Page 128 - Prayer Book

128
Prayer B o ok
head-on, but to displace them by filling our hearts with
Christ! In the heart of the Saint, with the visit of Divine
Grace, this love for Christ became love for one’s fellow
man—and not just that! It became love for all things, for
everything: love for animals, birds, flowers, and more.
“When Grace came, I loved EVERYTHING,” he said, re-
counting the visit of Divine Grace. He had, as we would say
today, an “ecological” love! He didn’t just love people, but
all of nature!
His love for Christ and for people was so great that he
loved them without caring whether they loved him in re-
turn! The love of Christ and the fact that he loved others,
even if they didn’t love him back, was more than enough
for him. This is what he taught us: “Don’t worry about
whether people love you, but whether you love Christ and
others. That’s how the soul is filled!”
His love knew no bounds! He loved Greeks and for-
eigners alike, Orthodox, non-Orthodox, and people of
other religions! He taught the unceasing prayer of the heart
to non-Orthodox people and even prayed together with
them! He loved the women of “loose morals” who worked
near St. Gerasimos and would come to the chapel to light
a candle and pray. He didn’t see them as sinners! He treat-
ed them with fatherly affection and loved them as sisters.
In fact, he considered their profession to be socially ben-
eficial!
Another form of true love, according to Saint Porphy-
rios, is the love of one who lends without expecting the
money to be returned. He once told someone who had lent
a significant sum to an acquaintance: “That money is gone,
don’t expect it back; it is better to give than to lend. When