ПИСАНИЕ СВЯЩЕННОЕ

With reverence and great fear, beloved, let us listen to the stories of the Divine Scripture. Nothing is written in it without purpose or in vain, but everything is useful and for our good, although we do not understand otherwise, because we cannot know everything exactly, and although we try, as much as we can, to expound the reasons for some [the stories of Scripture], however, even then there is still much hidden in it, treasures hidden from us and unsearchable (1). In the sea of ​​Scripture there is no battle of waves; on the contrary, this sea is calmer than any pier. Here there is no need to descend into the dark depths of the abyss, to entrust your safety to the flow of unreasonable waves; on the contrary, here there is a great light, which is brighter than the very rays of the sun, complete silence, no anxiety, and the benefits of what is found are such that it is impossible to express in words (1). Let us listen to the Scriptures, beloved! And if nothing else, then at least let the Gospel be a subject of special attention for us, and let it always be in our hands. After all, as soon as you open this book, you will immediately see the name of Christ before your eyes and immediately hear the words: “The birth of Jesus Christ was like this: after the betrothal of His Mother Mary to Joseph ... it turned out that She was pregnant with the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18). And whoever hears this will immediately desire virginity, marvel at birth, and renounce the earth. It is also important that you will see the Virgin, vouchsafed the Spirit, and the Angel talking with her. Meanwhile, this is still at the beginning. If you continue reading to the end, you will immediately reject everything worldly and laugh at everything earthly. If you are rich, you will regard wealth as nothing when you hear that she, betrothed to tecton and coming from a humble home, has become the Mother of your Lord. If you are poor, you will not be ashamed of your poverty when you learn that the Creator of the world was not ashamed of the poorest house. Thinking about this, you will not take what belongs to others; on the contrary, you yourself will rather become a lover of poverty and despise wealth. And having achieved this, you will avoid all evil. Further, when you see Him lying in a manger, then you will not try to decorate your child with gold or arrange a silver bed for your wife. And without worrying about this, you will not covet and steal because of it. There are many other benefits that can be obtained that cannot now be recounted in detail; but they will be recognized by those who make the experiment. Therefore, I beg you to acquire the books [of the Holy Scriptures], and to assimilate their thoughts, and to inscribe them in your souls. The Jews, since they were not attentive, were commanded to hang books from their hands; and we do not even place them on our hands, but in the house, when we should imprint them on the heart (8). Those who wish to receive some fruit from what they read should not leave a single word unattended. That is why we are commanded to search the Scriptures (John 5:39), because many things that seem simple at first glance contain a deep hidden meaning (8). Many ignorant and unstable people pervert the Divine Scripture; look, don't believe them. Evil and vices spread across the earth in a powerful wave, temptations are abundant. But see, do not be deceived: do not deviate either to the right or to the left, walk the royal path. Remaining firm in the faith, you, beloved, will never be alone: ​​if not on earth, then in heaven there are many faithful ones with whom you should strive for constant communication. There are the faces of Angels, there are patriarchs, prophets, apostles, evangelists, there are martyrs, holy confessors, there are saints who shone with hermit life, in a word - a great multitude of those whose names are in the book of life. Love them, be jealous of them, do not leave them, keep the memory of them in your hearts day and night, constantly hold their books in your hands and read them in order to receive great benefit from them. Enrich yourself in the word of truth, so that you will be able to reprove your opponents, and put to shame those who speak vanity, and stop the mouths of heretics, and admonish and convert those who fall. Delve into the Divine Scriptures, so that in cases of confusion and confusion you do not get lost, but find firm support in the Divine Scriptures (9). When looking at the meadow, already from a distance one is struck by a charming variety of flowers, the beauty of which, however, can only be seen when you get close enough to them that you can take them with your hands. The same thing can be observed, beloved, in relation to the Church, only here, as flowers, readings from the inspired Scriptures are offered to those who wish. Amazing phenomena could be observed in these spiritual gardens; here you can see jubilant prophets, leading apostles, triumphant martyrs, Angels helping people, teachers struggling in the struggle for piety; here you can see the abundant grace of the Spirit, the verbal flocks sealed by the Master’s blood, and finally, that which is above all that has been said, the pinnacle of blessings, the confirmation of hopes, the head of pleasure, the perfection of joy - I mean the Gospels of Christ, in which the improvement of our life is proposed. So, let us turn our eyes here - to the Lord Christ, who gives all pleasure to His servants. Here we will see how illnesses are driven away from them, the sea is calmed, the winds cease, death is forbidden, hell is deprived of prey, demons are expelled, sinners turn to their Master. These gifts were offered by Christ in the Divine Gospels, in which we are told how the righteous shine more than the sun, and how the members of the sick are strengthened, relaxed, carried on beds, begin to walk, tax collectors become evangelists, leprosy is shaken off by His will like dust, fever is driven out by the word of the Master, the dead come to life, coffins bring prisoners back to life; in them the pride of the Pharisee is humbled, the humility of the tax collector is exalted. With the abundance of such benefits, it is not difficult to get enough of crumbs (9). You might be interested in: