A Review of With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man

Elder Paisios of Mount Athos is considered by many in the Orthodox Church to be a saint. His formal canonization in the nearest future is widely anticipated. His influence is especially felt in that, while he bore the same Holy Spirit and inspiration as saints of the past, he spoke to those who live today. What is more astounding is that some who knew Elder Paisios can be found in Orthodox parishes in America. One of my jobs was to sell items at a local Church festival, where I met a priest who visited the Elder frequently, and gave me his advice that was given to him. In my first parish assignment I had a parishioner who personally knew the Elder. At seminary, one of my professors had visited him regularly. It is not only his sanctity, then, that we remember, but the fact that his memory is still very alive and near in our modern world.

With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man, the first of the currently four volume Spiritual Counsels series, takes what is so appealing about Elder Paisios and turns it into lessons for spiritual living. The book is drawn from talks given by the Elder, based on notes and tape-recordings made by the nuns of St. John the Evangelist Monastery in Souroti, Greece, his spiritual children. The use of a question and answer format makes the text very accessible – it is not a tiring treatise, but a personal conversation with his disciples.

The Elder notes in the introduction that “most people nowadays have been educated in a secular way.... Since they do not fear God... they have no use for brakes, and as they speed everywhere without restraint, they fall off the cliff” (p 25). Here we see the theme on which most of the book is centered. He elaborates, saying, “Things are disintegrating. Entire families, young and old, are affected.... So many homes are full of distress, anguish, and anxiety. Only families that try to put God first in their lives... are doing well. In the rest, you will find divorces, people going bankrupt, others ill, confused, dependent on medications or addicted to drugs.... People are out of work, in debt and in all kinds of trouble” (p 28). He notes that the secular spirit has taken hold of people and government. The devil has crippled society. However, he also gives us hope: “This is why we must pray and pray for Christ to enlighten us. It's so simple! Christ will take a 'screwdriver', and with a turn here and a turn there, everything will be tight and fit again. And little by little, as God sheds His light, evil will lose power.... In the end, everything will fall into place” (p 33). Within the introduction, the Elder goes on to explain why the Church's heroes have disappeared; why the faithful of the last days are considered greater than the early martyrs; and why doing evil is easier than doing good.

As we continue to read, other themes unfold that are especially relevant for the Church in the modern world, including:

• the self-justification of our sinful passions
• that the love of sin is the pain of hell
• why God allows the devil to tempt us
• why the devil cannot repent
• the influence of secularism in the Orthodox Church, even on monastic life

We encounter many aspects of the spiritual life that are likely foreign to us:

• how the devil may get “rights” over us, and what we can do to prevent this
• how thinking or saying a curse or blessing can curse or bless another person
• what are the spiritual laws of cause and effect with regard to sin and righteousness
• how involuntary suffering should be turned into voluntary suffering
• what are the effects of audible noise on our spiritual lives.

When I finished the last page, I was impressed that I felt not only a sense of the Elder's vision on where the world is headed and what is needed for a cure, but also that I had received an informal catechism on all aspects of the Faith. While many Orthodox books simply educate, reading With Pain and Love becomes a personal interaction with a saint. Because of the simple and lighthearted style the Elder uses, this book is appropriate for young adults and older.

To learn more and to buy the book, click here.