St. Paisius Velichkovsky

St. Paisius Velichkovsky

I just started reading about our venerable Schema-archimandrite Paisius. He is remembered for initiating the revival in the late eighteenth century of monasticism in Russia and the Orthodox East that was to expand during the next century. This legacy came from a remarkable set of talents that merged in him to produce an re-invigoration of Orthodox monastic life. These virtues included his personal holiness combined with love for education, his ability to organize coenobitic monastic life, his ability to attract and teach many students, his skill in creating a school of spiritual asceticism, and his great literary talent in the task of correcting old translations and making new translations of the ascetic literature of the Holy Fathers. St. Paisius had many students who became influential among the monks in Moldavia and Russia well as on Mount Athos itself.

A couple of quotes I love by St. Paisius are:

• “Remember, O my soul, the terrible and frightful wonder: that your Creator for your sake became Man, and deigned to suffer for the sake of your salvation. His angels tremble, the Cherubim are terrified, the Seraphim are in fear, and all the heavenly powers ceaselessly give praise; and you, unfortunate soul, remain in laziness. At least from this time forth arise and do not put off, my beloved soul, holy repentance, contrition of heart and penance for your sins.”
• “The enemy likes to hide the truth and to mix good with evil. But how can one find out the truth? God’s goodwill and all our intentions are meek, full of good hope, and undoubting. Not only in our good deeds, but also in our lawlessness, God endures long with meekness and awaits our repentance. And how can one distinguish the impulse of the enemy? The enemy usually hinders us and turns us away from good. However, if in anything which apparently is good, the mind is disturbed and causes us disturbance, banishes the fear of God, deprives us of calmness, so that without any reason the heart aches and the mind wavers, then know that this is an impulse from the enemy and cut it off.”

The glorification of St Paisius was performed in our Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on the feast day of Holy Prophet Elias on July 20, 1982 at the Russian Skete of St Elias on Mt Athos, which was founded by St Paisius.

St. Paisius, pray unto God for us!

Saying of Eldress Gabriela (Papayannis)

Mother Gabrielia

Eldress Gabriela lived during the years 1897-1992. She is considered a Saintly Greek nun and many believe that one day, the Orthodox Church will canonize her.
Below are some of the saying of Eldress Gabriela to her spiritual children and laymen who visited her at her monastery in Greece.

* Not a knowledge that you learn, but a knowledge that you suffer. That is Orthodox spirituality.
* Do not desire many things–more than you have, that which is far away. Rather, seek to take care of       what you have so as to sanctify it.
* One thing is education: that we learn how to love God.
* Nothing is cheaper than money.
* It is not that which we say, but that which we live. It is not what we do, but what we are.
* We desire our freedom. Why? In order to be slaves to our passions.
* God often does not desire the act but the intention. It is enough that He sees you are willing to do His command.
* When God created us, He gave us life and breathed His Spirit into us. That Spirit is Love. When we lack love, we become corpses and are altogether dead.
* The spiritually advanced person is the one who arrives at a place of no identity and who has understood in his depths that whatever happens is the will of God or by the permission of God.
* Only when the person stops reading other books except the Gospel does he begin to make real interior progress. Only then, united with God through the Prayer, can he hear the will of God.
* Never desire anything but the will of God, and receive with love the evil that comes to you.
* Never say, “Why has this happened to me?” Or when you see someone with gangrene or cancer or blindness, don’t ask, “Why did this happen to them?” But ask God to give you the vision of the other bank of the river. Then you will see with the angels as it is in fact: Everything is according to the plan of God. Everything!
* The language of God is silence.
* Anxiety and worry is for those who don’t have faith.

Matericon

St. Theophanes the Recluse

Recently I just completed the book I was reading called, “Matericon”. This book contains the instructions of Abba Isaiah to the honorable Nun Theodora. I never heard of St. Isaiah before I read this book. So who is he? Abba Isaiah is considered a Holy Father of the Eastern Orthodox Church, he lived a solitary life in the second half of the fourth century A.D. Lower Egypt during this period was a place of ascetic labors where Abba Isaiah lived, in a desert skete called Scetis. St. Isaiah drew the attention of many monastics of his time, especially his beloved spiritual daughter, the honorable Nun Theodora, who shared Abba Isaiah’s spiritual instructions to her sisterhood.

The manuscript of all the spiritual instructions of Abba Isaiah from the 4rth century was discovered in Jerusalem by St. Theophan the Recluse- a great Russian spiritual father of the last century- he did not hesitate to delay his idea to translate his discovery for his own spiritual children. Finally, we have this manuscript presented to us in English!  Below are some of the quotes from the Matericon that I personally loved:

* “We who have taken upon ourselves this calling must keep extreme modesty. Many people in the world are seemingly chaste, but this does not benefit them in the least because with their other senses they are not modest.”

* “Let your lying down on the bed be for you the image of your enclosure in the coffin, and you will sleep very little and with humility. Likewise, let your food remind you of the bitter torments of the never-sleeping worm, and you will eat your bread and drink your water with fear.”

* “It is impossible to fulfill prayer and stillness as it ought when the mind is fragmented by many cares, even if one were to strive for this. The Lord himself says: No man can serve two masters, and again, Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Mat. 6:24)”

* “Friendship is great and honorable-but only if it is spiritual. Run from the one who wants to destroy your soul as from the devil himself. Believe me, in these days there is hardly anyone-due to the captivating age of your youth-who would (genuinely) desire to become a spiritual friend to you, except Sweetest Jesus Christ God. Besides, what need is it to have friendships with those who cannot in the least help you on the day of your death, or the Judgment? Push aside everyone, the little and the great, and cleave to Sweetest Jesus our God Who is able to help you both at the hour of death and on the day of Judgment; and, what is more, He can give you the never ending Kingdom. The Apostle Paul says: The world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world (Gal. 6:14). So choose the better, as one who is wise and sensible.”