Письма к Екатерине Ивановне Богомоловой

174. Decide to travel with a blessing When you are ill, it is in vain that you are faint-hearted. Thank God we are all in the same position. Although there are warring parties, God did not allow them to triumph: Metropolitan Philaret of Kiev, while visiting us, paid very merciful attention to me, Leonid, for he has known me for more than 30 years. We would gladly approve of your desire to be with you, but for now it is impossible without having your blessing for this trip. Be patient, when the will of God judges, He will also give a helping hand, arranging a favorable opportunity for this. Handing you over to the protection of God, we remain your unworthy pilgrims. 175. Be calm, strengthen your faith and hope in the Lord. If you're worried about anything, pray Most honorable mother! Be calm, strengthen your faith and hope in the Lord, if you are worried about anything, pray: Father is earnestly disposed towards you, but now he has no time to write to him himself. Resist yourself from enemy attacks, blame yourself and not the employees, it will be more convenient for you to endure insults. 176. Confusion after Communion was mistaken for arrogance. It is impossible to be saved without sorrows May the Lord forgive you and grant you peace and tranquility of soul. What arrogance was allowed to you when, after receiving the Holy Gifts, you were granted peace and tranquility and rejoiced that you could already bear the test - for which arrogance you suffered embarrassment. Let this serve as a lesson not to be arrogant in the future, but to humble oneself and accept everything that is received through God’s help. May the Lord heal your illness and give you peace. Remember that it is impossible to be saved without sorrows; with patience and humility, everything is overcome. 177. Resist abuse with humility and patience. All trials are allowed by the Providence of God We wish that the acceptance of the Most Pure Mysteries of Christ will be for you the remission of sins and passions, which we strive to resist with all our might and, with the help of God, accept the weapons of patience and humility. Since the imams fight with proud demons, it is necessary to counter them with humility. Although the enemy will fight against you through the cell, raising it up against you, this is allowed by the foresight and providence of God so that you can see your foolishness. May the Lord give you peace, tranquility and health with salvation. 178. Temptations were caused by the enemy, but not without your fault. If we had humility, then no force could harm or confuse us. Compel your heart to humility The incidents you describe must be attributed to the enemy’s action, God’s allowance, but, of course, not without your fault. We must begin to correct them in order to avoid them in the future. And E. was condoned for her arrogance: she, perhaps, relied on herself that she could serve as a lesson to you, but, having been tempted, she realized her weakness. ABOUT! If we had humility, then no force of the enemy could harm or confuse us. Read the message of St. Mark the Ascetic on Easter, where he writes about this and exhorts one to humble himself, and St. Gregory of Sinaite in chapters II and III very precisely teaches about permission, and also in St. Callista in the 43rd chapter is about striving and humility. - Humble yourself, force your whole heart to humility, although this is done for our salvation, as we ourselves have seen many times. If possible, keep your lips silent, and from this you will see self-reproach. Read Mark the Ascetic and Simeon chapter 31 more often. 179. One must expect trials and humble oneself We received your letter, from which we saw that your embarrassment, with the help of God, had passed. And henceforth there is no need to be embarrassed and exhausted, but we must expect trials and humble ourselves. Read from St. Isaac the Syrian "The Word about Wars and the Covering of Weakness." It can be very useful for your organization; and in other books there is much that is necessary and useful for you to strengthen yourself - in the “Philokalia” of Callistus and Ignatius. When you strive against the spirit of rage and acquire meekness, you will receive instruction from the Lord himself. “For the Lord will guide the meek in spirit, and teach the meek his ways” (Ps. 24:9). 180. Do not be embarrassed at the news of death. “Watch, because you know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man will come” (Matthew 25:13). The unexpected death of your monastery struck you with fear and apprehension. We should always have this fear, but the darkness of passions drives it away from us. The Savior himself teaches us this wisdom about the memory of death: “Watch and pray, for you do not know at what hour the thief will come” (Matt. 24:42), and the wise Sirach encourages: “Remember your last, you will never sin” (Sir. 7:39), and in many places of Holy Scripture they gloriously prescribe. Due to our inattention to this subject, from time to time we see sudden deaths, reminding us that we, too, are mortals and do not know the day and hour when the Lord will come (Matthew 25:13). In this case, there is no need to be embarrassed, but to repent of your sins. Give thanks in everything and, recognizing your weaknesses, humble yourself. 181. Try to be at peace, surrendering yourself to the will of God and holy providence. Sorrows are allowed for your benefit and salvation We have the honor to congratulate you on the highly solemn holiday of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. May God grant that many future ones will wait in a peaceful state of soul, with heartfelt joy in our risen Savior, who resurrected us with Himself. We sincerely regret that you are in disorder, try by all means to pacify yourself, surrendering to the will of God and His Holy Providence, leading you to salvation in ways unknown to you. The sorrows allowed to you can only come except by God's permission - they serve for your benefit and salvation. No matter how great the sorrows may be, they are all fleeting and soon cease, and those that are long-lasting will all end in death. And thoughts - remember where they are leading you. Surely to eternal destruction. May the Most Merciful Lord deliver you from this and forgive your sins and for these thoughts. It seems that you are being overcome by your opinion, as if they know that you are writing to us. It often happens that you take a word spoken by chance or by guesswork as something that everyone knows. On the contrary, no one knows anything, and why should they know? We receive your letters regularly with your seal, and we do not inform anyone about them. Don't have this opinion. 182. The will of God should be seen in everything. Thank the Lord for illnesses and sorrows, considering yourself to have deserved them We received both of your letters. In the first letter you write that you intend to go to you, and in the second you inform that this intention remains unfulfilled. We ourselves are sorry for you, we advise you. For the All-Wise Ruler of the World rules and provides for all creatures, and did not exclude you from the circle of His creatures and did not leave you without providences, when He cares about a little bird. Thank Him for your illnesses and your sorrow, considering yourself to deserve them. They are to strengthen you, for you are faint-hearted, and you confuse yourself more and increase your sorrows. May God strengthen you. 183. We sin before God, and therefore we must always repent. Give thanks for everything, and beware of murmuring You write that your illness has renewed, you ask and wish that the Lord would reveal its cause to you. We sin before God, which is why we must always repent. Everything that happened to us happens according to His Holy will for our punishment or admonition. From now on, let us submit ourselves to His Holy will, for He wants everyone to be saved and to come to the mind of truth and leads to this, for which you bring thanks to Him, and beware of grumbling. 184. Feeling unwell after communion should be attributed to one’s negligence or arrogance. We congratulate you on the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos and on your acceptance of the most pure Mysteries of Christ, which may be for the health of your soul and body. Look at confusion and illness equally, surrendering everything to the will of God. After receiving the Holy Mysteries, you felt a pause in your chest - you must attribute this to your negligence or arrogance. Other actions are also sent to you towards humility, but you should never give yourself deep embarrassment. Humble yourself and do not mourn - Mary of Egypt did not receive communion for 47 years, but she shone with the light of grace. May the Lord heal your infirmities, “who came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13). By entrusting you to the protection of God and asking for His peace and blessing upon you, we remain your unworthy pilgrims. 185. All punishments are God's permission in order to have humility. We can be saved through many tribulations or illnesses We congratulate you on Angel’s Day and wish that the Lord will calm your grievances and grant you peace of mind and physical health with salvation. You are also embarrassed, as if you have not truly repented, and therefore you remain unhealed from passion. Do not be seduced by this opinion, we are sure that you did not hide anything and did not justify yourself, but allowed yourself to be confused by the enemy’s thoughts, as you read about in St. John Climacus in the 4th degree. We certify that all punishments are allowed by God in order to have humility. When you trust in God's help, repent. We can be saved by many sorrows, or illnesses, or other cases unknown to us. September 17 (?) 1838. 186. When sick, turn to the Lord with thanksgiving and spiritual repentance. Through irritation, peace of mind is lost. Say the Jesus Prayer with spiritual freedom, and not with despair Happy New Year and the ongoing holiday of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, we heartily congratulate you and wish you peace of mind and good health. We regret your exhaustion of mental strength and painful physical situation. Address yourself with thanksgiving to the Lord God and with spiritual repentance. Repeated trials should teach you how to restrain yourself from irritations, through which peace of mind is lost. It is impossible for everything to be according to our wishes; there are also things contrary to the test of our morality, to self-knowledge and to correction. The Jesus Prayer should be done with spiritual freedom, and not with despair. Stop doing it mentally, and go through it verbally as much as possible with humility. 187. In your weaknesses, put off cowardice, resorting to Christ our Savior In your weaknesses, put off cowardice, resorting to Christ our Savior. No matter how sick or sorrowful you have been, the power of God still preserves you; and when humility is established in you, then you will find peace. How to achieve this highly creative virtue, learn from Saints Ephraim and Isaac the Syrian, Abba Dorotheos, St. John Climacus. In cases that come your way, be guided by their teaching, recognize your weakness, and keep yourself under all creation. When such a memory is established in your hearts, you will be more comfortable in calming down in what is not done your way and causes you grief. You will also be given reasoning that it is not without the Providence of God that all this happens to you. 188. You are in battle because of negligence and for abandoning humility. We must be encouraged to humility and forgive our neighbors. What thoughts should you confess? You yourself are the cause of your embarrassment. We have already written to you many times about sorrows as God’s permission - you need to accustom yourself to patience and to forbid your weaknesses, and the Lord will look and send His help. We do not miss your letters and the explanation of your infirmities in them, but we heartily sympathize with you and would like to help. You are in battle because of your negligence and for abandoning an invincible weapon - humility, with which all passions and fears collapse. The thoughts about sins that confuse you and the words of the nun that drive you to despair are from the opposite. No one can argue against that sins require equally worthy repentance. We must repent of our sins, descend into the abyss of humility, by repentance plunge ourselves into the abyss of God's ineffable mercy and generosity and hope through the merits of our Savior to receive forgiveness. We must be aroused to humility: when any sorrow or offense occurs, forgive your neighbors and remember the words of the Savior, “If you forgive men their sins, your heavenly Father will forgive you your sins” (Matthew 6:14). You can read about repentance yourself from St. John Climacus, St. Ephraim and others. They all give hope to sinners. We must confess thoughts in which our will participates and deigns. 189. The most merciful Lord is able to merit future bliss through present suffering Thank God that you, although in poor health, thank God for everything by which you welcome His mercy and consolation. However, consider yourself unworthy of consolation, which will make reconciliation more bearable for you. Remember that everything passes, try to be more indifferent in everything. Don’t be embarrassed for God’s sake, don’t wish for things to be the way you want them to be, but let them be the way they are—it’s easier to calm down. It's a pitifully painful situation. Much is not according to our will. The most merciful Lord is able to merit future bliss through present suffering: if His goodness looks upon you, then He will grant liberation here too. 190. In sorrows, do not grumble, do not be faint-hearted, but thank God for everything. Blame yourself rather than others, be firm in your faith We see that your sorrows, for which we have already written to you with advice, and now we will say the same thing, that the main thing in their arrival is not to grumble and not to be faint-hearted, but to thank the Most Merciful God, who allows them and does not leave us to fall to the point of final exhaustion. Blame yourself more than others, be firm in faith and resort to His goodness with the prayer: “Lord, your will be done on us,” - His will is always good and useful to us. I was unwell, as if I was sick, but now, by the grace of the Lord, the illnesses have passed and I am in an excellent state of my health, rest assured. Entrusting you to the protection of God and asking for God's peace and blessing upon you, we remain your unworthy pilgrims. 191. Receive what is sent from God with thanksgiving In your note, you write about the embarrassment you found for forgetting some of your mistakes, which you inform - may the Most Merciful Lord forgive you for them. We, the unworthy, forgive and allow. You, who are in this kind of confusion, must rely with faith and hope on the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ and on His merits, with which He took upon himself the sins of the whole world. We do not reproach you for this, but now be calm in this regard. Don’t be embarrassed about the battle rising up against you, try to resist, and don’t desire this disease, because in it not only yourself, but also others suffer. Receive what is sent from God with thanksgiving. Daughter, we see that you do not want to be enslaved by passion, but this is allowed so that they recognize their weakness and humble themselves, and would not dare to judge others who are weak in this. Seeing yourself in such a state of disrepair, force yourself to be worse than all creation and accept the sorrows inflicted by employees as worthy not only of such, but also of greater ones. Don’t blame them for causing problems to your health, but blame yourself. May the Lord grant you to acquire true humility and learn to calm your conscience. 192. Do not become weak in spirit in the struggle, but resort to the Lord. Humility is a weapon against the machinations of the enemy We see your painful cases, we are heartily rooting for you, but we are unable to give you help. “The Lord Himself sees you in the struggle of passions and does not allow you to completely fall, but supports those who are exhausted and those who fall, raises and comforts, and allows sorrow, although in the future life you will be granted eternal peace. Do not become weak in spirit in your struggle, but resort to the hero of our Lord Jesus Christ, be more indifferent to what is sometimes done not your way, and thereby reassure yourself and others. One weapon worth using against the machinations of the enemy is humility! But where can I get it? “In your patience gain your souls” (Luke 21:19); with self-reproach and an appeal to God, as a wretched widow cried out to an unjust judge and received vengeance, since our Righteous Judge and Most Merciful Heavenly Father is not the imam of vengeance from a rival who cries out to him day and night. May the Lord strengthen you in your weaknesses and comfort you in your sorrows. 193. For sorrows and illnesses, thank the Lord that you are not forgotten by him. Beware of scorning and judging your neighbors We sympathize with you in your mental and physical weaknesses, with all our souls we would like to help you, but we have neither power nor strength. Our most merciful Creator knows that it is for our benefit; For this reason, he will punish us and save us from future illnesses. God, in secret and unknown ways, punishes those who sin among the pious in various ways, may he present them blameless to the great court, and, having punished them here, will reward them there. So, for visiting you with illnesses and sorrows, thank God that you are not forgotten by him. You yourself are aware of your fall from grace, irritation, zeal, hurting your neighbors, and so on - for all this you are allowed to suffer. Above all, beware of looking down on and judging your neighbors - we have something to worry about, our sinful ulcers stink, we need to be diligent about them. You will not give an answer for others, but for yourself. May the Lord forgive your sins and heal your mental and physical infirmities. 194. In the Lord make the beginning of your salvation We, as humans, sincerely regret your mental and physical illnesses; but whoever protects you more and takes pity on you, like God - however, He allows it to be so, that your soul, which is dear to Him, may be healed, for you have been redeemed by the Most Pure Blood of your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. In this place the hope of your salvation, that the Lord, loving you, visited you with illnesses, and do not place your hope in your works; despair, seeing their impoverishment: the goodness of God is strong to grant you salvation. If you are sick, we do not advise you to undergo treatment, but rather fulfill the commandment of St. Apostle James: “If anyone among you is sick, let him call the elders of the church, and they will pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the Lord will raise him up from his bed of sickness; and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him” (James 5:14–15). This medicine is much better and more reliable. 195. The power of God is made perfect in weakness (Compare 2 Cor. 13:4). Through illness your spiritual person is cleansed Your letters show us that the power of God is made perfect in your weaknesses (cf. 2 Cor. 13:4). Who could have gone so many days without food if not for the power of God to strengthen him? In the same way, even in your weaknesses there is God’s strength. Thank God that through the corruption and exhaustion of God’s composition, your spiritual man is cleansed, although you see yourself in trouble, for which you do not leave regret and as long as you can be kept from falling. Also refrain from grumbling. Accept all cases as sent to you from God. 196. Illness and suffering will bring bliss in the next century The Lord involuntarily saves us through sorrows and illnesses, leading us away from the opposite path and seeing us off to Himself. Truly St. Paul's exclamation: “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and understanding of God! Who has tried the mind of the Lord" (Rom. 11:33). Trust in the mercy of God: illnesses and suffering will bring bliss in the next century, - thereby ease your sorrow, bring thanks to the Lord: if he had not loved you, he would not have visited you with seven sufferings. He gives strength to your exhausted strength as long as He pleases to prolong your trial. We wish you patience and relief from illness, entrusting you to the protection of God. 197. Know the love of God in your weaknesses. Replace failure to follow a prayer rule with humility It is impossible to attribute your position to anything other than God’s fatherly Providence for you, protecting you in your illnesses. Know from this the love of God, bring thanks to Him, see that He wants to save you from future sorrows. Reassure yourself with this hope. In your weaknesses and inclinations, may the Lord forgive you, and we, the unworthy, send forgiveness and blessing. You can wear a cross, although without paramana, but remember that “you have taken upon yourself the good yoke and the light burden of the Lord” (Matthew 11:30), so do not be faint-hearted. Whenever you can, read 50 prayers, and if you can’t, replace them with humility and don’t be faint-hearted. 198. Tests are sent according to strength, and not higher. Thank God for everything We congratulate you on the joyful holiday of the Resurrection of Christ, may God grant you to celebrate it with heartfelt joy and peace of mind, as well as in future times, as long as it pleases the Lord to extend the years of your life. We see that the Lord always visits you with sorrowful incidents, but they seem difficult to you due to your dispensation, however, know the great love of God for you. Although He will save you, He teaches you through these adventures, sending you according to your strength, and not above it. If there were nothing, then other kinds of passions would rebel more strongly and confuse you. Thank God for everything that He, through His wisdom, arranges for you. 199. Cast all your care on the All-Merciful Lord We sincerely congratulate you on the day of the Angel, may the Lord comfort you in your sorrow, allowed for the sake of testing your faith and salvation. Why did you allow yourself to be killed by sorrows, and how attached are you to these soul-crushing actions? God created the universe, and cares for every creature of His, and has hitherto fed, clothed and warmed you; is He really not able to continue to care for you? We ask you, for God’s sake, do not kill yourself, but cast all your care on the All-Merciful Lord: He is rich in mercy, goodness and generosity, and will not abandon you, His creation. With your hopelessness you insult yourself more and anger God. But He is able to extend your life and your mother’s, and we do not know who will end his short life first. Try as much as you can to calm yourself in your illnesses and sufferings, still remembering the apostle’s word, as if through the passions of the present time we have not yet reached the desire for glory to appear in us. So, we entrust you to the protection of God with the desire for spiritual consolation and physical health. We congratulate all your cell attendants on the Angel and ask them to serve you diligently, and even more so during your illnesses. You might be interested in: