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“A righteous man falls seven times and rises again” (Prov. 24:16) 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 and grieve over the past grief, but rather accept shame, like a righteous punishment, with gratitude from the hand of an 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. 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, teaches this: “When we fall, let us not forget such the love of our Father, but even if we happen to him in various pits of sin, let us not neglect the good and not create the course of our prosperity, and we overcome again; Yes, by rebellion to feat against those who resisted and the ruined building, the foundation began every day, so that the prophetic word of the Holy One may be remembered. father, having even before his exodus from the world, let him not rejoice over me, my opponent, as if I had fallen, for I will rise again; and even if I sit in darkness, the Lord will enlighten me.” The Holy Fathers wrote many, many examples in the same way. The memory of death will teach you to listen to yourself 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. Learn to face sadness And now, according to our weak reasoning, it will not be contrary to the will of the Lord if you use all your strength to resist your sadness, which does not have the slightest foundation. Will the Merciful and Just Lord really execute the one living with you for your sins? Where does this reasoning come from? No doubt from the enemy. For the sins of David, the prophet and king, the Lord struck his people with death, but even then after notification. But which of us dares to equal the God-father and think that he, like David, so rarely falls into sins that for his first sin it will certainly be struck not by him, but by his neighbor - he will be afflicted with the worst vanity. God's justice, if it had demanded retribution from us, the damned, like David, then what would have happened to us? Where would we hide from the Lord’s reproof? – Our Humane-loving Savior does not execute us, but has mercy, and revives us with His blood whenever we resort to Him. Stop irritating Him with your foolishness and learn, calling on His help, to submit to His will, without which the hair of our head will not perish (Acts 27:34). Your sadness will certainly deserve punishment - and not on another of our neighbors, but on you yourself, if you continue this to console the enemy. Let us cast sorrow upon the Lord But let us, mother, cast all our sorrow on the Lord, and He will take care of us for prosperity. And St. Isaac writes in the 50th word: “If you believe that God is providing for you, you grieve and worry about the needs of your flesh. If you do not believe that God is creating providence for you, for this reason you are concerned, besides Him, about your most wretched needs, you are every man. And while you live and continue to live, cast your sorrow upon the Lord, and He will nourish you and do not be afraid of the fear that has come upon you.” Let us see from the writings of the saints and spirit-bearing men who commanded us to completely surrender ourselves to the Providence and will of Almighty God, Who, like a most loving Father, cares for us both in our spiritual and physical needs. Advice on eating in moderation Refrain from snacks and food as much as possible, and try to eat moderately light and well-known food. It seems to you that after ten days of fasting you have gained an appetite - glory to the Most Merciful Lord God for all His rewards to us! Try to control yourself as much as possible against gluttony. And especially, if you want to be healed, try in every possible way before your mother to cut off your damned will in everything, and you will soon be healed from this stifling weakness. For this, thank the Most Merciful Lord, who told your mother to receive you as before, and do not hesitate to reveal all the thoughts that come from the enemy, and this will serve you for healing. If you suffer from weakness and Mother Varvara sees it as beneficial to eat bread with tea, then I deign and bless you. For dry eating, take your mother’s blessing And that you question my thinness and ask for my unworthy blessing so that you can eat dry food once a day in the evening, then I don’t have enough strength to judge this in absentia, not knowing the subtleties of your affairs and the relationship between the sisters. Have you noticed that such food consumption brings relief to your feelings and bodily movements; however, although I agree with this, I do not dare to deign you alone to do this; ask your mother, she knows better about you and your messages, but if later you see that you will harm yourself (that is, be proud), then she, without relating to me, can leave this to you again. I don’t know if it will seem difficult for you not to eat enough. And as can be seen from many saints, they most advise drinking and drinking, and claim that it is beneficial, but they do not refute your measure. As it was said above, whatever mother gives her blessing, so I have it. Carnal desires are cured by repentance and moderation You are offended and faint-hearted because you are overcome by carnal desires. But, O beloved daughter, let us not be faint-hearted, let us be embarrassed, even though we fall, and again, calling upon our father’s and mother’s prayers for help, let us rise up and make a beginning, and let us repent of ourselves, and let us recognize our ease of use and weakness, and God Almighty and Humane, at our request with humility and hope, will not put us to shame in every possible way, but will create abundance and will take revenge on our all-evil rival and rebel us and strengthen our weak forces, courageously standing against his arrows and violent slander! And moreover, according to your faith and good will, the Lord will grant you the feeling of true repentance and will provide you with a beneficial and saving end! You write that you would always like to remain in this peace, but this is not your desire; it is enough for you that you at least felt at least a small dawn of goodness and peace of mind, about which St. The great Macarius of Egypt writes that God does not allow those who are perfect in this life to remain in the vision or in the action of the grace of peace; For this reason, even if, being in a vision, they would not at all agree to sympathize with those suffering from passions and strengthen those who fall. St. Isaac the Syrian writes something similar at the end of the 79th word. What is the sacrament of repentance? You know that the sacrament of repentance consists in abandoning those weaknesses by which we were overcome, and in regretting them. This is how you should act, and I have no doubt that you will not do this. The enemy begs us with some opinion, then causes confusion. Do not submit to this, but trust in the goodness of God. Do not rest in thinking that you are a sinner. When you see your sins and repent of them, the Lord is merciful, when He sees you humbled by the burden of them, He will look at you, and wean away from you all the enemy’s machinations, and free you from passions. The strength of our repentance lies not in quantity, but in quality and contrition of heart. The strength of our repentance lies not in quantity, but in quality and contrition of heart. The Humane and Merciful Lord, in His mercy, grants us this too. Just as you and I have inclinations towards vanity and pride, and therefore we are not granted the repentance and tenderness you desire; we must complete all this with humility and consider ourselves worse than all creation, and you will be at peace. Although I am most desecrated and repentant, I trust in God’s mercy, which will not allow you to fall into the depths of pernicious despair, but with His almighty right hand will raise you up and strengthen you in the future for success and perfect salvation. When you trust in God's help, repent 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 must repent of our sins and descend into the abyss of humility. 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. Peace can only be achieved through humility and patience Love of fame, love of voluptuousness and love of money are the three main passions from which we are overcome You grieve over the unrest of this world and the fact that you do not have your business with your own capital, but if you had your own, you would be dead. However, it is impossible that on this earth, full of sinful acts, it would be possible to achieve any kind of peace, according to the teachings of the Lord, only through humility and meekness, for He teaches this: “Learn of me that I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). Of course, we are still far from this; on the contrary, we are tossed about in the waves of this world, overcome by passions, and especially by the main three: love of fame, love of voluptuousness and love of money. Although it is impossible for a person living in the world not to care about business, about children and about social duties, all this enters our heart with the desire to imitate the world in everyday situations, which is why we are restless. Who should not be remembered at Proskomedia? About the commemoration at Proskomedia, a spiritual person rightly told you that sinners who are in error and schism should not be explicitly remembered: 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 as 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. Who should not be remembered in church? 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 performed due to uncertainty, they are commemorated twice a year according to the legend 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. Don’t 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. How to get rid of the intruding thoughts, charms and deceit of demons? The devil's abuse and weapons are great against people You ask for guidance on how to get rid of the intruding thoughts, charms and deceit of demons. Truly, great is the warfare of the devil: he has strong bows, flaming arrows, various nets, countless tricks and weapons, through which he seeks in every possible way to harm the human soul. If you want to completely and quickly join the army of the Heavenly King, do not be afraid of the enemy who opposes everything good, but listen to how many examples of Holy Scripture encourage us. Consider the warriors of the kings of the earth and draw useful conclusions from them. Earthly warriors have with them assistants who are stronger and more skillful than their enemies, and are not afraid of their enemies. If they are confident that their helpers are invincible, then forgetting all the horrors, they go bravely to the battlefield, fight courageously and do not leave the battlefield until they defeat their enemy and are crowned with laurels. But when we follow the path of virtue, God himself accompanies us and promises to confirm us in the deeds of virtue until the end of the age, “and lo, I am with you all the days until the end of the age. Amen". (Matthew 28:20). So, without being at all afraid of the attacks of the enemy, “take up the shield of faith, in which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one, and receive the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:16-17). What thoughts should you confess? We must confess thoughts in which our will participates and deigns. You have not yet comprehended blessed obedience You will judge the power of giving and receiving; Moreover, although we, out of our unlimited pride, consider ourselves elders, and you once wrote that you are ready for legal and testified obedience. But why do we forget ourselves so quickly? It is written that “the lesser of the greater is blessed without controversy” (Heb. 7:7). From which it is clear that although you have partially acquired love for God and your neighbor, you have not comprehended blessed obedience, and cutting off your will, and facilitating your ease of flow, and the benefits of taste. And from now on, let us begin to actually fulfill obedience with God’s help, and from that blessed act from the Most Merciful Lord God, expect mercy in the feeling of our hearts. Without obedience no one will see the Lord Our Savior Lord Jesus Christ himself declared about himself: “I came down from heaven, not to do my will, but the will of the Father who sent me” (John 6:38). And although He was the Wise and the Most Perfect, He had no need for teaching, did not require guidance, but for all this, He lived in obedience to Joseph and His Mother and obeyed them. Our Savior left us this example, which we must follow. And he said to His disciples and their followers: “He who listens to you, he listens to me, but he who rejects you, he rejects me, and he who rejects me, he rejects him who sent me” (Luke 10:16). Everyone clearly sees that obedience is what directs us to the path of perfection, from the words of Nikifor of Astrakhan about obedience. Saint John of the Climacus writes in the 1st degree of his Ladder: “Those who have been deceived have put their trust in themselves, and have imagined that they do not need a guide.” And in the 4th degree, the properties of obedience are these: “Obedience is the rejection of one’s own reasoning, even if one were rich in it. Obedience is the grave of will and the resurrection of humility. Obedience is distrust of oneself in all good deeds, even until the end of life. The Holy Fathers consider psalmody to be a weapon against demons, prayer as a wall, unfeigned tears as a bath, and blessed obedience they called such a virtue, without which none of those entangled in passions will see the Lord.” From obedience comes humility From obedience comes humility, from humility comes reasoning, from reasoning comes the gift of consideration, and from this comes insight. Live a life of obedience and denial of one's will May the Lord bless you to lead your life in your mind with true obedience and rejection of your will, according to the teachings of the holy fathers, which I advise you to read about from St. John Climacus degree 4, at St. Abba Dorotheus “The Word, about the hedgehog does not make up your mind” and St. Simeon the New Theologian has many chapters, from which you will see the need for the guidance of others, and not your own. Be in perfect obedience That you, with the help of God, are in complete obedience - this is for you and for everyone in general, according to the testimony of St. fathers, soul-saving. You already know this enough, the sense of faith is open to you, and moreover, this disposition of yours towards us in the Lord is not unpleasant. May the Lord help you, but I am not forcing you to do this, and if you really settle down, then you will be able to feel greater consolation. I entrust you to the protection of God and, through the sincere advice of Mother Anthia, I nourish myself with the hope that you will improve yourself. May the Lord perfect your wise proposal and feat. “Through much tribulation it is fitting for us to enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22) We must consider ourselves the worst and the last From your letter we see your heartfelt confusion and overwhelm, which you are experiencing in the process of your obedience, and even your thoughts extend to such an extent that you are ready to move to a regular monastery, where you hope to get rid of this obedience. To this end, our beloved brother, what can the imams tell you to console you? With our heartfelt regret for you, let us say that we are all in troubles, sorrows and temptations, with which we acquire eternal life. It is impossible to be saved without sorrow. For according to what is written, “through many tribulations it is fitting for us to enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22); but these sorrows are different: for one this, for another of a different kind; to one bodily, and to this spiritual; For some it is poverty, for some it is reproach, for others it is illness—all from obedience according to the great and wise Providence of God, according to the strength of each and according to the need for his dispensation. Truly, we sympathize with you in the sorrow of your obedience, but tell me, do you vouch for this, when you were in the monastery, would you have avoided sorrows of another kind or the judgment of your conscience for disobedience? You know that Father Superior would not have forced you to go by force and would not have pushed you at all for this, then this would have caught you more. You look to the future and are thinking about moving to a regular monastery to avoid this obedience. What do you expect, approval from a thought or opposition to it? To approve means to subject yourself subsequently to the constant criticism from you. But it is better to surrender this to your complete freedom, and so that it is consistent with the will of God. By the way, we can say something contradictory, but not compulsory: tell me, do you vouch for your future not only years of life, but for days and minutes? And who knows what will happen next? If the Lord prolongs your life, you will move to a regular monastery and avoid sorrow by obedience to the collection, but can you guarantee that much more important sorrows will not meet you there, even to the point of repentance? We do not argue that salvation in every place is acquired by the mercy of God, and everywhere there are those who are saved; We do not dare to attribute holiness to ourselves or our one place, but we must consider ourselves the worst and the last of all. In our disastrous times, we see the order of the local established monasteries in disarray, which is why the internal order is in danger, and we fear that you cannot have a peaceful spirit there, and this is a great harm to the soul and inevitable sorrow. However, the lot of this obedience should not always fall on you - there are enough people in the monastery. You can eat meat throughout the entire holiday week. 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.” Try to fulfill the duty of Christian love, resting the sick to the best of your ability and reason. As for her tonsure, then even this, if the will of the Lord is done, it will be done either by the hands of man or angels, invisible to our darkened eyes at the hour of the departure of the soul. The will of the sick woman is accepted by the All-Seeing Heart-Seer, and she must remember Pimen the Much-Sick and trust in the mercy and Wisdom of our Lord, who can fulfill her desire through means hidden from us, the cowardly and proud, by carnal meaning. About the cell rule: the rule takes a blessing from the confessor; leaving the rule is compensated by repentance and humility 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 us not to begin anything without the advice of successful elders, then, out of your zeal, you 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 pleasing 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 God will judge 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 did not allow you to rule yourself and become arrogant, but this was only allowed 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). What rules should you follow when living in the world if you have decided in your heart to enter a monastery? Moderation is necessary for beginners and for those entering the monastery. You, most beloved, out of your unlimited goodwill and faith, deign to ask my badness, what rules should you follow when your life continues in the world. But, O most dear one, your question is useful and praiseworthy. On my part, I am not strong enough to give an answer to this, but it is difficult and inconvenient, since I don’t know all your required activities, and I don’t understand them well. And at the same time, partly from your letter it is clear that you, due to your jealousy and the excessive zeal burning in your heart, yearn to confirm your intention to accept more rules, what to read and make more bows. But I, although everything is bad and indecent, but living in a monastery, you already get close to the people, I partially experienced and saw many at first flowing and crawling. “That is, they flew over, made many bows, and because of excess, they confused their feelings and, in despair, turned away, and crawled, and did not achieve their salvation - they fell in a wondrous fall and caused a temptation to many.” And I, indecent, thinking about all this and imagining with my feeble-minded reasoning, remind you of the Venerable Isaac the Syrian and John Climacus and others, moved by the Holy Spirit, who wrote to us to walk the royal path (that is, to choose a moderate life for ourselves, to be content with moderate rules, but there is no value for moderate and persistent work). And the Venerable John Climacus writes in the 4th degree: “The devil puts in his novices the desire for impossible virtues, just like the silent ones he attributes the exploits of others. Look into the thoughts of unskilled novices and you will find there an erroneous thought: you will find in them the desire for silence, the most severe fasting, but prayers distracted by various thoughts, the completely vain glory of rejection and oblivion of memory, incessant contrition for sins, the shortest lack of anger, deep silence and the most excellent chastity. When they enter into the monastic feat, having not achieved these virtues by God’s special Providence, they are finally deceived in their intention and fall away from it altogether, for the enemy instills in them to seek them ahead of time, so that they will not receive real experience when they are satisfied with their acquisition.” I hope that you, in your prudence, will not refuse my weak proposal, which, relying solely on your faith and zeal, I am going to give your soul some advice and I feed myself with good faith that with diligence and hope you will go through it, then the Lord is strong and omnipotent to reconcile your spiritual feelings and then little by little you will succeed. Accompany omission of a rule with humility and repentance Prayer rules during Lent If you happen to omit a rule due to some blessed fault, then do this with humility of spirit and repentance; but also be careful, i.e. so that it is not for the sake of laziness. When you are invited to visit, if necessary, go with the peace of God, but rather try to return to your home. Likewise, do not hesitate to go to marriage, only with greater caution: in this case, be constant in acts of meekness and self-control, without looking at or condemning the actions of others, as soon as you notice the beginning of unsightly mockery, without expecting further ones, apologizing, hurry home. Moreover, do not agree to every request for marriage, but rather avoid it, and go only to the most necessary marriages, i.e. to close relatives or to friends who are pious in the Lord. If you follow the rule in the house, then do not apply anything more than that, and when you have the strength, then at least add two kathismas of the Psalter per day for one Great Lent. But when you go to Church the first and last week, then leave all the rules, except for the Apostle and the Gospel. Regarding bows, I will tell you: just as in the first and last week they will put bows on the clock in the church, so you put those laid on the row, namely: Lord and Master of my life, etc. Except nothing. Otherwise, may the Lord enlighten you and enlighten you. Replace omission of the rule with repentance and humility If you leave something out of the rules, replace it with repentance and humility. Thank God that he taught you patience; and now every case should be a lesson in learning patience, not only from external, but also from internal spirits of malice, forcing the action of passions or despair. Learn for yourself the teachings of St. fathers, but more in the active, and not the speculative, from which you have already suffered, having sought it ahead of time, which is given in due time, through work and labor and perfect humility. Although under compulsion, take up the habit of reading spiritual books. God, seeing your compulsion, will send his help You write about your weaknesses, laziness and negligence, etc., and that it is only with compulsion that you take up the rule and read spiritual books. – Being in the field of spiritual warfare, how can one not have resistance and struggle from the enemy? This is where our faith and love for God is demonstrated or tested when we get down to business, albeit under duress. God, seeing our compulsion, will send His help. So you will do everything with peace, but then you will already know that you are doing not with your own strength, but with God’s help. When any virtue would pass easily, you would attribute it to your strengths and would be captivated by your mind in arrogance, and it would bring more harm with imaginary corrections than the present non-correction, then out of necessity you have a humble thought, not seeing anything good in yourself, but not despairing, and from this there is a part of God, and you receive forgiveness from above for you. Would you like to know that there is beauty? Delights are a variety of things that have actions; as the mind and heart are elevated, the mind becomes darkened and captivated by preoccupation with oneself. Thinking itself believes in the opinions and dreams presented to it by the universal enemy, the devil - this means delusion. Whoever begins to force himself, obeying the traditions of the holy fathers and cutting off his desires, the Lord will grant him humility, drive out pride and with it delusion. Thank you to the Lord and to everyone that for your prayers to the sisters Evdokia and Elena and our father, it seems, apparently, the effect of delusion in her has become easier, and the Lord is strong and omnipotent to give her with His grace help and the feeling to cut off her damned will, which, using and accepting all sorts of thoughts, plunged herself into the ditch of the abyss. Whoever begins to force himself, obeying the traditions of St. father and cutting off his desires, the Lord will grant him humility, drive out pride and with it delusion! God bless you that you confirmed my unworthy advice to her, and I, the most wretched one, also, in my weak understanding, feed myself with the hope that the Lord will grant her liberation for her former infancy and youth! Use all means to achieve reconciliation Are you, being double-minded and confused in your thoughts, asking whether you should write to your husband or not? To this I answer: first of all, delve well into the depths of your heart and consider yourself - what is your relationship to it: are you peaceful or not, have you given reasons for breaking your marital ties? Use all means for reconciliation - this is acceptable in the sight of God. Even if you were right, with your humility try to reconcile with him and acquire him, if not for yourself, but for God. Without delaying time, start this, and the Lord will not leave you. Embarrassment before communion is allowed from the enemy You deign to write about your delay in the sacrament of confession and holy communion and that even your confessor seemed scary to you! But, however, the Merciful Almighty Lord exposed the malicious enemy tormenting you, sowing tares into your gentle soul, and clearly showed you that all opinions turned out to be false and indecent. Therefore, let us make a beginning, with the help of the Lord, to no longer put off time after time, and day after day, but with zeal, reverence, and hope, so that we can approach the holy and life-giving mysteries more often! Already through experience, on the day of communion of the holy and life-giving sacraments, you felt spiritual joy, quite comforting and cooling, filled with sobriety and lightness! But although the next day you were allowed burdens, sleep, etc. for your excessive vanity and zeal, this is allowed by the Lord for many, so that, with the assistance of the given joy and consolations, we would not lighten ourselves from the labors of deeds and oppression. With humility and the help of the Almighty Lord, we are allowed to defeat and put to shame the proud Goliath! Preparation for Communion For this, thanks be given to the Greatly Gifted Lord, who gave you the feeling during the Dormition Fast for the preparation of the Holy and Life-Giving Mysteries! But it’s only a pity that she had a subtle indignation at her benefactress and tempter of all willfulness and wisdom, Mrs. N, who, although the enemy’s slander brings you and your mother into grief, but from this, who will completely settle down to the patronage of our Almighty guardian and redeemer the Lord Jesus Christ, and after listening to all the obstinate and sarcastic pronunciations from the counter-sage person, Having endured all the troubles with complacency and remaining with my well-ordered wisdom, I truly dare to say that he will be credited with the feat and will receive a significant reward for his soul for this! But all we can do is pray with you and ask the Most Merciful Lord, so that, in His ineffable mercy, He will grant us courage and patience. That your conscience greatly reproached you for receiving it after communion, and more for the fact that you showed kindness against your feelings and that you predicted that entire matins - this is from the enemy of all, because he is a hater of the Christian race, and most of all against those who want to gain acceptance into the Protector and Redeemer in the form of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ! Now and in the future, as you have known and experienced his intrigues, abuse and burdens, again try to prepare with care and caution. And especially as a girl, she must preserve all her feelings as best she can, especially her sight and hearing. If you had paid attention to yourself and kept up your oral prayer, she would not have allowed you to engage in such disorderly and seductive laughter. But nevertheless, you see how merciful the Lord is, that even with your poor preparation, after receiving the Holy Sacraments, he tangibly comforted and exposed your inner sorrows. And if they tried to prepare themselves properly, then they were especially consoled! This was allowed to you because of your arrogance and conceit by a demonic act. Embarrassment after communion was dismissed as arrogance 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. Feeling unwell after communion should be attributed to your 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. God's providence controls us You write that the betrothed son-in-law is so ill that he is near his deathbed. The Creator Lord created everything, everything exists under His power, He gives life and gives life. I am sure that you believe this and accept the words and teachings, which are taken from the Holy Scriptures, as coming from God. The Holy Scripture shows us that God’s Providence controls us, of which I will give you one text as proof. The Lord says in the book of the prophet Isaiah in chapter 49, verse 15: “The wife of her youth will forget to eat, even if she does not have mercy on the offspring of her womb, and even if the woman forgets these things, I will not forget you.” From these words you see how the Lord cares for us. If it is useful for your betrothed son-in-law, then the Lord will give him health and raise him from the bed of illness, which is what I wish to see. For this I entrust you to the Protection of God and the word of His grace. Entrust yourself and your neighbors to the Providence of the Heavenly Father: be more moderate and do not allow your heart to become immeasurably and recklessly upset. With the desire for peace and salvation, I will tell you from my heart: you should not worry so much about the fate of your relatives, but rely more on the Lord in the patience of your soul, especially since such an attachment, as disastrous for the heart, is alien to the devotion of the Most High, and because all cases are not blind, but guided by the Providence of the World Ruler. No matter how sensitive we are, we can never have as much compassion for our neighbors as our Creator; The more sensitive we are to any object, the blinder we are in our understanding of it, and for this reason we must most sacredly entrust ourselves and our neighbors to the Providence of the Heavenly Father - to be as moderate as possible, not to allow our hearts to become immeasurably and recklessly upset. You should not even enter into their mediation when you have already entered into a calling most worthy of God’s self-sacrifice. Concerning them as much as possible, say in your soul: “the will of the Lord be done,” and cast your sorrows on the Lord, and try to guide yourself in the Lord. - Cherish time: it is irrevocable, pay more attention to yourself, let this be your feat! God's providence arranges everything for our benefit Where have you left the Providence of God, which cares for everyone, and especially for you, arranging everything for the good and, through permissive cases, giving us a means to recognize our passions and eradicate them - and you still blame people. I don’t have the strength or time to write about your cases described in your last letter in detail, but we just see you all offended and grieving about this. We cannot turn God’s hand away from you, but you can appease God when you begin to follow the Christian path; and at first, even if you grieve, it’s because you couldn’t bear the insult, and not because you were insulted—God will look upon this dispensation and there will be hope for correction. We must be sure that God's Providence always provides for us and works for our benefit, even in cases that are contrary to us. You wanted to see me on the way in order to convey something unfinished, but, apparently, there was no need for this and there would be no benefit to you - it was not fulfilled according to God’s will, after which you saw this yourself and calmed down. About the true gift of a preacher As for our circumstances, they are as follows. We are prosperous, one might say, our archpastor visited us, being quite cheerful and supportive, and after celebrating the Divine Liturgy one day, he spoke an edifying word to the brethren. No less in him was concerned with the shameful curiosity of the supposedly complacent, of whom he was part of the presence at that time due to his stay in the desert. It was on St.'s birthday. Prophet and Forerunner John, which is why the theme of the word was: “What do you expect to see in the desert?” and the following verse. If there are now in Russia imitators of St. Chrysostom in the simplicity of his style and other abundant gifts of a preacher, so he cannot justly be excluded from such a godly society. He did not have magnificent phrases, intricate tropes, metaphors, hyperbolic style, allegory and other arrangements of eloquence, but the richest and most holy simplicity, direct truth and the most graceful modesty in sincerity. Some admitted that when he tried to pour the holy grace of his heart into the hearts of his listeners, he so captivated the spirit of those present that many no longer had other thoughts, since there was not a single word that was pompous, lofty or unclear. This is true vitija, as defined by the wise! It's interesting to have such a word. It would be very possible to remind many of whom of this letter, one word - it had such an effect on the hearts and spiritual forces that it was as if it were not a word, but the reed of a spiritual cursive writer, writing on the heart the advice and will of the Most High. Isn’t this joyful in the present time, when preachers are trying more to reflect their knowledge in the pulpits than to make a saving influence through means alien to vain philosophy - simplicity and truth. “Do not judge before the time, until the Lord comes, He will bring into light the secret things and reveal the counsels of the heart” (1 Cor. 4:5). Although in this case we can also say that the hand of God is with us, the most unworthy, in proportion to our trust in Him. However, no less should be attributed to the gracious foresight of a husband adorned with faith and humility. To further console the brethren, he did not hesitate to serve the all-night vigil himself. Moreover, so as not to weaken the truth of the sacred kindness of the meek shepherd with the space of words, we decided to remain silent. Although, since such a bishop is fitting for us, we should not extol the valor of a wise man, “for others also see his good deeds and glorify the Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). We are obliged to pray in every possible way for those who harm us You deign to question my badness in order to teach you patience, to forgive those who offend and are at enmity with you; and as our Savior Jesus Christ teaches us in the Gospel of Matthew: “I tell you not to resist evil: but if someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other too. And whoever wants to sue you and take your robe, let him have the swearing too. And if anyone understands you, you have one field, go with him two. And again I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray to those who do evil to you for no reason, and to those who drive you out, that you may be sons of your Father who is in Heaven; as the sun shines on the evil and on the good, and rains on the righteous and the unjust” (Matthew 5:39-41, 44-45). So, heeding this gospel teaching, we are obliged to pray in every possible way for those who bring us harm. This is also confirmed by St. The Apostle Paul writes to the Roman Church: “But those who repay evil for evil are not a single one, but those who provide good in the sight of all men. Have peace, do not take revenge on yourself, beloved, but give room to anger. For it is written: Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. If your brother is hungry, give him something to eat. When you do this, you gather coals of fire onto his head. He is not overcome by evil, but overcomes evil with good” (Rom. 12:17-21). And let us see, dearest ones, what consolation our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, gives us. And His beloved disciple St. The Apostle Paul, the enlightener of the universe, clearly teaches how we should deal with those who offend and hate us. And in addition to the daily Gospel prayer (i.e. Our Father), we always read: “And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors, and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:9, 12-13). Verses 14 and 15: “If you forgive men their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. If you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive you your sins.” And having brought your love from the life-giving source beneficial consolation and healing to your souls, I entrust you to the protection of the Almighty Lord. May the Most Merciful Lord help you, and may He protect you, and may He cover you from all the snares of the enemy. You should be forced to ask for forgiveness You should be forced to ask Anna for forgiveness a second time, but first you should pacify yourself - in this way, pray for her quietly, bow three times every morning and evening, saying, “Save, Lord, and have mercy on my benefactress. With her prayers forgive my sins too.” And in addition, Anna must honor herself as guilty in everything - mentally and sensually, saying to herself: “Cursed me, I did not know how to listen to myself, I let go of my senses: speaking, seeing and hearing; and the general enemy saw my lewdness, presented to my eyes a dream about sister Pelagia, as if she was passionately communicating with a young man and so on... And then he slandered her. The old man and the old woman were embarrassed for my sins!” When she confirms this for a long time and sees herself as guilty, then the Most Merciful Lord, for fulfilling this Gospel commandment, will heal their hearts and soften them to peace, then with good faith and boldness they will boldly go to ask for forgiveness, and they will greet them with respect! By your strength, you asked your parent for forgiveness, and although it is not said directly, everything is peaceful - then be peaceful, and do not stop reproaching yourself, looking at him with guilt. The Lord will tell him and give him a more compassionate feeling. The passion of drunkenness is tolerated for pride, arrogance or for violation of conscience against marriage 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. “Drinking to the bottom is not being kind” (Russian proverb) 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. 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 yourself to the Lord God 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 multiplies, 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. You might be interested in: