From the Counsels of Blessed Elder Nikodemos Makris (1911-2006)

ON TEMPTATIONS

The temptations that come upon a person are proportionate to his strength, and God does not permit temptations that exceed his spiritual and physical abilities. And although this is known and even affirmed by the Holy Scriptures, nevertheless, every time a temptation befalls him, man forgets this and begins to lose control of his actions, growing impatient and blaming others who trouble him. Often, he even murmurs against God for allowing these temptations, as if God does not know what He is doing.

The result is that he sins, loses his peace and joy, and thus, once again, new temptations arise—perhaps even greater ones—so that he may learn to endure and to hope that God will deliver him from the burden of temptations.

And when he endures the temptation as God wills and not as he desires, then he truly feels the grace of God, becoming stronger, more courageous, and more resolute. He also gains the experience needed to face the other temptations that God will permit for his benefit.

Finally, when a person accepts the temptations that God permits without murmuring, sorrow, or indignation and faces them according to His Holy will, then the grace of God increases in him His holy gifts and multiplies them.

In this way, a person becomes pleasing to God, and most importantly, he becomes ready for eternal life, for which he was created and to which he is called to transition—after first passing through this temporary life, which was given to man as a forecourt and preparation for eternal life.

ON VIGILANCE AND SPIRITUAL STRUGGLE

A person must be aware that he is constantly called to vigilance in order to confront the snares of the devil. Furthermore, he should not forget that if he does not strive to know himself and his weaknesses, and if he does not seek, through the grace of God, to correct himself, then he should not complain about the behavior of others toward him, nor blame them for acting in one way or another.

ON DOXOLOGY AND THANKSGIVING TO GOD

The best and most pleasing doxology and thanksgiving to God is for a Christian to remain consistent as a Christian throughout his life and not to permit himself to transgress the holy commandments.

The evil spirit that wars against man is misanthropic and hateful of good. It hates both man and goodness because it has fallen from God's grace. For this reason, it seeks to draw man to its side, to make him like itself, and thus make him its companion.

It is well known, however, that man is a child of God, even when he sins, as long as he comes to his senses after sinning and seeks the mercy of God. As Saint John Chrysostom, the great preacher of repentance, advises concisely: "As often as you fall, arise and cry out, 'Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.'"

When, therefore, a person acts as the saint advises, he finds peace and also has joy, for God has given him the opportunity for repentance.

He takes care in the remainder of his life not to fall again into the snares of the devil. But even if God permits him to sin again, he must do the same—repent—as long as he is still in this life. And once again, through his repentance, peace and joy return to him.

He is once again reconciled with Christ, Christ again grants him His grace, and man is once more bathed in His gentle and true light.

ON ALMSGIVING

... When you extend your hand to the poor, let it be moved by the heart and not by the mind.

... When you show mercy to your fellow men and find yourself in need of God's mercy in a difficult moment, you can stand before God and say, "Have mercy on me, Lord," for the Gospel proclaims, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."

... Almsgiving is not only giving money, food, or clothing. A smile to someone in pain, a gentle touch, a sweet word of comfort, a prayer with tears—these are also almsgiving.

ON JUDGMENT

... Do not judge the faults of your brethren, even if you yourself are pure, and you will always have your treasury in heaven undefiled.

... If you become a judge of others, you will not be able to judge yourself, for you will always see the faults of others as greater than your own and will bring harm to your soul.

ON CLERGY

... My child, Christ "fears" us more than you laypeople, for if a layperson causes a scandal, his fire is small; but if a clergyman causes a scandal, then the blaze will burn many souls.

... We [monastics] must be luminous lamps, illuminating our own darkness and guiding the souls of people to the true light—Christ.

ON CHILDREN

... Infants have a pure and guileless heart. Let us become like infants in soul and heart, and then the wisdom of God will dwell within us.

... Do not scold children, even if they are what some call "hard-hearted." Give them abundant love and be an example of virtue for them. They understand this and will soften over time. Include your children in your prayers, and God will take great care of them.

 

ON WEALTH

... Wealth is blessed when it is the result of honest labor and spiritual talents. From such wealth, the poor and the suffering also have hope. For the rich man who has worked hard to acquire his possessions knows and understands the pain and need of his brother.

... Ah, if only the rich knew that Paradise awaits them—if they escape the hell of their greed.

ON REPENTANCE

... At the Judgment, Christ, in His glorious Second Coming, will not judge you because you sinned, but because you did not repent.

... Repentance heals pride.

... Without repentance, man lost Paradise. With repentance, he will regain it.

