Elder Joseph Revealed that a Nun Had a False Gift of Prophecy

Elder Joseph the Hesychast

Elder Ephraim of Philotheou. "My life with elder Joseph".

(translated from Russian)

In those days when Elder Joseph lived near Drama, he was told:

- There is one nun here in Drama, who prophesies and solves all the problems.

- I'll go to have a look at her, - said the Elder.

This nun allegedly communicated with the All-Holy Mother of God, Who was said to have predicted to the nun even what people would visit her. There were many people visiting her. The Elder came to her and asked:

- How did you get this grace?

- This is from God, from the Holy Spirit.

- And you see thoughts, don’t you?

- Yes.

- I will conceive one thought in my heart, and if you guess it, it's all right, and if not - then close your mouth.

The elder conceived a curse on the Devil in his mind, for he understood that it was the Devil who had revealed everything to her.

- Well, tell me my thought.

She became speechless and could not say anything.

- Speak!

She could not.

- If you repent and stop prophesy from the Devil, I'll cross you and it will go away.

She nodded that she agreed. The elder made the sign of the cross over the nun, her lips were resolved and the Elder said:

- You were deluded because of pride and haughtiness. Pay attention to your sins and no longer do what you did.

The nun asked for forgiveness, but, unfortunately, soon fell into the same delusion.
http://oprelesti.ru/index.php/what-is-spiritual-delusion/598-elder-joseph-revealed-that-a-nun-had-a-false-gift-of-prophecy 

The Joy of the Evil Spirits Is That We Conceal Our Thoughts

Sts. Barsanuphious and John the Prophet. "Guidance Toward Spiritual Life".

A certain brother is appointed the abbot. He asks the Elder how to manage the monastery.
Letter 577

When he heard this, he glorified God and said to the Old Man: "Father, since I am a beginner and know nothing, what do you command me to say to the brothers?"

Response.

Tell them the following: "The Lord Jesus Christ, who cares for you, said: 'I shall not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you'. Pay attention to yourselves with all humility and love toward God, and he shall bless you and become your protection and direction."

Also tell them the following: "Let no one conceal any thought, because the joy of the [evil] spirits is that we conceal our thoughts in order that they might destroy our soul".

If any of the brothers reveals his thoughts to you, say the following within yourself: "Lord, everything that you have for the salvation of the soul, grant it to me in order that I may speak to the brother, and in order that I may speak your word rather than my own." Then say whatever comes to you, believing within yourself that this is not your own word; for it is written: "Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God."

http://oprelesti.ru/index.php/concealment-of-sins-in-confession/596-the-joy-of-the-evil-spirits-is-that-we-conceal-our-thoughts

A Woman Made 1000 Prostrations Every Day Because of Conceit

Hegumen Ambrose (Yurasov). "Faith and Salvation".

(English translation from Serafim Gascoigne. "Living Theology: Russian Spirituality in the 20th Century").

Know how cunning the devil is and learn how he catches people in his nets! In 1978 I baptized a woman and gave her a prayer rule and recommended some spiritual reading etc.. I told her: "Every day say the Jesus Prayer 500 times and make 50 prostrations." (This woman had been attending church for a long time, but had never been baptized). After a time she came to me and said: "Bless me to do more prostrations". "Ok, do 100". "And may I say 1000 Jesus prayers?" "You may, God bless youl"

After a while she came and asked me to bless her to say 3000 prayers. "Do you have the strength", I asked her. "Yes", she replied. Over the course of a year she came and went, we met twice a year. One day we had gathered to celebrate a parishioner's namesday. There were 8 seated at the table. This woman came in and was the first to sit down, sitting down in the place of honor. I told her to move and sit somewhere else. She immediately got up and left the room. She was deeply offended. I caught up with her later and asked her why she was offended by being asked to move. "You chastised me in front of everybody!" I explained that it was not her namesday and that the seat that she had taken, under the icons, was always given to the person who was celebrating that day. But more importantly I asked her how she prayed these days. She told me that she made 1000 prostrations a day, doing these without a blessing. When she traveled she prayed 2000 prayers with tears. She slept two to three hours per day. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, she neither ate nor drank. On the other days she only ate once a day. If you had seen her she would have been amazed how fit and strong she was. When she came to visit (another time) she carried a heavy rucksack, approximately weighing 10 kilograms. There was not a drop of perspiration on her face. When she sat at table, she simply glowed with love for those around her.

