|
With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man by Elder Paisios of Mt. Athos |
 |
Volume I: With Pain and Love
for Contemporary Man
Elder Paisios (1924–1994) was one of the most loved and revered Greek Orthodox Elders of our times. Living as a monk in the ancient monastic republic of Mount Athos, Greece, he lived in the Kingdom of God even while on earth, and received many heavenly visitations. He lived in obscurity, giving himself over entirely to God, and God gave him to the whole world. During the last fifteen years of his life, he spent his nights in prayer and his entire days gathering human pain and spreading divine consolation. He guided, consoled, healed, and gave rest to countless people who took shelter in him. His sanctified soul overflowed with divine love, and his face radiated divine Grace.
Living in the modern age with us and at the same time living in union with God, Elder Paisios confronted the problems of our times with directness and courage. Deeply grounded in the wisdom of the ancient Holy Fathers, and partaking of their life of holiness and ascesis, he passes on this patristic wisdom to us in a manner that is down-to-earth and accessible. His words of teaching powerfully touch the heart, kindling in it the same divine love that abundantly filled the Elder.
In this volume, Elder Paisios speaks on many subjects especially pertinent to contemporary man, including “Sin and the Devil,” “Modern Civilization,” “The Spirit of God and the Spirit of the World,” and “The Church in Our Times.”
“If people would only put the brakes on their speeding minds, not only would their mind find rest, but it would be more receptive to divine Grace. Without divine illumination, knowledge ends in disaster. Those who strive and labor for their spiritual life have their mind illumined by God; they receive divine illumination, divine experiences, and these give them foresight, so that they don't see things only through their own understanding. A short-sighted person sees clearly the things that are close, but not what is far away. As for a person with normal vision, well, he may be able to see a bit farther, but that too is not an accomplishment. We cannot have more than two physical eyes; but we can have many spiritual eyes.”
—Elder Paisios the New of Mount Athos
424 pages, paperback
