Archive for category: Clerical Articles

There were two angels on a ladder. One was ascending and descending on it all the time. The other one stood motionless and didn’t do anything.

Someone asked him: ”Why the other angel is going upwards and downwards on it without cease and you’re staying without work?”

”Because the other one takes the prayers and requests of the people to God.” <Give me this, give me that.> ”My job is to take their thanks to heaven and because people don’t say any thanks, I stay without work…Sometimes there is someone who says a ”Glory to You, God!” They find it hard to say: ”Glory to You, God!” Or a ”thank You!”

 

The Russian Orthodox Church  has called on the players of Pokemon Go – a game that became increasingly popular in the world – to respect the privacy of other persons.

The developers of this game deliberately gave it a provoking dimension, suggesting that the game may cover absolutely any territory.

”I hope that the users of this game would have enough caution and respect the properties of other people, of the public and religious organizations, without invading the privacy of the others” –the deputy head of the synodal department for the relationships of the Church with the society and media, Vakhtang Kipshidze, declared yesterday.

POKEMON GO – The Orthodox Church asks the players to keep their sound reason.

According to this official, not only the sacred spaces, but also those designed for private life, the museums, are spaces where people try to exercise their legitimate rights and interests but they should not be transformed into a battlefield for the players of this game with no restrictions.

According to him the point of view of the Church does not refer practically to the game POKEMON GO but to its way of attracting certain people, and whether or not it’s all about a game, including a computer game, the threat relates only to the severe addiction to it.

The Church spokesman also said that not long time ago the Russian Interreligious Council had a relevant contribution to the restriction of certain gambling games in the big cities.

”Not only the Russian Orthodox Church  but also representatives of other traditional religions consider that the morbid fascination for a game endangers human integrity, the free personality of man being compromised by the nature of a computer game”, he emphasized.

Source: www.Ionenews.ro

 

Once a young man visited a hermit. He wanted to learn and ask so many things. But he was astounded by the hermit’s silence and by his reluctance to continue a vain talk.

Being irritated, the young man asked him rather for trying him: Gheronda what have you learnt from life in so many years of silence?

The starets, without answering, threw the bucket into a well and lifted it back as fast as he could.

”Look in the well and tell me what you see!” he told him.

The young man looked carefully and said: ”Unfortunately I cannot see anything.”

After a few moments of silence the hermit told him again: ”Look back there and tell me what you see!”

The young man after reluctantly looking there again said: ”Now I see my face reflecting in the water as if I had my home mirror in front of me.”

The hermit without stopping his rosary, told him: ”You see?” ”When I threw the bucket in the well to take water, the water got turbid.” ”Now when it cleared up, you can see your face in it.” ”This is the experience of silence: man sees himself!”

The young man, after reverently asking for the hermit’s blessing, went back in the noisy world, but this time deeply focused.

 

Archimandrite Paul Danas

One day I asked elder Porphyrios to tell me how to pray and if it were possible to reveal to me his own way of praying. And the answer was prompt and left me speechless:

But what do you think prayer means? Food offered on order or medication given on prescription? I told you to ask just for the salvation of your soul, meaning to request to become inheritor of the eternal heavenly Kingdom. And to leave all the others to God’s judgement. I remind you once again the verse: ”Seek first the Kingdom of God…”Isn’t this enough for you? If it’s not enough or it doesn’t satisfy you completely, then limit yourself to the mental prayer. For me ”Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me” says everything. And for sure much more than what you say. It is enough to say it faithfully and  devotedly. And imagine especially in those moments that you have Jesus, the Crucified one, in front of you.

And listen to me: While you say it (the prayer) turn your mind towards me and I will seize your thought and will pray with you for you. This is the best way. And this is what I recommend you to do.

”Yes, gheronda, but you don’t say it (the prayer) right.”

”I say it right, but you misunderstand it.” ”And you know why?” ”Because you separate yourself from the rest of the world.” ”And that’s not right at all.”

We should love our brother exactly as we love ourselves. I love everybody as if they were me and for this reason I don’t see  why I should say: ”Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on us!” instead of ”have mercy on me.” And that because I and the world, we are one. This is how you should say it too: ”Have mercy on me.”

Source:  Theology and the miracles of the mental prayer, Athos publishing house

The monk Moses the Athonite

One morning, at the break of dawn after we had finished the early Liturgy, we heard a light knock on the door. While I was going to open it, I wondered who could come so early. When I opened, I saw starets Paisios standing in the door slightly hunched.

”How did you manage, blessed man?” he asked.

Skinny, short, in scant attire, he was standing before me smilingly. I was so glad for his unexpected visit. He entered unobtrusively, climbed the stairs to worship in the small church, then descended in the big room from downstairs. At that time it was almost empty. Just two chairs and a table. I offered him some refreshment.

”Have patience!” he told me.

He spoke to me about the old elders of that cell. They were hard working, fond of church services, virtuous.

”This morning I had two experiences”, he said. ”A middle aged man came to me to accept him as a disciple.” ”I asked him if he had a family and he said that he had one and he had two children in primary school.” ”Then I told him: After they would graduate primary, secondary and high school and college and you would marry them, you could come back to tell you where to go to became a monk, cause I don’t keep monks here.” ”This is what some men do, make children, then leave them and go to become monks…”

”The second case is worse than the first one.” ”Another one came and told me: Gheronda, I found a woman who is of a much higher spiritual level than my wife and I came to you to ask for your blessing…” ”The world has gone crazy.” ”They speak nonsense.” ”I came to see how you are.”

He didn’t stay long, but I was so glad. He brought me blessing, joy, peace. Like then, at the monastery Simonos Petras, when he stayed for two days and nights near my cell and gave me his knitted yarmulke, before I had the time to ask him for it as a blessing, when I went to his cell. On the second night my cell was disturbed by an unexpected visit. He came in the middle of the night and knocked on my door supposedly to ask me what time it was, after how long the service would start, to comfort me.

The next day he told me why he had come. Tangalaki didn’t sleep. I always remember about the synaxis that tells us about God’s elders, seers of the uncreated light, about the charismatic monks, about long and painful struggles, tears and vigilias, icons, holy relics and miracles. Nobody reached God without effort, as abba Isaac says. We must eliminate the wordly spirit from monachism. Sweat is the monk’s bath and chrism…Prayer is his basic work, above the missionary work and philanthropy. Prayer confers eternal rest to the departed. Let us pray more for our reposed ones. May their memory be eternal! The righteous one will be eternally remembered. Hallelujah!

From the book: ~Athonite Midnight Office~