71. Слово в день Благовещения Пресвятыя Богородицы 398

(Printed in the 1844 and 1848 collections). When she saw it, she was troubled by his words (Luke 1:29). And those who hear this are not already embarrassed by the thought of why I want to talk about the embarrassment of the blessed Virgin Mary, as if this triumph of Her does not represent the most important subjects for reflection? So many virtues, so many perfections, so many miracles, so many mysteries, in the name of the most blessed Mary, in the recollection of the Angel’s Annunciation to Her, appear to the mind that they barely allow one to notice the small and short-term confusion of Her peaceful and quiet soul. But I am not embarrassed by the fear of such contradictions. Miracles are glorious without words; Mysteries are often better honored by reverent silence than by a daring effort to explain them; virtues, perfection - if only it were enough for us to talk only about virtues and perfections, and there was no need to mention imperfections, and even vices 399. If, as I believe, many will not refuse to admit with me that almost every day, and sometimes more than once, this or that word, this or that incident, leads us into confusion, small or great, short-term or long-term, often extending to our own words, actions and attitudes towards others, and in any case unfavorable because it disturbs the calm and obscures the clarity of the soul: then there is an important reason to look at this, unimportant an apparent case, like sometimes a soul blessed by the peace of God, inevitably enters into confusion, and how it comes out of it, so that by example, our mostly arbitrary confusions, expose, reduce, correct and, if possible, expand the area of ​​true peace of mind. “When she saw him, she was embarrassed about his words.” Who confuses the One who should be filled with peace, as she is called to give birth to “Our Peace” (Eph. 2:14)? Is a person of a hostile disposition of Spirit? Is it the spirit of hostility, the constant enemy of the world, because it itself does not have one, an ordinary producer of confusion and confusion, because it lives in continuous rebellion? - No! Surprisingly, the culprit of Mary's confusion is an Angel, a peaceful servant of the God of peace. But maybe the image, as he appeared to Her, had something terrible in it? - No, even that is not visible. The angel quietly enters and says 400: “An angel came in to her, speaking” (Luke 1:28). So why is She embarrassed? “Be troubled by his words.” Was this word threatening? - On the contrary, it was a word of joy and blessing: “Rejoice, full of grace: the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women” (Luke 1:28). Let us delve a little deeper into the understanding of this angelic word in order to find the hidden reason for Mariin’s confusion. Until now, no one, and especially none of the earth-born, have heard such a greeting from heaven. It is noticeable that the heavenly messengers 401 do not lavish greetings: since pure heavenly truth is also not akin to refined affection, as well as unnecessary severity. “Peace be with you” (Judges 6:23), the Angel of the Lord said to Gideon, out of necessity to calm him down: for Gideon, according to the concepts of his time, thought that the vision of the Angel would be deadly to him. But the greeting: “Rejoice” is unparalleled in the ancient appearances of Angels. “The Lord is with you,” - this is how the Angel greeted Gideon, and also, out of special need, to inspire him with strength and courage for a miraculous victory over his enemies, and for the salvation of the people of Israel. God blessed Abraham many times and generously, as for example: “In truth, I will bless you when I bless you, and multiply I will multiply your seed like the stars of heaven and like the sand of the sea; and your seed will inherit the cities of adversaries; and all the nations of the earth will be blessed because of your seed” (Gen. 22:17–18); and again: 402 “Abraham will become a great and plentiful person, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed because of him” (Gen. 18:18). But it is not said here that Abraham was blessed among men, that is, above all men; and about the blessing of Sarah, although she also participated in the production of the blessed seed, is completely silent. True, the Lord once said about Sarah: “I will bless her” (Gen. 17:16): but it is worthy of note that this brief blessing was not pronounced in her face, but in her absence, to Abraham. Apparently it was necessary according to the destinies of God 403 that from the wife, in whom the loss of blessing in the blessed paradise began before her husband, the beginnings of the returning blessing on the unhappy earth were hidden longer than from the husband. Without a doubt, the Virgin Mary understood this, both from the written word of God and through her own humble thoughts of God, and therefore, when she hears that an unexpected visitor greets her not only with peace, but also with joy; attributes grace to her not as a gift, but as her inalienable property 404; announces to her a blessing that is superior to all the wives in the world: her quiet soul from the strong words of the spirit, like still water from the strong breath of the wind, of necessity comes into motion: “be troubled by his words.” There is nothing unclean in this embarrassment, but in the moment of embarrassment there is no spiritual silence that preceded it! When the wind, striking the surface of the water, partially lifts it from its place of rest, then the pure water trembles and seems indignant: so the soul of Mary, by the laudatory word of the Angel not only lifted from the self-abasement in which she was accustomed to rest, but also lifted above all created things, trembled with pure fear, and Her constant desire for the depths of humility, made palpable by the fact that Her extolled, revealed itself in the form of embarrassment. We see how a holy and passionless soul enters into confusion: let’s see whether it remains in it, and how it comes out of it. “I was troubled by his words, and thought what this kiss would be like” (Luke 1:29). When in any soul the confusion that has occurred continues, intensifies, and takes a decisive advantage over calmness, then we hear impatient words, notice incorrect movements, and see disorderly actions. There was nothing like that in the Most Holy Mary. Embarrassment did not prompt her to any action, did not extract a single word from Her. From this it is clear that in the confusion into which She entered out of necessity, She did not remain for a minute arbitrarily; but as soon as she felt herself in it, she immediately turned to get out of it; and the first weapon against embarrassment was silence. Another remedy that the wise Virgin used against embarrassment was meditation: “thinking about what this kiss would be like.” The Evangelist does not set out in detail what these thoughts were, no doubt pure, like Her soul, sublime, like Her spirit, strong, like the grace given to Her; he did not find this detail necessary for us; he wrote about Mary’s embarrassment only what is useful for everyone who is subject to embarrassment to know, that is, that she got out of her embarrassment through thorough and careful reflection. If, in order to complete the restoration of Her inner world, the calming word of the Angel was needed: “Do not be afraid” (Luke 1:30): then in order to prepare for the new acceptance of the words of the Angels, Her own calming reflection, animated by prayer, was no less necessary, as from the well-known constant disposition of the spirit She should undoubtedly conclude. Heavenly influence brings perfect peace to the soul: but only a soul that is firm against external and internal storms, rising from thorough reflection to God-thought, is capable of accepting the high and abundant influences of heaven. Let us now compare our so ordinary confusions with the immaculate embarrassment of the most immaculate Virgin. Mariam is embarrassed by the word of praise, although there is no praise that She is not worthy of and that She does not exceed in dignity. Is this how we greet praise when it enters our ear? Do we think that although it seems to be the word of an Angel, it may turn out to be the word of the tempter? Are we ashamed of undeserved praise, do we hate biased praise, are we even afraid of fair praise, lest it lull virtue or damage its purity? Doesn't a careless heart consume praise like a sweet dish, and perhaps like a sweet poison; Doesn’t insatiable pride reach the point of shamelessness in asking for praise, or attributing it to oneself? Without shyness, some say about themselves: I am a good Christian; I am a true son of the Church: they are calm at these words: but I confess, I would like them to have a somewhat self-distrustful embarrassment, instead of this too careless and arrogant calmness, which can end in extreme and late embarrassment. Mariam is embarrassed by a word that is inconvenient for Her humility: on the contrary, aren’t we often embarrassed by words that are inconvenient for our pride? Not only words that are truly reproachful, and actions that are truly offensive, soon drive us out of patience; but even mild troubles, unintentional words, fair and moderate reproofs outrage to the depths of the heart, to the point of irritation and bitterness. A soul not purified from passions, with the weakest action of a disturbing force from the outside, like unclean water, raises its silt and dust from the depths, and adds a much more severe internal darkness to the external disturbance. Mariam is embarrassed and does not hesitate to tame her embarrassment, holding and suppressing it with silence. And of us, almost every effervescence of internal displeasure transforms us into a vessel of fermenting wine, or into a fire-breathing mountain that pours out lava and throws stones at everything around us. How quickly the spark of restless displeasure simmered inside you: immediately take care not to give it outside air, so that the smoke does not turn into flames, and the fire does not embrace you all. Whatever causes your inner confusion: carefully close your vessel - in silence, and let it stand - in patience, until the restless fermentation ends and your wine is cleared. Miriam is embarrassed: but she overcomes confusion by reflection. Let us also accept this weapon from Her for use in our internal battles. No matter how varied the attacks; the word of reason, and especially sophisticated teaching in the word of God, like a two-edged sword, can act in all directions, to the overthrow of enemies and to our safety. Who rebels against you and disturbs the peace of your soul? Reproach? - think about whether it is fair. If it is unfair: then the arrow flew past you; Why should you be sick when you are not injured? If it is fair, then do not complain about the reproacher as an enemy who inflicts a wound, but thank him as a doctor who opens it and encourages you to heal it. Does the offense caused by your deed irritate you? – think about what is better, to be an offender or to be offended? Without a doubt, it is better to be innocent than guilty. Thoughts about whether it is better to be irritated or to endure? Irritation can suddenly make one guilty and even more unhappy than before; on the contrary, with patience and integrity is preserved, and misfortune can decrease. Do your own shortcomings, imperfect successes in correcting yourself, sudden falls, and other internal disorders lead you to confusion and despondency? – Think that confusion alone does not correct or improve; and despondency takes away strength; and therefore should not linger in fruitless confusion, but should perk up from despondency; and through unrelenting deeds gain victory over passions and lusts, and with them spiritual peace and the joy of salvation. May the grace of the God-gracious Mariam be with every Christian soul in its involuntary confusions, and may it help, and calm them down with silence, and completely stop them with meditation and prayer, so that the Angel of peace can speak to our hearts without hindrance, and without being torn up, sow in it the “fruit of righteousness,” which “is sown in the world by those who make peace” ( James 3:18). Amen. According to Jew. collection: spoken in the Annunciation Church of the Miracle Monastery, 1827. According to Jew. collection: oh, if only I had such kindness of speech, and you such perfection of hearing, that only I could talk about virtues and perfections, and you could listen, and there would be no need to mention imperfections, and even vices. According to Jew. collection: But maybe the image in which and how he appeared to Her had something too extraordinary or terrible in it? - No, and that’s not visible. The Evangelist does not attribute to him a striking appearance, a blinding light, or an astonishing phenomenon: perhaps in order to gather all the attention of the Virgin into the subject of the heavenly embassy, ​​and not in the least to entertain him with the appearance of the messenger, this messenger appears as simply as possible and does not use anything extraordinary; he comes in and says:.. According to Jew. collection: Angels... According to Jew. collection: or when on another occasion the Lord Himself told him that... According to Jew. collection: according to the destinies of God, as much righteous as good... According to Jew. collection: as its essential accessory and inalienable property;.. You might be interested in: