See NOTE below. Very important!"Once again I write these things to give you courage so that you do not fear illnesses, even if they make you suffer for life. Since God is continuously present, why do you worry? For in Him we live and move. We are carried in His arms.""Since our sweet Jesus is so good, compassionate, and kind, why should you despair? We seek one small thing from Him, and He gives us so much. We ask for one beam of light, and He gives us Himself as all Light, Trust, and Love. So humble yourself and rest all your hope in Him."This letter, including his subsequent letters, shows us the heights of Orthodox spirituality as it relates to illness, fear, and death. Imagine what St. Joseph would say to us today when the sins of fear and rationalism abound and are justified, sins of justifying evil that good may come, even by the leaders of the Church. Let us follow the Saints, begging God for their faith, for they and those who follow them are the only true guides God has established for us. NOTE: In Letter 30 we read “Believe me, for I tell the truth: Ever since I became a monk, every time I got sick, I absolutely never took care of myself; nor did I let anyone care for my physical health, but I placed all my hope in the unmercenary Physician.” A footnote here reads, “The Elder later modified his opinion of health care, as is evident in his 49th Letter. In Letter 49 we read, “Three times they stayed up all night thinking that I would die. They called everyone to come to my side. I bid them farewell for the last time. They cried by my side day and night. Finally, I recovered once again. They sent me a special medicine, and it, after God, healed me. I hadn’t eaten for forty days. When I took the medicine, I ate, slept, and got better. Glory to Thee, O God! I began to move somewhat and to write again…. Courage! It’s not just you. There are many others. Many people have come to me, and with prayer and fasting they were healed. But now, the Lord doesn’t hear me, so that I learn about medicine and the doctors and be lenient with others. I also read the letters of St. Nectarios, and I saw how much he, such a great saint, paid attention to the doctors and medicines! I am just a poor ascetic who has grown old in the wilderness, and I wanted to heal only through faith. But now I, too, am learning that both medicines and grace are necessary. So now I shall say like the saint, “See to it that you get well.” Fix your nerves in any way you can, and you will find your prayer and peace again.” How instructive! We see a great saint adjusting his stance according to God’s will. He, like St. Basil the Great so beautifully taught (see recording on this channel), “both medicines and grace are necessary.” Have faith in God above all, and do not spurn those things the He Himself have provided for us. Not all medicine is given to us by God. Nothing produced based on the murder of babies or other such evils will produce the eternal good that medicine exists for (see Romans 3:8). Trust God above all, endure suffering, neither rush to nor reject medicine, and do not be anxious, for “we are carried in His arms.”St. Joseph the Hesycast is one of the greatest ascetics of the 20th Century and spiritual father of St. Ephraim of Katounakia and Elder Ephraim of Philotheou and Arizona. Learn more about St. Joseph here: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/pages...This reading is Letter 30 from “Monastic Wisdom: The Letter of Elder Joseph the Hesychast”. Purchase the book here: https://stanthonysmonastery.org/produ...This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!