ON CONFESSION

... Just as you empty a box of its contents to clean it, so must you cleanse your soul through confession.

... Do not confess because you must, but because you want to. In obligation, there is formality; in desire, there is essence.

ON GOD'S MERCY

... My child, there is no sin so great that it can exhaust the mercy of God.

... Rain may cease, seas may dry up, and water may vanish. But the mercy and love of Christ never run dry—they are infinite.

WORDS OF THE ELDER ON CONSTANTINOPLE

... "My child, I will go to the Divine Liturgy that will take place in Hagia Sophia," Archangel Michael told me, "but he did not tell me how I will go."

ON ORTHODOXY AND GREECE

... Never forget this—Orthodoxy will shine again, and our Greece will take the place it rightfully deserves among humanity.

ON SPOUSES

... My child, couples today separate because of their pride. Neither the husband nor the wife will tolerate a word. If they humble themselves even a little, the grace of God comes, and they recognize their mistakes, ask for forgiveness, and embrace as they continue on the path of life together.

ON OUR HELPLESS PARENTS

Old age is difficult because physical weakness does not support a person. But it is tragic to see two dogs or cats in a home while helpless parents are placed in an institution.

I am not saying that one should not show affection to old pets, but people have become blinded and fail to see that a parent's blessing and their gratitude are the greatest provisions for their prosperity.

ON LOVE FOR OTHERS

... My child, we do not love with our hearts. In reality, we only love ourselves. Who has ever knelt and wept in prayer for the sick child of their neighbor? Who has glorified God for the success of another? Since we do not love our fellow man, we do not love God.

... "Elder, how can we love our neighbor? Our hearts are closed by our pride." Open them with humility and almsgiving. Pray to God to make you love, and His grace will flood you.

ON DISCERNMENT

... A great virtue in man. A great blessing for the one who seeks it from God and cultivates it. It is like a person searching through a box of items that contains a nail. He searches carefully to avoid being pricked—just as a person with discernment takes care not to wound or hurt anyone.

ON PROGRESS AND TECHNOLOGY

... Science is a great thing—the noblest fruit of reason, which God has granted to man. But discoveries must be made for the benefit of humanity, not for its harm. If I give you a knife, you can use it to cut bread, but you can also use it to kill. So, be careful.

ON THE SCANDALS OF MONKS AND CLERGY IN GENERAL

It would be better for them to tie a stone around their neck and go to the middle of the ocean. They do not love Christ; they do not go to serve Him but to gain power and money. They live for authority and have become enamored with wealth. Woe to them, and thrice woe for the souls they will scandalize.

In the old days, children of wealthy families became priests and monks, giving away their money and possessions to the poor. They were rich and became propertyless and poor.

Today, some clergymen—not all, of course—enter poor and leave rich. May God enlighten them.

ON THE ANTICHRIST

... He will be a wicked and ill-tempered person, my child, but with an attractive appearance to deceive the world.

He will perform false miracles with the help of scientific sorcery, and those with lukewarm faith or no faith at all will use their minds—darkened by him—so that they do not understand.

Great caution is needed. During the days of the Antichrist beast, the mercy of Christ will flow abundantly, as if on the streets—that is how immediate His love and help will be.

The lawless one will come with war and great evil, and there will be severe economic hardship. He will try to enslave all people through money.

We must put an end to this deceiver because the world cannot set itself straight on its own. We will suffer in order to learn the harm we have done by being far from Christ.

ON HERESIES

... They are like epidemics—sometimes small, sometimes great. A vaccine is needed for our soul, and that is to remain steadfast in the Gospel, in the Holy Ecumenical Councils—in other words, simply in what the Creed of our faith proclaims.

— Do not engage in dialogue with them, for people today do not study the Gospels and do not know how to speak with them. Keep your distance from them. Pray that they may be enlightened by Christ.

ON PRAYER

... It is the only thing you can do without needing help from another person. You communicate directly with God—what a great thing! For a creature to speak with its Creator is a deeply personal moment, entirely your own.

... Just as when you are on the phone and others are talking, you ask them to be quiet so you can hear, so too, when you pray, you must remove every obstacle that hinders you from speaking with God.

— "Elder, should we say a specific prayer?"

— "My child, after the Our Father, God desires your personal conversation. Speak to Him as you would to your father—clearly, without unnecessary words. He understands everything."

DIALOGUES OF ELDER NIKODIMOS ON WITCHCRAFT

Elder Nikodemos dedicated the greater part of his life to saving people from the hands of the devil. His numerous experiences constitute a significant spiritual treasury, especially for those who wish to understand the schemes of Satan.

Despite his great physical exhaustion due to the vast number of people he had to help daily in his blessed cell, he shared invaluable counsel and experiences.

Through the grace of Christ and the blessing of the Elder, a comprehensive work has been undertaken to record what has been preserved regarding the problems the Elder faced with those who came to his cell, as well as his experiences in general.

— "Elder, what is witchcraft?"

— "It is the craft of the devil to deceive people by promising them paradises, while in the end, he makes them his slaves and leads them to destruction and ruin. Just as every craftsman teaches his trade to his apprentices, so too does he, along with his demons, teach it—unfortunately—to people, with the ultimate goal of causing harm, great harm."

— "Does Satan have many demons in his service?"

— "Countless, and as the Holy Scripture says, 'a third of the stars'—you understand the number."

— "Since when has witchcraft existed in the world?"

— "From the moment man was created by God, the devil’s envy began for the most beautiful creature of God on earth. With the first human couple turning away from good and inclining toward evil, he began to devise ways and means to give to those who had cultivated wickedness. Using the desire for power and strength as his weapon, he deceived people, made them his instruments, and thus, evil grew greater.

"Many people do not believe that witchcraft, sorcerers, and Satan exist. The greatest accomplishment of Satan is that he has managed to turn people into materialists, leading them to deny the existence of God and, in their darkness, preventing them from seeing that there is an invisible yet real spiritual world. Those who say that Satan does not exist, you should know, are also denying the existence of God.

"With materialism as his weapon, he directs people’s thoughts toward material prosperity. Man struggles to build a beautiful body, to acquire wealth and power by any means, while neglecting his soul. He is concerned only with the senses, not the soul. That is why sorcerers have work—because they promise power, strength, wealth, and women who will become 'meek as lambs at their feet.'"

— "How does a woman, for example, end up going to a sorcerer, and what might she ask of him?"

— "Take, for instance, a woman who has an illicit relationship with a married man. The man has not left his wife. The mistress, wanting him to belong solely to her, goes to a sorcerer, pays him, and tells him that she wants the man to be hers alone.

"The sorcerer, through invocations to unclean spirits and specific rituals, collaborates with demons, sending them to fulfill the mistress’s request.

"He gives her amulets or various substances, which she then mixes into food, drinks, or sweets. The unsuspecting man consumes them, and that’s when the problem begins. At first, everything seems fine, peaceful, and happy. But Satan never brings good.

"In the end, he disgraces the man—people find out, and he ends up in conflict with his wife and children. He is in darkness; he sees nothing. He feels happiness only with his mistress and begins to loathe his wife.

"I once asked a man who had a truly exceptional wife, 'My child, why don’t you want her anymore?' Listen to what he told me: 'Elder, when I look at her, I see her head as that of an ox, a pig, or a bull, and I am repulsed by her.'"

— "What do evil people ask from sorcerers when they want to harm others?"

— "They ask for their victims to suffer financial ruin, illnesses, or even death. For women, they request constant pain throughout their bodies, especially in the abdomen, to make them infertile, and to cause them car accidents."

— "How does God allow such things to happen to His creatures if He loves them?"

— "Do not confuse God with these things. A person who is close to God, walks according to His will, confesses after repenting for his mistakes, and receives Christ within him through Holy Communion cannot be harmed by witchcraft.

"He may face minor difficulties, but he is not in real danger. Those who are at risk are those unprotected by divine grace—those who have forgotten God, do not believe in Him, and crucify Him daily with their unrepentance. That is why the true antidote to witchcraft is literally a life in Christ."

— "Elder, I have often heard you tell sick people who come to you that you will pray for them and their problem, but that they should also visit a doctor."

— "My child, a child once had epilepsy and suffered various seizures, as you well know. His parents believed that their child was possessed and brought him to me.

"By the grace of Christ, I discerned that he was not suffering from spiritual affliction, and it was clear that the only appropriate person for his condition was a doctor.

"That is why we have doctors, and we must respect their important role in society, for they are instruments of God to His glory, as they ease human suffering.

"Not everything is the work of demons. People should first go to a doctor, and if the doctors cannot find a solution, then they should visit a priest, who, with discernment and reverence toward God and the suffering person, will help them with his prayers, the blessings of the Church, and spiritual counsel.

"Everything will be beneficial and not harmful, as long as we understand their proper boundaries."

— "Elder, those who have gone to mediums and sorcerers often have many icons in their homes and claim that they believe in God. What do you have to say about this?"

— "My child, how else would they deceive people? That is why they have icons—to mock. But do you not see the reality? A person goes to a sorcerer to harm his fellow man, sees the walls full of icons, and does not even stop to think: How can the sorcerer claim to believe in God while getting paid to do evil? Whom are they fooling? Do they think they can deceive God?

"But look also at the lives of these mediums and sorcerers—shipwrecks. They are divorced, sick, involved in many accidents, living through ongoing tragedies. If they do not repent, great misfortune awaits them.

"When they fail to win over a soul, the demons beat them, for they themselves are also beaten in turn by their chief demons for their failure."

— "Elder, is it easy to become a sorcerer today?"

— "It is difficult to follow the path of good, but very easy to fall into evil.

"Unfortunately, books on witchcraft are freely sold, and the state should be vigilant, banning them—especially for children, who, driven by curiosity, are the most vulnerable to being led into such worlds.

"At first, you recite two or three little incantations, and suddenly, a young demon appears before you, ready to serve your every request. You lose your keys—he finds them. You misplace something—he retrieves it for you. You become amazed, your pride swells, and you begin to think you are someone important.

"At some point, when you summon him—often only you can see him, not others—you start asking for more difficult things. He then directs you to higher-ranking demons, with corresponding demands in return.

"Great caution is needed—this is dangerous. One does not play with such things. Even we, wearing the epitrachelion, see the struggles we endure."

— "Elder, since those who are demon-possessed live a life in Christ, why do they not get well? What is happening?"

— "I pray from the depths of my heart that no human being may ever again be possessed by demons. But you should know that it is not enough for the afflicted person alone to live a life in Christ—through confession, prayer, Holy Communion, spiritual guidance, and spiritual reading. The entire family must also live in Christ.

"For when, by the grace of Christ, you pray over a person and the demon departs, but then the father blasphemes, the demon enters again through another door. The whole family must be in Christ—only then will you have God's mercy upon you."

— "Elder, since the prayers of the Church have such great power against demons, why do priests avoid performing exorcisms today?"

— "The prayers of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church of Christ indeed have immense power. However, priests who perform them regularly must possess great spiritual strength, unwavering faith like a diamond, and a pure life.

"If we had priests who systematically read the exorcisms in their parishes, mediums, astrologers, and sorcerers in general would not have it so easy. But the Church has become worldly. The sick are not supposed to cry out and disturb the neighbors, who then complain to the higher-ranking bishops, and so on.

"Senior clergy have connections with the authorities and are influenced in order to receive various favors. And, as you know, those in high positions have their astrologers and parapsychologists before making any decision—they do not rely on the blessing of their mother or of Christ. As a result, silence is systematically enforced, and the devil dances freely."

— "Elder, why was it that in the time of the Holy Apostles, even their shadow alone could heal a demon-possessed person, while today, even virtuous elders pray for countless hours with the appropriate prayers, yet healing does not come easily, or when it does, it takes time?"

— "Listen, my child. If you carefully read the Gospel, you will see that Christ revealed our weakness when He said to His disciples—who had complained that they could not heal a demon-possessed person—those striking words: 'O faithless and perverse generation.' He then explained that 'this kind (of demons) can only be driven out through prayer and fasting.'

"Thus, in the time of the Holy Apostles, miracles happened immediately because people needed to see in order to believe and be saved. Today, our salvation still requires the grace of Christ, but it also requires our own struggle.

"To give us the opportunity to struggle, Christ has given us the weapons of prayer and fasting, because we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against the rulers and powers of this world—that is, against demons, malevolent spiritual entities that seek to destroy souls.

"If any virtuous elder, through the grace of Christ and the prayers of the Church, were to heal an afflicted person instantly, then—especially in today’s world—people would lose the opportunity to struggle and to gain Paradise."

 

Greek source: https://agiooros.org/media/%ce%92%ce%99%ce%92%ce%9b%ce%99%ce%91/%ce%a0%ce%91%ce%a4%ce%95%ce%a1%ce%99%ce%9a%ce%91%20%ce%94%ce%99%ce%91%ce%a6%ce%9f%ce%a1%ce%91/%ce%a0%ce%9d%ce%95%ce%a5%ce%9c%ce%91%ce%a4%ce%99%ce%9a%ce%95%ce%a3%20%ce%9d%ce%9f%ce%a5%ce%98%ce%95%ce%a3%ce%99%ce%95%ce%a3%20%ce%a4%ce%9f%ce%a5%20%ce%93%ce%95%ce%a1%ce%9f%ce%9d%ce%a4%ce%91%20%ce%9d%ce%99%ce%9a%ce%9f%ce%94%ce%97%ce%9c%ce%9f%ce%a5.pdf