With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man: The Spiritual Counsels of St. Paisios the Athonite - Volume 1
The New Generation - Part 16 of 18
“Christ does not require big things from us, [in order for Him] to help us in our struggle. He expects very little — a tiny bit. A young man was telling me that he went to Patmos(*) to worship, and fell into temptation’s trap. A female tourist jumped on him, and hugged him while he was walking. He pushed here away, saying: ‘My Christ, I have come for worship, not for love.’ and he went away. That same night in his hotel room, he saw Christ — immersed in the Uncreated Light. Do you see the reward he received for that one push? Others strive for years in the ascetic life, and may never be blessed with something like that. And he saw Jesus Christ, only because he resisted temptation. And this experience, naturally, made him stronger spiritually.”
(*) - The Greek island where St. John the Evangelist was given the divine vision to write the Book of Revelation, during his exile, in 95 AD.