A group of nuns from the Moanstery of Souroti asked Saint Paisios “What precisely is the meaning of this life?”
The Saint replied:
“What is it? It is to be prepared for our homeland, for Heaven, for Paradise. The most important thing is for man to grasp this most profound meaning of life, which is the salvation of the soul. When man believes in God and in the future life, then he understands the vanity of this present life and prepares his passport for the other life. We forget that all of us will leave this life. None of us are going to put roots down here.
This present life is not for us to have a good time. On the contrary, it is meant for us to be tested and to pass over into the future, eternal life. Our goal here must be to prepare ourselves so we can depart with our conscience at ease when God calls us close to Him.
When man places himself in the realm of real life, he enjoys everything. He rejoices in living and he rejoices in dying. Not because he is tired of living, but because he will die and go to Christ.
He rejoices because he can see that this life is temporary, while the other is eternal. He’s not tired of life, but he thinks, ‘What are we doing, aren’t we leaving?’ and he prepares himself for there, because he understands that this is his destiny, the meaning of life.”
The words of St Paisios show us that he lived that which Christ promised all of us, ‘Whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; He has crossed from death to life’ (John 5:24). May the blessings of St Paisios give each of us the strength to live according to the words of our Lord.
Source: Spiritual Counsels of St. Paisios Vol. II – Spritual Awakening
