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1. Perfection and success in the Jesus Prayer depends on the grace of God This - what God has given or will give - must be kept in mind so as not to confuse self-made work with the gift of grace (1, p. 18). 2. Grace regenerates a person Everything around is so gloomy if you look from the outside. In fact, there is the bright guidance of God, with which He leads each and every one to the final end. No one is forgotten. The Father of all is God. How unhappy is our race when, in order to save it, it was necessary for God Himself to descend to it, accept its nature and in this nature pave the way for it to ascend to where He Himself is - at the right hand of the Father? The fact that not everyone believes does not diminish the importance of faith. We must look at those who sincerely believe and at what is given to them through faith. The Christian faith is not a system of teaching, but an image of the restoration of the God-Man fallen through death, by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Take one of those who followed the Lord and you will see how little by little he grows in spirit - and becomes great despite all his outward inconspicuousness. Here's about. Seraphim. Simple, unlearned - what have you come to? He blocked the lips of the learned unbelievers with a single word. That's power. What is his life like, and his character? So grace transforms everyone who surrenders to it (1, p. 148). 3. About states of grace-filled illumination This state cannot be equal to any natural delight. It is exceptional - and is experienced only by the touch of the Lord on the soul (1, p. 154). 4. The twofold effect of grace You have already been called through birth, baptism and upbringing - and you stood on the good path, but you deviated, trampling on the grace of holy Baptism. Now they are called again. Be afraid to step away from God again. Grace acts in two ways: from the outside, when it calls, and this is universal grace, no one is excluded, for the Lord wants everyone to be saved and to come into the mind of truth; when someone, having heeded the calling, is converted, then grace, through the Sacrament of Baptism or Repentance, dwells inside and there creates salvation or forms from the elements of good, natural to man, a new man, the heir of the eternal Kingdom of Heaven, not in an authoritative manner, but in a guiding and helpful way, that is, indicating good and helping to accomplish it (1, pp. 203-204). 5. On the interaction of grace and jealousy For everyone who wants to be saved, the Lord be your helper! You have described some defects in doing the work of salvation. Take a closer look, you will find even more. If you please, wake up, because this is a matter of life and death. The main producers of life in Christ Jesus are zeal, ardent, energetic, merciless towards oneself, furiously angry at one’s bad side in all its manifestations, without any condescension; and divine grace, attracted and called upon by zeal and always helping when zeal works as it should... The grace of God is always ready and in all its strength; and jealousy is not always in good order, is not always in the proper tension, weakens, approaches indifference, grows cold. In this state, a person resembles the one about whom the Lord said in the Apocalypse: You are neither warm nor cold 16 ... and added a very terrible sentence (1, pp. 207–208). As jealousy cools, grace retreats (1, p. 208). 6. Grace is universal... the fault of unsalvation is not due to grace, but to our reluctance No one is spared grace; it is given to all who come to the Lord; and the Savior says that He came to save sinners, and not the righteous 17... Grace is common to all, just take it... and access to it is open to everyone - and everyone can be saved if they want... The fault of unsalvation is not on grace, but on our reluctance (1, p. 224). 7. About the action of grace after a person turns to God - during the period of birth God first gives the soul, turning from sin to the path of pleasing God, to taste all the sweetness of this new life. But then it leaves the person alone with his own strength. Grace either hides its effect or retreats. This is done in order to give a person a deeper conviction that he himself is alone without grace, and the ability to deeply humble himself before himself, and before God, and before people (1, pp. 226-227). 8. Jealousy is the fruit of grace You have zeal for salvation. It is marked by the care you express. This means that spiritual life is glowing within you. You should support it by supporting jealousy and inciting it. When there is jealousy, there will be life, and life never stands on one thing, therefore there will be prosperity. But you cannot notice it, just as you cannot notice the growth of children, who are always in front of your eyes. This zeal is the fruit of grace. The Lord has called you. Always confess this with full thanksgiving. If He called, He will not abandon Him, just do not shrink away from Him. For not everything is from the Lord, but some is also from us. What from us? All-powerful action to please God. It will be as long as there is jealousy. When there is jealousy, it is evidenced by a burning concern for salvation (2, p. 85). 9. Promotion of grace in spiritual life: about attention to God and the gradual liberation of the spirit from earthly attractions with the help of grace Patience and constancy in what you started will finally lead to what you are looking for, and you will rejoice! After all, little is needed, and even one thing, just as the Savior said. Mary sat at the feet of the Savior and looked into His eyes, listening to His word. This is how we need to arrange ourselves. The Lord is everywhere, and you can bow down to Him everywhere. The question is how. Like the prophet David, so are we. I have foreseen, he says, I will make the Lord before me, as if he is at my right hand 18 (Ps. 15:8). And we will anticipate. What's stopping you? It is not the onslaught of external impressions that hinders, but the inconstancy of the mind. This is what the holy fathers wrote. The mind keeps running from subject to subject. How to tie it? You can't do anything but feel. When there is a feeling in the heart, it ties the mind to the object of the feeling. Consequently, whoever wants to tie the mind to God, so that it constantly perceives God, must revive the feeling for God (2, pp. 95–96). The feeling for God is natural to us: it constitutes the essence of the spirit of the highest side of our being. But after our fall, our spirit weakened and submitted to the soul; the soul is like Martha, it is all occupied with earthly and worldly things and cannot live without it. How can this be? - You must lose your soul in order for your spirit to come to life, or to come to life in your spirit. So the Lord commanded. The question again: how? The grace of God comes and stirs up the spirit. The spirit begins to make its demands and torment a person with dissatisfaction: give him God... and combine him with God, then he will be silent, having what he needs. Again we came to the same thing: we must anticipate the Lord... We already have a beginning. The merciful God with His grace aroused the spirit. The spirit is excited, but the soul is alive, and it interferes with the spirit. We need to finish off the soul. Because the spirit is excited, her throat has already been cut; but she is still breathing, she is still alive. How to finish off a soul is a long story. For the first time, let us be merciless towards her and her demands, or more simply: let us cut off our sympathy for everything spiritual, earthly, everyday, created and, on the contrary, we will try to form sympathy for everything spiritual, invisible, Divine. Without receiving satisfaction, the soul will become depleted and closer to death, and the spirit, receiving saturation, will strengthen, grow, and mature. The whole power of this work is in sympathy: to suppress some... and raise others. The suppression of some is carried out by tension of will and energy of spirit, with the invocation of the powerful name of Jesus Christ; and the restoration of others is carried out by transferring consciousness and attention to their objects. This is prayer and contemplation of God, or reflection on Divine properties and deeds. Whoever stands in the sun for a long time warms up with his body; so whoever thinks about God and the Divine becomes warm in spirit. The further, the more. Finally the spirit will light up. When it lights up, then no lessons or instructions are needed. The spirit itself will sort everything out. This is the state of the anointed. This is the fire the Lord came to kindle on earth. Then the whole heart will be occupied with the One God, and behind the heart the mind. Here is the road... You walk along it. You'll get there. Don’t be timid!.. (2, pp. 96–97). But on paper it looks short. But things don't always get done quickly. Moreover, we represent only labor, and the Lord Himself does the work. We are the same as those who carry bricks, lime, sand, water, etc. It is someone else who is building, who has been present in us since Baptism or Repentance. But he doesn’t tell anyone how he builds, not even the one for whom he builds. Only after the completion of the building does He introduce the very face of a person into the structure... and this one just groans... wondering where everything came from, how such a wondrous building came out of such nondescript materials: clean, and light, and beautiful, and magnificent. If we believe that this will happen in us, let us wait patiently and wait. However, while waiting, do not sit idly by, but tensely do everything that the commandment obliges us to do, according to our external position and internal state (2, p. 97). 10. Self-indulgence and self-indulgent entertainment drive away grace. One should not indulge oneself and self-willingly indulge in entertainment, for the grace of God drives away this kind of behavior. Why won't he come back?! It’s terrible how everything will go upside down... Save you, Lord, from this trouble!.. Moreover, every spiritual need about which your heart aches is to be handed over to the Lord, and He will help and sort out what’s wrong (2, p. 99). 11. The gifts of the Holy Spirit received at Baptism are developed through prayer and deeds The grace of the Holy Spirit is with us from the moment of Baptism and Confirmation. Church prayers, home prayers, works of asceticism and good deeds develop this gift and give it scope to act in us. The best means for this is heartfelt prayer, which itself must be considered a fruit of the Spirit and at the same time an attractor of the Spirit. In this sense, church prayer for the Holy Spirit is attractive to the Spirit (2, p. 211; 8, p. 95). 12. On the interaction of grace and jealousy “The Lord has called you. Thank the Lord! But do not give up on doing everything that is necessary on your part. The Lord has begun the work of spiritual renewal in you. Believe and trust that the one who begins... will accomplish it (Phil. 1:6), if you maintain a living zeal and do not neglect the corresponding labors (3, p. 24). Zeal is a work of grace and evidence that this grace is persistently present in you and produces a gracious life... As long as there is zeal, the grace of the Holy Spirit is also present. She is fire. The fire is fueled by wood. Spiritual firewood is prayer... As soon as grace touches the heart, a turning of the mind and heart to God is immediately generated - the seed of prayer. Then comes the thought of God (3, pp. 24–25). The grace of God draws the attention of the mind and heart to God and keeps it on Him. Just as the mind does not stand without action, then, being turned to God, it thinks about God. Hence, the memory of God is a constant companion of the state of grace... The memory of God is never idle, but it certainly leads into the contemplation of the perfections of God and God’s deeds: goodness, truth, creation, providence, redemption, Judgment and retribution. All this together is the world of God or the spiritual realm. The jealous one remains in this area forever. This is the nature of jealousy. From here back, staying in this area supports and enlivens jealousy. Do you want to observe jealousy? Keep the entire prescribed mood... In parts - this is spiritual firewood... Always have such firewood on hand, and as soon as you notice that the fire of jealousy is weakening, take some log from your spiritual firewood and renew the spiritual fire. And everything will go well. From the totality of such spiritual movements comes the fear of God, reverent standing before God in the heart. Behold the guardian and protection of the state of grace... Delve into this, think it over carefully, instill it in your consciousness and heart... and constantly revive it in yourself... and you will live... You have been resurrected, as you say... and here you will always be in the state of having just been resurrected (3, p. 25). 13. After grace-filled visits, one must be prepared to encounter sorrows and temptations You have been granted great mercy from the Lord! This is your approval of your previous work and encouragement for more. Or maybe there’s also this: aren’t internal temptations or external sorrows and hardships approaching ahead? This is the thought of St. Isaac. You will feel, he says, a special effect of grace. Look strictly in all directions, so as not to be burdened by any misfortune. But closer than sorrowful misfortunes are fits of self-praise... Then collect everything from your previous life that in good conscience you cannot praise, and with this suppress rebellious thoughts, just as sometimes a flash of fire is covered with earth, so that a small fire does not arise from a small one. Self-praise and self-worth are followed by sinful thoughts and movements and many other things. Save you from all this, Lord! (3, pp. 227–228). 14. Graceful suggestions should encourage us to humility God sent you a reminder to pray. Thank God. There is no charm here unless you create it within yourself and dream something great about yourself. And before, you received suggestions from above, which you heard with your inner hearing. God's mercy! And the greater the answer lies on you if you do not succeed in this. Having received a suggestion, you spend a day, and sometimes more, in a detached state and mood. Others do not have this and must themselves, as best they can, ascend to such a state, which is obligatory for everyone. Now compare what is higher – what was obtained without labor or through labor and then achieved?.. And from this you will receive an incentive to humble yourself before everyone (3, p. 230). 15. Without the grace of God, nothing spiritual can be acquired in any other way. Strength is not in the words of the Jesus Prayer, but in the spiritual mood, the fear of God and devotion to God and in constant attention to God and His mental standing. The Jesus Prayer is only a guide, and not the very essence of the matter. Commit yourself to live in the memory of God and walk in the presence of God, and this alone will lead you to a good end. All this is from the grace of God. Without the grace of God, nothing spiritual can be acquired in any other way. As soon as grace sinks into the heart, then everything will go as it should be (5, p. 231). 16. About the departure of grace Self-worth and the retreat of grace are always inseparable. The Lord turns His eyes away from the arrogant... And the retreat of grace does not always follow a fall. What follows is only cooling, bad movements and a penalty against passions, not in the sense of falling into passionate affairs, but in the sense of heart confusion: for example, someone will say an unpleasant word... and the heart will burn with anger and under. (6, p. 84). 17. Saying of St. Simeon the New Theologian about grace What does St. say? Simeon, that grace makes one forget and despise everything earthly and heavenly, temporary and eternal, by this he means everything created, every creature. For when grace is kindled, then the heart is filled with love for God, and true love for God makes there is nothing for the soul except it and God. This is what Saint Simeon says (8, p. 27). 18. Minutes of the highest blessed state of spirit The good state that you have experienced is the fruit of God’s grace that has overshadowed you. It is given to everyone who sincerely turns to the Lord. This is what St. says about this. Macarius of Egypt. And it is given at first - and then it is hidden. The Lord only allows us to understand in this way what there is, what to work from and pursue after Him. This state cannot be equal to any natural delight. It is exclusive - and is experienced only by the touch of the Lord on the soul. Did you notice the place where you felt it? You need to notice this well so that you can pay attention to that place later. Try to remember - and pay attention to everything there. It's in the heart. It is not in our power to prolong this state, but it is possible to produce something similar to it through sobriety (8, p. 216). 19. The procedure for arousing good feelings in a person being saved from the Spirit of God The Spirit of God secretly acts on our spirit and sets it in motion. Our spirit, when it comes into motion, restores within itself its natural knowledge of God, that God exists, contains everything, and is the Giver of Rewards. Consciousness of this restores a feeling of complete dependence on God and revives the fear of God. Both disturb the conscience - the witness and judge of our deeds and feelings, among which there is rarely anything that God would look upon favorably. An alarmed conscience, together with the fear of God and a feeling of complete dependence on God, makes a person feel the hopelessness of his situation: where will I go? Where am I running? But there is nowhere to run: he is caught and in the hands of God - the Judge and the Rewarder. One can feel the wrath of God from heaven against all unrighteousness 19 (Rom. 1:18). But then the gospel of the Gospel comes and leads you out of trouble. Without the Gospel, such an awakening of our spirit would be disastrous, for it would inevitably plunge us into despair. But the goodness of God arranges it in such a way that the true awakening of the spirit is both accomplished and accompanied by the Gospel. To the one who has formed inside as a result of the awakening of the spirit: where will I go? Where am I running? – The Gospel proclaims: where and why to run? Go under the shadow of the Cross and you will be saved. The Son of God, having become incarnate, died on the Cross for the cleansing of our sins. Believe in this - and you will receive forgiveness and the mercy of God. The apostles always did this when preaching the Gospel. They disturb you, and then they say: believe in the crucified Lord - and you will be saved. Yes, St. Peter, in his first sermon, on the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit, alarmed and frightened the Jews to the point that they began to cry out: “What should we do now? Where to go? He then proclaimed to them: Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of the Lord Jesus for the remission of sins 20 (Acts 2:38). St. The Apostle Paul arranged his Epistle to the Romans in such a way that he first frightened everyone, saying: the wrath of God is revealed (Rom. 1:18), and then he indicated refuge for everyone in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:22, etc.). When someone is in extreme distress and encounters an indication of an outcome and a refuge, with what zeal does he grasp for this! So our spirit, having heeded the gospel of salvation in the Lord, strives with all its might for it, with trust and readiness to do everything in order to become a partaker of the blessings of the Gospel. This mood of our spirit makes it ready for communion with God, and the grace of the Holy Spirit, which hitherto acted from the outside, stimulating, moves inside not directly, but through the medium of the Sacrament. The believer repents, is baptized and receives the gift of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:38). This is the action of Communion with God—living and active. This action was so palpably manifested during the initial sermon of St. apostles; This is how it manifested itself after them and continues to manifest itself until now, when everything on our part is fulfilled as it should be. The Spirit of God alone does not do everything. Something is required from us, and this something is important. The Spirit of God excites, the gospel shows what to take up. This is from God. But, having done this, God stops and waits for our will. With his first actions, God seems to ask: “Do you want to get out of trouble? Here's what you do." This moment is the most important. If someone bows to the instruction, the entrance to further actions of grace opens, which then introduces him into the region of the saved. If he does not bow down, he stops further actions of grace and remains such among the perishing. The Apostle Paul preaches in the Areopagus. After the sermon of St. Dionysius and someone else follow him and cross themselves; and among the others, some say: “What does this vain guy teach?”, and some: “Come another time, we’ll listen to you.” God does not force anyone to be saved, but offers a choice and saves only the one who chooses salvation. If our will were not required, God would have made everyone saved in an instant, for He wants everyone to be saved. Yes, then there would be no people dying at all. But our will is not always rational, it persists and does not listen to God Himself. So we perish (9, pp. 81–84). 20. The hidden effect of grace that we receive in the Sacrament of Baptism Grace acts in us secretly from childhood. It is renewed in us by the communion of the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood; The environment in which we grow up, if it is religious and pious, gives scope for its action in us through Christian education. And what we emerge from childhood and adolescence under these conditions is not at all the same as those who are not baptized. I believe that you are pleased to accept the thought and faith that you are blessed. And do not deny, but rather thank. Grace acts in secret, but often it breaks through and becomes manifest - in holy impulses and deeds. If you rub yourself more often, walking in Christian order, you will more often experience the effect of grace. There is fire in the tree, but it is hidden. Start rubbing wood against wood - smoke will come out, and then fire will appear. There is electricity in amber and sealing wax, but it is not visible that way. Rub it, and it will immediately be revealed by the attraction of some small particles and even a spark. So the telegraph is silent, but as soon as the machine begins to produce friction, electricity immediately awakens, and you see how quickly it acts. So you see, blessed daughter of God, what’s the matter! You need to rub yourself, walking in Christian order, and the grace of God will constantly manifest its vitality in you. There are electric suns. Why? A lot of electricity is excited through known devices and is maintained in this excitement. I wish you, too, to become a self-luminous sun under the influence of the grace given to you and existing in you. So again we come to the same point - that you don’t have to feel sorry for yourself, or cut or rub. Otherwise, nothing will come of you and me in the spiritual sense, even though we will be very beautiful to look at (9, pp. 93–94). 21. About zeal and determination to live by grace I am very pleased with your desire to be reborn. You were bursting with desire; but bless, Lord, to bring this desire to you to the point of determination, and then to put your decision into action, which in letters is not so complicated and long, but in its essential meaning should be the work of a lifetime. We’ll talk about this later on how to achieve resolution. Now I'll talk more about what happens at the end. The conscious bright end of any undertaking maintains the energy of forces in appropriate tension to complete it. Last time I wrote to you that we need to willingly give space to the grace of God, which we received in Baptism, so that it, like leaven, penetrates our entire being in all parts and particles; then he added that from the time of Baptism it immediately begins to act and, if it does not encounter any obstacles, produces everything possible in the soul alone, in the hope that, having come to age, the soul will choose by its own will those beginnings of a Christian life pleasing to God, already laid down by grace. When, having come to age, someone becomes, with his consciousness and free choice, on the side of grace, then she already teaches the person himself how to get along with himself and limit everything within himself, and does not deviate from him until he completes his work, unless the person begins to resist it with his will (9, pp. 98-99). You now stand at that moment in life when your will and freedom are presented with a choice: whether to take the side of grace or the opposite of it. Let us assume that you chose the first and through the work of life reached the blissful end of a grace-filled life. In what form do you think your inner self will then be contemplated? – Like a radiant star, spreading bright rays everywhere. That's how it is! Remember, you said that you couldn’t control your thoughts, and then you wrote that I had spoiled you with my speeches, that before everything was better for you, but when you began to peer into yourself at my direction, you see only disorder: thoughts, feelings, and desires - everything is out of order, and there is no strength to bring them into any order. Here's a solution to why this is so: there is no center. But there is no center, because with your consciousness and free choice you have not yet decided which side to take. The grace of God has hitherto introduced possible order into you, and it was and is in you. But from now on she will no longer act alone, but will wait for your decision. And if you do not take her side by your election and decision, then she will completely move away from you and leave you in the hands of your will. You will be thrown to the opposite side and, perhaps, you will even choose it with your heart; but do not expect this direction to reduce the disorder within you. No, there will be even greater confusion and dishevelment there. Order within you will begin only when you take the side of grace and make the order of life in its spirit an urgent law of your life. From the moment such a decision is formed in you, a center is formed within you, and a strong center, which will begin to pull everything that exists in you towards itself. At the center of this will be grace that has taken possession of your consciousness and freedom, or your consciousness and freedom combined with grace. This is the same thing that was previously called resurrection or restoration of the spirit. To this center, then, the grace of God will begin to draw all the other forces of your nature, both mental and physical, and direct all their activities, retaining in them what is good and destroying all that is bad (9, pp. 99-100). 22. Internal expediency. Enlightenment of the shell of the soul under the influence of grace. Different degrees of this enlightenment This drawing of everything towards one center and the direction of everything towards it is the internal rebirth that you so eagerly desired. When this rebirth is completed, then everything, both small and great, will emanate from one center, and the most perfect harmony will be established within, and the peace of God, surpassing all minds, will overshadow the inner church of your nature. And the God of peace will be with you! – What a delightful and blissful state. You were rushed by desire towards a thing very worthy of your desire (9, p. 100). When the soul is outside of grace, its shell is either gloomy, like the darkest night, if someone indulges the passions and serves them; or sulfur, like an indefinite fog, when someone is not too devoted to passions, but lives in vanity. Under the influence of grace, as the soul is imbued with it, its shell gradually brightens, just as cloudy weather usually clears up. When the soul is completely imbued with grace, then its entire shell becomes bright and light. Just as everything internal in this case is pulled together to a single entity, from which all the movements and actions there emanate, then the brightness of the shell appears to be the action of the same grace, emanating from the same center following spiritual actions. This is radiance. The inner being of the blessed shines like a star, not only with spiritual, but also with material light (9, p. 101). This internal luminosity of such people often breaks out and is visible to others. Having been to St. Petersburg in the forties, I heard about this from some people and really wanted to see it with my own eyes. It happened to me to receive a monk in whom tangible effects of grace had already begun to manifest themselves. The conversation began about spiritual things. As he came into himself and his thoughts deepened, his face became lighter and brighter, and then everything became white, like snow, and his eyes sparkled. And they say about Father Seraphim of Sarov that he often became enlightened, especially during prayer in church, apparently for everyone. There are many legends about such manifestations in Fatherland books. It is written about one, for example, that as soon as he stood in prayer and raised his hands to the sky, beams of light flowed from all the fingers of both his hands over a wide area. About another it is said that his disciple came to him for some reason and knocked - there was no answer. He bent down to look into the hole and saw that the old man was standing all on fire, like a pillar of light. And there are many, many such tales. And I heard something similar about St. Tikhon when I was little. The Transfiguration of the Lord, when He appeared all covered in light of the same origin as this one” (9, pp. 101–102). Such radiance during the transition to another life is revealed naturally by itself, for then this gross body falls away and does not prevent it from being visible to others. I have already mentioned to you how St. Anthony the Great, sitting one day and talking with his disciples, fixed his eyes on the sky and, looking contentedly, said: “I saw a pillar of light ascending from the earth to heaven. It was the soul of Ammonius that soared to the Lord.” Many such visions have been recorded. And it is certain that only those in whom the grace of God, having been received, began its action to some extent, although it did not have time to penetrate the whole nature, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Remember the parable of the ten virgins. The five holy fools did not enter the palace because they did not have fire in their lamps. This means that, having accepted grace, like everyone else, they did not bother to warm it up in themselves and did not work on themselves to give it space to fully act in themselves. They extinguished grace - there was no light, for there was nowhere for it to come into us, except from grace. Imagine how amazed they were when they stood at the very doors and were rejected - and they heard the voice of the Bridegroom, only not calling, but driving away. Lord, have mercy! A bitter fate! Revolve this moment in your thoughts more often and take all your care at all costs to ensure that something similar does not happen to you (9, pp. 102–103). 23. Explaining the free determination to live by grace with parables and examples Those who, having received grace, did not allow it to act in themselves, but starved them to death, at the Judgment of God will first take away the gift of grace, and then plunge them into utter darkness. The Savior revealed this in the parables about the men. All slaves are given according to their own measure: grace is given to everyone equally. But one of us bought ten others with this money, another – five, the third – nothing: he wrapped, he says, in a scarf and put it (see Luke 19: 11-21). This means that the first one worked the most to be imbued with grace, the second did half the opposite, and the third neglected the gift and did not care at all to kindle grace in himself. The reward is then given according to the work of blessing or internal enlightenment of oneself under the influence of grace. The latter did nothing in this regard: they took from him what was so generously given at the beginning. Do you see how things go and how they end?! We, the baptized, have all received us - the grace of the Holy Spirit. This grace, as I have already mentioned, first acts alone in us, while we have not yet come to age. When we come to age, then, although she is also ready to act in us at any time, she does not act, but waits until we freely and self-willingly bow to her, we ourselves delight in her all-action in us and seek it. As soon as we seek it, it immediately begins its work in us again, stimulating, directing and strengthening us. The penetration of grace into us will be fulfilled as we seek and work towards this seeking. And if we do not seek and do not begin to work precisely for this purpose and in this sense, then it will not act alone in us against our will, as if by force. God gave man freedom and does not want to violate it, does not want to enter him against his will and act in him. If a person wants to surrender himself to the action of God, self-willingly, then God, by His grace, begins to act in him. If everything depended on God, then in an instant everyone would become holy. One moment of God - and everything would change. But such is the law that a person must desire and seek for it himself, and then grace will not abandon him, as long as he remains faithful to it (9, pp. 103–104). Remember the Savior's parable about the treasure hidden in the field and about the man looking for precious beads (see Matthew 13:44–46). One saw a tithe in a field, on which a treasure was buried: he went, sold everything he owned and bought that tithe. Of course, he later dug up a treasure and became rich, although this is not mentioned. This field or tithe is our soul; the treasure hidden in it is the grace invested in it through holy Baptism. That the man of the parable saw the treasure - this signifies the moment when a Christian realizes that such a treasure is hidden in him, incomparable to anything - the grace of the Holy Spirit. He sold everything - this means he sacrificed everything that he had, that was dear to him, just to get that treasure - to awaken and bring to light the grace hidden in it. There was another merchant who traded in precious stones. He found out that somewhere there was a diamond that had no equal, but the prices for which were unknown in the place where it was located (I am adding this on my own behalf). Wanting to buy it, this one also sold everything he had and bought it. And, of course, he became rich. – And this precious bead is an image of the grace of God, hidden in us and unknown to us until we realize it. He who is aware is convinced that there is nothing more precious than her. Therefore, with complete selflessness, he gives up everything and rushes to kindle and ignite grace within himself. From these parables you can see exactly what is expected of us. We are expected to: 1) recognize the presence of the gift of grace within ourselves; 2) we understood its preciousness for us, so great that it is more precious than life, so that without it life is not life; 3) they desired with all their desire to assimilate this grace to themselves, and themselves to it, or, what is the same, to be imbued with it in their entire nature, to be enlightened and sanctified; 4) decided to achieve this by doing it; and then 5) brought this determination into fulfillment, leaving everything or detaching one’s heart from everything and betraying it all to the all-effects of God’s grace. When these five acts are completed in us, then the beginning of our internal rebirth begins, after which, if we relentlessly continue to act in the same spirit, internal rebirth and insight will increase - quickly or slowly, judging by our work, and most importantly - by self-forgetfulness and self-sacrifice. Remember what I told you about that governess who turned sharply 21. Here it all happened for her. Having started, she no longer looked back, but went further and further, higher and higher. And she reached the fiery ignition of grace. The grace of God does not look at what someone was like before he desired it, but waits only for this desire. And immediately he begins his work, both with Catherine the Great Martyr, pure, and with Mary of Egypt, who was previously faulty. How many people are living this way in Russia, noble and ignorant, men and women, widows and maidens?! Blessed and blessed souls! – Blessed Augustine was kept in the bonds of a non-spiritual life for a long time, although he knew about the spiritual and desired it. What helped him break these bonds? The story he heard about the illumination of the grace of St. Anthony the Great, an unlearned man of simple rank. Hearing this, he cried out: behold, the simple ones are ahead of us, leaving us behind with all our learning and all our importance among people. And from that moment he broke himself and eagerly followed the same path as the St. Anthony. How are we with you? Will we refuse or put it off day after day?! Bless you, O Lord, with Your enlightening blessing (9, pp. 104–106). 24. The determination to live by grace should not be limited only by desire, but must be accompanied by a readiness for work and struggle, and the desire to certainly achieve what is desired. The need for patience and constancy in achievement The radiance of the soul, which is penetrated by God's grace - all like fire and iron, is an attractive state. Hearing about it, everyone is ready to rush with the desire to achieve it. I assume you have a similar impulse. But impulse, although it means that the soul knows how to choose the best, does not express everything that is required for this occasion. You can rush and stand, but nothing will come of the impulse. No, it is not impulse alone that is needed here, but a sound consideration of the matter and the formation of determination, firm and unwavering, with the awareness of all the labors, obstacles, troubles that lie ahead, with courageous inspiration to stand against them to the point of one’s stomach. Seeking for God's grace to permeate our entire being is the same as seeking the Kingdom of God, or zeal for the salvation of the soul, or love and election of the one thing needed. Naming and expressions are different; it's one thing. I took the side that is more clear. Whatever you call it, the object in itself is most desirable, therefore it is impossible not to desire it. Ask anyone: do you want to go to heaven, to the Kingdom of Heaven? - He will answer in spirit: I want, I want. But tell him later: well, do this and that, and your hands give up. I want to go to heaven, but I don’t always have the desire to work hard for it. What I am saying is that it is not only necessary to desire, but also to have a firm determination to certainly achieve what you want and to begin the actual work towards this achievement. To make this clearer to us, I will tell you everything about how desires usually rise to determination (9, pp. 107–108). There are many things that we think about and things that we think about. But let’s think and think and forget. This means that the soul did not lie down to them: the soul did not lie down and the memory of them disappeared. What is memorable is what the soul turns to. The soul will lie down, I mean - we liked the subject. Let us like the subject - we are pleased to think about it or hold it in thought, imagine it; but he may not yet arouse the desire to have it, and if this is the case, to make it. We say: a thing is good or a deed is good, but we don’t care about them. We admire them, but we don’t see the urge to reach out for them or towards them. In order to wish for something, it is necessary that what we want has the closest relation to us personally, that it would be either useful for us, or necessary, or that we would like it so much that living without it would be boring and bitter. When such aspects are seen in any matter or thing, we cannot restrain their desires; it is formed inevitably. Suppose they desired it: as if everything had already been done? Not yet. How many desires remain unfulfilled due to lack of energy or effort to fulfill them? In order for a wish to come true, it must be translated into an indispensable intention or determination, the soul must say within itself: at any cost I will get such and such a thing or do such and such a thing. When this word is pronounced in the soul, then after it considerations begin on how to put into action what has been decided: thinking about means, inventing favorable circumstances of time and place, anticipating obstacles and identifying measures to eliminate them, and possibly reviewing the entire course of the matter from beginning to end. When all this is identified in the soul, it is completely ready for action. Everything is ready for the task, but the task is not yet there: it must be started, continued with constancy, patience and appropriate diligence until it comes to the end. Everything that has been described so far is similar to how, for example, your sawmill is prepared for sawing: the pairs are separated, the wood is supplied and everything is set up properly. All that remains is to put it into action - and the work has begun. This - putting it into action - is the crown of all previous preparations and seems to add nothing to the work, and the completion of the work all depends on it. In the same way, in the transition of desires into determination and action, when the determination has matured and everything has been thought out for doing, there still remains the most self-needed act, in which all the power lies - to begin to do. You might think, what’s so difficult about it when everything is already ready? Meanwhile, this is the most difficult step. Everything to the point of determination happened inside; Now our internal work - the smart one - must enter the environment of events and flow along with others. Just take the first step, and then the very environment in which the person who started the business will enter will begin to push him - to do and do in the spirit and order begun. So here's the whole procedure for you! I say this in order to indicate what still remains for you to complete within yourself, so that the desire with which you rushed to the work of God turns into action. So that your desire is not an empty flower, you must first bring it to the point of determination - not fleeting, but ponderous, thoughtful, strong, reasonable and, most importantly, irrevocable; and then get down to business. First, everything must be accomplished internally through one’s own reflection with a prayerful appeal to God for enlightenment and enlightenment of the mind regarding this much-needed subject (9, pp. 108–110). 25. Essay on an internal state enlightened by grace in the words of Macarius the Great. Ways to excite and strengthen determination in a good life If anyone in the world is rich and has a hidden treasure, then with this treasure and wealth he acquires everything he wants. Likewise, those who have found and already have heavenly treasure (grace), with this treasure acquire for themselves every virtue and with the same treasure add to themselves even greater heavenly wealth. The Apostle says: the imams have this treasure in scanty vessels 22 (2 Cor. 4:7), that is, while still in the flesh, they were honored to find this treasure in themselves - the sanctifying power of the Spirit. Whoever has found and has within himself this heavenly treasure of the Spirit, immaculately and purely performs with it all righteousness according to the commandments and all practice of virtues, without coercion or difficulty. Let us beg God, let us seek and ask that He grant us the treasure of His Spirit, and thus be able to abide blamelessly and purely in all His commandments, to fulfill all righteousness purely and perfectly. One must force oneself to ask the Lord, that he may be worthy to find and receive the heavenly treasure of the Spirit and to come to a state without difficulty and easily to perform impeccably and purely all the commandments of the Lord, which previously could not be fulfilled even with all the effort. This treasure is acquired through diligent search, faith and patience in the work of this search. With heartache and faith we must ask God to let us find His riches in our hearts, in the power and effectiveness of the Spirit. What happens to those for whom the grace of God has begun to manifest its actions, St. Macarius depicts it this way: “Sometimes they are overjoyed, as if at a royal meal, and rejoice with joy and joy unspeakable. At other times they are like a bride, resting in divine peace in community with her groom. Sometimes, like disembodied Angels, while still in the body, they feel the same lightness and inspiration within themselves. Sometimes they seem to be in a state of drunkenness, rejoiced and at peace in the Spirit, intoxicated by the Divine spiritual mysteries. Sometimes the Spirit kindles them with such love that, if it were possible, they would accommodate every person in their hearts, not distinguishing evil from good. Sometimes, in the humility of the Spirit, they humiliate themselves so much before every person that they consider themselves the very last and least of all. Sometimes their soul rests in some great silence, in silence and peace; Sometimes grace is achieved in understanding something, in ineffable wisdom, in knowing what cannot be expressed with the tongue. Sometimes a person becomes like one of the ordinary ones.” What a coveted state! And here is another small sketch of an internal state enlightened by grace. “When the soul ascends to the perfection of the Spirit, completely cleansed of all passions, and, in ineffable communion, having come into unity and dissolution with the Comforter Spirit and co-dissolved by the Spirit, it itself is worthy to become a spirit, then it becomes all light, all eye, all joy, all peace, all love, all mercy, all grace and kindness.” This is what the holy ascetics sought and tried to achieve! Agree that there was and is something to work for. But access to this area is open to everyone. This is not a protected meadow or garden. Such blessings are promised to everyone and a deposit is given for their acquisition - the grace of the Holy Spirit in Baptism and Confirmation. All we have to do is dig within ourselves and get this treasure. Treasure in our garden: just take a shovel and start digging. From the very first blows of the spade, silver and gold will begin to jingle. And there - lo and behold - that’s all the treasure. There will be no measure of joy then. Well! What is the matter with you and me now?! In my last letter, I showed you the path by which one reaches determination, but I did not mention as a result of what particular ideas this determination arises and comes into final tension. I will now briefly point out this most important thing. And the beauty of the object excites energy, but here it is possible to leave the matter until tomorrow. When, on the one hand, extreme need and inevitability are clearly recognized, and on the other hand, available methods, then the decision is made irresistibly. Here's an example. Another sitter is sitting in the room and you can’t call him, but let him see that there is a fire, where will the agility come from: he will give up his spirit. We need to do exactly the same thing with ourselves, and if we are indecisive, we need to ignite trouble around us, that is, convince ourselves that either do this or that, or you will perish forever. As soon as this is imagined in the mind, all our moral energy will immediately arise in full force and will be irresistibly drawn to the cause. How to do this in relation to the subject we are talking about, take the trouble to figure out for yourself. Let me remember for my part that today and tomorrow is death, but after death what? Come on, what happened to the evil servant: take us from him - the gift of grace, and throw us into utter darkness! Or what happened to the holy fools: the door will be locked and you will hear: I don’t know who you are! After all, one thing or another, of course, will happen if we do not kindle grace within ourselves and are not enlightened by it. Put yourself in this position more clearly; and I don’t think that your indecision, if there is one, can resist this. Another ancient sage said: remember your last 23 and you will never sin (Sir. 7:39). Try to imagine this more clearly and, once you have realized it clearly, do not weaken or darken this consciousness. Take the book “Wake Up to Sleep” to help yourself and read it. It was given to you before. The availability of means is the second moment, which, when feeling extreme, gives courage and trustworthiness to escape from trouble and thereby inspires one to do something. Whereas without this, the feeling of inevitable extremes plunges into despair. In the above example, if there is no door or open window, the person caught in the fire has only one thing left to do - tear his hair out. So in our example, given the decisive extreme in which we truly find ourselves (without grace we cannot avoid the deprivation of the Kingdom of Heaven), if there were no means at our disposal, in the consciousness of such extreme we would only have to fall into despair. But, thank God, everything is already ready for us, with which we can avoid the inevitable extremes beyond the grave - everything is ready and we have it at hand, and even have it in ourselves. All that remains is to get down to business and act. Are we really going to continue to hesitate and put it off day by day while doing all this? ...All I am saying is that you should wholeheartedly choose this particular kind of life and self-willingly decide to live like this to the end. It’s as if your life before was not yours. That's how you were sent. This is very beneficial, but it is fragile if you do not choose this particular life by your election and make it an urgent law for yourself. If you don’t do this now, you will be carried away by the evil spirit of secular life, or neither this nor that will come out of you, as I already mentioned. Think, for the Lord’s sake, about all this and hasten to make up your mind in your decisions (9, pp. 110–115). 26. The Necessity of Grace in the Spiritual Life [Speransky 24:] “Grace, which excites so many theoretical disputes, is a simple thing for feelings. She is precisely this presence of our Lord within us. Without Me you cannot do anything - this is the principle of grace. In this sense, too, the apostles and the first Christians called Jesus Christ simply Lord. Can the most brilliant proof of mathematical truth compare in obviousness with the actions of grace when the heart is opened to it by repentance? Before the emergence of inner life, or the manifestation of the tangible action of grace and communion with God, a person often does something else himself or strains his strength to do so. But, exhausted and unsuccessful in his efforts, he finally gives up his amateur activities and wholeheartedly surrenders himself to the all-effects of grace. Then the Lord visits him with His mercy and kindles in him the fire of inner spiritual life. That his efforts meant nothing in this great revolution, he knows from experience. Afterwards, through more or less frequent retreats, the grace of God impresses upon him the experienced confirmation that maintaining this fire of life is not a matter of his own efforts. Then, the frequent discovery of good thoughts and undertakings, the frequent overshadowing of the spirit of prayer, which comes from no one knows how or from where, also makes him experimentally convinced that all good things are possible for him only through the action of God’s grace, which is always inherent in him by the grace of the Lord, who saves all those who are saved. He surrenders himself to the Lord, and the Lord works in him. Experience shows that everything goes well for him only when he is filled with this self-surrender. He does not deviate from it and watches in every possible way (10, pp. 119–121). 27. Relation of grace to freedom Theorists are much interested in the question of the relationship of grace to freedom. For the bearer of grace, this question is resolved by the deed itself. The bearer of grace surrenders himself to the full effect of grace, and grace acts in him. This truth is not only more obvious to him than any mathematical truth, but also any external experience, for he has already ceased to live outside and is entirely concentrated within. He now has only one concern - to be always faithful to the grace inherent in him. Infidelity offends her, and she either retreats or reduces her action. A person testifies to his fidelity to grace or to the Lord by the fact that neither in thoughts, nor in feelings, nor in deeds, nor in words does he allow anything that he perceives to be contrary to the Lord, and, on the contrary, he does not let any work or undertaking pass without completing it, as long as he realizes that this is the will of God, judging by the course of his circumstances and by the indication of internal attractions and movements. This sometimes requires a lot of work, painful self-constraint and self-resistance; but he is joyful in sacrificing everything to the Lord, for after every such sacrifice he receives an internal reward: peace, joy and special boldness in prayer. It is through these acts of faithfulness to grace that the gift of grace is kindled, in connection with prayer, which was no longer absent at that time (10, pp. 121–122). 28. Comparison of the action of grace with the actions of a mother regarding a child I was fascinated by the state of your heart after communion of the Holy Mysteries. After all, the Holy Mysteries are typified by manna. She took a taste according to everyone's needs. So the communion of the Holy Mysteries gave you a taste of what you need. Now your heart knows what it means to be with the Lord and what to be without Him. How good it is when He is near and warms and delights! And what happens to the soul when He retreats! What comes to mind is a comparison of Macarius of Egypt - the action of God's grace with the action of a mother regarding her child. When a child forgets how dear his mother is to him because of his mother’s constant nurturing, then the mother leaves him alone and hides herself. The child starts screaming when he sees that he is alone. The mother immediately takes it again. How tightly he will then press himself to his mother’s chest! And before that he looked to the sides, became distracted, laughed, forgetting his mother. That's how it is with the soul. Our job is to accept everything and give thanks for everything. Be the glory of the Lord forever! (11, pp. 10–11). This is what your fast was like on Good Friday! It’s just in vain that you attack the fast and become so angry with it that you will never fast like that again. As God willing. Maybe you will fast for a week and nothing like this will happen. It was the Lord who wanted to show you what you are alone - without His overshadowing and covering grace. At this time, the Lord retreated a little from you - he did not abandon you, but retreated; you are left alone with your powers and with everything that is in you. This is the law of the wise grace of God. First, it showers the soul with all sorts of consolations and everything is easy, and, like some kind of clothing, the heart is covered with warmth, and the mind with the lightness of contemplation. But here a tempting thought is close: well, thank God... now, it seems, we have settled down (you have this expression in your letter), not like before... things are going well... the heart is not bad, and the mind is not bad... What was good before is not at all from your strength and labor, but from the Lord, according to His only goodness; you probably dreamed or relied on yourself or felt strong and safe. The Lord took off the robe of His grace from you, you were left alone... everything became dry, hard and gloomy... i.e. The Lord gave an answer to your thought: “Here, look what your heart is and what your mind is!” The heart is angry, and the mind does not know what it is thinking, and the will has lost all zeal. So here's God's lesson for you. Memorize it - and don’t know yourself any other way than the way you were that day. If you are better, give everything to the Lord - and thank Him and cry out in fear: Lord, do not take away from me the cover of Your grace; and you all see yourself as you were that day. Grace carries the soul like a mother carries her child. When the child becomes naughty and begins to look at other things instead of the mother, then the mother leaves the child alone and hides. Noticing himself alone, the child begins to scream and call for his mother... The mother comes again, takes the child... and the child clings even tighter to the mother's chest. This is what grace does. When the soul becomes arrogant and forgets to think that it is carried and held by grace, grace retreats... and leaves the soul alone... Why? - Then, so that the soul comes to its senses, feels the misfortune of the retreat of grace and begins to cling to it more tightly and seek it. Such a retreat is not an action of anger, but of God’s admonishing love and is called an instructive retreat (11, pp. 48–50). 29. Pentecost - the breath of God's Spirit and the overshadowing Blessed are you, Christ our God, etc. We celebrate Pentecost. May the Giver of all things give you the breath and overshadowing of God's Spirit! Let His warmth warm your heart more and more, until a fire burns, scorching and consuming! Wake up! And it will happen, if you put in hard and painful work, you will fall to God. The Lord is generous and merciful (11, p. 28). 30. About the grace of God (vision of the elder) I will tell you the vision of one old man. He saw a wide, wide field. Many different kinds of people walked along it. They walked through mud, some knee-deep or more, but they thought they were walking through flowers; they themselves were in rags, dirty and ugly, but they thought that they were handsome in their finery. Not a single one of them was dead, everyone was in anxiety and troubles, in troubles or disputes and quarrels with each other... To the east of them lay a somewhat elevated clearing, covered with grass and flowers, but to them it seemed dry, sandy and rocky. Behind this clearing a mountain rose, interrupted by ridges in different directions, higher and higher... From behind the mountain a light of extraordinary beauty could be seen, blinding and opening blind eyes. The rays from this light were sent in multitude into the noisy crowd wandering through the dirty field. Each head had its own beam. What about people? It never even occurred to them to look at the light from behind the mountain. And as for the rays, some did not feel their touch at all; others, feeling their restless blow, rubbed only their heads and, without raising their heads, continued to do what they were doing; others raised their heads and turned their gaze back, but immediately closed their eyes again and returned to their previous state. Some, fixing their eyes in the direction of the beam, stood for a long time observantly examining the light and admiring its beauty, but everyone stood motionless in one place and finally, either from fatigue or being pushed by others, they again began to walk along the same road along which they had walked before. A very rare few, submitting to the excitement of the beam and its instructions, left everything, directed their steps towards the flowery meadow and then walked further and further to the mountain and along the mountain to the light that shone on them from behind the mountain. The meaning of the vision is clear by itself!.. You see that exciting grace does not leave anyone; just let the people themselves not persist (11, pp. 107–108). “How to distinguish between what is the action of grace and what is one’s own desire to remain in goodness?” There is no need to differentiate. A truly Christian life is arranged mutually - by grace and by one’s desire and freedom, so that grace without the free inclination of the will will not do anything with us, nor can one’s desire, without strengthening by grace, have success in anything. Both of them agree on one matter of organizing Christian life; and what in every deed belongs to grace and what to one’s desire is difficult to discern in subtlety, and there is no need. Know that grace never forces free will and never leaves it alone, without its help, when it is worthy of it, has a need and asks for it. The Lord is near! Pray! There is a life without grace, similar to a life with grace. Their difference lies in the inner mood of the heart and moral strength. Where one or the other is, one eye of God recognizes. But we must look at ourselves and painfully cry out to the Lord: O Lord, save, O Lord, make good luck!.. It is better to drive away empty curiosity (11, pp. 108–109). Wed: “You are warm, not hot and not cold (Rev. 3:16). (Our italics - Ed.) I always saw the Lord before me, for He is at my right hand. ...the wrath of God is from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Repent and be baptized each of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. She already died as Mother Magdalene in the Yeletsk convent. About her - in the “Wanderer” for 1876 (9, p. 106). But we carry this treasure in earthen vessels. Count M.M. Speransky was the author of letters about spiritual life, published in the Russian Archive in January 1870. You might be interested in: