296. Беседа в день Успения Божией Матери

(Said in the Assumption Cathedral on August 15; printed in the Works of the Holy Father, in the Moscow and Gubernia Vedas of 1854 and in the collection of 1861) All glory to the Tsar's Daughter inside. (Ps.44:14) The prophetic spirit in the forty-fourth psalm depicts the King: “I say my deeds are the King.” But in this image he believes in part such features that can relate to human perfection, such as this feature: “more beautiful in kindness than the sons of men,” and in part such that cannot belong to any earthly king, and which are immeasurably higher than any human perfection, which is the following feature: “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever” (Ps. 45:2, 3, 7). No matter how much you search for who this prophetic image was copied from, you will not find this anywhere except in the face of Jesus Christ 753, Who, as a man, “is more beautiful in kindness than the sons of men,” because in Him alone human nature is sinless; Who, as God, reigns from eternity, and, as the God-man, “reigns” so that “of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:33). The prophetic spirit in the same psalm depicts the Queen, the Daughter of the Tsar, who approaches the King depicted above and stands at His right hand: “The Queen appears at Your right hand” (Ps. 44:10). In the image of this Queen there is also the following extraordinary feature: “all glory to the Daughter of the Queen within.” Where can we find a person to whom this trait belongs? – What is contained within, we usually call hiddenness or mystery; we usually call glory something that is open outside and obvious to everyone. On the contrary, the prophetic spirit commands us to look for “all her glory... inside”, and by this feature to recognize the “Daughter of the Tsar”, Whom He glorifies. Will this prophecy not be explained by what we now reverently remember? Now we must mature in spirit as the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, - “Daughter of the Tsar”, according to the genealogy from King David, - Daughter of the King of the heavenly God, because she is overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, - “Queen” and “Daughter of the Tsar” together, because She is both Mother and Virgin, - ascends from earth to heaven to appear at the right hand of the King Christ, and in accordance with the dignity of His Mother, to perceive the dignity of the Queen of Heaven. If anyone ever had “all the glory in... within”, completely moving away from all external glory: then more than all is She. What could be higher and more complete than Her inner glory - Her unparalleled purity, Her spiritual perfection, Her holiness? But all this, throughout Her entire life on earth, was covered with an almost impenetrable veil - Her deep humility. Everything that could glorify Her before people, She either hid or removed from Herself. She hid the glorious annunciation of the Archangel about the incarnation of the Son of God from everyone so that even Her guardian Joseph had to reveal this to the Angel; and it was not She who revealed this to the righteous Elizabeth, who was of one mind with Her, but the Holy Spirit. The miraculous signs that surrounded the birth of Jesus Christ, as the Evangelist who wrote later noted, She “kept ... in Her heart” (Luke 2:19), and did not wear it with her lips for the hearing of others: and that is why, of course, 754 the Jews knew only His appearance from Nazareth, and did not know His birth in Bethlehem. When Jesus, “glory is not received from men” (John 5:41), was nevertheless glorified by His miracles and His Divine teaching: then His Mother, if she appeared near Him, was in order to share His suffering, as on Calvary at His cross; and where the bright reflection of His glory could have fallen on Her, as for example, at His royal entry into Jerusalem, She was not seen there. After He saw Her suffering at the cross and comforted Her, is it possible that He did not comfort Her primarily before others by His appearance after the resurrection? However, this is not glorified in the Gospel, like the visions of Magdalene and others; and the tradition about this is incomplete, of course, as a result of the humble confidentiality that Mariam had as the rule of Her life. Being unquestioningly the first daughter of the revealed Church of Christ and the Mother of all believers, whom Her Divine Son 755 called “Her brothers” (John 20:17), She even at this time continued Her secrecy and evasion from all glory and honor: and in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, which is the history of the primacy of the Church of Christ, only once do we meet the name “Mary... Mother... Jesus" (Acts 1:14), and then after the names of the Apostles. Finally, the Mother of the King Christ, the Mother and Queen of believers, passes from earthly life to heavenly life: what remains after Her? Are the royal palaces 756, magnificent clothes, precious 757 jewelry, treasures left? “Nothing of the sort: only two clothes remained, and those that were only suitable for alms to two poor widows.” Truly “all glory to the Daughter of the King is within.” Marvel, you who understand, at the fullness of the internal glory, which does not require any external addition. Rejoice, you who love simplicity, non-covetousness, the silence of obscurity, who labor in secret and hide your virtues: the path of the Queen of Heaven will give you evidence that you are on the royal path. Let the ambitious and the glory-loving come to their senses. Is it possible to highly value external splendor 758 and human glory, which the Most Honest Cherub and the Most Glorious, without comparison, Seraphim did not have and did not deserve to have? Is it necessary to vigorously pursue the glory of a mortal among mortals, which, I don’t know by what evidence and experiments, is called immortal, while it, like the wind 759, flies and flies away like smoke, fogs those seduced by it, and, like smoke, disappears? Isn’t it better to look for “the glory ... inward” - the essential glory, or the glorious essentiality of piety and virtue - the glory that is internally proclaimed by the law of God, which is heard by an immaculate conscience, which does not depend on the fickleness of human opinions, which is not damaged by slander, which is applauded by the celestials, which is blessed by God? Let the covetous understand: inasmuch as wealth also has a claim to external glory. Is it worth the trouble to exhaust oneself with continuous worries about acquiring and preserving what one has acquired from above need, so that one can boast about the shining dust until the whirlwind of unforeseen vicissitudes carries it away, or until the time comes for the one boasting about it to turn to dust? Isn’t it better to “sell everything,” that is, to put aside all attachment and predilection for earthly things in order to acquire “one pearl of great price” (Matthew 13:46), the life of Christ in the heart, and through this jewel to acquire the priceless, imperishable treasures of heaven? Let those who are luxurious and love vanity, who also dream of glory 762, come to their senses, but, according to the right view of the Apostle, “glory is in coldness” (Phil. 3:19). Indeed, isn’t this a shameful fame when some are distinguished by subtle sophistication and unlimited extravagance in gluttony and intemperance, a passion for charming spectacles and voluptuous songs, superiority in some useless or even harmful game? We are ashamed to talk about the deeper cold into which unbridled luxury and carnality are relegated. How far are people from true inner glory, whose outer glory is shame and humiliation of the mental and moral dignity of man! It is necessary for all of us, Christians, to urgently admonish ourselves about the glory within. For, following the Queen, through the inner glory who entered into heavenly glory, the Spirit of God 763 calls our souls. “They will be brought,” he says, “to the King, virgins in Her footsteps” (Ps. 44:15). By the name of virgins we can here understand those who are definitely virgins spiritually and physically, out of a special love for purity and according to a vow. But one can also understand indefinitely every Christian soul that has betrothed itself to Christ through faith and love: since the Apostle said about everyone: “You have betrothed ... to present a pure virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2). So, if, following the Queen of Heaven, we are called to heavenly glory through the inner glory: then how will we direct ourselves on this path? – Accept this instruction from St. Basil the Great: “Whoever adorns himself for the Father who sees “in secret” (Matthew 6:4), and prays, and does everything not so as to appear to people, but in order to appear to the one God, he has “all the glory ... inside”, like the “Daughter of the Tsar.” If someone remembered and noticed to me that this saying of Basil the Great here, on this very day, had already been pronounced several years before this: then I would answer: oh, if only the word of truth and spiritual benefit, spoken here once, were not forgotten and left unfulfilled! We would gladly instruct ourselves to refrain from repetition: and you would not complain about the repetition of instructions, which, when repeated, would turn into praise and not into reproach. Amen 764. In the author's manuscript and in Gubern. Led. Then follow the words: “God-man, King of heaven and earth.” The author's manuscript previously stated: “maybe.” The author's manuscript formerly contained: “Christ.” Handwritten the author instead said: “royal palace.” Handwritten the author's word is inserted after. Handwritten the author, instead of: “let them understand” was “be warned” - vm. “is it possible” – “can you” – vm. “external shine” - “outer chambers”. Handwritten author vm. These words used to be: “because like the wind.” Handwritten the author's was: "award". Handwritten the author "to ourselves." Handwritten author “be warned... just as you too.” Handwritten author "prophetic spirit". Handwritten Instead of these words, the author wrote: “We would forbid ourselves to repeat what was said once. Amen". You might be interested in: