99. Слово по освящении храма Св. Великомученика Димитрия, в доме призрения для ведомства Духовного Попечительства, устроенном Гвардии Капитаном Дмитрием Петровичем Горихвостовым

(Said October 2 days; printed in collections 1844 and 1848) Then your light will open early, and your healing will soon shine forth: and your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of God will embrace you. (Isa.58:8). Looking at this house as a work of love for mankind, at this church, as a work of piety combined with love for mankind, - thinking about the orphans, the helpless, the bloodless, for whom shelter, help, replacement of parental care are prepared here - in everything that is arranged, prepared, assigned here, noticing the quiet wave of the hand, freely and carefully extended to the work of charity 497, how will I express the feeling of consolation, how will I satisfy the impulse of gratitude? – I would like to have the power, not only with sincere desire, but also with power and action, to utter promises and foreshadowings similar to these prophetic ones: “Your light will open; - Your righteousness will go before you; “The glory of God will embrace you.” But what need is it that the word of man does not have the power and strength to bring into action the blessings that it utters to this or another benefactor? The Word of God has this authority and power for all who do good. In the work of philanthropy lies the seed of blessing. God's providence does not become scarce 498, revealing this seed, growing, and preparing the fruit of grace and salvation for those who do good to their neighbors from a sincere and pure heart. “Then,” says the Prophet Isaiah, “your light will open early.” When is this? You see that he foreshadows a particularly wonderful morning, and not for everyone, but for a certain 499 especially happy person. When and to whom? - Then, and to that, when someone faithfully fulfills the deeds of love for mankind, to which the Prophet exhorted immediately before this foreshadowing. “Break your bread to the hungry; and bring the bloodless beggars into your house: if you see them naked, clothe them; and do not despise those of your kindred: then your light will open early, and your healing will quickly shine: and your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of God will embrace you” (Is. 58:7-8). To those who do deeds of love for mankind, the Prophet promises not only an early and clear morning of good hope, but also an afternoon of glory. The existence of man goes on like 500, like the days of the world from their beginning. “There was evening and there was morning” (Gen. 1:5). First, dusk and darkness, as a state of nature: and then light, as a gift from God. Human life is first shown in darkness, mixed from the darkness of ignorance and from the flickering of simplicity and childish kindness. Then rising passions, increasing sensuality, intensify the darkness 501. What is called enlightenment and education in the language of the world is not the lot of many; and, moreover, this is only a superficial and lifeless shine 502. A truly beneficial and vital light should not be alien, not superficial, but embodied in the life and activity of a person, God’s gift, “yours” by internal assimilation. Blessed is he who in his heart, or in the center of his being, says the Creative word: “let there be light.” True, it always speaks for everyone; inasmuch as there is an eternal word: but inasmuch as the human heart, by its fallen nature, is “white” (Is. 6:10), that is, sensual, and “stony” (Ezek. 11:19), that is, due to rough sensuality, incapable of subtle spiritual sensations, then not every human heart is quite sensitive to the voice and word of God, not always quite transparent and pure to the light of God. What can contribute to making the human heart less coarse and more capable of being resounding with the words of the spirit and being enlightened by the light of grace? - I won’t say that there is only one way for this: but it must be said that, among the ways to do this, one of the simplest is voluntary softening, the dissolution of one’s own heart with love for one’s neighbor, compassion for the needy, and deeds of philanthropy. So “blessings of mercy”; so they will “have mercy” (Matthew 5:7). Do diligent works of love for mankind: “then your light will open early.” Early: - sooner than you think: sooner than you would have achieved this by means that seem more skillful and more sublime. Man has a need not only for the light of grace, as darkened by nature by ignorance and sensuality, but also for the healing power of grace, as weak and suffering, not only in the “flesh,” which is naturally “weak” (Matthew 26:41), but, what is much more important, in the spirit. Sensuality, passion, vice, only darken the mind because they enslave the will and deprive it of free power. And where on earth is a soul that is not sick, lighter or heavier in its conscience? In addition to this, there are diseases that strike the soul to the depths from the outside: misfortune, sadness. The only faithful, and satisfied for all people, cases, infirmities, illnesses, sorrows, physician of souls and bodies is our Lord Jesus Christ: this is true; this is priceless truth; blessed truth. But the most reliable medicine must be taken correctly in order for it to be healing and saving: and isn’t it often necessary to have a special skill in order for the medicine to be taken, a special preparation for the medicine to have an effect? You sometimes say to a person: accept the all-healing medicine of the grace of Christ; but the mouth of his soul is not opened; the hand does not extend, or trembles; and in vain you bow the cup of salvation to him. For success in spiritual healing, it is sometimes very useful to prepare so that a person’s hand is strengthened by deeds of charity, so that his heart and lips are opened with a feeling of compassion and a word of consolation for his neighbor in need; so that the good testimony of conscience acquired through works of mercy would confirm hope in the mercy of God, so that hope in the merciful God would bring with it confidence in the means of His mercy, or faith, so that faith in the Savior would arouse a holy desire for Him, or Divine love. Therefore, the Prophet, teaching to do good, to heal, if possible, the sorrows of our neighbors, then reassures us with the speed of radical, our own healing. “Your healings will soon shine forth.” Whether a person has already found the light, or is still stuck in the original darkness, whether his spiritual healing is accelerating, or whether he still suffers the burden of various infirmities and sorrows of the old Adam, meanwhile, while on earth, he is always on the path, whether he knows it, or does not know it, sees it, or does not see it, walks along it, or is drawn to it: but enemies are always close, stumbling blocks are always underfoot, danger is around, guidance is often lacking, protection is not there. Happy is whoever can have a predecessor before him who would ward off dangerous encounters, show where it is safe to place one’s foot, frighten and remove enemies, and call upon guardians! And such and such a predecessor is promised by the word of the Prophet to a person who is beneficent to his neighbors; and this reliable predecessor is his very virtue. “Your righteousness will come before you.” Those who are little versed in the ways of Providence will not suddenly understand how virtue, which we have made and left behind, in days gone by, can appear ahead of us on the path of life, in the likeness of a leader: but this is true in the ways of Providence. She precedes us with the light that we acquired through her, supports us with the strength that we received from her, repels the hostile forces of darkness from us, calls upon us the invisible beneficial forces of light. Because the virtue of philanthropy in its actions corresponds to the goals of the all-good Providence, and thus serves it: then Providence takes upon itself, so to speak, the duty of reciprocity and gratitude, and especially patronizes those who do good, as its servants, and its tools 503. The widow of Sarepta encountered hunger on the path of her life; and she would surely have been devoured by it: but from the last handful of flour she gave small unleavened bread as mercy to the Prophet Elijah. From that moment this virtue went before her: and she passed through the time of famine in a miraculous way, safely and savingly. Finally, if we understand how charity towards needy and distressed neighbors provides a person with gracious light, beneficial strength, and reliable guidance on the paths of life: then through this, without further explanation, it becomes obvious that the same charity leads to the participation of the glory of the Divine. “And the glory of God will embrace you.” So, let the one who does good do good with joy, in the sure hope of God’s effective and saving blessing. But the one who receives benefits, out of gratitude, blesses the benefactor with a word of joy, love, prayer, and God is glorified by the benefactors and those who accept benefits, who wisely and righteously arranges the well-being of the needy through philanthropic benefactors, and the bliss of benefactors through acts of philanthropy. Amen. According to Jew. collection: reaching out to the work of charity and modestly shying away from the glory of charity,... According to Jew. collection: does not become impoverished and does not sin,.. According to Jew. collection: to some... According to Jew. collection: same... According to Jew. collection: increasing sensuality, spreading darkness. According to Jew. collection: night, star or moonlight, which illuminates the glory (chapter?) superficially, lifelessly. According to Jew. collection: The virtue of philanthropy, making us instruments of the all-good Providence, imposes, so to speak, a duty of reciprocity and gratitude on this Providence, in order to carefully guard its instruments in us. You might be interested in: