ЦЕЛОМУДРИЕ

Now, when, by the grace of God, the state of faith has risen and, in the words of Blessed Paul, the image of this world is already passing away (1 Cor. 7:31), we must leave a memory of ourselves with good deeds, so that even after our departure from here, the excellence of our virtuous life will be a reminder and edification for those who look at us. Those who are virtuous and celibate, not only in this life can bring very great benefit to those who look at them, but also after it. To be convinced of this, look at how many centuries have passed until now, and every time we want to arouse in someone jealousy for chastity, we present as an example the handsome, beautiful, young Joseph, who at his most flourishing age showed such firmness in maintaining chastity - and thus we try to encourage listeners to imitate this righteous man. Is it possible, tell me, to be quite amazed at this blessed [husband], who, being in slavery, at the most flourishing age, when the fire of desires is most ignited, and seeing his mistress attacking him in the fury of passion, showed such courage and so firmly decided on the feat of chastity that he ran away from an intemperate woman, having lost his clothes, but retaining the clothes of chastity? And something new and extraordinary was visible here: the lamb fell into the claws of a wolf, or, better to say, a lioness and was able to escape from her. And just as if a dove escaped death from a hawk, so the righteous man escaped from the hands of that woman. It seems to me not so much that it is surprising that the three youths in the Babylonian furnace were conquerors of the fire and that their bodies were not damaged in the least, but rather it is marvelous and extraordinary that this righteous man, thrown into a furnace more terrible than the Babylonian one - I’m talking about the lewdness of the Egyptian woman - remained untouched and came out of it, keeping the robe of chastity clean. However, don’t be surprised, beloved; since he, on his part, used all his strength for this, he had help from above, which assisted him, extinguished that flame and in the middle of the furnace gave him dew from the Holy Spirit. Do you see how virtuous people, both while here and after leaving here, are examples for us for our benefit? Now, for this reason, we cited this righteous man (Joseph) as an example, so that everyone would follow him. So, let us all compete with him, we will rise above sensual deceptions and, knowing that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world” (Eph. 6:12), we will arm ourselves in this way. Imagining that we, clothed with a body, are forced to fight with incorporeal forces, we will protect ourselves with spiritual weapons. Since we are clothed with flesh, but we are in battle with invisible forces, the Lord, the Lover of Mankind, has prepared invisible weapons for us, so that with the power of this weapon we can overcome the nature of our opponents. So, trusting in the power of this weapon, let us, on our part, use everything that is necessary: ​​then we will be able, protected by this spiritual armor, to strike the devil in the very face. He cannot endure the lightning emanating from such a weapon, and even if he tries to resist it, his vision is immediately blinded. The grace of the Spirit is sent down in abundance where chastity, honesty and other virtues are combined; That’s why Paul said: “Try to have peace and holiness with everyone” (see Rom. 12:18; Heb. 12:14). So, I exhort you, let us cleanse our conscience and mind so that, having freed ourselves from every unclean thought, we may attract the grace of the Spirit to ourselves, defeat the wiles of the devil and be rewarded with the enjoyment of eternal, ineffable blessings (1). We urge your love to take care of your own virtue and the chastity of young men. This is where, one might say, all evil is born. Bad habits, intensifying over time, produce such harm that people, having once given themselves over to debauchery, can no longer submit to any conviction and, like captives, are drawn to where the devil directs them. He finally controls them and makes those disastrous suggestions that the young men follow with pleasure, having in mind only present pleasure and not thinking about future sorrows. So, I beg you, give a hand [to help] to the children, so that we ourselves will not be punished for their actions. Don’t you know what Elder Eli suffered when he did not properly correct the shortcomings of his children (see 1 Samuel 4:18)? When a disease requires an incision, and the doctor wants to cure it with some ointment, the disease can become incurable because the appropriate medicine was not used. In a similar way, that old man, instead of acting on his children with measures corresponding to their misdeeds, allowed excessive meekness; Therefore, he himself was punished along with them. Beware of this example, I beg you; Having children, we will take care of their upbringing. In general, let each of those living together take care of the benefit of his neighbor and consider it the greatest acquisition for himself, so that everyone, guided by virtue, can avoid the temptation of evil, and, having achieved virtue, acquire great favor from above (1). Let us imagine that someone, having a wife, destroys his neighbor’s marriage and delights in this dishonest theft, committing adultery with his beloved [woman]; Let us contrast him with another who loves his wife; and for a greater and clearer contrast, let us assume that he who lives with one wife also loves that adulteress, but restrains his love and does nothing bad. Although this is not pure chastity, we deliberately present such an example so that you know what the pleasure of virtue is. So, let's put them both together and ask: whose life is more pleasant? From one we will hear how he delights and admires the victory over lust; and from the other... but it is impossible to learn anything from him; It will turn out that he is more unhappy than the prisoners themselves, even if he denied it a thousand times. He fears and suspects everyone - his wife, and the adulterous husband, and the adulteress herself, and his family, and friends, and relatives, and the wall, and the shadow, and himself, and, what is most painful of all, he carries within himself a conscience that cries out and gnaws at him every day; and if he remembers the Judgment of God, he will not be able to stand on his feet. Moreover, the pleasure is short-lived, but the sorrow from it is constant: in the evening, and at night, and in the desert, and in the city, and everywhere, an accuser follows him, showing a sophisticated sword and unbearable torment, exhausting and crushing him with fear. On the contrary, a chaste person is free from all this and is serene, looking at his wife, children, friends and everything with calm eyes. If the one who loves, but only restrains his passion, enjoys such pleasure, then the soul of the one who does not love and observes pure chastity is not filled with a feeling sweeter than any peace, more pleasant than any harbour? That is why, of course, you see few adulterers, but more chaste ones. And if [the life of the first] were more pleasant, then many would choose it. Don’t tell me that this comes from fear of the laws: it is not fear that holds them back, but the extreme vileness of the vice, the excess of grief arising from passion compared to the pleasures it provides, and the voice of conscience (12). You might be interested in: