Orthodox Parables and Stories: St. Paisios And The Mother With Cancer

Elder Paisios told me that some girl whose mother was ill with cancer came to him and asked: "Pray for my mother so that she will recover!" He answered her: "Well, I will pray, so that your mother, whom you love so much, will recover, that is, that God will take this disease from her, but give it to you, so that you carry this cross instead of your mother. The girl was frightened.
"Father, what are you saying? I asked you to pray for my mother so that she would recover."
"Well yes, she will recover, but may God give this disease to you, it will be better, you can deal with it, you are still young."
"No, father! No! May my mother recover and may no one get sick instead! "
"But my child, how then can we show our love? Will you not show a little sympathy for the pain of another person?"
"No, No!"
"Okay, listen, this is what we will do: let your mother recover and you and I will share her cancer. Half for you and half for me."
"Father, I ask you, listen to me! Can I pray that my mother will be completely cured and that we all be healthy?"
"But don't you want to learn to love at least a little bit?"
"But I already love her!
"For her, I am dying!"
"How do you die for her? "
"You get a little cancer, and I'll take most of the disease for myself. And your mother will be cured!"

"This conversation was a bit of a test, " said Elder Paisios, "to see to what extent her love extends." It turned out that there is no love. At the end of the conversation, the girl panicked:

"That's it, father, that's enough! Thank you very much. I asked you, if possible, to cure my mother, otherwise goodbye!"
"We all want to recover, but the question is that if Christ asks me now:
"Do you feel sorry for them?"
"Well, yes."
"Do you love them?"
"Why, yes!"
"So do you agree to say: "My God, for their sake I'm ready to experience this pain, let them heal and I suffer, taking their pain upon myself? Christ did that"

Archimandrite Andrei (Konanos)