St. Paisios the Athonite

 

St. Paisios the Athonite

 

When someone venerates the holy Icons with devoutness and fervent love, he absorbs the colours from them and the Saints are imprinted on his soul. The Saints are pleased when they are lifted up from the paper or the wood and imprinted in people’s hearts. When a Christian devoutly kisses the holy Icons and prays for help from Christ, Panagia, the Saints, he draws into his heart not only the Grace of Christ, of Panagia, and of the Saints, but also the whole of Christ, or of Panagia, or of a Saint, and places them upon the iconostasis of his own temple. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1Cor 6;19.3;16).

 

Cultivate your devoutness and your modesty as much as you can. This will help you receive the Grace of God. For, if someone is devout and spiritually modest and humble too, he can expect to receive divine Grace. If he has no devoutness and no humility, the Grace of God does not come to him. What does the Sacred Scripture say? But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word. ISA 66;2.

 

***

 

Give thanks to God for everything. Try to be manly. Pull yourself together a bit. Do you know what Christians are suffering in other countries? There are such difficulties in Russia! But here many exhibit indifference. There’s not enough disposition to kindness, love of devotion. You see, if we don’t begin to make war against evil, to expose those who tempt believers, then the evil will grow larger. If we throw aside fear then the faithful will be emboldened a bit. And those who wage war against the Church will have a harder time.

In the past our nation lived spiritually, so God blessed her, and the saints helped us in miraculous fashion. And we were victorious against our enemies, who always outnumbered us. Today we continue to call ourselves Orthodox Christians, but we don’t live Orthodox lives.

 

Taken from Saint Paisios of Mount Athos : Spiritual Counsels, Vol. 2: Spiritual Awakening, translated into English and published in 2008 by Holy Monastery “Evangelist John the Theologian”, Souroti, Thessaloniki, Greece.