She was prepared to embrace and kiss all. She was exuberant as she sat and listed to the conversation. But I said to myself, what is so special about her? And when I had asked her to vacate her place at the table, she revealed her true character. Beneath the appearance of sanctity burned a deep anger. "But you disgraced me in front of all!"

I replied: "Our Lord tells us not to sit in the first place, lest a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him. (Luke 14: 8). Also we read in the psalms how the humble will be saved. It is not prostrations, vigils and fasting that will save us. These are only means to salvation. If we lack humility then we must pray to God that He will bestow humility upon us. We must become like children, without malice, calm and trusting in His mercy. She undertook her spiritual rule without a blessing. It was based not on obedience and humility but on pride. Such people serve not God but the devil. Such a path can even lead to suicide. Fortunately she came to her senses and after receiving a blessing to do 50 prostrations and 500 prayers once more, she could do neither! "I can't do anything, neither prostrations nor prayers -absolutely nothing. And I can't say my morning and evening prayers."

Also she had a suddenly developed a ravenous appetite for food. I told her how the energy and zeal she had previously experienced was the work of the devil. She no longer talked about her amazing podvig and began to see herself as a sinner, worse than those around her. To be saved is not difficult but requires wisdom. In Church, in a monastery, everywhere obedience should take the first place. We should do everything through obedience.

http://oprelesti.ru/index.php/what-is-spiritual-delusion/588-a-woman-made-1000-prostrations-every-day-because-of-conceit 

Only Love Can Cure Delusion

How to protect yourself from delusion?

Archpriest Alexiy Denisov (Arkhangelsk, Russia)

– The only way to protect yourself from delusion is to realize that you are in it. This was the advice given to all of us by St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). The Lord does not allow us to see ourselves in the right perspective, so that we do not fall into horror and despair. Therefore, we have no reason to consider ourselves as a criterion of truth. 

In the past all of us committed a lot of mistakes, were under a delusion, in the future it will be in the same way. If I know that I have a sick leg, am I going to put all the weight on it? If I put the weight on it then I will fall in the same way as I fell before many times. The same is with our mind – it gives us too little reasons to trust its judgments. It is said in the Book of Psalms: "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help", but isn’t each of us a son of man? Put your trust in God, not in yourself.

Many times I have found myself in such situations, when your own understanding of what is happening seemed perfect, but then you look, everything is completely different. Once, twice you get into these situations and you begin to wonder whether to trust yourself unconditionally.

You try to explain this to people who are little taught by experience, but you refer primarily not to yourself but to the Scripture, to the Holy Fathers. Fight with delusion is carried out in the Church since its birth, so the gained experience is tremendous. The hardest thing is to earn confidence of the person who has gone pretty far in self-delusion. I recently spoke with one such woman. She kept replying to everything I said: "You misunderstood me." To be understood (or misunderstood) in such case means one thing – I have to look at the situation through the eyes of the deluded person. If I see otherwise – I do not want to go into the heart of the matter – this way the person thinks. However, with that woman who approached me, we managed to find a common ground. But we must understand that there is no universal way to help the person who sees the world in a distorted manner. It is all very individual. Some people need to be flicked on the nose and then caressed, and others should be treated quite differently. You may shout at someone, but this will antagonize another forever. For example Optina Elders, St. Anatoly was like the sun, so affectionate, and St. Nektarios was severe. Different styles. What was common in these elders? They loved people. It is impossible to reach people without love. Sometimes you can hear: "You are in delusion", and it is said in such hostile voice that it is clear - evidently something is not right with the accuser. If you do not you love the person, it’s better not to say anything, because even if you are right, you will not be heard. Only when you truly mean well to the neighbor, he can believe you.

http://oprelesti.ru/index.php/what-is-spiritual-delusion/584-if-you-do-not-love-the-person-you-cannot-cure-him-from-delusion

Do not Trust Yourself until You Go to Last Home

How to protect yourself from delusion?

Archpriest Basil Volskiy (village Polyarnye Zori, Murmansk region, Russia).

- The signs that you start to fall into delusion are numerous. They include self-righteousness, a desire to have own way by all means, disobedience and self-conceit, unwillingness to listen and take advice from other people, neglect to the authorities, officials, dreaminess, tendency to visions, dreams, delight in own righteousness. A deluded person likes to take excessive feats upon himself, for example, he can read akathists and canons for several hours a day. Imitating the righteous people outwardly, he does not realize that they were strengthened by love, while he is driven by vainglory, by the desire to rise above the people. I remember how one grandmother in the cathedral told someone, "You should pray, but not overpray." According to the remark of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov), enthusiasm for external deeds creates voluptuousness. 

We are all in delusion. Adam was contaminated by it when he accepted a lie for the truth, and since that time we cannot get rid of it, but there are extreme states. In the world it is not understood at all. For example, in the Soviet dictionary by Ozhegov, delusion (“prelest”) is a good word such as "beauty" - means attractiveness, while its original meaning is not even considered. In Dahl's dictionary, the attitude to this word is more folk, the essence of "prelest" is revealed there – delusion, confusion, deception, temptation, seduction by the evil spirit. About a century separates the appearance of these two dictionaries but the difference is huge, the delusion, the lack of spiritual sobriety became something correct, up-to-date. In the Church, fortunately, there is at least an understanding that this is not the case. Another question is how to get rid of this disease. Here I am a bad adviser, a patient cannot help to a patient. A doctor is needed. And He comes, many times I have witnessed as the Lord helps, pulls people out of the deluded state. 

Neophytes are very prone to it. And I did not miss it, yet before ordination. Unfortunately, there were no people who would just tell me about it. But the Lord sent such grief that I was on the verge of death (I was dying, the blood pressure was 40x20) and through this I thought who I was, why would I have such a high opinion about myself. The Lord sent medicines, thank God! And He still sends, and when this will be over - I don’t know. But I will say that elderly people not less but more than neophytes are subjected to delusion. They no longer suffer from bodily passions and they take it for righteousness. They consider themselves to be very prayerful and good in fasting and it is especially difficult with those who have been in the Church for a long time and even spent the whole life at the Church. Here a person starts to think too much of himself. We should treat ourselves with caution.

Hegumen John (Alexeev) - Valaam elder, who was the hegumen of our Tryphon-Pechenga Monastery for some time, said well about delusion. When he arrived there, he found a terrible scene: many monks suffered from severe conceit, thought themselves men of prayer and miracle workers. They believed they could walk on thin ice without falling under it, and many died at that. So Fr. John gave a very wise advice: "Do not trust yourself until you go to last home." You cannot say better that that.

http://oprelesti.ru/index.php/what-is-spiritual-delusion/585-do-not-trust-yourself-until-you-go-to-last-home

A Monk Took Communion without Reconciliation

Blessed John Moschus. "The Spiritual Meadow".

The life of abbot Isaac, and how a demon also appeared to him in the shape of a young man.

There is a mountain about six miles distant from Lycos, a city of the Thebaid, where some of the monks live in caves, others in cells. We went there and met abba Isaac, a Theban, who told us the following:

Fifty years ago I was making a mosquito net when I made a mistake in my work and I could not find out where it was, let alone repair it. I spent the whole day utterly defeated, unable to discover what I had done wrong. I was almost in despair, when I saw a young man come in through the window.

"You've made a mistake," he said, "but give me your work and I will put it right."
"Get out," I said. "You'll not get me to do that."
"But you will be damned if you do your work badly"
"No call for you to worry about that."
"But I am just sorry for you because your work is lost."
"Both you and he who sent you have come here with evil intent."
"No, it is you have drawn me here, and you are mine."
"What do you mean?
"For the last three Sundays you have communicated while harbouring uncharitable thoughts towards your neighbour."
"You're lying"
"I'm not lying. You are angry with him because he is so slow (propter lenticulam). And I am the one in charge of anger and the memory of insults. So, therefore, you are mine."

At this, I left my cell immediately, went to my brother, prostrated myself before him and begged his forgiveness, whereupon we were reconciled. When I returned to my cell I found that the demon had destroyed the mosquito net completely and also the rush mat on which I prayed, so envious of our charity had he become.

http://www.vitae-patrum.org.uk/page154.html