Meta tags:
description=Gerontissa Gabrielia;
keywords=Gerontissa Gabrielia, Sayings, Apothegmata, Orthodox;

Headings (most frequently used words):

-

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (198), and (88), you (55), that (49), her (37), god (35), she (29), love (28), not (26), with (23), will (23), are (22), for (22), only (20), have (19), was (19), all (18), said (18), when (18), who (17), one (16), what (16), say (14), see (13), they (13), gerontissa (13), our (12), but (12), other (12), world (11), why (11), julian (10), never (10), can (10), place (10), years (10), then (9), because (9), good (9), there (9), christ (9), his (9), prayer (8), about (8), your (8), anything (8), this (8), again (7), from (7), where (7), some (7), life (7), every (7), become (7), time (6), come (6), know (6), nothing (6), here (6), may (6), faith (6), day (6), person (6), many (6), last (6), gabrielia (6), its (5), before (5), monastery (5), people (5), five (5), languages (5), how (5), learn (5), came (5), worry (5), even (5), through (5), has (5), someone (5), yes (5), would (5), should (5), everything (5), want (5), things (5), soul (5), monastics (5), ask (5), than (5), angels (5), does (5), nun (5), after (4), texts (4), showing (4), norwich (4), let (4), whole (4), earth (4), without (4), first (4), lord (4), give (4), asked (4), christian (4), great (4), else (4), long (4), called (4), india (4), were (4), heaven (4), happen (4), beginning (4), take (4), something (4), which (4), words (4), could (4), put (4), don (4), open (4), enough (4), found (4), desire (4), children (4), spiritual (4), english (3), books (3), saints (3), image (3), women (3), these (3), concern (3), just (3), second (3), him (3), heart (3), local (3), start (3), another (3), been (3), mother (3), eyes (3), head (3), most (3), night (3), two (3), done (3), believe (3), them (3), now (3), lose (3), live (3), jesus (3), make (3), always (3), three (3), dio (3), evil (3), joy (3), still (3), whoever (3), receive (3), mystery (3), those (3), lives (3), present (3), others (3), loves (3), must (3), cancer (3), did (3), monastic (3), published (3), left (3), greek (3), moved (3), holy (3), year (3), schema (3), little (3), traveled (3), mission (3), greece (3), went (3), until (3), theodosius (3), bibliography (2), book (2), reviews (2), catalogue (2), portfolio (2), handcrafts (2), amherst (2), manuscript (2), scriptorium (2), cloister (2), benedictinism (2), mirror (2), equally (2), bible (2), birgitta (2), sweden (2), contemporaries (2), self (2), 1997 (2), 2024 (2), julia (2), bolton (2), holloway (2), contexts (2), today (2), tomorrow (2), travel (2), everyone (2), own (2), write (2), down (2), third (2), answer (2), tell (2), order (2), any (2), speaking (2), learned (2), morning (2), closed (2), like (2), sent (2), away (2), had (2), happened (2), darkness (2), old (2), read (2), gospels (2), comes (2), says (2), very (2), thing (2), fantasy (2), find (2), few (2), much (2), anima (2), corpo (2), divine (2), gospel (2), resurrection (2), way (2), ourselves (2), light (2), destroys (2), liturgy (2), freedom (2), school (2), mind (2), reach (2), pray (2), ogni (2), che (2), whatever (2), wants (2), think (2), thinks (2), beautiful (2), busy (2), better (2), dead (2), future (2), silence (2), needed (2), send (2), noi (2), buoni (2), religiosi (2), monasticism (2), reading (2), progress (2), united (2), hear (2), need (2), lack (2), gave (2), spirit (2), rule (2), whom (2), exist (2), work (2), doors (2), notice (2), raso (2), more (2), knowledge (2), orthodox (2), vigilant (2), humility (2), sought (2), allowed (2), during (2), touched (2), knew (2), march (2), island (2), leros (2), field (2), east (2), africa (2), 1977 (2), hidden (2), athens (2), amphilochios (2), elder (2), fathers (2), friends (2), america (2), bethany (2), constantinople (2), taize (2), sister (2), john (2), thessalonika (2), war (2), worked (2), office (2), donate, restoration, roma, florence, formerly, abandoned, cemetery, library, click, paypal, button, aureo, anello, associazione, gregory, palamas, raccogliamoci, silenzio, 388, silent, everywhere, might, saint, yours, religion, race, stopped, minute, smile, tears, touch, fourth, fifth, around, really, forgot, bah, evangelize, catholics, protestants, dialects, haven, managed, deal, soon, dialect, evening, once, foreign, missionary, woman, saw, written, within, hairs, numbered, lacking, strangest, distant, message, sick, started, out, cart, driven, shepherd, boy, going, mountain, forest, above, shining, tiger, mercy, walk, water, peter, scared, bloop, unknown, throw, believed, waited, profit, remained, ninety, strange, apostles, leave, follow, invited, paper, ready, lebanon, pride, nor, wherever, myself, directed, 291, matter, 290, bless, gifts, gives, nostra, soffio, divino, nostro, sua, creazione, nell, unione, siamo, icona, 267, breath, body, creation, icon, 259, 244, christians, practice, while, living, fled, became, 243, passing, golgotha, 199, sense, 194, greatest, part, thankgiving, 192, lady, toll, booths, death, shines, however, 183, bomb, 179, powerful, epiclesis, 150, disciples, nations, hushing, 137, true, 136, greater, kind, stillness, 125, point, despair, 120, lock, door, mattina, apri, una, nuova, pagina, firma, qualsiasi, cosa, desidera, lascia, lui, scriva, 119, new, page, signature, blank, 117, forever, 114, sit, church, 110, woe, 103, believing, request, agreement, commandments, bodies, bodying, caught, activities, opportunity, prepare, secretly, cross, anxiety, aloud, past, imagination, naive, belongs, eternal, language, fellow, travelers, perfected, arrive, dispassion, remains, eternity, thought, criticism, judging, hold, hour, help, condition, visible, criticize, vulnerable, spot, discussions, desideriamo, essere, dobbiamo, istante, pensare, prima, alla, vita, monastica, senza, questo, non, saremo, moment, otherwise, gangrene, blindness, vision, bank, river, fact, according, plan, respond, brings, stops, except, begin, real, interior, spiritually, advanced, arrives, identity, understood, depths, happens, permission, nonexistence, identify, completely, end, yourself, respect, existence, created, breathed, into, corpses, altogether, golden, alone, often, act, intention, sees, willing, command, presence, befriend, fills, such, nobody, longing, doesn, therefore, needs, certain, likeness, rejection, negativity, scattered, worldly, becomes, blessing, nous, also, breathes, replication, aim, parasite, paraclete, conference, gather, decide, slaves, passions, purifies, sanctifies, activity, habit, unless, speaks, hell, cheaper, money, education, far, rather, seek, care, sanctify, suffer, spirituality, sleep, keeping, vigil, apophthegmata, incarnate, reputation, photographs, herself, anyone, realized, recorded, scarcely, suggest, clarity, tools, wonder, wrapped, passed, 1992, having, built, over, six, count, number, changed, biography, collected, writings, 1996, daughter, contribution, held, dear, translation, process, finally, withdrew, quiet, established, hesychastirion, archangels, accept, hands, dionysious, anne, skete, athos, chapel, panaghia, kastro, top, 1989, protection, hermitage, aegina, close, shrine, nectarios, near, continued, visitors, lent, 1990, hospitalized, lymphatic, forty, days, hospital, leaving, week, receiving, communion, pascha, puzzlement, doctors, disappeared, yet, extensively, broad, jerusalem, beside, tomb, lived, apartment, house, patissia, midst, noise, smog, confusion, central, precious, 1963, back, tonsured, small, abbot, makris, patmos, cave, anthony, under, evangelismos, tomasina, enthusiastic, idea, active, outreach, naini, tal, uttar, pradesh, lazarus, moore, priest, consulted, translations, psalter, between, 1967, europe, including, visiting, lev, gillet, sophrony, essex, briefly, sinai, archbishop, damianos, attempting, reintroduce, april, 1962, word, patriarch, athenagoras, france, spoke, fluent, french, childhood, 1959, mary, martha, palestine, arrived, chaplain, somewhat, surprised, ancient, byzantine, elders, longer, certainly, save, giving, rules, well, set, climacus, noted, ladder, modern, born, hundred, ago, october, 1897, grew, city, family, 1923, england, 1938, stayed, throughout, trained, chiropodist, physiotherapist, 1945, returned, refugee, american, farm, early, post, later, opened, therapy, 1954, died, lila, overland, poorest, poor, lepers,

Text of the page (random words):
until 1954 in march of that year her mother died and the office was closed sister lila left greece and traveled overland to india where she worked with the poorest of the poor even the lepers for five years it was not until 1959 that she went to the monastery of mary and martha in bethany palestine to become a nun when she arrived she asked fr theodosius the chaplain for a rule of prayer fr theodosius was somewhat surprised to find that she could read even ancient byzantine greek fr theodosius said the great elders that we hear about no longer exist i certainly am not one you came here to save your soul if i start giving you rules you will lose you soul and i will as well but here is fr john he will be your elder so for her first year in the monastery he set her to reading only the gospels and st john climacus it should be noted that at that time the ladder had not been published in modern greek she was three years in bethany in april 1962 word came that patriarch athenagoras of constantinople sought to send an orthodox monastic to taize in france sister gabrielia went by way of taize she spoke fluent french from childhood to america in 1963 she was back in greece the gerontissa was tonsured to the small schema by abbot amphilochios makris on patmos in the cave of st anthony under the monastery of evangelismos just before she and the nun tomasina left again for india elder amphilochios was enthusiastic at the idea a nun who would be open to an active outreach in the world in india she was for three years in naini tal in uttar pradesh where fr lazarus moore was the priest and where he consulted the gerontissa in his translations of the psalter and the fathers between 1967 and 1977 the gerontissa traveled in the mission field of east africa in europe including visiting old friends and spiritual fathers lev gillet and sophrony of essex again to america and briefly in sinai where archbishop damianos was attempting to reintroduce women s monasticism she traveled extensively with much concern and broad love for the people of god some of her spiritual children found her in jerusalem beside the tomb of christ others found her on the mission field of east africa for years beginning in about 1977 she lived hidden in a little apartment the house of the angels in patissia in the midst of the noise and smog and confusion of central athens a little place a hidden place a precious place to those who knew her there in 1989 she moved to holy protection hermitage on the island of aegina close by the shrine of st nectarios there she called the last two of her spiritual children to become monastics near her and there she continued to receive many visitors at the start of great lent in 1990 she was hospitalized for lymphatic cancer she was forty days in the hospital leaving during holy week and receiving communion of pascha and to the puzzlement of the doctors the cancer disappeared it was not yet her time the gerontissa finally withdrew to quiet with only one last nun she moved for the last time in this life to the island of leros there they established the hesychastirion of the holy archangels only in this last year of her life did she accept the great schema at the hands of fr dionysious from little st anne s skete on athos he came to give her the schema in the chapel of the panaghia in the kastro on the top of leros gerontissa gabrielia passed from this world on march 28 1992 having never built a monastery over the years six of her spiritual children did become monastics but never more that one or two were with her at a time only the angels could count the number of lives that god touched and changed through her her biography and collected writings were published in greek in 1996 through the work of her last monastic daughter and the contribution of many many others who held the gerontissa dear an english translation is in process anyone who knew the gerontissa realized that god has not left us without his saints even down to the present day the few words recorded here scarcely suggest the clarity and love of her soul words are only the tools of this world the wonder of the gerontissa was wrapped in the mystery of the silence of the world to come she never sought a reputation she never allowed anything about her to be published during her long life and only allowed her children to take photographs in her very last years those whom god touched through her called her gerontissa she never called herself anything but the nun gabrielia she was humility and love incarnate from the apophthegmata of the gerontissa 1 every place may become the place of the resurrection it is enough that you live the humility of christ 2 as for sleep keeping vigil is enough 3 there are people who are vigilant about some things and there are people who are vigilant about all things 4 not a knowledge that you learn but a knowledge that you suffer that is orthodox spirituality 5 do not desire many things more than you have that which is far away rather seek to take care of what you have so as to sanctify it 6 one thing is education that we learn how to love god 7 nothing is cheaper than money 8 better hell here than in the other world 9 it is not that which we say but that which we live it is not what we do but what we are 10 i put on the raso the monastic habit and i don t say anything unless asked the raso speaks 11 if you have love for the whole world the whole world is beautiful 12 someone said that the christian is one who purifies love and sanctifies activity 13 we desire our freedom why in order to be slaves to our passions 14 conference when good for nothing people gather and decide that nothing can be done 15 the aim is that even when we have the parasite in the head we have the paraclete in the heart 16 we become a replication of heaven with may your will be done on earth as in heaven 17 one who loves does not notice just as one does not notice that he breathes 18 when the doors of heaven are open so the doors on earth are also open 19 when the mind nous is not scattered in worldly things and is united to god then the good day that we say becomes a blessing 20 every rejection and negativity destroys our work 21 we must not exist before every image and likeness of the other 22 in the beginning of our life we have need of the presence of another to love or befriend as we progress the one god fills us with such love and his joy that nobody at all is needed all of this longing for another the soul does in the beginning because it still doesn t know whom it loves and therefore thinks it needs a certain person 23 god often does not desire the act but the intention it is enough that he sees you are willing to do his command 24 jesus christ gave the golden rule alone and with the other 25 when god created us he gave us life and breathed his spirit into us that spirit is love when we lack love we become corpses and are altogether dead 26 the christian must respect the mystery of the existence of everyone and everything 27 to reach nonexistence love love and love and so identify completely with the other with every other then at the end of the day you ask yourself do i want anything no do i need anything no do i lack anything no that s it 28 the spiritually advanced person is the one who arrives at a place of no identity and who has understood in his depths that whatever happens is the will of god or by the permission of god 29 only when the person stops reading other books except the gospel does he begin to make real interior progress only then united with god through the prayer can he hear the will of god 30 never desire anything but the will of god and receive with love the evil that comes to you 31 do not respond to a person with the evil he brings you but see christ in his heart 32 never say why has this happened to me or when you see someone with gangrene or cancer or blindness don t ask why did this happen to them but ask god to give you the vision of the other bank of the river then you will see with the angels as it is in fact everything is according to the plan of god everything 34 if we want to be good monastics we must at every moment think of god before monasticism otherwise we will not become good monastics se noi desideriamo essere buoni religiosi dobbiamo in ogni istante pensare a dio prima che alla vita monastica senza questo noi non saremo buoni religiosi 36 our most vulnerable spot is found in many words and discussions 38 when you have thought of criticism judging others ask god to take hold of you at that hour so that you can love that person as he loves then god will help you see your condition if christ were visible could you criticize 42 what we say remains to eternity 43 only when you are perfected in love can you arrive at dispassion 48 when needed god will send someone to us we are all fellow travelers 49 the language of god is silence 50 whoever lives in the past is as if dead whoever lives in the future in his fantasy or imagination is naive because the future belongs only to god the joy of christ is found only in the present in the eternal present of god 59 better to say the jesus prayer aloud than not at all 67 anxiety and worry is for those who don t have faith 68 love is only on the cross 71 do you want to pray prepare to answer the lord secretly 80 only when we are still not busy bodies busy bodying caught up in many activities do we give the angels an opportunity to do something 93 how beautiful is the mystery of tomorrow 95 the lord said whoever wants something believing he will receive it is enough that the request is in agreement with the commandments of god that is with love 103 when we think always of god god thinks always of us 110 woe to me if i do not love 114 after the liturgy we should sit in the church as long as we can for the angels 117 we are never any place forever 119 every morning open a new page and put your signature on the blank whatever god wants let him write ogni mattina apri una nuova pagina e firma qualsiasi cosa dio desidera lascia che lui la scriva 120 when we pray let us lock our door 125 if you do not reach the point of despair you will never see the light 136 be still and know there is no greater school than this kind of stillness of the mind 137 the only true joy is freedom from worry 150 christ said to us go and make disciples of all nations and we hushing up what do we do 179 the most powerful prayer is the epiclesis of the divine liturgy 183 love is a bomb the destroys all evil 192 the other day a lady asked me what would happen with the toll booths after death i said to her i will tell them the light of christ shines to all you however are in darkness and i don t see you 194 the greatest part of my prayer here and for years now is thankgiving what else should i ask when i have everything 199 god put the sense in the head why do you know so that we can not see ourselves yes so that we see only the other and love only the other and so that we see ourselves only in the eyes of the other 243 some want to go to the resurrection without passing by way of golgotha 244 because the christians could not put in practice the gospel while living in the world they fled that s how they became the first monastics 259 every person is sent 267 our soul is a divine breath our body is his creation in the whole of us we are the icon of god la nostra anima é un soffio divino il nostro corpo é la sua creazione nell unione di anima e corpo siamo l icona di dio 290 day and night let us bless god for the gifts he gives us 291 few words much love to all no matter who they are and mother said only one thing do i know that i have always and it is not pride nor fantasy but that which i have day and night wherever i find myself three things first faith second faith third faith that s all nothing else can i say to you it has directed all my life when we believe and someone says do you want to come to lebanon with me i say yes how do you say yes to everything i say yes because i believe that if it is not for my good god will make it so that the no will come from the very one who invited me some paper will not be ready or something will happen today i am ninety years old may you live so long i read again and again and again in the gospels and i see something strange jesus christ comes and says to the apostles leave now what you have and follow me now if they said and who are you why should we lose what we have why should we lose our profit where will you take us what will you do with us if they had said that what would have happened they would have remained in darkness they said yes to some unknown who came and said throw all that away why because they believed in god and they waited for the one who would say to them come and that was the beginning because if we say no what will happen one or the other if you believe you will walk on the water like st peter if you are scared bloop nothing else through all my life it has been like that they called me to the strangest and most distant place in india one night they sent me a message come and see someone who is sick we started out in an ox cart driven by some shepherd boy and as we were going up the mountain in the forest what do i see above us two eyes shining a tiger what do you say then lord have mercy on me and may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven so i closed my eyes and saw that written within me because he said to us why do you worry why do you worry even the hairs of your head are numbered why worry faith is lacking may we have faith again mother said once when i was there where i was some foreign missionary came and said to me you may be a good woman but you re not a good christian i said why because you have been here so long and you only go about speaking english what local languages have you learned i said to him i haven t managed to learn any of the local languages because i travel a great deal from place to place as soon as i learn one dialect they start speaking another i ve only learned good morning and good evening nothing else bah you re no christian how can you evangelize all the catholics and protestants learn all the local dialects in order to then i said lord give me an answer for him i asked it with all my heart and then i said ah i forgot to tell you i know five languages really what are these five the first is the smile the second is tears the third is to touch the fourth is prayer and the fifth is love with these five languages i go all around the world then he stopped and said just a minute say that again so i can write it down with these five languages you can travel the whole earth and all the world is yours love everyone as your own without concern for religion or race without concern for anything everywhere are people of god you never know if the one you see today might tomorrow be a saint 388 come let us be silent raccogliamoci in silenzio st gregory palamas monastery julian of norwich her showing of love and its contexts 1997 2024...