On Prayer

This English transcript is an automated translation of the original Greek lecture. It may contain errors; the original Greek audio recording is the authoritative source. Some passages are omitted per editorial policy.

A Talk on Prayer, given at the Holy Monastery of Philotheou.

If you had asked Me, I would have given you—not this water that I am asking you to give Me, but living water, water that has eternal life within it. Give me this water to

drink, Lord, so that I may no longer have to

labor. This water begins to flow within you when the

nous—the spiritual intellect—when the nous gazes upon the name of

Christ.

And so you encounter obstacles, because a person hinders the name of Christ within himself.

Through worship in spirit and in truth, the mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart. Whatever a person has within him, he brings forth.

He speaks of Christ and gives forth the fragrance of

Christ. We owe a debt to the great Desert Fathers,

because they labored so greatly to discover this and to

leave us, as an inheritance, grace and participation in God,

so that the human heart might become divine. As we saw in that vision of the anonymous monk:

that fallen, negligent, scandalized monk was praying in the Church with pain, saying, “My Christ, You were crucified under Pontius Pilate and shed Your blood for us sinners. “Can You not help and save me as well from this wretched state in which I live?

” As he wove these words together with katanyxis, with compunction and longing, the prayer began to work within him, repeating, “Lord Jesus Christ. Previously, he had acquired the prayer, but he did not guard it

and lost it. Yet while the prayer was being said, he was counted worthy of that great vision. The moment the prayer

began to work within him, his whole disposition changed at once. Before that, he had felt something

good, certainly, as he tells us, but nothing extraordinary. Often, he struggles against temptation for a long time.

Should we give way and say, “After all, it is not as John says; I cannot find these things”? If you have patient endurance and persevere as you have been taught, according to what you hear in the teachings of the Fathers, you will find them. God shows no partiality. God is not for only a few; He is for everyone. It is enough that we seek Him sincerely,

seek Him with longing, and endure the labor. If we do not constrain ourselves, how shall we find Him? In order to cast off its old skin, the snake squeezes itself between two stones. By pressing its way through, it sheds its old garment and puts on the new. In the same way, unless we constrain and exert ourselves, the old garment will not come off. Let us

constrain the nous and the heart; let us apply force

there and break the stubbornness of the nous. Then we

begin to find something through the name of Jesus. “Stop

preaching any longer, ” they said. Then the courageous Peter stood up.

“Is it ever possible for us to remain silent? ” he said. “We have seen and heard these things. We must obey God rather than men. We shall obey God and our Teacher, for you crucified Him. “We lived with Him and saw Him, and we shall proclaim Him. We have received a command, and nothing will make us stop. ” They seized them, but Gamaliel, their teacher, said, “Do not hinder them. Others have also made a name for themselves,

gathered disciples, and offered some teaching; but either while their leaders were alive or after their deaths, those disciples were scattered. If this plan is of human origin, it will come to nothing. But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow it by any means. Following this counsel,

the Apostles began their preaching and began to win over the scribes and Pharisees. And they tell us, “Do not keep crying out the name of Christ; you will burst!

Obstacles come from every side: through idle talk and through the ceaseless chatter of our own nous.

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Should I give myself over to fantasies and desires? What would that accomplish? We have been crucified to such things. Everyone has his own obedience. I will not resist or argue. I will drive away every fantasy and hold fast to the word—hold fast to the word. If I am told to attend to my assigned duty, I will attend to it. But this is difficult. Another distraction strikes me: someone begins talking to me

about one thing or another, even matters that seem important. The enemy plants logismoi—intrusive thoughts—about worldly things, or tries to turn my mind back to the past.

How else can I preserve the Jesus Prayer and remain true to my calling? But when I shut the enemy out and continue praying, I hinder him. If I surrender the Jesus Prayer for a plate of food, I am trading away this blessing for whatever he comes and offers me. But, Elder, the things you tell us have not been given to us, because we have not applied this kind of force to ourselves.

There must be spiritual work taking place within you. If I have no spiritual work within myself and, under the pretext of showing love, I begin to sit there discussing and talking,

we will soon fall into disagreement, and grace will withdraw. We become entangled like spiders in their webs, instead of being united within ourselves. What I mean is that, if we want to advance in the Jesus Prayer, we must guard ourselves and do everything that supports the prayer. I grieve over this, because I am the first—the wretched one—and I will be the first to bear the blame. You happened to find me, unworthy as I am, but I found an Elder and spiritual fathers.

How could anyone who heard of that Elder fail to draw near to him? I began to pass on what I had received from the Elder as a living tradition—not from a book, but from person to person. There are still people who knew him. He truly lived; we have his skull and his relics. Yes, that Elder existed—your spiritual grandfather.

His own elders labored greatly. You arrived like gentlemen and found an Elder here; you found the place already cleansed. Many demons had been driven into such deserted places when priests exorcised them from those who were possessed, and they remained in those places. We labored greatly through the Jesus Prayer to drive away the demons, and you found the place cleansed and radiant. You have a guide, and the path has already been laid out for you.

You entered directly into the work and struggles of the Jesus Prayer. In earlier times, you might have arrived with no guide at all. You would have had to search, to fast, to travel from place to place, and to endure great hardship until you found a guide who could say two words to you about the Jesus Prayer and the monastic life, so that at last you could say, “I have found a guide. But you found a guide without difficulty, coming directly from the world to Mount Athos—and still, he says, you do not labor.

We are inconsistent in what we have received. What will the young men who now come and visit monasteries and sketes find in us, the elders of today? What can they receive from our own spiritual fathers to carry onward?

They read, and then they come—but they do not find what they are seeking. If we, as a brotherhood, have received something and have found an Elder, then we are responsible for struggling to acquire it ourselves. There is an Elder, there is warmth, and there is a spring from which to drink. The struggler is instructed, and surely someone else may also be able to tell us these things—but they must come from an Elder. I speak on the basis of what I received

from my own Elder and what I saw for myself. He had seen it in his own spiritual father, Elder Arsenios. Elder Arsenios did not have the same temperament or the same sharpness as my Elder. My Elder possessed both things: the Jesus Prayer—the prayer of the heart—and theoria, the divine vision of God. He had both praxis, the active ascetic life, and theoria. Elder Arsenios did not have theoria in the same way; he was simple and open by nature, and his natural disposition helped him.

“As soon as I stand for prayer, my child, ” he would say, “my heart opens, every depth of my heart opens through the Jesus Prayer, and I feel no weariness at all. ” I have two little accounts of his from those beautiful experiences. The Elder possessed both gifts. Such beautiful honey

flowed from his heart, while there are also those of

us who simply sit and eat what others have prepared.

Who is it that does this work? It is the one who stops me from praying—the one who comes and draws me into idle talk, who comes and judges others, who comes and sets a stumbling block before me, a stone of offense, so that I may fall. And there is a drone inside me, devouring what I am striving to accomplish. It devours the fruit of my labor. Should I not be watchful? Should it not be cast out?

Once it is cast out of my hive, it can do no harm.

You are greedy; you are hypocrites. Wash the inside of the cup, and the outside will also be clean. Cleanse what is within you; put your inner life, your logismoi—your intrusive thoughts—and everything else in order, and you will see that your outward actions will also be right. The members of the body do not move by themselves; they are moved by an inner motive. If that inner motive is healthy, then all the outward movements and actions of the body will also be sound. But if the inner man does not change, what will become of us?

We must keep the name of Christ within us, have reverence, and set our thoughts on heavenly things. Where else are we going? Whenever we find that the nous, the spiritual intellect, is not thinking of the things above, it has turned downward. We see trees growing upward. But unless you bend down the branch of a lemon tree, it will not bear fruit. If you simply leave the branches free to grow as they please, the tree will not bear fruit. But when someone—the gardener—takes hold of a branch, ties it with a little cord,

bends it down, and secures it in that position, the time will come when it will bear fruit. So too, unless a person bends down and obeys, he will bear no fruit. As long as he stretches himself upward, imagining that he is someone important and is accomplishing something, while logismoi, self-conceit, and pride pass through him, he produces nothing good. But if you accept everything with humility and say, “I have no will of my own. I have sold my own will so that I may gain and acquire my freedom in Christ,

” then you will bear fruit. Not my own will—not what I myself want. Give your will to Christ through your elder, and you will receive freedom in Christ. Of course, Father, the most essential thing is prayer. If we do not acquire prayer, what benefit have we received from coming here? Let us struggle. Practice the Jesus Prayer throughout the day, even when your attention is drawn outward. However outwardly demanding your obedience may be, keep trying:

gather the wandering nous through prayer and remember the name of the Lord. You, Father, are very busy. I bring the nous under control and rein it in, even if it cries out, until its shouting ceases. Otherwise, little by little, a person begins sliding downhill. Then you see him rushing headlong and smashing everything before him.

And suddenly death meets him. Only then does he come to himself—but by then it is too late. Then the angel, the voice of God, and his own conscience will say to him: “When the sun rose and reached its height, where were you? Why did you not labor for God then? Now that the sun is setting, now that it is going down and darkness is approaching,

only now have you awakened and begun to labor for God? Go now; the matter is finished. ” These things grieve me. Why, then, do these things pain me? Because I understand them, because I am a father, you know, and because I have love within me. The child pulls this way and that. Where are you heading, my child? He insults his parents, throws down his schoolbag, and refuses to study. His mother takes it from him.

“Give me this much money. ” “I don’t have it. ” “But I want it. Why did you give birth to me? ” he says. “You have to support me,” he says. Listen to the young person of today: he grabs his mother by the throat until she gives him spending money. And from that point onward, where is he heading? Is such a person ready for a family?

How will he build a peaceful home? Is he fit for work? What prison is waiting for him? This is what parents say within themselves when they see their children going astray, showing them no respect or love, and refusing to obey them while ruining their own lives. Does not the soul suffer when you see your disciple refusing to draw near to you? That disciple has a guide;

he has found someone to guide him, someone to be his father and the foundation of his life in obedience. Yet he nourishes his own self-will and imagines that he is on his way to the Kingdom of Heaven. They have all been deceived. God will judge. God has given His law concerning the father,

and that is the ground on which you must stand. Where obedience is required, you must submit. Whether it seems pleasant or unpleasant, once you have acted recklessly, the harm cannot simply be undone. Everyone imagines that something is being accomplished. But those who understand look on with sorrow when they see a disciple behaving this way toward his elder.

And what does he imagine? You should say, “Glory to God, who is still sustaining you and giving you time to come to your senses.

Make a start—five days a month. I sit here and weep over this sorry state of affairs. You speak, but they do not listen; the devil has them in his grip. Do you want to receive this answer from your disciple year after year? We must not tear everything down. Then this man says to another:

“It is a wound. You are not in my position, and this is not merely youthful behavior. ” When I was young and something troubled me, if a brother said anything against my elder, I could not accept it. You see your brother—do you hear what he is saying? By speaking this way,

we wound the elder. Be watchful, and you will find salvation. Yes, we must be watchful. We did not come here merely to exhaust ourselves. A disciple must be ready to be used in every way required by his obedience.

At Philotheou, I lay down to sleep while saying the Jesus Prayer. I kept repeating the prayer, and the Gospel passage about the Samaritan woman came to mind—the blessed meeting between Christ and the Samaritan woman. Now Christ, wishing to draw her to Himself,

to catch her on His hook, says to her, “Woman, give Me a little water to drink. ” She realized that He was an Israelite and said, “How can I give You water? I am not permitted to do so, because I am a Samaritan woman, and You are an Israelite. ” He says to her,

“You have received a great blessing from God by being here—if only you knew who it is that is speaking to you. ” Then the heart becomes not only a fountain of life, but an outpouring of life as well. A thousand and one things toss our minds this way and that; they stop us,

hinder us, put obstacles in our path, and make everything difficult. Now I am struggling. What does it take? Giannitos told me, “My child, do not waste time talking. Say the Jesus Prayer. ” So I try to say the Jesus Prayer, but I am drawn to talk a little as well. My mind wants to wander somewhere else, because everything contains a certain pleasure, and that pleasure draws me. It is the longing for that pleasure—the need to occupy myself with something. I will fall back, or begin judging others,

or lose my inner peace—and after ending up in such a state, how will I be able to sit down and pray? We have tested this kind of self-constraint ourselves, and I was benefited by it. So shut yourself in your cell. Let us make a beginning. Make a start, and then come and tell me whether it is so or not. If this were mere theory, if I had put it together from books in order to tell it to you, I too would evade the question.

But when the whole active ascetic life—praxis—is true and can actually be lived, I cannot accept or be persuaded that the point I am making is only theory. Let me give you another example. I have often told you these things simply to help you. Once our elder sent us on foot from Little Saint Anne to Pantokrator to collect some books. We would be away for two or three days. Now consider the command he gave us: “You are not to speak at all along the way.

” If someone were told that today, he would say, “What is he talking about? Two people together for two or three days without speaking? ” Yet that was the command given to us, and the question was whether we would keep it. We set out and walked for seven hours, eventually reaching Karyes. After we had finished what we needed to do there, we continued to Koutloumousiou. We spent the day working in Karyes, and after three days we returned to the elder. The elder did not believe that his command would have been kept,

and when we returned he looked me straight in the eyes and asked, “Did you speak? ” “By your blessing, Elder, we did not speak. ” Do you see? Glory to God. The brother walking with me was older. He would say, “Father, look over here. Do you see that monastery? It is called such-and-such. Do you see this?

Do you see that? ” I kept my head down, saying, “My Christ, my Christ. ” When we stopped somewhere to eat, there were further occasions and temptations. A brother greeted us and kissed our hands, and my companion spoke to him. That was a great temptation for me. I could have thought, “Look what he has done! I am the younger one, so I must not speak—but neither should he. He must also obey the command. ” Yet, so that I would not judge the brother,

I said to myself, “What did the elder tell me? He said, ‘You are not to speak. ’” When I told the elder exactly and honestly what had happened, he said, “You said nothing and did not answer, so you did not disobey. ” Then he embraced and kissed me. The command had been given, and it was not broken. Do you think this effort was made without struggle? There was self-constraint, pressure, logismoi—intrusive thoughts—this temptation and that one; but it had to be done.

The elder’s word was not to be set aside. So this is one example showing that it can be done. You may ask, “How much should I speak? ” Say to another person whatever is necessary, whatever truly needs to be said. Beyond that, most words are unnecessary. Keep the Lord Jesus Christ in your heart, and let everyone attend to his work. Someone may say to me, “But Elder, are we not to have fellowship with one another?

Are we not to speak together in love? ” Is love expressed through idle talk and constant conversation? The worst thing is endless discussion. The Fathers say that it begins with theology and ends in shameful talk, judging others, and worldly matters. We begin with spiritual things, then move on to politics, then to this person and that person, to the news, to the abbot of the monastery, to the brotherhood—what someone told me, what someone did to me, and what someone said about me. But if a person keeps silence, speaks sparingly,

and continually repeats the name of Christ within himself, love is born. He sees his brother and loves him. And especially if you have a nous—a spiritual intellect—you understand your brother and love him. We lived in silence: praxis, not words. I reached the point where an intrusive thought would tell me, “Say this to the brother. ” If I listened to the thought and said it, what was the result? My conscience would tell me, “That was wrong. It was unnecessary.

” So afterward, when the thought urged me to say something, I would ask, “Is this necessary? Do I truly need to say it? ” I would wait, and soon I would forget it. It was not necessary at all. It could be dealt with another time, or someone else might mention it. In the end, I stopped saying this and stopped saying that. Yet within myself I felt great love for my brothers. I embraced my brothers inwardly. They felt it.

Love speaks and makes itself felt; it cannot be hidden. My God, I wanted nothing else. Were many words necessary? All these words are poverty; a few words are gold. You would see one brother living in hesychia, attending to his small obedience. His simple meal would come at the appointed time, and then he would go back to his place. You did not speak to him at all. Yet spiritually, the eyes would light up; the eyes spoke volumes.

Even when no sound comes from the mouth, the eyes speak. They show whether love is present or absent, and hearts meet when the Spirit is there. ... and from the others as well, because we have nothing to give. What can you receive from someone who is poor and destitute? That is what we are—and I am the first among them. And they read. He had to struggle against his nature. Yet through his elder’s influence, the prayer arose from his heart,

and Elder Arsenios would stand upright from evening until dawn, despite the day’s toil—for he had carried many loads and done a great deal of hard work—and despite his need for sleep. What did he say? He would say, “My child, sometimes the thought comes to me: How can I stand now? I have finished my daily duties, and now,” he says, “I feel so weary. How can I stand upright after so much toil? ” Always ready-made—we feed on what the industrious bees produce. These are the stumbling blocks.

It does harm. So, my fathers, strive. I, the wretched one, must strive first, and you must follow, so that we may find what we need and make honey. May we gain the grace of God. May we experience what it truly means to be monks. May we truly experience it, because my blessed elder used to tell me—what did he say? “My child,” he said, “everyone thinks that if someone leaves the world, goes somewhere to become a monk,

puts on the cassock, and receives the schema, then he has become a monk. But that is not so. A monk is someone who leaves the world, finds a spiritual guide, remains faithfully by his side, and comes to experience the prayer. If he does not experience the prayer, he has not become a monk. ” Outwardly, he has become one; inwardly, he has not. The human person is twofold—twofold—both outward and inward, both body and soul. He is washed outwardly and inwardly. He is soiled both outwardly and inwardly. He is nourished by material food and by spiritual food.

If the person does not change inwardly, the outward appearance is nothing. Does the Lord not say, “You clean the outside of the cup, but leave the inside unwashed”? “Of all of you, the only person you failed to make a monk was yourself, ” he tells him. And of course, he would say the same to every one of us. To me first of all, the elder himself would say, “You have grown old and accomplished nothing. ” So each of us is very much like that.

Ομιλία Περί Προσευχής Έγινε στην Ιερά Μονή Φιλοθέου

Αν μου ζητούσες, θα σου έδινα, όχι αυτό το νερό που σου ζητώ εγώ, εσένα να μου δώσεις,

είδος ζώου, είδος που έχει μέσα του ζωή αιώνια. Δώσ' μου Κύριε αυτό το νερό να πιώ, για να μην έχουμε καν τον κόπο. Αυτό το νερό το

υπηρετεί με την ώρα που σε χθείς, όταν ο νους,

όταν ο νους, κοίτα

τον όνομα του Χριστού.

Επίσης, ριγόν, έχετε εμποδία, γιατί το όνομα του Χριστού

εμποδιάζει ο άνθρωπος

διά της εν πνεύματι και αληθείας προσκύνησης και

από το περισσέφηματος της καρδίας να λυεί το στόμα. Τι έχει κάνει μέσα του, τον βράζει έξω.

Λέει Χριστόν, εμποδία Χριστού. και

οφειλεί μας το χρέος μας απέναντι στους Μεγάλους Πατέρες της Ερήνης, γιατί κοπίασαν τόσο πολλοί να βρουν και να σταθήσουν πληρονομιά,

χάρη και μέθευση, διά του ανθρώπου, θεϊκή καρδιά. Όπως είδαμε σε εκείνη την οπτασία του μοναχού, την ανώνυμη, εκείνος ο μοναχός, ο πεσμένος, ο αμιλής, ο σκανδαρισμένος, η

εκκλησία να προσεύχεται με πόνο και να λέγει Χριστέ μου, Σύ, Σταυρότης των Δίου Πειλάτων, Έχεις εστο αίμα Σου για μας τους αμαρτωλούς. Δεν μπορείς να βοηθήσεις και να σώσεις και μένα από αυτή την κατάσταση. Την άρχιμη που ζω,

πλέγοντας αυτά τα λόγια με κατάνοιξη και πόδο, άρχισε να λέγεται η προσευχή, να λέει το Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ, Τελείωσα, προηγουμένη πήρα απάντως την προσευχή, αλλά δεν πρόσεξε και την έχασε την προσευχή, λεγομένη της προσευχής, αξιώθηκε της μεγάλης εκείνης οπτικής, μόλις άρχισε να ενεργείται η προσευχή μέθοδος, έφερε εντελώς η διάθεσή του, εκεί που ένιωθε προηγουμένος, μια

καλή είναι βέβαια, μας λέει, χωρίς κάτι το ιδιαίτερο. Πολλές φορές, μέχρι πολύ ώρα, έχει με τον ετορισμό. Πρέπει να υποχωρήσουμε και να πούμε ότι δεν είναι, τέλος πάντων, όπως το λέει ο Γιάννης, εγώ δεν τα βρίσκω. Αν

έχεις υπομονή, εάν εφημείνεις,

όπως διδάσκεσαι, όπως ακούς από τα διδάγματα των πατέρων, θα βρεις. Ο Θεός δεν είναι προσωπολίτης. Ο Θεός δεν είναι για μερικούς, για όλους είναι. Ευχή να τον ζητήσουμε με ειλικρίνεια, να τον ζητήσουμε με πόθο και να υπομείνουμε κόκο. Δεν στριμώνουμε τον εαυτό μας πως να βρούμε. Το φίδι για να αποβάλει το παλιό του δέρμα, στριμώνεται μέσα ανάμεσα σε δύο πέτρα. Το στρίμωμα που κάνει για να βγει, αποβάλει

φορεμάτι, δίνεται το καινούριο. Έτσι αν δεν στριμωχθούμε, αν

δεν πιεστεί, δεν βγαίνει. Φώξουμε

το νου και την καρδιά, βιέσουμε εκεί, σπασούμε το νου Αρχίζουμε

να βρίσκουμε κάτι με

το όνομα του Ιησού Σταματήστε πλέον να κήρυτεται λέει Σηκώνεται ο Θαραλέος πέντε

Είναι ποτέ δυνατόν λέει να ψιωπήσουμε Αφελίδομαι και ακούσαμε Πειθαρχεί δί Θεό μάλλον οι ανθρώποι Θα πειθαρχήσουμε στο Θεό λέει Και στον διδάσκαλό μας Γιατί εσείς τον σταυρώθετε Τον ζήσαμε και είδαμε ότι και θα τον κηρύξουμε. Πήραμε διαταγή, δε στεκόμαθα με τίποτα. Τους μπήρανε ο

διδάσκαλός τους και τους λέει, ναι μην τους εμποδίζετε, διότι κι άλλοι λέει έκαναν όνομα, είχαν μαθητές και κάνανε κάποια διδασκαλία, αλλά είτε ζώνες ή αφηγοί ή μετά από το θάνατό τους, διένυσαν οι μαθητές αυτοί. Αν και αυτή είναι έτσι, όπως θα διαλύσουν. Εάν όμως είναι από το Θεό, δεν θα μπορέσετε με τίποτα

την τελευταία φορά. Σε αυτή τη συμβουλή και δι' Απόστολη άρχισαν το κήρυγμα και άρχισαν να κατακτούν σαν

τους δραματείς και φαρισαίους. Και μας λένε μη φωνάζεις το Άνομα του Χριστού, θα σκάφεις.

Έχονται και του Άγια, έχονται με την αργολογία, έχετε με την αδωνασχεία του μυαλού μας. Ευχαριστώ που

παρακολουθήσατε το βίντεο.

Να φανταστώ και να όρεψα. Τι ρίχνα. Εσφαλαυρώμετα. Όλοι έχουν την εντομή τους. Δεν αντιστάθω και να πω. Και όντως να διώχνω κάποια φαντασία και λοιπά, θα κρατώ τη λέξη. Θα κρατώ τη λέξη. Μου είπε να υπημελούμε το διαφωνείο. Θα το υπημεληθώ. Μα έχει αυτό δυσκολία. Έχει με πλήσει άλλη. Να μου μιλάει για το ένα ή για το άλλο πρώτης

γραμμής. Βάζει λογισμούς ή για κοσμικά ή να γυρίσει το μυαλό μου πίσω.

Πώς θα κρατήσω ευχή, αλλιώς την αλήθεια μου.

Όταν όμως τον αποκλείσω, όταν εγώ προσεύχομαι, θα τον εμποδίσω, όταν εγώ θα

τη δώσω για ένα πιάτο φατί, θα δώσω αυτή την ευλογία για αυτό που έρχεται και μου προσφέρει Αυτός. Αλλά αυτά που μας λες Γέροντα, δεν

δώσατε γιατί δεν βάλανε αυτή την βία.

Υπάρχει πνευματική εργασία μέσα σου. Αν μόνο δεν έχω εγώ εργασία πνευματική και θέλοντας να δείξω αγάπη και αρχίζω εκεί να συζητάω και να μιλάω,

Γιατί θα διαφωνήσουμε, γιατί φοβείνει η χάριστου σε ένα μαστινός, πάμε με τις, πώς θα το πούμε, με την αράχνη να αντεθούν, δεν ενώνουμε με την αράχνη, με τις αράχνες στο λίμα δεν ενώνεται με τον εαφόν. Και θέλω να πω ότι θέλουμε να προκόψουμε στην προσευχή, περιεκτή, να βοηθήσουμε την προσευχή. Είμαι θα αναπονώ, γιατί ο πρώτος είμαι εγώ, εγώ ταλέχορος και θα είμαι εγώ πρώτος ο ένοχος, γιατί συσβήκατε εμένα τον ξεπλυμμένο, αλλά εγώ βρήκα γέροντα και γέροντες. Πώς

ο ένοχος ακροθυμός δεν τον πλησίασε αυτό το γερό, άρχισα να μεταφέρω του γέροντος από παράδοση, όχι από βιβλίο, από παράδοση

τον άνθρωπο και υπάρχουν άνθρωποι που τον γνώρισαν, ζεζούρα, έχουμε και την κάρα του, έχουμε τα λιψαλά του. Ναι, υπήρξε ο Γέροντας, ο Παππούσας,

κοπήσανε οι γεροντάδες του,

ήρθατε σαν καλοί κύριοι, βρήκατε εδώ Γέροντα, βρήκατε καθαρό τον τόπο, γιατί εδώ υπήρχαν δαιμόνια πολλά, διότι όλοι οι παπάς τα εξουρκίζουν λέει, τους εξουρκινούν στους τόπους, στους Σάββατος, στους κατοίκητων Σαφάτη και λοιπά, και φεύγουν από τους δαιμονισμένους και έχουν δώρες σε αυτούς τους τόπους και εμείς κάναμε τόσο κόπο να διώξουμε τα δαιμόνια με την προσευχή και βρήκατε και τον τόπο καθαρολέφωτη. Έχετε και οδηγό, έχετε και καταστρομένα. Και έρχονται στο μονοσχέδιο προσευχής και αγώνες και τώρα καθώς είχατε μια χαρά να ερχόσαστε πρώτα λέει να μην έχετε οδηγό, να λέτε, να ψάχνετε, να βρείτε να μυστεύετε, να κυνηγάτε τόπους και μόθους να καταβάλετε να βρείτε έναν οδηγό να σας

πει δυο λόγια έντερα προσευχή και Μοναστικής Ζωής για να πείτε, βρήκα οδηγό. Και εσείς βρήκατε οδηγό άνετα, κατευθείαν από τον κόσμο της άντια, δεν δουλεύετε λέει.

Εμείς στο Βάριστο είμαστε ανακολούθητοι. Οι άλλα τα παιδιά που έρχονται τώρα και πάνε στα μοναστήρια, πάνε εδώ, πάνε εκεί στις σκήπες, τι να βρούμε από εμάς τους σημερινούς γεροντάδες, τι να

χράψεις από τους δικούς μας γεροντάδες, για να βρώσουμε και στους...

Γιαβάζουν και έρχονται, αλλά δεν βρίσκουν. Αν εμείς βρήκαμε κάτι, η αδελφό της, το γέροντος, είμαστε υπεύθυνοι

να αγωνιστούμε, να βρούμε. Υπάρχει γέροντα, υπάρχει θερμό, υπάρχει πηγή. Ο αγαπωνιστής παρδίσκεται, σίγουρα

μπορεί να μας το πει και κάποιος άλλος. Τότε από γέροντα, εγώ τα λέω βάση του γέροντος μου, έξαντα είδατε. Εύρευε στον παππού του γέροντα Αρσένιο, δεν είχε μπεργατομού του γέροντος, δεν είχε αυτή την οξύτητα που είχε ο γέροντας, ο γέροντας έχει δίπλα πράγματα, και την προσευχή, την κατευχή, είχε και την θεωρία του Θεού, πράξη και θεωρία, ο γέροντας Αρσένιος δεν είχε θεωρία, ήταν απλός στο άπλωμα, τον βοήθησε η φύση.

και μόλις στέκομαι παιδί μου, ανοίγει λέει η καρδιά μου και τα φιλοκάρδια της καρδιάς μου ανοίγουν με την προσευχή και δεν αισθάνομαι κόπο καθόλου. Έχω δύο ευασφαλπητάκια του από την Ισπνωή και τον Όμορφο Σοφείο.

Ο Γέννης είχε δύο πράγματα. Από

την καρδιά ξεκινούσε το

τόσο όμορφο μέρι, αλλά υπάρχουν και εκεί κάθε και τρώμε τα έτοιμα.

Ποιος είναι αυτός που κάνει τη δουλειά, είναι αυτός που με σταματάει την προσευχή. Αυτός που έρχεται και με αργολογεί, αυτός που έρχεται και κατακρίνει. Αυτός που έρχεται και μου βάλει σκάνδαλο, πέτρα σκανδάλου να πέσω. Και κυφήνα μένωσα, η οποία μου τρώει αυτό που προσπαθώ εγώ να κάνω. Τον καρπό μου το τρώω. Δεν πρέπει να προσέξω, δεν πρέπει να αποβληθεί. Αποβληθεί από την κυψαία μου, δεν τη κάνει ζημιά.

Είστε άπλητος, είστε υποκριτές, πλύνε το ποτήρι από μέσα και έξω θα είναι καθαρό, πλύνε μέσα σου, ταυτοποιήσου μέσα σου στους λογισμούς σου και στα πάντα σου και να δεις και οι εξωτερικές σου ενέργειες θα είναι σωστές. Τα μέλη δεν κινούνται από μόνα της. Έχουν εσωτερικό το κίνητρο. Αν το κίνητρο που μέσα είναι υγιές και εξωτερικές κινήσεις του σώματος, δηλαδή η διαδρασία όλοι θα είναι, αν μέσα του δεν αλλάξει, να

έχουμε το όνομα του Χριστού, να έχουμε ευλάβεια, να σκεφτόμεθα τα οράνια. Για ποιο θα πάμε. Όταν βρίσκουμε το νου να μην σκέφτεται τα επάνω, προς τα κάτω είναι γύρισμα. Βλέπουμε τα δέμβρα να βγείς για πάνω. Αν δεν γύρεις το κλονάρι της λεμονιάς, δεν καρπίζει η λεμόνια. Άμα τα αφήσεις έτσι ελεύθερο, δεν καρπίζει. Άμα το πιάσει ο άνθρωπος τυπωρός αυτός και λοιπά, και το δέσει με ένα σκηνάκι, και το γύρει το κλονάρι και το δέσει και είναι γι' αυτό, θα έρθει ώρα που να καρπίσει. Εάν δεν τα πίνει, θα έρθει ο άνθρωπος και δεν υπακούσει, καρπό δεν κάνει.

Όσοι του τσουρεύεται επάνω και νομίζει ότι κάτι είναι και κάτι φτιάχνει και τον περνάνε λογισμοί και νόδεξη και θυρίφανοι και οτι δεν κάνει χρηστό με τα πίναση το πάρεις και να πεις Δεν έχω θέλημα, το θέλημα το πουλήσα για να κερδίσω και να αποκτήσω την ευχριστώ ελευθερία μου Δεν το θέλημα, αυτό που θέλω εγώ δώσ' το, το θέλημά σου στο Χριστό Δια του Γέροντας, την Εγχριστώ Ελευθερία. Βέβαια, το

πιο κεντρό είναι η προσευχή, πατέρα. Εάν δεν κερδίζουμε προσευχή, μας εμφωνήσανε που ήρθαμε εδώ. Να γονιστούμε, προσκαθίστε τόσο την ημέρα, την ευχή, έρχεται εξωστρέφε. Όσο και να είναι εξωστρεφές το διακόλλημα, προσαθίστε, συμμαζέψτε το νου με την προσευχή και μνημονεύετε. Εσείς, πατέρα, είμαστε απασχοληνοί. Τον

βάζω κάτω, τον ψαραδίζει,

μακάρι να φωνάζει, λυμπηκεπλύζει και σταματήσει το φωνητικό της και μετά ωραία κι ανήμονα, τον παίρνει κατήφορο, κατήφορο στον άνθρωπο και βλέπεις, βαντίζει και ο Κάλις τα στραπατσαρεί μπροστά του όλα, κανένας έλεγε, πω, τον συναντάει τσάκο θάνατος, συνέχεται, 400 δαμιάδα, είναι αργά πλέον, θα του πει τότε και ο Άγγελος και η φωνή του Θεού και η συνείδηση, όταν λέει Όταν ο ήλιος έφως και λέει μεσούραμα, εσύ λέει πού ήσουνα να δουλέψεις το Θεό, τώρα που φεύγει ο ήλιος, τώρα που βασιλεύει πλέον ο ήλιος και δεν θα έχει το σκότωστο, τώρα μου ξεκίνησες και μου ξύπνησες να δουλέψεις το Θεό, άι τώρα, έλεξε η υπόθεση, με λυπούν εμένα αυτά τα πράγματα.

Γιατί είμαι λοιπόν, γιατί τα γνωρίζω, γιατί είμαι πατέρα, θες, γιατί μέσα μου έχω την αγάπη, από εδώ τραβάει, από εκεί τραβάει, πού το πας παιδί μου, προσθέτει γονείς, πετάει τη στάτα δεν διαβάζει, την πήρα η μάνα, δώσε μου τόσο χρήμα, δεν έχω, εγώ και θέλω, τι με γέννησες λέει, να με φρέψεις λέει. Ακούς τώρα το σημερινό νέο, κόπτω λαιμότηση μάνα και πότε ας τον δώσεις χαρδιλίκι Και από κάτω και από κρέο, πώς το πάει αυτός Αυτός είναι για οικογένεια, πως θα μείξει οικογένεια άμερο Είναι για δουλειά, ποια θυλακή θα τον περιμένει Έτσι μέσα τους λένε οι γονείς που τα βλέπουν τα παιδιά τους Και παραστατούν, δεν τους σέβονται, δεν τους αγαπούν Δεν τους υπακούν, φουσκάνε

τη ζωή τους Τα τίνη που λένε Δεν

πονάει η ψυχή αυτή,

όταν βλέπεις τον υποτακτικό σου να μην σε πλησιάζει, ο

υποτακτικός αυτός έχει

έναν οδηγό, έβρισε σαν οδηγός αυτός, σαν πατέρας έβρισε, σαν υπόσταση για τον υποδεχτών, έβρισε, αυτός τροφάει το γρόμμα του και νομίζει ότι πάρει για τη Βασιλεία των Ουρανών. Γελάστηκε όλοι. Ο

Θεός θα κρίνει. Ο Θεός έδωσε το νόμο Του για τον Πατέρα. Αυτό εκεί λέει, πατάς επάνω. Εκεί που χρειάζεται θα ψαλεί. Ωραίο το άσχημα. Πάτηθες παράφονα, το

άσχημα δεν πέζεται. Νομίζω κάτι γίνεται όλοι. Αυτοί που γνωρίζουν, με αντίλαφρο. Βρε τον υποτακτικό του να κάνει αυτά.

Αυτός, τι νομίζεις,

να θες δόξα ο Θεούς που σε κρατάει ακόμα και μπορείς να συνέρχεσαι.

Βάλε αρχή, πέντε ο μήνας, εγώ κάθομαι εδώ και αποκλαίω τον έλλην. Συακούς δεν συακούν, διαβόλου

τη γρότσα. Θέλεις

για τόσα χρόνια να παίρνεις αυτή την απάντηση από το υποταχτικό σου. Δεν βρέπει να γκριμίζουμε. Αυτός άνθρωπος λέει και στον άλλον, «Είναι μια πληγή, ε, δεν είστε στη θέση του δικού μου και δεν είναι νεότητα». Ο Γέροντας ο δικός μου, ήμουν μικρός εγώ, σαν τι μου γινόταν, κάποιος αδερφός έλεγε για τον Γέροντα. Δεν πληροφορεί το, θα πάνε στον πόνο του μέλι, σε δει, βλέπεις

τον αδερφό σου τον τι λέει, το λέει κλειγώνουμε, τον

Γέροντα, προσεχεί

αυτός, θα βρεις σωτηρία, όχι, το πρέπει να προσέξουμε. Δεν ήρθαμε εδώ για να κουραστούμε, ήταν συγκλητικός, θα

χρησιμοποιηζόταν όπως και τον

συγκλητικό από όλα σας,