Fr. Paisie Olaru was born on June 20, 1897, in Stroienesti, Lunca-Botosani, Romania. His parents had 5 children; he was the youngest of all. At age 24, he became a monk at the Cozancea Skete. In 1943 he was ordained hierodeacon, and in 1947, he was ordained a priestmonk. Here you can read a few little stories from his monastic life.
It happened one time that a Christian woman and her 4-year old daughter visited Fr. Paisie. They were from Humulesti, and at that time Fr. Paisie was in the Sihla Monastery. After he confessed her, he blessed her daughter and said to her: "May God and His Holy Mother bless you, because you'll be a nun!". After 12 years, the child enrolled in the monastic life, making herself Jesus' bride... [...]
A disciple of Fr. Paisie once asked him: "How many times do we have to pray with the Jesus Prayer and cross ourselves?". And the elder said to him: “I pray one hundred times with ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner’, one hundred times with ‘Most-Holy Mother of God, have mercy on us’, one hundred times with ‘Holy Godbearing Father Paisios, pray to God for me, a sinner’, one hundred times with ‘Holy Hierarch Spiridon, pray to God for me, a sinner’, and then one hundred times with ‘Holy Saint Veronica, pray to Jesus the Saviour for me, a sinner’. And so I keep repeating them over and over from the beginning. Then it happens that someone comes in, or I say a little prayer for a sick, or I confess a monk, or I listen to the Holy Services, or I cry, or I fall asleep a bit, and so goes everything until the Lord comes to us...” [...]
In the last years of his life, when he was more than 90 years old, he was lying in bed with a broken leg, having lost sight because of cataracts in both his eyes, and almost deaf. Whenever he wasn't feeling well or he was in any pain, he would pray and cry, saying of himself: "I have once again upset God!". And then he used to yell softly: "Forgive me my Lord, because I have upset you terribly; Mother of God, help me because I have no power! Where would I go? I'm waiting for you, mercy Jesus, I'm crying and waiting for you".
His disciple, seeing the pain of his spiritual father, would also cry out of compassion for him. But the father didn't know he was in his cell with him. His face enlightened once again, and then he crossed himself three times, wiped out his tears with a towel, and continued to pray secretly with the prayer of the heart, gently shaking his head in between the pillows... [...]
Fr. Paisie had the Holy gift of healing people and the gift of bringing peace into the souls of the people hurt by sin. His teachings were simple and wise, evangelical and practical. He talked little, but with Holy wisdom.
Părintele Athanasios Mytilineos (1927-2006), egumenul Mănăstirii Komniniou, Stomio, Larisa
Părintele Paisie, pe care l-am vizitat de curând [1978], mi-a spus următoarele. Mi-a mai povestit şi alte lucruri minunate, dar pe care nu pot să vi le spun. Aşadar, mi-a zis: ,,Mulţi spun că au simţit o bucurie, fiindcă au văzut, de exemplu, un lucru duhovnicesc etc. Această bucurie este foarte lumească. Aceasta nu este bucuria pe care trebuie să o căutăm, este asemeni bucuriei unui bărbat pentru o femeie, este iubirea pătimaşă care învăluie inima. Bucuria duhovnicească este atât de delicată, încât nu poţi să o sesizezi, atât de delicată este. Aşadar, la nivel absolut, există simțirea inimii pârjolite de flacăra dragostei Lui Hristos.
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Pe părintele Paisie l-am găzduit cândva la noi la mănăstire şi, de multe ori, atunci când ne vorbea, folosea cuvântul ,,omenie”. Îi plăcea foarte mult acest cuvânt. Creştinul, atunci când nu se abate de la calea cea bună, de la învăţătura evanghelică, are omenie. Mai folosea şi alt cuvânt, ,,nobleţe”. Spunea: «Omul se umple de omenie, se umple de nobleţe, iar aceasta este foarte bine, indiferent dacă este sărac, bogat, învăţat, neînvăţat, să-şi ţină cinstea, să aibă această omenie, această nobleţe».
Părintele Paisie Aghioritul și Părintele Athanasios Mytilineos
În urmă cu ceva vreme l-am avut în vizită pe Părintele Paisie [1978], şi ne spunea de această nobleţe pe care o au oamenii, cei cu adevărat duhovniceşti, cei care au înlăuntrul lor duhul Lui Dumnezeu. «Să ştiţi, nu banii îl fac nobil pe om». Baţi la o uşă, şi nu te întreabă: «Ţi-e foame, ţi-e sete? Eşti cumva obosit? Nu, îţi spune: Pleacă, cerşetorule!». Care mai este nobleţea aici? Nobleţe înseamnă să-l înţelegi pe semenul tău. Aceasta este adevărata nobleţe, aceasta este omenia.
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Părintele Paisie spunea că diavolul încearcă să ne strice liniştea cu televizorul. Mi-a scris acest lucru într-o scrisoare. Spune: “A trimis, diavolul, la această persoană, televizorul, imaginaţia, iar imaginaţia lucrează”.
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Un monah aghiorit, mai exact, părintele Paisie, mi-a spus următoarea întâmplare despre o femeie care spunea: «Hristoase, eu nu am cum să câştig Împărăţia, din pricina păcatelor mele. Arată-mi-Te în această viaţă, ca să am şi eu o bucurie, să Te văd în faţa mea». Şi, într-adevăr, cândva, L-a văzut pe Hristos în Sfântul Potir. L-a văzut pe Hristos! Aşa de mult s-a bucurat dar, în acelaşi timp, s-a umplut de mândrie şi a început să zică: «Eu L-am văzut pe Hristos, înţelegeţi că mi s-a arătat tocmai mie?». Sărmana femeie a pierdut Împărăţia. Hristos, care vede adâncul sufletului tuturor, a îngăduit să i se întâmple acest lucru, ştiind că această femeie se va pierde. Nu este vreun experiment pe care îl face Hristos, ca oamenii să-şi piardă sufletul, ci pentru ca mândria ascunsă să fie dată în vileag. Femeia aceasta zicea: ,,Sunt păcătoasă!”. Avea, însă, mândrie ascunsă în sufletul ei, iar de această mândrie nici ea însăşi nu ştia, ci doar Hristos cunoştea acest lucru. Aşadar, este foarte periculos să credem că am ajuns unde am ajuns și să luăm asta drept un indiciu că ne vom mântui!”.
http://www.pemptousia.ro/2014/08/marturia-parintelui-athanasios-mytilineos-despre-parintele-paisie-aghioritul/
Ο Θεός μας δίδει πολλές ευκαιρίες για να κερδίσουμε τον Παράδεισο, αλλ΄ εμείς αυτές τις ευκαιρίες δεν τις δεχόμαστε, τις διώχνουμε. Εάν όσα οφείλει ο άνθρωπος τα ξεπληρώσει σ΄ αυτήν την ζωή, σώζεται.
Γι΄ αυτό να δεχόμαστε τις όλες δοκιμασίες με υπομονή και ταπείνωση, ευχαριστούντες και δοξάζοντες το Θεό. Να προσπαθούμε να είμαστε πάντοτε κοντά στον Θεό και να μην απομακρυνόμαστε απ΄ Αυτόν, γιατί μακριά από το Θεό σωτηρία δεν υπάρχει.
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ΣΤΥΛ. Ν. ΚΕΜΕΝΤΖΕΤΖΙΔΗ ΕΠΙΜΕΛΕΙΑ,
ΕΝΑ ΘΗΣΑΥΡΙΣΜΑ ΑΠΟ ΠΝΕΥΜΑΤΙΚΕΣ ΔΙΔΑΧΕΣ ΑΓΙΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΣΟΦΩΝ ΑΝΔΡΩΝ,
ΠΟΥ ΑΝΑΦΕΡΟΝΤΑΙ ΣΤΗΝ ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΗ ΠΝΕΥΜΑΤΙΚΟΤΗΤΑ,
«ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΟΣ ΦΙΛΟΘΕΟΣ ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑ»,
http://agiameteora.net/
Whoever repents sincerely is prepared to withstand any sorrow: hunger and homelessness, cold and heat, illness and poverty, humiliation and banishment, lies and slander, for the soul seeks God and does not concern itself with anything worldly, but instead prays with a clear mind. And whoever is tied to lands and wealth can never have a clear mind in God, because deep within his soul there is always a concern over worldly things. If he should not repent completely and not sorrow over his insult to God, then he will die impassioned, never having received the Lord.
Elder Siluan
Two factors are involved in man's salvation: the grace of God and the will of man. Both must work together, if salvation is to be attained.
Saint Nektarios of Aegina
