Don’t be Afraid
I remember once I told Saint Porphyrios: “I’m afraid of what is to come, the ugly times.” He looked at me puzzled and giving me a swift slap on the hand he said: “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!
Saint Porphyrios (Bairaktaris) the Kapsokalyvite
Translated by Elias and Argyrenia
