The Involvement of Young People, the Will of God – Fr. Pimen Vlad

Listen to a highly relevant message addressed to young people by Father Pimen, delivered in the church in Giroc, Timiș County. Father speaks about how people’s—and especially young people’s—relationship to God’s will and to their neighbor ought to be.

Enjoy!

Fr: If you will allow me, I would like us to organize ourselves a bit because father has had a very tough day. I know we kept him from this morning until after noon, and it’s not easy for everyone to pull at you, you know. But if we caught him, we pulled at him, and I tell you honestly, father wanted to come tonight, to be here with us, with one condition, that when we calm down and things settle down, we should also sing something, not just sit and look at each other, right? Those of you who were here on Tuesday had that joy, but we need to pull at father and ask him to speak a little more, for those who haven’t met him until now and haven’t been present here. After he catches his breath and drinks a glass of water, I will give the microphone to father.

The air conditioning works, but I don’t know if it can keep up. There are so many of us; I even said I would have liked to count. Just think, when we had the chairs set up for the conference, we had comfortably about ten rows of chairs times seventeen chairs, one hundred seventy seats, and we were starting…

[power goes out]

 — It will be resolved immediately. If we are starting like this, since it’s night, let’s sing something.

Fr. Pimen: Come on, sing a little, so I can listen too.

Fr: Let’s start with Christ is Risen!

♪ Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, ♪

♪ and to those in the tombs granting life. ♪

♪ Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, ♪

♪ and to those in the tombs granting life. ♪

♪ Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, ♪

♪ and to those in the tombs granting life. ♪

Fr: Glory to God, the light has come!

Fr. Pimen: That’s how it was in hell when the Savior descended there, you know? It was dark and when He came, there was light. The light came back on when we sang “Christ is risen”. Did you see? Yes.

I am glad to see so many of you. We will see how this evening will be. For now, the most memorable evening was Tuesday, when we fully rejoiced with a few young people. Now I don’t know, we’ll see how this evening will end. Maybe because of that evening when I rejoiced fully, I got to be here at the Liturgy today. What the Mother of God ordains… we always leave all our things to her will and then the Mother of God ordains them as she knows best.

But do you know what it means to leave yourself to the will of God or the Mother of God, as I say? It’s not when you make a plan and it works out and you say you’ve let yourself (to Their will), but when you’ve made a plan and everything turns upside down, doors close on you, and you are diverted in another direction, and you accept this with joy, without getting upset. Only then does it mean that you have surrendered to the will of God and the Mother of God. That’s why we should always keep the door open to receive what comes to us.

Not everything is good all the time, I mean looking at it humanly. Maybe some things are difficult to bear, but we will understand later, sometimes after years, that it was actually what was good for us, even if it seemed impossible to bear: a misfortune or suffering or something, but nothing is accidental in our lives. This is what we must understand, that nothing is accidental, everything is in order, and everything depends on us. We have seen that the Savior most often asked in the Gospel: “Do you believe that I am able to do this?… According to your faith let it be to you.” If we really believe.

Someone once asked a question: “Why do I have to believe? Why does God need my faith? If I am a good person, I do what is right, what is the point of faith?” Very well, you are a good person, you do what is right, you don’t need Heaven, God, or faith, you take care of your business. But let’s say you reach the moment when (…) Now you say you are good, you rely on friends, on relatives, they help you. But what if you reach the moment when you have no one around to help you; in what way? Let’s say – the disease of the century – let’s say you have cancer… You go to all the doctors, and they say: “Go home, you have a month left!” And then you wake up to find that no one around you is helping you anymore. And what are the consequences if you believe in nothing? Despair! Because you have nothing to lean on: the people you relied on have left you, they have abandoned you even against their will, because they can no longer help you. That’s where faith comes in, that’s where you start to look up and shout, “Lord, I know I haven’t believed, but if You truly exist, help me too!” That’s where faith comes in, God intervenes where we can [go on] no longer. And that’s why we need faith; we always need it, but for those who say they do not accept this, sometimes God allows them to reach a point where they truly have no way out, and then He helps them understand that faith is indeed necessary, and through faith comes hope.

But let’s not force God to bring us to that limit! That is, we should always have the openness towards Him, to accept what He offers, to receive with love, and to move forward, because we are not animals; we are humans, we have a soul, and this soul came from God; it is the divine spark. You see, we are dust; it says that God took dust and made man. And I found a beautiful explanation: it said that when God took dust, He did not refer only to the dust itself, but to everything that exists in this world. All the components that exist in the ground exist in tiny quantities in man… I mean, he is the perfection of perfections!… For man to have everything that exists in this world, in this ground: all the metals, all of these exist in tiny quantities in man.

Whatever people try to do now, with all the technologies, they will never reach this. But it wasn’t enough. He made this dust, shaped it, gave it the spark of life. … And what does that mean? It says that God breathed over it, gave it divine breath, therefore a divine spark. That is why it says in some places in scripture that “You are gods” because we have a divine spark – our soul that came from God and returns to God. Once someone came to me there and among other things, after I had talked to them a bit, he came personally and told me, “Father, I don’t need God! I don’t want to meet God when I die, I don’t want to go to God!” I said to him, “I’m sorry, I have to disappoint you! You still get to God! Because that’s where you came from and that’s where you will return! It’s just that you’ll be held accountable for what you’ve done, but you cannot escape from God! Whatever you do, you go there and account for it because that’s where you came from.” He was dissatisfied… “What, is there no other way?” I said, “There isn’t!”

That’s why we need to prepare for these moments, but that doesn’t mean we should just bang our heads against the walls, cry all day, and what have you, living in panic and fear of judgment coming and that we’ll die and what will we do… no! Let’s live beautifully so that we can die beautifully! Living beautifully doesn’t mean without difficulties! Because in this life, we will be bumping our heads against walls, ceilings, everything! But that doesn’t mean that if we get hurt, we should remain, as they say, fallen, no! We must always get up and cry out to God to help us! And let’s go with a smile on our face through life! Not with despair, not with panic! Because I have met people who told me:

“Father, I can’t take it anymore, I don’t go out of the house, I live in disappointment, everything is going wrong for me!”

“But do you have health problems? Do you have legs, do you have arms?”

“Glory to God, I’m good in this respect, but I’m down spiritually, I’ve reached the point where I don’t leave the house…”

“But what do you do?”

“Well, look, I work on the computer and I don’t go out of the house!”

I said, “The problem is different! You wallow in self-pity! God didn’t make us to wallow in self-pity because everything is going wrong for us. He made us to communicate with others, to help others! Do you have legs? Go to the one who has no legs and help him! Do you have hands? Go to the one who has no hands and help him! Let us communicate with one another, let us help one another!” If we do this, you will see that we will have no time for disappointments, despair, or other states. Because we see much more difficult situations than ours (ours seems hard to us, but in fact it is not) and we no longer wallow in self-pity by seeing the suffering of others. I have often said, go to nursing homes where people are forgotten by the world, perhaps taken there even by their own children. Go there, take a bunch of flowers, maybe on a certain [special] day, I don’t know. Take a bag of chocolates, go and hug them and give them to those forgotten elderly women!

Go to a hospital with critical illnesses, see what suffering means, see how those people live! Some may have a month, a year, or less left! See how they live those moments, if they still think about the things we worry about! That is, let’s not live in vain, let’s get involved in everything around us where there is need. There are families with many children! You may have only one child at home who is spoiled and full of whims, nothing pleases him anymore… Take your child, go to a store and buy everything you can fit in the car, take some of his toys too and go to a family with ten children! And have your child give the toys there, to see those children who have none, to see how they live! And don’t be afraid that your child might get sick! Let them play with those children for two, three, five hours! Then you’ll see how he comes out of that state or away from that desire for more by seeing what others lack.

So, we should always seek to get involved and communicate with one another, because if we end up separating, we become cruel to each other and start to consider ourselves on another level… “I have a different status! How can I go to those dirty ones, to those miserable ones?” but you don’t know that maybe tomorrow you will find yourself on the streets and perhaps, you will pray for someone to notice you! For anyone, just like they rise, they can also fall. We often think we are superior, but we are not in any way; neither the one with a high position or the millionaire, nor the one at the bottom, from the bishop to the peasant, so to speak, before God, we are all the same.

We all have a soul that is more precious than the whole world. As it says in the Gospel, “What will a man give in exchange for his soul?” All the other things have no value. Our soul has the greatest value. Everything else falls away. We see so many people leaving around us [dying], with their hands on their chests, taking nothing with them, just a few rags, maybe, cardboard shoes, lest something more valuable rot away, dressed by relatives, just for them to leave faster. And you see that man might have been a millionaire, maybe he took care of himself all his life, he worked hard, but he took nothing with him. And then we go to God and He asks us, “What have you done in this life?” “Well, I built villas, I gathered…” Alright, and where are they? We build them here on earth. No one says not to do so, but do good to those around you as well. If God has given you more [than you need], it means He has also given you to help those who have less, so you can be saved in this way. By using what you have in excess to help those who don’t have, in this way, you can improve the life of those next to you, and the other will thank God and pray for you to be saved too, because maybe you don’t have enough time to pray. But his prayers will help you, [and] your children be healthy.

So, we don’t realize how much benefit we receive by giving, not by receiving. To give, to extend a hand to the poor, to comfort the sorrowful, to embrace the one who is crying, to support them; this has great value before God. Because it even says in the Holy Scripture that “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” So, God wants to see mercy from us towards those around us. Because we also read in the Holy Scripture, exactly where it says that someone owed his master 100 denarii, it’s like owing 100 euros now. In fact, he owed this to another servant, but that servant owed his master 10,000 talents, which means millions. And when he begged his master for forgiveness and to wait longer for him to repay (which was impossible), then the master felt pity and forgave him. And that same servant, took his fellow-servant – to whom he owed 100 denarii – by the throat, and had him cast into prison. So that’s what God does with us. We owe God millions, so to speak. And God forgives us. We ask for forgiveness from Him, we confess, and God forgives us. And then if it seems to you that your neighbor has moved the fence a little, you start with the trials of judgement, scandals and everything. Or if one of the brothers seems to have taken a bit more from the inheritance, you take him by the throat, and so on. I have met brothers who have not spoken to each other their whole lives because one took a bit more than the other. And in fact, at death, you see that no one takes anything with them. So let us be a little careful not to get too attached to these material things, because all of them remain here on earth and beyond we will find what we have sent through almsgiving, through kindness.

I remember once, in Athos, I was speaking to a group of men. And I told them, “Send the best [things] beyond, because you will find those things there. Do not give those torn shoes or those torn pants, because you will dress in Heaven with those, and you will be ashamed…” and one was laughing. I said to him, “Did you perhaps give something like that and now you are thinking about how you will look walking around like that?” So, let’s give from the best we have, because then God gives us the best. Not what is hard for you to take to the trash – torn clothes – and you give them to the poor while expecting to be respected for giving alms. No, if you have something to give, give what you value the most. You have a dress that you think is very beautiful, give that as alms. Cut off a little of your egotism because that is your pride, give that dress away for someone else to wear. In other words, let’s cut away these things a bit.

It’s not wealth that is bad, but the attachment, the dependency on wealth that is bad. There are some, like Abraham, there was no one richer than him in those times, but there was not a poor person around who did not receive something from his table, from all that he had. That’s why, as I said, it’s not wealth itself that is bad, but stinginess is bad, the lack of mercy is bad. If we had love and kindness towards those around us, then God also has mercy on us.

What else can I tell you? We were talking about the meeting with the youth to rejoice, and I landed on the other side. And don’t forget to enjoy your youth, because the time of worries will come. That’s why I was actually saying last time why I was so happy that night among the youth; I spent a few hours among them, they sang, we rejoiced, we hugged each other. None of them came to tell me, “Father, I have problems.” No, everyone was happy, no one had any problem. And that’s why I was telling them, when I was talking to some, I am happy for these young people and we should help them not to end up later as it often happens now with those who have entered life and have started facing life’s problems: no one comes to me to tell me something good. The first word they come with is, “Father, I have problems!” So, all those of a certain age onwards, even if I met 100 people, 1000 people in one day, each one told me “Father, I have a hardship, I have problems…”, no one said “Father, I am well, thank God!” everyone has problems!

We need to be there for the young people of today, so that they will not come, 10-20 years, in the same situation, with everyone having problems, no! They must accept life as God gives it to them, thanking Him every day and not constantly asking, “Why? Why did God allow this? Why did God take my child? Why did I lose my job? Why did my neighbor behave badly? Why does my brother hate me?” Why this or that? My whole life shouldn’t be a constant “Why?” when I could say “Glory to You, Lord, for today! Look, I woke up this morning too, thank You, Lord!” When I go out to the yard, I should also greet that neighbor who hates me and the other one who doesn’t talk to me, wishing them a good day and then move on! That is, let’s start with blessing, with “Glory to You, Lord!” wherever we go, on the road, let’s do the same! Similarly, at work, when you enter the office, say “Glory to You, Lord!”

Here I return to one thing: I remember that about ten years ago I knew a young woman whom I had known since she was a student. At some point, she told me that she wanted to take the notary exam. There was only one position in Bucharest and 300 candidates, and she studied so much and prayed! She had papers on all the walls of her room; she studied continuously. And she won that position, became a notary, and partnered with another notary who had a notary office and gave her 15%, having her there as a notary.

Not long passed, and the notary she partnered with became pregnant and left her in charge of the notary office that had 10 female secretaries and whoever else was there. She was the youngest. When they saw that she was their boss, they all almost hated her, spoke to her rudely… She had to sign any paper that came, as boss. They simply threw it on her desk, looked at her with disdain… She was a cheerful person, every day she would run maybe 10 km, dance, enjoy life, so her life was filled with joy and happiness. She stayed for a day, two, three, and then said, “Hey, I can’t live like this! Either I change them, or I’ll go crazy! I have to do something because I don’t feel like going crazy! This means I have to change those ten.” And from that moment on, she decided, “From now on, I will smile at everyone!” When she entered the office, she would say, “Good morning, girls! What a beautiful day it is today!” full of smiles. They were all frowning at her. She went to the office, anyone who brought a paper for her to sign, she would sign it nicely, smile at them, wish them, “Have a good day!” and continued like that for a day, a month, a year… And she told me that after a year, all the girls in the office were smiling, treating all the clients the same way, and after 2-3 years, the notary office became number one in Bucharest in terms of the number of clients.

A young girl! What she managed to do! But she had patience for a whole year with all those sour-faced women let’s call them, who hated her. And she recounted that one of them, at one point, made a rather big mistake in the paperwork, which in order to correct, all ten of them had to work all night long as it had to be submitted the next day. And the one who was guilty was the one who did not accept her at all and hated her the most. And she said nothing, went and locked the door at the notary office, took the key in her pocket, and told them, “Girls, tonight no one is going home, we have to submit it by morning. Everyone works!” But she didn’t say anything to the person who made the mistake, who caused all this trouble. They worked all night and it ended beautifully. The person who made the mistake, of course, expected to be fired, but she said nothing to her. And she told me that this person ended up loving her more than all the others there and that she didn’t know how to treat her when she realized how she had acted for a year and how she repaid her.

So, know that always good conquers evil, and by doing good, you can turn the bad person in good. Therefore, in our lives, let us always work with goodness, with a smile, and with love towards those around us! Even at school, always treat each other with kindness! If a colleague asks you for something, help them! If it’s something they don’t understand, do this, and you will see that God will always help you in what you do! Do everything with love and, as they say, with wisdom! And as young people, at home, always (…) Know that most of the time, as a young person, even if you have, let’s say, a particular intelligence, you do not have the experience of life.

Take into account what your parents and grandparents tell you, even if it is not always exactly what is needed. But keep that in mind because they have the life experience that you do not have. And sometimes what they tell you may be hard to accept, or they may nag you about it, but know that what they say comes from experience, from people who have stumbled, to help you avoid making the same mistakes, that could repeat. Because if we look at the history of life, it always seems to us when we fall in love that no one has ever fallen in love like us, and when we suffer, that no one has ever suffered like us…

But let’s not forget that there are 7000 years, as they say, during which these things have gone the same way, everyone has fallen in love, everyone has suffered. We are not the only ones in this situation. I mean, let’s take a little look around and learn from the mistakes of others and not repeat them. But the most important thing is to never forget about God, about the Mother of God. In any situation, let us cry out to the heavens, for then we will never be left alone, nor abandoned. Others around us may lie to us, deceive us, may mock us, but let us know that up there in Heaven, we have the best friends, who never leave us and are always by our side when we call upon them.

Let’s say you go to a lesson, to an exam… no one can help you then. But pray in your mind, “Lord, Mother of God, help me, enlighten me! Saint Catherine, Holy Three Hierarchs, help me, enlighten me!” and see how much help you receive. So, let’s always cry out to where we can truly receive help, and you will see that we receive help and life becomes more beautiful. Or we become more full of life because, as I said, we were made to rejoice every day, not to be sad, to suffer, no! Otherwise, God would not have made all the beautiful things around us: trees, flowers, birds, and everything that exists around us, the waters and all. He has made them all for us so that we could rejoice in them.

And you see that it is also from God for some to fall in love with each other, to get married, to rejoice in life… all of these have been made available to us by God! But let us rejoice beautifully, let us live beautifully, and let us leave this life beautifully! We see elderly people who leave peacefully, luminous, and then you realize that those people have done something in life. That is, they did not live in vain, and suddenly they go peacefully to God. It means that in their life, which has not been easy at all, they have not lost their direction. They always turned their gaze towards God! They fell, they got up, they struggled, but they walked towards God!

Online commemoration lists and donations

May the Lord help us!

Online Commemoration Lists and Donations

May the Lord help us!

If you have a bank card and wish to send commemoration lists and donations online using your card, and/or to support our philanthropic activity, including this site, please fill out the form below to make a small donation. The form is secure – we use Stripe for payment processing – a world leader in this field. We do not collect your personal data.

If you do not have a card, or do not wish to use it, visit the webpage for Online Donations and Commemoration Lists.

We will pray for your loved ones! (Please do not include inessential details like wishes, degree of kinship, introductions etc. JUST the name!)

Especially for recurring commemoration lists, we ask that you please keep them to under 20 names long. If you include a member of the family, we add “and for their families.”