση παρηγοριέται, τονώνεται και ξαναβρίσκει με την Χάρη του Θεού το κουράγιο για αγώνα. Αν δεν τακτοποιηθή, μπορεί να του έρθη και άλλος πειρασμός, οπότε, θλιμμένος όπως είναι, τσακίζεται περισσότερο, τον πνίγουν οι λογισμοί, απελπίζεται και μετά δεν μπορεί να αγωνισθή καθόλου.
- Και αν αυτό συμβαίνη συχνά;
- Αν συμβαίνη συχνά, πρέπει ο άνθρωπος να τακτοποιήται συχνά, να ανοίγη την καρδιά του στον πνευματικό, για να παίρνη κουράγιο. Και όταν τακτοποιηθή, πρέπει να βάλη την μηχανή να τρέξη, να αγωνισθή φιλότιμα και εντατικά, για να πάρη καταπόδι τον έξω από ‘δώ.
- Γέροντα, όταν δεν αισθάνωνται την ανάγκη για εξομολόγηση, τι φταίει;
- Μήπως δεν παρακολουθείς τον εαυτό σου; Η εξομολόγηση είναι μυστήριο. Να πηγαίνης και απλά να λες τις αμαρτίες σου. Γιατί, τι νομίζεις; Πείσμα δεν έχεις; Εγωισμό δεν έχεις; Δεν πληγώνεις την αδελφή; Δεν κατακρίνεις; Μήπως εγώ τι πηγαίνω και λέω; «Θύμωσα, κατέκρινα…» και μου διαβάζει ο πνευματικός την συγχωρητική ευχή. Αλλά και οι μικρές αμαρτίες έχουν και αυτές βάρος. Όταν πήγαιναν στον Παπα-Τύχωνα να εξομολογηθώ, δεν είχα τίποτα σοβαρό να πω και μου έλεγε: «Αμμούδα, παιδάκι μου, αμμούδα»! Οι μικρές αμαρτίες μαζεύονται και κάνουν ένα σωρό αμμούδα, που είναι όμως βαρύτερη από μια μεγάλη πέτρα. Ο άλλος που έχει κάνει ένα αμάρτημα μεγάλο, το σκέφτεται συνέχεια, μετανοεί και ταπεινώνεται. Εσύ έχεις πολλά μικρά. Εάν όμως εξετάσης τις συνθήκες με τις οποίες εσύ μεγάλωσες και τις συνθήκες με τις οποίες μεγάλωσε ο άλλος, θα δης ότι είσαι χειρότερη από εκείνον. Να προσπαθής επίσης να είσαι συγκεκριμένη στην εξομολόγησή σου. Δεν φθάνει να πη κανείς λ.χ. «ζηλεύω, θυμώνω κ.λπ.», αλλά πρέπει να πη τις συγκεκριμένες πτώσεις του, για να βοηθηθή. Και, όταν πρόκειται για κάτι βαρύ, όπως η πονηριά, πρέπει να πη και πως σκέφθηκε και πως ενήργησε· αλλιώς κοροϊδεύει τον Χριστό. Αν ο άνθρωπος δεν ομολογή την αλήθεια στον πνευματικό, δεν του αποκαλύπτη το σφάλμα του, για να μπορέση να τον βοηθήση, παθαίνει ζημιά, όπως και ο άρρωστος κάνει μεγάλο κακό στην υγεία του, όταν κρύβη την πάθησή του από τον γιατρό. Ενώ, όταν εκθέτη τον εαυτό του όπως ακριβώς είναι, τότε ο πνευματικός μπορεί να τον γνωρίση καλύτερα και να τον βοηθήση πιο θετικά.
Ύστερα, όταν κανείς αδικήση ή πληγώση με την συμπεριφορά του έναν άνθρωπο, πρέπει πρώτα να πάη να του ζητήση ταπεινά συγχώρηση, να συμφιλιωθή μαζί του, και έπειτα να εξομολογηθή την πτώση του στον πνευματικό, για να λάβη την άφεση. Έτσι έρχεται η Χάρις του Θεού. Αν πη το σφάλμα του στον πνευματικό, χωρίς προηγουμένως να ζητήση συγχώρηση από τον άνθρωπο που πλήγωσε, δεν είναι δυνατόν να ειρηνεύση η ψυχή του, γιατί δεν ταπεινώνεται. Εκτός αν ο άνθρωπος που πλήγωσε έχη πεθάνει ή δεν μπορή να τον βρη, γιατί άλλαξε κατοικία και δεν έχει την διεύθυνσή του, για να του ζητήση, έστω και γραπτώς, συγγνώμην, αλλά έχη διάθεση να το κάνη, τότε ο Θεός τον συγχωρεί, γιατί βλέπει την διάθεσή του.
