Узкий путь (из писем преподобного Иосифа)

“Here I give you wine and water, and Father Joseph will give you undiluted wine...” Rev. Avmrosy Optinsky. The letters of the Optina elder Joseph simply, clearly and in the power of the Spirit depict the narrow path that the Savior commanded to all who seek the Kingdom of Heaven. In them, every God-loving reader will be able to find the necessary medicine for his soul. How to fight thoughts, how to go through the science of the Jesus Prayer, how to build relationships with neighbors, how to be saved from sins and temptations - how many questions did the spiritual children ask in their letters to Elder Joseph! His answers were kept by them as the greatest treasure, because they really contained instructions necessary for the salvation of the soul. They are valuable and relevant not only for monastics, but also for the laity, who are often deprived of any kind of spiritual nourishment. Reverend Father Joseph, pray to God for us! Mother Magdalene! I wish you God's mercy and spiritual salvation. I congratulate you on the holiday of Holy Easter and wish you peace of mind and godly zeal for the salvation of your soul. It’s not commendable that I haven’t written about myself for a long time. Especially if you feel lazy, then you should write. Try to fight laziness and drive it away, and force yourself to work in prayer. Remember that forcing yourself is absolutely necessary to obtain salvation. By Matins, get used to walking and standing all the time. It’s not difficult to get up by 5 o’clock, unless you’re sick - well, then it’s a different matter. Pentecenten must certainly be celebrated, for this the Lord will exact it from the monk; but you don’t have to bow a hundred times, unless you have a commandment from your spiritual father. There is no need to hide sins during confession. Sins are not resolved in absentia or in writing: it is prohibited by church rules. This is also the case with Fr. Macarius is in the letters, but if they write in the letters: “God will forgive,” then this is only a wish, not permission... Whoever you envy, pray to God for him. Try not to be partial to anyone, but love everyone equally. May the Lord protect you! Calling upon you peace and God’s blessing, I remain with the desire for salvation. Beloved in Christ, Pelagia! Peace be with you. The mercy of God be with you all. I received your letter... Reading it, I rejoiced in spirit for your knowledge of your infirmities. Blessed is the man who recognizes his weakness, because this knowledge becomes for him the foundation, root and beginning of all goodness. How soon will someone know and actually feel his weakness; raises his soul from the relaxation that darkens knowledge, and reserves caution. But no one can feel his weakness unless even a small temptation is allowed upon him, something that tires either the body or the soul. To be amazed at the works of the saints is a commendable thing; being jealous of them is a saving grace, but suddenly wanting to become imitators of their lives is a reckless and impossible thing. And we should not be horrified if at the beginning of the monastic feat we are more boris than when we lived in the world. Whoever, although he falls, but rises up, is not possessed by negligence, but God will bring him into the dispensation of diligent workers. And know that all this, to our humility, was brought upon us by God’s Providence, which provides for each of us and arranges what is beneficial for everyone. Finally, know that it is not your job and not your virtue’s to arrange it; this will be accomplished by grace, which carries you in the palm of its hand, so that you do not fall into fear or despair. Weep and shed tears and imitate in prayer the Canaanite wife and sinner at the feet of the Savior, crying out incessantly both in words and mentally in your heart, humbly and loudly: “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is angry."... Hieromonk Joseph November 18, 1892 I received your sorrowful letter, and a heavenly delicacy. God bless you for your zeal. You write about your illness. The Lord, in the depth of His wisdom, philanthropically, gives everything useful to everyone in its construction. So, perhaps, the Lord will build salvation for you through this illness. And when you are sick, grief is also necessary, so it turns out that your life is not in vain now. What kind of ascetics are we, where do we perform spiritual feats, such as all-night prayer, fasting...? If you look at yourself, if you look inside yourself, you won’t find anything good in any corner, so there is a lot of room in our hearts for all sorts of nasty things: passions, pride, vanity, conceit... And so He, the Merciful Knower of the Heart, does not see in us a strong will for good, but everything that is weak and cowardly. And he does not want the destruction of His creation, albeit a sinner. He sends illnesses and sorrows, and thus every Christian soul is cleansed of sins, but at the same time, if you thank God for illnesses and repent of sins and endure the will of God with submission. Be patient, and you will find help. May God's mercy be with you! I received your letter. May the Lord strengthen you in good intentions and give you a contrite heart and a humble spirit. You write that zeal has cooled towards prayer. What to do, we must be patient, this is allowed to our humility. Be afraid to abandon your prayer rule. But always do it, whether you feel like it or not. If you do it under compulsion, then this work is pleasing to God, just do everything with humility. For patience and compulsion, the Lord will give tenderness. When there is an all-night vigil, then the rule is not corrected. May the Lord strengthen your physical, and especially spiritual, strength. Do not grieve too much about your health and thank the Lord for your illness, for it cleanses your soul from sins. Even if you lie down and are completely exhausted, but do not give up prayer, remember all the Name of the Lord, and the Lord will delight your illnesses. Peace to you and God's blessing. I received your letter in which you describe your grief that others, in your opinion, unworthy, are given the mantle, but you are not. From this I see that you desire monasticism not for the salvation of the soul and the acquisition of great humility, but in order to be ahead of others and to be magnified by the glory of your robe, without thinking about what the mantle is and for what purpose it is given. This shows that it is not the desire for salvation that will hold you back, but pride. This is even clearer from this that you dared to call the respected venerable elder Nilka! With common sense, is it possible to express it this way? If in such a spiritual dispensation you manage to receive a mantle, then you will be in it like a stump in a hat. Just as a hat does not provide any benefit or decoration to an insensitive stump, so you will definitely be wearing a robe, and it will also serve to condemn you. The mantle is an image of repentance and humility. And therefore, wanting to have it, one must affirm and learn mainly in humility, considering oneself not worthy of this angelic image, and not just covet it, and, moreover, with ambition, for vanity. And in this we must be sure that the Lord guides our leaders in this matter, and Himself proclaims who to give and who not to give. This means that this is the will of God, what was given to her and what Fr. Neil helped in this matter, and this is according to God’s dispensation. Apparently, she is more worthy than you to accept and wear this Angelic image, worthy, if not by deeds, which you write, she does not have, and lives carelessly, if not by deeds, then, perhaps, by humility, which in the eyes of God is higher than all our corrections. That is why the Lord announced Fr. Neil will arrange her to accept this yoke of His, which is good and easy for the humble in heart. Therefore, if you also want to wear this image, try to acquire humility in your heart. Consider yourself not only unworthy of this rank for your negligence, but even unworthy of staying in the Holy Abode. Try not to judge anyone or anything, consider yourself the last and worst of all, and never rely on your mind and your intelligence. The Lord, seeing your such dispensation, will vouchsafe you to accept this holy image, which will serve you for the salvation of your soul, which is what I earnestly wish for you. Leave this matter and the desire to have it not to the machinations, not to the requests of someone, but to the diligent fulfillment of monastic affairs and rules, and especially to humility. And then the Lord, seeing your diligence for salvation, will put a thought about you in the hearts of your leaders. Calling upon you the peace and blessing of God, I remain with the desire for salvation. I received your letter and I strongly advise you to think and read more often every day about death, about ordeals, about eternal torment, and in this way you will crush your even slightly embittered heart, into which you voluntarily let the enemy into. Passionate! Let us pray diligently and constantly beseech the Lord: for all the impassive (i.e., the saints) were formerly under the yoke of the passions, and then they achieved dispassion - and they entered into the peace of dispassion in no other way than by enduring a fierce battle with the passions. Although not everyone can be dispassionate, it is possible for everyone to be saved and reconciled with God. Repentance is higher than all virtues, but in the hope of God’s mercy and repentance one should not continue to sin. Such people are suddenly snatched away by death. And having sinned, one should not despair. “Where sin abounds, His grace abounds all the more” (Rom. 5:20). Angels tend not to fall; people - to fall and get up soon; and the demons will never rise. Whoever does not lose heart from the occasional falls will be praised by the Angels as a brave warrior! The angels rejoice in heaven over the one sinner who repents, and the Savior says that He came to save sinners and that the sick require a doctor, not the healthy. God judges repentance not by the measure of work, but by the measure of humility (Luke 18:10–14). Some took upon themselves labors and exploits in order to receive forgiveness; but a person who does not remember evil is ahead of him or them, for the saying is true: “Let a little go, and much will be given to you” (Luke 6:37 and 1 Cor. 13:1–8:13). Then I remain in wishing you health and spiritual salvation. Invoking the peace and blessing of God, I remain with sincere goodwill. The sinful hieromonk Joseph