St. Paisios on the Saints, and the help of St. Barbara

  

St. Paisios on the Saints, and the help of St. Barbara. 

 

--Elder, when someone has reverence towards a Saint, what has occurred?

- -To have special reverence towards some Saint, the Saint must have spoken within him in one way or another. Each, after some event which occurred through the help of a Saint, has a special love for that Saint. This event can be serious, or it can be simple. For example, because when I was young and I went to the Chapel of St. Barbara in Konitsa, I has great reverence towards St. Barbara. The Saint helped me in the army, when they took me to the radio operators, though I was illiterate, she helped me. And later she also helped me when I was in the Sanatarium after surgery on my lungs. Then the doctors told me that, as soon as they cleaned the lungs, they would take away the chest tubes and the machines. And though they should have been removed in five days, twenty-five days had passed, and they were still there, and I suffered greatly.

   

Saturday December 3rd I was waiting for the doctors to free me from this martyrdom, but unfortunately, they did not appear. Sunday morning, which was the feast of St. Barabara, I said: "If the Saint were to help me, she would have helped me. The doctors left. Today, Sunday, they wouldn't come. Now, who would remove these?"

   

I then said a few words of complaint: "I went to light the vigil lamps how many times at the Chapel of the Saint, what oil I brought, how I cleaned them, how I polished them. She couldn't remove these two tubes?"

   

After a short time though, I said: "It appears that I saddened St. Barbara, and for this, she did not arrange that they be removed."

   

Immediately I heard a commotion. I said: "What's going on? Did something happen?" They said: "The doctors are coming". I don't know what convinced the director to tell his doctors early in the morning: "Go take out the tubes from the monk!"

   

They entered the room and told me: "We have an order to take out the tubes."

   

It appears that I guilted St. Barbara, because I said a few complaints! You must grumble a bit! But it is better to not grumble, to have nobility and not grumble.

   

Do you see how a Saint sometimes immediately gives what we seek, and sometimes gives it later. Sometimes they hearken to him who prays because he is in a good spiritual state, and other times, because he cries and grumbles like a small child.