Слово 30. Об образе молитвы и о прочем, необходимо потребном для всегдашнего памятования и во многих отношениях полезном, если сохранит это читающий с рассуждением

For a person, during his prayerful request, to be confirmed in his trust in God is the best part of the grace of faith. Firmness of faith in God is not the same as sound confession, although it is the mother of faith; on the contrary, the soul sees the truth of God through the power of life. When in the Holy Scriptures you find faith combined with works, then do not mistake discussions about it for discussions about right confession, because faith, leading to certainty in hope, is never achieved by people who are not baptized 174 or whose minds are corrupted to the truth. For the certainty of faith in people of high souls is revealed to the extent that their morals conform to the commandments of the Lord in their lives. Continuous study of Scripture is light for the soul, because it shows the soul useful reminders to beware of passions and to remain in the love of God through purity of prayer, and also outlines before us a peaceful path in the footsteps of the saints. However, do not doubt the power of the prayer of our poetry, when, during prayer or hourly reading, strong excitement and incessant contrition do not follow. The word spoken from experience must be accepted, although the one who spoke it is an unlearned person, because the royal treasures are greater than anyone else on earth, but they do not neglect to accept in addition an obol taken from a beggar; and from small streams the rivers overflow and become great in their course. If the remembrance of the good, when we bring it to our minds, renews virtue in us, then it is obvious that the remembrance of debauchery, when we remember it, renews the shameful desire in our mind, because the remembrance of both shows and outlines in our thoughts the difference in the most remembered things, as if with a finger it points out to us either the shamelessness of our thoughts, or the height of our life and strengthens us. thoughts and movements and gums and ears. We are busy with them in the secrets of our mind, and in this mental occupation the lot of our life is depicted, so that, of necessity, we constantly see ourselves. So, not only this activity harms the one who has it, but along with it the vision, as well as remembrance, which makes up for it, also harms. And it is not just the practice of virtue that will greatly help the one who practices this practice, but also the mental image formed by the recollection of persons who have labored in virtue. And this makes it clear why very many who have reached the degree of purity are honored to see certain saints always in night vision; and during the day, every hour in the mental exercise of the mind, the vision of these saints, imprinted on their souls, becomes a source of joy for them. And therefore they begin to practice virtues with ardor, and the flame to lust for them burns in them in abundance. And they say that the holy Angels take upon themselves the likenesses of some venerable and good saints and in a sleepy dream show these likenesses to the soul during the soaring of its thoughts, to its joy, enrichment and amusement, and during the day they constantly set them in motion when the soul considers its thoughts; and its work is made easier by the joy of the saints, and from this it prospers in its course. This happens when there is continuity of fighting. Whoever has the habit of occupying his thoughts with evil, with the assistance of demons, it appears in its likeness. Demons take on their likeness and show the soul dreams that terrify it, and more so with the help of daytime recollection, acting through it. And sometimes with this terrible vision, terrifying the soul, they soon bring it to exhaustion and sometimes they also present to it the difficulties of living in silence and solitude, and something else. Therefore, we, brethren, with regard to attentiveness to our recollections and the conclusion from them about the state of our soul, from now on we will begin to constantly discuss the differences in the recollections that occupy us; which of them attract our attention and which ones we immediately drive away from ourselves, as soon as they approach our thoughts: whether those who are in us by the premeditation of demons who plunge this food into passions, or those who are from lust and irritability, or those who are from the holy Angels, giving us a wave of joy and knowledge, as well as remembrance, awakening us with thoughts during the approach of the holy Angels to us, or those that are in us from impressions previously received by feeling and by which thoughts are aroused in the soul, captivating us towards one thing. Through the knowledge of this difference, let us gain experience in two things: in observing remembrances and in doing the things they remind us of - and we will try to ensure that both are followed by a specific prayer. Love, aroused by something material, is like a small lamp fed by oil, which maintains its light, or a stream flooded with rain, the flow of which stops with the impoverishment of its constituent substance. Love, which has God as its culprit, is like a spring gushing out of the earth; its flows are never stopped (for God is the only source of love), and its substance does not become scarce. About how you should pray without your thoughts spinning Do you want to enjoy poetry during your service and accept the feeling of the words of the Spirit spoken by you? Put completely aside the number of verses, do not take into account the knowledge of the measure in the verses, say them like a prayer, leave the usual reading and understand what I am saying to you and what is said on the basis of experience, as if in the book of one of the men guided by God: let your mind deepen in the study of the words of the Spirit until your soul is awakened by wonder at the economy to their great understandings and through this is moved to praise or useful sorrow. And if there is anything in prayer, internalize it for yourself; and when your mind is established in this, then confusion will give way and go away. For in slave labor 175 there is no peace of mind, and in the freedom of children there is no rebellious confusion; Confusion usually takes away the taste from meaning and understanding and plunders thoughts, like a leech sucking life out of the body with the blood of their members. And confusion, if possible, would be decently called the chariot of the devil, because Satan always has the custom, like a rider, to sit on the mind, take with him a bunch of passions, with them enter the unfortunate soul and plunge it into confusion. But understand this also wisely: when versifying your psalmody, do not seem to be borrowing words from another, so as not to think that you are constantly multiplying the work of teaching, and not to become completely distant from the tenderness and joy gleaned from the verses; but, as if on your own behalf, pronounce the words of your petition with tenderness and reasonable understanding, as one who truly understands his matter. Notice what gives rise to despondency and what makes the mind soar Dejection comes from a soaring mind, and a soaring mind comes from idleness, reading and vain conversations, or from a satiated belly. About the fact that one should not contradict evil 176 thoughts, but submit oneself before God If someone does not contradict the thoughts secretly planted in us by the enemy, but through prayer to God cuts off conversation with them, then this serves as a sign that his mind has acquired wisdom by grace, that his true knowledge has freed him from many matters, and that by finding the short path that he has achieved, he has stopped long-term soaring on a long path, because not at all times we have the strength to so contradict everything that opposes us. thoughts to stop them; On the contrary, we often get an ulcer from them that cannot be healed for a long time. For you are coming in to teach those 177 who are already six thousand years old. And this 178 serves as a weapon for them, with which they will be able to strike you, despite all your wisdom and all your prudence. But when you defeat them, then the impurity of thoughts will defile your mind, and the stench of their stench will remain in your sense of smell for a long time. Having used the first method 179, you will be free from all this and from fear, because there is no other help except God. Tears during prayer are a sign of God’s mercy, which the soul has received in its repentance, a sign that the prayer has been accepted and has begun to rise with tears into the field of purity. For, if thoughts about the transitory are not taken away from people, and they do not reject worldly hope from themselves, and disdain for the world is not aroused in them, and they do not begin to prepare a good farewell for their exodus, thoughts about what will happen there will not begin to arise in their souls; then the eyes cannot shed tears, because tears are the result of unalloyed and unpretentious reflection, many, frequent and unwavering thoughts, remembrance of something subtle 180 happening in the mind, and with this remembrance the heart is saddened. This is why the tears multiply and become more intense. About needlework and the love of money When, during your stay in silence, you turn to handicrafts, do not turn the fatherly commandment into a veil for your love of money. To avoid despondency, let you have a small task that does not disturb your mind. If you want to do more work for alms, then know that prayer in your rank is higher than alms, and if for the sake of bodily needs, then, if you are not insatiable, what God gives you is enough to satisfy your needs. For He never leaves His workers to suffer want of temporal things. The Lord said: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33), before you ask. One of the saints said: “The order of your life is not to satisfy the hungry and for your cell to become a host for strangers. This is the work of the laity: it is more appropriate for them, as a wonderful thing, and not for hermits, free from visible worries and keeping their minds in prayer.” Those who have not been clothed with Christ (see Gal.3:27), who have not received the Spirit (see John 3:5). In subtracting only what is required. The word "evil" is added from the ancient Slavic translation. That is, the experience of tempting demons and your daring refutation of evil thoughts. That is, by praying to God, cutting off conversation with thoughts. You might be interested in: