With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man: The Spiritual Counsels of St. Paisios the Athonite - Volume 1

The New Generation - Part 2 of 18

“Nowadays, both young and old, care only for convenience and comfort. Spiritual people aspire to holiness, but they want to get there the easy way. Those who live in the world want to make money, but work less. Young people want to pass their exams without studying, and get their diplomas without leaving the coffee shops. And, if possible, they would even love to call from there, and get their exam scores over the phone! This is how far they will go. Many young students come to my Kalyvi [the Saint’s humble Athonite residence], and tell me: ‘Pray for me to pass my exams.’ They do not study, and then say: ‘God will help me.’ ‘You must study and pray too,’ I advise them. ‘Why?’, they answer, ‘Can’t God help me?’ They expect God to bless their laziness. That’s not possible. … There are some young people that have memory and comprehension problems, but try hard nevertheless. God will help them become brilliant.”