ПРАЗДНИКИ

Where is the teaching and prayers, where are the blessings of the fathers and the hearing of the divine commandments, where is the meeting of brothers and the union of sincere love, where is the conversation with God and the conversation of God with people - how could there not be a holiday and celebration? A holiday is usually made not by the large numbers, but by the virtue of those who gather, not by the preciousness of the clothes, but by the beauty of piety, not by the abundance of the meal, but by spiritual zeal. The greatest holiday is a good conscience. As during worldly holidays: whoever can neither dress in light clothes, nor arrange a more plentiful meal, but lives in poverty, in hunger and in extreme misfortune, for that a holiday is not a holiday, even if he saw the whole city rejoicing, and even the more he grieves and laments, the more he sees others in pleasure, and himself in poverty; and just as, on the contrary, for a rich man who lives in joy, who can change clothes every day and enjoys great prosperity, a holiday even when there is no holiday, so in spiritual matters: whoever lives in truth and virtue celebrates even without a holiday, receiving pure joy from his conscience; and whoever lives in sins and vice and is aware of a lot of evil behind him, celebrates the holiday least of all. Thus, we can, if we want, celebrate every day if we take care of virtue and keep our conscience pure (1). For Christians, every time is a time of celebration due to the abundance of benefits given to them. What good is really missing? For you, the Son of God became a man, freed you from death, and called you into the Kingdom. Having received and received such benefits, should you not celebrate throughout your life? So, let no one grieve in poverty, in illness and in adversity; For us, every time is a time of celebration. That is why Paul says: “Rejoice in the Lord always; And again I say: Rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). During the holidays, no one dresses in unclean clothes; We will do the same, because a marriage is taking place, a spiritual marriage. “The kingdom of heaven,” says [the Lord], “is like a man king, who held a wedding feast for his son” (Matthew 22:2). And when a king celebrates a marriage, and the marriage of his son, then what could be greater than such a holiday? Therefore, let no one enter dressed in rags; We are not talking about clothes, but about unclean deeds. If at a time when everyone was dressed in light clothes, only one, who turned up at the wedding in unclean clothes, was expelled with dishonor, then think what kind of care and purity is required of those entering this marriage (12). You might be interested in: