The greatest joy we know in life, is the joy we feel, when we give joy! - Athonite Elder Gabriel

 

Repentance will save our Greece and the whole world! But with 500,000 abortions a year, do we have Repentance? - Elder Gabriel of Mount Athos.

 

Elder Ephraim of Skete of St. Andrew, Mt. Athos

As long as the candles are lit, they cry out have mercy, have mercy, have mercy on the man who lit the candle to God. The devil knows this and puts thoughts in the mind that there is a danger of fire from the candle. We always put the best oil in the candle. - Elder Ephraim of Skete of St. Andrew, Mt. Athos

Elder Archimandrite Aimilianos (Vafeidis)

The acquisition of the Holy Spirit is reflected on the face of a person and pours out through his eyes, by which it is easy to learn about the inner state. You feel how God is holding such a person by the hand. - Elder Archimandrite Aimilianos (Vafeidis)

Fr Ioannis Kalides - Holy Thursday

On Holy Thursday 2002 I had the great blessing to transfer the holy father, from the hospital of Serres where he was being treated, in Thessaloniki, to his daughter's house. The blessed elder of Polyxen was with us. During the journey, Fr. Ioannis told me: "The holy communion of Holy Thursday covers the Christian all year round, for it is the communion of the martyrdom of Christ. If we do not have the blessing of the spiritual father to commune both Holy Thursday and Resurrection, then you should commune on Holy Thursday!"

Thinking of these reasons of the Elder, I remembered that our Church on this day also holds, for the whole year, the Body and Blood of Christ for the faithful to receive, in extraordinary cases!  Also that Saint Mary Of Egypt asked Saint Zosimas to comune her, the following year they had agreed to meet again, on the day of Holy Thursday!  Finally, the invisible ascetics of Mount Athos, as we read in the Gerontikon, ask some virtuous Athonites to commune to them the Holy Communion on that day!

Holy Elders, like our Holy Father Ioannis Kalaidis, have left us these precious treasures.

Elder Joseph of Vatopedi

Once, because of many heavy sorrows, a great sorrow came over me and I cried out to God, exhausted. And in this unbearable sorrow I heard a sweet voice, full of sympathy and compassion: 'Will you not endure everything for My love?'
Elder Joseph of Vatopedi

Our Holy Father Ioannis Kalaidis: "We can not judge anyone!"

During one of our visits to the Holy Father, a man came to us, very well known to Fr. Ioannis, and very angrily referred to the problems that a family friend of theirs had because of her husband! He talked about the unacceptable behavior of this man towards his wife, as it was also related to moral issues (extramarital life).

Then the Holy Father got up and, pounding his hand on the table, said sternly: "I have been talking to you for so many years in the air! Did you not understand that we can not judge anyone? Neither our wife nor our children, but to separate "the sin from the sinner!"

Let us kneel soul and body for this man, putting ourselves at his feet, and lovingly pray for him! That is how our prayer will have results!"

The Holy Father himself prayed for this man and there was a great change in his behavior, in a miraculous way!

Father Ioannis was full of the love and grace of God, with which he helped his fellow human beings!

Fr. Eumenios Lampakis

You will see the persecution of the Church. You will see how they will close the churches and turn them into warehouses!

Fr. Eumenios Lampakis (1912 - 2005)

Modern sanctified elder from Rethymno

Be merciful. Never count money in your pockets - give and give. And God will return you a hundred times. - Archimandrite Gregory (Zumis)

 

Elder Hieronymos of Aegina

Beg with tears, like Mary Magdalene, saying: “Do not abandon me, O my Christ! Do not leave me alone, O my Christ! My sweetest Christ, do not take my soul before I become all Thine!” - Holy Elder Hieronymos of Ægina (†1966)

Pilgrim testimony of the blind Elder Isidore.

Somewhere on a route to Mount Athos, I met an elder. I wanted to ask him for his blessing. I said: "Elder, your blessing." I bend down reverently to kiss his hand, while he was holding his komboskini.

"Elder" I asked him, "why did you kiss me? I am not a priest."

"My child" he answered me, "do not forget that this hand (mine) was made by God, you are my brother".

There I realized, full of emotions, the difference between Mount Athos and the outside world. It was all I wanted to see.

An elder was asked...

 - Geronda, what is the place and environment of the saints?

- Obscurity.
   Its about seeing everyone without anyone seeing you.

"Let us see what plans God has!" (Archim. Christoforos, Abbot at Monastery Grigoriou of Mount Athos )

Excerpt from the speech of the Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Saint Gregory of Mount Athos, Archimandrite Christoforos, to the brothers of the Holy Monastery.

Now, you see, we have this case with the coronavirus, because of which there is a commotion all over the world. We must trust in God. Many scenarios are heard. But do not trust everything you hear, because people have their plans. But God also has His own plans. Above all is Christ. The Lord of life and death is Christ. The Lord of history is God; not men.

People can say what they want, plan what they want. And neither America nor Russia nor China will save us; nor anything else in the world; only God will save us. Let us not get involved in these "gears" of people's plans. Let us see what plans God has. To get involved in them, to interfere, in those that God wants for us. And what does God want from us? God wants our repentance!

According to Saint Barsanuphius, all these trials are made because of our sins. It does not happen by chance. And the causes of sin are man's choice. We do not have the right choice, the right will. Because we do not do the will of God but do the will of the flesh, that is why God intervenes many times in history. We read in the Old Testament that when the Jews departed from the law of God, God allowed the neighboring tribes to fight and defeat them. When they returned to God, although they were few, they won.

God is shaking us a little now, to wake us up. Not to see what each other is doing, but to see what we need to do, to help ourselves and to help the situation. It is not useful to dwell on what we are doing, fathers, but on what we ought to do, for God allows us this trial.

So what God requires of us is to look at ourselves. Our choice is not right, because if we have the right choice, God will find a way to help us. Know this, fathers. Above all, keep this in mind: What God asks of us in each case. And what God asks of us is to return to Him. Let us all return. Nothing else.

And when we return, a part of the Church returns and little by little the whole Church is corrected. Because, if we pay attention to "what one does and what the other does", while we do worse than them, because we criticize people, then what is the benefit? We do not benefit anyone. There is no profit when we deal with others. Because neither we nor they benefit, but rather we are harmed. But this is not how the Church can proceed.

I said all this on the occasion of the issue of the coronavirus, so that you do not listen to the various scenarios that are said here and there, because we do not know what will happen. Be that as it may, the Antichrist will come, as the Church has said. But we do not know when it will come. Let us be ready. Besides, if the Antichrist comes, what does it matter to us? Above all is Christ. That is, what is the Antichrist above Christ? Because in the end Christ will win.

People's plans will not win. If we believe in God, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Do not be confused and upset. Only repent. To have proper repentance and return to God. Let's look into this. And if we do not humble ourselves, God's mercy cannot come into our lives.

I see that many people have benefited. They pray, they pray to God, they study, they come to consciousness. They say: "God punishes us, because we did not make good use of what we had in our lives." Those who are in a good spirit will benefit. And I believe that through this evil something good will come out, at least for those who are in a good spirit. Through this "the demonic rain will come and the divine sunshine".

So don't worry, fathers. We have our goal. We will fight for what we have to do "every day", because tomorrow is not in our hands. We have today. How will we work today? Let's look into this. Do not think about tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

When tomorrow comes, that day will be today again. So if we learn to work properly every day, we will work properly all our lives. Whereas, if we let the day pass in vain and think, what will happen after five and ten and twenty years, then we are not going to do anything in our life and we will leave this world without having taken anything with us…

The late Elder Epiphanius said...

The late Elder Epiphanius said:

One night I fell into a great drowsiness, due to the terrible insomnia.

I prayed in pain to the Lord, saying:

"Lord, I do not ask you for anything else. I want some sleep. I ask you for something small . Something you would give to an ant!"

Then I took the New Testament in my hands and opened it to read something. My eye fell on the verse: "I was given a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure." (2 Corinthians 12: 7).

I reverently closed the Bible and said:

Thank you, Lord!

Two or three years passed and I came back to the same mental state, from my insomnia. I repeated the same, so again my eye fell on the same verse! I praised God again and did not insist on the subject.

After a long time, continuing the torment of insomnia, I dared for the third time and reopened the New Testament to my consolation. Again the same verse: "A thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:7-9)

I said excitedly again:

"Thank you, Lord! Forgive me!"

Since then, my child, I have not dared to complain to the Lord about anything.

Glory to Thee, O Lord!

Elder Moses of Mt. Athos

And today there are “secret” saints everywhere who do not open up to a curious and unrepentant heart. Sometimes they live where you don't expect to see them. They can live unrecognized two steps away from you. You think they are fools, and do not deign to even glance at them. There is no doubt that holiness exists today. It does not need shouts, glitter, noise and advertising. - Elder Moses of Mt. Athos

Elder Hieronymos of Aegina

 

If a day has passed during which you do not sense Christ in your heart by means of prayer, reading of the Psalter and the Gospel, etc consider such a day to be a waste! - Elder Hieronymos of Aegina

Blessed Father Ioannis Kalaidis

When we give names to the church for the priests to read, first of all we should mention the name of our spiritual father. - Blessed Father Ioannis Kalaidis

An elder said: "It is better for the world to know you as a sinner than for God to know you as a hypocrite.

 

Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou

“Do home-schooling, do you hear? Have home churches. Have home pharmacies. You will see in a little while, they will tell you in a little while "the medicines are finished". They want to push society into chaos. Both frightened and lost, will say: “the vaccine! Bring us a good vaccine! So they want our will, they want our freedom. They want our soul " - Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou

Monk Petrosfrom Philotheus Monastery on Athos

Don't expect it to get easier, easier, better. It won't. There will always be difficulties. Learn to be happy now. Otherwise you will not have time ...

Monk Petros from the Philotheus Monastery on Athos.