Отделение четвертое

Divine humanity of the Savior We confess the same One as perfect God and perfect Man. He is God - the Word who became flesh. For if He was not flesh, then why was Mary brought into the environment? And if He is not God, then whom does Gabriel call Lord (see: Luke 1:28)? If He was not flesh, who reclined in the manger? And if He is not God, whom did the Angels who descended from heaven glorify? If He was not flesh, who was wrapped in swaddling clothes? And if He is not God, in honor of whom did the star go? If He was not flesh, whom did Simeon carry in his arms? And if He is not God, to whom did He say: “Now you are releasing Your servant, O Master”? If He was not flesh, whom did Joseph take and flee to Egypt? And if He is not God, on whom was what was said fulfilled: He called My Son out of Egypt (Hos. 11:1)? If He was not flesh, whom did John baptize? And if He is not God, to whom did the Father say: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17)? If He was not flesh, who hungered in the wilderness? And if He is not God, whom did the Angels come to serve? If He was not flesh, who was invited to the marriage in Cana of Galilee? And if He is not God, who turned water into wine? If He was not flesh, who took the loaves of bread in the wilderness? And if He is not God, who fed five thousand men with five loaves and two fishes, besides their wives and children? If He was not flesh, who slept in the ship? And if He is not God, who rebuked the waves and the sea? If He was not flesh, with whom did Simon the Pharisee eat? And if He is not God, who forgave the sinner’s sins? If He was not flesh, then who wore human clothes? And if He is not God, then who healed the bleeding woman by touching her clothes? If He was not flesh, then who spat on the ground and created clay? And if He is not God, who through the clay gave sight to the eyes? If He was not flesh, who wept at the tomb of Lazarus? And if He is not God, who commanded the four-day-old dead to come out of the tomb? If He was not flesh, whom did the Jews take in the garden? And if He is not God, who with the word: It was I (John 18:5) who cast them to the ground? If He was not flesh, who stood before Pilate? And if He is not God, who frightened Pilate’s wife in a dream? If He was not flesh, from whom did the soldiers share the stripped clothes? And if He is not God, why did the sun go dark with His crucifixion? If He was not flesh, who was crucified on the Cross? And if He was not God, who shook the earth in its foundations? If He was not flesh, whose hands and feet were nailed to the Cross? And if He is not God, why was the church veil torn, stones scattered, coffins opened? If He was not flesh, who hung on the Cross among the thieves? And if He is not God, who said to the thief: Today you will be with Me in Paradise (Luke 23:43)? If He was not flesh, who cried out and gave up the ghost? And if He is not God, from whose voice many bodies of fallen saints were resurrected (Matthew 27:52)? If He was not flesh, whom did the women see laid in the tomb? And if He is not God, of whom did the Angels tell them: He is not here: He has risen (Matthew 28:6)? If He was not flesh, from whom did Thomas feel the marks of the nails? And if He is not God, who came up when the doors were locked (John 20:26)? If He was not flesh, who ate on the Sea of ​​Tiberias? And if He is not God, by whose command were the deeps filled? If He was not flesh, whom did the apostles see landing in heaven? And if He is not God, who ascended... with the exclamations (Ps. 4:6) of the holy Angels and to whom did the Father speak: Sit at my right hand (Ps. 109:1)? If He is not God and Man, then, finally, our salvation is false, and the broadcasts of the prophets are false. About the gift of tears and driving away the enemy Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, our Savior! Grant to me, Thy servant, contrition and enlightenment of the heart, so that, having enlightened my heart, with sweetness shed tears for me in pure prayer and You, with my few tears, blot out the handwriting of my sins and for the sake of a little crying, extinguish the fire that flared up in me. For if you allow me, O Lord, to cry here, then you will free me there from the unquenchable fire. Although I know, long-suffering and philanthropic Lord, that every day and hour I immensely grieve and anger You, the kindness of Your long-suffering will overcome my anger and bitterness. Hey, gracious Lord, God of mercy and bounty! Save me from the nasty and terrible enemy, who every hour surrounds and oppresses my soul with evil and nasty thoughts. Thy ineffable power, O Christ, which forbade the waves of the sea, let him rebuke him, let him be rendered inactive, and let him be driven far away from me, Thy servant. Every day he renews his intrigues against me and hastens to take over my weakened mind and remove me from You and from Your divine commandments. But, Master, most merciful Lord, quickly send Your power from me, Your indecent servant, drive away this great serpent with all his evil and shameful thoughts, so that I may purely sing and glorify You with Your Beginning Father and Your All-Holy, Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Get rid of negligence and laziness! The sinless Lamb of God, who, by His free will, endured the Cross in the flesh, was slain for the salvation of us sinners and tasted death with incorruptible flesh in order to save our fallen nature, the Wisdom and Power of God the Father, the Radiance of His glory, the incomprehensible Jesus, the unexplored Christ, the only Merciful and Humane-loving One, pour out Your greatness upon me, a sinner. By Your mercy and grace, drive away from me all negligence, laziness and impatience, so that at Your Second Coming I too may not hear Your terrible reproof: “What have you suffered for My sake?” On that terrible and terrible day, O Lord, You will say to us sinners: “You all know very well what I suffered for your sake. I, God, took flesh for your sake; I, the Invisible One, visibly lived on earth for your sake, for your sake I hungered, thirsted, toiled, for your sake I was persecuted, stoned; I, the Innocent One, was buffeted and spat upon for your sake; I, the Sinless One, for your sake suffered a shameful death, for your sake I was pierced in the ribs with a spear, I was given alcohol mixed with bile to drink. I suffered all this for your sake, in order to make you holy and heavenly; He gave you the Kingdom of Heaven, called you all brothers, and sent down the Holy Spirit to you. What have you endured for My sake, O people?” What can I say to this, accursed, evil, sinful and nasty? The martyrs will point to their wounds, to their torment, to the cutting off of their limbs, and to their patience to the end. The ascetics will point to their asceticism, to long fasting, to vigils, to non-covetousness, to tears and all other sufferings. And I, lazy and sinful, what can I point to other than the shameful fruits of gluttony, lust, oversleeping, covetousness, impatience, vanity, negligence? If you demand from me, Lord, an account of the time that was given to me for repentance, but which I spent in negligence, then what excuse will I give? And if you also subject me to interrogation for idle words, for crafty thoughts and wishes, then what fear, what confusion will then overcome me, poor one, and what torment will follow? Have mercy, Lord! Have mercy, Compassionate One! Have mercy, Humane One! Have mercy, the only Good One! Have mercy and have mercy on me according to Your sole goodness. Strengthen my soul, corrupted by my laziness and negligence, You who raise up the downtrodden and heal the broken! You know the negligence of my repentance, you know how many crafty evil thoughts are fighting against me, you see the enemy’s many-witted malice against me. Intercede with me according to Your great mercy, sober me up, awaken me, revive me and save me through the grace of Your prayers for the sake of our Most Pure Lady Theotokos and all the saints. All hope is Christ. Call upon Him You, Lord of all, in Your mercy, be for me a haven of salvation, a refuge of help, and save me. I beg Your goodness, my Savior, from now on pour out Your bounties on me and place me there far from the tormented. Christ, who deigned to become a sacrifice for us, put to death the sin that afflicts all my members, descend and dwell in my members. As soon as the evil one learns about this, his teeth will be broken and the fire of Gehenna will be extinguished by Your brilliance. The evil Satan vomited his poison on me, corrupted me and brought me down with sin. But since I follow Your path, and You are omnipotent, my weakness nourishes the hope that You, despising it, will help me by forgiving my sins and my molester will be put to shame. The princes of evil blinded me with their passions and stole from me the beauty of my youth with their cunning. What should I do, having lost my purity? I cry out to Christ so that He will return my beauty to me, and then the evil ones will be put to shame. My Savior calls to me, His disciple: “Do not despair of your salvation, I restore you and forgive you your sins! You are my gain, and I will not leave you, because I have redeemed you with My own blood.” Cry out, O sinner, with all your might and do not spare your throat, for your Lord is merciful and loves those who repent. As soon as you return, your Father will precede you with His meeting, kill the fat calf, clothe you in a bright robe and rejoice over you. Don't lose heart: there is hope - Christ Don’t lose heart, soul, don’t grieve, don’t pronounce decisive judgment on yourself for your many sins, don’t attract fire on yourself, don’t say: “The Lord has cast me away from His presence.” God does not like such words. Can't he who has fallen rise again? Can't he who turns away be converted? Or don’t you hear what the Father’s grace is to the prodigal? Do not be ashamed to turn, but say with boldness: I will arise and go to my Father (Luke 15:18)! Get up and go. He will accept you and not reproach you, and even more, he will rejoice at your return. He is waiting for you, just don’t be ashamed and don’t hide from the face of God like Adam. For your sake, Christ was crucified - and will he reject you? He knows who oppresses us, He knows that we have no other helper but Him alone. Christ knows that man is poor. Do not indulge in hopelessness and negligence, as if you were destined for fire. It is no consolation for Christ to cast us into fire, nor is it gain for Him to send us into the abyss to suffer. Imitate the prodigal son: leave the starving city. Come and beg - and you will see the glory of God. Your face will be illuminated, and you will rejoice in the paradise of sweetness. Glory to the Lord, Lover of Mankind, who saves us! Do you want a right life? Practice humility, because without it a right life is impossible. Do all your deeds in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, and through this your fruit will ascend to heaven. The beginning of a retreat in a person is his removal from humility. Those abandoned by God are oppressed by an evil spirit, like Saul. The enemy's nets are smeared with honey; he who is carried away by the sweetness of honey becomes entangled in a net and is filled with all sorts of bitterness. Love humility, and you will never fall into the devil’s snare, because, soaring on his swift wings, you will always be above the enemy’s snares. Pride is like a very tall rotten tree, all its branches are broken, and if anyone climbs on it, it will immediately fall from above. Blessed is he who is fattened with good hopes and illuminated with good thoughts: his glory is great and endless. Let us strive for sober attention, so that, seeing our sins, we constantly humble ourselves and not cultivate in ourselves, like a serpent, thoughts of conceit or wickedness. Let us love sobriety in order to have a pure heart and to preserve the church entrusted to us undefiled from sinful corruption. Prayer with sighs and tears is beautiful, especially if we shed tears in secret. He who prays with his mind with faith sees the Lord before him, for in Him we live, move and abide. If your heart has hardened, cry before the Lord, so that He may shower you with the illumination of knowledge and allow you to ascend to Him with the fervor of your heart. You might be interested in: