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On Discernment of
Thought and Spirituality
The famous hesychast and confessor Father Gregorios lived in Small St.
Anne's before the time of Father; Savvas. He was given to frequent silence
and constant prayer. He spoke only when necessary and everyone marveled
athis divine gift of fluent, inspired speech. Fie became the stronghold and
support of cenobitic monks, hermits, and, lay pilgrims.
This wisest of spiritual fathers, because of his discernment, led to
repentance Captain Georgakis, the leader of a robber-band. He managed to do
this by using an admirable strategy. He pretended that he too was guilty of
many crimes which were even greater than the bandit's. By this ruse he
gained the trust and confidence of the ferocious Georgakis and thus tamed
him and brought him around to a complete change of heart. He also promised
to give the bandit Holy Communion every day, under one condition: that they
both would fast for forty days. Georgakis agreed. Father Gregorios did not
give him the actual Floly Gifts, however, but ordinary bread and wine, until
the forty-day penance was finished. Then he gave him the real communion.
-------------------
The hegumen of St. Dionysios, the elder Gabriel, told me this story:
Over fifty years ago near Karyes (in Koutloumousiou's skete) lived an elder
and father confessor who was simple-mannered and with little education, hut
with a cleansed mind which had been applied carefully to the study of God's
word. His obedience was to knit garters which were worn by the civil guards
of Mount Athos and the mountain people of Roumeli and Epiros. When he came
to Karyes to sell his product on Saturdays for the weeldy market, he would
stand under the cemetery's shed near the main road holding his prayer rope
in his right hand and his crafts in his left. With his eyes always turned
downward he uttered the Jesus Prayer unceasingly: 'Lord Jesus, have mercy on
us.' If anyone teased him and said, 'Look around for some customers!' he
would reply, As long as they see me it is not necessary for me to look at
them.' They say this man of discernment had such perception that he could
clearly see the underlying fault of a person in confession and then
concisely and laconically give instructions for correction.
Having heard about him, Ecumenical Patriarch loakim III, who at that time
was staying on Mount Athos, went to Karyes to meet him. He approached the
elder and asked to go to his hut that afternoon in order to make his
confession.
'My hut is too small, Your Holiness, to receive a patriarch/ the elder
replied.
'It does not matter if it is small,' the Patriarch answered.
'But it is too low for you to pass under, Your Holiness!'
'I will stoop down to enter,' repeated the great patriarch.
'Unfortunately you do not bow!' said the Elder. 'If you had put your head
down, you could have been a patriarch a long time ago!' He meant that the
Patriarch was arrogant and had an unyielding attitude. Many times the
Patriarch would say about that incident, As long as I live I will never
forget my discussion with that elder—a simple man, but one of great
discernment.
-------------------------------
To this same spiritual father came another elder who was complaining that
his young monk in obedience, even though everything was easy for him and he
was not burdened with \ much work—since he had only his rule of prayer—was
nevertheless overcome by many anxious thoughts and there- i fore in danger
of spiritual confusion because of depression. \ This elder who was in charge
of him had come to Elder Gabriel to seek advice and help in the matter.
"Marry him off," the elder replied. When he heard this, he was dumbfounded
and looked at him in amazement, as i if he had heard nothing. "Put him to
work," the elder repeated. "Young people can be humbled and can be quieted I
down only through regular work. For a monk prayer only, without work, is the
same as work without prayer. Marry i him to his work!"
--------------------
"Anytime there are temptations and troubles, there are also laurels of
victory," the pious Elder Gregorios would say to Hieromonk loakim Spetsieris,
and then he would add: "If it were possible to find a monastery filled with
angels, and; they placed you as one of the brothers in it, still you would j
not be saved, because no one would bother you, and you would be living an
easy life and this saying would be suitable to your situation: 'In your
lifetime you received your good things'."
"My father, I am losing the battle in a carnal war," Hieromonk loakim
Spetsieris told Elder Gregorios once; "I cannot rest either day or night!"
"Do not despair," he replied. "This is a sign that rewards are near. Do not
be afraid. Our Christ does not allow for us to be tempted more than we can
endure." And soon after he blessed him, he was freed from the temptation.
------------------------
An elder said that Hadjigiorgis, because he was a novice once himself,
understood monks in obedience. "He pruned carefully and clipped with
discernment."
------------------------
A hermit said:
When you pay back all your debts in this life, you can be saved. However, if
you. are hit on the head many times, you receive a bit of an extra reward.
For an unjustly beaten person there is a pure reward. This means that
frequently God permits those who lead good lives to be badly afflicted. Why
is this so?
Let me explain with an example. There is a happy family where all its
members are good: father, mother, and children. They are churchgoers and
receive communion regularly. Suddenly a drunkard or crazy person kills the
good father of the family for no reason. Because of this many people who
have been distanced from God say, 'Look at him! You see? He was a churchgoer
and that is what happened to him!'
What insolence! God allows those who are not at fault to suffer in order to
give a second chance to the unrepentant, that they might he brought to
repentance through seeing the suffering of the innocent and thus be like the
good thief who was hanged next to Christ on the cross.
What do we observe in those two robbers between whom the Lord was crucified?
One blasphemed against Christ saying, 'If you are the Christ save yourself
and us.' But the other rebuked him saying, 'We are receiving the just reward
of our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong. Do you not even fear
God?' (Luke 23:39-41)
This is why God allows some innocent people to suffer — so that the insolent
ones may benefit, although those who suffer are truly God's beloved. In
paradise I believe that God will say to them, 'Here, this mansion is for
you, or you can choose any one you like!'
Do you understand? This is the way it is. When we ask to be justified, we
may lose everything. We lose our peace of mind and our reward.
----------------------
One of the most illumined and discerning fathers of Mount Athos was Elder
Daniel, who built for the Agioritan fathers a holy hut in Katounakia's
desert. There his group of monks in obedience were named after him "the
Danielites," because of their elder's rare and charismatic personality.
He became famous as a wise spiritual guide to many cenobitic monks, hermits
and lay people because of his virtue and his education, which came from
experience. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, he was especially able to discern
whatever traps and ambushes were set by evil spirits who, in the warfare
launched by Satan, come from the right.2 These temptations from the right
include all actions of a person which display false virtues delusions,
exaggerations, actions, without a blessing, boasting and vanity. All these
things lead to Satanic pride.
One of those brothers who was misled by Satan was the Konstamonitan father
Damaskinos. He thought that he could become a recluse like one of the heroic
ascetics, without asking his hegumen's blessing. He decided not to go out of
the monastery at all. He went from his cell only to the church and the
trapeza, and he completed his obedience tasks as assigned. He spent ten
years of his life thinking he was a recluse, but filled with such pride!
Meanwhile, because he thought himself so virtuous, his pride was increasing
along with contempt for others, criticism, and disputes and quarrels with
the rest of the monks. Because the problem was not being corrected, the
hegumen sent for the revered Elder Daniel, who came willingly because he was
always ready to help.
The discerning Father Daniel called to himself the deluded Damaskinos, and
with a characteristically sweet manner reasoned with him and slowly brought
him to his senses and to repentance. Father Daniel used examples from the
Old and New Testaments, Moses, the Israelites, and the Fathers, and said to
him, "Brother, be careful from now on not to trust yourself and your own
thoughts, but repeat that wise saying of Abba Dorotheos: 'Cursed be your
thoughts and the knowledge you create'."
-------------------------
The elders of Mount Athos say: "Not the place, but how you behave saves
you."
---------------------------
An elder said:
We ought to be happy rather than sad when we are unjustly mistreated. We
must not try to be justified by people even when we are right. Since God is
just, and we are focusing on the life to come, it does not make sense to try
to have the understanding of others, or to be treated well, or to be
recognized for what we are worth and not be treated unjustly, and so forth.
If we follow that route in this life, we have to realize that the path we
follow will not lead to paradise.
---------------------------
An illiterate and simple hermit told me: "Those who are too clever are
quickly caught in Satan's web because they arc filled with ego, my blessed
father. They are like crabs caught in a fishing net."