- Αν, Γέροντα, ζητήσουμε συγχώρεση και δεν μας συγχωρήση;
- Τότε να κάνουμε προσευχή να μαλακώση ο Θεός την καρδιά του. Υπάρχει όμως περίπτωση να μη βοηθάη ο Θεός να μαλακώση η καρδιά του, γιατί, αν μας συγχωρήση, μπορεί να ξαναπέσουμε στο ίδιο σφάλμα.
- Γέροντα, όταν κανείς κάνη ένα σοβαρό σφάλμα, υπάρχει περίπτωση να μην μπορή να το εξομολογηθή αμέσως;
- Γιατί να το αφήση; Για να ξινίση; Όσο κρατάς ένα χαλασμένο πράγμα, τόσο χαλάει. Γιατί να αφήση να περάσουν ένας-δύο μήνες, για να πάη στον πνευματικό να το εξομολογηθή; Να πάη το συντομώτερο. Αν έχη μια πληγή ανοιχτή, θα αφήση να περάση ένας μήνας, για να την θεραπεύση; Ούτε να περιμένη να πάη, όταν θα έχη πολύ χρόνο ο πνευματικός, για να έχη πιο πολλή άνεση. Αυτό το ένα σφάλμα, τακ-τακ να το λέη αμέσως και μετά, όταν ο πνευματικός θα έχη χρόνο, να πηγαίνη για πιο πολύ, για μια συζήτηση κ.λπ.
Δεν χρειάζεται ώρα πολλή, για να δώσω εικόνα του εαυτού μου. Όταν η συνείδηση δουλεύη σωστά, δίνει ο άνθρωπος με δυο λόγια εικόνα της καταστάσεώς του. Όταν όμως υπάρχη μέσα του σύγχυση, μπορεί να λέη πολλά και να μη δίνη εικόνα. Να, βλέπω, μερικοί μου γράφουν ολόκληρα τετράδια, είκοσι-τριάντα σελίδες αναφοράς με μικρά γράμματα, και μερικές σελίδες υστερόγραφο… Όλα αυτά που γράφουν, μπορούσαν να τα βάλουν σε μια σελίδα.
Παραπόμπες
[6] Βλ. Γέροντος Παϊσίου Αγιορείτου,
Αγιορείται Πατέρες και Αγιορείτικα, σ. 15-40.
Μια από τις αιτίες είναι επειδή, αντί οι μάνες να προσεύχονται για την οικογένειά τους, για τα παιδιά τους, κάθονται και παρακολουθούν ένα σωρό τηλεοπτικές σειρές!
Δεν θέλουν να τις χάσουνε!
Ρώτησε τις μάνες όλες, ποιες γονατίζουν και προσεύχονται;
Κάποιες πιθανόν να προσεύχονται,
αλλά τι προσευχή αναπέμπουν στον Θεό;
Εκεί είναι τώρα το μυστικό.
Θα σας το πω με ένα παράδειγμα.
Είδα με τα μάτια μου μια κοπέλα, να παίρνει τηλέφωνο.
Την ώρα που μιλούσε με το παλικάρι της τσακώθηκαν και μετά από λίγο χωρίσανε.
Έβαλε η κοπέλα τα κλάματα και εγώ την ρώτησα:
-Τι έχεις παιδί μου;
-Χωρίσαμε κι εγώ τον αγαπώ.
Και άρχισε να κλαίει.
-Τι κάνει η έλλειψη του αγαπημένου;
Φέρνει δάκρυα, το αίσθημα ότι χάνεις κάποιον που αγαπάς.
-Τι κάνει τότε η καρδιά σου;
Κλαίει, λυπάται, πονά, δεν θες να τον χάσεις. Αυτό ακριβώς είναι.
