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- Seek for a lifeline near to God. Contain your material needs, because they create huge burdens and anxieties.
- Do not envy people that have money, comforts, fame and power, but rather those who live with virtue, reason and piety.
- Do not ask God for things that only support your body, but especially what is good and beneficial for your soul.
- Change your life, discover the meaning of life, gain the time lost in this process so far on earth.
- Do not trust the mindset of secular people.
- Be healed of the illnesses that dominate the lives of people that did not learn to fast, to be chaste, to pray, to hope.
- Do not despair. God is omnipresent and loves humanity.
- Cut off every relationship with evil, live freely, according to the will of the Lord.
- Prove your faith with works of love toward your neighbor.
- Decide what you want most: the sympathy of the world or a return near to God?
- Almost all problems start from the mouth (what you say) and, likewise, by the amount you depend on your passions.
- Love your wife more than yourself. With works, not with words. And do not ever talk to her badly, because sometimes the tongue kills and destroys love. Also, be careful, because some parents spoil their children very much and always do them favors. And when a child is too spoiled, they will become selfish and take a crooked path. Many parents care more about providing material things for their children. This is wrong. The body has many material desires, but a short life. The soul continues along another course. The soul does not end up in the dirt, but with God. Today everyone deals with their body, not with the needs of their soul.
- The needs of the soul are different. The joys of the soul are different from the joys of the body. The body is easily managed, not the soul. If you have money and enter a big store, the body is all set. But what can you find in a, what do you call those big stores, yes, a supermarket, for your soul? The soul needs other things. The soul has need of peace, quiet, communion with God. To sustain the body, you need silver and daily bread. To sustain the soul, divine talents and heavenly Bread are needed.
From the book Four Hours With Fr. Paisios (Τέσσερις ώρες με τον π. Παίσιο). Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
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- Seek for a lifeline near to God. Contain your material needs, because they create huge burdens and anxieties.
- Do not envy people that have money, comforts, fame and power, but rather those who live with virtue, reason and piety.
- Do not ask God for things that only support your body, but especially what is good and beneficial for your soul.
- Change your life, discover the meaning of life, gain the time lost in this process so far on earth.
- Do not trust the mindset of secular people.
- Be healed of the illnesses that dominate the lives of people that did not learn to fast, to be chaste, to pray, to hope.
- Do not despair. God is omnipresent and loves humanity.
- Cut off every relationship with evil, live freely, according to the will of the Lord.
- Prove your faith with works of love toward your neighbor.
- Decide what you want most: the sympathy of the world or a return near to God?
- Almost all problems start from the mouth (what you say) and, likewise, by the amount you depend on your passions.
- Love your wife more than yourself. With works, not with words. And do not ever talk to her badly, because sometimes the tongue kills and destroys love. Also, be careful, because some parents spoil their children very much and always do them favors. And when a child is too spoiled, they will become selfish and take a crooked path. Many parents care more about providing material things for their children. This is wrong. The body has many material desires, but a short life. The soul continues along another course. The soul does not end up in the dirt, but with God. Today everyone deals with their body, not with the needs of their soul.
- The needs of the soul are different. The joys of the soul are different from the joys of the body. The body is easily managed, not the soul. If you have money and enter a big store, the body is all set. But what can you find in a, what do you call those big stores, yes, a supermarket, for your soul? The soul needs other things. The soul has need of peace, quiet, communion with God. To sustain the body, you need silver and daily bread. To sustain the soul, divine talents and heavenly Bread are needed.
From the book Four Hours With Fr. Paisios (Τέσσερις ώρες με τον π. Παίσιο). Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
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I hope Elder Paisios is glorified soon!
Alex
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The desire to respect all saintly persons, even those extremely antilatin, like Fr. Paisios, who, no wonder, would not even accept speaking to you if you visited Mount Athos as catholic, Orthodox Catholic, is a genuine christian virtue.
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Dear Arbanon,
Even the holiest person, is still a human and a person--with cultural limitations and understandings.
I know this from the understanding many hermetic Greek monks have of the U.S. and Americans. When one has grown up in a previously isolated and small country, had not travelled or been educated past middle school, had no access to television, magazines, books and internet and/or meeting peoples of other countries, one cannot expect much understanding of other cultures and religions other than their own. Not to mention tha the only information they may have had in their youth was none other than 'grandmother' tales and historical rumors.
Please remember, in all things: 'historical context'!
...Especially if you are young. You cannot imagine the close mindedness of previous generations that grew up in poverty, and who were isolated from knowledge and other people.
In all the books that I have read, his words speak nothing more than love for all human beings. While he may have been historically biased towards his understanding of ecclesiastical occurences, I doubt he would have ever been hateful or judgemental towards any human being.
There are many false things which go around on the internet which like to depict him in different ways. I don't give them much attention. They are more the biases of those who like to twist truths and personalities of people to suit their own feelings than to present truth and love.
I read the eye witness accounts of Elder Paisios' loving words, and that is the only thing I will believe.
Alice
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Dear Arbanon, There was a time when I refused to speak to any Orthodox Christians, all of whom I formerly regarded as without grace, outside the Church and certainly damned to hell. But I got over it . . . The Holy Elder Paisios would have repeated the anti-Latinism of his environment. St John Paul II read the works of St Theophan the Recluse and said that this Saint also repeated the anti-Latinism of his environment. It is a good thing to follow the teachings of one's Church in all respects, as did Blessed Father Paisios, and St Theophan and others. BTW, Father Paisios critiqued even the Old Calendarists for a variety of reasons. When told the New Calendar was established by a pope, he would say, "Yes, and the Old Calendar was established by an idolater (Julius Caesar)." I have met quite anti-Catholic Orthodox monastics and bishops in my time. But all their anger at me for being "with Rome" dissipated when I kissed their Crosses and icons (which they held out to me), and their hands and when I hugged them. But Athonite monk I met during my honeymoon in Greece (I recommend Greece to any newlywed - it just does something very powerful to the male libido . . .). When I kissed his hand, he asked me if I was "Orthodoxis?" I told him I was "an Orthodox uniate" (BAD mistake on my part! I was very young then). He just went at me beginning with "Uniates are not Orthodox!!" The tour guide then calmly told the monk I was Ukrainian Catholic. The monk then stopped yelling and asked me if my primate was Joseph Slipyj? When I said he was, the monk brightened up and patted me on the back. As the tour guide translated for me, the monk said, "Now your Slipyj - what a great man!" He gave me an icon prayer card which I devoutly kissed as he offered it to me. When he saw how compunctionate I was (look, I thought he was going to hit me . . .), he smiled and said, "Oh, man of God, go your way in peace and be blessed by God!" When I told him my name, "Alexios" - he smiled more and said, "You see how I prophetically called you "man of God?"  I have an icon of Blessed Paisios on my icon wall. He may not have wished to speak with me in this life - but I'm CONVINCED he will hear my prayers for his intercession in heaven. Our human walls just don't go up that high. Laudetur Jesus Christus et Maria Mater Eius! Alex
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The desire to respect all saintly persons, even those extremely antilatin, like Fr. Paisios, who, no wonder, would not even accept speaking to you if you visited Mount Athos as catholic, Orthodox Catholic, is a genuine christian virtue. You may be interested in this account: I will never forget, in relation to the above, the Elder's behaviour towards a Spanish student of Fine Arts, follower of the Pope, who happened to be amongst us in the "outdoors dorter" at some visit. At some point, the Elder turned to him with affection and interest making use of some Italian words and phrases he remembered from the Italian occupation so that he could communicate with him. Then, he gave him many pieces of advice in the Greek language and revealed to him many truths that, as he explained to us, the Holy Spirit would help him feel regardless of the fact that the different language would not allow him to understand. More specifically, when another visitor made the comment that "the foreign student does not understand what you are saying to him in Greek", he answered that "he will understand what he is meant to understand".
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Beautiful story Alex. 
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God speaks to us through His saints when we least expect it. He is truly the "God of surprises."
God bless you sir!
Alex
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Joined: May 2009
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Dear Arbanon, There was a time when I refused to speak to any Orthodox Christians, all of whom I formerly regarded as without grace, outside the Church and certainly damned to hell. But I got over it . . . The Holy Elder Paisios would have repeated the anti-Latinism of his environment. St John Paul II read the works of St Theophan the Recluse and said that this Saint also repeated the anti-Latinism of his environment. It is a good thing to follow the teachings of one's Church in all respects, as did Blessed Father Paisios, and St Theophan and others. BTW, Father Paisios critiqued even the Old Calendarists for a variety of reasons. When told the New Calendar was established by a pope, he would say, "Yes, and the Old Calendar was established by an idolater (Julius Caesar)." I have met quite anti-Catholic Orthodox monastics and bishops in my time. But all their anger at me for being "with Rome" dissipated when I kissed their Crosses and icons (which they held out to me), and their hands and when I hugged them. But Athonite monk I met during my honeymoon in Greece (I recommend Greece to any newlywed - it just does something very powerful to the male libido . . .). When I kissed his hand, he asked me if I was "Orthodoxis?" I told him I was "an Orthodox uniate" (BAD mistake on my part! I was very young then). He just went at me beginning with "Uniates are not Orthodox!!" The tour guide then calmly told the monk I was Ukrainian Catholic. The monk then stopped yelling and asked me if my primate was Joseph Slipyj? When I said he was, the monk brightened up and patted me on the back. As the tour guide translated for me, the monk said, "Now your Slipyj - what a great man!" He gave me an icon prayer card which I devoutly kissed as he offered it to me. When he saw how compunctionate I was (look, I thought he was going to hit me . . .), he smiled and said, "Oh, man of God, go your way in peace and be blessed by God!" When I told him my name, "Alexios" - he smiled more and said, "You see how I prophetically called you "man of God?" I have an icon of Blessed Paisios on my icon wall. He may not have wished to speak with me in this life - but I'm CONVINCED he will hear my prayers for his intercession in heaven. Our human walls just don't go up that high. Laudetur Jesus Christus et Maria Mater Eius! Alex Thank you. That is a most inspiring account.
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Dear DMD, I have my moments! Thank you sir. Alex
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