Слово на память Алексея человека Божия

The Holy Apostle Paul, talking with the Corinthians about the future resurrection of the dead, noted that just as “a star... differs from the star in glory” (1 Cor. 15:41), so it will be on the day of the Resurrection with the bodies of the Righteous: that is, all of them will shine with heavenly light; but this light will not be the same: in some it is stronger, in others it is weaker. Such diversity in the blissful enlightenment of the righteous in heaven will occur, without a doubt, from nothing else than from the internal diversity of their spiritual qualities and the degree of godlikeness achieved by them on earth. As if in some kind of anticipation and pledge of this, the variety of those special names with which the Holy Church distinguishes many of the saints of God now serves. Thus, another in the language of the Church is called a great martyr and long-suffering; another a perspicacious one, a third a faster, one a merciful one, one a silent one, another a stylite, another a marked one, another a universal teacher. All these and similar names are obviously not idle names, but express the distinctive character of the saints and serve as a harbinger and guarantee of that special glory and greatness with which each of them will be adorned in the Kingdom of the Heavenly Father. Celebrated by us, the saint of God Alexy is also distinguished by the special name of the man of God. And all the righteous are men of God; just as sinners are not men of God, but sons, as the Savior Himself calls them, of the devil; but Saint Alexy is called the man of God in a certain special sense: as if this name belonged to him preferentially over all others. From whom was Saint Alexy given this high name? If a human voice had named him that way, just as Saint John, during his lifetime, was named Chrysostom for the sweetness of his conversations, then even then this name would constitute great praise for him; for this would mean that all who saw him recognized him as a man of God in the highest degree. But Alexy was so called not from man and man, but from above, from God Himself, for at the time when the righteous man was ending his course and was approaching the end of this life, an unknown voice in the church, during the service, proclaimed: come to see the man of God! Since in heaven there are no idle or exaggerated names; and what is named from heaven is named according to the strict correspondence of the name with what is called, then the name of the man of God, thus given to Saint Alexius, contains, my brothers, both the greatest praise for him and abundant edification for us. So, let us delve into the life of the man of God and see what he did to deserve such a great and instructive name. Reviewing the life of the holy saint, you immediately see that it is all filled with fiery love for God, combined with the highest and complete self-sacrifice. There is almost no sacrifice possible for a person that he would not offer as a gift to God. Alexy was the only heir to the great and varied acquisitions of his parents, but, rejecting all these riches, he became a beggar for Christ's sake for the rest of his life. Alexy, by his very origin from a glorious and high family, was destined for the path of honors and distinctions, the favor of the monarch and closeness to his court; he, despising all glory and honor, humbled himself, like the Savior, “taking on the form of a servant” (Phil. 2:7). Alexy blossomed with beauty and an abundance of bodily strength, but in his youth he withered his flesh with fasting and labor to the point that his parents could not recognize him and until his death they kept him in their house as an alien stranger. The noblest and best of the Roman brides was married to him; and, a virgin before marriage, remained a virgin until the end of her life, without seeing her husband on the wedding bed; for, wounded by another, higher love, Alexy disappeared forever from under his parents’ roof on the very night of his wedding. It seemed that the whole series of sacrifices was over - everything was given to God; and the distant desert into which the young ascetic strayed will forever retain within itself the entire branch of paradise. No, it will only increase and strengthen it for new fruits, that is, for new sacrifices and exploits. But what more can be done? Is it possible to suffer martyrdom for Christ? But the time of persecution for faith has already passed: the crown of martyrdom is no longer there. There is no man-made, bloody; but there is one not made by hands, bloodless; and he must adorn the head of the ascetic. How? Listen and revere! The desert that shielded Alexy from the whole world begins to lose silence from the glory of his exploits: he constantly sees people around him seeking his prayers and blessings; sees - and hastens to flee from the praise and honor that pursue him, to another distant place, where no one would know him except God and the Guardian Angel. So what? The sea, to which he entrusts himself for this purpose, suddenly rises with a storm, and, as Providence has arranged, it wears out his ship before the gates of his father’s city!.. Another, with a gaze less purified and not so capable of penetrating the depths of God’s ways, would see this as a simple case and would again begin to seek distance from the place where all temptations for the heart are concentrated. But for the man of God there is no chance: he recognizes in this event the will of God for himself; and what is he doing? He plans to find the desert he is looking for in his father’s house itself: he appears before him in the form of a wanderer, and asks his parents, in the name of their long-lost son, for a small corner in the house; and - self-imprisoned - spends seventeen years in it in feats of fasting and prayer! His own servants, according to the teachings of the spirit of malice, sometimes pour uncleanness on him; he endures! Every day he sees a mother and father grieving over the loss of their son - and endures it! He hears the cries of his wife, mourning her untimely widowhood - and endures it! When everyone talks about him, he talks for everyone with the one God. Judge what these seventeen years spent in this way were worth to the human heart! And behold, that bloodless crown of martyrdom, with which the man of God was destined to be baptized from above!.. Let us cease, my brethren, to refer to the impossibility of overcoming our attachment to earthly things with our mortal flesh. For, behold, with this very flesh all the blessings of the world are abandoned for the sake of Christ, all the bonds of the flesh are broken, nature is defeated with all its not only unclean, but also the most innocent demands! Should I, however, offer this example for everyone to follow? No, this would not be in the spirit of the Gospel itself. Not everyone can be Abraham to sacrifice Isaac; not all of them are Alexis, so that from under the wedding crown they can rush straight for the martyr’s crown. “He who is able to contain, let him contain!” (Matthew 19:12). But not having the ability to imitate some of the exploits of the holy men of God, in all their completeness and, one might say, infinity, we must approach them as far as possible for us; in their love for God and contempt for worldly goods. Do you want to see in this case how we can imitate the man of God? Hear: God blessed you with wealth and acquisitions, whether inherited from your ancestors or acquired by you yourself, use them, but do not use them for evil - yours and others; make earthly blessings the means to acquire heavenly blessings; Show yourself in a small form what God does in a great way, that is, become a benefactor of the poor and needy; then even with wealth, or better to say, for your wealth itself, you will be a man of God, for all those who have benefited from themselves will glorify, for your sake, the Father who is in heaven. The path of dignity and honor is open before you: follow it, but follow a straight and pure path, without using any unworthy means for your elevation, without sacrificing your conscience for this; and the more you rise above your brothers, the more humble you are in your spirit, using your height to protect and support the weak and oppressed. As someone invested with the trust of the powers that be, speak the truth that another is unable to say; stand for the truth even when everyone abandons it; always and everywhere set an example of selflessness and self-sacrifice for the good of the public; endure slander and envy with patience - then you, and with your height and merits, or better to say, for this very height and virtues, honestly achieved, righteously supported, turned to good, you will be a man of God, for everyone will, for your sake, glorify the name of God. You have entered into marriage, have committed yourself to the bonds of matrimony - taste the pure joys of family life, but do not forget that you are in union with more than one of your spouses, that you were united to Christ in Baptism and that your soul is enslaved to Him, like a bridegroom, and the wedding supper awaits you in His Kingdom. Bearing this in mind, behave as befits one who should once have been one in spirit with the Lord. If your children are born not in the lust of the flesh, but in the spirit of faith and raised in the fear of God; if your household is kept from vices and debauchery; if your house is like the Church: everything in it fears God, does the truth, observes peace and purity, then you are both in marriage and for marriage, a man of God! Amen. You might be interested in: