Letter to Gregory, the queen's bed-maid

Letter to St. Gregory the Great (Dvoeslova) is addressed to a certain Gregory, the queen’s bed-maid, who has doubts about the forgiveness of her sins. The saint, based on the example of the gospel sinner who received forgiveness for her great love for God, calls Gregory to trust in God’s mercy. He emphasizes that even after the remission of sins, one should not fall into carelessness, but should serve the Lord with fear and trembling, remembering the possibility of sinning again. About what should not be safe even after the remission of sins. I have received, honorable wife, your longed-for letter. In it you recognize yourself as a great sinner. But since I know that you passionately love the almighty Lord, then, trusting in God’s mercy, I think that the Truth has spoken about you the same thing that it said about a certain holy woman, namely: “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, because you have loved much” (Luke 7:47). And that her sins were indeed forgiven is proven by the subsequent circumstances: after all, she sat “at the feet of Jesus and listened to His words” (Luke 10:39). For having begun her spiritual life, she left earthly worries; her sister, Mary, was still devoted. Then she came to the buried Lord, although she did not find His body in the tomb. After the departure of the disciples, she cried in front of the tomb, where she was honored to see the Risen One, and, by the wise order of the Lord, Who arranged for the wife to announce life, since she was the cause of death in paradise, she announced to the disciples about His resurrection. And finally, seeing Him with another Mary, another time, she took hold of His feet. Consider this: who, with what hands, and why, took hold of the legs? The sinful woman in the city took hold of the feet of Him who sits above the Angels, at the right hand of the Father, with hands defiled by iniquity. And after all, imagine, if you can, how merciful the Lord is, allowing a wife, immersed in the abyss of evil, to ascend to such a height on the wings of love. By it you can judge, dear daughter, the fulfillment of what was promised through the prophets of the present time to the Holy Church: “On the day every place will be opened to the house of David” (Zech. 13:1). As if the house of David is a source open for the cleansing of us sinners. Through the Son of David, our Savior, we are cleansed from our vile sins. As for the fact that you still want to consider yourself unhappy until I inform you that it has been revealed to me about the remission of your sins, I will tell you that you are demanding from me a difficult and useless thing: difficult because I am unworthy of revelation; and useless because regarding sins you cannot be safe even until the last day of your life, so until that day comes, you must fear for your sins and mourn them daily. So the Apostle Paul, despite the fact that he was raptured to the third heaven, and heard there such words that cannot be retold in human language (2 Cor. 12:1-4), said about himself: “I mortify my body and enslave it, lest by any means, preaching to others, I myself will not be enslaved” (1 Cor. 9:27). And so, if this great man, caught up into heaven, was afraid, how could those still on earth not be afraid? Know, dear daughter, that from carelessness comes negligence. Therefore, in the continuation of your present life, you must beware of carelessness in every possible way, so as not to fall into negligence. The Scripture says: “Blessed is the man who fears everyone for fear” (Prov. 28:14) and: “Work for the Lord with fear, and rejoice in Him with trembling” (Ps. 2:11). Therefore, during your short life, protect your soul with fear, so that through carelessness you will not be subjected to endless fear. May Almighty God fill your soul with the grace of the Holy Spirit, and may He lead you to eternal joy after the tears you shed daily in prayer. (Book 7. Scripture 25).