Вера без добрых дел – мертва

Let’s read the patristic testimonies about Christian Mercy and almsgiving, I borrow them from the excellent book of Father Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko: “Lessons of Hope”, let’s read more because our intention is to found a hospital is a matter of mercy and almsgiving. Let us become imbued with the teaching of the Holy Fathers of the Church, let us see how deeply, purely and holy they establish the work of mercy and almsgiving. What is almsgiving? “Alms,” says Chrysostom, is the mother of love, love that distinguishes Christianity, surpasses all signs, serves as a sign of Christ’s disciples: mercy, says St. Basil the Great, is pain for the oppressed beyond measure... felt by the compassionate. We have mercy on those who have fallen from great wealth into extreme poverty, who have gone from strong physical health to extreme exhaustion, who previously admired the beauty and freshness of their body, and are then damaged by disfiguring diseases. (Explanatory on 114 ps.). Mercy makes us like God. No one likens man to God any more than by doing good, says St. Gregory the Theologian, although God does incomparably more beneficence, and man less, in accordance with his own strength. God created man and again restores him from corruption, and you, at least, do not despise the fallen. God showed man the greatest mercy when he gave him, among other things, the law, the prophets, and even before that the unwritten natural law, this tester of our deeds; when he rebuked, admonished, led people and finally gave himself up as a sacrifice of atonement for the life of the world; when he gave us apostles, evangelists, teachers, shepherds, healing, miracles, restoration to life, destruction of death, a sign of victory over him who conquered us, a covenant of truth, various gifts of the Holy Spirit and the sacrament of a new salvation. If you can provide your neighbor with the highest benefits that benefit the soul, do not refuse to serve someone in need; If you cannot serve your neighbor with this, deny him at least lesser benefits that take second place and do not exceed your strength. Help him, bring food, give him rags, bring medicine, bandage his wounds, ask about his plight, talk about patience. Almsgiving is a loan to God. “When giving alms, let us look not at the poor,” says St. Chrysostom, who accepts, but at God. Who repays, not on the one who receives the silver, but on the One who becomes our debtor. For this purpose, one accepts, and the other pays, so that, on the one hand, the poverty and misfortune of the receiver will dispose you to mercy and compassion, and on the other, the wealth of the One who has to give, guaranteeing payment with a great increase, will dispose you to give alms with greater generosity. Let us not save money, or better yet, let us save money; for whoever takes care of his property puts it in the hands of the poor, in an inviolable treasury, inaccessible neither to robbers, nor to servants, nor to criminals (1 conversation on the words: “having the same spirit”). Almsgiving is the queen of virtues. “If according to the teachings of Ap. Paul and Jesus Christ Himself, says Gregory the Theologian, the first and most important commandment is to receive love, as the essence of the law and the prophets; then the most excellent part of it should be, as I find, love for the poor, pity and compassion for those who are of the same kind with us, for no service is so pleasing to God, to whom mercy and truth come and to whom mercy should be given as a gift, and the righteous Rewarder, who has put mercy on the scales and measures, never rewards His love for mankind so much as for love of mankind” (3 conversation about repentance). “Mercy is the queen of virtues,” says St. Chrysostom, which very quickly leads one to heaven.” (“Conversation about the Prophet Elijah”). “Great and excellent is the power of mercy; This virtue has great boldness before God: like some queen of our life, so she usually passes through the vaults of heaven with great courage, and those powers to whom the gates of heaven are entrusted, seeing the alms entering, with great honor open those gates for her sake and other virtues; and if they see them walking without alms, they close the gates against them. This is clear from the parable of the ten virgins, 5 of whom were not allowed into the sacred chamber because they did not have constant oil in their lamps. (A word about love for the poor). Almsgiving brings great benefits to those who give: a) “Alms are a great beauty and a treasure, says St. Chrysostom, a great gift or better, a great blessing: if we learn to despise money, then we will learn other virtues. Look how much good comes from this: he who gives alms, as he should give, learns to despise money, has plucked out the root of evil - the love of money; Therefore, he does good not so much to others as to himself - not only because he will offer rewards and rewards to alms, but also because his soul becomes wise, lofty and rich. The giver of alms learns not to value either money or gold; and having become accustomed to this, he took a very great step towards heaven and destroyed countless pretexts for enmity, quarrel, envy and sadness, for you yourself know that all this, for the most part, comes from money and that there are countless fights because of money. And whoever has learned to despise money has placed himself in a quiet refuge, and is no longer afraid of deprivation, for alms taught him this. He no longer desires what belongs to his neighbor; for how can he who cedes his own and gives away desires this? He no longer envies the rich; for how can one who desires to be poor envy? He cleanses the eye of his soul.” (Conversation on the Epistle to Philemon). “God commanded to give money to those in need not only to help them in poverty, but also to teach us compassion.” (19th conversation on the last Romans). “He who has learned to be merciful to the unfortunate will learn not to bear grudges against his enemies.” (14th conversation on Acts). b) “Whoever cares about the well-being of others will not offend anyone, will begin to feel pain for everyone, will help everyone according to his strength, will not take anything from anyone, will not covet or bear false witness; will abstain from all vice, will preserve all virtue, pray for enemies, do good to those who slander, will not quarrel with anyone, will not slander anyone, even if he himself has heard countless blasphemies.” (77th conversation on Ev.Matt.). c) “Whoever constantly gives to the poor will easily give up in anger and will never think highly of himself. Like a doctor who constantly takes care of the wounded, he is easily humbled by peering into human nature during accidents with others; Likewise, if we decide to help the poor, we will conveniently learn to philosophize, we will not marvel at wealth and we will not consider the present something great. (81 conversations on Ev. John. God.). d) Almsgiving brings not only the kingdom of heaven, but also security and abundance in real life. Who said this? He Himself has the power to do this. He who gives from his wealth to the poor, He said, will receive a hundredfold in this age and will inherit an eternal life. You see, rewards are given with great abundance in both lives.” (2 conversation on the word: “having the same spirit”). e) “Beggars are warriors. By accepting alms, they appease God; they destroy the machinations not of barbarians, but of demons; They do not allow the evil spirit to grow stronger and make constant attacks on you, but they weaken its power.” (66 conversation on St. Matthew). “Those are prudent,” says Gregory the Theologian,” who, not believing in present blessings, accumulate treasures for themselves in the future, and, seeing the inconstancy and changeability of human well-being, love charity, which they never betray. For this, without a doubt, they will receive at least one of three rewards: either that they are never exposed to disasters, because God often consoles the pious with earthly blessings, calling them with his goodness to compassion; or the fact that even in the midst of disasters they have boldness towards God, for they suffer not for a vicious life, but according to a special arrangement of Providence; or, finally, that they can rightfully demand from prosperous people the same compassion that they themselves showed to those in need during their happiness.” (Lyric about love for the poor). f) Alms cover a multitude of sins and gain us the kingdom of heaven. “The poor,” says St. John Chrysostom, are the doctors of our souls, benefactors and intercessors, because you do not give them as much as you receive; you give silver, and you receive the kingdom of heaven; you alleviate poverty and reconcile yourself to the Lord.” (3 conversation on the word: having the same spirit). You give silver and receive remission of sins; you deliver the poor from hunger, and he delivers you from the wrath of God. (This is some kind of barter and trade, bringing profit much more than expenses and significant benefit). The expense consists only in money, but also in the remission of sins, in boldness before God, in the kingdom of heaven and in the enjoyment of blessings, but the eye does not see and the ear does not hear and does not rise in the heart of a person (1 conversation on the word “having the same spirit”). “There is no sin that almsgiving could not destroy; all sins are beneath her; it is a medicine suitable for any wound. What's worse than a publican! He is capable of all kinds of wickedness (Luke 19:7 “To a sinful man is present”), but Zacchaeus cleansed this wickedness with alms (25th conversation on Acts). “It is not so that a doctor, stretching out his hand and applying iron, cleanses rotten wounds, just as a beggar, stretching out his hand and receiving alms, erases the sinful scabs of ulcers; and what is especially surprising is that he performs his excellent healing without pain or suffering.” (30th conversation on the 1st last in Cor.). “Great is the flight of alms: it rises above the rays of the sun, reaching to the very heavens. But it doesn’t stop there either; on the contrary, the sky also passes, flows around the hosts of angels, and the faces of the archangels and the highest powers, and appears before the royal throne itself. Learn this from the scripture itself, which says: Cornelius, your prayers and your alms ascend before God. And the words before God mean this: although you have many sins, as alms is a protector, do not be afraid; none of the higher powers stops her: she demands duty, holds her own handwriting in her hands. This is the voice of the Lord Himself, who created, He says, one of the least of these, he did it for Me. Thus, no matter how many sins you have, your charity exceeds everything.” (3 conversation about repentance). 6. Inducement to mercy: a) Pointing to the same nature of us both in the poor and by this mutual affinity of yours, encouraging us to mercy, St. Gregory the Theologian says: “They received the same nature as us; The clay is made of the same thing that we are made of; or better: if we must mention the most important thing - they, just like us, are gifted with the image of God and preserve it, perhaps better than us, although they have decayed in body - they are clothed with Christ alone, according to the inner man; they have accepted the same pledge of the Spirit for preservation, they participate in the same laws, the words of God, covenants, meetings, sacraments, and hopes; Christ died for them equally, taking upon himself the sins of the whole world. They are the heirs of heavenly life, although they are very much alienated from earthly life; they are buried in Christ and rise with Him; they suffer with Him, that they may also be glorified with Him. And so do not despise your brother. (From the word about love for the poor). b) St. Clement of Alexandria teaches: note, he says to the rich, the Lord does not order you to bring the poor to the point where they look for you and beg alms from you; no, you yourself are looking for whom among them to benefit - these most worthy disciples of the Savior: God loves a willing giver... And what a high reward for this! - The kingdom of heaven... Hurry, rich man, if you have the mind, to take advantage of this heavenly benefit; sail for this sea, flow around the entire universe, do not be afraid of labor or danger, while life is still in your hands, purchase the blessings of the kingdom of heaven. Why are you chasing precious stones so zealously? Why are you building extra houses and chambers that may soon be destroyed by fire or crushed by time, or someone will take away from you? Turn your thoughts to the palaces of heaven, where they reign with God. They will be delivered to you by a poor man whom you will accept in the name of God. Share earthly treasures with him: he will share heavenly treasures with you. Beg him to accept your alms; insist, don’t back down, but be careful that you don’t leave empty-handed. There is no commandment for him to accept alms without fail, but you are commanded. (Op. Cl. of Alexandria “On which rich man will be saved”). St. John Chrysostom praises alms even more instructively and encourages him to do it. Almsgiving, he says, is the queen of virtues, which quickly elevates people to heaven and becomes their wonderful intercessor. Almsgiving is a great thing: that’s why Solomon said: great is a man, but another is a man who shows mercy...Your Lord is merciful. You don’t have half a half...Give a cup of cold water...Give bread and take heaven: give small, take great...give mortal, take immortal... “Alms are the ransom of the soul.” 7. Almsgiving is measured not by quantity, not by size, but by love. St. John Chrysostom speaks highly instructively, regarding the sacrifice of the gospel widow, that alms are measured not by quantity, not by size, but by the love that accompanies it. “It is not for money,” says this great father of the church, that heavenly goods are sold; They do not buy them with money, but through the will of the one giving the money, through wisdom, through elevating oneself above worldly things through love of humanity, through almsgiving... Why? Because when you gave less from a lot, although you gave alms, it was not the same as the widow did, for you did not give with the same zeal with which she did; she deprived herself of everything: “For they all put in (says the Savior) out of their abundance; and out of poverty she put in everything she had, all her food.” (Mark 12:44) or better yet, she did not deprive herself of everything, but gave herself everything.” God promised the kingdom not for talents of gold, but for a cup of cold water, for diligence. (15th conversation on the last to Philip.). 8. Alms were introduced more for those who give than for those who receive. Alms were introduced not for those who receive, but for those who give, says St. Chrysostom, for the latter gains great benefit. (15th conversation on the last to Philip.). We all need each other; the poor in the rich, the rich in the poor, the poor in the giver, the giver in the receiver; for he who receives alms satisfies the greatest need, and the highest of all other needs. If there were no beggars, then much would be lost for our salvation, because we would have no one to sell our property to. “Therefore, the beggar, who is apparently the most useless of all, turns out to be the most useful of all.” (17th conversation on the 2nd last to Cor.). Benefits bring benefit and benefit not so much to those who receive as to those who give, for they give them boldness before God. (6th conversation on the last to Titus). God commanded to give alms not only so that the poor would be satisfied, but so that those who give would also receive benefits. Couldn't God have commanded the earth to produce pure gold? Whoever said: “Let the earth sprout the old grass,” and immediately presented this past in all its glory, He could have commanded that springs and rivers flow everywhere with gold, but He did not want this, but left many to live in poverty, both for their benefit and for yours. (Conversation about alms). 9. Alms alone, without our desire to correct ourselves, do not give the kingdom of heaven. “Let not those who imagine themselves hating their sins by giving alms from the fruits of the earth or generously squandering money on the poor should not deceive themselves; remaining in other ways themselves in everlasting iniquities and in every abomination of wickedness,” says Blessed Augustine. 10. Alms should be given to everyone who asks; Christ says: give to the one who asks you: this means that we must help and do good to everyone, without making any distinction about persons, status, origin, or religion. St. Gregory the Theologian says: “We must open the womb of mercy to all the poor, and to those who suffer for whatever reason - we must, as a person, bring tribute to charity to people. Whatever their need may force them to seek help: widowhood or orphanhood, or exile from the fatherland, or the cruelty of rulers, or the insolence of those in power, or the inhumanity of tax collectors, or the greed of enemies, or an inventory of property, or shipwreck, for they all have the same right to regret. They also look at our hands, as we look at the hands of God, when we ask for something, and it is much better to extend our hand to the unworthy, rather than for fear of meeting the unworthy and depriving the worthy of a good deed. Rev. Isaac the Syrian talks about it this way: “If someone, sitting on a horse, stretches out his hand to you for alms, do not refuse him: because at this time he is, without a doubt, poor, like one of the beggars.” Do not separate the rich from the poor, the worthy from the unworthy; let all people be equal to you for good deeds, for in this way you can attract the unworthy to good. And the Lord shared meals with tax collectors and harlots, and did not separate those unworthy from Himself... Equalize all people with beneficence and honor, whether someone is a Jew, or an infidel, or a murderer, especially since he is your brother, of the same nature as you. St. Chrysostom says: “The merciful is a pier for those in need, and the pier receives into itself all those who have suffered shipwreck: whether they are evil or good. Therefore, you, seeing that a person has been subjected to the collapse of poverty, do not reason, do not demand an account, but stop the disaster. Another is a judge, and another is a giver of alms. Almsgiving is called almsgiving because it is given to the unworthy. All the dignity of a beggar is his need. (About Laz. Conversation 2). If we, says Chrysostom, see someone in misfortune, we will give him a helping hand. But what can you say if he is wicked and wicked? Listen to what Christ says: Judge not, lest ye be judged. Do it for God! But what am I saying? Even if we saw a pagan in misfortune and we need to show him kindness, and in general to every person who is in unfortunate circumstances, especially a believer. Listen to what Paul commands: “Let us do what is good to everyone, especially to those who are of the faith. True almsgiving happens when it is shown to sinners or the guilty: mercy consists in the fact that it has mercy not on those who are good, but on those who have sinned.” (10th conversation on Hebrews). Imagine, says St. John Chrysostom in another place, how many blasphemous, wicked, deceivers, full of all wickedness, live in the world: but God feeds them too every day, teaching us to extend charity to everyone. (2nd conversation on the word “having the same spirit”). There is mercy, says St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, when good is done to the unworthy, i.e. to those who in no way deserved it from us: otherwise there will be no mercy, but reward. (2 volumes on mercy).