Τώρα, ρωτήστε τον εαυτό σας:
-Πότε μπόρεσε κανείς με δάκρυα να αναζητήσει τον Θεό;
-Πότε μπόρεσε με δάκρυα να Τον αγαπήσει;
-Πότε μπόρεσε να Τον νιώσει τόσο δικό Του και να νιώσει τόσο πολύ την έλλειψή Του, ώστε με δάκρυα να Τον αναζητήσει;
Αυτό είναι ο θεϊκός έρωτας!
Το καταλάβατε;
Γι’ αυτό και σήμερα, ενώ υπάρχουν πολλοί που προσεύχονται, λίγοι είναι αυτοί που είναι ενωμένοι με τον Χριστό, σαν ένα.
Ο Χριστός δεν ζητάει τυπικές παπαγαλίστικες προσευχές. Την καρδιά μας ζητάει.
Δεν τον σαγηνεύουν τα περίπλοκα και αδιάφορα λόγια.
Την ψυχή μας θέλει.
Οι προσευχές μας να είναι εγκάρδιες, να Του μιλάμε απλά και αληθινά!
___________________________
ΕΓΓΥΣ ΚΥΡΙΟΣ ΤΟΙΣ ΣΥΝΤΕΤΡΙΜΜΕΝΟΙΣ ΤΗΝ ΚΑΡΔΙΑΝ
ΚΑΙ ΤΟΥΣ ΤΑΠΕΙΝΟΥΣ ΤΩ ΠΝΕΥΜΑΤΙ ΣΩΣΕΙ. (Ψαλμ. 34, 18)
(= Ο Κύριος είναι κοντά σε όσους έχουν συντετριμμένη καρδιά, και θα σώσει τους ταπεινούς στο πνεύμα.)
The key to our spiritual maturity is humility. It is in humility that we are able to do God's will. God's will works in two ways: Things that He desires and those that He permits. It is when we we surrender our own will that we begin to see what He desires for us and are able to differentiate from those He permits.
Elder Macarius says,
Since God's will works in two ways, it does not bind us or make us unfree. Some things He desires; others He permits. The second way is made manifest when we insist on things happening as we think best. But when we docilely abandon ourselves to His will, He manifests the first, which is, ultimately, of greater advantage to us.
This idea of surrender of our will is not easy to accomplish and requires much work with such activities like fasting, prayer, reading of Scripture, participating in the Sacraments––all the elements of the Orthodox Way of Life. This is the aim of the Orthodox Way of Life.
Elder Macarius
How often do we sit and reflect on spiritual questions, using our own thoughts to figure things out. The more we think about the issue the more clear it becomes to us what is right. Then when we go to talk with our spiritual father our mind is fixed and often we find ourselves only defending our own thought.
Elder Paisios, often had little patience for such people who were unable to listen to to one such person he said the following:
Do not listen to your own thoughts, because you will end up losing your mind. Be careful, you have a very good machine, but its wheel faces the wrong direction. You have to turn it to the right direction, where the good thoughts are. Only you, yourself, can do this along with the help of God. Nobody else can do it for you, as you are free and self-dependent. You turn the wheel, and your spiritual father will show you the direction.Our thoughts, even well intentioned can block us from receiving the spiritual advice we badly need.
Source: Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain, p 35-36
Science studies the Jesus Prayer
It may seem a lot of effort over just seven words: Finding 110 Eastern Orthodox Christians, giving them a battery of tests ranging from psychology to theology to behavioral medicine, and then repeating the tests 30 days later. But the seven words—”Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me” (a.k.a. the Jesus Prayer)—are among the most enduring in history. What Boston University psychologist George Stavros, Ph.D., wanted to find out was whether repeating the Jesus Prayer for ten minutes each day over the 30 days would affect these people’s relationship with God, their relationships with others, their faith maturity, and their “self-cohesion” (levels of depression, anxiety, hostility, and interpersonal sensitivity). In short, Stavros was asking whether the Jesus Prayer can play a special role in a person’s “journey to the heart.”
The answer—at least on all the scales that showed any significant effect compared to the control group—turned out to be a resounding yes. Repeating the contemplative prayer deepened the commitment of these Christians to a relationship with a transcendent reality. Not only that, it reduced depression, anxiety, hostility, and feelings of inferiority to others. So powerful were the psychological effects of the prayer that Stavros urges his colleagues to keep it in mind as a healing intervention for clients. He recommends that the prayer be used along with communal practices so that one’s relationship with God and others is “subtly and continuously tutored.” In other words, going inside to find God does not mean going it alone.
