К пасомым

And I won’t be with you long, and you won’t be with me (me, 30 years old): life is fleeting, but our blissful or painful eternity is undoubted. Therefore, while I am with you and you are with me, I must tell you the whole will of God about you, so that I will not be responsible for you at the Last Judgment of our God. I won’t look at whether you like listening to me or not, but I will do my job. The truth stings the eyes, and the truth is sometimes difficult for listeners; but medicines are often acute and difficult for patients. Is it therefore necessary to remain silent, remain inactive, and not treat the patient? But what then is my title, my duty? Am I despised in the pulpit? Am I not a teacher of faith? Am I not the shepherd of the sheep entrusted to me? Am I not the perfecter of the mysteries of faith? No, my right hand will be forgotten if it does not inscribe the words of truth on the charter; cleave my tongue to my throat [Ps. 136:5–6], if he does not turn in my mouth to speak the rules of faith and salvation! Let my already dim mind, which was given to me for this purpose, darken and die out in me, so that I know and communicate to others the verbs of the eternal life. May my heart, which has grown cold towards the work of God, fall apart! No, as long as I have sense and memory, I will remember that it is woe to me if I do not preach the gospel [1 Cor. 9:16], that the Heavenly Shepherd will require at my hand the blood of His sheep who perished from my negligence and laziness. Rise, man, above crude sensuality: do not pay attention to the play of the flesh - it is material, elemental, blind. If the flesh, like a horse, gallops and plays, leave it to itself; let the soul not descend to her with its thoughts and imagination and not cleave to it, do not sympathize with it with its heart: if it plays, it will stop when it sees that they are not looking at it and are leaving it in disdain, like an insignificant, despicable, stupid slave. Tell your soul: you have something to do besides this earthly flesh; you have the most worthy, spiritual objects - your moral perfection, your blissful eternity. You are a priest and have the right and duty to lead and manage the verbal sheep entrusted to you into the sheepfold, into the courtyard of the Lord. Remember how dear His sheep are to the Lord. Simon Ionin! Do you love Me more than they...feed My lambs [Jn. 21:15–16]. You see how bright the sun and stars are: the righteous will one day shine in the same way as the sun - from their inner, immaterial light. When Angels appear on earth, almost all of them are illuminated with light. Strive for this enlightenment: discard dark deeds. We can elevate our nature to a communion of the Divine nature, and God is uncreated Light, surpassing all created light. Human! When I look at you, at your earthly feelings, at your flesh in general, when I remember the day of your birth and the subsequent days of your infancy and growth until now, and then my thoughts are transported to the day of your death, and then to the eternity that was awarded to you from the creation of the world, then I do not know what to marvel at: your insignificance or the omnipotence and goodness of the Creator, Who was pleased to give you life and your perishable and the mortal body will once be clothed with immortality. My surprise increases when I see that the Lord God, the eternal King, gives you, flesh and blood, to eat His own Flesh and Blood (since in the days of His flesh [Heb. 5:7] He most sincerely partook of our flesh and blood) in order to make you eternally alive. No matter what you look at, everything is fine and good with you. Thank God that He prospers everything so well for you. You don't thank God for your well-being; Moreover, you are even dissatisfied with him! But bring to yourself the thought that in the same city as you there live people who are similar to you in everything, in an unhappy lot, to which, however, they are accustomed and are not burdened by it. Get into these low-lying, cramped, stuffy shelters, where several poor people live, and thank God with all your heart that you have a spacious, clean and bright shelter, and be completely satisfied with your condition. And if you want Christian perfection and to enter the eternal abodes of heaven, try as much as possible to alleviate the lot of these poor people in any way you can and in any way you can: whether by intercession with others, by money, or by something else. Be merciful, like the Heavenly Father; buy here, at the price of corruption, incorruptible life in heaven, the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. You often wonder: how did a fire start from a small spark? But don’t you know that fire is an obedient servant of God, just like all the elements in general? God ordered the spark to turn into a flame - and a fire occurred as a punishment for wickedness or to tempt virtue. They also often ask: how did so-and-so die prematurely, when, apparently, the disease was not dangerous? And here remember that if the Lord wanted the spark of illness to turn into a flame of destruction, then the illness should have increased more and more and the doctors’ aids should have remained unsuccessful: hence, recognize the weakness of every person, the weakness of all human wisdom, no matter how hard it tries to continue human life. Read these clearly written words on every dying person: man is like grass: he lived, grew, and collapsed. Don't blame doctors: they are not omnipotent. Mark. Chapter 3, v. 31–35. And His mother and brothers came (to the house where the Savior was and taught the people) and, standing outside the house, they sent to Him to call Him. The people were sitting around Him. And they said to Him: Behold, Your mother and Your brothers and Your sisters are outside the house asking You. And he answered them: Who are my mother and my brothers? And looking around at those sitting around Him, He said: Behold My mother and My brothers; for whoever does the will of God is My brother, and sister, and mother. Probably, so that the ears of the Most Illustrious Mother of the Lord may not be offended, the Most Holy Virgin and his cousins ​​wanted to call Him out of a feeling of love for Him, out of precaution so that they would not do him rudeness or do any other harm, not fully understanding that until His hour had come, until then no one could harm Him. They were probably bored without Him, especially the Immaculate Mother. The Lord spent whole days with the people and even spent the night anywhere. How could She not follow, at least with her gaze, Her beloved Son, Her own now and [later] Sweetest Jesus? But the Savior honored the fulfillment of the will of His Father above all else. Likewise, a priest in a church should not think about any earthly connections. From the Epistle to Philemon. The Apostle converted Onesimus, the servant of Filimonov, to Christ, and for this reason he calls him a child. Previously, he was probably an unkind servant of his master, but now the apostle, having instructed him in the faith, calls him beneficial to Philemon and to him (the apostle). Amazing deeds: Onesimus ran away from his master for an hour to the apostle - and became a Christian, from a lost man - an eternal member of the Kingdom of Christ: For, perhaps, he went away for a while so that you could accept him forever [Phil. 1:15]. This means that faith saves us, but not works; Onesimus has not yet finished his earthly career, but is already called a member of the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. In the same sense, all those converted by the apostles are called by different names, meaning that they are already members of the Heavenly Kingdom. The Savior here answers the secret thought of the Pharisee [...]. A servant of Christ must behave in such a way that people follow him in crowds, that is, the priest must attract parishioners to himself by word and life. Are you ashamed of your title? - It’s not true: your title is ashamed of you. Take precaution. The devil, knowing your weak side, will attack you every day. Try to maintain important calm. Be even. Don't go overboard. The life of a sinner is full of abomination in reality and in a dream: in reality - in reality, in actions, and in a dream - in unclean visions, so that every person can clearly see his shortcomings, his weaknesses in dreams. Even a person who lives as holy as possible, but has weaknesses that pride sometimes hides from him in reality, can see them clearly in a dream. Dreams should not be neglected: our life is reflected in them, like in a mirror. The limitations of man are noticeable from considering him in relation to the whole world of God, enormous, luminous: in particular, to the enormous distances of heaven from earth; in relation to the elements of the earth, which are often terribly hostile against him, burning him or his property, drowning him or his home, ship, etc., blowing him up with stormy breath or otherwise; in relation to animals, who for the most part live without any dependence on him and even instill fear in him; in relation to plants that dress so beautifully, often live longer than him and come out of the ground completely without his knowledge and skill; finally, in relation even to his body, which often torments him with feelings of hunger, thirst, peace, etc. Everything that is around a person is not his, but God’s; and everything that a person has is God’s, not his. Salvation of the soul. How much this salvation means. What is the soul? The end of faith is the salvation of souls. How much the Christian faith means. You see the beauty of the creature - marvel at its Artist and love Him for His boundless perfections. You see the slyness of affectus [from Latin: passion, emotional excitement]: she is still looking for more and is not content with what is given to her. What would seem to be more? Let the eye of your mind always be fixed on considering the state of your soul. Observe: is it quiet and calm, like a majestic river flowing smoothly in its banks, or is it agitated and seething, like a fierce sea, from stormy passions. In the first case, rejoice and thank God, and in the second, try to destroy the cause of the excitement. If, with the grace of God, you are accustomed to seeing the desired peace in your soul, then it is easy for you to notice that the cause of your indignation. Standing on the bank of a river, calmly, quietly flowing in its banks, you can easily notice what will disturb it: the wind, some substance thrown onto its surface, a fish playing in the water, a ship floating in the water, or something else. It's the same in the soul. If she, having been calm until now, suddenly becomes indignant, now pay attention - and you will see what indignates her. And most often it is the evil one who outrages her: he cannot tolerate peace of mind and therefore is now trying to disturb a calm soul. Everywhere he acts directly, but especially through our passions. And this is both in reality and in a dream. Don't be so senseless: don't love based [...] on appearance alone. She [is not] a being that abides in her, but soon passes away in every person; and love the soul in her, her affection for herself, her efficiency and talent. That she is [not entirely] a gift, but a constant [labor]?.. Well, if she really was not good, is it possible not to love her because of this, is it really her fault? Moreover, in this case, is it for your own sake or for the sake of people that you don’t love her? If for your own sake, you are stupid, reckless: how can you not like a face when you know her beautiful soul, many commendable qualities? If for the sake of people, he is also stupid. What do people care about her, and what do you care about them, about their gossip? Yes, they cannot say anything fair in this case to condemn your wife. Our soul is an amazing creature: at night, like a baby left to its own devices by its parents, to whom they do not pay attention, it plays with external objects, putting them in the strangest, most bizarre combinations. But in the waking state, upon awakening, when the eye of self-consciousness and reason, like parents to a child, begin to turn their searching attention to her, she ceases, so to speak, to be amused by the whimsically surrounding objects and from a baby becomes an intelligent, serious, strong being: she calls people before her, enters into reasoning with them; or reasoning with herself, asking, answering; or is carried away by his imagination to thousands of the most remote and opposite places; or she rushes around in nearby places, being busy with some kind of her own activities, interests - both because she is a highly active being and cannot remain idle in any kind of work, no matter how stupid, and because her lifestyle, position, inclinations and occupations, habits, passions, like levers, move her abilities. So, our soul is a most amazing creature: in some cases it takes a powerful advantage over the body and at night; upon awakening, when the body has rested, the soul, like a swift stream, breaks out from under the shell of dormant feelings and, like a stormy and high-water river, touches everything and carries everything with it: it reasons with everyone, starts talking with everyone, so it is very difficult to enclose it within the limits of moderation or force it to calm down, even at night. I hear people talking, approving of me. But the praise is not for me, but for God, who does every good thing in me. I myself, I myself vividly feel that I have only weaknesses and shortcomings, because God works in me both to will and to act according to His good pleasure [Phil. 2:13]. Glory to him. Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory [Ps. 113:9]. Holy love for God and His intelligent sheep! Warm my heart and inspire me to do a good deed - a conversation with my flock about the Sovereign Trinity! So that you can slowly say familiar prayers and not be embarrassed, do not think about human glory, do not please people, but think only about pleasing God. Just as water flows from a leaky vessel, so from an unkind person a word of condemnation, hatred, slander comes. Human! You very rarely think about the most important subject - about the improvement of your life, while every day you think about insignificant objects. Think more often about how best to morally organize your life... Ne taedeas, sed hilariaris et semper Deo gratias agas, memento te salvum esse Domini dementia et habere omnia non modo necessaria ad vitam, sed etiam jucunda et nimia. – Esto hilaris et Deum adora. [From Latin: Do not be disgusted, but rejoice and always thank God, remember that you are healthy (healed) from madness by the Lord and have everything not only necessary for life, but also even pleasant and unnecessary. Be joyful and honor God. Virtue. April 9, 1856]. When you feel sad about something, immediately tell the Lord your sadness, and He will comfort you. The Savior is the same for us now as in His earthly life. And now He is born for us, circumcised, teaches, suffers, rises from the dead, ascends into heaven. As then, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever [Heb. 13:8]. That is why we still have the feasts of the Lord in continuous succession! Testimonies are commandments, laws. Lion. 16:13. When you pray, do not rush your thoughts to some other matter, because prayer should be your main occupation throughout your life, and learning to pray worthily is the most important thing. You might be interested in: