Words X, XIX, XXI, XXIV, XXVII, XXVIII, XXXV, L

Greek texts of the works of St. Macarius the Great has come down to us in the form of 4 collections (types). “Words X, XIX, XXI, XXIV, XXVII, XXVIII, XXXV, L” are 13 Words included in the collection of “Spiritual Words and Messages”, which belong to the most extensive first type, represented entirely by manuscripts of the 13th century. In these conversations, topics are raised about the need to humbly endure temptations in which we improve; about the role of humility in achieving communion of the soul with Christ; about the benefits that a soul receives when it mysteriously joins Christ; about how one should spiritually understand the Holy Scriptures, etc. The Orthodox Church has always highly valued the works of St. Macarius the Great, revealing to us great divine secrets. However, modern Western patrollers groundlessly attribute these writings to the little-known ancient author Simeon of Mesopotamia and even accuse such Macarius/Simeon of heresy. This false opinion is also voiced by the translator of these words in his introduction. Despite this error, the translation itself is good and useful for the Orthodox reader. Contents Word 10. About spiritual pearls Word 19. About how we must valiantly endure all kinds of temptations in which we are perfected Word 21. How great and what kind of mysteries a soul that has fellowship with Christ is rewarded with through humility Word 24. About how all Scripture should be understood spiritually and not think anything carnal Word 27. About how everything visible is an image of the invisible world of the Divine Word 28. What are the greater works that the Father gives to the Son to do Word 35. That a pure soul, according to its ability, sees God, and not such - the Word walks in darkness 50. How many and what kind of benefits is awarded to the soul that mysteriously communes with Christ, and what weapons it should have Word 10. About spiritual pearls 1. The Lord, speaking about the Kingdom of Heaven and telling about the most pure, and glorious, and Divine, and the only pearl and teaching how someone will receive it, answers this way, using a comparison with visible things: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant looking for good pearls, who, having found one pearl of great price, went and sold everything he had and bought it” (Matthew 13:45, 46). pearls, so that, by bringing them, he would please the king, because the royal crown is woven with precious stones. So, therefore, the soul must acquire and find heavenly and valuable pearls, the Spirit of Christ, a great and good purchase, so that it will be woven into the crown of glory of the Heavenly King Christ; and without this Divine pearl, which is the Holy Spirit, the soul cannot please King Christ, nor receive the royal crown. So, how someone will acquire and find these pearls can be learned from visible merchants who trade in precious pearls, because they, having sold their property, and having gone far from their homeland, and having passed through deserted and robber regions, reach the area where pearls are born. Because there the most valuable and glorious of precious stones are exhibited, with their prices engraved and inscribed. And each of the traders sees the stones on display and foresees how he will appear to the king. If this exceeds his means, he not only grieves over empty labor and cries, but cannot even see the king. In the same way, Christ our Lord prefigured and predetermined the price of good and great pearls, without which no one can please the Heavenly King, and the price is renunciation of the world and death and the cross, because He became the image and leader of the path leading to life, giving His Body to death for us, and defeating the violence of the devil, and redeeming us with His own Blood. And thus he teaches all those who followed Him, and became His disciples, and want to acquire heavenly pearls (and this is the Kingdom of Heaven), to renounce themselves and live no longer for themselves, according to the Apostle: “so that those who live,” he says, “should no longer live for themselves, but for Christ who died and rose for them” (2 Cor. 5:15). And the Lord Himself says: “Let him deny himself... and let him follow Me” (Luke 9:23). And again: “If anyone,” He says, “does not hate father... mother... brothers and so on, and also his own soul, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). Thus, by death this pearl of life, Christ, is purchased. And thus, if someone does not prepare himself and does not deny himself, giving up his soul to death, he cannot acquire that pearl and without it he cannot see the Heavenly Father. For He is a crown woven of glory, He is Christ bound with precious stones and was the glorious crown of the Church of saints. And every soul that gives itself to death and desires to pass into life, may it seek this pearl and may it acquire the Lord, who has become all in all, food, drink, clothing, treasure, peace, indescribable joy, true life. Consequently, whoever found Him found in all ages wealth, unceasing pleasure, unfading light, undimmed glory. For He works all these things in him differently, changing according to his needs. Let the soul that has heard the word of God and is co-delighted with God, elevate itself, and let it be aroused into the love of the longed-for Lord, and let it be aroused into the love of the Bridegroom. As a fire kindled in an abundant substance increases the flame, let her also finally desire to be worthy of the indescribable phenomenon and strive until death, so that, having won, she will receive eternal life according to our predecessor, Christ, who gave Himself up to death for us. Because the Lord became all instructions so that just as He, through dishonor and disgrace and the final death, defeated the enemy, so we, who live in suffering and humility and dishonor and death, despising shame, could defeat the devil and receive life and acquire “pearls of great price,” He is Christ, according to what was said: “You have not yet fought to the point of blood, struggling against sin” (Heb. 12:4). By death we will defeat death, without combining with evil, without falling along with our thoughts. It is shameful for merchants to swim across such abysses and neglect deadly dangers for the sake of growth and increase in wealth, and for us, who desire to hold on to eternal life and want to acquire the imperishable light of the best pearls and want to bargain for the purchase of true treasure, not to despise temporary death, (that is,) worldly pleasures. So, I ask you, brothers, to despise death, and consider your soul as nothing, and until death become imitators of the Lord, who was in all things our image and example and conquered death through death. 2. For in the Law, mysteriously, “in image and shadow” (Heb. 8:5), Moses, the good saint of God, mysteriously regarding the death of the Lord commanded to sacrifice a heifer “outside the camp” (Heb. 13:11) in a deserted place, and its ashes and sprinkled blood sanctify the whole people, and priests, and liturgical vessels, and the Book itself and tabernacle. Just as the Apostle, talking with the Jews, explained the true image of the sacrament: “For if the blood of bulls,” he writes, “and of goats and the ashes of a heifer, through sprinkling, sanctifies the bodies of the defiled for purity, much more will the Blood of Christ, who through the Holy Spirit offered Himself blameless to God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living and true God” (Heb. 9:13, 14). And the fact that “outside the camp” the heifer is sacrificed is understood in two ways: or that - since souls are deserted and do not have the voice or way of God in themselves, but are filled with terrible thorns - the Lord suffered in order to cleanse and reconcile; or that souls coming from their homelands and from kinship and from the terrible community of evil spirits of darkness, in which they stayed and lived, must leave by the power of the Lord and retire to the pure land of life, where there are no voices of malice and the rustling of evil spirits and crowds of unclean demons. The heifer was not yoked, because the Lord did not bear the yoke of sin and slavery, but died for us. And we can surpass them by walking in the way of the Lord. Figuratively, the Law commanded that those who came from the pagans be circumcised and numbered with the people of God, describing the entry of the pagans who would (in the future) believe and be numbered with the heavenly Church. The law also spoke about the holiday: “Everyone who does not celebrate the Feast of Passover will be cut off from among the people” (Lev. 23:29), speaking about the holiday that is to be held in the soul: “Everyone who is uncircumcised from the family of Israel will be destroyed,” he says, “and everyone who is uncircumcised will not have an inheritance among his brethren” (Gen. 17:14). Thus, here he who is not circumcised in heart, not circumcised by the sword of the Spirit, is not called the son of God or Israel who sees God, and is not numbered among the inheritance of life. And just as it was not possible for the pagans to approach or join there, so God separates the soul from the spirits of evil, giving the heart the law of the spirit. And again, about the Feast of Passover and unleavened bread, the Law writes, saying: “Everything that is leavened will be destroyed at the Feast of Passover, and in whatever house old leaven is found, it will be destroyed” (Ex. 12:15, 19). Under the house there is a hint of the body: in whatever house the leaven of sin is found, it will be destroyed. There is old leaven and unleavened bread, and new leaven, because He requires will and discretion to be incompatible and completely inconsistent with evil, and because He calls the first Adam unleavened, and new leaven the Divinity and the power of the Spirit, in which He wanders and mixes with the soul. And he commands us to eat unleavened bread with bitter herbs, teaching us to endure bitter sorrows, obvious or invisible, the oppression that occurs in the heart from the evil one. And the goodness and sweetness of the good and blameless Lamb of Christ makes those who have tasted from Him forget the harshness and bitterness of sorrows (1 Pet. 1:19). And in short: “All this happened to them like images; but it is described for our instruction, who have reached the last ages” (1 Cor. 10:11). Let us therefore also pray to God and believe that we are anointed with the Blood of Christ (that is, the Holy Spirit of promise), and set free, and delivered from the bondage of sin, and freed from the bonds of darkness, and thus “shall live with Him” (Rom. 6:8) for ever and ever. Glory to His goodness. 3. Blessed Paul says, writing to the Corinthians: “But we all with unveiled face... beholding the glory of the Lord (that is, the intelligent Light), are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18). For just like someone, looking at the royal clothes, the purple robe and the diadem and other similarly varied and colorful clothes, marvels at their diversity, beauty, pleasantness, the beauty of precious stones, and the sight of their pleasantness and beauty becomes insatiable to him; or how, having seen the sun, he sees the radiance of its rays, that, like living things, it shows a multi-colored spectacle, one better than the other; or how, having looked at the water, he sees the sun shining in the water and being changed and moved in various ways; so those who bear the heavenly image of Christ and have in themselves the ineffable Light and are dressed in the scarlet robe of the Heavenly King (that is, in the heavenly joy of the Spirit), recognizing the beauty of the ineffable Light in them, with the open face of the soul contemplate the ineffable beauty of the incorruptible glory, as it is transformed from glory to glory and into the many-colored beauties of the Divine, which the carnal language is powerless to express. For it is unthinkable and inexpressible what God does with the saints with His immeasurable goodness while they are still in the world. They are parables and images, partially giving instructions to those who understand, because what comes from God through one experience is truly known by those to whom the very mysteries of things act worthily. You can hear the word of God and understand that it is above your knowledge, above your mind, above your consciousness, until the very objects of the mysteries of grace become in you. For the visible scarlet and royal robes themselves do not give any benefit or life to those who see them, unless they appear pleasant, but the Divine glory and beauty of the heavenly image give to the souls reflected in them and those who have them in themselves peace and eternal life, true love in the purity of the heart, heavenly food, reason, wisdom, unceasing joy of the spirit, and by the power of action and themselves comparable to them. So, those who, with their inner eyes, reflect within themselves this intelligent Light shining in their hearts, are not occupied with anything earthly and material, but are completely connected in that indescribable beauty. For just as if the nurse takes the baby into her arms, and the child, seeing the mother, rejoices and is glad, receiving milk food from her, so those who have within themselves the true Light of the Spirit and are connected with Christ, contemplating Him, rest and rejoice “with unspeakable joy” (1 Pet. 1:8), for from Him they feed on incorruptible food and in Him they live true life. 4. All the leaders of evil, dwelling in the depths of human souls, did not recognize the Lord Incarnate until He shook their thrones from the hearts of faithful people, and overthrew their seats and scattered their vessels, so that man became His church and His own dwelling, and then He made His vessels, the mysteries of the Spirit and His Throne His own dwelling. And again, when the Lord, who descended into the graves and hell, captured and took from him His souls, held by the devil, the evil one brought a handwritten note (debt obligation), saying: “They are my slaves, I bought them, You sold them to me. Why are you lying to me? Why are you kidnapping those who work for me?” Then the Lord says to him: “You speak well. I sold them to you, handing them over to you, and now you bring the handwriting on them. But what do you have against My Body? Or in what way was My Body obedient to you, that you killed it unrighteously? Because it is sinless." Then, calling all his evil angels, Satan says: “Collect the debt of this body.” And they, having explored in every possible way and everywhere, could not find him anywhere. When, therefore, it was not found entirely against the Body of the Lord, the Lord says, “You have not this debt.” The devil was dumbfounded and ashamed, not being able to say anything against the Body of the Lord in which it had sinned; without guilt It was therefore condemned and crucified. And the Lord says: “This is what you intended, you created in My sinless Flesh, unrighteously crucifying and killing someone who was not obliged to die. Therefore, this Flesh, against Which you did not find a debt obligation and dared to transgress against It, She will redeem and free all flesh that believes in It and restore it to heaven into eternal life.” For by His Blood and the Cross the Lord redeemed everyone from death who wished and wanted to believe in Him and have hope in Him. And having resurrected, he will restore to the Kingdom. For the Apostle says: “you are not your own... you were bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:19–20). And again Peter says: “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold... but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:18, 19). So, God, as a king, having covered Himself with scarlet, “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3), and the Jews tore the king’s scarlet, crucifying the Flesh of the Lord, for who can hold the Spirit of the Divine, when who can even hold the soul, it is intangible. Therefore, the Jews are guilty, they crucified God as they tore the king’s purple robe. Because just as the scarlet robe is glorified with the king, and we cannot worship the king without the crimson robe, so the Flesh of the Lord was glorified with His Divinity, and we worship Christ together with His Flesh; for flesh and soul and the Divinity have become something one, although they are two. For just as wool dyed crimson, although it consists of two natures and hypostases, forms one splendid appearance (for wool cannot separate after dyeing or dye from wool), so the flesh, united by the soul with the Divinity, was formed into something single, that is, one Hypostasis, the Heavenly God, worshiped with the Flesh. Consequently, the Lord redeemed all flesh with His own Blood, and all flesh that believed and followed Him and accepted Him is now glorified with the Lord’s Flesh on the day when He, as the Apostle says, “will transform the body of our humility to become conformed to the Body of His glory” (Phil. 3:21). So, according to this image, the leaders of evil, who were inside in human souls, did not recognize Him who had come until He pushed them away and threw them out of the souls who believed in Him, and He built a throne and a church, and a pure and holy dwelling place for Himself for the souls who truly loved Him. And so, blameless, those who are built with Him by His Spirit will rest in the Kingdom. Amen. Homily 19. On the fact that we must valiantly endure all kinds of temptations in which we improve 1. A man of God, who truly walks the path of righteousness and is an obedient servant of the Lord, always succeeds in every state of virtue and becomes better than himself, improving daily, and acquires the basis for all the deeds of virtue, for example, for humility and meekness, for kindness, for patience, for generosity, for love, for faith, for hope, for chastity, for courage, for kindness, for each of them has many depths and breadth and subtlety of doing. As if there were many different fruitful trees in the garden, and each tree had branches, and again branches - small twigs and even thinner twigs, and many many leaves, so in each of the virtues there is a certain subtlety of work and a lot of depth, and each seems to be a kind of perfect conclusion. Of all these, the basis and affirmation and the extreme degree on which everyone who comes to God must be affirmed and based is conviction in God and firmness of faith, which, first of all, everyone who wants to please God must acquire and be confirmed by confidence in God. Because those who have not previously acquired confidence in God are like those who build a house without a foundation. Because the Maccabees, who labored a lot and showed valor generously in many and great wars, by faith and conviction in God, subdued their enemies through physical war. Let us take them as an example for ourselves in the invisible battle “against the spirits of evil” (Eph. 6:12), because true warriors of Christ should be so willing, courageous, and valiant and generous. For the Apostle says: “All these things happened to them as examples; but it is described for our instruction, who have reached the last ages” (1 Cor. 10:11). So, we must remain in various sorrows and various temptations raised against us by the spirits of malice, be patient, take courage and be generous, valiant ascetics and warriors of Christ, so that we can be grateful in the consolations and gifts of grace. For just as the visible world of people is governed by grace and truth, grace in the abundance and harvest of fruits, and health, and the prosperity of the times, and every giving of goods, and righteousness and punishment in hunger and sea, and sorrows and needs, disasters, hail, pestilence, and everything that is generated by God for the admonition and benefit of people; so the soul, wishing to inherit the heavenly world of the Divine, is controlled by grace in various ways. And sometimes in the peace and joy of the spirit she rejoices and rejoices in the consolation of grace, sometimes she indulges in punishment and various temptations and various sorrows of the worldly spirit, so that, having learned everything and been found tested, and valiantly endured in all temptations, and in no way deviated from pleasing God, and thus favored by Christ, she would become worthy of God, by grace and righteousness. inherited eternal life. 2. And just as in this life, people do not entirely experience rest and harvests, and the birth of fruits, and peace, but by the measure of truth God punishes and has mercy and provides for peace, so the soul that desires to be born for the heavenly world is not entirely in rest and joy and gladness of spirit, but by the measure of truth and grace God punishes and has mercy and arranges it. For if everything were relaxation in people’s lives, pleasure, satiety and wealth without sorrows and pains could not be endured and endured by people who neglect God and wholly give themselves up to the pleasure of the flesh. “Jacob ate,” says (Scripture), “and he was filled, became fat, grew fat, became enlarged, and ate his beloved” (Deut. 32:15). So, in spiritual (things), perceive: if the soul were entirely and continuously in joy and relaxation and gladness of the spirit, it would not know itself and would not know the exercise and path of righteousness, and would exalt itself, and would succeed in conceit alone, exalting itself above everyone, and would not even consider itself a man, as the Apostle says: “Because of the extraordinary number of revelations, I was given... angel of Satan, afflict me, so that I do not become arrogant” (2 Cor. 12:7). Do you see that such a holy man benefited from tribulations? Also, as the same one says: “Tribulation makes patience... patience makes experience... experience makes hope, but hope does not disgrace” (Rom. 5:3-5). So sorrows act for the benefit and greater experience of the soul. 3. Only so that the person himself willingly and valiantly endures everything he encounters, and especially sorrows, without allowing himself any voluntary sins of laziness or negligence, or relaxation, or any absent-mindedness, or any other voluntary sins, but, working entirely in a pleasing manner and casting himself upon the Lord, all sorrowful events encountered, valiantly and willingly endure, and endure, always expecting help from there, looking at the grace and love of God, so that thus, having become worthy of God in everything, he would be such. For God knows how much everyone must come to trial, and punishment, and temptation, so that he becomes more experienced, only if a person masters patience. Because if people, who have a little intelligence and a short thought, test and discern how much weight and load each animal is able to carry, for example, a mule or a donkey, or a camel, and if the potter who molded the vessels knows that if he does not put them into the fire, they will not become useful to him, and he knows how much of them must be left in the fire in order for them to become useful. And he does not leave them more than necessary, lest they become spoiled, nor does he leave them insufficient, lest they become worthless and useless. How much more does God, being ineffable and ineffable, true Knowledge, and boundless Reason, and incomprehensible Wisdom, know how many trials and tribulations and temptations those who want to please Him need. And after sorrows, they are worthy to receive the fullness of grace and completely acquire purity and sanctification through the communion of the Spirit, and fully accept deliverance from passions after the evil spirits have henceforth been subjugated to them. And thus, having become blameless and undefiled by the Spirit, they are worthy to receive the Kingdom of Heaven in Christ Jesus our Lord, to Him be glory and dominion forever. Amen. Homily 21. How great and what mysteries is awarded through humility to the soul that has fellowship with Christ? A soul that loves heavenly blessings and hopes to co-reign with Christ through transformation and change must change from the evil of the passions into Christ’s commandments, and change at will and, simply speaking, acquire renewal of the Spirit while it is in the flesh. As if there were monastic houses of Christians in a deserted mountain, where wolves and wild animals and terrible reptiles used to dwell and live in holes, but when the whole place was built up and lost its wild appearance, there are now incessant psalms and singing, spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16), festivities and joy are celebrated in the Lord, so when the soul is empty of God from time to time crimes of Adam and is in the wildness of passions, in her mental heart there are evil beasts, and terrible wolves, and very numerous reptiles of evil spirits, grazing, and setting up, and making holes, showing their action through bad and evil thoughts, but when the tamer of wild places and the destroyer of mental beasts and reptiles, the Lord, comes, and will build the house of the soul in the Spirit and make meek all its mental land in its own virtues of the Spirit, and will dwell and create an abode in it (John 14:23), then there are unceasing prayers and worship in the Spirit and Truth, then psalms, singing, spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16) are sent up from earth by grace to heaven, then the celebrations, both the angelic holiday, and heavenly and unspeakable joy are accomplished when the leader of the holiday spiritually celebrates in the soul and rejoices the mind with heavenly joy and joy. And in another way we will use it in the same sense. Like gold, which was previously mixed with earth and trampled by beasts and reptiles, when it is taken and purified and strained by those who know the art of refining gold, then it becomes a crown and a royal diadem, fit for the head of a king; so this soul, now mixed with the earth of sin and intertwined with material and idle thoughts, and trampled upon by the beasts and birds of darkness by the action of the passions, and found mixed in the darkness of this age, just as gold was mixed there when the good and true technician and purifier of our souls came, He takes and cleanses it from that insult and the terrible darkness that covered it, and, having made it pure, makes her like a beautiful golden crown and a heavenly diadem. For the prophet says: “And thou shalt be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a diadem of beauty in the hand of thy God” (Isa. 62:3). Do you see from what insult and dishonor into what glory and honor a person is transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit and the right will of his free will and diligence and faith? For God, with His goodness, deigned to introduce the soul to His Kingdom and, when He comes, visits a soul that has given itself with all its will for spiritual good-pleasing, He transfers to it from the Light of His Divinity through the communication of the Holy Spirit. And then her mental mood grows and intensifies, and expands to heavenly heights, and He descends from above to her, taking her to Himself and stretching her to the sky there, making her worthy to enjoy the ineffable heavenly mysteries. Oh, unspeakable favor! Oh, indescribable love for mankind, oh, incomprehensible love and inexpressible compassion! From what dishonor and insignificance He shifts and changes souls who truly believe and have given themselves to every good cause. For this sweetness and heavenly peace are insatiable. For if on earth, as much as the rich acquire and become richer, so much as the poor are for themselves, always wanting to acquire more and not being satisfied with what they have, and as much as they become rich, they strive to become richer. And the king of the earth himself has how many treasures and, however, wants and desires even more, and how many (countries) of the world he rules, but is not satisfied, but wants to have dominion alone over all the peoples of the earth, and wants to acquire all the treasures of gold of the earth. And if this is so regarding the king, how much more will a soul that has tasted the sweetness of God and accepted the feelings of the goodness of spiritual and inexpressible joy, which is the Lord, become a participant and partake of the heavenly wealth of the Light of the Divine, and have touched the hidden treasures of wisdom, and been illuminated by the heavenly rays of the Face of Christ, and have received the experience of the world of the Divine, and will not be burned by so many ineffable heavenly blessings and will enter into the insatiable spiritual desire and the unfillable satiety of Divine love will be captured, having partaken of such goodness and joy and peace of the ineffable Divinity. For the sea, when all the rivers flow into it, is not filled, so the soul, worthy to enter the world of the Divinity of the Spirit, is not satiated, no matter how many (God) gives it gifts of grace, and how much it receives, it seeks; and no matter how much he is satisfied, he still desires, and no matter how much he is filled, he still feels the lack, and, like some kind of unfillable abyss, he is settled from much spiritual desire and heavenly love, the insatiable love of Christ. She walks on earth and is in heaven with the Lord according to her mood. Those who devote themselves to humble wisdom and do not accept the thoughts of exaltation and self-importance, but consider themselves unworthy before God and people and always strive like beginners, and, thus humiliating and humbling themselves, are worthy to receive these great benefits. As the Lord says: “He who humbles himself will be exalted, and he who exalts himself will be humble” (Matthew 23:12). For those who become partakers of some small grace and give themselves up to exaltation because they think that they are someone, offend the grace of the Spirit and are deprived of the good that they possess, for the folly of their infancy. So, let us seek the Lord with love and the flame of our souls, always waiting for Him, attached to Him, and let us always desire Him, the Performer of so many good things for those who believe in Him. Let the word of the Spirit, spoken by spiritual men, be like this: as if there were a great river in fullness of water, so fleeting, so coming again, because it is inexhaustible, always born, as if flowing from an immeasurable source of the abyss. Thus, those who have a living source of the Spirit, as much as they talk about the secrets of the Spirit, they find so much more, since the Divine source always exudes newer and heavenly secrets of the word. Let us, therefore, ask the Lord to be partakers of the spiritual source of living water, because the one who drinks and receives from it “shall never thirst” (John 4:14), according to the word of the Lord, but he will be a source of living water, leaping into eternal life (John 4:14), and “rivers of living water will flow from his belly” (John 7:38). Therefore, to those who from the Spirit tell the secrets of the Spirit and from the living source, God, pronounce the word of God, those who listen should listen as if they hear the word from the mouth of God and as if the Holy Spirit moves the organ of the tongue and speaks through it. How can we receive these spiritual and heavenly blessings if we do not always look to the author of our faith and the perfecter of Jesus and constantly pay attention to His humility, just as He, being God, humbled Himself (Phil. 2:7) into a humble nature. We, therefore, being humble by nature, as we must humble ourselves and recognize our nature, are ashamed that the Glorious One became inglorious for us and, being God, took on a humble human nature and lived in the world humble, humiliated and reaped by unworthy people. We, therefore, being by nature dishonest and humble and filled with sins, should we not recognize our nature? So, having become imitators of His humility and way of life - as far as is possible from our nature - believing and loving Him truly, and having Him before our eyes and waiting for Him to come and dwell in us, we will receive what He promised to give to those who love Him, which neither eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor has entered into the heart of man, but He will reveal to us by His Spirit (1 Cor. 2:9), having come and made a home with us ( John 14:23), so that from Him we will henceforth learn, by the action of the Spirit, all the virtues of meekness, and humility, and faith, and love, and He will fulfill in us all righteousness and the fulfillment of His commandments by His grace. Because He said: “Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). And thus, blameless and undefiled, built by His power, we will be worthy to receive the eternal Kingdom in Christ Jesus, to Him be glory forever and ever. Amen. Homily 24. About how one should understand all Scripture spiritually and not think of anything carnal The Apostle says: “All these things happened to them as examples; but it is described for our instruction, who have reached the last ages” (1 Cor. 10:11). If it was written for us, we must understand everything spiritually and nothing in a Jewish or carnal way, because the Apostle says: “the law is spiritual” (Rom. 7:14). So, if it was written about various wars, then it was written mysteriously about the present invisible wars of the spirits of evil that occur against the soul; or it was said about certain stories because of the mysteries that are happening to the soul today, or many other words were said in the Scriptures by the Holy Spirit, both about cities and about certain things. Everything was written for the sake of what is now happening in the soul. And although then they truly happened in appearance, the Holy Spirit, taking pretexts from all that was visible and all that happened then, spoke about what is now happening in the soul. Everything, therefore, that was written, as has already been said, was written spiritually for our benefit. As, for example, God, foretelling about Christ, promised to raise Him up as King to Israel, to give Him the throne of His father David (Luke 1:32), and to build Jerusalem forever, and His Kingdom, says (God), will have no end (Luke 1:33), and He will rule from one end to the other of the earth, and, in short, God promised to raise Him up as the Deliverer and King and Ruler of the people Israeli. And now we see in visible (things) that none of this happened, for neither Christ reigned explicitly in Jerusalem, nor built it, but, on the contrary, proclaimed King, He was punished with the cross, and He, whose Kingdom, as the Scripture says, will have no end, in visible things neither began to reign, nor delivered Israel, nor sat on the throne of David, but, on the contrary, as was said, was spat upon, and dishonored, and this awaited King was strangled and crucified. So what? Is prophecy inactive and the word of God false? Now, in visible things none of these things happened, unless God spoke spiritually and mysteriously through the saints, and spiritually and truly happened and is happening. For the Deliverer has come, the Lord, the true King of Israel, that is, the King of the soul that fell from enemies and from the terrible leaders of evil and was brought down from the first crime of man. Christ came to deliver her, the King came, promising to build Jerusalem and the fallen tabernacle of David, that is, the very soul that had fallen into the evil of the passions. He came to gather all Israel, that is, all the scattered thoughts of the purest nature of the soul, scattered by malice in this age, that is, to gather the saints of heavenly Jerusalem. He came and sat on His throne, on man, and reigned over Jerusalem, over the soul, forever, and His Kingdom will have no end over every soul, which He redeemed from the power of darkness and presented into His Kingdom, and sat on it, and reigned over the true Jerusalem, over the soul itself and over the true Israel, over man himself. And He freed the soul from sin forever, in it He reigns and dwells, and His Kingdom will have no end. The prophets spoke about these mysteries, and about this redemption they predicted, and about this Kingdom, and about this Jerusalem, and about this throne, as we have proven from the things themselves - all the writings of the holy prophets have truly been fulfilled. For truly, the King Christ who came redeemed Jerusalem, that is, the soul, from its enemies and from those who enslaved (Luke 1:52) and martyred it in the evil of darkness, for He cast down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the humble soul, and Christ reigned in it, and He established it for Himself as an eternal throne, and His Kingdom will have no end (Luke 1:33). For He redeemed the man of Jerusalem, created in His own image. And thus the word of God was truly fulfilled. If, however, in the obvious, as we see, none of this happened and is not happening secretly in the soul, then where is the true word of God, where are the words of God fulfilled? Does this mean that everything promised is in vain and the prophets are liars? It won't happen! Where, therefore, did Christ reign, for He did not reign in the visible? It is clear that He prepared a pure soul and made it His throne. And where did Israel gather and redeem? It is clear that he delivered man from terrible enemies and gathered him, who was scattered. Let us therefore pray to God, our Lord Jesus Christ, the true King, that He would deliver us from our enemies and reign in us, snatching us out of the kingdom of sin, and sit on the throne of our souls forever, and raise up and restore and renew our thoughts, making them a new and heavenly Jerusalem, and beget us from His Spirit to indwell and walk in us (2 Cor. 6:16) according to His promise to all ages, because to all who truly believe in Him and hope, and ask for Him, and wait for Him, He brings about this deliverance now and reigns in all, by feeling and action, with complete certainty in them truly forever. And thus, from the Christ now reigning in us, having received as the guarantees and deposits of the Kingdom the enlightenment of Christ that was in our soul, then in the resurrection our bodies, if the soul has now risen from the deadness of the passions of sin, will be co-glorified with the soul, now enlightened by the true and ineffable light of Christ. And thus they will reign with Him in unspeakable repose, laid to rest in endless centuries. Glory to His mercy! And His endless mercy, for He so loved the human race, worthy of us of His Kingdom forever. Amen. Word 27. That everything visible is an image of the invisible world of the Divine Everything visible in this world is an image of the invisible and unmanifested and hidden world of the Divine. There is visible land, on which vines and fruitful trees and seed and great wealth were planted. So there is an invisible heavenly land of life where Christians have their wealth and recreation, and in this hidden land of life their souls are planted, and they bring to God the fruits of the Spirit, and the objects themselves are located in two persons. You be the vine of the Lord, and He is yours, for He says: “I... am the true vine” (John 15:1). And just as in visible things the vine takes root and is planted on earth, so the souls of the saints are planted in the heavenly vine, that is, in the Lord. And there is the seed of the Holy Spirit and the seed of man, for the mind is sown in the living earth of the Divine word, and again the power of the Spirit it is sown in the rational land of the believing soul. And just as in the visible (world) the earth needs work, and workers go out and plant seed in it, and it grows fruit, and in due time the reapers take the sickle and reap; so there is the invisible earth of the Lord, the soul of man, and the good farmer the Lord. Those who cultivate the earth are the holy apostles who inherited the word of the Lord, for the Word of the Father Himself came into the world to make new heavens and prepare a new earth, as was promised: “Behold, I am creating new heavens and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1, 5) that does not pass away, for this heaven and this earth and everything visible is resolved and passes away, and the rational and spiritual earth cultivated by the Lord is - eternal. Because the rich of this world, no matter how much they acquire and collect even greater wealth, when they leave the world in due time, they leave naked, unable to take with them anything of their wealth. Here Christians, if by some spiritual feat they acquire and deposit spiritual wealth in the living earth of their hearts, when leaving this world they take with them such wealth and the treasure of life, and the fruits of their labors go living to the Kingdom of Heaven, where their eternal rest and inheritance is located. For this visible earth passes away, and this wealth disappears, and the fruits are spent, but those spiritual things, not visible with these eyes, endure forever. Just as these trees conceive fruit from within, and during the month of Xanthic, when spring has already arrived, each tree carries the fruit within clearly outside, and it is necessary for the grapes to come out of the vine, and other fruits to pass from the fruit-bearing trees, so all those who are now secretly begetting the heavenly seed of the Spirit of glory in their hearts and are full of virtues, on the day of resurrection that heavenly and spiritual glory that they will henceforth received inwardly, and clothe naked bodies, and outwardly clothe them with heavenly glory. Alas for the soul that has not acquired and acquired within its faith the glory of the Spirit, because in the resurrection it will not have that which will cover and glorify and clothe its body with the robe of salvation. So, apostles were appointed (1 Cor. 4:1), and workers of rational souls, and spiritual stewards, not of visible houses, but of human hearts. For just as a builder enters a house and cleans everything in it, and decorates the house to please the owner, so the apostolic word, entering the hearts of faithful people, builds the soul and decorates it to please and house the Heavenly Master. They were also called shepherds: “Feed,” for the Lord says to Peter, “my lambs” (John 21:15). Likewise, they were the first to receive the keys of the Kingdom. For the Lord says to Peter: “I... will give you the keys of the kingdom” (Matthew 16:18, 19). What are the keys if not the Divine and heavenly word spoken by them with power to those who listen with faith? For the Divine word in power opens the ears of the faithful and, entering inside, opens the doors of the heart that are locked by the evil one, and takes possession of the pastures of the soul there, that is, that the heart, truly opened by the power of the Spirit of the living and active word, will no longer be locked forever again. For the evil one himself, through the word that he spoke to Eve, first entered into the ear and through the ear penetrated into the heart that listened to his words, and took possession of the pastures of the soul, and locked the doors of the heart from opening to eternal life and to that spiritual virtue of hearing. It is necessary that where the destroyer went and devastated, the word of life should enter and correct the devastated things of the virtues of the soul. And just as a king sends his images to the whole earth and through them his power and authority become known, so the evil one, who captivated the race of mankind and kept everyone under his power through the crime of Adam, put ugly and gloomy images of his darkness of dishonest passions into souls, and through them took possession of pastures, turning people into all kinds of sins and impurity. This is the law of sin, warring against the law of the mind, against the law of God. This is the old man, which the blessed Apostle commands us to put off; this is the worldly spirit, from which we pray to get rid of... This is the veil of darkness lying on the heart, which, we hope, will be taken away by the power of Jesus from those who have turned entirely to the Lord, so that with an open face we may contemplate the glory of the Lord. Those same souls who, in faith and great love, approach the Lord, seek His deliverance and desire to receive the grace of His Spirit: and the Lord sends them the desired and heavenly image of His ineffable light, that is, the law of His Spiritual, new and heavenly man, and through the immortal and living image of the light of His virtues, the ugly images of the malice of the passions are abolished, and the Spirit reigns over the faithful and worthy soul, fulfilling all His will. pure and immaculate, and His Power is truly known in souls worthy of Him through the living and God-like image of His grace. For just as in a palace, if the king’s servants are trained, but do not receive silver and gold vessels from him, they cannot serve the king, one thing is themselves, and the other is the royal vessels that are entrusted to them, for the king is served in his own vessels. Likewise, people and Angels, if they do not receive the spiritual vessels of the Lord, that is, strength and knowledge and intelligence from His Spirit, and do not become partakers of the Divine power of God, cannot do all the will of God immaculately. For the Angels themselves, being spirits, received power from His Spirit and, mingling with Him, do all the will of God, so the souls of people are spirits, and if they do not receive the power of God and knowledge from His Spirit, they cannot worthily do all the will of God. For both the highest and the lowest are companions, as the Apostle says, “making peace” what is on earth or what is in heaven. Therefore, everyone lives worthy of the one of whom he bears the image in power and action, that is, the image of Divine grace, virtues, life or the evil one, the passions of dishonor, and whose image he has in himself, lives and dwells in that age. For if anyone has in himself the image of life of the light of the Spirit, he lives in the higher, in the eternal and imperishable world, but if anyone has in himself the ugly image of the evil one, he lives in the corruptible age, being dead to the higher. For those who wish to come to life in that immortal and eternal world must become dead to this world and mortified by carnal wisdom. Because if someone dominates the entire power of the earth under the sun, but does not show concern for his soul to become alive in the imperishable and eternal world, he will not receive any benefit or benefit. Because all possessions are not equal to one soul, as the Lord said: “If you gain the whole world, but lose your soul, what is the gain, and what will you give in exchange for your soul,” so the whole world is not worthy of one soul (Matthew 16:26). There are two laws that Christians struggle with. And one law, the law of the spirit of life, in which they rest and live eternal life. Another law is the habits of the world and previous shameful and vain affairs, to which one is attracted, lured, withdrawn and denied from this life; Those who have chosen a good beginning, not to obey and not to give in to their previous habits, have a struggle with it. And when they overcome this law well and win, then they have a war and a great feat against the invisible law of the darkness of passions, written in the heart (Rom. 8:2), the very action of malice, that is, sin, preventing the soul and prohibiting it from entering the life of the Kingdom. There is also an invisible law of the Spirit of the Divine, living and interceding for the struggling soul against the laws of evil. Therefore, man's work is similar to the Lord's work. For just as the Lord, who descended to earth, endured much suffering, mocked and dishonored and crucified, afterward he descended to the lowest places of the earth (Eph. 4:9) for the sake of His inheritance, that is, for the faithful and worthy souls of Him. Likewise, Christians endure much suffering, struggling to the point of death against evil for the sake of their heavenly inheritance, and this is the Lord Himself. So, let us also always try to be found pleasing to Him, not submitting in any way to the law of evil, so that, having been worthy of the spiritual law of life, we are freed through it from the law of evil of the passions, and take up eternal life (1 Tim. 6:12), and, having simply lived in all His commandments and fulfilled all the will of God by His grace, and become blameless by the spiritual law, we would become worthy of eternal life. life, enjoying with the Lord the blessings there forever and ever in the immortal Kingdom. Glory to His greatness and goodness. Amen. Word 28. What are the greater works that the Father gives to the Son to do? The Lord in the Gospel, mysteriously narrating about secret things, says: “The Father loves the Son and has given Him everything into His hands and shows Him everything that He Himself does; and he will show Him greater works, so that you may believe” (John 3:35; John 5:20). What are these “greater works” that the Father gives the Son to do? For He raised up the dead and made the blind see, the lame walk, cleansed the lepers, healed the paralytic, and healed every disease. What, then, are greater things than these? But the works of creation (Gen. 2:1), created by God, all already existed, for the sky existed, the sun and the moon, the stars and all their beauty existed, but the earth and every plant existed, and every seed sown existed, and the buildings of cities and houses, the water and what was in it, the mountains and hills, the air and all the birds that were in it, existed, but the law was, and the scriptures were, and all legal righteousness was written in the scriptures. What, therefore, was missing? After all, everything existed. What are these “greater works” that the Lord has promised to do? For even in visible things He did not do any greater work than what was written in the Gospel, which He did. What, then, are these “greater things”? Truly great and true and eternal works He did when He came (to earth), and for the greater and more eternal works that He promised to do, His whole saving coming took place, for which He created all visible signs and wonders. For He came to resurrect the soul that was killed by the crime of Adam and was in the mortality of the passions of evil, which fell away from eternal life and was relegated to eternal death. Because God said to Adam: “On the day you eat, you will die” (Gen. 2:17). And so it happened. For the soul died from God, separated from eternal life, that is, no longer enjoying the light of the Kingdom, for apparently it did not die on the same day, but after nine hundred and thirty years (Gen. 5:5), as it is written that it died. The soul, therefore, became dead on the same day, and after that his body was condemned to visible death. So now the Lord has done the right thing, the court has judged. He first raises the soul from the deadness of passions now and from eternal darkness transfers it into eternal light, and in the resurrection He raises the body and honors it with immortal glory. For the soul then put on the robe of death, in sin, and could not contemplate its Master. And when the Savior came, John says: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), that is, who takes away invisible death and the veils of darkness, the wisdom of the flesh (Rom. 8:6), and raises the soul from the deadness of passions, and again it was worthy to see its Master with its intelligent eyes. This is truly the first and greatest of all the works by which He accomplished the eternal work. He raised the soul from eternal death. For the Lord, therefore, came to heal the lame and blind and paralyzed souls. Here is a work higher than visible signs, again, what a work the Lord accomplished, greater than heaven and earth, since He promised to do “greater works.” “Unless,” He says, “I do greater things than these, do not believe Me.” The soul that He brought out of eternal death, He introduced into the heavenly world of the Divine, spiritual and eternal, for, He says, “(the soul) will dwell in the blood of the God of Heaven” (Ps. 90:1). And He gave Himself to her as the Sun of Truth, illuminating her with eternal light, and brought her into the land of the living through the light of the Divinity of the Spirit, so that just as this body walks on the earth and does the works of the earth, so the soul, having entered the invisible land of grace, born again in it, would dwell in it and do the Divine works of the virtues of the Spirit. As the Lord said: “Work not for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life” (John 6:27), so that just as the body eats and drinks from the earth, so the soul eats the true bread of the Lord and drinks living water from the power of the Spirit. And just as the body eats and drinks from this vine, so the soul, born again, eats from the true vine, the Lord, who said: “I... am the true vine” (John 15:1), and drinks from spiritual and Divine wine, which does not give thirst or carnal desire. And just as the body is anointed for rest with the oil of this earth, so the soul is anointed with the true oil of joy, this Spirit, giving it true relaxation and rest from scorching passions. And just as the body is clothed here in garments and shoes, so the soul is clothed in the imperishable and manifold garments of the Spirit and put on the shoes of life; and just as here there are plants and seeds and waters on earth, so the soul has invisible plants and seeds of life and living water, from which it drinks and has in itself a source of water leaping into eternal life (John 4:14). And just as the body has this air from which it breathes and lives, so the soul has the Divine and heavenly air of the Spirit, from which it breathes and lives an immortal life. The Apostle called this a shadow of things to come (Col. 2:17), for this visible world is the type and image and example of the invisible and eternal world of the Divine. But just as here in the manifest law and scriptures and justifications, so the Lord, having come, gave into the heart the true, indelible law of the Holy Spirit, living and acting life in the soul. And the soul and the law of freedom, the Spirit and the true justification of the Lord. For there, as the Apostle says, “when Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts” (2 Cor. 3:15), but here “with open face we behold the glory of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18). And there, just as certain beasts and reptiles always live on the earth and partake of the earth, so those who exist under the law and under sin and passions create earthly truth, because they have earthly promises, drooping to the bottom and unable with the mental mood of the soul to listen to the glory of God with a frank face, being under the bonds of evil and not yet freed from the slavery of sin. Now, having the law of the Spirit and freed from the bondage of sin, doing heavenly righteousness, by grace, with a revealed face, comprehend the glory of the light of Christ, mixed in the soul with His Spirit. These are “greater and truer works” that the Lord promised to do. And for these works He came to resurrect the soul killed by passions and introduce it into the true world of the Divine, so that the soul would have a new heaven and the Sun of Truth (Isa. 65:17; Rev. 21:1; Mal. 4:2) and a land of living light in which it can live, and true food and spiritual drink, and an incorruptible work of life, and a house and a heavenly City, and the Divine vestments of the Spirit, and incorruptible crowns of grace. And everything, simply, that the body has here in this image, and the soul is worthy to have from God, prepared for it from the incorruptible glory of the Spirit. But when you hear that the soul has the true Sun, the Lord, and His life and His food and drink, do not think anything earthly or earthly. Think of the incorruptible as incorruptible, for the mysteries of the Spirit are inexpressible and unspeakable, occurring in the soul from the Lord, which are known by worthy experience, but it is impossible to express them with the tongue or lips of the flesh, or only it is possible to receive certain shadows and images in an example from this world. For those truly are incorruptible, which are all the ineffable and eternal blessings promised by the Lord from the Divine Spirit to worthy souls, for God so loved the soul (John 3:16) created in His image that He gave Himself to it, adorned in it in various ways and making it a sharer of His nature. And thus mingling, she unites with the Lord, becoming a spirit. From now on, the soul, by the power of the spirit, rises from the fall and mortification of the passions, and henceforth enters, by the structure and essence of the mind, into the world of the Divine and into the ineffable glory, and is united with Christ, having become one Spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17). For this purpose, His coming took place, so that He would perform these mysteries and miracles and extraordinary things with a soul that completely loved Him, still in the world; and in the resurrection the body itself will be awarded these grace-filled gifts. And then it will become co-glorified with the soul, now glorified by the power of the spirit. Woe to him who has not from now on sought, nor from henceforth received in full, the life of fellowship of the spirit (Phil. 2:1), and did not become a partaker of that glory, and from the deadness of passions was not worthy to be resurrected by the Spirit, because, remaining naked and empty of communion with God, he will be cut off from the gates of the Kingdom. So, let us beg the Lord with all faith and love, having given ourselves to all the commandments, so that we may be worthy to receive the above benefits and become partakers of the communion of His Spirit, so that, sanctified by His grace, becoming undefiled and blameless (2 Pet. 3:14), we would become worthy of eternal life forever and ever. Amen. Word 35. About the fact that a pure soul, according to its ability, sees God, and not such a soul walks in darkness The Ruler of all, the loving God is everywhere and in all creatures, and all creatures, heavenly and earthly and subterranean, are in Him and consist in Him, as Paul said: “For in Him we live and move” (Acts 17:28) and “there is no creature hidden from Him” (Heb. 4:13). Consequently, He is in all and is everywhere, and for some reason souls do not see Him. of all people, but He is invisible, existing here? What is in the midst and what hinders? But this is obvious, for the Spirit through the Scriptures told us that from the transgression of Adam, the first man who transgressed the commandment of God, sin entered into the world (Rom. 5:12), the spirit of wickedness, “the ancient serpent called the devil” (Rev. 12:9), deceived Adam and pulled him from his glory under his power, and took him into his power. slave and subordinates of all his children, he covered the soul with his own darkness, not to see the One who created it, not to enjoy His light. This is the reason and misfortune that happened to man from the beginning, not to see his Master and do what is pleasing to Him, but to be in the darkness of sin and to fulfill the will of sin that entered man and blinded the eyes of the soul, because before he transgressed Adam, he, being pure from sin, saw his Master and was awarded the Master's communion, and had fun with the Angels. Ever since he was captivated by wickedness, the eyes of his soul have become blind, and he no longer sees her Lord, who dwells here, but He has become invisible to her. Therefore, God exists in everyone and everywhere, but because of the veil of darkness that lies over the soul, He is as if far away from the soul. For just as the blind physically do not see the sun shining everywhere, and do not see what is in their eyes because they are blind, and as the deaf do not hear the voices or conversations of those who are near them and those who reach them, because they have become deaf, in the same way the soul, blinded by the sin that has entered into it, and covered with the darkness of wickedness, does not see the Sun of Truth and does not hear the living and Divine and omnipresent voices And just as a dead man does not inhale the closest air in which he is, since he has no soul, and now all his loved ones and neighbors cry for him, but he does not hear, so the soul, dead from God and not having the Holy Spirit, does not breathe that air of the Kingdom of the Divine, which is here, as the Lord says: “The Kingdom of God is spread out below and people do not look at it.” And again: “The Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21), - and the Lord, and the Holy Spirit, and all the Angels cry over her about her death and death, but she does not hear or see. They rejoice over a repentant and quickened soul, for He says: “There is joy in heaven over... a sinner who repents” (Luke 15:7). And just as the soul of a person is close in a person, but the mind can be far and far away, so God, being near the soul, is far from your thoughts: but He is both close and distant. Therefore, you need to believe with all your heart and love, and seek the Lord and beg that He will appear and manifest and work in our souls, Who is here and is in us. For if the action and warmth of the sun penetrates to the depths of the body, likewise the iciness of the cold penetrates and acts to the depths of the body; and if the warmth of the fire and action penetrates into the inside of the cauldrons, frying the meat, which becomes useful for people, then how much more is their Creator and Maker, the power of the Divine Spirit, when He appears with His good will and acts in the soul, enlightens with His light and with His Divine fire of warmth fryes the dampness of sin and thus makes it sweet and useful and edible for the heavenly table of the Heavenly Father. For if this air is everywhere in this life and if the darkness of night is everywhere in all creatures, how much more is their Creator and Creator. Here, therefore, is the Lord, and abides near us, but He is revealed to those who believe Him and love Him and those who wait, and becomes manifest, according to the word of the Lord: “He who loves Me... will be loved by the Father... and I will love him” (John 14:21). “And I will reveal Myself to him.” And again: “We will come, I and My Father, and we will make our abode with him” (John 14:23). It is necessary, therefore, for one who comes to the Lord and asks for eternal life to come with much faith and conviction and to be confident that for the sinners, and the captives, and the broken-hearted, and the lame, and the blind, and the deaf in soul, the Lord came and was crucified and died in order to resurrect and heal the souls of all. Because through Isaiah the Spirit prophesied about the coming of the Lord, how He would heal souls: “The Spirit of the Lord,” he says, “is upon Me, for this reason He has anointed Me, He has sent Me to preach good news to the poor, to preach release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to comfort those who mourn, to give to those who mourn the anointing of joy instead of ashes, and the adornment of glory instead of the spirit of dejection” (Isaiah 61:1-3). Glory to our God forever. Amen. Word 50. How many and what benefits is awarded to the soul that mysteriously communicates with Christ, and what weapons should it have? 1. Human nature, having fallen under the sentence of the wrath of God because of the crime of the primordial Adam, having fallen away from that former pure and dispassionate state, and intertwined with the malice of the passions, and forcibly subdued by them through the seduction of the evil one, is in the impossibility of tearing itself out of the bitter slavery of darkness. Therefore, it became necessary for the Divine and heavenly power to unite with him and become intertwined, so that, having acquired deliverance from passions and help in virtues, he could achieve the practice of virtues of ancient purity and thus give the Lord the perfect fruits of righteousness. For this purpose, the coming of the Lord took place, having previously deigned through the fathers and through the prophets to come to the aid of human weakness and by His Spirit to make the hearts of believers such that they could bear the fruits of grace. For each of the visible natures, unless some alien nature is attached to it to help its work, is only in itself inactive and incapable, and powerless for decoration, only by itself is powerless for creating splendor, for the ineffable Wisdom of God, showing the secrets and images of visible creatures, has arranged it so that they need each other’s work in decoration; Thus, each of them is revealed to be imperfect in itself for splendor and work, in order to show in the image of human nature that it alone, by itself, is powerless for the organization of perfect virtues and the spiritual splendor of beauty without Divine and heavenly power. Let's verify this from examples. The earth, which is on its own, remains incapable of anything unless it receives careful cultivation from the farmers, so that they clear it of all thorns and thorns and plant seeds in it, then so that it receives rain from the sky, and thus, through the air and the sun, the fruits in it grow, for by itself it cannot produce perfect fruits. Or as if there was a house and all its equipment were from the earth, it needs light from the sky and the sun, but this is not from its nature, so that it can have splendor and beauty with the radiance of light. In the same way, human nature, having fallen under the sin of the passions and becoming weak in the virtues, is powerless to help itself and avoid the violence of the passions, so that it can render to the Heavenly Bridegroom the perfect fruits of the virtues. Therefore, the good and humane God, with His great kindness, deigned to bestow on our souls spiritual wealth, that is, the Spirit of Christ, which does not exist from our nature, for we are a creature, and He is uncreated, with His knowledge and artistry He made and cultivated the hearts of the faithful, would beautify them, who with all their will gave themselves to the spiritual Farmer, so that, having received the rain of grace from heaven, they could bring to give the spiritual fruits and offspring of righteousness perfect to the Heavenly Lord and then inherit a blessing from heaven. For He deigned the Sun of Truth to shine, which is not of our nature, in the house of the soul darkened by passions, so that in this way it could turn away the terrible darkness of sin from the human person, and reveal the beauty of the house of the soul through the radiance of spiritual and heavenly Light, and thus could have beauty and splendor and the whole order of virtues through the Divine Spirit, when the Sun of Truth, not existing from ours nature, will shine in us, according to what was said: “so that you may be partakers of the Divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). For the soul, having fallen under sin and terribly by the spirits of wickedness through the action of the passions, became hardened and bitter, alienated from the former pure and blissful state, accepted the passions of evil contrary to its good nature, which no one can take away from it and restore to the ancient state of purity, if not something alien to our nature, which is the power of the Divine Spirit. Because, having visited a faithful soul, it will dispel all cruelty and all evil and externally penetrating passion and restore the ancient nobility of the purity of virtues. During winter, the bitterness of harsh winds and the cold of frosts changes and transforms the earth from a gentle nature into much cruelty, just as frost turns the most tender nature of waters into the nature of stone through freezing, for during a strong winter you see the largest rivers, especially in northern countries, turning into ice and the likeness of stone from the cold, so that animals walk on top of the rivers. Neither the rivers can be restored to their softness, nor some people, even if they all come together, cannot by their own strength restore them to their former order, because some other cold nature has entered and mixed with the waters and turned them into a kind of stony habit. And who can restore them to their own nature of softness, unless it is something alien to their nature, which is the sun? Penetrating with its effect of warmth, it will dissipate all the icy effect of cold and bring everyone into its own state of softness. In the same way, a person who has become under sin, because of an ancient crime, has fallen into the bitter and fierce cold of wicked spirits, and all the opposite winds of the passions of wickedness blow into the soul, and the coldness of the power of darkness that has entered into it has turned this sacred and pure habit of the heart into the rebellious rigidity of carnal wisdom and into violation of the holy commandments, and has turned nature into every virtue of beauty. a certain bitter and bound habit, and, to put it simply and briefly, from that undamaged and gentlest and most lovable state of the soul into a petrified and mixed and crafty quality. And who can restore it to its ancient, pure and gentle skill and truly subordinate it to God’s law in all the immaculate doing of the commandments, if not the Sun of Truth Christ, alien to our nature, will shine in it with the sweetest rays of His illumination, so that He can, with His warmth of the heavenly holy fire, dispel all the bitter malice of the darkness of passions and restore the faithful and who has given all of himself to his own goodness of former virtues soul? For if someone does not completely present his will to the Lord, having given himself completely, he will not receive that deliverance and purity. 2. Blessed, therefore, are the Christians who, through their faith and prayer and much zeal in the virtues, have received this ineffable and eternal blessing, and have become partakers of the Heavenly Man, and have received knowledge of the heavenly mysteries of the Spirit by experience and sensation - even if they are seen as walking in the body on earth, they have acquired the residence and behavior of their mind in heaven, they are the best and greatest of all people. For no one has ever been able to ascend to heaven, and there to perform spiritual works, and to see the beauties of ineffable lights there, and to be worthy to see the wonderful and strange sacraments that true Christians are worthy of. There is someone, poor, apparently in need, not wise, not powerful, humiliated in relation to human glory, and he moves away and falls to the Lord with his face down. And so, without bodily power, or the labor of hands or feet, in the confirmation of the mind and thoughts, with all the wisdom of the soul, he ascends to heaven, guided by the spirit, and there he performs the immortal and ineffable deeds of life, and there he remains, and contemplates with faith with all completeness and certainty the miracles of God there and the exceptional beauties of spiritual objects. For the Apostle says: “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20). And again: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9). And he adds: “But God revealed this to us by His Spirit” (1 Cor. 2:10). You see how they are better, and greater, and more powerful, and do true and eternal work, in comparison with all people on earth, worthy of God, that is, in comparison with nobles, or powerful, or wise, or kings. For what no one can do, they alone do, being worthy to understand even now spiritual affairs and the secrets of heavenly objects. They are therefore wise, they are powerful, they are noble, they are glorious, they are rich, having acquired the heavenly kinship of the spirit, and mingled with the heavenly Church of saints, and inwardly clothed in the heavenly man; but apparently they are poor, needy, like other people, also walking, also speaking in carnal language, toiling, and hungry, and sleeping, because now is not the time to receive the incorruptibility of the flesh, for this is preserved in the Resurrection. Those who can understand real Christians, what they are like from the inside, see what a difference there is between them and all people in the world. For this was also the case with the Lord at that time. Those who wanted to be healed came, as if to a person wearing flesh, and when they approached, the inner, invisible God of Heaven, the Word, performed extraordinary and miraculous signs, especially for those who came to Him with faith. Because of this, the devil was greatly confused, deceived by the flesh of the Lord. When the Lord was resting, he became confused, looking outside, like all people; Seeing the great miracles He performed, He was horrified and kept in fear of what to do, since apparently He was a man, working, and hungry, and sleeping, and what He did was not human. Having been blinded by the human passions of the Lord, out of ignorance of his malice, and considering that the Lord was a man, as one of the righteous, he, with the help of his subordinates, undertook His murder. The Lord seemed to be saying to him: “O devil, why are you agitated when I am calm? What shocks you? And he: “What You do,” he says, “shocks me and causes me terrible anxiety, because what You see is human, but what You do is not (characteristic of) man.” Having deceived him with his suffering and mortal flesh into His own murder and death, the Lord abolished all his violence. For because of the flesh, the devil undertook the murder of the Lord, and his evil spirits, when Christ was in the body, burned by heavenly fire, shouted: “What do we and You, Son of God? Have you come to torment us before the time?” (See: Matthew 8:29. - Ed.) So, therefore, are those close to Christ. Jesus dwells in them according to their measure, as servants of Christ and receiving grace from Him; Outwardly they seem similar (to others), both in need and deprived of worldly things, but inside the power of the Spirit that dwells in them burns the demons themselves, for the evil spirits cry out before the servants of God, admitting that they are burning. The servants of God are so powerful that all those who are visible, rulers and kings, and Satan himself with his army, fighting and fighting against Christians, are defeated by them. 3. You see what dignity and strength they possess, although in their bodies they are humiliated, so that all creatures and the devil are conquered by them. To bring proof of the word, let us mention the few men of God described in the Scriptures, what they were. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, when he built that great golden image, a work of horror and wonder, and commanded all the tribes of the earth to gather in that great field so that they would worship the golden image of the king, who could dispel this obstacle and design, if not God alone, in His ineffable wisdom, had not accomplished a great providential work through this enterprise? He first delivered Israel into captivity to Nebuchadnezzar, so that his people would be punished for their sins, and the preparation of evil through the image would be dispelled, and it would be revealed to His saints who they are, and so that all the tribes gathered to worship the image would learn from the feat of the three youths that there is a God in heaven, and would know Him. The Lord wanted to put together a kind of spectacle, a theater, so to speak, when all the tribes were gathered, as well as the heavenly powers, so that everyone could see the exploits and courageous deeds of God’s servants. Therefore, He puts forward three youths, Ananias, Azariah, Misail, and they are slandered by the king, that “the golden image that you set up is not worshiped.” So, the three youths are brought to the middle and interrogated by the king: “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, you do not serve my gods and do not worship the golden image that I set up?” Daringly, they answer the king: “We do not serve your gods and we do not worship the golden image that you erected. Cast us into the fiery furnace, for there is a God in heaven who will take us out of the fire and deliver us from your hands, O king, and if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods.” So, look, everything here is against them, peoples, tribes, nobles, kings - everyone was against them, and all creation, visible and invisible, of evil forces was against them, and the three youths defeated all creation, visible and invisible; look what strength there is in the servants of God, for when they were thrown into the fiery furnace, they broke up the flames and remained intact for their perfect faith in God, and thus remained intact, emerging from the furnace and winning victory over everyone. The entire heavenly Church of Angels and Holy Powers shouted over them, seeing them as winners. Yet the assembly of the tribes on earth applauded them, because, having changed, they worshiped the God of Israel instead of the golden image, both the king himself and his subjects. This spectacle was a test for the servants of God. For, says the Apostle, “we have become a spectacle to both angels and men” (1 Cor. 4:9). You see that, as we have already said, the heavenly (forces) converge on the valiant deeds of the saints. And in other places and at times God performed, so to speak, a spectacle and theater for those on high and below, as on Elijah. One man proved stronger than many thousands by sending down heavenly fire on the altar, and they all could not defeat one man of God. Similarly, under Moses there was a spectacle of God: against one man, Moses, all of Egypt did not prove strong, and one and only one defeated all the power of Pharaoh, for there too the heavenly Church was present, looking at the valor of Moses. From there, from heaven, he brought down plagues on them and subjugated them in every way, even to the point of betraying them to the sea and drowning them, since they rebelled against the people of God. Likewise with Lot the same thing happened. He alone, having won, was able to escape the fire and escape with his daughters. It was similar with Noah, for he alone with his own, having escaped, conquered the world. While everyone rushed into destruction and destruction, he alone was able to avoid God’s wrath, thanks to his perfect goodwill towards Him. 4. We have brought all this, beloved brothers, as proof, instilling in you the strength of perfect Christians, so that everything visible and the whole world are conquered by them. And the spirits of wickedness that war against them are defeated. And the worthy servants of Christ are superior to all of them because of the power of God living in them. For all the visible and invisible spirits of wickedness oppose and fight against them. A double war, therefore, for Christians and a double “struggle against those visible with this eye and against the principles and powers of the ruler of the world” (Eph. 6:12). Because what is seen with these eyes irritates and tickles and encourages the soul to be bound and held in it and to delight; or rather, evil itself binds those who submit to it to the visible. To imagine that this is so, listen to what the Lord says in the Gospel about the seed that fell into the thorny ground, and that the thorns that grew choked it. And the Lord interprets that they mean everyday worries and cares. And in another place He sets out what it means to be called to the king’s wedding and not wanting to come because of everyday affairs. For the first one said: “I bought a field and am going to look at it. Consider me as having given up” (Luke 14:18). So does the other: “I have taken a wife and cannot come” (Luke 14:20). It is clear that these are visible things, because of which they could not come to the king’s marriage. Therefore, it is a double war for Christians, as has already been said, and through double struggle and fist fighting everyone will have to struggle and endure sorrows who wants to please the Lord. When, therefore, someone withdraws from his parents, from his wife and estates or pleasures, or fatherland, or loved ones and defeats, so to speak, and overcomes them - for this too is war - then, having gathered himself and being occupied with the Lord, he penetrates internally into himself, then he again has a war and a great feat against hostile forces, against invisible enemies and the actions of darkness, against which he needs to fight and struggle, taking with him heavenly weapons, so that to be able to win the terrible and bitter war of evil. But so that it does not seem that we are speaking on our own, listen to the Apostle, who says: “Temptation has not overtaken us, unless it be human” (1 Cor. 10:13) (that is, visible), so that there is not human, but invisible temptation and war. And again: “From now on, brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you can stand against the wiles of the devil. For our war is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spirits of wickedness” (Eph. 6:10–12). So there are principles and powers and rulers of the world, and spirits of wickedness against which we must struggle and fight. And where are they located and where are they fighting? Inside in the soul, in the thoughts. Therefore he adds: “Stand therefore, having girded your loins with the truth, and shod your feet, so as to be ready to preach the gospel of peace, and put on the breastplate of righteousness, and over all take the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit” (Eph. 6:14-18). And he adds, as someone will find and acquire this, that, he says, “pray with all prayer and supplication at all times in the Spirit, and strive for this very thing with all perseverance and supplication” (Eph. 6:18). He, therefore, taught us how we must find spiritual weapons with the help of which we can defeat invisible enemies. But the Lord, speaking allegorically about this war, both through visible things and through the action of the evil one, said: “What king, going to war against another king, does not sit down and count and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to resist the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Otherwise, while he is still far away, he will send an embassy to him to ask for peace” (Luke 14:31, 32). And he teaches, saying: “Look how you must strive and give your all, as someone who knows that you have to fight in so many wars, open and secret.” For Moses, prefiguring the shadow of truth, commanded the messenger to loudly proclaim when he was about to go to war: “If anyone is a coward,” he said, “let him not go out to war, lest, by being cowardly, he plunge the hearts of others into cowardice and turn them back. Likewise, he says, if someone has recently gotten married, let him not come out so that, finding himself in a war and remembering his wife, he turns away and takes others with him. If anyone has built a house and has not finished it, let him not go out to war, lest, remembering the building and relaxing in the war, he may influence others to turn back” (Deut. 20:5–8 – Ed.). In the same way, the Lord, looking for valiant and well-disposed and courageous souls here, said that “such a one first looks to see if with ten thousand it is possible to meet with twenty thousand coming against him, and if not, while he is still far away, he asks about the world” (Luke 14:31-32), looking for the courageous and willing, and those who have laid down all their will with conviction to the Lord, and given their will, and following Him followers, and believers, that all victory given by spiritual weapons from heaven is accomplished by the believer. So, one who wants to become worthy of the Lord must first withdraw from everything visible and hate all worldly things and pleasures, and pleasures, and glory, and dignity, and possessions, and the fatherland, parents and relatives, and friends according to the flesh, and honors, and praise, and the worship of people. And when the one who struggles against these visible ones successfully defeats them, then he needs to diligently adhere to the Lord with all prayer and labor, asking for prayer, in order to receive heavenly weapons, “the sword of the Spirit” (Eph. 6:17), and so that he exercises himself with these weapons. Because as newly conscripts who have taken up arms, they are obliged to train and study weapons and then go to war. But there is another who, going out into many wars, does not feel like a stranger, but with boldness of heart, fearing nothing, goes out - so here too, those who receive spiritual weapons from heaven first practice in them, guided and controlled and taught by grace, how to fight against invisible enemies, and thus enter into war “against the spirits of wickedness,” so as not to be like cowards and feel like strangers. But there are others for whom this war is already as easy as a toy, since they entered and exited it many times, and from that time, with confidence in the Lord and the power of spiritual weapons, killing and defeating enemies, they are bold and willing and come to greater prosperity day by day. But these measures are different from those of a beginner in war; if he does not have the weapons of the spirit, he cannot fight against his enemies and win victory against the spirits of wickedness, for he perishes from them, just as in the visible ones he who fights without a sword and weapons, because he is hacked to death, as here. So, we also pray to God, especially those who have alienated themselves from the worldly way of life and have become monastics and foreigners to their own people through unceasing prayer and heart disease and staying in prayer, so that the Lord would give us the heavenly weapons of the Spirit and we could with them prevail over all our opponents, the spirits of wickedness, and so laboring according to the will of God and giving all our will to Him and His weapons, valiantly laboring and winning Having prevailed against our enemies in this way, Christ will reward us with a crown of righteousness, deigning us to reign with Him for endless centuries. Glory to His goodness forever and ever. Amen.