Слово в Великий Понедельник, на литургии

: “The Lord coming to free passion, the Apostle said on the way: behold, we are ascending to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed, as it is written about Him. Come, then, we too, with purified meanings, will descend upon Him, and let us be crucified, and let us die for His sake with worldly sweets, and let us also come to life with Him” (at the evening, stichera 1). Following the Church, which repeats in its hymns the invitation to descend upon the Lord who is coming to suffer, I, brethren, considered it my duty to repeat it, and also to draw your attention to it. In our morning conversation, we discussed the need to descend in spirit to the Lord and about removing obstacles to this; but they did not show the way to accomplish this holy work, they did not indicate in detail the very path that should be followed. And this, perhaps, is very necessary for many. Alas, not many of us know how to follow our Savior ourselves! Few know how to properly use even those paths that the Holy Church opens and arranges for this! Therefore, it is our duty to teach several rules regarding this holy matter that could serve as a guide. The first way, brothers, to following Christ in the days of His suffering, is constant presence in these days at church services. The God-wise Fathers of the Church compiled and arranged the Divine Services of this week in such a way that they vividly reflect the whole image and the whole gradualness of Christ’s suffering. The church alternately represents the upper room of Zion and Gethsemane, then Golgotha ​​and the city of Joseph. Therefore, whoever is constantly in the church apparently descends to the Lord who is coming to suffer. But, unfortunately, many do not use this path, always open to everyone; and what is most worthy of tears is that many leave it when it begins to lie right next to the Cross and the tomb of Jesus. I mean the morning service of Holy Saturday. How few, in comparison with other days, attend these Divine services! And the first is the Hours of Great Friday, a very important service in that it takes place at the very time of Christ’s crucifixion and everything is adapted to this time, almost no one attends it! Looking at the emptiness in the church of God at this time, you involuntarily remember the saying of the Prophet: “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered” (Zech. 13:7), and another - of the Evangelist: “Having forsaken Him, they all have fled!” (Mark 14:50). The second way to following Christ in these days is reverent reading in the Gospel of His last conversations and sufferings. This means is always one of the most effective for drawing closer in spirit to the Lord; but even more so it should not be left unused during this week. The Church itself precedes in its use, filling our ears with the reading of the four Evangelists during the first three days. And attentive listening during this reading is enough for those who themselves cannot read. But those who can, should certainly read it themselves at home, both for themselves and for others. When listening in church, due to the great amount of reading, much can escape attention; and home reading, depending on the will of the reader, represents all the convenience of following the Lord with all thoughts and feelings. The image of the narration of the Evangelists is such that, when reading them, the whole image of the suffering of Christ automatically comes to life in the mind of the reader, and fills the soul with inexplicable tenderness: for they narrate very simply, without any speculation, they depict the events as they happened, in their living integrity. Therefore, when reading the Gospel, you are involuntarily transported in your mind to the scene of events, you take an active part in what is happening, you follow the Savior, and suffer with Him. The third way to follow the Lord in these days is reverent reflection on His sufferings. Without this reflection, presence in churches and hearing and reading the Gospel are of little fruit, and Christian reflection, if necessary, can replace other means. For through reflection we generally get closer to the most distant persons and things, assimilate them to ourselves, and, as it were, introduce them into our soul. But how can we reflect on the Lord’s suffering? First of all, imagine them as vividly as possible in your mind, at least in their main features, for example: how He is betrayed, judged and condemned; how he carried the Cross and was lifted up onto the Cross; how he cried out to the Father in Gethsemane and on Golgotha, and betrayed His Spirit to Him; how he was taken down from the Cross and buried. Who is not able to do this? Then ask yourself why and for what purpose did He endure so much suffering, Who had no sin, and Who, as the Son of God, had every right to eternal and temporal glory and bliss. Holy faith will tell you that the Lord suffered for the world, for sinners, and therefore for you; suffered in order to satisfy God’s justice for all of us, to redeem us from sin and death, to give us an example of patience and self-sacrifice. Then ask again: what is required from a sinner so that the Savior’s death does not remain fruitless for him; What must each person do to truly participate in the salvation purchased at Calvary for the whole world? The same faith will tell you that this requires the assimilation by mind and heart of the merits of Christ, repentance and imitation of Christ in a good life. After this, your conscience itself will ask you: are you fulfilling these conditions, have you assimilated Christ’s salvation for yourself, have you been brought to life by His death? And she herself will give the answer to this. Such reflection (and who is not capable of it?) is amazing how quickly it brings the sinner closer to his Savior, closely and forever in a union of love connects him with His Cross, strongly and vividly introduces him to the participation of what is happening on Golgotha. The fourth path to following Christ in these days is the path of fasting, confession and communion, otherwise fasting. Fasting, by lightening our body, and through it our soul, makes us more capable of following Christ along His thorny path. Confession, clearing and lightening the conscience, produces even greater spiritual lightness, and naturally forces us not to let go, so to speak, of the Savior, who suffers for the sins for which we repent. And communion not only brings us closer to the Lord, but also connects us with Him in the most inextricable way. And when, brethren, is it more fitting to observe fasting, if not in these days, when the Bridegroom of souls is taken away (Matthew 9:15), when He Himself hungers at the barren fig tree, thirsts on the Cross! Where is it more natural to lay down the burden of sins through confession, if not at the foot of the Cross! What better time to receive communion from the Cup of Life than in the coming days, when it is given to us, one might say, from the hands of the Lord Himself! Truly, whoever, having the opportunity to begin the holy meal these days, avoids it, clearly deviates from the Lord and runs away from his salvation. Finally, the last, obvious way to follow Christ in these days is to follow Him among His smaller brethren, providing, in His name, help to distressed humanity. This path may seem distant and indirect; but in fact it is extremely close, convenient and direct. For our Savior is so loving that everything we do in His name for suffering humanity is personally appropriated to Himself. At His Last Judgment He will especially demand from us deeds of mercy towards our neighbors, and on them He will establish our justification or condemnation. With this in mind, beloved, never neglect the precious opportunity to alleviate the suffering of the Lord in His lesser brethren, and especially take advantage of it in these days. By visiting the prison and easing the fate of the prisoners as much as you can, you will do better than if, out of love for the Lord, you were present in Pilate’s praetorium; by delivering food to some poor family, you will do more than when you brought wine with myrrh to Calvary; by dressing the naked, you will show zeal no less than Joseph, who presented the Shroud. These, brethren, are the main paths, open to all, by which a Christian in these days can descend to the Lord who is coming to suffer. There are many other ways to this, more sublime, mysterious; but they are passable only for exalted, pure souls, who are accustomed to constantly follow their Savior and live His life. But such souls “do not demand, but whoever teaches” them (1 John 2:27); for the Lord Himself, for whom they always come, guides them into all truth (John 16:13). For us, the paths we have seen are enough; for there is no person who could not enter at least one of them and, having entered, come to where everyone should come. Even though you, due to your poverty, cannot feed and clothe the Lord among His lesser brethren: accept food from Him in the Eucharist, clothing of justification in confession, relief in fasting. If you can’t fast, go to church and pray. If you can’t be in church, read the Gospel. If you can’t even do that, think with prayer about the Lord’s suffering. The latter is clearly possible for everyone and everywhere, on the road and at home, on the sickbed and in prison. But by following this one path of prayerful reflection, one can fully achieve the goal, that is, to share His suffering and death with the Lord. I say to share death, for a Christian must not only descend to the Lord, but also be crucified with Him. But we will talk about this extremely important subject, which is the whole essence of Christianity, tomorrow, if the Lord pleases. Amen. You might be interested in: