Письма к Фоме Николаевичу.

23. “Every man is worthy of his Lord” (Rom. 14:4) You deign to write about yourself, supposedly you are falling badly and do not rise from the exhaustion of your sins. We, my benefactor, should not speak or conclude anything about your residence or about anyone else, and it is not appropriate to think, since the Supreme Apostle Paul explains this as follows: “Every man is worthy of his Lord, and let him give to his Lord (Rom. 14:4), both human judgment and God’s judgment.” The Lord, according to the psalmist, will build a spiritual house, and no creature can tear it apart. 24. About the cell rule: the rule takes a blessing from the confessor; leaving the rule is compensated by repentance and humility. Remembering your neighbor is useful. Our conscience clearly denounces unclean deeds I see your unlimited zeal and goodwill towards my insignificance. According to my insignificant prejudice, it seems that I do not at all deserve such your favor, I will never be able to! But according to your faith, may the All-Merciful and Greatly Gifted Lord reward you with His grace and through unworthy lips receive edification for your soul, comfort you with unspeakable joy! You deign to write about the cell rule, and you were zealous to fulfill it, and then you remembered that the holy fathers did not command you not to begin anything without the advice of successful elders, then you, out of your zeal, decided to prefer my badness. Let it be known to your love that the rule of the holy fathers was proposed to monastics and others who wish to silently and serenely continue their pleasurable life in the world, solely in order not to be despised; About which the Monk Isaac the Syrian clearly writes in the 11th word: “Not from ourselves on the day that God will condemn us, below about idleness from prayer, but for not abandoning these; Sometimes they will find a place, and they will go in and close the doors of the palace, then they will fulfill us more painfully and impurely, even though under the divine response they contain their workers with vengeance on the earthly, and we are the helpers of abandonment for the sake of these little ones, who are worthy of Christ for the sake of care, as it is written about the wisest: even if he does not obey his will to God, he will obey his rival.” Don’t be surprised at this, that you were allowed laziness and relaxation, but also thank the Lord that he didn’t allow you to govern yourself and become arrogant, but the only thing that was allowed was so that you would recognize your weakness and insignificance and would not philosophize, even though it is not appropriate to philosophize; but, according to the apostolic testament, to behave humbly and so on... However, when free time allows you, and you wish to carry it out correctly, I consider this to be useful and edifying and, in accordance with the above-mentioned St. Isaac discharged, for St. complete obedience, and when due to some circumstances you miss it, make up for it with confession. You should also understand about abstinence in every possible way, to be forced against laziness and sleep, calling on the help of God and the prayers of St. father and spirit-bearing elders. And again, when we are overcome by anything - by repentance, and repentance, and self-reproach, according to the apostolic advice, “let us strive with patience for the labors that are set before us” (Heb. 12:1). And the fact that you sent money to commemorate brother Spyridon and cowardly proclaim that you supposedly have a lot to answer to God for him, this will cause him grief! I will boldly tell you that remembering your neighbor is useful! And to grieve about a past event is disgraceful and disgraceful. Remember that with good intentions you always had compassion for him in your heart and always intended to do something useful for him, but this was allowed to punish him for unlimited pride in the exhaustion of the flesh, so that his spirit would be saved! And as for your knowledge about measuring and weighting, how contrary this is to the commandment of the Lord - you yourself know this, your conscience clearly denounces and reproaches, and always serves as a reminder to you that you should begin to believe not to do this. May the God of peace and love enlighten and enlighten you, may you become wise in humility, and more than this, may the Merciful Lord help you and protect you, and protect you from all the snares and slander of the enemy, and may you forgive your sins. 25. He who is tempted will help those who are tempted. The passion of drunkenness is tolerated for pride, arrogance or for violation of conscience against marriage I, unworthy, had the pleasure of receiving your pleasant writing in all order and content, according to the strength of my weak concept, I heeded the giver and her companions in our holy monastery with favor, apparently, they prayed, and I, accursed and negligent, at your compassionate admonition and petition for my weakness and decrepitude, could not teach any spiritual edification for their spiritual benefit, but God the Gracious is strong and omnipotent according to the measure of faith he bestows on them. An assistant and a sister in spirit, she is in a strong fight against the universal enemy, mental warfare, but I, indecent, feed myself with the trust that her Merciful Lord will protect her from her mental rival, and will come to her senses. And since she herself is quite tempted, she will not only humble and reproach herself, but will also help others who are tempted. The Most Merciful Lord will enlighten you and enlighten your mind to wisdom, may he help you, and may he protect you, and may he protect you from all the snares of the enemy, and may he forgive you all your sins. From the fullness of my heart I wish your brother to be freed from drunken passion. This passion is tolerated either for pride and arrogance or for a violation of conscience against holy matrimony, then he must, firstly, be forced to humble himself in every possible way or make a confession and truly repent before a skilled confessor, and then the Lord will help him. 26. Blessing for a good stay in the monastery. The Lord visibly exposes our invisible sins The pleasant writing that you and the novice Maria Alekseevna published, and with it the gifts, I, insignificant, was honored to receive in every order. As for her fate and position in residence, I, in my youth, co-reason that Maria, at the beginning of her entry into the Sevsky Monastery, lived with the most venerable nun Vitalia, who will soon have died for two years and in my arms, betrayed her spirit to the Lord, only from whose memory can we come to a blessedly edifying feeling. And therefore, for my part, I advised that Marya should live in the Sevsky Monastery, and also Elizaveta Zolotareva, if accepted, gave her consent, and mother Nazareth Semyonovna, and your daughter Anna. In addition, I will say this: when you deigned to write, to my detriment, that you are going to the Kamensk Hermitage yourself; then I, indecent, prayed and pray to the Merciful Lord, so that he would grant your love meaning and reason and confirm them in a beneficial and soul-saving stay. I entrust you and myself to the protection of the Almighty and Merciful Lord, may He help you in everything, and may He protect you and protect you from all the slander of the enemy, and may He forgive you all your sins, voluntary and involuntary. Through the prayers of our fathers and mothers who have been pleased and reposed in our difficult times, may the peace of God rest upon you. And I am a great sinner and the worst, but your spiritual father, I send my fatherly forgiveness and blessing. I believe you will remember this spring, Martinian, who was visiting your city, and he, apparently, was modest and eloquent, but upon the arrival of the Oryol holy fool, Vasily Petrovich, the Lord invisibly exposed him: he also turned out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. I am writing this to you so that you should be careful with such messages and then not fall under responsibility. 27. He who is not forced to cut off his will does not have perfect obedience. “If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:4) As for your daughter Anna, although they lived from the beginning of the year with their mother Nazareth, but on the advice of the elder builder Moses, and we, the indecent, also agree with him that your daughter does not have perfect obedience precisely because she is not forced to cut off her will. It is evident that Nazareth’s mother, due to her carnal softness towards her, under the guise of imaginary consolation, truly tells her the most chilling expressions about the elders, as if they do not live according to God, and thus upsets her spiritual edification to the extreme. O crying, the situation worthy of Mother Nazareth and the extreme insensibility in this situation; and she dares to judge others, and even, apparently, excellent ones in all her sanctuary, and, as you can feel, the old woman rightly told you that your Anna, as she began to often go to Mother Nazareth, the fruits began to turn out to be corrupted: to be sick with love, - and where these pernicious ailments nest, then there is confusion, and desperate thoughts, and, in a word, all the passions come out, and enslave. And from such and such a desperate situation, which wounds her cooling heart and draws her into the world, a complete breakdown occurs! They brought her to the monastery not only to train her for feats, but also to harm her, and about this the Savior in St. The Gospel of Matthew writes in chapter 15, verse 14: “If a blind man leads the blind, both will fall into a pit.” And so our healthy feelings, instead of joy, cool and corrupt; how even the daughter refused to confess. And if Mother Nazareth agrees for Anna to go to the Sevsky Monastery, then I, feeble-minded, do not agree to this, so that she can go there - let her live, and obey the old woman, and open her thoughts, but it is not good for her to go to Mother Nazareth, since she will get tired of drinking muddy water. Our hearts felt embarrassment when they wanted her to Nazareth, and after the prayer service, the Lord unanimously announced to all well-meaning elders in addition, and the mother abbess confirmed, and I humbly ask you to place Anna’s fate under the protection of the Mother of God and thank God, who is able to save your daughter not only from that evil girl, but also from all the forces of the enemy, and to grant her sound repentance in true wisdom. And may your love also enlighten you, and may it enlighten your soul to the edifying paths of humble wisdom, and may it help you in all your paths, and may it preserve and protect you from all the slander of the enemy, and may it forgive you and Mary all your sins. Through the prayers of St. our fathers, may the peace of God rest on you. 28. Invisibly, through the revelation of thoughts, the mind and feelings are strengthened. If you follow the advice of the old woman, the Lord will grant you knowledge of yourself and many things. I earnestly wish you peace of mind, health, prosperity and salvation. From the guarantee of saving faith and goodwill in the spirit of your love for me, the worst, I received this scripture, I heeded its content according to the strength of my weakest understanding, and I accepted your gifts - gingerbread cookies with zeal. Because you send them very often, I don’t dare scold you for this, and I don’t know how to thank you - I leave all your deeds and blessings to the Almighty and Greatly Gifted Lord, and may He, with His mercy and goodness, reward you with His unsearchable wealth for everything! Glory to the Merciful Lord, that although he allowed and punished my beloved daughter Maria Yakovlevna, he did not allow death, that is, sins, but invisibly, through the revelation of thoughts, strengthened her mind and feelings and in the storm gave silence and calmness of spirit - this will serve you both for the future to be careful, and for patience a reward will inevitably be given, and may the Lord help her in the future to everyone, and may he enlighten her, and may he enlighten her soul with knowledge of edification. About your Anna, I am sure that if only she follows the advice of her only elder, then the Lord will grant her and open not only to know and understand herself, but also to many things. And what she writes in the second letter to your love, so that I, the worst, would bless her through you to visit our monastery, then I leave all this to your complete will and good consideration. If you think it’s useful, then write to her, but I blessed the girls to come to me and I don’t send away whoever comes, but if possible, I will accept and explain what I heard from the elders or read in the Holy Scriptures! May the Lord, the Most Wise, increase spiritual peace in your hearts, and may he strengthen your path to perfect salvation. With all my zeal I wish and beg the Lord to your brother Nikolai Nikitich to free him from his passion for beer and wine and to grant him a sober life. 29. Who should not be remembered in church? For a young man, his own will is soul-destroying and leads to disastrous consequences. I earnestly wish you peace, health, prosperity and salvation. I, the worst of you, received your scripture correctly in due time, I heeded its contents according to the strength of my weak understanding, and now, with the help of God, as soon as possible, I begin to respond. You deign to inform about a girl who was much advised not to go to church ahead of time because of her youth. And as you inform us that her parent has already passed away to eternal life, and she has already reached perfect age, and her intention does not fail, then may the Most Merciful and Greatly Gifted Lord bless and arrange her for perfect salvation. In the month of July, while I was in the Pestushanskaya monastery, I personally saw Mikhail, admonished him a lot and gave him unworthy advice. He himself was aware of his delusion and seduction, and I strongly asked the local confessor Vissarion so that they would try to observe him in the danger of the present, but, apparently, they did not see it, and accepted eternal destruction for himself, therefore it is by no means impossible to remember him. And what they write to you from the desert, that he can be commemorated only twice a year, then the commemorations are made for those who were kidnapped by unknown deaths, others drowned in the sea, others were killed by robbers, others were covered with earth and other unknown deaths (and did not take their own lives). And since, according to church rites, burial over these bodies was not carried out due to uncertainty, they are commemorated twice a year according to the tradition of St. father. For a young man, his own will is soul-destroying and leads to the most disastrous consequences. Take Mikhail as an example, who died in the monastery of his own free will and followed his desires, and did not listen to our even weak advice. 30. The Lord has “many who are called, but few who are chosen” (Matthew 20:16). We must endure temptations, not being cowardly against them, but humbly begging the Lord to complete the beginning of our salvation. Failure to comply with the rule of relaxation and laziness is made up for by repentance Through the Voronezh young man you know, your writing to me, the worst, received everything correctly in due time. This presenter you mentioned definitely had the zeal to stay with us, but the zeal, although good, God knows in what end it will happen, because he is very enterprising and ardent, and, it seems, not grounded. He was suddenly very pleased to stay with us; he just as quickly liked everything about us too much. But woe! That soon the zeal faded away. And again I say that the Lord alone knows at what end his beginning will take place, his ordinary beginning: “many are called, few are chosen” (Matthew 20:16), according to the word of God. Even to the last minute of this life, we must tremble at temptations, not being faint-hearted against them, but humbly begging the Lord to complete the beginning of our salvation. This young man stayed with us for 4 days and left for Moscow from us. We don't know at all where he is now. As for Evdokia Mikhailovna’s intentions, in my feeble mind, I consider it more useful for her to raise the said baby for God’s sake than to wander. On my part, according to her faith, may God’s blessing be upon her to raise the baby, and then the Lord will arrange for him in due time. The Lord will please, you can pass it on to someone, but now let her work for God’s sake, leave the sensual journey and remain in the journey from the passions, and may the Lord bless her. May the Most Merciful Lord enlighten you, and enlighten you for good, and may he help you, and may he protect you, and may he protect you from all the misfortunes of the enemy, and may he forgive you all your sins, and I, who am unworthy, send you fatherly forgiveness and blessing. For the prayers of the father of our worthy, may the peace of God rest upon you. Grieve over the rule that I gave you, because they were handed down to us so that you would not be idle. When you don’t do it through relaxation and laziness, make up for it through repentance. 31. Unworthy actions are atoned for by regret and repentance. The dignity or unworthiness of a priest cannot be an obstacle to the performance of the sacraments. Temptation requires patience, recognition of one's sins and self-reproach. Consider the death of a baby as a punishment for sins. I congratulate you on the New Year, which I wish you to spend in peace, health and prosperity, and even more so in pleasing our Most Merciful Lord, and may He pour out His abundant blessings on you and grant His help in all your good endeavors. I regularly received your two writings dated December 21st and December 26th, but I did not have time to respond to them with Maria Alekseevna. Seeing from these that you have been worthy to receive the Most Pure Mysteries of Christ, I rejoice greatly at this. As for what you describe about the dresses and jewelry of your daughter Mary, I submit this to the judgment of your conscience. If you feel peace in it, then do so, and what has already been done against your conscience and cannot be corrected or rewarded, then replace it with regret and repentance, and henceforth, remove yourself from such cases. Temptations that happened to you when talking with Fr. Stefan, your archpriest, you blame yourself for entering into a conversation that did not belong, just as a sheep would teach a shepherd. Although you have seen what is hidden under the sheep's clothing and should beware of such and similar pronunciations, leave the judgment about this to the Lord himself, who knows the secrets of our hearts, since he was appointed to be a minister of the Mysteries of Christ and his dignity or unworthiness cannot be an obstacle to the performance of the sacraments. Avoid such conversations and observe what I told you before about conversion. Tell Evdokia Petrovna Domogatskaya that her temptation requires patience and awareness of her weaknesses, recognition of her sins and self-reproach, so that God will despise and pacify those who are hostile to her. And if he treats himself with contradiction, nonsense and resentment, he will bring more persecution and sorrow upon himself. Regarding the dead baby, give everything to the will of God, but consider your sins to be the fault of this punishment. 32. Through blessing, moderate actions, severity and humility, obedience of households is achieved I received your letter, I rejoice that the Merciful Creator accepted your daughter into the fence of His chosen ones, may the Lord grant her to accomplish this feat, and grant you generosity. What Madame Abbess denied admission to was all, thank God, for the better. This was for your humility, but for the one who begins to work for the Lord, for trial, thank God. Of course, although you need to be in the house due to your responsibilities in such a way that your home church obeys you, you can only achieve this through blessing, moderate actions, severity and humility, and this is what I wish for you. God bless you. 33. Repentance heals confusion, cowardice and sorrow. God's providence works for the benefit of our souls I have received your Scripture, from which I perceive your confusion, and cowardice, and the sorrows that have arisen. And, perhaps, the Merciful Lord will deliver you from it and bring repentance with condolences, to this we see many examples in the Holy Scriptures that the Lord, merciful to them by repentance, forgave them and delivered them from the present sorrows. Sorrows are melancholy, like a paternal rod, raised from the love of a father against his outrageous children, in order to correct them and preserve them in good morals, which will serve them for the benefit of their entire lives. God's Providence acts for the benefit of our souls, in order to save us in the future life. Although this does not apply to you personally, but you participate in compassion for your brother, I advise you and him to strengthen yourself with faith and hope in God’s mercy, which builds everything for good. So, do not be embarrassed; in this may the Most Merciful Lord strengthen you. May the Lord help your wife to make the journey to venerate the relics of the saint of God, Saint Mitrofan, and through His prayers may he guide you on the path of true life, and may he protect you from all the snares and snares of the enemy, and may he forgive you all your sins. 34. About moving to another monastery I had the pleasure of receiving your writing about your daughter, and I heeded the contents of it according to the power of my understanding by the Lord. You send your daughter with Mother Nazareth to my weakness for advice, although I see myself as quite insufficient for such a matter, looking at my weakness and the weakness of my mind, but out of trust in the power of God, which can be perfected in our weakness, and according to your faith, having heard from both of them about the state of government in Kam. Deserts. From which I clearly saw that although your daughter Anna was preserved by the special protection of the All-Merciful Lord, we still consider it dangerous for her to continue living there. Since during their journey to you they were in the Sevsky nunnery, and your Anna found the location of the Sevsky monastery to be convenient to a large extent, and most of all she felt a favorable feeling and faith in the nun, Mother Anfisa, who recently, on her way from us from Krapivna, was in your house together with her sister Irina, and was treated to excess by you, and remained grateful to you, then we generally asked and We co-considered where to place your Anna for residence for her edification and training in monasticism. And we considered it best for her to surrender to the above-mentioned nun Anfisa in accordance with her zealous desires. I wrote a letter to her at this post about your daughter, so that she would report to the local lady abbess whether she would agree to accept her into the monastery, and in which cell to place her with like-minded sisters, or, it seems, in the cell itself the place has been cleared. If they see that she can be accommodated and her heart is willing to accept her into her favor, then she would not waste time and write to your love. If you receive a letter from her with the assurance that you have decided to accept, and when it turns out favorably in your hearts, try to bring her to Sevsk. And I, indecent, in my feeble mind, do not find this place more trustworthy, in other respects entrusting her and you and your entire family to the protection of the Almighty Lord, and may He help you in everything, and may He protect you from all the snares and slander of the enemy, and may He forgive you all your sins. 35. Let your daughter in the monastery pray for herself and for all Christians. “Drinking to the bottom is not being kind” (Russian proverb) I received your letter, your wish to stay with me for now - then we’ll see how the Lord will manage. There is no need to undertake such a task without the will of God, however, the Savior said: “I will not marry him who comes to me!” (John 6:37). I am glad that your other wish comes out regarding the admission of your daughter to the Sevsky Monastery - so, I bless your daughter on her path, and may the Lord God bless her entry and departure. Take her to the holy monastery preserved by God, let her pray for herself and for all Christians. I congratulate you, honorable Nikolai Nikitich, on your joy and addition to your family. May God grant that piety will be established in your home and you will stop taking glasses to celebrate. We know, and the Russian proverb says: “Drinking to the bottom is not being kind.” I advised and ordered you as a spiritual father to stop drinking - bad, very bad. - You will get yourself into trouble, you will end up in bondage; otherwise, brother, you will have to bow down like a monastery, so that you can pray to your namesake saint, St. Nicholas, to excommunicate you from drunkenness. I also congratulate your Catherine, who, apparently, is looking after you poorly, or you have completely lost obedience. I wish Jacob and his young wife to live like a Christian, in the fear of God, and not to forget my instructions, and to pray to God that he would not forsake your parents with his mercy. May God's blessing and mine be upon you, be happy and pray for me. 36. Anger darkens the mind, hardens the heart and is a sign of pride. About drinking tea on God's holidays You describe some of your home situations, you realize that they cause you embarrassment and you cannot restrain yourself from treating your family obstinately, for which you sympathize a lot. As for housekeeping and morality, you, as the main owner, have a duty to enter and try to correct anything bad with advice. On the advice of St. Apostle: “Insist...reprove, rebuke, entreat with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2). When you yourself are moved to rage, it means that you too are driven by passions, humble yourself from this, recognize your weakness, and in your thoughts be condescending to your neighbors, and try as much as you can to restrain yourself from anger - it darkens the mind, hardens the heart, and is a clear sign of pride. If you little by little restrain yourself from it, then with God’s help it will weaken, and you will be more peaceful. You can worry about drinking tea on the feasts of God and at early mass, and not be embarrassed and be calm. In any case, confusion is from the devil, from whom may the Lord protect and protect you. Your wife, who visited our monastery, and nephew Jacob N. with his wife Ekaterina were with me and asked what they needed as needed. May the Lord remember their zeal and love for the monastery and for us, the poor. Your daughter, Anna, writes to me from her new home. It seems that she will be more trustworthy there, as long as she observes obedience to the old lady, who is quite familiar to me in the honest rules of life. Thank you for writing and being aware of your infirmities. The Lord is strong to forgive you, but from now on, try to restrain yourself from what is useless and ask God for help. 37. About reverent preparation for the Sacrament of Wedding I know that the niece of Mr. Peter Pavlovich Smirnov, with the consent of her relatives, wants to enter into a legal marriage with a pious Christian, who, before proceeding to this sacrament, disposes to prepare himself for the sacraments through confession and communion of the Most Pure Body of the Lord, which is why I advise her to fulfill this same pious preparation. Let us keep them prosperous in their marriage and seek God’s blessing on them. And I ask you to make an effort about this and encourage her, so that she does not listen to what people say against this, but, obeying the church, secretly fulfills it by calling a priest to the house. For your diligence in donating some bread to our monastery, we sincerely thank you, which I will offer to the father the builder. And we had not even heard of the fact that they allegedly donated bread to us from an unknown person. An unknown benefactor donated a silver altar ark to our monastery to preserve in it the Body and Blood of Christ our God. Perhaps this event was announced in a different form within our borders. 38. Where the will of God is, there the order of nature is overcome. Illness is overcome not by grumbling, but by thanksgiving to God. Prodigal thoughts are cured by repentance and self-reproach. You can eat meat throughout the entire holiday week. You write about a work that has begun again, that the work has not yet been completed, but if where the will of God is, there the order of our nature is instantly overcome and the work is accomplished in the order of His law. Your daughter, Anna F., writes to you that she is unwell and thanks the Lord God for this - this is the dignity of a true Christian, this wonderful example teaches us, sinners, how to deal with ourselves in a sick state, for illness is not overcome by grumbling, but by thanksgiving to the Lord God. Truly such will hear the Most Sweet Voice: “Your sins are forgiven; arise and walk” (Matthew 9:5). And that you deign to write about your illness, which you want to use medicines, then let your love know that this enterprise of yours cannot be harmful to your salvation (when you keep yourself from other evils), - for this I, a great sinner, deign and bless. You also mention that sometimes you are overcome by lustful thoughts and the love of money - not having such thoughts at all is characteristic only of the angelic order, and not of the human order. For us, if and when something happens and we crawl, we immediately run with repentance and reproach ourselves to the Heavenly Doctor. The humane Lord not only forgives our countless falls into sin, but also accepts those who truly repent; for this reason, He came to earth and began to call sinners, so that none of us would despair of our salvation. Maria Alekseevna asks my thinness whether it is possible for her to eat meager meat throughout the holiday week. I answer: if it is not disgusting to her health and stomach, then everything is possible, and the Holy Church allows all Orthodox Christians to visit, but if it happens on permissible days, then you can use it there too. I do not refute abstinence - it always has its strengths, but its essence and strength do not lie in not eating food, but let all memory and the like be driven out of the heart. “This is true fasting, which the Lord requires of us most of all.” 39. Who should not be remembered at Proskomedia? I deeply sympathize with Pelagia Petrovna’s bewilderment and grief; I am unable to help, except for advice that she should resort to the Lord God and the Most Pure Virgin Mary, asking for protection, protection and permission in bewilderment. These sorrows or punishment for sins or the test of faith and hope in God - in this case, you need to arm yourself with patience with confession of your sins and submission to the will of God - He is able to give her consolation. Read these lines to her. A spiritual person rightly told you about the commemoration at Proskomedia that you should not openly remember sinners who are in error and schism: according to the interpretation of church teachers, through the combination of particles taken out for their names with the Divine Blood, not purification, but the highest condemnation occurs for them. For a sinner who has repented and begun to reform, you can pray and submit to Proskomedia. You can also remember them in prayer and conversion, just as the Church prays for the unification of all, however, so that with such legibility you do not fall into the Pharisaical wisdom, submit to the proskomedia about your neighbors known to you, in your thoughts try to consider everyone saints (however, without imitating their bad deeds), show your love to everyone by deeds under the circumstances that arise. This will be more reliable, otherwise in both cases it is dangerous not to avoid pharisaical wisdom and numbness. Maria Alekseevna is sorry that temptation happened to her, but all this was not without the will of God - let her humbly submit and reproach herself, and not her neighbors, may the Lord give her peace. Your citizen who came here had an interview with my thinness without hindrance, but I ask you not to give advice to others - God knows. who needs what. 40. About the health of the old man I, thank the All-Wise Lord God, who now endures my sins, am still alive and in the same cell, but communication with those who come to the hotel has completely stopped for me. If I tell you frankly, even though it was allowed, my weakness and decrepitude do not seem to have the strength to satisfy those who are thirsty, since my bodily strength is exhausted. Considering this is our situation, I humbly ask you, St. do not tear away the monastery and explain about my position, so that they do not hope from me, the accursed one, what benefit they will receive. Yesterday, the following event happened: one well-meaning person, known to the father of the builder and unworthy of me, begged the father of the builder to have a meeting with me in his cells and what needed to be discussed, but I was relaxed, although I struggled with the strength to fulfill obedience and satisfy this person, but I could not go - I was left without satisfaction. 41. There is boredom from the enemy. It is necessary not to submit to the dominant passion, but to show resistance. A daughter should not be taken away from serving God The boredom that comes to your wife, Marya Yakovlevna, is, of course, from the enemy; she forces you to follow the advice given to her for salvation, and the enemy hates this and bores you. You must be patient and not submit, and the Lord will help you, the boredom will pass. And you need not to submit to the passion that dominates you, but to show resistance, gradually driving away the custom; it will not prevail over you. Your desire to know about me, whether the excitement ceases, I cannot fully satisfy with an answer, I will only say that nothing is visible from the outside and from the inside, and the only thing I am sure of is that nothing can happen to me that God will not allow; and when it pleases Him to send anything for my sins, I must accept it with humility; for there is no escape from His hand. You write about Elena, that she feels sad and bored. What to do with this, you need to endure, pray to God, ask for help from Him, do handicrafts and not be in idleness, from which not only boredom, but also many vices disappear. Her mother also calls her and her daughter-in-law to Sergius; but what can you do when it’s not possible, you can leave it and notify your mother about this. And Anna, when her mother took her, let her obey her; apparently, the time has not yet come to be installed in the monastery - God wants to tempt her desire. She can consume food according to her will, it will be on her conscience, but there is no need to be bored and it is better to ask God, so that he himself will arrange for her, whatever the news is for the benefit. Her mother will see from the consequences whether she did good by taking her and taking her away from serving God. This is the very thing that makes a daughter bored and unsettled; shouldn’t it crush her heart and serve as a punishment for her? And if, God forbid, she falls into any vices, then who will answer for her? God bless her to learn to read and write. Evdokia Mikhailovna was here, I talked to her, but I don’t know how God will console her. I ask you not to give advice to come to me. God is able to help even without my unworthiness. 42. Temptations sent from God are useful You write about the reasoning that comes to you that people become wise through adversity - it is true: the temptations sent to us from God are definitely useful; from these we recognize our weakness, and can judge sensibly about our neighbors, and we see how small our faith is when we are only complacent, when we receive good things, and when they are taken away, we lose heart. May the Lord send you with a humble spirit and a grateful heart to accept these permissions from the Lord, and He is strong enough to leave your position and put your commercial affairs in order. 43. True prosperity in heaven is achieved through Christian virtues I earnestly wish you long-term health in all your well-being and great success in your affairs, not only in commercial ones, but also in godly Christian virtues, through which true well-being in heaven is achieved. Your letter mentions your circumstances, which do not always go according to the plan of your reasoning - what to do: commercial affairs are always very difficult to improve. That you explain your weakness, that you are often overcome by arrogance in the advice of those who come to you to consult about something, it is surprising to me, why would you be arrogant about this when you say something to the one who asks you, for even if you tell him something, not from yourself, but we are instructed by the grace of Christ the Savior and by faith who requires. Are you and I going to be surprised at this, that they come to us, then the proverb will come true for you and me: “When there are no more sheep, then fashion began to punish or fell.” What do you write, that for now you are satisfied with St. Barsanuphius, it seems that he has little to do with you and me, for we are alien to such matters that belonged before him. This is written by St. Barsanuphius to the elders, who will be asked about performing mental work and about vision! 44. The groom's wealth does not consist in many possessions, but in a good conscience By your writing you inform me about the fate that is opening for your daughter Mary to enter the field of married life and ask for my blessing for this. For my part, I do not reject this enterprise. Although he is not rich, if he is a good man, God bless him. Wealth does not consist in the possessions of many, but in a good conscience, which, even without perishable wealth, already has its rewards, and God is able to grant them what they need and are satisfied with. If it is God’s will for this, then He will arrange this work to be completed - pray to the Lord and surrender to His holy will. I do not advise performing indecent rituals and unseemly gatherings: to perform this empty custom against the lawful conscience would mean that you are worshiping an idol. There is no need to fear censure for this. None of the sane people recognize this as a reproach, and perhaps some of the flighty ones would dare, but there is nothing to look at. 45. About the danger and harm of turning to fortune tellers I received two of your letters; in the first you write about a sick girl Xena, who is possessed by the spirit, her parents are forcing her to be treated for her grandmothers, then if they force her to do such a thing, they will not only not have time, but they will also be drawn into something worse and will lead themselves into deep sin, because these diseases are not cured by the human mind, but by the given grace of God by God's chosen saints. - If they want her health, then let them take her to Voronezh to the saint of God Mitrofan. And why do you write that I, insignificant, forbade her to fast on Wednesday and Friday, and only allow her to eat once, let her eat during mass. In your second letter you write about the accidents that happen to you in the living world, this is not surprising to you, for all kinds of troubles are more in the city, according to the verb of the Holy Spirit, spoken through the mouth of the prophet David, as if “I saw lawlessness and discord in the city...”. May the Lord God save you from such troubles. I entrust you and myself to the Providence of God. 46. ​​One must humbly admit one’s sins before God and ask for forgiveness. I have received your Scripture regularly, in which you describe your mental and physical infirmities. Of course, although it is very disgraceful, in this case one must humbly admit one’s sins before God and ask for forgiveness. As for the medicines that you are advised to use, the Lord may wish to try to take your illness away from you. You write that Marya Fedorovna Rzhevskaya asks for my blessing to give her daughter in marriage to such and such, if the parents of the bride and groom agree, and therefore the bride and groom, then God will bless, if only there is peace and harmony between them. 47. Inner thoughts want to lull the conscience and do what is displeasing to God. Condemn yourself before God. In any perplexity, ask for help from the Lord For your zeal and faith in me, the humble one, may the Lord reward you, but I earnestly thank you. Regarding the sale of your wheat and other things, I will not praise this, for the unrighteousness of Cain, no matter how small or great, is all untruth before God; at which the prophet David, horrified, calls out to the Lord: “Leave the way of unrighteousness from me, and have mercy on me with your law” (Ps. 119:29). As for the thoughts that consoled and seemed to calm down, know that these are from the enemy - with these they want to lull your conscience, and force you to do something displeasing to God, and, finally, to send God’s disfavor. So, having done this, you can no longer correct it in anything other than repentance from the bottom of your heart: condemn yourself before God, promise to correct yourself in the future, and our Lord Jesus Christ, having accepted our countless sins, seeing your contrition, will also accept this done by you. For the future, if you want to have a peaceful conscience and actions according to God, then in every difficult matter, in every perplexity, ask for help from the Lord or from people who live according to God, for it is written: “Your salvation is in much counsel” (Proverbs 11:14). By doing this and living this way, you will find mercy before God and will be pleasing to Him, and His blessing will be in your home. We wish you a Happy New Year. spend Pentecost in the fear of God, with all the decency of a Christian, in health and salvation. 48. What sacrifice is pleasing to God? You write about Elizaveta Kirillovna Kobozeva that, due to her weakness, she cannot correct this canon for her, for which I send a prayer of permission - the Lord will forgive her, and I, unworthy, with the authority given to me, forgive her and allow it. More about the money that she takes secretly and uses as if for something useful, but if there is enmity from the family for this, then judge for yourself whether such a sacrifice can be pleasing to God. The Lord in the Gospel says to you: “I want mercy, not sacrifice” (Matthew 9:13), - mercy, i.e. love and harmony in the Holy Spirit. If it is impossible for them to visit Voronezh to worship the saint of God, I ask and pray to be at peace, for this does not depend on our will - and in this may the Lord forgive and have mercy on us with His mercy. And so the Lord will forgive you all, bless you, and forgive all your sins, voluntary and involuntary. Don’t be angry, there’s really no time to write at length. 49. About the dangers of dream interpretation You write that in a dream vision, as if the spirit made some mockery of your wife, which is the case where the Lord allows our sin for our sake, to our humility. What she asked, for better or for worse, is the wisdom of the most stupid, unenlightened, village women, and you are already ashamed to follow them. What an evil spirit can do, he cannot do any harm to us, if the Lord does not allow it, and if the Lord allows him to do dirty tricks on us, then for our pride, for our humility. Thank God I repented of this. May the Lord God forgive her with His almighty grace and may he fulfill her life in the success of His life-giving commandments, which I wish for myself, and for you, and for her, and for everyone from the heart. 50. Words of reconciliation should be uttered not in the spirit of zeal and pride, but in the spirit of humility and meekness I received your scripture and read the contents, from which I saw the disorder in your family and, given the extreme weakness of my health, my soul ached about your situation, but I ask and pray, most venerable Thomas Nikitich, be the first to begin to pronounce words more kindly and favorably, not in the spirit of zeal and pride, but in the spirit of humility and meekness. And in this way God is strong and almighty to correct your mental and physical affairs and create peace, silence, and tranquility in your home. Regarding the marriage of your son Dmitry, what to do when circumstances do not allow it - obey Providence in opposition to diverse thoughts and try to reflect them with prayer, to which we will force ourselves to the best of our ability. And the All-Merciful Lord will help you in every possible way in everything. I entrust you to the protection of God, although I am unworthy, but I ask God’s blessing for you and your entire family. 51. Must endure from parents Pyotr Ivanovich asks for my advice on what to do with his parent. I feel sorry for him, but there is nothing to do - he must suffer from the parent if something unpleasant happens to him. In many places in church history we see the fulfillment of the commandment to honor parents, no matter what their behavior. Listen to what I tell you and him: “Whoever honors his father will cleanse his sins, whoever honors his father will rejoice over his children and on the day of his prayer will be heard, who honors his father - may God’s blessing fall on you. The child will take over your father's old age. Even if he becomes mad about something, do not despise him and do not reproach him with all your strength. A father’s prayers are unforgettable before God. Do not forsake your father in blasphemy, for cursed is he who provokes his father and mother” (Sir. 3:3, 5, 12–14, 16). If the parent lets him go with a blessing, this is a different matter - God bless him; if not, I advise you to be patient. So, what I feel is what I write. To fulfill or not to fulfill is his will, and I rightly advise with all my heart what I wish both for myself and for you. 52. The holy sacrament of marriage is performed according to the will of the All-Merciful God I had the good fortune to receive and read your pleasant writing, from which I see the unyielding desire of your son Dimitri to have legal marriage. As for the refusal of the gentlemen Groves, do not deign to be upset about this; apparently, it is not fate with this parental blessing to begin this Sacred Sacrament. In every possible way, the All-Merciful Lord arranges fate according to His will: marriage is favorable, but not only for those married in the family, but for everyone, and therefore it is expected that it will be according to the will of the All-Merciful Lord. It seems, according to our weak reasoning, that Maria from Svechnin was destined to join your family. As for the dowry in money, I ask and beg you not to insist; you should not add money to the family, but a well-behaved person who serves you for your comfort. That nephew Jacob, a young and inexperienced man, offers his voice and opinion, perhaps you should explain to him so that in such cases he should be more silent than offering and insisting on self-thinking. When, according to your explanation, there is a feeling of heartfelt goodwill towards Svechnin’s house, then this seems to be an omen of the union of your kinship with them. In other respects, I entrust you to the protection of the All-Merciful Lord, and may the All-Merciful Lord enlighten and enlighten your hearts for the good of His holy will, in which I most earnestly wish to abide with my usual goodwill. Although I am unworthy, I ask God’s blessing on you. 53. Trials happen by God's permission for the knowledge of human weaknesses. The memory of death will teach you to listen to yourself. An oath to God made without reasoning is not pleasing to God. When we surrender ourselves with humility, patience and self-reproach to the will of the Almighty Lord, the Lord will deliver us from all sorrows I received your scripture correctly, in which you describe the wedding feasts of your son that have begun, may the Most Merciful Lord God Almighty, All-Seeing, help you what we need for the salvation of our souls. Let the end of what you have begun be done to the pleasure of the Lord and with His help. Your attempts, about which you write, usually happen with God’s permission for the knowledge of our human weaknesses. We do not want to do any good deed without God’s help, and when we think that we have done something pleasing to God, then from this very opinion our deed is no longer pleasing to God. The memory of death will teach you to listen to yourself. Often in blossoming years one is delighted from this life into eternal life, and even more terrible if suddenly. For us, close to the door of the tomb, can we really put off our lives for many years - let us repent and be alive in soul forever. Tell Ekaterina Ivanovna about the oath promise about her son - before God, an oath made without reasoning, God does not want this. If he delights, we will live; let him place all his hope in the will of God and in His holy Providence - He alone knows what is for our benefit. And the fact that your assistant, Maria Yakovlevna, experiences the fits you describe, this was tolerated for her opinion, and self-thinking, and for an internal insult against her husband, and for family troubles. When we humble ourselves and surrender ourselves with humility, patience and self-reproach to the will of the Almighty Lord, and the Lord will deliver us from all our sorrows, to whom I entrust you and your entire family. 54. About monastic trials I inform your love that the maiden Matryona, known to you, who lived as a worker, entered the Kaluga nunnery. These days I received a letter from the nun with whom she lives. She notifies that Matryona has seizures, and I can’t argue otherwise that this nun is one of the noblewomen and a very strict enforcer, and Matryona of a humble character remained silent, suffered internally and brought herself to such misfortune. Pray for her, and don't talk too much to others. 55. Despair proves obvious pride. The enemy's deceit can be eradicated from the heart by prayer to God You describe your life's disorder and negligence, I ask you not to despair, for despair proves obvious pride, but trust in God, He is able to correct your steps to do His holy and life-giving commandments. Try to instill the fear of God in the heart of your nephew, Vasily, and correct him with a spirit of meekness, where also with severity. I congratulate you on the upcoming all-joyful holiday of the Bright Resurrection of Christ and wish you to celebrate and celebrate it with spiritual edification and joy in your heart and your entire family. Dear spiritual daughter Maria. You write that, thank God, the Lord has vouchsafed you the Holy Most Pure and Life-Giving Mysteries, and again you want to prepare, about which I rejoice greatly, but I only sympathize with the fact that you do not have peace with Matryona Fed. I ask you to drive away this enemy’s treachery from your heart by praying for it to God. 56. “No one will come to me unless the Father draws him to me” (John 6:44) You wrote to me, the indecent one, about Tatiana Egorovna, who was suffering from mental illness, that she, poor thing, was extremely attached to me for my rude and insightful judgment about others, but let it be known to your love that such people themselves do not know why they come under the guise of receiving benefit. The universal enemy inspires them to co-reason, revise, and condemn the words and advice he offers according to their own intelligence. As it is written: that whoever is without faith, co-dissolved in simplicity, even though he goes and asks about something, the Merciful God blinds the gifted one with prophecy and darkens the questioner who comes, and that is why the God-man said about such people in his Gospel: “The garden, which the Heavenly Father did not plant, will be uprooted,” and again: “no one will come to me, unless the Father draws you to me” (John 6:44). Your love knows that many, having come to the Savior Christ, listened to His divine words, others felt the benefit and believed in him, and many said: “His word is cruel, whoever can bear it, even to those who do not follow Him” (John 6:60). 57. Advice on repaying debt I have received your Scripture, in which you describe your weaknesses, then may the Lord forgive you these too. I also inform your love that Ekaterina Ivanovna Kukhtina, who secretly bought pearls and which are now still intact, but since your guest asks her for a debt, then tell her to ask me, feeble-minded, for advice. I advise that if you sell the pearls and give the money to the guest, let him sell it, because it will not benefit them, nor her daughter. As for her husband and son, I cannot resolve this matter, because it exceeds my strength. Without knowing the essence of their affairs, I do not dare to decide, for which I humbly ask for forgiveness. Having wished you all peace, health, and salvation, and success in the commandments of God to your entire family and Ekaterina Ivanovna, I remain with my usual disposition and devotion. 58. Train yourself to be patient, humble and self-reproachful You write and ask for my most obscene advice on behalf of your son-in-law and matchmaker, in order to sell them half of your place, to which we deign and bless. Maybe the Merciful Lord will help them to trade with this money with a profitable increase. You are grateful for the instruction of your children, such as Anna and Pelagia Fominichnaya, and you remain grateful for their remembrance. As for my situation, I remain in my place; apparently, circumstances and the significant influx of zealous people will hardly allow me to stay; I must at least leave for a while. If the Lord pleases, I will live, I intend; but now, thank the Most Merciful Lord God, the authorities have taken strict measures: the gates are closed, the gates are hammered, but how long will this peace last for me? Don’t worry about your coldness and worry about your unnecessary letters to me. May God forgive you and have mercy, and also grant you meekness, and abstinence, and moderation in words and behavior with your brother, with long-suffering and complacency to exhort and console your family, and consider yourself insufficient in everything and teach yourself to patience, humility and self-reproach. These virtues are a stronghold of universal complacency and peace. May the Most Merciful Lord enlighten you, and may He enlighten you in the knowledge of the best, and may He protect you from all the snares and slander of the enemy, and may He forgive you all your sins, voluntary and involuntary, and may He send a gracious blessing upon you from above. 59. Vanity is cured by guarding your conscience and not concealing your thoughts. From your writings I see that these are the fruits of vanity, which I ask you to do your best to eradicate, and in what way - by preserving your conscience and not hiding your thoughts, which will serve to your salvation. I entrust you to the goodness of God and the protection of the Most Pure Virgin Mary. Glory to the Most Merciful God that He has preserved you and will continue to preserve you from all the snares and slander of the devil. Having wished you peace, health and salvation, I remain forever thirsty for your salvation, together with your entire family. Upon receipt of your second letter, in which you notify about your accidental and unexpected loss. This is not easy for you, but according to God’s will it happened, and you must pray to God for him and ask him to grant you, through his prayers, to be saved and to come to the mind of truth. 60. “A righteous man falls seven times and rises again...” (Prov. 24:16). One should pray in times of despondency. Enjoy earthly goods in moderation and care for eternal salvation The sadness of your relative comes from the action of the enemy and from her own imprudence. “The righteous man falls seven times a day” (cf. Proverbs 24:16), but does not despair; and having brought repentance, he uses soul-saving lessons and thinks about how to avoid falling in the future, knowing that it is human nature to sin and that the enemy does not sleep for a minute. But your relative complains in vain about the irrevocable past time and thinks about past mistakes, as if it was impossible to sin or that she will not sin in the future. “According to your faith and hers in me, unworthy, I send her fatherly forgiveness for these confessed sins and advise her, to alleviate her sadness and for the benefit of her husband, to pray for him and her parent.” She must continue to consider herself capable of sin, and not only grieve over the past grief, and grieve, but shame, like a righteous punishment, gratefully accept from the hand of the impartial Judge and pray to Him in hours of despondency and sorrow, believing undoubtedly that He, out of His ineffable love for mankind, will not allow us to be tempted beyond our strength. I ask for God’s blessing on her and wish her spiritual salvation. I send my bows to your entire God-protected family and to you, asking for God’s blessing on you. I congratulate you on the joyful holiday of the Nativity of Christ and wish you to moderately enjoy earthly blessings and care for eternal salvation. 61. If after prayer you feel embarrassed, then it is better not to do what you have planned For a peasant woman, if it is possible for her to be with me, then let her visit, and if time does not allow, then she should pray to God three times. If after prayer she feels sorry for herself, then know that this is God’s will. The same goes for when he wants to marry someone. And if, after praying, she feels fear and embarrassment about who she is going for, then let her be afraid to go for him. And likewise others - if there is a groom, let him pray in the same way. 62. “With man these things are impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). Prayer is the first and most essential means of reconciliation We answer your fears regarding the difficulty of salvation in the world during peaceful pursuits and in family life with the words of our Savior: “It is impossible from man, but from God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26); If only the will for correction does not weaken and unfeigned repentance softens the judgment of God. Regarding Maria Petrovna Gendrikova and her family grief and disorder, we answer that the first and most necessary means not only of this, but of all, for reconciliation with those who offend and persecute us is prayer for them, according to the commandment of Christ - advise her to pray. 63. “In your patience gain your souls” (Luke 21:19) We have received your Scripture, from it we have discerned some expressions of your dispensation, by which you, being offended, are embarrassed and reach the point of cowardice; therefore, as much as possible, we write to you for consolation and for strengthening in the temptations that come upon you. You want spiritual salvation, but it is acquired through patience. The Lord says: “In your patience gain your souls” (Luke 21:19) and St. Elijah Ekdip writes: “It is worthy for every Christian, the right of a believer in God, not to be without care, but always to look forward to and expect temptation. Remember that the Lord pleases the narrow and sorrowful path, and not the long and sorrowless one.” Having offered you consolation, I pray to the Most Merciful Lord, may He grant you to patiently follow true reason according to His holy will and strengthen you in all temptations. I entrust you to the goodness of God and, although I am unworthy, I ask for you and your helper the peace and blessing of God. 64. The art of art is a matter of salvation. The Lord pleases the narrow and sorrowful path, not the long one You mention your dispensation, by which, being offended, you are embarrassed and reach the point of cowardice. You suddenly want perfection without learning, without enduring enemy attacks, without recognizing your weakness and without humbleness. Just to say - you want, while still a baby, to become a perfect husband, or, having entered the service as a lower rank, to now become a general, or, having started to learn the alphabet, to suddenly read all the books. Didn’t the saints reach this point through many labors, deeds and time? The artistry of arts and the cunning of cunning is the work of salvation, and not simply, as he wanted, so he did. The Holy Fathers, who actively walked this path and acquired the wealth of goodness through doing the commandments of Christ, left us an example in their teachings, so that through them we would recognize the passions in ourselves, resist them, and in evading them we would resort to humility, self-reproach and repentance, not at all relying on our own deeds, or on our own strength, or on our own reason - and so little by little we would be cleansed of passions and approach to God. Let us remember that the Lord pleases the narrow and sorrowful way, not the long way (cf. Matt. 7:13–14), sorrowless. I’m shortening it because, with severe weakness, I am writing to your love by dictation through another. I ask you not to despair, but to surrender to the Lord in all cases, for despair proves obvious pride, and the Lord is able to save you from it. 65. Don't give up making friendly Christian advice. Do not grieve over troubles, for they are short-lived and do not happen without the will of God Peace and blessings to my spiritual son. May the Most Merciful Lord forgive you for your weaknesses, inclinations and sins, and I, the unworthy one, send my fatherly forgiveness and blessing. Also ask for my blessing, whether to tell your brother when necessary, or to remain silent - you, of course, are not able to correct him, for he has autocracy and knows what is bad and what is good. But do not stop giving him friendly advice about abandoning acts indecent for a Christian. Pray to the Lord and the Most Pure Mother of God for him, call upon the saints of God for help. “What seems impossible from man, but from God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). You do not grieve over all the troubles, for they are short-term and transitory, but they do not happen without the will of God. I entrust you to the protection of God and the word of His grace, and, although it is indecent, I ask for you the peace and blessing of God. 66. The clergy, as prayer books for us, deserve preference over others Regarding your dispute about the distribution of bread to clergy, we believe, due to our feeble-mindedness, that you are not completely right, but most of all, you have sinned by stubbornly defending your unfair opinion. Clergymen, as prayer books for us, in all fairness deserve preference over others. In addition, while fulfilling their requirements from the church, they cannot leave the church as freely for purchases as trading people, and their very dignity forbids them to worry too much about this, and therefore, even with their unfounded requests, they must be respectful and covered with Christian love. 67. If we trust in God, nothing will harm us The universal and all-evil enemy the devil, although he does many mean things to us, nothing will succeed if we trust in God, remembering this teaching: “Blessed are you when they revile you, and destroy you, and say all kinds of evil things against you who lie to Me for your sake. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is many in heaven” (Matthew 5:11–12). And although there is something confused in us, the Lord Almighty, as long as he preserves my insignificance, henceforth I trust and entrust it to His Providence. You did not act according to your conscience in the grain trade, punish yourself and henceforth ask for correction from God. And for this I entrust you to the protection of God and ask again for God’s blessing on you. 68. About the need to pray for a spiritual father I inform you that old age and decrepitude have completely overtaken me, and hour by hour I wait for the general hour of death. If it pleases the Lord to take away from this world and resolve the union of the flesh, I ask you not to forget me in your prayers. 69. The Lord is able to send grace for spiritual reinforcement God created everything, everything exists under His power, as in His hand are all the ends of the earth and the heights of the mountains. He owns the sun, the moon, the stars, the light, the elements and all creation, and me, the limitless creature. Although I wrote to you, I felt weakness, my imminent departure, but I do not dare to quickly assert that God, rich in bounties, transforms fiery power into dew and is able to strengthen the prayers of the worthy and my old age for the repentance of my soul. I thank you and my wife together and rejoice in your prosperity. Regarding the mental disorder of Marya Alekseevna Smirnova from invading thoughts, tell her that the Lord shakes heaven and earth and sends fire to the seas on cities to destroy their foundations (cf. Hag. 2:6). Because of her faith in him, she is also strong enough to send grace to strengthen her soul and to shame the all-evil enemy, who strongly degrades her even to the point of despair. You may have the book “Spiritual Healing”, I ask you to give it to her to read. What I said: “Masha is not ours,” is not to praise her to her face; praise is detrimental to her husband. When she realizes her weakness in everything, the Lord's blessing is upon her. Now Vladyka calms me down more than ever in my old age; I live in the building of Fr. Archimandrite Melchizedek in the 2nd half. I absolutely do not accept the female gender by the will of the archpastor, and I also very little accept the male gender. I send my fatherly blessing and forgiveness to your mental temptations and attempts. Although I am unworthy, I ask for God’s blessing on you and your family from above, I will forever thirst for your salvation. 70. If you fall, get up again I congratulate you on entering the New Year and wish you a good start in life. You write that, having arrived from me, you are again overcome and deviate into your previous attempt, which, perhaps, you lament in spirit and fall into despair. Ask me to console me with something. As long as the Lord enlightens me according to your faith, I do not refuse to write to you through dictation. Listen to the teaching of St. Isaac the Syrian, in the 4th word teaching this: “When we fall, let us not forget such love of our Father, but even if sins happen to him in various pits, let him not be careless about the good and the course of his prosperity without creating, and we overcome again and by rebellion to feat on our own and the ruined building for every day the beginning of the foundation yes remember the prophetic word of St. father, having even before his exodus from the world, let my opponent not rejoice over me, as if I had fallen, then again I will rise; and even if I sit in darkness, the Lord will enlighten me.” The Holy Fathers wrote many, many examples in the same way. As for your nephew, what he did wrong, you must say for yourself. You also write that Ivanov is ashamed to explain to the owner about the salary, which means there is no God’s will for this, and I do not advise you to ask ahead of time, although I advised that he should ask, but I did not know about the benefit to him. 71. Those who trust in God are never deprived of His gifts. Don’t grieve, the Lord will comfort you in everything I received your letter and heard about the situation of your brother Nikolai, which is very insulting to you under the given circumstances. I wrote to you a lot about this so that you would be patient and generous, and now I am forced to write about the same thing. If you place all your hope in God “who made heaven, earth, the sea and everything that is in them” (Ps. 145:6), you will get everything you want and you will be happy and blessed. “Blessed is the God of Jacob, his helper; his trust is in the Lord his God” (Ps. 146:5). The Lord showed by His very deeds how much He helps those who trust in Him: “At that time Jesus saw many people and was merciful to them, and healed their sick. But when I was late, His disciples came to him, and speaking emptyly, there was a place, and it was already a long time, let the nations go, and went to the village to buy some food for themselves. Jesus said to them: They do not demand food; give them food. They said to him: there are no imams here, just five loaves of bread and two fish. He said: Bring these to me, and commanded the people to recline on the grass, and receive five loaves of bread and both fish, and looked up to heaven, blessing and breaking the loaves of bread to the disciples, and the disciples with the people, and ate them all, and were satisfied: having taken the excess of the ukruh, two to ten koshas were fulfilled, but those who ate were like five thousand men, perhaps wives and children" ( Matthew 14:14–21). What does this Gospel story show if not that those who trust in God never remain deprived of His gifts! Five thousand husbands, and perhaps another five thousand wives and children, placed their hope in the Savior of the world so much that they ran on foot to an empty place and did not take any food with them, carrying their sick with them. What did they receive from Him in whom they trusted? Not only did the Lord heal all their sick, but He also filled them all with the blessed loaves and fishes to the point of abundance. The disciples asked Him to let them go, but He did not want to let them go before He healed the sick and satisfied the hungry. There are such examples from the Holy Scriptures, and our word confirms this prophetic saying: “... I trusted in you and was not ashamed” (Ps. 21:6). And this single apostolic instruction shows the truth: “Faith does not put one to shame” (Rom. 5:5). And again, I ask you - do not be discouraged, lest your pain increase, but trust in God and do not give up doing good deeds. Man, says God, seek virtue, and all the good things in the world will be added to you. You, God cries, seek My kingdom and virtue, and I give you all good things as an addition. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). I pray to the Lord that God’s holy and saving hope may dwell in your heart. Do not grieve, the Lord will comfort you in everything. Nadezhda Yakovlevna, apparently, grumbled about her widowhood against God’s Providence, and I can no longer find a way for her except to repent of her grumbling before God and her spiritual father. If he allows her, let her join in, and continue to trust in the Lord, and live well. 72. Start living not in your own way, but according to the commandments of God. Maintain peace in the family through good governance through the fear of God and avoid embarrassment For your consciousness of negligence and laziness from not correcting the rules, may the Lord forgive you, and I forgive you unworthy and advise you to begin to live not in your own way, but according to the commandments of God. By his advice, you are committed to faith, and according to your own will, although you have a lot of doubts, when the harvest happens, it is in vain to avoid this. When it comes to trading, guard your conscience so as not to cause futility to your neighbors in buying and selling - instead of imaginary benefit, you will find great harm and spiritual futility. In your family situation, try to maintain peace through good governance through the fear of God and avoid confusion and strife, and the God of peace will be with you. You are writing, at the request of the old woman Kolyaseva(?), whether she should go to Jerusalem, where her son, who is in St. Mount Athos, calls. But she does not dare, through my advice, to undertake this feat, and fear overwhelms her. It seems to me that, at her age, it is very unreasonable and useless for her to embark on such a journey to foreign countries, and they will not let her out of Russia if she does not have 500 rubles of money with her - there is a decree for this. Her son, although he spent a fair amount of time on Mount Athos, did not acquire reasoning. It is excusable for him that he is overcome by filial love, wants to see her, but does not consider whether, due to her old age and weakness, she can bear the burdens and customs of those places, and still struggle with poverty, when she cannot live here in a monastery, much less in foreign lands, where not only will she not hear a word for the benefit of her soul, but also on everyday occasions will be difficult. So, I have no advice for her journey, let her live as I spoke to her and advised her. God will not leave here either. 73. A Christian always stands on guard, guarding against mental wolves As you write, the time is now coming for doing the commandments of Christ, after which comes hope. A Christian always stands on guard, guarding against mental wolves, and when they come, do not run away from them - then one must call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ for help, beat the adversaries firmly, stand and not give in. Forgive for the Lord's sake if something is wrong. To this I will add, whoever does and feels according to Bose, it is not bad here and it is good there. “By loving me, he will also be loved by My Father” (John 14:23), says the Savior. Whoever is loved is the one who fulfills the commandments of Christ. 74. One must obey with patience and prayer Your letter did not please my thinness for the reasons indicated in your letter. But what can you do when you are unable to turn away from actions that are indecent for a Christian, you must bear them or endure them: they have self-influence and know what is bad and what is good, but nothing is the cause like themselves. Pray to God. The Lord is able to bring them to their senses with the reins and the bridle of their jaws, that is, through some sorrowful adventures. And until then, do not stop asking the Lord to grant them health and complacency. 75. Prosper in your family with patience and meekness rather than with severity As I always advise you regarding the order of things - to succeed in the family with more favor, patience, meekness and generosity, pray with your heart to the Lord Almighty. If it is necessary and strict, then use it as rarely as possible. 76. Enmity is resolved by humbly worshiping each other I read your scripture, where you describe what happened to your brother Nikolai N. Of course, it is very disgraceful, but thank God that they realized their weakness and broke the satanic knot by humbly worshiping each other. The Lord God will forgive you and have mercy on you with His mercy. His Eminence made our hermitage happy with his visit and strengthened our souls with his special favor. Our benefactors, seeing this, were very disarmed and now, it seems, they began to gradually learn a certain humility. His Eminence, having seen Optina Pustyn, was pleased, it seems difficult to describe. I remain your zealous well-wisher and worshiper. 77. Blessing for traveling to holy places You would like to demand my blessing to go to Voronezh for pilgrimage, but you are perplexed with whom and at what time. Definitely, you yourself should know better what time is free for you in terms of trading, and the Lord will bless you. Walk together with Demetrius, and remember me, the wretched one, before the relics of the saint of God Mitrofan. If you take anyone else with you, then I entrust this to your own reasoning. Whoever the Lord tells you about, take him. You deign to ask my thinness, whether you can prepare and where there will be more freedom for you, in Voronezh or in Zadonsk. I answer this with love: it seems that there are few people in Zadonsk, but may the Lord be your helper and patron. 78. Blessing for entering a monastery. On the Importance of Success in Christian Duties You write that Aksinya Vasilyevna asked you to seek my blessing for her entry into the Oryol Monastery. The Lord God will bless her and help her with His holy grace to accomplish her spiritual salvation in this spiritual refuge. I agree to purchase the cells she suggests. God bless her to make up her mind. And so, with peace of mind, I wish her to begin a good course. For this, I wish you and your entire good family a prosperous stay and favorable success in your Christian duties, able to intercede on the day of God’s Last Judgment, about which we must occupy our thoughts above all vain worries. May the good Lord instill in your heart the everlasting memory of God and concern for spiritual salvation, and may he protect you from all the deceits of the enemy, and may he forgive you all your sins, voluntary and involuntary, and I, the worst one, send you fatherly forgiveness and blessing. 79. Acceptance into the brotherhood depends on God and on the father of the builder I received your letter, filled with very wise wisdom, I am amazed at your unlimited faith in me, insignificant. You deign to write so that I accept under my imaginary protection my brother Peter, who wants to walk the true path of salvation. Dear Foma Nikitich, this, it seems, is not appropriate for me. I am here, you yourself know that a person does not deserve attention in the Lord; and so on my part, for the commandment of God, to those who demand it with great power, by faith I am obliged, according to the testimony of the fathers, to advise them. That I can truly accept this brother into the ranks of the brotherhood is no longer a matter of my will, but depends on God and on Father Fr. a builder appointed to care for us, and therefore, as the Lord announces to him, so it must be. I don’t know whether Father accepted Fr. Brother Peter's builder or not; he was not in the monastery during his brother Peter’s stay; he recently arrived, it seems to me that perhaps he will receive him. I'm still with Father Fr. I haven’t seen him as a builder, and I don’t have the courage to particularly insist on accepting a brother, but again, as God will notify him. In truth, one should always lament about brother Spiridon, but the will of the Lord, if the Most Merciful Creator pleases, will in every possible way raise him from the mire of mental delusion, but with his omnipotent right hand he is able to enlighten him into the light of the knowledge of his weakness and completely guide him to the path of salvation, or rather, at the exodus of the soul, to raise him from the bed of spiritual destruction to the reconciliation of the monastery. 80. “The needy women delight the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 11:12) I greet you in the name of the Sweetest Lord Jesus Christ, in whom I sincerely wish you health both mentally and physically. I read your scripture, where you describe your shortcomings in Christian life, I sincerely regret the poor state of your soul. Tell me, perhaps, how we should appear before our Savior when he comes to judge us, with what words we will answer him when we do not want to touch His holy cross with a finger, i.e. We don’t want to abstain at all from our passion. I ask and pray to you, Nikolai Nikolaevich, with the love of the Lord Jesus Christ - pay attention to your life, which, perhaps, the very name of God is blasphemed, touch at least with a single thought and try to refrain from this destructive tormentor, for “the needy delight the kingdom of God” (Matthew 11:12). Once again, I ask you to be forced, and the Lord will help you, just call on the name of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, with faith, for he is omnipotent, strengthening and confirming the faint-hearted, giving a helping hand to those who fall, and guiding those who doubt. 81. Do not listen to sinful thoughts, remember God’s judgment and death It saddens me to hear that you follow the suggestions of your thoughts and, by fulfilling them, you are preparing yourself for the wrath of God. I have many times advised you to arm yourself with strength against evil thoughts that create destruction: our struggle is not against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:12). “And therefore, do not listen to thoughts, if they demand sin to please the flesh, remember the judgment of God and your death - then not only will you not want to drink, but you will not want to eat either.” Try to abstain, and the Lord will help you. 82. The desire for correction without a good beginning is dead I read your letter - you still write that you complain about yourself about your lack of correction and ask for the prayers of the saints for consolation. I praise your desire and wish that the worthy fruit of correction and repentance will grow in your heart, but know that desire without deeds will not be of any use, just as “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26), just like desire without a good beginning is dead. Not only we sinners, but also the saints themselves are unable to help those who themselves do not try to correct themselves. Try in your anger to rely on God’s help and you will be saved, and the Lord will help you in everything, to whom I entrust you and your entire family. 83. How to get rid of the disease of drunkenness? I read your letter, in which you describe your destructive drunken passion, which you nourish in secret. According to many of my advices to you, in order to correct you, but, unfortunately, unsuccessful, pray to the Lord God yourself for deliverance from this painful yoke. Maybe you will think that now you are not worthy to approach God in prayer, when will this dignity be available? Your unworthiness will not harm you; all that is required of you is that you abandon your whims and resort to the Heavenly Father with repentance. And the Lord, seeing your conversion, will forgive you your sins, where sin increases, there grace abounds. Look around, Nikolai Nikolaevich. It is fitting for all of us to appear before the judgment seat of Christ. You will appear before God's court, not man's, and you did not care about yourself, dear Nikolai Nikolaevich. God wants to save you, so may your desire be fulfilled and you will be saved, which is what I wish both for myself and for you with all my heart. 84. Congratulations on the Feast of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ I thank the Lord that your situation is improving, and I hope that the Merciful Lord, if you try to improve, will raise you up and establish you on the right, sober path, and console you with His grace. Likewise, for your free consciousness in the thoughts of sins, may the Merciful Lord ask you, and I forgive you many sinners and send blessings. 85. Guard your conscience and reveal evil thoughts I received your Scripture, from which it is clear that there was no compulsion in you and me to correct our lives for spiritual edification, and therefore you become extremely depressed because you do not follow the advice that is beneficial to your soul. However, although they will make a good start with the help of the Almighty about their sobriety, the most important thing is not to soil your conscience, and to reveal all bad thoughts to your brother, and thereby protect yourself. 86. Do not despair about your salvation, but trust in God’s boundless mercy. Humble yourself before God and before people By your writing you show me your weakness, from which you not only did not abstain, but also became even weaker. Do you wish to receive, through my badness, instructions for correcting your life. I do not refuse to write to you for the healing of your soul. From the writings of St. Father, you yourself see that through your behavior you are depriving yourself of the heavenly kingdom, and the pleasures and benefits here. But how can we restore the holiness and innocence of the first state? I ask you, do not despair about your salvation, but trust in God’s boundless mercy. Humble yourself before God and people, ask your brother for advice. The Lord looks upon the one who asks and the humble, but resists the proud (cf. James 4:6). I commend you to the goodness of God and advise you to pray to God to send you help, and I will remain thirsty for your salvation. You might be interested in: