People today will have as many problems as the amount of material goods they acquire. They neither thank God for His benefactions, nor notice the grief of their fellow-man that they may provide some kind of charity. They squander what they have and don’t even think of their neighbor who does not even have enough to eat. How can the Grace of God come after such things? The head of a family therefore must manage his things to set aside something in order to give alms. He should say to his wife and children that in such-and-such a place there is a certain sick, homeless person, or some poor family who is in great need. If they don’t have money to give, let them say, “Let’s at least give a Christian book, as we have so many.” In giving to those who have need, they do well both to the needy and to their family.

In Russia the poor faithful are in such great need! I once gave a little box of incense to a Russian priest and told him, “A humble gift.” “This is poor?,” he says to me. “Our incense is… ‘cough-cough’”. And here in Greece, how greatly the refugees suffer! In Halkidiki I saw a refugee, a tile-setter, who made only a dollar a square meter [1]. He said, “Glory to Thee, O God, that we have bread.” For that reason, when a certain contractor told me that in his line of work they were burdened by many sins, I told him, “If you will support those refugees and help them financially, you will be unburdened of your sins. They have nowhere to live. Compared to them you are like “Onasis”.[2]

In order for us to practice the virtues, God allows there to be the sick, the poor, etc. He could have taken care of everyone, both the sick and the poor, but then we would have had the illusion that we were virtuous people. For example, we would have said that we were all merciful while we are not, whereas now our works make clear our virtues. Glory to God that people exist who sacrifice themselves for their fellow-man. I knew someone who, as soon as he was released from the military, accepted to be unjustly convicted of a great crime in order to save a family. He neither considered the ridicule or his future.

Everywhere I see how God takes care to ensure that at least one member of each family has faith and piety, that the others will be helped! I knew a family in Konitsa in which, all but one person was completely indifferent towards the Church. Only one daughter was different. As soon as she heard the church bell her feet flew; she would leave half-way through her chores and go to church. Moreover, even when the Germans came, when the church caretaker rang the bell for the people to flee from their homes, she instead went to church for Vespers! Although she was also very charitable, her parents were totally stingy. Her father, instead of eating food, would eat a dry rusk which he would dip in a little water; and her mother was very tight-fisted! Even when her children had good jobs and were well off, to light a fire she would grab a smoldering ember from the fireplace and light it up with bug spray, so as not to waste a match! For a coffee pot she used an old tin can! When I was at Stomiou Monastery, because her mother loved me so much, if her daughter wanted to take something from their house to give to the poor and couldn’t do it secretly, she would say: “Mother, the monk wants this.” “Give it, give it to him,” she would tell her. Only for the monk would her mother not get angry. Even during the Occupation the girl secretly helped the poor. She would take wheat from the family pantry, carry it to the mill, grind it, and then distribute it to the poor families. Once she was caught by her mother who grabbed her. She then prayed, “My God, help me to find a job and to give all my earnings as alms.” The next day a certain establishment called for her. O, the joy she had! She kept her vow too: she didn’t even buy herself a pair of socks from her wages; she gave it all as alms. How many people now say to her: “God save you, and bless the bones of your parents!” You see, God even took care of her mother.

Translation by Fr. Luke Hartung from the book Family Life [in Greek], by Elder Paisios the Athonite, published by the Sacred Hesychastirion of St. John the Evangelist, Souroti, Greece (2002).