Поучение 86 98 . На Воздвижение Креста. О том, что мы не должны предаваться страстям бесчестия и считать сладострастие истинною сладостию.

Brothers and Fathers! We are in great joy when the Master's Feast comes, and quite rightly so; for we are then enlightened by reflecting and considering its mystery, as now in the Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross. Immeasurably joyful and incomparable is its mystery; for the tree “where the nose stood” (Ps. 131:7) of our Lord Jesus Christ, on which He was crucified and shed His life-giving blood, we were not only privileged to see, but also to kiss. How much does another labor to acquire perishing gold? And we received the gift in one hour, for together we kissed the cross and acquired enlightenment, illumination and remission of our sins. Grace is so close! And whoever comes with faith receives the gift without difficulty. However, we must pray in order to preserve this grace for us inalienably 99; for we soon again lose what is given to us without merit. But we, brothers, will guard the gift with great care; Let us not defile our consecrated lips with lying, profane and idle words; Let us not darken our enlightened eyes with prodigal glances, let us not defile our enlightened heart with sinful thoughts, and “let not sin,” as the Apostle says, “reign in your dead body, so as not to listen to it in its lusts; Below, imagine your hooks as weapons of unrighteousness to sin: but imagine the Gods as... dead to the body, living to God, and your hooks as weapons of God’s righteousness. Let sin not possess you: for you are not under the law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:12–14). You see that in the time of law, sin prevailed, but the grace of the Gospel, which reigns in righteousness, delivers us from all sin, as the Divine Scripture speaks about this. For we were “baptized, and sanctified, and justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11). I beg you, brethren, let us reverence the gift of cleansing and preserve the sacred. Why do we, having received honor and glory from Christ the Savior, cast ourselves into dishonor? Why do we calm the body and take a lot of care of it, especially if it is healthy, when we should leave it in the grave? Why do we consider voluptuousness sweet, which truly is sorrow and mortal illness? For voluptuousness is the bait of the devil; voluptuousness is the burning of an unquenchable fire, and yet we all, like captive slaves, strive for this flame in order to burn in it. I heard one, enslaved by carnal passion, say that it was better for him if he were hanged and given over to a cruel death than for him to give up sin. Lust is like an evil ruler who commands his servant and says: go, and he goes, come, and he comes; do it, and it does. In this way, and even worse, sin does to those who are enslaved by it, for it commands him and says: say a bad word, and says; do evil and does. Such a one is like Cain, “groaning and shaking” (Gen. 4, 12); if he swims on the sea, he is afraid not to drown; if he passes through a deserted place, he imagines in his mind that robbers are chasing him; if the sky thunders, he thinks that the thunder is for his sake; lightning flashes, he is afraid that it will burn him; He neither sees nor hears when he hears, for sin has corrupted his feelings. What is worse and more sorrowful than such a life? It seems to me that it would be better for that person to be given over to wild beasts than to destructive passions; for beasts eat the body, and passions destroy both body and soul. But a virtuous person is not like one who is free from sin, and not only from voluptuousness, but also from any other passion. He only rejoices and has fun, reigns for the sake of righteousness and is not afraid, whether he is on earth or on the sea, for he has God with him, to whom he calls in times of sorrow, saying: “I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Ps. 22:4); “I will not be afraid of those people around who attack me” (Ps. 3:7); “I will not be afraid; the earth is always troubled, and the mountains are cut into the hearts of the sea” (Ps. 45:3). Do you see a good and holy life? This is a blissful life. Let us hold fast to it by the grace of God. Let us abide in this, and strive to acquire it, fearing everything for reverence, let us have obedience in everything, acquire for ourselves all purity, mental and physical, and let us have death approaching before our eyes. Just recently our spiritual Holy Father Peter, His Holiness Metropolitan of Nicea, whose blessed death was, left us; he died in exile. O that we may be worthy to inherit with him the kingdom of heaven, O Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom belong glory and power with the Father and the Holy. Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. See Patrolology, vol. 99, p. 543. Corrected according to the Latin translation. You might be interested in: