ИМЯ БОЖИЕ

Try in every possible way to glorify God. Woe, it is said, to that servant by whom the name of God is blasphemed. And when there is grief, then all sorts of punishment and torment will immediately follow. On the contrary, blessed is the one by whom the name of God is glorified. So let us not live as if in darkness, but let us try to avoid all sins, and especially those that tend to cause general harm, because they especially blaspheme God. What kind of forgiveness, in fact, will we receive when, obligated by the commandment to give to others, we steal what belongs to others? What hope of salvation will there be for us? You will be punished if you do not feed the hungry: what kind of mercy will you receive if you strip the clothed one? We say this all the time and we won't stop saying it. Perhaps those who did not listen today will listen in the next days; if some remain adamant, then at least we will be right at the Judgment, because we have done our job. But God forbid that these words do not bring us to shame, and do not force you to close yourself off. May God grant everyone to stand boldly before the Judgment Seat of Christ, so that we too can boast about you and find some relief for our evils in your good name (8). The name of Jesus Christ is terrible for demons, passions and illnesses. So, let us be adorned with Him, protected with Him. So Paul also became great, although he was of the same nature as us, but faith made him completely different, and such was the abundance of gifts in him that his clothes also had great power. What kind of justification do we deserve if the shadow and clothes of the apostles drove away death, but even our prayers do not pacify passions? What is the reason for this? Big difference in spirit. Pavel and I have common and equal natural abilities: he was born and raised in the same way as us, lived on the same land and breathed the same air. But in other respects he was much better and more perfect than us, namely in regard to jealousy, faith, and love. Let us imitate him, let us give Christ the opportunity to proclaim through us: after all, He desires this more than us and therefore created the organ of speech and does not want it to remain useless and without action, but wants to always have it in His hands. Why don’t you keep it ready for the artist’s hand, but weaken the strings, soften them with luxurious life and make the harp completely unsuitable for Him, whereas the strings should be tightened and tuned, rubbed with spiritual salt? If Christ sees that our soul is so tuned, he will extract sounds from it. And when this happens, you will see rejoicing Angels, Archangels and Cherubim. So, let us become worthy of the most pure hands, let us ask the Lord to touch our hearts. But, better to say, there is no need for requests: just make your heart worthy of such a touch, and the Lord will be the first to flow to you. If He flows to those who want to resort to Him (as He exalted Paul with praise, who was not yet such), then what will He not do when He sees that you are completely prepared? And as soon as Christ draws sounds from our soul, then, undoubtedly, the Spirit will descend on us and we will be better than heaven, having not the sun and moon imprinted on our body, but the very Lord of the sun, moon and angels, who dwells and walks in us (11). You might be interested in: