The people of the world love the world because they have not yet known its bitterness


Therefore, listen to my words, the humble and the last of the monks, and do not consider me unlearned and illiterate. Open the eyes of your souls and see what exists beyond this world.

The people of the world love the world because they have not yet known its bitterness. They are still blind in soul and do not see what is hidden in this fleeting joy. They have not reached the understanding light; they have not reached the day of their salvation.

But you, who have seen and heard so many things, must understand that the fleeting delights pass away like a shadow and the time of our life flees, passes quickly, and knows no return. The time of this life is a time of harvest and gathering. Everyone accumulates their food, as pure as possible, for the other life.

The wise do not win, nor the good-born, nor the one who talks incessantly, nor the rich, but the one who is mocked and endures for a long time. He who is wronged and forgives, he who is slandered and keeps silent, he who makes himself a sponge and erases with it everything he hears from others, no matter how wise he may seem. He purifies himself and shines more than others. He reaches great heights. He nourishes himself from the sight of divine mysteries.

Finally, he is still here in Heaven. And when the hour of death comes, as soon as these earthly eyes close, the inner eyes, the eyes of the soul, will open. And while he thinks about the things there, he suddenly finds himself in the things he desires, without even understanding how this happened. From darkness he goes to light, from troubles to rest, from turmoil to a quiet haven, from war to eternal peace.

Geron Iosif

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