Your prayer. Thank you and ask you not to stop praying for me. Always, especially in moments of trial, I ask Christ for help through your prayers and always feel that I receive what I ask for." The elder beamed with joy and answered: "What are you saying, my child! Do you do that? I feel it too."

Another time he said to me: "You know, I see that I help you more with my prayers than with my instructions. I always remember you in prayer. Pray for me, a sinner, too." These words were the Elder's response to my dissatisfaction with the fact that I could not see and talk with him often. "I am very grateful to you, Geronda," I said, "Now you have freed me from the burden that weighed me down greatly, since I burdened you too. Now I will not be upset because I cannot see you or talk to you. It is enough that you pray for me, and then I will receive help from Christ. And this will be the greatest help that can be."

The Elder Teaches Us Prayer

One evening we came to Callisia. In the courtyard in front of the Elder's cell, we saw a multitude of pilgrims waiting for their turn. We were the last. When it was our turn, it was already dark. We went to Father Porphyrius one by one, and when everyone had confessed, the Elder accompanied us to the monastery fence. Although he was very tired, he was in high spirits. It was a wondrous summer night. A gentle breeze was blowing, and the full moon was rising from behind the pine-covered hills.

In this wondrous place, silvered by the pale light of the moon, which gave everything, both living and inanimate, an unearthly appearance, the Elder found it convenient to talk to us about prayer. He taught us not theory, but practice. Father Porphyrius always taught by example. There were four of us, the Elder being the fifth. He turned us to face the east, put two of us on his right and two on his left, stood in the middle himself and said:

"Now we are going to pray mentally. First I will say the words, and then you will repeat them. But be careful, don't rush and don't worry. Speak calmly, humbly, with love, gently."

And the Elder began to pray in his thin, soft, expressive voice: "Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me." He spoke very slowly, word by word, without any haste, as if standing before Christ and addressing Him. He made a long pause after the word "Christ" and pronounced the word "have mercy on me" with a pleading intonation. And each time we repeated the prayer after him, trying to imitate him, the timbre of his voice and, if at all possible, his spiritual disposition. At some point, Father Porphyrius stopped saying the prayer loudly, only his lips continued to whisper it. We did the same. How long did this night prayer last? I don't remember. The only thing I remember is the feeling of tenderness that seized me, which cannot be described in human words.

Finally, the Elder broke this divine silence with the words: "At this point we will end our common prayer. Continue to pray yourself. Now go with God to your homes." As we were moving away, I turned my head back and discerned in the moonlight the majestic silhouette of Father Porphyrios. The elder stood right next to the rocks, raising his right hand and blessing us.

Prayer with the Elder. A blindingly bright light filled my room

Father Porphyrius himself prayed a lot and wanted his spiritual children to do the same. He tried in every way to encourage me to pray and constantly told me about the power of prayer.

"Prayer, my child Anargyre," he said one day, "means a conversation with God Himself, Who is the Creator and Creator of everything! He is the One Who created man in His image and likeness. He is the One who created everything that we see around us. Finally, He is the One Who never refuses to talk to us, if only we ask Him for it. Whenever and however much we turn to Him, He will never refuse us. On the contrary, He is always ready to listen to us with attention and great love, as every good father does when his child asks him to do so. Moreover, He is ready to give us what we ask for, if only it is for the benefit of our soul. Have you ever had a conversation with any member of the government? If not, I recommend giving it a try. You'll soon find that your desire to talk to them will remain just that. They will never accept you. The most they will do is send you to one of their deputies to get rid of you... On the contrary, our Lord, Who is the King of kings, will never turn away from you, will never refuse to converse with you through prayer. Do you understand what I'm telling you and why I'm doing it?

"Of course, Geronda," I answered.

"But something tells me you don't want to understand it. Because if you understood everything, then you would pray more.

"You pray for me," I said.