ИСПРАВЛЕНИЕ

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us, for we are filled with much humiliation (Ps. 123:3). Do you see a broken soul? They [the Jews] ask to be saved by mercy, and not even by deserved mercy, but because they suffered great punishment, just as Daniel says: “they are humbled, O Lord, more than all nations” (Dan. 3:37). They say the same thing in their prayer: we suffered extreme misfortune, were deprived of our fatherland and freedom, became slaves of foreigners, lived in humiliation, were exhausted by hunger, oppression and thirst, were spat upon and trampled underfoot throughout the entire time: for this, forgive and have mercy on us. What does it mean: our soul is greatly saturated? Our soul itself, he says, has become weak and exhausted from great disasters. Many, although exposed to disasters, endure them courageously; and we, he says, have lost even this; We become discouraged during times of adversity and are distressed. They did not make proper use of the advantages bestowed upon them; that is why God corrected them contrary to what he always does. Thus, Adam, who did not use his stay in paradise to his advantage, He corrected by expulsion from paradise; and the wife, who became worse because of equal honor with her husband, He made better through enslavement and submission. So these Jews, who from freedom and security in their fatherland became worse, unbridled and incontinent, He corrects the opposite. Begging for mercy, they say to God: Our soul is greatly saturated with contempt from those who are prosperous and humiliation from the proud (Ps. 123:4)... This often happens; God usually does this by humbling the arrogant and humiliating the proud in order to turn them away from the path that leads to destruction. There is nothing worse than pride. This is why there are temptations and sorrows, a mortal body is given and many unfortunate circumstances are sent, for suffering and illness, in order to firmly curb the soul, which is easily arrogant and reaches the point of pride. Therefore, do not be embarrassed, beloved, when you are tempted, but remember the words of the prophet: It is good for me that You have humbled me, so that I may learn Your justifications (Ps. 118:71), take misfortune as medicine, use temptation appropriately - and you will achieve the greatest peace (2). God does not punish anyone with wrathful intent; while we pour out our anger on others, inflamed with anger, God does not do this, but punishes our evil actions for correction. Why, they say, did God not spare Pharaoh after his conversion? We answer: when did he show virtue? Wasn’t he, persecuting the people after ten plagues, burning with the desire to subjugate them? Hence it is clear that it was not God, but he himself, who was the cause of his death. He [God] puts to death those who are subject to an incurable disease, as He did with the Sodomites and those who lived during the flood, who, neglecting salvation, perished. Why, they will say, does He not do this now, but spares people who have grown old in vices, even to the point of death? In fairness, we answer, then He quickly took revenge, but now He spares it in order to confirm the hope of the resurrection and not to make anyone righteous out of necessity. Then they were not afraid of hell, and therefore He suddenly subjected them to this punishment, but now it is not so - for people to repent for the fear of the future life, only occasionally He punishes unexpectedly (4). A significant, truly significant means of correction is to, having realized all your sins, constantly imagine and reflect on them. Whoever does this will become so contrite that he will recognize himself as unworthy to live. And whoever thinks like this will be softer than any wax. And not only condemn yourself for fornication, adultery and other sins, which are recognized by everyone as serious; but collect in your mind also secret slander, slander, slander, vanity, envy and all the like. And these vices will suffer a lot of punishment. And the slanderer will be thrown into hell; and he who gets drunk with wine will have no place in the Kingdom of Heaven; and he who does not love his neighbor offends God so much that even through his martyrdom he is not pleasing to Him. And he who does not care for his household has denied the faith; and he who despises the poor is thrown into the fire. So, do not consider these vices unimportant, but collect everything in your mind and write them as in a book. If you write, God will erase them. If you do not write, then God will write them down and demand your punishment. It is better for us to write them down ourselves and see them blotted out by God, rather than, forgetting about them, forcing God himself to present them before our eyes on the Day of Judgment. So, to prevent this from happening, let’s look at everything carefully, and then we will find that we are guilty of many things. Who, for example, is pure from covetousness? Don't point out to me that you weren't too covetous; and for small things you will suffer the same punishment. Think about it and repent. Who doesn't insult another? And this plunges one into Gehenna. Who has not secretly slandered his neighbor? And this deprives the Kingdom. Who hasn't been arrogant? And this one is the most unclean of all. Who hasn't looked with lustful eyes? And this one is considered on par with a fornicator. Who has not been angry with his brother without reason? And such a one is guilty of the court. Who didn't swear? And this is from the evil one. Who has not broken his oath? And this is more than from the evil one. Who has not served mammon? And such a one fell away from the lawful service of Christ. I could enumerate for you many other vices; but even these are enough to lead to contrition for those who have not hardened their hearts and have not yet reached the point of insensibility. And if each of these crimes leads to Gehenna, then what will they not do when they copulate together? How, you say, can one be saved? Using equivalent medicines against ailments - mercy, prayers, sorrow, repentance, humility, a contrite heart, contempt for earthly goods. God has offered countless ways to salvation if only we are willing to pay attention. Let us be attentive, let us try in every possible way to heal our wounds, giving alms, holding back anger towards those who have offended us, thanking God for everything, fasting as best we can, praying with a sincere heart, making friends for ourselves from the wealth of unrighteousness (Luke 16:9). In this way, we can receive forgiveness of our sins and receive the promised benefits (6). It is bad not to do good at the very beginning; but the one who does not correct himself after this is worthy of even greater condemnation. This especially makes many wicked. Even now I see how the same thing happens to some due to their extreme hardness of heart. But let no one be so insensitive, and even if someone fell into the greatest wickedness, let him not despair of his correction; it is easy to emerge from the deepest abyss of wickedness. Or have you not heard how one harlot, who surpassed everyone else in her debauchery, later surpassed everyone else in piety? I’m not talking about the gospel harlot, but about the one who in our lifetime was in the Phoenician city, the most lawless. This harlot was once among us, she was considered the first actress in the theater, and her name was known everywhere, and not only in our city, but even among the Cilicians and Cappadocians. She ruined many; she left many as orphans; many even suspected her of witchcraft, as if she lured her into her nets not only with her physical beauty, but also with witchcraft. This harlot deceived even the queen’s brother: so great was her power! But suddenly - I don’t know how, I just know for sure - she voluntarily changed, attracted the grace of God to herself, despised everything that had happened before and, abandoning the devil’s charm, ran to heaven. And although there was no one more shameless than her when she was on stage, afterward she surpassed many with her great chastity - and dressed in sackcloth, she labored like this all her life. And when the leader of the city, at the instigation of some people, wanted to return her to the stage, the soldiers he sent with weapons could not bring her back and take her from the virgins who took her to themselves. Honored with ineffable mysteries, having demonstrated a zeal worthy of grace, she ended her life, washed from all sins, and after Baptism she already demonstrated great piety. She did not even want to look at her former friends who came to her, and, locked in solitude, she spent many years as if in a dungeon. So the first will be last, and the last first! So we need to always be zealous - and then nothing will prevent us from becoming great and wondrous. So, no sinner should despair, just as no virtuous person should indulge in carelessness. And let the latter not rely on himself, since it can happen - and very often happens - that a harlot precedes him. Likewise, let the sinner not despair, and it is still possible for him to surpass even the first (7). This caused us grief because many were extremely biased towards human opinion. Now, if we want to be philosophical in this way, then we will clearly learn that everything human is insignificant. Let us learn this and, having realized our shortcomings, we will begin to correct them little by little; determine for yourself to correct one shortcoming this month, then another in the next, and a third in the next. Thus, ascending as if by some kind of steps, we will reach heaven along Jacob's ladder; It seems to me that this ladder, together with the spectacle that Jacob saw, by the way, also indicates a gradual ascent along the ladder of virtue, along which one can ascend from earth to heaven - not along sensual steps, but through the correction and improvement of morals (9). Let many follow our words, let them examine and correct them. There is no shame in being corrected by others; on the contrary, it is a shame to remove from ourselves those who correct us, and to do this to the detriment of our own salvation. After all, if you put on a dress inside out, you allow the servant to correct it and are not ashamed of him teaching you, although it is very shameful; but here you harm your soul and are ashamed, tell me when another admonishes you. Do you tolerate a slave who dresses you in clothes and puts shoes on you, but you do not tolerate the one who adorns your soul? Isn't this extreme madness? Let a slave be a teacher, let there be a child, a wife, a friend, a relative, and a neighbor. Just as an animal, when driven from everywhere, cannot escape, so one who has so many guards and so many critics and who is struck from everywhere cannot help but be careful. On the first day it will be difficult for him, and equally on the second and third, and then it will be easier, and after the fourth day it will not be a matter for him (10). You might be interested in: