Часть 7. В субботу седмицы первой Великого поста

On Saturday of the first week of Lent (in the communion of Holy Communion it is not the end, but the beginning of labors and exploits) Again tears and forgiveness! Again the return and embrace of the Father! Once again the Supper and Wedding Feast! Glory to Your long-suffering, O Lord! Glory to Your condescension, Master! Glory to Your bounty, Holy One! Behold, brethren, that which the Lord only promised in the parable has truly happened to us. The man-loving Heavenly Father came from His inner and most hidden chamber, from afar saw us returning to Him in contrition, and, coming, mercifully fell on our necks and kissed us, and, as a sign of perfect reconciliation, clothed us in the first robe of justification, gave us a sincere betrothal ring, nourished us with incorruptible food and rejoice. commanded all the angels and saints about us (Luke 15:20, 22–23). This is what we have been honored with, but have we worked hard? And was it ours that they worked hard? The Lord called us to fasting: this is a matter of His goodness. We heeded this calling: and this was not without His assistance. Then they labored in fasting: and this was with the help of His grace. Was it also ours that we conscientiously traced our life, discussed it in the light of God’s commandments, condemned and mourned everything that disagreed with them and, having cast the entire burden of sins at the feet of Christ the Savior, who invisibly accepted our Confession, made a firm intention not to defile ourselves with sins and not to anger the Lord with them? Only in this last decision did our will and power act together. And for this little thing - all the favors. For, in fact, by this decision an entrance was opened into the heart of Him, who was pushing into it. And behold, He entered and supped with us (Rev. 3:20), came and made an abode in us (John 14:23), according to His true word: “He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I am in him” (John 6:56). So little work and so much talent! But this all the more obliges us to take care to prove ourselves worthy of the gift. The prodigal son, for the sake of heartfelt repentance, was again accepted into the mercy of the Father and into the rights of sonship, no longer rushed more recklessly to unwind the property, the possession of which was again brought into his possession. The memory of past foolishness taught caution and attention. Let us imitate him and strive to keep ourselves in the Father’s house, in His will, in the labors of obedience and pleasing Him. Let us pay attention to ourselves and sacredly observe the word that we so often repeated before Him: “I have sinned, I will not!” I’ve sinned, I won’t!” Let us not give ourselves any slack and let us not allow ourselves to slip again into something that has already been condemned by our conscience and mourned by a broken heart. Stretch your thoughts forward, do not promise yourself indulgences and indulgences, but apply labor to labor and feat to feat. Do not be like those who, having finished fasting, seem to throw off some involuntary bonds and again indulge in all the carelessness and all the freedom of a life inattentive to themselves. Do not see the end in the granting of Holy Communion, but the beginning of labors and exploits. So consider yourself that you are the same as a disordered machine, now only finally corrected. The time has come for the work, not the end of it. Set the intention to be correct in everything before the face of the Lord - and work on this, remembering everything that anyone promised Him in the hour of repentance, and forcing yourself to urgently fulfill it. Whoever promised a prayer - pray, whoever fasted - fast, whoever promised to do good - do good, and everyone who offered something good in his heart, do it without sparing yourself, so that you can always boldly and unabashedly turn the eyes of your mind to the Lord, “who searches hearts and wombs” (Rev. 2:23). We have accepted the Lord, but let us take care to retain Him within ourselves with all the strength of our being. Let us embrace Him with unceasing remembrance of Him, dedication to His glory in all our deeds and labors, sweet abiding in all the sacred rites with which He was pleased to clothe our lives. By doing this, we will give Him the opportunity to absorb into us part by part, force by force, so that, finally dissolving completely with us, making us one with Himself. Just as medicine, received by the body, first revitalizes the center of life, and from it then the whole body, healing it member by member, so the Lord, now accepted, gradually works in us until He fulfills everything in us, under one condition, however, that if any tension of strength in us is done only according to His will, to please Him. And it will come true for us that the Lord will be “all things in all” of us (Eph. 1:23), according to the promise He Himself gave: to “dwell” and “walk” in us (2 Cor. 6:16). He will walk in us, carried by us, holding us and moving us. Just as the pillar of cloud that was among the Israelites controlled all their movements (Num. 9:17) or as in the vision of the prophet Ezekiel the animals and wheels moved in the direction of the one sitting on them (Ezek. 1:12, 20), so the Lord will have everything in us, “both the will and the will” (Phil. 2, 13). Oh, grant, Lord! But this is a blissful land of promise, and until then - labors and sweats for the glory of the Lord, to which we condemn ourselves from now on, begging Him, who has given us His flesh to eat, to pass into our uds (bodily members), into all our joints (joints), into the womb, into the heart, to burn the thorns of sins everywhere in us and to cleanse, sanctify and fertilize everything in us, so that we may be “the dwelling of His One, and not who is the village of sin." May this be to all of us the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever! Amen. On Saturday of the first week of Lent (about the spiritual pleasure of being with the Lord in prayer) Now you have been honored with the Lord's Table and through Holy Communion you have received the Lord into yourself. What great mercy of God! And now there would be no place for words, but I cannot resist inviting you to confess this great mercy and use it properly. Our soul is a thirsty creature, and the Lord is all-satisfaction. Having come into you, He brought you complete contentment. Behold, the water from which he who drinks “will never thirst” (John 4:14), according to His promise. The Lord in you is the light of knowledge, the Lord in you is the breadth of love, the Lord in you is joy and peace, the Lord in you is the hope of glory. What else should you look for? And where else should you direct your heart? Retain the Lord who has given Himself to you and it will be sufficient for you. Hold the Lord and enjoy Him. Don't turn to other subjects soon. Do not allow your thoughts to wander, your desires to indulge, or your feelings to indulge. Continue the spiritual pleasure of being with the Lord in prayer. Your soul sought the Lord, and the Lord desired your soul: here you are together now, do not depart from the Lord. When a dear guest comes, what are you not ready to do for him, so that he would be pleased with you and would not soon leave you? Behold, the Lord has visited you: and who is dearer than Him? Be exhausted of the means to delight His presence in you and do not drive Him away from you. You know what pleases Him: offer everything to Him, but remove everything that is displeasing to Him from yourself. The Lord loves humility, meekness, righteousness, peacefulness, purity, patience, obedience, hard work, all abstinence: take care to take all this and offer it to Him. The Lord does not like envy, enmity, pride, gossip, vanity, absent-mindedness, laziness, anger, intemperance: refrain from all this. And He will be with you forever, and with Him all contentment. We are looking for the all-satisfaction of our hearts - that’s how we are made, but we cannot find it anywhere except the Lord. The Lord is everything for us: He is our life, He is our light, He is our peace, He is our joy, He is our strength, He is our fence, He is our everything. Now He has come to fill us with all good things. You have tasted the Lord, see how good the Lord is. See and do not turn away the foolishness of your heart. Imitate the soul as the bride depicted in the Song of Songs. That soul, having found the Lord, describes its all-bliss in this way. “I felt,” he says, “His approach, and my whole inside trembled, I heard His voice, and my heart “went forth into His word.” His name is for me the myrrh poured out, and He is all “desire” and “sweetness” (Song. 5, 4, 6, 16)!” This is what you are called to now—to rest your heart in the Lord. And let not the tempter tempt you to seek contentment for your heart in anything else! The same soul of the Song of Songs, who sought in vain outside the Lord for what his heart desired, this is how he confesses his mistake as a lesson to us. “I sought Him,” he says, “in myself, in my inner and outer perfections, and did not find him: “on my bed... I sought Him, but sought Him, and did not find Him” (Song. 3, 1). Then I said within myself: “I will get up... go around... the city,” I will indulge in public pleasures and enjoy all the blessings of the world, but even there I searched and did not find Him, “Him my soul loved: I sought Him, and did not find Him!” I will go “in the marketplaces and in the haystacks I will look... for whom my soul has loved,” I will look for contentment in the transactions of community life and in the pleasures of family life, but even there I have not found Him “whom my soul has loved: I sought Him and did not find Him!” (Song 3, 2).” How did she finally find Him? “It wasn’t long before I died from them,” he says, “and I found it.” How I pulled away from everything and rushed to the One Lord, and found, “Whom shall my soul love.” “I found... and held Him,” he says, “and did not leave Him” (Song. 3, 4). You see how, having found after a vain search, she firmly holds on to the One in Whom she found her peace and contentment. And to us, without much difficulty and without testing deviations, the Lord gives Himself. Let us use the lessons of others to protect ourselves from attempts - to make experiments in seeking contentment somewhere in the country, when, by the grace of God, we already possess the source of all contentment. The Lord says: “I stand at the door and tell... Whoever hears... I will come down to him and dine with him and the other with Me” (Rev. 3:20). This Supper is an all-delighting all-pleasure. Enjoy this Supper and do not look for other sweets. Gird up “the loins of your thoughts” (1 Pet. 1:13) and acquire the skill of concentrating everything in the One Lord. Then He came to you today and so sincerely introduced you to Himself, so that, by allowing you to taste Himself, He would take away all other desires from you. Heed this calling and say in the depths of your heart: “From now on, we are yours, Lord, and we want nothing more than to be always in You and with You!” Amen. On Saturday of the first week of Lent (real change and correction of life is the goal of the entire dispensation of our salvation) Glory to Thee, most merciful Lord! How much you worked, and what mercy you received! The Lord Himself is with us and in us. He himself gave us what he promised: “I will dwell in them and walk around” (2 Cor. 6:16). Did he also ask you: “Do you not know that from now on there is a church of God?” (1 Cor. 3:16) If a believer has a testimony in himself, how much less is he who has received the Lord? Holding the Baby Jesus in his arms, righteous Simeon confessed: “Today my eyes have seen Your salvation” (Luke 2:30). Can't you see and feel this salvation when you received not the humiliated, but the glorified Lord Jesus not with your hands, but with your soul and heart? When the Tsar is expected in the city, everyone knows that he is not yet there, and those who wish turn their eyes to where they are waiting for him, and when he arrives, everyone says with one voice: “He has arrived!” Here already!” So we, too, waited for the Lord with fear and trembling and prepared with much care for the worthy Reception of Him. Behold, He has come and been received by us. May all the powers of our nature utter this joyful and solemn confession: “Here already!” Here already, in the inner church of your soul. Let us not disturb His peace! And we will not leave Him, and we will not disturb Him with discordant movements! Concentrating our serene attention on Him, we will turn our loving care towards removing everything that is unpleasant to Him and surrounding us with only what is pleasing, and through this keeping Him within ourselves forever. Here already, and with Him, are all His saving bounties, which He brings with Him to every soul that receives Him. With Him is forgiveness, adoption and an undoubted guarantee of eternal bliss. Evidence of this is in the tactile sensation of spiritual benefits that constitute the everlasting trace of His presence in souls and hearts, such as: peace - a deep world that attracts the soul inside itself and holds it there so that it does not want to look at anything either in itself or outside itself, except for the One Who now fills all of it with Himself; spiritual joy - spiritual sweetness from tasting Him Himself, by Whom all other sweets are cut off and produces not only indifference, but also aversion to all earthly pleasures; spiritual enlightenment is the necessary admonition for every soul, in which the definition of a truth that has been forgotten or shrouded in doubt is clearly imprinted in the consciousness, that rule of life that needs to be given more space in our affairs, that undertaking that needs to be started or completed with more energy; moral strength - a feeling of courage, readiness to do all deeds pleasing to God, sparing no effort and not fearing obstacles, according to which the soul feels the silently spoken word of the Apostle within itself: “Who... will separate me from the love of God?” (Rom.8:35). No one and nothing, not torment, not death itself. All this is given by the Lord to every participating soul to a greater or lesser extent. Not one is left behind; each receives its due according to labor, contrition and intention to please the Lord. And this is only a seed, only a still weak foreshadowing of what is promised to us. Don't have fun, don't indulge in vanity, don't go back. Be patient with the Lord and He will fill you with His goodness even more generously. We cannot be given everything suddenly, because we have already turned out to be unfaithful more than once. Let us show more decisive experiences of fidelity and to what is now given in small amounts “will be added and will abound” (Matthew 25:29). The Lord does not want to come to us in passing, but, having moved in, he always wants to walk in us and with us, as he promised (2 Cor. 6:16). Let us hold on to Him, and His gifts will increase in us in measure, to the measure of their fullness in Himself (Eph. 4:13). Let us hold back, removing everything that could force Him to leave the house of our soul empty, and surrounding Him with that which could dispose Him to pronounce such a merciful decision about us: “Here is My rest!.. Here I will dwell!” (Ps. 131:14). And for this we will do this: let us give praiseful gratitude to Him for the real ineffable gift, the crown of all His gifts to us, unworthy, in the order of nature and grace, we will surrender ourselves to Him, as He gave Himself to us, we will sacrifice to Him all the abilities of the soul, all the strength of the body, all external property, so that His worshiped name will shine on us, on all of ours, and nothing will remain that does not belong to Him, and so that everyone one of us could unflatteringly say: “No one lives as I live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). From now on, we will begin to strive to fulfill what we promised Him in a spirit of contrition: to correct all our moral shortcomings - both in deeds, and in feelings, and in dispositions. As evidence of this and to ensure success, let us now give up vain customs, give up bad habits, stop connections that do not lead to good, let us change all the rules in our lives, so that we can behave differently both at home and in society. And this is not for a short time, but for the rest of our lives, and not as a test, but in the force of an unchangeable law for our everlasting behavior. And we will not allow our resolve in this regard to waver even by a hair, so that we do not even have the slightest thought of changing what has ever been established, according to any human respect. Most of all, let us not turn our attention away from Him and, constantly despising Him in our hearts, let us unceasingly turn to Him in prayer, sanctifying and dedicating every work to Him, devoting all action in us to Him alone and asking strength from Him for every work pleasing to Him. Having thus tuned in, we, with His help, will finally reveal the most pleasing and most desirable real change and correction of life to Him - the goal of all God’s good deeds, the goal of the entire arrangement of our salvation and all our labors and exploits. We will not allow, brothers, this desire of the Lord to be violated and we will not make this expectation of Him from us in vain. We will not allow these feet, which often went to the church, to again wander along obstinate (crooked) paths; so that this heart, visited by the Lord, again indulges in indecent desires and aspirations. That is why the Lord is with us and His help is ready for us at every hour. If we do not make His desires vain, then He will not make our expectations vain: and there will be fruit - our sanctification here, and for it eternal joy there. If evil sin begins to approach us with temptations, we will not succumb to it, and if it aggravates the attacks, we will turn ourselves away from it with the formidable word of the Apostle, who says: “If we, having received the knowledge of the truth, sin willfully, then there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrible expectation of judgment and the fury of fire ready to devour our opponents. If he who rejects the law of Moses, in the presence of two or three witnesses, is punished without mercy with death, then how much more severe punishment do you think he is guilty of... he who tramples on the Son of God and disgraces the Blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified, and insults the Spirit of grace? We know the One who said: Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord... It is terrible to fall into the hands of the living God!” (Heb. 10:26-31). So, having approached the Holy Mysteries with fear and trembling, we will live the rest of our lives with fear and trembling, so that the Lord will always be with us and we with Him. Each one, at every hour, extend a fervent prayer to the Sweetest Lord, saying to Him with ardent faith and a devoted heart: “The greatness of my soul! The joy of my spirit! The sweetness of my heart! Sweetest Jesus! Be with me and in me always, and with Your omnipotent right hand keep me with You and in You! May I cleave to You, my Lord, in one spirit with You, so that all my thoughts, words and deeds will be in You and about You, and may all my thoughts, words and deeds be in You, for without You I can do nothing! May I live not for anyone but You, my Lord and Benefactor, and may all my mental and physical feelings work not for me, but for You, my Creator, and may all my mental and physical powers serve You, my Redeemer, and all my life, until my last breath, will be for the glory of Your glorious name, my God!” (Saint Demetrius of Rostov). Amen. On Saturday of the first week of Lent (no matter how many of you there are, everyone has the whole Lord) You have now been honored with the great mercy of God, having received the Holy Life-giving Mysteries of Christ. Because in this Communion the Lord Himself entered into you and began to dwell in your hearts. What a great and ineffable blessing this is! And we would not have dared to think about it if the Lord Himself had not said: “He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56). That is, whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood is in Me and I in him. This is how this happens, according to the word of the Lord, with everyone who, having prayed and confessed, partakes of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. So it is with you too! What you received is the Body and Blood of the Lord, and where the Body and Blood of the Lord is, there He Himself is. In appearance you have received bread and wine, but in fact it is the Body and Blood of the Lord. When the Lord gave communion to the holy Apostles for the first time, He also gave them bread and wine, but, giving bread and wine, He said with the bread: “This is My body” (Matthew 26:26), and with the wine: “This... is My blood” (Matthew 26:28). And since He is God, as He said, so it was done: bread became Body, and wine became Blood; in appearance they only seemed to be bread and wine. But the Lord Jesus Christ, as then was, and now is the same Lord (Heb. 13:8). Just as He gave communion to the holy Apostles then, so later He gave and continues to give communion to all believers. At the Liturgy, it is He who comes and performs the Sacrament: the bishop’s or priest’s hands and tongue are only here, and the Perpetrator is the Lord Himself. Here He Himself tells the bread to become the Body, and it becomes the Body; He speaks to the wine, so that it becomes the Blood, and it becomes the Blood. Then He Himself gives communion: ours are only our hands and a spoon, and the Lord Himself gives communion through them. And He Himself communed with you with His True Body and His True Blood. And at the same time He Himself moved into you and began to dwell in you. You see what great mercy of God appears to us in Holy Communion! Now think about this great mercy with a heart full of gratitude and reverence. Perhaps you are timid to think that the Lord is in you, or are you at a loss to think how He is in you? But it is so: for He Himself said it, and not people invented it, which is why this is called a wondrous and wondrous Sacrament. And not only this is marvelous, but also this: the Lord is in each of you not just as a part, but as a whole, so, however, that although He is in each of you, yet He Himself does not divide and does not multiply, but remains whole and undivided. It’s all the same, just like now I say a word: each of you hears this word and accepts it all. My word is one, and once I say it, it enters each of you, and everything enters, not just any part of it, but the whole word. And even if there were a thousand people standing here, everyone would hear and accept my entire word, and not just some part. So it is in Holy Communion: no matter how many people receive communion, everyone receives communion from one Body and everyone has it all, and not just any part. And they have the Lord in them all, and not just a part. Through this, the Lord Himself is not divided, but remains whole and undivided. Take, for example, several mirrors and place them facing the sun. In each mirror the whole sun will be visible, and not part of it, and no matter how many mirrors you put, no matter how many there are, each one will contain the whole sun. The sun itself will not be consumed through this, will not disappear, but will remain whole and inseparable, and one and the same. So it is in Holy Communion: no matter how many of you there are, everyone has the whole Lord. And He Himself is whole and undivided: He is everywhere and fulfills everything. So you see what you have been honored with: the Lord is in you! Thank the Lord for this mercy, saying in your heart: “Glory to Thee, O God! Glory to You, God! Glory to You, God!” And think about how not to disturb the Lord. When a great guest comes, you behave modestly, say decorously: behold, the Lord will visit you, but who is greater than the Lord? Be careful not to fuss or have fun, but behave reverently and with fear, especially now. And not only think about this, but also about delivering something pleasant to the Lord. When a guest arrives, you try to calm him down and offer him only what you know is pleasant to him: now offer the Lord what He loves. What does He love? He loves everything good and blesses it, but turns away from everything bad and strikes him with anger. Bring to Him whatever good thing each of you comes up with. Come alone and say: “Here, Lord, I will stop being angry and scolding, but I will be quiet and meek.” Another say: “I, Lord, will stop lying around and being lazy, and will begin to work hard and toil.” The third say: “I, Lord, will not be proud and despise others, but will humble myself and consider myself worse than everyone else.” The fourth say: “I will give up, Lord, drinking and partying, and I will begin to live abstinently and sedately, and whatever surplus there is, I will give to alms or to the church.” So each one bring his goodness to the Lord and offer it to Him as a gift. When you offer what is to the Lord in your heart, the Lord will rejoice in it and be comforted by it. He will be pleased to be with you, and He will abide in you, and bless you, and give you every good thing: both mental and physical. See what a blessing you have in your hands! Be careful not to lose it through some foolishness or indecent act! And remember this day more often: that you were at the Lord’s Table, and He Himself nourished you with His Most Pure Body and gave you His Most Pure Blood to drink. Remembering this, think how great it is, how joyful, and in fact rejoice until you live to see another Communion. Amen. On Saturday of the first week of Lent (the more often one receives communion, the closer one is to the Lord) You have also been honored to receive communion of the Holy, Most Pure and Life-Giving Mysteries of Christ. Speak with all your soul and with all your heart: “Glory to You, God! Glory to You, God! Glory to You, God!” Whoever receives communion participates in Christ the Lord. Whoever communes with Christ the Lord tastes His strength and life. And whoever tastes His strength and life, all spiritual powers come to life in him, or he himself begins to live a real life. The Lord Himself says about this that whoever eats His Flesh and Blood will live for His sake, or will have Life in himself, and whoever does not eat His Flesh and Blood will not have Life in himself (John 6:53-57). I believe that it is not so difficult for you to understand this, and even if it were difficult, you will accept this truth on faith, that whoever receives communion lives the true life, and whoever does not receive communion does not live the true life. Accept it and learn it. And I will try to explain this to you with the following analogy. Look at the trees. Every tree has many branches, large and small; every branch that hangs on a tree is alive, green, has leaves, and gives flower and fruit in due time; Whatever branch breaks off from the tree will first wither, then completely dry out and die: do not expect either color or fruit from it. Why is this branch green, alive, giving color and fruit when it stays on the tree? Because, holding on to a large tree with a lot of sap in it, she drinks this sap for herself, feeds on it and lives. Why does a branch wither and die when it breaks off from a tree? Because, having broken off from the tree, she can no longer receive juice from it, and the juice that was in her either flows out or dries up, and without juice she has nothing to eat and live with, so she dies. Let's now apply this to ourselves. Like branches on a tree, we are all Orthodox Christians, and like the tree itself, we are our Lord and Savior. Just as branches only live and bear fruit when they are united with a tree, so we only truly live and bear true fruit when we are united with our Lord Jesus Christ. This is what He Himself said. “I...,” he says, “are the vine, and you are the branches: whoever abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit... Whoever does not abide in Me will be cast out like a branch and wither” (John 15:5-6). Just as a branch connected to a tree takes sap from it and thereby lives, so we, when united with the Lord, receive strength and life from Him and live, and when not united with the Lord, we do not live, although we seem to live. When and how do we unite with the Lord? One is united with the Lord through the Communion of His Most Pure Body and His Most Pure Blood. He who partakes of the Body and Blood of Christ receives the Lord Himself into himself and himself becomes in the Lord. “He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56), says the Lord. Holy Communion is like a gardener's graft. Have you seen how trees are grafted? They take a twig, put it under the skin of another tree and tie it, it begins to take sap from that tree and grows with it: so through Holy Communion we take strength from the Lord, as if sap from a tree, and grow with Him, or unite, and begin to live His life, the true life that comes from Him. You see now how true it is that whoever receives communion lives like a branch that is held on a tree, and whoever does not receive communion does not live, but is like a branch that has broken off from a tree and is drying up or has already withered. Thank the Lord by partaking of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, knowing what a great benefit you have received through this. Give thanks for the present Communion and wish for the future Communion and, thinking about it, say: “Someday fasting will come, so that we can still speak and receive Communion?” For the more often someone receives communion, the closer he is to the Lord, the better he becomes and the better he himself becomes. The worker works better, the owner manages better, the boss manages better: everyone gets better and everyone becomes better from Holy Communion, becomes livelier, kinder, smarter! It will be the same with you, just be careful not to harm yourself with anything unkind: do not offend anyone, do not quarrel, be meek, self-controlled, hardworking, obedient to your superiors, have the fear of God, pray often and be diligent in every good thing. There is a lot of help from Holy Communion to those who, after Communion, do not allow themselves to do anything bad, but only think about one good thing and desire one good thing. And whoever does something unkind after Holy Communion spoils and destroys its power, he is again separated from Christ the Savior, just as a branch is broken off from a tree. Through Communion he has been grafted into Christ, but through some unkind deed he again falls away from Him. To such a person Communion is not a part of Communion. Now take care of this - that is, so that, having received communion, you do not lose the fruit of Holy Communion. It will undoubtedly be helpful to you, just don’t spoil it with anything ungodly. For this now pray to the Lord and the Mother of God and all the saints. And we will pray for you: may the Lord confirm in you all His Gifts, given for the sake of Holy Communion, through the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos, your Guardian Angels and all the saints. Amen. You might be interested in: