St. Paisios the Athonite

A boy, who had an ulcer, went on Mt Athos and decided to meet the Venerable Paisios the Athonite. "Come here, Georgaki," the elder said when he saw the boy he knew. He took him to his cell, took the relics of St. Arsenius, blessed him, and that was it! Once and done. Stomach pains never bothered him.

He told us what to do when one of us had a serious illness. "Immediately, both the sick person and those around him, all start praying. Make the brethren aware of it, so that they start praying, praying a lot, praying heartily. You have to hand the problem over to God. From then on, God will solve it. Then whatever happens, whether the sick person recovers or leaves, it will be God's will. However, if we don't pray, the disease will develop according to natural laws. In the case of cancer, the natural progression of the disease is death in a few months. If we pray, however, the Lord will intervene, and whether a person is cured or the Lord takes him, it will be as is good for his soul. Therefore, when we pray, we should not worry about the result, everything will be according to God's will. If we do not pray, the Lord gives way, that is steps aside - here the elder made the movement that we do when we step aside to let another person pass - and gives way to natural laws."

- Nikolaos Zurnatzoglu, from the book "Starets Paisios the Athonite: Testimonies of Pilgrims".