Mid-Pentecost: To Be Thankful to God Always

Mid-Pentecost: To Be Thankful to God Always

"In the middle of the Feast, O Savior, fill my thirsting soul with the waters of godliness, as Thou didst cry to all: 'If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink' (John 7:37). O Christ God, Fountain of our life, glory be to Thee!"

Saint Paisios* of the Holy Mountain Athos (and Sinai) on the Providence of God:

- Geronta, does deprivation strengthen our trust in God? asked yet another visitor.

- It helps a lot. It also helps our glorification of God; when we have everything in abundance, we forget God. In Sinai, water was scarce. It dripped from a rock and I collected three kilos of water (3 litres/3.5 quarts) over 24 hours. I greatly appreciated this small amount of water and thanked God continually for giving it to me. With this I did everything. I drank, washed, washed clothes, and saved a little for the birds and the little mice that kept me company. I felt gratitude for this water.

Later, when I came to Mount Athos, to the Skete of Iviron, things changed. Αbundant water existed there. The cistern overflowed. But I lost something important: I no longer felt the need to thank God.

In Sinai my eyes would fill with tears from thankfulness for the scant water, whereas at the Skete, from the abundance of water - I forgot to.

(By Presbyter Dionysios Tatsis, as printed in the newspaper 'Orthodoxos Typos')

* Saint (Elder) Paisios in Mount Athos (+1994). He was canonized by the Orthodox Church in 2015. When younger, he spent almost two years at St. Catherine's at Mount Sinai. Later he always talked about Sinai with love and longing. He said that the desert taught him a lot. ..

You can also watch a video about St. Paisios' time in Sinai in our Video Library.