Monday 5 November 2012

ELDER PAISIOS-On Deliverance From the Darkness of Sin


-Elder,is it a very grave sin for one to pollute his Holy Baptism?
-It depends on how much someone pollutes it.One pollutes it a lot,another a little,another makes a stain,someone else two stains...
-And is it the serious sins that pollute our Baptism?
-Yes,it is the mortal sins which pollute our Baptism,and that's when divine Grace is distanced from us.Of course,God's Grace does not abandon man,even as our Guardian Angel does not abandon us.Do you remember what the devil said to the pagan priest about the monk who wanted to marry his daughter?"Do not be in such a hurry;he has abandoned God,but God has not yet abandoned him."
-Elder,can one live in the darkness of sin and not be aware of it?
-No,we all have awareness,but we just don't care.For one to come to the light of Christ,one must want to come out of the darkness of sin.Let's take as an example someone who's been accidentally shut in a dark cellar.The moment he sees a ray of light coming through a crevice,he will try to find a way out to that light.He will slowly widen the crevice and make a way out.It is the same with the person(sinner);from the moment he sees the good as a necessity and feels"good restlessness"about achieving it,makes every effort to come out of the darkness of sin.If he says,"What I am doing is wrong,I am not on the right path".Then he humbles himself,God's Grace comes upon him and then he moves onto the right path.But it's difficult for him to be helped spiritually if he doesn't feel that "good restlessness".Someone,for example,is in a tiny closet and feels as if he's suffocating.You tell him,"Get up,open the door and go out and get some fresh air to revive yourself."But he begins to say,"I can't go out.But why am I closed up in here unable to breathe?And why shouldn't I have fresh air?And why does God keep me in here while others are out in the fresh air?"Well.tell me,can such a person be helped?Do you know how many people are tormented like this simply because they don't listen to someone who can really help them spiritually?
Through sin,man himself turns the earthly paradise into a earthly hell.If his soul is polluted with mortal sins,he lives in a demonic state;he is fiercely defensive,is tormented,finds no peace.On the contrary,whoever is close to God,whoever keeps his mind on higher things,on things Above,and always maintains good and positive thoughts(Logoismoi)in his mind,will remain peaceful and live in Paradise while here on earth.Such a person has quite a different aura from the person who remains distanced from God;it is obvious to others.This then is the Divine Grace that gives a person away,even when he conceals himself.

Taken from ELDER PAISIOS OF MOUNT ATHOS Spiritual Counsels Vol 3,"SPIRITUAL STRUGGLE"

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