(On the feast day of Saint Paul of Thebes and John Kalyvitis)
Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi
Our Church honours the two
great saints, Paul of Thebes and John Kalyvitis. Their life stories are a
little strange but quite fitting for us, monks. The former was among
the first people to become monks, since he had truly forsaken the world
and went to the desert all alone. Both lived alone with the Lord,
something which was unheard of those days and rare. In a sense they were
the pioneers of this way of life. The latter, (John Kalyvitis) lived
later than Paul. He was a young child when he left home to become a
monk, burning with zeal. A few years later, he left his monastery and
returned to his home, but stayed only at the front step, fighting
struggles beyond human power and ended his life there.
One marvels sometimes. What
gave them such vigour to carry out such superhuman struggles? This is
what really concerns us. We end up wondering sometimes: ‘Why can’t we do
this?’How could they do it?’ We even study the cases of martyrs, who
were human like us, to find out how they could endure such horrifying
trials; this shocks us even just hearing about them! Can anyone say that
these stories were blown up? Woe, we cannot even think that! What is
their secret, therefore? In whose name did these human beings made of
flesh, manage to accomplish such achievement?
Obviously, the first
explanation is that they have accomplished such feats through Divine
Grace. But then again, we wonder: ‘Ok. Was the Lord assisting only
those? Is He absent in other generations? Is the Lord biased? Does He
chose some people, whom He strengthens and promotes and gives others a
miss?’ Such questions are always appropriate. The Lord is the One who
gives His grace and accomplishes ‘signs and wonders’ but it is man who
causes Grace to operate. Thereafter, this same man with the assistance
of Grace accomplishes these tasks which are beyond human nature.
Therefore, what is the main reason behind all these? What is the reason
which causes this kind of Grace to operate? We will find the answer in
the writings of our holy Fathers. Once, St Paul of Thebes was having a
conversation with Saint Antony the Great. St Paul asked St Antony: ‘How
come your name is better known than mine, since I have fought more
fierce battles than you?’ Obviously their conversation was not so much
for their benefit as for ours, when we were going to learn of it later.
St Antony teasingly replied: ‘It is simply because I love the Lord more
than you. My name has become better known only because I love the Lord
more than you’.
Now the mystery has begun to
unravel. He who accomplishes more is the one who loves the Lord more and
Divine Grace influences him more. This is the key! In practice how are
we to love the Lord more so that Grace increases in us and assists us in
overcoming our despicable ways which hamper our spiritual progress?
This is the most appropriate question for us, as monks.
If we are to show how much we love the Lord in practice, we ought to obey His commands. ‘Whoever does not love me does not keep my words’ (John 14, 24). Also ‘whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he is the one who loves me’ (John 14, 20).
I can safely say that to a great extent what causes this outcome is the
expression of our love towards the Lord; we have also heard this from
our Fathers and it is worth keeping. Such an expression (of love) begins
with the memory of the Lord. Someone, who says that he loves the Lord
but does not remember Him is like someone who is not telling the truth.
We all have such an experience. Our mind sticks on the subject of our
love or on what has captured our attention. If we truly wish to love the
Lord, we are obliged to force ourselves to keep remembering Him
constantly. We must do what St Gregory the Theologian says: ‘It is better to remember the Lord rather than breathe’.
These are the keys; one after
the other. The mysteries, which may have been unfathomable, now unravel
in front of us. Obviously earlier fathers had more dedication towards
hard work and more muscle. They themselves reveal that they had entered
into the struggle with such commitment towards hard work and lived
through such harsh conditions, that not only they did not submit to any
pleasure or vanity, but they did not even obey the laws of necessity.
Having such passion for hard work it was obvious that they would find
Someone whose memory they would hold on to. For this reason, they
particularly concentrated on the issues of the mental prayer and
inwardness and held the former to a high esteem. This issue was handed
down to us and it is very consoling and pleasurable. Indeed we, more
than our forefathers, are weak and have neither selflessness nor any
ability. However, we do wish to be saved. Thus we have a double issue
here. We wish to be saved- and we most certainly must be saved- but our
passions are more powerful since we are weak and have no selflessness.
Unfortunately we also commit more sins. Therefore, we must get rid of
the passions since their existence hampers our deliverance. Thus, we
must hasten to cause the influence of Grace, so that she can help us,
free us from the bondage of our passions and from our weaknesses and
guide us to our salvation.
Thus, we, more than our
predecessors, need to locate Divine Grace operating inside us, both in
quality and quantity. We are only required to express our love towards
the Lord through this means, namely His memory. Therefore, we ought to
force ourselves to recite the mental prayer. If someone wishes to keep
remembering the Lord there is no better way than this. All virtues are
somehow the paths, the routes which lead us towards the Lord, towards
His memory and towards our relationship with Him. But there is no better
virtue than the mental prayer which leads us directly and actively
towards the memory of the Lord. It is for this reason that our Fathers,
with whom we lived, have insisted on this issue. And if you ask me, I
also say to you that as monks, we ought to adhere to this prayer on top
of all the other promises we have given. We may make some allowances for
other things but not on this. We are all able to stick with this, if we
want to. Whether standing, or sitting, whether we are sick or working,
walking or eating or whatever else we are doing, we must recite the
prayer for as long as we are awake so that we even recite it in our
sleep. To those who have made some progress, the mental prayer operates
in their sleep. You must be attentive and keep trying. You must not give
up in any way. Let’s go to our cells now and get on with it. We will
meet with resistance and temptation, of course. We know these things.
It is possible to make progress and feel at peace for one or two nights,
a week or a fortnight. This cannot possibly continue; it will be
interrupted. Sleepiness will come or slumber or various thoughts and a
thousand other predicaments, of which we all have had experience. It is
irrational to be scared since we know who will come and from where and
what he is looking for. However, we also know that our goal is to
preserve on the memory of the Lord and on this we will insist. Won’t he
let us stand? Let us sit down. Won’t he let us sit but brings on
sleepiness? We will get up again. Will he not allow us to stand? Let us
walk. He comes and pressurizes us. We are overwhelmed by various
thoughts. We stop for a second and somehow talk with ourselves or rather
we tell the one who is opposing us: ‘What do you want from me? I will
not give up. I did not come here by chance. I am fully aware of my
mission and I know very well that I am a monk. I will not retreat. This
is my duty. I love my Jesus, who has called me to follow Him and I will
continue to pursue Him. I will not allow you to stop me’.
In his way we fortify our
determination, we receive some courage and continue on our way. Doesn’t
the mind stay on the prayer? Is it confused and stressed by various
thoughts? Never mind. The lips are praying. The lips will not stop. They
will continue reciting the prayer and will call out: ‘Yes, Devil. You
will not allow the mind to concentrate on the prayer? I will call out
with my lips. My Lord knows even the movements of my hands. I insist and
I will call upon Him and He will come to my rescue. ‘Raise the war
cry you nations, and be shattered! Listen all you distant lands. Prepare
for battle, and be shattered! Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it
will not stand, for God is with us’ (Isaiah 8, 9-10).
If we insist in this way, be
certain that we will succeed since our lives are entirely programmed by
the Lord’s providence and this cannot possibly be forged. Aren’t we
offended how a child, 12- 13 years old as Saint John Kalyvitis was
when he became a monk, returned and crashed Satan’s power with such
selflessness, which horrifies us even to hear of it? What kind of child
was he? Was he like ourselves, who were farmers and laborers and have
had experience of the harsh life? What did he know of life other than
how to live in opulence? And look what he had achieved! He provoked
Divine Grace with his selflessness and she awarded him with so many
trophies.
We are also looking to acquire
this same Grace. St Paul of Thebes had acquired it from the very first
time without realizing it. He dared leave for the desert alone without
company, counsel, experience or knowledge and fought with the battalions
of demons without any fear in the face of such unrelenting temptations.
He did not turn back. He had faith in the Lord and was saying to
himself: ‘It is not possible. I have started this for the sake of the
Lord. It is not possible for Him to abandon me’. And indeed he has
succeeded.
source: Translated by Olga Konari Kokkinou from the Greek edition: Γέροντος Ιωσήφ Βατοπαιδινού, Διδαχές από τον Άθωνα, Εκδόσεις ‘Το Αγιον Όρος’, Θεσσαλονίκη, 1989.
