Spiritual Exhortations

It’s time for you to perk up and shake off everything (sinful). Remember that not today or tomorrow you must see heaven and the faces of angels, appear before the terrible throne and appear before the face of God at His judgment, at the court of purity, righteousness and truth, and give an account of your whole life. If you want to see a saint, sanctify yourself; if you want to see the holy and blameless, cleanse yourself first of all. From the time someone knows the fear of God, he completely surrenders himself to God and can no longer control himself, because he submits himself to the law of God. Let him renounce himself and his will, and let him follow God. What kind of stormy sea has pleasing this body turned our lives into? How much unrest did it produce, how much confusion, how many shocks, how many ruins, how many iniquities and sins, how many misfortunes and horrors? How much harm has it caused in all cities, in houses, in squares? What is his strength, what is his power? It’s scary to even imagine all this! His birth is terrible, his death is terrible, his life is terrible, and what awaits him after death cannot be expressed or described. Our heart serves as a scale that determines our destiny. Achieve it, try to make it open to you as soon as possible. Remember that a little later, you will leave this visible world, heaven and earth, people, your affairs; remember that you are nothing, both in body and soul. A little care has disturbed you, a little effort has tired you, a slight sorrow has upset you, a little labor has frightened you, a simple word has confused you. And why don't you hate this life? I tell you that you must move out of here and above - at the gates of heaven - set up a tent for yourself, stay there until your death, begging God to graciously receive you and open you (access to heaven) without delay. Below - on earth - let the body kneel before God, and above, let the soul relentlessly beg, throwing itself on its face: let them compete to see who will succeed more in prayer. And now for you the world has already died, for you the coming judgment has already arrived: as much as you can, renounce the present and remember the future. It is better to think about future disasters than about present blessings: those instill in you the fear of God, and these undermine it, if you have any. In matters concerning the spirit, we are all orphans: we have nothing to rely on except God and our own zeal. So, neglecting everything, let's take care of ourselves. Remember yourself and the plight you are in; Finally, remember your sins and the condemnation that is preparing for you; remember that you are a mortal man, weak and pitiful, nasty and unclean; remember that you are a man who spends his life among sorrows and dangers, disastrous for many - good and evil, wise and foolish, rich and poor. Well, to eat and drink, you are not safe one bit. Remember that you are a man, with bones broken from head to toe, that you are not able to withstand one day of labor or one night of wakefulness; remember how much you sinned before God in deed, word, and thought; remember that you fight day and night with the lion and the serpent; remember how many souls went to hell because they despised the fear of God, hoping to provide themselves with short-term peace; having failed in their calculations, they are now mourning their fornication, their frivolity, licentiousness, deceit and intractability in the underworlds of the earth. Remember that your death and your judgment are not far away, and do not stop reminding your soul of this. Write this short saying in your heart, tie it around your neck. It is better than the royal diadem: this leads to punishment, otherwise it leads to eternal life. Take care of this; hold on to it tightly. If you stick to this, the opposite will never befall you; if this proves powerless, how will your heart be salted (Matthew 5:13)? If the day of the Lord is near, let us wait for it with fear. Anyone who wants to be pure in everything - in deeds, in words, and in thoughts, what else should he do but be always quiet, pray, be silent and - neglect everything earthly? Anyone who wants to achieve such a state likens himself on earth to God, in accordance with the words: “imitate God” (Eph. 5:1). Here we are adopted by God. What is fairer than the requirement that the son imitate his father? If you are a legitimate son, follow your father’s commands, especially those that are fair and beneficial. Who is fighting demons, what should he do, if not pray unceasingly? Whoever is daily exposed to dangers both in soul and body, what else should he do but fight and pray to God? But you say: passions overcome me and fear rules over me? This lord cannot stand against the (true) Lord who shakes the earth and makes everyone tremble. Who will not be afraid of the fiery river? One day of darkness is more terrible than all the evils of life. Is it worthwhile to value anything here after this, how to bring consolation to the powerless? Did someone offend you or hit you? Trust in the Lord, who is preparing a great reward for your patience. From hope will be born faith, and behind them will come love. Even for a small word and a little patience, the Lord will grant you paradise, just as an ascetic crowns you for a cup of cold water, because your faith is dear to Him. Lose your virtue, and let abstinence and chastity be your children - living and leading you into the kingdom of heaven. In the morning, your soul must rush to the Lord and, having reached the evening, let it rest on a spiritual bed, with pious thoughts, with hope in God, in dispassion and purity. The commandments of God are light, life and peace, blessing and truth, while the commandments of Satan are darkness and death, punishment, sin and curse. It is in your power to follow this or that. If you choose the commandments of the Lord, you will have everything beautiful: light, life, peace, blessing, a crown of righteousness; If you follow the commandments of Satan, everything contrary to this will fall to your lot. Who is so crazy as to choose shame and disgrace with eternal torment, instead of glory, praise and immortal pleasure? Arise, hasten, run: the marriage is prepared, the bulls are slaughtered, the food is ready, the feasters are waiting for you, as it is written: “The righteous will gather around me when You show me good deeds” (Psalm 142:8). Hurry up to take part. That's where there is joy, that's where peace is, that's where the light is, that's where life is, that's where glory is, that's where joy is, that's where the true and eternal is, that's where the great and amazing is, that's where everything you want, and even more than that, that you want. It is enough for you to know that the Lord surprised His saints, glorified His saints, exalted those who fear Him, exalted those who love Him. Let us not envy ourselves, let us not deprive ourselves of so many blessings destined for us, such hopes. Others, for the sake of small gain, fight, go to war, go to sea, are exposed to dangers, but we, thinking of inheriting a new heaven and a new earth, why are we embarrassed, why do we hesitate, why are we destroying ourselves in this material world? After all, we do everything that excites passion, that ignites both soul and body; pleasures do not bring us peace; sleep, gait - everything is full of temptation. Who spent their life the way they wanted? What in this life does not deserve hatred? Our body itself is not at peace with us: when it is healthy, it is at enmity; when exposed to illness, it causes sorrow. Who left this life without sadness? Who has not tasted the salty water of this bitter sea, who has not painfully experienced its vicissitudes? How many great ones has real life destroyed, setting traps on their glorious path? And there is nothing surprising in this: after all, demons are at work here, because the devil himself is in ambush. Knowing all this, let us repent with all our hearts, so that our joys do not turn into crying and sobbing; Let’s help ourselves, let’s tear our souls out of the embrace of this world, and with it, our own flesh. Let her find shelter somewhere on the edge of the earth, so that from there she can cry out to the Lord: “Have mercy on me, lonely one! So I left everything and followed You; So I rejected everything for the sake of Your fear.” Let our contrition rise to the clouds, let our cries reach the sky, let our prayers and alms appear before the face of God. Let us serve Him with complete truth, with reverence and fear; We will do everything so that we don’t have to regret it; Let us endure everything with patience, so that we may enjoy the blessings of God, in order to draw closer to God, in order to be rewarded with the highest gifts, so as not to turn out to be worse than any of the saints. Our life is a great temptation - and no one knows it, a great storm - and no one notices. Let us give way to the action of passions and sin living in us according to the Apostle; let's give way to people's sorrows; let us give way to this flesh with its lusts; let us give way to this world with its troubles; Let us give way to all temptations, all annoyances. Let's hide from them. After all, they are chasing us, and we are all in danger of being killed by demons, deeds, people sent by Satan. Let us turn all our attention only to ourselves and to God, betraying this body of ours to those who wish to strike it; it is worthy of many blows. Let us lift up our hearts, pouring out our souls before God, in order to win salvation, mercy and life, in gladness, pleasure and joy, forever and ever. Amen. Creations attributed to St. John Chrysostom and classified in the Minya edition as Spuria. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith”