The Power of Love. According to the works of St. Ephraim the Syrian

Contents Preface The immeasurable goodness of God The power of love Love is the head of all virtues There is nothing higher than love Literature In this book, published in the series “Holy Fathers on Christian Love,” St. Ephraim the Syrian speaks with readers about the need to acquire and tirelessly warm up the feeling of love in oneself. In his works, the word “love” expresses all facets of existence: man’s love for his neighbor, man’s love for God and God’s love for man. Everything interpenetrates and cannot exist separately. And everything requires constant aspiration upward - from each of the living. This book is addressed to all those who are interested in the Christian understanding of the feeling of love, as well as the direct ascetic experience of acquiring the gift of love for God and man. Love is patient, it is kind, love does not envy, love does not boast, is not proud, does not act rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not think evil... (1 Cor. 13:4). It's all about love. The love of a man for a woman, of parents for their children, of a person for a person. But how many people love the world, life, their neighbor in this way - selflessly and with all their essence? Agree, not many. Why? Has the world become tougher? Maybe. But who said that he was full of love two, three thousand years ago? History says otherwise. And it’s unlikely that those who accomplished it thought that the world was created, first of all, as an abode of love. Such love. It’s unlikely that anyone understood that this world exists only as long as a person knows how to love in this way. Jesus Christ reminded us of this through His life, death and commandments. As I have loved you, let you also love one another (John 13:30) - at the same time, a command to man to immediately begin the enormous work of the soul. After all, love does not know how to live among anger, self-interest, envy, and lies. Jesus Christ gave commandments to help those who decided to overcome these vices in themselves, to make the soul such that love could come and settle forever. The Christian Church has been tirelessly concerned about this for centuries. And in the works of its early fathers that have come down to us, a lot is said about such love. In this book, one of the first Orthodox monks, Saint Ephraim the Syrian (IV century), speaks about the need for acquisition, the tireless warming of a feeling of love in oneself with readers. From the life of the saint it is known that in his early youth he was very irritable and even angry, but he overcame these vices in himself and lived an ascetic life, full of spiritual exploits. His literary works are characterized by a unique language, style, and special poetics. And in them the word “love” expresses almost all facets of existence: man’s love for his neighbor, man’s love for God and God’s love for man. Everything interpenetrates and cannot exist separately. And everything requires constant aspiration upward - from each of the living. “Blessed is the Good One, whose door is open for both the good and the evil, so that they can enter into it... Blessed is He who gives everyone the means so that everyone may acquire the inheritance of the Kingdom: the righteous by good deeds, sinners by repentance!” “Keep your body clean. Love is the mother of virtues, and purity is a lamp and support. Silence is also a lamp for them, and the fear of the Lord is a wall for them. Let us, brethren, preserve the purity of our bodies in the love of God, so that the Lord may number us among His holy Angels. The Holy Spirit rejoices in the one who loves purity and gives him patience. And purity is achieved through abstinence, meekness and silence in love.” Millennia have passed. But people are still at the forefront of the struggle between light and darkness. And here, in the saint’s legacy, is the invaluable experience of a soul that emerged from this struggle with honor. A soul that has had the strength to put into practice the well-known gospel commandments: let us love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 25:34); Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength (Mark 12:30). This work, we hope, will be interesting and useful to all those who are interested in the Christian understanding of the feeling of love, as well as the direct ascetic experience of acquiring the gift of love for God and man. The Lord, who cares about our life, wanting to make us far from... destructive passion, teaches us and says: when you have done all that is commanded you, say that we are unworthy servants (Luke 17:10). [1, p. 32.] The lover of humanity will say: “If you have left, I will also leave; if you have forgiven, I also forgive your debts; because I have the power to forgive sins on earth. Let go, and it will be released to you.” Do you see God’s incomparable love for mankind? Do you see God's immeasurable grace? [3, p. 14.] Blessed is He who descended, out of His love, to save the human race! Blessed is the King, who became poor to make the poor rich! ...Who will not marvel at Your love, O Lord, which prompted You to such condescension? ...the wretched lot bore Your great and holy power, which in His mercy descended to us to magnify us with His peace. [4, p. 19.] How many times have I decided to repent - and again I did the worst! How many times have I fallen before God - and again retreated from Him! How many times did He have mercy on me - and again I upset Him! And now I’m walking in a disastrous state. How much beautiful He has given me, and how much bad I have done! [3, p. 241.] The Lord, the only Healer and Physician, came here to heal the souls of believers from suffering that cannot be healed by human means and to cleanse them from the filth of sinful leprosy. [5, p. 456.] Who will appease the Judge for us, so as not to condemn us, sinners? Who even among the saints will ask us for forgiveness from God, the Lover of Mankind? Who will turn the wrath of God into mercy and justice into mercy, if the only one who has bound the burden of sins for himself and carries, and unties, and lightens it when he wants, does not implore the Judge? ...It is God’s business to forgive those who come to Him, for we truly have a humane Master, Who through repentance relieves the burdens of slaves. [3, p. 79.] The mercy of God can forcefully make a person righteous, but it does not destroy the power of reason in him, although it knows that it can make a person righteous. [4, p. 30.] Oh, how immeasurable is the goodness of God, a lover of mankind! How many blessings He bestowed on the human race through the cross! [2, p. 239.] No fiction, no art will relieve terrible torment. Now we can avoid this if we obey the voice of our Lord and God, Who, because of His abundance of love for mankind, He Himself preached, He Himself taught the sons of men perfection in every word and in every deed, so that we, having become obedient to Him, would be freed from torment and rewarded with blessings. [3, p. 235.] Look at the sinner's wife and at Zacchaeus the tax collector (see Luke 7:38, 19:2). Nothing else was added to their freedom except the mercy of Him who remitted their debt - and so they rebelled and strengthened themselves, as if He had granted them some (new) valor or strength. And this is because He no longer placed on them the duty that they had in relation to the law itself. [6, p. 27.] When... the humane and merciful God was pleased to deliver us from such error, the East visited us from above, the saving grace of God appeared, the Lord gave Himself for us, redeemed us from idolatry’s flattery and deigned to renew us with water and the Spirit. [2, p. 221.] He [Christ. – S. M.] was the first to show obedience in deed and word: he was obedient to the Father even to the point of death, death on the cross (Phil. 2:8), and he also laid down his soul according to His characteristic love for mankind, and moreover for us, who were not His friends, but His enemies. He reconciled us, His enemies because of our sins and desires, with His death to the Father, having destroyed the handwriting against us (Col. 2:14)... He Himself first fulfilled it, and then taught it. [3, p. 279.] Our Lord ...entered Jerusalem, the royal city, and humbled Himself, sitting on a lot in order to exalt human baseness... Now the Creator of all worlds has humbled Himself, He left the mountainous country of the Cherubim and sat on a wretched lot. [4, p. 20.] Why did our Lord take on flesh? In order for the flesh itself to taste the joy of victory and for it to be fulfilled and to know the gifts of grace... Our Lord had to be the haven of all good things, to which people would flock, the treasury of all sacraments, to which they would resort from everywhere, and the container of all that is hidden, so that all people, as if on wings, would ascend to Him and in Him alone would find peace. [7, p. 11–12.] Our Lord, the Savior of our souls, having descended into hell, with His right hand scattered there all the power of the most intolerable and irresistible tormentor... Our Lord, in order to take upon Himself all the sin of the world, is placed in the tomb... Our Lord... our Jesus Christ was awakened (rose) from the dead by His own power, plundered hell, brings our deliverance as a gift to His Father, preaches the resurrection and eternal life... He is God who came for salvation, save our souls. [2, p. 28–29.] Christ heals the eternal and incurable ulcers of the immortal soul and sinful infirmities. [5, p. 456.] The Savior, intending to save the human race, was born of the Virgin and in human form trampled upon the enemy with the holy power of His Divinity. [2, p. 255.] A great miracle happened on earth: the Lord of all descended upon it, God became man, the Ancient of Days became a child, the Lord became like a servant, the Son of Kings became like a poor man. The Highest Nature humbled itself and moved into our nature, and what was alien to His nature, It took upon Himself for the sake of all of us. Who will not be attentive to such a miracle - God comes to be born? ...He diminished His own image in order to renew the image of the old Adam...Nothing is difficult for the glorious majesty of God, Who bowed down for our sake and is born among us and from us. [4, p. 165–166.] Without the law, the truth of God is revealed, and all the repentant who need help can be saved by His mercy, because there is a sharp sword that follows guilt. [6, p. 11.] Which of the people has the strength to tell with one spirit all Your long-suffering [God. – S.M.], with what attitude do you bear our guilt? [4, p. 24.] He [the Lord God] is long-suffering. – S.M.] and draws us all into His Kingdom. But he will demand from us an account for our negligence in this short time; He will tell us: “For you I was incarnate, for you I visibly walked on earth, for you I was beaten, for you I was strangled, for you I was crucified, I was lifted up on a tree, for you, earth-born, I was given blood to drink, to make you holy, heavenly. I gave you My Kingdom, I called you all My brothers, I brought you as a gift to the Father, I sent you the Spirit. What could I have done more than all this and have not done to save you? I just don’t want to force the will, so that salvation does not turn into necessity for you.” [2, p. 61.] The healthy Lord accepted that nature, the health of which had perished, so that man, through the healthy nature of the Lord, would regain the health of his primitive nature. For when bloodthirsty animals terribly wounded a person, the Benefactor hastened to revive us with his healings. [7, p. 12.] I am a sinner saved by grace; and glory befits the Savior [Christ. – S.M.] sinner with bounties! [1, p. 191.] The Lord, in His mercy, will send Elijah the Tishbite and Enoch, so that they will proclaim godliness to the human race and boldly preach good news to everyone... The Savior does this to show His ineffable love for mankind; because even at this time the human race does not leave the human race without preaching, so that everyone will be unanswerable in judgment. [2, p. 258.] By mercy You have reduced [Lord. – S.M.] our days, so that the series of our sins does not lengthen. [4, p. 24.] All have sinned and are deprived of the glory that God gave them through justification - and are justified freely by His grace - especially since God has given it to sinners from the beginning of time. Until grace was given, the law spread its rays for many centuries, and in each one sinners were freed from justice. [6, p. 11–12.] Oh, the immeasurable goodness of God! She calls everyone! Everyone wants to be saved! Glory to God's love for mankind! So, brethren, no longer justify yourself by the law, because the shadow of the law has passed away. Those who are under the law are under an oath, but we have been redeemed from the legal oath by Christ our Savior... Christ has redeemed us from the legal oath. [3, p. 111.] God is the God of repentants, he came to earth for the sake of those who suffer and said: there is joy in one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10); and one more thing: I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32)...God joyfully receives him who comes to Him. [2, p. 232.] Who created the soul [Lord. – S.M.] He himself created the body; and He who heals the immortal soul can Himself heal the body from temporary infirmities and diseases. [5, p. 456.] Adam and Eve brought death into the world through their fall, but the Lord gave us new life from Mary... The Good One bowed His bounties and entered Mary through hearing... how God humbled Himself for the sake of man! ...how God humbled Himself for the sake of His servant! ...He who gave the commandment humbled Himself in order to exalt us. Praise be to the Supreme Mercy, Which descended to the earthly, so that the weak world could be healed by the Physician who appeared among creation! [4, p. 167.] Master, You endured for us, and we, sinners, unconscious, forgot Your great mercy. What will the generation of sinners render to You, the incomprehensible, good and merciful God? You, who enlightened the entire universe with grace; You, who enlightened the eyes of the one born blind, enlighten the eyes of our hearts, so that we may love You, Master, and always fulfill Your will with love! [2, p. 61–62.] The Lord decorated His word with many colors, so that everyone could learn by considering what he liked. He hid various treasures in His word, so that each of us, where we labored, would be enriched there. The Word of God is the tree of life, with all its parts delivering blessed fruit to you, like that rock that was opened in the desert in order to bring spiritual drink to all people from all its parts. [7, p. 22.] He [the Lord God] is sinless. - S.M.] one - the one who takes away the sin of the world, who wants to be saved for all people, who does not want the death of sinners, the humane, all-powerful Savior of all people, the Father of orphans, the Judge of widows, the God of the repentant, the Doctor of souls and bodies, the hope of the hopeless, the haven of the overwhelmed, the help of the helpless, the path of life, calling everyone to repentance and not turning away from any of the repentant. Let us also resort to Him, because all sinners who resorted to Him received salvation. [2, p. 233.] Now through baptism [God – S.M.] justifies the one who remains in faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. [6, p. 12.] Possessing everything, O Lord, You loved poverty, You clothed Your strength with suffering... He promises a palace to those who love Him. [4, p. 168.] If any of you, brethren, has unclean and shameful thoughts, then let him not give in to despair in negligence, but turn his heart to God and, sighing, say with tears: Arise, Lord, and bring my judgment, my God and my Lord, to my right. Judge me, O Lord, according to Thy righteousness (Ps. 34:23–24). I am the work of Your hands: where have You forsaken me? (Ps. 21:1). Do you turn Your face away from me and forget my humility? (Ps.43:25). For the enemy has driven away my soul, and has humbled my belly to eat (Ps. 142:3); The coal miner is in deep darkness, and there is no permanence (Ps. 68:3). Let Your hand hold me, and I will not perish. If you call upon Him in this way, with patience, the Lover of Mankind will soon send His grace into your heart and comfort you in your painful and difficult battle. [1, p. 81–82.] Christ, through baptism, put on the truth of the Old Testament in order to receive the perfect anointing and convey it to His disciples complete and intact; He put an end to John's baptism along with the law. Christ was baptized in truth, since he was without sin, but He Himself baptized in grace, since other people were sinners. He abolished the law by His righteousness and stopped baptism by His baptism. [7, p. 57.] God rejoices over every good deed, especially over the soul that repents: for everyone bows down to it, accepts it with their own hands and calls on it, saying: Come to Me, all you who labor (Matthew 11:28), because he who comes to Me I will not cast out (John 6:37); come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28) in the city on high, where all My saints rest in great joy: come to that unspeakable, incomparable and inscrutable joy, to those blessings in which the angels desire to rest (1 Pet. 1:12); come to where the faces and ranks of the righteous are. There Abraham's bosom receives those who have endured sorrow, as it once received the beggar Lazarus; there the treasures of My eternal blessings are opened; there the heavenly Jerusalem is the mother of the firstborn; there is the blessed land of the meek. Come to Me, all of you... and I will give you rest - I will give you rest where everything is quiet and serene, where everything is bright and pleasant to see, where there is no one who offends or is oppressed, where there is no more sin or repentance, where there is an unapproachable light and unspeakable joy. [2, p. 233.] The Lord calls through the prophets, and through the apostles, and through the Gospel, but out of many, only a few listen! ...The lover of mankind calls on everyone and says: come to Me, all of you, but no one listens, no one shows zeal. [3, p. 131.] I marvel at Your [God’s – S.M.] righteousness, that it does not come into competition with Your mercy, because Your bounty increases to the same extent as our filth grows. I also wonder why one does not complain about the other, that she is not angry at the one who angers You? [4, p. 24.] God gave love to His Church so that it would always be adorned with the same love. It becomes a pledge of God in the soul; she is the pillar and affirmation of the holy soul. The same love brought down the Only Begotten Son to us. With the same love he opened heaven; the strong one is bound by the same love, by the same love the soul became the bride of the Immortal Bridegroom, in order, as in a mirror, to reflect His splendor. The impassive and pure Bridegroom suffered for this love. And if the soul is outside of love, then the Heavenly Lord does not take good care of it. God never wants to force her will, therefore, once and forever, he gave her the freedom to lead the life that she wants. [2, p. 63–64.] The virgin gave birth to her firstborn, and Her virginity remained immaculate and inviolable. The Firstborn Himself gave birth to us in baptism and made us firstborn with His gifts; for in the womb of baptism there is neither elder nor younger, since we are all firstborn by faith and what Scripture says has been fulfilled in us: every firstborn who opens the womb will be called holy of the Lord (cf. Exodus 13:2. Luke 2:23). For baptism takes us (into its bosom), contaminated by sins and damaged, as it were, by rust, and revives us from its bosom cleansed from sin. [7, p. 37.] Think and see: Bridegroom [Christ. – S.M.] is already approaching and will not slow down. He comes to rejoice those who love Him, He comes to call those who wept and sobbed, not for the sake of the dead, not for the sake of the temporary loss of property, but for the sake of convenient sin (see Heb. 12:1) and the Kingdom, which will have no end, and for the sake of the blessed enjoyment of paradise, from which we were expelled when we transgressed the commandment of God, and to which those who weep and weep again return. He comes to crown those who labored legally and those who loved the narrow and straitened path. He goes to have mercy on the merciful. He goes to make those who are poor for His sake blessed. He goes to fill those who hungered and thirsted with blessings for His sake. It comes to illuminate the secret darkness and announce the counsels of the heart (1 Cor. 4:5). [1, p. 41.] Blessed are those who mourn (Matthew 5:4); cry, repent, turn to Me [Christ. – S.M.], and I will give you rest where there is no labor, no tears, no care, no care, no lamentation. Turn, sons of men, and I will give you rest where there is neither male nor female, where there is neither the devil, nor death, nor fasting, nor sorrow, nor quarrel, nor zeal, but joy and peace, tranquility and delight. Turn to Me, and I will give you rest, where there is water of rest, and a green place (see Ps. 23:2), and grapes cultivated by the God of all, in that blessed land of the meek, on which I grow, I am the true vine, Who is My worker (John 15:1) - the Father. Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest where there is incorruptible life and joy in all goodness. [2, p. 233–234.] Is it really true that one half of people is loved by God, and the other is hated? No, because in true love there cannot be a division into those who are loved and those who are hated. [6, p. 12.] Thy Sufferings [of Christ. – S.M.] is a source of benefits for us; Your cross is a victorious crown for us; Your love is the fullness of beauty. [4, p. 168.] Glory to the one, immortal, holy, most pure and terrible, good and merciful God, Who by His grace moved our tongue to the sweet singing of words about Judgment, love and tenderness, to the edification of the soul, to the enlightenment of the heart and to the benefit of the mind, so that every soul, repeating this sweet singing and enjoying it, would be drawn to eternal life! [2, p. 67.] The Savior, intending to save the human race, was born of the Virgin and in human form trampled upon the enemy with the holy power of His Divinity. He was meek and humble on earth, so that he could lift us up from earth to heaven. God, Who was truly and truly conceived, incarnated and born in our flesh from the Holy Virgin, saved everything through His suffering on the cross, giving commandments. He will come again on the last day to judge the living and the dead, and will reward all the righteous and the wicked according to their deeds - as a righteous Judge. [3, p. 138.] About the Savior... need I say anything? He made the impossible possible; redeemed souls who could bring comfort to others, but, due to crime, were unable to free themselves. [1, p. 186.] Come to Me [Christ. - S.M.] all... and I will rest you where there is a great gift, incomparable joy, unchanging joy, unceasing hymns, unceasing praise, unceasing thanksgiving, unceasing theology, an endless kingdom, untold wealth, boundless ages, an abyss of generosity, a sea of mercy and philanthropy, and everything that cannot be uttered by human lips is expressed. only in fortune telling. [2, p. 234.] On the mountain, the Lord trampled on the lusts of the tempter and threw them into the abyss, so that those nations who had ever been trampled by them would trample them. Instead of them, He provided the fullness of grace to everyone, so that that which was once trampled upon by everyone would rule over everyone (see Rom. 5:17). [7, p. 63.] This... let everyone know that God has determined and appointed a day in which he will judge the world, but, as a lover of mankind, he is patient... not that any should perish, but that all may come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9). [3, p. 133.] Glory to His [God’s] love for mankind, glory to His long-suffering, glory to His goodness, glory to His condescension, glory to His bounties... He is merciful and not deceitful, and will undoubtedly take vengeance for those who cry out to him day and night. [2, p. 235.] The severity of God spoke the law, but everywhere He acted by grace. Therefore, He rejected and pushed away despised laws from Himself, so that His true grace might be sweet to everyone. [6, p. 13.] Praise be to Thy goodness [Lord. – S.M.] – this mother of teachers. She is ready with blows that admonish her opponents, but she is also ready with healing, offered to the afflicted. [4, p. 173.] Continually, beloved, we must thank God, Who has made us worthy to accept His good yoke and delivered us from what is temporary and perishable. [2, p. 80.] Are you afraid, unfortunate one, that the good and humane God will reject your labors? But He Himself and His grace give you strength to do this; He Himself breaks your heart, and He Himself gives you a reward. Everything comes from Him, and you are proud! He exacts the wages of a mercenary from those who deprive Him of it; will he really deprive you of the reward for your tears? Let this not happen! He who said: seek, and you will find: press, and it will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7) - will he become a liar? No way. [1, p. 68.] It is not written about our Lord that He laughed, but it is written that He cried and shed tears. When He shed tears over Lazarus, then he wept for all the dead, because he saw how death destroys and consigns His image to decay. As the Good One, He grieved over His beloved image, because He saw how it was deprived of its beauty and decayed in the tomb, becoming terrible and terrible. [4, p. 36.] Seeing God repentance, he gave in to desire, bowed down to petitions, agreed to always have leniency towards the human race, determined that repentance should lead the weak nature, and gave it power over human weakness. [3, p. 179.] Consider how the Living [Christ – S.M.] wanted to overcome and crush death in all ages of man. He became a fetus, and death could not destroy Him in the womb. He became a baby, and death could not crush the one who fed on milk. He became a youth, and in the teaching to which He subjected Himself, death was not able to lead Him into disorder. He became a youth, and in the aspirations of His youth, death could not present Him with temptation. He became a disciple, and through deceit, death could not defeat Him. He became a teacher, and death could not convict Him of the truth that He taught. He was a mentor, and in the commandments that He gave, she could not lie in wait for Him. He was at a mature age, and through murder (death) could not frighten Him. He died, and the terrible coffin could not hold Him. He was not captured by the disease, since the Doctor Himself was not mistaken, since he was a Shepherd, did not break the commandments, since he was a Teacher, and did not stumble, since there was Light. This is the path that Christ, from beginning to end, from conception to resurrection, opened and showed to His Church. [7, p. 65–66.] Those who work for Him [God – S.M.] with a pure heart He will glorify with incomparable glory, because there is no end to the glory of the saints. [2, p. 77.] Most of all, He [Jesus Christ - S.M.] shows His love in us... through the death that He endured for the sake of our sins. After all, if for the sake of our wickedness He died, then much more will He justify us with His blood and save us from the wrath that will come at the end of the world. [6, p. 18.] Your Lord is merciful and kind, He desires to see you at His doors; he rejoices if you repent, he gladly accepts you. All the multitude of your iniquities will not exhaust even a small drop of His mercy, and with His grace He will cleanse the sin that dominates you. The sea of ​​your iniquities will not resist even the small breath of His bounty; the untruths of the whole world will not surpass the sea of ​​His goodness. If you have hitherto walked in sins, then refrain from iniquities, strike His door, and He will not leave you outside... The Lord will make you white as snow. Only, sinner, forsake your iniquities, come to contrition for the sins you have committed before, and He will accept you graciously. Put aside your former defilements and come to Him; He will accept you... The good Lord will accept and... embrace you with love... He will forgive you your iniquities, and His bounties will be poured out on you, because He thirsts and desires your conversion. He loves to see you at His doors, He Who gave Himself up to death and reproach for the wicked and sinners. [4, p. 51–52.] He [God – S.M.] gives to human nature the loan of the Son, so that in exchange for Him he may receive power over every soul. For this duty, He strengthens all earthly pastures behind Himself and, after a short conversion, becomes the Lord of all, not only as the Creator, but also as the Redeemer. Not only as God, but also as the one who redeems from the work, he gives beads, so as not to lose the ovol itself in its nature. Gives the Son to subdue the slave. What great humanity! What a brave undertaking - to entrust beads to a shell and give away a precious stone for desecration! [2, p. 288.] He [God – S.M.] sent the Holy Spirit and sanctified the Church; He sent the apostles to preach the gospel to the pagans. If he doesn’t want us to be saved, then he used so many means in vain; either he did not know our situation, or he laughed at the pagans. But it is not permissible to think one way or the other, because He neither knew nor did anything unnecessary. We are His flock, and He is our Shepherd now, as in paradise. He gave repentance as water of cleansing. If we sin in anything, we wash ourselves with it. We have a bath not only of renewal, but also of renewal (Titus 3:5). If we sin in any way, having washed ourselves with repentance, we become clean. [3, p. 161.] God showed that, approaching people, because of His righteousness for them, the unrighteous, He strikes without healing. But, sparing us, He withdraws from us so that we remain alive, and also does not speak secrets to us so that we do not die. He approached Aaron and, finding his sons guilty, killed them; He approached the people and destroyed many who sinned. Therefore, if he speaks the Divine, and we do not believe, he will kill us all. And therefore he does not speak, because he foresaw that we would not believe. And he does so wonderfully, ensuring that we do not die. It does not give so much understanding so as not to extinguish the will, does not impart greater strength so as not to overshadow nature. He does not hamper goodness, so that it is not overcome by unworthiness; He does not create people as Angels, so as not to upset His power... God gave the creatures what they could contain, and forgave them for what they could not contain. For he does not demand anything beyond his strength from anyone. [1, p. 161–162.] [The Lord - S.M.] acts on the shameless in two ways - both with merciful generosity and cruel blows, in order to restrain with fear the one who becomes even more daring from generosity! He takes and places the human race in His scales, and when the cup goes down, He supports it with His goodness; and if he resists even this, He brings him into balance with His truth. [4, p. 173–174.] While we are still here and turn to Him [God - S.M.], He accepts us, and allows us to come to Him, and saves us, and honors us with His eternal blessings. [3, p. 264.] Through baptism He [Christ – S.M.] forgave all people, as well as a sinful wife through the word. Therefore, they loved the Son for His forgiveness and freedom was restored (ascended) from its fall. Likewise, lust was overcome by His coming, and weakness by His strengthening... Despair was also overcome by His hope. [6, p. 27–28.] Christ has risen - and the Resurrection is preached to humanity. [3, p. 180.] He [the Lord God - S.M.] from the west and the north, from the sea and the east, having gathered the peoples into one Church to one faith and one baptism, bound them with love. [2, p. 262.] The Good Trader [Christ – S.M.], abundantly lavishing the fragrance of His aromas, delights those who listen to the righteous; and they impart life to their disciples. Blessed is the Good One, Who from His treasures exudes the fragrance of their deeds! [4, p. 185.] You [Jesus Christ - S.M.], long-suffering, always healing with grace and generosity as a merciful one... Your great mercies are the medicines of Your goodness, because it is impossible to buy heavenly and holy medicines; They don't even have a price. But You give them for tears, Savior, and for bitter crying You give them to everyone. Therefore, who will not be surprised, who will not be amazed, who will not bless the great mercy of Your goodness, Savior of our souls, when You deign to accept tears as payment for Your healing? [1, p. 199.] [Jesus Christ - S.M.] showed man the mercy of the Father, announced the sorrow of the intelligent Powers and enmity with earthly things. He convinced them to seek reconciliation, became a mediator of peace, promised reconciliation, indicated the way, namely, that peace would be acquired through the cross, and arranged things so that the slave came to the Master, the son knew the Father. Having become a defender in the fight against the tormentor, he established dominion over the Father and truly freed the slave from bitter torment. [2, p. 291–292.] Grace... and the gift of baptism, poured out because of many sins, lead us to justification and justify us through the cleansing given to us by tuna. [6, p. 21.] Be confident in God's mercy; God is pleased that you have come to Him, and He proves your goodness, because before the remission of sins He ordained you as a priest. [3, p. 163–164.] God demands from us only perfect determination, and He Himself gives us strength and grants victory, as it is written: The Protector is... of those who trust in Him (Ps. 17:31). And he also says: The Lord is near to all who call on Him... in truth: He will do the will of those who fear Him, and He will hear their prayer, and I will save (Ps. 144:18). [2, p. 83.] God regrets when His image perishes. The soul is much more kind to God than all the creatures He created... Sorrow for yourself for the sake of God, because He regrets for you. [4, p. 37.] Oh, the immeasurable and incomparable goodness of God’s bounties! How many blessings God has given through the cross to the human race! Glory to His love for mankind, and worship, and power forever! ...Have you heard, beloved and Christ-loving, what the power of the Cross is, how many successful actions it has, how many benefits it brings! This kind helmsman, having satisfied our entire life and pacified it, became for us the precursor of the future eternal life. [2, p. 263.] God forgives you fifty and even five hundred denarii; be careful not to add to the debt, so that you, the repentant, do not be rejected, like Esau. [3, p. 198.] Desire...to be saved, for the Lord loves those who strive to receive salvation and helps them. [2, p. 93.] It is worthy and righteous that you belong to Him [Christ – S.M.] Who descended to the dead for our sake and ascended to offer you to God at His coming as holy fruit. [6, p. 24. | If God takes pity on the pelican and brings its chicks back to life, how much more does He take pity on your soul, which you do not want to bring back to life. If the Creator, seeing a pelican, in grief for its chicks wanting to kill itself, takes pity on it and resurrects its children, then, of course, when a soul is killed by sin and separated from God, all the more does He regret His image separated from Him. Therefore, weep and grieve for your soul, separated from God; He regrets you like a mother regrets her only begotten son. [4, p. 37–38.] The lover of mankind... The Lord desires that, as if with intent, the yoke be placed on everyone differently, because He has assigned to each a burden, commensurate with his own strength... The Lord desires to guide us to salvation by various means, because the enemy also manages to put us to death with various pretexts. [2, p. 297–298.] The Creator... is wise by His nature, for He knew that it was necessary to create things for testing and correction, that is, so that the righteous would be tempted and achieve reward, while criminals would be corrected and thus benefit. [7, p. 76.] Oh, what grace from God, Who, not yet receiving, Himself gives first and, seeing small things, bestows great things! The sinner has not yet breathed, but He has already given him boldness. He had not yet shed any tears, but He had previously opened Him up to Himself. [3, p. 164.] Cry out to God with heartfelt sorrow; and soon he will send you a merciful Angel to help you and free you from the battle itself and from the enemy’s confusion. [1, p. 202.] Beloved, take courage and be strong in your God; for His mercy endures forever. [2, p. 94.] Blessed is the Good and Merciful [Christ – S.M.], who rejoices over us if we repent; He accepts us without reproach and with joy out of His love! Blessed is the Good One, Whose door is open for both the good and the evil, so that they can enter into it, Who, even if they turn to the evil ones, does not close the door of His goodness! Blessed is He who gives everyone the means so that everyone may acquire the inheritance of the Kingdom: the righteous through good deeds, and sinners through repentance! Blessed is He who gave Himself up to death and reproach for sinners, Who endured the shame of the cross in order to give life to sinners! Blessed is He who created us in His mercy and who descended to save us by the cross and again has to come to resurrect us on the great day of His coming! [4, p. 53–54.] Therefore, our Lord took on our flesh and had mercy on us, in order, despite insignificant pleasures and sensual delights, to give us the opportunity to acquire a righteous life. [6, p. 29.] Light descended to us from the Light [Christ - S.M.] and, illuminating us, raised us to the Light. Descended to us, becoming like us, in order to make us like Himself. The Immortal descended upon mortals and, having made them immortal, again ascended to the Father. Now he comes in the glory of the blessed Father to judge the living and the dead. The path of life became full of light and glory for us, so that we would walk in the light to the Father. Come, beloved, let us enter the path that the Lord showed us, so that we may reach His Kingdom with joy. [1, p. 215.] Listen to Him [Christ – S.M.] Who says: Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). The Lord wants to give you peace from cares, from irritability, from the temptations and sorrows of this age; He wants you not to be preoccupied with Egyptian planking; wants to lead you into the desert, that is, into silence, to illuminate your paths with a pillar of cloud, to feed you with manna, I mean the bread of silence and carelessness, and so that you will inherit the land of promise. [3, p. 209.] We see our Creator; He is inwardly filled with generosity, but outwardly He is surrounded by fear. His wrath against the foolish cries out for His ardent love. In His very fury lies love... Many wise purposes are hidden in the rod of God. He strikes for our salvation and spares for our benefit; awakens those who are immersed in sleep, brings triumph to those who are vigilant, and shows love in everything. He loves and amazes us in order to bring us great benefit. He has mercy and punishes us so that we flee from base passions. In accordance with His wise purposes, for our salvation He speaks now with the voice of anger, now with the voice of love, now He is angry and threatens, now He caresses and promises, like a doctor who heals everyone and everything; pronounces a curse so that we may receive a blessing. Every curse that comes from Him can serve to acquire a blessing. [4, p. 188–189.] A wonderful sight! The angels stand before Him [Christ – S.M.] with fear, and the publicans joyfully recline with Him. Blessed spirits tremble at His greatness, and sinners eat and drink with Him. The scribes, burned with hatred, are distressed, but the tax collectors rejoice in mercy. He saw heaven and was amazed, he saw hell and went mad with rage. Satan saw and was exhausted, he saw death and lost his strength, the scribes saw and went away ashamed, the Pharisees saw and were embarrassed. There was joy in heaven and rejoicing among the angels, for the enemies were subdued, the disobedient were brought into obedience, sinners were restored, and publicans were justified. Although others reproached Him (see Matt. 16:22), He did not reject the shame of the cross, and although enemies laughed at Him (see Matt. 9:11; Luke 15: 1–2, etc.), He did not withdraw from the company of tax collectors, but despised ridicule and despised praise, both accomplishing the salvation of people. [7, p. 78–79.] I spent the entire time of my life in negligence, and the Lord, not remembering my many sins, vouchsafed me such a gift - to enter into a respectable and unentertained life. [2, p. 111.] Jonah learned for himself that those who repent will be shown mercy. On him himself, Goodness [God - S.M.] showed him an example of His mercy towards sinners - showed that just as He was delivered by Her from the sea, so She would deliver the city mired in sins. [4, p. 55.] If you fall into illness, beloved, remember who says: Son, do not despise the punishment of the Lord, but weaken from Him we rebuke: for the Lord loves him, punishes him, and beats every son he accepts (Prov. 3:11-12). [1, p. 97.] Let us try in this short and evil age to be pleasing to God in order to inherit the eternal kingdom. For He is holy, He rests among the saints, and He gives long-suffering to the faint-hearted. [2, p. 108.] Our Lord shows us an example in the Samaritan, who bandaged the wounds of a man who had suffered from robbers, and put him on his donkey, and paid for him. Blessed is the One who descended to ulcerated humanity! His generosity healed us with wine and oil. [4, p. 190.] The spirit of wisdom rests on a meek and humble person, because the Lord loves those who walk in wisdom. [1, p. 130.] Why was Christ our Savior betrayed? The Lord is betrayed for us, the wicked. Who wouldn't marvel? Who won't glorify? The slaves sinned, and the Master was betrayed in order to free his sinful sons by his own death. The sons of perdition and the children of darkness came in the darkness to hold back the Sun, which in an instant could burn everyone. The Lord, seeing their insolence and angry movement, with meekness, voluntarily gave Himself into the hands of the wicked. And the lawless, having bound the Most Pure Lord, mocked Him, who bound the strong one with insoluble bonds and freed us from the bonds of sin. They wove a crown out of their thorns, which the Jewish vineyard brought into fruit. Swearing at Him, they called Him a king, the lawless spit in the face of the Most Pure One, from Whose gaze all the Heavenly Powers and ranks of Angels come to tremble... The Lord suffers such insults and reproaches from his slaves, scourging, spitting and strangling... Come, and you will know the excessiveness of generosity, the patience and mercy of the sweetest Lord. He had a good servant in the sweet paradise, and he, having sinned, was handed over to the torturers. But the Good One, seeing that he was weak in spirit, had mercy on the slave, took pity on him and gave himself up to be scourged for him... The Creator, who by mercy created man from dust, was strangled with dust. [3, p. 218–219.] God is good and abundantly merciful; will not destroy the image He Himself created. And every sculptor carefully preserves the image he has made, how much more will the Good One preserve His living and verbal image... God, who admonishes us, our Father, punishes us for our benefit. He raises His rod in anger to both frighten and make us wise... God, the Good and Merciful, admonishes and punishes us, in order through this to save us by His grace and pour out His abundant bounties on us. With His rod He proves His love for us, in His punishment He opens His treasury to us... can we think that God is not punishing us out of love? ...no matter how great His punishment, His goodness is incomparably greater. All His punishment is a gift to people. [4, p. 60–62.] He [the devil - S.M.] does not dare to approach those who have clothed... with unfeigned love, because he sees in them the Lover of God, the author and giver of love, as it is said in the Gospel: For God loved the world, for He also gave His only Son to eat, so that everyone who believes will not perish, but may have eternal life (John 3:16). [3, p. 292–293.] Let us ask the Lord for generosity, so that He may send His grace into our hearts, because without His grace man is powerless to excel in virtues. [2, p. 142.] God has opened many gates so that people can become friends of God, just as Abraham and many others were friends of God. [7, p. 144.] Now the Divinity has placed upon Himself the seal of humanity, so that humanity may also be adorned with the seal of the Divinity. [4, p. 110–111.] Christ, our Savior, was unrighteously crucified on the tree of the cross by the hands of the lawless. Let us all come and with sighs we will drench our body with tears, because our Lord, the King of Glory, was put to death for us, the wicked... And we, sinners, for whom the One Immortal was betrayed, still remain careless. We laugh every day when we hear about the suffering and desecration of the Savior. [3, p. 220.] For the sake of the few tears shed in this short time, and for the sake of repentance, God forgives all sins. [1, p. 195.] Say to the evil thought: “Although I broke the barrels and destroyed the wine, my vineyard is intact, and the Lord is long-suffering, abounding in mercy, merciful and righteous. And I hope that, with the assistance of His grace, I will again cultivate and preserve my grapes and fill my barrels, as before.” [2, p. 141–142.] Punishment is a matter of mercy and goodness. Our love... cannot be compared with the love that God, in His mercy, has for people. Our love... is incomparably less than His love for us. [4, p. 62.] He [Christ – S.M.] will give us life from the dead, since He made us saved as if from the dead and saved us. [6, p. 113.] The Lord freely forgives the sins of many, and His baptism freely frees believers from punishment... God's mercy... covers evil with good deeds and in the end completely covers it. [7, p. 145.] Blessed is the well-fed Taurus [Christ – S.M.], who came and sacrificed Himself for people! ...Blessed is He who blocked the invisible ditch into which the evil one cast Adam! ...Blessed is the Just One, Who is good to the unbelievers, although they blaspheme Him! [4, p. 190–191.] The Most High God, for the sake of Abraham and His covenant with him, from the very beginning tolerated the evil of this people; He gave them manna from heaven to eat, but they, unworthy, lusted after stinking food. He also gave them water from a stone in the desert; and for this, having crucified him on the Cross, they gave Him the value... the impassive Master suffered for us, the One Sinless One was crucified for us... For us, the wicked, Christ, our Savior, was put to death. [3, p. 221.] Our Savior Christ... is philanthropic, strong and merciful. [2, p. 149.] Pray for me as a friend; and I know that your efforts will convince the Lord, because He Himself wants to change in disposition towards me, but expects fruit from your disposition towards me. He is ready to have mercy, but He is waiting for you to become accomplices of His goodness. For, by being merciful, he wants to teach and, by forgiving, he wants to gain accomplices. His goodness is inferior in everything. [1, p. 179.] [The Lord God - S.M.] gave His martyrs strength in feat, patience in sorrow, which helped them overcome the various tricks of the enemy who hated good. [3, p. 223.] God has justice, but He also has goodness, that with His truth He threatens, but with His goodness He has mercy. Let us appease His righteousness, and His goodness will glorify us, because if His righteousness is appeased, then His goodness is ready to help. If His righteousness is appeased, then His bounties are poured out on everyone. [4, p. 64–65.] The Merciful shows how great are the mercies of that good God in whom the fullness dwells (cf. Col. 2:9). [7, p. 147.] The Lord of glory has endured so much for us! What can we bring to Him that is equivalent to the suffering that He endured for us? Let us fall to Him with all our thoughts, asking for patience from His goodness. [2, p. 146.] Blessed is He who gave us freedom with His bread and blotted out the handwriting of our debts with His cup! [4, p. 184.] Repent, sinner, boldly relying and looking at the immeasurable love for mankind of Christ, who said: for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Matthew 9:13). [1, p. 38.] The Lord is our strength and our helper, the Lord is our refuge and intercessor, the Lord is our Protector. [2, p. 150.] Your door [of God – S.M.] is not closed; it is not closed for me either. And if it happens to be concluded for us, then in Your wisdom you do it, my Lord, and cunningly arrange it for our own sake. [4, p. 30.] The Lord raised His voice in mercy to the unfortunate and opened His mouth to those in need for remission (of sins), and those who showed honor to Him, praised them, showing thereby His concern for the love that they had for Him... He became the physician of believers, since He is the Healer of everything. [7, p. 150.] God is good and showers His blessings on everyone. He is rich and feeds everyone with tune. He is full of bounties, and His bounty extends to everyone. He is merciful, and His goodness is poured out on everyone. He mercifully heals all ailments without using sections. Instead of strong and difficult healing, which could lead to trembling, He has mercy and compassion for everyone. [4, p. 182.] Yes, beloved brother, have we forgotten what our common Master endured for us? He was insulted and humiliated. They told Him: “Besa imashi,” and He was not angry! He was called a flatterer, strangled, beaten, nailed to the Cross; He ate the ocet with bile, and was pierced with a spear in the ribs. He endured all this for our salvation. [2, p. 157–158.] The gift of patience is from the Lord, and He gives it to those who love Him; those who possess it will be freed from many sorrows. [1, p. 91.] By the mercy of God, the source of all consolations was opened. [4, p. 73.] The Lord, in His great goodness, wants everyone to be saved. [2, p. 151.] To Your servant [God - S.M.], who loves You, You will open the mouth to the glory and praise of Your grace. Good Lover of Mankind, who accepted two mites and praised the will of the widow, accept the request from me, Thy servant, increase my prayer and grant me what I asked for, so that I may become a holy church of Thy grace. [1, p. 78.] The words of God are like medicines, suitable for every disease. Apparently, they are different from each other, but have mutual affinity - their own healing power. [4, p. 181.] Just as Jonah, coming out of the sea, preached to the Ninevites, and they, having converted, remained alive, so the Lord, after resurrecting His body from the tomb, sent His disciples to the pagans, and they, having converted, received perfect and full life. [7, p. 155.] God, who loves mankind and is good, does not want harm to His creation, according to the words of He who said: For God did not create death, nor rejoices at the destruction of the living... Truth is immortal (Wis. 1:13:15). [2, p. 168.] Listen, beloved, to the blessed voice that says daily: Come to Me [Christ – S.M.], all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest: take My yoke upon you and learn - because I am silent, meek, merciful and lowly in heart: and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:28-29). He announces your rest and promises you life from day to day. Go ahead, don't be afraid. The Lord of blessings has no need for anything, does not require the handwriting of all sins. He is a refuge from all evils; heals ulcers and gives life in abundance, like a good one; willingly accepts those who come to Him; because He, the great God and Forerunner, knows all our thoughts, and if anyone comes to Him for healing, He sees the heart and all its zeal. When the one who approaches has an unchanging pious life, then the good God Himself, in His goodness, is immediately found by those who seek Him, and before a person looks to God, He says to him: here I am! ; before he approaches Him, he opens the treasure to the seeker; before she sheds tears, he sheds treasures; before he asks, he makes peace with him; Before he prays, he bestows mercy. For this is what the love of God requires and wants. He is not slow to listen to those who truly come to God. And he does not reproach the wicked man who comes again: “Why did you serve the enemy for so long and voluntarily despise Me, the Master?” He does not look for how much time has passed, but only at the humility, tears and sighs of the one who falls to Him; because He, the Forerunner, as our God and Creator, suddenly forgives all sins, all mistakes in thoughts and deeds, and says to bring him the first robe and also a ring for his right hand, and commands all the Angels to rejoice at the acquisition of this sinner’s soul. [1, p. 193–194.] The Son, who raises the dead, is sent by the Almighty to preach resurrection to the human race with few examples. The Son of the Almighty Lord comes to the poor Adamic race to restore them from the fall by proclaiming life to those imprisoned in the tombs. The Son of the Kingdom is sent to take possession of the city of death, and He descends to plant His sign in it and make it a monument of His victory. [4, p. 94.] The Lord does not reject those who want to be saved, but helps them. [2, p. 158.] The Lord clearly taught that His Gospel does not force a single free person to become righteous, and that barren listeners are also not deprived of the sowing of His holy words. [7, p. 161.] You [Lord - S.M.] said that in the city there was a certain judge, not fearing God, and also a person not at all ashamed, and that in the same city there was a poor widow who begged him daily and said: finally take revenge on me from my rival, and for a long time he mercilessly ignored the oppressed. But the widow’s patience was successful and turned him, merciless and merciless, to the right path (see Luke 18:2–5). An offended widow comes to an unmerciful and unrighteous judge to protect her from her rival, and I come to my merciful Lord, long-suffering and kind, who has power on earth and in heaven, to hear me soon. Holy, Divine lips! For You are not deceitful, O blessed God, as You Yourself, the Savior, said. Show Your protection to all who trust in You day and night. Do not hesitate to protect me, Lord. Snatch me from the enemy and direct my path to You, so that, having defeated the enemy, with Your grace I bless You, Merciful, Long-suffering, and glorify You, the only One who desires the salvation of all people. [1, p. 201.] He [Christ – S.M.] preached a comforting good hope to the entire human race. By the three witnesses whom He called to life, He assured everyone of the resurrection. The Wise One chose and raised three dead men of three different ages - a girl, a youth and a husband - to transform the ancient, middle and last generations. He wanted to assure of a single resurrection of the entire race - from Adam to the end; The resurrection of the near dead gave great hope to the distant ones. He represented the ancient dead in Lazarus, the middle dead in the youth, the last in the young woman, and preached one resurrection to all. [4, p. 95.] When approaching the King of all [Christ – S.M.], do not be afraid of anything like that. He does not need gifts, there is no one to take them and stop you, and you go directly to the King Himself, He accepts you, because you are not malignant, love mankind and repent of the evils of men (Joel 2:13) ... Do not hesitate and do not hide your illness. The doctor is not cruel, but compassionate, he heals with words. He speaks and speaks (Ps. 32:9), which he confirms with his very deeds. He said to the paralytic: I say to you: Arise, take up your bed and go to your house (Mark 2:11), - and the man immediately became healthy and, carrying the bed that he had previously carried, went healthy. And he said to the leper: I want you to be cleansed. And abiye, his leprosy was cleansed (Matthew 8:3). And the Lord raised Lazarus four days old from the dead. Let us not spend too much time talking about each of His works, which are countless. With a word He resolved the sins of her who wet his feet with tears and wiped them with her hair, saying to her: Your faith will save you (Matthew 9:22); because He is an inexhaustible source of healing for people. So, don't doubt it; if you want to be saved, the One who said will not reject you: If you, who are evil, know how to give good things to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:11). [2, p. 183–184.] Come into yourself and turn to the Lord with all your heart: He does not want the sinner to die, but turn to him... and you will live (Ezek. 18:32). The Lord wants everyone to be saved because He is good. [2, p. 171.] The resurrector Lord comes to show His power and not only resurrect Lazarus, but also confirm everyone in their hope. In one dead man he gave the whole world the transformation of the resurrection: and in the region of the dead he planted the sign of life. First he allowed decay to touch the deceased and only then came to raise him up, so that his stinking would assure everyone of his death, and his return to life - of the general resurrection. [4, p. 96.] His [God – S.M.] goodness is the cause of everything; righteousness is His rule for all things; His wisdom is revealed in diversity. So, what we humans can contain, He gives, sparing... our strength. [1, p. 164.] The good God showed His mercy, because when [the workers - S.M.] came to receive their reward, the latter received an equal reward with the first (see Matthew 20:1-16). [7, p. 163.] In the humiliations to which He [God - S.M.] subjected Himself, the intelligent should see His love. [4, p. 99.] You, Lord, did not come to save the righteous, but to call sinners to repentance! [2, p. 185.] The mighty Son of the almighty Lord descended from His country to establish the resurrection of the dead in the hope that He preached to those imprisoned in the tombs. [4, p. 100.] Giver of all blessings, and Source of healings, and Treasure of bounties, You alone are a good and merciful God, always giving blessings to those who ask! Since I myself often experience the immeasurable power of healing and good gifts sent down to me daily, I therefore fearlessly beg You, Christ, the long-suffering God, that Your usual grace may descend upon me to gather my mind together, and may it again heal my hidden ulcers! [1, p. 198–199.] God is rich in wise advice: sometimes he shortens, sometimes he continues the actions of His saving means; sometimes he hurries to us because he loves us; sometimes he moves away from us, again out of mercy towards us. He withdraws from us in order to increase His love, which flows after Him, and shows that it cannot be far from Him; He hastens to us to make it known how unbearable it is for Him to be separated from us... He hastens to us in His goodness. Just as He moves away from us for our benefit, so He hastens towards us in order to overtake and save us. [4, p. 179–180.] Through... the words spoken about the greatness of John, (the Lord) wanted to announce to us the abundance of His mercy and goodness and teach us how great blessings He has bestowed on His chosen ones. [7, p. 134–135.] Good Lover of Humanity! If Your grace is poured out abundantly on the grass, on the flowers and on all the greenery of the earth at this time, how much more will You grant what is asked to Your servant who begs You. [1, p. 77.] The Most High descended from His height so that people would receive resurrection from Him, took away the dominion of death so that resurrection could reign over them - and death, struck by horror, gave freedom to the entire multitude of its captives. [4, p. 101–102.] How long will we anger Him [God – S.M.], Who has given us so many blessings? Who, taking dust from the earth, created man and breathed into him the breath of life? Who has put everything under his feet, who protects those who sleep, covers those who rise from sleep, feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, comforts the faint-hearted, admonishes and has mercy? Who gave up His only begotten Son for the life of all, while for His benefits we offer thorns and thistles, fit only for burning? [2, p. 187.] We all recognize God's Providence and all the gifts with which the good God has granted us. His grace often visits our hearts at all times, and if it finds peace for itself, then, having entered, it constantly dwells in the soul; if he does not find a pure heart, he immediately retreats. But generosity again prompts her to descend and visit us sinners. [1, p. 206.] We see how the Lord glorifies those who serve Him from youth to old age. He said to the prophet Jeremiah: I remembered the mercy of your youth and the love of your perfection, when you followed... the Holy One of Israel (Jer. 2:2)... The Holy Spirit blessed those who took upon themselves the yoke of Christ, saying: It is good for the man who bears the yoke in his youth (Lam. 3:27). [2, p. 194.] Very wondrous are the deeds of our Savior, beloved! For the sake of our salvation, He did everything and created everything according to the will of Him who rules in heaven and on earth. [4, p. 103.] Together with Saint David, let us cry out to the merciful and humane Lord, saying: Open my eyes, and I will understand the wonders of Your law (Ps. 119:18). Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep into death (Ps. 12:4). [1, p. 36.] Your Day [Lord – S.M.] is like You; he loves a person, passes and comes again with each generation... This day is renewed by its love for us, so that by its power it renews our decay. Your day visited us, then passed and left us, but, out of His mercy, He returns again and visits us. [4, p. 115–116.] If someone is holy, he is glorified, if someone is righteous, he is honored, if someone is honest, strong and wise, he is worthy of a degree of glory. However, if they were all united and combined in one person, then even then they would not be equal to the one whom God loved and about whom he declared that he was so much superior to people and stood in the ranks of the Angels. [7, p. 134.] Having experienced through experience the many and ineffable Thy mercies, O Lord, I implore the greatness of Thy bounties: save me and grant to Thy servant the forgiveness of his soul - this is all that he asks from the treasures of Thy mercy. [1, p. 190.] Let us pray to the Lord with all our hearts to shelter us. For He rejoices over those who are being saved, for which reason He has prepared for them: eyes have not seen, and ears have not heard, and the heart has not sighed (1 Cor. 2:9). [2, p. 208.] The net of the All-Giving One catches life; whoever is pulled out of it is torn away from life. Who is able to enumerate for me the various means of salvation hidden in You, Lord? [4, p. 118.] God loves those who are not covetous, who voluntarily, for the sake of Christ, subjected themselves to sorrows, in labor, in vigil and much suffering, and who prepared themselves to see the Immortal Bridegroom in glory. Such will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. [1, p. 216.] The Lord multiplied the loaves of bread in the desert and turned water into wine in Cana. He accustomed and adapted their [people’s – S.M.] mouths to His bread and wine, until the time came when He gave them His Blood and Flesh to eat... He gave them small things without payment, so that they would learn that the gifts of His grace are all the more given freely. What they could have received from Him for payment, He gave them freely, just as what they wanted (i.e., they should have, but could not) receive from Him for payment, He did not give them for payment, so that they would know that He did not require payment from them... But not only did He give us freely, but He also used some cunning to attract us. After all, he gave us such small things freely in order to induce us to go and receive without any payment what is superior (to them). Those crumbs of bread and wine that he gave were sweet for the larynx, but the gift of Body and Blood was useful for the minds. Through what is sweet to the larynx, he aroused us in order to attract us to what gives life to souls. For this reason, he mixed sweetness into the wine he made to show how great treasures were hidden in His Life-Giving Blood. [7, p. 170–171.] Let us submit our petitions to the will of the True and Merciful [God – S.M.]. With His truth He tempts and rejects requests that are harmful to us and, in His mercy, fulfills requests that are beneficial... He is the Giver whose treasury is an abundant source of blessings and who never refuses gifts. If he sometimes refuses for a time, he refuses so that the gift becomes more precious for those who accept it. [4, p. 179.] Always keep the Lord before your eyes, for He saves those who trust in Him. [1, p. 130.] It is possible only for God, brethren, to raise the dead. But even in unhealed illnesses He gave people repentance. [3, p. 200.] The wise Doctor [Lord – S.M.] sees that the poison of arrogance begins to spread... and hastens to stop its action so that it does not spread to the whole body... The Doctor suppresses the cause of the disease, blocks the harmful source... He can always forgive sins, but sometimes He does not forgive in His truth; He can always refuse mercy, but His goodness sometimes does not allow this. [4, p. 177.] Those who serve the Lord righteously are given... gifts of grace and everything that befits saints... Pray... that the good and merciful Lord, the hope of the desperate, will keep and save us in His Kingdom and in His glory. [2, p. 215–216.] Out of His great goodness and out of His boundless love for mankind, not wanting the sinful human race to perish completely, [God – S.M.] provided everything... for the weak and unfaithful. [5, p. 457.] [About God - S.M.] Glory to Thee, Condescending One! Glory to Thee, Long-suffering One! Glory to You, Gentle One! Glory to Thee, O Good One! Glory to Thee, the Only Wise One! Glory to Thee, Benefactor of souls and bodies! Glory to You, who like His sun shines on the evil and on the good, and brings rain on the righteous and on the unjust (Matthew 5:45). Glory to You, Who feeds all nations and the entire human race as one person! [1, p. 24–25.] For you, the Lord was mocked on the Cross, and you, pathetic one, constantly decorate the outfit of your clothes... For you, the wicked, the One Sinless One was given over to death, mockery, and reproach. [3, p. 220.] Come, brothers, to see a soul captured not by barbarians and the sword, but by evil wisdom; She blames the good God, Who wants every person to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, Who endured the Cross for us! He calls, saying: Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest: take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you will find rest for your souls; For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light (Matthew 11:28–30). And he also says: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; press, and it will be opened to you; for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to the one who asks, it will be opened (Matthew 7:7-8). [2, p. 209–210.] Our Lord is very pleased with those who repent and awaits our conversion. [1, p. 209.] Glory to the Rich One [Christ – S.M.], Who paid for us everything that He did not borrow, and He Himself signed up as a debtor for us! With the yoke He took upon Himself, He broke the bonds of Him who took us captive for us. Praise be to the Judge, Who was judged for us. [4, p. 113.] At the beginning of His miracles, [the Lord Jesus Christ - S.M.] made wine for the guests that makes them happy, in order to let them know that His Blood will fill all generations of the pagans with joy. All existing joys are connected with wine, and all possible salvation is connected with the Sacrament of His Blood. He gave sweet wine, which changes hearts, to show that he would give them teachings that change hearts. [7, p. 171.] God gave us the grace of sonship in baptism and will not give us the grace of remission of sins? He who gives great things will not be merciful to small ones? He who gives resurrection to the dead will not give healing to the weak? He who gives sight to the blinded eyes will not cleanse them of suppuration? He who cleanses putrefied ulcers will not take care of those who have pimples? The one who led from slavery to freedom refuses to listen to justification? The one worthy of sonhood will not accept confession from his son? He made a son out of a slave and will not accept a son who has sinned? God does not disdain that which is great and above all, that is, to be called the Father of men, and He will refuse to do something small - to become a cleansing for the confessing children? ...He died for us - and does not intercede for us? He deigned to be crucified for us - and will he refuse to have mercy on us? If He loved us so much that He accepted being strangled for us, will He despise those languishing in hunger, having Himself a source of mercies? ...If Christ had not had a source of mercies, then perhaps someone else would have said: that is why He died because He did not have anything to redeem His beloved. But He did something extraordinary - and will not give a person something unimportant? He has not rejected the ungodly and will not accept the repentant? Called the transgressors of the law - and will turn away from those who convert? He had mercy on the blasphemers - and will not have mercy on those who beg Him? Or does He show mercy one day and punish another time? Today - Father, and in the morning - a stranger? Today he expresses love, but the next morning, due to poverty, he does not do it? Today is good, but the next morning is cruel? Today, having heeded the caresses, he supplies, and the next morning, having become prudent, he does not allow himself to be deceived? Away with such speculation! [3, p. 202–203.] Praise be to Him [Christ – S.M.] Who shed light into darkness and exposed its secrets, but covered His hiddenness, and stripped and took off our clothes of defilement! Praise be to the Most High, Who dissolved His salt with our spirit and His leaven with our souls, and made His body bread to revive our deadness! [4, p. 112.] He [the Lord God – S.M.] made the impassable sea passable for His people. He rained down manna and quails from the sea, like the sand of the sea (see Ps. 77:24:27). He gave water from the rocky stone to the thirsty. He alone, in His goodness, saved the one who fell into the hands of robbers. May His goodness move toward mercy towards me, who have fallen into sins and bound by madness as if by bonds. I have no boldness before the One who searches hearts and wombs. No one can heal my illness except Him Himself, who knows the depths of the heart. [1, p. 28.] Praise be to the Son of the Righteous [God – S.M.], Whom the sons of iniquity crucified! Praise be to Him who freed us from bonds and was Himself bound for us! Praise be to Him who stood surety for us and paid our debt! Praise be to the Most Beautiful One, Who created us in His image! Praise be to the Purest One, Who did not look upon our defilements! [4, p. 112.] Every day I irritate Your long-suffering, O Lord. Before my eyes I see both my bitterness and Your mercy. But the kindness of Your long-suffering overcomes my bitterness. And the birds with great compassion feed their chicks and, rejected by their own offspring, do not extend their negligence to the point of neglecting them, because they are overcome by their own compassion. If the birds are so compassionate, then how much more is Your grace, O Lord, overcome by Your own bounty, in order to have mercy on all who desire You. But similarly, a mother, dishonored by her child, cannot bear the heart to despise him, because she is overcome by her compassion. If the one who fed with her milk is overcome by her compassion, then how much more so is the grace of Your love for mankind, O Lord of souls, daily overcome by Your generosity in order to save and have mercy on those who constantly desire You. [1, p. 200.] Blessed is He [God the Father - S.M.] Who saved us with the true Lamb, and cast down the One who overthrew us like Dagon. [4, p. 123.] Ты даруешь мне блага, Спаситель, а я воздаю за них лукавством. Be long-suffering towards me, the corrupted one... through Your generosity and goodness, whiten my defiled robe, so that I, unworthy, having put on a bright robe, may be worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. [1, p. 28–29.] Just as on the Cross [Christ - S.M.] lived the dead, so He created infants, being a Baby... Having been put to death, He opened the coffin and, being in the Mother's womb, opened the wombs of mothers... When His power abided in the Mother's womb, then He created infants in the womb of their mothers. [4, p. 125–126.] You [Christ – S.M.] came to humiliation in order to give life to everyone: praise be to You from all those brought to life by Your hand! [4, p. 127.] Ввергнем себя в море щедрот Божиих. God Himself exhorts and invites everyone, saying: Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). Everyone is invited by the Humane and Kind, Compassionate and Long-suffering, Who wants all people to be saved. He not only exhorts and calls on His own, but calls everyone: Come to Me, all of you, whether you are rich or poor, for the one who comes to Me I will not cast out (John 6:37). [1, p. 37.] Since Adam, having become seduced, exchanged truth for falsehood, the Good One [God - S.M.], having mercy, justified and restored those who had seduced. [4, p. 129.] The man-loving God calls you, saying: come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden. He admonishes everyone. Nobody despair. [1, p. 39.] The Divinity... took on flesh and descended to people in order to snatch and pluck from people what is characteristic of man, and in signs clearly show His Divine nature to the faithful... He took flesh from people so that people could rise to His Divinity. [7, p. 111.] Do you see God's providence? Do you see the mercy of Christ? Do you see how a holy God always loves us and wants us to be saved? [1, p. 206.] I am amazed at Your goodness [God - S.M.], because the multitude of our untruths does not overcome and does not overcome it... The praise of Your goodness, which softens Your blows! Although they are formidable and difficult in truth, their goodness softens them so that it becomes light. Praise to Thy truth, holding back generosity! Although they are delightful and pleasant in goodness, truth makes them hard in order to serve for the correction of people. [4, p. 175.] My brothers... remember what is written: He went out and sowed His seed (Luke 8:5). Who is he who came out and sowed? Good Householder, our Lord Jesus Christ! What is He sowing? The word of the Gospel, His holy commandments! Where does He sow? On what land? On human hearts, in all corners of the world. [1, p. 43–44.] The good one saw the impoverishment and misery of the human race; therefore, like treasuries, he instituted a holiday and opened them for the lazy, so that the holiday would encourage the lazy to rebel and become rich. Here the Only Begotten, like a treasury, opens His feast to us. This is the only day of the year that opens a treasury to us. [4, p. 129.] The Lord... is not cruel, and not uncompassionate, and not merciless; does not use iron, as well as strong healing and cauterization; heals in one word. If you want to come to Him, then He is full of goodness, full of mercy. Came for you from the depths of the Father. He incarnated for you, so that you would approach Him without fear; He became man for you, to heal your grievous wounds. With great love and with all goodness He calls you to Himself. [1, p. 191–192.] For us, our Lord endured spitting, a spear, a crown of thorns, scourging, reproach, mockery, and ridicule. Blessed be His mercy! [4, p. 157.] The Divine never turns away from one who has faith. [7, p. 108.] Man... the Almighty God came from heaven for you to lift you from earth to heaven. You are invited to the marriage of the Heavenly Bridegroom. [1, p. 196.] Let us give thanks to Him [Christ – S.M.] Who was wounded and healed us with His wounds! Let us give thanks to the One who removed the curse from us with His crown of thorns! Let us give thanks to the One who put death to death by His death! Let us give thanks to the One who was silent and justified us! Let us give thanks to the One who cried out menacingly against the death that was devouring us! Благословен Тот, Чьи спасительные средства умалили число стоящих ошуюю! [4, p. 114.] People, our Lord is meek, unforgiving, kind, generous, merciful, long-suffering, and always forgives our wickedness if we ourselves wish it. For He calls, He endures for a long time, He gives us all His blessings in this life and there, if we want it. [1, p. 194.] Let [people – S.M.] praise the Son because He, the Good One, died for the evil, that He, the Son of the Righteous, enriched them with all good things. Blessed are His bounties! [4, p. 157.] The Lord wanted to teach... that [He - S.M.] is the One Who gave... health... and at the same time showed that He is not, as it were, some kind of medicine, which by (its very) nature heals all those who receive it, but that with the consciousness and understanding of His will heals those who worship Him. [7, p. 108.] Blessed is the Shepherd [Christ – S.M.], who became the Lamb to make us clean! Blessed is the Vine, which has become the Cup of our salvation! Blessed is Grozd - the source of life-giving medicine! Blessed is the Worker, sown like wheat, reaped like a handle! Blessed is the Creator, who has become a pillar for our defense! [4, p. 114.] Glory to the Father, who delivered us from the darkness of hell and placed sweets in paradise. Glory to the Son, who delivered us from the unquenchable fire and the eternal worm and made us worthy to become heirs of the heavenly Jerusalem. Glory to the Holy Spirit, who delivered us from sinful corruption and eternal shame and crowned us with joy, in true light and exceeding glory, forever! [3, p. 89.] Come, blind people, and accept the light of the eyes without price! Come, you lame, embrace the strength of your feet! Come, tongue-tied and dumb, accept the gift of the word! Come, dispossessed of your hands, accept the power in your hands! The Creator Son has His treasury full of all kinds of medicine. Is anyone blind? Let him come to Him, He will create clay, turn it into flesh and give light to the eyes. By this clay He proves that His hand formed Adam from the dust. And the soul returned to the deceased testifies that He also breathed the breath of life into man... Flock together, lepers, and accept cleansing without difficulty! He does not cleanse like Elisha, who commanded to wash in the river seven times. He does not tire with sprinklings, like the priests. And you, strangers and strangers, resort to the great Physician! The Son of Kings is not alienated from anyone, just as every master is not alienated from his servants, and He is the Lord of all. [4, p. 151–152.] His [Christ – S.M.] Divinity, dwelling in human nature, united with humanity for the benefit of humanity. [7, p. 104.] The Father of Truth [Christ – S.M.] is a worker; He cultivates His vineyard and lovingly tends those that bear fruit, so that they may bear even more fruit. [1, p. 55.] You supply everyone richly and do not reproach anyone, Master Lord Almighty. You are good and philanthropic. [3, p. 88.] Let us bow to the One [Christ – S.M.], Who sat, and rested, and traveled, and for us who walk, became the path, for us who come, the door leading into the Kingdom. [4, p. 113–114.] The Lord of the universe, both Himself and through His servants, the prophets and apostles, preaches and cries, but there are no listeners. What do they preach? “The marriage is ready,” He says, “My well-fed one is cut off (Matthew 22:4). The bridegroom sits with glory and splendor in the bridal chamber and joyfully receives those who come, the door is open, the servants express their zeal. While the door is not closed, hurry to enter; otherwise you will remain outside and there will be no one to lead you there.” [1, p. 62.] The God who created us, knowing the weakness of our mind and the malignity of our opponent, gave us the Divine Scriptures as an armory and a treasure of healings. [3, p. 82.] If... having repented, [a person – S.M.] condemns himself, falls to the Lawgiver [God – S.M.] and says: “I have sinned, I have forsaken you,” then the Lawgiver, out of His characteristic love for mankind, will immediately accept him, give him the understanding and good strength to cultivate the field of his nature again, eradicate bad habits in it and instead plant good virtues. And besides, he will give him crowns and shower him with praise. For example, by nature man is hungry, but abstains; thirsts, but also endures; has desires, but remains chaste; weighed down by sleep or possessed by laziness for the praise of the Lord, but, while awake, he forces himself to sing God’s songs and for this he is crowned as having overcome nature and acquired virtues. So, glory to His love for mankind, confession of His goodness and worship of His compassion! What father is as compassionate? What father is so merciful? What father loves as much as our Master, who expresses love for us, His servants? He supplies everything, supplies everything in abundance: he heals our spiritual ulcers and is long-suffering, forsaken by us, he wants us all to become heirs of His Kingdom, he wants our willfulness, healing light and unimportant illnesses, to earn praise from Him; he heals serious and difficult illnesses himself; heals the ulcers of the lazy, opening his mouth to praise, and forgives the sins of the sinner, exciting him to zeal; He quickly listens to the weak so that he does not become cowardly, but he gives both healing and reward to those who are generous and patiently knocking on the door. He could heal all our spiritual ulcers and forcefully change us to goodness, but He does not want this, so that our will does not deprive Him of praise. So, will we be hesitant to call upon Him for help and intercession when He loves and has mercy on us? He has redeemed us and enlightened the eyes of our minds; He gave us knowledge of Himself, gave us a taste of His sweetness, so that we might fully seek Him. Blessed is he who has tasted His love and prepared himself for constant saturation with it, because he who is satisfied with such love no longer accepts another love. Who, beloved, would not love such a Master? Who does not confess and worship His goodness? What excuse will we have on the day of judgment if we are careless? Or what shall we say to Him? Was it that they did not hear, or did not know, or were not taught? What should He have done that He did not do for us? Did He not descend for us from an immeasurable height, from the blessed bosom of the Father? He, who is invisible, has not become visible to us? Didn't He, the immortal fire, incarnate for our sake? And didn’t he accept being strangled to free us? What a miracle, filled with fear and trembling, - a mortal hand, created from the dust of the earth, gives a stranglehold to the Creator of heaven and earth! And we, pitiful and poor, earthly and mortal, we are ashes, we cannot even bear a word from each other. Didn't He, the Immortal, die for us in order to revive us? Was he not buried in order to resurrect us with Him? He freed us from the enemy by binding him and giving us the strength to attack him. When did we call on Him and He did not hear us? When they knocked on the door and He did not open it for us? If at any time I slowed down, it was to increase our reward. [1, p. 58–60.] Blessed is He [Christ – S.M.] who was crucified by his own will, because he allowed it! Blessed is He Whom the tree lifted up on itself, because He allowed it to do so! Blessed is He Whom His own will brought to the mother’s womb and womb, to birth and growth! Blessed is He who, having become changeable, gave life to our humanity! [4, p. 112.] He [the Lord – S.M.] renews the foolish, who bowed and served all the luminaries, renews the earth, brought to decay by the sin of the old Adam. A new form was given to the creature by its Renewer, Who is omnipotent and restores both body and soul. [4, p. 151.] He [the Lord God - S.M.] does not withhold generosity even in anger, because He expects... conversion. For He does not want to see anyone burn in fire, but He is willing that all men should enter into life. [1, p. 188–189.] God stands and still waits for you, man, to reconcile you with the Lord; He still longs for your return so that he can accept you if you live honestly. [3, p. 82.] Praise be to Him [God the Father – S.M.], Who condescended to us in His Only Begotten! Praise be to the Silence Who spoke to us with His Word! Praise be to the Almighty, Who has revealed Himself in His East! Praise be to the Spiritual One, who willed that He who is from Him should become flesh, and His power should become tangible, and in the flesh those who were related to Him in the flesh would find mercy. [4, p. 111.] As much as we wish, the good God forgives. For here He listens to us if we cry to Him; here he forgives if we ask for it; here he blots out (destroys) our iniquities if we are grateful. Here is consolation, there is interrogation; here patience, there severity; here mercy, there justice; Here is freedom, there is justice. [1, p. 194.] Praise be to You, Son of the hidden Being, for through the secret sorrows and ulcers of a woman who suffered from bleeding, Your secret healing was announced and Your invisible Divinity was revealed to people on a visible woman (see Mark 5:24–34; Luke 8:42–48). [7, p. 100.] The Lord’s door is always open for both big and small, and we bother the Lord to open it for us... If we do not sin, the Lord’s door of generosity will always be open for people, and as soon as we sin, it will immediately close. God does not close the doors to His servants when they approach Him in prayer. On the contrary, this door is always open to those who seek God, for He said: Ask... seek... press (Matthew 7:7), expressing His readiness to give everything to the one who asks. [3, p. 82.] I beg you, beloved, pour out your hearts on me and pray for me, falling before the good and humane and Only Begotten Son of God, so that He would show His mercy to me, and deliver me from my many iniquities, and settle me in the circle of your villages, in the fence of the blessed paradise, where I would be in the neighborhood with you - His heirs. [1, p. 65.] Thanks to the Merciful [Christ – S.M.], Who bore our hard-heartedness! Praise be to Your coming, which gave life to people! [4, p. 111.] Let us leave [sins - S.M.] so that, by the grace of our Savior God, we may gain incorruptible life, so that the Lord, in His compassion for our conversion and sincere repentance, will consign our sins to oblivion. [3, p. 78.] The Holy Spirit, the revealer of the sacraments, is given to the wise and understanding man, so that wisdom, a source of joy, and the word of joy may be with him. We received a loan, so we will repay. Therefore, if we confess the One who lent to us, He will give us more than what we have received. [7, p. 96–97.] How fiery is Your love, [Lord – S.M.]! If someone murmurs against You, do not be angry; if someone threatens, you are not embarrassed; if someone mocks you, you are not offended. You are above the law - to take revenge for an insult with an insult. Moses was meek, however, his jealousy was severe, he crushed and punished with death. And Elisha, who raised one youth, gave a crowd of youths to be torn to pieces by bears (see 2 Kings 2:24). Who are you, Baby? Your love is greater than the love of the prophets. [4, p. 143.] God... With His goodness overcomes all human love of creation... the work... of God Himself is to have mercy on the hopeless and number them among His flock. [1, p. 186.] Knowing God, who called us, and the calling to which we are called, let us listen to Him, saying: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near (Matthew 4:17). It was not only for some sins that He prescribed repentance, but for others He did not. No, on the contrary, the Physician of our souls gave us this medicine for every sinful ulcer! [3, p. 78.] Your sinful soul has been redeemed by the blood of the Son of God, because all the worlds could not be a sufficient price for you: the earth, the sea, and everything on them is a small price in comparison with you. All the heavenly ranks, which are flame and spirit, did not accept death for your redemption. The Father gave His beloved Son to death for you as a ransom price. He is the only begotten Son, but the Father did not spare Him and gave Him in your place. For the sake of your life, He gave over to death the Origin of all living things; The One before whom death trembles, the Father bound and cast into death; she nailed Him to the Cross and wrote the handwriting of your debts with nails. Look at what price you were redeemed! Do not be lost to the One who bought you! His life accuses your life if you live in sin. His death cries out against your death if you do the works of death. His Precious Blood cries out to the throne of the Divine that it was shed for you, and you are perishing from sin. He who bought himself a slave, if the one he bought dies, loses not only the slave, but also the price given for him. So both the suffering and death of God from our negligence remain fruitless for us, because He gave Himself for the sake of your soul, and you did not get rid of death. He did not spare His beloved Son, but gave Him up to death for you; if you perish from sin, then you offend the One who redeemed you. With the price given for you—the suffering and death of God—death is abolished. Since your soul was purchased for life, let not death destroy your life. [4, p. 40–41.] Take a closer look! The Bridegroom [Christ – S.M.] approaches and does not hesitate, because he comes suddenly to rejoice those who are waiting for Him. A voice is heard: behold, the Bridegroom is coming (Matthew 25:6); and those who are with you will go with joy, having their clearly burning lamps and bright clothing, and will hear the voice of the Bridegroom, who will say: Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34). [1, p. 68.] The hero [Christ – S.M.] is always ready to give you His right hand and restore you from your fall. As soon as you are the first to stretch out your right hand to Him, so He will give you His right hand to raise you up. [3, p. 76.] As much as a person can accept, (this) is given to him by grace, which, together with the promise of further similar (same) mercy, descends on the recipient and rests in him. [7, p. 96.] Blessed be the Child [Christ – S.M.], who has now given youth to humanity! Blessed is the Fruit that now bends towards the hungry! Blessed is the Rich One, who suddenly enriches our poverty and makes up for our shortcomings! Blessed is He who is moved by generosity to visit us, the weak! [4, p. 111.] Whoever loves You [God - S.M.], is constantly satisfied by Your grace... Give me what I ask for and pour into my heart at least one drop of Your love, so that, like a flame, it will kindle in my heart and consume (destroy) the thorns and thistles in it, that is, evil thoughts. [1, p. 77.] Satan fights against people secretly, with cunning, but Christ clearly destroys all of his slander and gives us the strength to trample on it. [3, p. 76.] If there is joy in heaven over a sinner who is converted, flows to repentance and is accepted by God; then sorrow occurs for a sinner who does not convert, and God is very sorry if you do not flow to repentance. [4, p. 40.] One door of life (see John 10:7:9), which is open to all through faith; and He [Christ – S.M.] is ready to listen to every person who calls on Him. [6, p. 43.] Let us not be careless and let us not become lazy, having such a merciful Master [Christ – S.M.]. For while we are here, He is merciful and saves and forgives our iniquities. Who will not marvel at the short-term tears, that in this one ten hour He forgives thousands of sins, and heals thousands of our ulcers, and, having healed, also gives a reward for the tears. For this is usually His grace: after healing He lavishes rewards. [1, p. 82.] How lenient You are and how adamant You are, Child [Christ – S.M.]! Terrible is Your judgment, tender is Your love. [4, p. 142.] The second... covenant was established through the Blood of That Man [Christ - S.M.], Who, by His grace, gave Himself for everyone. [7, p. 92.] The Holy God deigned to dwell in your church forever, but you upset the good Lord, the Lord inexhaustible in mercies, who wants to give you His Kingdom. God dwells in the body of those who have become immaculate and pure churches. If you wish for God to dwell in your body always, all the days that you live on earth, then the Holy God Himself will dwell you in His paradise, in incomparable light, in immortal life, for ever and ever, and with great joy He will rest you there... God is a jealous God, God is Most Pure and Holy, He dwells in the souls of those who fear Him and fulfills the will of those who love Him. [3, p. 70.] If the Lord helps me, then I wish to free myself from my pitiful, passionate disposition, and if He has mercy on me, I am ready to take upon myself the vow of obedience to Him. If He works with me according to the abundance of His mercy, He will deliver me from sin; and if He pours out His goodness on me, then I will be saved; I am confident that this is possible for Him, and I do not despair of my salvation. I know that the multitude of His bounties will overcome the multitude of my sins. I know that I had mercy on all who came and in baptism granted remission of sins; I confess this because I too have benefited from grace. But I still need healing from sins committed after baptism; and it is not impossible for Him who raised the dead to heal me too. I became blind, but He also healed the man born blind. I am a sheep destined to be a prey to the lions, but He delivered Adam from the mouth of the serpent. Through my sins I became like a dog, but, having been healed, I will be a son, like the Syrophoenician woman. I am rejected like a leper, but if You will, I will be cleansed. I know that I sinned after I acquired knowledge, but I have Saint David as my prayer book; he, with the help of the Lord, corrected himself, and I will be healed if he visits me. I know that I am abundant in sins, but His goodness towards me will not be overcome by them. He who gave advantage to the publican can give it to me, who has done even more evil. He had mercy on Zacchaeus as worthy; He will have mercy on me as unworthy. Paul was a wolf pursuing the sheep of His flock, but, stripped of his cruelty, he became a sheep. It was a beast that scattered sheep, but became a shepherd caring for the sheep. I know what Paul did out of ignorance. But I compare my sin, done with knowledge, with His abundant mercy and ask only for remission of sins; and Paul, as one who did not know, received both remission and greater grace. [1, p. 178–179.] The Merciful [God – S.M.] is waiting for you to shed tears from your eyes before Him, and with them He will cleanse and renew the damaged image of your soul. [4, p. 39.] Priests... sacrificial rites... could not cleanse sins until the Only Sacrifice [Christ - S. M] came and put sin to death in His flesh... the law was powerless, since it could not show mercy and compassion to the guilty - as if weak, who could not do anything stronger than himself... Sin was gathered together, which was a debt to the law, - and, having introduced, concluded it in His very flesh - and The deceased killed him. [6, p. 32–33.] Blessed is Thy flock [of Christ – S.M.], because You are their door, You are their rod, You are their pasture, You are their drink, You are their salt, You are their Visitor, the only fruitful one and abundant in all saving means! [4, p. 137.] God did not deign to make any of the visible creatures a partaker of His nature and lift it up to the Father, except man, who loved Him above all. [3, p. 36.] Just as through the assistance of the sun and the eye everything visible that is in heaven and on earth is contemplated, so God the Life-Creator is the light of the living, and when he communicates with the mind (of man), he directs him to the knowledge of the mysteries, leads him to the abyss of wisdom, and reveals to him the hidden. [7, p. 85–86.] You, Master, Son of God, through the multitude of Your bounty, patiently looked upon all my wickedness. My head is lifted up by Your goodness, O Lord, but it is daily humbled because of my sins. The same grace of Yours again draws me to life. [1, p. 187.] God grieves and sympathizes for a soul that has become dead... A father burying his beloved son does not grieve as much as God grieves for a soul killed by sin. Mourn your soul and prove your love for God, who Himself grieves and regrets the soul killed by sin. [4, p. 38.] There is another - the inner man, other eyes that Satan blinded, other ears that he made deaf, but Jesus came to save this and make man healthy. For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). [3, p. 34.]. Since our Intercessor and Propitiator has come for us [Christ – S.M.], there is no condemnation for us, which could have come from the law. [6, p. 31.] Blessed is the Merciful One [Christ – S.M.], Who, seeing that the sword at Paradise was blocking the path to the tree of life, came and took on flesh in order to suffer and by piercing His side to open the way to Paradise! Blessed is the Merciful One, Who did not use cruelty and violence, but triumphed with wisdom in order to set an example for people how to win wisely with firmness and wisdom! [4, p. 137.] Our Lord Jesus Christ, the giver of our life, completed His entire economy in the flesh through suffering. He, the Lord of all, took on the form of a slave: he was rich, became poor, suffered hunger, thirst, labor, fatigue on the way; The Creator of all things and the Lord did not have anywhere to bow his head (Matthew 8:20) ...Why did the abundant Source thirst, turning water into wine, flowing rivers of living waters from the wombs of those who believe in Him? Of course, He wants to show us this example and model of life, so that, by practicing the same, we will get rid of the evil spirit of the devil and achieve the eternal Kingdom of Christ. That is why He suffered, reproached, slandered, spat upon, struck on the cheek, scourged, crowned with thorns, receiving a reed in His hand, clothed in purple, strangled, receiving all kinds of reproach and ridicule, crucified, drunk with sap and gall, pierced in the side with a spear, imputed with the wicked. The Lord endured all this for our sake, all this was endured by our Long-Suffering One for the sake of salvation... He does not demand reward from us, but only wants us to take care of our own salvation. [3, p. 277–278.] When I was not yet on earth, it pleased You, Master, according to Your great generosity, to form me in the womb of my sinful mother, and, having been born by grace, I, unworthy, was vouchsafed to become a vessel of Your grace and a good harp, always sweetly proclaiming the words of salvation to all who listen. [1, p. 207.] The Lord, after His persecution, shared His flesh and His blood with His disciples and faithful. [7, p. 83.] Seeing that everyone had humbled themselves, everyone had become chaste, the Lord had mercy, had mercy, saved, spared, canceling the punishment he had threatened, and wished better to appear to have failed to fulfill his word than to be cruel. Thus, He punishes unyielding sinners and does not allow the obedient to perish mercilessly. Hurry up: pray, save yourself, take care of yourself. The Lord is ready for mercy, ready to heal, quick to help, does not hesitate to deliver, gives to those who ask, opens to those who ask, supplies the poor, provides for the needy, does not refuse those who seek, is not angry with the fallen, stretches out his hand to save, loves those who seek permission, threatens the disobedient. Did you stumble? - Sober up. Has it fallen? - Turn, pray, ask, fall, covet, seek, receive, be sure of what is given to you, bow, beg for salvation, propitiate the One who is willing to give and can save. [3, p. 28.] Blessed is the Messenger [Christ – S.M.], who came and brought great peace! The bounties of His Father have inclined Him to us; He did not lift up our debts to Him, but satisfied His Majesty with His own wealth. [4, p. 136.] The Heavenly Physician, as the Good One, heals ulcers with tears and sighs. [1, p. 192.] He [God – S.M.] has freed you, do not come under the yoke of slavery; through baptism freed you from the sin that you committed, do not return to sin and do not enter under the yoke of sin from which you were freed by the cleansing of baptism. [6, p. 30.] May our defilements be atone for the good deeds that You [Christ – S.M.] have performed for us. [4, p. 4.] Come to the Savior, Who heals all who come to Him, with repentance and perfect faith. [3, p. 27.] He who loves the Lord does not irritate his neighbor, but preserves himself, according to the word of Him who said: And whatever men will do to you, so do you to them: for this is the law and the prophets (Matthew 7:12). [1, p. 140.] What is easy, convenient, and short-lived, that is what [the Lord - S.M.] commanded, saying: “Forgive your brother’s sins, and I will forgive you your sins. You will forgive small mistakes, perhaps a few ovols or three denarii; and I give you thousands of talents. And you only forgive without giving anything as a gift, but I forgive you your sins and give you healing and the Kingdom. And then I will accept your gift when you are reconciled with those who are hostile to you. When you have no enmity against anyone, when the sun does not set on your anger, when you have peace and love with everyone; then your prayer is acceptable, and your offering is acceptable, and your house is blessed, and you yourself are blessed. And if you are not reconciled with your brother, then how can you ask Me for forgiveness? I, your Lord, command you, and you do not heed; and you are a slave, how dare you offer Me prayer, or sacrifice, or firstfruits, having enmity against someone? As you turn away your face from your brother, so will I turn away my eyes from your prayer and from your gift.” [3, p. 5–6.] Let us beg each other, beloved, to instill in each other the fear of God, to arouse in each other zeal for the praise of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that He will resurrect us with all those who have loved His appearing and place us at His right hand in His Kingdom. [2, p. 110.] Prayer and fasting are wonderful, but they are strengthened by almsgiving, for it is said: I want mercy, not sacrifice (Hos. 6:6). Look how the prophet denounced the unmerciful: I do not remember to show mercy, and the pursuit of man is poor and wretched, and the heart is touched to kill... so that their memory will be consumed from the earth (Ps. 109:16:15). And one more thing: You [Lord God – S.M.] have smote him, and have driven them away, and have added to my disease the wounds (Ps. 68:27). Therefore, the Savior pleases the merciful, saying: Blessed are the mercy, for there will be mercy (Matthew 5:7). What does the angel say to Cornelius? Speech ... not only your prayers, but also your alms, you have lifted up as a memorial before God (Acts 10:4). [2, p. 128.] If... you say: “Although I do not love my brother, I love God,” then the same apostle convicts you, saying: If someone says that I love God, but hates his brother, it is a lie: for you do not love your brother, who is in his presence, God, who is not in his sight, how can you love? (1 John 4:20). Therefore, whoever has love for his brother and has no enmity against anyone, whoever fulfills the word of the apostle: Let not the sun go down on your anger (Eph. 4:26); He truly loves God, he is a disciple of Christ, who said: Of this all understand, just as you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35). So, it is clear that the disciples of Christ are known here by true love. But whoever has hatred for his brother and thinks that he loves Christ is a liar and deceives himself. For the Apostle John says: This commandment is from Him, that he who loves God also loves his brother (1 John 4:21). And the Lord also says: You shall love the Lord your God as... yourself (Matthew 22:37:39). Wanting to show the power of love, He added: in this both commandments the whole law and the prophets hang (Matthew 22:40). [3, p. 7.] Leaving aside the shortcomings of other people, let us take care of our own success every day. Let us not think that we have done anything, but we will believe that everything was created for our sake, for we received the commandment to love our enemies for our own sake, and not for their sake. [7, p. 92.] He is not merciful who does not have compassion on the weak. For the blessedness of mercy is that there will be mercy (Matthew 5:7). [1, p. 126.] Our Lord and Savior Jesus said: If you then bring your gift to the altar and remember that one, because your brother has something for you: leave your gift before the altar and go first to humble yourself with your brother, and then come and bring your gift (Matthew 5:23-24). And through the Apostle he commands, saying: Have peace and holiness with everyone, and no one else will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). [2, p. 139.] Let us make many poor people as our witnesses; let us buy oil from them and send them ahead of us, for these are the ones who sell oil for lamps: widows, orphans, the weak, the crippled, the lame, the blind, lepers, and all the poor who sit at the church doors. We will bend them to our side; they will reconcile the Judge with us. Let us not turn away from those who come to us, but let us greet them cheerfully; and those who do not have the strength to come, we will send them ourselves: this is more important than the first. Let everyone find out in the churches if there is a poor person or a stranger and, having found them, try to take them into the house and put them to rest. Let everyone make an effort to anticipate the poor, before everyone who wants to do this, because together with the poor Christ, who became poor for our sake, enters the house; For with such sacrifices God is pleased (Heb. 13:16). And if he who receives a prophet... accepts the reward of the prophet (Matthew 10:41), then what reward will he receive who receives Christ Himself? Obviously, the one about whom it is written: whose eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has the heart of man breathed (1 Cor. 2:9). Whoever brings a poor person into his home also brings in Christ, who said: Blessed is mercy (Matthew 5:7). The beggar who has mercy gives back to God (Prov. 19:17), who said: Since you have made one of these least of my brethren, you have been created with Me (Matt. 25:40). He who welcomes a stranger under his roof accepts Christ, who said: But the Son... (of God) should not bow his head (Luke 9:58). All this and the like are the fruits of repentance, the crown, praise and glory of Christians. [3, p. 14–15.] Accept the one who has erred and repents, who has risen from the dead, from the depths of lack of fear and negligence. Listen to what the apostle says: ... lest such a one be consumed by much sorrow... strengthen your love for him (2 Cor. 2:7-8). And again: We pray, brothers, admonish the disorderly, comfort the faint-hearted, intercede for the weak, be patient with everyone. Take heed that no one repays evil for evil; but always pursue good things, both to one another and to everyone (1 Thess. 5:14-15). For the Lord of glory did not reject the prodigal son, but accepted him as one risen from the dead, and clothed him in the first garment, and gave him boots and a ring, and slaughtered a well-fed calf, in order to rejoice at the discovery of his lost son; when the other son was offended by this, he healed him with admonition, saying: child, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. So rejoice and rejoice as you should, for this brother of yours was dead and is alive: he was lost and is found (Luke 15:31-32). [2, p. 128–129.] Our Lord came into the world as an unarmed youth, and did not inflict on them any of the wounds with which the ancients weakened the people, but after He attracted them to Himself, having conquered them with visible healing, He began to apply spiritual healing to them, saying: if you believe. Since he surpassed all teachers, (therefore) what was given in measure increased in measure, and what was transmitted by his predecessors reached Him; He divided it like a ripe fruit, with the taste that He Himself gave to it. When he suffered on his cheek, he showed the deed along with the commandment and taught what is written: whoever strikes you on (one) cheek, turn to him the other also. [7, p. 92–93.] Excellent help to you on that day [day of Judgment - S.M.], if you showed compassion for the poor here. Your wonderful defenders before Christ are the poor whom you nourished, towards whom you were merciful, whom you sheltered and saved. Wonderful and strong intercessors for you - Christ's brethren, the poor, orphans, widows, strangers, the helpless, the crippled, the blind, captives, abandoned by everyone, in torture, in deserts, in prisons, in captivity, in illness, in troubles - saved and pardoned by you. There they will then be your great representatives, great intercessors, great helpers; They will show Christ what you gave them, how you fed them, how you gave them rest, how you served them. There they will be, like the brothers of Christ, your wonderful brothers. For if one royal brother often has great power in intercession with his brother, the king, is not intercession much stronger when many brethren plead? [3, p. 246–247.] He who shows mercy to his neighbor will find mercy from the Lord, but judgment without mercy is for him who has not shown mercy (James 2:13). [1, p. 140.] If, beloved, you are worthy of the gift of knowledge and discernment or healing, then take care that, relying on the gift, you do not end your life fruitlessly and when the king separates the righteous from the sinners, you do not say: have mercy and do not hear along with those standing on your side: we do not know you (Matthew 25:12). For it is written: Not everyone who says to Me: Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven: but do the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many people said to Me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and in Your name we have cast out demons, and in Your name we have created many mighty powers; And then we will confess to them: because I have known you no more, depart from Me, you workers of iniquity (Matthew 7:21-23). Why? Because they did not keep love, as it is written: Do not love your brother, who is in his sight, God, who is not in his sight, as he can love (1 John 4:20). It is also written: The same servant knows the will of his master, and... no matter what he does... there will be many beatings. But he who does not know, having done something worthy of wounds, will have few beatings (Luke 12:47–48). And the apostle says: and even after excellence I will show you the way. Even if I speak the tongues of men and angels, but I am not an imam of love, they were (like) a ringing brass, or a clanging cymbal. And even if an imam has prophecy, and has all the secrets and all the mind, and even if an imam has all the faith, even if he has given up mountains, but I am not an imam for love, I am nothing. And even if I give away all my possessions, and even if I give up my body, I burn it, but love is not an imam, there is no benefit for me. He is patient with love, he is merciful, he does not envy love, he is not exalted in love, he is not proud... he does not seek his own... he does not think evil, he does not rejoice in untruth, but he rejoices in the truth... he trusts all, he endures all. Love no longer disappears (1 Cor. 12:31; 13:1–8). You have heard, beloved, what the power of love is. Acquire it for yourself in all your deeds, since grace guides you, so that you may receive praise from God. [2, p. 195–196.] He who works according to God, working for his own salvation, will not place stumbling blocks or temptations for others, but will direct all thoughts and actions to please the Lord God, who said: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart... and thy sincere one as thyself (Matthew 22:37:39). So, remembering who said: test the hearts and bellies, O God (Ps. 7:10), and: He will reward everyone according to his deeds (Rev. 2:23), let us do everything according to God, because God is not mocked (Gal. 6:7). [3, p. 53.] It is written: Blessed be the mercy, for there will be mercy (Matthew 5:7). Do not offend your neighbor under the pretext that he is not standing in the right place; The church is not made up of pillars, but of people. [1, p. 95.] We, brothers, will be generous in bearing each other's burdens (see Gal.6:2). What warrior, seeing that his comrade has been taken prisoner by his opponents, does not enter into a fight and fight with his opponents in order to snatch his comrade from the hands of those who took him prisoner? When he is unable to save him, then he cries and is sad, remembering his friend. Shouldn't we lay down our lives for each other much more? For our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said: Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). [2, p. 140.] Moses brought them [people - S.M.] down from the level of circumcision and placed them on the level of righteousness. Do not hit, he says, your neighbor unjustly, because if he hits you, then you will seek vengeance righteously. The Lord elevated them from the level of righteousness and placed them on the level of grace, saying: do not seek revenge on the one who hits you on the cheek, but turn the other to him. [7, p. 93.] Have you heard... one great and easy commandment, for God, the Lover of mankind, said: My burden is light (Matthew 11:30). How hard is it to forgive your brother’s sins and to receive forgiveness from God for your own sins, so that you can boldly say: Forgive me my debts, Master, because I forgave my debts to my brother? Keep this commandment: do not have enmity against anyone, never harbor hatred towards anyone. [3, p. 149.] Soul... love your God and serve Him with good works, so that when the hour of death and separation comes, He will find you ready and waiting for Him with great joy. [1, p. 203.] Let us love with all our might the Lord who created us, the Good and Humane Master, let us love each other for the sake of the Lord. Look how much love the Lord has for humanity! He said to His disciples: everyone understands this, as My disciples are by nature, if you have love among yourself. He did not say: if you bring me bulls and goats, but he said: yes... love one another (John 13:35:34). So, brothers, let us observe love, purity, silence, humility and everything that is fitting for saints; We will hate shamelessness and verbosity. For it is written: A heathen man will not be corrected in the land; the unrighteous and evil husband will be caught in destruction. I knew that the Lord would bring judgment to the poor and vengeance to the needy. Both the righteous will confess to Your name, and the righteous will dwell with Your face (Ps. 139:12-14). And the Lord also says: To whom will I look, only to him who is meek and silent and trembles at My words (Is. 66:2). [2, p. 166.] Christ, in that terrible hour of Judgment, calls the poor brethren... listen to what He says to the righteous, who will then stand at His right hand: Because you have made one the least of these brothers of Mine, you have made them together with Me (Matthew 25:40)...Christ proclaims, saying: “When this man saw Me hungry, he fed me; If I saw those who were thirsty, I quenched My thirst; if he saw them numb from the cold, he covered them; if he saw him as a stranger, he took him in; If you saw someone sick, you served Me; he brought Me into his house, he washed my feet, he washed away my wounds, he made me rest on his bed; He opened the doors of his house to Me, met Me with joy, made Me welcome; if you saw Me in extremes, you delivered Me; If you found Me in prison, you ransomed Me. Therefore I say to him: Well done, good and faithful servant: you have been faithful for a little, I will set you over many: enter into the joy of your Lord (Matthew 25:21), enjoy the joys of My paradise, enter into the Kingdom of your Lord, enter into eternal life.” And not only will Christ then say this to those who have pleased and served Him, but He will invite them to lie down and He Himself will serve them. [3, p. 247–248.] Whoever is compassionate towards his neighbor on the day of sorrow, the Lord will always be merciful to him, because a person’s alms are like a seal with him. [1, p. 92.] He who loses his soul for the sake of Christ must necessarily save it with Christ; for God, for whose sake the soul is lost, takes care to preserve (it), since His hand is a hand that reaches out to everything, and His arm is stronger than anything, so that it can pluck it from everywhere. He made His love, with which it embraces all people, lesser and more guilty of all, so that the love of people, with which they embrace the Lord of all, could be presented as superior to all. [7, p. 128.] O blessed love, giver of all blessings! Blessed and blessed are those who have acquired true and unfeigned love, as the Lord said, that no one has greater love than anyone, but whoever lays down his life for his friends (John 15:13). Having this divine love, the Apostle Paul says: love does not do evil to one’s neighbor, does not repay evil for evil, slander for slander (see Rom. 12:14). He who has acquired this love is not proud of anyone, does not envy anyone, is not angry, does not complain, and never has hatred for his brother. He who has this love loves not only those who love him, but also those who insult him. Having this divine love, the first martyr Stephen prayed to God for those stoning him, saying: Lord, do not put this sin on them (Acts 7:60). Blessed is the man who despised everything and gained love. His bribe increases every day; a crown is prepared for him, all the Angels will please him; The Lord never leaves him; because God is loving, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him (1 John 4:16). [2, p. 237.] You have loved Christ, you have renounced the world, you have been transformed from the world—be with Christ! For there is no one who leaves home... or brethren... or children for the sake of God, the kingdom of God, who does not receive a hundredfold in this present age, and in the age to come inherits eternal life (Luke 18:29-30). [3, p. 153.] Let us serve the Lord with all our strength. Let us keep His commandments with all our might. Let us love His terrible and most honorable name; Let us love our neighbor as ourselves, so that we may be worthy to hear the blessed voice: Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34). Blessed is God, who fills us with His blessing, for His mercy endures throughout all ages! [2, p. 188.] He who has mercy on the poor will be filled with good things, but for those who have no mercy the heavenly bridal chamber will be closed. [1, p. 115.] If you want to succeed, then here you will also gain the friendship of the King Himself [Christ – S.M.]. What kind of glory do you think you will find there, beloved brother, if here you still find the friendship of the King of Glory? To the degree you feel Him here, to that degree He will raise you; The more you serve Him here, the more He will honor you there. For it is written: only those who glorify Me will I glorify, and those who disparage Me will be dishonored (1 Samuel 2:30). So, honor Him with all your soul, so that He may make you worthy of the honor of the saints. By what means should His favor be obtained? Bring Him gold and silver; if you see a naked person, dress him. And if you don’t have anything like that, then bring Him other gifts, more honorable than gold and silver: faith, love, self-control, patience, generosity, humility. Refrain from gossip; watch your eyes so as not to see vanity; your hands, so as not to do injustice; turn your feet away from the evil path. Comfort the faint-hearted, be compassionate to the weak, give a cup of ice water to the thirsty, give a piece of bread to the hungry. Whatever you have and what He has given you, bring it to Him, for Christ did not reject even two widow’s mites. What did Elijah ask the widow? Isn't there a little water in the vessel and some bread? And Elijah arose and went to Zarepet of Sidon, and came to the gates of the city: and behold, there was a widow woman gathering wood. And Elijah cried after her and said to her: Bring me now a little water in a vessel and a drink. And go take it. And Elijah cried out after her, and said to her: Take this for me and wrap the bread in your hand (1 Kings 17:10-11)... And we, beloved brethren, will love the way of the saints. While we still have time, let us create for Him the wonderful fruits of repentance. Let us not lose time convenient for repentance. [2, p. 174–175.] Two commandments of love: the commandment of love for God and love for neighbor. [3, p. 198.] Who is the perfect husband? Who truly loves the Lord and loves his neighbor as himself. [1, p. 86.] Let us love God with all our might, who helps us and saves us, and let us love our neighbor as ourselves. [2, p. 201.] Since the Lord commands: love your enemies (Matthew 5:44), then we should cry, because we have departed so much from the commandments of God and boast as if we have succeeded in the most important things, while we are very far from the disposition to love our enemies and even turn away and hate those who love us. For when we slander those who have not done us any harm and take advantage of them in order to damage their glory, then all this shows us as very hateful and hostile people. Consider, what kind of atrocity would it be proof of to slander not only someone who has not done you any harm, but even someone who has done you a favor? Therefore, what basis will we have for justification when we act completely contrary to the commandments of the Lord? The Lord legitimizes love everywhere, for he says: love one another, as you have loved (John 13:34). [3, p. 267.] Why don’t we believe the one who says: Abide in love in God abides? (1 John 4:16). [1, p. 150.] It is written: only those who glorify Me [God – S.M.] will I glorify; and he who humiliates Me will be dishonored (1 Samuel 2:30). So, let us glorify God, so that He may glorify us along with all His saints. But how shall we glorify Him? - By keeping the commandments. For it is written: For the kingdom of God is not in words, but in power (1 Cor. 4:20) And again: Not everyone who says to Me: Lord, Lord, will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but do the will of My Father who is in heaven (Matt. 7:21). Above all, brother, fear the Lord in truth, and His fear will enlighten your intelligent eyes. Love humility. For humility according to God is an insurmountable wall in the face of the enemy. [2, p. 198–199.] Although now is not the time for martyrdom, let us become martyrs in conscience, resisting the devil’s plans with humility, patience, love for God and neighbor, pleasing one another for God’s sake, in fulfillment of the Savior’s commandment, which He spoke: No one has greater love than this, but whoever lays down his life (John 15:13). So, if we are commanded to lay down our lives for one another, how much more must we show each other obedience and submission in order to become imitators of the Lord. [3, p. 279.] Precipitate to come... to the brother who insulted you, and repent before him from a pure heart, according to the word of Him who commanded to forgive your brother’s sins not only seven times, but up to seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22). [1, p. 136.] I will bring my fruits as a gift to the good and merciful God, who gives life even after death and has prepared for those who love Him, without whom eye has not seen, and ear who has not heard, and who has not breathed into the heart of man (1 Cor. 2:9). To her, beloved, take courage, and let your heart be strong, and be patient with the Lord (Ps. 26:14). And your departure will be into the world. There you will see the righteous rejoicing over your salvation. There, together with Lazarus, you will settle in Abraham’s bosom, because you chose poverty, endured sorrow, endured reproaches, and did not hate humiliation. Therefore, with joy they will accept you into eternal shelters, from where illness, sadness and sighing fled. There you will see life and true light, the hope of all creation, the Redeemer of our souls, Jesus Christ, the King of glory. [2, p. 213–214.] Honor your brothers as servants of Christ, so that they will love you. [1, p. 88.] Let man not lose hope in the Lord, but let him cleave more and more each time to Him, as to the only good, humane one who can heal spiritual infirmities, always loving Him, thinking about Him and reasoning within himself like this: “If I retreat from God and leave the right ascetic life, then where can I come if not to destruction, how soon will I surrender to the advice of the evil one?” So, if the evil one daily shoots thousands of flaming arrows, vicious passions, absurd and crafty thoughts at each of the brethren in order to seduce from the path of righteousness and lead to relaxation and despair, then all the more must one resort to God and place hope in Him. For He wants the souls who resort to Him to be tested in this way, and in fact it becomes known that they, having hated everything, loved the one God and, having endured much evil from the malice of the enemy for the fact that they draw closer to the one God and do His will, acquired even greater commitment to Him and, despising thousands of deaths, loved the one God, desiring to be heirs of Him alone, they loved the one God, recognizing all things as unimportant their efforts and daily labors and exploits and realizing that they cannot do anything worthy of the expected benefits. For the thousands of years of this age are the same in comparison with the eternal and imperishable world, as if someone took one grain of sand from the whole multitude of sea sands. So limitless, endless and unchangeable is the age of the righteous and the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, such souls, who labored wisely, who waited with such hope, who went through every sorrow in the hope of the Lord and firmly held on to such hope, will not be ashamed, but will receive eternal and true life, having proven themselves proficient in temptations, according to what has been said: Who will separate us from the love of God: be it tribulation, or distress, or persecution... or nakedness, or trouble, or the sword, etc. etc. (Rom.8:35). And one more thing: tribulation makes patience, and patience is a skill, and a skill is hope (Rom. 5:3-4). And the Lord said: in your patience gain your souls (Luke 21:19); and again: he who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13). [3, p. 35–36.] What a great and extraordinary miracle! He who has love fulfills the whole law; the fulfillment of the law of love is (Rom. 13:10). [2, p. 236.] Whatever methods the Lord has given you, use them to help the poor, so that we do not be condemned for lack of love and unmercifulness. [1, p. 94.] Just as a virgin betrothed to her husband, if she is seduced by others, becomes vile in the eyes of her husband, so the soul, carried away by unclean thoughts and giving consent to them, is abominable to its Heavenly Bridegroom, Christ. On the contrary, she should, as far as possible, avoid connection with these thoughts and not delight in agreeing to them, so that the Lord, seeing her love for Him, would have mercy on her and, having come, destroy her enemies, who instill in her and convince her to have enmity towards her Bridegroom and think to turn her thoughts away from Christ. For as soon as the Lord sees that the soul, to the best of its strength, is gathered into itself, constantly seeking the Lord, waiting for Him at night and crying out to Him during the day (for this is what He commanded - to pray unceasingly), He will not hesitate to take vengeance for it and, having cleansed it from the vice that still exists in it, present it to Himself as a bride without filth. [3, p. 33.] They will shine like the sun: namely, those who kept the commandments of the Lord; who are merciful, poor-loving, orphan-loving, hospitable to strangers, clothe the naked, visit those in prison, intercede for the oppressed, visit the sick, weep now, as the Lord said (see Matt. 5:4), have now become poor for the sake of the wealth stored in heaven, forgive the sins of their brothers, have kept the seal of faith unbroken and pure from all heresy. The Lord will place these at the right hand... those who bought themselves oil from the poor and filled their vessels with it, they will stand at the right hand in glory and joy, holding brightly burning lamps, and they will hear this blessed and merciful voice: Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34). [2, p. 222–223.] Support the weak, beloved, because the strong have no need of you. It is written: those who are sick do not require health, but those who are sick (Matthew 9:12); and again: you bear the strengths of the infirmities of the weak (Rom. 15:1). [1, p. 128.] As you commemorate the saints, remember also those who are in weakness, widows, orphans, strangers, the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, as our Lord commanded; and you will be blessed, because they have nothing to repay you with; You will be rewarded at the resurrection of the righteous. [3, p. 23.] A person... must first of all observe love for his brothers, for it is said: God is loving (1 John 4:16). Therefore, if someone has acquired love, then he has acquired God; if anyone has acquired humility, he is like Christ...If anyone loves the truth, then he is truly a friend of Christ...If anyone loves his brother, he is loved by God...whoever has acquired strength and loves modesty is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit...whoever is compassionate out of love...he is perfect in virtues...whoever diligently forces himself to vigil, seeks Christ with love. [1, p. 209–210.] Those living in enmity among themselves, if they happen to be transferred from the body in such a state, at the hour of Judgment will find themselves inexorable condemnation and, like the hated, will be sent into total fire and endless darkness, because they have neglected the easy commandment of the Lord, which says: love one another (John 15:17) - and forgive up to seventy times seven (Matt. 18:22). [2, p. 224.] Love is the head of all virtues I beg you, brothers. If God is loving (see 1 John 4:16) and what is done without love is not pleasing to Him, then how will God accept prayer, or gifts, or firstfruits, or fruitfulness from a murderer, if he does not repent first, as he should? ...my beloved brothers, finally, we will not prefer anything to the acquisition of love, we will not try so hard for anything as for this. Let no one have anything against another, let no one repay anyone with evil for evil. Let the sun not set on our anger, but let us forgive all debtors and establish love, because it covers a multitude of sins. [3, p. 6.] Weep, you who loved the light and hated darkness... Weep, you who are merciful and sensitive... Weep, you who loved good and hated evil... Weep, you who acquired perfect love... Weep, you who loved admonition and teaching... Weep, you who loved crying and hated laughter. [1, p. 26–27.] The brethren must be in great love with each other. Whether they pray, read the Scriptures, or do anything else, they must place love for each other as the basis; only in this case can the exercises be worthy of the blessing of the Lord. And whoever works, and whoever prays, and whoever reads - everyone can enjoy love, living with each other in simplicity and righteousness. For what is written? Thy will be done, as it is in heaven, and on earth (Matt. 6:10), so that, just as the Angels, who are in great unanimity, live in love, in peace, and there is no exaltation, envy, discord, but only mutual love and sincerity, so the brethren abide among themselves... no matter what the brethren do, they are obliged to be in mutual love and rejoice in each other. [5, p. 450.] What good is it, children, if someone has everything but does not have saving love? ...What is the use of working for nothing if there is no love? And without it, every deed, every action is unclean. Whether someone has acquired virginity, fasts, stays on vigil, prays, gives shelter to the poor, thinks of giving a gift, or firstfruits, or fruits, builds churches, or does anything else, without love all this will not be counted as anything by God; because this is not pleasing to the Lord. Listen to the apostle who says: although I speak with the tongues of angels and with the tongues of men... if I have prophecy, and have all the mysteries and all the understanding... even as I have removed mountains, but I am not an imam for love... there is no benefit for me (1 Cor. 13:1-4). Whoever has enmity against his brother and thinks to offer something to God will be accepted on a par with the one who sacrifices a dog or the price of a harlot. Therefore, do not undertake anything without love, for love covers a multitude of sins. Oh, what a blessing we neglect! Oh, what blessings, what joy we deprive ourselves of by not acquiring love for ourselves! Not wanting to acquire it, Judas withdrew from the ranks of the apostles, leaving the true Light - his Teacher, and, hating his brothers, began to walk in darkness. That is why the supreme ruler Peter said: Judas has fallen, go to his place (Acts 1:25). And John the Theologian also says: he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is walking, for the darkness has blinded his eyes (1 John 2:11). [3, p. 6–7.] The perfect fathers, having established themselves in... the rule that they began until their death, they carried out without hindrance: for forty or fifty years they did not change their rule, that is, excellent and impeccable abstinence observed regarding food, language, reclining on the bare ground, humility, meekness, faith and love, which constitutes the knot of perfect and spiritual edification. [1, p. 52.] Blessed indeed are all who love God with all their hearts. [2, p. 15.] Whoever serves, let him not judge another, but whatever everyone does, let him who reads hold the one praying in love and rejoice over him, reasoning that he is praying for him too; and let the one who prays say about the one who works: “What he does, he does for the common good.” Thus, with great unanimity, one can hold each other in a union of love and live in mutual righteousness; and then there will be the Lord's blessing. [5, p. 451.] What an extraordinary miracle! He who has unfeigned love fulfills the whole law; because the fulfillment of... the law is love, as the apostle says (Rom. 13:10). Oh, the incomparable power of love! Oh, the immeasurable power of love! There is nothing more precious than love, neither in heaven nor on earth. Therefore, the Apostle Paul, teaching that there is nothing equivalent to love, wrote this and sent it to all the ends of the universe: Owe no one else, but rather love one another and lay down your souls for one another (Rom. 13:8). Such is love - the head of all virtues; love is the fulfillment of the law, love is immutable salvation. She originally dwelt in Abel's heart. She was Noah's pilot; she assisted the patriarchs. She saved Moses; she made David the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit; she settled in the prophets; she strengthened Job. And why not say the most important thing? She brought down the Son of God to us from heaven. For the sake of love, the Ethereal One is incarnated, the Flightless One is for us in time, the Son of God becomes the Son of Man. By love everything is built up towards salvation; death is abolished, hell is overthrown, Adam is called out, Eve is liberated. Through love, Angels and men were made into one herd. By love the oath is resolved, paradise is opened, life is revealed, the Kingdom of Heaven is promised. She, having caught the fish-catchers, made them fishers of men. She labored with the martyrs and strengthened them; she turned the deserts into comfortable hostels. She sang psalmody to the mountains and dens. She made Angels from men; she taught husbands and wives to walk the narrow path. But where will I stop, pursuing the unattainable? Who is able to depict all the benefits of love? I think that the Angels will not be portrayed as they should. O blessed love, giver of all blessings! Oh, blessed love, making those who love you blessed! Blessed, truly blessed is the person who has acquired love from a pure heart and a clear conscience! [3, p. 7–8.] The Magi, who worship the luminaries, would not have had a reason to go to the Sun [Christ - S.M.] if the star had not attracted them with its light. Their love, attached to the transitory light, led them to the Light that does not pass away. [7, p. 43.] Anyone who loves his own salvation becomes the abode of the Holy Spirit. Anyone who loves purity and chastity becomes a church of God. [1, p. 131.] When you hear... about love, do not assume worldly and carnal love, in taverns and at feasts, between people whose belly is glory and God. Their love is limited to the time of the meal, their love is enmity against God. Friends are invited here, not enemies; there is no place for the poor here; there is laughter, applause and noise; there is drunkenness and dishonor here. The apostle said about this love: whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God (James 4:4). About this love, or, better to say, about this charm and, so as not to express it even more strongly, about this love, which God does not despise, God Himself said that the pagans... do the same... if you love those who love you, what grace is there for you, or what reward do you have? (Matthew 5:47:46). But we are not talking about such love, we are not proclaiming it, we are not striving for it, but we mean unfeigned, blameless, undefiled, not selfish, all-embracing and distinguished by every good deed, which our Lord pointed out when he said: whoever lays down his life for his friends (John 15:13). For the Lord Himself taught and created this, and laid down His soul for us, not only for friends, but also for enemies. For God loved the world, for He gave His only begotten Son to eat for us (John 3:16). The Apostle Paul said about this love, having Divine love in himself: love does not cause evil to one’s neighbor, does not repay evil for evil and reproach for reproach, but is always long-suffering, merciful... does not envy... is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth... has faith in everything, has all hope, has all patience... falls away (1 Cor. 13:4–8). Whoever has this love is blessed, both in this and in the next century. He who has this blessed love is not proud, does not envy, does not hate anyone, does not despise the wretched, does not turn away from the beggar, does not leave the orphan, the widow and the wanderer uncared for. He who has it loves not only those who love him, as the pagans do, but also those who insult him. Having this Divine love, the first martyr Stephen prayed for those stoning him, saying: Lord, do not put this sin on them (Acts 7:60). I also say, and I will not stop saying: blessed is the man who has despised everything earthly and perishable and has acquired love! His reward increases every day, his reward and crown are ready for him, the Kingdom of Heaven has been granted to him. All the Angels please him, all the Heavenly Powers praise him, he will be joyfully received by the faces of the Archangels. The heavenly gates will readily open before him, and he will enter with boldness and stand before the throne of God, be crowned with the right hand of God, and will reign with God for endless ages. Who is more blessed than him, who is higher than him, who is more honorable than him? See to what heights love lifts those who have it! The apostle said beautifully: Let us not be inferior to anyone, but rather love one another (Rom. 13:8). God is loving, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him (1 John 4:16) forever. [3, p. 8–10.] Try to acquire perfect virtue, adorned with everything that God loves. For if you acquire it, you will never offend God, nor will you do harm to your neighbor. [1, p. 73.] Alms...has two sides, namely: if it is given for the sake of human glory, it leads to crime, but if the hands of the giver are extended to a brother in need out of mercy, then it also extends its thoughts to God, who rewards, as the Scripture says: where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21). [7, p. 95.] Praise for Christians is to wash the feet of the brethren. The praise of Christians is to say to your friend: “Forgive me; I have sinned before you." Christians are praised for their hospitality and compassion. It is praise and salvation for Christians to always have the poor, orphans and strangers eating together at their meals, because Christ will never leave this house. It is the praise of Christians to not let the sun go down on their anger, and not to fall asleep with anything in their hearts against anyone. The praise and crown of Christians is to endure sorrow and not have indignation; such a person will turn out to be a friend to the One who said: your sorrow will be turned into joy (John 16:20). Praise for Christians is to visit those imprisoned in prison, that is, in dens, mountains and abysses of the earth, to visit as a true disciple of Him who said: I was in prison, and came to Me (Matthew 25:36). [3, p. 15.] Love enlightens the eyes of the mind, and whoever loves enmity and quarrel is like a man who often puts his hand into the hole of asps. [1, p. 92.] Pray often, shed tears unceasingly, practice relaxation, love meekness, desire abstinence, practice silence, practice psalmody. Love God with all your soul, as He loved you; become the church of God. [2, p. 62.] Blessed are you, who will inherit paradise for your chaste behavior and immeasurable love. [1, p. 3.] Blessed is the man who loved You with all his soul, but hated the world and everything in it, in order to have You alone, the All-Holy Master, the beautiful pearl, the treasure of life. If someone so sincerely loves God, then his thought is never on earth, but it is always on the mountain (in the heights), where is what he has loved and what he longs to possess. There he feels sweetness, there he is enlightened, there he is always saturated with the sweetness and love of God. Who will be able to speak in a worthy manner about the sweetness of God’s love? The Apostle Paul, who tasted it and was satisfied with it, himself cries out and says: neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, lower than the Power... neither the height of grief, nor the depth of the valley, nor any other creature can... separate from the love of God a soul that has tasted its sweetness (Rom. 8:38-39). The love of God is an immortal fire that rises from the earth and hates earthly things. And the holy martyrs, who tasted it and were satisfied with it, teach us that the love of God is a tender bond, but that not even a two-edged sword can cut it. The torturers cut the limbs of the saints, but could not cut their love. Oh, what tender bonds of God's love! And the sword did not cut, and the fire did not extinguish, and the abyss, and other bonds, and executions did not drown her. Who, therefore, will not be surprised or who will not desire such love? [2, p. 63.] It is impossible to be with the covetousness of love. And how can this be? Whoever sticks to money hates his brother, trying to take something away from him, or seizing his field for himself, or trying to take away his neighbor’s house, or his oxen, or his cattle, or everything that he has, and at the same time he often tries to take away his life itself. So, brethren, let us destroy in ourselves the love of money, the root of all evil, and plant in ourselves love, the mother of all virtues. For the apostle, counting the spiritual fruits and wanting to show that the greatest gift is love, said: But the spiritual fruit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). And he also says: faith, hope, and love endure, these three: greater than these are loves (1 Cor. 13:13); for, as he said, they will all be abolished... (1 Cor. 13:8-9) both the Gentiles and the prophecies, even faith and hope; but love, according to his word, endures forever. [3, p. 267–268.] Blessed is the man in whom there is the love of God, because he carries God within himself. God is loving, and he who abides in love abides in God (1 John 4:16). In whom love is, together with God, above all else. He who has love in him is not afraid; because love casts out fear (v. 18). In whom there is love, he never disdains anyone, small and great, glorious and inglorious, poor and rich: on the contrary, he himself is trash to everyone; all trusts, all endures (1 Cor. 13:7). In whom there is love, he does not exalt himself before anyone, does not become arrogant, does not slander anyone, and turns away his ears from those who slander. In whom there is love, he does not indulge in flattery, he himself does not stumble, and he does not trip up his brother’s feet. In whom there is love, he does not compete, does not envy, does not look with a hateful eye, does not rejoice at the fall of others, does not denigrate the fallen, but sympathizes with him and takes part in him, does not despise a brother in need, but intercedes and is ready to die for him. In whom there is love, he fulfills the will of God, he is a disciple of God. For our good Master Himself said: of this all understand, because my disciples naturally... love one another (John 13:35:34). In whom there is love, he never appropriates anything to himself, does not say about anything: “This is mine”; but whatever he has, he offers it to everyone for common use. In whom there is love, he does not consider anyone a stranger to himself, but everyone is his own. In whom there is love, he is not irritated, is not proud, is not inflamed with anger, does not rejoice over untruth, does not commit lies, and does not consider anyone his enemy except the devil. In whom love is patient and kind... (1 Cor. 13:4-7). Therefore, blessed is he who acquired love and with it moved to God; because God knows His own and will accept him into His bosom. The worker of love will be a cohabitant with the Angels and will reign with Christ. Out of love, God the Word descended to earth. Through love, heaven has been opened for us and everyone has been shown the entrance to heaven. Through love we are reconciled with God, who were His enemies. Therefore, we rightly say that God is loving, and abides in God in love. [1, p. 5–6.] If a person judges in truth, then he forgives out of mercy, so that he may be worthy of the mercy of forgiveness when he himself is judged in truth. [7, p. 95–96.] I beg you, we too will be imitators of them [the saints – S.M.], jealous of their virtues, that is, love, love of God and love of neighbor, humility, meekness, abstinence, patience, prayer, non-covetousness, kindness, non-anger, unforgettable malice, serenity, simplicity, unconceit, unshakability of morals, tranquility of spirit, unslothful exercise in prayer and in every good deed, readiness for any danger and temptation, condescension, compassion, so that for all these wonderful deeds we, together with them, enjoy eternal blessings. [3, p. 270.] Let us always try, as long as we have time, to live purely and worthy of God, so that the Holy Spirit may dwell in us and God’s love will increase in us for the constant fulfillment of God’s will. [2, p. 64.] Blessed is the man who does not easily become angry or irritated. He is always in the world. Driving away the spirit of irritability and anger, he is far from war and rebellion, always calm in spirit and cheerful in face. He who does not quickly become angry and is not moved by empty words is a worker of righteousness and truth. He easily restrains those who suffer with his talkativeness and treats them patiently. He does not give offense; infirmities do not meet with him; he does not rejoice in quarrels; because he shows love to everyone. A person who is not angry does not like arguments, but he is always sound in mind, loves peace, and is imbued with long-suffering. He who does not easily accept the spirit of irascibility becomes the abode of the Holy Spirit. He who does not have a temper does not grieve the Holy Spirit. He can be meek, he can have love, patience, and humility. He who is not angry is adorned with every good deed and is loved by Christ. Therefore, truly he is thrice blessed who constantly drives away from himself the spirit of anger and irritability; because his body, soul and mind are always healthy. [1, p. 10.] If we need to learn in contrition of heart how to live pleasingly to God, then we are obliged to imitate his [the prophet Jeremiah - S.M.] life and portray it in ourselves, because this blessed one acquired great humility and love for God and neighbor. [3, p. 272–273.] Love humility and you will never fall into the devil’s snare, because, soaring on swift wings, you will always be much higher than the enemy’s snares. [2, p. 68.] Truly blessed and thrice blessed is the man in whom there is meekness... The meek, even if offended, rejoices; even if he is sorrowful, he gives thanks; he pacifies the angry with love; taking blows, remains firm; during a quarrel he is calm, in submission he is cheerful, he is not hurt by pride, he rejoices in humiliation, he is not proud of his merits, he does not boast, he lives in silence with everyone; He is submissive to any authority, ready for any task, deserves approval in everything, everyone praises him. [1, p. 11–12.] He who loves truth will not perish, but he who hates punishment does harm to himself... Love chastity to the extreme, so that the Spirit of God may dwell in you. [2, p. 86.] Blessed is he who has acquired true and unfeigned obedience; because such a person is an imitator of our good Teacher, Who was obedient even to death (Phil. 2:8). So truly blessed is he in whom there is obedience; because, being an imitator of the Lord, one becomes His joint heir. He who has obedience is united with everyone by love. Whoever has obedience has acquired great wealth, great wealth. [1, p. 14.] We, who have taken on the angelic image and renounced the world, must also compete with the virtues [of the righteous - S.M.] in order to be worthy of their grace and enjoy eternal blessings with them; we must compete with their patience, their modesty, lack of concern for earthly things, humility, meekness, kindness, contrition, purity, and unfeigned love. [3, p. 290.] An unenvious person... if he sees an angry person, he does not outrage him, but calms him with love, inclining him to peace. [1, p. 16–17.] When God was angry at the wickedness of the Jews and wanted to destroy them, then he said to Moses: Leave Me... and I will make you into a great language... and many (Deut. 9:14). But he who had acquired great love begged God and said: Never mind, Lord, even if you forgive them their sin, forgive them; otherwise, blot me out of the book... you wrote it in the book (Ex. 32:32). See, beloved, the greatness of unsurpassed love. For the sake of the salvation of the Jews and in their defense, Moses prays to blot him out from God’s book. This love should be imitated by those who want to be saved and enjoy future blessings. Whoever has acquired this love is no longer subject to the passions of malice and wickedness, but, living purely and without stumbling, will receive the Kingdom of Heaven. [3, p. 290.] All evil is brought into inaction by the acquisition of perfect love for God. [2, p. 117.] A hot-tempered man will stir up the souls of his brethren, but a long-suffering man in love will fear the Lord. [1, p. 105.] Joshua, who studied with Moses and imitated his virtues, was granted... grace and was tested by many sorrows and temptations, waging war after war; but more than wars, the people’s crimes caused him grief. And he endured all this out of hope for eternal blessings, out of faith in God and out of love. [3, p. 290–291.] On the narrow and narrow path there is the following: silence, abstinence, chastity, love, patience, joy, peace, humility and the like; Immortal life follows them. [2, p. 102.] From the treasures of the heart, the mouth offers food to those who come, and what the tongue is occupied with shows what the heart loves: Christ or something from the present age. [1, p. 57.] The righteous man defeated his opponent with one true love that he had for God. And the apostle was given a dirty tricker... an angel of Satan (2 Cor. 12:7), but he defeated him for his Beloved (Rom. 8:37), the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he had in his soul with perfect love. [2, p. 135.] The shameless serpent flees from us in shame. Nothing overcomes and overthrows him more than humility, obedience, humility and sincere love. [3, p. 292.] If you love pride, you will become part of the demons; if you love humility, you will be a part of the Lord Christ. If you love the love of money, you will leave here with nothing, and if you love non-covetousness, you will not be deprived of heavenly wealth. [1, p. 102.] Like a skillful and experienced physician, dissolve the healing of love in the union of peace. Fire is not extinguished by fire. Therefore, you should not laugh, but with love, sedateness and generosity, quench the anger of the irritable demon. [2, p. 139.] He who has not poisoned his ears and tongue with slander is filled with the medicine of love. [1, p. 18.] Let us love humility, beloved, because the Lord Himself said: Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light (Matthew 11:29–30). To her, Blessed One, to her, Most Glorified One, to her, Merciful One, to her, Humane-loving and Good One, Your yoke is very good and Your burden is light for all who come to serve You with a sincere heart! [2, p. 137–138.] Be... merciful to yourself and do not harbor hatred in your soul. Open your eyes and look at many, how they strive, how they try to be saved, how much effort they use for every good deed, how they protect themselves from envy, from slander, from hatred, from laughter, from fornication, from luxury, from quarreling and from any other bad deed, how they loved the narrow and cramped path, they fast, watch, suffer and cry, as they have prepared bright lamps their own, as their lips always sing and glorify the immortal Bridegroom [Christ - S.M.], and their eyes always see His beauty and their soul rejoices. [1, p. 40–41.] It is necessary to acquire love from a pure heart for all people, especially for one’s own by faith, and for one’s opponents and for people who love voluptuousness - coldness, and with this coldness have knowledge, chastity and peace, because the apostle says: “But it is not fitting for the servant of the Lord to be boiled, but to be quiet towards everyone, teachable, gentle, with meekness punishing those who are contrary: food as God will give them repentance in the mind of truth, and they will arise from the devil’s snare, live snatched from him according to his will (2 Tim. 2:24-26). [2, p. 151.] He who always has the fear of God in himself and who has a pure heart does not like to slander others, does not delight in other people’s secrets, does not seek joy in the fall of others. [1, p. 20.] Elijah... lived with his children, but they fell, and he was saved because he truly loved the Lord. [2, p. 144.] A warrior gains distinction with a shield, sword and helmet, and a beginner... - with faith, repentance and love. Faith gives birth to purity, humility, obedience, long-suffering and self-control; repentance is tears; and love is patience and hope. [1, p. 119.] Beloved, we too will follow... the teachings [of the apostles - S.M.], imitate their virtues, firmness in the right faith, sincere hope for peace in the next century, unflattering love for God and for everyone. [3, p. 294.] Let us flee from pride, which is hateful to the Lord; Let us love humility, with which all the righteous pleased the Lord. [1, p. 35.] Oh, purity, the ancestor of love and the life of Angels! ...Oh, purity, a light burden that does not drown on the waters, and eternal wealth hidden in the soul of a Christ-loving person, which the one who owns it will find in time of need! ...Oh, purity that appeases God, attains His promises, and obtains grace for itself among all people! The saints loved her. Saint John the Evangelist loved her and, having loved her, he was worthy to recline on the chest of the Lord of glory. Oh, purity, you gain honor not only for those who are ever virgins, but also for those living in marriage. We, the blessed servants of the Savior, will love her with all our hearts, in order to delight the Spirit of God living in us. [2, p. 151–152.] Love the fear of God with all your soul, and it will heal your wounds and will henceforth keep you invulnerable. As long as your soul loves the fear of the Lord, you will not fall into the devil’s snare, but you will be like an eagle soaring on high. [2, p. 173.] One must acquire the fear of the Lord and the highest degree of chastity, from which are born love, joy, peace, obedience, generosity, self-control, patience and everything that is appropriate for Christians. [1, p. 98.] Cut down the tree of sin and in its place, in your soul, plant the tree of life - an honest cross, hope in the Savior and His mortal suffering. Let His love be in your heart like a rock jutting out into the sea and calling to the harbor of life the ships that are stormed at sea. Strive like a good warrior to receive crowns. [2, p. 169.] Blessed is he who does good to many poor people: he will find many defenders at the trial. [1, p. 47.] If... you truly love the Lord, then you will not hesitate to become like a pearl, without filth or blemish, or anything similar, and you will be blameless in everything. [2, p. 179.] Like honey and honeycomb in the mouth, then is the answer of a brother to his neighbor, given with love. [1, p. 80.] Let us love diligence, burning in spirit before the Lord. Here we will voluntarily cry in order to appease God, and He will deliver us from eternal fire and gnashing of teeth. Let us love mourning, because it is commanded by Christ, for He Himself said: Blessed are those who mourn now: for they will be comforted (Matthew 5:4). [2, p. 176.] Let us spare ourselves and understand that our name is one with the name of Christ. His name is Christ, and we are called Christians. The Spirit (is) God (John 4:24); Let us also become spiritual. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Cor. 3:17). Let's try to acquire this freedom. Let us consider what kind of life He has honored us with; let us understand that He called us to His marriage; let us love ourselves as He loved us; Let us love Him so that He may glorify us. [1, p. 53.] Be reverent, brother, because reverence produces a peaceful state, and a peaceful state produces dispassion. May your reverence be coupled with humility, so that... you... inherit love and chastity... He who loves to remain silent himself remains serene and does not upset his neighbor... Love silence, beloved, so that reverence may abide in you... He who loves asceticism will be strengthened in his strength... he who loves work will live carefree. [2, p. 197–198.] If you love the ways of righteousness, you will find eternal life. If you love silence, you will sail in silence. If you love silence, you will be loved by many... If you love abstinence, you will curb the demon of fornication. If you love poverty, you will put the demon of the love of money to flight. [1, p. 105.] If you purify yourself... and desire to please Christ, maintaining the integrity of your body in the love of God, which is the pillar of all virtues; then you will become like royal purple, and you will shine among your brothers like a luminary, and the Lord will turn away from you those who rise up against you. The fear of God, which you have loved, will be a wall for you, and you will find grace before God and before people. [2, p. 193.] When you give a brother a deed, you are doing a good deed, if only you give him a reward in the love of God, because not to harm another is a reverent deed. [1, p. 113.] Let us sincerely preserve love and, having succeeded in virtues with it, we will be worthy to stand at the right hand of the Only Begotten Son of God, and our heart will rejoice, and no one will take our joy from us. [3, p. 235.] All those who are merciful and sincerely repentant will rejoice when they see the prayers they have sent; the compassionate will see that the poor and wretched, to whom they showed mercy here, plead for them and proclaim their benefits before Angels and men. [2, p. 217.] In despondency, negligence attacks, and when there is... patience, arrogance attacks; but whoever really loves the Lord rejects both. [1, p. 139.] Keep your body clean. Love is the mother of virtues, and purity is a lamp and support. Silence is also a lamp for them, and the fear of the Lord is a wall for them. Let us, brothers, maintain the purity of our bodies in the love of God, so that the Lord may number us among His holy Angels. The Holy Spirit rejoices in the one who loves purity and gives him patience. And purity is achieved through abstinence, meekness and silence in love. [2, p. 199.] Love... purity in the love of Christ; it is as fitting for your life as it is fitting for a carpenter to have a stapler. [1, p. 133.] Beloved, acquire silence for yourself, love it, so that you may enjoy the testimonies of God along the way, like all riches (Ps. 119:14). [3, p. 209.] The tongue preaches what the heart loves, and what the heart is attached to, the tongue repeats; through our lips the secrets of our heart are revealed. [1, p. 56.] Parents punish the children they love. The very ardor of their love subjects their children to punishment; Love is hidden in visible anger at the guilty. If you look at appearance alone, this anger is unpleasant; but internally he is ardent love. Parents have the same love both inside and outside; Inwardly she is sick, outwardly she is clothed with anger. [4, p. 188.] He who loves silence in love collects treasure for himself in heaven. [1, p. 131.] Blessed is he who is worthy to see at that hour how all those who loved Him and tried to do all His will will be in the clouds with glorious rapture at the meeting of the immortal Bridegroom (1 Thess. 4:17). Just as each one has grown his wing here, so there he soars into the sky; just as each one has purified his mind here, so there he sees His glory, and to the extent that each one has loved Him, to that extent he is satisfied with His love. [1, p. 64.] Let us go... the blessed path that all those who loved Christ walked... Walking along this path is to be reproached and endure, to be hated and not to harbor hatred, to suffer and repay with good, to forgive debts to debtors, to lay down one’s life for friends and, finally, to shed blood for Christ when circumstances require it. [2, p. 229–230.] If hatred inflames us, let us cleave to love. [1, p. 152.] Beloved by the Lord, try to keep this in mind every day, I mean faith, love, humility, strengthening yourself with constant prayers to God, constant teaching in the Divine Scriptures and silence. If all this is present and abundant in you, then you will not be inactive and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. [3, p. 209.] He who does not love the Lord leads the steward into temptation and provokes his superiors; and whoever loves the Lord keeps His commandments. [1, p. 134.] Single virtue, adorned with all the beauty of various virtues, if devoid of love for Christ and neighbor, is not at all attractive. [1, p. 74.] How quickly the heart is filled with love for something: there is no place in it for advice and understanding; his will is entirely directed towards one thing; in any case, a person tries about one thing - how to fulfill the desire of his heart. [4, p. 195.] He who loves gold will not be justified; and whoever loves the Lord will be blessed. [1, p. 101.] Glory did not puff up the righteous, and reproach did not bring them to exhaustion. They were always the same, the fragrance of their lofty virtues was never lost. Their every thought gave off the fragrance of love. [4, p. 185.] The furnace tempts (tests) silver and gold (see Proverbs 17:3), but the fear of the Lord is the thoughts of those who love the Lord. [1, p. 85.] Do you see, brethren, what divine agreement? Do you see, beloved, what kind of love is according to God, which strengthens its own members in labor? The holy martyrs, who entered into a single feat, consoled each other and always encouraged the faint-hearted, so that even the slaves themselves would joyfully seek the same crown with them... If you want to learn, they will be good teachers for you, and you will learn from them beautiful dispassion, perfect faith, love of God, great compassion and desire for future blessings. [3, p. 227–228.] The prudent... will protect himself with love, but the foolish will increase hatred towards himself. [1, p. 116.] Whose love does not have purity, his common sense is supported only by praise, like a flower by dew, and with disapproval, it fades like grass from the heat, withers from the scorching breath of blasphemy and loses all taste and smell. [4, p. 184.] The entire verbal flock must look unceasingly at their Shepherd [Christ – S.M.] and always love and honor Him, because He, the Impassive and Most Pure, suffered for His flock; and one should not be distinguished by perishable clothes, and also not by a luxurious life, not by worldly dishes, but by deeds and with all honesty to please the Creator. [3, p. 220–221] When you welcome strangers for Christ's sake, then you see Christ; when for His sake you give rest to the weak, then you see Him; when you do anything for His sake, then He is before your eyes and you contemplate God. It is said: God is loving (1 John 4:8). If you have love, you see Whom you have in you. How do you see? Listen again: you rejoice when you do good, you delight when you do deeds of love, you rejoice when you perform obedience. So, love is joy and gladness: it helps you in good deeds; you see God working with you, for everyone knows someone who does the same thing with him. Love is invisible to the eyes of the flesh, does not look at the truth and does not show its holiness to others, but it is visible to the eyes of the soul. Rejoicing and having fun about the good deeds you have done, you see God and do not deny that you see Him; There is a God of love. Is it really because you don’t see chastity that you don’t see it in deeds? So, although you do not see God with sensual eyes, you nevertheless see Him in love. For everyone who does good rejoices; Therefore Paul also said: Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16–17). [3, p. 165–166.] The soul, after a long separation from God, seeing Him as the Father, is excited to shed tears; because she finally saw the Parent, she sheds tears and bows to God, for she loves her father’s favor. [3, p. 156.] Do not upset your brother by slandering his brother, for it is not the work of love to incite your neighbor to the destruction of his soul. [1, p. 129.] Let us all take upon ourselves the shield of faith; With love, let us draw from the Divine Source the hopes that will save our souls. [3, p. 137.] Let us make our souls perfect in holiness through the Gospel, which has given us the love of Christ. [6, p. 130.] Love the world and the holy, so that you may be worthy to see the face of the Lord God. [1, p. 137.] Let us worship Him [God the Father – S.M.], Who enlightened our minds with His teaching and in our hearing paved the path for His word. Let us give thanks to the One who grafted His fruit into our tree. Let us give thanks to Him who sent His Heir, in order through Him to draw us to Himself and together with Him to give us an inheritance. Let us give thanks to the Good One - the wine of all blessings. [4, p. 113.] Let us love humility, so that when we become meek, the Lord will teach us His ways. [3, p. 122.] My spiritual brothers and beloved by the Lord, I beg you to make an effort, to bring this to your mind every day, that is, faith, love, hope, humility, to always imprint yourself with prayers to God, teaching in the Divine Scriptures, silence and other virtues. For all this, when it exists and abounds in us, leaves us neither idle nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. [3, p. 101.] Accept those who, out of love for you, endure... suffering, and you will be saved. [6, p. 127.] Arrogance blinds the eyes of the wise, but humility enlightens them with love, for it teaches the meek His way (Ps. 24:9). [1, p. 103.] Love is an invincible weapon against the devil, because God is loving, and he who abides in love, as it is said, abides in God (1 John 4:16). [3, p. 293.] Fear and love stand guard over the lips - this source of words. Fear stops shameful words, love plagues honorable words. The lips might not utter a good word, but love will not allow this; they might utter an evil word, but the fear of truth will not allow this. [4, p. 177.] Just as love is the highest of all virtues, so the heaviest of all sins is to hate a brother; for he who hates his brother is a murderer, as the apostle said (1 John 3:15)... love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). [3, p. 112.] Humility... obedience, love, patience and long-suffering - this is what saves a person. For it is impossible to earn praise and be saved except by imitating the Lord in everything. [1, p. 149.] Great grace shines in the souls of Your saints, Lord, because they are clothed with the material of virtues, unfeigned love. So, love to listen diligently and carefully to the lessons of the Divine Scriptures. [3, p. 87.] How strong is repentance to appease God and how much contrition does the repentant need in order to receive mercy through his persistence. [4, p. 57.] A man who loves Christ is an insurmountable tower, and a man perfect in love is an indestructible wall. [1, p. 106.] What love the apostle has for his people! What kindness is his towards foreign pagans! For the life of the Jews he himself asked to be excommunicated from Christ, but for the life of the pagans he is ready to give his deeds, his soul and his life. [6, p. 110.] Look what the holy martyrs who labored on earth gave back to God, and what boldness they gained from God through their martyrdom. Having blotted out their sins, not only did they receive the gift, but in addition they received the Kingdom of Heaven and Paradise, because they shed their blood for that Blood that is above all price and invaluable, that is, for the Blood of the Lord; and, preferring love for God to children, even to spouses, they finally became winners in the field, so that after the test of scourging they would receive crowns for their feat. Love for the Savior so attracted their minds to the same field with Him that, being corruptible, they bought incorruptible. [3, p. 79–80.] There is no measure of patience unless it is dissolved by love. [1, p. 135.] Everyone judges himself and is merciful to his neighbor. No one judges his neighbor, but everyone judges himself. [4, p. 56.] Strive while there is time to reap (the virtues) in due time without exhaustion... Love contrition, love patience, love abstinence, in order to get rid of many temptations and vain worries... Love humility with a sincere heart - and you will find grace from the Almighty God both here and in the next century. [3, p. 84.] Before all the gifts with which you exalt yourself, there remain: faith, hope, love; for it is of great importance to believe that God exists, and to hope for what one believes, and also to love the commandments of Him from whom we hope to receive gifts. [6, p. 95.] Master, so that Your grace constantly flows like a stream into the heart and lips of me, Your servant, so that my heart and lips may be pure by grace and an undefiled church, receiving within itself the Heavenly King; so that they would not, through evil thoughts, become like a den of beasts and through crafty wishes, a den of evil thieves, but so that the finger of grace would always set my tongue in motion, like a string on a harp, to Thy glory, O Lover of Mankind...I have unceasingly, all the time of my life, glorified and blessed You with love with my heart and lips! [1, p. 190–191.] Let us, sinners, try to find out what mercy is. Covetous - learn how to be merciful. Let us, brethren, be compassionate towards each other in the world with true compassion, filled with all love for mankind, until the evil one strengthens himself to plunder our souls. [3, p. 74.] Love never ceases, that is, it is not destroyed, just as our gifts that you have are destroyed. [6, p. 94–95.] When the Teacher said to him [Peter - S.M.]: Do you love Me, he wanted to receive from him a confession of unfeigned love, so that, having given his love as a pledge, he would receive and feed His sheep... Before the Lord received from Simon the testimony of love, He could not give him the lot of His death, just as He Himself would not have laid down His life for His sheep if He had not loved them. [7, p. 132–133.] Victorious martyrs, who voluntarily endured sorrow out of love for God and the Savior and who have boldness before the Master Himself, intercede, O saints, for us, weakened and sinful, and filled with laziness, so that the grace of Christ may come upon us and enlighten the hearts of all the lazy, so that we may love the Lord. [3, p. 226.] He who keeps the commandments loves himself, but he who neglects them harms his soul. [1, p. 116.] If you are far from love and filled with anger at your neighbors, ask for their help in prayer in order to be reconciled with your neighbors. [4, p. 42.] I beg you... always be an imitator of the perfect fathers, who became holy and immaculate churches of the Most Pure Lord. Follow in the footsteps of the holy fathers, who lived their lives in pure virginity, in honest deeds, in prayer and fasting. Love asceticism, love prayer, which is a conversation with the Lord. Every holy and pure prayer is a conversation with the Lord; the prayer of the perfect, who longed for God, with great joy and much boldness directly ascends into heaven itself. The Angels and Archangels admire her and present her to the Throne of the Holy and Exalted Master of all. Then there is joy when the prayers of the righteous who love God are brought to the Lord. So, try... to become an imitator of the life and virtue of the reverend fathers; follow the path of their life, strive as they do, strive with your mind, strive with your spirit, strive with your body; be an ascetic in clothing, be an ascetic in food, be an ascetic in language, be an ascetic in your gaze, be an ascetic in thought, be an ascetic in laughter, so that you may be perfect in everything. [3, p. 73.] Love does not seek what is useful to itself, but what is useful to many for their salvation. So, if... the qualities [of love - S.M.] do not appear in you due to a lack of love, then what benefit will boasting of the gifts that you are proud of bring you? [6, p. 94.] Grace cannot completely retreat from us, because by its own mercy it is prompted to have mercy on everyone. [1, p. 206.] Listen to me, my sincere brother, and write the words of my evilness on your heart. Gird yourself with sincere faith, hope and love, and stand on guard like a strong one, protecting the church of God from all unclean thoughts. [3, p. 68–69.] Whoever plots rebellion will suddenly suffer destruction, division and incurable contrition, because he rejoices in everything that is hateful to the Lord; and whoever loves peace will inherit peace; meekness in a person prevents irritability. [1, p. 127.] Above all gifts is love, which... is neglected by very many. [6, p. 93.] The martyrs, in sorrows, in temptations, in tortures, in terrible torments, loved God with all their souls; temptations and severe tortures could not separate them from the love of God. [3, p. 225.] To the gates of truth, which is unyielding, there is a special path of mercy traversed by many; both mercy and truth often come to the aid of one another. [4, p. 30.] In everything... let us strive for sincere love for each other and for everyone; because through his neighbor a person acquires both evil and good. [5, p. 465.] Martha's love was more fussy than Mary's love, because when Christ first came, Martha served Him. [7, p. 129.] Every Christian, or better yet, every person, should tremble for the salvation of his neighbor and worry about him, because we are pleased with each other (Eph. 4:25). [3, p. 67.] He who laughs at a dead man hates the parents of the deceased, and he who mourns and laments proves his love with his tears. [4, p. 38.] Those who are cut off are not (ultimate) outcasts; for if they repent, they will find mercy. [6, p. 47.] Many are holy, righteous and reverend... having loved Christ, they preferred Him to all corruptible things; Therefore, they rejoice in God every day, are enlightened in Christ, constantly rejoicing in the Holy Spirit... Angels and men please them, because they preferred the love of God to the whole world. [1, p. 196.] We need not to be careless about mutual love. [3, p. 60.] If someone appeals to the Giver of forgiveness, then he frees the one who is guilty before him from guilt. And if he calls on the Avenger, then he has already lost the Giver of abandonment. His neighbor is similar to him in all respects. Where there is mercy, there are a person’s debtors, and where there is truth, there are his sins. If he wants to plead for his sins, then let him bring together a prayer for his debtors. If he approaches mercy, he resolves his debtors, and if he approaches righteousness, he brings his sins to memory. [4, p. 29.] Beloved, you should not be recklessly carried away by your thoughts; on the contrary, everyone needs to know his own measure and, in the love of God, humble himself before his neighbor. [5, p. 463.] Desire this, beloved, to be loved with the love of our Savior Jesus Christ, and hate carnal love, which includes the following: gluttony, drunkenness, luxury, envy, malice, lasciviousness, passion, contrition, sadness and the like, the end of all this is death. And the love of Christ includes the following: goodness, modesty and knowledge, and the end of this is eternal life. [1, p. 129–130.] Those entering spiritual life need to stay awake, sober, and guard the Divine seed for God, and not deviate from the goal of love until they bring perfect fruit to the Lord and the body is escorted to the grave. For then the fruit will be faithful and completely safe from being stolen. [3, p. 56.] The beginning and end for the faithful are faith, hope and love. [1, p. 132.] A person gives himself as a pledge for what he wants for himself. If he wants God to be merciful to himself, then he should not be cruel to his neighbor. [4, p. 29.] Let us sow here works of righteousness, and let us sow with the hands of the poor, widows and orphans, so that there we may reap eternal life: until the time is imam, let us do good (Gal. 6:10), and let us each send there, to the best of our ability, alms, compassion, hospitality, repentance, tears, fasting, vigil, abstinence, prayer, psalmody, non-offense, lack of curiosity, patience with sorrows, reclining on the bare ground, virginity, and most of all the following three virtues: not desecrating the faith by heresy, love for the poor and, finally, forgiveness of sins to brothers, keeping oneself from enmity against anyone. When we do this and similar things, my brothers, let us each send down what we can: some one commandment, some two, some five, some ten, some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred. The God of generosity, who accepted the widow’s two mites, accepts both much and little from everyone, and will reward everyone according to what is written: but everyone will receive his reward according to his labor (1 Cor. 3:8); If only no one turns out to be completely infertile. [3, p. 22.] Both God and people hate pride, but the Lord exalts those who love humility. [1, p. 138.] Whoever really desires immortal life and desires the Heavenly Kingdom must become higher and greater than everything that is in this age, reach beyond all the limits set by the world and above all earthly glory, break all the bonds of matter, love the heavenly glory of Christ and not mix anything else with this love and not love anything in this age or in this life. Whoever has truly accepted true love for God, like a two-edged sword, cuts off all other love of this world and dissolves all material bonds. Such a soul cannot be held by anything visible: neither pleasure, nor fame, nor wealth, nor the bonds of carnal love, nor anything material; on the contrary, the soul that loves the one God loves nothing else in this world except Him, but in order to depend on Him alone with all its love and will and be attached to Him alone, it overcomes and overcomes all earthly and material love. The double-edged sword is the love of the Spirit acquired by one’s own worthless love. This love, like a sword, can cut through any substance, extend beyond all earthly limits, combine with the one God and fulfill His will in everything. [3, p. 37.] If someone asks God for forgiveness of his sins, then let him ask the same for his neighbor. [4, p. 29.] Oh, the incomparable power of love! Oh, the immeasurable power of love! Neither in heaven nor on earth is there anything more precious than love. She is divine love, is the head of virtues, love is the cause of all good things; love is the salt of virtues, love is the end of the law. She inhabited the heart of Abel, she was an accomplice of the patriarchs, she protected Moses, she dwelled in the prophets, she made David the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, she strengthened Job. And why not say the most important thing? – She brought down to us from heaven the Son of God! Through love all blessings have been revealed to us: death has been destroyed, hell has been captured, Adam has been called back; a single flock is made up of angels and men by love; Heaven was opened with love, the Kingdom of Heaven was promised to us. She made the fishermen wise; she strengthened the martyrs; she converted deserts into hostels; she filled the mountains and dens with psalmody; she taught husbands and wives to walk the narrow and cramped path. But how long until I put an end to the word about love? Who is able to retell all the merits of love? Even the Angels will not retell them as they should. [2, p. 236–237.] Neither the hissing of the fire, nor the swirling flames in the furnaces, nor the bubbling of the boilers, nor the rotation of the wheels, nor the iron claws, nor the teeth of the saws, nor the great sharpness of the drills, nor the pressure of the shackles, nor the weight of the bonds, nor the threats of the tormentors, nor the gnashing of princes, nor all the tricks of the enemy who hates goodness and his servants frightened the courageous ascetics of Christ and did not prompt them to renounce their God and Savior, but they trampled all the machinations of the enemy with faith, and fear did not come any closer to them. Do you see the courage of the God-loving slaves? Do you see the inflexibility of the spirit of Christ-loving ascetics? Do you see the zeal of those who love the Kingdom of the Most High God? Do you see the perfect faith of these faithful, truly perfect ones? Do you see the love for God with which they neglected everything that is on earth in order to see God, Whom they loved? Do you see how love for Christ lifts up from the earth those who desire exaltation? Do you see how heaven desires to see its crowned crowned people rejoicing in the light? Come, my sincere brother, and with the eyes of your heart study the fruits of martyrdom, the abundance of faith and the immutable pious thought in perfect ascetics. See how violent torment could not lead the righteous to exhaustion and the thought of the love that they had for God; on the contrary, being tormented, they accepted the blows with great joy as the greatest pleasure, and with a cheerful face they thanked God that they were worthy to suffer for Him. [3, p. 224–225.] If anyone speaks in the tongues of angels, he does so not according to his own will, but according to the election of God, and whoever loves has his own election (see 1 Cor. 13:1). Therefore, love is a greater and more excellent way (see 1 Cor. 12:31) than the one that does not depend on one’s own will, such as, for example, knowing prophecy and sacraments and moving mountains. [7, p. 143.] I beg you, humble yourself with obedience, love, abstinence, humiliation. Through this, submit to each other and be forgiving to yourself, arming yourself with fasting, prayer, and vigil. [1, p. 151.] Let us not, beloved, prefer anything to unfeigned love, because we fall many times every day and hour. Let us acquire love, for it covers a multitude of sins. What good is it, brothers, if we have everything, but do not have the love that saves us? What good is it if someone organizes a great dinner, invites the king and the princes, prepares everything for the meal without any shortage, but does not have salt? It is impossible to taste such a dinner. Not only will the expenses of the one who called be in vain and his labors will be lost, but he himself will be ridiculed by those called. So here too, my brothers, what good is it for us to work in the wind if there is no love in us? Without love, every deed is unclean. If someone keeps virginity, if he fasts or stays on vigil, if he prays or gives shelter to the poor, if he brings either the firstfruits or all the fruits as a gift to God, if he builds churches or does anything else - all this without love will not be counted as anything before God, because this is not pleasing to God. So, do not do anything without love. [2, p. 235–236.] Love the poverty of Christ, so that there you may be enriched by Christ’s Divinity. Love the most beautiful fast - a worthy and godly deed. [3, p. 16.] Let us love... the poor, as Abraham loved the needy! Leaven is now being poured into us from the house of the merciful David; let everyone be merciful to his persecutor, as the son of Jesse was to Saul. [4, p. 109.] The holy fathers, being God-loving, became well-skilled in suffering and temptation and received an unfading crown from the Heavenly God with glory and praise... Together with the fathers and saints, I always imagine the venerable, splendid, most chaste Joseph, full of heavenly beauty and love for the Most High... in prison and in chains the splendor of the soul and the beauty of the God-loving youth did not fade. [1, p. 190.] Christ... will co-celebrate where those celebrating are united in His name by love, without any hostility and without any hypocrisy. Christ celebrates where the poor are served, where the orphans are consoled, where strangers are laid to rest. [2, p. 260.] Such were the apostles: they disdained all human glory, they imputed everything in this age to their minds, preferring nothing to the love of God, but, maintaining unanimity in everything beautiful and having peace and love for each other, through this they destroyed all the machinations of the devil and crushed all the malice of the enemy; not fearing the wrath of kings and tormentors, with their consent and peace they brought into inaction and completely destroyed all the devil’s demonic possession; keeping peace among themselves, they repelled the devil's battles; having overthrown all idolatry, they turned all the devil’s reproaches (dishonor) into nothing; being ignorant, they put the philosophers to shame; They made the definitions of the councilors invalid and founded the Church, erected an altar, showed us the way to heaven, and sowed the universe with the word of salvation. In all this, the saints succeeded not by physical strength, not by the action of weapons, but by love for God and neighbor, mutual agreement and peace among themselves; for nothing is higher than love and peace. [3, p. 293–294.] The apostles, who proclaimed salvation to the world, were beaten like evildoers in the midst of the city and were not angry, did not become indignant, but rejoiced because for the name of the Lord Jesus they were deemed worthy to receive dishonor (Acts 5:41). Rejoice, too, that you were deemed worthy to accept dishonor for His name. [2, p. 156.] If people persecute us out of bitter jealousy, or if they force us to take part in deeds that are alien to us, that are not pleasing to God, then let us flee to another place and put our trust in God, because our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ said to His disciples: When... you are persecuted in this city, flee to another (Matthew 10:23). [2, p. 125.] Let the Greeks know the power of love; Let the Jews know the disposition of friendship, because I am ready to accept death for You [Christ – S.M.], although they do not threaten me with fire, sword, or other weapons. Perhaps this intention will assure them that for Your sake I am ready to endure death itself. [2, p. 273.] 1. St. Ephraim Sirin.Creations. T. 1. M.: Publishing department of the Moscow Patriarchate, 1993. 4. Same. T. 5. M.: Father's House, 1995. 8. Complete troparion for the choir and laity. M.: Lodya, 1999.