The fragrance
of Paradise
Some time ago, when I was visiting Mount
Athos, I found myself, a younger priest at the time, in the steep cliffs of the
remote site of Katounakia. There was a monk there who had reached a high level
of holiness. He looked more like an angel than a human. His face shone with the
grace of God. On this trip to Katounakia I had with me two Theology professors
and a student from the school of Engineering. We found the Elder after a long
ascent on the rocky site. He welcomed us with immense love and joy. “I have
great joy,” he said. “A priest is visiting my cell!” We sat down and one of the
professors asked: “Elder, can you tell us something about the scent of the Holy
Spirit?”
The Elder
became more thoughtful and asked: “What do you mean?”.
The professor
said: “I am taking about the fragrance emitted by the Holy Relics and the
sacred icons, can you please tell us about that?”
“Ah, ah,”
said the Elder, and as he wondered how to answer, he bent his head, and silence
spread everywhere. Then … oh, a scent flooded the whole place. I raised my eyes
and saw that the eyes of the other three visitors were full of tears looking at
me. The Elder kept his head bent. A sweetness flooded our hearts, a situation
that reminded me what the great Apostle Paul wrote: “Eye has not seen, nor ear
heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared
for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). The Elder lifted his head like a
shy child and said, “Forgive me, I did not know how to explain it to you, so I
asked God to show it to you.
”
From the
homily: “A Few Flowers from The garden of Saint John of Sinai” by Archimandrite
Chrysostom, Abbot of the Holy Monastery Saint Nikodimos the Hagiorite located
in Pentalofos Peonias at Kilkis Greece.
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