Беседа 34

Spoken to the people in the Church of Blessed John and Paul on the third Sunday after Pentecost. Reading the Holy Gospel: Luke 15.1–10. Luke 15.1–10. All the publicans and sinners approached Him to listen to Him. The Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying: He receives sinners and eats with them. But He told them the following parable: Which of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it? And having found it, he will take it on his shoulders with joy. and when he comes home, he will call his friends and neighbors and say to them: Rejoice with me: I have found my lost sheep. I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent. Or what woman, having ten drachmas, if she loses one drachma, does not light a candle and sweep the room and search carefully until she finds it, and having found it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say: rejoice with me: I have found the lost drachma. So, I tell you, there is joy among the Angels of God over one sinner who repents. 1. The hot weather, very unfavorable for my body, for a long time prevented me from speaking about the exposition of the Gospel. But did love really stop burning because the tongue was silent? For I am talking about what each of you knows experimentally for yourself. For the most part, love, which is hindered by certain activities, although it still burns in the heart, is not expressed in reality, because the sun, covered by a cloud, although it is invisible on earth, nevertheless flames in the sky. In the same way, love, although it burns strongly inside, does not reveal its flame outside. But since now the time for the interview has returned, your zeal disposes me to speak the more abundantly, the more earnestly your souls wait for it. 2. In reading the Gospel, you, my brothers, heard that sinners and tax collectors approached our Redeemer and were received by Him not only for an interview, but also for a common meal. Seeing this, the Pharisees grumbled. From this event, conclude that true righteousness has compassion, and false righteousness has contempt, although the righteous are in the habit of rightly contempt for sinners. But there is another thing that is done out of pride, and another thing that is done out of zeal for the teaching. For these latter despise, but not those who despise; they despair, but do not despair; persecuted, but loved; because, although outwardly, through teaching, they scold, yet inwardly, out of love, they maintain a good disposition. They assume in their souls that those whom they correct are for the most part better than those whom they judge. By doing this, they preserve both their subordinates through teaching and themselves through humility. On the contrary, those who are usually proud of false righteousness despise all others, without making any condescension towards the weak, and the more determined they are that they are not sinners, the worse sinners they are. Among these were the Pharisees, who, condemning the Lord for accepting sinners, stubbornly reproached the very source of mercy. 3. But since they were so sick that they were not aware of their illness, because they did not know what they were, the Heavenly Physician heals them with attractive food, offering an entertaining parable, and in their heart he points out the swelling of the wound. For he says: “Which of you, having a hundred sheep and having lost one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it?” Here the Truth, with the wondrous order of love, offered a similarity that a person would recognize in himself as the truth, and which, however, would in particular relate to the very Creator of people. For just as a hundred is a perfect number, He had a hundred sheep when He created angels and men. But one sheep was lost when man who sinned left the pasture of life. He left the ninety-nine sheep in the desert because he left the pure hosts of Angels in heaven. But why is the sky called desert, if not because desert is called a deserted place? Man left heaven when he sinned. And there were ninety-nine sheep left in the desert when the Lord was looking for one on earth, because the number of rational creatures (namely, Angels and men), which were created for the purpose of seeing God, was reduced through the fall of man, and in order to restore the perfect number of sheep in heaven, we were looking for a lost man on earth. What the Evangelist in this place calls the desert, the other (Evangelist) calls “mountains” in order to show the height (Matthew 18.12), precisely because the sheep that did not perish stood on the heights. - “And having found it, he will take it on his shoulders with joy.” (The Lord) placed the sheep on His shoulder because, having assumed human nature, He bore our sins. - “And, having come home, he will call his friends and neighbors and say to them: rejoice with me: I have found my lost sheep.” After finding the sheep, He returns to the house, because our Shepherd, after restoring man, returned to the Kingdom of Heaven. There He finds friends and neighbors, precisely those hosts of Angels who are His friends, because, by their constancy, they unfailingly fulfill His will. They are also His neighbors, because out of love for His vision they have an unceasing closeness to Him. And it is remarkable that He does not say: “Rejoice with the sheep that found it,” but “with Me,” precisely because His joy is our life, and when we are raised to heaven, then we constitute a triumph for His joy. 4. “I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent.” We, my brethren, need to discuss why the Lord will tell you that there is greater joy in heaven over converted sinners than over the permanent righteous, if not because we ourselves see in daily experience that those who recognize themselves as not subject to any grave sins, for the most part, although they stand on the path of righteousness, do not do anything impermissible, but do not strive strongly for the Heavenly Fatherland, and even more so allow themselves to use things permissible, than to remember more firmly that they did not do anything unlawful? And therefore, for the most part, they are lazy to commit special good deeds, because, having not committed any serious crimes, they consider themselves very safe. On the contrary, sometimes those who remember that they have done something impermissible, being concentrated in themselves with their very grief about it, are inflamed with love for God, perform great feats, desire everything difficult in the holy struggle, abandon everything worldly, run from honors, rejoice at the reproaches inflicted, burn with desire, rushing towards the Heavenly Fatherland; and they think that because they have withdrawn from God, they compensate for previous losses with subsequent gains. So, in heaven there is more joy over a converted sinner than over a standing righteous man, because even a commander in war loves more the warrior who, having returned from flight, bravely pushes back the enemy, than the one who has never been on the run and has never done anything valiant. Likewise, the farmer loves more the land that, after thorns, bears abundant fruit, than the one that never grew thorns and never produced a rich harvest. 5. But meanwhile, you need to know that there are many righteous people in whose lives there is such joy that no repentance of sinners can be placed above it. For many do not know any sins behind them, and yet so many are contrite, as if they were subject to all sins. They reject everything, not excluding what is permissible, and humbly submit to the contempt of the world; they don’t want to allow themselves anything; they renounce benefits, even permitted ones; they despise the visible, ardently desire the invisible; they find joy in crying, they humble themselves in everything; and just as others mourn the sins committed in practice, so they mourn the sins of thoughts. How can we call those who humble themselves in repentance about sinful thoughts and always remain righteous in practice, if not righteous and repentant? From this we must conclude what joy the righteous man brings to God when he humbly cries, while the unrighteous man brings joy in heaven when he cleanses his sins with repentance! 6. Then follows: “or what woman, having ten drachmas, if she loses one drachma, does not light a candle and sweep the room and search carefully until she finds it?” Through this woman the same One is signified who is signified through the Shepherd. For the same God is also the Wisdom of God. And since the image is inscribed on the drachma, the woman lost the drachma when man, created in the image of God, distorted his likeness with the Creator through sin. But the woman lit the lamp, because the Wisdom of God had appeared in humanity. Because the lamp is the light in the darkness, and the light in the darkness is the Divine in the flesh. Wisdom Herself speaks about this very meagerness of her flesh: “my strength is dried up like a potsherd” (Ps 22:16). Since the scud becomes stronger in the fire, Her fortress has dried up “like a scud” because She, through the sorrow of suffering, strengthened the accepted flesh for the glory of the resurrection. But with a lighted lamp the woman shakes up the house, because as soon as His (the Savior’s) Divinity shone through the body, our whole conscience was immediately shaken. For the house is shaken when the human conscience is outraged by the reflection on its guilt. This word - “shaking up” does not contradict the one that is read “drops” in other publications precisely because an unclean soul is not cleansed of habitual vices if it is not first shaken up by fear. So, after shaking up the “house,” the drachma is found; because when a person’s conscience is indignant, then the similarity with the Creator is restored in a person. “And having found it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say: rejoice with me: I have found the lost drachma.” What kind of friends and neighbors are these, if not those Heavenly Powers about which we spoke above? They are the closer to the Supreme Wisdom, the more they approach Her by the grace of unceasing vision. But we should not at all ignore why this woman, through whom the Wisdom of God is depicted, had, according to the meaning of the parable, ten drachmas, of which she lost one and found it after a careful search? – Because the Lord created Angels and men to know Him; when He wanted to establish it forever, then, without a doubt, He created it in His own likeness. But the woman had ten drachmas, because there are nine ranks of angels. But in order to have the full number of the elect, man was created tenth, who even after the crime did not perish for his Creator, because Eternal Wisdom, shining with miracles from a meager vessel, restored him with flesh. 7. But we said that there are nine ranks of Angels precisely because, according to the testimony of Holy Scripture, we know Angels, Archangels, Powers, Powers, Principalities, Dominions, Thrones, Cherubim and Seraphim. For that there are Angels and Archangels, almost all pages of Holy Scripture testify to this. As is known, the Prophetic books often speak about the Cherubim and Seraphim. And the names of the four ranks are listed by the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians, saying: “above all Principality, and Authority, and Power, and Dominion” (Eph 1.21). He again says to the Colossians: “Whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers—all things were created by Him and for Him” (Col. 1.16). He had already described the Dominions, Principalities and Powers, speaking to the Ephesians, but intending to speak about the same to the Colossians, he spoke in advance about the Thrones, about which he did not say anything to the Ephesians. So, when Thrones are added to those four about which he spoke to the Ephesians, that is, to the Principalities, Authorities, Powers and Dominions, then five Orders will emerge, mentioned by name. Having added to them Angels and Archangels, Cherubim and Seraphim, without a doubt, there will be nine Orders of Angels. Therefore, to that very Angel who was created first, through the Prophet it is said: “Son of man! Weep for the king of Tire and say to him: Thus says the Lord God: You are the seal of perfection, the fullness of wisdom and the crown of beauty" (Ezekiel 28.12). Here it should be noted that he was not created in the likeness of God, but is called a “imprint of likeness,” so that the subtler the nature in him, the more faithfully the image of God is imprinted on him. In this place it is immediately added: “your clothes were decorated with all kinds of precious stones; ruby, topaz and diamond, peridot, onyx, jasper, sapphire, carbuncle and emerald and gold, everything skillfully set in your nests and strung on you, was prepared on the day of your creation” (Ezek 28:13). So he named nine names of stones precisely because there are nine Orders of Angels. Before these particular Orders that first Angel was placed so adorned and majestic in order that he might be more glorious in comparison with them, being exalted before all the Orders of Angels. 8. But why do we need a detailed list of the choirs of surviving Angels, if we do not speak subtly about their ministries? – For in Greek the messengers are called Angels, and the highest messengers are called Archangels. And you need to know that the word “Angels” is the name of their “duty”, and not “nature”. For although these holy spirits of the Heavenly Fatherland “are always spirits, they cannot always be called Angels, because they are then only Angels when something is proclaimed through them: therefore, through the Psalmist it is said: “You make Your angels spirits” (Ps 103.4). Clearly he seems to say this: “He who always has them as spirits makes them, when it pleases, angels.” But those who proclaim the lesser things are called Angels, and those who proclaim the most important things are called Archangels. That is why not a simple “Angel” is sent to the Virgin Mary, but the “Archangel Gabriel" (Luke 1.26). Because it was appropriate for the highest Angel to go to this highest service, since he proclaimed what is above all. Therefore, they are also called by private names to designate in words what they can do in practice. For in this holy city, full of perfect knowledge of the vision of Almighty God, proper names are not given so that it is impossible to know their faces without names; but when they come to us for some kind of service, then we have names according to the services. 9. For Michael means: “who is like God,” and Gabriel means “the courage of God”; Raphael means “the medicine of God.” And when something marvelous in power first appears, then “Michael” is sent, in order to make it clear from the event itself and the name that no one can do what God is able to do. That is why this ancient enemy, who out of pride wished to be like God, saying: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mountain in the congregation of gods, on the edge of the north” (Isaiah 14.13), when at the end of the world, who is to perish at the final judgment, will be deprived of his power, he will make war with Michael the Archangel, as John says: “Michael and His angels fought against the dragon” (Rev 12.7), so that the one who through pride exalted himself to the point of becoming like God, before his destruction, was admonished by Michael that no one in pride dares to rise to the point of becoming like God. Gabriel is sent to Mary (Luke 1.26), which is called “the courage of God.” For he came to proclaim the One who was pleased to appear humble to crush the copper gates of hell. About Him through the Psalmist it is said: “Lift up, O gates, your heights, and be lifted up, O eternal doors, and the King of glory will come in! Who is this King of glory? “The Lord of hosts, He is the king of glory” (Ps 23:9, 10). So, through the courage of God, the One who, as the Lord of hosts and mighty in battle, came to battle against the power of hell, was to be proclaimed. And Raphael means, as we said, “the healing of God” precisely because when he touched the eyes of Tobias, as if out of obligation to heal, then he drove away the darkness of his blindness. Therefore, it is fitting for one who is sent to heal to be called the medicine of God. But since we have clarified the names of the Angels, it now remains to briefly explain the very names of the positions. 10. For those spirits are called Powers through whom signs and wonders are most often performed. Authorities are those who, before others, have at their disposal the power to subordinate to their power the opposing powers in order to curb them, so that these latter cannot tempt the hearts of people as much as they want. Principalities are those who rule even over the good Angels, who, deciding when something needs to be done, rule over other subordinates, disposing them to perform Divine ministries. And Dominions are those whose loftiness exceeds even the power of the Principalities. For to command means to be first before others, and to dominate even means to possess all subordinates. Therefore, those Angelic armies that are distinguished by their wondrous power are called Dominions because others are subject to obedience to them. Thrones are those armies before which Almighty God always presides to pronounce judgment. Since in Latin we call thrones “seats,” then Thrones of God are those that are filled with such grace of the Divine that the Lord judges on them and through them pronounces His judgments. Therefore, through the Psalmist it is said: “You are seated on the throne, O righteous Judge” (Ps 9.5). Cherubim is the name given to completeness of knowledge. And these highest armies are called Cherubim because they are so full of the most perfect knowledge, the more closely they contemplate the glory of God, so that, in the image of the creation, they know everything the more fully, the closer they come, according to the merit of their dignity, to the vision of their Creator. And Seraphim are those hosts of Holy Spirits who, through exceptional proximity, flame with incomparable love for Their Creator. For those who are flaming or flaming are called Seraphim. Since they are united with God in such a way that there are no other intermediary spirits between them and God, they become more flaming the more directly they see Him. Their love is truly a flame, because the more clearly they see the glory of His Divinity, the more they flame with love for Him. 11. But what is the use for us to discuss this about Angelic spirits, if we do not take care, through decent reflection, to adapt it to our improvement? Since this highest citizenship consists of Angels and men and, in our opinion, as many of the human race will ascend into it as there are chosen Angels left there, as it is written: “Then he set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the children of Israel” (Deut. 32.8), then we must also extract something from these sections of the highest citizens in favor of our conversion and kindle ourselves with good dispositions to increase virtues. Since, in our opinion, as many people will ascend there as there are many Angels left, it follows that the people themselves returning to the Heavenly Fatherland, when returning there, should imitate something borrowed from their hosts. For the conversions of each person exactly correspond to the ranks of the hosts and are reconciled to their fate by the likeness of the conversion. For there are many who receive little, and yet they do not cease to proclaim this very little with reverence to the brethren. Consequently, they strive to be among the Angels. And there are some who, being filled with the gift of Divine generosity, are strengthened both to acquire and to proclaim the highest knowledge of heavenly mysteries. So, where do they try themselves, if not among the Archangels? And there are others who do wonderful things and show amazing signs. Consequently, where should we classify them, if not to the state and number of the Higher Powers? And there are still others who expel evil spirits from the bodies of the possessed, and drive them out by the power of prayer and the power assumed over them. Therefore, where will they receive their reward, if not among the Heavenly Powers? There are still others who, having received powers, exceed the merits of even the chosen people, and, being the best of the good, they rule even over the chosen brothers. Therefore, where is their place if not among the Origins? And again, there are some who dominate over everyone and all desires in themselves so that, in all fairness among people, they are called gods of purity, which is why it is said to Moses: “Behold, I have made you God for Pharaoh” (Exodus 7.1). Therefore, where do these people strive, if not among the authorities? There are still others who, ruling with special care over themselves and examining themselves with careful attention, always containing the fear of God in their hearts, accept as a duty of virtue the ability even to judge others righteously. Since Divine contemplation is always truly inherent in their soul, then on them, as on the Throne, the Lord judges, tests the affairs of others, and from His seat marvelously disposes of everything. Therefore, what are they if not the Thrones of Their Creator? Or: where are they attributed, if not to the number of the high Thrones? Since the Holy Church is governed through them, for the most part even those chosen are judged by them for some actions of their weakness. And there are some who are so full of love for God and neighbor that they should rightly be called Cherubim. Since, as we said, Cherubim is the name given to the fullness of knowledge, and according to the words of Paul we know that “love therefore is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13.10), then all those who, above all others, are full of love for God and neighbor, received reward for their merits among the Cherubim. And there are still others who, being ignited by the fire of the highest contemplation, breathe only the desire of their Creator, no longer desire anything in this world, feed on the one love of Eternity, reject everything earthly, rise in thought above everything temporary, love and flame, and in their very flame find peace, loving - they flame, speaking, - they ignite others, and whom they touch with a word, they immediately make them flame love for God. Consequently, what should I call, if not Seraphim, those whose heart, turned into fire, shines and burns, because they enlighten the mental eyes for things above, and, kindling with tears, cleanse the rust of sins? So, those who were inflamed with such love for their Creator, where did they receive reward for their calling, if not among the Seraphim? 12. But when I say this, then you, beloved brethren, go inside yourselves, reconsider your innermost deeds and thoughts. See if there is anything good within you that you have already done; you see that you will find reward for your rank among these hosts, which we briefly spoke about. But woe to that soul that does not notice in itself any of the good deeds that we have listed, and even more grief threatens it if it does not understand its deprivation of gifts and does not mourn it. So if anyone is like this, my brethren, he must weep greatly, because he does not weep. Therefore, let us think about the duties of the elect, and with the virtue that we can, let us be inflamed with the love of such a great reward. He who is not aware of the grace of gifts within himself, let him cry. And whoever recognizes lesser gifts in himself, let him not envy others for greater ones, because these higher ranks of blessed spirits were created in such a way that some are placed above others. Dionysius the Areopagite, the ancient and venerable Father, says (About the heavenly hierarchy. 7, 9, 13), that from the lower hosts of Angels, visibly or invisibly, are sent into the outer world to perform service precisely because Angels and Archangels come for human consolation. For these higher hosts are never separated from the heavenly world, because those who have the highest degrees do not at all correct the duties of external service. This seems to be contradicted by what Isaiah says: “Then one of the Seraphim flew to me, and in his hand he had a burning coal, which he took with tongs from the altar, and touched his lips” (Isaiah 6.6, 7). But in this thought of the Prophet it must be understood that those spirits that are sent receive the name of those whose duty they perform. For that Angel who carries coal from the Altar to burn away verbal sins is called Seraphim, because it means “flame.” This meaning seems to be confirmed by what Daniel says: “thousands of thousands served Him, and ten thousand ten thousand stood before Him” (Dan 7.10). For one thing means “to serve”, and another means “to stand”: because those who serve God are those who go to us to proclaim it, and those who stand are those who enjoy inner contemplation so much that they are no longer sent to do things in the outer world. 13. But since we know that in some places of Scripture something is done through the Cherubim, and something through the Seraphim, we do not want to decisively assert whether they themselves do this or do it through the subordinate armies, which, as it is said, coming from the higher ones, also take the names of the higher ones, because we cannot prove this with clear evidence. However, we probably know that to fulfill the ministry from above, some Angels send others, precisely according to the testimony of the Prophet Zechariah, who says: “and then the Angel who spoke to me comes out, and another Angel goes to meet him, and he said to this: go quickly, tell this young man: Jerusalem will populate the surrounding area because of the multitude of people and livestock in it.” (Zechariah 2.3, 4). For if an Angel says to an Angel: “Fathers and Fathers,” then there is no doubt that one is sending the other. But those who send are lower than those who send. However, it is also known about the armies sent that when they come to us, they also perform service in the outer world in such a way that they do not at all cease to dwell in the heavenly world through contemplation. Consequently, they are both sent and forthcoming, because although the Angelic spirit is describable, yet the most supreme Spirit, which is God, is indescribable. So, Angels are sent and exist before His face, because wherever they are sent, they flow within Him. 14. You also need to know that for the most part the very ranks of blessed spirits take on the names of the closest ranks. For Thrones, that is, the seats of God, we have called a special Order of blessed spirits, and, despite this, through the Psalmist it is said: “He who sits on the Cherubim, reveal Himself” (Ps 79.2), precisely because in the very divisions of the armies the Cherubim are adjacent to the Thrones, and the Lord appears to be seated also on the Cherubim according to their level with the adjacent army. Since in this higher citizenship there are some particularities for each rank, but there is also a commonality for all; and what each one has in himself in part, he possesses in full in another rank. But they are not called by the same name at all, so that the rank that has completely accepted any object as its responsibility is called by the name of this object. For we called Seraphim a flame, and yet all of them together burn with love for the Creator. We called the Cherubim the fullness of knowledge, but who does not know something where everyone together sees God Himself, the source of knowledge? And Thrones are those armies on which the Creator sits, but who can be blessed if his Creator does not sit in his soul?” Consequently, what everyone has in part is given a private name to those who have accepted it completely as their duty. For there, at least some had something in such a way that others could no longer have it, since Dominions and Principalities are called by a private name; however, everything there is the property of everyone, because the spirits communicate this to one another through love. 15. But here we are, delving into the secrets of heavenly citizens, and have deviated far from the order of our explanation. So, let us sigh before those we spoke about, but return to ourselves. For we must remember that we are flesh. Meanwhile, let us remain silent about the mysteries of heaven, but with the hand of repentance we will erase the stains of our dust before the eyes of the Creator; Divine mercy itself is promised, saying: “there will be joy in heaven from one sinner who repents,” and yet through the Prophet the Lord says: “When I tell the righteous that he will live, and he trusts in his own righteousness and commits unrighteousness, then all his righteous deeds will not be remembered” (Ezek 33.13). Let us discuss, if we can, the economy of heavenly love. She threatens those standing with punishment if they fall; and he promises mercy to the fallen so that they will desire to rise. He frightens those so that they are not proud of their virtues; He calms these, so that they do not despair after committing vices. Are you righteous, fear wrath, lest you fall; whether you are a sinner, take mercy to stand up. But here we, already fallen, could not resist, lying in our criminal desires. But the One who created us “right” is also waiting and calling for us to rebel. He opens the arms of His love and wants to accept us to Himself through repentance. But we cannot repent properly if we do not know the method of this very repentance. Because to repent means to both mourn the sins committed and not to commit the sins that are mourned. For whoever mourns sins, continuing them, either pretends that he repents, or does not have the right concept of repentance. For what good would it do if someone mourned the sins of luxury and, meanwhile, continued to be extremely covetous? Or what good would it do if someone began to mourn guilt in anger and, nevertheless, were consumed by hatred? But the main thing we are talking about is that the one who mourns sins does not continue to be mourned, and the one who mourns for vices fears falling into vices. 16. For with special attention it is necessary to think about the fact that the one who remembers his actions that are not permissible must abstain from some of them, even those that are permitted, since through this he is obliged to satisfy his Creator, so that the one who committed the forbidden would deny himself even what was permitted, and the one who remembers his great iniquities would reproach himself even for the smallest ones. I say “the slightest,” although I do not confirm this with the evidence of Holy Scripture. The law of the Old Testament clearly prohibits coveting another man's wife (Exodus 20.17), and forbids the King to give orders to soldiers beyond their strength, but does not prohibit, under threat of punishment, coveting water. – But we all know that David, pierced by the edge of desire, desired another man’s wife and took her (2 Samuel 11.4). The crime was followed by worthy punishment, and he corrected the evil he had committed with tears of repentance. When he sat for a long time against the wedge-shaped armies of the enemies, then he strongly wanted to drink water from the den of Bethlehem (2 Samuel 23.14 et seq.). His chosen warriors, having made their way through the midst of the enemy's militia, brought unharmed the water that the King greatly desired. But the husband, taught by punishments, immediately reproached himself for the desire for water, which endangered the soldiers, and poured it out to the Lord, as it is written there: “he poured it out for the glory of the Lord” (2 Samuel 23.16; 1 Chronicles 11.18). Because the spilled water was turned into a sacrifice to the Lord, since he sacrificed the guilt of the desire with repentance of self-reproach. So, the one who was never at all afraid to desire another man’s wife was later afraid even because he desired water. This is because, remembering that he had committed something impermissible, having already grown cold towards himself, he refrained from doing what was permissible. This is how we repent if we fully mourn what we have done. Let us think about the heavenly wealth of our Creator. He sees that we have sinned and endures. 17. He who forbade us to sin before the crime does not cease to expect repentance even after the crime. Here He Himself, Whom we have despised, calls us. We have turned away from Him, but He does not turn away. Therefore it is well said through Isaiah: “And thine eyes shall see thy teachers; and your ears will hear the word that speaks behind you” (Isaiah 30.20, 21). - Man, as it were, was exhorted in person when, created for righteousness, he accepted the commandments for righteousness. But when he despised these very commandments, then, as it were, he turned his mind back to the face of his Creator. But here He follows us behind and exhorts us, because, although He is despised by us, He still does not cease to call us. It is as if we stood with our backs to the face of Him whose words we despise and commandments we reject, but He, standing behind us, calls upon us who have rejected Him, although He sees that He is despised, yet through His commandments He calls, through patience He awaits. So, think, beloved brethren, if, during a conversation with one of you, his servant suddenly became proud and turned his back to his face, then would his despised master not punish his pride, did not inflict wounds on him for his obstinate treatment? But here we are, sinning, turning our backs to the face of our Creator, and despite this, He tolerates us. Those who proudly turned away He graciously calls back, and He who could push away those who turn away makes promises that we will return to our duties. This kind of mercy of our Creator softens the cruelty of our guilt, and a person who, by doing evil, could have been defeated, should blush, at least when he is expected. 18. I, brothers, will briefly tell you about an event that I learned about from the venerable husband Maximian, who was then abbot of my monastery and presbyter, and now Bishop of Syracuse. So, if you listen to it with attention, I think that it will bring considerable benefit to your love. In our times there lived a certain Victorinus, who was also called by another name Emilian, a sufficient man in terms of moderation of life; but since, with the wealth of things, the sinfulness of the flesh prevails, he fell into some crime, which should have frightened him and thought about the extraordinary nature of his death. Imbued with thoughts of his guilt, he rebelled against himself, left everything in this world and entered a monastery. In this monastery he showed such humility and such feats of repentance that all the brethren who grew there in love for God were forced to despise their lives when they saw his repentance. For with all the effort of his soul he tried to crucify his flesh, break his own will, pray in secret, wash himself with daily tears, desire contempt for himself, fear respect from his brethren. So, he was accustomed to precede the night vigils of the brethren; and since the mountain on which the monastery stood jutted out on one side in a hidden part, he used to go there before vigils in order to exhaust himself there more freely every day with cries of repentance, the more hidden the place was. For he looked at the severity of his coming Judge and, already agreeing with the same Judge, punished in tears the guilt of his crime. But one night the awake abbot of the monastery, seeing him secretly leaving, quietly followed him from afar. When this one saw him in a mountain cave prostrated in prayer, then he wanted to wait until he got up in order to find out the very patience of his prayer, when suddenly a light poured from heaven on the one who was lying prostrate in prayer; and such clarity spread in that place that the entire part of that side turned white from the same light; Seeing this, Ava got scared and ran away. And when, after a long time, the same brother returned to the monastery, his Abba, in order to find out whether he was aware of the shedding of such a great light on himself, tried to find out from him, saying: “Where have you been, brother?” But he, thinking that he could hide, replied that he was in the monastery. When he denied it, Ava was forced to say that he saw it. But he, seeing that it was open, also revealed what was a secret for Abba, adding: “When you saw the light descending on me from heaven, then a voice came along saying: “Your sin is forgiven.” And although Almighty God could silently cleanse his sin, yet, uttering a voice, shining with light, He wanted to shake our hearts to repentance by the example of His mercy. We are amazed, beloved brethren, that the Lord cast down His persecutor, Saul, from heaven, and spoke to him from heaven. So in our times, the sinner and the penitent heard the voice of heaven. It was said to him: “Why are you persecuting Me” (Acts 9.4). And this one was honored to hear: “Your sin is forgiven.” This repentant sinner's merits are much lower than Paul's. But since in this event we are also talking about Saul, who breathed the cruelty of murder, we can safely say that Saul, for his pride, heard the voice of reproach, and this one, for his humility, heard the voice of consolation. This Divine love restored because humility overthrew; Divine severity humbled him, because pride exalted him. So, my brothers, have hope in the mercy of our Creator; rethink what you do, rethink what you did. Look at the generosity of the Highest Love and go with tears to the merciful Judge while He is still waiting. For considering that He is righteous, do not ignore your sins; and considering that He is loving, do not despair. Boldness towards God is given to man by the God-man. For those who repent, there is great hope in the fact that our Mediator has become our Judge, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen. You might be interested in: