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Does God like the way I live? Elder Proclu Nicău on humility
11:19
What the video says
A spiritual elder speaks about humility as the virtue God loves most. He says God forgives everything except pride, and that pride drives away the Holy Spirit, leading a person into falls from which he learns humility. He teaches practical ways to keep humility: considering everyone better than oneself, delaying revenge, praying instead of answering evil with evil, and attending carefully to the liturgy.
He warns that the demons of hell now work on the earth and attack Christians wherever two or three gather, and that only humility frees us from the devil's hook. He urges frequent confession, saying souls find relief through it, and notes that the end times and years of affliction have begun. He tells of a little girl whose siblings were aborted, saying those who have had abortions should not despair but repent, confess, and pray with contrition.
He closes with the story of three important men who visited him, to whom he advised finding a father confessor, becoming a church-going Christian, forgiving others as the Lord's Prayer requires, and doing to no one what one would not want done to oneself.
Key moments
- God favors the humble; all the saints considered themselves worthless, and anyone claiming to be a saint has been deceived by the devil.
- God forgives all sins but not pride; the proud fall into fornication because the Holy Spirit abandons them, and from the fall they learn humility.
- To keep the Holy Spirit, tell yourself anyone is better than you; when wanting revenge, answer 'not today,' pray instead, and the Holy Spirit will drive the evil thought away.
- All the demons of hell have escaped to work on the earth, attacking wherever two or three Christians gather; Christians today are weak and escape the devil's hook only through humility.
- In church, think everyone else is better than you, pray 'Lord, also receive me in my humility,' attend to the liturgy, and leave in peace; measuring or despising others may cause the Holy Spirit to abandon you.
- He honors Christians who have a father confessor, because through confession of sins the soul finds relief and God will not forsake the humble.
- The end times are almost here and the years of affliction have begun; whoever sees this clearly has only weeping left, weeping for the afterlife rather than this passing life.
- A woman cruelly told a five-year-old girl that her mother had got rid of her siblings; he aches for those who have had abortions but says they need repentance, contrition, and confession, not despair.
Elder Proclu Nicău teaches that humility is the virtue God loves most. He says God forgives every sin except pride, because pride drives away the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit abandons a person, that person falls, and from the fall he learns humility. The elder points to the saints, who all considered themselves worthless, and warns that anyone who claims to be a saint has been deceived by the devil.
He gives practical advice for keeping humility. A person should tell himself that anyone is better than he is. When the desire for revenge comes, he should answer it with the words 'not today' and pray instead of repaying evil with evil; then the Holy Spirit drives the evil thought away. In church he should think everyone else is better than he is, pray 'Lord, also receive me in my humility,' attend carefully to the liturgy, and leave in peace. Measuring or despising others may cause the Holy Spirit to abandon him.
The elder warns that the demons of hell have escaped to work on the earth and attack Christians wherever two or three gather. Christians today are weak, and only humility frees them from the devil's hook. He urges frequent confession, saying that through the confession of sins the soul finds relief and God will not forsake the humble.
He also says the end times are near and the years of affliction have begun, so whoever sees this clearly has only weeping left, weeping for the afterlife rather than this passing life.
He tells of a five-year-old girl who was cruelly told that her mother had got rid of her siblings. He aches for those who have had abortions but says they need repentance, contrition, and confession, not despair. He closes with advice to three important men who visited him: find a father confessor, become a church-going Christian, forgive others as the Lord's Prayer requires, and do to no one what one would not want done to oneself.
Main points
- God forgives all sins except pride; pride drives away the Holy Spirit, and from the fall a person learns humility.
- To keep humility, consider everyone better than yourself, answer the desire for revenge with 'not today,' and pray instead of repaying evil with evil.
- The demons of hell now work on the earth and attack Christians wherever two or three gather; only humility frees a person from the devil's hook.
- He urges frequent confession, because the soul finds relief through it, and says the years of affliction have begun.
- Those who have had abortions should not despair but repent, confess, and pray with contrition.