Речь на Вознесение Господне, сказанная в женском тамбовском монастыре 1-го мая 1858 года.

“Seek the Highest” (Col. 3:1). There was a day when we celebrated the descent of the Son of God to earth. The day has come when we celebrate His ascension into heaven. And then St. called to us. Church: “Christ on earth, ascend.” Isn’t it all the more fitting now to cry out to us: “Christ in heaven, be exalted,” “seek the highest.” Why did the Son of God come to earth? Then, to take us to heaven. He came to tell us about our Heavenly Father, whom we, after our fall, little by little, almost completely forgot; to tell about our mountainous fatherland, for which we were created, to show the way to it and to tell us everything that is necessary to achieve the kingdom of heaven. He came to reconcile us with His death on the cross with God, whom we had endlessly offended by our sins, to make us again His sons, brothers of angels, worthy citizens of heaven. He came to destroy the kingdom of the devil on earth, which included all those who did not know the true God, and all sinners, and in place of this dark kingdom to create his own kingdom of grace - the Church, as the undoubted leader of people to eternal life. Why did the Son of God ascend to heaven now? For the same thing for which He descended to earth, that is, to take us to heaven - to continue and finish what He began on earth. On earth He accomplished for us and for us the great work of our redemption, which no one else could accomplish. All that remained was for us to assimilate the merits of our Redeemer and put on Him, so that we would truly be justified before God, be reborn, cleansed of sins and become saints. And all this is possible for us only with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. And so our Lord ascended into heaven with the goal of sending down to us the Holy Spirit with all His grace-filled gifts: “You have nothing,” the Lord said to the disciples, “that I may go: if I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you: if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). But we, weak, and after rebirth from the Spirit, and using His grace-filled gifts, can fall and again offend God with our sins. And our Redeemer is “in” now “not into a holy place made with hands, but into heaven itself, so that the face of God may appear for us” (Heb. 9:24). He has now sat down “at the right hand of God” the Father to “intercede for us” (Rom. 8:34). “In the same way he can save to the end those who come to God through him, he who is always alive, by interceding for them” (Heb. 7:25). On earth, the Son of God showed us the direct path to heaven and gave us all the means to follow this path. But heaven itself remained closed to all people since the time of their sin. And our Savior has now ascended to heaven in his human nature, so that he could thus open an entrance there for all his followers and appear as a “forerunner for us” (Heb. 6:20): “I am going,” He said, “to prepare a place for you. And if I prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself: that where I am, you also may be” (John 14:2-3). Through the ascension of the Lord, all the abodes of the Heavenly Father became accessible and open to us. I repeat: the Son of God, who has now ascended from earth to heaven, descended to earth for this purpose, and for this purpose he ascended to heaven, in order to lead us there. So, “seek the highest,” my brothers, who have the good fortune to bear the name of Christians. Try to use all the means that He has given or indicated to us to reach the heavenly homeland: believe in His Gospel, hope in His promises, fulfill His commandments, flow to His intercession, obey His Holy Spirit. Church, be led by the Holy Spirit, live as befits the children of the heavenly Father - in a word - be true Christians. Christianity is the direct path to heaven. “Seek the Highest,” especially you, pious sisters in the Lord! There are different degrees of Christian perfection: you have desired the highest. Do not forget that it is your duty to fulfill not only all the duties of a Christian, but also those high vows that you have made before God. There are also different degrees of heavenly rewards: and high rewards await you, if only you, with God’s help, holyly complete the path you have embarked on. Amen. You might be interested in: