Беседы

I once went to the cell of one of the fathers. The saint rarely opened the door to anyone. But as soon as he saw through the window that I was coming, he said to me: Do you want to come in? And I answered: Yes, honest father. After I entered, said a prayer, sat down, and we talked about many things, finally I asked him: What should I do, father? Others come to me, and I gain nothing and do not gain any benefit from talking with them, but I am ashamed to tell them: do not go. They even often prevent me from correcting the usual rule, and therefore I grieve. To this the blessed old man answered me: When such lovers of idleness come to you, as soon as they have sat for a while, give them the appearance that you want to stand in prayer, and say to the one who came with a bow: let us pray, brother, because the time has already come for me to rule, and I cannot break it, it becomes difficult for me when I want to fulfill it at another hour, and this becomes a cause of embarrassment for me, and without some extreme need I cannot leave the rules. And now there is no need for my prayer to be canceled. And don’t let him go without praying with you. If he says: pray, and I will go, bow to him and say: for the sake of love, do at least this one prayer with me, so that I may benefit from your prayer. And when you do, extend your prayer even beyond what you are accustomed to do. If you do this to them, as soon as they come to you, then, having learned that you do not indulge them and do not like idleness, they will not approach the place where they will hear that you are there. Therefore, be careful that you do not ruin the works of God through partiality. If you meet one of the fathers or a weary wanderer, then you will be charged with being with such a person instead of the longest prayer. But if the wanderer is one of those who love vanity, then calm him down as much as possible and let him go in peace. Walk reverently before your friends; when you do this, you will benefit both yourself and them, because the soul often throws off the reins of caution under the pretext of love. Beware of conversations, because they are not useful at all times. In meetings, prefer silence, because it prevents much harm.