Глава 26. О том, что стремящемуся к совершенству не причинит никакого вреда выход из обители

If an ascetic says that going out and traveling for necessary general needs is harmful for him, and therefore refuses to go out, then he has not yet understood the severity of obedience and does not know that this virtue is not perfected by such inactivity. Therefore, let him look at the examples of the saints, how they achieved perfection in obedience, and did not in the least contradict or resist a single order, even one that was difficult to fulfill, and let him learn perfect obedience. If someone actually suffers harm from this, then let him ask the brotherhood to pray to God for him and let him ask God himself with undoubted hope, so that in all spiritual exercises and in bodily service to good deeds he may become a vessel fit for work and useful. And, of course, He who approves of the zeal of those who seek good will give him strength, since He Himself commanded to ask and said: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; push, and the door will be opened to you; “Everyone who asks receives it, and the one who seeks finds it, and it is opened to the one who asks” (Matt. 7, 7-8) and in another place: “If anyone lacks wisdom from you, let him ask from God, who gives to all without partiality or reproach, and it will be given to him. Let him ask in faith, without hesitation” (James 1:5-6). And in general, in all such cases in which the mind will deviate from perfect obedience or Satan will begin to put up obstacles, weakening and cutting off zeal, we, using this aid, will pray to God and ask that an abundance of good deeds be given to us, that our flesh be nailed to the fear of God, that our mind becomes undistracted and is in no way caught up in carnal desires and pleasures. For worldly desires, born in the soul when the mind is distracted, produce many different disturbances in thoughts and make us lazy for good deeds. Therefore, let each of us not refuse to serve with our own assistance to the general and necessary bodily needs, but let us pray to God to receive from Him the power of assistance. For if everyone refuses in imitation of those who have already refused, then who will then fulfill what is required by need? In addition, it is not bad to understand this with an example. A warrior who has recently joined a regiment does not try to retrain the soldiers in the regiment in his own way, but he himself takes into account the order and customs of the regiment. Therefore, one who is included in a spiritual society must not wish to transform the members of the society according to his own disposition, but to bring his own disposition into harmony with the customs and statutes of the society. You might be interested in: