Слово 85. Содержащее в себе исполненные пользы советы, какие с любовью изглаголал слушающим его со смирением

A good thought 648 does not sink into the heart if it is not from Divine grace; an evil thought does not approach the soul, except for temptation and testing. A person who has reached the point of knowing the extent of his weakness has achieved the perfection of humility. The gifts of God attract a person to a heart that is stirred to unceasing thanksgiving. Temptation is brought to the soul by a murmuring thought that is constantly stirred up in the heart. The Lord tolerates all sorts of human infirmities, but does not tolerate a person who always grumbles, and does not leave him without admonition. The soul, far from any illumination of knowledge, indulges in such (murmuring) thoughts. The lips that always give thanks receive blessings from God; and if the heart remains in gratitude, grace descends into it. Humility precedes grace; and conceit precedes punishment. He who is proud 649 is allowed to fall into blasphemy, and he who exalts himself in the goodness of his deeds is allowed to fall into fornication, and he who exalts himself in his wisdom is allowed to fall into the dark nets of ignorance. A person, far from any remembrance of God, carries in his heart a thought against his neighbor, troubled by an evil memory. Whoever, with the remembrance of God, honors every person, he, at the behest of God, secretly finds help for himself from every person. He who defends the offended finds God as his champion. He who stretches out his hand to help his neighbor receives the arm of God to help himself. Whoever accuses his brother of his vice finds an accuser in God. He who corrects his brother in his cage heals his own vice; and whoever accuses someone in front of the congregation increases the soreness of his own ulcers. He who heals his brother in secret makes the power of his love obvious; and whoever puts him to shame before the eyes of his friends shows the power of envy in himself. A friend who reproaches in secret is a wise physician, but one who heals before the eyes of many is in reality a scolder. A sign of compassion is forgiveness of any debt, and a sign of an evil disposition is bickering with someone who has sinned 650. He who admonishes with the aim of making him healthy, admonishes with love; and whoever seeks revenge has no love in him. God admonishes with love, and does not take revenge (let this not happen!); on the contrary, he means that His image will heal, and does not retain anger until the time comes 651. This type of love is a consequence of rightness and does not deviate into the passion of revenge 652. A righteous sage is like God: for he punishes a person, not at all taking revenge on him for his sin, but so that either the person will correct himself or others will be afraid. What is not like this is not admonition. He who does good for the sake of reward soon changes; and whoever, by the strength of his knowledge, is surprised at the contemplation of the knowledge that is in God, even if he is mortified by the flesh, he does not exalt himself in his thoughts and never deviates from virtue. He who enlightens his mind with a reward worthy of God (to us) 653 has descended, both in soul and body, into the depths of humility. For before anyone approaches knowledge, he ascends and descends in his life; when he approaches knowledge, he ascends entirely to heights; but, no matter how much he rises, the ascent of his knowledge does not reach perfection until that age of glory comes and man receives his full 654 wealth. For no matter how much a person perfects himself before God, he still goes behind Him; but even in the true age, God shows him His face, and not what He is: for the righteous, no matter how much they enter into contemplation of Him, see His image as in a mirror; there they see the manifestation of reality. A fire ignited in dry wood is difficult to extinguish; and if God’s warmth 655 appears and subsides in the heart of one who has renounced the world, then its ignition is not extinguished, and it is swifter than fire. When the power of wine enters the limbs, the mind forgets the exact knowledge of everything; and the remembrance of God, when it takes possession of the pasture in the soul, destroys in the heart the remembrance of everything visible. The mind that has acquired the wisdom of the Spirit is the same as a man who finds a ready-made ship in the sea: when he boards it, he carries it out of the sea of ​​this world and delivers it to the island of the next century. The feeling of the future century in this world is the same as a small island in the sea: those who approach it are no longer bothered by the waves of visions of this century. The merchant, when his lot 656 is over, hurries to return to his house; and the monk, while there is still time to do it, grieves over separation from this body; and when he feels in his soul that he has redeemed the time 657 and received his pledge, he longs for the future age. While the merchant is at sea, there is fear in his limbs, lest the waves rise against him and the hope of his work is drowned; While a monk is in the world, fear rules his life, so that a storm does not awaken against him and his work, on which he works from youth to old age, does not perish. The merchant looks at the earth, and the monk looks at the hour of death. A sailor, when walking in the middle of the sea, looks at the stars and guides his ship according to the stars until he reaches the pier; and the monk looks to prayer, because it corrects him and directs his procession to the pier, to which his life is directed by hourly prayer. The sailor is looking for an island where he can anchor his ship; he stocks up there with what he needs for the journey and then heads to another island. Such is the procession of a monk while he is in this life: the monk moves from island to island, that is, from knowledge to knowledge, and, with this change of islands, that is, knowledge, he prospers until he leaves the sea and his procession reaches that true city, in which its inhabitants no longer engage in buying, but everyone calmly enjoys their wealth. Blessed is he whose purchase 658 did not go to waste in this vain world, in the midst of this great sea. Blessed is the one whose ship is not broken, and he reaches the pier in joy. A naked diver dives into the sea until he finds a pearl; and the wise monk, stripped of everything, goes through life until he finds the pearl within himself - Jesus Christ; and when he finds Him, he no longer gains anything that exists with Him. Pearls are kept in treasuries; and the monk’s delight is observed in silence. It is harmful for a virgin to be in public gatherings and with crowds, and for a monk’s mind to be in conversations with many. The bird, wherever it is, strives to go to its nest - to raise its children there; and the prudent monk hurries to his place - to create the fruit of life in it. The snake, when its whole body is crushed, protects its head; and a wise monk at all times protects his faith, which is the beginning of his life. The clouds cover the sun; and verbosity darkens the soul, which has begun to be enlightened by prayerful contemplation. The bird called Erodius 659, according to the wise, rejoices and rejoices at the time when it leaves the inhabited places and reaches the desert and settles in it; so the soul of a monastic person receives heavenly joy at the time when it withdraws from people, comes and dwells in the land of silence, and there awaits the time of its departure. They say about a bird called Sirin 660 that everyone, hearing the sweet sound of its voice, is so captivated that, following it through the desert, from the sweetness of its singing, he forgets his very life, falls and dies. This is similar to what happens to the soul: when heavenly sweetness flows into it from the sweet sound of God’s words, sinking through the senses into the mind, the soul completely rushes after this sweetness, so that it forgets its bodily life, and the body is deprived of its desires, and the soul ascends from this life to God. A tree, if it does not first shed its old leaves, does not grow new branches; and a monk, until he erases from his heart the remembrance of his past, does not bear new fruits and branches of Christ Jesus. The wind fattens the fruits on the trees and in the fields 661, and care for God fattens the fruits in the soul. In the shell in which the pearl is born, as they say, some semblance of a spark is produced by lightning, and it receives matter from the air, and until then it remains ordinary flesh; Until the heart of a monk accepts the heavenly substance into itself with his understanding, his work 662 is something ordinary and in its shells 663 does not contain the fruit of consolation. A dog that licks a saw drinks its own blood and, due to the sweetness of its blood, is not aware of harm to itself; and the monk, who is inclined to revel in vanity, drinks his life and does not feel harm to himself from the sweetness felt for an hour. Worldly glory is a rock in the sea, covered with water, and it is unknown to the swimmer until the ship bottoms out on it and is filled with water; Vanity does the same to a person until it drowns and destroys him. The fathers say about him that (through him) the passions that have already been defeated by it and emanated from it return again to the vain soul. A small cloud covers the circle of the sun, and the sun after the cloud is especially warm; and a little despondency darkens the soul, but after it comes great joy. Do not approach the words of the sacraments contained in the Divine Scripture without prayer and asking for help from God, but say: “Grant me, Lord, to receive the feeling of the power contained in them.” Consider prayer as the key to the true understanding of what is said in the Divine Scriptures. When you want to draw closer to God with your heart, first show Him your love through bodily labors: in them lies the beginning of life. For the heart draws much closer to God through the meagerness of necessities, by accustoming itself to one type of food: and thus this approach follows bodily deeds. For the Lord also laid them as the foundation of perfection. Consider idleness to be the beginning of darkening of the soul, and darkening upon darkening 664 - a gathering place for conversations. The reason for the first is the second. If useful speeches, when there is no measure for them, produce darkness, then how much more than vain speeches? The soul is damaged by many long conversations, even if they had in mind the fear of God. So, the darkening of the soul comes from disorder in life. Measure and a well-known rule in life enlighten the mind and drive away confusion. Confusion of the mind from disorder produces darkness in the soul, and darkness produces confusion. Peace is a consequence of good order, and from peace light is born in the soul; from the world, clean air shines in the mind. As the heart, having withdrawn from the world, approaches the wisdom of the Spirit, it accepts joy from God to the same extent and in its soul feels the difference between the wisdom of the Spirit and the wisdom of the world; because in the wisdom of the Spirit silence takes possession of the soul, and in worldly wisdom there is a source of soaring thoughts. And upon acquiring the first wisdom, you are filled with great humility, meekness and peace, reigning over all your thoughts. From now on, your members will calm down, and confusion and violent impulses will cease in them. With the acquisition of the second wisdom, you will acquire pride in your wisdom, and perverted thoughts unspeakable, and confusion of mind, shamelessness of feelings and arrogance. Do not think that a person attached to the physical will have boldness before God in prayer. A stingy soul will be deprived of wisdom, but a merciful soul will be made wise by the Spirit. Just as oil serves to give light to a lamp, so almsgiving nourishes knowledge in the soul. The key to Divine gifts is given to the heart by love for one's neighbor, and, as the heart renounces the bonds of the body, the door of knowledge opens to the same extent before it. The passage of the soul from world to world 665 is the acceptance of understanding. How beautiful and praiseworthy is love for our neighbor, if only its care does not distract us from the love of God! How sweet is the conversation with our spiritual brothers, if only we can also maintain a conversation with God! So, it is good to take care of this as long as proportionality is observed in this, that is, until under this pretext 666 the secret work, and life, and constant conversation with God are not lost. The latter is hindered by the observance of the former; the mind is not sufficient to conduct two interviews. Meeting worldly people in a soul that has renounced them for God’s work produces confusion. Continuous conversation with spiritual brothers can also be harmful; and it is harmful to look at worldly people 667 even from afar. Bodily activity is not hindered by 668 encountering anything of the senses. But whoever wishes to reap the joy of doing the unseen as the fruit of pacification of thought, even without knowledge, the mere sounds of a voice disturb the peace of his heart. Internal death is impossible without rendering the senses inactive. Physical life requires the awakening of feelings, and spiritual life requires the awakening of the heart. Just as the soul is by nature better than the body, so the soul is better than the body. And just as the original creation of the body preceded the breathing of life into it, so physical deeds precede spiritual deeds. A small life, constantly continuing 669, is a great force: and a soft drop, constantly falling, breaks through a hard stone. When the time approaches for the spiritual man to resurrect in you, then a deadening of everything is awakened in you, a joy not similar to that of a creature is kindled in your soul, and your thoughts are contained within you with the same sweetness that is in your heart. And when peace is ready to rise in you, then the soaring of your mind, low and fickle wisdom, multiplies in you. I call peace the passions that this soaring gives rise to; when they are born and reach maturity, they become sins and kill a person. Just as children are not born without a mother, so passions are not born without the soaring of the mind, and the commission of sin does not happen without the assistance of passions. If patience increases in our souls, this is a sign that we have secretly received the grace of consolation. The power of patience is stronger than joyful thoughts that sink into the heart. Life in God is the overthrow of 671 feelings. When the heart lives, 672 feelings are overthrown. The resurrection of feelings is the death of the heart; and when they are resurrected, this is a sign of the deadness of the heart to God. Conscience does not receive justice from virtues performed between people. The virtue that someone does through others cannot purify the soul, because it is imputed before God only as a reward for deeds. The virtue that a person creates in himself is imputed to perfect virtue, and achieves both, that is, it is imputed to reward and produces purification. Therefore, get away from the first and follow the second: leaving the second without care for the first is a clear falling away from God. But the second replaces the first, even if the first does not exist. Rest and idleness are the ruin of the soul, and more demons can harm it. When your body is weak and you force it to do things beyond its strength, then you introduce darkness after darkness into your soul and bring great confusion into it. But if the body is strong and you give it over to peace and idleness, then all kinds of evil arise in the soul that dwells in this body; and even if someone strongly desired good, it would soon take away from him the very thought of good that he had. When the soul is intoxicated with the joy of its hope and the joy of God, then the body does not feel sorrows, although it is weak; for he bears an extreme burden - and does not faint, but enjoys and contributes to the pleasure of the soul, although weakly. This happens when the soul enters into this joy of the Spirit. If you keep your tongue, then God will give you, brother, the grace of heartfelt tenderness, so that with its help you can see your soul and through it 674 enter into the joy of the Spirit. If your tongue overcomes you, then believe me in what I tell you: you will not be able to get rid of the delusion. If your heart is unclean, let your lips be pure, as Blessed John said. When you want to instruct someone to goodness, first repose him physically and almost with a word of love. For nothing brings a person to shame and forces him to give up his vice and change for the better, like bodily goods and the honor that he sees from you. To the extent that someone has entered into a feat for the sake of God, to the extent that his heart accepts boldness in his prayer. And to the extent that a person is entertained by many things, to the same extent he is deprived of God’s help. Do not grieve over bodily injuries, because death will completely take them away from you. Do not be afraid of death, because God has prepared for you to become above it. To him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen. In the Syriac text: "movement"; but the Greek translator everywhere replaces it with the word “thought”. In the Syriac text: “to the proud of knowledge.” That is, reproof, reproach of the sinner. In the Syriac text: “until the time when correction is impossible; because He does not seek vengeance for Himself.” In the Syriac text: “this is a sign of love: correction based on love is done for the sake of improvement and does not have the goal of revenge.” That is, whoever learns from God's reward. That is, the heat with which he burns towards God. This is an expression found in the New Testament (see Eph. 5:16; Col. 4:5) meaning: “to take advantage of the time.” Heron (in Syriac text: "stork"). There are no words in Greek: “in the trees and in the fields.” That is, the heartfelt work of a monk. That is, the greatest obscuration. From the material world to the spiritual world. Under the pretext of love for neighbors. In the ancient Slavic and Serbian translations, the speech is without negation: “and bodily action forbids”, etc. That is, an average but constant lifestyle. That is, not the same as the creature produces. You might be interested in: