Слово 72

(1) About renunciation of the world and cutting off one’s will. – (2) That everyone needs to find an experienced leader in order to learn virtue from him. – (3) That one must have faith in the spiritual father. – (4) About the vision of light, by which every soul is enlightened and prospers in the love of God. 1. My beloved brethren! Many times you expressed a desire to hear the word of God from me, the last and worst, but I did not have time, and I did not want to speak to your love about what was due and necessary, as if in passing. Now is the time favorable - and I begin a conversation with you with love, not, however, to teach you, because I am not worthy of this, but only to remind you of what is useful for your soul, what stimulates you to withdraw from the world, to conquer the passions, to the love of God and to complete dispassion. Since I have to talk to people who desire and thirst for their salvation, I thought that it would be most fitting to begin my word with the words of the very Source of all wisdom, our Lord Jesus Christ, who for beginners is the solid and known foundation of faith, and for the average - hope that does not shame, and for the perfect - insatiable and inexhaustible love. Every day we hear His holy voice, saying: whoever does not leave father, and mother, and brothers, and all his possessions, and does not take up his cross and come after Me, is worthy of Me (Matthew 10:37; Luke 14:26). Thus, Scripture teaches us and experience confirms that the cross follows the deeds of selflessness and virtue, meaning by it sorrows, temptations and, finally, the most arbitrary death, which must be endured by those who wish to be a follower of Christ. In those times when tyrants ruled and persecuted Christians, many joyfully endured death with such suffering and such varied torments. But now, when, by the grace of God, Christians enjoy perfect peace, the cross and death are nothing more than the complete mortification and cutting off of their will. And it is impossible for anyone who does his own will, even if it is in small things, to follow our Lord and keep His commandments. Why, wanting to tell you, as if to one brother, a saving word, I begin like this: 2. Brother! Often and with all diligence, pray to God to show you a person who can guide you well, and whom God will show you, whether secretly by the action of His grace, or openly through some of His servants, go to him and have reverence before him, looking at him as at Christ Himself. For just as you have a duty to obey God, so you must obey him in order to learn what is right. And see that whatever he tells you, do it without hesitation, even if what he orders you does not seem entirely appropriate and useful. It is better for you to be and be called a student of a student, than to spend your life in an original way and collect the useless fruits of your will. 3. So, when you hear from him: get out of the land of your desire and from the generation of your wisdom, do not hesitate and do not be ashamed to follow this, being overcome by vanity. If he says to you: go to the land of obedience, which I will show you, go there, my brother, with all your might, without letting your eyes sleep, and do not allow yourself to be overcome by laziness and negligence. For perhaps God will appear to you there and make you the father of many spiritual children and give you the land of promise, which only the righteous will inherit. If he commands you to ascend the mountain of prayer, ascend with readiness. I am sure that there you will see Christ transformed and shining with the light of His Divinity more than the sun. And you, perhaps, will fall on your face, unable to bear to look at what you have never seen, you will hear the voice of the Father from above, you will see the overshadowing cloud and the prophets standing by and proclaiming that He is God and Lord of the living and the dead. If he tells you to follow him, walk with him around the cities with boldness, and you will receive much benefit if you look only at him and nothing else. If you see that he will eat with fornicators, tax collectors and sinners, do not think that there is anything passionate and human here, but think that everything is dispassionate in this, and sacredly remember the apostolic word: I have become all things to all, that I may save some (1 Cor. 9:22). Seeing even with your own eyes how he seems to condescend to human passions, do not believe it at all, because they (your own eyes) are deceived, as I myself experienced, but follow him and believe his words without doubting your thoughts. Do not look at those who are with you, and do not undertake to say for anyone: Lord, what is this? But always pay attention to yourself, having death before your eyes and carefully looking to what virtue you can glorify the Lord with. Do not be proud of your teacher when they honor you too much for him, even if there were many who were ready to obey you for the sake of his name, but rejoice most of all if your name is written in the sky of humility. If you see that demons tremble even in your shadow, do not think that this is due to your virtue, but attribute it to the prayers of your father, and then the demons will fear you even more for the sake of your humility. If your father orders you to sit down to a meal with him, accept it with gratitude, but maintain reverent respect and respect for him with silence; do not allow yourself to start eating anything without his blessing; Do not dare to give anything to someone else without his permission and orders. Even if he orders you to sit below everyone else, be careful not to think of telling him that I want to sit at your right hand or left, confidently believing that these places are prepared for others, and accept the last part, believing that in this way the first is acquired, for do you hear what Christ says, that whoever wants to be first, let him be the last of all? (Matthew 20:27). And love your teacher even more because he gives you a way, through small and insignificant things, to acquire greater and more important things. Also, do not stretch out your hand with him into the cup first of all, for you know well who once dared to do this (Judas). If he wants to wash your feet, be ashamed of him as your Lord and teacher, and do not allow this. But when you hear from him: “You have no part with me unless I wash your feet,” let him quickly wash even your whole body, so that you will know from what is being done for you the great height of god-created humility. And then, if you have conscience and sense, you will receive greater benefit than if you yourself washed the feet of your spiritual father. If he says: one of you will betray me, or confuse me, be careful not to hide your guile, but if you know something like that behind you, confess it. But if you don’t know anything, fall at his feet with tears and ask: is it not me, my father? Because we sin a lot out of ignorance and do not know it. I don’t tell you: fall down on your father’s breasts, because it is not good for you. Although John, out of his great love for Christ, having greater boldness towards Him, fell to His breasts, he, along with others, received the command to call himself a most indecent servant when he fulfilled all the commandments. If you see that your teacher works miracles and is glorified for it, believe it and rejoice, and thank God that you received such a teacher. Again, when you see that he is being dishonored, and sometimes even being struck by those who are envious of him, do not be tempted by this, but do not even raise a knife so that, like fiery Peter, you will cut off the ear of someone who dares to blaspheme your father or strike him. It is enough for you not to diminish your faith and love for him and, if you can, to say a firm word in his justification. If, being afraid like a man, you say at the same time: we don’t know this man, then recognize your guilt and cry bitterly about it, and I’m sure that he will be the first to draw you to himself again. If you see that he suffers passion from evil people and accepts crucifixion like a villain, then, if you can, die with him; if you cannot die with him, do not at least be united with those evil people as a traitor, and do not take part with them in the shedding of innocent blood, but, although as a cowardly slave, having deviated a little and leaving only your shepherd and teacher, keep your faith in him. If he is freed from his bonds, go to him again and have even greater reverence for him, as you already had for the martyr. If he dies in temptations and torment, go out boldly, find his body and find it almost better than when it was alive, anointing it with myrrh and burying it with great honor. For although it will not rise on the third day, in every way, it will nevertheless rise on the last day along with everyone else. And believe that he will stand before God with boldness, and if you diligently seek his intercession, he will help you in this life, delivering you from everything that is contrary, and when you die, he will receive you there and prepare for you an eternal abode. 4. If, after everything we have said, he calls you especially and says: be silent and sit here, without going outside at all, until you have been endued with power from above, listen to him with firm hope and great joy. Such a teacher, my brother, is false and true. Truly, the power of the All-Holy Spirit will descend on you, as it then descended on the Apostles, not in a fiery sensual vision, not with great noise and stormy breathing (for then on the Apostles it was for the unbelievers), but it will appear in you mentally, like an intelligent light, with all calmness and joy; which light is the forerunner of the eternal light, the radiance and ray of eternal bliss. And immediately every passionate thought will disappear, every spiritual passion will be driven out, and every bodily infirmity will be healed. Then the eyes of your heart will open and they will see what is written in the beatitudes. Then, as in a mirror, your soul will see your smallest sins and come into the greatest humility; contemplating the boundless glory of God, he will be filled with indescribable joy and all kinds of joy and, immersed in this indescribable wonder, will bring forth sources of tears. Thus the whole person changes and comes to know God, having himself first been known by God. This single grace of the All-Holy Spirit makes a person despise everything earthly and heavenly, present and future, sorrowful and joyful, and makes him a friend of God, a son of the Most High, a god by grace. I wrote this to your love, so that you can read it whenever you want, and if you believe that this is providential and for your benefit, the Holy Spirit proclaims it through me, the humble one, then everything that we have said will come true for you, and many other things that we have omitted. Christ Himself will directly teach you all this. If all this seems incredible to you and you don’t like it, forgive me. I advise you what I learned from my fathers; You should follow those whom you know are better than me. Pay attention, however, brother! It would not happen to you to follow the worst, although this is not what you want. Because intelligent souls who know how to shepherd and heal well are truly very rare, and especially at the present time. There were many who pretended to fast, keep vigils, and devote themselves to prayer, but this was nothing but hypocrisy; There are many who really do this: they show outward reverence, speak long sermons orally (without books or notebooks) and always easily offer teachings to the public assembly, but there are very few who would eradicate passions with tears and tears and acquire the basic virtues. We call the main virtues: humility, which destroys passions and implants heavenly and angelic dispassion; love, which never stands (on one) or falls, but constantly multiplies and grows, applying striving to striving and zeal to zeal; and perfect reasoning, which kindly guides those who follow it and safely guides them across the mental sea. You should also seek this reasoning from God and beg Him to grant it to you, and especially now, so that you can correctly determine your condition and take upon yourself the deeds corresponding to it, so that you may find Christ, who would help you even now, and subsequently richly pour out the fullness of His radiance on you. This reasoning will save you from the danger of following a wolf instead of a shepherd, or joining a flock that is sick with some kind of mental illness and passion, or settling alone in solitude ahead of time, so as not to fall into the teeth of the soul-destroying wolf - the devil and not be devoured by him, or not to fall sick with illness and passion for passion and not die mentally, or, having retired prematurely, not to fall and gain, alas, and woe, for woe to one when he falls. The one who finds a good teacher and completely surrenders himself to him will no longer have worries about anything like that, but will spend his life in complete care and will undoubtedly receive salvation in Christ Jesus the Lord, to whom be glory forever. Amen. You might be interested in: