Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia quotes
Who can do you harm, my child, if you have Christ inside your heart. Turn your eyes towards Christ. You don't become saints by chasing away the evil. Forget about the evil. You should actually turn your eyes towards Christ and He will save you. Instead of standing at the door and shooing away the enemy, despise him. When you see evil approaching from one direction, you softly give your attention to something else. So, when the evil is coming to offend you, give your interior strength to good, to Christ. Plead: 'Our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me.' He knows how to give you His mercy and in whatever way that is best for you. And after you are full of good, then you no longer turn your attention towards the evil. With the grace of God, you become good. And then the evil is unable to find a place to stand and disappears.
Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia
When you see that the devil has your child by the throat, instead of getting angry at your son for straying from the right path, turn to God. Learn to turn to God in prayer for your children.
Instead of scolding or condemning them, ask God to intervene in your struggles with your children.
Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia
Do everything simply and meekly. Do nothing with an ulterior motive. Don't say, I'll do this in order to have that result, but do it naturally, without taking cognizance of it. That is, pray simply and don't think about what God will bestow on your soul. Don't make any calculations. You know, of course, what God bestows when you enter into communion with Him, but it is as if you don't know. Don't discuss the matter even with yourself. So when you repeat the prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me”, say it simply and ingenuously and think of nothing other than the prayer. These are very delicate matters and the intervention of the grace of God is required.
Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia
We need to be careful not to harbour any resentment against those who harm us, but rather to pray for them with love. Whatever any of our fellow men does, we should never think evil of him. We need always to have thoughts of love and always to think good of others. Look at Saint Stephen the first martyr. He prayed, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. We need to do the same.
Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia
By being in the Church, we become one with every unfortunate and hurting sinner. No one should want to save himself without others also being saved. It is wrong for a person to pray for himself so that just he will be saved. We should love everyone and we should pray that no one is spiritually lost, that all of them should be part of the Church. That has value. It is with such an attitude that a person should leave this life.
Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia
Christ is the Church and the Church is Christ, Who made all of us members of His Body. When you love Christ, you simultaneously love all people, without asking yourself if they are worthy or unworthy of love, or if they will accept or reject it. When you want to meet Christ, you will find Him in the Church, because here all of humanity is united with God in the Person of Christ. You cannot communicate with Christ and, at the same time, have bad relationships with other people.
Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia
When we see our fellow humans not loving God, we become saddened. With sadness, we achieve absolutely nothing. Neither with suggestions. That is also not right. There is a secret; if we understand it, we will help. The secret is our prayer, our devotion to God, so that His grace may act. With our love, with our yearning for the love of God, we will attract His grace to shower upon others who are near us, to awaken them, to stir them towards divine love. Or rather, God will send His love to awaken them all. What we cannot do, His grace will accomplish. With our prayers, we will make everyone worthy of the love of God.
Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia
Prayer for others which is made gently and with deep love is selfless and has great spiritual benefit. It brings grace to the person who prays and also to the person for whom he is praying. When you have great love and this love moves you to prayer, then the waves of love are transmitted and affect the person for whom you are praying and you create around him a shield of protection and you influence him, you lead him towards what is good. When God sees your efforts, He bestows His grace abundantly on both
you and on the person you are praying for.
Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia
Let us fall in love with Christ! Then from within us-accompanied by our longing, our warm feeling, our love-the name of Christ will resound. In truth, we will be crying out His name secretly, without words. Let us stand before God in an attitude of adoration, humbly! Let us follow after Him in the footsteps of Christ! May Christ, in doing so, free us from every trace of the old man within us! Turn to Him in prayer, asking that He grant you tears even before prayer begins! But take care! Let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Pray with contrition: "Am I worthy, O Christ my Lord, that You should grant me such grace?" Then the tears are transformed into tears of thanksgiving. I am overcome; I have not fulfilled the will of God, yet I beg for His mercy.
Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia
Something which can help a person who is depressed is work, interest in life. The garden, plants, flowers, trees, the countryside, a walk in the open air - all these things tear a person away from a state of inactivity and awake other interests. They act like medicines. To occupy oneself with the arts, with music and so on, is very beneficial. The thing that I place top of the list, however, is interest in the Church, in reading Holy Scripture and attending services. As you study the words of God you are cured without being aware of it.... in our Church a cure is to be found through love for God and prayer, provided this is done with all the heart.
Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia