318. Беседа пред молебствием и присягою Московского Дворянства, пред начатием избрания в должности

(Said in the Miracle Mon. January 3; printed in the Works of the Holy Father in 1856 and in the collection of 1861) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not cleanse him that taketh His name in vain (Ex. 20:7). From the whole region, men of exalted status in the state and hereditary advantages of a distinguished title gathered here to sanctify the beginning with prayer, and to ensure the completion and consequences of an important matter with a certified oath. The sovereign power has entrusted you, and, based on its trust, you now undertake to elect guardians of justice and public order, both for your rank itself, and for different parts of the local region. Blessed is the pious authority that calls for prayer before commencing an important public matter. This means connecting the earthly kingdom with the heavenly, the human kingdom with the kingdom of God. This means illuminating the limited governmental wisdom with the light of the infinite wisdom that rules heaven and earth. This means that government activities must draw strength from the ocean of almighty power that carries and moves all created things. May the grace of God, and with it your good will, work, so that none of those called to real prayer turn out to be alien to the gift for which they came, so that no one reflects with coldness and inattention what others attract with faith and zeal. “Amen, I say to you,” says Christ the Savior, “for if two of you take counsel on earth concerning whatever you ask, it will be done by My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 18:19). What does it mean that He promises this to two, and not to one? – He wants to teach us through this that in prayer the unanimous zeal of many increases the strength of each and everyone. Understand and convince yourself how great help you can find in your undertaking, if so many, as if with one soul and heart, “consult... about... the thing you... ask... from the heavenly Father.” And, in accordance with this understanding, ask Him unanimously, may He grant each of you the light to discern what is truly useful for society, the determination to choose it, the firmness to adhere to what is wisely chosen, insight, so as not to be deceived by false appearances, good intentions, so as not to be carried away by partiality or self-interest, zeal for the common good, so as not to slumber in laziness while the Fatherland of the supernatural requires wakefulness and activity. Along with prayer, the subject of your present meeting is also a certification oath. Now the voters will take an oath in the name of God that they will pronounce their opinions about those elected according to duty, conscience, truth and honor. Then the chosen ones will take an oath in the name of God that they will act in accordance with duty, conscience, truth and honor in the positions to which they have been elected. If fervent prayer can do a lot for the error-free and successful completion of any task, then why in some cases this great help to our good will is recognized as unsatisfactory; and an oath in the name of God is also required? – Firstly, because not everyone has good will and is not always unshakable; secondly, because good or bad will, good intentions or ill-intentions, are hidden in the soul of the actor, and are invisible to others. Having received strength from prayer, you set about the work of society and office with the determination to act correctly, with the hope of acting in a generally beneficial manner. But obstacles, temptations, temptations, and fears may be encountered: good will may be shaken and the grace of prayer may be removed from oneself. In this case, the oath you have given in the name of God will appear to you as a new support for strengthening your good will, and with it the fear of the all-seeing and impartial Judge God. You act for the government and society with good intentions: let us assume that those who know you believe this; but those who do not know you are certainly more numerous than those who know; It may happen that others will not understand your business, others, foreseeing that your loyalty may be tempted by temptations, deprivations, and dangers, will doubt its steadfastness; and others, out of their own ill-intention, will attribute bad intentions to your cause and spread distrust of you. In a similar way, a lack of trust can occur in you in others, and in many in many. What should happen from this? – Obviously, there is a lack of mutual public trust: with a lack of public trust, can there be social unity? Given the lack of social unity, can social force fully open up and act correctly? How can society exist? How to support him? – The foundations of the earth are not solid; breaking carnal supports: find affirmation and support for society in the strength of God, in the power of the name of God. Call on God as a witness and to help your fidelity, which you decided to maintain, in vengeance of your infidelity, which you decided not to allow yourself; in other words, take an oath in the name of God. After this, every believer in God, like you, must believe in your faithfulness in the affairs of government and society, because he believes in God’s help, solemnly called upon by you; because he believes in the faithfulness of God, which, without a doubt, will justify those who entrust themselves to it, and will not allow the holy name of God to be a cover of infidelity unpunished. Thus, a certifying oath in the name of God affirms, reinforces, and protects public trust, and as a result, social unity and social strength. How useful a certification oath is in important matters, this can also be seen from the fact that it is introduced into use - who, would you think? what king? what legislator? - God Himself. “By myself he swore,” He says to Abraham, assuring him of the future fulfillment of the great promise: “all the nations of the earth will be blessed through your seed” (Gen. 22:16, 18). Would Abraham really not have believed God without an oath, and especially when he already had experiences of His revelations and miraculous benefits? There is no reason to suspect Abraham of such daring distrust. Why did the Lord use an oath? - In order to teach us, in matters in which certification is extremely necessary, and at the same time extremely difficult, to affirm and protect fidelity with an oath in the name of God. This teaching is also found in the third commandment of the Decalogue. When she says: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain”: through this she warns against inattentively using the name of God unnecessarily, in unimportant cases, so that this irreverent habit does not weaken the feeling of the power of the name of God in prayer and in oath. And when she adds that “the Lord will not cleanse... the one who takes His name in vain”: she threatens the perjurer and reinforces fidelity in this oath. Attentive observers can see in events how amazingly sometimes the threat to perjurers expressed in the law of God is brought into action by God’s Providence. Let us remember one ancient incident. Joshua, during the capture of the first city of Jericho upon entering the promised land, appointed all its jewelry as an offering to God, and everything else to be destroyed by sword and fire; and with an oath he obliged the people to fulfill this correctly. Akhar broke his oath by stealing clothes, money and a golden vessel. What happened? Israel, victorious until then, suddenly suffered defeat in front of the small city of Ai. What is this from? - God Himself explained this: “there is an oath in you,” that is, perjury; “You cannot stand before your enemies until you have taken away the oath from yourselves” (Joshua 7:13). And after that, by the command of God, by means of lots the hidden perjurer was discovered and stoned: and through this work of justice over the perjurer, God's favor and victorious power were returned to Israel. What a terrible example! One perjury deed, one perjurer, seriously harms an entire people, and only the special help of God stops the harm. The judgment of God will not bother to expose and strike an oath-breaker, against whom there was neither evidence nor proof, and whom, probably, an ordinary human court would never have found. Hear this, you who swear an oath in the name of God; pay attention to yourself; pay attention to the work and service to which you commit yourself with a sacred oath. Fulfill it with unflagging and unshakable fidelity. And if any temptation, self-interest, addiction, seduction, threat, man-pleasing approach you to shake your loyalty: do not listen to charms, but tell yourself: remember Akhara! Taste this bitter word as a protective medicine: and, if you want, cover the bitterness with the healthy sweetness of David’s song: “Lord, who dwells in Your habitation? “Walk blamelessly, and do righteousness, take swearing, ... and do not be cast away” (Ps. 15:1, 2, 4). Amen. You might be interested in: