“For it is fire that burns the unworthy”

A record – testimony of the ever-memorable Papa-Dimitrios Gagastathis († 1975)

 

On December 30th, 1967, Saturday at 3 p.m., I went to Meteora to venerate and be spiritually edified. On Sunday I served the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Monastery of the Transfiguration, and on Monday at Saint Stephen, at night. Joy from God and blessing of the Lord.

After, by the power of God, I returned to my village, I was immediately notified to go and give communion to the old woman, Zoe Antoniou Gagastathi, who had been bedridden for some time, about 85 years old.

I went, and as soon as I gave her Holy Communion of the Immaculate Mysteries, she immediately cried out: the Communion burned me, I have fire, give me water to drink, I am burning. It burns me inside...

In the few hours she lived, she kept crying out, I’m burned, poor me. Then she gave up her spirit.

This was a miracle, because she had not confessed for a long time and had an unstable character. She had the demon of slander. Wherever she went, she always said various bad things about her child, her daughter-in-law, etc. She was always slandering. She never stopped at all. Everyone wronged her, and she was never satisfied with anyone.

She also had the demon of gluttony. Until the hour of her death, she kept speaking constantly, and for this reason God showed the miracle. She partook unworthily of the Immaculate Mysteries and was crying out that the Holy Communion burned her.

And after her death, her mouth remained open, as if she still wanted to speak.

I write this as the priest and parish priest of the village, so that it may be recorded and read by others, for awareness and correction, so that we may restrain ourselves and have love for our children and for all people, and go to confession.

We must keep the commandments of our spiritual father.

And she confessed many times, but it seems she would hear the words and leave them there.

God wants a pure confession and the keeping of His commandments, so that we too may not end up like the above-mentioned old woman and be punished eternally in the devil’s hell.

 

Source: Παπα-Δημήτρης Γκαγκαστάθης, Βίος-Θαύματα-Νουθεσίαι καὶ ᾿Επιστολαί [Papa-Dimitrios Gagastathis, Life–Miracles–Exhortations and Letters], pp. 107–108, publ. “Orthodox Kypseli,” Thessaloniki 1975.