Elder Arsenie (Papacioc) of Romania (1914–2011) was a witness of the eternal truth of Christ, given by God to contemporary man. A man of deep prayer, he also possessed experiential knowledge of the ways of the world. Before going to the monastery, he had been a gifted athlete, a talented sculptor, a soldier, a mayor, and a prisoner of the Romanian Communist regime. Prison became a spiritual academy for him, and after his release he dedicated his life to God as a monastic. For the next six decades he would labor as a monk—in prison and out of prison. He became a beloved spiritual father, counseling the nuns of the Techirghiol Monastery and the multitude of faithful who flocked to his monastic cell. Drawing on his knowledge of the spiritual life and the workings of the world, he was able to guide people to a life in Christ, marked by activity, not philosophizing and speculation.

Every endeavor of his life was characterized by an intensity of purpose and an uncompromising confession of the truth: a knowledge that within each moment we make our choice for eternity. During his long years in prison, he had profound experiences of grace, which helped him realize the power of suffering and sacrifice for Christ. As he himself said, “We must sacrifice not what we have, but what we are.”

This comprehensive biography, compiled from the elder’s own words, the recollections of his spiritual children, and the 3,500 pages of files kept by the Romanian secret police, includes many of Fr. Arsenie’s counsels and spiritual maxims.

288 pages, paperback, illustrated.

Every Sigh Can Be a Prayer is a compilation of teachings on the spiritual life by the Romanian elder Fr. Arsenie Papacioc. A confessor, man of prayer, and preacher of the Faith who lived up to our times, Fr. Arsenie well understood the trials and complexities of contemporary life. His answer to our weakness and instability is a positive asceticism, based on a “state of awareness of God’s continuous presence.” Fr. Arsenie calls us to a life of watchfulness, of continuous attention: “We must be grateful or present in a state of awareness. That’s why I say that every moment is a taste of eternity and every sigh can be a prayer. This provides much greater benefit than many prayers or prostrations done mechanically.”

Few people live life as fully as did Fr. Arsenie. Before his entry into monasticism at the age of thirty-two, he had been an athlete, artist, chemist, mayor, soldier, and political prisoner. Leaving behind all his worldly success, Fr. Arsenie dedicated himself to Christ as a monk and priest for over sixty years. He spent a total of fourteen years in the infamous Romanian prisons, being arrested over forty times in his life. Prison was a spiritual academy for him, a place where he learned of the intricacies and depths of man’s soul, of the intrigues of the demons, and of God’s presence in the intense suffering he experienced. After his release from prison, he spent a decade in various parishes and monasteries around Romania, bringing people back to the Church and feeding the faithful with his God-inspired wisdom. This book gathers his teachings—the fruits of a long life of prayer, watchfulness, and suffering for Christ—from interviews, talks, and letters. His words are a vigorous call, waking us from our sleep, to a deep engagement in all that we do in our life in Christ.

176 pages, paperback, illustrated.