696. Не следует оставлять ига настоятельства, возложенного Самим Господом. Терпением скорбей Вы делаетесь сообщницею Страстей Христовых

Your Reverence, most honorable in the Lord Mother Abbess Leonida! I received your sorrowful letter dated July 6th and was very sorry that you were again very faint-hearted. - It is advisable for you to leave your leadership. But where will you go from the sorrows that are the lot of this temporary life of ours? Yes, and you yourself are at a loss as to where and how you should live - they won’t accept you into another monastery, and those who are ill-wishing will shamelessly pester you, and there is no cell, and you cannot be content with refectory food. For all these reasons, and perhaps for many others, you should not at all abandon the yoke of authority placed upon you by the Lord Himself. Carry this yoke until it pleases Him Himself to remove it from you, consoling yourself with the words of the Lord Himself: “He who endures to the end will be saved.” For through enduring sorrows you become an accomplice of the Passion of Christ, just as Christ in this life endured countless sorrows for us sinners. They called him a drinker and a wine drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners, a Samaritan and having Beelzebub, the prince of demons, in him, they mocked him in every possible way, slandered him and did something else... What is the end? It is said: “In the same way God exalted Him, and gave Him a name above every name,” and so on. Do you also want, most venerable Mother, to reign with the Lord in His great glory? Endure everything that comes your way with humility and gratitude, saying mentally: “Glory, All-merciful Lord, to Your all-wise Providence for me, a sinner, that You, the Most Merciful, with these short-term insignificant sorrows want to save me from the eternal, most terrible, unspeakable torment in hell!” And for your consolation, I will remind you of the words of St. Apostle: “For any punishment at the present time does not seem to be a joy to be, but sorrow: after all, the fruit of peace rewards those who are taught in righteousness.” And again: “For the Lord loves him and punishes him: he beats every son who accepts him. If you endure punishment, as God is found to you as a son... If you are without punishment, to whom all were partakers, for you are adulterers, and not sons” (in the 12th chapter of Hebrews). And what are our sorrows? In essence, this is nothing more than a mosquito bite in comparison with the great sorrows that the saint endured. martyrs and saints. If you, Mother, were slandered, you explained the matter to the Metropolitan - that’s all, and the end of all your sorrows. So, place your trust in the will of the Most Merciful Lord, without which not a hair of your head will be lost, and continue your holy obedience to the abbot, hesitating nothing and fearing nothing. Asking for you and the monastery entrusted to you for peace and God’s blessing, I remain with sincere goodwill. You might be interested in: