Give Yourself to Christ
I was worried and he counseled me. “Didn’t I tell you on another occasion that when you completely open your heart to the Lord, without reservations, the Lord will enter it and make it incapable of sinning? Did you understand? You become incapable of evil. When the Lord loves us in the depths of our heart He brings meekness and kindness. Even if we wish to get angry, to do harm to other people, we are unable.”
“Then the saying holds true ‘I no longer live.’ You live this and proclaim this within yourself. St. Paul was beside himself because of the great joy that he felt and he proclaimed it openly. But does Christ change? As He was then, so is He now …”
“My dear man, since we say these things and agree on them, why must we say the same things again after we fall victims to the same problems?
“Take it seriously and don’t allow yourself to give satisfaction to the devil.
“Give yourself completely to Christ with fervent love and longing. When you see something and you inwardly become defensive about it and you try hard not to speak, you tighten up. In reacting this way, you are already in trouble by becoming defensive.”
“Be simple, prudent, and focused. Always feel the presence of the Lord. He will teach you what to say and when to be silent.”
You Will Suffer a Beating at the Hands of Haralambos
He told me once, “Let us love with the love of Christ and not with the love of humans. Two years ago a mother came here to tell me about her four children. She told me their names and I told her, ‘Be careful about Haralambos because you will be beaten-up by him. (He was then twelve years old).
She became enraged. ‘What are you saying, Father? Haralambos is my best child. I pay attention to him and I love him more than all because he is my youngest.’
I then responded, ‘You don’t love him with the love of Christ and you are therefore doing him harm: She did not believe me. She left angry saying harsh things about me. I prayed and left her in the hands of God. She came to me the day before yesterday having repented. ‘Forgive me, father. We misunderstood you then. We said you are deceiving the people. Now I believe that God enlightens you. Haralambos left me, dear Father. He’s become like a wild animal. He beat me up. What can I do now? Truly I did not love him with the love of Christ. I did him harm’ she cried.
And the Elder continued telling me, “In reference to your brother, if he wants to, let him come to the monastery. But on the other hand you should not keep constant company with him because you will do harm to him and to everyone else. Allow the Elder and the Brothers to help him. You should pray a lot for your whole brotherhood, for the whole Church. We are undergoing difficult days.”
~Adapted from Monk Agapios, The Divine Flame Elder Porphyrios Lit in My Heart
