Friday, May 22, 2009

The Vision of Saint Paisios Regarding the Exalted State of the Monastic Life


This icon of Saint Paisios the Great depicts a vision he had of Saint Constantine the Great, his contemporary who passed away before him. Below are the words which Saint Constantine spoke to this great ascetic.


"I am Constantine the Great...
I descended from heaven to reveal to you
the glory which monks receive
in heaven, and the closeness and boldness
they have towards Christ...
I blame myself and I condemn myself,
for not having been granted this great rank of the Monastics...
I am unable to bear the loss, which I experienced...
I do not have the same boldness as the Monastics,
nor equal honor towards them...."
Posted by J.Sanidopoulos at 6:05 PM
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"I teach them all the good I can, and recommend them to others from whom I think they will get some moral benefit. And the treasures that the wise men of old have left us in their writings I open and explore with my friends. If we come on any good thing, we extract it, and we set much store on being useful to one another." - Socrates
"In imitation of the method of the bee, I shall make my composition from those things which are conformable with the truth and from our enemies themselves gather the fruit of salvation. But I shall reject all that is worthless and falsely labeled as knowledge." - St. John the Damascene

All Saints Celebrated In January

Sisoes, the great ascetic, before the tomb of Alexander, King of the Greeks, who was once covered in glory. Astonished, he mourns for the vicissitudes of time and the transience of glory, and tearfully declaims thus: "The mere sight of you, tomb, dismays me and causes my heart to shed tears, as I contemplate the debt we, all men, owe. How can I possibly stand it? Oh, death! Who can evade you?"

"Ascend, ascend, brethren, ascend with eagerness and resolve in your hearts, listening to him who says: ‘Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of our God, Who maketh our feet like those of the deer, and setteth us on high places, that we may be victorious with His song.’" - St. John Climacos

"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." - Galatians 6:14

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 18:3