One day in 1973 some of Saint Paisios’ s acquaintances suggested to accompany him to Tinos to worship the miraculous icon of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, and he accepted.
As soon as they arrived at the blessed island, Father Paisios felt an intense smell. And, when he worshiped the graceful icon of the Virgin Mary, he was shocked.
He stepped aside a little, not to obstruct, and couldn’t take his eyes off Her.
He was looking at the Virgin Mary with tears in his eyes and took in, in his mind, her great Grace.
“Such a small icon can be so graceful!”, commented Father Paisios.
Once, he wrote in a letter: “Thank God, He granted me to worship Her Icon. I am delighted and I do not deserve to see Her in Heaven. I am very pleased and grateful to Her and will be grateful to Her for all my life.”
Also a priest who came from Tinos asked him, “What did you see, Elder, in Tinos? Tell me, to write it in a book.”
And Father Paisios replied, “We can’t speak of what I saw,” he replied, it is ‘unspeakable words.’ One thing I will tell you, Virgin Mary is alive, as large as life!”
from the book “Saint Paisios the Athonite”
