“A brother once went to Abba Filikas, accompanied by some seculars. So he called on the abba to say a helpful word to them. But the elder remained silent.
The brother continued to plead for a long time, so the Abba said to them:
– Do you want to hear a word that will help your souls?
– Yes, abba, they responded.
“There is no need anymore,” the elder said. Because when the brothers asked the elders and did what they advised them, God spoke in order to help those who asked.
But now, since they ask without applying what they are told to do, God took the grace of speech from the elders. They don’t know what to say anymore, because there are no workers of virtue.
When the visitors heard him, sighed and said, “Pray for us, Abba.”
Elder’s speech
*The article was originally published in Greek in ikivotos.gr