----------------------------
Some time ago I met a cenobitic monk who spoke in a wonderfully expressive
way. He talked about the fear of God, about piety, and about human logic.
Never before in my life had I met anyone who could express himself in such a
vivid way. His words were like a spring of water gushing forth, His speech
was exact, pure, fiery and accompanied with graceful and spontaneous
gestures. He would say such things "A person who is respectful fears God.
One who fears God is also humble. God watches over the humble. Only the
humble person is logical. The arrogant person is illogical."
And, "He who does not care for his soul either becomes brutal, turns into a
beast, or is filled with self-delusion."
------------------------------
What is monasticism?
"Hard work," an experienced elder replied.
"Indeed," said a contemporary ascetic to a newly drafted soldier of Christ.
"If you wish to be successful in the monastic calling, I have one thing to
say to you, my child: make sure you love physical labour."
---------------------------------
The great hesychast Chariton the Confessor, any time he received a guest,
which he did with much love and kindness, used to say, "At that time Christ
began to work and to preach." He avoided idle talk and chatter as if they
were the cause of countless ills.
----------------------------------
A respected monk from New Skete would say to me: "On every feast clay of
Pascha when we say 'Christ is risen,' we commemorate the angel's
proclamation in front of the empty tomb of Christ. Those who leave the
church immediately after 'Christ is risen' is sung are not Christians. The
ones who remain to celebrate the Divine Liturgy are the Christians."
---------------------------------
Elder Gregorios from Xenophontos' skete, a monk who is over a hundred years
old, told us, "When we were beginner monks we would ask our spiritual father
to read us a prayer in church for our passions of idle talk."
----------------------------
He also said, "A monk without a rule of obedience is not a monk."
-----------------------------
"Monastics who live the idiorhythmic style of life cannot be corrected," the
pious Lavriotan Elder Theophilos used, to say, wanting in this way to
describe to us all the bad; aspects of such monasteries.
-------------------------------------------------
Admirable monk Theophylaktos from Kafsokalyvia said to a young novice, "If
you wish to be a good monk, remember this through all your life: praise God
for your having been deprived of all expected individual rights. Use a
wooden bed to sleep on. On the feast day of Pascha eat one sardine and some
greens with a spoonful of oil.
"A monastic has no rights in this life so that he can be free. How many the
Devil has destroyed by attacking them with the passion of wanting individual
rights."
--------------------------------
An elder said: "The more spiritual a person is, the fewer rights he wants in
his life."
------------------------------
We asked an elder how many years he had been on the Holy Mountain, and he
replied, "I have been here many years, but have made no progress. Jackals
who live in the wilderness always remain jackals."
-------------------------------
An old ascetic said, 'A God-fearing person respects everyone. My elder bowed
with respect even to the most insignificant and unworthy person."
--------------------------------
An elder said,
People have distanced themselves from their spiritual fathers and lost
themselves in thoughts and various passions so that they end up making their
confession to a psychiatrist who feeds them with pills in order to forget
their problems. Shortly afterwards, the same problems resurface and
everything is repeated all over again. If a person takes care of his inner
state, however, he can sleep like a lamb, and he does not need pills or
anything else.
Living in a desert does not do a thing unless I, being in the desert, have
also abandoned my passions. Or again, that place is not a desert when I
adjust it to my ways instead of adjusting myself to being in the desert.
-------------------------------
An elder said, "God does not predestine, but He does havl foreknowledge . "
----------------------------
An elder said:
When you express your opinion to others, do it so that they can benefit from
it. If you are going to chatter, do it only with God. No person can get
tired when talking to Him, for praying is restful. Many times we pray for
someone who is ill, and others are praying for him also, and despite this,
the person dies, and those who have prayed for him wonder why God did not
hear their prayers. They do not realize that God did hear them, but that He
knew what would be best. We do not know what would have been the outcome of
that person's life had he lived. We should praise God for everything.
-------------------------------
An old monk said, "The cliffs become palaces for monks, and the sky is the
roof covering them. The ground is their 1 mattress and their food is nuts
and wild greens. The un-f tamed beasts are their neighbours. The caves
become royal chambers."
"Elder, is it difficult to be a monastic?" we asked a wise monk.
"It is not difficult," he replied, "when you have forgotten yourself
entirely. Then you realize that it is the easiest burden to carry."
---------------------------
An elder said:
For anyone to obtain help, he needs to have his ear's receiver turned on, in
order to receive someone else's signals. When the heart is not receptive,
one must ask God to turn it on first so that His divine word can be
received.
Approach those distanced from God with a simple manner, humility and genuine
love. Pretend that you do not see most of the things that are wrong with
them and correct only what is absolutely necessary, because people are weary
and burdened with life and do not like to be corrected by anyone, no matter
how well-intentioned.
----------------------------
"Priesthood is given as a manifestation of God's love for mankind," said
Iviritan hieromonk Athanasios. "God loved us and made us his priests. A
priestly celebrant loans his voice and hands to God to perform His Holy
Mysteries. A priest is cleansed by God's grace when clothed in his
vestments, unless there is a moral shortcoming, vindictiveness, or greed for
money. Those who labour for God's word should first be ascetically
prepared."
-----------------------------------------
Barefoot elder Avvakoum would say to all spiritual fathers: "Giving advice
is a holy matter because it is where two minds meet in love and humility."
He especially emphasized that any counselling ought to be done with an
abundance of love, humility, tolerance and peace, no matter at what time of
the day a person might come seeking help. Monks, he insisted, ought to
welcome everyone with a smile so that visitors will depart pleased and
glorifying God.
----------------------------
An elder said:
We should not put God in a difficult position. He is all Love. God does not
like to see us unhappy. What should God do then? Any time we are given grace
abundantly, we boast; if we are not given this grace, we are unhappy, even
despairing.
Soon after we begin to try [to live the spiritual life] we get tired. Even
if we go astray, this can be a helpful experience for us, because it is only
in order to humble us that God sometimes withdraws His grace from us. This
in fact is exactly how a man is humbled. Then when God's grace is given back
to him again, he sees that he has grown in self-knowledge, and realizes that
he cannot rely on himself, but that he needs God's help.
It is like a baby: as soon as he is able to hold his mother's hand, he tries
to walk. He takes big steps and thinks that he is doing just fine, imagining
that he is walking on his on. If this continues, the child becomes
dependant, because if we hold his hand all the time, he gets a false sense
of security and then tumbles when he actually does attempt to walk by
himself.
Sometimes the Devil manages to use us to tempt our brother. When we pray for
God to give us love, God then might allow a brother to become ill so that we
may be granted an opportunity to show our love when the sick brother asks
for help. The sick one might ask you, 'Bring me some tea, bring me this,
bring me that. ..." In this way God will test both your love and your
patience.
Sometimes God withdraws the grace from our superiors, and they speak to us
abruptly. This tests us, to see if we will judge or not, we who have
previously asked Him to give us the virtue of restraint from criticism.
-------------------------------------------
A discerning contemporary aged father said,
We do not speak on behalf of freedom when we say to others that everything
is permitted. This is slavery. Only through difficulties can one gain
progress. Here is an example: we have a young tree. We take care of it, we
tie it to a post with rope. We do not use wire, for that would harm it. But
we do put a gentle restriction around it. This is the only way to take care
of it. Here is another case, a small child: we restrict his freedom from his
very conception, because for nine months he lives within the confinement of
his mother's womb. After his birth he is wrapped in swaddling clothes. As he
grows, a gate is placed around him, and so forth. These restrictions are
necessary until the child is more mature. Outwardly his freedom is taken
away, but without any protection the child might not have lived to grow up.
------------------------------
The grace-filled elder Avvakoum from Lavra would say,
Joy comes from one's relationship and union with God. Mankind has been
created to be joyful, not sad. When you enjoy the wrong things, you will
inevitably pay back for all this pleasure you have had. But God's joy
demands no repayment. For instance I, who own nothing in this world, cannot
pay for the happiness I have. I am not the only one proclaiming this truth.
My brother monks, who also have nothing else besides God, are filled with
joy. I have emptied myself for Christ's sake. I have nothing but my Lord—
and joy. Poverty is beautiful for it sets you free. One should empty himself
to make room for Christ to enter his heart. When the Lord is with me, there
is my happiness also. In each ascetic cave you will find spiritual joy.
--------------------------------------------------
An old ascetic told a group of priests who visited him that
To allow time for prayer, one should not spend time on anything that can be
looked after by someone else. For example, a doctor does not deal with
gauzes and bandages, because the nurse can do that. The doctor takes care of
more serious matters, such as examining a patient or performing an
operation. If he spends time on minor things, he will not have time for the
important ones, and no one will benefit from his medical expertise. The same
applies to you. Pray for your parishioners, and underline the names of those
who are in greater need than others. It helps to know what each particular
person's problem is so that you can pray better for each case.
------------------------------------
An elderly ascetic advised a priest in the following way: "Try as hard as
you can to improve yourself and to become a better priest. Then you will see
that your parishioners will follow your example without your having to say
anything to them. By this you will see that working on improving yourself
becomes a silent example for others."
------------------------------
This same ascetic also said:
We should gradually introduce a person to good thoughts. Then everything
else will be fine. A person is under demonic influence if there are no good
thoughts. We must turn the right switch on. When we have everything on the
same wavelength, then we can benefit by listening, as long as the right
switch is on.
Young people who start a spiritual life should focus on the underlying
causes of sin and should try always to have good thoughts. An old ascetic
once went to the city for some errand, and when he returned to his skete the
other brothers asked him what he had seen in the city. He said he had seen
no people, only wild trees!
Nowadays people want to become saints with no effort, and some of them say,
All theological teachings should be put through a Patristic sieve.' Actually
we ought to sift everything through the Fathers' teachings and throw out
whatever is garbage. We should research according to the Fathers. I will
demonstrate with an example. We have copper, bronze and gold. These metals
are of different quality. We have 1 2 carat gold and we have 24 carat. We
choose the 24 carat. We need the cheaper metals too. But let us choose gold.
------------------------------------
A monk who lived in Holy Trinity's hut of St. Anne's Skete was attacked by
the demon of sloth to the point of desperation. One day in his
discouragement he said, "I will climb up and sit at the edge of a cliff and
swing my legs to pass the time.' It was the eve of St. John the Baptist's
feast day, celebrated at St. Dionysios Monastery.
He climbed up and sat on the edge of a cliff and started swinging his legs
while murmuring the Jesus Prayer — but not all the time, of course, just now
and then, since he was full of demonic sloth. While he was sitting there in
this lazy manner, a battalion of demons passed by, headed for St. Dionysios
Monastery to tempt the monks there. One oil the demons said to the others:
"I will mock that half dead1 body in black which is sitting up there."
"Don't go, he will burn you," said the other demons. But that demon went
anyway and appeared as a monk before the novice and said to him, "What are
you doing here?"
"Not much," replied the young monk. "I am lazy and unable to offer anything
to my Lord except to sit here and swing my legs." Hearing these humble
words, the demon left him immediately and returned to join his group.
This event has been passed down by elders who advise young novices who are
having difficulties keeping up with their rules of obedience.
----------------------------
An old hesychast would say: "A person's mind and heart cannot be cleansed
when focused on the world and its affairs."
---------------------------
A Katouniotan hermit by the name of Raphael would say this to himself over
and over again: "Everything on earth is temporary, but all things above are
for eternity."
---------------------------------
An elder said, "For a monk, the experience of the world is like a person
handling coal."
--------------------------
Another elder said: "The fact that monasticism is blossoming in our times is
an indication that God is preparing some thing great for the world. The
whole world is in crisis. People are thirsty for spiritual things."
----------------------------------
An elder would say to novices, "When we come to stay in a monastery we
should leave the world behind us, along with its habits, comforts and
luxuries."
--------------------------------------
An elder said: "The spiritual life of a monk starts when he distances
himself from all visible and invisible things and focuses entirely on God."
And he also said, "When I was still in the world everyone called me 'Monk,'
so I said to myself, 'Since you are a monk, what are you still doing in the
world'?"
-------------------------------------------
Monk Michael the Lavriotan, an infirmarian in Lavra, was an example for his
energy and good service. He would finish celebrating the Liturgy to the very
end, in all its detail. He would work anywhere at any time. He was pale and
had a shining, ascetic appearance.
---------------------------------
Hermit elder Damaskinos from St. Basil told us about a monk from
Kafsokalyvia who lived a long time ago. He had neglected his rule of
obedience6 and other spiritual duties. At the end of his life of sloth and
neglect, he fell ill, and while he was dying, his soul for many days would
not leave his body. This happened in 1935-36.
The doctor, a discerning monk, realized that this was happening to him
because he had been careless through all his life. Then Father Gregorios,
the dying monk's spiritual father, knelt down and prayed fervently with
compassion and love for his subordinate and promised before God and man that
he would fulfill the monk's rule in all it completeness.
As he ended his prayer, that very moment the dying monk reposed peacefully.
------------------------------
A monk said, "These days we try to achieve sainthood with very little
effort." And he said again, "The harder you try the more grace you receive."
Then he added, "God could fill our hearts with so much bliss and love for
Him, that we might not be able to endure it and would flee the monasteries,
seeking seclusion in a cave. And lay people, if they experienced such a
degree of bliss, might abandon their responsibilities, their families and
children, and hide away from them. This is why God, who is all Love, does
not fill us totally with His bliss."
-------------------------------------
An elder said: "People are so stressed these days, and they will not find
real happiness in parties and worldly entertainment." And he also said: "In
our times tradition is gone. the saints should be our only examples."
----------------------------
Another elder said, "If your spiritual father gives evidence of denying
himself, accept all his advice. If you do not tell him everything, he cannot
give you the right advice for you. The Lord says, 'If a prophet has been
deceived, I am responsible for it. For your heart is not set straight.'
Don't be two-faced ! "
---------------------------------
An elder said, "I am unable to describe to you, my son, the kind of joy I
felt every time I was unjustly treated by men. 1 felt that I was sharing the
injustice that Christ suffered."
-------------------------------------
There once was a cenobitic monk who was careless. In spite of this, his
hegumen put up with him, wishing the monk's salvation, saying that "Panagia
will save him since he has never left her garden." It was obvious that the
hegumen's hope was based on the monk's original zeal and piety.
---------------------------------------
Through his hard work, Elder Ignatios of Dionysiou turned the rugged
mountainside into a real orchard, a fruitful olive grove. He always carried
an ax in his belt and some tools in his knapsack, and with enthusiasm he
cleared the forest area on the mountainside across from his monastery. He
grafted all the wild olive trees. It was because of his interest and zeal
for the monastery's progress that he left behind this legacy. It is also
worth mentioning that his hard work on the olive grove was always
accompanied by blessed humility and works of charity.
----------------------------------------
"Carelessness can destroy pious men! A horrible thing!" an experienced
ascetic elder exclaimed.
-------------------------------
In St. Paul's holy monastery we met a distinguished Romanian hieromonk and
confessor, Father Makarios, who would say that "Those who are able to pray
with a cleansed heartare those who labour and are participants in the Holy
Mysteries."
------------------------------
A pious monk advised, "Love everyone, but have no particular friendship with
anyone."
----------------------------
I knew a monk who never put his prayer rope down. He prayed unceasingly,
anytime, and everywhere he went. God had given him an endless desire for
prayer in his heart.
--------------------------------
This is what the white-bearded cenobitic hieromonk S. would say: "Once there
were eight thousand monks on Mount Athos, and in spite of all difficulties
which existed then — hard work and endless ascetic labours — we had
everything. Now the young monks even have cars. Their anxieties and worries
for material possessions are like an epidemic. The more they have, the more
trouble is present. It is a vicious circle. The cause of this," he
continued, "is sin, which destroys both body and soul."
-------------------------------
An elder said, "In our times monasteries are saved through temptations, for
virtues are attained when one resists temptation. Those who can endure all
of the Devil's temptations will be like one of those fathers of the past,
provided he can endure to the end of his life. This means that patience
without complaining is equal to the rule of prayer."
------------------------------
A different ascetic elder said, "Evil is everywhere, and darkness prevails.
It resembles a newly plowed field with its dark soil turned over. And if you
plant in it, seeds will soon sprout and we will reap the fruit at harvest
time."
------------------------------
Hesychastic elder Joseph said: "The main aim of the Devil is to attack our
faith. If the Devil manages to make a person deny his faith, then he turns
that person into a traitor."
-------------------------------
Father Daniel and I both had the same spiritual father. His name was
Averkios, and he was like a second Simple Paul. He was from St. John the
Forerunner's kalyve. He had never left the Holy Mountain from the time he
was a young boy, when he was brought to Mount Athos hidden in a basket
covered with onions, at the time Greece was still under Turkish occupation.
Father Averkios asked both of us to be his obedient monks.
"I will soon die," he said, "and who is going to light St. John's oil lamp?"
"Panagia will send you someone," I said, and then jokingly I added: "We are
very difficult and you are strict." (Actually he was quieter than a little
lamb.)
To this he replied, "I will make a list on one piece of paper of what are
the virtues, and on another what are the sins, and without saying anything
to you, I will present them to you." What a blessed soul! He was blessed in
two ways: first with simplicity, and second with respect for a person's free
will.
--------------------------------
The hymnographer and elder Gerasimos, whom I greatly respected, a few years
ago told me, "St. Gregory Palamas says that only one thing is impossible for
God, and that is to become one with an unclean person. It never happens."
---------------------------
A Greek ascetic would take his craft, which was making brooms, to the
Russian monastery of St. Panteleimon to sell in exchange for dried bread. In
this way he earned his daily bread though his labour.
-------------------------------
On the last days of his life we met the charismatic Elder Simeon, who had
been under obedience to Father Savvas prior to that well-known elder's
repose. Father Simeon told us many things about this virtuous and discerning
man and also advised us: "Be afraid of sinning, not of the Devil, for he has
no power."
------------------------------------
An old hesychast said, "A novice obeys with piety without any questions.
Later on, he reasons, which destroys obedience. He examines through the eyes
of logic."
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Hermit Chrystodoulos, who was under obedience to the watchful elder
Kallinikos, would say to us anytime we visited him in his hut, "In our days
it is imperative to try harder to attain patience. In the past, saints
laboured hard for this virtue. We are unable to match their ascesis. But at
least we should try to have some patience, obedience and humility."
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In 1968 my co-ascetic Father Daniel and I went to Karoulia, the most remote
desert of Athos, to see the admirable Russian hermit Elder Zosimas, a
basket-maker. With him was his subordinate, Father Seraphim, who had a
little know edge of Greek. He took us to their chapel honouring St. George.
And in that desert we were offered three passages' from the Scriptures as
spiritual treats:
"I have manifested Your name to the men whom you have given me out of the
world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me . . . ."
"But as many as received Him, to them gave He power! to become the sons of
God . . . ."
". . .to observe all things that I have commanded you! and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age."
Father Seraphim also said, "We are going through difficult times. Soon the
Antichrist will come; he will be of Jewish origin."
We also visited the hermit elder Andreas in his poverty! and illness. He was
suffering from vertigo, but he was very patient. The following are two of
the things he said:
We ought to practice the teachings of the Bible, not just read it.
In our prayer our minds and hearts should be united. Restraint is a
prerequisite for pure prayer. Do not judge your fellow man for anything.
Exercise patience and obedience even to those who are younger than you. If
you are ninety, obey someone who is eighteen.
Heavy but jolly Elder Bartholomeos also received us whole-heartedly, with
ascetic hospitality. Some of his sayings are these:
Anytime we have tears while praying, then we are in close contact with God.
With our virtues we resemble God. The Jesus Prayer joins us with Him.
This is the way it is, my brothers: woe is me that I have lost the blessing
of cenobitic life.
Obedience leads to humility, mourning, tears, cleansing and illumination.
After he had treated us with one fig each and some rain water from his
reservoir, he told us about the pious elder Isaak the Dionysiatan and all
his virtues.
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Not long ago I had a discussion with one of the fathers of a skete about the
patience and obedience of the mules which are used by the monks to transport
heavy items through the steep, rocky paths of Mount Athos.
"These animals are good teachers for us, my brother," he said. "They never
complain, and they always wait patiently and blindly to obey."
Another venerable monk, one who took care of all the working animals of the
monastery, would say that "Mules do their duties with no complaints. They
carry heavy loads of wood in rain or cold. It they are fed or not, no
complaints. I," he continued, "have been taught by these noble creatures.
While feeding them I have often wept as I compared my impoliteness to their
gentleness, my disobedience to their obedience."
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Great hermit Daniel of Katounakia corrected and calmed a novice once who had
despaired because of scandals and annoying happenings in their monastery. He
told the novice: "Bear with the scandals, my son; no one is perfect."
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A very pious monk said to me, "Have we asked Panagia, she who is the keeper,
lady, and overseer of this mountain, whether or not she approves of
constructing roads on Athos, or using cars, noise and engines, and having
bureaucratic establishments within this monastic milieu? Is it possible that
by all these things we ignore the Theotokos and all her promises for the
Holy Mountain?"
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A contemporary ascetic said, "These days there is plenty of flour to make
dough for bread, but no yeast with which to raise it."
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An Athonite saying goes: "Be as cautious about taking a stranger into your
monastic group as you would of adopting a stray cat."
"Tell me what I should be most careful about, now that I am be to tonsured?"
a novice once asked blind elder Auxentios the Gregoriatan, whose life was
totally devoted to prayer which alternated between the Jesus Prayer and the
Salutations to the Theotokos. "Be deeply humble, and avoid scandal," he
replied.
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Monk Nikandros the Konstamonitan was once asked, "Even though we daily read
the biographies of saints and pious monks and do our rule of prayer, why
don't we become like them?"
"When a metal worker wants to apply pewter on copper," he answered, "first
he must scrape the copper clean and put it through fire. Unless the rust is
removed, the pewter does not stick on copper. The same applies to us. We
enter a monastery to become monks, but the rust we gathered while in the
world comes with us. Thus until it is removed, God's grace does not come to
sanctify and make us shine."
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The revered Konstamonitan father Modestos would say, "Make a point of not
looking for other people's faults."
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Frequently the monks on the Holy Mountain say "The way you live saves you,
not the place where you live.
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"Father Gabriel, I have one desire in my heart, and that is to come to Mount
Athos to stay," Father Kyrillos, the respected elder of St. Nicholas
Bouratzieri's cell, once said to the ever memorable Karouliotan ascetic.
"Pay attention to what I am going to tell you," he replied. "Indeed, may you
come. But since you are now in the world, go to your home, close the door,
shut the curtains, fast, read, pray, use your prayer rope — and there you
will be on the Holy Mountain."
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"When he was speaking, his words were like fire, and his face was waxen and
bright." This is the way a contemporary of the blind father Nikiphoros used
to tell about him. He lived in the cenobitic monastery of Simonopetra many
years ago. Father Nikiphoros prayed the Jesus Prayer unceasingly. He
accepted ordination, but only in order to be obedient, and he prayed always
to be freed from the awesome responsibility of priesthood. His prayer was
answered, and he was finally delivered, when he lost his sight.
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Confessor Father G. fell like a sharp ax on anyone who avoided work or was
generally lazy. He advised the fathers to work and imitate the ascetics of
old who laboured hard. Some of them made baskets, some would gather bales in
the field, some made oil from seeds. Others would climb Athos to gather
mountain tea to sell for their livelihood One elder said: "Our salvation is
not a matter of chance, but a matter of hard work on our part. 'The kingdom
of God comes to those who force themselves'
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