112. Речь 533 к Преосвященному Исидору, новорукоположенному Епископу Дмитровскому

(Spoken on the 11th day of November; printed in the Christian Reading of 1835 and in the collections of 1835, 1844 and 1848) After the united prayer of your fellow shepherds has been called upon you by Divine grace “providing”, that is, through the laying on of hands, descending and ascending; - after this grace, through the channel of prayer and ordination that she herself opened, no doubt, really poured out into your soul; - after with our humble hands, she clothed you in the fullness of sacred clothes - sacred because they are not just decorations, but signs of gifts and virtues with which the Chief Shepherd Lord Jesus clothes the souls of those dedicated to God 534; - finally, after this same grace renewed its gift in you through secret action and through you with us; - The holy order of the Church commands me to conclude what I began with a word of prayer with a word of reminder and advice. What shall I say? I don’t want to tell you my word, weak and lifeless. In order to capture the living work of the Holy Spirit, I seek a living word, inspired by the same Spirit. Give to us in need of a loan, Divine Paul, your word, which you once sent to Saint Timothy. “I remind you,” he says, “to kindle the gift of God that lives in you by the laying on of my hand” (2 Tim. 1:6). Timothy was an ordainer, as can be seen from the testament to him from the Apostle: “Do not quickly lay your hands on anyone” (1 Tim. 5:22). Timothy was the ruler and judge of the elders, as can be seen from another testament to him: “They did not accept blasphemy against an elder except in the presence of two or three witnesses” (1 Timothy 5:19). Consequently, Timothy was a Bishop - he was what the same grace has created you today. For your special current position, it may not be superfluous to note that Timothy is not an independent Bishop of the city of Ephesus for the Apostle, but as a locum tenens, or, according to the current foreign name, “Vicar” of Saint Paul, as can be seen from the following words of Paul’s letter: “I write this to you, hoping to come to you soon; If I tarry, let him know how to live in the house of God, since the Church of God is alive” (1 Tim. 3:14-15). These words show that Saint Paul himself acted and intended to personally act in the governance of the Church of Ephesus; and meanwhile he used and guided Saint Timothy, first as his collaborator and co-worker, and then, as needed, as an independent agent in the Church administration. I think that those who listen to us will hear this not entirely without benefit, but will find in my remarks a pleasant evidence for their faith that in the Apostolic Church, even to this day, everything happens according to the Apostolic models. To you, God-loving brother, what I have said should show that not by accidental application, but by true right and propriety, even out of obligation, I can, and must, turn to you the word of St. Paul sent to Timothy: “I remember you to kindle the gift of God that lives in you by the laying on of” our hands. Do you see what the infallible Apostolic word shows you? - “The gift of God living in you by the laying on of hands.” "Gift of God!" – Don’t think about your dignity; do not rely on your strength; do not appropriate to yourself what is uniquely God’s; do not attribute the “fragrance of Christ” to the vessel in which it is placed. "Gift of God!" – Humble yourself, but do not bring yourself down with the thought of your lack or unworthiness; do not faint in your weakness. The Almighty Giver does not require a rich recipient; the power of God does not need the power of man. “The gift of God is by the laying on of hands!” – Embrace and hold with unshakable faith this gift of the Holy Spirit, like the same one that God the Word taught to the Apostles by word, but also by breath, for the sake of consubstantiality with the Holy Spirit; Which the Holy Spirit sent down on the Apostles in a “stormy breath,” but also in “tongues of fire” (Acts 2:2), for the sake of consubstantiality with God the Word; and Who finally, in the Apostles and their successors, as instruments of the Spirit, also chose the hand as an instrument and a sign, as the most powerful of instruments. “The gift of God living in you!” - So! There is no doubt that God, the ever-living Source of life, gives living gifts. But for this mystery of grace I have no word at all; but there is only, for you and for yourself, a fearful and daring, inaccessible and unrelenting belief, desire, hope, aspiration and the plunge of oneself into the mortal wounds of the Life that died for us, from which only the true life that lives in us shines, breathes and flows. But, oh poor mortality, or, what is almost the same, our sinfulness! And this, in such a deep, in such an inexhaustible, in such a pure and bright Source, the life drawn from us can not only become indignant and darken, but become exhausted, dry up, fade away from our negligence. And therefore, as a participant in the life of grace, and especially as an instrument for spreading it, the Apostle remembers Timothy, and I remember you, and you yourself from now on diligently remember, “to kindle the gift of God living in you,” to arouse, nourish, increase it with decent means and benefits, such as: prayer, the Word of God, zeal, and fidelity in assigned actions, patience in difficulties, love of the cross of Christ, unwavering vision of the image of Christ, which should be our distinction, not so much on the breasts and in the heart, but in the breasts and in the heart. May He Himself, our Supreme Shepherd, protect and guide you, and may His gift given to you now be preserved in you, and may it grow and produce many fruits, to justify the virtuous election of the Sovereign and Sacred Power, to the beneficial and useful service of the Church, and, if I am allowed not to forget this, to lighten the burden placed on my weakness. Let this rod be yours and mine for a while! In collection 1835 speech is called a word. In Christ. Thurs. and in collection 1835: Dedicated to God and sanctified by God... You might be interested in: