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Wisdom for the day – Elder Paisios

June 5, 2013

Evil lies within us.

There is no love in us, so we don’t feel all people to be brothers and are tempted by [the knowledge of] their sinful ways. But it’s not right when moral failings become known to all.

The injunction of the Gospels to “tell it unto the Church” (Matt. 18:17) doesn’t mean that everything has to become known to everyone. By exposing the moral failings of our brother we arm the enemies of the Church, give them another pretext to escalate the war against Her. And the faith of the weak is shaken in this way too.

If you want to help the Church, then try to mend your own ways, rather than others’.

In straightening yourself out you straighten out a particle of the Church.  If everyone were to do that then the Church would be in perfect order. But today’s people attend to everything under the sun, only not to themselves, because it’s easy to teach others, while mending one’s own ways requires effort.

Elder Paisios

Filed Under: Fr. Wayne's Corner


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