Январь 1861 г.

Monday. The Lord surprised me with His mercy. Calmly, with faith, I served the liturgy at the cemetery and received communion for unspeakable peace and joy. Oh! I felt so good. In seeking and acquiring the Kingdom of God (in our hearts) and its truth is our peace, life and bliss, and not in greed, seeking and acquiring earthly goods. And the Lord reigns in our hearts through our mutual faith and love. The kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit [Rom. 14, 17]. Man in his pure form (righteous) is the same one who came out of the mouth of God as a breath. So you too: if you cleanse your heart from sins, you will become like the primitive, or primordial, man before his fall - what am I saying? - you will become like God Himself, in whose image and likeness you were created, you will be one with the Lord, and God will be in your heart and in your thoughts, and rivers of living waters will flow from your belly [Jn. 7.38]. Then God will be near you: in your heart and in your mouth [Deut. 30, 14; Rome. 10, 8]. But a sinner is a working church of the devil, 77 who sits in his heart and moves him at will, controls his thoughts, and is also on his lips. A man is great when he sincerely turns to God in prayer—then he is godlike, God is then in his heart and in his mouth. Does he then say prayers to the Most Holy Trinity - the Trinity hears him, because She is then as close to him as the words of his prayer are close to his heart; with the fiery prayer of the heart, the Trinity is in his heart and in his mouth. God is incomparably closer to us than the icon of Him that we pray to. Do not forget to point out in your hope the machinations of the enemy, who leads everyone away from hope. Point out the funeral liturgies that nourish our hope. Christian hope is our hope for union with God in the next century. In our present Christian situation, everything corresponds and is directed towards this union - both material and spiritual goods (the grace of God in the Church: divine services, the Sacraments, prayers, the fruits of prayers, sorrows that cleanse the heart, illnesses (he will take up his cross [Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23]), conscience - God's inner test and cleansing). The present union in fervent prayer, in the Sacrament of Communion, prepares for heavenly union with God - this is the guarantee of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of Christians. For the same reason, any other connection of the heart, except for God and not for God, is strictly forbidden to us; for the same reason, save yourself from carnal lusts and from all sin (love of money, adultery). Whoever does not renounce everything he has cannot be My disciple [Lk. 14, 33]. Take note of this and be completely impartial to your estate, not preying on any of the visitors, no matter how frequent they may be. I am a servant of God, because the laws of my God are written in my thoughts and in my heart, and I always work for Him by fulfilling His laws. And if I don’t do it, I suffer, and if I work, my Lord pays me for it with peace, with the life of my heart. By honoring the Angels, we become aligned with that life-giving conviction that there is another world of rational beings, completely pure, simple, incorporeal, and that, therefore, the existence of our soul after death is not only possible, but actually existing. And by honoring the saints, we again get used to the idea that there is life for us after death, that virtue and holiness are rewarded after death, which means that if we live virtuously, we will also be rewarded; and evil is punished, as it is presented in the gospel story about the rich man and Lazarus 78 - which means that we will also be punished for the evil that we do here. In general, the veneration of Angels and saints, without responding to any polytheism, is completely in our nature and leads to significant spiritual benefits. The Lord is above everyone, in everyone and through everyone and everything - how can I not trust in Him? I am nothing, and He is everything; I am powerless, but He is omnipotent; My mind is small, but His is infinite; For me it is dark, but for Him it is bright. My heart! Trust in your God! He is the God of the heart. Many Christians live their lives and don’t know their faith, don’t know what they hope for, don’t know what they should do to please God, while they spend their whole lives worrying about their positions, about clothes, about food and drink, about going out and going out! Endless inattention to the good of your soul! They say about theaters that they are necessary and useful. Lie. A sinful person finds the good side in passions and justifies passions. Ask why they go to the theater? Ask what they liked about the theater? Some are dissatisfied with themselves and their lives. Why? Because their hearts are empty, because they are inactive, lazy, and bury their talent in the ground. How can the soul not languish? She feels like she is dying. Point to the blessings of the Kingdom of Heaven, to the promises of these blessings in the Gospel and show that they will certainly be fulfilled, just as all the Old Testament promises and prophecies were fulfilled, as the promises of the Savior Himself were fulfilled and are being fulfilled (for example, about the Holy Spirit and others). Which (the Church) is His Body, the fullness of Him that fills all in all [Eph. 1, 23]. And this is why He Himself accepts alms in the face of the poor: they are His members, He lives in them. Remember often the words of the Savior: man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God [Matt. 4, 4], and absorb them into your heart by faith and meditation, turn them into your juices and blood. The Word of God is before you, you know its power and life-giving power; You have not yet lived without bread, but you can live forty days without it even by human nature, supported by the grace of God. Understand what I’m saying 79 times. In prayer, the devil drives the person praying forward with an unclear thought in truncated words, preventing him from putting the power of prayer into his heart. The accursed person knows that fervent prayer brings abundant fruit to the soul, therefore he tries in every possible way to distort it, to hinder it. In the next century, our bliss will increase from the surprise of suddenly seeing the bright and beautiful Angels of the Lord, their countless myriads, their orderly ranks, their hierarchical order; from surprise to see all the saints, good, simple people of God from all centuries, prophets, apostles... and everyone, and most importantly, from the contemplation of God in the unapproachable light, from one’s own inner enlightenment and perfect bliss, not darkened by any sin, any fear, any care and sadness. When one of your visitors comes to you, God forbid you from putting your brother on the same level with sensual things, comparing him with your material benefits - I mean stinginess. Brother is infinitely above all material things. How often, without noticing, we exchange the immortal soul of our brother, for whom Christ died and whom He feeds with His Flesh and Blood and His word, for food and drink or for silver. With all diligence, with cordiality, treat everyone who comes to your meal. In the church of God there are good, simple, believing souls, as in the house of the Heavenly Father. So it’s free and easy for them here. Here true Christians anticipate the future Kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world, future freedom from all sin and death, future peace and bliss. When do they look forward to it? Sincerely turning your soul to God, fervently praying to God, taking a decisive intention to devote your life to God, and outside the church, committing acts of virtue in your very deeds. Christian hope is our hope for life in Christ. We were created for life, but we fell away from life and fell into spiritual and physical death and, if not for the Lord, we would perish forever, but could not be destroyed. God is true to Himself. Having created God-like, eternal spirits, He is faithful to Himself, His eternity in them, and to destroy them means to renounce His eternity, and He cannot accept the fallen, sinners, and not purified into communion with Him, otherwise He would have to renounce His holiness and His immutability. Therefore, may the steadfast love of God the Father for us be glorified forever and ever, for the redemption and cleansing of us sinners from sins, who did not spare His Only Begotten Son, who gave Himself to death for us: not only may He cleanse us from all filth, but also sanctify us and present us with a glorious Church, not having spot, or blemish, or anything like that, but that it may be holy and blameless [Eph. 5, 27]. I live, and you will live [Jn. 14, 19]. It is in Whom that all our hope rests. I live, says the Lord, and you will live, you will pass from death to life. The entire Gospel confirms our hope for life (the resurrection of Lazarus, the conversation with Martha and Mary). Speeches of the Savior on the occasion of the establishment of the Sacrament of Communion in the Gospel of John 81. I imagine Angels serving our salvation (Aren’t all...spirits 82), saints praying for us, God searching hearts and wombs... I see our nature already planted in heaven, and I am the forerunner of us - Christ ascended there: where Christ entered as a forerunner for us [Heb. 6, 20]. The pledge of the Spirit in hearts. How many assurances! Wonderful dream. The earth was brought and shown to me on which the relics of St. Mitrofan rested, but with some distrust I began to examine it on my hand and touch it with my finger - so what? this earth turned into living, crawling, disgusting reptiles, which all crawled away: they were long, with sharp tentacles on their noses, and biting. What are these bastards? – doubt. Apply this to cases of doubt. How beautifully this dream expresses thoughts of doubt! Jesus Christ rose again and came out of the tomb with its doors closed, without damaging its seals. So He was born from the Most Holy Virgin, Her keys not harmed by His birth. Thus He enters the souls of believers through their bodies, passing through them invisibly, always freely. So He enters the houses of everyone, and no walls or locks hold Him back, limitless, unlimited by anything. Why are you crying out to Me? [Ref. 14, 15]. Do you see how the Lord always hears the inner voice of the heart? How attentive is He to our heartfelt prayers? Pray with perfect attention: God hears you. Every time a person sleeps, not to mention the time he is awake, miracles of God's goodness happen to him without his knowledge: the digestion of food, the nourishment of the body and the circulation of blood. In every possible way, at all times, despise all materiality, precisely because through it the devil strongly fights against our soul and torments us. For the sake of peace of your soul, neglect everything material. Your peace would be like a river [Is.48, 18]. The Lord enters our hearts with abundant peace, deep like a river, sweet, light, like oil that softens our bones, and the devil enters with a painful flood of confusion. Una 83 would have happened, so that that man would not have been born [Matt. 26, 24; Mk. 14.2], - and so many are not born. Why are many people born with defective limbs, blind, deaf and others? – May they be pardoned in eternity, may they teach their parents humility and devotion to the will of God. Plagues, fires - everything has to do with our eternity and to prepare for it. What is the sign that God, or an Angel, or a saint has heard our prayer? – Peace in the heart, and inner, sweet confidence in mercy, and calm devotion to the will of God. Meeting of the Lord. About meeting the Lord in the church and in the church of your heart and about carrying Him in your heart. About the last meeting of the Lord at His second and glorious coming, when He will shake not only the earth, but also the sky. Also: we can not only meet the Savior before death and not many times, but we can constantly carry Him in our hearts, as Simeon carried Him in his arms and in his heart. Like Ignatius the God-Bearer. If... My words abide in you, that is, in your heart, then ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you [Jn. 15, 7]. When we keep the words of the Savior, then He is with us, in our hearts, and with our lips He Himself intercedes with the Heavenly Father for the fulfillment of our desires. This means that if we want our prayer to be heard by God, then we must fulfill the commandments of the Savior. To those who seek Him (those who pray to Him, who resort to Him) the rewarder is [Heb. 11, 6] – that is, in real life. An example of this is me. I have always sought God from my youth, and for this the Lord raised me to the heights of the priesthood and arranged my external position in a wonderful and wonderful way, giving me a wife after my heart and a famous place, and even to this day He is a generous Rewarder to me. Glory to Thee, my Benefactor! Faith is the humble recognition in the heart of the truth of what our superiors in spirit, the holy vessels of the Spirit, say. To believe in their words, you must sometimes abandon your own inquisitiveness and not think and believe differently than they think and believe. You are our letter... written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God (2 Cor. 3, 2-3)... The teacher, his spirit, is visible in the student. The Lord is always with me. Only with sincere faith will I depict the sign of the cross on my chest and belly, struck by the incorporeal enemy from within - now it becomes easy for me, immediately salvation from Christ comes. Glory to Thee, Lord! How great are the mercies of my Lord Jesus Christ towards me! What a huge debt He releases to me every day. ABOUT! How grateful I should be to Him for His endless mercy towards me! How I should love Him! Life-giving secrets! How worthily I will glorify your priceless, sweet fruits! The Body and Blood of my Lord is my comfort, my coolness, the cleansing of my great sins. God! I clearly see from the communion of Your Body and Blood how many sins You forgive me, how great are Your generosity! Is it surprising that bread and wine are the Body and Blood of Christ and in them Jesus Christ rests, like a soul in a body, when from the same substance the Lord constantly creates the bodies of babies in the wombs of mothers and the spirit of man inhabits these bodies? What is surprising when the devil nests in the insignificant embryo (in the heart) of a baby, along with the growth of the body, it becomes stronger, as if in a stronger instrument, so that later the baby is born with the devil hidden and nesting in his heart? Oh, what infinite goodness and wisdom of the Lord is revealed in giving us the most pure Mysteries of His Body and Blood, in the fact that they are accepted by Christians into the very heart! Notice, in the heart - where the devil, who has the power of sin and death, nests, as a perfect antidote to him, to give us holiness and life and to drive away sin and death! Just as it is certain that the devil and every sin often nests in our hearts, so it is certain that Christ the Giver of Life, our shrine, dwells in our hearts. Our Lord is more than the devil: if the devil lives and acts in our hearts through our various attachments to earthly objects, then how can Christ not enter our hearts, when they were created by Him to be the church of God; How can Christ not enter our hearts precisely in His Flesh and Blood - in accordance with our spirituality and at the same time carnality? Also: if the devil can give spirit and speech to an animal icon, then how can Christ not dwell in the bread and wine and transform them, and completely assimilate them to Himself as Flesh and Blood? You wrote a book, let’s say, about the Holy Trinity and printed it in a thousand copies, or as many as you like. And in all these books you have not only the same spirit, but also the same words, the same form. So it is with the offering of the Body of Christ. Throughout the universe, in countless churches it is offered, but on all the altars of Christian churches the same Trinity operates, in all the Lambs there is the same Christ and His Spirit (as in the book its contents), everywhere the same form of offering - and it turns out that this most holy Sacrament is the one great sacred book of the Lord’s love for the human race, which is prepared in countless quantities throughout the universe in the same form, with the same living in her is a loving spirit, taking upon himself the sins of the world by the spirit of Christ. Another similarity: what a multitude of individual human personalities there are on earth: they all have the same body shape, they all have the same soul with the same, although not the same, abilities, and all these individuals have the same name - man; all people are like one person, and from one beginning they all came: initially from God, the Father and His Word and Spirit, and then from one couple. That is why, by the way, God’s commandment commands us to love everyone as ourselves, according to the identity, that is, of our nature. So, you see many faces, and they are one in the same nature of soul and body. So the Lord, in His life-giving Mysteries, wherever they are brought, is the eternally one and indivisible Creator: from the one blood of the entire human race and through His one spirit, living in the Mysteries of His Body and Blood, existing in all the churches of the world, wants to unite us with Himself, who have fallen through sin and obedience to the devil from union with Him, and that which in all of us is separating with Him and among themselves, to cut off and cleanse. May they all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, so may they also be one in Us [Jn. 17, 21]. This is the purpose of communion! God is a mental, benevolent principle, purely spiritual. Therefore, in His actions on your soul, He appears as mental light, as satisfaction and tranquility of all your spiritual powers, as love, delighting the heart with unspeakable sweetness. The attachment of the heart to anything earthly must be rejected because it is unnatural to it, causes it an unnatural burning thirst that kills the soul, plunges it into sorrow and despondency. Our soul itself, although captivated by earthly things, feels in its depths that they are not its domain. Its domain is spiritual objects, and above all God Himself: He alone calms our soul, quenches its thirst; affection for Him alone, sincere and complete, makes us completely blessed. Have you seen that on the icons of saints the Lord Jesus Christ is written at the top with the orb in his hand and with a blessing hand? This is taken from the case itself. The Lord always looks down from heaven on those who strive for His sake on earth, actively helps them, like the almighty King, in the fight against the enemies of salvation, blesses His ascetics with peace and joy in the Holy Spirit and grants them the crown of life after completing earthly deeds. So, Christians, be strengthened all in faith and hope, looking at the author of faith and the perfecter of Jesus, who always looks at you from the heights of heaven, at all your actions, as He looked at the first martyr Stephen, opening heaven and His glory to him, as He looked at Saul, later Paul, and also showed Himself to him in heaven, illuminating him with His light and announcing him with His voice. Have you felt in your body during prayer, or when reading the word of God and other books of sacred content (and sometimes secular, well-intentioned content, for example, where some incident is described that represents the action of God's Providence over people), or in pious conversations - a thin voice of coldness, so that it was as if electricity was running through your body? It is the Lord who visits you. The voice of the cold is thin - and there is the Lord [Russian: a breath of quiet wind, and there is the Lord] [Z Tsar. 19, 12]. He who knows the constancy and viciousness of ethereal enemies over him will not become much despondent, although in every possible way they plunge his heart into despondency; he will not become irritated by everything, knowing that they encourage irritability in every possible way; to be angry, to envy, to cling to money and to material acquisitions, knowing that the devil is strongly inciting them. Only conditio sine qua non 84: we must be attentive to ourselves, otherwise the enemy hides behind our pride and seems to advocate for our well-being, but he himself destroys, positively destroys us. Christian hope! How much the enemy harms her! Voluntary strangled people, drowned people, those who commit suicide in other ways, drunkards, adulterers and others. The Lord has spoken the word of promise, and His word will be fulfilled: will He say and not do it? [Num. 23, 19]. The Lord points to the laws of nature and their constancy and firmness as proof of the faithfulness of His promises. The goal of our life is to unite with God in this life in faith and hope and love, and in the future life with all-perfect love. But look how the enemy and we ourselves distort this goal here: we unite with our hearts (love) with different objects according to the difference in our passionate attachments. Sometimes - oh, horror! - our love turns to silver, to food, drink, clothing, home furnishings, to people like us - to the point of oblivion of God. Sometimes we are proud, we envy, we hate, we lie - and then we connect directly with the devil himself, who is the personification of malice, lies, pride, and envy. And how do we not insult our Master, Who created us in His image and likeness, how do we not distort this image written by God and written by God Himself! How little we think about it! How ignorant we are regarding our essential question of union with God! Rivers from his (the believer’s) belly will flow forth as living waters [Jn. 7, 38]. Sometimes (not always) in our hearts there are living waters - rivers of living water (rivers - because of their rapid flow, and living water - because they bring life to souls and fruitfully water human hearts). These waters do not burden you, but, on the contrary, revive you, lighten you all in a miraculous way and lift you to heaven, lighter than feathers; these are pure waters, just as the Holy Spirit is pure; the slightest thought of earthly addiction - and they will quickly leave you; waters of freedom - they do not tolerate the slightest constraint. Since they are rivers of living waters and do not like to stand still, they usually overflow through the tongue and mouth in living speech to people or through the written word on paper and sometimes flow over a vast space of centuries, irrigating countless spiritual lands, or God’s spiritual fields - human hearts. Such are the writings of the prophets, apostles, holy fathers, especially the Ecumenical great teachers Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom, Ephraim the Syrian, Athanasius the Great, Cyril of Jerusalem and others. The holy king-prophet David said that his tongue is the reed of a scribe [Ps. 44, 2]. Scribe – Holy Spirit; He is a shorthand writer, because the living waters are abundant and swift, and our limited heart, due to its narrowness, cannot freely contain them and, as if involuntarily, pours them out in words. And sometimes these living waters are not in the heart - there is such dryness of the heart, the word does not come either on paper or from the lips. The devil sometimes completely deprives you of the gift of speech for a while. Hope. So, we hope that tomorrow will be day, and the sun will rise above the earth as usual, that night will follow the day, and there will be darkness. But just as days and nights faithfully follow each other, so surely the eternal, single, non-evening day of the Kingdom of God will come after the end of the succession of days and nights. Both days and nights follow in turn according to the Divine command, they fulfill His laws given to them from the beginning of the existence of the world (as it is said: God created two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the stars... to rule the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness... And there was evening, and there was morning [Gen. 1, 16, 18, 19]). And the promise of the Kingdom of Heaven is the same word of God, which is obeyed day and night. So, we also hope that after winter there will be spring, that all the vegetation will come to life and flourish again, then summer and then autumn and again winter, and we are so accustomed to these annual changes that we consider their sequence to be absolutely certain. But the spring of the general resurrection of the entire human race, lying in decay in the earthly dust, will just as surely come: general revival, prosperity and enlightenment by the works of faith and virtue of some, dryness, sterility and darkness by unbelief and evil deeds of others; the eternal summer of the most blissful life will come: the eternal, all-joyful reaping of fruits by those of us who sowed the seeds of good deeds in this life, and eternal tartar for those who generously sowed evil. Natural phenomena are an image and indication of the future; they should excite, nourish and support our hope for future benefits. There will be a spring of awakening and revival for people, as it is now for plants and insects; the most joyful summer of the future life will come, when we will see the Lord, the Sun of righteousness, face to face, when His ever-present light will fully shine upon us and when we ourselves will shine with the eternal light flowing from the throne of His glory, and we will be enlightened like the sun, so that no other sun will be needed: the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb [Rev. 21, 23], the One who took upon himself the sins of the whole world is the Son of God. The Lord Himself points to days and nights in the prophet as proof of the immutability of His vows. Still hope. For example, someone asks a person known for his kindness and generosity to help himself. He promises with pleasure and says: now is not the time for me to give you, or: now I’m not with you, but come to me at such and such a time, at such and such an hour - I will be in such and such a place and will give it to you. With full confidence that the promise will be fulfilled, I wait for the appointed hour or day and come to this generous man, and he, I see, has already prepared what he promised me and gives it to me with a cheerful face. Shouldn’t something similar be said about Christian hope? The Lord God is this generous householder, whose treasuries of the Kingdom are filled with spiritual, eternal blessings, exceeding all description and measure because of their unspeakable beauty, life-giving and limitless nature, and await us. Take the Gospel and read the parables of Christ about the Kingdom 86. Take another example. Let some landowner, distinguished by his kindness and generosity, knowing your poverty, promise to give you a piece of land so that you can work on it, cultivate it, fertilize it, sow and reap the fruits - the land has been given to you good, just work, don’t be lazy - the fruits, when the air is well-dissolved, will be a hundredfold. But for some reason he doesn’t give you this land right away, suddenly he says: it’s not time yet, now I’m using it myself and I want to collect the fruits, but I’ll give it to you then, then come and take possession of it. The one who is promised goes away with full confidence and waits for the appointed time to arrive; when this time comes, with the same confidence he goes to the promisee, who meets him with a good-natured and affectionate face, leads him to the promised plot of land, brings him into possession of it and says to him: here is my gift to you - own it all your life, and thank God. But the Kingdom of Heaven is the land of the living, promised from the foundation of the world by the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth, and the Lord will say to the righteous: Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world [Matt. 25, 34]. You, who charge high prices for the earthly abodes of your temporary dwellings, your nests, regardless of the poverty of your persons, do not hope to receive heavenly abodes unless you correct yourself from your cruelty and love of money, Judah. Shame on you in your life here. Shame before Angels and men at the Last Judgment! There is sumptuous money for the tables of the rich, for luxurious feasts, but to give to the beggar, and to donate generous alms to the church - no. And Christians! And they hope to receive the eternal benefits of the Heavenly Kingdom! To go for a ride, drink and eat something sweet - you don’t mind tens of rubles, but to light a candle so that instead of material light the Lord will send down a gracious, spiritual light into your soul - there is no money, you don’t mind even ten kopecks. What can we say about Christian youth? She behaves unworthily - she supplies all happiness in one joy. She is not there, or very little, in the church, and if she is, she stands badly: she talks, looks around, laughs, is absent-minded, and very much so. Does it contain thoughts about the future life? And there is nothing to ask. It is good for a man when he bears the yoke in his youth [Lamentations. 3, 27]. How can a young man keep his path pure? - By keeping yourself according to Your word [Ps. 118, 9]. What can we say, in particular, about military youth? She raises her head high and is extremely absent-minded. Meetings (in a club), theaters, taverns - this is their sphere; church is something alien to them. Their heart... is far from Me [Isa. 29, 13; Matt. 15, 8; Mk. 7, 6], - this is what the Lord says about them. Here is a rich merchant: he has a lot of cash capital and, in addition, many houses. He appears to be pious. From time to time he reads the Gospel, the lives of the saints, discusses piety and deeds of piety, and, apparently, seeks salvation. But now I come to him with a request for the sake of God to donate something to the church of God, the poorest, collapsed. I explain to him what the matter is: where, what, what funds do those parishioners have, - and he points to the Synod, says that he has a lot of money, in conclusion, however, he gives three rubles. What then, beloved? Are you sparing your money for the church of God? So do not reproach, at least the most holy class. Are you stingy yourself? Don't reproach others. My duty is to show you the true, eternal fatherland and the Father of the future age awaiting you; show the way to it, the obstacles that lie on the way from the enemy, and the means to overcome them. Reading secular books distances you from reading spiritual books: there is the spirit of the world, and here is the Spirit of God, but one is opposite to the other. Therefore, there are very few people who read secular books who would enjoy reading spiritual ones. Most read secular magazines and never look at the Bible or the Gospel in particular. It is good for those in whom piety is deeply rooted: he reads secular books without harm to the soul, but does not abandon spiritual ones, and reads more spiritual than secular ones, especially the word of God. How harmful secular literature is to the immortal soul, everyone’s experience tells us. Here is also the sincere confession of Blessed Jerome of Stridon. Truly, where is your treasure... [Matt. 6, 21; OK. 12, 34]. They... speak the worldly language, and the world... (1 John 4:5). Everything that could be best in a person was concentrated in the face of Mary, just as the rays of the sun are concentrated in focus. Mary is the chosen one of all humanity. The Lord according to humanity and Mary are the two Suns, or the Sun and the Morning Star. Rivers of evil flow to your heart, especially before a holy cause - do not be indignant, do not hesitate, stand on the rock - those rivers will come to you about which the Savior said in the Gospel 87: they will flow back, do not be afraid. The enemy only intimidates and tries to drown you, but if you stand firm and call on the Lord for help, he will not be able to drown you. How many signs and fortune-telling do Christians have! Why? From a lack of Christian hope. They see their future in animate or even soulless things. Look how exquisitely and luxuriously your apartment, your earthly prison, your earthly coffin is decorated. But now I am looking for decorations in your soul - and I do not find it, but I see poverty, impurity, the ugliness of pride, love of money, hard-heartedness, unmercifulness, envy, stinginess, enmity. What kind of incongruity is this? What madness! If you decorate, then decorate the soul, which should be the dwelling of the Holy Trinity, uncontainable by heaven and all creation and deigning to dwell in you, who have become dear and honest to Her: I will dwell in them, it is said, and I will walk (2 Cor. 6:16). Christian! Pay all your attention to the imperishable adornment of your soul! This decoration is eternal, and that is temporary; this is a matter of wisdom, and that is a matter of madness. As much as the mercy of God allows, I will not allow my tongue to be at odds with my heart during conversations, to be struck by this sinful duality, but for my tongue to be an echo of the heart. I will try not to separate you from my heart, but to have you in my heart, like my other heart, according to the word of the Apostle: you accept it as my heart [Phil. 1, 12]. God! If failure after failure follows me in my affairs, Thy will be done! If You deprive me from time to time of earthly blessings, blessed be Your name; if You suddenly deprive me of all my property, blessed be Your name. For You give, You also take away. If you strike my composition or any part of it with illness, blessed be You, Almighty! For Thy hands created me and created me [Ps. 118, 73]. If sorrow upon sorrow is added to my soul, I am worthy of it for my sins! If you take away those close to my heart from me, blessed be Thy Providence, O Almighty! Blessed and glorified be Your name forever. Thy will be done! May we understand that we are Thy creatures, the work of Thy hands; may we not act arbitrarily, may we learn from our failures that You rule over all, and as You will, so it happens. Amen. Are you indignant that your friend is loved by everyone, but people are completely indifferent to you? My friend! Didn't you yourself deserve this indifference? With the measure you use, it is said, with the same it will be measured to you [Matt. 7, 2]. You don’t love people from the heart, and they don’t love you either; you don’t sincerely wish them well, you don’t live for the benefit of people - you meet the same thing on their part; you live for yourself, you love only yourself, you only collect money for yourself and keep it for yourself, but don’t give it to others - well, limit yourself only to your love, and your wife, children, well, demand affection, love for you from your money, which you accumulate and which you love and cherish, let it seduce you like Judas, and let it be with you to destruction. What am I saying? May they give you life, may the dead bring the dead to life, if possible. But since this is impossible, don’t complain about your boredom and melancholy with your wealth, don’t complain that you don’t find sincere sympathy in others. Love is bought by love. Righteous people must replenish the number of fallen angels - that is why there is joy in heaven for the only sinner who repents, that is why demons so viciously attack humanity and distract them from faith and virtue. Evil people must forever be deprived of light and bliss, because they did not appreciate, did not want to appreciate the greatness of their calling, the greatness of the love of the Heavenly Father, His Son and the All-Holy Spirit, and they loved earthly pleasures instead of eternal blessings. They will have to suffer forever and ever together with the devils, who also did not, through their pride, appreciate the greatness of the gifts poured out on them by the Creator. Brethren! Angels are waiting for us! The saints of God are waiting for us. Let us go, not fearing any obstacles: we will crush the demons of weak insolence in the power of the fortress of Christ. Moreover, it has become expensive, cramped and difficult to live on earth - let us flow to heaven: there is bread and water and the robe of life, and light is given to the tuna 2, and it is spacious, and light, and joyful, and joyful. Why do we cling so closely to the earth? Let us leave earthly blessings to those who hunger for them and place their bliss in them and use all their strength to collect as much of them as possible, to taste as much of them as possible: let them receive their consolation here. Our residence is in heaven, from where we await the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ [Phil. 3, 20]. Poor! Rejoice in the riches prepared for you in heaven! Rich! Weep for your spiritual poverty and for the fact that you will receive your consolation here. Love alms, so that alms will save you, but give generous alms, because God was and is generous to you. Sow with poverty, and you will reap with poverty, and sow with blessing (generously), with blessing, you will also reap (2 Cor. 9:6). In this life we ​​must always hope for the cleansing of sins, although we are sinners, and not despair, seeing in ourselves the abyss of evil or sins. Christian hope is the detachment of the heart from everything earthly and corruptible and its aspiration and attachment to the heavenly, eternal and Divine. It is expressed briefly in the words of the priest during the liturgy. Let us have hearts and let us now put aside every care of this life. Let us raise everyone up like the Tsar. The Apostle counted all the means of being [Russian: counting everything as rubbish], so that he might gain Christ [Phil. 3, 8]. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling [Eph. 4, 4]. Believers are one body. Obvious proof of this is in the following: for example, by praying according to ready-made models of prayers compiled by the holy fathers of the Church, I can completely enter into one spirit with them, so that the prayers will be like my creation - so the strengths and needs of our souls are common and identical. The spirit of the holy father, who composed the prayers, then is in me, and my spirit is in him. Or more precisely: then I will clearly recognize that there is one Spirit of God both in him and in me. One Spirit - this is where the words of our Savior are clear: He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him [Jn. 6, 56]. Now transfer this to all believers laboring on earth: and they all have exactly the same spiritual needs, and they, therefore, can be, as it were, one soul with God, with you and with the saints of God triumphant in heaven, and their souls can be filled by the one Spirit of God, like the saints of God, as it is said: Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit living in you, which you have from God, and you do not yours? (1 Cor. 6:19) - and this is where the unity of the Church, or believers, lies. We are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones [Eph. 5, 30]. Do you not know 88 that... Christ is in you? Unless you are what you ought to be (2 Cor. 13:5). By contrast, transfer this to the people of this age, or to this wicked church: and there is a kind of unity of the spirit, only not the Spirit from God (1 Cor. 2:12), but the spirit now working in the sons of disobedience [Eph. 2, 2]. Look at the unity of the direction of the people of the century towards the improvement and pleasures of temporary life, in the denial of the spirit, in the denial of faith, hope and good deeds inspired by the Christian law. How convenient it is for an inexperienced Christian to become a member of the church of the wicked, or a member of the devil, instead of a member of Christ! Be careful how dangerously you walk [Russian: Look, tread carefully] [Eph. 5, 15]. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what ransom will a man give for his soul? [Mk. 8, 36–37]. Gain your soul, that is, eternal life, not wealth. He who does not renounce everything he has cannot be My disciple [Lk. 14, 33]. Alas, how strong is the hope of wealth! All earthly things are vanity, sorrow and ruin of the spirit. Proof of this is Solomon, who possessed all the treasures of mind and earth. (Personification of the impermanence of the earth.) Personified hope are holy ascetics. There is no one who has left home... and will not receive now in this time... a hundred times more... and in the age to come eternal life [Mk. 10, 29–30]. Hope is also generous patience with all temptations, all persecutions, sorrows, illnesses, misfortunes, everything unpleasant that happens to us, meek enduring of insults, disgrace - in the hope that all these troubles are momentary and will be followed by eternal glory, eternal peace and joy. I am the way and the truth and the life [John. 14, 6]. Path. My reliable guide is Christ: is not Life itself reliable? Every word of His lives me, because every word of His is truth, deed, being. Let us trust Him. What is sin? Alienation of the heart from God, from His commandments and attachment to earthly things, because everything in the world, that is, all people, sins through the lust of the flesh, the eyes and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). They abandoned me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out broken cisterns for themselves [Jer. 2, 13]. Trust in God, then, is the opposite of sin. Let your hearts live forever [Ps. 21, 27]. Wonderful words! Christian hope is a mental journey to the heavenly fatherland, overcoming all the difficulties encountered on this intelligent path. I am the way [John. 14, 6]. Strangers and strangers [Heb. 11, 13]. Christian hope must be solid and prudent: having begun to build the building of salvation, we must calculate whether there will be anything to complete it, and first remove the obstacles that depend on us, or attachments to earthly things. Everything has been done for your spiritual weakness: they are leading you by the hand, just surrender with your heart and don’t ask: how, why? God is primarily a Person: because He contains the personalities of everyone, guides and corrects, and because He is unchangeable. Here you are standing in church, and each of you has your own needs, your own mental and physical burdens: either your sins weigh you down, or poverty, lack of material resources, illnesses, you are tempted by invisible enemies. Our duty is to pray for all your misfortunes. I am an unworthy instrument of God’s grace, acting in the Sacraments and poured out on the faithful. What kind of persons are we? These are the faces of the saints, and their faces are better than us: they pour out miracles and bring forth healings. And we are fickle, flighty personalities, we cannot be called personal, but two-faced: we are good and evil, we go over to the side of God, then to the devil. Knowing, know that neither sorrow, nor distress, nor confusion should separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus [Rom. 8, 39], contained in His most pure Mysteries. Believe in the Mysteries with all your heart - even when after communion you feel not joy and peace, but confusion, sorrow and crampedness. Great glory and endless bliss await God's elect! Oh, if only I could be eternally blissful with you, if only I could send you into such eternal glory. Who wants glory to appear [Rom. 8, 18 ] fellow. Pay attention: always put the commandments of God or the decrees of the Church above food or any kind of materiality and do not exchange the former for the latter. Be spiritual, despise materiality. Since the time when the first man exchanged the commandment of God for the pleasure of eating a pleasant fruit, to this day many people value the word, the commandment of God, less than food, than pleasing themselves. People who love themselves are more 89 than lovers of God (2 Tim. 3:4). A proud person is extremely irritable: he gets irritated if the wind blows on him (and it is necessary for the winds to blow on us, both spiritual (spirits of malice) and natural), if smoke blows on him, if the air in his home is bad, if the food is unpleasant, if someone says a bad word, if someone looks in the wrong way, if he stumbles, if he steps in the dirt; he wants, seeks, demands that everyone stroke his fur, that everything cherish and please him. Almighty. This means that He holds everything and everything, and He holds no one and nothing. If, for example, matter held the Lord back and was impenetrable for Him, then He would be more powerless than matter, which is absurd; but He is the Creator of all matter, and everything for Him is waste 7 insignificant. It holds matter in being through the laws of cohesion. The doors of the tomb did not hold Him, the doors of the house did not hold Him, the water carried Him on its back. They don’t know what they’re doing [Lk. 23, 34]. Quite a lot of people sin out of ignorance. I was deceived by the devil. Moreover, they sin through deception, through the charm of the devil. There is no middle ground in our spiritual life. A person is either God or the devil. If he has faith in God and love, he is God’s, but if he is not, he is the devil. He who has Christian hope does not love the world, nor the things in the world (1 John 2:15). Just as in the communion of the inexperienced, the enemy withdraws from the Mysteries, instilling doubt, unbelief, burdening the soul and body with relaxation, somnolence, laziness, crampedness, so from the word of God, also instilling doubt, unbelief, causing darkness and dullness. This is why there are few who take communion and few who read the word of God! Journalism is a net, a snare of the devil, through which he traps Christians in eternal destruction (by talkativeness) with idle talk, verbosity and idle talk. Take a closer look and you will see that it is so. Both the journalists and their passionate readers are pathetic. They feast and talk about much, but there is only one thing they need [Lk. 10, 41–42]. And this is what they let out of their heads. For every idle word... [Matt. 12, 36]. The struggle with oneself, with one’s bad habits and passions, the struggle with the passions and weaknesses of other people in general, the struggle of one state with another, wars, and numerous other disasters - this is the nature of life here. He who promised is faithful... [Heb. 10.23]. But God is faithful, He will not forsake you... (1 Cor. 10:13). Words about hope are necessarily combined with words about the enemies of Christian hope. Although God knows our needs, prayer is needed to cleanse and enlighten our soul. It’s good to stand in the sun: it’s both warm and light. So it is in prayer before God, our spiritual Sun: you both warm up and become enlightened. You need to wash yourself from dirt, and prayer is a wash from spiritual dirt, that is, from sins, especially tearful ones. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His [Rom. 8, 9]. The passion to acquire goes completely against the words: anyone of you who does not renounce everything that he has (in his heart) cannot be My disciple [Lk. 14, 33]. He who loves to acquire weaves new nets for his soul in order to further entangle and deprive it of freedom, binds it with new ties in order to bind it more firmly to the earth. What is the life of a Christian? In order to have nothing and have Christ in the heart, or so that, having earthly blessings, not be attached to them in the least and cleave to Christ with all your heart. The whole world is a web in comparison with the soul of a Christian man: nothing in it is permanent or reliable, nothing in it can be relied upon reliably - everything is torn; You don’t have to attach your heart to anything except the one God who spreads this web, contains and animates it. Whatever you become attached to except God, it all stings and oppresses the heart, causing it great torment. God only gives peace to the heart; complete attachment to Him alone is life-giving. The Lord comes in life-giving Mysteries to our soul, like a cocosh 90 to an abandoned chick, reviving, nourishing and delighting it. How wisely the Lord arranged it by establishing the Sacrament of Communion! That is why you do not receive from God what you ask for, because you do not abandon the abomination of idolatry - serving the belly. You ask the true God, but you work for God the womb. A man cannot serve two masters [Matt. 6, 24; OK. 16, 13]. Stop serving the idol - the womb, and then hope to receive what you ask from God. You ask the true God, but you serve a false god: ask him, if he can give. Or you are working for the demon of covetousness, and therefore the true God, neglected and abandoned by you, does not fulfill your prayers. Or you work for the idol of pride and vanity, and this idol controls your heart, like those idols - and so the Lord does not bow to the prayers of the idolatrous heart. You left the source of living waters - the Lord, and dug up for yourself broken treasures [Russian: broken reservoirs] [Jer. 2, 13] - well, drink from these wells the dead, dark water, like the dark water in the clouds of the air [Ps. 17, 12]. Instead of the tree of life - the Bread of Life, instead of the fruits of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - the same life-giving Bread of Life. Then it is said: touch not, lest ye die [Gen. 3, 3]. Now it is said: eat, and you will live. Then Eve and Adam believed the seducer - and died; now, on the contrary, we believe the words of the Lord of life: this is My Body... and: this is My Blood [Matt. 26, 26, 28; Mk. 14, 22, 24] – and we are revived; by what we fell, we rose up: we fell by unbelief to God, by disobedience (unbelief) - we rise by obedience to faith; there we agreed with the devil against God and united with him, a liar, to our own death - now we wholeheartedly agree with the Truth Himself - God the Savior and with a true heart we unite with Him for our own life, peace and joy. Ole terrible sacrament! Ole of God's mercy! How do I partake of the Divine Body and Blood of clay and become incorruptible? 91 You dream that you are praying, but you gave up prayer a long time ago: the real so-called prayer you call is just empty sounds without meaning for your heart: you speak words, but your heart does not sympathize with them; you are deceiving God and yourself; When praying, you certainly need to listen to your heart and the words of your prayers, to feel their truth and power. Now we stand and fall (in faith and virtue), but we hope for such a time and such a state in which we will no longer be able to fall: we will come to a state of complete safety from falling, like the Angels, who are now adamant to evil and forever established in holiness. Fight sin and hope that the time will finally come for complete victory over sin and over death, its creation. The last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Cor. 15:26). Now the righteous man falls seven times, and as he falls he sighs and says: Wretched man that I am! who will deliver me from this body of death?.. with my mind I serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin [Rom. 7, 24–25]. But the time will come when the sinful law that exists in our lives will be abolished, and the one law of God will be established. Now we are looking for lasting bliss - and we do not find it: the pleasures we invent are fragile, deceitful, vain, short-lived. But if we behave worthy of our calling as a Christian, we will receive as an inheritance such bliss that is true and lasting, because it is eternal and will fully satisfy the needs of our soul. When we hear bad reviews about a person, then, internally comparing him with ourselves, we say in our hearts: I am not like that, I am perfect in comparison with him - and, dreaming this way about ourselves and internally condemning others, we enjoy our superiority over others. This is satanic pride, this is the stench of a carnal, sinful man! May such thoughts flee from your soul! May we consider ourselves the worst of all people. When they speak ill of someone, let us sigh and say to ourselves: we are a hundred times worse, more sinful than this person - and from the bottom of our hearts we will pray for our condemned brother. It is common for the One God, eternal, omnipotent, having life from Himself and in Himself, to have no hope, but for us, beings of one day, who have received life and all gifts with life from God, we, beings criminal before the Chief of life, who have not preserved and do not keep the commandments of life, we, creatures rebellious against their Creator and Lord, are left with hope - by the sole mercy of the Lord Himself, who devised a means to return to life us who have fallen from eternal life into eternal death. We all know that we carry spiritual death in our hearts, gradually preparing for physical death. Meanwhile, our heart, created for eternal life, although it has tasted death, but, being not completely struck by it, strives for life and bliss. It was this lost bliss that the Son of God Jesus Christ returned to us. And it is ready to be revealed to those who believe in Him in the last time. This is the hope that we will receive the promised bliss in the name of Christ, and this is Christian hope. Throughout our earthly life, God the Heavenly Father for the sake of His Son, for the sake of us who became human and took upon Himself all the sins of the world, cares about our salvation, leads us to it, as if by the hand, by His Holy Spirit, Who is the guarantee of the inheritance of future bliss - through worship, the preaching of the word of God and the Sacraments of the Church, through conscience and the testing of our insides - and, finally, for the sake of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Son His own, will lead us into the inheritance of the promised benefits. He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures [Lk. 24, 45]. The Lord alone opens the minds of teachers and students. Therefore, the teacher of the law will have a lot of success in teaching the Law of God if he prays to God that He will open his mind to intelligible, lively and fruitful teaching, and open children’s minds to understanding and heartfelt assimilation of the taught truths of faith and morality. Blessing the students with the sign of the cross after class, he must bless them with faith in its miraculous, enlightening and life-giving power, praying inwardly that the Lord, acting through the sign of the cross, will reveal to their minds and hearts the great mystery of the Cross, on which our redemption is accomplished. In post. The satiety of the flesh little by little produces a relaxation of the heart in faith and virtue, cools prayer, turning it into a superficial list of words learned once, makes it cold and insensitive to the poverty and misfortunes of others - which means it drives love out of the heart, removes the Spirit of God from us: not to have, it is said, to abide 92 ... - and the wrath of God moves against us. Sodom and Gomorrah 93 with the satiety of bread and wine brought themselves to the point that they fell into all the vices, fell into all the abominations and completely lost God’s mercy. How is fasting therefore necessary! There are people who ask God for wisdom, but they themselves rely on books, and therefore do not receive what they ask for. Isn’t it God who enlightens and makes every person wise, isn’t He the God of understanding, isn’t He the one who has the understanding of everyone, according to the testimony of the word of God? Wasn’t it He who made the unbooked fishermen wise and made them universal theologians, feeding everyone with the purest and life-giving waters of the gospel teaching? Didn’t He make David, Solomon, His prophets, all glorified by heavenly wisdom, wise? From whom do rivers of living water flow? Is it not from the Hypostatic Wisdom of the Father - the Son of God and the Spirit of the Father - the Spirit of all spiritual gifts? So, read the word of God most of all, live godly - and the Spirit of God will dwell in you and fill you with His wisdom. Jesus Christ is the whitener of our souls. Though your sins be as scarlet... they will be as white as wool [Isa. 1, 18]. Just as in human dwellings dust constantly settles on white linen clothing and dirty it, and it needs to be washed in water from time to time, so the pernicious dust of sins constantly settles on the human soul, which should be whiter than snow, and it constantly needs to be [washed off] through prayer with heartfelt contrition, the Sacraments of Repentance and Communion and works of mercy. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow [Ps. 50, 9]. I, I Myself, blot out sins and crimes [Isa. 43, 25]. The Transfiguration of the Lord on Tabor shows how white the robe of our soul should be. The Savior’s clothes, it is said, became white as snow - this is a reflection of the spiritual purity and whiteness of the Savior; His face shone like the sun [Matt. 17, 2], - this is again the light of His Divinity, His God-united soul. Christian hopes necessarily require God's properties from us. Not to hope means to reject God’s properties: omnipotence, goodness, wisdom, immutability. Hope is, so to speak, looking at God's properties. Strange thing. Most people, caring very little or not at all about achieving the Kingdom of Heaven, about cleansing themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, think that the Kingdom of Heaven will come to them by itself; They do not care about cleansing their hearts, about reading the word of God and soul-saving books, they have no soul-saving conversations, there is no mention of spiritual salvation, and they approach death completely carelessly, not prepared for the terrible outcome from this life. All their speeches and worries about outfits, about food and drink, about going out and going to parties and theaters; all their speeches concern only earthly things; they judge, they judge, but not about the salvation of the soul; They play, and kill time, and completely bury the talents given to them by God for their multiplication and the creation of their own bliss. God! Enlighten our minds. Brethren! He who has hope for future blessings values ​​time and does not use it frivolously, does not dare to think about how to kill him, because he knows that the Lord counts every hour, every minute of his life, and from every day and hour of his life the Lord expects corresponding fruits; knows that his whole life should be, according to God’s thought, a single harmonious building, in which all parts should be perfect. Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect [Matt. 5, 48]. And how much can a person, with the grace of God, do in one hour for his perfection and for the increase of future bliss; and on the contrary, how much you can damage your soul in one hour, and even destroy your soul! Do we think about it? Now we partake of the Body and Blood of Christ as a firm assurance that we will be partakers of the Divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (2 Pet. 1:4). Christian hope. Trusting in God means entrusting your life, your destiny, your entire future to Him and confidently awaiting the fulfillment of His promises. Hope comes from faith, like a plant from a seed, like a stream from a spring. We believe that the Lord is good and merciful, that He loves us like a Father, therefore, He wishes us every good and true happiness. He is wise and omniscient, therefore He knows better than we ourselves what is necessary and useful for us. He is omnipotent - so He can always give us what He desires, fulfill what He promised. He is holy and righteous, and therefore all His words are truth; His promises are unchangeable. We see the highest proof of God’s love for man in the fact that He did not spare His Only Begotten Son for us, but gave Him up to suffering and death. Having strengthened our soul with the thought of the infinite goodness, wisdom, omnipotence and holiness of our Creator and Provider, we can walk the course of our earthly life without fear and confusion, like a child in the arms of a mother, like a ship with a reliable anchor, and therefore blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord (Jer. 17:7). The Lord is my Helper and my Protector [Ps. 39, 18]. I have fallen asleep... I will not be afraid of those [Russian: thousand] people... [Ps. 3, 6, 7]. However, with hope, we should not be careless and idle. Christian hope in its essence is a living, active and constant desire for the highest good and the source of all good - God, an insatiable desire to get closer to Him and receive from Him and in Him the Kingdom of Heaven, prepared before the creation of the world. As a deer longs for streams of water, so does my soul long for You, O God! My soul thirsts for the mighty, living God: when will I come and appear before the face of God! [Ps. 41, 2–3]. In the struggle against the obstacles that inevitably arise on the path to eternal bliss: temptations, temptations, and one’s own weaknesses, the believing soul does not rely on its own strength, but on the gracious help of God. Without Me you can do nothing (John 15:5); My power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9), says the Savior. Falling in the struggle, the believer does not become despondent and despair, because he trusts in the mercy of God, especially in the endless merits of the Son of God, who redeemed us with His blood. This word is true and worthy of all acceptance. For this is why we labor and endure reproach, because we trust in the Living God (1 Tim. 4:9 (-10)). If we died with Him, then we will live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him (2 Tim. 2:11–12). If, being enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, then much more, having been reconciled, we will be saved by His life (Rom. 5:10). And if anyone sins, [we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous] (1 John 2:1). The proud arrogance of a person is incompatible with hope in God, when he relies in everything only on his own strengths and abilities, wealth and nobility, experience and prudence. Pharaoh hoped for an army - and died; Goliath boasted of his strength - and was killed by the young man David. The evangelical rich man counted on his wealth - and that same night they demanded his soul for the judgment of God. Relying on other people is also vain. It is not in accordance with the true concept of hope to expose oneself to dangers without any need, not to care about improving one’s strength, to put off turning to God and not to care about one’s salvation. Despair is even more harmful. People who have no hope in God lose their temper when their desires are not fulfilled, they cry, murmur, become despondent, and become weak in every way. Strengthen your drooping hands and weak knees, and walk straight with your feet, so that what is lame may not be turned aside, but rather be made whole [Heb. 12, 12 – 13]. Both patience and hope are learned in adversity. Many people think that they have hope in God, but the misfortune that comes reveals their hope and shows in whom they hope. From whom anyone seeks help and deliverance in trouble, he places his hope in him. He who trusts in creation sins against the first commandment: I am the Lord thy God [Exod. 20, 2]. This commandment commands that we know, honor, love, fear, and trust in Him alone, and resort to Him in our needs and ask for help. He who trusts in man has retreated in heart from God, as the prophet says: and his heart will depart from the Lord, and does not believe in God, although he confesses Him with his lips, for it is impossible to believe in God and at the same time hope in His creation: for hope is inseparable from faith and one cannot exist without the other. Living faith cleaves to the one God, like a child to its mother... it hopes in Him alone, and expects help and deliverance from Him alone. Those who trust in creation are cursed by God: cursed... is he who trusts in man [Jer. 17, 5]. Such people cannot even pray correctly. Faith and hope are very necessary in prayer, and without faith and hope it is impossible to pray. Such a person cannot be at peace, for he will always be afraid, sorrow and sadness. One hope in God is not afraid of anything. In Whom do you want to hope on the day of our death, in Him even now - during our life - we must place all our hope, resort to Him and cleave to Him. The Lord is a doctor, [our] operator 94 and better than them. Is it only because we value God’s works over us little that they are inconspicuous with simple eyes and are carried out internally? Just as a doctor removes with medicines all the harmful principles from the body that constitute a disease and counteract the healthy principles, but if these medicines are quite sharp, he gives a sedative after them and thus restores the health of the patient, or as an operator removes or cauterizes sick members so that they do not spread the disease to others or in order to quickly heal a certain member - so the Lord in our invisible soul daily, every hour and minute invisibly performs the greatest deeds of wisdom, philanthropy and omnipotence. He removes the rottenness of sin from the heart and bestows all virtue and His peace. The human soul penetrates the entire body - this is an undoubted truth: prick any part with a needle - the whole body, or the soul located in each part of the body, will feel the pain. So the spirit of the Lord Jesus permeates the entire Body, all His most pure Blood (life-giving Mysteries), and in the smallest particle He is all inseparable. His Body is a living Body, His Blood is living Blood, and not only living, but also life-giving. Glory to the life-giving Mysteries! Just as a single soul animates the entire human body and controls all parts of the human body, great and small, almost infinitely diverse, so God animates the entire world and controls all its parts, great and small: the immense luminaries - and the blades of grass trampled under our feet. You grieve that your vices are disclosed by your own relatives. It is impossible not to grieve: you are appointed to shine, and not to darken the already dark darkness. But rightly so, they disgrace you. If good fame flees, then bad fame does not lie. Everything must come into manifestation. There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing hidden that will not be known [Lk. 12, 2]. Correct yourself immediately, so that those who see your life in Christ will soon stop thinking and speaking about you. Lack of Christian hope in all classes of society. The predominance of hope for earthly goods. For the Kingdom of Heaven, a husband 95 deigned to live strangely on earth, who was no longer born of wives on earth: he lived in the desert, ate the most meager and harsh food, and wore the coarsest clothes. This is how the humble hermits lived and live to this day, leaving behind all the delights of the world: a spacious home, rich clothes, tasty and fattening foods. And the martyrs gave themselves up to all kinds of torment, foreseeing their future rest and incorruptible crowns. We are invited into the community of Cherubim, Seraphim, Thrones, Dominions, Angels and Archangels in place of fallen, proud spirits. These became proud and said to God within themselves: with someone will You make up for our lack, which is unbearable and palpable for You, as for the wise One, who does not tolerate lack of anything and disharmony in His world? And the Lord, in response and to shame the devil, deigned to create 85 people from dust and with dusty creatures to fill the lack of angelic worlds due to the falling away of proud spirits, and this is endless shame, an infinitely great punishment for the proud; That is why they use all the powers of hell to destroy people. To further demonstrate His love and to further shame the devil, the Lord Himself clothed Himself in the earthy body of man in order to snatch him from the power of the devil. When we accept the life-giving Mysteries into ourselves, then suddenly silence of thoughts comes within us. So the rebels instantly calm down, seeing their king enter the place of their meeting, surrounded by the power and greatness of the king; This is how rowdy students suddenly calm down when they see a strict teacher enter the classroom. Sing joyfully, my soul, about yourself: The desert has blossomed like a crin, Lord, the pagan barren church (my sinful, pagan, barren heart), by Your coming, my heart has been established in it 96. So the desert of my heart blooms from the coming of my Lord into it. I took communion today. And I hope so in the future. (And it means a lot not to eat meat.) The spiritual man - the heart - and the carnal man - the belly, lust - come into contact with each other in the entrails, and that is why for spiritual salvation, fasting and mortification of the carnal man are required, that is, denial of the stomach in pleasant, fattening and burdensome foods and in all lusts, the source of which is in the same entrails. For ye put to death your children that are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness... evil lust and covetousness... [Col. 3, 5]. The passions are called uds, that is, members of man, due to the fact that they are extremely close to us, have overcome us extremely, and have become, as it were, a part of our being. They go to church, apparently pray, but don’t even think about correction: they come home and with their words and actions clearly prove that they went to church without benefit, out of habit. The lack of Christian hope is evident from the fact that most Christians hardly read books of spiritual content at all; the thoughts, desires, words and deeds of the majority are turned only to the land: they trade, build, go on entertainment, feast. Everything is earthly, very little is heavenly. (Start conversations with the words of the Savior: Come to Me... [Matthew 11:28].) Don't get angry if someone doesn't listen to you. If you do not often obey the Lord, do not fulfill His all-powerful laws, then what is surprising if they do not obey your orders, what is unusual if they do not obey you, a sinful person? Measure according to measure, it is said, it will be measured to you [Matt. 7, 2; Mk. 4, 24]. The advice of my Guardian Angel: to kindle the gift of speech through exercise and remember that preaching does not come from me - it is God’s gift. The Spirit of God will carry me like a chariot into the field of the word. I was also a parasite at the Academy, because I was lazy and almost the lowest among the students, speechless in class and in exams, but by a miracle of God’s goodness I successfully completed the course and received an excellent place. Meanwhile, I am so stupid, unreasonable, and stingy that now I cannot tolerate people who often take advantage of my free table. Extreme ingratitude before God! The nonsense is endless! The steam engines that carry us from one end to another are an example of God’s omnipotence: this is how the Lord holds and carries us all our lives, and so He carries all the worlds with His powerful word. Progressives, do you see the power of God in the power of vapor? The power of God is palpable here. Just as in our physical life we ​​cannot make one hair white or black, but we wear the kind of hair that God created, or just as we cannot add one cubit 98 to our age, so in our spiritual life we ​​cannot, without God, have one truly good and holy thought, and one feeling of goodness, and we cannot add anything to our spiritual age without God’s power or grace, even if we strive with all our might. We are completely powerless without God for any good. Let us learn to resort to God’s help in everything! Illness and sorrow are absolutely necessary in the order, or better yet, the disorder of our inner life. Our heart is capable of somehow quickly forgetting God in contentment and generally in favorable circumstances, especially in the satiety of bread, meat and wine; it is rightly said: he became fat, fat and fat; and forsook... God [Deut. 32, 15]. Therefore, instead of the carnal pleasures of the heart, which cause oblivion of God, it is necessary to give it the bitter wormwood of illness or sorrow, so that just as sin entered the heart with the sweetness of sin, so with the bitterness of illness and sorrow it came out of it. That is why illnesses are a great blessing for souls seeking salvation! When you get sick, you see that the thickness of the heart will subside, and by the grace of God an abundance of spiritual thoughts and feelings will come into the soul, and the Kingdom of God will come closer to the soul. For the same reason, fasting is also necessary. Tonight the sins of my youth were brought to my attention. God! Blot out the sins of my youth from Your memory! People have become extremely crushed in their souls, they have become like cattle, they have become earthly, they have fallen away from God, from the heavenly, from the spiritual, and their hearts have become firmly attached to the sinful, earthly, and physical. A Christian does not know eternity, does not think about death, about the answer at the Judgment; he knows only carnal, crude pleasures. He gluttons, commits adultery, deceives, is proud, not knowing how to step, raises his head high, riots, laughs impudently. There is no God before him. His ways are defiled for all time [Ps. 9:25-26] - every possible gratification of the lust of the flesh. Lord Almighty. His omnipotence embraces all creation—high and low, intellectual and sensual, angels and men, heaven and everything in it, earth and everything in it, the sea and everything in it. His sovereignty embraces absolutely everything in general and all parts of creatures. Thus, it embraces a person’s heart and his thoughts; That is why it is said that the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord [Prov. 21:1], which is why the apostles say: not because we ourselves are able to think something of ourselves, as if from ourselves, but our ability is from God (2 Cor. 3:5). If the grace of God leaves my heart and my mind, I become like dust carried by the wind, without any moral firmness, with an inclination towards all kinds of evil; my mind and heart become empty, petty, gloomy, powerless. Thus, the omnipotence of God embraces my thought and my heart, and they are the chariot of God, on which God sits, by whose power it is carried, by which He Himself controls, and the tongue is the reed of the scribe - the Spirit. His almighty power also embraces my entire bodily composition: He maintains the processes of blood circulation, nutrition, fruitfulness, growth, sleep; By him I live, [move] and have my being [Acts. 17, 28]. Another person, even a monk, is glad to see you, draws you to him by force and, luring you into his apartment or cell, offers you wine and bread, whatever vegetables you find, or something else. Just think: what hospitality! It really is so, but the cordiality comes out to be carnal: you have to go through one glass, as they say, then another, and then a third - you look, and the carnal joy has gone. This is how we turn from a good path to a bad one. And how imperceptibly, plausibly! If you are overcome by the passion of stinginess or stinging food and drink for the brethren, and you, remembering the countless generosity of God to creatures, for which He gives us everything abundantly for enjoyment, pray to the Lord to send help from above to overcome your passion and do not succumb to its attraction, then you crucify the passion of stinginess and thereby please the Lord, Who immediately appears to you internally with His grace-filled help and peace from the struggle of passion. In every possible way the disembodied enemy fights us towards sin and kills our soul; sometimes there’s an incomprehensible, murderous heaviness on your soul: you’re bored, and sad, and sad, and you don’t know why; It seems that everything is so good with you, there is no misfortune and there never was. And when you sigh from your heart to the Lord and say: God, be merciful to me, a sinner (especially if you shed a tear) - and suddenly you will feel light, light and clear in your soul, and then you will see that this boredom and sadness were the work of our original killer. Guardian angels undoubtedly protect us and instruct us and talk to us in our dreams; this clearly happens upon awakening, when you imagine good dreams. You often awaken with words of peace, joy about the Holy Spirit, mutual love, with words on your lips from the Holy Scriptures, with words of prayer. But if you see that in a dream you overeat, condemn, envy, indulge in stinginess, commit adultery, quarrel, then know for sure that the leader and teacher of all evil is with you - the devil, and he tempted you, plotted his intrigues over you. This means that you did not pray diligently at night and did not repent from your heart of your sins. Behold, I will make them come and worship at your feet, and know that I have loved you [Rev. 3, 9]. We see from experience that numerous crowds of people from different lands flock to the saints of God, may they come and worship before those holy people and may they hear and take advantage of good advice from them. And who does it that unknown people find out about them, come from everywhere and bow to them? – Lord God, omnipresent and omnipotent. Why does He do this to His faithful servants? Because he loves them. Behold, I will make them come and worship at your feet, and know that I have loved you. Now, whose institution is it that we pray to the saints and their icons? The Lord's institution: we pray to the saints and bow to their icons, because the Lord commanded it, because the Lord loved them. About birthdays and name days. You celebrate your birthday and name day every year. Do you think these days that not only every year, but every day and hour you are becoming closer and closer to eternity, prosperous or ill-fated, and do you give yourself an account of your past life? After all, life was given to us precisely to prepare for eternity, and to think about eternity, to dwell on it longer with your thoughts, is most natural and convenient on your birthday or Angel’s day; these days you go to church to thank the Giver of life for the gift of life, and you gather your relatives and friends (who have income) to rejoice with your friends. These days are special, deliberate in your life; This is why they are celebrated, to thank the Lord God for the gift of existence, especially for the gift of the future life, which He has prepared; so that, celebrating in joy with our relatives, friends, acquaintances the day of our birth or an Angel (note, we celebrate the day of an Angel, that is, the day of our Christian life), we remember with special pleasure the life of the next century, for which we were born and live in this world. So look at whether you are close to your goal, to the Kingdom of Heaven, or whether you are still far away, and very far away - so much so that you have not moved towards it. But one must go to the Kingdom of Heaven, and the path to it is not wide and even and smooth, but rough and narrow - the path of labor and sorrow, the path of fasting and prayer, the path of crucifying sinful flesh with its passions and lusts, and the path of good deeds. Have you collected a supply of good deeds? What is your faith, hope and love? On Angel's Day, there is no better time to think about this, the most convenient time to test your faith, hope and love. On other days you are devoted to the vanity of the world, you have no time, you say. So now is the most favorable time for that, now is the day of salvation. Think about it. The memorial services that you so often serve for your relatives, learn, beloved, to turn into a means of reviving your Christian faith and hope for the future life; your relative has gone into eternity, you too will go away; he needs repose from the Lord, and you pray with us: Rest, O Lord, the soul of your departed servant - you also need this peace: as now, because even now only the Lord gives us spiritual peace: Come to Me... and I will give you rest [Matt. 11:28], so you will especially need this Divine repose when your soul leaves your body and all the charm of worldly vanity, all its imaginary pleasure will disappear for you. You taste the sweet brew in memory of the deceased - may this brew serve to strengthen the Christian hope that a Christian who died with repentance and virtue, after death, anticipates the sweetness of the future bliss prepared for us from the foundation of the world, and you yourself try to live in repentance and virtue. You hold lighted candles at memorial services for the deceased - from this you will learn that the deceased, having passed through the night of present life, now sees the non-evening light of eternal life and awaits the bright and revealed day of the second coming of Christ, on which Christ, the Judge of all, will come to earth with glory to reward everyone according to his deeds. Thus, during rituals over the dead and when praying for them, everything points to that afterlife, shows its properties and teaches us to refine and perfect Christian hope, which is so greatly dulled by the many different vanities of real life. What about the holy liturgy that you ask to serve for the dead? ABOUT! It is all aimed at instilling in our hearts a strong Christian hope of salvation and eternal life! The subject of the liturgy is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came down from heaven for our sake and for our salvation, who became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man, crucified for us, suffered, was buried, rose again on the third day, and ascended into heaven, and will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. During the liturgy, one who understands well what it consists of sees the image of the entire earthly life of Jesus Christ, with His suffering for us, death, resurrection and ascension to heaven; hears the word of God: the Apostolic Epistles and the words of the Lord Himself in the Gospel, proclaiming the resurrection of the dead and eternal life; hears the most comforting, loving words of the Lord Himself: Take, eat, this is My Body, broken for you for the remission of sins. Drink from it, all of you, this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins, instilling in us the strongest hope for the remission of our sins and for our union with the Lord Himself in this life in the Sacrament of Communion, and in the future - in the most sincere communion with Him. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day [Jn. 6, 56, 54]. This is the hope that the Divine Liturgy instills in us. This is the service of services; this service between other services is the same as Easter between other holidays. Why did the Lord send us the consolation of seeing in a short time two significant parts of the Life-Giving Tree and the relics of the martyrs, of whom one was the first to seal faith in Christ with his blood, being stoned, and the other was burnt by fire and, like sweet bread, was offered to the Trinity? – To revive or excite our fading faith in Christ and the hope of the future century. In fact, it was as if the holy great martyrs of Christ themselves came to us to denounce our coldness towards faith and our greatly weakened hope for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the next century. Two witnesses, strong in faith, hope and love for the Lord, came to us - the First Martyr Stephen and the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Tiron, and at the mouth of the two witnesses the word was established (every verb became confirmed [Russian: every word was confirmed] [Matthew 18:16]). Let us draw a proper lesson from this. Extremes of hope. And at the eleventh hour those who came are accepted, although they have done nothing worthy; those who bear fruit thirtyfold - fornicators, robbers and murderers, blasphemers and persecutors who have repented - are found in the Kingdom of Heaven. Great hopes! What is Christian hope? In order to answer this question in accordance with the essence of the matter, let’s turn to ourselves and see what the most important benefit we are deprived of in this life and which, however, there is hope of receiving? The heart, the center of our life, tells us that we do not have true life in this world, that there is only a ghost of life in us; our heart, thirsting for peace and bliss, does not find it in anything on earth, no matter how much it looks for it in earthly blessings, for example, in wealth, in food and drink, in various amusements, in fame and distinction, in health, in beauty, in the earthly affection of relatives and friends; on the contrary, the heart’s attachment to imaginary earthly goods constrains and darkens it, produces in it a painful, burning thirst for more, an increasingly intensifying melancholy and boredom for the satisfaction of the heart with earthly goods. Where is our true, permanent good? Where is our peace and bliss? Where is our true life? In the Triune God, in heartfelt union with God, from Whom we fell in the beginning; and the Son of God, Jesus Christ, came to earth precisely to give us this priceless benefit. I came, He says, that they might have life and have it more abundantly [Jn. 10, 10]. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest [Matt. 11, 28]. The promise that He promised us is eternal life (1 John 2:25). The hope for this union with God, our peace and eternal bliss in Him in the future life in Christ Jesus. The tranquility of our heart in God, in the confidence that He constantly cares [for us], is precisely Christian hope. Hope, says Saint Demetrius of Rostov, is a virtue inspired from above, through which the benefits of eternal life are expected with certainty. Note: all our illnesses are born and come from within, from the source of sin - the heart. It constantly bears the fruit of death. All the manifestations of our spirit in this life show that it came from God and must be in union with Him in order to have true life and bliss within itself. Take notice of yourself. God... is above all, and through all, and in us all [Eph. 4, 6]. There is One God 101 in the proper sense, that is, as if He alone is Being, and everything else that exists is only, as it were, a shadow of Being, a shadow of His face. Therefore, He is everywhere and in everything – as if there were no other existence. Hide in the mountain caves - He is there; dive into the depths of the sea - He is there; shut yourself up in your house - He is with you. Go into the fire - He is there, and, if you wish, the fire will not burn you. Everywhere, everywhere He is. If material light passes through bodies, will not the immaterial Spirit pass through every body? Christian hope is the union of the heart with faith in Christ and in Him the expectation of the blessings promised to those who love God from the foundation of the world. About anticipations of future peace and bliss on earth - in the fidelity of our relationship to God, in the sincere appeal of a sinner to God, during fervent prayer, after communion of the Holy Mysteries. The most merciful Lady of all sons and daughters of men, as the Daughter of God the Father, Who is love, the Mother of God the Word - our love - and the chosen Bride of the All-Holy Spirit, Who 102 is love, consubstantial with the Father and the Word. How can one not resort to such a Lady and not expect all spiritual blessings from Her! About the inertia of matter and a single smart 11 The fault of everything. The substance, we see, is on its own, without communication. to him strength, everywhere there is a serving instrument of the spirit, starting from the sky and the luminaries, obeying the mania of the Creator, to the earth and everything that is on it, to the seas and rivers and everything that is in them, to the human body, to a tree growing in a field, and a blade of grass trampled under foot. We know that, for example, a tree, as soon as we trim it, that’s how it will be, as we lay it down, that’s how it will lie, as we adapt it for ourselves, that’s how it will serve us, according to our action on it: whatever direction you give it with a known force imparted to it from the outside, that’s how it will go, and it won’t move a hair forward if you don’t move it; in a word, matter itself is dead, motionless, inert. Meanwhile, we see that bodies in the world, large and small, rotate in some kind of harmonious round dances, such as: the earth, the month, the stars, the sun itself; on earth there is a harmonious flow of matter in everything: these changes of seasons - spring, summer, autumn, winter, the harmony of the elements, the growth of grass, flowers, trees, animals, people, the continuous flow of well-dissolved winds, the incessant flow of rivers, constant evaporation from water reservoirs, the formation of thunder and lightning, the outpouring of rain; wise means to the propagation, maintenance and self-preservation and bliss of creatures. All this necessarily raises the mind to a single mental guilt, to infinite mind, to infinite goodness - to the invisible and incomprehensible God, the Spirit, whose invisible properties from the beginning of the world through the consideration of creations are visible and His eternal power and Divinity [Rom. 1:20] and who rules everything wisely and graciously. You are building your spiritual home; but look: the destroyer is also ready, the one undermining him is the devil, the thief 103 of your spiritual estate, the prince of this age. With a good disposition of the heart, with good deeds of faith, prayer, and good deeds, proud and self-praising thoughts appear. Beware. These are the diggers of your home, these are the predators of your spiritual estate. The Lord, who provides for our salvation, saves us by various means, protecting us from pride and other grave sins and encouraging us to humility and virtue: He makes some tongue-tied, others deaf, others oblique or blind, and deprives others of some other member; to another he gives a thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:7) - some kind of disease, or the thorn of the devil; He humbles some through his superior, others through his wife, others through his children, others through some mental deficiency or through some moral weakness. In all things be glory to Him! If proud thoughts and self-indulgence are ever crowded in your heart, then say to yourself: we, sinful people, have absolutely nothing to be proud of, nothing to boast about before God and before people: every good disposition, every good deed we have is from God; and that it is not in us from ourselves, but from God - proof of this is that we ask God for it through prayer, sometimes after a prolonged bad disposition of our soul; and if we have good dispositions in us from nature, that is, innate, passed down from our parents, then we have nothing more to boast about, because every good in nature is the good of God. A person’s kind heart is praised, but what does our kind heart mean? A temporary flash of kindness, a temporary display of some relative good, but in fact our heart is always unclean - that means it is not full of true love for God and for our neighbor, which means it is not good. The saying is true that no one is good except God alone [Matt. 19, 17; Mk. 10, 18; OK. 18, 19] – Triune Goodness, and we are as good as we are illuminated by the Triune Goodness. They are proud of their spiritual gifts - but how can one be proud of what is given? What do you have that you wouldn't get? - says the apostle in reproof of the proud man. - And if you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? (1 Cor. 4:7). They are proud of their strength and beauty - but what are they if not the summer blossoming of a flower? Autumn came and the flower withered, old age came and strength and beauty disappeared. They are proud of their wealth - but is it possible to be proud of a land that does not bring us true bliss or save us from illness and death? They are proud of their good fortune, but isn’t God the Creator of the human race? And if the children are not well-behaved, then, alas! people are proud to multiply the number of those who perish! Truly we have nothing to be proud of! But there are many reasons to humble yourself, consider yourself nothing and reverence God with all your might! March 2nd day, 1861. To have Christian hope means to courageously fight when we are struggling with sin and the devil and to nourish the everlasting hope in Christ that He, who is called upon, will help us overcome the sin in our hearts or, if it has already overcome us and is tormenting us, will forgive it through prayer and our heartfelt repentance for it - will forgive not once, not twice, not ten, not a hundred times, but countless times in one day, if, having unintentionally sinned, we are with with a firm intention to resort to Him in repentance. If my brother sins in himself... [Matt. 18, 15; OK. 17, 3]. Since my youth, many passions have fought me... Just as for the birth of children, God put into our nature a pleasantly compelling impulse to do so, so for the production of spiritual offspring (I mean mental works), He also puts into our hearts a pleasantly compelling impulse to produce from within into the outer world the life that fills our heart, or the wealth of our contemplations, thoughts and ideas about certain objects. Everything comes from God, who wisely arranged both our soul and body. Only in bodily impulses do these latter often act with captivating force, and there is less room for our free will, and in spiritual impulses there is more of our own free will; and in order for a wealth of contemplations or ideas to be born in the soul, a person needs to be prepared for this by some phenomena from family, social or religious life or from nature and his own views on these objects and reflections on them. But later, when these ideas have already appeared in a strong and gifted soul, it is difficult to keep them in oneself: like air trapped in a vessel, they seek an outcome through the door of the tongue or through the pen. That is why Socrates said: and I only learned from poets that they do not write poetry out of wisdom, but out of some kind of nature, in animation, like soothsayers of the gods or oracle singers, for even these say a lot and beautiful things, but they do not know anything about what they say - so do the poets. Apology of Socrates. Thus, the infinite wealth of God’s thought, His boundless goodness, omnipotence prompted the Lord, who does not need anyone or anything, to create a world of Angels, an infinite variety of material and human worlds, a spiritual-sensual being, with all the multitude and variety of visible animate creatures. Glory to the infinite goodness of the Lord, who from the abundance of His life gave life to countless creatures who drink from Him life, all contentment and bliss! Glory to His Divine, all-good freedom, by which He, having no need for any of us, gave us life, and raised up those who had fallen from life again, and did not retreat, creating everything, until He raised us to heaven and gave us His future Kingdom in Christ Jesus. Place in your soul a firm intention to strongly hate every sin of thought, word and deed and, when there is a temptation to sin, resist it courageously and with a feeling of hatred towards it; just beware that your hatred does not turn on the face of your brother, who gives rise to sin. Hate sin with all your heart, and pity your brother and admonish him and pray for him before the Most High, who sees us all and tests our hearts and insides. You have not yet fought to the point of blood, striving against sin [Heb. 12, 4]. Without hatred of sin established in the heart, one cannot help but often fall into it. Self-love must be uprooted: every sin comes from self-love, and sin always pretends to be our well-wisher, promising us contentment and peace. The tree (every sin) is good for food... pleasing to the eyes and desirable because it gives knowledge [Gen. 3, 6]. This is how sin always seems to us! If Guardian Angels had not protected us from the machinations of evil demons - oh, how often we would have fallen from sin to sin, how we would have been tormented by demons who delight in the torment of people! What happens to us when the Lord allows the Guardian Angel to retreat from us for a while and the demons to plot over us - experienced people know this. Yes, the Angels of the world, faithful mentors, guardians of our souls and bodies, are always with us, unless we voluntarily drive them away from us with the abomination of carnality, pride, doubt, and unbelief. It’s as if you feel that they are covering you with the wings of their immaterial glory, and you just don’t see them. Good thoughts, dispositions, words and deeds come from them. Voice and instrumental music for us Christians serves primarily the earthly, little - the heavenly. But it shouldn't be like that. We should praise and praise the Lord on musical instruments: piano, grand piano, violin, etc., etc. How neglectful we are of spiritual vocal singing! How do they sing in our churches? Sometimes my ears droop. Whose negligence is this 104? Glorified by the Highest Powers, Lord! Where is Your glory on earth, brought by the harmonious singing of Your intelligent creatures? In nothing but God there is true peace and delight for our hearts. Most of all they seek pleasure in food and drink. But food and drink taken in more quantity than is needed to maintain bodily strength burdens us. And our body does not require sweet brushes and various brushes: simple bread and water are most useful for it. So, it is madness to seek pleasure in pleasant foods and whole wines; every word that proceeds from the mouth of God [Matt. 4, 4], - this is how our inner man lives, this is what gives him peace, joy and life. Our earthly life must be a constant hope in the Lord in all circumstances. For we and all ours are from the Lord. Let us especially cherish hope in the Lord regarding the salvation of our souls. Nowhere is Christian hope expressed with such strength and clarity as in the Psalms of David. The entire Psalter is an expression of hope. The Lord alone opens a person’s heart to listen with spiritual benefit to what is spoken in the Holy Scripture, as it is said about this in the book of the Acts of the Apostles about one woman - Lydia the porphyry seller [Acts. 16, 14]. Therefore, before reading the Holy Scriptures, pray from your heart to the Lord, so that by His Spirit He will open your heart to saving attention. The purpose of our life (and our creation) is union with God, from Whom we have fallen and are falling away through sin. Union with God and the taste of heartfelt repose in Him begins here - all church services and Sacraments are directed towards this, especially Baptism, Repentance and Communion, the sacred rites of the Church - and will be completed finally in the next century. This is why we now have fasting, fasting, going to services and intense feats of prayer, repentance, and communion. Therefore, to have Christian hope means to seek the salvation of your soul all your life, or to seek union with God in Christ, to direct all your thoughts, desires, and actions towards earning salvation from God. He who hopes for the salvation of his soul must, putting aside all carnal lusts, undergo spiritual living, all to please the Lord, both in thinking and in doing. Christian hope is the peace of the heart in God, with the assurance that God... From this it is clear that Christian hope is the gift of God, because peace of the heart can only come from God. How many have this initial peace of heart in God the Savior? How many calmly surrender to Him in everything? Very, very few; The largest part of us seek peace and joy for our hearts in the pleasures of the world: in meetings, in theaters, in busy evenings, in food, in drink, in human affection and glory. There is no God in the hearts of many Christians, and their hearts are not in God. Their days disappear in vanity. Understand nothing, and seek God for nothing: having all deviated, it is indecent to be together. Do not do any goodness, not even to one. The grave was opened with their throats, their tongues with their tongues. The poison of asps is under their lips. Their lips are full of oaths and sorrow. Their feet are quick to shed blood: contrition and bitterness are on their paths, and they have not known the path of peace. There is no fear of God before their eyes [Rom. 3, 11–18]. We promised to teach you Christian hope. With God's help, let's get down to business. Christian hope, beloved brethren, is the tranquility of the heart in God, in the confidence that He unceasingly cares for our salvation (with this He created us, in order to give us heavenly bliss, from which we fell in the person of Adam and Eve and which was returned to us by the incarnate Son of God), if we are His faithful children in Christ; grants us heavenly bliss, prepared from the foundation of the world, if we ourselves are faithful to Him and keep His commandments. From these words about hope it is clear that Christian hope is twofold, it seems to have two types: one concerns this life, the other concerns future bliss. We must be in full confidence that God will give us all the gracious means for salvation through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit and all natural benefits, such as food, drink, and clothing, and the Christian himself only needs to not sleep and always keep faith in God in his heart and do all possible good deeds in order to save his soul. This hope of salvation should not leave us in any case: whether we are rich or the Lord visits us with poverty, whether we are healthy or sick, cheerful or sad (and sad), in happiness or in misfortune, whether we [walk] in the light of the face of God or the alien darkness of the damned covers us, in virtue [or] in sins. Christian hope should never, never leave us, for then it will truly be possible to say about us that we have Christian hope when we always carry it in our hearts. Just as God is unchangeable in His goodness and is always faithful to Himself, just as His care for our salvation is irrevocable and the promised [heavenly] blessings undoubtedly exist, so our hope for salvation and for receiving the promised benefits should be just as irrevocable: it was not in vain that the Son of God came down from heaven, was incarnated, crucified on the cross, suffered, died and was buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven - all this was for our salvation. The Lord founded the Church on earth for our salvation; for salvation - worship; for this purpose are shepherds and teachers to save us; for that Sacrament, especially the Sacrament of Penance and Communion; For this reason, the omniscient and omnirighteous Lord gave people conscience - this is His eye in them, which sees with their spiritual vision all their thoughts, desires, words, deeds and rewards good ones, and condemns them for bad ones; For this purpose there is a daily, hourly examination of the heart and entrails of everyone; for this purpose he gives us earthly gifts, although for this reason he also brings us down (because happiness is not in wealth and misfortune is not in poverty); for this illness, sorrow; for this there is joy and sorrow, because God is everything to everyone, and He will save everyone (1 Cor. 9:22); and great wisdom is needed to save a person - this, as St. Gregory the Theologian says, is the most cunning and most changeable of animals. That is why no one should be surprised that the lot of people on earth is too unequal (some are rich beyond measure, others are extremely poor; some are healthy, others are sick [...]): this belongs to the infinite wisdom of the Heavenly Father, worshiped in Three Persons, who saves everyone in different ways, and the solution to everything will be in eternity. So, every Christian must be undoubtedly sure that God is irrevocably and constantly concerned about his salvation, that he is not left for a minute by God without concern for the salvation of his immortal soul. I am with you, keep you on every path... [Gen. 28, 15]. All these cares of God for our salvation tend to give us eternal bliss. Yes, beloved brothers, eternal bliss awaits us if we keep our hope to the end. We will become partakers of the Divine nature (we are His race [Acts 17:28]), we will be one with God and we will see Him as He is. That they all may be one: as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, said our Lord Jesus Christ to His Heavenly Father, that they also may be one in Us [Jn. 17, 21]. Because of such bliss awaiting us, because of such the highest honor destined for us, the Lord strictly forbade us to love the world, nor what is in the world (1 John 2:15), because everything worldly is alien to us, but with all our hearts to love only Him, the Lord our God, and our neighbor as ourselves; He commanded us not to hope for anything in the world, but to rely only on Him. What is there in the world, or in people who love to live in complete pleasure in this world? They have carnal lust, lust of the eyes and worldly pride (1 John 2:16), that is, extreme self-love and carnality. But the Lord, as I said, strictly forbade us from this servility to ourselves, to our flesh, taught us not to become attached to wealth, nor to burden our hearts with gluttony and drunkenness, not to seek glory from people, not to torment our hearts with worries about food, drink and clothing; By his own example, he taught us complete lack of covetousness, abstinence and fasting, and contempt for human glory. I say: He taught perfect non-covetousness and He Himself showed us an example of this - because during His service to our salvation, He had no place to lay His head, He was content with offerings from the zeal of some pious wives and other willing givers. ...How did He teach abstinence and fasting? A forty-day fast before the beginning of serving our salvation, despite the fact that during all these forty days I did not eat anything. Let us note this, beloved: the Lord did not eat anything for forty days in order to overcome in His person our voluptuous flesh, which is greedy and demands exquisite food and drink and loves to be satiated and drunk - and through this all kinds of sins multiply in our hearts. This is why the Lord fasted for forty days, so that in His face He could show us how to tame and subjugate to the spirit our voluptuous, stubborn flesh, not submissive to the spirit, although His flesh was pure, sinless. And throughout His life He did not care about food and drink: how can we live, [...] we sinners? For the sake of Jesus Christ... His task, as He Himself said, was to do the will of the Father who sent Him and to complete His work [Jn. 4, 34]. The disciples bring Him the food they bought, knowing that the Teacher has not eaten for a long time, and say: Rabbi! eat. And He answers them: I have food that you do not know [Jn. 4, 31–32], that is, the same waste that is now spoken about. How did He teach us to despise human glory? Again by Your example and Your Divine words. I do not accept, He said, glory from men [John. 5, 41]. How can you believe when you receive glory from each other, but do not seek the glory that is from the One God? [In. 5, 44]. Here you are, beloved brethren, have entered the holy Great Pentecost. Fast in such a way as to keep in mind the example of Jesus Christ Himself, who fasted for our salvation for fourty days; fast precisely in order to dry up or at least reduce the unclean streams of sin in the flesh, which you have hitherto diligently nourished and fattened, and thereby given it the power to further and further remove your heart from God. Beloved brethren, there is a close affinity and connection between the abundant and pleasant saturation of the belly and between all sin: abundant and pleasant food removes the heart from God. There is no need to prove this: anyone who has observed himself, his spiritual life, knows this; So, fast in order to weaken sin in the flesh, fast together both physically and spiritually, removing all unrighteousness from yourself, and you will pave the way to union with God, for God cannot dwell in the hearts of those people who diligently serve the flesh; and the hope of salvation, like the dawn of the sun, will rise in your hearts until the clear, endless day of the future century illuminates you, which may the Lord vouchsafe us all to see with His grace and love for mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord, to Whom be glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen. But let us return to the subject of our hope. The Christian, we said, is prepared here for a blissful union with God in heaven, and that already on earth faithful Christians begin this bliss. Now it is natural to ask: why is there such great honor for a Christian man? What reason does he have to hope from God for such supreme bliss? How can a sinful person hope for eternal bliss in heaven when he is unworthy not only of heaven, but also of earth and this temporary life? In order to have truly Christian hope, for this you need to know yourself, your nature, namely: regarding the body, you need to know that it requires very, very little for its nutrition; that the bliss of our heart, greedy for pleasures, is not on earth, but in God; that the honors for which our spirit is greedy must not be sought here on earth, but in heaven—the honors of the children of God. Instruction. Honor, it is said, the face of the old man, and fear the Lord your God [Lev. 19, 32]. So honor in your elder father, as it were, the Heavenly Father Himself, do not spare anything for him, as for God, who gave you everything, just as your father 105 gave you everything, as if he made you an heir: he gave you a place, a daughter as a wife. You will sin gravely if you do not honor your father or spare anything for him. The boy Peter Damanov is smarter than me, firmer than me in faith, stronger in patience: during his illness he experienced severe torment - and did not groan, and complacently endured, he himself asked for communion; but I groaned in my illness, was faint-hearted and did not ask for the life-giving Mysteries before treatment, and after treatment I served the liturgy. About the German book. Susanna Andreevna's story: the author's judgment of this book about Jesus Christ only as a most perfect man, but not as God. About the deity of modern Christians. What do people adore? - The womb. What else? - Money. More? - The human mind. Who do professed Christians serve? - To the devil, not to Christ. They know Christ only by name. Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die! (1 Cor. 15:32). If someone insults you, and you forgive him the insult and are not angry with him, imputing his insult to nothing or in humility and simplicity of heart considering yourself worthy of it, then you defeat the offender, triumph over him, although he dreams that he is triumphing over you. But if you are angry, angry at the offender, then you are morally weak and defeated by the enemy and are worth extreme regret, as someone who does not know how to control himself, has not yet learned humility and is ignorant of how to overcome the spirit of pride. Just look at you when you’re angry, and everyone will see that you are a pitiful person. When a lazy person, pitying his flesh, begins to pray, then the enemy presents to him the imaginary duration of prayer and the imaginary difficulty of it for the flesh and, thereby plunging his heart into despondency, relaxes him for prayer. Obviously this is a dream. There is no need to feel sorry for your flesh, but to approach it cheerfully, with firm faith, hope and love. For faith, hope and love, nothing is difficult or impossible, or lasting. Jacob, out of love for Rachel and in the hope of getting her hand, worked for Laban for fourteen years, without fatigue, and fourteen years quickly passed for him 106. Apply this to prayer as well. If you truly love God, then no prayer will seem difficult or lengthy to you, because the hope of accepting God into your heart will sweeten your labor; all feats performed for God’s sake will seem insignificant and easy. This is the property of love. He who does not indulge his flesh thirsts for prayer, like a hungry man for food and drink, and is satisfied with its sweetness, not knowing fatigue; he doesn’t want to lag behind, he spends days and nights in prayer, and the more he prays, the more he is inflamed with love for prayer, so that if not for the weakness of the flesh, he would not get up from a sweet conversation with God. That is why we see holy ascetics who spent their entire lives in fasting and prayer and did not know satiety in it. Daring ones! Why do you reject the Divinity of the Son of God, when through Him you yourself can be deified and become sons of God? Or are you unable to bear such bliss, sons of the devil, just as the devil was unable to submit to the Son of God and the Holy Spirit, with whom he dreamed of being equal? The entire human race is one flesh and blood; why not a single spirit, as it should be? Pious people and Angels are one Church; God and the righteous are one. Everything is from the One, and everyone should raise themselves in the likeness of the One. But, alas! sin divided! Through Christ we are again raised to blessed unity. For some reason, the disembodied enemy really likes [to be] in our right side and kindle in it, like dry brushwood, lawlessness (unbelief, opposition to all truth and all passions), and turn the heart away from every good thought, good desire and good deed. He especially really likes to do this during our prayer, also before touching sacred objects, sometimes before conversation and during conversation with people, especially before communion of the Holy Mysteries (so restless)! It’s clear that he doesn’t like any good thing. - That's how it is. When you don’t do a good deed, don’t strive for God - nothing; I began to strive with all my heart - and the war began, and bombs flew. Have such respect for the truth that if someone speaks badly about you to your face or in absentia, but fairly, love him for the truth, like a friend; and if someone speaks well of you to your face or on the side, but unfairly, accuse him of flattery and tell him that his review of you is unfair. If you have anger in your heart against a person without revealing it, and you see on that person’s face also a sign of anger towards you, do not say a single word to him in your anger, even if it is to correct him: the enemy operates in your hearts and is only looking for an opportunity to inflame your hearts with all the power of anger, and, only the slightest reason presents itself, the anger will ignite, and you will give the enemy an opportunity to triumph over you. Our souls somehow understand each other without external detection. To avoid the devil’s malice, have zealous love for one another (1 Pet. 4:8), says the apostle. Strive in the power of the strength of Jesus Christ not for a moment to give place to malice in your heart, and on the contrary, strive to have constant goodness of heart. Be... blasi... [Eph. 4, 32]. A Christian, as a son of God by grace, a temple of the Holy Spirit and a member of the body of Christ, should not become like the devil out of malice and make his heart his dwelling place and, as it were, his member. Through His incarnation the Lord became intimately related to matter. Marvelous! God Himself is united in one person with man: God became flesh - the Word became flesh [Jn. 1, 14 ]; He himself ate our fleshly food and drank our drink; reclined in a manger; dwelt in the house, Uncontainable by heaven; I walked with my feet on the earth, on the water, in the air (I am going, he says, to heaven [Acts 1:11]); nailed to a tree, hanging the ground from nothing by His command 107 . All earth, water and air, trees, stones, metals, animals - everything is sanctified by the Son of God made man; That is why the earth is dear to Him, this is the temporary dwelling of man, this hotel of the human race, this is His dwelling place among people. But especially dear to Him are people whose soul and body He accepted into the unity of His Person, and especially true Christians. He is in them and they are in Him. Christian hope turns in prayer to God for every good, spiritual and material, in the confidence that everything comes from Him and nothing without Him. Everything began to be through Him - everything that was with us, except sin, and everything that is, and without Him nothing began to be with us that began to be [Jn. 1, 3] and what happens. Verbs, verbs, Master, in the hearts of Your people, as you graciously speak in my heart. Teach Thy people sacredly. A hasty, restless priest, or deacon, or sexton in the service is a tool of the devil; nothing remains in his heart, all faith for him is a dead letter. Christian hope is a constant, living, actually demonstrated confidence that our life, our strength, our peace and bliss are found only in one God and in nothing else; that we must cleave to Him alone with all our hearts and to nothing else, because everything else is dust and vanity and does not have in itself the life-giving power for our soul, which comes from the only life-giving Lord. Isn’t it fair that a guest at a party wants to eat and eat better than at home? Therefore, guests are always offered better food and drink than they have at home. Hospitality requires this. In case of falls, in case of failures, guard your heart extremely from despondency and relaxation and encourage and strengthen it with the hope of rebellion and success in your affairs. The enemy uses all measures to weaken the soul of a Christian with despondency and plunge him into the depths of despair, so that he may be reproached through us to the Lord, for in Him we live and move and exist [Acts. 17, 28], Who is all-good and all-powerful and can always both save us from sins and give us all kinds of help in our affairs. “Here I am with you,” as if the Lord says so to every Christian, “and I will keep you wherever you go; and I will return you to this land, to the land of the living, for I will not leave you until I have fulfilled what I have told you (Gen. 28:15). To have true faith and hope in God means, among other things, to generously endure all the injustices inflicted on us by others regarding us and our property, in the hope of reward for patience in the future life. If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those at home, he has renounced the faith and is worse than an infidel (1 Tim. 5:8). Therefore, Christian duty requires to provide for one’s relatives, that is, relatives, that is, to help them more than anyone else, both in spiritual and physical needs, to receive them with cordiality, despite the increase in their visits, to treat them with generosity and a face showing a related disposition. When one of those who come immoderately eats your sweets, which are dear to you, and your heart is embarrassed by their criminal pity, then say from your heart to the Lord: Lord, You generously nourish and intoxicate with abundant, inexhaustible streams of Your sweets all creatures of the earth, scattered throughout the universe, and everyone, being filled with Your sweet fruits, silently glorifies your generosity Yours and Your love; Grant then, O Lord, to me too, from the abundance of Thy gifts, me, the most unworthy, to generously feed Thy people who come to my table, and never be oppressed in my womb by the stinging of perishable food; grant me to love them as I do for myself, and out of this love to desire and do for them the same things that I do for myself. Perishable food, taken in moderation and in simple form, nourishes and strengthens the body, but in excess and refined and prepared with art, it relaxes and plunges it into inevitable illnesses. The same food is both life and death. So the incorruptible, life-giving food of the Body and Blood of Christ for the worthy becomes their life, and life in abundance, and for the unworthy - death for this sake, that is, for the sake of the unworthy communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, says the apostle: many of you are weak and sick, and many are dying (1 Cor. 11:30). In order for our prayers offered to God and His saints to be heard, we must cry out with undoubted faith and spiritual love. Kindred will soon be heard. Where there is suffering for the sake of resisting sin, there is a cross; where there is a cross, there is Christ with the Holy Spirit. So, do not be discouraged in sorrows and suffering, but rejoice and have hope. We are all sinners, but we can also be saints through the grace of Christ and our own efforts. And we must hope to be holy. A bad Christian is one who does not hope to be a saint, just as a bad warrior is one who does not hope to be a winner. Christian hope is when we, struggling with sin, with the help of the Lord Jesus Christ, hope to defeat sin in ourselves in the power of the fortress of Christ and, having become conquerors of sin and the devil, to give a place in our hearts to the Holy Spirit with the Father and His Son and thus unite with the Trinitarian Divinity - here initially, and in the next century finally: God will be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28). He who has Christian hope does not sleep, does not fold his hands, but carefully and constantly tests himself, and by all means tries to eradicate the evil that is noticed from his heart by the grace of God, and to establish and spread goodness, so that the Kingdom of Christ is established and spread in him, because the Kingdom of Christ spreads in us to the extent that we freely multiply in the soul the fruits of faith and virtue. When my heart passionately contracts from the sinful pity of perishable food for my brother, who eats my bread tuna, then I, remembering that I myself tunishly and unworthily often approach the immortal, priceless meal of my Lord, and from the heart recognizing myself before the Lord as unworthy of immortal food, to which He, however, graciously allows me and lives by it, I conquer my passion; my heart calms down and expands, and then I glorify the one belly of all - God, and like the sand of the paths 108 I count all my food. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in His life-giving Mysteries has such a powerful effect on our hearts during the passionate state of the heart, when it experiences over itself the charm of the corruptible poison through which sin and death once entered the world. Prayer is based on faith: I believe that there is a God before whom I weave my prayer; there is the Almighty, who holds all creation in His hand and has given different kinds of voices to creatures for their internal communication with each other, and He Himself does not need any voice; Yes, I hope that my prayer reaches Him, or, more precisely, goes straight from my heart to His ears. Likewise, the correspondence of a son with his father or mother, with brothers and sisters, father with children, friend with friends distant from each other, is also based on faith: when they write letters, they are sure that those persons to whom they are writing exist and are alive, they hope that their written conversation will reach them, will produce in their souls ideas, thoughts, feelings corresponding to the letter, and they will respond to the letter similar to its outline. Likewise, in life we ​​are largely guided by faith and hope. Moreover, in relation to the spiritual world, we must walk for the time being by faith, and not by sight. When you are in any place - whether in a house, on a ship, under the open sky - you doubt the presence of God in that place, then present to your heart the following proof of the undoubted presence of God in that place: God contains everything in His power, including me with soul and body, and every solid substance, and every liquid and transparent substance - so, He contains the air in which I am and which I breathe, contains every a particle of it; That is why He is called the Almighty, as He holds all creation - even the smallest - under His hand. How can He not be somewhere, in some place? How can there not be somewhere the truth of things, the reason for their existence? When you say such words to yourself internally, the heart, struck by the apoplexy of doubt, will immediately revive and calm down, which also provides the strongest proof of the omnipresence of God, especially in our souls. Glory to You, Almighty King, that You do not leave me in the darkness of the devil, but always send Your light into my darkness. You... are my lamp, O Lord, and enlighten my darkness [Ps. 17, 29]. Whether you pray, walk, sit, lie down, think, talk, rejoice, grieve, whether you are healthy or sick, whether at home or away, on land or on water - be constantly in full confidence that God clearly, clearly sees you in all perfection, with all your thoughts, desires, deeds, in all your states, at every moment of your being; hears better than any subtle hearing all your internal movements, all your words, although He Himself does not have eyes and hearing - these separate and complex, and therefore imperfect organs of cognition (although for us they are perfect), being Himself in His being all sight, which is why the Greeks called Him Θεός (θεάομαι - I see), and all hearing, or, more precisely, all light and knowledge. There is a class of people who have a special need for the consolations of Christian faith and hope. This is a class of poor people who, in their poverty, do not ask for alms, but, silently working in the sweat of their brow, eat their labor’s bread, sometimes in great poverty due to the ingratitude of labor and the large number of family members. These people, living in need and sorrow, eating bread by the sweat of their brow, not accepting consolation here, must be told for consolation that the Lord has chosen them primarily as rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven, that their condition is the most favorable for the salvation of their souls, because they rely on God more than the rich and noble, for who can the poor rely on except God, in the absence of all other visible supports on which the nobles rely? and rich? To whom should one turn in need and grief for lack of helpers in the world, if not to God? So we know that the poor in their poverty learn a living faith in God and hope in Him, and therefore we most of all hear the name of God on the lips of this class of people: God will help, God will not forsake - a clear proof of the faith and hope in God living in their hearts. Meanwhile, from the rich and famous people of the world you will not hear this revered name, or you will hear it pronounced with carelessness, out of habit and without consciousness of His greatness and holiness. So, brethren, bearing the burden of poverty, do not grumble at your fate, but bless the Lord, who draws your hearts closer to Himself through the lack of earthly goods, which could easily alienate you from God; Be sure that the Lord loves you no less than those who have everything in abundance - on the contrary, even more than them, because instead of corruptible earthly goods He gives us Himself - an imperishable treasure and inexhaustible wealth. What could be higher than such a treasure, what could be the highest proof of His love for you? And it happens in people that they see more evidence of sincere love in the person who helps a famous person not with money or things, but who gives himself over to him as his most humble servant, becoming everything to him. So, beloved, be sure of God’s providence for you and do not be burdened by your fate. Remember the Lord, who became impoverished for our sake and had nowhere to lay his head: isn’t it nice to be imitators of Him and, so to speak, to share His earthly fate? Was not God's Only Begotten Son in the love of God His Father? Did not the Father Himself testify of Him: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased [Matt. 3, 17; 17, 5; 2 Pet. 1, 17 ]? And yet the beloved Son of God did not walk the broad path, but the narrow and sorrowful path, in order to show us an example of patience and devotion to God. There is also a class of sufferers who suffer from mental and physical illnesses. There are people who are frightened by the abyss of their sins, which, in their opinion, cannot be compared with anyone else’s sins, and they despair of God’s mercy, which is supposedly ready to punish them. They exaggerate too much in their imagination each of their sins, or, better, not they, but the enemy of the human race - the devil; and they indulge in melancholy and sadness, without immersing themselves in prayer and without surrendering themselves to the mercy of Jesus Christ, who took upon Himself the sins of the world and forgives truly repentant sinners. To prevent Satan from dragging such people into the abyss of despair, it is necessary to show them the power of faith and inspire them with Christian hope for the forgiveness of sins. Will not the blood of the Son of God cleanse us from all sin? Isn’t He who is in us sicker than what is in the world [Russian: He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world] (1 John 4:4), that is, the devil? What consolation can you offer to the sick? He who is indifferent to household expenses, great or small, as long as they are necessary: ​​a good table, decent clothes and housing, does not have stinginess; who neglects the extra kopecks or even rubles against the usual expenditure for the necessary occasion; who helps others willingly, without regretting their help; who gives alms with a cheerful face, willingly and generously. The heart is the receptacle of all sin: laziness towards prayer and all well-intentioned work takes root in it, pride and the resulting opposition to God and people, in it - wickedness, envy, hatred, fornication, adultery; This is a cesspool, reeking of every sinful stench. Insuring homes and property is contrary to Christian hope. Where there is fear, there is no hope. He who fears the Lord, says David, is surrounded by mercy [Ps. 31, 10]. Fear God, live according to His will - and no evil will befall you, and no plague will come near your village [Ps. 90, 10]. My son! give your heart to me [Prov. 23, 26], says the Lord in the Old Testament. Blessed are the pure in heart, says the Savior, for they will see God [Matt. 5, 8 ]; Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me [Ps. 50, 12], says David. The Apostle Paul wants Christ to dwell in the hearts of Christians. If what is kindred seeks what is kindred to itself, if God wants and seeks our heart from us, then the heart is our soul, or our soul is in the heart, that is, in our insides; there, in the immediate vicinity of our womb (in the womb), the bodily belly (stomach) and the spiritual belly (heart): two - two, one against the other, just like the material heart and the spiritual heart. Tell me: why is the entire main mechanism that supports our life located in our insides, under our breasts? Because there is the throne of our soul; That is why when a person or animal is beheaded, life remains in the body for some time. The mind, or head, is nowhere spoken of in Holy Scripture so strongly, with such attention, as is spoken of the heart; the head is recognized as a serving instrument of the heart, even if it is a guiding one until the time of our future complete renewal, and the Lord Himself directly lowers the mind, or thought, into our heart: why do you think evil in your hearts? [Matt. 9, 4 ] (in the hearts, not in the head). Evil thoughts come from the heart [Matt. 15, 19] (from the heart, not from the head). That is why the head is cold without the participation of the heart (soul), and from a person, both in speech and in all matters, they demand not only the mind, but certainly the heart, heartfelt participation, without which word and deed are considered lifeless, soulless. That is why - because our soul is in close communion with the stomach - we need to observe moderation in food and drink in order to succeed in spiritual life; That is why excess in food and drink leads us to moral relaxation and disorder, to laziness, moral negligence, forgetfulness of God, to pride, love of money, stinginess, envy, debauchery and all possible sins. And the experience of all people who have observed themselves clearly speaks in favor of the location of our soul in the vicinity of the stomach, liver and, in general, our internal parts. Under the chest board and below is her seat. There all the phenomena of spiritual life and death take place, just as the process of bodily life takes place there. That is why the duty of every Christian is to guard his heart in every possible way: Guard your heart above all else, for from it are the sources of life [Prov. 4, 23]. Do you know the reason for this man’s brilliant success in matters for the benefit of his soul, for the benefit of the Church, for the benefit of his family or society? This reason is his living faith in God and prayer. Do you know what powerful spring moves the pen of this thinker, who wrote so many useful and edifying books? – His living faith and prayer. Thus, we often see only phenomena, but we do not see the main spring that moves the mind and heart of the thinker. What can we compare our prayer to? The dry, heartless [babbling] of unkind children, cold towards their father, who have come to full consciousness, who have once memorized forever someone else’s words and only out of custom speak them to their father, and when they speak, it is clear from their face or eyes that they speak without the participation of the heart, out of habit, hastily, just to quickly finish the routine and get off, and having gotten away, they joyfully run to the table and with full zeal they grab food and drink or turn to their toys and play with them with the liveliest sympathy, doing them as if they were doing something serious. Almost all of us, brethren, are like this in relation to our Heavenly Father. We pray more without heartfelt participation, with cold hearts, out of habit; we are in a hurry to finish, and when we finish, we internally rejoice that we have finished, and hastily turn either to food, as to the treasure of our heart, thereby exposing the idolatrous disposition of our soul: where is your treasure... [Matt. 6, 21; OK. 12, 34], or to their vain activities, like children to their toys. Is this how the beloved children of the Heavenly Father, for whom His love has prepared the eternal inheritance of the abode of paradise, should behave? Is this our love for the Heavenly Father, who loved the human race so much that He gave us His only begotten Son, so that we would not perish forever, but have an eternal life? We do this in relation to prayer. But many at least still pray somehow - although occasionally, but at least sometimes they pray with some feeling of love, especially in need and trouble. What can we say about those who don’t pray at all? How do they live? If prayer is the treasury of all good things (true prayer), then those who live without prayer are full of all evil. Rejoice and thank God when He sends you occasions for the suffering of your flesh (for example, in special labors in the service) and your sinful heart, because this is the great mercy of God, similar to those mercies that He showed to the martyrs, subjecting them to suffering for the faith, to the saints who exhausted their bodies by His grace on earth by lying down 109, fasting and almost constant vigil and prayer. It’s bad when our flesh does not suffer, but lives in contentment and bliss: then it takes its will and captures us in its hands, making our soul its slave. Suffering or intense work in the sweat of the brow is unpleasant, but there is nothing to do - this is of great benefit to the soul: sins are squeezed out of it by this suffering or this work in the sweat of the brow. By the sweat of your face you will eat bread [Gen. 3, 19]. Oh, if only you could exhaust the full depth of these words, comprehend their whole truth and what kindness together with justice, what wise purposefulness with the condition of the sinner was expressed in them! In these words, God, like a wise doctor, pointed out to sinful people the best, most effective medicine against the disease of sin, a strong antidote to the poison of sin; in them mercy and truth meet [Russian: will meet] [Ps. 84, 11]. Labor by the sweat of the brow is the first cross for sin. And look what experience says: aren’t hardworking Christian people the best people and the best Christians? Just as tears cleanse the impurities of our hearts, so the sweat of labor also cleanses the impurities of the soul. But what pure souls you will meet among well-meaning free workers! So, rejoice, Christian, and thank God when you have to endure special labors or other hardships of the flesh. Drive away from your heart the sinful reluctance to take up any task whatsoever. Go against your lazy flesh, against your heart that does not love work; always try to overcome yourself, force yourself, do things reluctantly, convince, beg yourself - and finally you will do them willingly. Get used to it and fall in love. I did not know the tricks of the accursed one, but even in reading books he drives my thoughts forward, forcing me to haste, and therefore from reading books I have almost nothing left in my head. You have nothing of your own: from a good thought to a stream of air - everything is God’s; in everything and rely on God, and not on yourself. What do you have (even a hair) that you wouldn’t get? (1 Cor. 4:7). Great question! How do I know that I am proud and proud? You can find out now. If one of my friends treats me dryly and casually and I am offended by this, it means that I am proud and proud. If a harsh word offends me, it also means that I am proud. If someone contradicts me and I am offended and irritated by him, I am also proud: a humble person craves fair or unfair contempt and internally delights when others despise him and consider him to be nothing; he meekly meets contradiction and meekly convinces the enemy. The words of the Lord are pure words, silver is kindled, tempted by the earth, purified by the sevenfold [Russian: The words of the Lord are pure words, silver cleansed from the earth in a furnace, refined seven times] [Ps. 11, 7]. This speaks of our holy Orthodox faith. She is the pure word of the Lord, kindled silver, cleansed from the earth, that is, from all earthly human wisdom, purified seven times, that is, at seven Ecumenical Councils. Do you see what the prophet saw in his vision by the Spirit of God? So, glory to our Orthodox faith! Those who glorify Me will I glorify, and those who disparage Me will be dishonored (1 Samuel 2:30). This is constantly being fulfilled in practice: for while those who glorify God heartily: in prayer, with their lives, with their deeds and writings, are in glory, those who humiliate God by coldly treating Him, with their lawless deeds suffer shame and reproach from people. This especially happens with the priests of God. What is my glory in this city and have I sought it? I did not look for it - it is the work of God: I will glorify those who glorify Me. What does the dishonor of some mean, who carelessly and coldly perform divine services, who preach the word of God without heartfelt participation, who are covetous in the inheritance of God? Again the work of God: those who dishonor Me will be put to shame. Glory to Your justice, O Lord! The Lord, who created everything with wisdom, still does or strives for creativity through all His creatures - rational, unreasonable, both living and inanimate. In a pious person He constantly lives and acts through him, creating in his insides a pure heart and renewing a right spirit, 110 resting in him as the living and life-giving water of holy contemplations and pouring out in an abundant river - either with his lips to the people, or on paper, doing through him deeds of virtue and various feats of Christian life, producing sighs in him unspoken and tears for Bose. Further, in relation to the creation and preservation of living beings: he creates the male seed and from the male seed in the womb he creates human bodies and souls; creates juices and blood, transforming food and drink into the corresponding principles. He also creates everything in animals - they are His unconscious instruments: His wisdom is in the bee that builds honeycombs, in the spider that weaves fabric, in the silkworm that prepares luxurious threads for clothing, in the kokosh that lays eggs and hatches chicks and gathers them under its wings; His wisdom is in inanimate plants, which, being inanimate and insensitive, naturally cannot do anything on their own and are only mechanical tools of the Creator of creatures. The Lord is in the rotation of all the elements, forces and bodies of nature: He, with a wise and omnipotent hand, holds them in amazing balance and order, His Spirit contains all these worlds; all these forces in nature are strong by His power, all these elements are kept in such harmony and balance by His wise mind. Let all creation glorify the Lord, the one Creator of everything, who now does everything everywhere - on earth and in heaven, in the seas and in all abysses. May the name of That One be magnified [Ps. 148, 13]. When our mind acts in the heart and is friendly with it, then the head is easy and the work of the mind is life-giving, [faithful], friendly; but when his work remains only in the head, without the participation of the heart, which enlivens the mind and our entire being, then soon his work turns out to be incorrect and destructive for the nerves of the head, and it hurts and weighs heavily on the head: it is made like a cauldron. And the head is justly punished: it is not at odds with the heart. On paper you are good, you sing well, but how insignificant in reality, in Christian love: how petty, powerless, impatient, irritable, alien to the heartfelt participation of love! Why did I experience such terrible dryness of heart, such burning irritability in confession yesterday? Is it because I did not go to services during the First Week (not my service week) and did not fast as I should: I drank sweet tea and ate plenty? Is it because I did not prepare my soul as it should for the feat of healing the repentant? Scary! My heart seems to have become soft and does not like work! This was evident before the interviews were compiled. How reluctantly I started the conversation. Is it not contentment in everything that has taught my heart laziness and impatience? Lord, have mercy! Wonderful thing! Yesterday I went to confession from four to eleven o’clock, and although I was a little tired, having gone to bed at twelve o’clock and getting up at four and a half o’clock, I felt vigorous and healthy! What a good work for the Lord! How He reinforces is wonderful! And at the beginning of confession, what laziness there was at first, what weakness - you just had to endure it! The evil one tempted. The farmer sows seeds in the hope that, in a way unknown to him, by God’s command and providence, they will sprout and bear fruit. So, without fail, you, sowing in the fields of human hearts, firmly hope that what is sown in many human hearts will spring up in an unknown way and by God’s providence, goodness and wisdom, and will bear fruit. The same must be said about prayer: it is a sin to sow words without the hope of fruit from them. It is a sin to pray without the hope of fruit from prayer. Words are the same seeds. We need to pray to God. The enemy often wounds our souls with his malice and burns us. This wounding spreads like Antonov’s fire 111 in the heart, unless you stop it with the sincere prayer of faith. And God, with His love, wounds our souls, but this wounding is light, sweet, not scorching, but warming and revitalizing. Remember constantly that the light of your soul, your thoughts, your heart is from Jesus Christ: He is the light in the eyes of our heart: not like this, coming from the sun, appearing and disappearing, not penetrating through opaque matter and leaving much in the dark, unable to enlighten a single soul in the darkness of sin, - He is the Light that enlightens every person (that is, the main part of his being - the soul) who comes into the world [Jn. 1, 9]. Yes, the light of Christ enlightens everyone, even the pagans. Light for the enlightenment of the Gentiles [Lk. 2, 32]. He shines in the darkness of sin, but sinful human darkness, or people living in the darkness of sin, do not understand it (are not embraced [John 1:5]), do not realize that the light that is in their souls is from Christ, and think that it is their natural light, that with their natural mind, their sharpness, prudence, they have reached a known truth or accomplished something known business; They do not think that only in the light of Christ do they see all light - the light of every noble science, noble art, every cause. We have inside us a spiritual eye, with which we see a million times more than with bodily vision, which is only an instrument of our spiritual eye, a conductor through which the soul, or spiritual eye, perceives all visible objects. What are the objects of contemplation of this soul's eye? Phenomena of the spiritual world. In addition to the visible world, there is God, the infinite Spirit, the infinite Mind, who has created and is creating everything in the material world, which is the realization of His thoughts (ideas), and there is a spiritual world - Angelic, countless, living in constant contemplation of the Divine and all the works of His omnipotence and wisdom. Our spiritual eye relates most of all to the Lord, and in this case its action is called contemplation and contemplation of God; this contemplation and thought of God can extend to infinity, just as God Himself is infinite, and has the property of cleansing our soul from sin, perfecting it and bringing it closer and closer to God, the Source of our light, or our thought, our life; then he contemplates the angelic ranks, according to the measure of God's revelation, and their spiritual, luminous nature, their spiritual kindness 112, their love for God and among themselves and for our race, their protective actions in relation to our earth, to its elements, to human societies, to sacred and other places, and to each Christian in particular. The spiritual eye also turns tentatively inside the person himself, and then his activity is called self-examination, self-knowledge, self-deepening, sacred wakefulness or sobriety over one’s thoughts and desires. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest [Matt. 11, 28]. Oh! When I look carefully with the eyes of my heart at myself, at my inner weaknesses and struggles with myself, when I reflect after your confession about you and about your sins and iniquities that you revealed to me, then neither for myself nor for you do I find words more suitable for depicting our state than the words: toiling and burdened. Truly - those who labor and are burdened! What work, endless work we have with our sins and iniquities, and often with what sins and iniquities! It's embarrassing and scary to say! What a burden, an infinitely heavy burden for us - our sins! Tears involuntarily come to your eyes when you imagine this infinitely great disaster of humanity, groaning under its own, inside, in the heart, hidden and constantly multiplying burden, when you imagine these terrible machinations of the enemy over poor people! How Satan did not mock us, how he did not laugh at us! What evil, what abomination of sin he has not plunged us into! But, my friends, do not despair, despite the greatness of evil in you; you who labor and are burdened with your abominations! come to the Lord with heartfelt repentance, open your heart wounds to Him, bring your sinful burden to Him, and He will give you rest, having taken away your sins. Come to Me... and I will give you peace. Prayers, divine services, Sacraments, fasting - all this is a matter of blatant necessity, given by the mercy of God in response to the painful cries of our soul. And many consider all this unnecessary or unimportant and think of somehow saving their soul in their own way. Prayer is seeds: just look 113 carefully at the soil of the heart, let the soil of 114 the mind go deeper and fertilize it with contrition and sighs - and they will sprout and bear fruit: Your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly [Matt. 6, 4; 6, 6; 6, 18]. Ask, and it will be given to you [Matt. 7, 7; OK. 11, 9]. When you sow a seed, you don’t see how it vegetates there 115 and then you see the fruit. When you sow a word of prayer, you don’t see what happens to it, but then you see the fruit. Since a person consists of a soul and a body and each needs special benefits to support its life, there are two types of Christian hope: hope from God for spiritual benefits (spiritual gifts of grace) and hope for bodily benefits that support the life of our body. Just as those benefits are unspeakably great, so are these unimportant. God showed everyone great hopes for salvation in the Old Testament and in the New and in everyone’s own life. Some of us were once an abomination to God, to ourselves and to people, were indecent to God and people, because of the shame of our eyes we could not [raise] to heaven, we were ashamed of people and the most unreasonable and inanimate creatures, we despaired of God’s mercy and our salvation; and then, having corrected himself by the grace of God, he became virtuous and a person useful to God and people, and hope for God’s mercy and salvation shone in his heart, and he became a child of the Heavenly Father, returning from a distant country to the house of the Heavenly Father. Oh! If we each carefully trace our lives, then we cannot help but hope for God’s mercy and despair of our salvation to anyone: the abyss of God’s mercy will open before our spiritual eyes; we will be surprised how God tolerated so many iniquities from us and how we still enjoy His mercy, moreover, in such a way that His mercy towards us not only every year, but also every day increases more and more. Signs of Christian Hope. He who has true Christian hope is satisfied with his state, no matter what he is in, because he is confident that his state is the best for his salvation, taking into account his state of mind and his abilities. Woe to me when there is no Spirit of God in my heart! There was no faith or love in me then. Mental denial of any of the Three Beginning Lights is equally death for the soul: in this way and in reality, God reveals to us that Each of the Three Persons of the Divine is our Life. Belly and Bellies 116. The enemy is easily recognized by the denial of the Faces of the Divine, by the burning of his lies in our hearts, by the darkness and tightness of our souls. The Lord is my power and my refuge. Every moment He contains my soul and my body. Just as the Spirit of God lives in the multitude of Christians and in all of them completely with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, and at the same time He is all everywhere - both in heaven and on earth, so the Lord Jesus Christ is completely in every part of His Body and Blood, in all Christian churches, and at the same time all everywhere - in heaven and on earth: like God, He is all everywhere, and there is no place where He is not all. I take one particle of communion - He is all here; I take another - He’s all here; third, etc. - but in all there is one and the same Christ. I call on the Lord Jesus here - He is here, and hears, and saves; together with me, someone else, similar to me, calls Him in another place - He is there, and hears, and saves him; the third is in the third place, and also experiences His power, and so on ad infinitum; and everywhere the whole Christ, hearing and saving everyone and living in the hearts of His chosen ones. In the material world, they say, nothing is lost; so in the spiritual world nothing is wasted: not a single thought, not a single feeling, not a single sigh, not a single movement of the heart, not a single unclean thought, not a single word. Only the wisdom and goodness of God has invented a means to blot out and destroy sins; but temptations still remain from our sins. When I notice peace in the people present in church, then I know that the peace of Christ is in their hearts and the Holy Spirit, with His luminous and life-giving grace, has touched their insides. Just as in the light of the sun we see the air, and the earth, and the waters, and everything that is in the air and on the earth, so in the light of the mental Sun in our heart we see the world of spirits (Angels) and saints of God: the Mother of God, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, saints, martyrs, saints and all saints. We see them with the eyes of the heart (by faith), just as we see objects of the sensory world with sensory vision. Thus, a simple and pure heart also sees, for example, the Mother of God with its inner eyes, just as natural vision sees Her image or some other visible object. To those who give charity in holy churches. While you donate your material gifts to the Lord, God invisibly sends His invisible, grace-filled gifts into your mind and heart; your gifts serve to reveal your own spiritual powers. Those who pray the church prayers must remember that they are the works of great saints and God-bearing ascetics, and every word of the prayer must be considered absolutely true. The prayers they composed are God’s gift to them; they came from the illumination of their hearts by the light of God, from a perfect knowledge of the wretchedness, poverty and need of our fallen nature. Their prayers are the crying voice of the heart of all humanity, the essential need of every person. Do not spare your heart in prayer, do not indulge his laziness, force him to sincere, contrite prayer (the Kingdom of God is taken by force [Matthew 11:12]), knock out from him an ardent consciousness of sins, break his insensitivity. Woe is it when dryness meets dryness, when a priest at confession, himself struck by the enemy in his heart and morally deadened, meets a spiritual child who is not at all prepared for confession, insensitive, cold, unresponsive. And how many there are! From your actions it is clearly evident that you love material self-interest more than your brother, than his rational and immortal soul. But do you know that when you feed your brother freely, each time you do it to God Himself, Whose image [the brother] carries within himself, for the work done to the image goes back to the Prototype! Be terrified of your deeds! You are proud, therefore you really don’t like it when others laugh at you, openly or hintingly accuse you of some passion, or needlessly reproach you, openly or hinting, for some sin that does not exist in you. And remember the Savior: He, the Truth Himself, was called a flatterer: he deceives the people [Jn. 7, 12], having a demon [Jn. 7, 20; 8, 48, 52]... Love everything that the natural man does not like; For whatever reason he grieves, for that reason he rejoices. You have no love for God, for the Mother of God, for the saints; you don’t have sincere love for your mother, for your wife, for your relatives, for other people - that means you haven’t begun to live like a Christian, you haven’t moved one step closer to Christianity. We hold on to Christ by faith. We fall away from Him through doubt and unbelief, and through doubt and unbelief we unite with the devil. Until you begin to sincerely work for God, until then you seem to have faith, hope, and love; and how they began to serve sincerely - where does [in time] doubt, lack of faith and disbelief, despondency and despair itself come from (into the abyss of a fierce despondency) and a feeling of extreme lack of heartfelt love for God and for people. But don’t despair – keep hoping and hoping. The enemy builds many intrigues over Christians who struggle in the hope of salvation: he produces in them doubt, unbelief, fierce despondency, dryness of heart, and lack of love, and instead of love - anger, coldness towards God and people and a burning attachment to earthly goods. I cannot help but believe that the Lady does not hear and fulfill my prayers: following prayer, She revives and enlightens my soul; after God, She is my 117 power; that She hears me and fulfills my prayers is as real as [me and] my grief is real. From the Lady comes strength for my soul, healing and preserving. I read, I read sacred books about God and His deeds - and I still don’t get enough, I keep looking for more and more knowledge about Him, I want to get closer and closer to Him. So what? Will my thirst be satisfied? ABOUT! I will be satisfied, never appearing in Your glory [Russian: having awakened, I will be satisfied with Your image] [Ps. 16, 15]. Those who thirst... will be satisfied [Matt. 5, 6]. Convict your heart more often of doubt and unbelief, in the fact that, having daily so much evidence of God’s providence for you, it still dares to doubt and fall, albeit for a short time, into unbelief due to the machinations of the enemy. Accuse yourself more often internally before God for your lack of faith and pray to Him to help your lack of faith. From the lack of hope in God regarding earthly goods - health, external well-being (namely: food, drink) - how many murderous worries and worries arise, indignation at others, at the indiscretion of oneself and others, envy, hatred, zeal! Pray for the servant of God Alexandra - for her health. God! I say 118 in my heart: You are the power of my soul; in every 119 moment of my life - You are my preservation in goodness, You are my strength, You are my deliverance from all evil and protection from evil - and my spirit may rest. Carnal sweetness and spiritual sweetness are incompatible in a person. Therefore, those who desire heartfelt, spiritual sweetness are afraid to eat carnal sweets, lest they drive away the sweetness of the Holy Spirit. Just as the invisible soul animates and sustains the body, so the invisible God animates and sustains all worlds and all creatures. I will come and heal him (the boy) [Matt. 8, 7]. You believe the words of, for example, a watchmaker when, in response to your request to fix your damaged watch, he replies: I will come and fix it. Shouldn’t we believe all the more firmly and undoubtfully when the Creator of our body and soul says: I will come and heal him, or: I will come and resurrect him? Just as a watchmaker gives, so to speak, life to my watch, in which the mechanism has become damaged and has ceased to function, putting into it an elastic hair and wheels instead of a soul, imparting movement to them and putting all parts of the mechanism in order - so the Lord, the Giver of Life and our God, can in an instant resurrect the deceased, as the Creator of his soul and body. Believe without any doubt that the word of the Savior is omnipotent: whatever he says, that will be done; He will say: I heal you, and you will be healed; He will say: Arise, dead man, and he will become. The word of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the word of the Creator, who created everything with a word, is omnipotent: all Angels and men and all worlds with all creatures appeared from non-existence into being by Him. Birds sing, dogs bark and take care of their owners, horses carry loads, spiders scurry their webs, ants work all summer, and so does the bee; And what do Christians live for? To glorify the Heavenly Father. Learn to praise God here in order to prepare here for the eternal, most blessed praise of Him in heaven. The Church is the earthly sky, in a small form it is the infinite sky. A sign of the mercy of the Lord or His Most Pure Mother towards us after or during prayer is peace of heart, especially after the action of any passion, the properties of which are the absence of spiritual peace. By the peace of our hearts and some kind of holy bliss of our hearts, we can easily recognize that our prayer has been heard and the grace we asked for has been granted. The success of prayer is also recognized by the spiritual power that we internally perceive in doing the things of our calling, and by the inner light that clearly comes into the soul. In prayer we must imitate the blind men of Jericho 120: cry out louder, with all our hearts, with full faith, despite [any] obstacles: Son of David! Have mercy on me. Likewise, call on the saints diligently (as the Church sings). Otherwise we will not be heard. The Lord is the Sustainer of 121 my thoughts and words: if he leaves me for lack of faith, I can neither think clearly nor speak. The burning glass then ignites wood or paper or anything else that is easily combustible when we point it at an object so that the rays of the sun, concentrated at its focus, are all concentrated on one point of the ignited object and thus act on it with their entirety, and as if the entire sun in a reduced form is placed on the object. So it is in prayer: then our soul is warmed, enlivened and ignited by the intelligent Sun - God, when with our mind, like a burning glass, we point this mental Sun at the heart, as at a spiritual point in our being, and when It acts on the heart with all Its simplicity and Its power. The same is true about the Mother of God and about the Angels and saints. I will bring their images to my heart as they are, with all their power and holiness: let the heart receive their illumination upon itself with all possible fullness and strength - and it will be ignited by their loving, as if fiery action; their purity and sanctity, goodness, strength will be communicated to your heart, and it will itself be purified, it will itself be strengthened in faith and love, and the further, the more decisively and constantly you have your heart turned to God and to His saints, the more your heart will be enlightened, purified and enlivened. It is not enough to talk only about the struggle of passions. We also need to talk about how to defeat them, eradicate them, destroy them. Before the communion of his spiritual children in Lent, the confessor bears, according to the definition of God's truth, the severity of punishment for those sins for which they should have been removed from communion and for which, however, he did not remove them. March 18th, 1861 My God! My God! Something does not happen in this small world called man at different times. Something his soul cannot bear! Sometimes such darkness will cover her, poor thing, such suffering, alien to any slightest joy, such joyless despondency that you think that blasphemy and murmur are about to burst from her lips - after all, she is forced from within by a dark force to thoughts and words of blasphemy; You are about to perish spiritually, and there is no one to intercede for you! Oh! How scary and painful it is when you don’t notice a shadow of goodness in yourself, not a spark of light, not a hair of inner strength. And you are close, close to despair. But take communion with faith of the most pure Mysteries or pray with all your heart - and all the heaviness of your soul will be gone: peacefully, easily, and cheerfully. Such grace, such power of the Lord! Oh, Lady Theotokos, our most swift Intercessor! With your intercession and help, today I have more than once gotten rid of the internal evils that beset me! Glory to You, Most Merciful! Petition and thanksgiving. Constantly remember that you are not God’s own: you think with someone else’s mind, you wish for good with someone else’s heart, and it is not by your own strength that you stand in goodness; You speak a foreign language and a foreign word is in your mouth; you look with someone else's eyes, you hear with someone else's ears; you make with someone else’s hands, you walk with someone else’s feet, you cook food with someone else’s stomach to nourish your body, and the food is not yours: you didn’t produce it; You breathe with someone else’s lungs, you are sewn and strengthened with someone else’s veins and bones - everything, everything you have is someone else’s, not yours, everything is God’s: you haven’t done one hair for yourself and you can’t do it. God made you soul and body: Thy hands created me and formed me [Ps. 118, 73]. There is absolutely nothing for a person to be proud of, because everything is foreign to him, only his own sin - but sin is misfortune, illness, death, and who is proud of misfortune? Who can be proud of death? Thus, I must constantly glorify the ever-present power over me of my God. I am completely under His dominion, at every moment, both soul and body! The devil did not want to know and feel this, and therefore he fell and died. You call the Lord your dominion. Love in your neighbor that which is like the sovereign God - his soul, and do not exchange it for what it itself contains, that is, for substance. If your heart is struck by doubt or denial of the Divine in a certain place, and the peace of your heart leaves you, and your heart is painfully and joylessly oppressed, then force yourself: introduce into your heart a living faith in the omnipresence of God, believe heartily that God is with you even here where you are, and the tightness of the heart will disappear, and sweet peace will settle in the heart. Just believe from your heart that the Lord is always and in every place - and He is with you, for He really is in every place. Unbelief and doubt, as a product of the devil, as a lie, separates us from Him and torments the heart whose life is Christ, just as sins or sinful movements of the heart separate us from Him and painfully oppress our heart, for what does light have in common with darkness? (2 Cor. 6:14). This is what countless inner experiences say. It’s amazing how we can doubt the omnipresence of our God, who contains us at every moment of our life with His hand and is ever present to us. Truly, this is a matter of the flattery of the devil, the impurity and deceit of our hearts and the instability of our faith in the Lord. All things are possible to him who believes [Mk. 9:23]: by faith I am united sincerely with my God, and He makes an abode in my heart. Recognize every person as having equal moral rights with you as a person and especially as a Christian, and show your conviction in this equality of all people with you in your entire life, in all your behavior with the people of God. Every person is another me. This is how the commandment of the Lord teaches us to look at our neighbor when it says: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor [Ex. 20, 16]. Whoever the person with whom I live or with whom I deal is, [he] is my friend, completely equal to me in the sameness of nature: he is another me. Therefore, I must always and everywhere show him full respect and love, as I would myself, even more than myself. Love your neighbor as yourself [Matt. 22, 39]. Warn one another in respect [Rom. 12, 10]. From here comes the obligation to be forgiving of the weakness of others, as we are forgiving of ourselves, and to leave debts to our debtors. The Lord showed me (kindly) this night that my soul stands in dry and barren soil and remains completely without nourishment, so that only green needles stick out here and there on it, and most of it has flown off. And in fact, my soul is like a pine or spruce, established in dry and completely barren soil - in an addiction to earthly goods, which for our soul is nothing more than stone soil. Meanwhile, it should have stood in the soil of the earth, strong and moist - in God, or in strong faith and trust in God and strong love for Him and for our neighbor, for for our soul there is only one, so to speak comparatively, nutritious and vital soil - this is the Lord God, or love, towards Him and from Him and for His sake, diligently extended to everyone in the image and likeness of His creation. In Him the soul feeds abundantly and with delight, grows green, grows fat and blossoms and bears fruit, like a tree planted by streams of water, which bears its fruit in its season, and whose leaf does not wither; and in everything he does, he will succeed [Ps. 1, 3]. Carnal passions, in which our soul lives in its blindness, are like the soil of the earth, stony and completely barren; If the soul remains in this soil, then the rest of its greenery will fall off, and the Divine life in it will completely dry up, and, like something dead, it will become the prey of him who has the power of death, that is, the devil [Heb. 2, 14]. Yes, our soul, like our body, is structured in such a way that it receives food and life from a principle akin to it - God, just as the body from a principle akin to it - the earth; We do not have life in ourselves, for we have nothing of our own, just as we could not give ourselves existence, but in God, who showed Himself to our souls as food, drink, clothing, peace and eternal joy, saying that without Him we will be dead in our souls (if you do not eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, then you will not have life in you [Jn. 6, 53 ]), and to the body, this temporary dwelling of our soul, he pointed to the products of the earth - bread, various other fruits and vegetables and water and other drinks - perishable, perishable, complex, complex - and commanded us not to become attached to them with our hearts, as not akin to the God-like nature of our soul, which is immortal, but to despise and trample on them when they disturb our soul, like the dust of our feet, like the clay of our paths, on which we walk. What constitutes the food of our soul during our temporary wanderings on earth? Just as food for a baby is the mother’s breast, so food for us, babies in Christ, born 122 by water and the Spirit, is the Divine Body and Blood of our Lord, the Creator of mother’s breasts and mother’s milk, His Divine word and heartfelt, repentant, grateful and glorifying prayer. Without my God I cannot live a true life, but a ghostly one: without Him my heart is in languor, in relaxation, but with Him it is calm and cheerful. From man and elephant to ciliates, every animal is animated by an invisible soul; in every body the entire soul is contained - from the greatest body to the most insignificant, not noticeable with the naked eye. So it is in the Holy Mysteries: the whole Christ is in every particle of the Body and Blood, even if it is not noticeable with the naked eye. Therefore, every particle of the Body and every particle of the Blood of Christ must be preserved, as the whole Body of Christ, as Christ Himself; each one must be revered, as before the whole Body and Blood of Christ, as before Christ Himself. Every Christian is a member of Christ. Therefore, I must show great love to everyone and see in everyone as if Christ Himself. Just as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me [Matt. 25, 40]. Christ God is everywhere with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, just have living faith in Him everywhere - and you will be with Him everywhere; if you lose faith, you will be separated from Him and united with the tormenting enemy; make a heartfelt effort to believe in Him, bring it into your heart - and again God will be with you. The Holy Scripture says: you accepted the plunder of your property with joy, knowing that you have in heaven a better and lasting property [Heb. 10, 34]. Apply these words to yourself in cases known to you and take comfort in them, always enduring with joy the plunder of your estates that seems to you. What am I saying? Love sincerely and constantly those who seem to rob you. About repentance and prayer. Church repentance must be sincere and completely free, and in no way forced by time and custom or by the person confessing. Otherwise it will not be repentance. Repent, it is said, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand [Matt. 3, 2; 4, 17], that is, repent yourself with heartfelt contrition. It has approached, that is, it has come on its own, you don’t need to look far for it - it is looking for you, your free disposition. They were baptized (it is said about those who were baptized by John), confessing their sins [Matt. 3, 6], that is, they themselves admitted their sins. And since our prayer is primarily repentance and a request for forgiveness of sins, it must always be sincere and completely free, and not involuntary and forced by custom and habit. It should be the same when it is thanksgiving and praise. Gratitude presupposes the fullness of a free, living feeling in the soul of the recipient, freely flowing through the lips: out of the abundance of the heart the lips speak [Matt. 12, 34; OK. 6, 45]. Doxology presupposes the delight of surprise in a person contemplating the works of the infinite goodness and wisdom and omnipotence of God in the moral and material world, therefore, naturally, it should also be a completely free and reasonable matter. In general, prayer should be a free and completely conscious outpouring of a person’s soul before God. I pour out my soul before the Lord (1 Samuel 1:15). In order to purify and ignite our prayer, the Lord allows the devil to painfully kindle our insides - so that we, feeling an alien fire within ourselves and suffering from it, try to bring into our hearts through humble prayer the fire of God, the fire of the Holy Spirit, which revives our hearts. The rivers of Babylon 123 are rivers of iniquity with which the devil draws our souls to himself. Christ is the mental Sun. Just as the material sun emits countless rays onto the earth and with them illuminates, warms and revives countless creatures, communicating, so to speak, to an innumerable multitude of them, although everything itself remains in heaven, and, in addition, in transparent bodies, no matter how many of them there are, everything is reflected, with all its cool, itself always remaining whole, so the Lord Jesus Christ, our Righteous Sun, Light from Light, God from God, exudes from Himself an innumerable amount of light into the world of spirits, and in particular into human souls, communicating with countless numbers of them, illuminating everyone and driving away the darkness of sin, reviving, driving away the deadness of sin and shining in worthy souls with His entire image, Himself always remaining one and the same. You are amazed at how one and the same Christ is communicated to everyone, but also be amazed at how the material sun shines on such an innumerable multitude of creatures, while itself always being in heaven. If a creature does such living things with the ability given to it, then what can we say about the Creator? About the one Bread of Communion. Just as the one Bread is crushed into many particles, just as the one Blood of the Chalice is also divided into many drops, and all of them, although there are many of them, are from one Body and Blood, and in all of them is the whole Christ, just as in the particles of glass is the whole sun, so Christians (participants and non-participants) are one body, although there are many of them and although they are scattered throughout the whole earth; They are all like the Body of Christ fragmented and scattered to different places: they all have one Head - Christ, we all partake of His one Body and Blood, and we are all of one blood created by Him to live throughout the whole face of the earth. Break the glass into smithereens and mark them on the ground: there are a lot of smithereens, but all from one glass; there are many of them, and in all of them the sun shines and all of them sparkle with its light. So are Christians: there are many of them, but all are from One; there are many of them, but in all there is one Sun - Christ God with the Father and the Spirit, and all of them shine more or less with the light of the Triradiant Sun. With your patience, said the Savior, save your souls [Lk. 21, 19]. Yes, without patience you cannot save your soul, for the impatient is a tool of the devil. Our soul should not rush too much into the head, the heart into the mind, life into that which itself receives strength from it. This is a disorder contrary to nature. From the influx of spiritual warmth to the head (warmth of blood - from the soul), the head will become hot, the nerves will become unnaturally tense, and the inside, or seat of the soul - the heart will remain cold, and the stomach, its neighbor and co-worker, will not have enough warmth for its work, and the digestive and nutritional organs will be upset in their activity. The mind must work in the heart - that’s where its place is. An example of a harmonious and harmonious action of the mind and heart that is life-giving for the soul is found in prayer. How sweet and soothing it can be, not in the least burdening the head and heart, but enlivening the whole being! This should be the case in all mental work! The Lord gives us over to the tyranny of the enemy to test us, to strengthen our spiritual strength in the fight against the enemy and to see for us which our heart is inclined more towards: whether it is more inclined towards patience, faith, hope and love or towards irritability, lack of faith, murmuring, blasphemy, anger and despair. Therefore, we must not be despondent, but complacently and patiently endure the darkness of the heart that comes upon our soul, the fire that weakens us and leads us to impatience and anger, sorrow and oppression, knowing that this is necessary in the order of our spiritual life. The Lord tests us: will we not blaspheme the true path, the path of holy faith and virtue, and will we not favor the evil path? We are free and we ourselves must strengthen ourselves in every possible way, with all our might, in faith and virtue, until our souls stand for the path of truth. How will this happen if there are no temptations with us? When you perform a task, do not think about paying for it, but seek first of all in your work the Kingdom of God and its righteousness: how to accomplish it more worthy and for the salvation of those who pray; all the rest will be added to you [Matt. 6, 33]. God will take care of the payment, Who said: the worker is worthy of his reward, and: do not muzzle the threshing ox (1 Tim. 5:18). Savior. People sin at the instigation of the devil, just as the first people sinned. That is why God saved and saves us. That is why the despair of salvation is insane. The Lord... wants everyone to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4) and has not spared or will spare anything for our salvation. Let's put the enemy to shame. Let us all have strong hope of salvation. Let us all turn to the Savior, like sheep from the wolf to the good shepherd. Our heart is lazy and powerless for all good: for prayer, for love for God and for people, for meekness, humility, non-covetousness, fasting - and diligent and strong for all evil: the thought of a man is diligent towards evil from his youth [Russian: the thought of the human heart is evil from his youth] [Gen. 8, 21 ]; hence the need for a Christian, who longs for eternal bliss and is imbued with sin, to force himself to every good thing: to fasting, to prayer, to holy conversations, to reading the Scriptures, to exercise in his own writings, especially spiritual ones, to mutual love, to meekness, humility, patience, non-covetousness, generosity. The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it away [Matt. 11, 12]. The devil strikes the hearts of priests with laziness, dryness and sterility, so that they cannot preach the truths of the Gospel to the people of God, tell them the whole will of God; During prayer, he sits in the heart and strikes it with insensibility, so that the prayer is not sincere, but only habitual; he does not allow the heart to contemplate in prayer the greatness and all the perfections of God, the greatness of the Mother of God, the holy Angels and holy men of God. The devil is such an evil spoke that at all times and everywhere it creeps into the eyes of your heart, overshadowing and suppressing them; This is such a poisonous dust that constantly floats in our mental atmosphere and sits causticly on the eyes, eating away and drilling them. He does the same with the teachers of the law, striking their hearts with dryness, sterility and crampedness, so that they cannot compassionately teach the young vines 124 125 of Christ the truths of God, water them with the life-giving streams of the Gospel. This is said from experience. In today's world, clear evidence of an invitation to dinner is a written or printed note; whoever received it goes to a dinner party with complete confidence and has no doubt at all that either there is no dinner or he will not be welcome at the dinner. Thus, Christians have an invitation letter to the supper of the Kingdom of Heaven and yet they neglect it, do not prepare for it and do not go to it, but it is also undoubtedly ready: go, for everything is already ready [Lk. 14, 17], stabbed [Matt. 22, 4]. Rise up, brothers, from lack of faith and sleepiness: you are losing a lot, infinitely, through your carelessness. Do not be one of those of whom it is said that those who were called were not worthy [Matt. 22, 8]. By sparing something for the benefit and pleasure of a brother, we usually value things [above the soul] of our brother in this way. Is this fair? Infinitely unfair. If the whole world is not as dear as the human soul, then what do the money, food, or clothing and housing that I deliver to my brother mean? Moreover, tell me, why don’t we get used to neglecting money, food, drink, but we get bored with our brother so quickly, get used to him so quickly, and so quickly neglect him because of perishable things? Infinitely unreasonable. If you have to perform any pious custom in your home or in another place, for example, even to pray to icons, and your heart is craftily dried up in the truth and holiness of this custom - do not trust your heart: at that moment it is combined with the devil; and believe without reasoning that this matter is true, because it has been accepted and commanded since ancient times by the God-wise Mother Church. So it is in everything: what is accepted by the Church, fulfill it unquestioningly and without reasoning, without hesitation in the least by doubt. Subjecting everything church to the criticism of reason is a sign of pride. Humility also consists in not being offended, not grieving and not contradicting when others admire our property in any way, plausible or not: because the imams, we did not accept it from God; If we accept, then we grieve when others take something that belongs to us. All of ours are gifts of God and should be common because of our great love for the Giver and for people: they had everything in common [Acts. 4, 32]. We brought nothing into the world; It is obvious that we cannot take anything out of it (1 Tim. 6:7). During the service, have firm confidence that your heart is in the hand of God. It's true that way. If the devil plots his intrigues over him, begins to confuse him with something, say to yourself with undoubted faith: my heart is in the hand of God. What do all the machinations of the enemy mean in comparison with the all-containing power of God? - Nothing. Living faith, heartfelt gaze towards the Lord - and the demons took flight. Therefore, if ethereal enemies are playing tricks on you anywhere, just strengthen yourself to keep faith in your heart in the Lord Jesus Christ, and they will disappear like smoke. Know who is working against you in the Sacrament of Communion and lying about the Mysteries, who is sowing darkness and painful doubt in you. This is the devil. In spite of him, the tormentor, imagine with clarity or with living faith that the Mysteries are Christ God Himself, and your heart, tormented by the enemy, will come to life, rest and rejoice. Know also who is tormenting you with the sting of corruptible poison: again it is the same enemy; count corruptible poison into nothing, be completely indifferent to it - and you will see how your heart will immediately calm down. Apart from Jesus Christ with the Father and the Holy Spirit, there is no good for me on earth: He is my only blessing on earth. After God, there is nothing more precious to me (as it should be) on earth than the human soul: it is more precious than anything else. Man is a precious being: God Himself came down to earth to save him; He gives the most pure Body and Blood (all of Himself) to man for food and drink - if only he would be blessed, if only he would not perish. He gave all the fruits of the earth, the treasures of all three kingdoms of the earth, to the power, benefit and pleasure of man, and with all these bounties, exceeding all measure, he showed and constantly shows that He infinitely loves the human race and each person in particular. Let us also imitate the love and generosity of God, let us be as merciful and generous as possible, as our Heavenly Father is merciful. A person is born from the stomach, then the lungs, the heart and then the head are formed. Shouldn't we conclude from this that our soul is in close proximity and affinity with the stomach? Is it not the stomach that especially requires the warmth of the soul, and is not the soul itself a life-giving fire for the body, just as God is a life-giving fire for the soul? But the location of the soul in the heart is proved mainly by the fact that demons are looking for our heart and settle in the heart - there is their laboratory. Likewise, the Lord seeks our hearts. When composing conversations, put aside all pride and any desire to shine with expressions. Simplicity. How do I know if I'm proud? - If the ignoble actions of others irritate me and drive me crazy, if I worry too much when others speak badly of me, if I want to put everything on my own, for example in my own home, when I get irritated if my wife or someone else doesn’t do something my way, if I get angry at the faults of others. Bosses, masters, fathers of families, owners must always firmly remember the admonition of the Apostle: Brothers! If a person falls into any sin, you who are spiritual, correct him in the spirit of meekness, watching each one for himself, so as not to be tempted [Gal. 6, 1]. Yes, those who sin in anything must always be corrected with the spirit of the meekness of Christ, in the spirit of Christian love, and not to glow at them, not to be irritated, not to be indignant in the spirit - this is not in accordance with the spirit of Christ, and moreover, those who correct them will themselves be pitiful captives, a ridiculous tool of the devil. [Besides this], when correcting others, we ourselves will be extremely faulty, unable to control ourselves, our hearts, and if we do not learn to be meek when correcting others, we cannot be good bosses, masters, fathers, or masters. How many, being insanely irritated with others, instead of correcting them, do not correct them at all, but only arm them against themselves, and they also cause considerable harm to themselves through extreme confusion and disorderly agitation of the blood, which causes painful flushes and spoils the blood; meanwhile, by reprimanding or using other measures for correction in the spirit of meekness, calmly, they would probably correct those who sinned, because a meek and kind word almost always has irresistible power on others, and they would preserve themselves in calm importance, and would not lose their real meaning, as well as the power of their word, which is powerless in irritable people. Each one watching himself so as not to be tempted. So, everyone, take care of yourself so that you are not tempted by the spirit of enmity and disorder and indignation at the time when you are correcting those who sin: the flames of the devil’s indignation quickly engulf the unwary, in an instant a person’s insides are inflamed and words fly out of his lips one more sharply and more hostilely than the other. Seducers! Do you know what enormous evil you spread among people? These unfortunate victims of passions and vices, indulging in blasphemy, drunkenness, debauchery, theft, trickery, enjoying their bad deeds, remember your names with pleasure, call you their leaders and teachers and, as if by law, they rest on your examples of their shameful deeds, they have become addicted to them and do not think of repenting. Oh, examples! Examples! Oh, temptations! Oh, temptations! O seducers! Seducers! Woe to the world from temptations, for temptations must come; but woe to that man through whom temptation comes [Matt. 18, 7 ]; It would have been better for him if a millstone had been hung around his neck and thrown into the depths of the sea [Lk. 17, 2]. Who does not experience failures in life and the fierce despondency that comes from them! Here is despondency in everyday affairs, despondency during prayer, despondency in inaction! Thinking people and scientists sometimes experience such failures, such emptiness in their minds and hearts that they are overcome by an extremely evil spirit of despondency and they are not happy about their work and would like to never do it. Yes, they sometimes have to endure a whole mountain of sorrows on their shoulders. But they humbly prayed to the Lord, admit to Him their weakness without Him, say: Thy will be done in everything - and the darkness of despondency will disappear. Experience. When Jesus Christ says: I will give you a mouth and wisdom that they cannot contradict [Lk. 21, 15], then He speaks as the Creator of rational and verbal beings, as the Hypostatic Word and Wisdom of the Father, as the God of intelligences. If from Him we hope to receive the blessings of material life, then all the more should we hope to receive from Him, through our prayer, illumination of the mind and enlightened eyes of the heart, lips and wisdom, especially when we need heavenly enlightenment for the benefit of the Church of Christ, which Christ loved to the end and gave Himself for it [Eph. 5, 25]. Our Father... Thy kingdom come [Matt. 6, 9 – 10]. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which, although smaller than all the seeds, when it grows, is larger than all the grains and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and take refuge in its branches [Matt. 13, 31–32]. Just as every tree at first is an insignificant seed and then, under favorable conditions of soil, earth, light, warmth, humidity, gradually develops and grows, receiving everything it needs not from itself, but from the earth, water, air, light and heat source - so the Kingdom of God in man at first is only barely noticeable, like a small grain. Everything in him is sin and the domain of the devil, man does the will of his sinful flesh and the lust of his father the devil; but when a person surrenders himself to the guidance of the grace of God, then the Kingdom of God will begin to grow in him and spread more and more, finally embracing the entire area of ​​his thoughts, desires, intentions, words and activities, so that finally Christ completely reigns in the heart of a person, and he says about himself: it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me [Gal. 2, 20]. And in this blessed Kingdom, just as in the kingdom of nature, a person receives all the conditions for his spiritual growth not exclusively from himself, but from God: all good thoughts, desires, dispositions, intentions, the gift of a gracious word, all the virtues - faith, hope, love, meekness, humility, mercy, abstinence. For a grateful person, Jesus Christ is both nourishing earth, or the Bread of Life, and water, quenching his spiritual thirst, and air, and light, and life-giving warmth. Just as a tree rooted in the earth grows, puts on leaves and bears fruit, so a Christian, confirmed by heartfelt faith in Christ, grows spiritually and bears the fruits of virtues for eternal life. Therefore, every Christian must place all his hope in Christ, breathe in Him constantly, drink in His grace, constantly establish his heart in Him, just as a tree establishes its roots in the earth, and let its heart roots grow in Him as widely and deeply as possible. Excavate and deepen 126. From here it is obvious that every shadow of pride in a Christian is disgusting, for what does he have, according to the Apostle, that he has not received (1 Cor. 4:7)? Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven [Matt. 5, 3]. Spiritual poverty, or humility, is primarily an attribute of a Christian, his best adornment and a solid foundation for all virtues. A Christian always vividly remembers that the Kingdom of God in him was at first barely noticeable, like a mustard seed, and then only by the grace of God it grew into a tree; that everything he has is God’s and nothing is his own. By the grace of God, he says, I am what I am (1 Cor. 15:10). Those who have the hope of eternal life strive or hasten to do works of mercy here, for they know that mercy exalts itself over judgment [Jas. 2:13] and through mercy the groundwork of mercy is introduced into eternal life. Matt. 25, (34–40). In general, someone who has Christian hope hastens to do as many good works as possible, for he knows that he was created in Christ Jesus for good works... that he may walk in them [Eph. 2, 10]. About the omnipresence of the Holy Spirit. Just as God the Father and the Son of God are omnipresent, just as you yourself experience at every time and in every place the power over you of the Father and the Son, so the Holy Spirit is omnipresent and His power over you at all times and in every place, for there is one Divinity and one Power - three Persons. As you imagine the Hypostatic Power - Christ God - I will bring it before you, as if it is at your right hand [Ps. 15:8], so imagine the Hypostatic Power - the All-Holy and Life-Giving Spirit, as at your right hand. They loved the glory of men more than the glory of God [Jn. 12, 43]. My God! How much we torment ourselves because of our love of fame! How we torment ourselves simply because we do not love the glory of God! So they surrounded me with 127 vain words, they attributed to me, rightly or wrongly, this or that bad quality, this or that passion - and I seethe with anger, malice and vengeance at the one who wronged me unfairly or justly, as if the one who offended me (this, like me, is a weak creature) is in fact depriving me of my good name, depriving me of happiness, even, as it were, depriving me of my very life; I then forget my God, Who alone is the God of glory and who alone gives glory or dishonor to all in justice; I do not pay attention to the ulcers of my heart, to the scabs of sin with which it is all covered, to the abominations of my iniquities, committed secretly and openly, before the God of glory, Who alone is my Judge and Rewarder, leading all that is manifest and hidden; I do not judge myself unmercifully, impartially, as I should, I do not consider myself the most sinful of all, worthy of all reproach, trampled upon by everyone, but I look only at the sin against me of my brother, who, perhaps, through the machinations of the enemy, insulted me, for we all walk among his snares; I see a bitch in his spiritual eye, but in mine I don’t see a log; I have no compassion for the Lord suffering innocently on the cross, Who innocently endured slander and slander during his lifetime and was completely innocently ascended to the cross - the most shameful execution of man. My God! How crazy and unfair we are to ourselves when we hunger for human glory like treasures, like food, and don’t remember, don’t care about the glory of God! How much internal torment that corrupts our soul, how much disordered blood agitation that is harmful to my health! How much harm is there for our professional pursuits if we are not able, through the power of faith and heartfelt prayer, to overcome the feelings of hatred and vengeance towards the offender! Oh, my brothers! Let us love the glory of God, and then human glory will be an empty sound for us; then we will have in our souls constant, deep peace and an everlasting sense of our high dignity as Christians - sons and heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ in the future life - a dignity before which any earthly dignity is insignificant, as temporary and transitory. Zealous for the glory of God, we ourselves will desire, as a good thing, human condemnation - as a worthy retribution for our vices, depriving us of the eternal glory of God, as a corrective punishment sent by God to us for our sins, as a cure, as an antidote to the sinful poison that has infected our entire heart and constantly corrupts our soul, destined for the blessed immortality of union with God. The righteous Lord punishes us in this world not always directly, but often through the same people with whom we live and before whom we reveal our passions and sinful inclinations. And people who wrongfully or righteously offend us become, against their will, our own benefactors, revealing hidden passions in us and giving us a reason to correct ourselves. So, let us accept all slander and slander from people as the mercy of God. A proud person is voluptuous, greedy, envious, malicious, money-loving, stingy, proud and irritable, sad in adversity and close to despair - so the passions are closely connected with one another. Passions relax a person’s heart for everything - not only good, but also every ordinary deed. A bad altar server or servant of the throne and fatherland, a bad family man and citizen, is one who is subject to passions and is not cured of them. Traders! You count your income at the end of the day! ABOUT! If you taught yourself to count your spiritual profit at the end of each day - how useful it would be for your soul: then, along with concerns about material profit, you would also have concerns about spiritual profit, whereas now you only care about material profit. Every day I am in the hands of two beings: one who has the power of life - my God, and the other who has the power of death - the devil, the enemy of my God and my own. I am alternately a slave of this and that. It’s a strange thing that I still can’t get used to looking at the ordinary phenomena of domestic economic life with indifference. And how ordinary and insignificant they are! In addition, we must be glad that everything goes to the satisfaction of our own. The heart of a king is in the hand of God [Prov. 21, 1]. This means that the king’s heart is his soul. Consider Papa your master, your master, as you should, and do not treat him as his master. The Lord is all in every place, therefore He is all in the icon, and the face of the Savior on the icon must be looked at as a living Savior. What an immeasurably great honor for humanity that it can open its mouth before God and enter into conversation with Him, ask Him for its needs, thank Him for His good deeds and glorify Him for His ineffable majesty, and be confident that this sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise is pleasing to God, that the best, spiritual, pertaining to the salvation of our souls, our requests are always fulfilled! Just as in this respect, man is immeasurably exalted above all sensible and animate creatures! Not a single creature has received such honor from God, although they also have their own language, expressing the needs of their nature, for it is said that even the chicks of ravens call on the Lord [Ps. 146, 9]. Let us, brothers, use this high honor in order to earn from the Lord even greater honors of the heavenly calling. There, in heaven, is our full glory, but here are only the beginnings of it, revealed to faithful Christians. The more the earth's surface is in a direct position to the sun, the lighter and warmer it is; the more indirect, the colder and colder it is, so that there is snow and ice on it; so is the human soul: the more it is in direct relation to the mental Sun - God, the more it is enlightened and enlivened, but the more indirect it is, the more it darkens, cools and spiritually dies, so that in the heart there is ice of insensibility towards everything spiritual, holy and the darkness of hell. And this happens through prayer. My soul, so to speak, is in the soil of God, and receives everything from the Lord, like a tree from the earth and air. When he was ecu young, he belted himself and walked ecu... but when he grew old... [In. 2, 1, 18]. When you are young in spiritual life, you walk freely and are guilty yourself: the devil does not attack you fiercely; and when you grow old in spiritual life, then often another will gird you - your insides, your heart, and guide it, even if 129 you don’t want to... [John. 21, 18]. Do you love Me?.. feed My sheep... [Jn. 21, 6–17]. Truly, one must have steadfast love for the Lord in order to diligently feed His sheep. He who loves not the Lord, but this world, not His sheep, but their wool, cannot feed them, because he seeks not them, but theirs. Accustom your heart not to be embittered against those who offend you, no matter how, but to pray with love for them, according to the commandment of the Savior: pray for those who offend you [Matt. 5, 44]. One and all in every place, Trinitarian Master, glory to Thee from all creation. What am I? I am the instrument or organ of my God: His thought is in my mind, His word is in my mouth, His whole bodily composition is mine. May I be convinced of this every minute, may the Lord give firm faith to my heart and may doubt and lack of faith touch my heart. Since I am only an organ of my God, the All-Holy Spirit, and He is omnipotent, then I can do all things through the Lord who strengthens me [Phil. 4, 13]. But only through faith and love can I be an organ of the Spirit of God. It is these great gifts that I ask most earnestly from the Giver of life and the Treasure of good things. Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, they will be forgiven; on whomever you leave it, it will remain on him [Jn. 20, 22–23]. Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, forgives or holds back our sins, as by the all-holy and all-sanctifying Hypostatic Power of the Most High. The sacraments all have a visible side in our physicality; therefore, in Repentance, the visible side is represented by the confessing priest, as the image of Jesus Christ, and in Communion, the visible side is the most pure Body and the most pure Blood of the Lord, filled by Himself and His Life-giving Spirit. If you envy your brother in his material property, put the words of the Savior on your heart: a person’s life does not depend on the abundance of his property [Lk. 12, 15]. Spiritual sacrilege and extortion, by the way, consists of when a priest deliberately tries to quickly confess as many spiritual children as possible, passing to him from his other brothers, and has the goal of collecting as much money as possible. Beware of covetousness, for a person's life does not depend on the abundance of his possessions [Lk. 12, 15]. Our soul is in God, like a tree in the soil of the earth; As soon as it is transplanted from God into the devilish environment by doubt or some other sin, it immediately becomes sick, cramped, fiery, and if it is torn out of it by undoubted faith and is transplanted again into God - and suddenly it becomes good, spacious, cool. Breath... Almighty... teaching me [Job. 32, 8]. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Almighty Father, who is everywhere and fills everything, the Instructor of all truth, constantly teaches me, and I, instructed by Him, adhere to life in the spirit; It is He who dispels my darkness of doubt, like clouds flying over the soul and tormenting it with spiritual death; He is my light in my darkness; He is the strength of my heart, strengthening me in faith and in all virtue; He is my shrine. The Word became flesh [Jn. 1, 14]. The Son of God became incarnate. And in the mouth of a person the word has flesh, or articulate sounds. Do not strive for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you [Jn. 6, 27]. How insignificant is ordinary, carnal trash compared to the trash of the flesh of the Son of Man! It feeds only the body, without feeding the soul, and is perishable, just as our flesh itself is perishable; and this cleanses the soul from sins, revitalizes, gives peace and joy to it, and brings health to the body, and in addition to everything, gives us eternal life. Do not suspect your brother, who is known to you from an unfavorable side, but who outwardly does the work of God regularly, of hypocrisy: you can easily be deceived in this case and fall into hatred and malice towards him, and you yourself will become entangled in the net of the devil. Tell yourself: our hearts are known to God alone, and if someone outwardly does the work of faith and piety well, then this is enough for us people, but we will leave the inside of a person to the judgment of the One who tests our hearts and wombs forever. When composing conversations, do not have the goal of publishing them, but have the goal of teaching your flock with them. Always have it before your eyes. Don't be distracted from reality. Write from life. Writing for a publication means pride. Our prayer is like a gift, prepared by someone else’s hands and diligence and brought by us to God without our heartfelt participation. The Heavenly Father, looking at the gift, seems to be telling us: every day, My child, you appear with expensive gifts, but not with your own; If these were yours, if I could read on them the same goodness and diligence to please Me, which was shown in them by those who prepared them, or at least a certain amount of their diligence, how pleasing would I be then with your gifts! And now I see their excellent goodness, but there is nothing of yours in them; they, so to speak, smoke with the warmth of their soul, but your soul is cold; they shine like refined gold before the sun, but your soul is dark with cramped deeds of sin; they, so to speak, are alive, but you are dead to Me. How can I look at your gifts? My son! give me your heart [Prov. 23:26], - this is the best and most fitting gift for Me, and not your lips. I do not favor those who draw near to Me... they honor Me with their mouths and with their mouths, but their hearts are far from Me: but they honor Me in vain [Isa. 29, 13]. Bring the prayers of My faithful servants, put into your mouth by My Church, closer to your heart, assimilate them to yourself, make them as if your own: let their feelings be your feelings, their faith, hope and love, shining in their prayers better than precious stones, - your faith, hope and love, their warm repentance - yours. And then I will accept your prayer from you as a gift precious to Me. If the Lord had not supported me with His grace, His power, I would have perished long ago, perished in my sins! Oh my God! My everlasting power! Glory and thanksgiving to You from Your unworthy servant! By Your strength I am strong. My heart itself is so weak for all good, so accommodating to all evil, so unclean, fickle! Oh! My hope, Lord, my strength, do not leave me! Otherwise, soon, soon I will die. Preface soon, soon, perished! That the Lord is with us everywhere and always - the most striking proof of this is the image of God immutably installed in us. You spoke, O Lord, and the heavens and the earth appeared with all their adornments. You spoke - and from bread became the Body and from wine - Blood, and they remain unchanged, and whoever eats them unworthily, not with a cleared conscience, with doubt or malice in the heart, or with unclean and blasphemous thoughts, or with attachment to silver and acquisitions - that judgment, the fire, eats and drinks for himself and will be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. Glory to Thy truth, omnipotence and immutability! Whoever does not sincerely, out of the pride of his heart, call his earthly father - not only his own, but also his wife's - or stepfather, father, he cannot undoubtedly, sincerely and without condemnation call on the Heavenly Father. If you do not love your earthly father, whom you have seen and from whom you have received so many earthly blessings, how can you love God, whom you have not seen (1 John 4:20), and, loving, sincerely call on Him? Just as we neglect the letters [of writing], so we neglect the words of prayers and books in general. In prayer, one must bring the heart to such warmth and purity that it trembles with the desire to achieve possible sinlessness and holiness, so that it unhypocritically places all its bliss in sinlessness and does not have a secret desire to remain in sins. (God) breathed into the face of the human body the breath of life [Gen. 2, 7]. You see that you are all God's. You see whose soul and body you have. The word breath indicates that our soul every moment needs the Spirit of God for its true life, just as the bodily organs - the lungs - need to breathe in the air. The conscience of every person is a ray of light from the one, enlightening and revitalizing spiritual Sun - God. Through conscience, the Lord God rules over everyone as a righteous and omnipotent King, and how powerful is His power through conscience! No one is able to completely drown out her voices! She speaks without partiality to one and all, king and subject, as the voice of God Himself! Through conscience, we are all with God as one person, therefore the Decalogue is addressed as if to one person: I am the Lord your God... let it not be with you... Do not make for yourself an idol, you did not accept it... Remember the Sabbath day... Honor your father... and mother... Do not kill... Do not commit adultery... Do not steal... Do not bear false witness... Do not covet... [Ex. 20, 2–17]. Or: love the Lord your God with all your heart... and your neighbor as yourself [Lk. 10, 27], because he is exactly the same as me. My strength and the light of the eyes of my heart, do not leave me. One Sy! Have mercy on me, as if I do not exist, for I am nothing without You. You are my Strength, and my Light, and my Belly. In one priest of a single parish church, contemplate the One who became a priest for us according to the order of Melchizedek [Ps. 109, 4]. In the archpriest of each church, contemplate the image of the one Head of the one Church in the universe - Christ; in the bishop of the diocese (bishop), contemplate primarily the image of the Head of the Church - Christ; and finally, especially in the Synod, the image of the same Head - Christ; and in accordance with this view of them, honor them and obey them as Christ. Believing with your heart in the Church, fulfilling its teachings and commandments for salvation is so necessary that in the Creed, after faith in the Life-Giving Trinity, there is a necessary clause about believing in the Church. And indeed, in the Church everything is laid out that is necessary for our salvation, as in a treasury: in it is the true teaching of the faith, enlightening and saving our souls, in it are the life-giving Sacraments, like the living waters of the Holy Spirit, through which the grace-filled power of God is supplied to salvation; it contains a reliable guide to eternal life: venerable, godly rules of good behavior and living examples of Christian life. Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory. Do you see in whose kingdom we are, in whose power is all, and to whom alone is the glory? You do not seek the glory that comes from the One God [Jn. 5, 44]. When you partake of the Most Pure Mysteries, then believe and firmly remember that in the Most Pure Body and Blood is the whole Lord, and the whole is communicated to you; that the same Lord is in the Church with the believers, He is outside the church, in every place; that the same Lord is in heaven with the Father, fulfilling everything, Indescribable. When meeting each person, speak from your heart: save him, Lord! The Lord so wants salvation for everyone that he would like all His faithful servants to pray for the salvation of our other weak brethren. Yes, he strongly wants: to save people, He laid down His life, He gave them His Body and Blood, so that they, tasting His Mysteries, would be alive and saved. Prayer for the salvation of people is the most pleasing prayer to the Lord. Everywhere, at all times and for everyone, seek first of all salvation, or the Kingdom of God, and everything else necessary for temporary life will certainly be added to you. The basis for strong hope, asked in prayer: if the Lord did not spare His Son, but gave Him up for us all, how can He not give us everything with Him? [Rom. 8, 32]. Let us only ask and we will be given everything we need. Let us come to him and make our abode with him [Jn. 14, 3]. These words of the Lord confirm that the Lord is all in every place, for the abode of the Most Holy Trinity can be every person, all people scattered throughout the world, and in every person a person can be the whole, indivisible God. He who has houses cares about how to let tenants into his houses, and lets them in, but he does not care about the tenant in the house of his body, that is, he does not care about letting the life-giving tenant Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit into his house of soul; the spiritual home remains empty. An envious person grieves when he sees his brother's success and prosperity. Envy changes and darkens a person’s face, makes him sad, gloomy and all of his internally connected. A low, satanic feeling is envy. It is based on extreme self-love and pride, disrespect for the moral virtues in a brother, blind enmity towards him, trampling on God's word, God's laws of love, inattention to them. I don’t want my brother to have the same thing as me, to surpass me in talents and success in business, to do the same good deeds that I do; I don’t want him to receive the same honor from people that I myself enjoy. How low is that! If I loved my brother as myself, according to the commandment of the Lord, then I would wish for him the same thing that I would wish for myself; So, I would like him to have everything that I have, and more than mine, I would rejoice at his talents and successes, I would like him to be in the same honor among people as I am, so that he is distinguished by the same good deeds that I try to do, so that he saves his soul, like me. Meanwhile, I only want to take everything into my own hands, so to speak: material treasures, treasures of the mind and heart, the love of others; I only want to be in the honor of people myself, but I don’t want that for my brother; I want to do the works of God myself, but I consider my brother unworthy or unfit for such works; I want to be saved myself and save others, but I don’t want that for my brother and seem to want him to die - because, I secretly think, he is rich, proud, crafty, evil and therefore has no right to be saved; he has perceived everything here - which means he should not and cannot be the heir of the Kingdom of Heaven, and cannot lead others to it. And it turns out that I myself am the most unworthy, proud, proud and envious person and, due to my passions, I see nothing good in him except bad, not seeing the log in my heart’s eye. Pride upon pride, envy upon envy, I pile up and thereby insult the utmost Divine bounties and God’s love and truth. How can I not want to see that my brother, a man similar to me in everything, bears in his soul the same image of God, has the same virtues, the same grace and the same rights that I have? Holy Light! Enlighten the eyes of our hearts! But, falling in this way from the heart, I die in soul, I fall internally and die internally. Mental fall and mental death. My God! How strictly you need to monitor the movement of your thoughts and hearts! What a need for vigilance and, at the same time, inseparable patience. Through your patience gain your souls [Lk. 21, 19]. [Clarify this.] In the last conversation, we said that the purpose of Christians is union with God: in the future life it is final, and in the present life it is preliminary. But since our sins prevent all of us from blissful union with God, and our earthly passions pose a strong barrier to our blissful peace in the Lord, then the hope of a Christian, as a virtue, requires that, in the hope of future bliss, we struggle with sin all our lives and overcome it, calling on the Lord Jesus Christ for help, and exercise ourselves in every virtue, according to the word of the Lord: be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect [ Matt. 5, 48]. This is the property of Christian hope: to hope in the Lord, but also to work in spiritual work, in purifying oneself. And these are the properties of Christian hope: patience in the fight against sin, [forcing] oneself to do every good thing throughout life, and an effort to renounce every sin. The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, says the Savior, and those who use force take it by force [Matt. 11, 12]. Stand against sin until you bleed. But like sin, living in us, our entire being has penetrated, and from our feet even to our head there is no wholeness in us [Russian: healthy place] [Isa. 1, 6], and everything in us is one whole, malignant corpse, since our heart is extremely infected with sin, from which evil thoughts constantly emanate... adultery... [Matt. 15, 19], then we face a difficult struggle with ourselves and with the culprit of all evil, the devil, for the rest of our lives; within ourselves [...] a stubborn war must be waged. What, beloved brethren, is our inner, or heartfelt, struggle against sin? Let's explain. So you, with God’s help, have decided to improve your life and behave according to God’s commandments. Until now, you have lived without the fear of God and did not give yourself an account of your life, did not consider your deeds and evils (and every sin for you was according to your concept), doing the will of your flesh and thoughts [Eph. 2, 3]. You gave yourself freedom in everything: you thought what you wanted, you wanted, let’s say, what you wanted, you said and did without strict analysis what you wanted; you knew that there was a written Law of God, or God’s commandments, but you cared little about them, as something extraneous - many of you did not know them and do not know them; you knew that you have a conscience and that conscience is the voice of God: what it approves is good, what it condemns is bad, but you thought that this voice is in us (we have a will: it is possible not to listen to our voice crying out in the desert of our soul, and we did not listen often; we knew that people in the world approve of good and condemn evil, but before the judgment of man again, you had little to do; you thought: people are all in sins, and the sinner is a sinner judging is of little benefit and success, because whoever, as you used to say, condemns another, does the same himself: I will do what I want, despite the gossip of sinners like me). But the word of God that you heard in church, or the stern and decisive voice of your confessor, or the saving advice of another person, or an illness from which you were close to death, or some everyday circumstances makes a complete change in your soul: you notice in your soul a spiritual light that suddenly illuminated the entire church of your soul, and you clearly see all your sinfulness, all the impurities of your heart, all the distance from God; you see in yourself many addictions to earthly so-called blessings and a lack of faith in God, hope in Him and love for Him; you see that you have hitherto wandered far from God, the source of life, and have lived in vain in the world, that the field of your soul is completely wild, uncultivated and all covered with thorns and thistles, and that you are not ready to answer at the Terrible, Last Judgment. You begin to mourn or be sad for Bose; your soul itself begins to desire union with God and repose in Him, a sweetness it previously only occasionally experienced. You decide to live strictly according to the will of God. And here you enter from the broad and cheerful path, from the path of the sinful world to the narrow and sorrowful path, to the path of God - to the one that alone leads to eternal life. And this is what this regret will consist of. Since the path of God is to cleanse the heart, and to cleanse the heart (as to cleanse gold or silver from impure impurities), as in the fight against the sin that lives in us, sorrow and distress are necessary, and at times scorching fire, then you will often experience sorrow and distress (and despondency of spirit will often be experienced by ascetics of the Kingdom for the sake of Heaven); but do not grieve joylessly: this is a cleansing medicine for you, this is a narrow path to enter into the stomach [Matt. 7, 14]. You want to suppress some passion, some sinful habit - this will inevitably be combined with sorrow: sorrow and oppression, and often strong sorrow, because bodily passions seem to have become akin to our body and soul and have become as if our natural members; [while striving] for good, for any virtue, you will again experience sorrow, because your flesh resists good, especially our enemy, who strongly resists the eradication of passions and the planting in the soul of good thoughts, feelings and aspirations to do good deeds. In everything you will have to force yourself: if you want to give up sin, it is not enough to want one, you need coercion, strength, patience; if you want to do good, wanting is not enough, you again need strength to do good and forcing yourself to do it: without coercion we will not do almost a single good deed. The worker of the Kingdom for the sake of Heaven actually experiences the truth of the words of the Savior: The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it [Matt. 11, 12]. It is easy to sin: sin just attracts you, and its attraction is pleasant for the sinful flesh, but doing good is difficult for those who are not accustomed to it: when you get down to business, where will difficulties come from, various thoughts, and often so outrageous that many abandoned their good deeds because of them or cried from them out of extreme sorrow. But in all circumstances, states of your soul, you must constantly direct the eyes of your heart to Christ with the hope of omnipotent help from Him: He is always with us, and if we are faithful to Him and do not turn our heartfelt eyes away from Him, He will be gloriously glorified in us all the days of our lives and will lead us unharmed to the quiet haven of the eternal Kingdom. If any passion greatly disturbs you, immediately turn your heart’s eyes to Christ with the prayer: Jesus! help me! Jesus, intercede and save me yourself, and He will send you the strength to overcome it, and the passion will disappear; an unclean thought or doubt in faith will torment you - call on Him again and calm down: the thoughts will disappear, and the darkness of doubt will be replaced by the light of faith; if a cloud of despondency comes over your soul and you indulge in joyless sadness - again call on the Lord in prayer, and despondency will be replaced by calmness and joy: in your eyes, Jesus Christ will work miracles of His goodness and His omnipotence over you, and one day you will sing a victorious song to the Lord Jesus, your all-powerful helper, many times, and day by day you will prosper in faith, hope and love, if you do not weaken from laziness or despondency and lack of faith. Christ is always at your right hand 130 and He will guard you, according to your faith, every moment of your life, like a mother with her child. The only necessary condition for receiving help from the Lord Jesus Christ in the fight against sin is to belong to the Church and use its sanctifying Sacraments. Just do not forget to always turn to Him with heartfelt faith, always call on Him with unshakable trust in His help, and thus you will comfortably go through the difficult path of life and achieve future blessings, which may the Lord help you all to receive. Amen. Look, with your wife, how many blessings have come to you from the Lord: she herself is the image of God, incarnate kindness and love, and with her an abundance of earthly blessings, a comfortable and well-educated family, to whom you can show benefits and love and thereby earn the favor of the Heavenly Master. Love your sister and wife as you love yourself. What honor to my nature! In my small cell that makes up my home, or in my heart, I can talk with the One who contains heaven and earth in His right hand, whom the Heavenly Powers serve with fear, with the One who is infinite love! Make a determined intention to get rid of the tyranny of a cruel tyrant - greed for food and drink. This passion leads you by the nose every day and deprives your soul of many spiritual fruits, especially the fruits of prayer, heartfelt faith and hope and love, and plunges you into a worldly merger, alienating you from the spiritual. По нашей телесности Господь привязывает, так сказать, Свое присутствие и Себя Самого к вещественности, к какому-нибудь видимому знамению: например, в Таинстве Причащения Он Сам весь вселяется в Тело и Кровь; in Repentance he acts through a visible person - the priest; in Baptism - through water; in Confirmation - through myrrh; in the Priesthood - through the bishop; in Marriage - through a priest and crowns himself; in the Blessing of Unction - through oil; привязывает Свое присутствие к храму, образам, к кресту, к крестному знамению, к имени Своему, состоящему из членораздельных звуков, к святой воде, к освященным хлебам, пшенице, вину. Но придет время, когда Тело и Кровь Его, равно и все другие видимые знаки, для нас не будут нужны, и мы будем истее Его причащатися – именно в невечернем дни Царствия Его, а теперь всё чрез телесное, чрез образы и знамения. Если я молюсь Богу моему с сердечною, живою, совершенною верою, тогда я близок не только к Нему, как сын к отцу, живущему в одном с ним доме, но и ко всем премирным Силам Небесным, ко всем святым, царствующим на небесах; and they are no further from me than my icons, before which I pray. Потому прекрасное у нас обыкновение иметь в своих домах иконы Господа, Пречистой Его Матери, Архангелов и Ангела-хранителя и святых и молиться пред ними: близость их к нашему взору телесному означает еще большую близость их взору душевному, вооруженному верою несомненною. Proximity: there will be joy in heaven for one sinner who repents [Lk. 15, 7 ], как в доме родительском братья радуются, когда провинившийся пред отцом брат их кается в оскорблении, нанесенном родителям недобрым поведением. Намереваясь говорить о молитве, мы прежде должны сказать особенно о вере и сердце – необходимых принадлежностях молитвы, о коих часто придется упоминать в беседах о молитве; explain what faith consists of and what one must understand in one’s heart; also about the hope with which prayer must be offered, and about the love of the heart for God; должны сказать о вездеприсутствии Божием и о том, что Бога на молитве нужно представлять Лицом или Существом в Трех Лицах. Ask... seek... knock... [Matt. 7, 7]. Эти слова относятся преимущественно к исканию Царствия Небесного и к избавлению от грехов, как являет это молитва Господня, в коей прежде всего просим, да святится имя Божие, да приидет Царствие Божие, да будет воля Его на земле и прочее, и как показывает цель сошествия на землю Сына Божия. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness [Matt. 6, 33]. В отце своем созерцай образ Бога Отца – Отца милости, щедрот и человеколюбия, и не пощади для него никакой жертвы, будет ли она вещественная или духовная. Для питания и напоения растений или бессловесных животных часто мы не щадим значительных издержек; для напитания ли и напоения человека, существа разумнословесного, созданного по образу и по подобию Божию, пощадим чего-либо? Жертва, приносимая ближнему из любви к нему, приносится Самому Богу. Just as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me [Matt. 25, 40]. Spare nothing for your own, you received everything from them. April 2nd day, 1861. Everything is the best for them. We ourselves, of our own free will, have fallen away from God and from heavenly bliss; we ourselves, by our own will, are now constantly sinning and moving away from God and His inner Kingdom, while we ourselves must draw closer to God with our hearts; This means that we ourselves must ask the Lord that His Kingdom may come to us; We sin by our own corrupted will; by our own will we must repent, or say prayers of repentance from the bottom of our hearts. We ourselves, through sin, have humiliated and are humiliating the most glorified Lord - but we ourselves must, of our own free will, glorify Him with a good life and try to have others glorify him, as before through sins we allowed and continue to allow the name of God to be blasphemed for our sake. Just as we voluntarily became ungrateful at the beginning and now, for the most part, we are insensitive and ungrateful before the Giver of all blessings, before the All-Containing One, so we ourselves must now voluntarily strengthen ourselves to thank God for everything, and in the very act of giving thanks, interweaving prayers of thanksgiving for all the benefits given to us, especially spiritual ones, for the forgiveness of sins, for the redemption by the Son of God from future wrath, and for all the Sacraments and gracious guidance given by the Church. Thus, in the most natural way, our prayer is either a petition, when we heartily acknowledge before God our sinfulness, weakness, our powerlessness, our dependence on Him in all spiritual and physical needs, our faith that we have received and are receiving everything from God, or a doxology, when we glorify the greatness of His deeds in the kingdom of nature and grace, or thanksgiving for the great and rich mercies we receive from Him daily. Dejection in a Christian is madness, for, tell me, why should we be despondent? About sins? But Christ... came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15)! There is no sin that overcomes God’s love for mankind, and Christ commanded to forgive those who fall into sins seventy times sevenfold. About the machinations of the enemy, about his grave attacks on our soul? But this prepares for us crowns of patience, it is our honor that for the sake of life according to Christ we experience various dirty tricks from him. The greatest, constant delusion of our heart, with which we need to fight continuously throughout our lives, in the evening, morning and day, is its secret thought that we can be without God and outside of God somewhere and someday, at least for one moment; we must continually affirm it in God, from whom it constantly mentally turns away, although it is constantly tormented by this, and the height of our success in the Christian faith will be when we are able to sincerely sing with Anna, the mother of Samuel: my heart has rejoiced in the Lord; 22 My horn is exalted in my God; My mouth was opened wide against my enemies (1 Samuel 2:1). The omnipresence of God explains that all those who sincerely pray to God, speak or sing about God and His deeds feel in their hearts delight, tenderness and quiet joy that comes from God, from His presence in their hearts. Everyone is informed of a impartial, loving and generous Master. A bad man of prayer is one who does not think and does not hope to receive what he asks for. I thank my God, who allows me to endure injustice for deeds that are pleasing to Him, so that I do not dream about them and become proud; I thank my Judge that he does not reward me with glory for them, but with dishonor and reproach and unjust insults on the part of those very people to whom good was done for the sake of their request, although not for themselves, but for God. This means that the Lord is testing me: not for the sake of worldly benefits, am I doing the work of God selfishly? means that He accepted my sacrifice into His heavenly and mental altar in the stench of a spiritual fragrance. For where there is reproach and oppression for the sake of righteousness, there is Christ and compassion with Christ. People, while maintaining their complete freedom, are only instruments of God: they do only what God allows. We must pray for those who create misfortune for us, because through them the devil often plays tricks on us and arranges our salvation, without wanting it. When you sit down at the table to have dinner or drink tea, be attentive to the voice of your mind regarding the amount of food you eat and do not transgress it, otherwise you will disobey the voice of your Guardian Angel; be glad that you once set it aside for yourself at the table; do not stretch out your hand for another meal of the same food. In our eyes, the Lord daily transforms bread and wine into His most pure Body and His most pure Blood. This, by the way, serves as a constant assurance for us that the Lord will also miraculously transform the body of our humility: from earthly to heavenly, from corruptible to incorruptible, so that it will be consistent with His glorious body [Phil. 3, 21]. Hey, amen! Our Father, who is in heaven [Matt. 6, 9 ]! Our Father is in heaven - we say so that we always remember that our life is in heaven, that we are heavenly by nature, that where the Father is, there will be children. Hallowed be Thy name [Matt. 6, 9]. This is our first and most ardent desire in this life: that the name of our Heavenly Father, dishonored and blasphemed by our sins, may be sanctified. Thy kingdom come [Matt. 6, 10]. Sin reigns in us and the devil is not God... Write everything here from nature... from our inner life. We cannot sanctify the name of God as long as sin and the devil reign in us. Thy will be done as it is in heaven and on earth [Matt. 6, 10]. In order for the Lord to reign in our hearts, for this we must cast aside our will and always wish with all our hearts that God’s will be in us; if we follow the will of our corrupt heart, the Kingdom of God will not come to us. Not my will, the Lord prayed, but yours be done [Lk. 22, 42 ]; not as I want, but as You want [Matt. 26,39]. Why do you call Me: Lord! God! - and do not do what I say? [ OK. 6, 46]. He who does the will of My Father in Heaven will enter the Kingdom of Heaven [Matt. 7, 21]. Give us this day our daily bread [Matt. 6, 11]. He who wants to do the will of God does not worry much about food, drink, clothing, for he knows that the Lord knows that you need all this [Matt. 6, 32], for he knows that first of all and most of all it is necessary to seek the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, that with the dignity of his deified nature it is incompatible to be immersed in worries in materiality, but it is necessary to philosophize on high, where Christ sits at the right hand of God [Col. 3, 1]. And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive... [Matt. 6, 12]. The true son of the Heavenly Father, heartily desiring that the name of God would be sanctified unceasingly through him and through all people, so that His gracious Kingdom would come and His will be with us in everything, good, acceptable and perfect [Rom. 12:2], demanding that we not worry much about earthly things - about food, drink and clothing - prays to God that God will forgive his sins, thirsts and hungers not for food and drink, but for grace-filled justification through Jesus Christ, in whom he becomes a son of the Heavenly Father. Words: Hallowed be thy name [Matt. 6, 9] suggest in the person praying a sincere desire to glorify the name of God through the holiness of Christian life, Christian charity, especially the desire for each other’s enlightenment, assistance, and joy in glorifying the Divine name, the desire that God would raise up more workers to glorify the name of God through various good deeds. Thy kingdom come... [Matt. 6, 10] - the desire is expressed that enmity, disorder, envy, love of money, covetousness, untruths, deceptions, lies, perjury should not reign among people, but that love, justice, generosity, hard work, and every virtue should reign among them. Why do we say: Our Father, who is in heaven [Matt. 6, 9 ]? Because after the fall of our ancestors, the Lord, so to speak, withdrew from earth to heaven, because the church and residence of God on earth is the human heart, a pure heart, and it did not exist after the fall. The earth was filled with evil deeds [Gen. 6, 11]. The Lord looked down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there was one who understood, seeking God. All have turned aside, become... obscene... not one [Ps. 13, 2–3]. Then it says: Hallowed be thy name [Matt. 6, 9] - so that it is holy, and not dishonored by people, their untruths, iniquities; Thy kingdom come [Matt. 6, 10] - so that the Kingdom of God, which was removed from the earth for the sake of human iniquities, will come again; Thy will be done as it is in heaven and on earth [Matt. 6, 10] – so that the Kingdom of God would be revealed on earth by the fulfillment of God’s good will on earth. To eat or not to eat fish food during Lent is a big difference: not to eat is of great benefit to the soul; Eating, especially if not very moderately, is harmful to the soul. The heart feels that when we do not eat fish food, it is thinner, purer and lighter, living faith and humility and the feeling of God’s presence comfortably dwell in it, fiery prayer is easy for it, tears are close to it and the Lord of the heart is not far away. When we eat enough fish, the heart becomes fat, becomes cold, insensitive, and lacking in faith, moves away from God, becomes dull and darkened for prayerful contemplation. Therefore, those people who, diligent in prayer, do not eat any fish act very wisely: they thereby protect their hearts from spiritual hardness and insensibility. Oh! Just as fasting is necessary for Christians to please God and for success in purifying the heart, so it is for successful prayer! Fasting is an adornment of our nature, a feasible assimilation to incorporeal beings, a path to uniting the soul with God, a producer of heart-cleansing tears, a strong assistant in prayer. We ask the Lord for various benefits for soul and body, because He is our Creator, because we have received and are receiving everything from Him. This same thing affirms in us the hope that through our prayer for the name of Christ we will receive everything necessary for spiritual and physical life, especially for spiritual life. Heartfelt faith in the Lord and in His word is life for my soul. This is enough for me to sincerely believe in the Lord and in His word (which is the same as Him and inseparable from Him). There can be no stronger proof than this. May the ethereal villain flee far from us, instilling in us thoughts of doubt and lack of faith. The mind is the guardian of our heart, or our soul, a temporary, earthly lamp of our heart, adapted to earthly life. If you want to keep your soul intact, if you want it not to be robbed or destroyed by mental thieves 103 and robbers, be careful that the home guard assigned to the heavenly dweller within us - the soul - does not sleep, but is always awake and shines his light on it. The devil always robs us in no other way than by seducing and darkening our guard, after which he freely enters the soul, as into an open house, deprived of protection, and steals its treasures and puts the soul itself to spiritual death. Guard your heart with all care through the guardian given to you - the mind, for from the heart comes life [Russian: sources of life] [Prov. 4, 23]. In my prayer to God, I see the highest dignity of my soul: I boldly talk with Him, unite with Him, become one spirit with Him, I know by experience that my soul came from God and must always turn to God. Submit yourself completely to the Church and believe that she will save you too: she has saved millions of Christians - she will save you too. Just be her obedient servant, do what she commands, do not philosophize more than it is appropriate to philosophize: before you, the most worthy ones philosophized in the Holy Spirit - you have nothing to do, you just accept with an open heart everything she has devoted to you. Everything that was given to you for safekeeping is soul-saving, all of it has been tested, experienced in the mind, heart, deed, body, and whole being. About prayer. Others, as soon as they begin to pray, think that they will end quickly. This is mercenaryism. Such prayer is unworthy of a Christian, as a free being and as a son of God by grace. Do not expect any benefit from such a corrupt prayer in advance. Appreciate the human word highly. One word Jesus, spoken from the heart, produces miracles of life in our soul. God Himself is called the Word. Glory to the life-giving Mysteries (Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesday in the Fifth Week of Lent)! Yesterday, after bathing in the closet in the evening, I caught a significant cold from the cold water, and the next morning I felt heavy: I was breaking, my heart was somehow insensitive, lacking faith, sad, gloomy, sick; I was all, as it were, constrained from the side of the body by illness, from the side of the heart by sinful lack of faith and despondency (it should be noted that the day before I had damaged my soul and body by being satiated from the fish table, which is why I felt heaviness the whole day the day before - before swimming and before tea); he prayed sluggishly and coldly during the service, stumbled in the litanies and was, as he himself felt, useless [a slave]. But - oh, the goodness of God! As soon as I received communion of the Presanctified Gifts, all my mental lethargy and physical illness subsided instantly: I was encouraged, rejoiced, and felt good all that day. We must remember that God is a living God who revives everyone, that the Mother of God is alive, as are all the saints, and [they] hear us in God. By calling on the Mother of God and the saints in prayer, we are more and more confirmed in faith in life after death and in the hope of resurrection and eternal life. In this case, Lutherans lose a lot by not venerating holy icons and not praying to the saints, as saints of God who intercede for us before God. From turning my thoughts and my heart to God, to the Lady, to other saints, I receive peace, joy, holiness of the heart, life - always when my conversion is sincere. What do you say against this, you who say that you do not benefit from prayer? You say: you pray, you pray, but there is no benefit: no one listens to us! Whereas you should place all the blame on yourself, you place it on God. God also gives prayer to the one who prays - how can He not hear? You know from experience how the enemy viciously and violently attacks us, forcing us to mentally utter in some kind of anger blasphemy against the Lord Himself, the Most Pure Mother and His saints; if you, already accustomed to spiritual warfare with enemies, if you, sacredly taught in this battle by the Spirit of God and the holy Guardian Angels, are not involuntarily carried away by the flow of the devil’s blasphemy and do not mentally speak insolence - it is only the grace of God that strengthens you, and not with your own strength you resist the enemy. Therefore, will you not willingly and generously excuse people who speak to your face, out of the malice of the devil operating within them, various offensive words that breathe injustice and malice? Will you not endure it with complete Christian meekness, knowing their source? Yes, you will endure it with meekness and kindness, and you must endure it. Just remember what it’s like for you to resist the devil’s influence acting in you, his slander and blasphemy against the Lord and His Most Pure Mother and the saints? For example, you are often unable to immediately reflect the devil’s blasphemy against God regarding the Divine property of His omnipresence and you remain in lack of faith regarding His omnipresence. Is this not an extreme insult to the Lord, who truly exists everywhere and fulfills everything? God! Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors [Matt. 6, 12]. We all sin a lot against You and each other. Everywhere, in every house and in every place, you carry air with you, on you and in you, and in the place where you enter, you certainly meet air, equally in those that are there, and in those, that is, inside them - don’t you bring the Lord God with you and in yourself and in every place, and isn’t the Lord in the place where you enter, with those and in those that are there; and is it not the Lord who supports their thoughts, or what is in the image and likeness of them; Is it not He who contains the very air, is He not the Almighty? Just as there is always an ocean of air at the shore of our lips, just as there is always water at the mouth of a fish, so the Lord always stands at our heart: Behold, I stand at the door and knock [Rev. 3, 20]. But we close our hearts from the Lord with unbelief and sins. God is the omnipotent power of all material worlds, and moreover, the most wonderful, all-merciful, all-just power of the spiritual world - Angels and men. In His hand are all spirits, their peace and bliss - and their languor and torment. When God is called Father, Word and Spirit, this shows the highest integrity of the Divinity, the highest perfection of His being, consisting of Three All-Perfect Persons, and, so to speak, the usefulness of each of the Persons in the essence of the Divinity; just as man - the image of God - consists of spirit, soul and body, or has in his being thought, word and spirit, from thought, or soul, emanating through the word and resting in the word; or, since man is a fallen being and is often in the power of the devil, he has a dark, unclean and restless thought, which through the word is revealed in a restless and evil spirit, which is often true devilish power. My brothers! Don’t you see how we sometimes blaspheme the Divine with our unclean, dark and evil state of our souls, we blaspheme the Father, the Word and the All-Holy Spirit, the Comforter Spirit, who rests in those worthy of love and peace. On the contrary, a person with a good mood in his soul, capable of comforting everyone with a word, thereby glorifies the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit the Comforter. So that we too can comfort those in any sorrow with the consolation with which God comforts us! (2 Cor. 1:4). Always remember and keep in your heart the great words of the Savior and the Church about God: Thine is the power, and Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. It is not the devil’s power over the world and people, not his kingdom and power: he predatorily invaded and is invading temporarily with his power and strength, limited by God and always [limited] now; there was no glory in the world of the Lord, and the world of sinners has always blasphemed and blasphemed, and does not glorify him, the father of lies and a murderer; and the eternal power, the Kingdom, and power, and glory over everything and over everyone - the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit: all Three Persons of the Divine equally have shown and are showing and until the end of the age will show in Their world and in the world of the most evil spirits Their eternal power, kingdom, power and glory for the prosperity and salvation of creatures, in the torment and eternal destruction of evil spirits and wicked people. May our strong hope in everything be in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, by whose power we are supported, in whose Kingdom we prosper and are saved, by whose strength we are strong, by whose glory we are glorious and always admired in body and soul. Wherever I look with the eyes of my heart—whether inside myself, at myself, or outside myself—everywhere I see a strong reason for thanksgiving and glorification of the Lord; but when I look only inside myself, then I see the strongest reason for petition, thanksgiving and praise. All the strength of my heart, all the light in the eyes of my heart is from God, all bodily strength, everything that serves to support bodily life is from God: everywhere I see glory, the only glory of my God, and I see nothing in myself that I myself could boast of as mine. Glory to Him who gives me strength, glory to Him who works by me and in me. Since I have nothing of my own, but have everything from God, even to the slightest good movement of the heart, to a holy and bright thought, and without God I am nothingness, worse - all evil, then I have a strong reason to resort to asking God for everything. I have a particularly strong reason to thank my God for His most pure and life-giving Mysteries, Body and Blood: they are everything to me, and prayers for communion are an example of petition, thanksgiving and glorification. Here there is both petition and thanksgiving, and doxology. I involuntarily praise God and the Lord Jesus Christ for His inexpressible love for us mortals, revealed in the Holy Mysteries. For our intelligent, invisible soul, the sincere thought of God is strength and life. Look how kindly and wisely the Lord God arranged it: the bee works, collecting honey not for itself, but for others, for the pleasure of people. So you should not only work for yourself and use the fruits of your labors, but for others: let others taste the sweetness of your labors. And this is both in spiritual and everyday, economic terms. Rejoice that you can be an instrument of God’s infinite goodness towards others, a conductor of His bounties to His rational creatures, worthy or unworthy. The Lord is not limited to either the infinitely small or the infinitely great, because He created both, and for the infinite, omnipotent Spirit, His creation, the infinitely small and the infinitely great (relatively), is equally insignificant - precisely because it is His creation. The saints, after their repose, are incomparably closer to us than during their lifetime: during their life, they naturally are with their body in one certain place, although with their spirit they sometimes go to other places, as, for example, the spirit of Elisha walked with his servant Gehazi, who deceived Naaman; but after death they are not connected by body and, being one spirit with the Lord, according to Scripture: he who is united with the Lord is one spirit with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17), they become in some way partakers of His omnipresence and comfortably hear all those who call on them, seeing in God their spiritual and physical needs. All who do not have legal marital intercourse, know and remember that in order to preserve your body in purity and chastity, you need to use food and drink carefully, with consideration, and precisely in the short term, eat less nutritious food: meat, milk, eggs and drink wine, beer, and during fasting - try either not to eat fresh tasty fish, or eat in moderation, and, moreover, salty: our body requires very little to maintain its strength and health, and if you If you consume more food and drink than you should, then nature will intensify to eject the excess from itself through the eruption of semen; This will result in irritation of the genital organs and the demand of nature to satisfy them, a demand for which you yourself will be to blame. Do not drink a lot of sweet tea and do not eat a lot of sweets - this also entails ejaculation. While still on earth, I, dust 85, through prayer, talk with the Cherubim, Seraphim and all the Heavenly Powers, asking for their intercession for myself before the common Lord of all. Prayer knows no distance or mediastinum between heaven and earth. I, like them, am the image of God - this is my right to talk with them. Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent. He confessed completely calmly and consultatively, with warmth of soul. There was no heaviness in my heart. Doubts are poisonous from the devil’s pretext too. God bless! May God always confess like this! When I pray to God, or the Lady, or the Angels, I receive answers to my prayer, and from this I am firmly convinced that there is a spiritual world and that I form a part of it, this invisible world; Praying from my heart to God, or the Lady, or the Angels, I receive light, strength, peace, bliss in my heart, and from this I know that my bliss is in God. – Further develop. Believe in the human dignity of a person, in his kindness, no matter how angry, crafty, proud, money-loving, envious, stingy he may be, and always forgive him his sins and transgressions against you, knowing that you yourself are subject to the same. God! Grant me to serve others in every way and not to please myself. Remember that people have minutes, hours and days of darkness - and minutes, hours, days of light, minutes of good - and moments of evil, joy - and despondency, peace - and spiritual storms; but man is not a demon: he is incomparably more good than evil, he walks more in the light than in darkness. Therefore, when you see a person in spiritual anger, or in darkness and despondency, or subject to some other passion, remember that he can be kind and amiable, calm and cheerful, and therefore do not be angry against him in the hours of his anger, but then especially try to be kind and affectionate to him, as to a patient, knowing that this is his transitional state and for the most part is the work of the enemy’s treachery over him. Just as our body lives by the elements from which it is itself composed, and constantly absorbs air, water, organic bodies, so our soul lives by the Divine Spirit, from Whom it has its origin, and constantly absorbs into itself, to support its life, the life of the Trinitarian God - through prayer and mind, the light of the mind and good dispositions and desires of the heart and will and strength in goodness. Just as a body, without being nourished by principles akin to it, cannot live and dies, so our soul, without being nourished by prayer or good thoughts, feelings, and deeds, also dies. Just as in our bodily nature everything goes well (nutrition and growth of the body), but if poison or infection gets in through food or drink or breathing, it suddenly causes pain and death if help is not given - so in our spiritual nature everything flows well, but when the devil attacks it, then it suffers seriously and seems to become numb, and it needs immediate help from the Heavenly Physician, the God of spirits, which is not obtained. otherwise than through the prayer of faith. The devil's appeals to the human soul correspond to poisons in bodily nature, only poisons of material nature rarely enter our body, and these are always with us or near us. Just as the environment (middle) in which it lives is always ready to nourish and support the life of our body, namely: light, air, water, food, and with air, as it is more necessary for its life, it is constantly surrounded, water is everywhere, so to speak, at hand, as well as plants and animals - so for our soul, strength is always ready in abundance to support its life: its spiritual food, drink, clothing - in the Triune God, Who, being all in every place, is like air or something like mental light, every moment of our life is ready, according to our faith and for the sake of the constantly prayerful mood of our soul, to support our spiritual strength with His everywhere existing grace, being for us incessantly the light of our mind and heart, the air with which our soul breathes, the food with which it is nourished and strengthened, and the life-giving warmth with which it is warmed, and the clothing with which it not only covers its sinful nakedness, but he is also adorned with it, like royal purple—this is the garment of Christ’s justification. Thus, every moment of his existence, a person is in two environments: material and spiritual, from which he receives everything. One supports his bodily, the other his spiritual nature, and one is the visible nature, the other is the infinite Hypostasis Spirit of God, which, being all everywhere, is above all and, containing everything, is not limited by anything. Every person is so insignificant and weak in himself that he receives everything not from himself, but from indust 132 to support his being: he himself is nothing. And just as his body is supported by air, food and drink, so his soul is supported by prayer, reading the word of God. On the other hand, and the Holy Sacraments. Since in the Kingdom of the all-good and all-powerful God there are fallen, evil spirits, and it is precisely the air and earth that have their place, and since man was drawn by them to evil from the very beginning, as they always were and now are and will be until the end of time together with the human race, then they also constitute, so to speak, the environment with which we are surrounded and in which we live. And since we are people - free beings and, moreover, fallen ones, although restored by the Son of God and standing freely in this grace by faith, a good disposition towards God and good deeds, then we must constantly pray to God, to protect ourselves from the opposing forces that are warring on our soul, who want to take us into captivity and make us similar to them in spirit; It is extremely necessary for everyone to beware, so that in our spirit and in our deeds we do not become accustomed to the spirits of evil in high places, so that they do not become the breath of our soul instead of God, so that the evil that constitutes their nature does not become our evil. However, we must always remember that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world (1 John. 4:4), that the Lord holds them in full His power and only allows, as much as His truth, goodness and wisdom allow, to act in the world to admonish and correct people. But there are people who have the devil for their clothing, food, and drink, just as true Christians put on Christ and feed on His Body and Blood. Everywhere in the world there is duality - one against the other: spirit and body, good and evil. Satan has his minions and assistants to spread his dominion among people. God has Angels, whom he gives to every Christian to protect him and to guide him to the blessed Kingdom of Christ. Prayer of the heart – deliverance from spiritual death; the enemy often does not allow us to pray sincerely, takes prayer away from the heart in order to remain us in our joyless state. You must force yourself to pray heartily, to sincerely feel the sins in which you were entangled that day, and tears of contrition and tenderness will melt the sins and wash the sinful heart, and the demons nesting in it will be driven away, and God will be appeased. Remember that next to matter everywhere there is a spirit that dominates matter; That is why in the Church the spiritual goes hand in hand with the material, and vice versa. As in man himself - a soul and a material body. The Lord create both. One spiritual, very intelligent and educated daughter revealed to me in spirit that she had the misfortune of representing the Third Person of the Holy Trinity not as He really is, but as a creature, and she bitterly lamented and cried about this, and let out sighs from the depths of her heart; it was clear from everything that a false opinion about the Holy Spirit was a spiritual misfortune for her, and a great misfortune: she had no life in her heart while she wrongly philosophized about the Third Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity. So the evil spirit works in the hearts and minds of Christians against the Holy Spirit! So demons are evil against the Holy Spirit! Never eat food with greedy haste, but indifferently, calmly, and with reason. Whoever eats with greedy haste, the demon is treacherous in him, and he will often continually fall into gluttony. Greed for food is a passion, and the devil participates in all passions. We must not forget that through poison he plunged the entire human race into corruption, and now he consigns many, many to eternal destruction through food and drink. Look how strong the charm of food and drink is, how careless people who have grounded themselves exquisitely prepare their food and spend all their pleasure, their whole life, in food and drink. He who does not believe in the omnipresence of God in his thoughts and in his heart slanderes the power of God and does not attribute to Him the properties that air has, for air is everywhere - is not the Creator of air everywhere? That God is everywhere, a strong proof of this is the very lack of belief in omnipresence or any kind of sin at all. So, with unbelief, my heart is embarrassed, suffers some kind of burning, languishes, suffers, my mind is darkened, I find myself in a completely joyless situation. But with a living faith that God is everywhere, in every place and, therefore, always with me and in me, my heart is wide, free, light, lively, my mind is bright, I am in a joyful position. Thus, the very thing that kills me serves as striking proof of the existence of which I doubt. Unbelief torments me because it is the slander of my heart or the evil spirit against God, Who is my life, and the mental denial by my free soul of Self-life is, naturally and righteously, death for it. Also: God is a mental Being, and my soul is also a mental being from the first mental; That’s why I have communication with God through thought, through faith of the heart, which is nothing more than a living and clear thought that God is in every place; when, instead of such a thought, I have an opposite, negative thought, which means when the connecting principle of my soul with God is cut off, then for me there is no true life, but only the ghost of an external, lower, animal life. Why should I be angry with my neighbor if he offends me? Everything bad in him is from the devil, just as everything good is from God. Why do I not hitherto trample upon corruptible food with my heart and consider it equal to the clay of the paths 108? I am also a carnal person, passionate; Hope in the flesh is still strong within me. It is remarkable that when I eat varied and pleasant food with pleasure and in abundance, then the hope for food becomes stronger in my heart, the attachment to it becomes stronger, the enemy takes possession of me more easily, and it is more difficult for me to unite with God. When your heart greedily desires some reward, imagine that the reward of a Christian, especially a priest, is Christ: My reward is with Me, to render to everyone according to his deeds [Rev. 22, 12 ]; when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive an unfading crown of glory (1 Pet. 5:4); great is your reward in heaven [Matt. 5, 12 ]; that those rewarded here will receive their bribe. When you impatiently desire a skufia on your head, imagine that the greatest ascetic and hero of the day, Christ, wore on His head for His unparalleled service to humanity a crown of thorns with sharp needles - note that it was not purple velvet that adorned His head, but His scarlet blood from His head pierced with thorns - and then the desire for a skufia or another will cool down in you awards. Imagine also that your services to humanity are insignificant, that you serve more for yourself than for people, and that you receive sufficient reward for your labors. Know and firmly remember that through intemperance in food and drink, the devil constantly takes you captive and holds your heart in his power, and with the heart the whole person with his thoughts, intentions, words and deeds. What do you have that you wouldn't get? (1 Cor. 4:7). Disassemble your body: who created it? Have you made even one hair in it? - No. Examine your soul: whose good, holy thoughts, words, power to do good, as well as to desire it, do you have? - God’s, and in order to prove to your pride that they are not yours, but God’s, God often deprives you, for your admonition, of the light of thought, and you remain in mental murderous darkness: he deprives you of words - and you cannot speak; deprives your heart of its light and strength for all good, faith, hope, love, however, due to your inattention to yourself - and it becomes powerless for all good. So, glorify the eternal power over the people of God. The degrees of bliss and torment in the next century will be different. This is also proven by the present state of souls of different people or of the same person at different times, in different states of his soul. The simpler, kinder, more sociable a person is, the more blissful he is internally; the more crafty, evil, and self-loving he is, the more unhappy he is; The stronger the faith and love in him, the more blessed, the weaker, the worse, and those of little faith, faithlessness, and misanthropes are the most unhappy people. Therefore, understand about future torments. With the sign of the cross, with which we are usually baptized, if it is combined with a living idea of ​​the Lord Jesus Christ, is connected the sovereign power to drive demons out of the heart and passion. Experience. April 10, 1861 Seek first the Kingdom of God [Matt. 6, 33], that is, by all means, manage to achieve how Christ would reign in your hearts and fulfill every virtue through you, with all diligence try to eradicate from your heart all evil, all passion: self-love, envy, hatred, stinginess, love of money, pride, love of glory, through which the devil reigns in you, and with all your effort try to plant sincere love for God and neighbors, goodwill towards everyone, the desire to please everyone in every way according to the truth, meekness, humility. When praying to God, remember that God is Three Persons, and since He is a Person and Persons, He has in infinity all those perfections that we can imagine in the most perfect person by the grace of God, for example in the Most Holy Virgin Mary, in the Forerunner, in St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, in John Chrysostom or in the apostles, prophets filled with the Spirit of God. Man is the image of God and the likeness of God; according to the perfect model, one can partly judge the Prototype as He is: all the best that attracts our heart’s gaze and heart’s disposition in man is from God, from His Word and from His Spirit. For example, Saint Nicholas was and is compassionate and merciful to people by the grace of God. He has always, even now, been obedient to those who sincerely call upon him, out of the same good heart that he had during his life and now has by the grace of God. Now, isn’t the Lord God Himself compassionate and merciful, and how much more compassionate and merciful? Infinitely greater, just as Saint Nicholas Himself is infinitely greater. Or take the Apostle Paul. This is a humane womb. About Onesimus, the servant of Philemon 133, he says to his master: accept him, my womb [Phil. 1, 12]. What love! And what love breathes in his messages! Our heart is enlarged, he says to the Corinthians, you are not cramped in us (2 Cor. 6:11-12). He described in one Epistle what love consists of - this description is divine, but reading it, you feel that the apostle actually fulfilled everything that he wrote about love 134. But where does this love come from in the apostle, the former persecutor and annoyance of Christians, who, entering houses, dragged husbands and wives, betraying them mercilessly into prison 135? – From the Lord, the Source of love. He alone is eternal and boundless love, embracing all creatures. You received a legguard - a significant reward. This is how she was revered since ancient times in Greece, and in Russia in ancient times. Proof of this is that it is learned, according to the “Tablet” 136, by the oldest presbyters. What does it mean? Its meaning is shown by the words the priest says when putting on the legguard. Let us read them: Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O Mighty One, with Thy beauty and Thy kindness: and advance, and prosper, and reign for the sake of truth and meekness and righteousness: and Thy right hand will admirably instruct Thee [Russian: Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O Mighty One, with Thy glory and beauty Yours, and in this Your adornment, hasten, sit on the chariot for the sake of truth and meekness and righteousness, and Your right hand will show You wondrous deeds] [Ps. 44, 4–5 ] (The Lord is my right hand) always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Initially, these words refer to the Savior, who girded ourselves for our salvation with the sword of the flesh and His cross, and with this sword, or swords, pierced the enemies of our salvation. He lived his whole life 137, succeeded in the work of our salvation and reigned in the hearts of good and simple people of truth for His sake and meekness and truth. Secondly, they refer to a priest who bears the image of Christ, a warrior in the feat of salvation for himself and his flock, a shepherd and a teacher, they mean his success, skill and strength in spiritual life, in the fight against the enemies of salvation; mean that the inside of his thigh, which the devil is trying hard to wound, and precisely his right thigh, received security from the enemy with the help of Divine grace, which is the beauty and kindness of a Christian; that the priest is obliged to strain himself in the exploits of mental warfare with the mental enemies of salvation and to succeed in it with the help of the Mighty and Strong in battle, and truth, meekness and righteousness must reign in his heart, that is, Christ Himself, or His gracious Kingdom. Have you achieved all this? If you have achieved it, thank Christ the Lord - your strength - and wear your loincloth as a sign of your success in spiritual life and in the fight against the enemies of salvation, and let it always serve as a reminder for you of your warfare in this life with your enemies and the enemies of your verbal sheep, of the need for you to stand in truth, meekness and righteousness. And if not, you wear the legguard in vain, only to expose your life, which is incongruous with your rank, your powerlessness against the enemies of salvation, your negligence and inattention to the matter of salvation. When hellish darkness covers you, remember then that there is also the light of God: there is night, but there is also day; There is death, but there is also life - and the triumph of life is everywhere. What satisfaction do we give God for all our sins? None. Only faith in God and hope in His mercy and heartfelt repentance for the fall! Oh, how immeasurably great are God’s mercies towards us! Love every person, despite his sins. Sins are sins, but the basis in man is one – the image of God. Others with obvious weaknesses are malicious, proud, envious, stingy, money-loving, greedy - and you, too, are not without evil: perhaps there is more of it in you than in others. At least with regard to sins, people are equal: all, it is said, have sinned and fall short of the glory of God [Rom. 3:23], we are all guilty before God and we all equally need God’s mercy towards us. Therefore, loving each other, we must endure each other with love and leave each other, forgive them their sins against us, so that our Heavenly Father will forgive us our sins. So, with all your soul, honor and love the image of God in every person, not paying attention to his sins. God alone is holy and sinless. And look how He loves us and, so to speak, honors what He has created and is creating for us, how long-suffering He is, punishing graciously and showing mercy generously and graciously! Also, honor a person, despite his sins, because he can always improve. A smart person, they say, yields to a stupid person, feeling his superiority over him and being able to adapt to circumstances. This saying is true. Why does the Church often pray for the royal house? Because the earthly royal house bears the image of the heavenly Royal House, which contains all creation - God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In a class with boys you need to behave reverently, meekly, humbly, as if in a church before God. You speak, but God Himself inwardly teaches: the mystery of God’s teaching is accomplished in the classroom. You have one Teacher - Christ [Matt. 23:8], says the Lord Himself. God alone teaches man reason, as the God of reason; He alone speaks to the boys' hearts. Every teacher must carefully protect the simple, pure and kind hearts of children, their receptive and impressionable soul, like wax. Otherwise, the Lord God will strictly demand from him, who said about the children: let the children come to Me and do not forbid them [Lk. 18, 16]. See that you do not despise one of these little ones... Their angels in heaven always see the face of My Heavenly Father [Matt. 18, 10]. Man is always the image of God, and the image must always reflect the Prototype. Therefore, when you have darkened yourself with some sin and therefore the image of God does not shine in you with all clarity, just cleanse your sin, remove it from the image of God, like a dark spot, through prayer - and the image of God will shine in you again; and when you denigrate it with doubt or unbelief, awaken only faith, condemn doubt and unbelief with all sincerity, and it will shine in you again. Tested. About doxology. The soul involuntarily rushes to praise when you look at the starry sky... but even more rushes to praise when, looking at the heavens and the stars that He founded, you imagine how He remembers man, how He endlessly loves him and cares for his eternal bliss, not sparing His Only Begotten Son for our salvation into the Kingdom of Heaven. You cannot help but glorify when you remember that you were created from nothing, that you were destined from the creation of the world to eternal bliss completely undeservedly; when you remember what grace of God is given to you from God for salvation throughout your entire life, what countless number of sins are forgiven you, and not just once, not twice, but countless times, what many natural gifts are given to you, starting from a healthy body to a stream of air, to a drop of water. You are involuntarily excited to sing praises when, in amazement, you see the endless variety of creatures on earth - in the animal kingdom, the vegetable and mineral kingdoms: what a wise arrangement in everything, great and small! You involuntarily glorify and say: Wonderful are Your works, O Lord, You have done all things with wisdom! Glory to Tu, Lord, who created everything! Regarding hearing our prayers, it should be said that if the Church compiled and handed over for general use prayers and hymns to the Triune God and His saints, this already means that God hears them and is always near those who pray. But for the most part they pray as if God were not with them or as if He was not listening. Let us give the Lord at least the attention that good parents show to the requests of their children, at least that providential, attentive love that good parents have for their children. After all, God is a Person. (From the Gospel.) [...] My word, says the Lord, will not return to Me empty, until it completes (everything) as I desire [Is.55, 11]. Likewise, our prayer word does not return to us any worse 139 if we pray with all our hearts. - Right. Daily experience. I believe and confess that the smallest particle of the Lamb is the Flesh of Christ, the smallest portion of the apparent wine is His Blood, and that he who eats this Flesh and drinks this Blood abides in the Lord, and the Lord in him. In a lack of faith, a person is proud and impudent, questioning God: how? Why? could this be? Meanwhile, like a worm, dust should unquestioningly believe in the Almighty God. After all, you only have to look with a bright eye at the starry world, and at the earth, and at yourself, to say these words in your heart: yes, everything is possible with God. People live all over the globe. But people are all from one person, from one blood, generated by God. If people from one person have become such a huge multitude, they live all over the globe, and thus man has become, as it were, omnipresent on earth, then isn’t God everywhere on the globe, not to mention infinite other spaces? Can a creation be greater than the Creator? Some of the progressives consider the Church to be their enemy. But if there is anyone more loving, more benevolent and wiser in his love towards people (after God), then this is the Church; if there is anything consistent with our nature and most beneficial for it, then it is all contained in the Church, as in a treasury, just as the verbs of life are contained in the Gospel 140 [John. 6, 68]. The Church is the true mother of all humanity who truly believe in Christ, the most faithful friend of Christians. She sympathizes and meets all the essential needs of the soul and body of a Christian with active assistance, or the giving of help by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, by whom every soul is alive. Priests of the Lord! When you pray in church with the people, pray heartily for the people ahead and all Orthodox Christians and do not pray only for yourself, for example, when preparing for communion during the service. This is not pleasing to the Lord; Pray especially for the sheep of the Lord entrusted to you - you were appointed for them and serve. Then only you are allowed to pray for yourself during the service, when before the service you have bound yourself by some sin and, due to your sins, do not have the courage to pray for people, but, having brought sincere repentance for yourself, immediately pray for people; even when there are no people in the church on weekdays; and on Sundays and holidays and days of Lent, be sure to pray for the people ahead and with them. Do not be priests in name only: the Lord has entrusted His sheep, your spiritual guard, to your prayer. How better for you to shepherd the sheep, if not with prayer and words? Therefore, try to preach often and simply, from the heart, at every opportunity. How many times have I experienced that perishable food, taken in a little too much, burdens the body and soul, darkens it, while incorruptible food calms the soul, cheers and strengthens, and brings peace, liveliness and lightness to the body! The daily word 141 (bread) shows that we should ask for and eat bread only to support life - no more. And without Body and Blood You are in me, Lord, without any mediation of matter, and here - in the Mysteries with Your Body and Blood You enter into me. The increase in the consumption of food and drink is an increase in heaviness, disease and decay in the living body. – Truly. When anger flares up in your heart against someone, then believe with all your heart that it is the work of the devil working in your heart, hate him and his offspring, and it will leave you. (Do not recognize her as something of your own, do not sympathize with her.) Tested. The trouble is that the devil hides behind us, hides his head and his tail, hides, and we are blind and think that only we ourselves are doing all this, and we stand for the devil’s cause, as if for something of our own, as for something just. Away here is any thought about any justice for your passion: purely false, ungodly, destructive. Believe the same about others. When you see that someone is angry with you, do not consider his anger directly his own doing: no, he is only the passive instrument of an all-evil enemy and has not yet fully learned his flattery and is deceived by him. Pray to God that the enemy will leave him and that the Lord will enlighten his heart’s eyes, darkened by the poisonous, corrupting breath of the spirit of malice. We must sincerely pray to God for all people who are subject to passions: the enemy is active in them. Passions, according to the spiritual structure, are contagious: for example, anger, not yet expressed in words, not expressed in deeds, but hiding only in the heart and reflected slightly on the face and eyes, is already transmitted to the soul of the one against whom I have anger, and is noticeable to others; I am indignant with passion - my indignation touches the heart and the other, and there is some kind of spiritual overflow of an unclean stream from one spiritual container to another. If you destroy your passion for your brother, it will be destroyed in him too; If you calm down yourself, he will calm down too. What a close connection between souls! The word of the apostle is true: we are one another's delight [Eph. 4, 25] – members, or: one body is many (1 Cor. 10, 17); or as Christ says: as you want people to do to you, do so to them [Matt. 7, 12 ]; With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you [Mk. 4, 24]. This is the natural law of retribution, based on the identity of our nature. From one blood... the whole human race [Acts. 17, 26]. That is why the Divine commandment demands: love your sincere person as yourself [Matt. 19, 19; 22, 39]. The action or inaction of preaching words is based on mutual intuition, or the understanding of each other by our souls: if the preacher does not speak from the heart, hypocritically, the listeners with their inner instinct understand the discrepancy between the preacher’s words and his heart, with his life, and the word does not have the power that it could bring if the preacher uttered it from the heart, especially when he himself fulfilled his word in practice. There is too close an internal connection and communication between human souls. That is why good, pious, heartfelt dispositions are communicated to the souls of others, especially good deeds. Since a person consists of a soul and a body, then accordingly the means for maintaining his life are twofold: bodily and spiritual. Air, food, drink, light, warmth serve to maintain bodily life; to maintain spiritual life - prayer (like air), reading the word of God, life-giving Mysteries, pious reflections. I am in God, with God, before God, under God. He is my life. For my bodily life He poured out air, water, grows food, and for my soul He Himself is everywhere and fills everything: He Himself is air, food, and drink. I am constantly present, and walk, and sit, and sleep, and eat, and do things in the air, all the more spiritually I am always and in every place in God. The first is the image of the other. To breathe you need to keep your mouth and sense of smell open, to live in the spirit you need to pray. In order for prayer to be sincere, to completely embrace the soul, to be concentrated, this requires attention to one’s heart, composure, or aspiration of the mind and heart to the one God, rejection from the heart of all lies, double-mindedness and attachment to earthly things. These signs will follow to those who believe: in My name demons will be driven out [Russian: These signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons] [Mk. 16, 17]. Signs for those who believed. This means that whenever and wherever these believers live and wherever they are - as long as they are believers - they will cast out demons from themselves or from others in the name of the Savior. Just pronounce with undoubted faith in the almighty power of the Savior God His name or draw with your hand the sign of the cross - and no matter who you are and no matter where you are, you will drive away the opposing forces. Everything in me, Lord, is Yours, except sin; nothing of your own. Absorb these words wisely into your heart, like a sponge. Rejoice, O Blessed One! The Lord is with you [Lk. 1, 28]. Lord and with every believing, pious soul. The presence of the Lord with the Virgin Mary before Her conception of the Savior is not a feature peculiar to the Most Pure Virgin alone - no, the Lord is with every believing soul. The Lord is with you. These words can be said to every person who keeps the commandments of the Lord. And the Lord is close to everyone, only people are far from Him in their hearts, in their thoughts, in their intentions, in their heart’s dispositions, in their words and deeds, which are contrary to the law of God. “I am with you,” says our Lord, born of the Most Holy Virgin, to the end of the age [Matt. 28, 20], that is, with each of us, at all times, in all generations, at all times, throughout the entire earthly space, until the end of time. Just as the life of my body depends on the air, and without it, in an airless space, I cannot live: inhaling and exhaling air is a process of organic life, so my soul depends entirely on the Life-Giving Spirit, and without Him I cannot live in soul and die spiritually, that is, I am deprived of light, peace, joy and remain in darkness, deadly cold, sorrow, languor or in fire, in cramped conditions - in a word, experiencing numerous types of spiritual death. All things are possible to him who believes [Mk. 9, 23]. Absorb these words into your heart. What is faith? Standing the heart in the truth of God and rejecting from oneself the lies of the devil that slander God’s truth. Just as a believer is united with God with a believing heart, so an unbeliever with an unbelieving heart is united with the devil, the father of lies and death. Forgive hundreds of infirmities to every person, thousands to your father and mother. The greatest, constant delusion of our heart, with which we need to fight continuously, throughout our lives, in the evening, in the morning and during the day, is his secret satanic thought that we can be without God and outside of God somewhere and someday, even for one moment; it is necessary to continuously affirm it in God, from Whom it constantly mentally turns away, and great success in the Christian life has been achieved by the one who can sincerely exclaim with Anna, the mother of Samuel: my heart has rejoiced in the Lord; 22 My horn is exalted in my God; My mouth is opened wide against my enemies, for I rejoice in Your salvation (1 Sam. 2:1). On invoking the sweetest name (in prayer). About blasphemous thoughts against God, the Mother of God and the saints. Do you want to see God, Whom you would so much like to see and almost touch? Here is His image and likeness - man: touch him and see him. Let us create man in Our image and likeness... And God created man, in the image of God created him: husband and wife created He them [Gen. 1, 26–27]. Everywhere in nature you see spirit and matter walking hand in hand, you see the manifestation in matter and its forces of the wisdom, goodness and omnipotence of God, but nowhere do you see His image and likeness, but in man there is the very image and likeness of God; embrace in him the likeness of your Creator and Lord, love him and love him unfailingly all your life, as a priceless image of Him, generously forgiving him for his mistakes in life or offenses against you, which he does mostly through the cunning of the devil, and be extremely careful of feelings and dispositions towards him of malice, lies, envy, stinginess, pride, with which the devil incites you to destroy the holy, all-connecting feeling of love, knowing that by feeding them against him, you feed them against God. Love your neighbor as yourself [Matt. 22, 39]. He who does not love his brother whom he sees, how can he love God whom he does not see? (1 John 4:20). We must remember that God is a living God who revives everyone, that the Mother of God is alive, the Angels and saints, that they hear us in God. Reflection of the sun in the glass of a lantern. I was going to matins. The sun was in the east and reflected in a lantern hanging on a pole. The reflection was so full and bright that it was impossible to look at it as if it were the sun itself. I thought: if the material, created sun is reflected with such fullness of radiance in transparent glass, then the mental, uncreated Sun - God - is not reflected in the human heart, pure from sin (as a dark principle); Isn’t He reflected brilliantly in His saints, for the sake of union with Him, for the sake of love for Him, who cleanse themselves here from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit and create holiness in the passion of God? – Yes, it is magnificently reflected in the souls of His chosen ones, and these pure souls, these pure images of God, like transparent glass, shine like gold in the sun, like diamonds of the best water, but they shine for God and the Angels, without showing their shine to people - however, according to God’s dispensation, shining for them with the light of their faith and their virtues, as if necessary, like a candle placed on a candlestick in the room and illuminating the room to everyone who is in it. Also: if the created sun is reflected in a lantern, then isn’t It [the uncreated Sun] reflected all, and essentially, in His most pure Flesh and Blood on the altar of the Lord by the action of the Life-Giving Spirit? – Yes, everything is reflected, with all His light, and with all His love, so that he who eats this Flesh and drinks this Blood abides in God, and God in him [John. 6, 56]: Body and Blood is the whole Christ. The reflection of the glass semicircle in the dome of the cathedral is in the glass cap above the ark in the cathedral on the throne. About prayer. The petition is against our proud flesh, which attributes everything to itself; thanksgiving - against the insensitivity of our flesh to the countless benefits of God; doxology is against the carnal man, who seeks glory only for himself. About the bliss. Why does the Lord say: Blessed... Blessed... [Matt. 5, 3–11 ]? - Refuting false thoughts about the bliss of the people of this age and in order to attract free creatures to do good deeds with the promise of true, eternal bliss. From turning my thoughts and my heart to God, to the Lady, to other saints, I receive life, peace, holiness, joy whenever my conversion is sincere. What have you to say against this, you who say that you do not benefit from prayer? Why do I receive? Why do so many others get it? You say: you pray and pray, but there is no benefit - no one listens to us. Here's what I'll tell you in response to this: cleanse your hands, sinners, before you begin to pray, correct your hearts, you double-minded. Contrite, weep and howl... Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you [James. 4, 8, 9]. Otherwise, you yourself do not approach Him with your heart, but only with your lips, falsely, and speak - no one hears you. Speak with the voice of your heart in your prayer, and your prayer will be with the Lord in an instant and will bear fruit for you. Gather your thoughts from the scattering of the world and turn them entirely to God, make peace with everyone. Let peace and silence reign in your heart, let all passions, all attachments of the heart to earthly things be silent: sigh deeply and sincerely, shed warm and unfeigned tears for your sins, look at your sins, condemn yourself mercilessly and sincerely - and you will see that the Lord will not force you to wait for Him. Still speaking to you, he says: behold, I have come [Dan. 9, 21, 23]. (Prayer of Daniel, Zechariah, Cornelius 142.) God, we know, gives true prayer to the one who prays - how can He not hear? Oh, miracle! In appearance it is bread, but in essence and action it is the Body of Christ! It does not move, does not walk, and does not appear to show any signs of life, but what is taken inside with a pure heart revives my soul, powerfully and freely moves it towards all good thoughts, makes me meek, humble, loving, produces feelings of joy and tenderness, wonderfully calms and delights. Let's talk, brothers, in more detail about the heart, because with the heart we unite with God. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God [Matt. 4, 4]. This must be understood in such a way that man does not live by bread alone, but primarily and most importantly by the Word of God, Who created bread itself. According to our physicality and spirituality, the Lord unites His grace and even all of Himself with everything visible and material, and acts through everything: thus, He makes bread and wine His Body and Blood, or His visible tabernacle; the church is His home: He will sit invisibly on the throne in the church as a King; on the Cross He Himself is, as it were, the body with which He was crucified, and works miracles through the Cross, revealing life-giving power through it; Thus, He is in the universe, as in a church, and, moreover, completely, in every place, not limited by any space, by any solid or liquid body, being always above all space and time. You are amazed that He can unite Himself or His power (saving grace) with any substance - marvel, first of all, at how He united His Divine image in man with matter, with earth, with dust, how this dust can think, and speak, and spread around itself the fragrance of meekness, truth, truth, love, and do so many wonderful, truly wonderful things in the community! Marvel at how diverse dumb souls are imprisoned in the dust, gifted with a certain kind of meaning, a thirst for life and joy, a sense of self-preservation, the ability to get food for themselves, to build for themselves everything necessary for a safe life and the production of their children, and who know how to skillfully defend themselves; marvel at how invisible, intangible forces are connected to all almost inanimate bodies, which either move their huge masses, like celestial bodies, or form them into beautiful, always identical, unchanging forms, like plants. Marvel; but all powers come from one power—God, and through all power the Almighty Himself acts. Truly, with the Creator, as the God of miracles, everything is wonderful, and in faith everything is wonderful, although invisible, but despite that, true and valid! Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful [Lk. 6, 36]. How merciful is the Heavenly Father? And look how many righteous and unrighteous people He has, and incomparably more unrighteous than righteous, and He is merciful to everyone: He is good to the ungrateful and evil [Lk. 6, 35]. He pours out His countless bounties on everyone. So, if possible, be merciful to everyone. But don’t listen to the demon of stinginess, the murderer. Heavenly Father is generous to everyone - and be generous too. You yourself have experienced many times that when you overcome the murderous feeling of stinginess and voluntarily, willingly treat others with your bread and salt, tea and sugar, and give alms, then it becomes easy and pleasant for you yourself. This means that you act in accordance with the commandment of the Lord, and the Lord is pleased with you, speaking peace to your soul. Where the Lord’s commandments are fulfilled, there is peace of mind; Where there is action against them, there is no peace, but oppression, sorrow, fire, torment. Where the Lord’s commandments are fulfilled, there is the Lord; Where there is action against them, there is the devil in the heart. The pure in heart... will see God [Matt. 5, 8]. God (Θεός) is the all-seeing Eye, like an intelligent Sun, standing above the world, penetrating with His intelligent eyes into the thoughts and hearts of people, illuminating every creature. Our soul is an eye from an Eye, sight from Sight, light from Light. But now, after the Fall, sins are a thorn in our eyes (souls). Take off the thorn and you will see the mental Sun, the infinite Eye, which is even more 143 times brighter than the material sun. Learning to truly pray means learning to be truly happy and blissful. There are two cases when it is especially unpleasant for us to endure sorrow or illness, and we, in our blindness, think that God has abandoned us and does not credit us with their patience: 1) when we ourselves are the cause of illness or misfortune and sorrow, for example, a fire and the like; 2) when people unfairly or fairly offend us, dishonor us, revile us, beat us. We then think secretly: after all, it is not God who is punishing us, but only I, through my own negligence, caused myself this illness or some kind of misfortune, only people, due to their passions, cause me trouble; That is why we are especially depressed then in our sorrows and illnesses. But we must reassure ourselves that the Almighty Master punishes us both through people, and through nature, and through ourselves, as One acts all in all (1 Cor. 12:6). Develop kindness of heart towards all people in all everyday affairs and be kind towards everyone in serving their spiritual needs, and do not spare yourself for them, do not value your peace of mind, equally in serving their bodily needs, and in case of their need and in the customs of worldly affection and friendship, do not spare for them your material condition, remembering that if you measure too little, you will measure yourself [ Matt. 7, 2; Mk. 4, 24] and in this life and that the goodwill of the heart is pleasing to the loving and generously gifted Lord of all, because it testifies to the kindness of our heart and the love for people living in it. In order not to fall into the hands of a doctor greedy for money, do not be stingy in giving alms to the poor, be generous to your own and observe strict moderation in food and drink. When a thought from the evil one whispers to you in some place that there is no God here, say that nothing can be without God, for through Him all things began to be, and without Him nothing began to be that began to be [Jn. 1, 3]. Know firmly what the essence of spiritual illnesses is: this essence is the lie of the enemy; for example, pride is a disease of the spirit, because the proud person falsely ascribes to himself that which is only a gift of God; Doubt about the omnipresence of God is a disease of the spirit, about omnipotence too, because the Lord is truly omnipresent and omnipotent, and doubt hesitates about whether God is everywhere and whether He is omnipotent. Thus, the attachment of the heart to money, to food, to drink, to clothing, to one’s appearance, to jewelry is a disease of the spirit, because such attachment is false, unnatural: the heart desires to cleave to God and to everything spiritual, heavenly, eternal, and not to the material, earthly, temporary, for our heart is the heavenly and eternal spirit. What thought or what attachment, passion (indignation) hurts your soul - that is the disease of your free spirit; reject these thoughts wisely and freely as false, and you will be calm and cheerful, and this will be a sign of your spiritual recovery. Glory to Thee, Lord! I cried out to You in the sorrow of my soul, in the sorrow of my lack of faith, I cried out on my bed, and You heard me and saved me in Your great mercy! You know from experience that the flight of thoughts is not hindered by walls or the place in which you live, and in an instant it can be carried away from home beyond the clouds or from one part of the world to another, from one state to another, from one city to another. But your soul, this thinking, rational principle, is the image of God, a small image of the infinite Spirit - God. If your thought is not held back by four walls, if space and time are not constrained, then what can hold back the Lord, who created everything? Can walls hold Him back, limit space and time, no matter how infinite they may be, in our opinion? ABOUT! In every place of His dominion [Ps. 102, 22 ]! His eye sees everyone and everything. Those hiding in secret places, even in the mountains or in inaccessible castles, He sees as if on the palm of His hand. For this reason, sometimes the Lord hides His face from you and, as it were, leaves you, and leaves you in painful spiritual darkness, so that you always remember by Whose light your soul lives, that is, God, and that if God turns His face away from you, takes His Holy Spirit away from your heart, then you truly remain in the darkness of hell and in the torments of hell, and in fact you will at least somewhat know what the future hell is. Prayer so that we remember that we have everything - both in soul and in body - from the generosity of God, not from ourselves, and that we do not deserve the great gifts of God and they are given to us tuna 2, by God's mercy - that is, in order to cultivate humility in us, which attracts all the gifts of God, the grace of God. So, the Kingdom of Heaven, promised to us, is the greatest mercy of the Lord. Avoid strangers and find your own. Proverb. What does love for one's neighbor consist of? In desiring, saying and doing to him the same things that you want others to want, say and do to you: love your neighbor as yourself [Matt. 22, 39 ]; As you want people to do to you, do so to them [Lk. 6, 31]. For example, some truly poor, helpless person asks you to help him with money or something else. You have them in abundance, and they lie uselessly in your chest or casket; if you love another as you love yourself, wish him well as you wish yourself, then you will certainly gladly share your excesses with him, just as you yourself gladly accept any help or service from others; you will not love money more than a person, created in the image of God and having the same nature as you, with the same feelings and needs, as your brother in Christ Jesus, for whom the Blood of the Lord was shed just as for you, who feeds with you on the same Body and Blood of the Lord and has the same hope of future endless blessings in the Kingdom of Heaven. But if you do not love him, according to the commandment of the Lord, as you love yourself, you can - and will despise - his request, you will remain insensitive to him and heartily attached to money, which will be dearer to you than your brother’s soul! But by doing this, in this last case you will 1) despise the commandment of the Lord, that is, the Lord Himself, who Himself in the face of the poor accepts our alms and who said with His most pure lips: be merciful, just as your Father is merciful [Lk. 6, 36], or: just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me [Matt. 25, 40 ]; 2) you will degrade in your brother the image of God, according to which he was created and which he always carries within himself, the image is not a dead one, but a living image of the living God, exchanging it for decay and dust of the earth, which is money; and 3) in your brother you will humiliate yourself, your nature created in the image of God, and show by deed that you are a carnal, physical person, devoted to everything corporeal with all your heart, but not caring about spiritual things. The essence is bodily, not having a spirit [Jude. 1, 19]. These words of the apostle will then come to you. Prayer is proof of my rational personality, my godlikeness, the guarantee of my future deification and bliss. I was created from nothing, I am nothing before God, as if I have nothing of my own. But by His grace I am a person: I have a mind, a heart, a free will, and with my mind and freedom I can, by turning to Him with my heart, gradually increase His endless Kingdom in myself, gradually increase His gifts in myself more and more, draw from Him, as from an ever-flowing, inexhaustible source, every good spiritual and physical, especially spiritual. Prayer inspires me that I am the image of God, that with a humble and grateful disposition of my soul before God, with my free will, I, endlessly multiplying the spiritual gifts of God, can thus endlessly improve and endlessly increase my Godlikeness, my heavenly bliss to which I am predestined. ABOUT! Prayer is a sign of my great dignity with which the Creator has honored me. But at the same time it reminds me of my insignificance (from nothing I have nothing of my own - that’s why I ask God for everything), as well as of my highest dignity (I am the image of God, I am deified, I can be called a friend of God, like Abraham, the father of believers), if only I undoubtedly believed in [the existence], goodness and omnipotence of my God and became like Him in this life through deeds of love and mercy. Strive for unity with everyone in the spirit of love, especially with your relatives in the spirit of love and in the fellowship of meals and possessions. Remember the great words of the Savior: that they may all be one [Jn. 17, 21 ]; or the apostle: they had everything in common... no one... called anything their own [Acts. 4, 32]. Glory to the power of the Lord, who, heartily remembered and with a living thought of Him, drove away the tightness of the heart and turned it into space. Wonderful! If I want, I can always carry the Lord within me and, by faith in Him, by the power of His name, heartily remembered, drive away the passions of the heart with their torments! You, I will exclaim with the psalmist, Lord, are with me ecu, therefore even... and I walk through the midst of the shadow of death (sin), I will fear no evil [Ps. 22, 4]. Glory to the power of His Cross, through the sign of which He ever 25 works miracles, as now. March 13th, 1861 Evening. The sign of the cross, which we depict on ourselves, means that Jesus Christ suffered for all of us, as for one person, and we are all redeemed from sin and death by the suffering of the cross and His most pure blood, and that we are all members of Him, as if one body and one soul with Him, crucified for us. I have been crucified with Christ [Gal. 2, 19]. The duty of a Christian in life is to be crucified to Christ. About the words [of prayer]. In a conversation about prayer, necessity requires us to talk about the discrepancy between our words and the heart and the mind itself with this sensitivity. Just as in life it often happens that a person has something else in his heart, and something else on his lips, and at the same time appears to be two-faced, so in prayer before the face of God Himself, who knows the secrets of the heart, a person often appears to be two-faced: he says something else, but has something else in his thoughts and in his heart; or, what happens more often, [and thinks] about it, but does not sympathize in his heart with what he says, being dead at heart, and thus throws words into thin air, deceiving himself and thinking that with such prayer one can please God. Strange, sinful duality! This is bitter fruit and evidence of our fall! It is somehow common for our hearts to lie in everything: in prayer, in dealing with people. This is a pillar of lies. A Christian must take all measures to uproot every lie from his heart and plant pure truth in him. We must begin with prayer, as a matter in which, first of all, the truth of the heart is necessary, according to the word of the Lord: we must worship in spirit and truth [Jn. 4, 24]. Having learned to speak the truth in our hearts during prayer, we will not allow ourselves to lie in life: sincere, or true, prayer, having cleansed our heart of lies, will protect it from it in dealing with people in everyday affairs. How can we learn to speak the truth in our hearts in prayer? We need to bring each word of prayer to the heart and put it on the heart, feel its truth with our hearts, realize the whole need for us of what we ask God for in prayer, or the need for heartfelt thanksgiving for His great and innumerable benefits to us and the need for whole-hearted praise for His great, wise deeds in His creation. About carnal and spiritual food. The insignificance of carnal food, by the way, is evident from the fact that without it a person can live for several days and, supported by the grace of God, can live for forty days, but without the Lord God, without Jesus Christ and His Life-giving Spirit, Who is the true strength and life of our souls, not a minute: if the Lord turns His face away from us and takes away His Holy Spirit, we are struck by a terrible oppression, worse than death itself, a scorching fire, we disappear. Moreover, the Word of God, as an image of the Hypostatic Word of God, each or every one separately, is also true food for our soul: it revives, pacifies, and cheers our soul. Believe and firmly remember that you are a dual person: one carnal, sick with passions, old, devilish, seeking the flesh and supplying life in the flesh - you must mortify him and not satisfy him in anything, not bow to his sinful, persistent, painful cries; and the other is spiritual, new, healthy, Christ’s, seeking Christ in everything, living in Christ (instead of the lusts of the world) and in Christ finding peace and life except Christ, not wanting to have anything in this world, imputing all the skills of 53 being, so that he may gain Christ [Phil. 3, 8]. Just as the demands of that person must be despised by all means, because their fulfillment is fatal to the soul, so the demands of the latter must be fulfilled by all means, because they lead to true and eternal life. Know this, every Christian, and work hard to put into practice what you have learned. Just as the grace-filled power of the One Crucified on it is connected with the Cross or with the sign of the life-giving Cross, so with all visible nature, with all its individual objects, small and great, the so-called natural power and life of the life-giving and omnipotent Trinity is connected. Thus, it is connected with light, with air, with water, with earth, with fire - the Spirit of God acts in everything through nature. Thus, in the air we very often notice special movements or forces aimed at fulfilling the intentions of God, for example, a pestilence, a storm - to punish the guilty or for temptation. So, a storm pursued a ship going to Tarshish, on which Jonah the prophet was: the storm that then happened was directly the work of the Spirit of God 144; so the storm that befell the ship on which Paul the Apostle was also the work of the Spirit of God 145: 1) to punish the centurion who was guarding Paul and did not want to obey the apostle, 2) to strengthen Paul’s soul in disasters and to show him how the Heavenly Eye was constantly watching over him in all disasters: he delivered us from all of them... and delivers us, and we hope in Him that He will also deliver us ( 2 Cor. 1:10), he speaks in his message about his disasters and their purpose. So, when the disciples of Christ were crossing Lake Gennesaret, a great storm arose [Mk. 4, 37], that the works of God may be revealed [Jn. 9, 3]. So the power of the Spirit of God is connected with light. Therefore, when the Lord gave up his ghost on the cross, the sun, or the light of the sun, was darkened by the Spirit of God. What about water? Who performs signs in many waters? Who makes noise to the waves of the sea? Physicists and all scientists will say that the winds are true; Who raises the winds? They will say: they come from polar air currents. No, brethren, the winds are from the Spirit of God: His Spirit blows, and the waters murmur. Look at the Psalms. And the earth, the earth, the earth! This humble obedient to the Life-giving Spirit at all times. Here the Lord, like a potter, appears with His material and skill—the earth is often a passive instrument of the Spirit of God. Through it, the Spirit of God tangibly assures us that the Life-Giving Trinity, all-wise, omnipotent, consubstantial, inseparable, is active everywhere in nature. What a wise and blessed thought in everything! What wisdom and clarity in execution! What life and strength there is in the growth and in the very continuation of life! What unity of creation despite all the diversity of individual creatures. ABOUT! Here on earth, we encounter the power of the Spirit of God at every step! Here we clearly see that His dominion is in every place, that He fulfills everything (creates and fills) everywhere. We see Him here in every blade of grass, in every flower, leaf of a tree, in fruits - in everything. In our holy faith, we see everywhere that the spiritual goes hand in hand with the material, the force with matter: for example, the Cross has life-giving power - this is not incomprehensible news: in nature everywhere the spiritual also goes hand in hand with the material, the invisible force with matter, the Spirit of God with the soulless creature. It's the same in the Church. Only here, by the special intention of God and the special action of God’s Providence, the grace-filled power of God is attached to material objects: for example, to the Cross there is life-giving power, the power of driving away the passions of the heart and demons, the power that sanctifies and heals bodily infirmities; or in the Sacraments, power combined with certain substances, for example, with water in Baptism, with myrrh in Confirmation, with oil in the Blessing of Unction, with a blessing in Marriage, with the ordination of the Priesthood, with the face of the priest, with the laying of the stole and hands on the head of the penitent and with the words of the prayer of permission; with holy water, with icons, with churches, especially with the altar in the church. If you want to be internally calm and content in this life, let your heart be united through faith with God, who is omnipresent and fulfills everything, and not with earthly and perishable objects - not with food and drink, not with silver and gold; let it not be tied to human faces by any unclean motives or intentions; let it not be tied to clothes, to home decoration, to books, or to earthly objects in general; For the sake of clinging to God, count everything earthly as nothing, just as it was created out of nothing. Place God and your soul, as the image of God, and your brother’s soul, as the image of the All-Creator God, immeasurably above everything. By doing this, you will please the One who created you and you will be happy on earth. When you pray to the Lady or any saint, firmly imagine that you are a member of the Church, in which the Lady is the main stone of the building, or the Head of the mental building 146, and know that you are closely connected internally with all the inhabitants of heaven, like a stone in a building, although small and unstable. Understanding yourself in this way, you will understand that our prayers reach the saints too much, for we are all under one Head - Christ, and we are all animated by the same Spirit of God. Don’t be seduced by breakfast; By eating nutritious food and in sufficient quantities, you make it a fortress for the enemy in your heart, and you will bitterly repent of this when you perform the holy work. Then the enemy will overpower you, and there will be no helper, for this... generation is being driven out... by prayer and fasting [Matt. 17, 21]. Especially during Lent, do not be tempted by food: the enemy especially fights against us at this time. Keep your Wednesdays and heels firmly, both during Lent and at other times. The Lord is the cause and constant support (power) of my organic, bodily life (through the action of the lungs, stomach, heart, veins, muscles) and the spiritual-organic life of the spirit through the mind and thinking, through the illumination of the heart with His light. Silver, gold, food and drink, clothing, housing are considered nothing more than clay, or the earth from which all this was extracted. Try to do everything opposite to what the disembodied enemy wants. Incites you to pride, self-praise and condemnation of your brother? Humble yourself to the ground and ashes and judge yourself as harshly as possible, while praising your brother in your heart. If your brother, due to the action of the enemy, treats him proudly and viciously, you treat him humbly and with love. If he incites you to stinginess, be generous with good will. Do this in all similar cases, and by doing this, you will earn the great grace of God and you will see it with your own heart eyes. You don’t have the inner strength to do this: the enemy is strong, you say, so ask the Almighty in prayer at every time and at every hour, and He will help you. How unreasonable we are in our lives! Without number, the Lord taught and continues to teach us that without Him we cannot live in peace for even a minute; sometimes a hundred times a day he admonishes us that it is evil and bitter for us to leave Him, but we still fail to understand at all. We come to our senses for a minute, and then - for the old error: again we think to find life in the delights of the world, and not in Christ, and again we are tormented. It's nature! Hit, hit, and not enough. Passions, like suffocating gases, constrain and suffocate a person. Any attachment to money or food and drink is poison to the heart. Not to mention the soul, which cannot live without Christ, my breath, peace, joy - and my body lives by Christ’s word: Christ, having created my body, gave me the urge to eat and drink, without which I would forget to take it and thereby support my body; gave me the urge to sleep and sleep to repose the weakness of my flesh; gave me wave 147 and linen to warm and cover my body; for the propagation of the human race, he gave me an unusually strong stimulation of the genital organs, subordinating them, however, to my reason, so that in my body I live completely by Him, His wisdom, and I am half the passive instrument of His wisdom: I say “half” because I am honored by freedom, and the attractions of nature, going beyond the boundaries of law and moderation, must be curbed by the power of my will, submissive to the law God, and in this case, by the goodness of the Lord, I can turn my natural aspirations into virtue by curbing them. Through our faith, the all-free Lord, so to speak, submits to us, and the Beginningless One surrenders to our power (so that I always, of my own free will, with the faith of my heart alone [can] always embrace the Lord). Wonderful is the power of faith! A living thought about Him, heartfelt faith in Him - and He is with me; heartfelt repentance of sins with faith in Him - and He is with me; a good thought - and He is with me; pious feeling - and He is with me. But the devil also enters me through thoughts of doubt, fear, pride, irritability, anger, stinginess, envy, which means that his power over me is completely dependent on me: just be attentive to myself and constantly keep in mind the name of the Lord Jesus Christ with faith and love - and he is powerless to do me any harm. The entire field of thought (its good direction) is the Lord’s. The sphere of thought corresponds to the air sphere. When I receive communion worthily, then if I go to sleep and in my sleep the Lord, who dwells in the heart, teaches me about God, and my sleep becomes a teaching about God and a praise to God. Receive everyone with joy, especially children, especially orphans. Spare nothing for the living images of the living God, as for yourself. Stinginess is the devil's thorn - hate it in every possible way. I turned the mental eyes of my heart to the Lord in the straits of my heart, I mentally cried out for help - and He saved me. April 16, 1861 I want to be entirely an instrument of my God, like the prophets and apostles, I want to be the church of God, I want my heart to be the throne of God, so that my word is the word of God living in me, so that my hands do only what is pleasing to the Master. Dignified and righteous: I am all the Lord - not my own; May He work through all of me. We are accustomed to the works of God and value them little; Even man, the greatest work and miracle of the wisdom and goodness of God, is far from being valued as much as we should. Look at every person, whether he is at home or a stranger, as constant news in the world of God, as the greatest miracle of God’s wisdom and goodness, and let your habit of him not serve as a reason for you to neglect him. Honor and love him as yourself, constantly, unchangeably. In order to look at every person with high respect at all times and with love and cordiality to accept him to yourself, imagine how you would look at the king’s son who came to your house, how you would accept and begin to accept him every time he came to you. Wouldn't all your attention, wouldn't all your mind, wouldn't all your heart be with him? - So. But every person, especially a Christian, is a royal son, an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ. Always look at him with deep respect and love, always receive him cordially and willingly, remembering that the King God Himself will reward you for such respectful and willing treatment of him. One self-life - God in Three Hypostases; everything else that lives out of nothing received life by the will of the first Belly; Angels are the first after the God of the Belly, people are second, animals are third, and so on. You ask God to grant you to successfully teach the youths His Law, but you yourself are not preparing for the class. Pray, hope, but also do everything that is necessary for the proper teaching of boys: read, reflect, refine, decorate your speech with similarities, comparisons, examples. Don’t expect a miracle from God: God doesn’t help the lazy and careless. Show your zeal and work - and God will help. You live with an evil person, let’s say with a wife, or with a mother-in-law, or with a sister-in-law, and they, as they say, often gnaw at you, eat you with words, and give you no peace; or if your wife, the stepmother of your children, scolds your son or daughter, you yourself are angry with her, and secretly with inner contempt you tell others: she is evil, like a viper, and you say: I would like to separate from her. My friend! Don’t rush, be patient - this is the enemy’s temptation for you: he tempts you by God’s permission through your wife (or through your relatives: brothers, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law), and she is the enemy’s pitiful tool; the malice of your wife (or your relatives) is nothing more than a strong excuse 148 of the enemy; her evil antics can be called fits of malice in exactly the same way as drunkards have fits of drunkenness, an adulterer has fits of fornication, a glutton has fits of gluttony or extreme greed for food, a money lover has fits of covetousness, a stingy person has fits of stinginess, a proud person has fits of pride, an idle talker has fits idle talk, for a lazy person - laziness. These attacks will pass, and again your enemy will be a person who, as they say, is at ease. In the name of the Lord, I pray to you, brothers, be patient, take pity on the poor person who is being violated by the enemy, especially on the woman: she is a weak creature, due to her sensitive heart she is especially irritable and prone to anger from the enemy, for the enemy attacks our weak sides; have patience, endure a thousand times, endure without number, because the enemy is alert and tireless and does not count his attacks; don’t get excited, don’t rush, remember that we all have our own passions, our own passions, which are also hated by others. But what if they wouldn’t tolerate us either, if they wouldn’t endure the attacks of our passions? Oh! Beloved brethren, we all walk among the snares of the enemy, who by all means wants to laugh at us, at our life according to Christ; So that he does not laugh at us at all and does not destroy us, there remains only one remedy: to endure his machinations generously and not to get excited: with your patience save your souls [Lk. 21:19], says the Lord. Why patience? Because the enemy is trying in every possible way to overshadow and confuse us on the path of salvation. Remember the Savior’s merciful words to Peter’s question: Lord! How many times should I forgive my brother who sins against me? up to seven times? - I do not tell you: until seven times, but until seventy times seven [Matt. 18, 21–22]. Passion will pass and the person will be kind again. They usually say about such people: something happens to him over time, but [so] he is a good person. This finding is the enemy's pretext. Why did Socrates the philosopher, this moral luminary of the pagan world, have an evil wife - Xanthippe? She was an instrument of the devil, who wanted to shake the moral firmness of the philosopher, and God used her as an instrument that strengthened the philosopher’s patience and raised the purity of his morality to the degree of perfection possible in paganism. But God is pleasing to man; do what is right and fear God in every nation [Acts. 10:35], even if he were a pagan, for God wants everyone to be saved and to come into the understanding of truth (1 Tim. 2:4). You stand for prayer and you are overcome by heaviness, relaxation, laziness, boredom; do not give in to these feelings, do not rush to run away from prayer. This is the temptation of your flesh and the enemy who works through it; make an effort, overcome yourself, remember to whom and why you came, perk up, open the eyes of your heart, ignite yourself with a living representation of the presence of God - and see how heaviness, relaxation, laziness, and boredom will flee from you. Oh! How cunning is our flesh, or our old man! Start praying or reading a book of spiritual content - where will the reluctance, disgust, laziness, desire to sleep come from; start saying that it’s empty or take a book of secular content - and where does the temptation, the hunt, the fun come from. Isn’t this [obviously] the wickedness of a carnal man corrupted by sin? And what would happen to us if we completely surrendered ourselves only to the pleasant, only to what flatters our pride, our flesh? So it is in prayer: do not be deceived by the fact that it is difficult and boring for you to pray - this is a deception of our sinful flesh; Let us imagine to whom we stand, why we stand, what is the benefit of well-ordered prayer, what a great honor God has given us - to open our lips to talk with God - and become inspired, drive away relaxation, laziness and boredom. Otherwise you will not learn to pray. The name of the Lord [reigns] over everyone and over everything, therefore we preface His sovereign name everywhere: both in the blessing of the cross and in prayer, as the name of the One Existing and who created everything from nothingness and contains everything. What should our prayer be? In the church? At home? Everywhere? What happens? We need to pray because we are often visited by sorrows, and in sorrows there is no other helper than God and His Most Pure Mother. Lord of hosts, be with us, for what other helper to you in sorrows are not the imams... You are proud or lover of money - an evil wife was given to you for punishment, for God punishes us through our own relatives; Likewise, God strengthens a wife in patience and cleanses her sins with a drunken and violent husband, who will receive from God the due punishment for his sins, and the sooner and more severely, the more drunken and cruel he is to his wife. Those approaching the Sacraments of Repentance and Communion must remember that here is the mystery of God, and should not be curious and question internally, much less doubt. The insignificance of perishable food, besides its perishability, is also evident from the fact that even after eating many times, one still wants to eat, and Jesus Christ is food that those who eat will never hunger. How else can you tell that I am proud? If I do not like and do not tolerate listening to the instructions of a brother equal to me and learning from him, even if he spoke instructively and edifyingly. More about envy. Envy is the stench of the devil in the soul of the envious: the envious person is tormented in soul even when his brother zealously preaches the word of God in the great church, in the multitude; The words of the preacher do not fall to the ground of his heart, but, like from a stone, are pushed back; He is not consoled by the thought that by preaching the name of the Heavenly Father is sanctified and through it the people of God will know the Heavenly Father’s love for them and His plan for their salvation, they will know His will and the means to fulfill it. He thinks: why is it not I who preach, but he, whom I recognize as unworthy to stand on the pulpit and proclaim God’s truth; Why does he admire glory that should belong only to me? Envy is truly the work of the devil, for only he does not tolerate the glory of God and the glory of others, and he himself would like to use this glory, just as he demanded it for himself in idols and demands and covets it now in human passions: for those who satisfy passions serve the devil, who through passions reigns in the hearts of people. The Lord, having created the worlds, gave them the laws of magnetism, or mutual attraction, to maintain their existence, and they rotate regularly and harmoniously and safely in their vast spaces. Thus, having created the spiritual worlds - Angelic and human councils, He gave them the laws of existence and prosperity or bliss in their free and rational attraction to Him, the All-Creator, with complete, undivided love and their constant circulation around Him, as the mental Sun, with their thoughts and hearts and in their mutual love. Just as small planets revolve around large ones and thereby maintain their existence and well-being, so in the spiritual world, after the Lord God, lower and lesser rational beings are guided by the higher ones and thereby remain in their existence and bliss; both in the heavenly hierarchy and in the earthly one. If any planet had violated its order and lost its place, it would have fallen into the abyss and caused itself destruction and would have caused disturbance in other planets that have a close connection with it - and so in the spiritual world: if some mental luminary had violated its order and did not want to follow the common harmonious path of life indicated by the Creator, then through this it would have fallen from the sky into the abyss and, causing itself death, it would have infected other connected mental luminaries with it, disturbing their pure light and the peaceful flow of life. Unfortunately, this happened in the mental world and caused a lot of noise and devastation in the world of God: one great spiritual star, with its terrible fall, tore away a third of the stars of heaven and carried away the sensual-intelligent inhabitants of the earthly planet to death. But - oh, the mercy of the Creator! - in order to restore His earthly, free and rational creation, seduced by a strong and cunning apostate, to its former state, to its former harmonious order of life, He gave His Only Begotten Son for it - to suffer and die for it, in order to bring a ransom for it to the inexorable justice of the Creator Father. So, restored brethren! Hold on to the rank in which the Redeemer again placed you! May your ardent love for Him and mutual love freely draw you to Him. Remember that just as the life of the planets is their mutual attraction to each other, so your life is the attraction of your hearts first of all to God, and then to each other, or your pure and strong love for God and for each other. Love the Lord your God... and your sincere God as yourself [Matt. 22, 37, 39]. These are the laws of existence of intelligent creatures. Just as the harmonious order of the flow of planets depends on the correct and precise circulation of the smaller ones around the larger ones, so your quiet and silent life depends on strict obedience to earthly authorities, and above all to autocratic authority. The Tsar is to the people what the sun is to the planets, or what the Seraphim is to the Angels. Reverence everyone before the wise and beneficent laws of the Creator. Ever righteous 25 are the judgments of God upon us; each of us dies violently from the passion to which he was enslaved primarily and unrepentantly, that is, incorrigibly: the drunkard dies from drunkenness, the glutton - from stomach pain, the adulterer - from adultery or from diseases accompanying this vice, the ambitious - from impulses of ambition [...], the stingy - from stinginess, the irritable - from irritability, the murderer - from the hands of others: all who take the sword will perish by the sword [Matt. 26, 52 ]; an evil talker - from his tongue, and so on. So, brethren, beware, be attentive to yourself in this temporary life, notice what passion is dominant in you, incorrigible due to your laziness: correct yourself from it quickly, otherwise you will die from it, like from a domestic murderer. The dominant passion in a person thus turns out, in the words of the Savior, to be a knife that cuts the thread of our life. Amen. In the vision of the prophet of God Ezekiel, there were human hands under the Cherubim 149. This means that like all the Higher Powers, we, earthly beings, are kept in existence and prosperity by the hand of God, which is under us. So, under the heart of each of us is the hand of the Almighty, therefore it is said about the king that the heart of a king is in the hand of God [Prov. 21, 1]. But as is the king’s, so is ours. Do everything for your neighbor for the sake of Christian love, without fear of doing more out of love for your neighbor than you should, for love knows no measure in love. God! According to Your word, preached on Tuesday of Holy Week, I want to be affectionate and sociable with everyone. Grant me this grace through the prayers of the Mother of God who gave birth to You and Your honest and saving passions, for the sake of those who endured your will. In order to always pray as a believer and with a strong heart, one must completely rely in this matter: 1) on the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself prayed and taught us to pray to the Heavenly Father in every place, and gave us the very prayer, and in every place prayed to the Father; 2) on the apostles, who prayed everywhere and others who asked to pray for themselves; 3) for the martyrs who prayed in the catacombs, in prisons and in every place; 4) on the reverend fathers, saints, sanctified and simple monks, in general on the authority of the Church, and to believe with childlike simplicity the instructions and guidance of your God-enlightened mother, that if she gave us prayers, then it means that God always hears our prayers, that they are very useful and necessary for us. The one who prays also needs to remember that since the Lord always depicts Himself in the soul of a person, especially a Christian, like the sun in a drop of water, and the mental light in him is ever from God, and peace is a sign of His presence in the heart, then it is very convenient for him to pray: wherever he is, just raise the eye of the heart to the All-Seeing Eye, just ascend, the image, to the Prototype - and the prayer is heard. Whoever does not hate his mother, his wife... [Lk. 14, 26] - that is, their carnal demands, as our carnal man, we must hate - the old, sinful, opposing the saving teaching of Christ. And this is precisely what many parents of Christians were like, especially in the first three centuries, and now it happens that with their carnal demands they distract their sons, husbands and others from following the teachings of Christ on the Cross. He who loves and does not hate such parents, such a wife, cannot be a disciple of Christ. It is often said in church: Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit to remind everyone that all heaven and earth constantly glorify the Creator and that people must also direct their whole lives to the glory of the Creator, for which they were created: that means they must live according to the will of God and according to the law of God, and that to live not according to the will of God means to disfigure oneself and [exclude] oneself from the order of creatures and alienate oneself from the bliss that eat by creatures obedient to the will of God. The doxology also reminds us of the creation of everything from God, who, by the very fact that He is the Creator of everything out of nothing, is the only one eternally glorious and did everything for His own sake. Do not be seduced by the sweets of the taste and do not eat them: from sweets carnal voluptuousness is easily born, and the enemy easily stumbles in dreams and in reality those who taste and drink sweetly. Since the flesh began to fight against the spirit, it must be allowed sweets with great caution, otherwise we will strengthen the sin that lives in us: voluptuousness or lust of the flesh. My life is always with me, that is, my Trinitarian Lord. Firmly remember the words of the Church: the Lamb of God is fragmented, crushed and not divided, always eaten and never consumed, that is, that the Lamb of God, no matter how many and no matter how small parts, is fragmented. It is never divided, but remains all and the same in every smallest particle. And if a stupid and diabolical (false) thought came into someone’s head that the Lord is not all or He is not in some part, then He would falsely assume that the Divinity, not limited by anything, is limited by matter, or that He cannot be all everywhere. Be simple in thoughts, desires, words and deeds. Our inner peace and contentment and freedom from the machinations of the enemy depend on this blissful simplicity in everything and trust. To my Lady and Lady, the Most Holy Theotokos, I write a letter of thanksgiving 150, I, a great sinner. Today (Maundy Thursday, April 20), during early mass in front of many communicants, twice through my prayer She delivered my heart from blasphemous doubt about the full presence of the Lord in every part of the Body and Blood and from the fire of Satan, inseparable from all sin. I twice raised the eyes of my heart to Her, when I sinned in my heart and was tormented in the flames, and She delivered me from my doubt, from the fire in my insides, from my confusion, from the shame of my face: suddenly firmness, calmness of heart and thoughts, spiritual coolness, boldness of face before God and the people of God appeared in me. Glory to You, Immaculate Mother, the only zealous Intercessor, that You surround me with the joys of deliverance. Only I will raise the eyes of my heart to You with prayer in the crampedness of doubt, lack of faith and passions and I will see You with faith - You immediately send me salvation from heaven. Oh, how close You are to us, Intercessor! With what hope should we always call on You! Do not deprive me and all of us of the inheritance of Christ, and for the future of Your help, but always deliver us when in distress we cry to You, and do not let the all-evil enemy offend Your inheritance, O Blessed Mother! Let’s talk more about the blasphemous thoughts that trouble God’s people. We must avoid proud, pharisaical boasting of ourselves in our hearts during prayer and exalting ourselves over others. How much does a Christian need? A little. Peace of Christ in the heart and a little bread for the stomach and a glass of water. When you submit your will to the will of God, what peace you will achieve throughout your life! When priests teach in church or at home, then there is only one God who teaches, giving everyone mouth, light and reason. The Lord Jesus Christ is our power, because He alone holds us in faith and virtue, in good thoughts, dispositions of the heart, in an immaculate life, Himself giving all this to us by His grace; and He alone holds back from all evil, namely: from passions and their very initial movements, from bad thoughts, from doubt, lack of faith, unbelief and various passions, or He gives the strength to overcome them and get rid of them. When a priest speaks a sermon or serves in a church, or performs any Sacrament or prayer, then the Holy Spirit seals, invigorates, increases and confirms what is said in the hearts of those present: the words are heard in the air, and He gives them power and action, or completion. Prayer is often called something (which is not prayer at all: he went to church, stood, looked at the icons or first at people, at their faces, attire - he says: he prayed to God; he stood at home in front of the icon, nodded his head, spoke memorized words without understanding and sympathy - he says: he prayed to God, although he did not pray at all with his thoughts and heart, but was somewhere else, with other persons and things, and not with God. Prayer is the lifting of the mind and heart to God, the contemplation of God, the bold conversation of the creature with the Creator, the reverent standing of the soul before Him as before the King and Self-Life, who gives life to everyone, oblivion for Him of everything around us, food for the soul, air, light, its life-giving warmth, cleansing of sins, sanctification of the soul, the good yoke of Christ, His light burden; prayer is a constant feeling of one’s weakness, or spiritual poverty, anticipation of future bliss, angelic bliss, heavenly rain, refreshing, watering and fertilizing the earth of the soul, strength and strength of the soul and body, purification and refreshment of the mental air of the soul, enlightenment of the face, joy of the spirit, the golden connection connecting the creature with the Creator, cheerfulness and courage in all sorrows and temptations in life, lamp of life, avoidance of the enemy’s snares, success in business, equal dignity with angels, affirmation of faith, hope and love. Prayer is a community with Angels and saints who have pleased God from time immemorial. Prayer is the correction of life, the mother of heartfelt contrition and tears, a strong incentive to acts of mercy: God has mercy on me without number - how can I not have mercy on others? Prayer - security of life, destruction of the fear of mortals, neglect of earthly treasures, desire for heavenly blessings, expectation of the universal Judge, general resurrection, life of the next century, strenuous efforts to get rid of eternal torment, constant seeking of mercy (pardon) from the Lord, walking before the eyes of God, blissful disappearance before the Creator who created and fulfills everything, living water of the soul, placement in the hearts of all people with love, descent heaven into the soul, containing the Holy Trinity in the heart, according to what was said: we will come to him and make an abode with him [John. 14, 23]. How close your thought is to you, how close faith is to your heart, so close is God to you, and the more vivid and firm the thought of God, the more lively the faith and knowledge of one’s weakness and insignificance and the feeling of need for God, the closer He is. Or: as close as the air is to the body and to its entrails, so close is God, for God is, so to speak, the mental air that all Angels, the souls of saints and the souls of living people, especially pious, breathe. You cannot live without God for a single minute, and indeed you live in Him every minute: we live and move and exist in Him [Acts. 17, 28]. Your doubt in the presence of God in any place and at any time and the resulting torment of the soul proves that we cannot be without God for a minute or in any place and at every moment and in every place we live by Him alone. This means that doubt in a negative way only affirms the truth inherent in God in every place and the impossibility for us, like every creature, to be anywhere without Him. And indeed, wherever you are, if you doubt the presence of God and you have tightness and fire in your heart, just spit on doubt, consider it a charm, a dream of the devil - and immediately it will be easy for you. We must always remember that God, like our soul, are mental, spiritual beings, and with our thoughts and hearts we either approach God and become one spirit with Him, or we move away from Him and become one spirit with the devil and all his hasty power. Know, every Christian, the flattery of the devil, which lies on everything worldly and corruptible, turning you away under various plausible pretexts from loving your neighbor as you love yourself. How does prayer strengthen us in the hope of a future blessed life? Summoning the Lady; obvious help from Her, the Most Glorified. I am an extremely sinful, amazingly strange, fickle and pitiful person: now I am seduced by the beauty of my face and clothes and captivated by carnal love, now I turn away from ugliness and poverty and feel some kind of bitterness towards completely innocent people, now I am inflamed with anger for no reason at another, now I feel sorry for others with an insignificant gift when I myself have it in abundance, then I am a lover of money, already having a lot of silver, considering myself poor and beggar in abundance (truly, a poor soul); then I foolishly envy my brother for what he has, even though I have it myself, or even though I know that without what my brother has, I can live happily and that my brother can be better than me and deserves great gifts from God, or, finally, that this is simply the will of the all-good God; Now I am inflamed with anger against another without any reason, now I become despondent without any good reason, now I relax with laughter without any at least sufficient reason: I become depressed when I should not or when I should be rejoicing and having fun, I laugh when I should cry and grieve or maintain sedate importance. I am a strange, fickle, flighty person. And how little freedom or will I have over myself in all these cases: I am carried away by despondency, anger, laughter, passions, as if by some stormy stream or fast river (the rivers overflowed [Matthew 7:27]), and I can barely hold on, and then by God’s grace, calling on her for help. From the abyss of hell, now anger, now envy, now stinginess and love of money, now guile, now laughter, now doubt and stubborn unbelief, now despondency, now bitterness and insensibility, breathes upon me. The Lord sees and hears through everything: so to speak, with every atom of matter He looks and hears us, that is, there is not an atom of matter with which He does not see and hear us; There is no moment in which He does not see through us. I do not want to say by this that He sees through the medium of matter, but that it is impossible to imagine any hidden place in which the eyes of the Lord would not see us and His ears would not hear, although He directly sees us, being all everywhere, all sight and hearing. Icons are required by our nature. Can our nature do without an image? Is it possible, when remembering something absent, not to imagine it? Didn't God Himself give us the ability to imagine? Icons are the Church’s answer to the crying need of our nature. When a woman gives birth, she suffers sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to a baby, she no longer remembers the sorrow for joy, because a man was born into the world [Jn. 16, 21]. (In this comparison of the Lord's wife giving birth with the sorrows of the disciples.) Something similar to the indicated circumstance in the lives of women, beloved brethren, is now taking place before our eyes. Saving the human race from eternal torment, from eternal death to eternal life, the Lord Jesus now endures, as it were, the pangs of birth - only His sorrows, His torments are incomparable with any pangs of birth. The wife endures the pangs of birth for the sake of the first wife, Eve, who subjected the entire human race to sin, illness and death, both for her own sins and for the sake of the birth into the world of a person in her own image, a sinner like herself. The Lord Jesus Christ, completely sinless, endures the pain of birth into eternal life of the entire human race, doomed by the justice of the Heavenly Father for sins to eternal torment; the greater the fruit, the greater the torment - these torments should have been equal to all the torments that the entire sinful race of Adam had to endure forever for all their sins. And here He, our merciful Savior, suffering as if in childbirth, endures grief, and endures grief willingly, for He foresees that this grief will deliver chosen humanity from eternal death and make it an heir to the eternal life - the Kingdom of Heaven. So that you know and, so to speak, see with your eyes that the grace of the all-holy, all-powerful and life-giving Spirit is always inherent in you, during every church service you put on an stole - it is like the ointment of grace descending from your head to your feet, for the grace of God has been abundantly poured out on you. (And instill this in others.) Be faith, then, an instrument of the all-powerful Spirit. So that you, a person consisting of soul and body, undoubtedly believe that the grace of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit has been transmitted since the time of the holy apostles themselves to all bishops, presbyters and deacons, for this, when communicating the grace of the Holy Spirit, a visible sign is used - the ordination of a bishop, as in Baptism - the water of baptism, in Confirmation - myrrh, in Communion - the Body and Blood of Christ God, and through this ordination, like an electric current through a wire or like through anointing with myrrh, is apparently taught to the chosen one the grace of the Spirit to teach the people, perform the Sacraments and worship, and shepherd the people of God, and remains with him until the end of his life. Reverence everyone who is ordained as a vessel filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit. Blessed is God, who pours out His grace on His priests, like precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, Aaron's beard, running down on the edges of his garment [Ps. 132, 2]. The hand is used in ordination because we usually give something to another with our hand. I recognize my covetousness by being deprived of something from my property: for example, when, having lost something, I greatly regret and grieve about it, or I regret giving my brother something of my favorite things. We must be indifferent, alien to heartbreak and illness after the loss of something from our property or even our entire property, and knowing that our life does not depend on... property [Lk. 12, 15], according to the word of the Savior, knowing that you have in heaven a better and lasting possession [Heb. 10, 34], joyfully give to your brother or brethren from what you have and what you value dearly: so that you may love your sincere, but the commandments of the Savior, as you would yourself [Matt. 19, 19]. Always rejoice, in any way, freely doing good to the image of God, which is what man is. If you love to accept giving from others, love to give yourself, and from now on it will always be given to you, and the more willingly and generously you give, the more willingly and generously they will give to you, so that your giving will not be a loss, but a gain in material terms. With the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you... good measure, pressed together, pressed and running over, will be poured into your bosom [Lk. 6, 38]. This is how wisely and graciously the common Lord and the one Most Generous One arranges for those who give to others, and this is only another image of future gifts. In order not to suffer from covetousness, we must always remember that we need very, very little material goods to support our life and decency in clothing and home furnishings, especially we need very little to nourish our body, and that our main duty is to console the souls of our brethren with material goods or kind words. The Son of God, the living image of the Father, created for Himself the image of man, the form of a servant, 154 the likeness of man. Angels appeared in human forms. What of this? The substance of the world is like nothing: everywhere and in everything the life-giving Spirit of God is above all. When you pray to God, imagine that matter does not seem to exist, and all creatures seem not to exist, and that there is only one God, existing everywhere and one, for whom there is no place, who fills, embraces, builds and preserves everything with Himself. If you too are impartial to material things and practice fasting and prayer, then the spirit in you will, as it were, swallow up the flesh, and you will be spiritual and will everywhere contemplate the Spirit of God in nature, while, on the contrary, those who are partial to earthly things, especially food, drink, and money, are corporeal and have no spirit [Jude. 1, 19] and in everything they see only the flesh, without contemplating the spirit and even rejecting the spiritual side in objects. Where there is a substance under construction, it is certainly necessary to assume its Builder, because the substance, which in itself does not have any meaning and power, cannot organize itself, grow and bear fruit; obviously, every moment of his life he is ruled by the infinite Mind, the omnipotent Hand. The Christian, amazed at the constant mercy, intercession and power of prayers for us before God of the Lady Virgin, calls Her prayers omnipotent, says of Her that She alone soon intercedes for us before the Son and Her God. Just as the material sun is reflected with its entire circle and radiance in countless transparent objects on earth, so the spiritual Sun - God - deigned to reflect Himself in countless beings in heaven and on earth: there in Angels, and here in people; and just as the light of even the material sun is not hampered by dense, although transparent bodies, but, passing through them unhindered, shines in the chambers of the house that are locked on all sides from the outside air or in transparent objects facing it - so the light of the spiritual Sun is not hampered for spiritual beings by any material barriers: neither the walls of the house, nor the dark walls and vaults of dungeons, nor the vast mountains in whose caves they hide servants of God, nor through the abysses of the earth: it penetrates everywhere and shines everywhere, in every soul capable of receiving the radiance of heavenly Truth. (Paul and Silas pray in prison, singing to God [Acts 16:25], and the Lord listens to their prayer.) I am the way and the truth and the life [John. 14:6], says the Lord in contrast to the devil, who is delusion, lies and death. The Word of Christ, or the teaching of Christ, His commandments, or the teaching of His Church, is the way; undoubtedly follow this path, live according to this teaching, act according to these commandments: they are the way and the truth, because they lead to life. I am the way and the truth and the life. Every word of the devil, all his suggestions, all his intrigues are delusions, lies, and therefore lead not to life, but to death. The words truth and life are closely connected with each other by an internal connection: what is true is certainly life: the thoughts of God are life and peace [Rom. 8, 6]. What is false is certainly death for the soul; in the essence of truth there is life, and in the concept of lies there is death: one is unthinkable without the other. When the enemy tempts you with stinging of corruptible food, remember then: how do Angels and holy people of God live in heaven? Not with perishable food, but with God; This means that your life, first of all, is directly supported by God, which is why it is said: man will not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God [Matt. 4, 4]. Either the enemy himself fights against you, or he sends people to you to tempt you. Prayer is a constant feeling of one’s spiritual poverty and weakness, contemplation in oneself, in people and in nature of the works of wisdom, goodness and the almighty power of God; prayer is a constantly grateful mood of the soul. I am the vine, says the Lord, and you are the branches [Jn. 15, 5]. And you – that is, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church; Therefore, just as the Lord is holy, so is the Church holy, just as the Lord is the way and the truth and the life [John. 14:6], so is the Church, because the Church is one and the same with the Lord, it is His body from His flesh and from His bones [Eph. 5, 30], or His branches, embedded in Him, a living vine [Jn. 15:5], feeding on Him and growing in Him. Never imagine the Church separately from the Lord Jesus Christ, from the Father and the Holy Spirit. When the enemy attacks your heart with doubt in any word of the Savior and hurts you, tell him internally: every word of my God Jesus Christ is life for me - and the poison of doubt will erupt from the heart, and your soul will be calm and easy. When he is struck by doubt in any word or saying of the Church, in action, in ritual, tell him again internally the words of the Savior about the Church: When... the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you (the apostles and the Church, planted and spread by them, especially pastors and teachers) into all truth [John. 16:13] - and believe firmly that, according to the promise of the Savior, the Holy Spirit abides in the Church forever and guides her into all truth: this means that everything in her is true and saving, which is why it is called the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15). In church books, in the teachings of the holy fathers and teachers of the Church, the spirit of Christ, the spirit of truth, love, and salvation breathes everywhere. Why does the name of the Savior produce miracles? Because it expresses the wholeness of His Divine, omnipotent nature and suddenly embraces His being in our thoughts and perfectly expresses at once the simplicity, the uniqueness of Him, just as the name of a person at once unites all his numerous accessories and qualities, or the name of a tree, the qualities and properties characteristic of him, likewise the name of an animal, the accessories and properties characteristic of him, or as a magic trick grasps and reflects in itself the entire object at once. The same must be said about the names of saints. During prayer, just let their intelligent face be reflected in the focus of your heart, especially the face of the Lady Theotokos: ask during this reflection of their face in your soul, like one who sees clearly, and help is ready for you. Experience. If it were possible for human eyes to see the whole soul of a person, then I would see clearly that it is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me [Gal. 2:20] that everything good in me comes from Christ, and I am nothing. The spirit is so simple that it can easily be contained in the smallest infusoria and develop its members, in the seed of a person, barely noticeable to the naked eye, in which, living by the power innate to him from God (given to all plants and animals), he develops his seed with God’s direct assistance, creates component parts or members and finally forms the complete form of man. If the created spirit is so simple, then how simple is the uncreated Spirit - God? The Lord, having enclosed the spirits He created in infinitely small and great bodies, showed that He Himself can dwell in the infinitely small and great: after all, it is like He Himself, and they are like nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and life [Jn. 6, 63]. What words? - His words about His Body and Blood: if you do not eat Flesh... and drink Blood... He who eats My Flesh... eternal life... My Flesh is truly food... He who eats My Flesh... is in him. As the living Father sent Me... [Jn. 6, 53–57], that is, My Flesh and Blood are My spirit (I live in them inseparably in every particle) and the belly for those who partake of them, for only the spirit has the ability to revive human souls. The Spirit gives life; the flesh does not profit at all [Jn. 6, 63], that is, the flesh itself, without the spirit of Spasov, does not benefit souls - it is completely imbued with My spirit. So, when you begin to partake of the life-giving Mysteries, without hesitating at all, without being at all curious about how the Flesh and Blood of the Savior revive, tell yourself internally what you constantly experience from them in your soul: they are the spirit of the Savior and life for me, without them I have no life. And that's enough. The most merciful Lord torments the sinner with his sins wherever he is, constantly presenting them to his soul so that he will repent of them, convert and live, according to what is written: I do not want the death of a sinner by will, but to be converted... and I will live for him [Ezek. 33, 11 ]; This desire is expressed in action by the conviction of the sinner, by the constant presentation of his sins to him and by the languor of his soul. By this the Lord shows us that we cannot live without Him, that is, without fulfilling His holy will, without completely surrendering to His truth with all our hearts, without any doubt; that our paths are crooked and harmful and we must certainly straighten them if we want to be alive. So, for example, be such a sin that you doubt during communion of the Holy Mysteries whether this is in fact the true Flesh and Blood of the Savior, and do not recognize with all your heart the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the life-giving Mysteries, you will languish in your soul and will not taste peace until you from the bottom of your heart recognize your doubts as stupid and reckless and in your heart say with sincerity and firmness: yes, this is the most pure Body of my Lord and this is His most honest Blood - I believe without any doubt or hesitation. And this is because our life is only in the Savior, in His Body and Blood, which were given for this purpose, to cleanse us from sins, revive us, sanctify and save us. April 23rd, 1861. First day of Easter. Great Lent and the Holy Resurrection of Christ. Great Lent, as a time of abstinence from food and passions, as a time of struggle with the flesh, the world and the devil, means the real life of a Christian, which should all be an achievement for the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Bright Resurrection of Christ and the entire Pentecost depict our future glorious, blessed life in heaven in the unapproachable light of the face of God. Just as after the sorrow of fasting and repentance, after the deeds of mortification of the flesh and the painful struggle with the world and the spirits of wickedness in high heaven, the joy of the bright holiday of Christ suddenly shines abundantly with an abundance of external light with the inner light shining from the Resurrection itself, the spiritual and material gifts of God’s goodness are abundantly given, - so after the sadness of this temporary life, after the feats of mortification of the flesh and the fight against enemies, abundantly at the time determined by the destinies of God, the joy of the general glorious resurrection of all and the ever-present joy and bliss and contemplation in the unapproachable glory of the Tri-radiant Divinity will shine. Present times and church festivals are a foretelling of the future. Now we all joyfully flock to the risen Savior, rejoicing around Him and in Him. This is an indication of the future. So, after the general resurrection, all the righteous will joyfully gather to Him, like sheep to the Shepherd, and will rejoice with Him forever in the Kingdom of the Heavenly Father. Now we meet Him, risen from the dead, joyfully with lamps; the hour will come when we will meet Him coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [Matt. 24:30], we will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17). The constant experience of our soul shows that we have removed only sinful dispositions from the soul - and God is immediately in us: he will sit in us with peace, consolation, ease 26. Therefore it is said: your sins separate between you and God [Isa. 59, 2]. Only sins, not the distance of place or time. Do not be discouraged when hellish clouds descend on your soul, one darker than the other, when your soul is attacked by hellish malice, envy, opposition and other clouds, but know firmly that the presence of these dark clouds on the mental horizon is inevitable, just as in nature the presence of dark clouds on the sky, but they are not always and do not last for long: they scatter, but they pass, and the mental atmosphere of the soul will clear up again. In nature, there must be clouds in the sky and darkness of daylight, but these clouds are fickle, they soon pass, and after them the sunlight shines again, and with new strength. So we waited for the Holy Resurrection of Christ. So we bowed to the Risen Life-Giver. So we rejoice—we cannot rejoice enough at His Resurrection. But in order for all of us to really always rejoice and not get enough of the Resurrection of the Savior, let’s talk about what hopes it gives us, for all Christian holidays awaken in us hope for future bliss, and the Bright Resurrection of Christ, more than all of them, reassures us of our future bliss. The bright Resurrection of Christ, beloved brethren, strongly reassures us in the truth that we will all certainly rise again, we cannot help but rise. We will all be resurrected. Christ rose from the dead, the firstborn of those who died (1 Cor. 15:20) - that is, Christ rose from the dead and thereby laid the foundation for our future resurrection. To make the miracle of our general resurrection clearer and more obvious to everyone, let us compare Christ the Savior and the human race with an endless chain, which has such a large lifting ring, with which you can lift not only this entire endless chain, but you can also attach to it (if you could imagine) another similar one, and not just one, but several, then the first, main ring would lift and hold on itself all such chains, and wherever it was lifted, the whole chain would also rise there (where I am there, and my servant will be [John 12:26]; the members of Christ (1 Cor. 6:15)). Now imagine that the main thing, the first ring of the chain, behind which the whole chain rises, is Jesus Christ; all the rings and little rings that follow Him are all the people who lived from the beginning of the world and will live until the end of the world. We represent Jesus Christ as the main ring of the chain because He actually united Himself with the human race in a very close, indissoluble union, so that He became our Head, as the Holy Scripture says (And He is the head of the body of the Church [Col. 1:18]), and we are His members, members of Christ. This means that we are connected to Christ even more closely than the rings of the chain are with the main ring. Now imagine that someone picks up a chain lying in the ground or on the ground and lifts it to some high place, even to some high mountain. You see that as you raise the main ring, the rings of the chain lying on the ground rise, and the higher you raise the main ring, the higher, on the one hand, the rings of the chain closest to the main ring rise, and on the other hand, gradually, one after another, further rings of the chain lying on the ground will rise from the ground up behind the leading rings, until finally, with the raising of the main ring to an unattainable height, the rest of the chain will rise. But it seems to you that in this comparison of the chains with the resurrected Life-Giver, [He] raised all unrepentant sinners to heavenly heights. No. Let me finish the comparison completely, and you will see that it is not. [Blank space left on page. – Ed. ] When, standing up for prayer or starting to write a spiritually edifying essay, you feel a reluctance to do something, even to the point of disgust, laziness, relaxation throughout your whole body, then try in every possible way to overcome, overcome yourself and force yourself to do it; remember that our sinful, old man turns away from everything good, and it is necessary to force him to do the work: the Kingdom of Heaven, says the Savior, is taken by force, and those who use force take it away [Matt. 11, 12]. Woe to you if you are always overcome by your lazy flesh - you will lose the Kingdom of God through laziness and inaction. My God! How painful it is to see that the evil flesh turns away in every possible way from serious matters and turns with pleasure to some insignificant, empty matter! Consider yourself the last of all, the trampling of all, as indeed you are, and do not serve pride or, what is the same, the proud devil in any way, not for a moment, so that you do not anger the Lord, who opposes the proud, and do not hurt and bind your soul for a long time with one moment of a proud disposition of the heart. Conduct yourself especially humbly before your father, before the elders, before the leaders, before your spiritual father, before the priests. For those who hope for wealth, an example from the Gospel: soul! you have a lot of good things lying around for many years: rest, eat, drink, be merry. What does the Lord say to such people? This night your soul will be taken from you; who will get what you have prepared? [ OK. 12, 19, 20]. In one night all vain hope will perish. The Lord is my life, my breath, my strength, my light, peace, joy, my food and drink; What will I bring to such a Benefactor or what will I repay Him? I will reward Him, with His assistance, by obedience to His will, by fulfilling His commandments: If you love Me, He Himself says, keep My commandments [Jn. 14, 15]. I will try to please Him by seeking the Kingdom of God and its righteousness and by counting earthly blessings as nothing compared to heavenly ones; I will not attach my heart to anything earthly. Oh my God! You Yourself grant me to say a strong and effective word from my heart: I will try or I will. Strengthen me with Your right hand. My strength, do not leave me! Grant me to place my hope only in You, my Nourisher - in You, Who has never left me. Life is a life-giving force. Therefore, God - the first and inexact life - is an infinite, life-giving force, and therefore the Angels are also called the Heavenly Forces, and the human soul is also a force: Angels and humans are forces animated by the first Life, carried, guided and supported by the first Force in intelligent and free service to the first Life. Death is a killing force. The first such power in the kingdom of the living God, who created everything for life, appeared in the person of the devil, and from him it passed to people and other creatures of the earth, for the creation itself submitted to the slavery of corruption according to the will of the one who conquered it [Rom. 8, 20 ] a person who submitted to the first killing force - the devil. Since the devil is a smart force, he acts with the power of the hellish mind on our mind, damaged by it with his breath initially, and separates us from the Belly - God with doubt, distrust of God - an omnipotent and unchangeable force in His properties, separates us from the God of love with the spirit of enmity, malice, envy, separates us from God the Spirit with the strong attachment of our heart to earthly goods; we notice that in the sinful, unnatural affections of our heart there is a force that mortifies our soul, as well as in anger, in doubt and in all sins: in despondency, despair, doubt, resistance to God’s commandments. The Lord God also appears in our soul as the power, predominantly, of love (love is strong as death [Song. 8, 6 ]), by the power of all virtues, overcoming all obstacles opposed to the soul by the forces of hell. During prayer, we must remember that we are members of each other, and we must pray for everyone, just as the Lord’s Prayer does. The apostles are an example of this, all the saints. If we remember this and pray for others, then the Angels and saints will pray for us as members of one Kingdom of Christ, one Church, one Body. One. With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you [Mk. 4, 24]. God is such a simple Being that He, faster than lightning, faster than thought, imperceptibly visits our soul. That is why it is said: the Kingdom of God will not come in a noticeable way... For behold, the Kingdom of God is within you [Lk. 17, 20–21 ]; there is - that is, it is impossible to signify even in an instant the coming of the Kingdom of God into our soul; rejected sin from the heart - and He is in the heart, and you won’t notice how and when, and the moment of perfect rejection of sin from the heart is the moment of His perfect enthronement in us, for He reigns in us as we are cleansed from sins. And the life-giving Mysteries, according to the measure of faith, instantly cleanse, sanctify and beautify the house of the soul. Likewise, the devil and the spirits of evil, as simple beings, although far from perfect in their simplicity and very limited, act on the soul quickly, instantly, like lightning, like quick thought. An instant feeling of attachment to earthly things or an instant inclination of the heart to sin, an instant doubt in the truth - and he jumped into the heart; Yes, he produces in an instant some passion in the heart and then, as we sympathize with it, takes possession of us and drags us wherever he pleases, like prisoners bound hand and foot. If we resist him, then he tries, through strong clouding of mind and heart, to destroy our efforts towards heartfelt faith and pious thoughts and feelings; in order to defeat it and drive it away from yourself, from the heart, you need to develop in your heart perfect faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the fact that the enemy is active in you, that your thoughts or the dispositions of your heart and will are sinful, contrary to God, then resolutely reject them with all your heart, break, so to speak, with all your heart from sinful bonds, like Samson entangled with bowstrings - and you will break the hellish bonds like a thread with the power of Jesus Christ and the grace of the Holy Spirit. My God! How difficult it is for [others] to tolerate untruth and slander! Tightness, sorrow, inner fire, gloomy thoughts - each darker than the other, the idea of an evil, fierce enemy in an unrighteous person, anger and hatred towards him, an extreme desire to immediately express to him in bilious terms his injustice and his truth and, if possible, repay him in kind, irritability - all this rages inside the offended person like hell, and woe to that person who, at this time of the height of passion, began to blame him himself: he would lose his temper, and his ardor would have no measure. And why is this all, why is this impatience and irritability, this reluctance in a person to tolerate untruths, and maybe even truths? - Out of pride. A person considers himself almost righteous, being the greatest sinner, he dreams that no one should reproach him for anything, because his actions are all supposed to be correct. (But he shows himself to be the greatest proud person.) But considering himself right and blazing with anger at the offender or at the one who reprimanded him unfairly, he clearly thereby shows himself to be proud, and not humble, because the sign of true humility is to forgive with meekness those who offend and hate us, leaving our innocence and rightness to be seen by the One who judges righteously, and with meekness and humble submission to accept just reprimands; accept seemingly unjust insults and oppression for God’s visit to us or God’s punishment for our pride, which is best known to Him, although perhaps invisible to us, or for other sins, for no one is sinless. So, if you do not tolerate insults and are irritated, then know that you are proud and extremely proud, and you need to take care of humility, meekness and gentleness and generously enduring insults in the confidence that for your sins you are worthy of God's punishment and patience with untruths from people. If you do not tolerate fair reproof for your misdeeds, then you are infected with the strongest devilish pride and have become an ungodly person, for only for the wicked does reproof serve as wounds. He who does not tolerate injustice needs to look more often at the cross of the Savior and reflect on how much injustice the Lord Himself suffered from people, how great were the innocent sufferings of Him, God and a completely righteous man, and He left us an image, so that we may follow His footsteps; We must also remember that His innocent suffering led Him to glory. We also need to remember that since the culprit of the insults of the unrighteous is the common enemy of the human race, he also produces the fire of anger, tightness, impatience and irritability in the human soul, and therefore you yourself need to be indifferent and cold-blooded in the face of insults, and consider offenders only worthy of love and pity as instruments of the enemy, who, by God’s permission, have injured us. He who does not endure here with Christ cannot be where Christ is. A Christian must maintain peace of mind in the face of all human temptations and untruths. What am I saying? Even if the world began to collapse, then he should be majestically at peace in his spirit, being confirmed in his heart in Christ. My peace I give to you [Jn. 14, 27]. Come to Me... and I will give you rest [Matt. 11, 28]. The sign of a truly Christian soul is constant inner peace and tranquility. What are we like? We worry about everything, and we ourselves give space to restless thoughts in our hearts: grow and multiply for your soul’s misfortune. Taking offense at those who slander and slander you, you reveal through this desire that all people speak kindly about you. But woe to you, said the Savior, when all people speak well of you! [ OK. 6, 26]. How good it would be for me if, in the name of the Lord, I were dumb and voiceless and silent [Ps. 38, 3] from the archpriest’s offense! I would be calm and satisfied with myself, I would not be irritated to the point of illness not only in spirit, but also in body! Why didn’t I act as I decided to do immediately after communion on Holy Saturday! Jesus was silent [Matt. 26, 63]. This is how we need to behave when people testify against us unrighteously! And it would be great to do so! Also, notice what opened the way into your heart for the enemy to so agitate and confuse you: in the name of the Risen Christ, what kind of kiss did you give 155 [to the girl]? It was this [shameless] kissing that paved the way for the disturber of the truth. Remember firmly that no matter what evil people weave against you, they weave it according to the teachings of the devil and are his tools - which means you need to pray for those who insult you, and not be angry with them. Conquer evil with good [Rom. 12, 21]. You have to be kind to them. Knowing well the actions of the disembodied enemy in yourself, but not wanting to believe that he acts in others, why do you attribute insults exclusively to people? Remember also the commandment of the Savior: to the one who hit you on the cheek (that is, to the one who unjustly offends you), turn the other also [Matt. 5, 39; OK. 6, 29]. What did the bush that Moses saw mean? burning with fire and not being consumed? 156 New Testament life-giving Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ. You see Bread and Wine, permeated with the fire of the Divine (everything is in the fire of the Divine) invisible, but felt inside a person and yet not burned, because they are the very Body and the very Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You have felt within yourself more than once the coming of the Holy Spirit - sudden, imperceptible, faster than lightning (electricity); your insides were instantly penetrated and revived by the light, soothing fire of the Divine, His supernatural 157 breath; Like gas with fire, so your heart was instantly ignited by the Holy Spirit. But with material fire and gas this happens visibly, but with the Spirit of God and the heart of man it happens invisibly, for the Spirit of God is the pure negation of matter, completely opposed to it. On the bread and wine of the Holy Mysteries, like rain or dew on fleece, the Holy Spirit descends and transforms them into the Body and Blood of the Son of God. When, while performing a divine service, a Sacrament, or any service, you feel in your heart stubborn disbelief or a stony insensibility of your heart to what is said in them, tightness and difficulty in pronouncing prayers, then say with all your heart and in your heart: Lord! transform me from a proud Pharisee into a humble publican and grant me to pray with a publican’s disposition and contrition of heart! And believe that unbelief and insensibility will pass, and you will soon feel in your heart blissful humility, living faith, sweet tenderness, you will emerge into freedom of heart, calm down and rejoice and thank the Lord, who does wonderful things with His humble servants. Yes, the Lord always looks at the humility of His servants, gives them His grace, but opposes the proud. ABOUT! It is hard for the proud to go against the pricks 159 [Acts. 9, 5]. All the deeds and the whole life of the proud are hard, unbearable work, because the Almighty opposes them at every moment. Thinking and expressing harmonious thinking about a subject, animated by the character of the writer, is an image of God’s creation of the world. The writings of people are miracles of the wisdom of God. The Lord always brings us closer to the gates of death so that we remember Him, the Giver of Life, and be careful in life: live with the fear of your life (1 Pet. 1:17). At first, prayer is almost difficult for the flesh, but then you pray – it is both easy and life-giving. You should never be discouraged, even though you may not get what you want. One must always approach prayer, in front of icons or without them, with full hope of receiving what one asks for, for example, deliverance from sorrow and mental illness and from sins, because before a thousand times obvious mercy has been received from the Lord or the Lady, and not to hope to receive what one asks for or to doubt the hearing of a prayer would be extreme madness and blindness. If someone asked you why you pray to soulless icons, what benefit does it do to you, say that we receive incomparably more benefit from our icons than from the kindest and most charitable person; say that from icons always comes grace-filled power and help to your souls, delivering you from sins, sorrows and illnesses, especially from the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God; that one heartfelt, with faith view of them as living and near us saves us from fierce sorrows, passions and spiritual darkness; that if touching the vestments of the Savior and the scarves of the apostles made the sick healthy, then even more so the faces of the Savior and the Mother of God are powerful to heal believers from all sorrow. My soul can imagine millions of faces, for example, of the same Mother of God, and my hand can artistically draw as many of Her faces as I like - and they will all be Her venerable faces, like She Herself. Thus, the all-essential and life-giving Unity conceived and created through His creative Word, and through the Holy Spirit sanctified countless intelligent 11 images of His – the Heavenly Powers; in the same way, the Father conceived, and the Son - Himself the living image of the Father - created, sanctifying by the Holy Spirit, His sensory-intelligent image - man, and from him alone, to our constant surprise to this day, creatively creates such images, and all are living, beautiful, god-like, abiding, eternal. So, no matter how many icons I depict, they are all true, venerable icons for me, which I will undoubtedly honor with worship, as long as they correspond to actual living, holy images (icons) of God. What prevents us from having as many faces, for example, the Savior Christ, as there are individual Christian faces: each face of the Savior is His most venerable face, shining in the soul of every true Christian. The wonderful and God-loving habit of Christians to have the image of the Savior and pray to Him is a crying need of our soul; The Lord Himself, with the love characteristic of Him, desires to be imagined 160 in us, as the apostle says: My children, for whom I am again in the throes of birth, until Christ is depicted in you! [Gal. 4, 19] - or: by faith let Christ dwell in your hearts [Eph. Z, 17]; but how can I imagine Christ in my heart if I do not first depict Him sensually and imagine Him before my eyes? And here we have images of the Savior, the Mother of God and others. The love of Christians for them, always wanting to carry 127 their images in our thoughts and in our hearts, our very sensual-spiritual nature has caused the need to depict them with icon painting, to place them in the most honorable place at home - as in our hearts, or in the homes of our souls, we give them the most honorable place - and to honor them with worship first of the heart, and then of the body. And how in accordance with God’s intention is our veneration of icons! Heaven answers us in icons, as if from the purification of the 161 ancient Lord in the Jewish tabernacle; many of them shine with miracles. When your boss wants something from you, don’t try to enforce it, lest you end up in court with the devil 162. Also: in spite of all the untruths against you from people, as well as the truths, say in your heart: Lord! Thy will be done. God! Grant me a simple, kind, open, believing, loving, generous heart. After two days of fierce sorrow, the Lord abundantly poured consolation into my soul in His life-giving Mysteries. I served mass calmly and took communion with firm faith. So after the menacing clouds, the clear sun shines in the sky. Thank God for everything! Behold, I stand at the door and knock [Rev. 3, 20]. Ego means that the Lord constantly stands at the door of our heart, which is locked or blocked for Him by sins or various addictions. Behold, I’m standing. You pray, and He stands at your very heart and listens to your every heartfelt movement and feeling. When talking to a person, we are sure that he hears us, despite his sometimes very considerable distance from us; we are confident because we receive appropriate answers from him, although we do not know at all how he hears; or how many hear words [...] produce in their heart the same concepts and dispositions that are in me; or we speak, for example, in a large assembly, and are confident that the entire assembly hears us at once, and if our words come from the heart, they also fall on the hearts of the listeners and produce in them good thoughts and dispositions of the soul. Thus, when talking in prayer with God or with the saints, we must be sure without the slightest doubt that our speeches, uttered from the heart, are heard (not talking about God, who knows everything everywhere, the very heart) not only in the same way as our words are heard by living people, but much more conveniently, due to the simplicity of the spiritual world, and answers to our prayers are also given with greater convenience and are more wise and useful than the answers of earthly persons to ours. requests, due to the same simplicity and God-illumination of the celestials. This should be considered an axiom, a truth that does not require proof, a very ordinary matter. Just as in the first case everyone is confident that others will hear our words from experience, so it is here. This cannot be fully explained - and this too, but the matter speaks for itself. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, that is, for example, the truth of Holy Scripture, the truth of liturgical books, the works of the holy fathers. The spirit of truth - to show that there is a spirit of lies - the devil. Dream. Gumilevsky [preciously 163] came to the church and began to preach in my place, and then, having finished the sermon, he invited the listeners to give him payment for it. Do not muzzle the threshing ox (1 Cor. 9:9; 1 Tim. 5:18). This means that I definitely need to preach. And the Heavenly Father taught me that He constantly watches 164 who behaves how and what dispositions of their hearts they have. April 28, 1861. Fifth day of Easter. Friday. Our God, David sings, is the God to save [Russian: God for us is God for salvation] [Ps. 67, 21]. And we can now say the same about the Most Holy Theotokos: Mother of God - Mother [Yazhe] save 165. Passions take on the guise of truth and the tares want to become like wheat, but by internal confusion, some kind of painful fire and oppression, it is easy to distinguish them from truth and virtue. Thus, it happens that a priest envies his brother who preaches well and successfully, but not his own, but someone else’s. Look: he is clearly indignant at him and sometimes laughs angrily at him, saying about him: he compiled 166 this sermon, or: this sermon of so-and-so. What then? Does the work of others, which my brother used to preach the word of God, give me the right to laugh at him and be angry with him? Not at all. Do we really speak our own way? Isn’t it God’s word in our mouths, for example, when reading the Gospel, when performing divine services and the Sacraments and various prayers? Is it not God who enlightens our hearts when we compose our teachings and offer them to the people? What do we have in them? We, according to the apostle, are not content to think of ourselves as if from ourselves, but our contentment (our ability) is from God: Who also pleased us (He alone made us capable) ministers of the New Testament (2 Cor. 3:5-6). So, in mockery of a brother and in anger at a brother who preaches someone else’s, and not his own, the action of the envious serpent is hidden, and woe to the one who joins with the enemy to mock his brother and the truth of the Gospel, for he who laughs at the preacher laughs at Christ Himself: you have one Teacher, it is said, Christ [Matthew 23:10], and through all the priests He Himself teaches, and they only guns. Woe, says the Savior, when all men speak good to you [Lk. 6.26], of course - unrighteously. This means that we must rejoice when people speak evil against us. Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and slander you in every way unjustly because of Me [Matt. 5, 11]. Everywhere on earth you see the wise artist - the Spirit, rejoicing with the fullness of joy in creatures about the works of His hands and revealing His infinite wisdom. Everywhere you see the Life-giving Spirit as an artist or as a potter, forming many different animate and inanimate vessels. You see Him especially in holy people, as in His majestic, beautiful churches. But in unfaithful and wicked people you see at almost every step the works of the evil spirit - all the passions, indignations, disorder, enmity, resistance. God is the being and life of everything that exists. That is why He is called Sy 101 - as if the only being, the first, uncreated being, or as the Head from Whom all being is. That is why the apostle says about Him: in Him we live and move and have our being [Acts. 17, 28]. We live by God, move by His power, exist by His will, command and omnipotence. You are perplexed about the manner in which the Lord dwells in the life-giving Mysteries. This is a mystery, just like the mystery of how the immortal spirit is infused into your body, reviving, beautifying and strengthening the body: the Lord is a simple being, completely opposite to matter, simple, like a simple thought or an instantaneous movement of our heart or spirit; It is as much a mystery as the mystery of how He inhabits your heart - entirely, without the mediation of any matter, through one living thought about Him, living faith in Him or obedience to God’s word. According to His perfect simplicity, He is necessarily all and everywhere—he is everywhere and fulfills everything: Do I not fill heaven and earth? [Jer. 23, 24] - and cannot divide, dividing Himself by all and communicating to all truly and truly in rational gifts, He Himself is one and indivisible, but constantly creating an infinite and varied multitude of creatures, being inherent in every creature - the very last and smallest of all ciliates. God and the saints hear us in prayer, just as people talking to each other hear each other, or as people standing in church hear a preacher, or soldiers hear the voice of a leader, even incomparably better, more perfect, because we hear the words of another, but we do not know what is in his heart and thoughts, and it happens that another says one thing, but has something completely different in his heart; but God and the saints do not see what is in our thoughts and hearts: God Himself, by His omniscience, and the saints by the grace of the Holy Spirit, in whom they eternally abide, and they notice whether our words correspond to the heart, and if they completely correspond to the heart, and the heart, in turn, is a believer, contrite and humble, burning with love and zeal (as we diligently resort) and the desire to receive what is asked, then they kindly they bow to our prayer and give us what we want. God and the saints want us to imagine them in prayer as alive, inherent in ourselves, so that we can see them with the eyes of our hearts. Living God. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for with Him all are alive [Lk. 20, 38]. When the devil bites and disturbs your spirit and there is tightness, confusion and illness in your heart, take the trouble not to show others a sad and confused face and don’t get irritated with others in this state of tightness, for what are others to blame for the fact that because of your sins you suffer wounding from the enemy? Be patient with one, and don’t even show to others that you are internally embittered 168 . Avoid in every possible way the devil's opposition to your superior, so that you will not be condemned together with the devil, the enemy of God, and put aside all pride before your superior. Humbly submit to him in everything that is not contrary to the direct commandment of God and the definition of the Church. Avoid every shadow of malice against him, every evil thought and desire. How to pray on different occasions - learn from the holy prophet and King David. Let a man test himself, and thus let him eat from the bread (1 Cor. 11:28). This self-examination is helped by fasting, fasting, prayer, contrition for sins, confession, before which a Christian must strictly examine himself, an akathist, a canon and prayers for communion. God! Grant me to sincerely rejoice in the expansion of good in Thy Kingdom, grant me to heartily kiss and embrace everyone who succeeds in instructing Thy people in faith and virtue, and not to envy anyone in a devilish way. There is no one who will leave satiety and all kinds of delicacies and all the heart’s attachment to the blessings of this world for the sake of the Lord and for the sake of a warm and worthy conversation with Him in prayer - and will not accept a hundredfold more than food and all other (imaginary) earthly pleasures of the heart. He who comes to Me will live by Me [Jn. 6, 57]. Eating Me. This means that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is complete in every part of His Body and Blood, and those who eat the Body and Blood eat Him, inseparable. All air is permeable to the light of the sun, transparent, and it all, so to speak, dissolves with the light, although the latter, due to its subtlety, can always leave it; the water is also clean to a certain depth; crystal and glass are also penetrated and dissolved with light - many bodies capable of reflecting and refracting rays of light are bathed or shine with the light of the sun, or the light of fire and receive its warmth into themselves; in clothes embroidered with gold or silver, each sparkle especially sparkles with the light of the sun. So the chosen human race, or the souls of the righteous, pass through the intelligent light - God and shine with His light, merge with Him. So every particle of the life-giving Mysteries, becoming the Body and Blood of the Lord Himself, is all light, radiance, warmth, life: not a single most inconspicuous particle remains untransformed into the light and life of the Divine. Notice how the Lord is always with you 23 in every place in His image and likeness that exists in you: you think as the Father, you speak as the Son, you act in the Holy Spirit. What air and light are to the body, so is thought, or God the Father, to the soul; What poverty is for the body is the Word for the soul; that breath and warmth are the Holy Spirit. Have you seen how bees adhere to the queen bee, or how ants adhere to the king ant? So intelligent and verbal 63 beings must adhere to God. Or do you know how the smaller planets adhere to the larger one and revolve around it? Thus, intelligent and verbal beings should adhere to God [of all kinds]. That's why you're looking for more. The family is a small example of the infinite family of Intelligent Forces circulating around God and in God. States, or kings and their subjects, are significant examples of the circulation of Smart Forces around the all-powerful King of Glory. The passions operating in me humble me, for if I decide to take pleasure in something - some kind of internal dignity or honor, but if I remember the passions operating in me, I immediately humble myself and consider myself to be nothing: damned, and poor, and poor, and blind, and naked. Just as in a conversation with people the mediator between our word and the word of another is the air, which is everywhere and fills everything, and through the air the words reach the ear of another and without air it would be impossible to speak and hear, so in spiritual terms in communication with incorporeal beings the mediator is the Holy Spirit, who is everywhere and fills everything. We do not fully understand how others hear our words through the medium of air, sometimes at a great distance, but we know that they hear; We also do not understand how holy Angels and men hear the cries of our hearts in the Holy Spirit, but we know that they hear. Just as we make sure that others hear our speech from the answers, here we make sure from the answers. There we see with our bodily eyes the face with whom we speak, here with the eyes of our hearts; We present an image to the eye, and an invisible face or invisible spirit to the eye of the heart. For corporeal beings there is a distance, for the Holy Spirit there is no distance. How many, because of the pleasure of eating sweet and satisfying food, deprive themselves of the sweet and nourishing fruits of prayer for the soul! How quickly God hears the prayer of two or three praying together from the heart! Experience. The intention towards us of our Lord Jesus Christ is to drive out lies (flattery), pride and the devil’s malice from our hearts and instead implant His truth and love, meekness and humility. A wondrous creature is man! Look: in the earth lies God’s breath, personal, independent, free, - the image of God Himself; how much wisdom and beauty there is in the design of his bodily tabernacle 169; how much wisdom, love, in a word - God-likeness is shown in life by man himself - this god for the earth, as it is said: Let us make man in Our image... so that he may possess... all the earth [Gen. 1, 26 ]! But lest you be proud, man, look: what happens to you when that which is in you in the image of God leaves your body as if it were its church? It’s as if you won’t exist at all, you’ll disappear for this world; the church of your spirit loses all its goodness 112 and splendor, becomes earth and is thrown into the ground from which... it was taken [Gen. 3, 19], completely mixing with it, as part of it. God's wondrous creation is man! Miraculously, the Lord instilled His image - an immortal spirit - into the dust. But marvel, Christian, even more at the wisdom, omnipotence and goodness of the Creator: He transforms and transforms the same dust into His most pure Body and His most pure Blood and infuses Himself into them, His most pure and life-giving Spirit, so that His Body and Blood are together spirit and life - and what is this for? In order to cleanse you, a sinner, from sins, and sanctify you, and, sanctified, to unite you with Himself, and, united, to deify, bless and immortalize. Oh, the miracles of the goodness, wisdom and omnipotence of the Spasovs! By satisfying your brother’s bodily needs, which God gave him, you become an instrument of God’s goodness towards your brother. It is pleasant to be an instrument of God's goodness. Have you seen how respectfully, humbly, and orderly subordinates of all classes and ranks approach their superiors, and in this mutual address they find their peace and well-being? But have you seen with what reverence and strict precision the king’s close associates behave? And all these are examples of the creature’s circulation around the Creator; in this harmonious circulation around the Creator, in obedience to His laws lies their well-being and the purpose of life. With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you [Mk. 4:24 ]: you measure love to others - and they will measure it to you with love; you measure it with malice - and they will measure it to you with malice; with goodwill - and you too; with envy - and you too; with generosity - and they will be generous to you; with stinginess - and they will be stingy for you. With your neighbor, whether living with you or coming to you, also with those sitting with you at your meal, have perfect unity and identity in the spirit of truth and love, perfect inseparability in the use of food and drink, have trust in him in all his actions, as in your own; say to yourself this way: what someone else does is the same as what I do myself. This complete trust in the actions of another, this unity of spirit with them, this, so to speak, fusion with the brother will be the fulfillment of the law of God; love your neighbor as yourself [Matt. 22, 39]. Do not eat black and white bread together. Harmful. Simplicity and non-duality are also needed in food. Sometimes a person prays apparently earnestly, but his prayer does not bring him the fruits of peace and joy of heart for the Holy Spirit - why? Because, praying according to ready-made prayers, he did not sincerely repent of the sins that he committed that day, with which he desecrated his heart - this church of Christ - and with which he angered the Lord. But remember them and repent with all sincerity, judge yourself impartially - and immediately peace will be established in your heart... surpassing all understanding [Phil. 4, 7]. In church prayers there is a listing of sins, but not all of them, and often those very ones that we have committed ourselves to are not mentioned; You must certainly list them yourself in prayer with a clear consciousness of their importance, with a sense of humility and heartfelt contrition. That is why in the evening prayers it is said when listing sins: either this or that did something bad... that is, it is left to our will to mention these or other sins. What does the inconstancy of the human heart mean in faith and piety, about which they talk so much, which you encounter even more in people’s lives? - This means that his instability in the truth and his inclination towards the devil’s lie, as well as his very inertia in it, gradually, imperceptibly occur in the heart of a person created for the truth and must constantly and undoubtedly stand in it. Suppose you at first had a living faith in God, were pious, diligent in prayer, in giving alms, sober, pure in body, and then you weakened in faith, cooled down to deeds of piety and virtue, to prayer, to alms, or even turned to lawless deeds: drunkenness, fornication. What does such a disastrous change mean? Do faith and piety really not contain sufficient motivation for every Christian to remain in them invariably? Can God, the source of our life and bliss, ever become scarce in His gifts to a person who works for Him, so that a person, as if dissatisfied with the Master’s payment, goes into service to another master, whom he considers more generous? No, let God be righteous, but every man is a lie [Ps. 115, 2]. When we see the inconstancy of a Christian man in faith and virtue, to which he was previously devoted spiritually, let us refrain from slandering faith and virtue and God Himself. His inconstancy reveals no more and no less than his inattention and ingratitude to the manifold, great, invaluable benefits of faith, his unclean, carnal, double, crafty heart, a secret desire to enjoy carnal, temporary blessings, a desire to follow the broad path of the world, and not the narrow path leading to the Kingdom of Heaven. Inconsistency in faith and piety is a sinful weakness of a person, allowed by his own will. The inconstancy of the human heart in faith and virtue comes from the constantly strengthened and supported in our heart by the charm of the enemy, who, with the most subtle carnal wisdom, plants the poison of his lies into our hearts, slandering the path of faith and virtue, as if vain and false; the enemy increases his lies in a person over time more and more, until finally - as often happens - a careless and inattentive person, having accepted the enemy’s lies in his heart and agreeing with it, begins to think falsely, according to the thoughts of the devil, and act wrongly. But why does a person, having learned through experience the life-giving power of faith and virtue for the soul and the destruction of the false wisdom of the flesh or the crooked ways of the enemy, his slander of the truth, having learned the vileness of vices or unclean carnal deeds, neglect the suggestions of faith and virtue and indulge in unbelief and lawlessness? Precisely because sin flatters our flesh and sometimes draws our heart with great force, which is difficult for someone inexperienced in spiritual warfare to resist. Remember the sayings of the Savior about two men, one of whom built his house on stone, and the other on sand 170; house here means the soul of a Christian and the economy of his salvation. What does this rush of winds and this flood of rivers rushing towards these houses mean? It means the attack of evil spirits - these dark forces of hell, these waters of evil, which forcefully rush to the human heart, sometimes as if rapidly scattering his good thoughts and feelings and good dispositions, sometimes as if strongly washing away the very foundation of his heart - this treasury of a Christian, into which he puts all his spiritual good or evil, as the Savior says: A good man brings out good from the good treasure of his heart, and an evil... evil [Lk. 6, 45]. But a Christian must stand firmly in the face of these cunning spirits of evil on the stone - Christ, being firmly convinced that the faith of Christ, like a stone, is solid, indestructible, eternal, and like a stone should lie firmly in the very depths of our heart, under which the spirits of evil cannot undermine, because they themselves are broken against this stone. Woe to him who, under the machinations of the spirits of evil, turns out to not have this foundation in his heart, that is, to have not established his heart in the Lord, but to have only dry, incoherent and cultivated sand, that is, frivolity in faith and virtue, carnal thoughts and spiritual dispositions. He will fall, washed under his heart by the spirits of malice, lies and deceit; they will dispel both that weak faith and those good dispositions that he had, and his fall will be great, that is, extremely harmful and murderous for his soul. So, my brethren, be constant in faith and virtue and remember that inconstancy comes from your unclean heart, and not from faith and virtue itself, from your inattention and ingratitude to the generously gifted Lord, and not because He seems to shorten His generous hand for you 171; if it shortens, then, note, because your heart’s faith in Him, your gratitude and love for Him is reduced, your zeal for Him cools and doubt, lack of faith and coldness towards Him settles in you, and with little faith and coldness towards Him - coldness towards all good deeds. But He announced long ago through the prophet that if you go to Him by country, then He will also go to you by country 172. Brethren! Be grateful [Col. 3:15], says the apostle. Gratitude is our most sacred duty. Gratitude is incredibly beneficial for ourselves. It is a living representation and feeling of the blessings of God, sent to us by God for our soul and body, 2 solely because of the goodness, generosity and philanthropy of the Lord. Ingratitude is oblivion and cold insensitivity to the immeasurable benefits of God, a willful blindness in which a person does not see and does not want to see how he has endlessly received many gifts and constantly receives from the Creator and Provider common to all creatures. How is gratitude good for the soul? Because, turning us to God with a feeling of love and gratitude, she gives us through this opportunity to unite with the God of love, the Father of generosity and the God of all joy, and graciously warm, cleanse and sanctify our heart and receive new mercies of God, for God becomes even more generous to the grateful. And ingratitude is especially harmful in that it plunges our soul more and more into insensibility and coldness towards God, and the lack of faith associated with it darkens the eyes of the heart, adds sins to sins, for the ungrateful allows the passions of self-love and pride to intensify in himself: blinded by them, he honors all the gifts of the Master as his own and falls into destructive daydreaming and inner self-praise. I am rich, I have become rich, he says, and I have need of nothing [Rev. 3, 17]. Just as someone who is grateful for everything - great and small - turns to God in prayer, knowing firmly that everything is from Him, so an ungrateful person does not want to pray for anything, because he considers everything to be his own, having come to him naturally. Finally, just as gratitude is the main reason for constancy in faith, so ingratitude is the reason for inconstancy and frivolity. That is why giving thanks to God for everything in Christianity is an indispensable and sacred duty of every Christian and the greatest virtue. Strengthened in the faith... abounding in it with thanksgiving. Col. 2, 7. Ingratitude hides God's gifts in darkness; gratitude removes the veil from them and constantly tries to expose them to the light of its eyes. Marvelously, tangibly, the Lord provides for those who give alms, rewarding them for it here too: those who have mercy on others themselves receive generous alms from people moved to this by God Himself. So, I, a great sinner, gave alms today (May 5) to a poor old woman and two poor men - and so what? When I arrived home, I saw that I myself had been sent gifts from a kind man: a large pot of unleavened milk, a pot of fresh cottage cheese and ten fresh eggs. Wonderful are Your works, O Lord! Thy right hand, O Most Blessed One, is manifest on me, a sinner. Treat every person who comes to you and shares your meal with you humbly. A humble person rejoices at the arrival of his brother to him, a conversation with him and the opportunity to show him pleasure with his affection and a meal, and behaves before him with dignity, calmly, politely, helpfully, but without servility and forced laughter and assenting to his witticisms and funny antics. He does not think in any way to compare together man - this image of God, this rational, royal being on earth, appointed by God as the owner of all the earth - and perishable food and drink, this dust of the earth, considering it insignificant in comparison with man; with one stern glance of his mind he destroys in his heart the movements of stinginess or pity for his brother of perishable food and drink, if they brazenly appear in him, does not darken his face with shameful passion, but always shows his bright face to everyone who comes to him, as the image and likeness of the God of generosity, mercy and love for mankind. When you ask God to grant you any good, especially spiritual, for example, living faith, love for God and others, meekness and humility, impartiality to earthly things, then you should hope to receive these gifts from Him in no other way than by using all your diligence and effort to acquire these virtues, because you are gifted with reason and freedom and you yourself have been given the strength to succeed in good with the help of Divine grace. It would be foolish to hope to suddenly receive from God any high virtue - let us say, even firm faith - without any effort on our part to acquire it through fervent prayer and zealous cleansing of our hearts from earthly attachments. It will be in vain to hope for fervent and warm prayer before God if one does not work in prayer early and late and does not endure the temptations sent by God in order to test the sincerity and firmness of our prayer. The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force [Matthew 11:12]. To fight either with a demon - or with a person, with the evil of the devil - or with human evil: one of two things. If you fight with a demon, you don’t fight with a person, and if the demon does not overcome itself, it will attack through an evil person and, through his lips or pen, will slander and harm you. Everything must be endured. For this it is said: through your patience save your souls [Lk. 21, 19]. In nature, sometimes a warm and beneficial wind blows, pleasantly and easily penetrating the body and touching it, and there is light in the sky; and sometimes a cold and cloudy wind blows, somehow heavy, feverishly, piercing to the very bones and touching the body unfriendly, and it becomes gloomy in heaven and earth; or sometimes there is a warm, warming dissolution of the atmosphere, and sometimes a cold, numbing dissolution. So it is in spiritual life: sometimes our soul is surrounded and penetrated by a light, pleasant, warming, revitalizing breath - you feel light, calm; and sometimes a heavy, murderous breath touches the heart, accompanied by complete spiritual darkness. The first is from the Spirit of God, the second is from the devil. You need to get used to everything: just as in the first case not to become arrogant and not to be overwhelmed, so in the last case not to lose heart and not fall into despair. There is no greater malice than the malice of the devil: he plunges my heart without any reason into dead despondency, he is stingy with my heart against my will, loves money, envies, becomes angry or angry, irritated; my lips pour out curses and lies; with my thoughts and heart he encroaches on the blasphemy of the Lord, His Most Pure Mother and the saints, as if strangling 173 them with my hands; through me he, this primordial thief 103, kidnaps, deceives; This primordial scoffer of God’s nature commits adultery through me and curses at our life’s fates 174 in reality and in dreams; through me he is strengthening himself to break all the commandments of God, all the will of my God. Oh, there is not and cannot be greater malice than the devil’s malice, this original malice that has captivated and is dragging into its malice the poor human race, which for the most part is inattentive to itself, very often does not understand itself and regards the charm of the enemy as something just. Since people are seduced by the enemy, they are not nearly as guilty of their sins as the primordial seducer and murderer, who is constantly, almost always with us and tirelessly in us, acting in our hearts, is guilty. They are worthy of love and compassion at the very time they sin, because they sin mostly out of ignorance, oblivion and deception; God forbid that he condemn them or rejoice in their sins like a devil: and he who condemns them or rejoices in their sin himself, according to the justice of the Master, is subjected to the same thing that he condemned in his brother or ridiculed in others, so that from his own experience he may know that those who sin are worthy of love, pity and admonition, and not ridicule and condemnation. Love your enemies, said the Lord, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you [Matt. 5, 44]. The one who hit you on the cheek 176, turn him the other too [Matt. 5, 39]. Conquer evil with good [Rom. 12:21], says the apostle. Why were such commandments given from the Savior and from the apostles? Because people sin due to some kind of ignorance, oblivion and deception, and just show them love - this royal seal in us, the seal of the Heavenly Master, show them the bright face of heavenly truth and righteousness - and sometimes they will immediately awaken from oblivion, deception, voluntarily surrender to the captivity of love and truth, repent of their deeds and love you for the wisdom that you learned from God - from His Gospel. The devil is only not captivated by love, but is more furious at the lover, but man is not, if he has not reached the point of bitterness and dissolution with the devilish nature through a long and persistent stay in anger. The devil cunningly seduces people into all kinds of sins; shouldn’t we be able to save ourselves and others through the wisdom of the Gospel? And here is our Christian wisdom: not only do not respond with offense to those who offend you - do everything opposite to what the enemy incites you to: incites you to envy - try to show sincere joy about your brother’s successes; to stinginess - show generosity; to anger and irritability - show meekness and patience; to anger or hatred - show love; to take something away from a brother - give it yourself; whoever offended you - forgive and let him notice that it was not he who offended you, but our common enemy, and that the one who offended him suffered more from the enemy; they take from you what you would not want - do not be offended, do not oppress your heart, or let the enemy not oppress it, but give voluntarily and more than they take: But I say to you: do not resist the evil one... whoever wants... to take your shirt, give him your outer garment too [Matt. 5, 39–40 ]; they are at enmity against you - love; they curse and slander you - bless you; If they hate you and try to do you harm, do good. If you do this, you will be a true disciple of the Savior Christ and an heir to His Kingdom. The nature of the devil's attacks is cunning, speed, resourcefulness: he did not win with one twist - he immediately dodges and uses another, the opposite one, and does this quickly, swiftly, so that we cannot come to our senses and, by the power of reasoning about the quality of the matter, repel the attack of evil. It happens that in a dream he sends an evil maiden to viciously scold you, and then, if her anger does not irritate you, he instantly turns to you with reconciliation, plunges her into your arms and often captivates her into sin with this cunning, quick and deft turn of the matter, and thus, having failed in one way, conveniently laughs at you in another. How much intelligence, cunning, dexterity! And how come we, the servants of Christ, do not manage to fulfill the commandments of our Savior in the same way, why do we not at least use the same wisdom, dexterity, resourcefulness in the opposite direction that the enemy uses for our destruction? Be wise, said the Savior, as serpents [Matt. 10, 16] - not only this sensual snake, but this spiritual serpent, which originally destroyed us, that serpent on which our Lord gave us the power to step 177. Why do we allow the sons of this age to be wiser in their generation than the 10 sons of light [Lk. 16, 8 ]? Why doesn’t the crown of the Kingdom of Heaven attract us as much as it should? Why don’t we strive to fight the good fight? We are lazy and inattentive. But let us never forget that the enemies of our salvation are vigilant, their attacks are skillful, their means of wounding our soul are countless, and for laziness and inattention to ourselves, for negligence about our salvation, the Lord can leave us with His grace at the very time when the pressure of the enemies will be seven times stronger than before, and when you call for help, there will no longer be a deliverer. Listen to yourself. Hear how dangerously you walk [Eph. 5, 15]. Just as the Lord knows the number of the stars of heaven, so He knows the number of Heavenly Angels and the number of their thoughts; just as He knows the number of the sand of the sea and the number of creatures of the whole earth with their organs and their constituent particles, infinitely small, as He knows the number of atoms of all elements, infinitely small, so He knows the number of the entire human race, which was, which is and which will be, the number of thoughts of all former people, all present and all future, the number of all their heart movements, words and deeds. Just as in sensual nature nothing is hidden from Him and nothing, not even the slightest atom, is lost - because how can something that He brought into being be destroyed without God, without His will? - so in spiritual nature not a single thought, not a single thought, not a single movement of the heart, not a single word, desire and deed is lost for Him: everything in its treasuries is preserved in number and measure, that is, in the same quantity and in the same degree and strength as it was, except for bad thoughts, desires, words and deeds confessed or smoothed out by the correction of life. The number of all earthly atoms and the atoms of earthly creatures, like the number of thoughts and movements of the human spirit, in this respect stand in perfect parallel. In fact: if what is created, instrumental, 179 dead in itself is not destroyed, then will that which itself received from the Lord the ability to create, the master, the living, be destroyed - I mean thought, clothed in word, and the very culprit of thought - the soul? C'est impossible, impossibile est 180. Οὐ δυνατόν ἐστι 181. So, prepare for the answer, mortals! Awaiting you at the Judgment are all your thoughts, desires, words, deeds, good and bad, sent there by you from the earth: good - all, bad - unconfessed or not attenuated by thoughts, desires, words and deeds opposite to them. God will bring you to Judgment about all of these. Good Lord! Do not enter into judgment with Your servants! If You... notice iniquities... who can stand? [Ps. 129, 3]. The word in our mouths is already creative, forming articulate sounds or so-called letters (and with the word comes the living [spirit] of a person, not separated from thought and word). You see, the word by its nature is creative even in us. Why are we of little faith and distrustful of the creative power of the word, for example, in prayer, so that it - this verbal service - will certainly bring down the mercy of the Lord to us and will not return to us 182 like the word of the Lord? Thus, the word constantly creates flesh for itself - articulate sounds and writing, or our books (isn’t it the flesh in which the word is clothed?), and we have listened to this and looked closely at it so much that it seems to us that it does not deserve special attention at all. Likewise, mental spirits - Angels - create flesh for themselves in the likeness of our rational soul, which creates flesh for the word. So the Hypostatic Word of the Father became flesh [Jn. 1, 14] ours for the sake of salvation. Not only the nature of the Divine, but - by His gift - the nature of created animate creatures is creative under God's guidance: be fruitful and multiply yourselves [Gen. 1, 28 ]; you see: the souls of living creatures grow bodies for themselves under God’s guidance. Thus, with the power given to them by God, people are still growing and multiplying on the earth; This is how people and animals create for themselves everything necessary for life, especially man - this is the most inventive creature who amazes with his endless creativity, efficient and idle - creativity in all types of art... Since the Word - the Creator - is omnipresent, then everywhere, although not to infinity, His creations are spread out, and everywhere He creates and, if necessary, transforms. Each individual creature that has life contains the ray of life of the Holy Spirit, the Life-Giving Lord. According to the truth of God, the same earth through which we fell into the sin of disobedience is punishing us and will continue to punish us until the end of time: the glutton is always punished with food and drink, the fornicator with diseases inseparable from corruption, the lover of money with silver, the proud man with earthly and truly spiritual pride. Whatever one sins, that is what he is punished for [Wis. 11, 17]. In addition, the body - this earth - suffering from illnesses, finally turns into the earth from which it was taken. The farmer, by the sweat of his brow, cultivates the land from which and from which the fruit produced was the reason for his fall into sin. Look around - and you will see what hard work humanity has with earthly things and from earthly things: who are they all if not toiling and burdened with earthly cares and affairs? Do not lose love, respect, goodwill and courtesy to anyone because of any amount of your money, which he somehow took possession of not quite fairly and which you should have handed over to him: otherwise your money will be an idol for you, and because of it you will humiliate your brother, whose soul is the image of God; Be extremely careful not to spare silver for anyone, even if he took it unfairly: you yourself often take unfairly. With the measure you use, it is said, with this it will be measured back to you [Mk. 4, 24]. In general, under no circumstances should you sell your brother for pieces of silver, do not exchange him for money, and under no circumstances compare him with money. Don’t break your love for your brother for a thousand dollars. When you want to put something on your own and do not respect any ideas of another, you even get excited that they object to you, although justly, then you are an insanely proud person who does not respect your brother’s equal moral dignity as a person and equal rights with you, for he is the image of God, also having reason, also having the gift of speech and also the freedom to speak for and against something when he is aware of justice or injustice anything. Do not become arrogant with anyone and do not put yourself above anyone, so as not to be subjected to greater condemnation from God, the greater humiliation and shame, the more you exalt yourself, persist and stand on your own. When you imagine that others interfere with you in the world and are, as it were, unnecessary for you and for others, then imagine your lewdness, your sinfulness, your unfruitfulness of good deeds and think impartially how God tolerates you in this world, how He does not leave you rich in His mercies, how you, by not fulfilling the will of God, thereby hinder the expansion of the Kingdom of God on earth, turning out to be not only unnecessary, but also harmful, [an alien] plant, but the generous God tolerates you; but don’t think like that about others: why do they live? Then they live whatever pleases the Giver of Life, Who knows the secrets of our hearts, the Giver of Life, Whose mercy... fills the earth [Ps. 32, 5], Who is pleased that the worm lives and rejoices. Do not spare anything for a person that nourishes and strengthens his love for you, no matter what the cost, as long as this love is true and not illegal, and only if the satisfaction is through fair means and not illegal. Zealous for love, you serve the God of love, Who will reward you for your love for your brother as for your love for Himself! Since... they made me 183. Remember that God is love. And how many violate love because of trifles! A truly grateful disposition of spirit towards God is the one who thanks Him, like Job, for the joyful and sorrowful things in life. The Lord gave, the Lord also took away; as the Lord pleased, so it was done; Blessed be the name of the Lord! [Job. 1, 21]. And in happiness, giving thanks is a small and easy task, and almost everyone knows how. When you are happy and everything flows as desired and beyond desire and expectation, then a word of gratitude somehow involuntarily comes to your lips. Christian hope, by the way, is to turn the eyes of the heart to the Lord in illness, troubles and sorrows with the hope of His mercy. Just as a person suffering from a rush of bad blood needs to have leeches or horns placed on some part of the body to draw out the bad blood, so a person whose heart is infected with the love of money needs to waste his money himself, like the bad blood standing near his heart, to the poor and needy, or he needs consumers of his food and drink, like leeches, or losses of money, or he needs to see amazing cases in life in which it is clearly visible that money no more worthy of attention than decay and dust; He also needs heartbreaks, in which all the futility and vanity of silver turns out to be. The saints of God despised food, money, light and soft clothing, worldly glory, all the vanity of the world, earthly life, so that, not loving the world, nor what is in the world (1 John 2:15), they could love with an undivided, whole heart God, the heavenly fatherland and the wisdom of the heavenly. They knew that food, money, fame greatly separate a person from God, and therefore, they sat down and calculated the costs [Lk. 14, 28], that is, their strength, they decided to leave everything for God; may they gain Christ 184 . (You who live in the world, without leaving everything that the saints left, leave at least your attachment to perishable food, silver, and temporary life.) And what do we see? We see that they received a hundred times [more] than food, money, temporary pleasures and fame. Instead of perishable food, during their lifetime they had sweet spiritual incorruptible food - the word of God, prayer, communication with God; instead of carnal, unclean, impermanent pleasures - spiritual, pure, enduring pleasures; instead of temporary, transitory glory, there is confidence in eternal glory. And after their death, they received what the eye had not seen, the ear had not heard, and had not entered the heart of man (1 Cor. 2:9), and they were honored with loud and eternal glory not only from God, but also from people - glory from people, which they fled with all their might. God! Grant me joy when others partake of my table, especially my relatives, my intimates. Do not multiply your words any more. When praying to God, you need to sincerely believe in those spiritual benefits that are mentioned in the prayer, and desire and ask for them with all your heart; earthly goods are considered as perishable things as nothing. In the love of money and dissatisfaction with what a person has, there is hidden hope in money and lack of hope in God. Have a disposition that does not love money... I will not leave you... [Heb. 13, 5]. From the habit of possessing spiritual or physical goods, no matter how great they are, a person sometimes values ​​them very little, and in this case the sinful inconstancy of the human heart is visible in the habit. Illnesses are sent from God in order to teach a person humility, self-sacrifice and patience, for a person is proud, proud and impatient. Notice: you have pain in the right side of your stomach, where your sin-loving, unfaithful, proud, self-loving, greedy, stingy, close-to-love heart is located. Correct yourself from God's admonitions. Be a believer without any doubt, humble, selfless, generous, loving everyone. I am worse than everyone, and I lead everyone who lives with me into sin and temptation. Truly! Just as leeches die because of their greed, so do people who are greedy for food and drink. Just as the Lord, out of His love for His creatures, gave Himself to them, not sparing His life for them (and what is more valuable than life?), and gives Himself to them as food and drink - so we, out of our love for each other, should not spare not only our material blessings or our strengths and abilities, but also our lives. As I have loved you, let you also love one another [Jn. 13, 34]. As You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, so may they also be one in Us [Jn. 17, 21]. Holy men of God are one with God. The image of every saint is important and venerable, because God the Word took upon Himself the image of man. Satan, who asked the Lord for His disciples to sow them like wheat [Lk. 22, 31], scatters the thoughts of those praying like wheat across the vast field of the world, and prayer does not settle on the heart. Distracted prayer. The infinitely great luminary is reflected in the infinitely small bodies of the earth, in the infinite multitude of them, and the image of man is reflected in the infinitely small pupils. So the mental Sun - Christ is depicted in infinitely small creatures - people, in an infinite multitude of them, also in infinitely small particles of His Body and Blood, because the First Life is simple and singular. The sun, reflected in an infinite number of small and great bodies, illuminates the whole world at once, covering it all, and so does the Lord. The wind is the same, but in countless places it produces power; so the Spirit of God is one and the same, but in countless councils of Angels it reveals His power and strength, in all holy men it breathes where it wants, and you hear its voice [Jn. 3, 8]. The Lord preserves not only all the bones [Ps. 33, 21], but also the images of holy saints, not allowing them to perish in corruption and neglect and procrastination 185, seeking them miraculously, as we know from the description of the appearance of miraculous icons, especially icons of the Most Pure Mother of God, our Lady. Thus, the image of a person is dear to the Lord, especially a holy person, a vessel of God’s grace. Through images He performs miracles or gives invisible powers of healing and consolation. God is greater than our heart and knows everything (1 John 3:20). With the eye of our heart we see and know the slightest movements of the heart, all our thoughts, desires and intentions, in general, almost everything that is in our soul. But God is greater than our heart, He is in us and around us and everywhere, in every place, as a single all-seeing spiritual eye, of which our heart’s eye serves only as a small example, and therefore He knows everything that is in us better, a thousand times clearer than ourselves: He knows at the same time everything that is in every person, in every Angel and in all the Heavenly Powers, in every creature animate and inanimate, He sees as palms of our entire interior and the interior of all creation, being inherent in each of them and containing each of them, as the Creator and Provider, in being and powers. Bodily food, consumed almost in excess, leads the soul away from God and plunges into bodily illness. Put it into mind 53, as well as what it is bought for, that is, money. With God's help, take care of love for everyone - this food of Angels and holy men, sweet and life-giving. Take the apparent injustices caused to you by your brothers in food and drink as God’s mercy to you. A crown for you for untruth from others and for love for those who offend you! Just love and love and don’t be upset when yours is admired. With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you [Mk. 4.24]. When you do good to your brother, you do it to Christ Himself, who calls those blessed who feed those who have nothing to repay, for they will be rewarded in the resurrection of all 186. All are God’s, and the Lord is righteous: for what a brother himself is not able to repay, the Lord, kind to the righteous and unjust, to the ungrateful and evil, will reward. His common meal - the earth - is open to the generous and the stingy, for He does not close it for those who already have a lot and still go to it and not only eat from it until they are full, but also fill their containers from it and store up their lives and their good things for many years 187 - I’m not talking about those who have little and for all that are often not allowed to the Lord’s table by people of this century, greedy for the blessings of the earth and stingy in giving the Lord's gifts to their lesser brethren! You yourself are full, but you still go to the Lord’s table every day, that is, every day you stretch out your hand with pleasure to accept new gifts from the Lord Almighty. Let others do what you consider to be just and what you consider to be pleasant to do yourself, for it is said: love your neighbor as yourself [Matt. 22, 39]. Notice the tricks of the ethereal enemy: he attacks at a critical time, and then, when it passes, he leaves you as if nothing had happened. He laughs at you because of the sins hidden in your heart. Eradicate sins - and the enemy will have no weapons against you in the end 188. Your sins: pride, lack of faith, love of money, covetousness, lack of love and respect for your neighbor, greed for food and drink, envy. Alas for me! My carnal man reasons when there is no need to reason, and does not reason where he needs to. He is gullible where it would be necessary not to go into faith, to judge in advance, to investigate, and slow in heart to believe everything [Lk. 24, 25], what the word of God says, in which faith is safe and life-giving for my soul: that is, I believe where it is not necessary, and I do not believe where it is necessary. How the primordial murderer curses at me! How everything in me is perverted by sin! I grieve with my heart where I should rejoice, and I rejoice where I should grieve. He does not rejoice 189 over unrighteousness (1 Cor. 13:6). My heart! How deceitful you are, how insidious you are. And you, my dear, my known, are against me! And you are joining forces with the enemy to my destruction! You are a proud, proud, unfaithful, senseless, inert 190, envious, hateful, stingy, money-loving, greedy heart! Who will deliver me from you? Instead of the simplicity given to you by God, you have become twofold: you are not completely away from God, because you feel bad without Him (and you are proud and love that it be good and pleasant for you), and you stretch out your hand to the devil, because he flatters your blind, carnal pride and falsely pretends to be your well-wisher. But you have come to know what the Lord is like for you and what the enemy is like, how true the Lord is and how false the enemy is, how the Author of life gives life and how filled with death is the one who has the power of death. Be simple: merge with the one God and do not unite with the enemy, lest you perish forever. May 10th day, 1861. Just as we see in the light of the sun what is near us and around us, as we see with the eyes of our hearts what is in our soul, so God sees everything that is in us - people, in Angels and in all creatures. A Christian must love everyone so firmly and unshakably as his brethren and the children of the Heavenly Father, that he can say from the conviction of his heart: what will separate me from love for my brother: is it the intrigues of the enemy, or sorrow or distress, or food and drink, or money, or other so-called blessings of this world, or the desire for glory, or the difficulty of serving, or their insults and, in general, their weaknesses and shortcomings? I overcome all this for the sake of the Rex: love your neighbor as yourself [Mk. 12, 31]. Let us never be silent, Mother of God, to speak Your strength, unworthy. From the image of the Lady, that is, from Her Herself through the image, come to believers the powers of healing from sorrows and illnesses. Power emanated from Him and healed everyone [Lk. 6, 19]. So now power comes from the Savior and heals everyone from sins, passions and illnesses. You are greedy for food - God punishes you with stomach diseases and even brings you closer to death, so that you come to your senses and improve. This is the umpteenth time! Give glory to Him who exalts you from the gates of death and Who strikes your iniquities with your fatherly rod - and be sure to correct yourself. You are greedy, that is why God often sends to you, as punishment and admonition, by the example of a brother who has the same weakness as you, so that you can be convinced by experience and sight of the baseness of this sin, which brings you down to the level of an animal, and so that you can correct yourself from the stinginess that controls you. Accept your weak brother as yourself, and bear his weakness as your own: with what one sins, he is punished [Wis. 11, 17]. You are proud and ambitious - and the enemy tempted you this night with a parody of electing and naming you a bishop: you agreed in the face of the bishop himself, the late Gregory (in fact, a demon), to be a bishop, bowing to his convictions to be his assistant, with inner self-gratification and with a secret consciousness of your imaginary dignity, forgetting that you have a wife and a related family. Repent of the ambition that lies within you, and humble yourself to the ground, considering yourself far from worthy of the place you occupy. Another person in society is reputed to be pious, holy and righteous, compassionate and poor-loving, and the like. Who knows, maybe this is true. But as you take a closer look at him, in his home life, you will involuntarily be seduced by his affairs: he is gloomy, uncommunicative, stingy; outside the home he feeds strangers, but at home he is stingy for his own; outside the home he is compassionate towards strangers, but at home he breathes hatred and malice towards his own people. But what is said in Scripture: If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those at home, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel (1 Tim. 5:8). Human! Don’t contradict yourself and be equally kind everywhere. They noticed, and they strongly noticed, that you write your conversations briefly, unproductively, setting out the pure truth, but you still do not come to your senses and write at length, with the intention of shining more, and therefore your conversations are slow and unsuccessful. Throw away all human glory and all artificiality and speak simply! The Lord, like the mental Sun, shining everywhere, never setting, enlightening the souls of all, is often depicted in this way on icons of saints. There is a saint, for example St. Nicholas, and above his head there are rays diverging from the sky, emerging as if from the sun. On the heads of the saints themselves, the crowns are depicted like the radiance seen on a shiny object illuminated by the sun and reflecting the sun's rays around in the air. This radiance is a reflection of the mental Sun shining in their hearts. Sometimes on icons of saints, at the very top there are icons on clouds, meaning heaven, on the right side the Savior blessing the saint, and on the left - the Mother of God, stretching out her hands in prayer and looking at the saint. How significant and instructive all this is! These images teach us by their very appearance that from heaven the Lord looks down on us and on all our deeds and blesses and strengthens those who are doing well, and lifts up those who are weak and falling, encourages and strengthens them with His grace, that He, our Hero, will reward exactly in due time to each according to his deeds. I know your works [Rev. 2, 2]. My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his deeds [Rev. 22, 12]. These images also teach us the comforting truth that our Most Holy Lady prays day and night for us sinners, instructing us to invisibly walk towards every path of salvation and protecting us, together with our Guardian Angel, from the snares of demons. An earthly, carnal man is covetous, covetous, stingy, steals, but he who seeks what is above, the spiritual, rejects everything earthly, reduces everything earthly to dust, not only does he not covet and is not stingy, but voluntarily gives up his property to those who admire him and even gives it himself. When three brothers come to you, imagine the three Strangers whom Abraham received and treated, and believe that you are treating the Holy Trinity Itself (they did to Me 183). There is no need to yawn during prayer. Do not demand back from the one who took what you have (Luke 6:30). Without any hesitation, allow others to take your property, which you can do without. In this case, you will show the meek disposition of your spirit and hope in God, and not in perishable things. Remember also that it is a hundred times better for you to be insulted by your brother and generously endure his insult for the sake of the Lord, than to be tempted by the devil and suffer from him because of your foolishness and attachment to earthly insult. Remember also that for dislike for your brother, even if he offends you, you will give an answer to the Master, who loved us to the point of sacrificing His life for us, but for what others took from you from your property, you will not be answerable, and for that you will also be rewarded. Just as a not fully formed baby is entirely in the mother, so that the being of the mother surrounds him from above, below, and from the sides, his body was formed from the mother’s blood, in her being and is contained by her, he feeds on her food, breathes her air, so every person is completely in God at every moment, so that from above, below and from the sides he is surrounded by the simple and single being of God, from Him he has his entire being, by His Spirit he lives and is enlivened, by His He sees with spiritual and material light, is nourished by His spiritual and bodily food, is drunk with His spiritual and material drink, and is strong in His strength. So, in God we are like maternal lies 191. Everything is in Him. When you bitterly regret food for the visiting brethren, remember the Lady Theotokos, who so often delivers both your soul and body from sorrows, cramped conditions and illnesses, or look at Her image and remember that in Her glory She lives not by food and drink, but by God Himself, our life. So you know that our belly is God, and not food and drink (they are only means of bodily life, but if you wish, God will support the body for a significant time without any food). The kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit [Rom. 14. 17 ]. Defeat your enemies with humility and kindness. When praying, we must remember that God is the One and the Almighty. He who created from one blood... the entire human race [Acts. 17, 26] and fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fishes [Matt. 14, 17–21; Mk. 6, 38–44; Lk, 9, 13 – 17; In. 6, 9–13] will also miraculously multiply the loaves for us, if necessary. Let us only preserve love and let us not deprive anyone of our meal. Desire that every day someone from the brethren will come and partake of your meal. Desire to show mercy to your brother every day, and you yourself will receive mercy from God. God’s will is such, and your peace of mind and your service require that you greet the brethren who come to you every day with indifference or even pleasure, no matter why they come. The abyss of humility attracts to us the abyss of God's gifts, which is why it is said that God... gives grace to the humble; and a lot of pride takes away from the soul all the abundance of God’s grace: God resists the proud [Jas. 4, 6]. Those who certainly want to justify themselves and do not tolerate untruths forget about the righteous Judge, who will reward everyone according to his deeds [Rev. 22, 12], who will judge the universe in righteousness [Ps. 9, 9; 95:13] and reveals the intentions of the heart (1 Cor. 4:5), and out of blind pride they consider themselves right, if not righteous. Meanwhile, because of our sins, we always deserve to endure untruths. If the greatest righteous man - Jesus Christ - suffered injustice from people without complaint, then shouldn’t we, sinners, endure it? To endure, and with joy, and not to make excuses unless absolutely necessary. God will justify if necessary, as he miraculously justified, for example, Macarius of Egypt, innocently accused of adultery. Look what the meekness of the righteous man was: he even voluntarily took in raising both the baby and his mother and fed them with his labors until God revealed the innocence of the saint. Undoubt during prayer in receiving what is asked. Let him ask with faith, without any doubt [Jas. 1, 6]. If you have faith and do not doubt... [Matt. 21, 21]. To escape 192 from the indignation of the enemy, you need to imprint the words indelibly on your heart: I believe, I hope, I love - and penetrate your soul with their power. All the enemy’s successes over us come from lack of faith, lack of hope in God and from false hope in earthly blessings and from a lack of love. The enemy in a dream blasphemes over holy faces, over sacred faces, over their sacred clothes and sacred actions, over the very order of worship - in a word, he tries to present everything holy as ridiculous and not deserving of any attention, respect and reverence, just as he tries to completely distort our lives (and has distorted them) and put everything upside down, drive out from our hearts faith in God and everything holy, hope for future blessings and love for God and to neighbors; instead, plant unbelief, coldness and disrespect for everything spiritual and holy in the heart, tie all attention to what is visible and means nothing to us: to the world, to pleasures, to money, to food, drink, fame; bring people into constant confusion, and languor, and disagreement with the spirit of enmity, disrespect for each other, suspicion, hatred, malice, envy, stinginess, empty enterprises and deeds, and keep their thoughts far, far from the Kingdom of God and truth. For the sake of the Lord, voluntarily recognize yourself as poor not only in soul, but also in body, that is, having everything, be as if you had nothing, as if you were a beggar, as if you were a stranger, as if you were a guest in the house. Do not have greed for anything and do not anger the Lord of the belly any more, so that you will not soon see death. There is greed of taste, greed of hearing, greed of sight, smell and touch, and in all of them there is one greedy soul. Do not have any carnal greed, because it is contrary to God: it removes you from God, and strongly ties you to the world, and it dries up true love for your neighbor. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died [Rom. 14, 15]. With a word - thought, with a thing (cross) - power. [...] Every word must be considered as a thing: what thought is connected with what word, that is what you have, as it happens with things; for example, I see a stone and say that it is a stone, but I will not say that it is a tree; especially the word of the Gospel must be considered deed. This is My Body [Matt. 26, 26; Mk. 14, 22; OK. 22, 19] – these words are deeds; This is My Blood [Matt. 26, 28; Mk. 14, 24 ] - too: that is, the Body and Blood in their very deed and essence, just as in deed and essence there is a stone, this black stone. Marvelous is the faith of the saints of God in the grace of the Holy Spirit acting in them: they believe like babies, in simplicity, with firmness and undisturbed calm; when they say something, they are confident that their word will not be weakened by the grace of the omnipotent life-giving Spirit, Whose instruments they are—that’s what they call themselves; and the grace of healing is attributed exclusively to the grace of the Holy Spirit and not at all to one’s faith and piety; They also attribute it to the faith of those healed – and to God’s mercy over them. With the word, this precious treasure of a rationally free spirit and our difference from the wordless, we are so arrogant and so accustomed to it, as to some unimportant things in our house, and as we use them and throw them down at random - so is the word. But the word is an important thing: the Lord said that by his words a person will be justified at the Judgment, and by his words he will be condemned [Matt. 12, 37]. Especially in prayer, one must deeply appreciate the word, this image of the creative Hypostasis Word, the manifestation of thought and the rest of the spirit. When we sin, we sin against the Holy Spirit, Who is called so because He is the Spirit of holiness, truth, righteousness; therefore, when God cleanses our sins as a result of repentance, he cleanses us with His Holy Spirit. The saints are holy by the Holy Spirit and in the Holy Spirit. Therefore, every sinner, when sinning, must think that he is doing this or that not according to the Holy Spirit, but according to the spirit of rebellion, according to the evil spirit. Do not acquire, says the Savior, gold, nor silver, nor copper for your belts, nor a feast for the journey, nor two robe, nor boots, nor a staff: for the worker of his wages is worthy [Russian: Take with you neither gold, nor silver, nor copper for your belts, nor scrip for the road, nor two clothes, nor shoes, nor a staff, for the worker is worthy. food] [Matt. 10, 9–10]. These words of the Savior Christ expose you: you are not fulfilling them at all. You didn’t touch them with your finger, as they say, to put them to work. You have silver and copper at your belt, and in abundance, and a feast 193, and several pairs of vestments and boots - not only that: you are also a lover of money and stingy, you are not hospitable and sociable from the heart for the sake of pitying corruptible poison. Friend! For the worker of his reward is worthy. Are you not sure that as long as you [are] a priest, a spiritual worker, until then you will certainly need a reward, according to the dispensation of the Master, Who will never, never forget His servants with earthly gifts. My friend! Your duty and your first virtue should be non-covetousness and hospitality and readiness to serve everyone. Don't steal... And whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant [Matt. 20, 26]. Servant of Jesus Christ! Fulfill the commandment of your Savior: you preach to others the teachings and commandments of the Savior - how will they fulfill it when you are the first to be seen as failing to fulfill it? They will point to you and say: he speaks and does not create. My soul is enclosed in a body, and it does not and cannot be outside the body: it cannot be both here and there at the same time. But the Lord God is everywhere - both in me, and around me, and in every place. Where will I go from Your Spirit, and where will I flee from Your presence? [Ps. 138, 7]. Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? [Jer. 23, 24] - like the infinite Spirit. Everything and in everything is God, who exists above all. God is, to put it closer to our concepts, a soul that fills everything, revitalizes everyone and everything. My Lord is always with me, and through the sign of the cross He creates power in my heart, driving away demons and sorrows of the heart. Just believe with all your heart, when the sign of the cross is depicted on your belly, that the Lord is with you and that through the sign of the cross He creates power - and immediately the opposing forces will disappear like smoke and your soul will rejoice in the Lord, that He has clothed you with salvation and clothes you forever. May 13th, 1861. After Sunday Vigil. Relaxed Week 194. To the glory of the life-giving Mysteries. One eighty-year-old man, extremely ill, lay in bed for a week and expected death, and the rest of his family were waiting for him; a will was also made. But I communed him with the life-giving Mysteries, and on the third day he got up. Glory to the Giver of Life who exists in the Mysteries! Previously, the patient had difficulty turning from side to side, but then the next day he stood up on his own. In Klimov's house. If we want, we can make the saints, as it were, our living household inhabitants, interlocutors and helpers: we call on them and they will listen to us, especially the Lady. And in fact, aren’t they members of one great family of God living in one great house of God, called the world or universe and consisting of two departments: visible and invisible? Isn’t there one omnipresent Father in this family—God, for whom nothing is distant, for whom everyone is close? So call upon the saints in prayer, as those who are the same household with you as the Heavenly Father, as well as those who live in the same house with you, although in another part of it—the heavenly one—and believe that by God’s grace they hear you as two or more persons talking to each other hear each other. A stingy person puts his hope not in God, but in money, food and drink - and how cruelly he is punished for his reckless, devilish hope. Every stingy person should be pricked in the eye and told in moments of his stinginess: what, my dear, what is it like for an imperishable soul to hope for perishable things? Remember now how sweet it is to place your hope in one God, because you, too, have ever hoped in Him. How easy, soothing, and peaceful hope is in Him! He rewards those who seek Him [Heb. 11, 6]. Just as the Lord apparently protects those who pray in life, so He apparently opposes those who do not pray in some matters and does not bless their enterprises with success. Punishment with such people when you take trouble for them. All failures. And here, and there, and here - refusal everywhere. Let it be just as usual for you to generously treat your brother as you usually are to generously treat yourself. Just as in Jesus Christ dwells all the fullness of the Divinity bodily, so also in the life-giving Mysteries of His Body and Blood (Col. 2:9). In the small human body is the entire fullness of the infinite, incontainable Divinity, and in the small Lamb, or Bread, and in every smallest particle of it, is the entire Divine fullness, for just as in comparison with the infinity of the Divine, the composition of the human body is insignificant, so is the Bread, or the Lamb, and every particle of it. Glory to Thy omnipotence and goodness, Lord! Just as the sun itself is always in the sky, but with its rays, as if with countless hands, it reaches the earth, its entire surface and communicates to all organic bodies, entering them (the sun enters bodies with its rays), warming up, reviving and increasing them with its warmth, transparent ones passing through or being reflected in them with its entire circle (as many transparent bodies, so many images of the sun) and heating opaque, solid and inorganic ones, so the mental Sun - God, although He Himself is primarily in heaven, but by His life-giving Spirit, as if by His rays, is communicated to all rational creation - Angels and people, penetrating, illuminating, revitalizing, strengthening and increasing their spiritual being like the sun's rays penetrating organic and plant bodies, reviving and increasing them. Just as the sun, itself in the sky, illuminates the whole earth, imparting light to every creature and thing, even the most insignificant, so the Lord enlightens all people with His Hypostatic Light - His Son, for He is the true Light, enlightening every person who comes into the world [Jn. 1, 9]. Clouds and rain. Tree and roots, branches and leaves. We pray before eating, confessing God as our nourisher and in order to avoid the machinations of the enemy, which he arranges for us during the meal, producing in us greed for food, unreasonable haste in eating, conveniently paving the way to satiety, and stinginess, sparing other gifts of God's goodness. The all-good Lord provides wonderfully for His poor and for His churches. In previous years, one poor family received a certain amount of money for Easter from one good person, and now, not foreseeing this, they asked me to intercede with some good people so that they would please them with whatever they could for Easter. I didn’t ask, but thought myself how I could help. So what? God inspired one good man to donate twenty-five silver rubles to the poor before Easter, and I gave a significant part of them to the said poor family, with the addition of my own. About the church. It was supposed to paint the cathedral inside and out; there was not enough money for this. So what? The Lord arranged for more than eighty silver rubles to be poured into a mug for the church in one month. And how He provides for the maintenance of the clergy is also amazing. God’s mercies grow out of nothing to us, the unworthy; Every day we see [deeds] of His goodness and generosity towards us sinners. The enemy separates us from God through lack of faith and unbelief in prayer and in life. Put aside all worldly cares, because through worldly cares the enemy strongly fights against us, scattering our minds with empty things, cutting our hearts away from the Lord and tying it to corruption; in addition, it strikes the heart, devoted to earthly cares, with hellish tightness, embarrassment, and shame. I want you to be without worries (1 Cor. 7:32), says the apostle. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything [Phil. 4, 5–6]. The Lord will preserve all your external benefits, and if he allows them to be damaged, it will be for your own good. Be His will. Trust in the living God, and not in perishable things. Have, first of all and most of all, heavenly care - about pleasing God and the salvation of your soul and the Christian souls entrusted to your leadership. Look how the fathers in the monasteries led the brethren to salvation. Learn from them and you can lead to the salvation of your verbal 63 sheep. There are friends and acquaintances, but only until the matter affects their benefit; as soon as you touch them, immediately from friends they become strangers to you, because between you and them another, powerful friend appears - money, although soulless and cold, cooling all the ardor of their former love for you. A person, seemingly happy in everything, sometimes suffers a lot in his spiritual disposition from devilish suspiciousness, or doubt and dissatisfaction with himself, or with his relatives, or with the external environment. For example, someone feels good, healthy, but looks in the mirror - the mirror shows that the complexion is not good - and let’s think about the complexion of one’s face, and let’s worry about the complexion; you look - and the disposition of the soul is poisoned, the person becomes dissatisfied with himself. One must have a disposition of heart that is content with everything and grateful to God; one must thank the generous God for everything. Being content with what you have [Heb. 13, 5]. Give thanks in everything (1 Thess. 5:18). Another begins to serve God, for example in prayer, but his heart has long been serving silver or his belly, and it turns out that he only seems to serve God, but in fact does not serve Him in truth, for you cannot, it is said, serve God and mammon... No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate one, and love the other... for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also [Matt. 6, 24, 21]. Another brother comes to church, for example, for Matins, and, entering the altar, he immediately hurries to the book of fraternal incomes and with his eyes in advance devours the rubles written there, carefully calculating how much will be divided into his share. So great is our greed for money, despite the fact that at home, in the treasury, the gifts of the Lord overflow 195. How true is the word of the Lord: for where your treasure is, there your heart will also be. The heart of the lover of money does not strive for God, no, what kind of fellowship is there between pieces of silver and Christ, the idol and the true God? - and to money, to money, because it is his god. A little leaven of sin leavens the whole lump (1 Cor. 5:6). Do not let mental sin remain in your heart, but immediately pluck it out as the root of future weeds of sin. Otherwise, even a small mental sin will turn into a great one, occupy your entire heart and thoughts, disturb your peace of mind and prevent you from doing your job calmly. The Lord generously communicates Himself to the generous in prayer and in His life-giving Mysteries, for with the measure you use, it is said, with this it will be measured back to you [Mk. 4, 24 ], and meager - meager. The proud are not told, but are opposed. God, it is said, resists the proud [Jas. 4, 6]. All who begin to work for the Lord in prayer, learn to be like Him, meek and humble and true in heart, do not have guile in your soul, double-mindedness, do not be cold, try to have His Spirit, for whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ is not His [Rom. 8, 9]: and the Lord is looking for something similar to Himself and akin to us, into which His grace could be grafted. Remember that not a single word is wasted in prayer if it is spoken from the heart, and the Lord hears every word, and every word is on His scales. It sometimes seems to us as if our words beat the air in vain and are heard in vain, like the voice of one crying in the wilderness - no, no. If you drive more quietly, you will go further. Eat less and live longer. How so? Here's how. Less wood means less flame, and the stove won’t crack longer. In addition, the machine can withstand more force when there is more wood in the stove and more steam. And with greater intensity of fire and vapors, the boiler may burst, and the entire machine may stop. And our body is like a machine, moreover, soft, delicate, easily destructible. The stomach is both a furnace and a cauldron. Put a lot of wood, increase the heat - you will speed up the life of the whole body, give it an excessive amount of blood, juices and strain it beyond measure, and with this excess you will take away from it all those forces that, having been saved by moderation, could support it for the future. Remember that the body is constantly burning. This is why fasters are always almost long-lived. And do not be enticed by the satiation of the belly. Saint Mitrophanius of Voronezh said: drink abstinently, eat little, and you will be healthy. Try not to attract an abundance of food into yourself, but an abundance of the Spirit - and you will be trustworthy, calm and blissful. Those who eat will still hunger for you... Do not burden yourself with an abundance of carnal waste, but with an abundance of spiritual waste, that is, the word of God and prayer, feed your heart and mind - and spiritual contrition and reflection. For the glory of the Heavenly Father. Soon the Heavenly Father hears and delivers us from spiritual troubles. I had to sit down to eat. I read the Our Father to myself, but I doubted whether the Lord heard me, and my heart became so heavy. I repeated the Lord’s Prayer again, but with increased faith, only with imperfect faith I reached the Heavenly Father; It became a little easier, however; finally, I read it for the third time and remembered how the Son of God Jesus Christ prayed to His Heavenly Father, showing us an example, and how soon the Heavenly Father answered His prayer; I imagined that the Heavenly Father sees and hears me in the same way, so what? Now I felt easy, easy, the whole dinner was so easy. Glory to the Heavenly Father. So He sees and hears us everywhere, Most Good and Most Generous, just call with faith and hope. I lift up my eyes to the mountains, from where my help will come. My help comes from the Lord, who created heaven and earth [Ps. 120, 1–2]. Let those who pray according to ready-made church prayers be firmly convinced that the church word is completely alien to worldly idle talk, exaggeration and lies, but is an exact imprint of the truth and expresses the real, urgent needs of our fallen nature. We often depict the sign of the cross on ourselves in order to constantly remember the Lord’s greatest benefit to us - the redemption of us by suffering on the cross and death from sins and eternal torment for sins, and, secondly, so that by the miraculous power of the life-giving Cross we can be confirmed more and more in the confidence that the Lord entered into eternal glory by the cross and death and before His name every knee bows, in heaven, on earth and under the earth [ Phil. 2:10] and that if we bear our cross during our life here, then we too will enter into eternal glory, for the cross is the forerunner of the highest and eternal glory; Even by the power of the cross acting in us, we are convinced to the point of tangibility of the truth that the Lord is always with us, according to His promise: and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age [Matt. 28, 20], in us and at our right hand, in no way departing from us, but remaining persistently - therefore we must be confirmed by this power of the Cross in the hope of Christ Jesus in all the circumstances of our lives. How to receive communion worthily? With a living consciousness of one’s unworthiness and, most importantly, with a firm and undoubted faith that in every particle of the Body there is the whole Christ, in every swallow of Blood; or: in every particle of the Body that can be imagined, and in every particle of the Blood that can be imagined, there is the whole Christ, fragmented and yet not divided. Therefore, no matter how many receptions you make of the Body and Blood, with each reception and sip, say internally: Christ, Christ, Christ; even if you take fifty sips, say every time: Christ, and speak without fail with full confidence of your heart. You say: what are these petty details? No, not petty: can any sincere advice, every word spoken from experience be petty in the presence of such the highest Sacrament? But I speak sincerely before God in Christ, and I speak from experience, that this is how it should be, that this is the kind of faith the Lord wants from us, that worthy communion, our peace of mind and bliss depend on such an image of heartfelt feelings. I will also repeat: such details are not superfluous when receiving communion in the face of many invisible machinations of the enemy in these great moments, because the enemy then tries in every possible way to scatter our thoughts of the heart and darken the eyes of the heart. Therefore, one must always have a weapon ready against him, with which one could act with the speed of thought, as he attacks with the speed of thought, and in an instant refute him, as he pours out thoughts of doubt in an instant. And this weapon of faith in Christ, who is in every particle of the Body and Blood, just as the soul is in our body, is the most effective weapon, for the Lord truly and essentially resides in every particle of the Body and in every particle of the Blood - just as the soul is in my body. Amen. Amen. But if you, suppose, take three sips or ten with faith, and one with doubt that Christ is in it, then this one doubt will harm everything, and you will not find peace or Christ in your heart, offended by your devilish doubt; if you take fifty sips with faith, and one with doubt, you have lost everything, for Christ is one and simple, like just a movement of thought. Pre-sexuality. May 17, 1861. Almsgiving greatly contributes to the success of prayer. Proof of this is Cornelius 197. Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them [Matt. 18, 20], that is, among the body and soul, or in their heart. Behold, I stand at the door... [Rev. 3, 20]. How close the Lord is to man! It's near the heart. He is at my right hand; I will not be shaken... [Ps. 15, 8]. You are with me... [Ps. 22, 4]. What a convenience for prayer! Why is it that during prayer our words sometimes ring out as in the wilderness, like the voice of one crying in the wilderness? Because we ourselves, through lack of faith and heartfelt disposition, move away from the Lord. The Lord is always with us. Only an evil disposition of the heart makes Him distant from us, for malice is always far from Goodness, although She contains the evil ones in Her right hand. Show Your power as ever, we say in prayer to the Lady. Apparently the Most Holy Theotokos constantly reveals Her power in Christians. If any of you lacks wisdom, that is, who does not have firm faith, meekness, humility, kindness, unfeigned love, impartiality towards earthly things, let him ask God, who gives to everyone simply and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask with faith, without any doubt, because he who doubts... Let such a person not think of receiving anything from the Lord [Jas. 1, 5–7]. Humility, by the way, consists of tolerating unjust insults kindly and not opening your mouth to those who offend you. Jesus was silent [Matt. 26, 63]. Humility - don’t try to stand on your own. Humility is to be willing and quick to obey in everything to your superior and even to your inferiors. We must remember that in prayer the Lord understands us, so to speak, that is, our words, exactly as perfect prayer-books understand themselves, for man is the image of God. The Lord answers every desire of the heart, expressed in words or not. Modern naturalists take away light and heat from the sun and attribute them to the air, as if only excited by the sun to produce light and heat from itself. Smart guys, really! They wanted to show off their novelty, they wanted to show off their thoughtfulness! Will scientists and sensible people believe you? If the warmth is not in the sun and not in the rays of the sun, then tell me, why does the cold wind carry away, so to speak, the warmth of the sun, and it becomes so cold? Why doesn’t the sun excite warmth in the air then? This means that the air itself is devoid of heat, but receives it from the sun, is heated by the sun’s rays, as everyone says. You, gentlemen, what good, perhaps, will you say that the source of spiritual light and warmth is not God, but something else? The human race is one great tree of God, which has grown throughout the entire earth and covers the entire earth with its branches. To the old rotten root - fallen Adam - a new, living root was grafted by God's wisdom and goodness - the Lord Jesus Christ, from whom Christians originate, like a separated branch from a whole tree; in the trees there is earthly, organic life, in the Christian race there is the life of Christ, heavenly, spiritual, and the spiritual powers and abilities of true Christians must be looked at as the powers of Christ Jesus Himself. We have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16), says the apostle about true Christians; Likewise, deeds of virtue must be viewed as the fruit of Christ’s grace. Christians who do not live like Christians form dry branches on the branch coming from the root - Christ, and every branch that does not bear fruit will be cut off by the Heavenly Father and thrown into the fire [John. 15, 2]. The pagans are not a revived, not revived branch, coming from a rotten root - Adam. By faith they too are grafted into a living, healthy branch, into the Church - this body of Christ. By partaking of the life-giving Mysteries with undoubted faith, I tangibly learn the omnipresence of Christ. How? This is how: in every particle of the Body and in every drop of Blood I accept the whole Christ and thus see with the eyes of my heart that He is at the same time complete in all particles and drops, no matter how many there are, to infinity. In the same way, the whole Lord is in every Orthodox church - in the Holy Mysteries and in every smallest particle, and just as there are Orthodox churches all over the earth, then the Lord is not only in Divinity, but also in His soul and body throughout the whole earth, everywhere communicating with the believers inseparably and producing in them sweet fruits: the cleansing of sins, the sanctification of Christian souls and bodies, righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, uniting everyone with Himself, with the Father and His Holy Spirit. You know, moreover, that through fervent prayer He dwells in the souls of believers with His Father and the Holy Spirit. Being inherent in the entire material world and simultaneously animating all and every part of it separately, the Lord is all the more inherent in people, and especially Christians, and lives in them. Do you not know that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless you are what you ought to be (2 Cor. 13:5). Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit living in you (1 Cor. 6:19)? No matter how many particles there are, they are all spirit and belly, or the whole Christ, and they are all from one Bread, or from one Body; so Christians, no matter how many there are, are one body of Christ, one Church, enlivened by the one Spirit of God, who is completely present in every believing and pious soul, as one, that is, the One who exists, covering with Himself everyone and everything, infinite and eternal. Respect for father and mother brings down upon the respectful son the peace and blessing of God and success in prayer and in all his labors. Honor your father... may it be good for you [Exod. 20, 12; Deut. 5, 16]. The Father's blessing confirms the foundations of houses [Sir. 3, 9]. Deeply humble your heart before your parents, who gave birth to, nurtured and nurtured your insignificance. If they are rude and simple, do not be tempted by their rudeness and simplicity, but transport yourself mentally to the time when you yourself were rude and uneducated - a wild branch of a wild tree. Receive everyone who comes to you as if the Lord Himself had sent him, for without God you cannot reach the threshold, says the ancient proverb. Without God nothing happens. Whose leaves are these on the tree? - God's. Whose good thoughts are you having? - God's. Whose ability do trees have to grow and weave woody tissue, produce and develop leaves and fruits? - God's, that is, given by God. Whose ability of thought and speech do you have? - God's. Are trees using their God-given powers to harm them? - No. Is a person using the abilities and powers given to him by God to harm? – Uses: abuses the mind received from God for the knowledge of God and His truth, abuses his heart, created for the love of God and others, the feeling of the bliss of communion with God, and his free will, given for endless improvement in virtue. May 18th day, 1861. Give us this day our daily bread [Matt. 6:11] - you speak on behalf of your brethren, on behalf of the poor. Are you rich? Give them this daily bread, be an instrument of God’s goodness, show that you pray truly and not hypocritically, truly and unhypocritically you call God Father, and all people brothers (you have one Father... in heaven... yet you are brothers [Matthew 23:9,8]). Prove that you are fulfilling God's commandment: love your neighbor as yourself [Matt. 22, 39 ]; This I command you, that you love one another, as I have loved you [Jn. 13, 34; 15, 12]. Prove that you love no more pieces of silver than your brother, created in the image and likeness of God, for whom Christ died, whom He feeds with His Flesh and Blood; prove that you do not idolize silver coins. If you say: Our Father! Give us this day our daily bread [Matt. 6, 9, 11], and you leave your brethren to starve, to walk in nakedness, then you pray hypocritically, ungodly: God is not your Father, and you are not His child, and people are not your brothers. Look what it looks like? Your treasuries are full of the gifts of the Lord. You have taken into your hands the gifts of God's goodness, offered to all people, but your brothers do not have daily bread, they do not have anything to cover their nakedness, they are in the cold; you are in rich, high, ornate chambers, and they are in low, cramped, damp, stuffy dungeons, like in coffins. Why don't you condescend to their condition? Why don’t you ease their fate, you, who are approaching with them together the one Cup of life, the one Animal Bread 198 given to the tuna 2 by the Lord of yours and his life! I thank You, Lady, for again and again 199 you delivered me from the oppression of lack of faith. May 18, 1861. Twelfth o'clock in the afternoon. (Prayed before the image of the Kazan Mother of God at home.) The power of prayer - for example, opening and closing the sky, turning fire into dew. Whose prayer is especially powerful? Prayer of the Mother of God (with Your saints and all-powerful prayers) and saints - in heaven; on earth - the prayers of priests, as if placed by God Himself at His very throne to pray for themselves and for people (about our sins and about human ignorance); the prayers of the venerable hermits (only his face will I accept [Job 42:8]). Laziness in the prayer of Christians is the reason for the poverty of faith, hope and love, sins and iniquities, mental and physical troubles. About hope. The entire foundation of our hope, the entire wealth of hope lies in the image and likeness of God, according to whom our soul was created in its infinite and unhardened fall. That is why the Son of God descended to earth, so that He might seek and renew His image, buried and decayed by passions; That’s why there are such lofty promises to Christians; therefore the Son of God is not ashamed to call us brethren [Heb. 2, 11]. There is no hope for the stingy, the money-loving, the gluttonous, the drunkard, the thief, the adulterer, the evil and vindictive. Remember that appetite is not given for the enjoyment of food and drink, but for the most convenient maintenance of life, and consume food and drink not for pleasure, but to satisfy hunger and strengthen bodily strength; As soon as you have satisfied your hunger and strengthened your strength sufficiently, leave food and drink, even if your appetite still continues. Man is for the most part greedy, he continues to eat when he should have finished, and with his eyes he would be ready to devour everything that is on the table, and would like to have ten stomachs in order to prolong the pleasure of the taste and belly. If the belly is full, but the heart is not united with faith and love with God, then food, no matter what it is, is in vain: it cannot satiate or fill the emptiness of the heart or expand its tightness. But if the heart is united by faith with the Lord, then even with an empty stomach there is lightness and peace. With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you [Mk. 4, 24]. Not a person, but God will reward for everything - for good and for evil. Both will certainly respond. As it comes back, so will it respond. About prayer. Just as in ordinary speech, in a conversation with superiors, you need to remember with whom you are talking, and behave respectfully, expressing respect in the position of the body, and in the voice, and in the words, and in the gaze, so when talking with God, one must firmly remember with whom you are talking, and express extreme reverence in both the position of the body, and the voice, and the gaze, and above all - in the heart and thought. Just as in a conversation, even with people, decency requires looking straight into the face of the interlocutor and not turning your eyes to the side out of inattention and distraction, or out of guile or pride and disdain, so even more so in prayer - in this conversation with God - you need to look steadily to the Lord with your heart and body eyes and not take your heart eyes off Him, but fix them motionless on the humane heart of the Lord with an undoubted expectation of great and rich mercy from Him. We must remember that He is the only One who sees in secret [Russian: seeing the secret] [Matt. 6, 4, 6 ] all our heartfelt thoughts. Jesus Christ breathed (on the apostles) and said to them: receive the Holy Spirit [Jn. 20, 22]. From this we see that all holy Angels and holy men live and breathe the Holy Spirit, just as external man breathes air or like animals breathe air. Whether they think or speak, the Holy Spirit thinks and speaks in them: It is not you who will speak, but the Spirit of your Father who will speak in you [Matt. 10, 20]. Therefore, look what power, what life, what light there is in the words of the saints of God! Truly the Spirit of God speaks through them, truly the Holy Spirit breathes in their words and writings. How insignificant are the doubts that the enemy plants in our hearts during prayer (or at other times), in comparison with those testimonies of truth in which, so to speak, every truth of faith is clothed! These testimonies are countless: these include the testimonies of the prophets, apostles, saints, martyrs, saints, unmercenaries - this victorious army of the Lord in all ages, and most importantly, the testimony of the most embodied truth - the Lord Jesus Christ, whose word is the way and the truth and the life [John. 14, 6 ]! Moreover, how bitter is any doubt for the heart! It appears in the heart for a short time, thanks to the abundant light of the truth of God, and then into what despondency, crampedness, and sorrow it plunges the soul - real hell! If you reject it from your heart with undoubted faith, it will calm down and spread. Save, Lord, every Christian, especially a priest, from the blasphemy of the heart against the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and rests in the Son, the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of power, the Spirit who gives life to all, the Spirit of signs and wonders, by whom we live, are sanctified, strengthened, rest, rejoice, the Spirit of the Sacraments, or the Spirit of spiritual gifts, the Spirit who created flesh and soul the human Son of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary, who even now always transforms bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Son of God Jesus Christ by the favor of God the Father, and is prenaturally and graciously communicated in the Son of God to all who truly partake—the Spirit in whom alone we have the bringing through Christ to the Father. Amen. May 19th day, 1861. Any doubt about the truth communicated by revelation and taught by the Church, instructed by the Holy Spirit, is an insult and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, Who is called the Spirit of truth because all truth is His birth. Both demons and wicked people with their powers and abilities are kept in existence by the Lord. The Lord allows their actions, may he not deprive them of freedom, which, out of His extreme, ineffable goodness, He granted them and which, out of their malice, they turned and are turning into their own destruction and the infliction of all kinds of evil on God’s creatures. The Lord contains everyone, His power, kingdom, strength and glory are above all. In abundance His powers serve Him and defeat Him. How can a servant of the Lord fear such a Master? That you live every moment in the Life-Giving Trinity, be always as convinced of this as you are convinced that you are illuminated by sensory light, nourished by food and drink and breathe air - these three, united together for you. May 20th day, 1861. When in the thoughts of your heart, through the action of the enemy, you blaspheme the Holy Spirit in any way, for example, by doubting His Person and His consubstantiality with the Father, then for you there is no Trinity, there is no Father and Son: you blaspheme the Lord God, and there is no light and life for you from the consubstantial, life-giving and inseparable Trinity, because you have blasphemed the Hypostatic Animals and together the one in essence Life - Lights and Light, one Being and Three Persons 116. Priest of God! Believe, always believe with all your heart in the grace given to you from God - to pray for the people of God: may this greatest gift of God, with which you can save many souls, not be in vain in you; the Lord soon hears your heartfelt prayer for people and conveniently bows to mercy for people, like the prayer of Moses, Aaron, Samuel, and the apostles; atone for every prayer occasion: in church, when you perform divine services or the Sacraments, in homes - when performing the Sacraments, prayers and molebens - everywhere and at all times, pray for the salvation of the people of God, and you will gain for yourself the great grace of God. Glory to the grace of fasting! I owe it to him that I pray with heartfelt devotion and success and sweetness; I owe him a wealth of holy and sublime thoughts; I owe him the convenient connection of the heart with the Lord through living faith. May 19th day, 1861. Friday. Do not be discouraged and do not despair of receiving what you ask for if, while praying fervently to God to deliver you from any sins and passions, you apparently do not receive help. There will be help undoubtedly, only the Lord wants your own desire to free yourself from them to be as pure, firm and constant as possible, and the prayer for this is sincere and ardent, wants a more radiant crown to be placed on your head for your own efforts and labors to get rid of evils, because you are free, and not with quick, not quick, not sudden help, the Lord does you a great honor to give you an opportunity to show your own courage, your own faith, hope and love for the Lord. The grace of God never violates our freedom, but gradually, gradually, through heavenly insights or enlightenment and through various temptations (Try... and... melt my insides [Ps. 25:2]) leads us to correction in life. It is not quick and easy to get rid of sins and passions, when the innate natural corruption that passed into us from our forefathers favors indifference in sins and sinful dispositions and inclinations, and constant temptations from the world or from other people with whom we live and come into contact, and special temptations from a strong and vigilant enemy - the devil, who every minute of the day and night is ready to kindle our sinful dispositions or inclinations of our hearts. Every day, every hour, we must pray unceasingly and with heartfelt faith call upon the Lord Jesus Christ for help - and with His help we must cleanse our heart, which is overgrown with thorns of sins and passions, patiently await correction and cleansing, and with all patience endure the evil machinations of the enemy to arouse the passions hidden in the heart. This is the work of a lifetime, not an hour, or a day, or a month, or a year. Do not be discouraged: the Lord will finally take revenge on you 201 from your rival - the devil. When praying to God, constantly remember that God is the seer of secrets [Matt. 6, 4; 6, 6] that He sees all your thoughts, dispositions and movements of the heart, its coldness or fervor, sincerity or deceit, simplicity and duality, or hypocrisy. Constantly repeat in your heart: he sees, he sees - and betray your whole heart with all its good and evil to this all-seeing eye of the Heavenly Father; if you notice evil, bad movements in your heart against your will - say: see, Lord, my scabs; I don’t like them, I don’t warm them, but I want to be cured of them; if by will, quickly wake up and say: ah! what is it in me? After all, my Heavenly Father sees me, and quickly repent of the free sins of your heart. Commit to Him all that is good in your heart and say: This is yours, Master, not my good; confirm it in me. Having accustomed yourself to the memory of God’s omniscience through prayer, you will little by little become accustomed to constant remembrance of this in life, protect yourself from many sins and acquire all possible purity of heart. The Holy Spirit is the shrine and excess of the Father’s shrine and life, a Person equal to the Father, by whom the Father sanctifies and revives everything. Deeply respect the episcopal rank, in every bishop see, as it were, the eternally living great Bishop Himself - the Son of God (the Bishop was ecu to us). Remember that from him you received the grace of the priesthood through sacred ordination. The bishop is the father of fathers, that is, priests; through him you have the happiness of standing before the throne of the Lord of all, performing terrible Mysteries, beholding the Face of the Holy Offering, at which the Angels look with fear, so often partaking of the life-giving Mysteries, performing other most sacred and all-saving Mysteries, teaching the people, shepherding the Church of the Lord and God, which He purchased for Himself with His Blood [Acts. 20, 28], and enjoy such honor as the Lord did not give to the Angels. Deeply respect every bishop, no matter what his character in life, and the great Bishop and Chief Shepherd Himself will honor you on that terrible day for the respect shown to Him in the person of earthly bishops. When teaching boys or when preparing conversations to teach the people the truths of faith and activity, be extremely attentive to yourself, so that your heart is with you, so that it freely and willingly controls its subject, and do not allow the devil’s incitement and opposition or internal paralysis of your heart by the devil’s machinations in your heart through prayer and the memory of Jesus Christ. Whoever we reproach is not reproached, the suffering is not forgiven, but we surrender to Him who judges righteously [Russian: Being slandered, He did not slander each other; while suffering, he did not threaten, but handed it over to the Righteous Judge] (1 Pet. 2:23). It speaks of Jesus Christ, Who was unjustly reproached or slandered by the high priests, scribes and the Jewish people, worthy of reproach for their own countless untruths, and whom, however, the sinless Lord did not reproach, from whom, suffering, He did not forbid, betraying both their untruth and His truth to the One who judges righteously. Apply this example of meekness to yourself. When someone reproaches you for your real or imaginary shortcomings (righteously or unjustly), for an imaginary or real malfunction, or slanderes you, falsely blaming you for guilt that you did not commit or committed unintentionally, by coincidence, do not reproach such a person, do not repay him in kind, do not say: you yourself are such and such, you yourself do this and that (for this means: we reproach the enemy not reproach), and if he makes you suffer from his slander, do not resist him, but hand over your cause and its unrighteousness to the righteous God who judges, who will certainly bring out your righteousness like light and your justice like the noonday [Ps. 36:6]. Save your soul with your patience. There is a lot of untruth in this world, caused mostly by our common enemy, and to defeat untruth there is one way - patience in hope of the future Kingdom: Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for there are... [Matt. 5, 10]. However, here too the Lord very often rewards those who endure unrighteousness, glorifying them with greater glory, the more they were subjected to dishonor. Always warm prayer leads us to the most sincere and firm conviction in the immortality of our soul and in the bliss of that immaterial age, for man draws all the pleasures of prayer from God the Spirit, borrows all his strength from Him, as well as - by His grace - from the Mother of God (She delivers our souls from troubles, rests, rejoices, revives), from Angels and saints. Do you not know that you are the church of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you? (1 Cor. 3:16). He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you [Rom. 8, 11]. Be attentive and reverent, brethren, to the Holy Spirit who ever dwells in you and remember that the mystery and miracle of your resurrection from the dead is accomplished by the same Spirit who now lives in you by the grace and gift of Christ, for the sake of baptism with water and the Spirit, for the sake of repentance and especially the communion of His life-giving Mysteries. God is truth - and my prayer must be true, like life; God is light - and my prayer must be offered in the light of the mind and heart; God is fire - and my prayer, like life, should be fiery. God is all-free - and my prayer should be a free outpouring of my heart. What a wealth of the human spirit: just think heartily about God, just wish to unite with God with your heart - and He is now with you, and neither the walls of the house, nor the rivets of the dungeons, nor the mountains, nor the abysses will hinder this connection: God is with you now; so are Angels and saints: with God they are all before your eyes, near your heart, like your closest friends, like your relatives. Ole 70, the wealth of the human spirit! The Spirit is so simple that every spiritual or material being passes through, reviving, like the Spirit of God, passing through all rational spirits and through all unreasonable souls, heavenly bodies, the earth and all its organic and inorganic bodies, not being limited in the least by them and always being above them; or every substance passes conveniently without reviving it, like mountains, stones, walls and buildings, as if there were no substance at all. God exists as if there were no spiritual or material being at all, and that is why I can always say that I am always with God, or there is only one God and me, as anyone can say the same. ecu with me [Ps. 22:4], says the psalmist, although every righteous person says the same thing, every angel. I am with you [Acts. 18:10], says the Lord to Paul the Apostle. Standing and praying earnestly in prayer, or sitting, or lying down, or walking and suddenly sometimes visited by the Spirit of God, hearing His voice, we notice that He penetrates the soul not through the mouth, not through the nose, not through the ears (although the Savior gave the Spirit through word and breath, and although faith comes from hearing), but directly through the body - into the heart, as the Lord passed through the walls of the house to the apostles after the resurrection, and suddenly acts like electricity, and faster than any electric current: it becomes so easy for you, because suddenly your burden of sin is lifted, a spirit of contrition for sins, tenderness, peace, joy visits you. Look how an Angel appears in a closed prison at night to free Peter: the doors are locked, the guards stand at the doors, but suddenly the Angel is before a hundred - in an instant, and the light shines in the church [Acts. 12:7], - so the Spirit of God instantly visits the church of our soul - the body, and the light shines in it. As you feed your brethren at your table, speak within yourself about the food: it is of little value and insignificant, like rubbish; and about the brother: and he is priceless and one with the Lord. After the non-judgmental acceptance of the Holy Mysteries, believe in the presence of the Lord in you as much as you believe in the presence of your thinking and feeling soul in your body, and always remember this and take care of the great Guest, keeping yourself from attachment to earthly things, from lies, idle talk, laughter, envy, stinginess, hatred, pride, impatience and irritability, despondency and other sins, and think about the greatness of the gift living in you. How do the saints hear us? They hear how they are one with us in the Holy Spirit: that they also may be one in us [Jn. 17:21], as members of the one Church of God, headed by the one Christ and animated by the one Spirit of God. The saints see and hear us in the Holy Spirit just as we see and hear with our bodily eyes and ears through light and air; but our physical vision and hearing are far from perfect in comparison with spiritual vision and hearing: at a far distance we do not see very many objects, we do not hear very many sounds. Spiritual vision and spiritual hearing are perfect: not a single movement of the heart, not a single thought, not a single word, intention, desire escapes them, because the Spirit of God, in Whom the saints abide, see and hear us, is all-perfect, omniscient, sees and hears everything - because it is omnipresent. You, who do not see the Lord with the eyes of the heart in solid bodies, tell me, who composed and built the strongholds of the earth? Who was it that combined different bodies with chemical affinity and various elements, opposite in properties and actions, and bound them into one inseparable whole with a beautiful union? Who is this great mover of the entire universe, rotating in such an amazing order and with such amazing constancy despite the differences and confrontations of the elements? Who is this great chemist and mechanic (as such a being of science would be called)? Who is it that, from the crumbling dust of the earth, weaves the bodies of animals of many different shapes, solid tree trunks and bone- or stone-like shells of some tree fruits, thus enclosed in their impenetrable prison (nuts)? Who creates the various grains and flowers of the field? Who guards the number and measure of the underground fires and does not allow them to spread across the earth in a stormy, all-destroying stream? He who makes the earth shake, touches the mountains, and smokes [Ps. 103, 32 ]? Isn’t it the One who created everything out of nothing in the beginning, Who lives everywhere, in the most inaccessible to the eye and thought depths of the earth, seas and rivers and in all the abysses of the universe as if they did not exist, and sees everything and controls everything? We see the works of God mainly only on the surface of the earth, because we cannot penetrate inside it, and, seeing, we glorify His goodness, wisdom and omnipotence; but inside, doesn’t He distribute and balance everything? Isn’t the external appearance of a person, an animal, a plant already only the fruit of the internal, organic, wise construction of the entire human body? Isn’t it all inside the amazingly wise structure of the human body, like the bodies of animals and plants? Whose wisdom, goodness, omnipotence so wisely combined, arranged, revived this earthly dust, in itself soulless, motionless, powerless, lifeless, especially not gifted with intelligence and freedom to move on its own and on one line of space? Whose living mechanism is this? Who is it that, in the inaccessible interiors of the bodies of animals and plants, inaccessible to our sight, hearing, and touch, without the knowledge or any help of animals, constantly works actively, life-giving, blissfully, wisely, constantly, tirelessly? – The first, all-creating, most gracious, wise, omnipotent life, in Three Persons: the Father, the Only Begotten Son and the All-Holy Soul! All creation speaks about You everywhere, both on the surface and within itself. You support it all and live it. May glory be to You in every place. May the inaccessible depths of the earth and seas glorify You, as do their surfaces! Let the abysses of the earth sing to You! Let all creation glorify You now and forever. The Spirit of God lives in the Father and proceeds from Him, just as his spirit lives in a pious man, and proceeds (together with the Spirit of God) to others in faith, and love, and meekness, humility, long-suffering, compassion, mercy, and rests in him with peace, joy, non-covetousness, according to the Scripture: Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you [Matt. 6, 33]. Which man knows what is in a man except the human spirit that lives in him? Likewise, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:11). Man has three parts: spirit, soul and body; There are three Persons in the Lord: Father, Word and Spirit. In man, the soul is like the Father, the spirit of man is like the Holy Spirit, our body is like the Word of God, who created everything and carries everything with His word. Where the enemy envisages more spiritual benefit from any spiritual feat, or physical and spiritual at the same time, there he opposes greater infernal power to prevent that feat. So, for example, at home prayer the enemy does not attack the priest (as well as the layman) as much as at public prayer in the church; it is easier at Vespers and Matins than at Liturgy; it is easier on weekdays than on holidays with large gatherings of people; it is easier when there is no sermon than when there is; It’s easier not to fast than to fast; it is easier when there are no communicants than when there are; It is easier on all other holidays than on Holy Pascha and Easter - this holiday of holidays, with its indescribable lightness and solemnity, brings the demonic hordes into extreme malice, envy and vexation. May 27th day, 1861. Friday. Twelfth o'clock in the evening. When you begin to pray at home or in public, or to compose sermons, then love your work with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your thoughts, as the work of God, for only by loving it with all your heart can you do it in spirit and truth, but with a double heart, it is a great sin to serve the God of our hearts, who is worthy of complete love and who sees all mysteries. When the heart is confused by any internal thoughts or addictions, then know that the lying, evil flesh rises up against the spirit, raises its head, demanding food for itself, and now suppress its disastrous uprising with the sign of the cross and calling on the inner name of Jesus Christ. By always doing this with the help of the Lord Jesus Christ, you will enjoy peace in this life, and there you will receive eternal bliss. If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live [Rom. 8, 13]... The works of the flesh are known; they are [Gal. 5, 19 ]: self-love, pride, ambition, impatience, irritability, murmuring, resistance or disobedience, doubt in the truth, lack of faith, unbelief, blasphemy, wickedness, love of money, covetousness, stinginess, envy, hatred, greed for food and drink, laughter, fornication, love of entertainment and consolation earthly, divination or fortune-telling and the like. Thunder, lightning and rain that occur in nature also correspond in the spiritual nature of man to spiritual thunder and lightning produced by the Holy Spirit: he creates lightning when it rains [Ps. 134, 7]. There they are accompanied by rain - here only that person hears the inner thunder and sees the flash of lightning and is watered with tears - this most beneficial rain for the soul and body - in whose soul thunder is heard and the spiritual lightning of the Holy Spirit shines. Just as the Lord Himself thunders there through the laws and forces of nature, so here the Lord Himself thunders, illuminates with lightning and waters with tearful rain, so that the soul barren with deeds of virtue will shake, warm and fertilize with His life-giving Spirit. Taken from experience: it is true in the soul. The Lord torments us in prayer with the expectation of His mercy so that we become more firmly attached to Him in our hearts and feel all the need for Him at every moment of life and do not neglect Him, our Life. It happens in life to see that another person is respectful to the person he needs, appreciates him as long as he satisfies his needs, and once he has satisfied him, he no longer needs him - who was previously tied with respect for the benefactor suddenly ceases to have due feelings of respect and gratitude for him and leaves him. People often do this with God. Feeling all the need for God, they highly value Him and revere Him; but lead them out of need, surround them with perfect well-being and happiness - they will soon forget Him, consider themselves the only ones responsible for their well-being and cling with their hearts to what is earthly and perishable. That is why the Lord torments His servants who serve Him with a feeling of constant need for Him, a just feeling of their wretchedness, poverty, misery and spiritual blindness (and pleases the poor in spirit first of all, saying that theirs is already the Kingdom of Heaven [Matt. 5, 3 ]). That is why He makes prayer for such His servants a constant companion of their lives: with it they fall to Him constantly, like the poor and hungry, and the more constant, sincere and firm their falling, the more the Master binds them to Himself with longing for Him and the stronger desire for Him and the more ardent love warms their hearts, languishing from sorrow over sins and greed. 202 and thirst for grace-filled justification through faith in Him. It's strange, wild, ridiculous what you're doing. Tell me, perhaps, how is it that you, diligent in giving alms to others and helping strangers who have little, do not want to do insignificant mercy to your own people and those you know? Don’t you want to receive them with a cheerful face and treat them? You're going crazy. Receive with joy, treat with zeal and converse with an open and spacious heart. It's strange, monstrous what you're doing. Losing a lot at once is no big deal: you neglect it and remain indifferent; and to treat the brethren who often come, although this requires little, the heart contracts; What kind of stupidity, what kind of inconsistency is this in the heart? My enemy! Destroyer of love from human hearts! I see your wickedness and my sinful attachment, I see your flattery, and my captivity! It is you who indignate me, you who spare me food and drink for my brother. Therefore, I consider it fair not to pay attention to the restless, painful desire of the heart for food and drink and to be generous despite the stingy disposition of the heart. Whoever is more sorry for something, then for him there is an idol. May 27th day, 1861. Glory to You, God, my Savior, ever existing near my heart: I cried out to You in the passion of my soul, in the oppression of the enemy, in the fiery fires (2 Thess. 1:8) - and You stretched out Your hand and quickly, quickly delivered my soul, possessed by passion. You led me to the conviction that all earthly acquisitions are rubbish, trampled under foot, to which it is reckless for my heart to become attached. When I, imagining You near me, read in my heart the 50th Psalm and the prayer of light: Lord our God, who has granted repentance to man, having condemned myself heartily for my folly, then Your salvation shone to me, Your power came to me, by which I was delivered from the deception and oppression of the enemy. Because what you cannot get for any treasures, you, Lord, give us tuna 2 daily. Glory to Thee, O Merciful One, glory to Thee, O Most Generous One! If you forgive me my debts, I will also forgive my debtors (whether they owe things or sins and offenses against me). We must consider it a great honor that we receive and entertain living images of God (what people are), especially Christians - these living churches of the Life-giving Spirit, the Father and the Son. Abraham accepted idolaters with joy - how should one accept Christians who are nourished by the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ? When are you undoubtedly a servant of God and abiding in God? Then, when you eat the Body and Blood of the Lord with faith; then, when you are alien from sins and passions that remove love for God and neighbor from the heart: pride, vanity, envy, love of money, stinginess, impatience, irritability, obscenity and foul language. When you love your neighbor as yourself, then you undoubtedly abid in God, and God abides in you. If he removed love for one’s neighbor from the heart, God also withdrew with it, for God is love. He clung with his heart to something earthly, corruptible, and removed God, for God is spirit, and one cannot serve two masters: God and mammon, or the womb. God is the source of our life, and the outcome of our life is in the heart: God is always there, just as a stream always has a source. But an ordinary stream can and does dry up its source; God is an inexhaustible, ever-flowing source. Glory to the God of my heart, the God of my life, the God of my salvation. Life from the ever-flowing source of life - God - does not flow into us only when we block our life stream - the heart - with doubts, lack of faith or unbelief, dislike for God and neighbors and attachment to the earth. Remove the obstacles, and a stream will flow, and rivers will flow out of our belly and living waters [Jn. 7, 38]. Love for one's neighbor consists in wanting and doing everything for one's neighbor in the same way as for oneself, with sincerity and zeal. We must love everyone because the Lord of our life is love, because the law of life is love. It’s not a pity to spend money on buying portraits and paintings, but it’s a pity to spend money on treating living images of God! Reckless! The glory of the Lord fill the 203 church (prophet Ezekiel) [Ezek. 43, 5; 44, 4], like a vessel of water. Fill the world with the Spirit of the Lord [Wis. 1, 7 ], like water is the sea, like air is the earth. On the idolatry of Christians. Photographic portraits feed vanity and serve idolatry. Men bow to idols in the person of women and in church they are not ashamed and are not afraid to look sinfully at women instead of God. For some the idol is clothing, for another it is food, for another it is an order. Another is an idol for himself: that’s all he has to do is look at himself in the mirror and admire himself, and wherever he goes, no matter what he does, he internally enjoys himself; when he prays, and then he rather imagines himself, and not God, in his heart, and it seems to him that his own image (face) is better than the faces of the saints of God: he seeks beauty in icons. What do the raised hands of the Mother of God mean in the icons? They mean that the Lady, according to the testimony of the Church, does not stop praying for us, or that She prays for us day and night. Iconic images correspond to reality itself. How do I know if I'm being pampered? You need to spread some kind of foul smell in your room. If I show displeasure from him, if I do not tolerate him indifferently and become irritated by it, this means that I have become pampered. Remember one holy father who deliberately kept a vessel with foul-smelling slop in his cell 204 . There is not only delicacy of the sense of smell, but also of sight, hearing, taste, and touch. If you ooh and ahh when you’re sick, it means you’ve become pampered; if you can’t stand a mosquito bite, it means you’ve become pampered; if you can’t stand the sting of nettles, pamper yourself; If you can’t stand an ugly face, you’ve become pampered with your eyesight. When you do not pray sincerely, the Lord now sees and shows His displeasure towards such prayer: this displeasure is visible in the vagueness of the heart. And the devil begins to deceive in the heart. Glory, glory to my Lady, the Most Holy Theotokos, the Most Merciful Mother of all Christians! Today (Sunday, May 28) in the morning, through my prayer, She delivered my soul from the oppression of the enemy, and suddenly it became easy, easy for me, and I went with a spacious heart to the liturgy. I prayed before the icon of Our Lady of Kazan in the upper room. Again, another time, I prayed after mass, also in the cramped state of the enemy, and She again showed Her power on me and brought me out of my cramped state. What will I repay for all these powers of the All-Mighty? O Lady! You do not demand my good things, as you gave birth to the Benefactor and Savior of the world! Accept my heartfelt gratitude, accept my sources of tears, poured out before Your icon from an ardent feeling of gratitude! I also prayed to the Lady that She would return to me the animal that had been lost to me. Having prayed, I sincerely believed that She would return it to me, and the next day after early mass I saw: they had brought a lost animal to my barn. All glory to the Most Blessed Mother! I am accustomed to turn to Her in all my needs, as to a mother who always exists near me, living in the same Master’s house with me, for we, Christians, are the mental creation of the King Christ, and She is the Head of the mental creation 146, as the Church calls Her. The best way to bend oneself to the mercy of the Lord, the Most Pure Mother of God, the Guardian Angel and the saints of God is compassion for the poor and weak. We are all members of one another [Eph. 4:25] under the Head of Christ: both Angels and holy men of God. Therefore, when we each properly correct the position of the members of the body, we have compassion and help each other: if anyone preaches, speak as the words of God; If anyone serves, serve according to the strength that God gives... (1 Pet. 4:11) and so on, and so on - then the saints of God, seeing our righteousness, themselves move to help us, for it is said: you measure according to measure, it will be measured back to you [Russian: with what measure you measure and with such it will be measured back to you] [Mk. 4, 24]. Know and always firmly remember that you measure the least amount to others, it will be rewarded to you. The Lord almost always builds in such a way that for your giving he immediately prepares a sevenfold greater gift. Just take a look. Learn from this to be generous in giving or treating. The Lord is the most generous Father of us all, He is pleased to see our fraternal generosity towards each other, our open-hearted space and simplicity in communicating with each other. Some people, during prayer and after prayer, get excited and angry when someone does something that is not to their liking - this comes from the inner worm of self-love and pride with which the enemy tempts our heart. A proud person wants to put everything on his own; he considers himself a master to whom everyone must obey unconditionally. That man did not comprehend the spirit of true prayer. Just as, when talking or reading with others, we take it for certain that others hear us, and speak or read to them calmly and with complete confidence, so during prayer we must also take it for certain that the Lord and the saints of God hear us, and calmly, with unshakable firmness, always say our prayers. In a conversation or when reading, we are sure that what is said or read is understood and accepted by others in the same way that we understand and feel what we say - so the Lord accepts everything. Do not forget in necessary cases, when passion incites and inflames the enemy, the commandment of the Savior: If your right eye (heart) offends you, pluck it out and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members perish (put to death your earthly members: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil lust and covetousness [Col. 3:5]), and not your whole body - not your whole body. your carnal, old, sinful man was cast into Gehenna [Matt. 5, 29]. People suffer a lot of evil from non-observance of this commandment of the Savior. Be extremely careful of mental, verbal and deed sin and mental disturbance, so that you do not offend God the Father, the Word and the Spirit and these mental and verbal beings 205 and with them the Guardian Angel, for they always see us. Mental beings are offended by mental sins, and first of all the Most Holy God. When, because of something perishable, you lose love and friendship for your brother and are embarrassed and subjected to murderous tightness of spirit, then this comes from the enemy and from your attachment to perishable things. You're crazy then. You are selling your brother for a thing, while there is nothing more valuable than the soul of your brother, for which the whole world is not worth, for which the Son of God came to earth. How is it that you value yourself so highly, but your brother so low? How long will the enemy of the human race abuse the image of God through you? How long will you humiliate the least of the brethren of Christ because of perishable things? Look: if you measure as little as possible, the Lord will measure for you too 206. Rejoice, brother, rejoice when you can do something for free to anyone: you do this to Christ, and Christ is your debtor. You work for the Lord Jesus Christ [Col. 3, 24]. Have the highest possible respect for the word of God, or the gospel, and for the word of the church, liturgical. Imagine that the Word is the Creator God, that this Word is creative: It called into being out of nothing and beautified and is constantly beautifying the world and now constantly calls into being people with other creatures. This is the water of life. The Word is being and life; and who is the beginning of thought from which It comes? God the Father is the wine of 207 the Word and the Spirit. Or... don't you know... that Jesus Christ is in you? Are you not what you should be (2 Cor. 13:5), unless you are unskilled in goodness and in conquering the thoughts of doubt, lack of faith and all kinds of sins! Imagine in your heart with a clear thought the Lord, or the Lady. or an Angel and a saint, call upon them heartily for help with repentance for your sins - and help is ready. Experiments. Evil spirits, as mental beings, prevent our thoughts from flowing smoothly in words during prayer, putting doubt, darkness, blasphemy and the like into the heart, and good Angels help our thoughts by illuminating them with the light of the Lord, faith and love. The male sex should set an example of pious leadership in the church to the female sex; Meanwhile, the men show an example of casual standing: they look around, talk, laugh, move from place to place; and the women stand reverently and pray with a feeling that is scarce in men. Our faith and Church are the most venerable, holy, God-wise, firmest, ageless old woman, in whom a young, living spirit always lives and revives its faithful children. Just as we always behave with great respect before the elders, respecting their gray hair and wisdom - the fruit of centuries of experience, and we highly value their every word and apply it to life - so we must especially honor the Church, revere its holiness, antiquity, unshakable firmness, its God-enlightened wisdom and spiritual experience, its soul-saving commandments and decrees, its worship, Sacraments and rituals. How can one not honor her for the fact that she saved a countless number of people in her bosom, settling them in places of eternal peace and joy, and, not forgetting them after her death, announces them to this day on earth with eternal praise and glorification of their virtues, as her faithful children! Where will you find a more appreciative friend, a more tender mother? So, may Christians cling with their hearts entirely to the Church of Christ and may they be firmly established in it until the end of their temporary life, may they all be zealous for the fulfillment of all its commandments and statutes, and may they find in it eternal salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord. According to the wise dispensation of God, in this world one thing precedes the other, one thing replaces the other: dishonor and honor, poverty and wealth, health and illness; Before giving wealth, the Lord often experiences extreme poverty, and deprives the rich of everything; before honor - dishonor, and the exalted with honor - humiliation, so that we learn to appreciate the gifts of God and are not proud of happiness, knowing that it is a gift from the Master, not deserved by us. God is the Personal Power that contains everyone and everything at every moment of existence. Glory to Thee, my reviver, Jesus Christ! During Matins and Mass, the devil crushed my heart like a stone with the darkness of unbelief, and my heart felt cold and heavy; but as soon as I received communion with faith of the Holy Mysteries, instantly the weight fell off, my heart warmed and came to life, and I involuntarily exclaimed with my heart: this betrayal 208 of the right hand of the Most High [Ps. 76, 11]. If you yourself, unclean, fickle, abhor the impurity of spiritual and physical and the inconstancy of others, then let the All-Holy God, in Whom there is no shadow of change, abhor your impurities. If your heart regrets perishable food for your brother, then remember that our life is not in food, but in love for God and for each other. Yes, love is the life of our heart, because love is God. And when you do not remain in love for your brother, then you insult, as if you are strangling 173 God Himself, and you drive God away from yourself. Keep in your heart and deeply honor the feeling of love, like God Himself, and do not violate the commandments of love because of anything earthly or perishable. Remember that you always walk before the eyes of God, who see everything secret and hidden in the heart. Remember that the enemy will write all your sins in his scroll, and accuse you of a terrible test and make you irresponsible. See that you walk carefully, not as fools, but as wise [Eph. 5, 15]. A person's life does not depend on the abundance of his possessions [Lk. 12, 15]. If the thought comes into your heart that your father 210 does nothing and lives idlely, then remember his labors in raising for you a dear wife, to whom nothing in the world is dearer; Also remember that he has worked a lot in his life and now needs peace, which you are obliged to provide him according to the fifth commandment, which says that children are obliged to nourish and give peace to their parents during old age, to forgive and cover their weaknesses, which they suffered in their time in us 211. Love your brothers 212 as one flesh and blood with your wife; if you sincerely love your wife, you will sincerely love your brothers. If they often come to your table, welcome and treat them cordially, as one with your most kind wife. Remember that nothing happens without God, and brothers come to you according to God’s providence to test you, do you love your neighbor as you love yourself, do you wish for him what you want for yourself, are you wise, do you, as a Christian and as a priest, consider everything earthly as rubbish, and do you have the same heart and soul with your brothers, whom it is most natural and worthy for you to love and share your property with them? Always receive with cordiality a Christian (whoever he is), for whom the Lord did not spare His Only Begotten Son, but gave Him to suffer on the cross and die, and whom He nourishes with His Flesh and Blood, a Christian - this younger brother and member of Christ, the dwelling of the Holy Spirit, this living abode of the Holy Trinity! It will be an unforgivable sin if you always accept him with indifference, coldness or disdain and stinginess, exchanging your brother for soulless metal, for the rubbish and dust of the earth, and you will not recognize your guilt, your recklessness, your ingratitude and your unpardonable coldness towards your brother in a Christian! Remember that every Christian has been redeemed by the sufferings and blood of Christ for eternity, for blessed union with God in heaven. He is eternal, therefore do not spare anything temporary and perishable for him. (What an infinite distance between the Body and Blood of Christ, with which the Lord feeds the Christians, and our food and drink, which they consume with us! How lofty Christians are! They are Christ Himself. They did, it is said to Me 183.) Love with all your heart the incorruptible, heavenly, spiritual life and everything that leads to it, and despise temporary, corruptible, carnal life and everything with which it is supported and that flatters it. You are dust and to dust you will return [Gen. 3:19] body, and the spirit will return to God, Who gave it [Eccl. 12:7] at the beginning, blowing into man’s face the breath of life from Himself. Remember this. For prayer to succeed, one must love the imperishable, spiritual, heavenly life and despise the temporary. It pleases the Lord and the saints when we philosophize about our real life and strive for it, and do not cling with our hearts to this fleeting, vain, charming, earthly life. The humble Stefan, Metropolitan of Ryazan and Murom, of the Sarov Hermitage, among other things, wrote to the rector and his brethren: “Let all things be one and common to you. Don’t hesitate, God will not forget you 213.” Niphon, the abbot of the Sarov desert, strictly observed the love of strangers, feeding wanderers and strangers every day, on simple days, several hundred and a thousand, without any payment for it, and meanwhile this monastery flourishes like a cranium 214, says the author of “A Brief Spiritual Ladder,” page 55. The Lord surrenders our changeable, fickle heart to the tyranny of the enemy, and may he teach it firmness and constancy through the patience of the enemy’s kindled arrows. Pay attention to your heart so that it does not indulge in the slightest impatience and irritability at anything. May the words of the Savior be heard more often in your heart: learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart [Matt. 11, 29]. Envious! God's servants, whom you envy, take advantage of God's bounties, not yours. Why are you, evil one, jealous of them? Is there only food on earth? 215 What an abomination to the Lord and men - envy! How insignificant is my love for my neighbors even when I feed them from my property. I feed them, but not with my flesh, like the mother of a baby or like this highest lover - Jesus Christ, but, so to speak, with God's breasts, for all this food and drink are truly God's breasts, from which all creation sucks and lives. How foolish is the miser who is stingy with God's gifts for God's people! We have brought nothing of our own into this world, but we have everything from God. Do not rejoice because the souls obey you. This is pride. And rejoice that your name is written in heaven 216. Is it contrary to love for one’s neighbor? when we buy expensive things for ourselves or build magnificent houses, and leave our neighbors to starve and walk half naked or live at an expensive price in our apartments. Miser! Why are you embarrassed, why do you change your countenance because your neighbors eat your bread? Surely they are not taking your last piece from you? Oh, lack of love! Oh, lack of trust in God! You don’t know the happiness of feeding others with your bread and salt, this happiness of participating in goodness and generosity together with the Heavenly Father, who generously feeds the worthy and the unworthy, the working people and the lazy parasites! For everything from Him, the reward will be at the Judgment: and the cup of water will not be forgotten. Many of the Christians are subjected to illness and death so that the mercy and miracles of goodness and their intercession by the Lord, or the Lady, or the saint above the 10th sun, may shine through them in the Church of Christ. The wife and son of priest Petrov. Shlisselburg] Mother of God. The rites of the Church over the dead are aimed at bringing to the memory of all those present at the grave the inevitability of death, the thought of the corruption of everything earthly and concern for preparation for eternity; but carnal people, contrary to the Church, in contrast to everything that she sings and says over the dead, come to funeral dinners in order to drown out all the good thoughts and feelings and dispositions of the heart inspired by the Church when contemplating the rites over the dead, and to crush and flood them with food and drink. Yes, brethren, in these noisy wakes there is nothing Christian and much pagan, idolatrous; here one can see the most diligent service to the idol - the womb. It is good, sinless, after the labors of seeing off and after mourning the deceased, to strengthen the strength of the soul and body with bodily consolation - for this purpose dinners are prepared; but the abundance of food and wine on them is not approved, satiety and drunkenness are sinful after everyone clearly saw the vanity and corruption of food and drink on the dead. The table should be moderate, reinforcing and encouraging - nothing more. Three dishes to the glory of the Trinity that nourishes and has mercy on us and two glasses of wine - and that’s enough. If anyone loves God and is obedient to the Church - his mother, let him continue to do so, let him console her with his obedience and prudent actions, and let him no longer please the devil, who mocks the statutes of our mother the Church; Let the voices of the drunken and satiated not be heard at our funerals; May the crazy game with the gifts of God be removed - I mean throwing bread during the table. How (by the ineffable mercy and generosity of God) are you satiated and dare to so brazenly neglect the very thing with which the Lord has nourished you? How! Are you drunk and splashing around with the excess of God’s gifts like fish in water? The gray people, the mad people, eat and drink and rise to play [Russian: the people sat down to eat and drink, and then stood up to play] [Ex. 32, 6]. Woe to you who are now satiated! for you will hunger. Woe to you who laugh now! for you will mourn and lament [Lk. 6, 25]. Remember that at this very time, as you are full and drunk, many of your brothers barely have their daily piece of bread, obtained by the sweat of their brow, and while you are drunk with wine, they drink water and thank God. But you have no gratitude to God for such an abundance of His earthly blessings. It would be nice to at least give the remains of the funeral table to the poor to commemorate the soul of the deceased. This would be a hundred times more useful for him than treating drunken guests, and this would fulfill the Savior’s commandment: when you make lunch or dinner, do not call [your friends, nor your brothers, nor your relatives, nor rich neighbors, so that they do not call you, and you do not receive] reward... call [the poor,] the crippled, [the lame, the blind] [Lk. 14, 12 – 13]. How wise would you luncheon founders be if you did this! I think that the word of our Savior is of utmost importance to all of us. I think the voice of the Life-Giver is not heard in the desert. But let those who are Christ's crucify their flesh with its passions and lusts [Gal. 5, 24], moreover 37 passions of intemperance in food and drink, and let them do as the Church wants. How long can we, Christians, live like pagans? In Him all live and move 217. Great words! It talks about the Holy Spirit. Jonah praying in the belly of the whale. Everywhere the Lord hears. The greedy belly, for which I worry so much, for which I am so often embarrassed, which so often itself hurts, how long will I work for you? The hour will come when the soul that revived you and acted through you will leave you, and you will not demand anything: they will throw you - earth - into the earth, and you will become equal to dust there. Why, in fact, do I fuss and worry a lot, why am I indignant with passions because of you? Why are you, my soul - a heavenly, immortal inhabitant - losing your freedom, your lordship, your dignity because of this dust? Despise the womb and all carnal passions and become wiser on high. During prayer, you especially need to take care of the peace of the soul, for where there is peace, there is the Holy Spirit; where there is no peace, there is no divine Spirit of God. Our faith regarding God hearing our prayers is such that if our mother Church prays to the Lord herself through our lips, then, without any doubt, the Lord hears us. This is the first. What do the experiments say? Who cried out to God about something from the heart and was not heard? I cried to God, and the Lord heard me [Ps. 54, 17]. Anyone who has prayed to God in spirit and in truth can say this. When you pray to the Lord, or His Most Pure Mother, or a saint for healing you from any bodily illness, and you pray sincerely, do not immediately expect a miracle to happen to you, but take care to remove the causes that produced the illness; as in spiritual illnesses: just remove the cause of the illness, and now you will be healed. For the same laws of the Lord are the same both in spiritual life and in physical life: soul and body are the work of God’s hands. So, for example, if your stomach is suffering, take a post as a doctor, do not neglect other medical aids that cleanse and direct it to proper activity, and do not expect your stomach to heal in a minute. You also need punishment for the pleasure of the womb. Do your teeth hurt? Remove the causes that produce a rush of blood to the head and supply the blood with the need to rush from the inside to the extremities: leave fatty and generally bland foods, do not eat richly, quit smoking tobacco, drinking wine, have more exercise in the fresh air, avoid irritability, drink water, eat simple and more liquid food - and you will soon see that your illness has passed. Otherwise, we - oh, stupid people we are - inflict illnesses on ourselves precisely because we do not want to leave what we passionately love: delicious food, wine, tobacco, because we do not want to curb our passions, and so we suffer, for in the image of those who sin, they are tormented [Wis. 11, 17]. And rightly so! And complaints about the climate, about the weather, about the water, about everyone and everything - how many are there? You won't be disappointed. It is necessary to stimulate your heart to prayer, otherwise it will completely fall asleep. Love for God, sincerity, simplicity - these are the properties of prayer. You must pray in spirit, because God is spirit, not flesh; true and not flattering, because God is truth. The same must be said when we pray to the saints. Do not call them only with your lips, for they do not have lips, voices, or anything bodily, but with a heart or a burning soul. - then they will hear, for likeness seeks likeness. Yes, flesh and blood do not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 15:50), but a pure spirit, burning with love for God. ABOUT! My guests and my brothers are not yet eating the last piece of bread! Say this in your heart when guests come to you, and treat everyone cheerfully. Do not quench the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19), says the word of God. Remember this, every Christian, especially a priest and a teacher of children. You especially need to always burn in spirit with your high service to God and humanity: how much you will do for God, for people and for yourself when you engage in your work with faith and love, with zeal, ardor and energy, and how little, dry, fruitless your work will be when you begin to do it sluggishly, lazily, with coldness, without any zeal and energy. You will be greatly responsible before God both for yourself and for those entrusted to your care. Be attentive to yourself, dear brother and sister, when a poor person in need of help asks you for it: the enemy will try at this time to fill your heart with coldness and indifference and even disdain for the person in need; overcome these non-Christian and non-human dispositions in yourself and arouse in your heart compassionate love for a person like you in every way, for this member of Christ and your own, because we are members of each other [Eph. 4:25], to this temple of the Holy Spirit, so that Christ God may love you, and whatever a needy brother or sister asks you to do, fulfill their request to the best of your ability. Give to the one who asks from you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you [Matt. 5, 42]. With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you [Mk. 4, 24]. These words of the Savior are fulfilled here in all accuracy. If you do good to another, you will be repaid three times, seven times, ten times: if not by those to whom good was done, then by the Lord Himself through other people. It's an experience. So, be kind, generous, fair to each other. Treat the visiting guests with a loving and open soul, give generous alms and drive away all stinginess from your heart: you do not lose, but will certainly gain. May communication and love reign. Set your mind on things above...where Christ sits at the right hand of God [Col. 3, 2, 1]. (In the Ascension of the Lord into heaven, it is appropriate to speak about non-attachment to earthly things and about philosophizing about things above.) So, you who glorify Christ the Giver of Life who ascended from earth to heaven, do not be lovers of money, misers, drunkards, adulterers, thieves 103, offenders, deceivers, covetous people, proud, hateful, envious, disobedient, but be lovers of God, generous, merciful, good, meek and humble, self-controlled, chaste, truthful, loving, obedient. By doing this, you will properly honor the feast of the Ascension of the Lord from earth to heaven, for in this way you yourself will be ascended with the Lord from earth to heaven. And this is what He wants from our celebrations. Say the words of prayer with firmness of heart. When praying at Evening Prayer in the evening, do not forget to express in prayer to the Holy Spirit with all sincerity and contrition of heart those sins into which you fell on the previous day; a few moments of warm repentance - and you are cleansed by the Holy Spirit from all filth and whiter than snow, and tears that cleanse your heart will flow from your eyes, and you are covered with the robe of Christ’s truth and become united with Him, as with the Father and the Spirit. If you take up the tug, be strong: if you take up writing and speaking conversations, think more, with all your heart about their subject, read for them, collect treasures from the Holy Scriptures and the works of the holy fathers - and the matter will go successfully. Glory to Thee, Trinity, life of all living things. Glory to Thee, Trinity, the existence of all things. Glory to Thee, Trinity, the breath of all that breathes. Having not taught your heart to please your earthly father or mother with love, how can you please your Heavenly Father with love? Learn in advance to respectfully treat your earthly parents and serve them faithfully, and then you will reverently serve your Heavenly Father. About prayer. Let no one frivolously, carelessly, somehow begin the holy and great work of prayer, as many of us do, just as we do worldly affairs somehow, as long as the work is done, without understanding how it was done, so as not to be held accountable for non-fulfillment and not to abandon the established order. If you begin to serve the Lord your God, prepare yourself, and do not be like a man who tempts the Lord [Sir. 18, 23]. About spiritual poverty. Spiritual poverty consists in considering oneself as if not existing and the only God existing, honoring His words above everything in the world and not sparing anything to fulfill them, not one’s very life; to consider God’s will as everything for oneself and for others, and to reject one’s own completely; the poor in spirit desires and says with all his heart: Hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done [Matt. 6, 9 – 10; OK. 11, 2 ]; he seems to disappear for God; he wants to see Him everywhere and in everything: in himself and in others. Let everything be yours, not mine. He desires to contemplate His holiness in himself and in everyone, His Kingdom also, His will also; To see Him alone filling human hearts, His Kingdom, His will, as it should, because He is the only one who exists, all-good and all-perfect, who created everything; and the enemy is the devil and his detractors and people who resist God - tatiye 218 in the Kingdom of God and opponents of God. For the poor in spirit, the whole world is like nothing: everywhere he sees one God, who revives everything and controls everything; He has no place without God, no moment without God: everywhere and every minute he is with God, and as if alone with Him. The poor in spirit does not dare and does not think to lean 219 on the mind of God and comprehend the incomprehensible, to reveal the secrets of God, to philosophize sublimely. He believes one word of the Lord, the Giver of Life, knowing that every word of His is truth, spirit and eternal life, and the words of His Church, ever guided by the Holy Spirit into all truth; believes, like a child believes in his father and mother, without demanding evidence, completely relying on them. The poor in spirit considers himself the last and the most sinful above all, and counts himself as trampling on everyone. How vividly the holy men of God imagined God, composing their prayers with the Holy Spirit to guide themselves and us; with what trepidation they stood at prayer, but also with what love and hope! Every word of their prayer says: God is with us and God is in us: He hears our every word, sees our every thought, our desire, our tears, every tearful particle. Sometimes we stand in church or at home in prayer, relaxed in spirit, and at the same time in body - and our soul is powerless, cold, and barren, like that pagan barren church; but as soon as we strain our hearts to sincere prayer to God and turn our thoughts and hearts to Him with living faith, our soul immediately comes to life, becomes warm and fertilized: what sudden calm, what lightness, what tenderness, what inner holy fire, what warm tears for sins, what a sincere feeling of regret that they have angered the most good Lord; what light in the heart and in the mind, what an abundant stream of living water will flow into the heart, flowing freely from the tongue or from pen and pencil to paper; the spiritual desert flourishes, like crin 214, with the coming of the Lord into the heart. Oh! Why don’t we turn our hearts to the Lord more often! How much peace and consolation He always has hidden for us! How many blessings You have, which You store up for those who fear You, O Lord [Ps. 30, 20 ]! The bird is cunning and careful and does not allow itself to be caught by hunters in the vastness of God’s world, and when it sees that someone is approaching it and wants to grab it, it now flies up from the ground and thus gets rid of the catchers. Likewise, a Christian must be wise and vigilant so that his soul is not caught by an incorporeal fisher: our soul is like a bird of heaven, the devil is an evil fisher seeking to devour someone’s soul. Just as a bird flying to the mountain is thereby saved from the fowler, so we, when we see the enemy of the devil catching our soul with earthly things, must leave them immediately with our hearts, not for a moment becoming attached to them, and fly to the mountain with our thoughts - to the Lord Jesus, our Savior, and thus we will easily get rid of the fowler’s net. Lord our God! You dress yourself in light like a robe, you stretch out the heavens like a tent... you make the clouds your chariot, you walk on the wings of the wind [Ps. 103, 2–3], you create lightning when it rains [Ps. 134:7] and you send rain on the just and the unjust [Matt. 5, 45], - rain abundantly on the thirsty land, the dried-up breasts of the rich, bring forth and grow the grain for the service of man [Ps. 103, 14] and cattle, send down Your bounties to Your earthly creatures, Father of bounties and God of all joy, despise, as you are abundantly merciful, our sins and do not destroy us with our iniquities, and have mercy on us, for you are good and a lover of mankind! When you do any kind of work, let your heart be with it, that is, put your heart, or, as they say, all your zeal into the work, and do not take on it haphazardly, with a double heart. The primordial enemy in every possible way turns me away from serving my brethren in the spirit of love. If guests come to me, he instills in my heart murderous stinginess and, due to stinginess, disdain for my brother, because I value my acquisitions more than my brother; if a brother succeeds well in his affairs and has a good external environment, he instills envy in me; if the brethren call me to serve them as a shepherd, he instills in me a murderous reluctance to serve them, contempt for their requests, some kind of anger towards them and petty irritability. Thus he perverts and puts upside down all my relations with my brethren, with the people of God, who are members of Christ, of His flesh and of His bones [Eph. 5, 30]. And everything, the damned one, hides behind my “I”, as if out of goodwill for me, producing in me dislike for others; Therefore, I must neglect, hate, crucify my “I”, this old man, in order to serve God and people sincerely and willingly. You need to pay constant attention to yourself so that the enemy does not sneak up on your soul and vomit his poison into it. Otherwise, we come to our senses already when its poison has been vomited, when we are already wounded and tormented by our mistake and our pride, and while tormented, we begin to repent and raise our tearful eyes to heaven, from where 220 our help comes. And thanks be to God our Savior: what would have happened to us if He had not delivered us from the torment of our enemies, who maliciously and relentlessly seek our destruction! Glory to Thee, Christ, glory to Thee, God! Glory to Thee, our Savior, with the Father and Thy Holy Spirit! June 1st, 1861. If I'm interested in awards, it means I'm ambitious. If I grieve when I am not rewarded, it means that I am proud, I think highly of myself, it means that I am selfish and want to accept good things in this age, without entrusting myself to the righteous Giver of Rewards, who has to reward everyone according to his deeds and who says in the Revelation of St. John the Theologian: Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to reward everyone according to his deeds [Rev. 22, 12] (Amen). June 1st, 1861. Restless impatience when we are not rewarded is the leaven of that pride, which in its highest degree cast down the Day of the proud from heaven. How do you, a sinner, serving God unworthily, and even if worthily at times, then only by His power, want a reward for your service? What does this mean? Where is your humility, which first of all you must have in your soul, as a servant of the meek and humble Jesus, for the sake of us, who endured spitting, and beating, and strangulation, and the cross, and death, instead of the honor set before Him? Christ is always in everyone and everything. Completely rely on Him at all times, in all circumstances of your life. He is the only One, 101 all-wise and all-good - let him build everything as He pleases. He is my belly, king, judge, rewarder and guide. Every day, thank from the bottom of your heart the first, imprecise belly - God for giving you, the worm, life in the image and likeness of His life, rational, free and immortal. Especially because He raised you, having fallen into eternal death, and is directing you again to it [life], and not by a simple act of omnipotence (which was impossible for Him because of His immutability, just as it is impossible for Him to become evil from good), but by giving His Only Begotten Son as a ransom for us, who suffered and died for us; Thank you also for the fact that He, who daily falls from life into death through sins, countless times again gives you life just because you say from your heart: Father! I have sinned against heaven and before you [Lk. 15, 18 ]! Thank you also for the fact that He, who recklessly plunges yourself into illness - a harbinger of bodily death, often delivers you from them, corrects your mistakes and does not deprive you of your earthly life, knowing that it is dear to you, that you are not yet ready for that eternal life; thank Him for all the means of life, for all the joys and sorrows in life, for everything is from Him, the all-good Father, everything from that first initial Life, which gave and gave life to everyone. June 2nd day, 1861. A person of noble and sublime spirit is one who, like some kind of deity, graciously and generously scatters his gifts to everyone and rejoices that he has the opportunity to do good and pleasure to everyone, without thinking about rewarding himself for it. A person of noble and exalted spirit is one who never becomes conceited with a person who often visits him and takes advantage of his bounties, does not neglect him in any respect, does not degrade him to one level in his thoughts, but always considers him the same as he considered him when he first met him, or even much higher. Otherwise, we usually become conceited with the one who has become ours, as well as with what has become ours, and, having become accustomed to him or that, we soon, so to speak, become satiated with him and regard him as nothing, and often place a person lower than the thing we love or the animal we love. You start preaching, and you have no desire, darkness in your head, coldness in your heart, you feel an extreme aversion to work - do not lose heart, but gather and strain the strength of your spirit and, calling on the Lord for help, write: at first the work will be difficult, dry, sluggish, and then, God willing, it will go easily and well, lively. Doesn’t this often happen with our prayer? At first there is no desire to pray - but lazy flesh is always ready to run away from prayer - and then, as you overcome yourself, prayer will begin in the right way, from the heart, with desire, and your heart will warm up, and it will become so easy, easy for you, so that sometimes you would pray for a long, long time. So, just force yourself, just strain your strength in the holy work - and it will go; but it’s bad if you get lazy and don’t force yourself to do something: the lazy flesh expects that, it’s for it, it’s happy. You look: the matter is postponed and postponed until the deadline comes and trouble is at hand. Likewise, lazy Christians put off the repentance of their souls from day to day, not wanting to force themselves to repent today or this week. June 2nd day, 1861. A means to achieve success in any good deed. When you sincerely pray at evening or morning prayer or in church during a service, have in your heart concern about completing this deed and a heartfelt desire to fulfill it for the glory of God, and the Lord and the Most Pure Mother will certainly enlighten Him and put a bright thought on your heart about how to accomplish it. If you want to write a conversation or a sermon and don’t know what to write about, and there is no living water in your heart, just take care of it sincerely in prayer, and the Lord and the Most Pure Mother will certainly clearly show you the subject of the word and its parts: your mind and heart will be illuminated with a clear understanding of the aspects of the subject. When the enemy disturbs your heart with extreme stinging of food and drink, brethren, arm your heart with faith and trust in God and say: I trust in my God, that I will not be lacking in His mercy: this is the message for the Father... I demand them in Heaven [Matt. 6, 32]. And He says: I will never leave you nor forsake you [Heb. 13, 5]. The disembodied enemy is jealous that you do a lot of good for the brethren for free, treating them - he is jealous of your future reward in heaven, for it is said: blessed will you be, that they cannot repay you, for you will be rewarded at the resurrection of the righteous [Lk. 14, 14], and therefore strongly and constantly revolts your soul with pity for earthly blessings for your brethren. He is also afraid of your wisdom, lest you completely despise earthly blessings, for then he will have very little means left to influence you to your destruction. And you, in fact, count with the apostle all earthly things as rubbish [Phil. 3, 8]. Why did the Holy Spirit descend in the form of a dove on Jesus Christ? 1) In order to show by the sight of this meek, gentle and pure bird the properties of the spirit of Christ: meekness, purity and gentleness; 2) to express by this His property - omnipresent throughout all creation and the revitalization of everyone, for a flying bird represents a cross, the ends of which embrace all four cardinal directions: east, west, north and south. And the Psalmist, expressing the omnipresence of the Spirit of God, says: Where can I go from Your Spirit... [Ps. 138, 7], seeing Him everywhere, in all four directions: in heaven, in the underworld, in the east and west. Further: the same bird expresses revival with its outstretched wings. So the kokosh 90, sitting on the eggs, revives them by incubation; The Spirit of God, who is everywhere and fills everything and passes through everything, at once revives heavenly and earthly creatures, like a bird incubating its eggs. When any passion attacks you and carries you away like a fast river, then say to yourself internally: these are the remnants of the old man in me, which must be completely put off, and read with faith the words of the apostle: put off the old man’s former way of life, which is being corrupted by deceitful lusts... and put on the new man, created according to God (in the image and likeness of God), in righteousness and holiness of truth (Eph. 4, (22, 24)), - after this the passion will subside. It must be attributed to the depravity of our hearts that when we hear about someone that he has committed some important sin, or when we hear that an entire society or [known] class is infected with such and such a sin or sins, we do not grieve at all about it, we remain cold and insensitive at such a bitter hearing, we are not jealous of good, as if all [...] this is insignificant or should be so, and we still rejoice internally at evil (does not rejoice in untruth, but rejoices in the truth (1 Cor. 13:6)). We must have compassion for poor humanity, of which we are members 174, or members, knowing firmly that the evil of society is also our evil, just as its good is also our good. Let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the day approaching [Heb. 10, 25]. We are members of one another [Eph. 4, 25]. When you preach a sermon, have high respect for it, as for the Lord’s living seed, and look at yourself with respect, as for the Lord’s life-giving, which you give during the life-giving 221 [Lk. 12:42] His servants. Don’t be embarrassed, don’t lose your opinion because of anything, even if the sermon wasn’t brilliant: the simpler and more heartfelt, the better it is; even if your voice is not good, sonorous or graceful, even if your appearance does not promise anything - remember that the Lord is with you, and He speaks through your mouth. He is our only Teacher, our Shepherd, our High Priest. What can we say about those children whom their father punishes, and although the punishment is difficult for them, they still do not want to say: Father, have mercy! – This means they are angry, disrespectful, stubborn, capricious; Even though it hurts, they think, we won’t say: have mercy! The same must be said about people when the Lord punishes them with some kind of disaster that is difficult for them to endure, and yet they do not want to turn to Him with a heartfelt prayer for mercy, they do not want to say: Lord, have mercy, but due to some stubbornness and cruelty of the heart they want to endure the punishment rather than ask for mercy from such a most merciful and generous Father as the Lord. But we are often like this in illness, in sorrow, in troubles: we suffer, and we suffer greatly, but we do not want to turn to the Heavenly Father with a warm prayer for mercy and salvation. What the devil has in himself, he gives to us; and he is lies, pride, envy, hatred, unclean fire, torment, despondency, death. He also tells us this when he touches us: the richer you are, the happier you are, according to the proverb. When you pray to God for forgiveness of your sins and for deliverance from passions, then see that your heart sincerely desires this and does not secretly stretch out your hands to them, do not give them a friendly kiss; Likewise, when you ask the Lord for any spiritual gift, sincerely desire to receive this gift and be careful not to allow your heart to secretly reject it or turn away from it. And this happens. They ask for deliverance from sins and passions, and they themselves caress them; They ask for God’s grace to help themselves, but they themselves push it away internally, and sometimes even with their deeds. Let prayer be a voluntary, free offering to the Lord, and not a reluctant and forced one, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7). When you pray to the Lord God, let your heart be with God and with no one or anything else, that is, let it not be passionately attached to anything. Try to do everything opposite to what the enemy forces you to do: strikes with despondency - try to be cheerful and cheerful; doubt and unbelief - believe; hate - try to love; envy and ill-will - be kind; stinginess - be generous; greed - abstain; disobedience and perseverance - be obedient; pride - humble yourself. The temptations of the enemy are necessary for a Christian (1) in order to strengthen him in every virtue, for when there is no opposing force that attracts to evil, then how can I be strengthened in the virtue opposite to evil (it is known that strength is strengthened by struggle); 2) for the knowledge of our weakness, wretchedness, poverty, blindness and for feeling the need for Christ. Sometimes it is good to say a few words to the Lord in prayer, breathing with ardent faith and love for the Lord. Yes, it’s not all about talking to God in other people’s words, it’s not all about being children in faith and hope, but you have to show your mind, burp 223 from your heart and your good word. Yes, you somehow get used to other people’s words and become cold. And how pleasing the Lord is to our own babbling, coming directly from a believing, loving and grateful heart, it is impossible to retell; all that needs to be said is that the soul, at its words to God, trembles with joy, becomes all excited, enlivened, and blissful. You will say a few words, but you will taste so much bliss that you will not receive it to the same extent from the longest and most touching prayers of others. When you ask the Lord for something, immediately contemplate His gracious and wise right hand, which gives you His gifts, which from the abundance of God has given and continues to give everything to everyone, and to doubt whether you will receive what you ask for or not, consider it madness, similar to the one in which someone said in his heart: “There is no God” [Ps. 13, 1; 52, 2]. So, asking for the help of some kind and generous person, we will first present his giving hand, for earthly benefactors, in the likeness of their all-good Father, are good and generous and give what we ask, immediately after our request, as it is said: Is there such a person among you who, when his son asks him for bread, would give him a stone? and when he asks for a fish, would you give him a snake? So if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him [Matt. 7, 9 – 11]. When you feel in your heart the languid whims of the heart regarding any subject of faith, then know that the enemy is in your heart and laughs at your ignorance, your weakness and inconstancy in faith, and now sincerely condemn your recklessness, your blindness, your sinful inconstancy in faith and your ingratitude to God for the former light of your heart and for the previous benefits to your soul from that an object of faith that your heart, out of blind stubbornness, rejects or in which it does not believe as it previously believed, and the Lord will have mercy, the languor will pass and it will become easy. O enemy! He wants everything in faith to be according to his lies. About communion. I don’t know how the whole Lord is in Peter, and the whole Lord in Paul, and in John, and in James, and in Philip, and in the other apostles, but it is true that the Lord is in all of them, and Paul says that it is not he who lives, but Christ lives in him [Gal. 2, 20 ]; Yes, if one were to ask Peter or the other apostles: who lives in you? - then they too would say that the same Christ lives in us. This is how the whole Christ lives in every particle of the Body of the Lord and the Blood of the Lord, although I don’t know how Basil, and Matthew, and John, and Theodore, and Mary, and Catherine, and Anna, and Anastasia, and all those who approach the Chalice, take into themselves the whole Christ, His Body and Blood with Divinity and humanity. These words are spirit and truth. Hey, amen. See the statement] of faith. If someone tells you or you think to yourself: how pretty you are, or: how pretty you are, or: how smart or clever you are! - tell him or yourself: marvel at the Creator, and not at yourself, write praise to Him, and not to yourself, because I have nothing of my own, His hand created and arranged everything in me. Thy hands have created me and formed me [Ps. 118, 73]. Out of self-love, do not take anything to yourself, no matter what you have that is good or beautiful - in your body or in your soul, so that you do not anger the Creator and Giver of all good things and so that you yourself do not become proud and vain. The new man (renewed) finds pleasure in obedience, but the old man wants to resist and disobey. So, Lord, Thy will be done. I accept as an expression of Your will everything that the authorities placed over me require of me, everything that others do to me (patience), everything that happens to me, for nothing happens without You. You are Sy - in everything, through everyone and everything. When your heart, out of pride, does not want to say to your father 224 sincerely: “Daddy,” then immediately convince yourself that your father is doing you a great favor by allowing you to call yourself that, and not you calling him, that you, in all fairness, refer to him with that name. Father! I thank You for hearing Me. I knew that You would always hear Me [John. 11, 41–42 ]! We asked You for rain - and You immediately heard us and shed Your rain on the thirsty land. June 8th, 1861. (Into conversation.) He who puts an ear in will not hear? and the eye that formed will not see? [Ps. 93, 9]. The need for prayer. My extreme weakness. Where would I be without prayer? I would perish in my misfortune [Ps. 118, 92] both body and soul. Enemies are internal, enemies are external. Prayer is my refuge and cover from all evils. If we depicted the face of the Lord on every line of space, then we would not do anything superfluous, because the Lord really is located entirely in every smallest and greatest space; if we looked forward to the Lord everywhere, then there would be no need to wish for anything better: we would act no more than justly, for God is always at our right hand, wherever we are. God is such a spiritual being, from Whom everything and without Whom nothing is conceivable, in Whom is the beginning, continuation, life and preservation of everything, Who is above infinitely all time and space, Who never begins and will never end, before Whom everything is as if it does not exist, Who is all everywhere, Whom is not displaced from any space by any atom, nor mountains, nor seas, nor air, nor fire, nor earth, nor heavenly bodies, Who Himself occupies eternity, every space occupied by any body, even the earth, Himself, by His power, contains in existence that body and Who is in every place, on every unimaginable line of space and Himself contains unlimitedly every space - in a word, God is Himself, that is, as if there is one Existing One, One Who is. When he was an archpriest 225 forced to honor the holidays. Intercourse to do; weaken drunkenness, adultery; promote spiritual and moral enlightenment. Advise honest trade, advise priests to confess well; to be teaching, not to cut too much slack on sinners; establish order in reading and singing in the church; ask deacons to serve reverently, with feeling, unhurriedly; sextons too. June 9, 1861. The Lord wants me to be heavenly on earth when he says: Seek first the Kingdom of God (that is, so that I live in love for God and my neighbor, repent of my sins sincerely, try to fulfill all righteousness, all virtue)... and all this (external blessings) will be added to you [Matt. 6, 33]. And from God’s inner admonitions I see this clearly. Note. The monastery of St. Nil Stolobensky welcomes 12,000 people free of charge. Do you doubt hospitality? Imitate the customs of the holy monasteries and be in the hope that God will not abandon you. If your brother does something incorrectly or somewhat negligently during the service, do not be irritated either internally or externally against him, but generously condescend to his mistake, remembering that you yourself make many, many mistakes in life, that you yourself are a man with all your weaknesses, that God is long-suffering and abundantly merciful and forgives you and all of us our iniquities without number. Remember the words from the Lord's Prayer: forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors [Matt. 6, 12]. These words should always remind us that we ourselves are at all times great debtors, great sinners before God, and that, remembering this, we should humble ourselves in the depths of our hearts and not be very strict towards the sins of our brothers, who are weak like us; so that just as we do not judge ourselves strictly, so we do not judge others strictly, for the brethren are our members, just as we are ourselves. Irritability of disposition comes from lack of self-knowledge and from pride, and also because we do not reflect on the severe damage to our nature and have little known the meek and humble Jesus. When the unclean carnal fire of the passion of adultery inflames you to sin and the imagination draws seductive features on the object of passion, and the mind invents means to satisfy it, then remember the fire of hell, which will forever consume fornicators and adulterers; let the imagination become numb before the eternity of torment, let memory and reason bring and compare all the obviously clear passages from the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments about the eternity of torment. And then, surely, your passion will immediately cool down, and you will shed tears of repentance. Remember also that you are desecrating the door of life, that you are swearing at the Giver of Life Himself, who opened for you, a despiser of His laws, this door of life, which you boldly trample on only to give yourself bestial pleasure; remember the commandment of the Lord: you shall not commit adultery [Exod. 20, 14; Deut. 5, 18 ]; remember the words of the Apostle: he who has sex with a harlot becomes one body with her (1 Cor. 6:16), or the words: Do you not know that... you are the body of Christ, and separately members... Shall I, then, take away the members of Christ to make them members of a harlot? It won't happen! (1 Cor. 6:15; 12:27). And you, glutton and seeker of bacchic pleasures, know that your lips must first of all utter praise and thanksgiving to God from a heart overflowing with faith and love; know that in close connection with your belly is your heart, or what you call your soul, this inner man, which is bound, suppressed and becomes carnal from your gluttony, from your gluttony and drunkenness, due to the close connection of the heart with the stomach: the same mouth serves for both (with your lips you eat and drink, with your lips you speak), the same tongue. Remember the high purpose of your lips: they are, first of all, the organ of your word, this high difference between you and other earthly creatures; you pray to God with them, give praise and thanks to them, talk with people through them, express feelings of love and friendship with them, and then they serve as an organ of taste and conductors of food and drink into the stomach. Note: food and drink, that is, only the necessary nutrition of the body. What are you doing? You feast on it, you get satiated, you revel! Is it really necessary to nourish the body with delicious food, is it necessary to have varied food, exquisite food; Isn’t it the other way around: rough and simple is better, just as for the necessary dissolution of food, do you really need exquisite soups and fish soups, various wines and various artificial drinks? Isn't it better to just have a simple soup and plain water? Learn from nature. What dissolves the earth to dissolve its nutritional principles and to bear fruit? Isn't it just rainwater? And what do we not fill our bellies with? What are the most exquisite drinks we lack? And that’s why we get sick, that’s why we ruin our health prematurely, and that’s why we die prematurely. When the Angel appeared to Cornelius and said to him: Your prayers and your prayers have come as a memorial before God [Acts. 10:4], this means that this Angel of God offered up the prayers and alms of Cornelius before God, just as the smoke of incense ascended with the prayers of the saints from the hand of an Angel before God [Rev. 8, 4]. So our prayers and alms are offered before God by our guardian angels. Be patient in heart troubles and sudden hardships and refrain from blaspheming God. Do not be the laughing stock of the devil, who is always ready with your lips to blaspheme the glorified name of our God, who benefits us every moment. The need for prayer. Human nature after the Fall became cursed, poor, destitute, blind, naked. Therefore, we must ask God for everything good, because without His grace we ourselves cannot do anything truly good. His kingdom, His power and glory forever, and ours is slavery to sin and the devil, our powerlessness, our dishonor. My soul, having known the one and only highest, most blissful, eternal sweetness - Christ, do not cleave to any earthly sweetness, do not prefer any earthly good to Christ, lest you thereby offend Christ immeasurably and deprive Him of His property! Jesus, Son of God! Sweet heart! You yourself strengthen my heart, so that it does not desire anything 226 except You. June 10th day, 1861. God! Greatly, greatly 227 sinned - now I sinned the same sin that I was just talking about: because of earthly sweetness - money - I drove You, my world, out of my heart: I couldn’t stand my wife’s contradictions about money to the doctor, I regretted three rubles and quarreled over them with my friend - my wife. Alas! I have now realized that my heart is still strongly attached to money. ABOUT! How cunning the enemy is! He started a war over the three rubles that I gave to the poor yesterday, and demanded that I sacrifice three rubles to the doctor. It would be necessary for Christ to part with them voluntarily, according to the commandment of the Lord: whoever wants to sue you and take your shirt, give him your outer clothing too [Matt. 5, 40], or: from the one who took what you have, do not demand it back [Lk. 6, 30]. If they take too much, give it back: you know, God demands it. Do not feed the enemy with your addiction, do not get excited, do not stir up blood, do not upset your health because of decay. And how much self-love, how much self-love do I have?! And what about pride, pride?! The enemy has greatly captivated me today. There are people who themselves receive a lot of money for nothing, for example, for some of their work that is not worth the work, and when they happen to give others their money, although much less and for actual work, or even though not for any important matter, then they become stingy, feel sorry for them and often lose their temper when they are presented with the fact that they gave little for work worth more. But with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you [Mk. 4, 24]. He himself takes money for nothing - he will certainly have to give it to others himself for nothing. This is the law of truth. The Holy Spirit is called the Comforter by His essence, which is peace, joy or endless bliss, and by His action on the souls of believers, whom He comforts, like a mother, in their virtues, in their sufferings, sorrows and illnesses, in their deeds for the faith. He is also called the Comforter in contrast to the evil spirit of despondency, which often attacks our souls. Every phenomenon has a cause. So, having done some good deed, you rejoice and find consolation in your soul - why? Because the Comforter Spirit is in you, everywhere and filling everything, a Treasure of good things, who comforts you. On the contrary, having done something bad or not done anything bad, you sometimes feel a murderous despondency in your soul - why? Because you allowed the evil spirit of despondency to take control of you. For example, you stand up for prayer, and despondency takes possession of you, whereas before prayer it was not there; or so you begin to read some book of spiritual content, for example the Holy Scriptures, and you, too, are overcome by despondency, laziness, doubt, lack of faith and unbelief - why? Because you are being tempted, the evil spirits of despondency, doubt and unbelief are treacherous over you. You are in church during a service, and you are bored, hard, lazy, despondency has come over you - why again? Because the evil spirits of despondency and laziness are treacherous over you. Or do you begin to write a spiritual work, for example, a sermon, and there is darkness, coldness in your heart and in your mind, and relaxation throughout your whole body - why? Because invisible enemies are treacherous within you. It’s easy to prove: just don’t do all this or start doing something empty, and it will be so easy, pleasant, such space in your soul and heart - where will everything come from! Therefore, the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary for all of us in all our good deeds: He is our strength, strength, light, peace, consolation. Isn't sea water passed through a pipe into my house sea water just because it is passed into my house? My property, my money, my food and drink, obtained by my labors and coming into my possession, are they not gifts from God because I obtained them from the abyss of the treasures of the generous God? Just as sea water is the common property of everyone, so isn’t my money the common property of all the poor? And what kind of blindness is it that I look at them as exclusively my property? God! Enlighten my eyes. Heavenly Father, most kind, most generous! Grant me to be in Your likeness: to be kind and generous to Your people, my brothers, as You are generous. Take away stinginess from my heart! All Orthodox Christians need to know and remember the words of the Lord in the Apocalypse, spoken to one noble man: we know your work, as if it were neither cold nor warm; So, as if ecu was stupefied, and neither warm nor cold, the imam vomited you from my lips. You say before, that I am rich... [Russian: I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot; Oh, that you were cold or hot! But because you are warm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. For you say: “I am rich...”] [Apoc. 3, 15–17]. Very many of us are neither lukewarm nor cold in faith and love for the Lord Jesus, which means that very many will certainly vomit at His mouth if they do not become lukewarm or hot. What am I saying? Almost all of us are neither warm nor cold most of the time, almost all of us are average people, half-hearted, indifferent, almost cold, although not cold at all. O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God! Grant us the fervor of faith and love for You, so that we may not be average people, just a little lukewarm. Anyone who does a lot of mental work and often goes deep into thinking must be given rest to the head, especially after eating, because then, due to the attraction of blood to the head by intense thinking, there will not be enough internal warmth to cook the food and the stomach may be upset. You must also definitely talk with family, acquaintances or friends and not indulge in thoughtful silence. All this harms the health of the soul and body. The Lord tests the many different sinful affections of our hearts in different ways: he tests others (the stingy) with the loss of money or property or any part of the property, he allows thieves to steal, robbers to rob; some by fire, some by drowning, some by wasted expenses for failed business, some by frequent visits of guests, some by illness and costs for medicines and doctors associated with illness; some with the loss of a wife, sister, boyfriend or girlfriend, others with dishonor - everyone is tested in every way, and everyone will reveal the weak, painful sides of the heart in everyone and teach everyone to correct themselves. Very many have weapons that pierce their souls: so that their thoughts may be revealed from... their hearts [Lk. 2, 35]. Therefore, no matter how much loss occurs from your property, believe that this is the will of the Lord, and say: the Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as the Lord pleased, so it was done; Blessed be the name of the Lord! [Job. 1, 21]. Christ is all the wealth of my soul, without Him I am endless poverty. If you ever and in any place doubt whether God is with you, then remember the words of the Apostle: in Him (God) we live and move and have our being [Acts. 17, 28]. You cannot exist for a moment without Him. Every breath of air you breathe is irrefutable proof that God is with you, and every movement of thought is the same. Remember that by praying for the repose of the souls of departed Christians, you are fulfilling the Savior’s commandment to love your neighbors, for the great work of love is to pray for the repose of Christian souls, and therefore pray sincerely: with your sincere prayer you will do for them a great benefit that cannot be bought with money and is infinitely higher than it. Remember this. What we sing about the saints at prayer services: we resort to you, our quick helper and prayer book for our souls, is taken from experience and is the absolute truth. So, be in the hope that the saints both hear and quickly fulfill the fervent prayers of those who come to them. Why does a person sometimes suddenly become so enraged that he gets very excited, speaks quickly, abruptly and incoherently, breaks his hands, tears out his hair or beats others in a rage, insanely breaks everything that comes into his hands and does other things characteristic of someone who is insane and frenzied? Obviously because the spirits of heavenly malice are at work in his heart, inciting people to all kinds of evil and breathing malice and murder on everyone and everything. Why are there all kinds of suicides, as well as killers of others? From the action in the hearts of suicides and murderers of the original murderer the devil. That is why Christ the Savior and the Christian faith command everyone to have meekness and humility, which do not allow the spirits of malice and pride to act in their hearts, seeking the death of one and all. The Lord says: learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart [Matt. 11, 29]. Human anger is a terrible, unnatural phenomenon in a person, and it is often aroused in the heart due to the most unimportant reasons due to self-love and pride hidden in our heart. Man's anger does not create God's righteousness [Jas. 1, 20]. The words in the Missal about the priest are remarkable: endowed with the grace of the priesthood; just as clothing embraces and envelops a person from all sides and covers all his members, except for the head and hands, assigned to constant activity, so the grace of God embraces the soul and body of a priest, like clothing, from all sides, healing and, as it were, hiding his infirmities and replenishing what is lacking in him. Just as the air clothes us from all sides, so the grace of the Spirit clothes the priest, and the sacred clothes that he puts on in church are a visible indication of how invisibly the grace of the Spirit clothes him, giving him the power and authority to perform his high service, for which, it would seem, only Angels are capable. The words of the Apostle about the baptized are also remarkable: all of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ [Gal. 3, 27]. Again similar meaningful expression. Those baptized in the name of Christ, or in short: Christians, like clothes or like air, are clothed with Christ, that is, with all His virtues or perfections: love, meekness and humility, righteousness. Christians need to be reminded of this more often. People who live according to the spirit of this age, according to the prince of the power of the air, are dressed in the same way as the devil, so that their heart, as if with some kind of clothing, is overlaid with the enemy, his properties: lies, envy, hatred, pride, anger and other passions. Just as when cold is removed, warmth comes, when darkness is removed, light comes, when burdens are removed, it becomes easy, so when we leave light food and take fasting, the soul becomes light, warm, and light, and the weapons of ethereal enemies, with which they strongly fight against us, are taken away, and the elements fight less against us: for example, heat and cold do not affect us in the same way. Experience. For a true believer in God, all earthly matter and all visible worlds seem to disappear - he contemplates the one God everywhere: for him there is not even one [mental] line of space without God, a third 228 of time without God - everywhere he contemplates the one infinite Being. He imagines that with every inhalation of air he breathes God, the Lord is everywhere and everything for him (not understanding created things and [creatures]), and creatures seem to not exist, and he himself willingly disappears mentally in order to give a place in himself to the one existing God, who is all active in him. As soon as you sometimes enjoy the Lord, the enemy will soon after that, either himself or through people, inflict extreme sorrow on you. This is the lot of those who work in this life for the Lord. (Friday and Saturday of Holy Week.) For example, you rested and rejoiced at the Chalice of the Lord - sometimes immediately after the service you are met with fiery temptation and with it sorrow; even at the Chalice itself, the enemy plays tricks on you and confuses you with various thoughts, and if you don’t want to, fight; and I would like to rest with the Lord for a long, long time, but my enemies won’t let me. As long as passions continue to operate in us, as long as the old man in us lives and does not die, until then we will have to grieve a lot from various temptations in life, from the struggle of the old man with the new. Great encouragement and consolation and great hope are given to those praying by these assuring words of the Lord: ask, and it will be given to you... [Matt. 7, 7; OK. 11:9] - and further: is there such a person among you who, when his son asks him for bread... [Matt. 7, 9]. If others ask me for something, and I, evil due to the depravity of my nature, heed the requests of others, and their words move my heart to mercy and help, and my hand to giving, then will not my words, my sincere petition move the most humane womb of the Lord to mercy and help to me, although a sinner, but still His creation, the work of His hands? If earthly fathers are good, then isn’t the Heavenly Father much more good? If I am good, isn’t God even more the source of goodness? Confirm your faith and hope in God through the earthly relationships of fathers to children. After all, we are all children of the Heavenly Father, the only truly Father of all creatures. His Grace Metropolitan Isidore is a wise archpastor in Christ: for the measure of his governance and judgment, he took the words of the Lord: as you want people to do to you, so do you to them [Lk. 6, 31]. And his judgment is always wise, impartial and satisfactory for everyone: any selfish claim is disarmed. The bleeding wife 230 is our soul, suffering from spiritual bleeding of vicious thoughts and passions. Due to the changeability of our hearts, we soon leave the Lord: you will all be separated... and you will leave Me alone [John. 16, 32]. How crazy and touchy I can be sometimes! I am offended by the mere glance of my neighbor, perhaps directed at me without intention, but seeming to me to be something sly and sinister! So easily the crafty and evil demon draws me into deception and malice, planting in my heart for no reason whatsoever malice and vengeance towards my brother! Be careful how dangerously you walk [Eph. 5, 15 ]! Oh, holy goodness and meekness and kindness of heart, never offended by anything! When will you live in my heart forever? Behold, I have been looking for you for a long time, I find you, and I lose you, and I find you again, and soon I will lose you again! When you feel in yourself that there is no peace in your heart due to addiction to something worldly and irritability and anger are breathing in it, immediately stand guard over your heart and do not let the devil’s fire flood it, pray with heartfelt prayer and strengthen your passionate, impatient heart with the power of God. Be firmly convinced that the evil breathing kindling of the heart is the work of the enemy, and the enemy fights strongly against the heart through a full stomach. Experience. When you go to visit one of your relatives or friends, go not in order to have good food and drink, but in order to share a friendly conversation with them, in order to revive your soul, deadened by the vanity of life, with a conversation of love and sincere friendship, in order to be comforted... by the common faith [Rom. 1, 12]. I am not looking for yours, says the apostle, but for you (2 Cor. 12:14). Love, it is said, does not rejoice in untruth, but rejoices in the truth (1 Cor. 13:6). We often have to see with you, dear brother, unrighteous, sinful human deeds or hear about them, and we have with you the sinful custom of rejoicing in such deeds and expressing our joy without shame with crazy laughter. What we do is bad, un-Christian, unloving, ungodly. This means that we do not have Christian love for our neighbor in our hearts, for love does not rejoice in untruth, but rejoices in the truth. Let us stop doing this in the future, so that we will not be condemned along with those who do injustice. Do not breathe malice, vengeance and murder even on animals, so that your own soul is not put to death by a spiritual enemy who breathes malice in you even against dumb creatures, and so that you do not get used to breathing malice and vengeance on people. Remember that animals are also called to life by the goodness of the Lord so that they can taste as much as they can, in a short period of life, of the joys of existence. The Lord is good to everyone [Ps. 144, 9]. Do not hit them if they, being unreasonable, do anything to mischief, if any of your property suffers from them. Blessed is he who has mercy on cattle [Prov. 12, 10]. 'How sad it is to see that on the feasts of the Lord the enemy takes his dues from Christians, and an extremely great dues; and the bigger the holiday, the more rent Christians pay to the enemy! For what do we see on holidays? Complete idleness, unbridledness of the flesh - drunkenness, debauchery, fights, thefts, amusements. My God! What a delight for the flesh! What zealous service to the devil! Are these people Christians, just think, redeemed by the honest Blood of the Son of God, and are you living in Christian times, or in pagan times? Are these the communicants of the Mysteries? Are these the people who come to the church of God in the morning and pray to the Lord with you? If it was them, why did they come to the church? Apparently, by habit alone, and not at all by the attraction of a grateful heart to Christ the Savior. Apparently, they did not pray to God, did not approach Him with their hearts, but only approached Him with their lips, if only they approached Him with their lips, and they did not enter into the power of the holiday, and in general they do not understand the essence and purpose of Christian holidays, they do not participate in them the way children participate in the family holiday of their parents. Such a loving, kind, all-holy mother, the Church, has thin children. Holy mother - sinful children, spiritual mother - carnal children, heavenly mother - earthly children; the mother wants to give her children eternal, spiritual blessings instead of perishable and temporary ones - the children reject them and choose earthly, sinful, transitory pleasures for themselves. However, among people who are drunk and devoted to various vices on holidays, you often meet people who have not been to church and do not know the holiday at all, because they have not heard anything about it, for whom there is only one holiday - the holiday of the flesh. Oh! Until we priests rise up against all the outrages on the feasts of the Lord; Which of the priests of God will have the zeal of Elijah, or Phineas, or Isain, or Jeremiah (to rise up with the power of the Holy Spirit against all these outrages on the feasts of the Lord in the New Israel), so that he can use all his strength, his whole life for the glory of God, to eradicate these indecencies among Christians? God! When will we hallow Thy feasts, as befits saints? When will we console our holy mother Church by obedience to her statutes, when will we drink in her spirit? How long, having begun in the spirit, will we finish the celebration of the great, saving events of our Orthodox faith in the flesh? How long will the enemy mock the members of Christ, who are Christians? How long will people of other faiths point to us and say: Look! Here are Christians who call themselves Orthodox! How they live! What faith they have in their hearts! What knowledge of faith they have! What kind of priests they have! How badly they teach the people the faith, how little they explain to them the holidays, their object and purpose of establishment! How little they teach them to live by faith! - My God! What a criticism of our Orthodox faith and of us shepherds! Or, however, perhaps what they say about us shepherds is fair? There is also a lot of our fault in the fact that Christians do not spend holidays as they should: we do not reprove, do not forbid, do not beg them with all patience and teaching to spend holidays and, in general, life in a Christian way. We talked little about idleness, drunkenness, debauchery, we do not thunder in the Church of God with the word of God against these vices that have terribly taken hold of the Christians of our city - perhaps more than anywhere else. We do not always excommunicate persons known for their drunkenness and adultery out of fear from the Holy Chalice, and thereby allow these contagious and vile vices to increase more and more; we give weak penances in confession to persons who deserve strict church punishment; We do not monitor, as we should, the fulfillment of those penances that we impose on them. Good God! Both shepherds and flock are irresponsible before You. Everyone has deviated and become equally obscene; There is not one of us who does good, not one [Ps. 13, 3]. What will finally happen given the existing disorder in Your Church? Lawlessness is spreading across the earth, the kingdom of the enemy is spreading, Your Kingdom is shrinking: there are few of Your chosen ones, in whose hearts You rest, many slaves of the devil, in whose hearts, like a thief 103, the original murderer sits! What will you do to us, Lord? The Blood of Your Covenant cries out from the earth. Your Gospel voice does not penetrate the hearts of Christians, Your commandments are neglected, Church statutes are trampled upon. What will you do to us, Lord? God! Send zealous workers to Thy helicopter city, not seeking their own 232, but seeking Thy Christ. Grant them prophetic and apostolic zeal, strength and wisdom, so that they tirelessly cultivate the fields of human hearts day and night! During prayer, the devil darkens and oppresses, often striking the heart of the one praying with insensibility, until he is driven out of there by fervent prayer. Human art can depict an entire person of any age in an extremely insignificant image and in this miniature give him all the distinctive features and properties of his age: for example, he depicts an old man as an old man with gray hair, with a majestic face, and so on. But will not God’s omnipotence include in the smallest particle of bread and wine the entire Face of the Lord with Divinity and humanity? Truly. Imagine the Angel of God in the image of a human soul: that is, the Angel is like your soul. That is why the Angels appeared in human form - because, that is, they have a nature similar to the human soul, only sinless, holy and higher. When you give a fair or unfair reason for the heartfelt dislike of your father, or mother, wife, brother, sister, or any of your relatives, or friends, or acquaintances, or strangers, do not neglect this dislike of yourself if you notice it in any of them, even if you do not notice clear signs of dislike in them, but if, putting yourself in their place, you yourself admit that your act is not good in relation to them, and in this case, do not neglect the opportunity to show your courtesy to them and apologize to them, caress them or caress them; although, perhaps, you are not guilty, but out of meekness and Christian humility admit yourself to be guilty, tell that person that you really offended him, and comfort his heart in every possible way, so that under no circumstances may disagreement and enmity towards each other reign in our hearts, but may peace and love always reign. Even with those who hate peace, be peaceful. If it is possible on your part, be at peace with all people [Rom. 12, 18]. June 11th day 1861. Be kind to one another with brotherly love [Rom. 12, 10]. Be at peace within yourself - and the God of love and peace will be with you (2 Cor. 13:11). When the holy peace of thoughts reigns in my soul, then the King of the world - the Lord Jesus Christ with the Father and the Holy Spirit - rests faithfully in me, and then I should especially be filled with feelings of gratitude to the Leader of the world and try with all my might to preserve this peace within myself through heartfelt prayer and distance from all sin, internal and external. The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, filling 233 the entire universe, passes through all believing, meek, humble, kind and simple human souls, living in them, reviving and strengthening them; He is one spirit with them and everything happens for them: light, strength, peace, joy, success in business, especially in a pious life - everything good. Penetrating all smart... spirits [Prem. 7, 23 ]; all are filled with one Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). All pious people are watered by the one Divine Spirit, like a watered sponge. Walking in the forest, in the garden or in the meadow and seeing young shoots of plants, fruits on trees and a variety of wild flowers, take for yourself a lesson from all this God’s vegetation, just such a lesson: every tree in the summer certainly produces significant shoots, certainly increases in volume and height; Every tree seems to be strengthening itself to move forward every year with the strength God has given it. So, tell yourself, and I must certainly every day, every year become morally higher and higher, better and better, more perfect and perfect, I must move forward on the path to the Kingdom of Heaven, or to the Heavenly Father, by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ and His spirit, living and acting in me. Just as a meadow is decorated with many flowers, so the meadow of my soul should be decorated with all the flowers of virtues; just as trees bear flowers and then fruits, so my soul must bear the fruits of faith and good deeds. When your heart becomes capricious with some passion, tell it threateningly and firmly: recklessness! - and it will fall silent and subside before the stern and decisive voice of sound reason, tempted by repeated experiences in the struggle with blind, tormenting passions. June 11th day 1861. Whit Monday. After Rambovsky there are 234 trains. Many complain about the ingratitude of their parasites and say: we fed and watered them always with cordiality, we did not spare the last for them, and now, when we ourselves began to need their bread and salt, then, although they are wealthy, they do not want to know us, or although we did not need them, they do not even turn their faces to us. Noble friends! These ungrateful people are extremely regrettable: they suffer from the disease of insensitivity and stinginess - pray for them. And you find your reward in the Christian feelings of your kind, simple and generous soul, in the fulfillment of the Christian duty of hospitality and in the hope of receiving a reward from the Lord in that age for every piece of bread, every glass of drink with which you so generously and cordially treated them. There are many ungrateful people in the world. Remember: He came to his own, and his own did not receive Him [Jn. 1, 11 ]? He Whom the world began to be: He was in the world, and the world began to be through Him, and the world did not know Him [Jn. 1, 10]. Truly I say to you: and whoever gives one of these little ones to drink only a cup of cold water, in the name of the disciple (that is, for the sake of Christ, because you are Christ’s [Mark 9:41])... will not lose his reward [Matt. 10, 42]. And don't stop being kind and generous. If you stop, you will be overcome by the malice of the enemy the devil, and you will not defeat him. But overcome evil with good [Rom. 12, 21], it is said. The enemy strongly dislikes the virtue of hospitality - this high Christian virtue, testifying to our mutual Christian love and respect for each other, and he breathes malice towards hospitable people and tries by all means to deviate them from it, mostly through the ingratitude of our parasites. While the person is standing in prayer, the enemy tries to disturb his heart with something, mostly with bewilderment and doubt, and also with concern for something everyday; Therefore, we must delve deeply into prayer with all our thoughts and with all our hearts and look to the Lord alone with the eyes of our hearts. Everything that makes up me, a human being, lives solely by God and in union only with Him, and having been separated from Him, it is in extreme poverty. But the life of my soul constitutes the world of my spiritual powers, and this peace exclusively comes from God. There is, it is true, a world of the flesh, but it is a deceptive world, the forerunner of a spiritual storm; in it sleep people living in the spirit of the world. The Lord speaks about such a world: when people say: “peace and security,” then destruction will suddenly befall them (1 Thess. 5:3); but the spiritual world, which comes from the Spirit of God, differs like heaven from earth from that carnal world: it is heavenly, blessedly created. Peace be with you, peace be with you, the Lord often said to His disciples [Lk. 24, 36; In. 20, 19, 21, 26], teaching them His peace, and the apostles also taught the believers the peace of God and wished them the peace of God as the first good - precisely because it constitutes the life of our soul and testifies to the union of our soul with God, while the absence of peace in the soul, the indignation that distinguishes all the passionate states of our soul, is the spiritual death of the soul and a sign of the action in our hearts of the enemy of our salvation. When you sin and in the tightness and sorrow of your heart you ask for mercy from the Lord, and your heart doubts whether God will hear and have mercy on you, then imagine vividly that God is at your right hand: He is at my right hand [Ps. 15:8], near your very heart: Behold, I stand at the door and knock (Rev. 3:20), and that if you cry to Him not with a divided heart, but with all, sincerely, firmly, then He will certainly have mercy on you: It is Yours to have mercy and save us. You will see this for yourself immediately. He will call to Me, and I will hear him; I am with him in sorrow; I will deliver him [Ps. 90, 15]. Call Me, says the Lord Himself, in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me [Ps. 49, 15]. When praying to God in church, or at home, or anywhere else, remember that you are praying to the Faithful and True One, who is ready to fulfill for those who pray to Him in spirit and truth everything that He promised with His unfaithful lips; Therefore, pray to the Lord with complete faith, not allowing even a shadow of doubt; say to yourself: The Faithful and True stands at my right hand and expects from me that in conversation with Him I too should be faithful and not unfaithful, true and not false. Rules for eating food. When after eating you have to walk a lot or talk a lot from a book and act together, don’t hesitate to eat enough; but when you don’t have to walk or talk or sing a lot, but on the contrary, after eating you want to rest, take as little food as possible, only the amount necessary to maintain bodily strength. In general, eat enough for the upcoming work, and when there is no work ahead, eat little. However, drink abstinently, always eat little, and you will be healthy, according to St. Mitrophanius. Recall Peter Konstantinovich’s conversation about harlots, about their lives, about their servility to men and women, about the number of their intercourse in one day, about their bestiality, about the motivations for which they come to free houses: ready-made food, drink (wine, beer, honey), smart clothes, a soft bed, a carefree life; they are alien to trust in God. The number of harlots is up to three hundred. How to admit them to the Holy Mysteries? The reasons from which fornication spreads: advice from doctors, their incorrect judgments about human health. During prayer or before we go to church for prayer, every trifle irritates us - why? Because the enemy sets fire. Is it possible to strictly judge those people who become irritated during prayer? It is forbidden. We must feel sorry for them and pray for them and, in a friendly conversation with them, show them all the ugliness of impatience and irritability - if anywhere, then especially in prayer, when we stand before the face of the God of the world Himself. During prayer, as is well known, the enemy sets our heart on fire with various doubts about the truths of faith, established by the word of God and the Universal Church. Don't pay attention to anything like that. Inexhaustible evil in me. Envy. Suppose they gave someone else something better than me, or the same as me: I don’t use it, and I don’t need it, but my heart ache and yearn that my brother was given the same thing that I was given, even better - or at least not better, but in someone else’s hands it seems better. If from myself I give to another a better thing than I still have, and then I envy the other that I gave him a better thing. What an abyss of evil is in me! That's disgusting envy! I would have everything, I would have everything, but the other doesn’t need it: he has it, he has nothing! What a crafty one! Eka wicked! Eka self-attractive! June 13th, 1861. During prayer, you often feel in your heart a painful, some kind of fiery resistance to what you are reading, contradiction, contradiction to almost every word. By their fruits, it is said, you will recognize them [Matt. 7, 16, 20]. By this it is easy to recognize the enemy of all that is true and holy - the devil. Rather, humble yourself in the depths of your heart before the Lord and the holy mother Church, instructed and guided by the Holy Spirit! Sometimes the enemy strikes the heart with insensibility, and the mind with dullness, and the mind becomes blind, but the heart is like a stone: they do not understand anything and do not feel what you read. How many intrigues! About stinginess. Stinginess is also noticeable in a baby. Ask him for the gingerbread that is in his hands, he won’t give it, but if you try to take it away, he’ll cry. When you pass by a church or a chapel, take off your hat out of reverence for the shrine of God, cross yourself and say to yourself from your heart these words: Bless, O Master, Thy servant from Thy holy place and straighten my path before Thee, and I will walk in Thy truth [Ps. 85, 11]. And when you enter the church, reverently cross yourself and say these words: You are in the church ... of Your glory, O Lord, God of our father, and most praised and glorious forever [Dan. 3, 53]. When, while praying at home or in church, you become carried away by thoughts and worries about something everyday, immediately stop their flow and say internally the words of the Savior: Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you [Matt. 6, 33]. When you put a candle in front of the image of the Savior, say to yourself: I bring a burning candle to You, Savior, but You sent down the fire of grace of Your Most Holy Spirit into my heart; when before the image of the Lady, then say: the fire of the Divine in Thy womb unburntly carried, through Thy prayers grant to my soul the sin-burning, warming and enlightening fire of the grace of the Most Holy Spirit. And when before the image of the saint, say: good servant of the Good Lord, named, pray to God for me, a sinner, so that my cold heart will ignite with the fire of love, and may my mind, darkened by passions, enlighten with the light of His grace. My God! How strongly sensuality has taken possession of all Christians! Everywhere we see one pleasure of the external senses: the pleasure of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. The construction of houses, their exterior and interior decoration, decoration - everything is done for show, so that it is pleasant to look at, so that the eye does not see enough; expensive clothes, exquisitely decorated, caress the eyes; [everywhere] music delights the ear; exquisite food and drink - taste; fragrances delight the sense of smell; the sense of touch is cherished by soft clothes, chairs, beds - everything and everything serves sensuality, the whole person has turned into sensuality, having conquered the spirit of the flesh. And because of such a predominance of sensuality over the spirit, look at how luxurious everything is, how all the necessities of life have become more expensive for us; that’s why, yes, that’s precisely why they are expensive, because they consume too much. Humanity has become an abyss, consuming everything and never being filled. With the natural striving of our spirit towards the infinite and with its sensual direction, it invented an infinite number of different, previously unknown needs and thereby limited its freedom to infinity. My God! Sorry for humanity! Even more pitiful is Christianity! Are these slaves redeemed by your blood, Lord Jesus Christ? The enemy destroyed the hope of many Christians for future blessings and all the hope of a person; he tied his whole heart to sensory blessings. When the enemy binds your heart by stinging food and drink for visitors, tell him: man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God [Matt. 4, 4], and remember the Savior, how He was in the desert - and with animals, and not with people, where, therefore, one could not expect help from people in food and drink (the animals could not give it themselves, neither sowing, nor reaping, nor gathering into the barn), and how He meanwhile relied on the Providence of God, like a man; or remember John the Baptist, who also lived in the desert and had hope in the desert alone, or, better yet, in God alone, rejecting human help. Remember also that you do not live in the desert, but in a society of people, Christians at that, who are ready to help you at all times and from whom you yourself actually receive help every day. When you falsely imagine that a person you know is living for nothing, idle and eating your bread, and you inwardly, with vexation and bile, reproach him for this and despise him - try with all your heart to immediately turn this reproach on yourself and say to yourself: yes, I myself often either do not do any work, or I do it lazily, not in a real way, and I myself am the first parasite with you, gracious and generous! This is necessary in order to trample on your pride, pride, malice and stinginess and in order to fulfill the words of the Lord who says in the Gospel: Why... you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not feel the beam in your eye?.. Hypocrite! First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye [Lk. 6, 41–42]. Out of pride, we almost always see small sins in others, but we don’t want to notice big ones in ourselves, we consider ourselves busy and others idle, ourselves deserving of the gifts of the Lord, but others not. And among the disciples of the Lord, before they were renewed by the Holy Spirit, hope prevailed more in food and drink, and not in the almighty Lord. One day they forgot to take the loaves - and it should be noted, soon after they miraculously multiplied them and fed four thousand people with them - and, except for one loaf, they had nothing with them in the boat. The Lord said to them: look out, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees (hypocrisy) [Matt. 16:6], and they, reasoning among themselves, said: this is said because we have no bread. Notice that they care about the bread that perishes along with the living bread that came down from heaven, which is Jesus Christ, who can transform even stones with a word into loaves or multiply one loaf into thousands. Behold the weakness and blindness of the natural man! Being at the very Source of life, he hopes not for this ever-flowing and eternal Source, but for a corruptible, weak, carnal, fleeting way of maintaining the one corruptible life of his body. Jesus, having understood, said to them: Why do you argue that you have no loaves? Do you still not understand and understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, don't you see? Having ears, don't you hear? and don't remember? When I broke five loaves for five thousand people, how many baskets full of pieces did you pick up? They say to Him: twelve. And when there are seven for four thousand, how many baskets did you pick up of the remaining pieces? They said seven. And he said to them: How come you don’t understand? [Mk. 8, 17–21]. Here the Lord exposes their lack of faith and false hope for food. However, these words also apply to us. After all, we are disciples of Christ, and He is with us as well as with the apostles. Hope in God does not put you to shame. When I sent you without a bag, without a purse, or without sandals, did you lack anything? They (the disciples) answered: in nothing [Lk. 22, 35]. When were we deprived of anything? Truly, they are deprived of nothing. False hope for earthly goods. There is much good for your soul... [Lk. 12, 19] – give this parable as an example. Arrogance. Pharisee praying. Christian hope in sins. Publican. He who has Christian hope satisfies the offended. Zacchaeus. He who has Christian hope considers present life to be a time of purchase (Luke 19:12-27) and makes the purchase with zeal. Talents. Watch at all times and pray, that you may be worthy to escape all these future disasters and to stand before the Son of Man [Lk. 21, 36]. And those who hope in a Christian way always pray. Luke, ch. 21, 37. “Pray not to fall into temptation,” the Lord said to His disciples twice before His suffering. OK. 22, (40, 46). He who has Christian hope does not count on the last hours and does not abuse the example of the prudent thief - an almost unparalleled example. All flesh will see the salvation of God. OK. 3, (6). My brothers! Do every task entrusted to you on time and overcome the attraction to rest and inaction, especially you, brothers, who write edifying works or preach the word of God. Pay attention. The crafty flesh keeps distracting us from urgent matters. I sat for a while, just started to get started, as she said: that’s enough, now go for a walk, you didn’t walk much today, but you need to take a walk for your health. You go for a walk, you walk; an hour passes and another; you come home, and then guests come or some other obstacle to your work is encountered - the flesh is glad of this, and the work again does not get done and is again postponed; the matter, by the way, cannot tolerate delay and loses a lot from lazy postponement; and in such negligence, days after days pass, the talent does not multiply, but buries itself in the ground and calls responsibility onto the head of the idle on the day of God’s righteous reward. Brethren! Do not slack in your zeal [Rom. 12, 11], according to the advice of the apostle. Do not lavishly feed your flesh, do not caress and please it, and do not strengthen it by doing so against the spirit, otherwise when you have to work with the spirit, for example, to pray or write a spiritually edifying essay, then you will see how it has dominated the spirit and tied him hand and foot: it overthrows all his impulses, does not allow him to stand up and enter into her strength. He will remain a slave to the flesh. You, who correct others and hear rudeness from them, remember the saying of the Holy Scripture: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good [Rom. 12, 21]. They are rude to you, they irritate you, they breathe contempt and malice at you - do not repay the same, but be quiet, meek and affectionate, respectful and loving towards those who behave unworthily in front of you. If you yourself become embarrassed and speak with emotion, rudely, contemptuously and, therefore, without any love, then you yourself are defeated, and those who offended you have the right to say: doctor! heal yourself [Lk. 4, 23]. Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not feel the plank in your eye?.., first take the plank out of your eye and then... [Matt. 7, Z, 5]. Do not be surprised if rudeness from those who insult you is often repeated to you, for they will notice your weakness and will deliberately irritate you. Do not be defeated by evil, but overcome evil with good. Show the one who insulted you that he did not insult you, but himself; have pity on him sincerely, that he is so conveniently overcome by his passions, that he is mentally ill; show him the greater meekness and love, the more rude and irritable he is, the more he hates you, and you will surely defeat him. Good is always stronger than evil and therefore is always victorious. Remember also that we are all weak and are extremely easily overcome by any passion, and therefore be meek and lenient towards those who sin against you, knowing that you yourself often suffer from the same illness as your brother; forgive your debtors, and the Heavenly Father will also forgive you your debts, unlike the great debts of your debtors. Be always calm, elevated, not suspicious, and strong in spirit, and simple and kind in heart - and you will always triumph over your enemies. Do not reprove the unrighteous, lest he hate you... Reprove the wicked, wound him... tell the righteous, and he will apply [Russian: he who reproaches the wicked (gets) a stain for himself... teach the truthful, and he will increase knowledge] [Prov. 9, 8, 7, 9]. If whole rubles easily come to you, then don’t be surprised and don’t be sorry if whole rubles easily leave you: when they come in, there’s always an expense. Don't put a high price on something that comes easily. A person’s love for God or neighbor is then especially revealed, then its purity, firmness and constancy are revealed, when there is an opposing force (diabolical) kindling in our hearts to root dislike, opposition, contempt, hatred, enmity: then it strengthens in our hearts, when the opposing force is constantly strengthening, so to speak, to uproot love, and a person in every possible way resists the opposing force and cleanses, elevates and affirms his love through confrontation with the enemy; It is for this constant struggle out of love for God and neighbor, for this firmness, for this fiery, stubborn and constant invisible war with the spirits of evil in heaven that the Master interweaves the brilliant crowns of heaven for the ascetics of love for God and neighbor. In this regard, the holy ascetics, called venerable fathers, deserve a thousand crowns, who, out of love for God, left the world and everything in the world, went to empty, completely uninhabited places and there, shutting themselves up in their cells, spent their entire lives in contemplation of God, prayer, cutting off their will, fasting, vigil, work and feat for the sake of God, and endured their entire lives attacks from opposing forces, trying in every possible way to shake their faith and hope in God, especially love for Him. To fight out of love for God with your flesh and the devil - this cunning, strong and evil enemy - not for a few hours, days and months, but for many years, sometimes up to sixty and seventy years - what crowns does this deserve? And what compared to these ascetics are people who live in the world, without attacks so often falling and without defeat so often being slain by their own flesh? What does it mean in comparison with holy ascetics, worldly people living according to their own will, in luxury, in pleasures of every kind, in glorious clothing and subsistence food [Russian: dressing luxuriously and living luxuriously] [Lk. 7:25 ], indulging in pride, ambition, envy, hatred, stinginess, irritability, anger, revenge, entertainment, fornication, drunkenness - all vices, although not committed in one person? They are caught alive without any resistance into the will of the devil, and therefore he does not attack them, leaving them, long ago entangled in his nets, in dying peace and self-forgetfulness. If you are angry with other people, angry because they have offended you, then you have a lot of pride and self-love and no love for God and your neighbor; bring yourself to the point of not being angry with anyone, consider yourself worthy of trampling on everyone - however, stand up strictly but meekly for violations of your God-given rights, so as not to become a weak father, master, teacher, boss, shepherd - and be as insensitive to insults as a stone. If envy, hatred, covetousness, stinginess nest within you, then again you have an abyss of sinful pride: try with all your might to kill these passions, these painful pains 174 of yours, firmly rooted in your heart and painfully affecting you on occasion. All the moments of your heartfelt dislike towards another person, which distance you from him vaguely and painfully, are the action of the devil, and you must turn your heart to disposition and love: otherwise there will be no peace of God in your heart. When you want to teach truth and goodness to the people of God, then approach this with full faith and with hope in God and for success, and say to yourself internally: this is what teaching has made of me, of me, a rude, village boy; The teaching can do the same with others, because these people are people like me, also created in the image of God. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks [Matt. 12, 34]. Therefore, a good man brings out good things from a good treasure: he speaks kindly, with love, but an evil man brings evil things from the evil treasure of his heart [Lk. 6, 45]: speaks rudely, unpeacefully, with enmity towards his brother. The fire burns because there is spilled air everywhere, although we cannot see it with our naked eyes. So every person and every animal lives because there is one One, one Life - the invisible God - and His Spirit, who revives everyone. How an enemy viciously and constantly treacherously deceives me: and in my fair intentions and words, he takes a rent from me: for example, I see a fault or disorder of my brother and I want to tell him about his fault and disorder - the intention is lawful and good; but now the enemy puts into my heart a feeling of enmity and a thirst for vengeance towards my brother who behaves disorderly, with hatred - extreme confusion and relaxation of the heart and darkness of the mind, and when I begin to reprimand my brother, I myself find myself struck by the enemy and speak vaguely, hastily, unevenly, and the doctor of others himself finds himself in need of healing (doctor! heal yourself [Luke 4:23]). My brother, seeing my confusion and enmity towards him, is not enlightened by my word, for a word is powerless if it is spoken not with meekness and love, although not excluding severity, but with irritability and enmity. So, let me pay strict attention to myself and, while teaching others, let me teach myself first of all to sincerely love others and control myself and not to be the playground of demons in even just affairs. June 22nd day, 1861. The enemy also treacherously deceives me in that when I see any sin or vice in a brother or in society, he strikes my heart with indifference and coldness towards him, with reluctance or, rather, shameful cowardice, to say a firm, accusatory word to the untruth and break the horn of the sinner; I become a dumb dog, unable to bark: dumb dogs, as it is said about us, cannot bark [Isa. 56, 10]. Christ the King! Grant me apostolic zeal and the fire of the Holy Spirit in my heart, so that I may always boldly rebel against the impudent vice, especially the vice that has infected many, and may I not spare anyone for the sake of their salvation and [the salvation] of your other people, so that they are not tempted, seeing the spread of vice, and do not fall themselves. Whoever causes one of these little ones to stumble... [Matt. 18, 6; Mk. 9, 42]. The Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost [Matt. 18, 11; OK. 19, 10]. When the reckless thought of counting any of your good deeds comes into your head, immediately recover from this mistake and quickly count your sins, your continuous, countless insults to the all-good and righteous Master: you will find that you have them like the sand of the sea, and in comparison with them there are no virtues. It is necessary to pray not only internally, but also externally, for external prayer helps internal prayer, stimulating and revitalizing it. When your heart is struck by stinginess, then say to yourself: my life is Christ - the love of all, my inexhaustible wealth, inexhaustible food, inexhaustible drink. Our blind flesh dreams of finding life in food and money and is at enmity against those who deprive it of these material means of life. But be firmly convinced that it is not money or food that is life, but mutual love, for the sake of the love of God. Remember that the first Belly is love, uniting everything animate by the law of love and producing life from the unity of love. Tears in prayer are valuable because they testify to the warm, sincere feeling of the praying person for his sins, his unworthiness and the great mercies of the all-good God towards him, revealed in the daily, sometimes minute-to-minute forgiveness of his countless sins by Jesus Christ and for the sake of His merits, in God’s endless patience towards him, in the manifestation of other countless blessings to him, to his relatives 67, to everyone believers. Always prosper in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord (1 Cor. 15:58). Do you remember this and do it? Oh! You are lazy and always insufficient in the work of God: you miss a lot that should not have been omitted, and thus you lose much, much on the day of the righteous reward. It's time for you to wake up from sleep. Why did the Lord so severely punish some in the Old Testament for bringing alien fire into the tabernacle instead of the fire of God? 235 Because the fire of the tabernacle was a sign of the spiritual, gracious fire of the Holy Spirit, and the alien fire meant the fire of the devil. The tabernacle was an image of our spiritual tabernacle - the soul. The fire of God must constantly burn in our soul, and every Christian must try by all means not to bring into his heart an alien fire, the fire of the spirit of malice - the fire of passions: pride and resistance to God and His Church, hatred, enmity, attachment to earthly things, the fire of fornication, the fire of covetousness and the fire of gluttony - greed for food and drink. When your heart is confused and embarrassed by pity for earthly blessings, say to yourself internally: I believe with all my heart the Giver of Life, Who said: Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you [Matt. 6, 33 ]; I am convinced that if I take care with all my might to preserve the truth of God (meaning by the name of truth, the fulfillment of God’s commandments, and most importantly, ardent love for God, which excludes any other similar love, and love for my neighbor, and all the duties entrusted to me by God), about preserving in my heart the peace of God, or the Lord, who rests in peace in me, and peace with everyone and the joy of the Holy Spirit, then everything else will be given to me as unimportant, as if in addition. The word of my Savior is truth and truth. God is greater than our heart and knows everything (1 John 3:20). If our heart were not our soul, would the holy Apostle have expressed himself this way? No. But having expressed it this way, he affirmed that our heart is our soul, and it will come out: God is greater than our soul and knows everything. God is an infinite spirit, and my soul is a limited spirit from His spirit and in His spirit, therefore God knows everything that is in everyone’s soul: He is aware of thoughts [Lk. 11, 17]. Idols are worshiped by natural scientists who do not want to see God in nature, but only irrational forces, giving them the name of nature: nature arranged it this way. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God [Matt. 4, 4], - that is, in addition to bread, man lives by every word of God, without bread. The miser proves the harm of stinginess by his state of mind - vague, gloomy, and by his gloomy, vague, unnatural appearance and silently says to everyone: no one should be stingy - this is how stinginess changes a person, this is how it disgraces both the soul and the body of a person. Many of us have no regard for violating the commandments of the Lord and the commandments of the Church, for example, about fasting, and, without distinguishing the days, we eat fast food on Wednesdays and Fridays and during fasting. It also happens that someone carelessly, out of ignorance, ate a quick meal and turns this into an excuse to eat a quick meal on a fast day and says: at the same time, eat: I ate a quick meal, I became quick - I will eat it, - and he is committing deceit before the Lord and His Church. My friend! Is this a fair judgment: I sinned a little accidentally, so will I sin more on purpose? Obviously not: you ate a little modest food during Lent out of ignorance - God will forgive you for this, but do not sin intentionally, consciously. The Lord will punish intentional sins. And always honor and observe the decrees of the Church on fasting, knowing that even in unimportant matters, obedience to the Holy Church, your mother, is very important, testifying to your good heart and your obedience, and that she decreed everything that she decreed with the goal of more conveniently saving you, that all her decrees are most beneficial and saving. What is the importance, it seems to you, of eating fast food during Lent? Meanwhile, in fact, this is of great importance. You know that the first people, having broken the commandment of fasting, fell into the sin of disobedience to God, extreme pride, pride and carnality and would have destroyed all their descendants if the Son of God had not come to the rescue. Besides, do you know how the relationship of quick food should be with the human heart, which is so close to the belly? This attitude of tasty, nutritious and heavy food is very unfavorable to the human soul, burdening and darkening it, paving a convenient path to the temptations of the ethereal enemy. Keep the commandments of the Lord and the Holy Church, great is your strength, my brothers! There are many people who, using the great gifts of God - spiritual and material, do not want to do the works of God to which they are called (and yet for these works the Lord awarded them with His gifts). Oh! How many such parasites do God have - people who take advantage of the countless treasures of His goodness: wonderful natural gifts, wealth, a brilliant and spacious dwelling, fruitful land, excellent earthly products, but want to live only for their own pleasure, for their own flesh, collect for themselves, and not for God's riches [Lk. 12:21]: they would live well, but they would not do the works of God, for whom they must live, for whom they were created, for whom everything was given to them from the Lord - the work of saving their souls and the salvation of others, the work of serving society. But it is said: seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness [Matt. 6, 33]. I forewarn and warn you, beloved brethren, that our evil master the devil, because of insignificant things and incidents that happen to people, not to mention significant ones, inflames with malice the hearts of the careless and those who have not learned to love and greatly wounds these hearts. Therefore, strengthen your affection and love for your brother when, for whatever reason, the enemy attacks your heart with anger against your brother, knowing that we must love our neighbor even when he would raise his hands against us to kill us. Man in all ranks, conditions and ages has to struggle with his sin-loving and lazy flesh. (For a king, his royal affairs are often difficult - not because of their essence, but because of the weakness of his flesh; it is difficult for a priest to perform his sacred duties: for example, he wants to pray, but his heart sometimes turns out to be powerless; he wants to have a living faith, but his heart refuses to believe; he wants to live in hope and walk in love, but it, darkened, does not want to expect the promised blessings, but cleaves to earthly blessings; for uninitiated persons, prayer and living, everlasting faith in God, everlasting hope in Him and love for Him, and they often, out of delusion, turn away from the Church and from reading the word of God and the books of soul-saving; yes, their ordinary everyday affairs are often hard for them, and the lazy flesh turns away from them, seeking peace and inaction: for a warrior his gun and military discipline are hard, for an official - his written work: his hand. often refuses to write; sometimes it is difficult for a writer to write an essay: the mind becomes darkened, and the heart weakens, and the hands give up; for the student and student their lessons and lectures are difficult, for the farmer his rogue or plow, the harrow and all agricultural labors are very, very difficult, and for the female sex - fabric, yarn, sewing and general household chores. And for all these persons it is sometimes easy, easy - with God’s help or when the flesh and the enemy are not tempting - to work, and hard, hard - when the flesh rises to tempt, for it often tempts us, corrupted by sins and drawn by various lusts and pleasures. Especially those who want and are strengthening to lead a spiritual life and who are at war with the flesh.) Therefore, no one caress your domestic enemy, this corruptible flesh, which is closely associated with our spirit and wants to mortify the spirit (I say: willing, for the whole old man is called flesh, with an old mind and heart, just as a new man is called a man with renewed spiritual powers: mind, heart and will), but at all times resist it and fight it courageously while you carry it with you, and do not bow to its seduction: during prayer it will intensify to scatter your mind on the subjects of worldly vanity, and you muster all your strength to direct your soul to the one God; will cover from you with a veil of doubt or unbelief the future blessings prepared for Christians - you try to more vividly imagine them as visible and real; will turn your heart away from the love of God with various earthly attachments, unclean attachments to people, or, although pure, excessive ones (Who loves father or mother more than Me... [Matt. 10, 37 ]), or attachments to acquisitions, to money, to food, drink, clothing, to pleasures and entertainment, to honors - you try to cling as closely and sincerely as possible to the one Lord. If you are forced to neglect public service or seek complete inaction outside of it, in retirement, strengthen your thoughts and hearts against such deception and serve in your place with faith and truth, as the Lord Himself, and not as men, for you serve the Lord Jesus Christ [Col. 3, 24]: remain in service and do not retire unless absolutely necessary, otherwise the Lord will strictly exact from you on that terrible day His righteous reward. In whatever rank one is called... in that each one shall remain (1 Cor. 7:24). Let the farmer not give up, and let the young, learning generation not relax and prepare themselves to be educated, thorough and truthful servants of society. Nature itself teaches us not to eat fasting: fasting fasting food taken after fasting is always heavy on the stomach, even if we take very little of it, but lean food alone in moderation is always light. (Experience.) Lenten and lean food somehow find it difficult to coexist in the stomach and are mutually hostile. So physical nature itself requires fasting. Raise my soul from the grave of despair and fierce despondency, 236 pray the saints of God. So the saints of God were overcome by devilish despair and despondency! What about us sinners? ABOUT! And the enemy constantly gives us heartfelt embitterment and humiliation and fierce despondency! We must constantly turn to the Lord and be with Him every minute so that the enemy’s bitterness and despondency do not take possession of us. There is also another way to get rid of the enemy of despondency - the vast path of the world: just indulge in the pleasures of the world - and despondency will leave you, at least for the time of pleasure, and then it will draw you to these pleasures, and they will become a need for you, you will find in them, and only in them alone, joy and joy; but God forbid every Christian from getting rid of devilish despondency by such a means. It is better to walk the narrow path and endure despondency and seek frequent help and deliverance from the Lord Jesus Christ, who gives joy to those who labor for His sake for their salvation, than to go down the broad and smooth path of the world and there, with the pleasures of the flesh, buy freedom from the spirit of despondency. The enemy, with the spirit of despondency, drove many from the narrow and saving path onto the wide and smooth, but disastrous path. You who are approaching the most pure Mysteries, do not have defilements of spirit and body; defilement of the spirit: doubt, lack of faith, pride, irritability, anger, envy, enmity, love of money, covetousness and in general attachment to anything earthly; defilement of the body: men - theirs, women - theirs: let both your bodies and your clothes be clean, and let those who are defiled not dare to approach, but let them go and first cleanse themselves and bring repentance in spirit and truth, and then let them approach. You who are approaching the Holy Mysteries, pray to the Lord especially now with your hearts, and not only with your lips and mind, because the heart will receive Christ into itself, and the mouth is only one conductor of the life-giving Mysteries, or the outer door into the heart. Having opened the outer door, take special care to quickly and thoroughly open the inner door of your heart by faith, so that the Infinite One will enter your heart and revive and enlighten it. He was a lamp, burning and shining [Jn. 5, 35]. It talks about John the Baptist. The burning and illumination of the mind and heart in the Forerunner means the Holy Spirit, with whom he was filled even from his mother’s womb [Lk. 1:15], who through fasting and prayer infused the Comforter into himself; also his fiery zeal for the glory of God, with which he denounced Herod, the Pharisees and Sadducees; and shining means that he shone to everyone with his virtuous, ascetic life. The Savior inspires everyone, especially the priests of the New Testament, to burn with their hearts in their service before the Lord, offering up true, fiery prayers to God for themselves and for human ignorance, and to shine with their good deeds to other people. So let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven [Matt. 5, 16]. If God destined to be an archpriest, make sure that there are no tempting pictures and spectacles in theaters and circuses, especially gods and goddesses of pagan mythology; in relations with the civil authorities, prohibit theaters on holidays and on holidays themselves, or at least speak more strongly about them in church. In general, we should be more concerned about people’s morality. Help me, God! Close drinking houses and shops during services on Sundays, prohibit work, so that the days of the Lord are holy. When praying, adhere to the rule that it is better to say five words from the heart than 237 words with the tongue. When you notice that your heart is cold and prays reluctantly, in a hurry to finish a long series of prayers, stop, warm your heart with some living idea, for example, of your wretchedness, your poverty, misery and blindness, or the idea of ​​the great, moment-to-moment benefits of God to you and to the human race, especially to Christians, and then pray slowly, with a warm feeling; even if you don’t have time to read all the prayers in time, there is no problem, and you will receive incomparably more benefit from warm and unhurried prayer than if you read all the prayers, but hastily, without sympathy. I would like to speak five words with my mind... rather than ten thousand words with my tongue (1 Cor. 14:19). But it would be very good, of course, if we could say with due sympathy in prayer even the darkness of words: the Lord does not abandon those who work for Him and stand for Him for a long time, but they measure the same measure, He measures it too, and according to the abundance of the true words of their prayer sends into their soul an abundance of light, spiritual warmth, peace and joy. It is good to pray long and unceasingly, but not everyone can receive this word, but to whom it is given... He who can receive it, let him receive it [Matt. 19, 11, 12]. But for those who cannot accommodate long prayers, it is better to say short prayers, but with a warm soul. June 25th, 1861. From the constant miracle of the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the true Body and Blood of Christ, united with His Divinity and soul, I see the miracle of the constant creation of man from the earth (bread from the earth) and his revitalization by the Divine breath and his placement in the living soul. And it was said that man became a living soul [Russian: and man became a living soul] [Gen. 2:7], just as at the holy meal, bread and wine, upon transubstantiation, become not only a living soul, but a life-giving spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). And this is all before my eyes, and I experience it with my soul and body, I feel it vividly! My God! What terrible Mysteries You perform! What unspoken secrets You have made me a spectator and a participant. Glory to Thee, my Creator! Glory to Thee, Creator of the Body and Blood of Christ! The priest, deacon and reader need to pronounce words or sing them in this way, as well as [and] act during sacred service or correction, so that the peaceful, meek and humble disposition of their soul is clearly visible from their voice and from their actions; This is how, and not otherwise, one must behave when serving the God of the world, and this is unanimously demanded by all those present in the church or anywhere in the house during the priestly service. The innateness of the ideas of the moral law. Testimony of the Holy Scriptures. They show that the work of the law is written in their hearts [Rom. 2, 15]. Whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me [Matt. 10, 37]. What parents love more than Christ, their son or daughter? Those who, out of imaginary love for their child, do not teach them the commandments of God and allow them to break them with impunity, fearing to offend their feelings; who look indifferently at the fact that their children do not pray or pray somehow, carelessly, out of habit, and do not care that they attend church services; those who, out of stupid indulgence, do not advise reading the Holy Scriptures or soul-saving books to them; those who allow passions to manifest themselves freely in them and do not admonish or punish them; those who do not teach them faith in God, hope in Him and whole-hearted love for Him - all such parents love their children more than Christ or His commandments, and are not worthy of Him. And such parents destroy their children temporarily and eternally: children grow and are formed only in a secular way, for this world, but not at all for eternity, and when they die, then, alas! a pitiful death appears to the eyes of parents: their child often dies in despair, with extreme regret about separation from the world, not knowing in his heart a blissful eternity. The devil steals salvation from people in different ways: depending on each person’s rank, gender, age, preferences and habits. But in general, everyone’s spiritual salvation is stolen by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Take a closer look at people's lives. Here is a girl whose thoughts and heart are completely occupied only with her face and outfits. My God! What a sad sight I see! All her time is for the flesh and almost none for the soul, in the morning, during the day, in the evening and almost at night, she is busy with her outfits, her headdresses, her hairstyles: her whole soul, so to speak, has turned to her outfits, to the contemplation of her face, and you can’t see her because of her outfits, you can’t see her heavenlyness, her eternity: she is something stupid, ugly, neither earthly nor heavenly, something ugly, bizarre! Her mind, her heart, her eyes most diligently serve her concerns about clothes and not at all - the salvation of her soul. And even if she still realized that her way of life is bad, reckless - no, she is sure that she is doing great, that this is how it should be. If you tell her that she is doing a very bad thing, spending all her time on dressing up, she will get angry and will not listen; don’t even talk about the soul - what salvation is there? Dresses are all salvation, and that’s all. My God! How the enemy confuses us. This is just one example of many, but take a closer look at all people, and you will see how the enemy steals everyone’s spiritual salvation with various worldly attachments and worries. The cunningly accursed one acts on all people to their destruction through everyone’s pride. Take a closer look, brothers, take a closer look at yourself, and catch within yourself the disembodied thief 103 and the villain of your souls. From some he steals the salvation of the soul through attachment to food and drink, from others - to honors and distinctions, from others - through a passion for enrichment or covetousness: everything happens to everyone, but everyone destroys someone 239. Here you are praying: your prayer is being completed successfully, you have inner testimony that the Lord hears it and is pleased with it; you have peace of mind, your heart is light and sweet; but at the end of your prayer, because of the slightest relaxation of your heart and thoughts, some heavy burden is thrown into your heart, a fire that boils and relaxes your heart, and you feel both the extreme heaviness of prayer and aversion from it, instead of the previous lightness and disposition towards it; do not despair, friend, these are the machinations of the enemy, who loves to laugh at us especially at the end of our pious activities, so that we fall into despondency and consider all our previous labors in holy deeds lost. Learn from this in advance not to quench your spirit even for a minute during the continuation of prayer, to pray in spirit and truth unremittingly and not to flatter the Lord with a single word in prayer, that is, not to utter even a single word feignedly, hypocritically: let your entire prayer be one expression of truth, a trumpet of the Holy Spirit and not a single word serve the lie of the enemy and not be the organ of the devil. And to remove the burden of the enemy from your soul and to extinguish its fire, pray heartily to the Lord, admitting your guilt and hypocrisy before Him from the heart while saying the prayer, and you will receive relief and peace. Take your time, say and do everything peacefully. You'll have time. The enemy hurries and confuses, because vain haste is of no use. Priest, remember that you have been given grace from God to pray for the people and, of course, especially for yourself, for anyone can pray for themselves; and remember that your prayer is always strong before God, by His grace. God remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself (2 Tim. 2:13). Having Himself given the grace to pray for the people, He kindly listens to your prayers and graciously bows to them if you say them sincerely, with a burning heart. Here is a living person before us: his eyes are fixed on us, his ears are open to listen; His body and soul are before us, but we see the body, but not the soul: we do not see his thoughts, his desires, his intentions, while there is no moment in which his soul does not think and does not live in a manner that corresponds to it. So exactly before us, around us and in us is visible nature, the beautiful world of God: we see life, harmonious order, activity everywhere in it, but we do not see the Author of life, order, we do not see the Artist, and yet He is at all times in every place, like a soul in a body, although He is not limited to it; There is not even a fraction of a moment in which He, as the most perfect, all-wise, all-good, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent Spirit, does not think and pour out in goodness and wisdom on His creatures; There is not even a moment in which He does not apply His wisdom and omnipotence to the work, for God is a most active Being, producing into infinity. So, you see the world, but see, notice in it everywhere the Creator of it - God, who exists everywhere in it, fulfilling everything and acting and arranging everything. In the infinitely great and the infinitely small, there is equally the Lord, not limited by either one or the other, but existing entirely in everything, being indivisible and above all. In our body, in its natural functions, God acts, supporting, nourishing and growing it, as in grass, or in a tree, or in an animal, He acts, clothing the grass, as it is said: God... clothes the grass of the field [Matt. 6, 30], and growing trees and decorating them with leaves and fruits, and feeding animals and increasing their bodies. We ourselves cannot create anything in our body, not even half an iota, as they say: to make a single hair white or black [Matt. 5, 36]. They say: the soul develops the body; not true: God develops, acts all in all. Thy kingdom come [Matt. 6, 10]. The Lord reigns everywhere in the entire visible world (and is in every place) and in all the Councils of Angels; He reigns with His infinite power and righteousness both over evil spirits and over evil or unrighteous people, and He has bound some with eternal chains of darkness for the Judgment of the Great Day, and He will punish others variously in this life, and He will punish them in the Hereafter with unquenchable fire. But He, the Truth, does not reign over demons and wicked people with His truth, because there is a lie in them; love does not reign, for there is malice in them; He does not reign in wicked people by faith, hope and love, and does not reign in them by the exact fulfillment of His laws. Why... don't you do what I say? [ OK. 6, 46]. Keep My commandments [Jn. 14, 15]. Reigns in every slightest natural action of my body and soul (for example, in words) - for my body obeys His laws in birth, nutrition, rest, sleep, growth, walking, thought and word are built and moved according to His laws - but does not always reign in my heart, in my heartfelt dispositions and in my free will: I often incline towards evil and do evil instead of the good set before me. I am often opposed to Him and His laws. I am often of little faith, unbeliever, self-lover, proud, despiser of others, envious, miser, covetous, money-lover, carnivore, pleasing my sinful flesh in every possible way, ambitious, impatient, irritable, lazy, I do not do or do very few good deeds, and then more by coincidence of circumstances than by the free disposition and attraction of my heart, I am not compassionate to those who suffer, as members of the single body of the Church - in a word, the Lord does not reign in me with thoughts, feelings and deeds of faith, hope and love. Christian hope, since a Christian consists of soul and body, concerns: one - spiritual goods, the other - bodily ones. For a person, in order to please him and his essential needs from the bottom of his heart, do not spare anything - not only material things, for example money, food, drink, clothing, housing, but also your spiritual strength; serve him with all the strength of your mind, heart and will, for man is the highest creation of God on earth, the most beloved creation, the image of God. The Lord Himself accepts our services in the person of other people, for He is in them. What will we regret for a man whom the Master Himself feeds with His Flesh and Blood, for whom He became human, for whom He Himself needed, hungered, thirsted, from whose hands He accepted food, drink, clothing, for whom He suffered all sorts of insults, insults, was hanged on a cross and died in terrible agony? When did you suffer something like this out of love for your brother? You, who often feed on the Flesh and Blood of the Son of God and must be of one spirit and one disposition with Him in mind, heart and will! O you who are hard-hearted towards the weak and needy, remember more often what Christ did for man! And how convenient it is to please a person! So little is needed for him, that is, for his essential needs, with such cheap means one can serve the Tsar’s animated image, and in it, the First Tsar Himself. Who is God? God is the One without whom not a single speck of dust can exist or be conceivable. Because of some thing, do not breathe malice and vengeance against a person: a person is greater than a thing. To clearly show that the word is given only to express the truth, the Lord deprives people of the word when they doubt the truth of God and do not believe it. Example of Zechariah 243 . That the word should be an expression of only the truth, we also see from the fact that when a person’s heart is filled with the devil, the father of lies, a person cannot speak words that serve as an expression of the truth of God, and becomes numb. Thus, in the Gospel we find an example of a man possessed by a silent demon. After the demon was cast out, the mute began to speak 244. Say words about the meaning of Christmastide and about their pagan, anti-Christian celebration. How to Conduct in a Christian Way. About the meaning of Maslenitsa, how it is celebrated paganly and how it should be celebrated in a Christian way. About the offering of children to communion by the mothers themselves, and not by some people caught in the wind. Those who offer must have faith in the Holy Mysteries and appropriate reverence. Mothers have criminal shame, are ashamed, and reject Christ. The Holy Apostle John the Theologian calls Jesus Christ the Word of the living and directly behind that Belly [John. 1, 1, 4]. And we experience in practice that every word of the Lord Jesus Christ is life for us, if we believe with all our hearts his truth and are not in the least shaken by doubt; That is why the Lord said: man will live... by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, and not by bread alone [Matt. 4, 4]. I believe, Lord, that You are our life, our living word, and every word of Yours is our life. Just as the peace of Christ is conveniently acquired by heartfelt faith and whole-hearted repentance of sins and sometimes comes in one minute, so it is easily lost: if your heart became attached to something earthly, even if only for a minute, the peace of Christ left you. And here is God's truth. After communion of the Holy Mysteries, if it was not with perfect faith, the enemy torments the heart of the person receiving the communion with a lack of faith, instilling in him perplexities and doubts regarding the indwelling of Christ in his heart, as well as attachment to earthly goods and the resulting passions of stinginess, covetousness, ambition, irritability, or the attack of envy, malice and hatred of a brother. But when a person receives communion with complete faith, then the evil one cannot touch the heart of the communicant, and in his soul there is usually an extraordinary silence of thoughts and spiritual forces due to the correctness and harmony of their life produced by Christ; also, if someone, although not with perfect faith, received Communion at first, but later, by the effort of his heart, called upon perfect faith in the Holy Mysteries, then even then Christ condescends to the efforts of that person and dwells in him and rests in him in peace and bliss. June 30th day, 1861. He who is without sin among you, be the first to throw a stone at her [Jn. 8, 7]. Are you without sin? Why do you condemn your neighbor and breathe hatred towards him? You say: he does nothing, eats bread for nothing, but what are you doing, how much are you doing and how are you doing it? Don't you often spend time in inaction and laziness when you have the strength? Judge not, lest ye be judged [Matt. 7, 1]. Let the brother be guilty against God - well, God judges him; but why would you hate him? This shows that you are jealous not for God, but for the devil, for hatred is his business; guilty against you - forgive his debts against you: forgive us, you say, our debts, as we also forgive our debtors [Matt. 6, 12]. The more you forgive others who sin against you, the more you will be forgiven. Everything will leave and forsake me (property, money, people), but God will not leave or forsake me. Tell yourself this when you experience any loss or when friends, relatives and acquaintances leave you. Otherwise, we usually, relying on money, on property, on people, grieve in our hearts, and often inconsolably, when we lose money or property, or when people leave us and do not love us. We need to pray for the constant firm confidence of the heart that everything: our souls, our bodies, with their well-being and ill-being, and all our possessions, and the circumstances of life - we have from God, from His power, and not from nature, not from chance, not from ourselves. Don’t pray to God, and you will soon forget in your heart your Benefactor, Creator and Lord, and with His forgetting you will fall into all kinds of evil. So, you see that prayer only brings significant benefits to you. If you call on any saint with doubt about his closeness to you and his hearing of you and your heart is struck by tightness, break yourself or, better said, immediately overcome with the help of the Lord Jesus Christ the slanderer (devil) nesting in your heart: call on the saint with heartfelt confidence that he is near you in the Holy Spirit and hears your prayer, and now you will feel at ease. The heaviness and languor of the heart in prayer comes from insincerity, from the deceit and deceit of our heart, just as in ordinary speech with people we feel internally awkward when we speak to them not from the heart, not truly, not sincerely. It is difficult for you to go against the pricks [Acts. 9, 5]. Be always and everywhere true in heart - and always and everywhere you will have peace in your heart; but especially be truthful in your conversation with God and with the saints, for the Spirit is truth. If you begin to pray to God and feel laziness and aversion from prayer, immediately break your lazy heart, begin to pray earnestly and sincerely - and it will be easy, and you will soon see and taste the sweet and abundant fruits of prayer. But if you succumb to lazy flesh and the all-evil enemy who almost constantly acts through it on our soul, then you will become your own enemy and deprive your soul of its daily, life-giving bread, which is heartfelt prayer. God created me and gave me life out of His goodness; He gives me everything to support my mental and physical life. There is nothing more natural and truer than such a judgment. Why are we restless about what we eat? or what to drink? or what to wear? Why are we stingy? Isn’t it the news (actively, not as we know and do not do, or we know but cannot help) the Heavenly Father, that we demand all of these [Matt. 6, 31–32 ]? The Lord makes it the same duty to support our life, so to speak, as he deigned and recognized as good and created us. Creation and providence for Him are one great work of His goodness; In our thoughts we separate creation and providence, or the preservation of created creatures in their existence and activity, but with the Lord there is no such division: to create with Him also means to provide for what has been created, for everything created cannot exist without providence. A person’s mental and physical powers are improved, multiplied and strengthened by their exercise: exercise your hand often in writing, sewing, knitting - you will, as they say, fill your hand and write, sew, knit well; Practice composing more often - and you will compose easily and well; practice doing good deeds or conquering passions and temptations - and over time you will do the deeds of virtue easily and sweetly, and you will overcome passions comfortably, with the help of the all-pervading grace of God. But if you don’t write, sew, knit, or write, sew, or knit rarely, you will write, sew, or knit badly; do not compose anything or compose very rarely, live in only the material worries of life - and, perhaps, it will be difficult to put together a few words, especially about something spiritual, and the assigned composition will be an Egyptian work; don’t pray or pray rarely - and prayer will be disgusting and heavy for you, like a five-pound weight; don’t fight based on passions, or fight only occasionally and weakly - and it will be very difficult to fight them and you will often be defeated by them, and you will have no peace from them, and you will poison your life with them, without learning to defeat these domestic, evil, internal enemies who are always sitting in your heart. So, everyone needs work and activity, and life without activity is not life, but something ugly, some kind of ghost of life. Therefore, the constant, persistent struggle against the laziness of the flesh is the duty of every person; God forbid every Christian from indulging her. Those who are Christ's crucified the lazy, evil and sin-loving flesh with its passions and lusts [Gal. 5, 24]. To everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an increase, but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away [Matt. 25, 29]. When guests come to you, you need to rejoice at their arrival from the heart and say: what mercy God has sent me! I have the opportunity to show brotherly love and hospitality! And the hasty feelings of disgust and enmity towards guests that nest in the heart should be eradicated the first time and then not succumbing to them. Show a cheerful face, do not show sorrow or despondency. Always believe firmly in the right given to you by the Lord to teach the people the Christian faith and pious life, and with firmness, with reason, in season and out of season (2 Tim. 4:2), teach with authority the people of God, knowing that you will answer before God at the Judgment, as you taught people good faith and piety. Believe also with all your heart in the God-given right to perform the Sacraments of faith and firmly remember that by the grace of the priesthood that lives in you and invests you, each Sacrament is undoubtedly performed by the Holy Spirit, although you are unworthy and will be unworthy to perform it. But this should not be a reason for you to unworthyly perform the Sacraments. The Lord will punish you for your unworthy action, and sin will be yours. Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord carelessly [Jer. 48:10], says the word of God. If you disdain the poor, remember that you are the poorest of God, and yet He does not disdain your spiritual poverty, which is much uglier than physical poverty. Am I not everything to you? Why are you grieving inconsolably, despondent and embarrassed? Are they hating on you? I am your love. Are they taking away your food, clothing, shelter? I am your food, clothing, and shelter. When you stand before the face of God in prayer - whether in church or at home - do not turn and do not attach your heart to anything worldly, so that you do not offend by inattention and neglect the Lord, who is at your right hand and who listens to you. Standing before the earthly king, do you dare address others without paying attention to the king? Isn’t your whole heart then with him? How much more 245 before the Heavenly King, who holds the hearts of all kings in His hand, must stand with extreme reverence. God is one: everything else is from Him, and by Him, and in Him; therefore God knows everything present, past and future, as Himself; knows all creatures - Angels, men and all creatures - as Himself. I know My... As the Father knows Me, so I know the Father [Jn. 10, 14, 15]. Just as creatures cling to the earth and the earth: they support their life with earthly products, and the branches and leaves on a tree are nourished by tree sap, so Christians cling to God and feed on God and His Spirit, and in the last years His Body and Blood, like the branches and leaves of a tree on tree sap. Just as... I live by the Father, so he who eats Me will live by Me [Jn. 6, 57]. I am the vine and you are the branches. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it is in the vine, so neither can you unless you are in Me. Whoever does not abide in Me will be cast out like a branch and wither [Jn. 15, 5, 4, 6]. Is it fair to betray the truth, lose peace and joy of heart, and harbor hatred for one’s brother because of something material? Unfair and reckless. Truth, or standing in truth, and peace of soul are more valuable than money and all property: before truth and peace, all material blessings mean nothing. What is truth? For example, love for one's neighbor is truth; hating him is not true. A humble person considers others higher than himself and more worthy, rejoices at their meeting and kindly receives them to himself, treating them with what God has sent, but more with the kind communication of the word, good will and spaciousness of the heart. So, acquire the heart habit of always looking at every person with high respect, especially those who seek the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, and speak kindly to him, and do not spare him a material meal. Whatever you want God to do to you in prayer, so do you to Him: the more sincerely and fervently you pray to God, the more you will incline Him to your mercy; The colder and more insensitive you are, the more you remove Him from your heart, and with Him His mercy. With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you [Mk. 4, 24]. Despise food and drink as nothing. By God's mercy to me, my mercy should also be to others. I did not deserve mercy from the Lord, but He poured it out on me and is pouring it out abundantly; so do others: although they have not deserved mercy from me, I must show them mercy for the sake of God’s mercy to me. Parents should always treat their children meekly and lovingly, teachers should treat their children, and leaders should treat their subordinates, because: 1) this is what the Leader of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ, wants from us, Who says: Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart [Matt. 11, 29 ]; 2) this is required by humanity and respect for the rights of humanity, which is venerable in all its conditions and ages and in both sexes; and 3) so that children or subordinates, often offended to the depths of their souls by the cold or contemptuous, rude, inhumane treatment of their parents, educators or superiors, do not harden their hearts and do not hate their parents, educators, superiors, masters and do not fall into vices, which is often the result of the rude treatment of them by their guardians. Not finding affection from their own people, if they are girls, they are often carried away by the first love offered to them by strangers and enter into illegal relationships with them; If they are young men, they are easily carried away by the bad examples of their comrades and in their community they decide to do anything. There are many similar examples, and woe to rude parents, educators and bosses or mentors who did not want to treat their children humanely and trampled on the rights of humanity. Woe to the man through whom temptation comes [Matt. 18, 7]. It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and thrown into the sea, than for him to destroy one of these little ones [Lk. 17, 2]. There is one God; He is all over every place, so that His presence does not displace even the slightest atom of matter, but He fills every atom of matter; which is why it is said about Him that He is everywhere and fills everything, that is, every substance - great and small. Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? [Jer. 23, 24] - I fill it as if they did not exist at all, that is, everything down to the smallest being or atom of a substance, whatever it may be: light, air, water, fire, earth. Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of Truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, come and dwell in us. – You see, He fills our hearts, or our souls. He does not fill them only when we are evil, but even then He contains us in His right hand and tolerates us in His power. Here is the grass: the Lord fills it all and creates everything in it, but He Himself is in no way limited to the grass, is not attached to it, just as our soul or an animal’s soul is limited to the body and is attached to it. No: He is in this grass, and He is also in this one, and in all their myriads, and in all the trees, and in all animals, and in all people, and in all the earth, and in all heavenly bodies, and in all the Heavenly Powers. You alone are great, O Almighty! Carefully guard [Russian: trying to preserve] the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace [Eph. 4, 3]. Great commandment! It needs to be implemented. Maintain unity of spirit. This is what the Son of God desired and always desires; this is what the Son of God prayed and prays to the Father. Holy Father! keep them in Your name, He prayed for the disciples, those whom You gave Me, that they might be one, just as We are... I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, so that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me [Jn. 17, 11, 20–21]. You see that our unity in spirit and in life loudly proves the Divinity of the Founder of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. Whoever wants to unite everyone, to make everyone as one soul, and does so, means that he came from the One God, who created everything and united everything under Himself, and again wants to lead those who were separated from unity by disobedience to unity with Himself through faith and obedience. Teachers who do not come from God, who are not called from Him, who are not sent by Him (I did not send... these, but they themselves fled [Jer. 23:21]; no one accepts... honor, but called by God, like Aaron [Heb. 5, 4 ]), usually bring disunity and discord into the society of people and by this clearly expose themselves that they are not from God. Such is Luther, such are the dissenters, such are all heretics. They separated the one Church of God, dissected the inseparable, multiple unit united under the one Head of the Church - Christ and animated by the one Spirit of God, and by this they proved that they were an instrument of the devil, who takes care of this in order to separate, scatter and scatter the sheep of the Lord. The wolf plunders the sheep and scatters them [John. 10, 12]. Glory to the Christian Orthodox faith! Its true fruit has always been and is the unity of believers among themselves through love and communication of spiritual and material benefits. The more Christians move away from the spirit of their faith, the more they are separated by pride, the more they become enclosed in themselves, the less they have fellowship in spiritual and material goods, especially material ones with those in need, the more love dries up in them and the more humanity suffers. True Christianity establishes prosperity on earth, because it looks at Christians as one great body, in which there are noble and ignoble members - not by nature, but by place and deed; strong and weak, rich and poor, and the Spirit of God intercedes in the souls of the strong or rich to help the weak and needy through the communication of spiritual and material benefits. The multitude of those who believed had one heart and one soul [Acts. 4, 32]. See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven [Matt. 18, 10]. Who are these guys? These are Christians, no matter what age or gender they are. They are called small because the Kingdom of Heaven in man is at first like a mustard seed, which is smaller than all seeds, and when it grows, it becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air take refuge in its branches [Matt. 13, 31–32]. Christians are also called the lesser brethren of Christ: just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me [Matt. 25, 40], because there are also the great brethren of Christ - all the holy Angels in heaven. So, according to the commandment of Christ, one should not at all despise any of His lesser brothers, for His elder brothers - the Angels - in heaven always see the face of His Heavenly Father. When the loss of any part of your property (however, not due to your recklessness) will be the same for you as an acquisition, and an acquisition as a loss; dishonor is like honor, and honor is like dishonor, and annoyance is like affection; simple and coarse food is like refined and sweet, but this latter is disgusting, like artificial and relaxing the soul and body; when, seeing your neighbor’s success in business, you will rejoice with him, and seeing his misfortune, you will sympathize with his grief as if it were your own; when all work is sweet for you, and inaction and laziness are disgusting and terrible, then in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ you can boast that you have conquered the passions. But as long as this does not happen, as long as any loss produces sorrow and oppression of your heart, as long as gain pleases, dishonor irritates, and honor puffs up or delights your heart with joy; as long as labor is painful, and inaction and idleness are desirable; How long, hearing about the welfare of your neighbor, you grieve criminally, and hearing about the unsuccessfulness of his affairs, you rejoice inwardly; as long as the taste and belly seek pleasant food and drink and enjoy them greedily, then continuously and courageously fight the passions and stand until you bleed in battle with them, sigh, pray, weep for your sinful captivity. You are still in danger of eternal death and have not passed from death to the stomach. Give to your neighbor good measure, pressed together, pressed and running over: with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you [Lk. 6, 38]. Do not have an evil, greedy and stingy eye, to which the measure given or given to your neighbor seems great, and without attempting to reduce it, may the Lord not shorten His generous hand for you. Bear the infirmities of the weak... and thus fulfill the law of Christ [Rom. 15, 1; Gal. 6, 2]. Often in your life you will have to encounter the weak and, willy-nilly or unwillingly, bear their weaknesses. Wear them willingly and with patience, without grumbling, without displeasure and bitter expressions, bearing in mind Christ the Redeemer, Who Himself bore the infirmities of the whole world. He took upon Himself our infirmities and bore our diseases [Matt. 8, 17]. We, who are strong in rank, in power, in intelligence and education, in property, in position in the world and in physical strength, must endure the infirmities of the weak and not please ourselves... For Christ did not please himself [Rom. 15, 1, 3]. Your carnal, old man will insistently demand that you please only yourself and that you do not bear the infirmities of the weak, that you do not worry, do not waste money on them, and do not tolerate them with you; but you do not listen to him at all, but strive with zeal to fulfill the law of Christ, firmly believing that for fulfilling it the crown of immortality awaits you. He who once allowed himself to forget himself in dealing with his superiors and to speak to them with some disrespect and carelessness, will allow himself to do this the second time, and the third time, and so on; and the further you go, the more careless, perhaps, they will be treated. To prevent this, you must once and for all make it a rule to always treat and speak with the same respect and attention to people who are worthy of all respect and attention, and for this you need to firmly believe in your heart in their moral superiority. Transfer this circumstance to prayer. Whoever allows himself to pray carelessly to God or a saint once will allow himself to do so again, and a third time, and so on, and if you do not admonish him and stop him in his carelessness, then he will allow himself greater disrespect and inattention to the holy cause and person. Therefore, it is necessary to make it a rule to always pray to God or a saint with the same feelings of reverence and to overcome in every possible way the lazy and conveniently forgetful flesh, and for this we must always firmly believe that God sees and hears us, that we live and move and exist in Him [Acts. 17, 28]. July 5th day, 1861. Often we are reluctant to say a few words from the heart, softly, affectionately to our neighbor - a short acquaintance, or our own, living with us, or not living together - a few words, and we often speak to him, order, ask, ask, answer rudely, reluctantly, in our hearts. And this is a sinful work, and this is the work of the old man. Here, too, we must overcome ourselves and try to always speak kindly to everyone, from a good heart. Whether with your family, with your own people, living on your own, or with people you meet, you need to be meek and kind with everyone, forcing your heart to be tender and sympathetic. Without forcing yourself to have a soft heart, you can become stuck in the rudeness and hardness of your heart. When you need to do something, but you don’t want to, and the lazy flesh, neglecting the task, puts it off further and further, then say a firm word to yourself in your heart: it is necessary; let this word become an immutable law for you, and without any excuse 246 at the first opportunity, get down to business according to this word, inciting and forcing yourself, like a strict contractor. Our lazy heart will somehow find an excuse to consider everything as unimportant, to neglect everything, to pass everything by, and if you just give in to it, then, perhaps, you will not do anything. Can there be leaves without a tree, and can there be a tree without earth, air, water and warmth? Thus, not a single soul exists without God, without His Son and His Spirit. God is my being, my breath, my light, my strength, my water, my nourishment. He carries me like a mother carries a baby in her arms - more: carrying me, my soul and body, He abides in me and merges, so to speak, with me. When your heart, at the sight of many guests looking for your meal, takes on a crafty pity for food and a crafty concern for food and drink, saying internally: what should we eat? or what to drink [Matt. 6, 31] henceforth, then contrast him with only one word of the Savior: do not worry [Matt. 6, 34] - and regret will disappear, and the heart will calm down, surrendering to God’s providence for you. Whoever wants to follow Me, turn away from yourself, that is, your carnal, old, passionate man, and take up your cross [Matt. 16, 24] - the cross of self-denial, because it is difficult for a person to deny himself, to neglect, not to spare, to defeat, to despise, to kill himself: this is a real cross, and a very heavy, permanent, death-to-death cross, which we carry within ourselves, in our hearts and in our flesh. This is a constant crucible, flaming in us, a constant sting that stings us. To renounce one’s “I,” one’s pride and all the passions that flow from it and constantly fight us hard to the death, is a great thing. Self-love, vanity, pride, stinginess, greed for food and drink, passion for pleasure, covetousness, love of money, envy, enmity and malice awaken in our heart at every favorable opportunity, quickly engulf it, scorch it, become inflated by the enemy and persistently demand satisfaction from us, like hungry dogs or wild, bloodthirsty animals. And it is all the more difficult to reject them because they declare themselves to be our “I” and demand satisfaction for themselves, as if for our benefit, as if for our life, being clearly death in themselves. Oh, seduction! Oh, war! If the powers that were manifested in you had been manifested in Tire and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes [Lk. 10, 13]. Look: you cannot refer to the lack of the powers of God revealed to you from the Lord, from His most pure Mysteries and from invoking His sweetest name, as well as the powers from the Lady Theotokos, from the venerable icon of Her of Kazan. The more God’s powers are revealed to you, the more unpardonable your ungodly, faulty life, the more severe your judgment from the Lord. So, be grateful to the Lord and repent of your sins, always trust in the Lord, who told you and always tells you His power. I love to accept those who do not have anything to repay me, according to the will and word of my Lord, for He calls me blessed in advance and prepares His righteous reward for me [Lk. 14, 14]. The elder, says the apostle, exhort him as a father; younger ones, like brothers; old women as mothers; young as sisters, with all purity (1 Tim. 5:1-2). So, the apostle commands me in the work of my ministry and in life in general to look at everyone as my relatives. Indeed: all children of one Heavenly Father, all redeemed by one blood, all called into one blessed Kingdom of glory. You regret and feel embarrassed in your heart because of the excessive, in your opinion, spending of money and the excessive and untimely consumption of food needs. But remember this: if the Heavenly Father feeds you with the Flesh and Blood of His Son, will He ever deprive you and your family of daily food? Who feeds the birds of the air, valued by one Assar, and does not forget them - will he forget you 247? I will not forget you, says Adonai 248 Lord [Isa. 49, 15]. Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things: its own care is sufficient for each day [Matt. 6, 34]. For successful prayer, one should not, especially during prayer, have a heart bound by addiction to earthly acquisitions, especially the love of money. You pray to God, Who is Spirit, and to the inhabitants of heaven, who also have immaterial glory. Therefore, one must philosophize on heaven, not on earth, and seek heavenly, not earthly treasures. Remember that you must, according to the Savior’s commandment, seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness [Matt. 6, 33], and if ever, then especially in prayer: at this time all earthly attachments of the heart must be put aside and the heart must be attached by faith and love to the one God. When you pray to God and the saints, do not worry about food 249, remember that the saints do not live by meat and drink: The Kingdom of God is not food and drink, but by the Holy Spirit, for the Kingdom of God is truth and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit [Rom. 14:17], and that the same life is destined for you. Brushes, money, all earthly property are temporary, perishable and unworthy of the special concerns of our soul. Before a church service or any required service, also before any civil service, beware in every possible way so as not to fall from something into a gloomy, despondent and dissatisfied mood, so that such disposition does not lead you to reckless irritability, annoyance and impatience in church or in civil service and does not become the cause of your stumbling in prayer and unworthy agreement with the Lord, the King of peace and love, or the cause of stumbling in the civil service. [Usually] out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks [Matt. 12, 34]. This must certainly happen during prayer; but how will the lips speak freely from excess, when the heart is dissatisfied, constrained, annoyed, irritated, rushing towards blind haste and words of impatience and anger, when it breathes hatred towards this or those persons who ask you to perform some requirement, ritual or are waiting for your word? Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord carelessly [Jer. 48, 10]. Oh, how this curse weighs heavily on you when, without peace in your heart, but with annoyance and irritability towards your neighbor, you say any prayers. The heart is confused, constricted, the word dries up and stops flowing, like a stream whose source has dried up or dried up. The enemy is very cunning: he [usually] always tries to confuse us with something before the service, so that during the service we cannot serve with dignity and fruitfully; he always tries to block the very source of our life, thoughts, words - the heart. He stabs everyone, looking out for everyone's weaknesses. Having noticed a weak side in the heart, he [usually] shoots his arrow at it, and wounds the unwary: he strikes those prone to suspiciousness, despondency and cowardice with arrows of suspiciousness and despondency; to pride or vanity - pride and vanity; to envy - envy; to care about worldly things, to stinginess and love of money - with worldly cares, stinginess - he kills everyone, whatever is available. Do not engage in anything earthly or material with excessive delight in your heart, otherwise it will have a deadly response in your heart when you approach God. Always remember that your only delight is Christ and His Kingdom. Man is dearer than the whole world—what perishable things will I spare for him? For a participant in the Divine nature, what could be a pity? Believe a sick person who frankly says about himself that he is sick, and do not torture him with disbelief and suspicion of the truth of his words, so that God does not send you the same illness as his and give you experience to find out what a bitter insult it is for a sick person when they do not believe his illness and torment him with offensive suspicion. With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you [Mk. 4, 24]. In the smallest particle of the Holy Mysteries of Christ is the whole of Christ. Heartfelt faith in this circumstance is necessary, otherwise there is no peace and life in the heart of the communicant - that is, if he doubts that the whole Christ is not in every particle. Experience of the heart. July 10th day, 1861. Monday. Lady! By your prayers my perplexities are banished, and by your prayers I worthily receive communion. I called out to my Lady heartily - and She heard me. Knowing for sure that the enemy kindles passions in me, I know for sure that he also inflames them in others, and precisely when he is weakened by Christ in me and driven away from me, he kindles passions in my family in order to revolt me ​​through them. If so, if I know for sure that the enemy with passions outrages and scorches me, as well as others, then why do I succumb to them, am carried away by their flow, for which I, a rational and free being, enslave myself to the ethereal enemy and, although reluctantly, serve him; and why am I indignant in spirit and irritated when I see that others, also possessed by the enemy, are confused, unjustly agitated against me by the passion of malice, hatred or envy, murmur against me, slander and scold me? How is it my fault that I myself am indignant and suffer in spirit, when others are to blame, not me? That’s why I’m indignant, that’s why the enemy attacks me, because I haven’t fully comprehended his wiles, because I myself am a proud and passionate person, I haven’t learned to overcome passions myself, I haven’t learned to be meek and humble from my Jesus. One must accept indifferently all the abuse of others, one must look with an indifferent eye, as if it were an ordinary matter, at all the passionate indignations of others produced by the enemy and each one’s own passions, that is, not to be indignant, not to lose heart, not to be timid, but to be calm, even, courageous and with meekness admonish those who are angry and slandering. But until you have learned to be your own master, until then you will not admonish and reconcile others well, until then you cannot be a good ruler of others. A person who is embittered against us is a sick person; you need to put a plaster on his heart - love; we need to caress him, talk to him with affection, with love, and if he does not have any deep-rooted anger against us, but only a temporary outbreak, see how his heart, or his anger, melts from our affection and love, how good overcomes evil. A Christian must always be good, wise, so that good can overcome evil. Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors [Matt. 6, 12]. A very important request. The Lord knows that in life we ​​very often have to endure grief, insults, injustice, oppression from others, and therefore for our peace of mind and for the sake of receiving forgiveness of our sins in prayer, He commanded us to forgive others the insults or sins of others (so that we too would receive forgiveness of our sins from the Heavenly Father, of which there are incomparably more than the sins of our neighbors against us). What deep peace and harmony this one petition should bring into human society! What would happen in reality if everyone left their grievances to their debtors? Then there would be no quarrels, hostility, envy, stinginess, courts, these vain oaths and so on and so forth. What kind of love, order, peace, harmony would then be established everywhere! How would all Christian families, villages, cities, and kingdoms flourish then! How many legal cases would collapse by themselves! The Kingdom of God would then be on earth. God, says the apostle, in Christ reconciled the world to Himself, not imputing their crimes to people (2 Cor. 5:19). What if people did not impute to their other brothers their sins against them, if they were imitators of the Heavenly Father? Oh, the Heavenly Father would then have forgiven them all their sins. (When you pray, forgive, says the Lord, if you have anything against anyone [Mark 11:25].) If you forgive people their sins, then your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, and if you do not forgive... [Matt. 6, 14 – 15]. He who leaves sins to others will easily avoid the countless devilish intrigues and connections with which the enemy constantly tries to entangle Christians, who are often forced to have hostile clashes with hostile and unrighteous people, and will be delivered from many heartbreaks. What a wise petition the Lord placed in the prayer: Our Father! Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive... - for this petition is truly necessary for us! Take a closer look at your daily life: isn’t it true that almost every day someone sins against you in some way; Remember also that sometimes a brother’s insignificant mistake greatly irritates us, especially when we are busy or when we are, as they say, out of sorts. Remember, brothers, every time you become angry with someone, the words of the Lord’s Prayer: we forgive our debtors - and say to yourself to the Lord: Jesus our Savior! We obey Your will: we forgive our debtors their debts; You forgive us our sins without number, You suffered for the sins of the whole world and shed all Your blood for them - how can we not forgive the sins against us to our neighbors, when these sins are the same as a drop in the ocean, in comparison with the sins of the whole world, for which You suffered; when we ourselves must every minute resort to You with a request to forgive our debts; when we sin against You constantly, gravely, every minute, every hour and every day we violate all Your commandments. Forgive, forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors. We want to turn into a pious, Christian habit the forgiveness of sins against our neighbors; help our desire, grant our hearts the strength not to remember insults to us from our neighbors, just as You do not remember our sins and iniquities, of which we sincerely repented before You: and their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more [Heb. 10, 17]. But those who shamelessly lie before God in prayer are those who, harboring malice and vengeance towards their brother in their hearts, say in prayer: forgive us... and we forgive our debtor. For vindictiveness, lies, idle talk and inattention to prayer, the Lord will punish such people in due time. What, in fact, is the Lord’s Prayer, so short, given to us for idle talk and misunderstanding of its spirit and power? Is the Lord a simple man who can be deceived by words? Is He not the God of our hearts, before Whom the depths of human hearts are revealed? Oh, my brothers! Be attentive to every word of the Lord's Prayer! Pronounce them truly, from the heart, unfeignedly, with feeling, as if you yourself, in dire need, composed this entire prayer. Here every word cries out to God about our essential need - feel every word with your hearts, recognize in the depths of your hearts the need of every petition. Oh! If only we could all read the Lord’s Prayer with all our hearts and complete understanding! How generously and abundantly the Heavenly Father blessed us then! Why is it not powerful to petition the Heavenly Father for such a prayer, which His beloved Son Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, put into our mouths? So, learn to forgive those who offend you, so that your Heavenly Father will forgive you your sins and reward you with the gifts of His goodness. Amen. If you are offended by someone, do not be vindictive, and when those who have offended you show you a kind look and turn to you with a speech, do not turn your heart to anger, but speak kindly and good-naturedly, as if nothing had happened between you and them. Learn to overcome evil with good, and evil with goodness, meekness and humility. “I don’t consider him worthy to talk to me, I reject him, I despise him. Let him know what it’s like to offend me,” - don’t be proud and vindictive and don’t say that, so that the Lord will not be angry at your hard-heartedness. Forgive us our debts, as we also... [Matt. 6, 12]. If we, being evil, leave them to those who have offended us, then You, who are pure goodness and love, will not leave us our debts against You! There are many worthy, pious people who appear to be frivolous and not at all devoted to the faith. Shakhov. His story about his life, about his plight in poverty. Take care of teaching the faith, the Lord’s Prayer and the commandments to the boys of our parish. Do this at home at every opportunity and, perhaps, in church on Sundays and holidays after mass or before mass. Tell them to take the children to church. About prayer. Do not stand idle during prayer: the enemy does not sleep, the flesh always fights against the spirit: they take advantage of your idleness and weaken your soul with despondency, laziness, heaviness of heart, and aversion from prayer. But force yourself to pray from your heart - and your prayer will go to heaven like the smoke of a censer. Do not trust your heart when it is indignant and suppressed by passion, and recognize it as sick, as if in delirium tremens, do not listen and do not fulfill its demands. When his madness passes and he is healthy, free and meek, when he shows the ability for love, like a sick person for food, then listen to him as a friend and fulfill his lawful demands. My flesh constantly hungers for evil and strives for it: here is food and drink in front of me - it restlessly, hastily draws me to satiety and drunkenness; in front of me are my neighbors or relatives, whom I must love, - she attracts my heart to anger without any good reason; they tell me about the happiness of a brother who is familiar and close to me - it attracts me to envy; my neighbors came to my meal - it confuses and constrains me with stinginess, stinging of food and drink; I am a spiritual person - she attacks me with lack of faith, doubt, ambition, love of money, irritability, despondency, laziness, greed for bodily pleasures, passion for idle talk, buffoonery, passing time in idleness; and in whose person all the virtues need to be, in that person it intensifies to combine all the vices, placing them, to the temptation of others, as if on an elevated place, in order to make them as visible as possible; I am a merchant - she hungers for acquisitions, deception, drinks lies like water; I am a judge - she seeks in me partiality, bribery and unjust judgment based on gifts; I am an official - it instills in me laziness and aversion to work, like a person praying to prayer, encourages me to deceive, makes me not go to work and report to the sick, or after clerical work attracts me to carnal pleasures, making work in the service a pretext for indulgence and carnal unbridledness; I am a warrior - she attracts me to theft, robbery, drunkenness, debauchery, fights; I am a girl or a woman - she craves me for outfits, updates, fashionable dresses, hats, all kinds of beautiful rags and admires, like a child, all this rubbish, sits diligently over hairstyles and decorations. O treacherous flesh! Oh, flesh greedy for all evil! O evil friend of my evil enemy the devil! Never make promises hastily or recklessly to anyone, knowing that what is promised can sometimes be difficult and even impossible to fulfill and you can easily turn out to be a liar. Treasure every word and do not throw away this precious pearl at random. When, going up a mountain, you look up, then it is easy to rise, but when you lower your head and eyes, then it is very difficult; So go cheerfully to your mountainous homeland, often raise your mind and heart to the mountain and do not grovel with them, so as not to burden yourself and not to hinder your ascent to the mountain. When moving to a new house or a newly decorated apartment, they usually shake off all the dust from household utensils in order to bring everything clean into a clean home. So we too, moving from this life, or from this dilapidated church of the body, to a new abode - to the Kingdom of Heaven, must shake off all the corrupting dust of sin and appear there clean and white. We can always be so close to the Savior and so closely united with Him, like branches on a vine: I am the vine, and you are the branches [Jn. 15, 5]. God is always so close to us that He acts in us both to desire and to act for His good pleasure [Russian: He produces... both desire and action according to His good pleasure]. Phil. 2, 13. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything (do not worry about tomorrow [Matthew 6:34]), but always by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God (Who is near), and the peace of God... Finally... whatever is true... think about these things... and the God of peace will be with you. Phil. 4.5 (-9). We are so close to the Savior that He is the Head and we are His members. He is the head of the body of the Church, says the apostle. Col. 1, (18). Treat outsiders wisely, using your time. Let your word always be with grace, seasoned with salt (graciously dissolved), so that you know how to answer everyone. Remember this and do it. Col. 4, (5-)6. There is only One Existence - the Lord; everything else exists by His mercy and bounty: everything is His property. Every Christian, especially a priest, should be so uncovetous that he should not only share his property with others, but also joyfully accept the plunder of his property, knowing that there is... in heaven a better and lasting property [Heb. 10, 34]. The enemy has divided humanity by differences of faiths and confessions, but it should be connected by the unity of faith, hope and love - and so love everyone, without distinguishing faith, so that through the unity of spirit and love the Lord will increase some to the unity of faith. My God! What are we doing? We often exchange a person for a thing and place him not only on a level - even lower than a thing, when, for example, we betray our neighbor for money or exchange him for perishable food, when we are afraid to invite worthy people to visit us because of stinginess or because we spare food and drink for them, or, having invited, we spare food and drink for them. We are crazy! Do we not often receive from conversations with worthy people thousands of times more precious treasures than our food and drink? Isn’t it often a great happiness just to see someone who is firm in faith, piety and truth and to hear from him only a few words in which his soul shines like pure gold? How much mental (not physical) benefit can sometimes be obtained from a conversation with a worthy person! Just seek this benefit, for whatever you seek, you will find. But if you seek from him only material, temporary, earthly benefits, then you will soon become bored with the person, and you will not hesitate to leave him, or first he will leave you, having noticed in you unworthy of a person - a heavenly, immortal being - views of his brother. Treasure the conversation of wise and pious people and do not spare anything to entertain them. Do not sell your neighbors for pieces of silver, as Judas betrayed the Lord for the silver that he loved, to which he became addicted to such terrifying oblivion! Imagine vividly that by accepting your neighbor, you accept Christ: Christ accepts from you either affection or heartfelt dislike. Or do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless you are what you ought to be (2 Cor. 13:5). You are the body of Christ, and individually you are members (1 Cor. 12:27). Christ is everything and in everything. Col. 3, 11. Husbands, it is said, love your wives, and do not be upset with them [Russian: Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them] [ Col. 3:19], - do not be upset, even if they did something wrong, not according to you, even if they prevented you from doing a good deed at the instigation of the enemy and sinful weakness and weakness of the heart. Always be meek, condescending, in the face of their untruths, feel sorry for them, meekly tell them about their untruths and somehow find a way to do a good deed without their participation and assistance. The wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God [Jas. 1, 20]. When your wife does something contrary to you, then remember how much she loves you and does a lot of things that please you. When your heart is embarrassed by pity for someone else's earthly blessings, say to yourself internally: will the breasts of the Lord of the Nourisher become scarce? He is our nourisher. Let us be only with Him: He will bear and give us everything. Great is the man who, in order to preserve the unity of love among his brethren, neglects material interests. He will receive a great reward from God, as a sage who has known the truth of things, who has always honored the Divine in man above the material, above the whole world and its riches. How insignificant is the thing that is destroyed before the destroyer - food and drink before man! The very purpose of the thing being destroyed—for destruction by man or animal—shows clearly how insignificant the thing being destroyed is before the one who destroys, the one who feeds before the one fed. Nowadays, in secular and, it seems, in religious institutions, punishments for students have been abolished. Reckless. Is it possible to get a good person out of a student who was not punished? After all, the old man, the carnal, the sinful, is in the disciple, but he cannot do without punishment. The Lord Himself uses punishment to correct His faithful. For the Lord punishes whomever he loves; he beats every son whom he receives. If you suffer punishment, then God treats you as sons. For is there any son whom his father does not punish? If you remain without punishment, which is common to all, then you are illegitimate children and not sons [Heb. 12, 6–8]. How does it feel? Does this agree with your opinion, gentlemen, progressives? And where did you get the idea that students shouldn’t be punished? Do you think it’s from humanity? No, from diabolism, not humanity. The devil pats all his servants on the head: just go, they say, on my broad path, but after that I will feed you enough of every cramped place, especially in hell. How does the Lord lead to the Kingdom of Heaven? The path is tight and rough. Remember: what were His followers like in the first centuries: apostles, martyrs, saints, reverends, righteous and all saints? What, without punishment, tea, they reached the Kingdom of Heaven? Did the most humane Lord allow them to suffer and die so cruelly in vain? Oh, progressives! By their fruits, it is said, you will recognize them [Matt. 7, 16]. If, praying with faith to the Lord, or the Lady, or the Angels, or the saints, you feel peace of heart during and after prayer, then it is a sign that the Lord or the saints heard you and gave you the desired good. By their fruits you will know them. Peace of heart also confirms the truth that the Lord is in every place, and the saints, by His grace in the Holy Spirit, hear our prayers. Miracles from Communion of the Holy Mysteries. The boy recovered that same day at the undertaker's. The old mother of Father Matthew apparently felt better after receiving the Holy Mysteries. When you see an abundance of earthly goods at your table, not luxurious, but moderate in value, do not have an evil and stingy heart and say: ah! so much! why so many? - but give thanks to the Lord for the generous gifts of His goodness and say: glory to You, O most generous God, for you have always filled my table with the inexhaustible treasures of Your goodness; may it also be filled with Your blessings in the foregoing 250 for the satiation and enjoyment of all who exist and are present at my table; may it never be meager according to the stinginess of my unsatiated heart. Amen. My God! How narrow is the heart of another person, what a small number of people it can accommodate in love: two or three people - and it’s too much. And the Lord? He accommodates everyone in His loving heart, there is a spacious place for everyone, just turn to Him. Give us this day our daily bread [Matt. 6, 11]. These words of prayer are directed against those who are overly concerned about what to eat and drink and what to wear. Do not worry, says the Savior, about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things: enough for each day is its own care [Matt. 6, 34]. The bird is sleeping on a branch this night and, foolish, neither sowing nor reaping, does not know what it will eat tomorrow, but the Heavenly Father feeds it every day. “You need it yourself” - they say when they ask someone to give or do something to their neighbor. Look, what pride! Even if it is necessary, sacrifice to your neighbor out of love for him: sacrifice love for yourself to love for your neighbor. Hallowed be Thy name [Matt. 6, 9]. Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. 1 Pet. 3, 15; 4, 14 et seq. Self-sacrifice is necessary for a person at every step when doing any good deed; it often happens, very often, that in order to do a good deed you have to sacrifice your peace of mind and even your health; If you don’t sacrifice, you won’t get the job done, or you’ll do it in bad faith and you won’t receive the crown that the Lord would reward for a good deed done in good faith. Apply this, shepherds, to your preaching works. And I must pray with David: Set, O Lord, a guard over my lips and guard the doors of my lips [Ps. 140.3]. One word, carelessly spoken, creates a storm in the house - you will regret that you said a rotten word, but it’s too late (belly). You shouldn’t even pay attention to the enmity, malice and malicious antics of others against you, especially if in your conscience you recognize yourself as not deserving of all this, because all this is the work of the devil, who, through people who do not fear God, pours out his rage on you and amuses his old malice against you. Do not respond with enmity to those who offend, but conquer with love; also, do not be troubled in spirit, as if by something important, but be calm and laugh at the machinations of the enemy; Have pity on those who are at war as on your sick members. The omnipresence of God is spatial and mental, that is, God is everywhere in a spatial sense and everywhere in a mental sense: wherever I go physically or mentally, everywhere I meet God and everywhere the Lord meets me. Do not, under any circumstances, disturb your spirit because of anything material: neither by stinging sensual goods, or by stinginess, nor by suspicion of theft or theft of your property; cleave to the Lord, and the Lord will either preserve all that is yours, or will preserve your heart from the devil’s deadly snares. Do not worry about anything... The Lord is near [Phil. 4, 6, 5] - that is, about nothing that concerns the body. To the stingy, frequent visits from guests seem to be a lie on their part, and he considers himself entitled not to tolerate them and to breathe hatred towards them, as if for their lies. But doesn’t the Christian faith teach him meekness and patience in case of injustice to us by others, doesn’t it please those who suffer injustice from people, doesn’t it say: don’t demand it back from the one who took what you have [Lk. 6, 30], doesn’t it point to Christ the Avenger: Vengeance is Mine, I will repay [Rom. 12, 19], doesn’t she make Christ Himself a debtor to him instead of them: blessed will you be, that they cannot repay you... [Lk. 14, 14]. The devil showed the Lord Jesus all the kingdoms of the universe in a moment of time, and the devil said to Him: I will give you the power over all these kingdoms and the glory of them, for it is given to me, and I give it to whomever I want; So, if You worship me, then everything will be Yours [Lk. 4, 5–7]. This temptation of the Savior by the devil is an image of our temptation: the enemy also tempts us with the honors of this world. And look how the sons of this age, charmed by the enemy, hunger for these honors and for the sake of them bow to their enemy - the devil! What means are not used in order to achieve the highest honor, to receive a cross or an order, instead of seeking the honors of the highest calling of God. How tickled everyone is by the proud and proud desire to become higher than others or equal to those who are higher than us! How many raise their heads, having become higher than their fellows! How much inner pleasure there is in its advantages! What a secret joy that they are no worse than others, that they are better than many, that they are ahead of their most worthy comrades, who, with all their conscientiousness, with all the zeal of their service, with all their excellent talents, have not yet received what we, thanks only to happy circumstances and, perhaps, to our own machinations, have received. ABOUT! This is the devil's consolation! This is the worship of the devil: these people fall and bow to the devil. So, if You worship me, then everything will be Yours. Brethren! Be careful, do not bow to the enemy of God, lest the Lord and Judge of all turn His face away from you on that day. July 23rd, 1861. This includes, in addition to honors, magnificent clothes that serve to vanity, and exquisite decoration of apartments, dinner parties and everything with which a person wants to gain the vain glory of this world. All who dress exquisitely for the sake of vain glory and decorate their apartments bow to the devil, who cherishes them as his children and zealous worshipers, encourages them to do these shameful things, inflaming their desires and whims. But how is it that the power over the universe and all its (temporary) glory were handed over to the devil? Are these words of the enemy true? The King of the universe is the one Lord who created it: My universe and everything that fills it [Ps. 49, 12], He says in the psalm; in the same way, the glory is His alone in heaven and on earth, which is why He is called the God of glory: the God of glory thundered [Ps. 28, 3]. Therefore, the enemy’s words are false from this side. But aren't they fair on some side? If we mean by the universe a world lying in evil, and diligently serving it with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, then in this case the words of the devil are fair, for God Himself really encouraged the enemy to tempt the sinful human race, who sold itself to him through sin, and gave him, so to speak, into his power: behold, he is in your hand, just save his soul [Job. 2, 6]. Receive one another, as Christ also received you to the glory of God [Rom. 15:7 ] (speaks especially about the weak). Do you see how necessary unanimity and cordiality are in receiving each other? Do you see what is the basis for such a way of life? - Which one? The fact that Christ Himself accepted us, weak and sinners, into the glory of God. From here, brethren, learn not to neglect the weak or anyone else, but accept everyone with joy and readiness to help each other, just as Christ accepted you for the glory of God, into the Kingdom of Heaven. Speak, and it will be opened to you [Matt. 7, 7]. The doors of God's mercy are strong, no matter what sin you sin, no matter how fiery the enemy's arrows are, no matter how strong his stubbornness in your heart, it will surely be opened to you. I knocked, and the doors of God’s mercy were always opened to me. Remember this always when you pray to the Lord or His Most Pure Mother or the saints. Where and how did the enemy not bother me? At school I was distrustful of my word, in public life I was and still am confused by the same distrust of my word, and an ordinary thing that is easy for others - free, correct, measured speech - is difficult for me because of my distrust of myself. I seem to myself to be a layman in the subjects that my interlocutors are talking about, knowing nothing, although if I began to speak according to the laws of rational thinking and according to the sufficient information that I have acquired about all subjects, then I would find something to say judiciously and sensibly. But, not trusting myself, I blush for myself, and my enemy, rejoicing in my evil and looking for weaknesses in me in order to attack them and torment me, torments me with humiliation and despondency. However, I often do not succumb, with the grace of my Lord, to his machinations, but, having mentally called upon the Savior to come to the aid of my weakness, I am calmed by Him, I assume calm importance, not worrying vainly about what others will say about me, and, leaving the majority in the secular word to those who are skilled in it, I reserve for myself the best dominance - in the spiritual word, in which, I am testified by my Lord and His strength in me, I am not shallow and can speak with strength. The enemy confused me both during divine services and in general during all the spiritual needs of the priest and, like a muddy, dirty, strong, abundant stream, sometimes flooded my soul, which from him did not see either myself or the light of God, remaining all vague, struck as if to death. But sincere repentance and deep sighs to God and tears about my lack of attention to God’s work and about my impatience attracted God’s mercy to me, and my soul was cleansed, cleared, calmed, and encouraged after the severe obsession of Satan. In order to get rid of this terrible temptation, I myself composed a prayer to my Lord, so that He would grant me the grace with a cheerful heart and a sober mind, with a contrite and humble heart, with faith and love to bring Him prayers, glory and thanksgiving and worship, I prayed with it every day and do not stop praying - and He heeded my prayer and delivered me from the violence of the enemy; and for a long time now I have been cheerfully saying prayers, supplications, petitions and thanksgivings to the Triune God, the God of my salvation, the God of my heart. I will not leave my prayer, lest I again be subjected to the same temptation. Where did the enemy not embarrass me? If I wanted to do the most ordinary thing for other people, which they did freely, calmly, - and there he struck me with embarrassment. Was it necessary to take a photographic portrait of me? I sat down and was confused in spirit, the waves of the enemy, as luck would have it, rushed to my heart and distorted the features of my face. The enemy pursued me viciously everywhere. Worker (Church Slavic) – enslaved, serving, submissive, obedient; the working church of the devil is the abode of the devil, obedient to his will. Hedgehog (church glory) - what. Truncated words are frequently occurring words that are written abbreviated in the Slavic language, with apostrophes. Are they not all ministering spirits sent to serve those who are to inherit salvation? (Heb. 1:14). Une (church glory) - better, more useful. An indispensable condition (lat.). Finger (Church Glav.) – dirt, dust of the earth. See: Matt. 13, 1–52; 18, 23–35; 20, 1–16; 21, 28–44; 22, 1–14; 25. And the rain fell, and the rivers overflowed, and the winds blew and rushed against that house, and it did not fall, because it was founded on rock (Matthew 7:25). You know, you know (church glory). Pache (Church Glorious) - more; ah, no (self-lovers, not lovers of God). Kokosh (Church Slavic) – chicken. I tremble, accepting the fire, lest I be scorched like wax and like grass; Ole terrible sacrament! Ole the mercy of God! How do I partake of the Divine Body and Blood of clay and become incorruptible? (Russian: I tremble, accepting the fire, so as not to burn like wax and like grass. O terrible sacrament! O the mercy of God! How can I, dust, partake of the Divine Body and Blood and become immortal?) (Canon for Holy Communion, canto 8, Troparion Trinity). And the Lord God said: My Spirit shall not abide in these men forever, for they are flesh (Russian: And the Lord God said: My Spirit shall not forever be despised by these men, because they are flesh) (Gen. 6:3). Sodom and Gomorrah are cities that were destroyed by heavenly fire for the horrific iniquity of their inhabitants; in their place the Dead Sea was formed. Saint John the Baptist, Baptist of the Lord. Rus. transl.: Barren as a desert, the pagan assembly blossomed like a lily thanks to Thy Nativity, O Lord, and formed Thy Holy Church, in which my heart was established (Irmos of the Sunday canon on the third ode. Tone 2). Age (Church Slavic) – height, body size. Elbow (Church Slavic) – a measure of length corresponding to the length of the arm from the elbow to the end of the middle finger. Revealed (church glory) - here: glorious, famous, majestic. Sincerely (Church Glav.) - in the same way, equally, exactly, similarly, also. Most sincere denotes a superlative degree of similarity. Sy (Church Glav.) – Existing, Eternal (one of the names of God). Izhe (Church Slav.) – which. Tat (Church Slav.) – thief. Neglect (French) – neglect, be inattentive. Compare: Having raised the earth on nothing by Thy commandment, and having hung the uncontrollably heavy weight on the immovable Christ, the stones of Thy commandments, establish Thy Church, the only One who is Blessed and Lover of Mankind (Russian: By Thy commandment, having established the earth on nothing and hung it, heavy, in the air without support, establish, O Christ, Thy Church on the unshakable stone of Your commandments, the only Merciful and Lover of Mankind!) (irmos of the Sunday canon, canticle three, tone 5). The dirt of the paths (Church Slavic) - road dirt. Lying (Church Slavic) - lying down, resting. Right (Church Glorious) - full of truth, true, righteous. Antonov's fire is what they used to call fever. Kindness, kindness (church glory) - inner perfection, superiority; greatness, Look (Church Glav.) - plow (from opam - to plow, to cultivate the land). Ralo (Church Glav.) – plow, plow. Vegetate (Church Glav.) – to grow, to occur, to give birth. Wed. The Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, hymn 7, troparion is Trinity: The Trinity is simple, inseparable, consubstantial, and the nature is one, Light and Light, and the Holy Three, and God the Trinity is sung in one holy way, but sing, glorify, the Belly and the Belies, the soul, of all God (Russian: God the Trinity is sung as the Trinity simple, inseparable, consubstantial, one nature, like Lights and Light and - Three Holy and one Holy Face; but, soul, sing, glorify Life and Life - the God of all). Power (Church Glav.) – strength, strengthening, affirmation. Rek (Church Slav.) – said. Every, every (church-glorified) - everyone. Compare: Two blind men who were sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, began to shout: have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David! The people forced them to remain silent; but they began to shout even louder: have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David! Jesus stopped, called them and said: what do you want from Me? They say to Him: Lord! so that our eyes may be opened. Jesus, being moved with compassion, touched their eyes; and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him (Matthew 20:30-34). See also: Mk. 10, 46–52; OK. 18, 35–43. Derzhavets (Church Slavic) – ruler, lord; owning, managing something; ruling Born (Church Slavic) – born; born again, reborn. Letorasl (Church Slavic) – sprout, annual shoot of a tree, young branch. Grapes (Church Slavic) – grapevine; allegorically – the Church of God. He is like a man building a house, who dug, went deep and laid the foundation on the rock; why, when a flood happened and the water came against this house, it could not shake it, because it was founded on stone (Luke 6:48). Obnositi (church-slav.) – glorify. Velelepota (church glory) – greatness, splendor. Amozhe (Church Glorious) - where. Wed: I have always seen the Lord before me, for He is at my right hand (Ps. 15:8). Be diligent (Church Glav.) - care about someone or something (from here: diligently - diligently). Inuds (Church Slavic) – in another place; from inuda - from another place. Philemon is one of the seventy apostles. The letter of the Apostle Paul, which was included in the New Testament, was addressed to him. The commemoration takes place on February 19/March 4 and November 22/December 5. “The Tablet” is an interpretation of the liturgy and other church services, compiled by the Greek hieromonk Nathanael. Nalyatsati (Church Slavic) – strain, pull, alarm; draw a bow, shoot, and also put on military armor; in a broader sense - to arm, prepare for battle. Yazhe (Church Glorious) - which. Skinny (Church Glav.) – empty, vain, insignificant, useless. Essential (Church Slavic) – necessary for existence, necessary. See: Dan. 9, 4–19; OK. 1, 5 – 13; Acts 10, 1–4. Darkness, darkness (church glory) - ten thousand; many times over - countless times. Building (Church Slavic) – reconstruction, renewal, remodeling. Wed: Rejoice, Chief of Mental Creation (Russian: Rejoice, Originator of Spiritual Revival) (Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos, Ikos 10). Volna (Church Slavic) – wool. Adjective (Church Slavic) – attack, sinful proposal, trick, trap. I will write a letter of thanks (church glory) - I will repay, I will send thanks. Charm (Church Slavic) – charm, enchantment, witchcraft; dream, daydream (church-glav.) – empty appearance, ghost. Speshnik (Church Slavic) – accomplice, collaborator, assistant. Hasty - helping, helping. Zrak (Church Slavic) – image, appearance. The image of a slave is the weakest state of human nature. Kissing (Church Glav.) – greeting. The Angel of the Lord appeared to him (Moses) in a flame of fire from the midst of a thorn bush. And he saw that the thorn bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed (Ex. 3:2). Kupina (Church Glorious) - bush. Prenatural – supernatural, above nature. Fleece (Church Slavic) – wool, skin. Compare: And Gideon said to God: If You save Israel with my hand, as You said, then behold, I will spread shorn wool here on the threshing floor: if there is dew only on the wool, and the whole earth is dry, then I will know that You will save Israel with my hand, as You said. And so it happened: the next day, getting up early, he began to squeeze the wool and squeezed a whole cup of water out of the wool. And Gideon said to God: Do not be angry with me if I say it again and only once again do the test on the wool: let it be dry on the wool alone, and let there be dew on the whole earth. God did just that that night: only the wool was dry, but there was dew on the whole earth (Judges 6:36–40). Rozhen (Church Slavic) – iron horn; pointed weapon. Imagine (Church Glav.) – here: to be depicted, to be imprinted. Purification (Church Glav.) - this is the name of the lid of the Ark of the Covenant. This name was given to it because on the day of atonement the high priest entered the Holy of Holies with the blood of sacrificial animals and sprinkled the blood over the Ark of the Covenant to cleanse the sins of the people. You will fall into condemnation with the devil. From preki (church glory) - against, in spite of. Nazirati (Church Glav.) – to observe, supervise. Even save (Church Glav.) - Which saves. Compile (lat.) – combine the results of other people’s works without independent processing, mechanically. Present (Church Slavic) – present, nearby, present. That is, you endure “bitterness”: oppression, disaster, oppression. Tabernacle (Greek) – dwelling, abode. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock; and the rain fell, and the rivers flooded, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it did not fall, because it was founded on rock. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain fell, and the rivers overflowed, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and he fell, and his fall was great (Matthew 7:24–27). Limits, reduces His mercies and gifts. If... you come to Me in a land of fury, I will also go with you in a fury in a land (Russian: If... you go against Me, then I will also go in a fury against you) (Lev. 26:23-24). Zaushati (Church Glav.) – to hit in the face. Ouds (Church Slavic) – members of the body. Prelest (church glory) – delusion, seduction, deception. Lanita (Church Glav.) – cheek. Behold, I give you power to tread on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will harm you (Luke 10:19). Tolitse (Church Glorious) - so much. Orudny – being a tool, an instrument. This is impossible, impossible (French and Latin). Thin (Church Glav.) – empty, insignificant, useless, vain. Just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me (Matthew 25:40). They will acquire (church glory) - they will acquire. Lying down (Church Slavic) – lying down: on the ground, on the floor, etc. Wed: When you make a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed that they cannot repay you, for you will be rewarded at the resurrection of the righteous (Luke 14:13-14). Your bread and your goods (cf. Luke 12:18). Wed: The enemy is running out of weapons to the end (Russian: The enemy has completely run out of weapons) (Ps. 9:7). Lyuby (church glory) – love. Kosny (Church Slavic) – slow, sluggish. Lozhesna (Church Glav.) – womb. Excess (Church Glav.) – to be saved, to be freed. Pira (Church Slavic) – bag, knapsack. That is, the Sunday of the Paralytic, the 4th after Easter. To overflow (Church Glav.) – to pour out abundantly. Tares (Church Slav.) are a genus of weeds with poisonous grains, which until fully ripened are outwardly indistinguishable from wheat. Wed: In Caesarea there was a certain man named Cornelius, a centurion from a regiment called Italian, pious and fearing God with all his household, who gave much alms to the people and always prayed to God... The angel answered him (Cornelius): your prayers and your alms have come as a memorial before God... and says (God); Cornelius! your prayer is heard, and your alms are remembered before God (Acts 10: 1–2, 4, 31). Animal (Church Glav.) – having life in itself, giving life. Like packs and packs (Church Glav.) - that again and again, again and again. Prelagati (Church Glav.) – change, change, remake. Revenge (Church Glorious) - protect. Alchba (Church Glav.) – hunger. Fulfill (Church Glorious) – fill; fulfill - fills, -ila. We are talking about Abba Arseny. About him, see “Memorable tales about the asceticism of the holy and blessed fathers” (M., TSL, 1995. P. 20). These (Church Slavic) – others; here we mean Angels. Wed: Matt. 7, 2; Mk. 4, 24; OK. 6, 38. Vina (Church Slavic) – reason. Treason (Church Glav.) – change. I give you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, so you also love one another (John 13:34). Honor your father and your mother, so that it may go well with you and that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you (Ex. 20:12). Ponezhe (Church Glorious) – for, because. Krin (Church Glav.) – lily. Yako krin - like a lily, like a lily. Wed: food, settle alone on the earth (Russian: as if you were settled alone on the earth) (Is. 5:8). Compare: do not rejoice in this, for the souls obey you: rejoice, for your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). Wed: by Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). Tatiye (Church Glav.) – thieves. To rise (Church Glav.) – to rebel, rise, resist. From nowhere (church-glory) - from where. Zhitomerie (Church Slav.) – a certain, assigned portion of bread, distributed at a certain time. Zhitomer is a distributor of bread. Hedgehog (Church Glav.) – here: so that. Otrevati (Church Glav.) – sweep away, reject, push away. Burp (Church Glav.) – utter, pronounce. Father John was elevated to the rank of archpriest on April 26, 1875. Nothing (church glory) - nothing. Zelo (Church Glav.) – strongly, very, very. Tertia (lat.) – sixtieth part of a second (obsolete). Not even more so (Church Glav.) - not even more so. See: Matt. 9, 20–22; Mk. 5.25–34. Vertograd (Church Slavic) – a fenced garden. Si (church glory) - for yourself; in the form of an adverb is attached at the end of other words instead of “your”; their si - their benefits. Fulfill (Church Glorious) – fill. Rambov is the colloquial name for the city of Oranienbaum. Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in it, and put incense in it, and brought strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them; and fire came out from the Lord and burned them, and they died before the Lord (Lev. 10:1-2). Canon of the Holy Glorious and All-Praised Apostle, tone 4, Thursday morning. Canto 8th. Darkness (church glory) - ten thousand. In the south (Church Glav.) – in which, by which. An allusion to the words of the Apostle Paul: I became all things to all, that I might save all things (Russian: I became all things to all, in order to save at least some) (1 Cor. 9:22). Roasting (Church Slavic) – melting, melting (from boiling – melt, melt). Krat (Church Slavic) – once; once. Poeliku (Church Glorious) – because. You will remain silent and will not be able to speak until the day this comes true, because you did not believe my words, which will come true in due time (Luke 1:20). They brought to Him a mute man possessed by a demon. And when the demon was cast out, the dumb man began to speak (Matthew 9:32–33). Kolmi pache (Church Glav.) – even more so. Accusation (Church Slavic) – doubt, bewilderment. See: Matt. 10, 29–31; OK. 12, 6–7. Adonai (Heb.) – lit.: strong, powerful ruler, lord. One of the names of God. Brashno (Church Glav.) – food. Anterior (Church Glorious) – future. You might be interested in: