With this present volume, we continue the publication of the counsels of the Blessed Elder Paisios with themes on the family and the ordeals people undergo caused by the crisis the institution of family faces in our times. The Elder used to say that the majority of the letters he received were from people who had family problems. He attributed these problems to people having withdrawn from God and to their selfcentreredness. "In the old days," he would say, "life was more peaceful and serene; people had patience. Nowadays, everyone has got a short fuse -people flare up right away; no one can tell them anything. And then, automatically, they go straight for divorce."

(from the preface)