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Spiritual Counsels #3
Spiritual Struggle
The war of thoughts. Righteoussness and inustice. Sin and Repetance. The evil forces of darkness. The power of confession.
326 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2001
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About the author
Paisios of Mount Athos
19 books67 followersElder Paisios of Mount Athos (Greek: Γέροντας Παΐσιος ο Αγιορείτης), born Arsenios Eznepidis, was a well-known Eastern Orthodox monk from Farasa, Cappadocia. He is famous for his spiritual teachings. Many people worldwide, especially in Greece and in Russia, highly venerated Elder Paisios, even before his formal canonization as a saint, which took place on January 13th 2015.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 26, 2020
The third in the series of books from St. Paisios dealing with his spiritual guidance on the Christian life, this has been the one so far that I struggled the most with.
This book consists of five parts: 1) controlling the thought life; 2) dealing with injustice; 3) sin and repentance; 4) the powers of darkness and evil; and 5) confession and spiritual accountability.
While all parts were meaningful and thought provoking, in all candor, I found St. Paisios's teaching on handling injustice the most difficult to accept. Perhaps, this is because, in some cases, as is the case in the previous books, it's made clearer where his spiritual guidance is intended for monastics, not lay Christians out in the world. Paisios, in general, in this section, contends that a Christian, when the victim of injustices, ought to just take it, trusting that God will reward him or her in the next life and will provide a way out. Within the context of a monastic community of which he was a part, this thinking makes sense to me. However, at the risk of being at odds with him, I have to contend that I know of many, many occasions where Christians who live in the world have had to respond assertively to injustices directed at them --- for such things as keeping their jobs or staying on the right side of the law, for example. Had they just taken it, as Paisios seems to assert, not just they, but their families as well, may have been ruined. Moreover, injustice is a form of evil, and evil unconfronted is evil ascendant and dominant and hegemonic. In the Bible, there are many examples of godly individuals addressing injustices against them: Moses, David, Jeremiah, Paul, even Jesus Christ Himself. I think the key that the saint is addressing is our underlying motivations behind our respond to injustice. If for the sake of our self advancement, seeking vengeance, or rendering equal injustice in return, then, from what I understand from his writings, this would be wrong, and, perhaps, that's really what he was trying to say here. At any rate, I did find some things in this section puzzling.
Part 4, the section dealing with the forces of darkness deals a great deal with the occult and paganism and how the Orthodox Church sees this. St. Paisios minces no words. Clearly, he feels that no Christian should have any part with these in any way, shape, or form, and he provides many examples as well as arguments for his position. Maybe not the best analogy here, but I would liken it to how a master Jedi, like Yoda, sees the Sith.
I found the other parts profound and insightful, and certainly worthy of consideration by any Christian for strengthening their spiritual walk. I recommend it for this purpose.
This book consists of five parts: 1) controlling the thought life; 2) dealing with injustice; 3) sin and repentance; 4) the powers of darkness and evil; and 5) confession and spiritual accountability.
While all parts were meaningful and thought provoking, in all candor, I found St. Paisios's teaching on handling injustice the most difficult to accept. Perhaps, this is because, in some cases, as is the case in the previous books, it's made clearer where his spiritual guidance is intended for monastics, not lay Christians out in the world. Paisios, in general, in this section, contends that a Christian, when the victim of injustices, ought to just take it, trusting that God will reward him or her in the next life and will provide a way out. Within the context of a monastic community of which he was a part, this thinking makes sense to me. However, at the risk of being at odds with him, I have to contend that I know of many, many occasions where Christians who live in the world have had to respond assertively to injustices directed at them --- for such things as keeping their jobs or staying on the right side of the law, for example. Had they just taken it, as Paisios seems to assert, not just they, but their families as well, may have been ruined. Moreover, injustice is a form of evil, and evil unconfronted is evil ascendant and dominant and hegemonic. In the Bible, there are many examples of godly individuals addressing injustices against them: Moses, David, Jeremiah, Paul, even Jesus Christ Himself. I think the key that the saint is addressing is our underlying motivations behind our respond to injustice. If for the sake of our self advancement, seeking vengeance, or rendering equal injustice in return, then, from what I understand from his writings, this would be wrong, and, perhaps, that's really what he was trying to say here. At any rate, I did find some things in this section puzzling.
Part 4, the section dealing with the forces of darkness deals a great deal with the occult and paganism and how the Orthodox Church sees this. St. Paisios minces no words. Clearly, he feels that no Christian should have any part with these in any way, shape, or form, and he provides many examples as well as arguments for his position. Maybe not the best analogy here, but I would liken it to how a master Jedi, like Yoda, sees the Sith.
I found the other parts profound and insightful, and certainly worthy of consideration by any Christian for strengthening their spiritual walk. I recommend it for this purpose.
October 3, 2025
Gold. Straight gold. Particularly the chapters on confession. St. Paisios does not miss.
January 13, 2021
Love every chapter of it! When you read this bok, you have to read it spiritually so that you can get the deeper meaning of it. One of the favorites is when the author awakens our true consciousness in the chapter of 'nurturing the conscience'. Another favorite is the distinction of Divine righteousness from the human righteousness. According to the author, Divine Righteousness has its own mathematical principles. Not just righteous but also Compassionate. Divine Righteousness asks for the spirit of ...Sacrifice... The spirit of the son of God.
July 20, 2024
Will keep re reading this, also a audio version on YouTube. Good listen from a holy man. Highly recommended 👌
July 16, 2025
really really good for those struggling to pray/“feel” God. the only downside is its hard to focus on topics you personally arent struggling with, for instance i blew by the first three parts but then struggled through the last two because it didnt relate to me at the time and the question/answer format of the book does tend to get repetitive/uniterested when the question didnt apply. but still so incredibly helpful and an amazing book
November 17, 2021
Simply sublime! The third installment in the Spiritual Counsels series. Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me a sinner. Amen.
Love Everybody.
Treat people you do not like with extra kindness.
Hug a Republican.
Hug a Democrat.
Do all the stuff Morris mentions in the song "Wonderful" by CIRCLE JERKS.
xoxoxo
Love Everybody.
Treat people you do not like with extra kindness.
Hug a Republican.
Hug a Democrat.
Do all the stuff Morris mentions in the song "Wonderful" by CIRCLE JERKS.
xoxoxo
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews