329. Речь Благочестивейшему Государю Императору Александру Николаевичу, и Благочестивейшей Государыне Императрице Марии Александровне, при посещении Свято-Троицкой Сергиевой Лавры, после Священного Коронования

(Said on September 19; printed in the Works of the Holy Father, in the Police and Provincial Gazette of 1856 and in the collection of 1861) Crowned by God Sovereign and Anointed of God! So, after the splendor of the capital, You are pleased with the simplicity of the humble abode; after the majestic appearance of Your Royal glory, after the joyful greetings and solemn exclamations of Your faithful, You desire a quiet, heartfelt conversation with the silent servant of God, who has renounced all the glory of the world, but whom grace and virtue have elevated to the degree of a friend of God. We know that, like the present one, the visits of St. Sergius by Your crowned Predecessors set an example for the present: but we also know that You, Most Pious Sovereign, and Your Most Pious Spouse, are brought to him not by example and custom, but by the attraction of the heart, since it led You to him before, when example and custom did not call. This faith in “God who is wondrous in His Saints” (Ps. 67:36), and with it your prayerful feat, will be an acceptable sacrifice before Him. The heavenly love of the Righteous One will embrace your love for him; will unite his prayer with your prayer, and the written word will become a deed: “the prayer of the righteous can do much,” acting through love (James 5:16), and your prayer will be a new source of hope and blessings for you and for Russia. For this we also humbly pray with hope; and in this way we rejoice at your longed-for coming with spiritual joy. You might be interested in: