It’s not suffering itself which opens the eyes of the soul. But it’s exactly what helps you to humble yourself. It’s exactly what helps you to see your selfishness, to repent and see God’s love and forbearance.
If problems remain, they need to. Because there are other deeper problems which will not go, unless these external, more visible ones, the ones we want to go, remain. The external ones wil go too, but after they have taken away the other, the deeper and inner ones: the shortcomings, the weaknesses, the leprosis of sin, the whole badness sin has caused as well as what the devil has caused through sin.
If your whole being is not pierced through by a rhomphaia and your soul is not thrust through, if you don’t suffer and bleed, know that: a lot un-good situations that lie within you, will rest there and you will be unaware of them. And there will they remain. So, you will not repent for them. You will depart this world unrepentant.
It is really important to know ourselves inside out before we leave this world, to repent accordingly and ask forgiveness from God and people, so that we are truly forgiven. So that our heart is cleansed, brightened and saved. And glorified.
A spiritual father, due to his position, knows that very many of the deeper flaws and passions, many of the deeper sinful “conditions”, wouldn’t have surfaced, nor would anyone be aware that he carries them had not God allowed him to suffer and literally bleed.
Let us not hesitate το reconsider our inner philosophy and reality. Let us not fear, let us not lose heart, let us not step back, no matter how things turn up. Because things turn up in such a way that we say: “if it were otherwise, that would be fine; but, as it is… I can’t stand it”. No! Let us accept things as God allows them to be. And God will soften our hearts. He will bring joy to our hearts, he will gladden our hearts. But, basically, he will minister unto you an entrance into his everlasting kingdom.
“Dear God, in my whole life, I haven’t been through a more painful thing. Dear God, don’t let this happen to anybody else. But, dear God, in no other way could my heart have benefited so. This humility, this repentance, this willingness to fall on my knees in front of you and venerate you, this communion and unification with you wouldn’t have come to my heart otherwise”.
Holy Hesychasterion “The Nativity of Theotokos” Publications.
Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos
