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How conveniently and quickly the Lord can save us! Instantly, unexpectedly, unnoticeably. Often during the day I was a great sinner, and in the evening after prayer I retired justified and whiter than snow with the grace of the Holy Spirit, with the deepest peace and delight in my heart! How easy it is for the Lord to save us even in the evening of our lives, at the end of our days! Oh, save, save, save me, most gracious Lord, accept me into Your Heavenly Kingdom! Everything is possible for You. Before our Lord we stand and fall. The Lord is able to raise us up (cf. Rom. 14:4) (6). What if we had not been given the prevenient grace of God, if it had not suddenly embraced our entire being after the sins we had committed and did not itself dispose it to repentance and tears? What if you could only receive it through your own efforts? Oh, damned 5 we people would be then, rare, rare, who could get rid of the burden of sins, for our nature is generally lazy towards intense labor, especially in spiritual life, and without help, without strong relief and delight in spiritual labor, we would abandon them and abandon the work of our salvation. Now the all-wise God and the gracious Father will either lighten and sweeten our spiritual burden, or sometimes aggravate it for our testing, to teach us patience and exhaustion of our evil, destructive flesh, wisely replacing one with another - and the work of our salvation, thanks to God, is always possible, not too difficult and very often pleasant for us (6). Who does not know how difficult it is without the special grace of God for a sinner to turn from his beloved path of sin to the path of virtue... If not for the grace of God, which sinner would turn to God, since the property of sin is to darken us, to bind us hand and foot. But the time and place for the action of grace is only here: after death, only the prayers of the Church can act on repentant sinners, on those who have acceptance in their souls, the light of good deeds, carried away by them from this life, into which the grace of God or the gracious prayers of the Church can be grafted (6). What is grace? The good power of God, given to a believer and baptized in the name of Jesus Christ or the Holy Trinity, cleansing, sanctifying, enlightening, assisting in doing good and avoiding evil, comforting and encouraging in adversity, sorrow and illness, guaranteeing the receipt of eternal blessings prepared by God in heaven for His chosen ones. Whether someone was proud, proud, angry, envious, he became meek and humble, selfless for the glory of God and the good of his neighbor, friendly to everyone, condescending, compliant without indulgence - he became so by the power of grace. Whether someone was an unbeliever, he became a believer and a zealous executor of the precepts of faith - he became so by the power of grace. Whether someone was money-loving, selfish and unjust, hard-hearted towards the poor, but, having changed in the depths of his soul, he became non-covetous, truthful, generous, compassionate - he owes this to the power of the grace of Christ. Whether someone was a glutton, a polyeater and a heavy drinker, but he became an abstinent, a faster, not out of illness or awareness of the harm to the body of intemperance, but out of consciousness of a moral, higher goal - he became so by the power of grace. Whether someone was a hater, vindictive, vindictive, but suddenly he became humane, loving even his enemies, ill-wishers and scolders, not remembering any insults - he became so through the reviving, transforming and renewing power of grace. Has anyone been cold to God, to church, to worship, to prayer, in general to the sacraments of faith that cleanse and strengthen our souls and bodies, and suddenly, having changed in soul, he became warm to God, to worship, to prayer, reverent to the sacraments - he became so through the action of the saving grace of God. From this it is clear that many live outside of grace, not realizing its importance and necessity for themselves and not seeking it, according to the word of the Lord: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). Many live in all abundance and contentment, enjoy flourishing health, eat with pleasure, drink, walk, amuse themselves, write, work in various parts or branches of human activity, but do not have the grace of God in their hearts, this priceless Christian treasure, without which a Christian cannot be a true Christian and heir to the Kingdom of Heaven (7). What does the heavy sleep of laziness and the stony insensibility of the heart mean during prayer or when composing a sermon, when teaching the Law of God? This means leaving us with the grace of God according to the wise and good intentions of God to strengthen our hearts for our own free spiritual activities. Sometimes grace carries us like children, or leads and supports us, as if by the hand, then half the battle is for us to do deeds of virtue, and sometimes it leaves us alone with our weakness, so that we do not be lazy, but work and in spirit deserve the gift of grace: at this time we must, as free beings, voluntarily show our correction and our zeal for God. To grumble against God and to deprive us of grace would be madness, for when the Lord wants, then He takes His grace from us, fallen and unworthy. At this time we must learn patience and bless the Lord: “The Lord gave His grace, the Lord took it away; [as the Lord pleased, so it was done;] blessed be the name of the Lord!” ( Job 1:21 ) (7). Just as a mustard seed sown in the ground sprouts, grows, and becomes visible, so the grace of God, which has entered the heart of a person, does not remain ineffective and fruitless in it, but begins to manifest its saving, life-giving power in repentance, in cleansing tears, in inner enlightenment, sanctification, in ascension to perfection, in all virtue (8). It is dark and cold here when the sun illuminates us little; and on the contrary, it is light and warm when the rays of the sun directly fall on the ground. The same thing happens with the soul of a Christian. When the Source of spiritual light and life-giving warmth - Jesus Christ and the Life-giving Spirit - move away from her, then there is spiritual darkness and coldness in her, and when they approach her and act on her with Their grace, then light and warmth suddenly settle in her, and she tastes wonderful peace and heavenly joy (8). In all kinds of earthly and carnal deprivations, people grieve, sometimes immeasurably, but when they are clearly deprived of the grace of God through their sins, then few people grieve, and often they regard the deprivation as nothing. The extreme blindness and delusion of fallen man! What is more important: soul or body, carnal or spiritual deprivation, deprivation of ashes, or deprivation of eternal life, deprivation of spiritual peace, truth, light, freedom, the mercy of God? Oh, 6 and blind people, out of madness and lack of understanding, losing the only thing they need because of an insane addiction to the flesh and the world! Come to your senses someday and give up your addiction to the world, because the world will soon leave you if you do not leave it (10). What is grace? A gift of God given to a person for the sake of faith in Christ for the salvation of a Christian person. Grace is an intervening power, merciful, enlightening, saving, predisposing to all virtue (10). Grace, infused into a person who believes and is zealous for holiness and truth, constantly drives out corruption and all sin from the heart and body, from a person’s entire being, and prepares him for eternal incorruption, drives out the stench of passions and instills a fragrance. The saints, while still alive in the body, were fragrant with holiness and incorruptibility and were pure temples of the Holy Spirit, working miracles. Live according to the Spirit and “do not turn the cares of the flesh into lusts” (Rom. 13:14) (10). Lord Jesus! How I would like to sincerely love You and Your Most Pure Mother with all the saints! But sometimes this holy love is not given to me. My heart is unclean; without Thy grace it is not capable of loving You, Thy Most Pure Mother and Thy saints with holy, sublime love. Create in me, O Lord, a pure heart (10). Damned - unworthy, pitiful, sinner. Buii (obsolete) – stupid, unintelligent, wild. You might be interested in: