St. Paisios the Athonite
Spiritual Counsels
Selected sayings
Contents5 sections
On Pain of Heart
Editor's note
Of all the themes Elder Paisios returned to, none was more constant than the conviction that prayer without inward pain accomplishes little. He distinguished sharply between the recitation of words and the cry of a heart that has been wounded by love for God and for one's neighbor. Pilgrims to his hermitage at Panagouda recall him repeating this lesson in many forms: the worth of a prayer, he taught, is measured by the cost it has to the one who prays.
Prayer must come from the heart, with pain. When one prays for another with pain, that prayer is heard.
If a man does not have pain of heart, however many prostrations he makes, however many prayer ropes he turns, it is as if he is beating the air.
On Trusting in God
Editor's note
Elder Paisios was visited daily by people in distress, the sick, the bereaved, the troubled in soul, those crushed by debt or by their own children. To each he set the same demand: throw yourself on the providence of God. He told them God knows their need before they ask, and that anxiety is a refusal to believe Him.
When you have done what you can, leave the rest to God. He does what we cannot do, but He will not do what we can.
Anxiety is a lack of faith. God watches over us at every moment, even when we do not feel Him.
On Loving One's Neighbor
Editor's note
The Elder taught that love of God cannot be separated from love of the brother in front of you. He often warned that prayer for the world is a screen for indifference if it is not joined to concrete kindness to the one who is near. His own door, even in old age and illness, was open to every comer.
Whatever we do, if we do not have love for our neighbor, we accomplish nothing.
When you see the other as Christ, then you have understood the Gospel.
On Humility
Editor's note
Asked again and again what virtue a Christian should seek above the rest, the Elder answered always with the same word. Without humility, he said, the spiritual life is a building without foundations: the higher one piles, the worse the collapse will be. He spoke of it not as low self-estimation but as the truthful sight of one's own poverty before God.
Humility is the salt that keeps every other virtue from spoiling.
The proud man, even when he is right, is wrong, because he has lost charity. The humble man, even when he errs, is corrected gently by God.
On the Times
Editor's note
Many came to Panagouda asking the Elder about the future, about wars, about the difficulties he foresaw. He answered such questions with great reserve, refusing to feed curiosity, but he did not hide his conviction that the age before us asks for prayer and watchfulness rather than fear. The Christian, he insisted, has nothing to be afraid of.
Summary by PurifyWritten by Purify, not St. Paisios the Athonite's words.
Do not be afraid. Whatever comes, God permits it for our good. Only let us keep our soul close to Him.
These are days for prayer, not for analysis. The Christian who prays understands more than the one who reads ten newspapers.