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Repentance is now a city of refuge for us. And it is not far, but it is close; everyone stands at the gate. The Jew had to walk for a long time, and he could barely escape, and sometimes he was not saved. This same city of our refuge itself hurries towards sinners. Blessed is the Good One, who has given you, repentance, to us as the city of our refuge. Anyone who unintentionally killed a person with a stone or a sharp weapon was not considered innocent, but had to take refuge in the city of refuge and repent there. Where should one run and where should one seek protection if not under the wings of repentance for one who deliberately strikes a blow to his neighbor, or wounds him with a word that is worse than a stone? Blessed is He who founded many cities of refuge, so that there may be many who repent! Crowds of people ran to the doors of the ark, but the doors did not open. These doors were opened for cattle, but for sinners they were shut. Repentance, brothers, is the ark of mercy. Let us rush to this friend of humanity. Its doors are closed to cattle, but open to people. The mountain was a harbor for the ark, and for you, repentance, the harbor is a pure heart. God prefigured faith, hope, and related love with three degrees of refuge, because without these virtues there is no salvation. But three more cities were added to them, in the image of three degrees and ranks in our people, namely: the lowest, the middle and the highest perfect. The images are similar in other ways to the prototype, and in some respects they are not similar. And the fruit is not eaten with the shell, because only the fruit is tasty. The Jews left cities of refuge, but we must forever remain in our city of refuge. The Jews withdrew from the cities, which were only images; we must, as if in a robe, put on the virtues typified by these cities. Noah left the ark, but did not leave cleanliness; saved from the waters, but did not lose faith. True, Ham saw him naked after drinking wine, but Satan never saw him devoted to uncleanness. But it would have been more pleasing to Satan that Noah’s body was covered decently, as long as his heart was defiled. May the evil one never see us decently covered on the outside and naked on the inside! The city of refuge did not open its gates to everyone. A murderer who committed a deliberate murder could not enter it; if one dared to enter, the hail was taken for a weapon and betrayed him. He is strict, menacing and terrible to sinners. But repentance will spread its wings to lovingly embrace everyone who comes to it. O repentance, you are an image of grace, you love sinners just like your Lord! The cities of refuge signified wrath and mercy and, like repentance, were an image of both justice and goodness. The law did not pardon an intentional murderer; and justice did not accept Iscariot, who brought false repentance. Shame on you, apostates who have withdrawn from the Church and who condemn the right law! The hunchbacked, blind and lame, having committed any crime, could not hide from their pursuers in the city of refuge, meaning that the drowsy, careless and lazy would not resort to repentance. In the image of those who would like to, but cannot, those who can, but do not want, are condemned. “Joab fled to the tabernacle of the Lord,” seeking salvation there, “and caught hold of the horns of the altar,” but Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, did not have mercy on him, and “put him to death” (1 Kings 2:28–34). Let us not remain careless and cherish vain hope, because the truth does not shelter the sinner any more than the tabernacle of the Lord sheltered the criminal Joab. I beg You, Lord, I strike at Your door, O Good One! Thy promise is not false, O Lord: “Press, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). Your door is not shut; let the sinner come and strike. Even Your door is always open for both the righteous and sinners. You yourself show Your door to the sinner, so that he calls, pushes and enters. Thy love encourages the one who asks to zealously covet Thy treasures. Behold, I ask now, as You taught me; Grant me, O Lord, as you promised it. Behold, I strike the door, as You instructed me; Open to me, O Lord, as You have said. I do not ask You for gold, Lord, because the mamon of unrighteousness is untruth itself. I ask not for temporary blessings, not for possessions, because they do not bring eternal life. Blotting out sins is better than gold, forgiveness is more precious than treasures, poverty without sins is preferable to wealth and possessions. The rich man would willingly exchange all his gold there for the crown of poverty of the beggar Lazarus. When a person dies, he takes nothing with him, as it is written (Ps. 48:18). Otherwise, the rich man would give his entire fortune for a drop of water. A person brings one of two things to the door of the tomb: either the work of virtue, or the service of sin. From the foolish and wise virgins I learned, Lord, what direction I should take with me, so that Thy door would be opened to me there. If the holy fools were not accepted without oil, then who, out of mercy, will provide oil for me, a sinner? Therefore, the holy fools serve as a warning for us, and the rich man, as in a mirror, shows that we need to think about how to beg mercy for ourselves here, before justice. As long as there is medicine that heals invisible sinful scabs in the soul, and while the doctor delivers remedies against sinful ulcers, it will be unfair to prevent the doctor from applying a healing plaster to the sore spots. Justice will suddenly close the wide gates of grace. I have hope, because repentance removes large scabs and goodness covers all vile and disgusting filth. The doctor Jesus cries out: “child, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5), and He gives health to the sick soul, as well as to the body. The Tsar carried the Cross on Himself - this key to the doors of heaven, and with it, without refusal, he opens these doors to robbers and murderers. The merciful Father said: “This son of mine was dead, and is alive: and he perished,” and returned (Luke 15:24), saved from the snares of sin. The slain is already a well-fed calf, which washes away impurities with its blood; Feast clothes were also brought so that there would be no purulent scabs. The confessing thief approaches and inherits paradise. A harlot covered in sins comes and destroys the handwriting with her tears. There is hope for sinners that they will be healed by repentance; There is hope for publicans and covetous people that they will be justified by faith. I too will go and join Zacchaeus, who confessed You and was justified by You; I will join the unclean harlot who wept before You and received mercy. From these, who were strangers to You and by faith became Your household members, and from their example, I learned, Lord, the mercy of Your will. By the judge's household, anyone can judge his own character, and by the legalizations of the authorities, one can judge their leniency. The disciple shows the love of the Teacher of truth and truth for strangers, and how pleasant it is for Him to meet saints. Your house is filled with sinners, it welcomes those who repent in a friendly manner, and the network of your teaching extends both to those who live in it and to those who are still outside it. From this house Paul cries: I am the chief of sinners, “that in me Jesus Christ may first show all the long-suffering” of His grace (1 Tim. 1:16). Peter wept and was healed after denying his Lord and denying Him. Aaron, who sinned and defiled himself by making a cast golden calf, was also justified. The wise physician David spoke after he was sick with sin, but believed and was healed (Ps. 116:1). The elders and military leaders were struck down in battle and then saved themselves. Who, then, will close his eyes before the mirror of Scripture and, with such a multitude of repentants, will not apply this medicine to his wounds? I was surrounded on all sides, Lord, by illnesses, ailments and sins, and there is no other doctor like You to whom I would describe my sufferings. It was not for the sake of the righteous, Lord, that Thy came into the world, but for the sake of sinners, so that they might blot out their sins through repentance. For the doctor does not formulate his medicines for the healthy, but for the sick, so that they may be healed under his care. “They do not require the health of a doctor,” as You said, Lord (Matthew 9:12). The righteous and perfect do not need the medicine of repentance. Every doctor heals diseases with the help of medicine, and Your love, Lord, hastens to everyone without potions or medicine. Such sinners, Lord, as I am, need forgiveness of sins, and those who have an illness similar to mine beg for healing. The expected reward encourages the doctor to help; because of her he takes care of the sick; but the sick person who comes to You is healed freely, and even receives a reward for his own healing. The paralytic was unable to go to show You his illness, but Your mercy drew You to his bed, and at that very hour his illness disappeared. Your grace, O Lord, follows the fools and the lost and calls to the foolish: do not become fools in your sins. Your love makes the most stubborn the most meek, and Your teaching makes the most fierce, and Your goodness always tries to seek out the lost. Come to Me, calls Your love, come, weary of vanity and heavy burdens and exhausted from lusts! Learn meekness from Me, acquire humility from Me. My yoke is sweet, if only you willingly bear it, and My burden is very light. Oh, Lord, if only I did not throw off Thy yoke from myself, the yoke that is sweetest of all! Oh, if only the burden of my will would not change the burden of Your love for anything else! Let not the cunning fisher set before me the nets of his teaching, and let him not ensnare me into his will with pleasures and lusts. Let sin not attack me, let it not crush my intentions like a lion, let it not tear apart and scatter my gains like a lioness. The lion attacks openly, but sin attacks in secret, because it is more evil than the lion, for it destroys both soul and body. David, by Your power, O Lord, overcame the lion and killed the bear (1 Sam. 17:34-36). By your strength, Lord, may I also overcome the evil one, this invisible wolf that lies in wait for me. Let not the evil one sink his teeth into me like a lion, and let him not destroy my plans. May he be cast down like the Lion of David; like David, may Your servant overcome. The lion-killer David was wounded by sin “on the roof of the king’s house” (2 Samuel 11:2), but he soon took up the sling of repentance, struck and crushed sin. David defeated the lion and killed the bear, but during the peace he was overcome by torment. However, according to the word of Nathan, he killed the sin that captivated him. May it not be that I, burdened with iniquities, should expose the misdeeds of my fathers! I am only listing their deeds to show how they loved You. I am listing them so that in the mirror of their misdeeds I can see my many crimes, and, following their example, here I can also ask for mercy and remission of sins. Is it possible for a sinner to strengthen himself so that he can be compared with the righteous, who, after one offense, did not fall into new offenses, and, having sinned, began to love You even more deeply? I sin daily and constantly bring repentance, but it is not true, because sin immediately comes again and turns it into nothing. What doctor is like You and bandages ulcers with such tirelessness? While You bandage one painful ulcer, another opens, but Your medicine always tirelessly heals them. Your love encourages the sick, saying: “Do not hesitate to come to Me.” Your love for mankind calls to the sinner: “Accept, O man, remission of sins. If you have sinned seventy times seven times, I forgive you everything at once. If you gave me a handwriting worth five hundred denarii, I will destroy it like a harlot. I will forgive you ten talents of sins if you ask Me for it. Work only for an hour in the evening, I will give you a denarius. If you come and are among the last, I accept you as the first to come. I heal all the wounds that the evil one has inflicted on you. I bind up all the wounds that the robbers put on you. I give life to your whole body, although it is already dead; I restore your soul to perfect health, although it is all ulcerated.” Grant, Lord, that I never leave Thy doors, because Thy goodness stands at them. Grant, Lord, that I never leave the city of Thy refuge, for Thy mercies abid in it. Let neither illness, nor sleepiness, nor despondency attack me, and let them not prevent me from healing sinful infirmities through repentance. Let not the root grow in me that brings carelessness to fruit; and let not prayer be taken away from me, like Esau's birthright. Lord forbid that Your silver should lie useless in my hands, remain in my hands without profit, and Your justice punish me for this, like that lazy servant. May Thy Court not torture me there both for the silver and for the acquisition that I should have made, and may it not condemn me like that shameless servant, both for the entrusted talent (an ingot of silver or gold) and for the interest. Let me here also return to You both the entrusted talent and the interest, and please me with the fact that my handwriting is no longer in the hands of the lender. Let me here condemn my thoughts, here block the source of my iniquities, destroy the roots of sins, while the Physician is still with me, Who lovingly receives the sick and tirelessly bandages ulcers. The doors of mercy and the inn of grace are open; Now it’s still day, so grant me, Lord, to examine all my purulent scabs and sprinkle the healing root of repentance, ground into powder. The sun of generosity still shines and has not bowed its head to rest; the night has not yet come, “when,” according to Your words, “no one can do anything” (John 9:4); therefore grant to me that I may flee from sinful darkness to the haven of Thy light. Grant me to return from my sinful wanderings and come to Your door, Lord. The evil one deceived me with drowsiness, lust and gluttony, and I turned away from the straight path. The evil one caught me in this threefold net; May I be delivered by three virtues, Lord: love, which excites the lazy, hope, which justifies sinners, true faith, which gives a hand to the repentant. I heard that You do not despise the heart that laments its sins and struggles hourly in the difficult struggle of repentance (Ps. 50:19). You do not reject a contrite heart, which repents of its sins and mentally torments itself with the feat of repentance. And so, Lord, every thought of mine is contrition for my sins. Let us beg together until we regain our manuscripts; Let us raise the voice of lamentation, let us shed rivers of tears, let our hearts burst with sighs, until we receive remission of sins. Let us encourage David to sing to us his majestic prayer song: “Have mercy on me, O God,” and hear us, according to Your goodness. Grant us, O Merciful One, not to depart from the doors of Thy grace until we see that our handwritings have been blotted out and destroyed. We have no other lender except Your greatness. “According to the multitude of Your compassions,” look upon us and blot out the handwriting of our sins. Let us see in the mirror of repentance the multitude of our impurities. “Wash me above all from my iniquity and from my sin,” Lord, “cleanse me.” Let them bless You: both our flesh because it was snatched from the muddy ditch, and our spirit because it was cleansed from corrupt thoughts. May our soul rejoice, because by Thy hyssop, O Lord, it has been cleansed from filth, and may it give thanks to the psalmist, the son of Jesse. Above all, let us praise Your love for mankind, because it rejoices over those who repent! Let us give praise and worship to Your love, because it accepts sinners. Let us all take refuge in Your bounties, because they are extended to sinners; let us cling to (grab) the wings of Your grace, like a sick woman clinging to Your garment. Let our tongue, like a publican, cry out about our sins and say: “God,” Son of God, “be merciful” to us sinners who cry out to You! (Luke 18:13). Thy tender mercies formed me out of the dust, Thy teaching brought me out of the snare and out of the pit. God grant that we do not return to our sins! Let not the evil one rejoice that we fall again after we have been restored and brought to safety, or that new plagues are inflicted on us by robbers after You have healed our scabs. Tireless Doctor, heal our sinful ailments! Self-healing Medicine, heal the illnesses of our souls! The patient’s entire hope is in the doctor; one word from the doctor encourages him. Your word, Lord, encourages us to beg You for the healing of our ailments. “Return, you returning sons, and I will heal your afflictions” (Jer. 3:22). Therefore, whoever is sick, come; he will be healed of his illness; and whoever is wounded, show him his wound; he will receive healing medicine for her. Rain and dew are sent freely. But the farmer should therefore not sleep and stop sowing and cultivating the land. Medicine is always ready for the sinner, but therefore we must not stop praying for the remission of sins. If the farmer does not sow, the rain will not help him. If a sinner does not pray, grace will not heal him. Like the doctor (man), so God cries: “Show me your ulcer, and I will heal you.” It would be desirable for him to see your appeal, then he will heal you. Bring Him voluntary repentance, and He will accept you with love. “Turn to Me... and I will turn to you,” He says to you through the prophet (Zech. 1:3). So, turn your heart to prayer, so that His grace may turn to you. Walk the path of repentance so that His love for mankind will meet you. Do not be a repentant today, and a sinner the next morning, and one day among the sinners, and the next among the repentant. Today you cry out: “Have mercy on me, because I have fallen into error, transgressed the commandment and sinned,” and the next morning you cry out: “Let us drink and drink, for in the morning we will die” (Is. 22:13). Do not deceive yourself, so that your end, like a giant, does not suddenly attack you and turn carnal pleasures into nothing, and then you will not have time for repentance. In the feat of repentance may the end come to you, in holy warfare may death overtake you. May your service on earth end in the battle for faith; Let the course of your life be the crown of righteousness. Let the stadium with its spectators, wrestlers and charioteers (drivers) be for you an image of the world and its changes, joys and sorrows. If the fighter for the fading crown uses effort and labor, then how much more should the faithful strive for the unfading crown? “Let every one strive,” as Paul writes to us, “to abstain from all things” (1 Cor. 9:25) until he receives the crown. How pure we must be in the fight against the evil one, until we achieve victory and get rid of his cunning and insidious plans! Since the evil one, out of envy, attacks our weakness, our Lord gave you saving medicine against his stinging arrows - repentance, which He preached about through the mouth of His prophet. It gives complete healing if you truly convert, not following the example of those who repented of that people, whose hands were full of robbery, whose bodies were defiled by fornication, whose lips only cried out: “Deliver us.” Hear the voice that accuses the ancients for their impurities, and blame yourself for your crimes and calm the storm of vices within yourself. Do not approach the One who tests all our thoughts with a double-minded heart, and do not go in two ways to the One who knows the hidden. Have you applied? Do not plunge again into the mud that mercy washed away from you. Have you applied? Do not go into debt again, for which your manuscripts were destroyed. Whoever escaped from prison will not want to see her another time. Those who have been delivered from captivity pray to never be captured. You have cast off the yoke of the misanthropic murderer; pray that you never become entangled in its snares. What kind of captive is given such a favor as was done to me: either voluntarily remain in captivity, or, if you wish, become free. God has given you the choice of one or the other - either to inflict wounds on yourself by your own will, or to be healed of your wounds by your own will. The doctor will never tire of healing you a thousand times. You inflict wounds on your body without mercy, but the Doctor constantly waits for you to come and let Him heal the wounds you have received. In the message that He sent to the repentant through Jeremiah, He calls to you with the words of the prophet: turn, and I will heal you, so that you will not die (Jer. 3:22). Through the prophet He also swears to you: “I do not want the death of the sinner” (Ezek. 18:32). Thus, every excuse not to repent is taken away from people. The door of God is always open to him who strikes at it; mercy rejoices at the one who turns, goodness stretches out its hands to him. Humanity accepts and supports, God’s compassion cleanses sins. "Joy happens.." in heaven... “and about the one sinner” who turns from his iniquities to repentance - this is what the Lord says in His Gospel (Luke 15:10). The angels rejoice in grief, and the saints in their hosts. The Guardian Angels cry out: “Hosanna” (Mark 11:10), and the Seraphim proclaim a song of joy. The terrible paradise Cherub, guarding the entrance to paradise, allows you, the repentant, new heir of paradise, to go there. Paradise itself desires to accept you as your fellow thief, and opens its wide door with the key of the sign of the cross. The tree of life joyfully extends the fruit of life to you. The Garden of Eden, all its trees, have labored to meet you. The bright tabernacles of the righteous await you everywhere, the glorious city of the righteous and all the saints await you. The whole bridal chamber and all those who sup in it rejoice over you; the face of the Heavenly Kingdom and all its inhabitants shines joyfully. The crown of perfection awaits you. If you are prudent, do not hesitate. Do not delay, O penitent, while entry into the bridal chamber is possible. Prepare yourself a light robe, because you need wedding clothes. Put on the white robe for the evening before the Bridegroom suddenly appears. Prepare for yourself a clearly burning lamp; until that voice terrifies you (“Behold, the Bridegroom is coming” (Matthew 25:6)), show the marriage pledge on your hand. Why are you delaying, sinner? Why do you sit quietly, debtor, as if the lender will indifferently remain silent about what was lent to you? He proved to you His long-suffering, and you too, with your tears, prove the contrition of your soul. He showed excessive philanthropy towards you; return to Him both the loan and the growth. In every case and in all possible ways, Your grace calls us to You, Lord; Your mercy uses all motives and means, wanting to give us life. The great scope of Your teaching, O Lord, is extended to the entire multitude of people. A net has been placed for publicans and harlots to catch them in the Kingdom of Heaven. Thy salvation awaits the obedience of the rebellious and the return of the lost, and, having mercy on them, Thy merciful favor awaits them. Behold, Lord, I fled from sin, like a bird from a net, so that I may find refuge and my nest at Your Cross, because the serpent cannot approach it. Behold, Lord, I have been saved from my sins, like a dove from a snare; let me dwell at the height of Your Cross, because the serpent cannot reach there. Behold, I confess Your name, the Source of life, and the name of the Holy Son, and the name of the Spirit of truth - this threefold, all-enclosing seal, before which the evil one is embarrassed, Satan is overwhelmed with horror, and his hordes and servants even in the distance come to tremble. Great Treasure of mercy, send down on me the wealth of Your teaching! Ever-flowing Source of bounty, pour out for me the drink of Your grace! Most rich, Whose treasure needs the poor, who through Him can become rich, enrich me, because I am returning without having the money (coin) of righteousness. O most merciful One, whose door of grace is opened to everyone who strikes it, open this door for me, because from youth to old age I served lusts. Son of the All-Good, You, Who cry and say: “Ask, and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7), according to Your compassions, grant me what I beg You for, forgive me my debts, as I pray to You for this. Your commandment commands people: daily “let go” to one another (Mark 11:25); How much more will You, in Your wisdom, give remission of sins to those who pray to You? Hitherto, Lord, I have remained stubborn, turning away from Your yoke; Now, like a fisherman, catch, O Lord, the prey that Thy favor pursues. You, Lord, are a mirror for me, in which I see others like myself; You are a great instruction for the repentant, whom I will mention now. I met with a publican, and when I said to him: “What should I do?”, he answered: “Do not be afraid, because the Word seeks sinners.” I saw a harlot, she was confused, and then her gaze brightened, and when I asked, she told me: “Go and, like me, accept remission of sins.” The penitent, who had previously squandered his property, answered my question: “Do not delay in returning: and He will come to meet you, as He came to me.” The thief considered me unreasonable when I began to ask about Your mercy, and said: “He is already coming to seek us, but you are slow to come to Him. Now He is already standing and stretching out His hand to take your hand as soon as you come. Do not be afraid, He will not frighten you, because no one is as lenient as He. I said two words, and He handed me the great key to heaven; As soon as I cried out, He forgave me and sent me as His messenger to Eden. Strip away your sins and throw them away from you, and He will shower you with mercy. Bring Him the tears of your eyes as a gift, and He will wash you with His mercy. He does not keep an account of your debts, because he did not demand an account of my debts. Show Him only repentance, and He will take away your iniquities. Do not despair at the multitude of your bad deeds, because in your rank there are others like you. Call to Him, and He will immediately hear You. Enter paradise and reign like us." In the example of the robber, O Merciful One, I see the great wealth of mercy; Looking at this villain, I never lose hope of being saved. From a publican and a harlot I learned to beg for my manuscripts to be blotted out. Through the persecutor Paul I came to know Your merciful goodness. From the defiled, who came justified and became Your preachers, O Lord, I learned that You also washed away my defilements, sprinkling them with Your holy hyssop. Like a lost sheep I wandered. Your mercy with the parable of the drachma awakened me from a sinful sleep. How caring You are for our salvation! I will not remain idle and without work in the cultivated vineyard, because even one hour of labor in it does not leave without reward. With such a caring Physician, I will not hide my infirmities from His healing benefits, because He pours out His medicine in abundance on my scabs. This Doctor gives Himself entirely to the sick. Visit me, O Lord, like Zacchaeus, whom Your grace raised from the bed of covetousness. And give me your hand, as you gave him, because the evil one oppresses me, just as he oppressed him, and may Thy mercy call upon me and raise me from the bed of sin. Thy good pleasure, O Lord, has called Thee to the house of this publican; and You freed him from the bonds of covetousness with which he was bound. Be a treasury of medicines for me, because many sins surround me; set me free and loose my bonds, because the captor bound me during the time of peace. Have mercy, O Lord, on me, a sinner who has escaped from the network of sin, pour out Your healing on my wounds, so that in my thoughts I too may become like a tax collector. Extract me, like him, so that I do not sink into the invisible abyss of sins; and bring me, like him, O Lord, out of the depths of my iniquities. Blot out the sins of my youth, accept the repentance of my old age. Forget, O Judge who never forgets, forget everything that I have sinned and transgressed since my youth. What is remembered by both me and You, let all this be blotted out from Your book; and what is known to me and You, let all this not be remembered at Your Judgment. There is no man without sin; therefore heal me, for I have sinned; there is no creature without guilt; therefore forgive Thy servant who is guilty before You. All the untruths of the world are like vapor before the breath of Thy mercy, O Lord. All streams and sources do not harm the sea in the least. So all the sins of the sons of Adam were swallowed up by the sea of ​​Your Cross. Gather, Lord, all our iniquities and cast them into the sea of ​​Your mercy. Spread the great sea of ​​Your commandments, O Lord who catches all, and take me, like Jonah, from the sea of ​​sins. Let the kidnapper not laugh at me because I myself surrendered as a prisoner into his hands; May Satan not mock me because I could have run, but I didn’t. Free me from my debts, like that sick woman (Matthew 9:20) from illness. Break the bonds of my sins, as you freed from the bonds the demoniac, “who had a legion within him” (Mark 5:15). You healed them externally, but O Lord, heal me internally. You freed them from illnesses, you freed me from debts and sins. Internally I was dead, but now I am alive; “And it was lost, and it was found” (Luke 15:24). Receive me, Lord, as the father of a son who has wasted his wealth. I have partners in sins, accomplices in lewdness; and behold, they have become rulers and mighty ones in Your kingdom. You have those who have chosen Mytnitsa for themselves, and whom Your Kingdom has chosen for itself. There is also a robber who stole paradise from You. There are ravenous wolves there, which in Your flock became sheep, and there are also birds of prey, which in Your school were transformed into doves. There are various tares there, which changed and became chosen wheat, because they were watered by the rain of Your teaching, and bore fruit at Your Cross. Everything that I have said and am saying, I am saying for the benefit of my sinfulness, in order to motivate myself to correction and to implore Your bounty while the door of Your bounty is still open. May I become like those who were like me and then became a model for everyone; May I clothe myself in the images and likenesses of those who have repented, which are prescribed for me. May I partake of their promises, for I too perished like the thief and the harlot, who from last became first. The whole Church is the Church of repentants, as it is not difficult for one who has reason to see; all of it is the Church of the perishing, as the deep mind of the wise comprehends. We will walk the entire path of Your coming through You for the sake of the many who repent; all Your teaching, O Lord, is great hope for sinners. “Bring forth fruit worthy of repentance,” cries John the Baptist (Matthew 3:8). And now I have brought the fruits of repentance and faith. Here, before You, our Lord, I shed tears for my iniquities; Destroy, O Lord, and give me my handwriting, as you gave it to the one who wept at supper. Behold, I kiss Your Body, our Lord, as she kissed Your feet; and to me, as to her, grant me the remainder from the treasury of Thy mercy. Do not let me rot in the scabs with which my will is covered, O Doctor, who does not disdain the most unclean ulcers! May I not be caught in the nets with which my feet were entangled, O Fisher, who threw His snare to catch not fish, but men! May I not fall into the fetters that bound my freedom, O Son of the Kings, who snatched us captives from our sinful imprisonment! Let not the evil one rejoice in having taken me captive; May Satan not rejoice that he deceived and enticed me! I was in captivity for a long time; Now I am returning from captivity to Your house. For the sake of the captive Adam, You came to our country, O Lord, as a spy, and brought him out of that strong camp that deceived and enticed him. For the sake of the lost sheep, Your bounty attracted You to the abode of the dead, and You rescued it from the region of the tormentor of death, who did not dare to contradict You. You make heaven and earth rejoice over one soul found. Rejoice in me, O Lord, as in a lost sheep that You have found again. I am a sinner, robbers stole my robe, the evil one left me nothing but faith. Have mercy on me, O Lord, as on one whose wounds Your care has compassionately bandaged. By the care of Your goodness he was healed from his wounds. Let Thy truth, O Lord, not come into conflict with me about my debts, because I am unable to satisfy its demands if I am brought to account. Let goodness demand an account from me, the secret of which is hidden and which bears debts for everyone, because it endures, and blots out, and leaves debts. Not as one who rebels against Your justice, I bow before Your Majesty, because it is not without justice that crowns are given to the victors, but I wish to find refuge in goodness, for I know that if I bring even a little of my many debts, it will be touched by my prayers. Forgiveness to a criminal is given freely, but not without difficulty for him; Likewise, the remission of sins is a work of mercy, but it is not acquired without tears. With tears the harlot returned to herself the great handwriting of her sins; For the sake of the tears that my eyes have shed, give me, O Lord, the handwriting of my debts. I did not put in the work, but I have faith; I am not worthy of generosity, but You make me worthy, according to Your grace. I haven’t started working with the former, let me at least be an employee of the latter. I did not come at the sixth hour; grant me, O Lord, to come even at the “one tenth hour” (Matthew 20:9). Outside the vineyard of Your grace lies a great desert of sins, and whoever wanders in it faces dangerous adventures. I didn't come in the morning. Lord, I did not work either at the third or at the sixth hour, but there are still hours in the day during which he who remains idle can take up work in Your vineyard. So, let me become a hireling in Your vineyard, let me cultivate the field under Your yoke, let me buy with Your silver, so that I may not be left without something to gain. I escaped the snare of the evil one; have mercy on me before he overtakes me again; I fled from hard work with a kidnapper, but he is pursuing me to make me a prisoner again. From infancy, Lord, he enslaved me, and I was his slave and served him; from his mother’s womb he began to rule over me; do not allow him to continue to fulfill his will on me. Man seeks protection from man, and the strong from the stronger. And I resorted to Your mercy; deliver me from the dominion of the rebel. He who has escaped from captivity lifts up his eyes to the city of refuge; and whoever fled from the closeness of sorrows looks with love at the pillar of salvation, Lord. I was saved from many debts, from a legion of sins, from the heavy bonds of unrighteousness and from the snares of sin. Saved from evil deeds, from secret iniquities, from the filth of corruption, from the abomination of delusions. I rose from this mud, came out of this ditch, came out of this darkness; Heal, O Lord, according to Your false promise, all the infirmities that You see in me. You brought Jonah out of the sea, and Simon from the waves; I am mired in the waves of sin, stretch out the hand of Thy mercy to me. The son of Amathin was delivered from the belly of the whale, and the son of Jonah from the storm. Jonah prayed from the depths of the abyss - and was delivered, Simon Peter was saved from the strong waves. Prayer does not get bogged down anywhere, and it lifts those who are bogged down to heights; There are no barriers to prayer, because it has spiritual wings. The righteous conquer through prayer; sinners come back to life through prayer. For the sake of prayers, pour out generosity on us, Lord, as on a thief. I am a sinner like him, like him I am burdened with debts; therefore, give me, like him, Lord, the key that opens paradise. I reviewed my many debts and heaps of sins; they are numerous and innumerable. I turn to my misdeeds and measure them by the size of my growth; they are much higher than my head. Deliver me from the depths of all crimes. Behold, through prayer I threw them off the invisible shoulders of my soul, because like a heavy burden beyond measure, “they weighed me down” (Ps. 37:5). With the burden that was contained in them and weighed on me, I went down into the waters, was baptized and cleansed. May it not happen, Lord, that You will leave me there, like the Egyptians in the abyss. The Jews, although they were unworthy, were saved from the sea and, through the prayer of Moses, were delivered by Your great name. And I, unworthy, am also a sinner; but may Your holy name, by which You have called me, make me worthy to become Yours. Be merciful to me and relieve me of my debts. May my iniquities not become executioners for me, and may they not drag me as a criminal before the majesty of Justice. May my vices not impose red-hot shackles on me, and may they not cast me, like a wicked person, into a fiery abyss. I have on me the sign of Your Blood, a weapon before which the wide mouth of Gehenna trembles, hungering and thirsting for the wicked. Death was driven away from the Jews by the blood of the lamb; How much more will Gehenna tremble before Your precious Blood, our Lord? The fire of the Babylonian furnace represents to us Gehenna; he came out of the cave and burned everything, but kept the righteous unharmed in the cave. I take refuge in Your name, our Lord, because by it sinners are justified. Since I am not a righteous person, count me among the repentant. Since I have set out on the return journey, have come, and have been found again for You, do not count me among the wicked. There are no bounties equal to Yours; they extend to both good and evil. The dew of Your grace drips on both the righteous and the unrighteous. And over the wicked Your sun rises. Who can deny Your goodness? Your rain, O Lord, falls on the wicked; who does not confess Your mercy? May the sun of Your bounties shine upon me, which no darkness can reach! Send down on me the great rain of Your mercy, washing me from defilements. Those who rely on You will never stumble, those who rely on You will never fall. Whoever has You before his eyes will not be deceived by any sin; whoever looks at You, his spirit is not disturbed by anything else. Whoever loves You, to him all creation is completely despicable. Joseph raised his gaze to You in the spoon, and his wisdom did not waver. And Samson was brought to his downfall by Delilah, and all his valiant deeds turned into nothing. Grant me, Lord, like Joseph, to look to You in the cage of my spirit and get rid of the falls into which Samson fell. You be my path along which I will walk, and my hidden church where I will hide from the evil one, who exalts himself before me and lies in wait for my every step. I know this, Lord; The voice of repentance is pleasing to You; Your ear inclines with pleasure to his words when he approaches You, begging for the forgiveness of sins. Behold, I declared my debts to You, confessed my sins to You, and brought You a written prayer for the mortification of my iniquities. As soon as the verdict of Your goodness comes upon them, they will die, and I will exclaim: “Rejoice! Our untruth is dead. Praise be to Your mercy!” O great Physician, who came to heal the illnesses and infirmities of the poor Adamic race with the abundant bounties of His grace! My spirit passionately longs for Your mercy to extend to me. Visit me according to the bounties of Your goodness, heal my illnesses according to Your mercy. Wash away my uncleanness and filthiness, just as You made the harlot clean from her sins. I have sinned greatly before You, O Merciful One, but great are Your mercies, O Lord. If You do not justify, Lord, who of those born will then be innocent? Give me, Lord, the opportunity to turn and shed tears of contrition. May I cry and beg You for my debts while there is still time for prayer. The spirit desires Your bounties, but cannot exist without them. You are a full sea of ​​bounties, You have an abundance of mercy. Behold, the sins of the evil age have become snares for me, and I am caught. Break them apart, O Lord, according to Your mercy, and I will be saved like a bird. My debts, sins and impurities surround me like bloodthirsty killers. O Almighty, who holds all creation, come to my aid, because my spirit is weak! The prince of the “power of the air” (Eph. 2:2) shot an arrow at me and killed me. O King of kings and Lord of lords, give me medicine and heal me, so that I do not die from his poison! Thy treasury is rich, O Lord, Thy bounty and mercy are with Thee. From the sources of Your goodness, pour out your bounty on the undeserving. And the harlot who came to You received mercy from You. With Thy hyssop, O Lord, Thou hast cleansed it and washed away all its filth. Only the sick have need of the medicines of Your mercy. And so, covered with scabs at Your doors, they ask You for mercy. Whoever does not need bounties, our Lord, does not desire them. And the good doctor shows his skill only on purulent ulcers. A healthy body cannot be made even healthier. The doctor comes only to the patient. Why should he be healthy and heal him? The doctor who wants to heal the healthy labors in vain. He demonstrates the superiority of his art on purulent scabs and diseases and rightfully receives the due reward for his healing. A doctor gains fame when he heals the sick from their suffering. And You, Lord, rejoice and rejoice when those who suffer are freed from illness. You have bounties and mercy, but I multiply my debts. Behold, goodness awaits my conversion in order to blot out my debts, and in the remission of my sins all the loving abundance of Your mercy appears. You are merciful, you forgive our debts, and our destruction is not pleasing to You. I do not say, like the fratricide Cain: my guilt is greater, I am not worthy of forgiveness (Gen. 4:13). For Thy mercy is greater than the sea, O Most Merciful One! Purify me according to Your mercy. It entrusts this task to You - to have mercy on sinners, to take care of their forgiveness, because You, the Lord of all, forgive willingly. It is a great joy for a doctor when illnesses, dangerous seizures, and malignant scabs intensify in his neighborhood; from all this he can benefit himself and gain praise, fame and celebrity for his art. And You, Merciful and Compassionate, give me the healing of Your bounties, so that I too may serve for Your glory, because I am weak and burn with the desire to partake of the fullness of Your bounties. How beautiful in You, Lord, is the fullness of Your generosity, when you heal the wounded! How befitting are the bounties of your goodness when you leave your debts! You do not seek reward from sinners who ask You for help; You rejoice at their conversion and forgive them all their debts. How did that harlot repay You when You forgave her all her debts? I only bought myrrh and came to anoint Your feet. Her love was dear and beautiful, her faith was victorious, because for the ointment and tears of her eyes she received forgiveness of sins from You. She has sins, ointment and tears, but You have mercy and fullness of generosity. She washed your feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. I anointed Your members with myrrh and received forgiveness of sins from You. The gift she brought is of little importance in comparison with the remission of sins she received. This desecrated sinner was immersed in a flaming stream, and drops of tears from her eyes extinguished this fiery stream. She watered Your holy feet with drops of tears; and the river of fire died out, and the burning did not turn it into ashes. From the eyes of the defiled and unclean sinner, the flowing waters fell onto the fiery waves, and they turned back and did not burn her. My spirit prompts me to talk more about this prudent, many-sinful wife. The story about her is both sublime and pleasant. Wives who live like this pardoned sinner will willingly listen to the story about her, and will joyfully learn how all the sins of a deeply fallen sinner have been forgiven. They are burning with desire to hear this sublime story, because they themselves need the remission of sins and thirst for it, like this harlot. The Lord loves those who repent very much, He is ready to forgive the sinner, if only he forsakes his wickedness, and he will receive remission of sins. Therefore, my brothers, without laziness and negligence - let everyone beg for bounties! Let him strike only the door of the Lord; The Lord will answer him with sincere love. And the harlot pushed into the door of repentance and received forgiveness of her sins from the merciful Lord. Let no sinner, my brothers, fall into despair, because Judas fell into despair and was cast out from the host of the apostles. If the harlot had not taken care of herself, she would not have been cleansed of her sins; therefore, if we, like her, make an effort, we will also be granted forgiveness. And if we do not imitate her thoughtfulness, who will forgive us our sins? If the repentant falls into sin after his conversion, then let him resort again to repentance; it will loosen the bonds of sin. There is no specific time for repentance, and there is no limit to its continuation, because there is no time that would not be suitable for repentance. If you sin thousands of times, but then again resort to repentance, you will again be cleansed of defilements and of the iniquities you have committed. No matter how often you fall, you will always have the opportunity to get up if you want to. If a person, after committing a sin, wants to correct himself, let him turn and beg for forgiveness; The Doctor's door is open and not closed for the repentant. Our Lord said: “forgive your brother his sins seventy times sevenfold” (Matthew 18:22): how many times more will our Lord Himself forgive the repentant? The Lord is merciful; He is pleased to show mercy and save a person. Therefore, sinner, unceasingly beg for mercy and ask for bounty for yourself, because your Lord does not tire of forgiving you your debts. Have compassion, sinner, for your body, covered with purulent scabs and impurities, for it will not be difficult for the Doctor, as soon as you ask Him, to heal your illnesses and bind up your ulcers. If you yourself have become intolerable to your weakness, your purulent scabs and your ulcers, then you have a very skillful Physician who finds glory for Himself in your healing. If you are a sinner, and daily begin to create and destroy, then God will not disdain to accept your prayer as soon as you begin to cry out to Him. You know that now, before death, there is still time for conversion, so do not doubt the remission of sins if you pray for it. Is it not hidden from you when the end will come and befall you? But you can receive cleansing from sins immediately if you only pray for it. If you are a sinner, and in one day you sin seventy times seven times, God does not close the door of generosity for you, if only you repent. If, when you went to bed at night, you gave sin a place with you on your bed, then the next morning go to the Doctor’s house with repentance, and He will heal you. If during the day you have another painful purulent scab, then in the evening go to the Doctor’s doorstep, and He will heal your purulent ulcers. To the perfect, my word, brothers, will seem inappropriate and overly condescending, but my conversation pleases the poor sinner and fills him with hope. The Lord is generous and gives to everyone who asks. You have an evil eye, but the Lord has no evil eye. Is He not the complete ruler over His wealth and over His treasures, to give them to everyone who has no property and to satisfy their needs? If He does not refuse a gift to anyone who asks, then you, sinner, also ask. He, as the Most Merciful, will give to you too. No matter how often you ask Him, He always gives without refusal. Bring repentance from your heart and drop a few tears at the sin that hurts you, and the destructive ulcer will be completely healed on your members. Shed, sinner, streams of tears for the sin that oppresses you and, weeping like a dead man, give it up for burial, and sin will flee from you. If you do not pray, sinner, and do not really strive for your healing, then the Doctor will not come to forcibly heal your ulcers and restore your health. If custom alone draws you to the Doctor, you will not receive health. Your illness is healed only through tears and contrition. Turn your eyes and look at the harlot; She began to cry bitterly about her painful condition; the multipurulent sinful scab of her swelling began to torment her, and for her lamentation, for the tears of her eyes, she again received health. She brought only tears as a gift to the Doctor, who healed her infirmity, and He gave her health through the forgiveness of her sins, by taking away (destroying) her untruths and iniquities. Her crying was the great gift she brought to the good Doctor. She came to the Doctor and begged Him to heal all her scabs. And He, who was tormented by sins and defilements, highly exalted and praised her, for the sake of the tears that flowed from her eyes, He forgave her and left her all her debts. Since the tears flowing from her eyes proved contrition and love, the Merciful One, as he noticed them, looked compassionately on the sins. While the body is healthy, it is pleasant to see it, but as soon as illness attacks it, the gaze will be indignant at the illness. The Most Merciful One requires love from those who want to come to Him. And if he brings love and tears, Tune accepts the gift. If the Merciful One heals someone, he does not demand any other reward from him than lamentation, tears and exceptional love. From the one who asks for the remission of sins, He requires only volition, because volition replaces burnt offerings and sacrifices. The Father did not send His Son to judge the world, but through Him He determined to give life to the world. Since the Merciful and Full of generosity came to heal the illnesses and infirmities of those wounded by sin, He dealt with sinners and fornicators in order to restore their health. Those, in fact, need a doctor who would heal them and make them healthy from ailments, and not those who are healthy and do not need to seek health from a doctor. For the remission of sins and iniquities, the Son of God came into the world, therefore with love and joy He turned to everyone who needed help. He came from the heights above to take away the unrighteousness of the world and showed His great mercy towards sinners and fornicators. And since He was so loving, merciful and full of generosity, Simon called Him into his house, sending down food to everyone. And He, by whose Divine will all creatures are fed, was moved by love to come and become Simon’s guest. Great, sincere, accessible to everyone and filled with generosity was the love of the Son of God; He satisfied everyone in order to win everyone with His wisdom. Whether publicans invite Him, He comes with sincere love and tries to win them so that they can be cleansed from their sins. Do the fornicators come to seek forgiveness for themselves with their cries and tears of their eyes, washing them from their iniquities. Even when the Pharisees ask Him, He goes and does not refuse His help to everyone who needs it. They asked Him for bread in the wilderness, and He fed them abundantly; There was no baker there, there was no bread ready, but He commanded, and in the twinkling of an eye He filled thousands with bread. As a neighbor and at home, He treats everyone who calls on Him and begs for cleansing from sins, and He, as the Good One, forgives sins to everyone. His treasury is abundantly rich, and He shares this wealth with the poor. Everyone who asks, whatever he wants, receives from His rich treasury. For we are surrounded from everywhere by His mercy and bounties. Simon called Him to supper, and Jesus, prompted by love, went with the Pharisee. There the sinner begged Him - and received forgiveness from Him. With His generosity He blotted out her sins and with His love washed away her filth. Then He commanded His apostles to commit what she had done to writing (letter), in memory of her. This sinner, my brothers, served as a net for men and with her shameless actions caught them in her trap. She was a mirror for the dissolute, to corrupt them with her beauty; she once served the devil as a bow from which he threw arrows. From the eyes of this prodigal wife he rained arrows of kindling and lust upon the voluptuous and adulterers, in order to destroy their treasures. She was a predator, and with her beauty she captured the intemperate; Like madmen they followed the obscene woman and wandered in her wake. The young men, carried away by her beauty, forgot their homes; and with her glances and the wave of her eyes she plunged them into destruction. As a hater of purity, she praised voluptuousness and boldly laughed at the law with her lewdness. She spent many days in fornication and was driven to madness by her lewdness and vanity along with the wicked. Like a roadside thief, she sat at the crossroads and with her beauty caught those involved in the purchase to destruction. With her charms she created disagreement and discord between wives, separated husbands and wives, and the houses of the spouses were empty from domestic quarrels. From her youth she indulged in obscene deeds, prepared shameless feasts for her husbands and desecrated her house with fornication. Seven demons, lovers of lewdness, accompanied her. She caught passing (passing) young men in order to drive them to madness; became a dwelling place of adultery, a haven of vice; daring slyness rested within her and made her inaccessible to reproach. Enslaved to lewdness, she despised pure freedom, but for voluptuousness she abandoned shame and chastity and spent her days in shameless debauchery. The Evil One made her a house of sin in Judea, and she became, as it were, a mirror for lovers of lewdness. She left everything: relatives, parents, brothers, purity, chastity and a clean (immaculate) marriage. In her depravity, she loved only the company of fornicators, but she despised pure marital ties. It is to this sinner, who in her depravity was a snare for the voluptuous, that the Lord, who came to seek out the lost, extends His net to catch her who is being driven by predatory hawks. The Merciful Catcher, as a guest, came to the house of Simon, who prepared a supper for him, so that He would build a nest and rejoice. And then the merciful Catcher began to lure the dove into His nest, prompting it to approach Him and ask Him for mercy. The Catcher sent His bounty to catch a wild dove, which had disappeared from inhabited places and flown off into the deserted desert. The Merciful One hastened to spread His net, blocked this poor woman from all paths to evasion, caught her and bound her with His love, so that she would no longer walk with fornicators. The Catcher placed His snares and spread them out before the maddened woman; she soon crept up, entered and, by the simplicity of her will, this wild pigeon was caught. The breath of life of our Lord served as a bait for her, and the defiled sinner was drawn into the snare of the Divine. She heard the rumor about Jesus, which spread before her (attracted her) like bait, and as soon as she tasted it, she was inflamed with love for Jesus and came to Him. She heard that our Lord forgives sins with compassion, and she hastily came to Him, because she needed forgiveness. Vice and sin lay in wait and, like a lion, tormented her, but as soon as she noticed her wounds, she came to the Doctor. A sinner came to Jesus, the best Physician who heals sinful ulcers, to beg for bounties so that he might bandage and heal her ulcers. Like fierce robbers, they beat her, wounded her, exposed her and mocked her for her iniquities and sins; her plagues were numerous. Vices, filth, lewdness and sins crushed her, so with love and contrition, bursting into tears, without hesitation, she stood up and went to beg the Greatest of doctors for mercy. This prudent woman took the expensive ointment with her, got up and went to the house of Simon to the Redeemer of creatures. When she entered, she was not ashamed of either the multitude of guests or Simon, who reproached her, saying: “Do not dare to approach the Holy One; my guest is a great man, and it is impossible for you to be allowed to see Him.” But she was not afraid or ashamed of those reclining with Him, because everyone reveals their ailments to a compassionate doctor without embarrassment. She showed her purulent scab, brought the censer of confession, and incense it with tears and sighs so that it would emit a pleasant aroma. She made herself a priest and her incense, fragrant, penetrated into the sanctuary and moved the true High Priest to pardon. With contrition she discovered her desire to appease Him. Behind Jesus stood a guilty sinner and with contrition, sighs, love and tears of her eyes asked permission to approach Him and receive from Him forgiveness of all her debts. With contrition, the poor woman spoke to the Forgiver of guilt and sins, who came to seek the lost, asking and begging to be appeased and leave her debts: “I know and confess, Lord, that your bounty sent You to our family, by Your will You came to earth and visited sinners, so that, by Your mercy, you would again call them to life and by Your bounty you would cleanse them. On me, who am in such misery, show, O Lord, Thy mercy and Thy mercies, because I need them, untruth and wickedness have crushed me. Let sinners who need remission of sins be encouraged by my example; a purulent scab of untruths opened up within me, and a multitude of all kinds of impurities covered me. Heal me, Greatest of doctors, I beg You. The evil one, in his malice, laid hidden nets for me and caught me with them. Break them apart so that I can free myself from them. I wish to become Your property; count me, O Lord, among the sheep of Your flock and do not remove me from being with You. Let not my persecutor boast, who daily lays snares for me. The sad winter, burdened with sins, has deprived my beautiful branches of their fruit. Grant, good Lord, that I may bring flowers again, like in the spring. Like a strong giant, enter my poor aching soul, confused by fierce passions and, having driven them out, free me. Long ago, our Lord, I became a field overgrown with iniquities and sins; Destroy the weeds from Your field, Holy Farmer. Satan has placed his yoke on me, and I bear a heavy work; Free me, truly good Lord, and let me become Your property. The kidnapper took me and carried me away, and I lived with him in the wilds; You, Great Savior, who came into the world, allow me into Your stronghold and hide me in it. The world, this sea, carried me away on its waves to cast me down into destruction; You, Lord, are the harbor of life, save me from drowning.” These pleading words were spoken by the penitent and the merciful Lord left her debts and sins. Hers were cries and tears, His were generosity and mercy. She wet His feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair; she anointed His members with myrrh, and the pleasant fragrance of her love ascended, the censer of her repentance rose and made the Lender glad. She saw that her sins had made her hateful, full of vices and defilements, so she tried, poor thing, not to ask Him for deliverance from her corruption. Our Lord was a mirror for her, in which she saw herself covered with impurities, spots and ulcers, learned about herself that she was enveloped in darkness, and was all sick. As soon as her soul was illuminated and she learned what a cure was for her ulcers, she immediately fled from the darkness and came to the light. A sinner plunged into darkness came to Jesus, the Unflickering Light. When she looked at herself, she was horrified by the vileness of her attire. If a repentant sinner did not forget his sin after sin, he would not allow it again into his soul when it has already been cleansed. But alas! Too soon he forgets what he did; before his eyes there is a darkness of delusions, and he does not notice it, because the sin he has committed has blinded and deprived his eyes of sight, and he does not see the untruth he has committed. Therefore, Lord, grant to the soul that it does not forget its sins, and that death does not have dominion over it. Through the seduction of lust, delusion enters the soul and confuses it, which is why it forgets its sins and is imperceptibly drawn into new vices, and thus, forgetting its deeds, is subjected to suffering and sorrow. Death invades and spreads a blanket of darkness over it so that the soul cannot see anything; he insidiously clothes her with this veil and then presents sin to her in the darkness, so that the soul becomes attached to it and thereby loses its majestic beauty. He pours bitter despondency into her and thereby drives away peace and purity from her. And as soon as the soul is confused, it sins without noticing it. For in this darkness of delusion she spins around as if in a daze, and in this stupor she loses the path of virtues. Through its own fault, covered with a cloud of untruth, the soul wanders in sins, not knowing what it is doing; does not notice the darkness surrounding her and does not understand her deeds. But as soon as the ray of all-vivifying grace touches it, the soul becomes horrified, remembers what it has done, and returns from its dangerous path from its evil deeds. Then the soul sees its untruths, recognizes the vileness of the impurities that cover it, flees from darkness in fear and trembling and flows to the merciful mother - repentance. The soul marvels at itself, is horrified at its deeds, because deceived by the evil one, it did everything evil; she sighs with great sorrow, laments pitifully, shedding streams of tears, and begs that she may be able to return to her former state through good deeds. She hurries back to where she came from and resorts to repentance in a strong desire to regain her former beauty, which was lost and which she destroyed with her lewdness and vicious deeds. She feels how great her ulcers are, and reflects on the iniquities she has committed; and from here are born sighing, torment and bitter suffering. Tears flow from her eyes for her lost beauty, her purulent scabs are numerous, and since she sees her great vileness, she runs away from it and seeks protection from all-generous grace. That is why, beloved, our Lord says: “Blessed are those who mourn” (Matthew 5:4). If a sinner does not see his iniquities, then he does not cry about them. But if a sinner sees his sins and his iniquities, he cries and sighs over his sins. Therefore the harlot also wept, for she saw the multitude of her wounds. Her soul was illuminated, and the poor thing knew what she had done. Contrition overwhelmed her, and tears flowed from her eyes. The Sun of Truth, Jesus, the Physician of all diseases, opened before her, and her eyes, blinded by darkness, were illuminated. Christ showed her that she had plunged into darkness and was entangled in nets at the crossroads. Light penetrated into the darkness of the poor sinner, who was darkened, and she saw the Light, that is, Christ, and turned to Him with love. The radiance of the invisible Father shone for the darkened one and illuminated the eyes of the grieving and mired in darkness. Then, with the radiance of His bright rays, she approached and came to Him to examine Him and be illuminated by His radiant rays. Her soul saw the image of His glory, the great and glorious Light, and received from Him splendor, splendor and illumination; cleansed from the darkness and seductions of the enemy. She saw how defiled and darkened by vices she was, and she shed tears from her eyes before the Doctor so that He would heal her purulent scab, and revealed to Him her painful ulcers and the iniquities she had committed. As proof of how great her illness was, tears flowed from her eyes before the merciful Physician, and all her limbs trembled. As evidence of how severe her torment was, due to the multitude of filth and uncleanness, she poured precious and excellent myrrh on the head of the Physician, and for the oil with which she anointed Him, He healed her of her illness. And in the fragrance of the precious and excellent world, a glorious miracle was revealed to us, so that the excessiveness of her love would become known to everyone. The myrrh, in itself, was no more fragrant than any other world, but, mingling with the aroma (fragrance) of Jesus, it fragrant (filled with fragrance) the entire church. And she anointed His feet with the same fragrant myrrh, which means that our Savior from everywhere gives hope and help to everyone who wants to draw closer to Him and confess Him as the Son of God. The Merciful One allowed the one covered with impurities to approach Him and the repentant one to dare, as she wished, to embrace Him with holy love. He did not reproach her when, in the presence of His disciples, a defiled sinner, covered with many impurities, touched His head. He even allowed her to hug His feet. She did what she wanted. She washed His feet with her tears, and He did not disdain the poor. In bitter contrition, she kissed Him with tears, and He did not drive the harlot away from Him. As soon as she approached Him, she boldly began to touch His members. Flaming with love for Jesus and wanting to get closer to the One who aroused her, she was not ashamed of either the Pharisees or the disciples, and approached Him. And He did not forbid her to approach Him, because she begged for the forgiveness of her sins. The treasure of the Divine was opened before the sinner, so that through her approach to Him she would become a model for the repentant. She entered the lacrimal font to cleanse herself in it, and if she had been ashamed of the Light, she would have left the font without relinquishing her sins. She took myrrh and tears with her and came to the culprit of the shrine, so that during her washing the entire rite of Baptism would be observed. She poured in some water and mixed it with the precious myrrh, and thus the Sacrament of Holy Baptism was performed there. The High Priest with His hand blotted out and resolved the guilt of the sinner, whose sins, defilements and evil deeds were numerous. The wise penitent fell at His feet to be reborn spiritually. She needed to be born at the birth of Baptism, and therefore she shed tears and mixed them with the dear world. She bowed her head at His feet, washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair in order to receive remission of sins, because through this, as through Baptism, she received sanctification from our Lord. This sinner was conceived in the womb for the second time in order to be beautified spiritually through the new birth, and at this rebirth in water she acquired cleansing, blotting out and remission of sins. When our Lord, this sea of ​​bounties, reclined at the evening, the sinner touched His feet, and He washed and cleansed her with Baptism. She emerged from the holy waters of Baptism when our Lord washed away her impurities, this sea of ​​bounties. The repentant woman fell before the abundance of waters, and they poured out streams of generosity on her so that she would be healed of her sins. She approached the Life-Giving Fire, Which was covered (covered) by the flesh and ignited the world, with her body; because of this, she herself burst into flames, and the thorns of sins were consumed in her. The Artist of creatures cast her into the furnace of mercy, melted her and illuminated her there like pure gold; and she became shining like gold, so that she could become an adornment for the royal palace. Our Lord reclines at supper and eats bread with His disciples and the Pharisees who invited Him, and His love excites the sinner to come closer to Him. At the evening He hungers for the remission of sins and longs for the remission of debts, because generosity is inseparable from Him, and He does not desire our destruction. And at this evening with Simon He achieved what He desired. Those who invited Him as a prophet called Him to eat bread with them and did not understand that He was the Son of God. And He, like the Father, has the power to forgive all sins. The merciful Lord, the resolver of all debts, found the tears and bitter sighs of the harlot much more pleasant than the supper that the Pharisee Simon prepared for Him in his house. The drops of tears shed by the sinner were better for Him than any drink that was offered at the evening. The sighs that He heard in Simon's house, and the tears that flowed from the eyes of the harlot, became more desirable to Him than the feast prepared for Him. Simon instituted a supper for the Nourisher of the whole world, Who, by the command of His creative power, gives food to all creation. Those reclining, brethren, turn their gaze to the dishes and foodstuffs that are offered at the meal and delight all those reclining. But our Lord listens to the sighs and prayers that are quietly uttered by the lips of a sinner who wants to receive forgiveness of sins. Each of those reclining impatiently waits for the cup to reach him, from which he could enjoy and, after tasting, become complacent, cheerful, joyful, disposed to cheer others. But Jesus’ drink was the voices of sighing and sorrow coming from the lips of the guilty sinner. Others, reclining, enjoy with pleasure the dishes that Simon offered; Our Lord rejoices over those who repent, who are desired by Him. What is most pleasing to Him is the conversion of sinners who cry out to Him. That is why the voice of the sinner who came to Him was desirable for Him. Therefore, although our Lord ate bread along with the others reclining, he lovingly directed His eye on his sinner wife, for he was very hungry, so that she would approach Him with prayer and supplication. As soon as the Pharisee Simon, who was reclining with Jesus, noticed that He was talking with a harlot, he immediately began to despise Him and consider Him ignorant. He recognized as ignorant the One who knows all that is hidden. Simon counted Him who searches the hearts and bellies of all people among the ignorant, because He saw Him talking with a harlot. In ignorance, Simon rebelled against the One who knows all secrets, and thought to himself that Jesus does not know the hidden. He who is completely ignorant of the mysteries doubts the knowledge of the Most High: “If he were a prophet, he would know who and what kind of wife touches Him” (Luke 7:39). Simon knew that the harlot was full of filth, and since the sinner dared to touch our Lord, he considered Him ignorant of this. This is how Simon reasoned in his mind: “If He had known that this was a harlot, he would not have allowed the defiled sinner to approach Him. If He had knowledge that embraces all mysteries, He would have reproached and driven away this defiled woman from Himself, so that she would not touch Him and defile the pure prophetic body. If He knew the secrets and prophetic revelations, He would understand and see all its impurities and crimes; The vileness and multitude of her vices would have been known to Him. If His eye had penetrated into all mysteries, He would not have allowed the adulteress and harlot to kiss His feet. From this it is clear that He is ignorant and not a prophet, as I said before. This is clearly evident from what I see the harlot doing to Him. He does not persecute her, no doubt, because he does not know what kind of woman she is.” So the Pharisee Simon was wavering with doubts, and his heated spirit did not know what to think. True, the faith of the Pharisees was great before, but it was not completely perfect, because he called Jesus only the Prophet. At first Simon firmly believed that Jesus was a Prophet, but at the same time he doubted Him, because he called the Son of God, who has life in Himself, only Prophet. Because of this, his confidence in Jesus' knowledge of the hidden was subsequently shaken. At first Simon doubted whether Our Lord should be recognized as God, and in the end he did not even recognize Him as a Prophet. Simon, when he still had a high opinion of Jesus, called the Lord of the prophets Prophet. But since his love was very insufficient, his spirit fell into doubt. If from the very beginning he had confessed Him in his mind as the Son of God, then later he would not have called the Lord of the prophets Prophet. Therefore, faith in Simon did not have a solid foundation. He was weak and infirm in order to recognize Jesus as the true Son of God, because he was tormented by doubts and in bewilderment he reasoned like this: “If Jesus were a Prophet, he would know what this woman was like. I thought that He was a Prophet. But He does not know the unseen. And if he does not know the unseen, then he is not a Prophet, as I thought about Him.” Our Lord answered him: “Simon, the imam said something” (Luke 7:40); judge right." The Good Shepherd, with His love, attracted the leper Simon to Himself, so that when He gained one sheep, He would not lose another. Our Lord begins to dispel in Simon all wavering thoughts, temptations, doubts and worries, so that He too will be converted along with the converted sinner. Simon says: “Teacher, say whatever pleases You.” Thus, with kindness and meekness, our Lord brought Simon to condemn himself for his doubts about the Savior. He, the Knower of the Heart, made Simon a judge so that he would accuse and condemn himself for doubting the True One, who knows everything secret and obvious. So, our Lord began to tell a parable that was supposed to enlighten Simon and teach him so that he would leave doubt: “A certain lender had two poor debtors: one owed him five hundred denarii, and the other only fifty. And since they did not have anything to pay the debt, he forgave both their debts, tore up their manuscripts and did not demand his own from them. Which of the debtors should love the lender more?” Then Simon replies: “The first, Teacher, should love and honor the lender more, because his debt was much greater than the debt of the other. Love for the forgiver must be commensurate with the amount of debt forgiven. Therefore, the former is primarily obliged to show respect and gratitude to the lender.” And with this verdict, Simon, without knowing it, became a judge in a case unknown to him. The parable had a hidden meaning that Simon did not understand. First he condemned the Son of God, then, when he was made a judge, he became proud that he was pronouncing a sentence, and did not notice that by his own judgment, thinking to condemn others, he was condemning himself. The Lord Himself taught the judge how to decide the proposed case, and he, having pronounced his right sentence, condemned himself. Simon, whom our Lord made a judge, became a defendant and pronounced judgment on himself when he thought that he was judging others. Since Simon boasted of his knowledge before the All-Knowing One, he was convicted of ignorance before everyone. He entered into litigation and was convicted; I lost my business without knowing it. He became a judge and condemned himself without even noticing it. He gave a fair verdict and knew in this matter how much was needed to condemn himself and not to be proud of himself any longer before the Mystic. Two of those who were present were debtors, and it was he and the sinner; both owed the lender; the sinner five hundred denarii, and he fifty. The case was proposed to Simon, and he decided, and in his own court he pleaded guilty. And the Knower of the Heart, who penetrates into the secrets of the heart, with His parable convinced Simon to admit guilt in his own court, as David once did. Simon was condemned just as David was held accountable. The prophet Nathan and David brought him to the point where he had to pronounce judgment on himself. Both Simon and David were judged, according to Scripture, and both were judges of their own actions, and condemned themselves, and pronounced condemnation on themselves in their own judgment. The prophet David judged the king, and the Lord of the prophets judged the Pharisee, and both, after studying the case, were condemned by their own court. The sinner hugged the Lord’s feet, and Simon, as soon as he saw this, began to reproach her, but was wisely condemned. Our Lord clearly showed him that the love of a sinner is greater than his love. For the Lord began after this to explain the parable in action and to show Simon that his sentence falls not on anyone else, but on himself. Our merciful Lord turned with love to the sinner and began to speak to Simon about the repentant one. He wanted to show those reclining her great love and teach them how many times her love was higher than the pharisaism of those who invited Him to the supper. Our Lord said to the Pharisee: “I entered your house, Simon, but you did not wash My feet; and she wept and washed My feet with the tears of her eyes and gave Me the hair of her head instead of a headdress. And you did not anoint Me with oil, Simon, as was fitting for you; She lovingly poured good and dear myrrh on Me. You didn’t kiss Me, Simon, as a sign of your love for Me, so that everyone could see and be sure why you started all this. This same poor and pitiful woman did not stop kissing My feet. Therefore, your action, Simon, is much lower than her action. She did a lot for Me with great love, and you prepared only this supper. You offered me bread and wine, but she offered me prayer, dear ointment and tears of her eyes. You dissolved (diluted) wine for Me, which, however, is good for nothing, Simon; She lovingly kissed all the parts of my feet. With quickly perishing (soon to be destroyed) dishes and foodstuffs, you, Simon, proved your love to Me now before those reclining at the evening, but she brought her prayer in the voice of confession and in tears. Her affection and love are better than your supper, Simon. And since she loved so much, her debts and sins are forgiven.” Sinful woman, full of filth and impurity, how majestic is your beauty! I look at you in amazement and don’t know what to say. O worthy mother of competition, formerly fraught with untruth and vice, but after abandoning sins she achieved purity and holiness! For a long time she loved the vices to which she was devoted, but in the end she became famous for her repentance, like the apostles for their preaching. She was covered with uncleanness and filth because of her bad deeds, but Jesus, for his love, washed her and cleansed her from filth. He sprinkled and wiped away her sins with His hyssop, and she was cleansed from her iniquities. It was a foul-smelling source, from which rotten waters poured out. But mercy and goodness changed her and made the bitter water sweet. Her soul was clouded from the lewdness into which she indulged every day, but the eagle, Christ, with one glance made her a meek dove. It was an unclean stone, over which many stumbled, but now it is laid on the foundation of the apostles. She came like a she-wolf to the Supreme Shepherd, but as soon as she looked at Him, she changed and became a sheep of His flock. Previously, she hated spiritual life, because every day she was covered with iniquities, but Christ adorned her, and she became the queen of the beautiful. And this wife, who spent her life in all possible bad deeds, is now glorified by the Gospel in a majestic and pleasant legend about her. He who changes everything with His creative will also changed the will of the sinner so that she would turn to repentance, by which everyone who turns from evil deeds is cleansed. And this sinner, full of impurities, corrupted, defiled and containing all the vices, became the image of the whole world, which, by the coming of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, our Savior, again became beautiful, pure, freed from filth. With the peace and tears that she poured out on the Savior of creation, she mysteriously prefigured the rite of the Baptism of the world. When she poured good and dear ointment on the head of the Savior, then its fragrance spread throughout the house and surprised those reclining, therefore they talked about it at the evening: some valued it at three hundred, others at two hundred denarii and added: “What is the destruction” (waste) of “this peaceful existence?” (Mark 14:4). And in the liar and deceiver Judas, such a price for peace aroused greed. Since he was a greedy man and a thief, he valued the ointment even more highly. He needed to rate higher because he was collecting gold. That’s why he said: “What is this destruction?” But why did the fragrance of the world have such a strong effect on those reclining? Was it juices from expensive roots, or something seasoned with fragrant roots, and from this came all the pleasantness and strength of the incense? With what and by what force did it bind the apostles and others reclining, so that they too said with surprise and amazement: what is this destruction? From that tree of life, which is in the midst of paradise, it received a pleasant and strong fragrance when it was poured on Him. The sinner’s precious ointment was poured out on Jesus, and since she confessed Him, it borrowed its fragrance from the Savior. From the stench of Jesus the fragrance of the world acquired greater pleasantness and strength. And therefore those reclining in the fragrance of this precious stench were beside themselves with amazement. A whole sea of ​​peace - our Lord was anointed by a sinner; then the smell of the pleasant ointment and the sweet aroma of Jesus flowed and mixed with each other, and because of this mixing the ointment amazed the whole house. The sinner, filled with sincere love, anointed the Lord of the Sacraments, and from Him this sweet fragrance spread and filled everyone with surprise. The blessed one kindled the Lord with incense with love and touchingly begged that He would allow the sweet stench to flow out and thereby delight and delight the apostles. Here is the witness, the true prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, who calls the Messiah: “like a root,” who vegetated “in a thirsty land” (Is. 53:2), because He is the Son of the pure Virgin Mary, born without art. The sinner’s ointment was now poured onto this root and from Him it received this indescribably pleasant stench, because the Son of the Virgin Mary is “a root in a thirsty land.” He increased the fragrance of the ointment poured out on Him, although the sinner’s ointment in itself, brethren, was precious. From the stench of Jesus, when the ointment was poured onto Jesus, it acquired an incomparably sweet fragrance, and therefore those reclining were extremely amazed at the pleasant fragrance of the ointment. And in the whole world there was not a more excellent peace, both in strength and in pleasantness of fragrance; That is why many valued it at two or three hundred gold denarii. And the wicked and deceitful Judas, the traitor of his Teacher, used all measures of greed to seize, appropriate and hide the price of the world, because he loved money. “Such destruction,” says Judas, “why is the ointment not sold at an even higher price, so that this price could be distributed to the poor, the oppressed and the needy?” But Christ penetrated into the thoughts of Judas, for he knew that Judas said this out of sheer deceit, so he blasphemed his words and condemned them as spoken deceitfully. And Jesus said: “This is a great work, and it had to be fulfilled in Me. This woman anointed Me before you, disciples, on the day of crucifixion, when they nailed Me to the tree. For when I am crucified on the cross, no one will be able to anoint Me. So, this precious ointment serves for the day of My burial. The wife anointed Me before My suffering on the cross, because when you, disciples, flee, no one will come to anoint Me. So, “she did good work for Me” (Mark 14:6), because she anointed Me; She did a beautiful, holy deed for Me, therefore she should not remain without a reward. Amen, “Amen I say to you” (Mark 14:9), her name will be written in My Gospel, and when you go to preach, tell the world about her work, and her memory will be glorified in all four corners of the universe.” Our Lord heals all our ailments and the diseases of the wounded. He heals both spiritual sinfulness and bodily ailments, according to His mercy. He cleansed the body of Simon the Pharisee from leprosy and made the soul of the harlot, sickened by sin, healthy. He cleansed Simon from leprosy and the harlot from her sins. He took away invisible unrighteousness from the harlot, just as Simon took away leprosy. By His mercy He heals and heals from all iniquities, sins and defilements everyone who repents, because He is a sea of ​​generosity. As the great and merciful Physician and purifier of sins, He justly shares His mercy with both the harlot and the Pharisee. He forgave the harlot five hundred denarii of debt, and the Pharisee fifty, because He is a merciful God and desires the salvation of sinners. He forgave the soul its sins, and cleansed the body from leprosy, which desecrated it and, according to the law, made it unclean. And the debtors repaid Him with what they could, collectively expressing their love to Him for erasing the handwriting of their debts. The one who was clearly cleansed from painful leprosy gave honor to our Lord and believed in Him as the Son of God. She, whose sins He had secretly forgiven, was secretly inflamed with love because, touched by her tears and sighs, He granted her remission of sins. Both were given grace by a sea of ​​bounty, and the righteous Judge forgave both their sins. He cleansed both of them from their iniquities and fulfilled the requests of both. So, come, you repentants, and accept remission of your sins. The door is open to those pleading. Jesus does not refuse anyone his request. Everyone burdened with debts, everyone whose body and soul are wounded, go to His door and strike, and He will open and heal diseases. Let the repentant, like the harlot, bring a few tears to God; they will receive from Him forgiveness of all their debts. Strike at the door of the Merciful, constantly stand at His threshold, approach Him with hope, and He will give you remission of sins. Water the door of the house of reconciliation with your tears, O penitents, because there you will find Jesus, Whom a harlot kissed, and He is ready to leave debts to the poor human race. Whoever seeks forgiveness, wants to ask Him to forgive his debts, water His door with tears and will be cleansed of his sins. Whoever is bitten by the poisonous serpent, who bit our forefather Adam, beg the Doctor with sighs, and He, in His bounty, will heal him from the bite. Whoever, by his own free will, has fallen into the deep abyss of sins, approach the good Lord with fear and love and ask Him. God is merciful and desires the salvation of sinners. So, it is in your will, the repentant, to either live or die. Whether you are justified or condemned depends on your freedom and your will. Therefore, before time has passed and the period of repentance has not expired, prepare for prayer and offer it, like a sinner; and the good Lord will rejoice over you and heal you, as he healed her. Always, at all times, He is filled with generosity, so cry as she cried, and just like her, you will be healed. Love Him as she loved, and like her you will receive forgiveness from the All-Good One, Who does not desire death for any sinner. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today” and the next morning “the same and forever” (Heb. 13:8); His dominion is eternal, His kingdom is indestructible. His door is always open to those who strike it in faith. Blessed be His mercy and love, because His benefits are endless, the sea of ​​His bounties never runs dry, His treasure is rich and abundant. Praise be to Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit at all times! Intercessor of the Divine, cleanse Your servants with Your grace. When one sinner repents, then the Guardian Angels rejoice, as it is written (Luke 15:10). Hear this, and be encouraged in spirit, all who have a life similar to mine. Let's try to correct ourselves, now take up repentance and thereby please the Heavenly Guardians. Grant to us, our Lord, that we may be to the joy of the Angels and to the glory of Your goodness. Who will save me at the coming of the Judge who judges according to truth? He did not force me to work in His vineyard; I voluntarily remained in it the whole day to receive a reward, but for my laziness I was deprived of it. So, with my own words He will judge me, because I myself have proclaimed and called myself His workman. If there is a sinner somewhere who has multiplied the number of his sins as much as I have, then let him come to me and together we will grieve, cry and cry piteously: “How bitter is your yoke, O evil one, which we have laid upon ourselves voluntarily! And Your yoke, our Lord, is as sweet as You Yourself! Vouchsafe me to wear it, because this is what You called me to do.” The prophetic word is being fulfilled on me, which says: “But God said to the sinner: How have you spoken My justifications and received My covenant with your lips? But you hated punishment” (Ps. 49:16–17). Grant me, O Lord, to accept Your punishment with love, to hate sin and to seek refuge in You. All-good, the beginning of all good, the primary source of all good, deliver me from my rival, from whom all evil flows, do not allow him to fulfill his will on me and free me from his work. Thou, our Lord, who in Thy goodness has called me into Thy vineyard, grant me worthy to work in it all the days of my life. Grant me, our Lord, to leave the wide path and immediately enter that narrow path that you showed me, so that through it I may reach the abodes of life and there sing the praise of Your bounties. Lead me, O our Lord, along the path of Your commandments, and may I hate the path of destruction. Anyone who has a compassionate heart should mourn for me, because I was called by God to be among His children, but of my own free will I humiliated myself to a slave. And oh, if only I could be a diligent slave! Do not allow me, our Lord, to remain among the lazy and wicked slaves. The lips that sang praises to You in psalms and spiritual songs, may they not be forced, O Lord, to cry out in torment in the next age. Even if I distanced myself from You through my deeds, my tongue glorified Your power. Let Thy justice not look upon my deeds, but let Thy goodness look upon my praises. The abundant mercies that brought You down from Your Father to us mortals, may they be my intercessor, O Lord, on the great day of retribution, in order to get rid of the Terrible Judgment that threatens me, to be pardoned and to exclaim: “Praise be to You, our Lord, because You have absolved the guilty and made sinners worthy of justification!” It is worthy of surprise that Your goodness tolerated me, a sinner, for so long. I am amazed that I dared to anger You for so long, and was not restrained from doing so. Oh, how much Thy justice has forgiven me! Oh, how much my audacity dared! Do not judge me, our Lord, at the Judgment of Your righteousness, because it records my deeds daily. On me, poor one, glorify Your mercy, Son of the Merciful! Since I have deviated from the right path, died and become a rotten corpse, then grant me to be found again, saved from death to the joy of the Guardian Angels and to the shame of the demons. Grant me, O our Lord, at Your coming to cry out: “Praise be to Him who bore us on His shoulders!” The fat calf that was slain and sacrificed for sinners, Thou, my Lord, do not blot me out, poor one, from among those redeemed by Thy Blood. I have eaten Your Body, drunk Your Blood, and I believe that I will be saved by Your death. Thou, our Lord, who by Thy death put to death our murderer, put to death the sin in me, that through Thy I may receive salvation. It was not for the sake of the healthy, Lord, that Thy came into the world, but for the healing of the wounded, Thou didst condescend, moved to this by Thy mercies. I am among those who are ulcerated: my scabs are covered with pus; Therefore, heal me, our Lord, remove mental suffering from me, so that I may glorify You in the host of those returned to health. I have a need to leave debts; and from You, Lord, I can conveniently receive this. If I do not receive from You, then I have no means to remain alive before You; for behold, I will die a spiritual death if Your bounties do not appear soon. You, our Lord, who rejoice in life and not in death, deliver me from death so that I may live. May Your mercy come to me and heal my ailments and hidden sins. You, our Lord, are the doctor of all diseases and forgive debts. May Your mercy be a cure for my ulcers, may it remove all filth from me. Let Thy hyssop, O Lord, according to Thy goodness, wash away my uncleanness; and I will glorify Your grace that healed me. It was not by force, our Lord, that You laid Your yoke on me, which I bear; I myself have bowed under this yoke in order to willingly serve You. But the seed that I received in order to reap and gather fruit from it, I did not sow in my field and did not reap any fruit from it, for which I am counted among the lazy. And so, I woke up from my sleep, Our Lord, accept me, hitherto careless. Cross, high pillar, mountain lifting the soul, bow your majestic peak to me, so that I too can rise to You, so that my spirit can rise and see the Son at the right hand of the Lord on high (visible from all sides). There let me sing the praises of Him who rejected the synagogue that crucified Him and became engaged to the Church of the elect. My vileness terrifies me, Lord, because the longer I live on earth, the more the measure of my sins increases and increases. Thus, an unskilled merchant does not make any profit on his property, but is consoled by hope until he becomes poor. May the prayers of those standing at Your right hand be multiplied, and may Your grace call me out from among the goats. I marvel at myself, because in misfortune, as well as in happiness, I multiply my debts. I’m surprised that I haven’t corrected myself yet; and yet every day I bring repentance, I am supported by hope until I die. I marvel at how often our human nature is deceived: experience cannot teach us better. I marvel at the extent to which man’s audacity extends; if he died, he rots; and while he is alive, he is exalted. I would like both, to go away and stay here; but I’m afraid to leave, and by staying I’m sinning. May Thy grace reward me before my departure, because I am afraid to leave without receiving forgiveness. May She grant me the right to judge here and to live a grace-filled life there. You formed me from dust; Your will prompted You to do this. Do not leave me in hell for my crimes and sins. I know that I have sinned, and I despise myself for it. But since You are merciful, I trust in Your bounties. And if I cannot enter there, then at least allow me, by your goodness, to stand at the door without fear. O Merciful One, who proved His love for us by dying for us, open for me, O Lord, the door of generosity so that I may enter! You are merciful to everyone who admits to be guilty. You are always full of generosity and long to forgive sins. For my sake the tree on Golgotha ​​exalted You; Let Thy death be wings for me to soar to Thy Father. I should have taken with me from now on what I had acquired, but in idleness I wasted all my days, starting from my youth. The Resurrection makes me happy, but the Judgment makes me tremble, because, as I heard, God judges “with fire and sword” (Is. 66:16). I will tell you, blessed one, my sins, so that you may pray for me to your Lord. It is good to call on you for help, blessed one, so that you can pray for the healing of my illnesses, which resist all my medical remedies. Remember, Lord, about me, imprisoned in these bonds, and may a command full of forgiveness come to me. Remember your servant and do not treat me like the courtier whom Joseph asked and who forgot him, imprisoned in prison (Gen. 40:23). Your love for me encourages me, who is afraid. Since the saints are mercifully heard before Thy throne, grant me, Thy servant, through the prayer of Thy servant, to receive forgiveness here in order to enjoy there. Your mercy in your arms offers the prayers of the righteous. Forgive my sins for the sake of this prayer book. Tremble and fear the soul that has fallen into sins, bring repentance and get rid of Gehenna. Light your lamp with a pious life, stock up on the oil of good deeds, so that you can enter the bridal chamber together with the Bridegroom. Let not your lamp go out at supper, for they do not tolerate darkness there. Dress in a light robe, because the Groom is waiting for you. When He shuts the doors of the bridal chamber and enters into it to minister to His saints, then He will no longer open it to anyone who knocks on the doors. Look, you're in danger of fire. So, arise and relentlessly strike the door of the Judge so that he will deliver you from the flames. The door is still open. He stands and calls you; listen, tremble, and return to your Father’s house. You are the daughter of light, so run away from darkness. One of those reclining, who was wearing an unclean robe, was tied up and thrown “into outer darkness” so that he would not dishonor the supper of the saints (Matthew 22:11-13). If your clothes are unclean, it is easy for you to wash them with the tears of your eyes. So, arise and cleanse your clothes with prayer. Prayer is the mother of sinners; with tears she heals their ulcers and makes them healthy, like a doctor. Sinners, restore yourselves by prayer. He who does not cry for the restoration of his health desires his deadly ulcer. He who ignites a fire with his sins, if he prays, will extinguish it with his tears. So, beg for bounties and extinguish the flame of torment. With drops of tears you will extinguish the sea of ​​fire. Therefore, arouse repentant feelings in yourself, so as not to become a prey to fire. How can I arouse repentant feelings when the iniquities of my hands block my lips, and the sinner’s prayer is rejected? The evil deeds in which I have spent my life lead me into fear and apprehension, lest with my prayer I might induce the Judge to meet me with the rod of punishment. I remember that I should pray, but I am afraid because I have lived wickedly. May Your goodness have mercy on my untruths. My scabs are numerous, O Physician, who has mercy on everyone whose flesh is covered with wounds; Heal me, Healer of the ulcerated! Under various pretexts, my thoughts deceive me, and that is why every day I either sin or repent. Grant me, O Lord, according to Your mercy, what I ask of You. For, behold, evening gives way to morning for me, and life disappears unnoticed, and I have not yet brought repentance. I'm sorry that I go back on my word so often. The day snatches me away from the night, my life is constantly shortening, but my sins are not diminished. Grant me, Lord, to spend my life profitably! Yesterday I made a promise to repent, the day passed, but there was no repentance. Grant me, Lord, to turn to prayer. The days are rushing to their end, and my sins are around me like stumbling blocks. Level your path for me, O Lord, so that I can walk along it. My past life was detrimental to me, what will I do in the future? I beg You, Lord, let me spend my days profitably. I am ashamed of my daily promises that remain unfulfilled. Merciful, have mercy on the shamed. Where are you rushing, life? Explain this to me in order to heal my sinful ulcers. O Omniscient One, take care of what is beneficial for me! Grant me, Lord, abundant tears to wash away the uncleanness of my members. I beg you, have mercy on me, because You are my refuge. May my prayer be pleasing to You, O Lord, and may my tears appease You. I beg You, bring me back to life, according to Your goodness. Now the time has come to beg me with special zeal for your life, because it has come to an end and is almost over. According to Your compassions, Lord, grant me repentance. Woe to you, soul that has lost the great image! How far has your humiliation come! Behold, thorns are mixed into your bread. Heal me, in Your mercy, Eternal One, from many purulent scabs, because Your treasury is rich in means of healing. There is nothing to give me as a reward for this, but You do not need it, because You are very rich. May Your grace satisfy all my needs. I am defiled by the mire of sins, I suffer from the stench, sweeten me with Thy peace, O All-Sanctifying One. You washed me, O Lord, in a bath of water, but alas, I again plunged into a multitude of evils! Give me back the beauty that was given to me by Baptism. It is desirable for You to have mercy on sinners, it is desirable for You to find the lost, may Your will also seek me, so that I do not perish. Who forced You to stoop to such humiliation? Who bowed You down to undergo crucifixion? Your suffering and the Cross showed what Your love is for me. To gain my life, You were pierced with nails; To redeem Me, You are crowned with thorns. You found me, save me so that I do not perish. The prayer for the conversion of a defiled soul not to new ones prompts You to show generosity, because Your mercy has long been accustomed (accustomed) to forgiving sins. It is customary for you to sanctify the defiled; love irresistibly draws you to forsake sins. Therefore, as usual for You, visit me with forgiveness of debts. Much of this has already been done by You, and much is still possible for You. Heal my scabs, because I relentlessly beg You. Accept the gift that I brought to You, because the gift inclines the judge to forgive the guilty man his crime. Behold, my tears are a gift of Your goodness; Behold, my prayer is intercession before Your justice. Receive, O Merciful One, those who repent, and do not reject my prayer to acquire from Your treasury medicine for my ailments. If you do not hear my request, then my enemy, my hater, will say: “What benefit did it bring you that you bothered the Judge with your requests?” Shame him by cleansing me from sin. Do not let me fall into temptation, looking at my struggle from afar; You yourself fight with me and teach me to win. Fulfill, by Your mercy, my request. Blot out, according to Your righteousness, my guilts; be my guardian and restore my life, because I resort to You. I am extremely oppressed, O my Judge! The soul of a sinner pleads with You. Behold my sorrow, Avenger of the oppressed. Show me Your door, so that I can strike it; show me Your mercy, so that I can adhere to it, because Your mercy intercedes for those who repent. I want to be on Your shoulders, Shepherd. It is customary for You to lay on Your shoulders the lost and the found. Therefore, show me Your care. Bring me out of the wilderness, where the stumbling blocks are, and make me dwell in Your green pastures. Let me have a share in the pasture of Your flock. My illness is great and painful, Lord, the sinful ulcer causes me severe pain. According to Your great mercy, bind up my scabs. The soul of the repentant, having been worthy of the remission of sins, may he sing to You, Lord, this praise: “Glory to Thee, who forbears the repentant!” The evil enemy is cruelly attacking me, come to my aid, Lord of the victors. I have been overcome, help me, the defeated one. The enemy is always awake and always ready to fight, but I am immersed in inaction. Oh, if, excited by You, I would defeat the shameless one! When I stand calmly in prayer, he confuses me with unsettled thoughts, which he himself puts into me. Restore in me the peace of thinking about You, Serene One! Glory to You, Heavenly Father, praise to the Son from Your bosom and glorification to the Holy Spirit! Why are you, soul, having become the prey of Satan, wallowing in many shameful deeds? Cry painfully, and let your prayer be heard. Woe is me! The end is near, and I am, like in winter, without fruit. According to Your compassions, grant me life, and I will glorify You. The time is approaching, my life is passing and is already over, and my sins have preceded me to the Judgment. According to Your compassions, be merciful in my weakness. For the sake of my sins, You descended into the womb of the Mother and remained in her; my sins carried You to the Cross. By Your mercy, cleanse my sins. For me, Lord, You took the plagues and, out of good will toward me, You shut yourself up in the tomb. Be merciful to me now, Lord, and deliver me from Judgment. I did not keep the good things that You gave me, but I voluntarily chose evil for myself. Do not reject me, Hope of the penitent! Your right hand is pierced with nails because I stretched out mine to the forbidden fruit. By Thy flesh reconcile me to Thyself, because I have sinned. I have hated my life, I have corrupted my members, and a veil of darkness is upon my face. Rise me up, and I will see You and rise again. I am not able to bring You repentance, I trust only in Your generosity and I also beg: do not reject me. Hope for the penitent! Doctor, who came for our salvation, heal my many illnesses, so that I will not be a laughing stock to those who know me. I am running to You. Ruler of all, sprinkle the dew of Your grace and cleanse me, for I am very defiled. Waves of sins drown me, Lord, I am mired in many evils. Deliver me according to Your compassions, so that I do not perish. The world has drawn me away with its lures, Lord, binding me with the bonds of its love, and does not allow me to follow the straight path. All my days were spent in idleness, and I did not think that my life depended on one hour; so fire awaits me. Shed tears for me, brothers, I am a mercenary who did not deserve my pay, because a thief stole and carried away my clothes. A terrible and terrible thing happened to me, Lord: I was the heir of Your Kingdom, but the evil one cast me down and cast me far away, so that it would be impossible for me to enter the Kingdom. Therefore, Lord, sprinkle me with Your dew, which cools the weary, but I am very tired and faint, because the rebel has deposed me and filled me with horror. I know that the time is near when you will share the rewards of your saints; then remember me and do not forget me. Sinners there will be grieved with great and unceasing sorrow when the doors are closed to them. What will I do on the day when all the shameful deeds that I have done in this world and with which I have defiled myself are revealed? Fear, sinful soul, and awaken. Why do you sleep when it’s time to work? Think about yourself while there is still hope for you. I have collected the treasures of wrath for myself, and as a reward for this, torment awaits me. Alas for me! I have offended You greatly. However, I am Your servant and worshiper, O Lord; in Your goodness, show me Your mercies, because I am completely exhausted and perishing from my sins. Open the treasure of Your bounties, O Merciful One, and drive away from me the disease that torments me. You have punished me for a long time, have mercy now. May Thy Cross, O Lord, be a cure for the ulcers that are many on my members; he can heal those who are ulcerated. The time is near, the end is coming, I am descending into the depths of hell. Have mercy on me, Lord, give me life, so that I may glorify You. Hear my prayer, Merciful to sinners. Give me a helping hand and don’t let me become a horror to others. You performed a great miracle on me, you restored me when hope was already lost. Praise be to You, Eternal One. You, Who came out of love, died for us, and by Your goodness, by Your death, delivered me from error, grant me life at Your coming. By Your Cross you delivered me from error; grant me life at Your coming. By Your Cross You delivered me from the evil one; by Your mercy, forgive me my sins, for both are characteristic of You, Lord. The Father had compassion on those created in His image and, out of His mercy towards us humans, gave You, so that through You we might receive life. Grant me life, according to Your goodness. If you, Lord, do not have mercy, then who will have it? And without Thy mercy, how will our unrighteousness be forgiven us? Only through You, our most merciful Lord, can we be saved. According to Your goodness, Lord, restore my life and raise me up, because I have fallen into sins. And through You the fallen rise. My sinful scabs are numerous, and I am ashamed to ask for healing of my vile sores. At least bind up my wounds, merciful Physician! Do not leave me in the hands of an envious person, lest he laugh at Your atonement and disgrace him. Therefore grant me life, according to Thy grace, that he may be put to shame. It is known to You, O Knower of the unseen, that my nature is prone to falling into sin. Grant me life at Your coming, forgiving me of my sins. Sinners who have defiled themselves with lusts expect this remission of sins. Only by Your mercy can they receive life on the day of Judgment. For who can be saved if Your truth strictly judges and weighs our deeds and thoughts? So, not according to Your righteousness, but according to Your grace, grant us life. Without number, the evil one has many snares, and who is able to escape all his snares? Our nature is weak, but through You alone we can win. Our body, due to its lust, constantly strives for untruth. Do not judge me according to Your righteousness, O our Lord. Our will is weak, therefore sin reigns in our members. Only through You, Who has conquered our untruth, can we overcome it. In battle, Lord, the victors are glorified; but we are careless in order to gain victory through courageous struggle, therefore, our Lord, have mercy on us, defeated through timidity. Those who are glorified for the victorious crowns acquired in battle are placed at a high level of dignity. Grant life to them in truth, Lord, and to me by grace. Praise be to You, Lover of Humanity! In Your treasury I find all the means for my salvation, namely: forgiveness of sins and generosity towards sinners. Thanks be to the Father, who sent You to us, so that through You, our most merciful Lord, we may receive salvation! Make me, O Lord, worthy of Your bounties at Your coming. God, who descended and became man, so that, by His grace, He might give life to men, do not turn away from us, lest we perish! Sinners knock on Your door, O Lord, to receive remission of sins there. Do not allow me, Lord, to leave You without receiving anything. Thy treasury, O Lord, supplies those who ask. And behold, the needy stand at the door leading into it; according to Your goodness, return to us Your bounties. I voluntarily conceded victory over myself, I confess my sins to which vile lusts brought me. Look at my weaknesses, my Savior, and have mercy on me. My sins are known to You, O Good One, I am involved in battle and defeated. Have mercy on me, Lord, according to the multitude of Your mercies. My freedom had to fight courageously against sin in order to win. Since I have not won, I ask you to spare me from punishment, although I do not deserve any consolation. My sins have deprived me of my crown. May Thy mercy, O Lord, save me from the fire. I do not deserve a crown, but may I not be condemned. It is wonderful for You to forgive sinners; it is most fitting for You to multiply Your generosity, so that You, our Lord, may be glorified by both. Sorrow torments sinners, repentance torments the wicked, when the righteous receive crowns. Oh, what grief and sadness will torment me when I leave here for my life with nothing! But I will be punished justly, because I sinned. It was unpleasant for me to lag behind vice, because for my lusts I lost the Kingdom and for my laziness I inherited darkness. On the Day of Judgment my vices will become visible; They will cover my members like scabs. I will reap what I sow. Forgive me my debts, O Good One, according to Your goodness, and reward the pious in righteousness. Give them the palace, I've had enough of the torment. You will be glorified, O our Lord, by Your righteousness, and they will praise You, O Good One, for Your mercy; both worlds (both below and above) will bless You, Lord. Come, my friends, who have become like me in sins, let us correct ourselves and love repentance, so that we may awaken our souls from sin to life. We have served the evil one enough; now we will begin to work for our Lord, while the door of His bounties is still open for us. For in an instant the Kingdom will be closed from everywhere, and those who are ready will be gathered in the Kingdom, and whoever remains outside will repent forever. Behold, His door is still open before you, sinners; hurry to enter and be saved. The Good One rejoices over those who repent. While the door of the tomb is still closed for us, and the door of generosity is open, let us think about how to heal our ulcers. The All-Good One does not reproach the sinner for previous defilements and sins, because He did not reproach the returning prodigal son. He did not condemn him for his indecent sinful life, but went out to meet him, joyfully received him and taught him as a model for the repentant. Praise be to the One who provided for our iniquities and gave us the means to acquire life from Him, He gave us repentance, which heals our ulcers! Thanks be to Him who, according to what is written, rejoices with His angels at our conversion, for He does not want those created in His image to perish. He loves man whom His hands have created, and He gives His hand to those who repent. So, come, brothers, let us hasten to this refuge. Who is as merciful to us, Lord, as You are? Who would endure our bitterness, like You, who so mercifully covers up our shortcomings? Very great is Thy forbearance, O Lord, against the iniquities of all people before Thy face, and Thy love endures the world and its iniquities. We are unable to properly thank Your goodness, because You gave Your soul to death for us. To give me life, You died, O Lord, and redeemed me. Your Parent has no other who is greater than You and whom He would betray for us. Blessed be the Father who gave You to men! Hurry, you repentants, go to the All-Good One, who tasted death for us in order to give us life. See with what desire He awaits our conversion. He rejoices when the lost return; He welcomes the repentant. Lead us, Lord, into Your sheepfold. Blessed is the one who, having renounced everything, listens to himself and spends his days in tears! He who has renounced everything continually sighs. Whoever has once learned the path of the cross, struggles incessantly in this world in order to finally find joy and bliss. “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of joy” (Eccl. 7:4). He who loves the world finds his pleasure in it. But for the wise, who are attentive to themselves, there is no joy in this world, because it is deceptive and fills their heart with sorrow. And since they do not indulge in the laughter and joys of this world, then for their suffering they will be rewarded with heavenly joys and bliss. Woe to the one who goes there to weep, because with the weeping there will also be gnashing of teeth when he begins to cry out in the place of torment. Now, my brothers, it is clearest of all that it is impossible for a person to rejoice in both this and the other world. Those who rejoice here will weep there. It was unfair for a person to complain there for the suffering, labor and sorrow here. That is why our Savior said: “Woe to you who laugh now: for... you will weep! Woe to you who are now full: for you will hunger!” (Luke 6:25). But blessed is he who has wept here for any length of time, because his tears have ceased and are no longer there, and he enjoys everlasting bliss. How long will it take you to repent, my poor soul? The judgment is near, the fire is ready for my members. I have been mired in a sea of ​​evils all the years of my life, not mourning my sins; and suddenly death puts chains on me. Satan deceived me and, binding me with his lusts, carried me captive, throwing me to the ground without pity. Alas, what should I do now? You, Righteous Judge, disgrace the evil one, who fights against me and, when I want to repent, secretly sets me his cunning snares. Be my helper, O most merciful Lord, and I will rise up, laugh at him, and break all his nets. Woe to me on that day when You, Lord, judge sinners! Oh, may I not be ashamed there before the hosts of Angels! Tremble and be troubled, my soul, and, begging, say to your Lord: “Have mercy on me, my Savior, and rescue me, mired in vices. I, a sinner, am ashamed to beg You. By Your grace, Lord, save me from Gehenna.” Behold, the day of the Lord will suddenly shine upon the creation, and the righteous will come out with burning lamps to meet the Lord, but I am darkness, there is no oil in my lamp to meet the Bridegroom when he comes. He is a righteous Judge and is impartial to sinners, because He rewards everyone according to their deeds. What will I do, having such a multitude of sins? Who will justify me at this righteous Judgment? My spirit trembles, hearing that the day of Judgment is near, my thoughts are confused at the idea that fire awaits the wicked. According to Your goodness, You who have mercy on sinners, have mercy on me, the lost one, and I will praise You when Your Kingdom appears. May Thy Cross accompany me during this terrible transition, may it drive away the dark forces from me, may it serve as a key for me and open the doors of heaven to enter into joy, rejoice and glorify Thy bounties for me, O Merciful One. Most merciful Lord, do not leave me in hell, because You have given me Your Body to eat and Your Life-giving Blood to drink. May I be cleansed by Your Body, and may I receive remission of my sins by Your Blood; then I will rise again and sing songs to You in the hosts of Your saints. Alas, the days of my youth were spent in vanity! When I wandered, indulging in the lusts of this world, then my spirit was bound by the deceptive love of youth, and I did not imagine how terrible the day on which I would rise again. Who will support my weakness in that land of horror, where neither family, nor noble birth, nor wealth are respected; where a brother will not deliver his brother from the Judgment and where a person “will not give God treason for his own sake,” according to what is written? (Ps.48:8). Since my youth, I have not prepared for myself alms, I have not acquired light feathers for myself. What should I do? For he must cross the fiery sea, how can he fly over it without wings? Even the Angels tremble when the Judge speaks, and the armies of fiery spirits stand in trepidation. What answer will I give when they ask me about the secret affairs that will be revealed to everyone there? You, Who are pleased with the repentant, are also pleased with me, a sinner. Satisfy me with grains from Your great table, do not allow my life to perish in the darkness; and may Thy truth not look upon the vile impurities of my wretchedness on that great morning of Thy, on which the eternal sentence will be pronounced. The joy of this world is lamentation; woe to him who is deceived by her! Like a ship with waves, my life is overwhelmed by disasters; vain joy captivates her with the spectacle of pleasure. Thou be our helmsman and lead our ship to Thy pier on that great morning of Thy, on which eternal judgment will be pronounced. How God loves a sinner when he begins to repent and, with eyes full of tears, sighing and sobbing, cries out to Him: “Our Lord, deliver me from the fire! I pray to You, accept the tears of my misery. I sinned against You voluntarily, but I repent voluntarily.” Come boldly, sinner, the door is already open, ready to receive you, sacrifice tears to Him and come to Him, He does not require gifts and is not partial, but is merciful to people and willingly leaves debts to sinners. Mourn my nakedness, my beloved brethren, I have angered Christ with my vicious life. As the Good One, He created me and gave me freedom, and I, as worthy of hatred, repaid Him with evil, with my wicked deeds. The Good One made me a servant of the sanctuary, so that I would stand before Him like an Angel, but I, the treacherous one, abandoned the glorious angelic service and served the demons, and therefore I mourn my youth. The Lord of all created me perfect and made me an weapon of His glory, so that I would serve Him and sanctify His name; and I, unfortunate one, made my members instruments of sin and committed unrighteousness with them. Woe is me, for He will judge me. My shameful deeds will precede me at the Judgment and will accuse my poor soul. I relentlessly beg You, my Savior, cover me with Your wings and do not reveal my defilements at Your great Judgment, so that I may glorify Your goodness. The evil deeds that I have done before the Lord of all separate me from the community of saints. And since I did not serve God with my life like they did, I have no part in their good deeds. Alas, I am lost! Now grief befalls me, which is what I deserve. And if he had labored with them, then like them he would have been glorified. But since I was relaxed and served lusts, I do not belong to the host of victors, but became the heir of Gehenna. You, the Victor pierced by nails on the Cross, calling out to sinners: “Come, receive cleansing for free,” I relentlessly pray to You, my Savior: “Turn Your eyes away from my wickedness, and with Your sufferings heal my wounds, so that I may glorify Your goodness.” As soon as Your gaze, Lord of all, turns to the darkness of my sins, it disappears before me, and without hindrance, with all zeal, I begin to walk the path of Your commandments, strengthened by hope in You and freed from the darkness of error. O All-Merciful One, Whose goodness is immeasurably higher than the untruths of the world, strengthen my poor soul with trust in Your grace, which is weakened and completely exhausted by the grave ailments of untruth and sin and holds on only by trusting in You, hoping to find consolation in You! The sea of ​​fire brings me into confusion and horror, and I tremble because of the evil deeds that I have committed. May Your Cross, Son of the living God, serve as a bridge across this for me; May Gehenna recede in shame before Your Body and Blood, and may I be saved by Your bounties. The sorrows and illnesses that I endured here are a foretaste of the endless suffering and torment there, for I know that just as I suffered from illnesses here, so there my sins will plunge me into torment. Thou, Lord of all, in Thy mercy be for me a haven of salvation and a refuge of help, and save me. I beg Your goodness, my Savior, from now on pour out Your bounties on me and place me there far from some of the tormented. Christ, who deigned to become a sacrifice for us, kill, O Lord, the sin that afflicts all my members, descend and dwell in my members; As soon as the evil one finds out about this, his teeth will be crushed, and the fire of hell will be extinguished by Your brilliance. And if he dares and dares to touch my members, as if they were defiled by unrighteousness, then with Your wave rebuke him and sprinkle me with dew, so that I can come out of this fire like the three youths who cried out to You in the cave. The evil Satan vomited his poison on me, corrupted me and brought me down with sin. But since I follow Your path, and You are omnipotent, my weakness nourishes the hope that You, despising it, will help me by forgiving my sins, and my molester will be put to shame. The princes of evil blinded me with their passions and stole from me the beauty of my youth with their cunning. What should I do, because I have lost my purity? I cry out to Christ so that He will return my beauty to me, and then the evil ones will be put to shame. Youth is beautiful and worthy, my brothers, when the glorious crown of virginity shines on its head. But if this precious pearl is stolen, then the hope in which youth boasts is also lost. My Savior calls to me, His disciple: “Do not despair of your salvation, because I raise you up and forgive you your sins. You are my acquisition and I do not despise you, because I redeemed you with My own Blood.” Therefore, cry out with all your might, disciple, and do not spare your throat, for your Lord is merciful and loves those who repent. As soon as you return, your Father precedes you with His meeting, slays the well-fed calf, clothes you in a bright robe and rejoices over you. What was most lofty and joyful in my virginity, Satan degraded by the unbridledness of my morals, and the cursed one took the precious stone, which shone more than the sun, by cunning, and stole it from me with his deceitful seductions. Alas, what has been ruined by me! The first ornament of virtue is the degree of virginity. And if your foot wavered at this degree and did not stand on it, then there is another decoration - the degree of holiness. And if you are truly holy, then together with the virgins you will be worthy of bliss. Let my sinful soul praise You, our Lord, because the devil suppressed it with sin, and You healed it. May all my feelings, all my thoughts glorify You, because You, Lord, in Your mercy have cleansed them and in Your generous goodness have washed them. May the hosts of the sons of light pray for me, the poor one, because I have angered God. Let them propitiate Him, so that our Lord may grant their love a single soul; Let them beg that I may not be excluded from their community, but that I may glorify Him with them. You, our Lord, seek and find me, the lost one. For You carried the lost sheep on Your shoulders. Call me too, O Lord, so that I may come and be numbered with Your flock and be numbered with Your sheep and sing Your praise with all those who repent. The disciple, having renounced, went out. There repentance found him and said: “Where are you running, Simon (Peter), from your Teacher? Where will you find refuge? In which country can you take refuge? When Simon said in response that by his denial of his Lord he had removed himself from Him and lost His love, then repentance approached him and quietly told him: “See that you do not become stubborn in your sins, otherwise you will lose your friend - Christ. I assure you that if you return, he will receive you again and will rejoice at your coming. Let us go to Him and say with contrition: “Shepherd, seeker of the lost, seek Thy lost and found again sheep.” A sinful ulcer has opened in you; if you delay, it will destroy you. But You have a wise Physician, show Him your ulcer, cry and sigh at His door, move His generosity so that He can heal.” Such beautiful thoughts captured, ignited and aroused his repentance. Then he shed streams of tears, like rain during thunder, and, sobbing bitterly, said: “Alas, I have become a hater of Christ! Christ placed me first among my fellow disciples, gave me the keys to heaven to open it, bind it and decide; and after all this I denied Him. Shake the earth! There is so much untruth in my evil deed. Alas, I left Him Who has no other like him! Where will I go, who will receive me? Open Your door for me, O Most Beautiful One, and I will enter, see You, and through You I will receive life again. How long does it take for me to mourn myself enough? What happened to me? Yesterday I was an apostle, but today I have become a treacherous one; yesterday he was appointed steward, but today he became an apostate, a stranger in the house! Who will heal me, weak, when I left the Physician Christ? Who has a medicine as effective as He? O You, who healed the bleeding soul, heal my soul, which was destroyed by sin! Let me be Lazarus, whom You called to life; raise me, too, Lord, like him. He died in body, and I am dead internally, in soul. O You, who raised it up with Your word, now grant me another resurrection! Lazarus’s body was the only one that was allowed to rot, but my soul was corrupted along with my body. Revive my decayed body and my corrupted soul, O Lord, with Your mercies and remission of sins. You can easily do this with one word of Yours. Once drowning in the sea, I cried out to You and begged You from the waves; and Thy hand, O Lord, stretched out into the abyss and brought me out. Save me now; my renunciation consumes me and I drown on dry land. Where will I go, where will I hide, if Your door is closed to me? I have no other Lord like You. Do not cast me away from You, all my hope is in You. Spare me." Then repentance brought the Judge as a gift of sincere tears and said: “These tears are brought to you by the sinner - Simon, make Him an image for the repentant, so that following his example they will cry and be converted.” Let Simon's tears be a mirror for the repentant, in which they can look, and let every sinner learn to cry as Simon cried, and then, like Simon, be renewed as a model for repentant sinners. “Alas, alas! - Simon cried all that night. “The path of life that I have traversed from youth to old age ends fruitlessly. Have mercy on me, O Lord, our Lord!” Simon Peter wept, begged God with tears and said: “Oh, if only I would not deny You, Who Knows all that is hidden! Alas, I denied You, my Teacher, and acted like the traitor Judas. Following You, You drew me, a lost sheep in the world, into Your sheepfold. I am following You. I have bent (lost), but I will be found and will complete the historic (hundredfold) number. Let Gabriel with all the hosts of Angels rejoice and rejoice in You, good Shepherd, because on Your shoulders You brought the lost sheep to replenish the hundredfold number. Your love is “better than wine” (Song. 1:1), Your favor is better than the affection of a thousand righteous. In Thy wine blessing is poured out upon us, because through the Cup of Thy Blood we have acquired new life. And let the righteous praise Your love. Behold, I was disfigured by my sins, but as soon as I repented and converted, I became beautiful again. Even at Baptism, You removed the unclean robe from me, and I came out of this bath beautiful and clean. Repentance increases the beauty of my attire. I was clothed in lamentation, and again a bright robe adorns me.” How bitter you are, world, how fragile your blessings are! And alas, the day of judgment is near! From your benefits I suffered harm, I only gained misfortune for myself. Alas, the day of judgment is near. Your joys have deceived me, and now I am going into torment. Alas, the day of judgment is near! I did not take care of myself and therefore I am punished along with the wicked. Alas, the day of judgment is near! Behold, all my days passed in vanity and disappeared. Alas, the day of judgment is near! Woe to the lazy who appear there without good deeds. Alas, the day of judgment is near! Horror will seize the wicked there, who added lawlessness to lawlessness in the world. Alas, the day of judgment is near! I am burdened with debts, as I know it; What will I do at that time? Alas, the day of judgment is near! Great is the bliss of the righteous, great is the misery of the wicked. Alas, the day of judgment is near! My days are lost, and the Judgment is coming and approaching. Alas, the day of judgment is near! The throne of the Judge has already been set; the righteous are brought into the Kingdom by Him. Alas, the day of judgment is near! I don’t know how I could prove innocent at the Judgment. Alas, the day of Judgment is near! My days are ending, have mercy on me, a sinner, according to Your mercy. Alas, the day of judgment is near! The fire of hell is already burning for the wicked. Alas, the day of judgment is near! The Judge comes quickly and will reward everyone according to his deeds. Alas, the day of judgment is near! Guardian Angels have already been sent and do not listen to anyone’s requests. Alas, the day of judgment is near! I have despised Your commandments, therefore fire awaits me at the end. Alas, the day of judgment is near! Desolation and darkness await the wicked there. Alas, the day of judgment is near! I cry to You in my need, hear me, the guilty one, and save me. Alas, the day of judgment is near! Let Your compassions shine forth and let them beseech You, for I am unclean and cannot beseech You. Alas, the day of judgment is near! May my lamp burn again in the impenetrable darkness. Alas, the day of judgment is near! May Your goodness have mercy on me when Your Kingdom opens. Alas, the day of judgment is near! Debts are left to those who ask for mercy. But be careful not to hate your brothers when you ask for forgiveness of debts. Behind the doors remain those prayers that, ascending to God, do not have love with them, because love alone opens the doors to prayer. What salt is to your sacrifices, so is love to your prayers. If you neglect this and do not bring these additions, then the sacrifice will not be accepted and the prayer will not be heard. If your brother is angry with you, then the Lord is angry with you. And if you have made peace with your brother, then you have made peace with your Lord. If you accept your brother, you will also accept your Lord. So, make peace with Him in the face of the offended, make Him glad in the face of the saddened, visit Him in the face of the sick, feed Him in the face of the hungry. In the person of the weary traveler, prepare a soft bed for Him, wash His feet, seat Him in the first place at your table, break your bread and give it to Him, give Him your cup. He has already shown you much greater love, drawn water, sanctified it and washed away your unrighteousness with it; I crushed His Body for you and gave you His Blood to drink. How blessed are we sinners, because grace itself rises to help us! If we bring one drop of tears, it will blot out and destroy all the handwriting of our debts. Behold, she cries out with compassion, with love she cries out: “Bring your manuscripts, and with them your tears, and this is enough so that your debt does not precede you there.” Praise be to You, my God! Goodness and truth are Your two hands, stretched out over everyone. One punishes so that the other can provide an opportunity to pardon. You would spend thousands of years recklessly if your life were to last, and yet no matter how much you cried, you could not satisfy for the sins of one year, because your untruth is too great, and you are a liar. Therefore give praise to Him who has given you an exceeding promise: if He finds you watching at His coming, He will make you sit above His servants, and He Himself will serve you. The foolish one sees generosity and sins more boldly. Since he knows that he has medicine that heals him for nothing, he does not spare his body and covers it with wounds. But praise be to the wise man who does not act foolishly! Although he knows that bounties can intercede for his recklessness, however, with all the great hope, he seems to have no hope. Praise be to the One who offered both to the stubborn - both gentle bounties and severe punishments; and whoever stubbornly resists bounties is admonished with terrible executions! What a horror! How painful this is to the heart! An invisible scribe always stands invisibly next to each of us and writes down his words and deeds on the day of judgment. Who can resist strict justice, which demands an account even in the blink of an eye, and does not leave a single glance unexamined? But come, listen, and be encouraged! No matter how severe the torture of justice, if a person repents, one drop of tears will erase the handwriting of his debts. Come, listen and shudder! No matter how filled the sea of ​​grace is with bounties, no one will shower even the smallest mercy on the unrepentant on the Day of Judgment! Thanks be to Thy good pleasure, which has dissolved two wonderful sources of help! And Your justice is merciful, and Your mercy is just. May Your goodness be touched by the spectacle of all kinds of hidden leprosy! May this word be fulfilled on me, Lord: “Let the leper be cleansed according to the law” (Matthew 8:4). May this also be fulfilled on me: “For though sin abounded, grace abounded” (Rom. 5:20). Since sins have prevailed in me, Lord, may generosity prevail over me. I would begin to sing praises to the Lord if even the venerable lips could glorify and magnify Him. I would teach if it were allowed to become an interpreter and someone unworthy to speak. Blessed is He who opens the mouth of sinners! Our lips are a path and a bridge along which obscene speech often passes; they must be the outer door into the sanctuary, within which is the Holy of Holies. Blessed is He who bows down from the height of His greatness and dwells with us! It is a very great mercy for man that he knows God, and God approaches everyone according to human strength. Meanwhile, it is known that our weakness is not able to bring our knowledge closer to the sanctuary of the Divine. Blessed is He that sinners dare to approach Him and praise Him! When a respectable person commits a crime, then he does not want his acquaintances and those who knew his former impeccability to see him, and he would like everyone to forget the past, and he would not be ashamed of his misconduct. With zeal, brothers, ask for mercy from the Judge and learn that everything in the world is fleeting, that wealth, beauty and power are transitory (temporary) like nothing. Blessed is He Whose dominion never passes away! Nothing is permanent in this world. Why do we torment ourselves in serving the world? All his blessings are a sleepy dream, all his wealth is just a shadow for us. So, we work for temporary amusement, for a sleepy dream, for a shadow: beauty, the possession of which is unreliable, seduces us with its perishable charm. Although we know that wealth does not bring true benefit to its owners, who are constantly trying to acquire it, however, today we are just as busy as we were busy yesterday; and all our days pass without benefit. Why can we never get enough? The world is coming to an end and we are being carried away by its current. May Thy help come to our aid, O All-Merciful One, never leaving our race! Give us Your searching wisdom, so that we may know the transience of everything. Heal our ulcers with repentance. Visit us so that we will not remain stagnant in our sins any longer. You, who are most merciful to our souls, place in us the remembrance of good, because we have loved evil very much. Turn away from us, O Good One, everything harmful! Accept the good will, as much as it was in us, and send us immeasurable strength. Our soul is not able to bring You a gift as great as You are. May Your wonderful death reconcile You, O Lord! Our untruth is much stronger than our prayer. Our prayer is insignificant, but our guilt is great. What sacrifice could we make to reconcile ourselves with You? We have nothing to give You. Therefore, through Your Blood, reconcile us, O All-Merciful One. Can anyone rejoice in you, O world? If we tolerate oppression in you, it is painful. If we enjoy peace in you, it is harmful. Bitter is the only knot (that is, temporary life) that connects you and me. Blessed is the power of the One who separates us from you! When death approaches the intemperate, then illness closes his mouth, and drops from the end of the finger begin to pour water into the larynx of the wine drinker. How happy then are you, having already weaned yourself from wine! The treasures we have collected then remain for others, and our sins weigh down our neck. Our whole skin is then likened to a scroll, both here and there covered with our debts. But blessed then are you, monks! We indulged in love, and the desire to possess, as much as we wanted, remained unquenched. We sinned, and the hope of escaping punishment was not fulfilled. The wealth that we loved remains behind us, and untruth precedes us at the grave. Blessed are you, victors, who courageously resisted it! Our enemy triumphs, seeing that our wealth remains behind us and finally abandons us, and our sins hasten to the Judgment in order to recognize us there before our Lord. Blessed is he who confesses You, our Savior! Who is as patient with us as You, our good and merciful Creator? If we are defeated, then we grumble. And if we win ourselves, then we have pride. Blessed are You, whose love endures us, the unbearable! May my soul be returned to Your sheepfold like a lost sheep. You yourself carry it and bring it in along with the found sheep, so that both will appear before the Lord again. Thanks be to Thy Father, who delights in the repentant! Thanks be to the Father, who sent You, our Savior! For by You we, the guilty, are justified. You took away our sins by Your Cross, take away our guilt from us at Your coming. Praise be to Your coming, O All-Merciful One! Blessed are those who are called and entered with the Bridegroom to the marriage. For the Bridegroom stands at the meal and carefully examines those reclining. But woe to him who comes to a great feast in unclean clothes! For bound at the feet he will be cast into darkness that never dissipates. Oh, how blessed will be the chaste fasters and virgins who have defeated Satan when they enter with the Tsar’s Son to the wedding feast that never ends! There the Bridegroom has prepared joy and bliss, there they rejoice with hymns and the voice of thanksgiving. But how pitiful is the one who is not there! He won't beg for even a drop of water on his finger! Woe to me, a poor sinner, if they do not allow me into this glorious abode of the Kingdom! Oh, if only I could enter there and see how Thy mercy pleads Thy truth for me, and how truth, which threatens sinners with wrath, accepts the intercession of mercy! If Your compassions have mercy on me, unworthy, then I can blissfully dwell under the shadow of this monastery. Behold, the paths to the heights have been laid, the path to paradise has been prepared. But from the beginning of the procession to the end, all passions and temptations crowd around, and even at the gates of the Kingdom, all sorts of evils attack those who walk firmly. Do not grieve, ignoramus, that your mind is not supported by science; your life can make you so wise that your very simplicity will be able to make wise people wise. Let you stop the sun with your learning and be able to determine the circumference of the sea, but if you have no business, you are not yet wise and have not reached the level of intelligence. Stay in your inn, traveler, and do not build yourself a new fragile dwelling, do not build yourself high-topped houses, the height of which is not even half as high for you. Build yourself a house commensurate with your height! Be content with your land and seek security for yourself on it, and do not work on someone else’s land, so that strangers do not take advantage of your labor. Blessed are the wise five virgins who entered into marriage with the Bridegroom; burning with fiery love for Christ, they remained awake and abundantly supplied their lamps with oil. But woe to the holy fools who remained outside and did not enter the marriage! They slept and rested, and their lamps went out. Having awakened, they began to knock on the doors, but no one opened for them. The majestic palace of the Kingdom is open, it is vast and spacious for those reclining. The region of Gehenna is narrow; there is no space in it, it is all filled with the bodies of the wicked. Some have no shortage of bliss, while others have lamentation and sighing, because the Judge is just, and there is no place for generosity for those who have not done anything good. Arise, Church builder Paul! For behold, people now despise your teaching. You strictly forbade “covetousness” (Col. 3:5), but now you will find it everywhere. It even crept into the sanctuary with the priests and brought many to strangulation and death. The priesthood, about which You gave so many instructions (Titus 1:5-9), has now become a subject of purchase. We have willfully abandoned the path along which the righteous march to the Kingdom, and we are circling along the crossroads covered with nets, walking along the paths leading to Gehenna. Let us acquire, my beloved, heartfelt repentance, because it can atone for our sins. Let us repent, sinners, and erase the handwriting of our debts with tears. Do not indulge in reading to the point of leaving you to practice virtue. Work and read a little, with reason, and most of all, practice good deeds. Teacher, decorate your teaching with a good life, which would correspond to your learning. Do not bother yourself with reading that is not followed by action, because the law is fulfilled only by actions. Many read until they tire, but in their actions they turn out to be holy fools. Others work hard and are more wise than the wise. It is much better to do it without reading than to read heaps of books without doing what you read. Blessed are those who, without laboring to read the law, fulfill the law. Do not indulge in learning in order to boast of your wisdom. He is not the only wise one who undertakes to explain the hidden. Take special care to actually implement what you read, and not to explain what you wrote. He alone is truly wise who makes wise the foolish through his life. He who diligently reads must put into practice what he has read, and not limit himself only to diligent reading and idle mockery, for this is not what He who called us and taught us His teaching requires of us. The wisdom of the truly wise is to achieve a glorious end. It is a wonderful thing to know the commandments and to fulfill them carefully; on the contrary, it is a shame to read and not do it, to read a lot and not do it. Let us make diligence, my brethren, to read with prudence and act with understanding, because our Judge, who demands an account of our thoughts, will not leave a single thought unexamined. The beginning and the first degree is to do good according to the dictates of nature; the second, also not reprehensible degree, is to know what one should do, and what one has learned, then do it; the third, worthy of severe punishment, is to learn a lot and neglect what you have learned. But he is extremely stupid and unreasonable who does not study in order not to do. For those, my brothers, who are lazy to learn and do good, it is indecent to laugh at those who diligently study in order to do it in practice. If the one who does every good loses all his merit through pride, then what blame is worthy of the one who despises and blames his neighbors? Therefore, blessed is the one who listens attentively to the Scriptures, who, while reading the Scriptures, this source of salvation, tries at the same time to keep the law and motivate his soul to do what is due. But he who willfully breaks the law is wicked. It is better for him to sit down and constantly mourn his passing days, because they are lost in idleness. Cleanse me with Your grace, merciful Father; wipe away my filth with Thy all-cleansing hyssop and heal my sores, so that I may give thanks to Thy grace! I have fallen; arise and strengthen me, Lord. For You raise up all the fallen. Stretch out your hand to me and revive me again with Your bounties. The enemy deceived me, pulled me off and stole all my decorations, made me remain barren, and had to go naked of everything. Let Your mercy be my robe on the Day of Judgment! There is great fear on this day of Judgment, when everyone will give an account of their deeds, thoughts, and even the movements of their eyes. You acquit me then, my Judge, because I am guilty. Our heart will be tormented and infinitely tormented when everything that arouses lust in us passes away, when everyone appears naked and is led to an answer. Then woe to him who, like me, committed many iniquities, who sinned and hid his sins so as not to be put to shame here! There, on the Day of Judgment, fingers will be pointed at him. All people will tremble on the day when each of them will be judged for his deeds, each of himself will either be justified or condemned. My iniquities have greatly increased, my days have flown by and disappeared, the time of the end is approaching, but I have no repentance. If there is no place for generosity, woe is me on the Day of Judgment! Blessed is the man who has labored a little in this world and will inherit the Kingdom in the hereafter. For little work he acquires a great inheritance. The day of death is a bitter day, because on it the body and soul are separated from each other, separated from illness, sadness, tears and sighs. All people will then be clothed in spiritual sorrow, for they will see how insignificant everything we love is, how all our pleasures disappear like a dream. At Your Judgment, our Lord, there is no partiality, because on the day of Your Judgment everyone will be rewarded according to their deeds; and whoever does well, to him the kingdom, and whoever does bad, to him there is torment. Who will not then be horrified and shuddered when he sees that those standing on two sides are separated and accept their lot: some - the Kingdom, others - darkness! But we glorify Your goodness, which spares sinners, we worship Your righteousness, which admonishes the rebellious, we magnify both, so that through both we can receive salvation. Open to me the door of Thy compassions, Hope of the repentant, and stretch out Thy hand to me, full of medicine, to bind my scabs and heal my sores. Your truth is rightly angry with me, O Lord, for it did not look upon its sister - grace. You, Lord of truth and grace, save me both! Your treasure, O Lord, is open to those who ask, and whoever wants to be rich receives an abundance of blessings. Since I, through my carelessness, have multiplied the number of my vices, then save me by Thy grace. My will refuses to follow Your will. Therefore, You submit me to Your will, so that through this I may receive salvation and glorify Your will, which favors those who repent. Graciously accept my prayer for reconciliation with You and, according to Your goodness, grant me life at Your coming; and the evil one will be put to shame when he sees that Your righteousness has had mercy on me. Truly great mercy is shown to sinners! As soon as a sinner repents, the handwriting of his debts is blotted out. But I have no repentance, so may I be saved by Your grace! Praise be to the Good One, Who condescended for our sake, became like us and healed our wounds with His all-sanctifying Flesh and His all-purifying Blood! Let everyone sing Your praises! Thanks be to the Merciful One, Who constantly bears our burden, although our malice is known to Him, Who created, nourishes us and causes His sun to shine for us! Praise be to His goodness! Open to me the door of mercy, our Lord, filled with bounties; Extend Your hand to me, O Good and Merciful One, and return me to Your sheepfold, so that I may glorify Your goodness. We knock on Your door and call on Your name, because everyone, whatever he asks for, even if only mentally, accepts everything from You, who seeks every means to bring benefit to everyone. My sins are a wall between me and Your goodness. Destroy her so that I can approach Your mercy, pour out Your love on me and rapture (pluck) me to Your height. But the wall of my sins is destroyed by tears and contrition; Therefore, grant me all the days of my life to diligently mourn my sins and gather fruits for myself that will be useful to me on the day of Judgment. Blessed is the one whom You admonish through Your love, O Lord, because You do not turn away from those whom You love. Do not turn away from me, Lord, so that the evil one does not destroy me. According to Your goodness, have mercy on me, the weak, and grant me the forgiveness of my many sins, so that with all those who have pleased You, I may glorify Your goodness. Have mercy, O Lord, according to Your goodness, and have mercy on all of us, rejected by the truth because we did not keep Your word, by observing which we would receive salvation. And I am rejected by everyone, even more than everyone else. So, make me worthy, by Your grace, to receive forgiveness of sins, and, according to the power of this forgiveness, to receive hope. With love I studied Your word every day. Therefore, deign me, together with the righteous, to proclaim the praise: “Praise be to Him who has mercy on me! Glory to the One who has forgiven me!” The height blesses You, the depth magnifies You, You are worshiped by everyone, because everything was created by You. Everything praises You, our merciful Lord. Every debtor, if prudent, always tries to please his creditor. Since he has nothing to pay, he uses affection to induce the lender to forgive him the debt. So, since I am unable to pay off my debts by deeds of abstinence, I try to bow down to the Judge, so that at His coming, by His goodness, He will make me worthy of His bounties. The Lord is a wise giver. He looks at the benefit of the one asking; and as soon as he sees that what he asks is harmful or, at least, useless to him, he does not fulfill the request and refuses the imaginary benefit. He listens to every prayer; and the one whose prayer is not fulfilled receives from the Lord the same saving gift as the one whose prayer is fulfilled. Whether the needy and the debtor come to the Good, he gives to the former and forgives the latter. Therefore, both leave the door of the Giver with gifts: the needy receives deliverance from need, and the debtor receives remission of debt. In every way possible, God shows that He is a merciful Giver. He gives us His love and shows us His mercy. And therefore he does not answer any incorrect prayer, the fulfillment of which would bring us death and destruction. However, even in this case, refusing what we asked, He does not leave us without a very useful gift: He removes what is harmful from us and thereby opens for us the door of His bounties. In the Giver there is no place for the foolishness of the one asking. To the unwise, who in his simplicity, contrary to reason, asks for something harmful to himself, God gives wisely. He refuses gifts to those who do not fulfill His commandments. Any other course of action would be unreasonable for the omniscience of the Giver. Therefore, be sure that every request that is not fulfilled is undoubtedly harmful, and the request that is heard is beneficial. The Distributor is righteous and good, and will not leave your requests unfulfilled, because in His goodness there is no malice, and in His righteousness there is no envy. If the Giver delays in fulfilling it, it is not because he repents of the promise; on the contrary, He wants to see your patience. When noon comes, when workers experience heaviness and heat, then you can loudly demand your reward, and instead of one gift He will give you two - hope and grace. If you, a petitioner, relentlessly knock on the door of the Giver, then, while He has not yet given you anything, He is already giving you patience, and it is higher than everything you ask for. O wonderful Giver! When he refuses a request, he then gives a gift that is more valuable than anything desired by the petitioner. He is a wise dispenser; he considers both the request and the time. As soon as he recognizes the request as harmful, he hesitates and does not fulfill it, postponing until a better time. And although this is unfortunate for the petitioner who wants the request to be fulfilled even at a time when it would not be useful for him, God does His own thing in order to fulfill the request to a greater extent later, at precisely the time when it will be more useful for him. O Judge, Whose Judgment is righteous and Who knows all that is hidden, do not judge me at Your righteous Judgment, when all the secrets will be revealed! The sinner, with the tears she brought to You, destroyed the handwriting of her debts. So I bring tears as a gift to You. Accept them from me, Lord, as you received from her. The evil one has deceived me with his flattery and captivated my mind with his deceptions. Take him, our Lord, away from me, poor man, and snatch him from his hands, so that he does not tear me to pieces. Judge me, Lord, and judge between me and my merciless enemy. He made me a target for his arrows. According to Your bounty, may these arrows pierce him. Be a helper to me, the poor one, Lord, because I have no other helper; and do not allow the enemy to laugh at me, defeated, as he laughed at our foremother. Woe to me if all my secrets are revealed and put to the test where no excuse will be respected, no guilty will be heard. My spirit trembles, Lord, for I hear that “fire will tempt the wicked” (1 Cor. 3:13). And I am hay and straw. And if You, Lord, look at my guilt, then I am lost. Thy goodness, Lord, which once lifted You to the Cross for the redemption of our race, let it precede me, poor one, in order to make me worthy of the remission of my sins. You, Jesus, who redeemed everyone with Your Blood and bound the mighty with Your death, remove from me the fetters of the evil one, break his fetters and bonds. Forbid him, so that he moves away from me, poor man, and does not fulfill his will on me. Harmonize my will with Your will, O Lord, Who blots out my sins with Your mercy. Do not leave me in the hands of a hater and do not give him power over me, because You have prepared Your Flesh and Blood as food for me, and Your Cross is imprinted on my forehead. Strengthen me, O Lord, for I am weak; make amends for my sins, because I have sinned a lot. Keep my feelings chaste, so that they will follow the royal path with obedience. May Your light shine in my thoughts, may they be illuminated by Your rays, and may Your majestic radiance rejoice them, because You are the illuminating Sun. Cleanse our filth with Your hyssop, Wash our sores with Your Blood, Sanctify with Your Body the innermost movements of our thoughts. The world passes away like nothing, but the final Judgment will remain immutable. Do not drag me to Your righteous Judgment, because everyone alive will not be justified before You. Your lips have spoken to us the promise that you will listen to everyone who calls on you. Behold, I appeal to You, O Lord, as You have commanded, hear me, the guilty one, according to Your promise. Incline Your ear and listen to my voice, Son, who has clothed ourselves in our flesh out of love, and accept my sighs that I bring to You for the indecencies I have committed. Call my thoughts from scattering, wasted by the vanities of this world, and make sure that our spirit lives in another, enduring world. Punish me, Lord, according to Your mercies, so that I may improve. According to the abundance of Your mercy, let me be Your possession; call me from my sinful wandering and number me among the sheep standing at Your right hand. Simon, who called to You from among the waves, You helped him, and the waves did not drown him. And take me, like Simon, from the stormy waves of this world. Praise to You, Who redeemed the lost human race, lifted it up on Your shoulder and brought it to Your Father’s house! Grant me, O Son of the All-Good, what my thoughts strive for, and add to this what is pleasing to Your will. Give me the will to do good and not deviate from Your will. Do not allow me to be a wicked and self-seeking disciple and to break Your commandments. Grant me to be Your faithful disciple, to hate the visible and love the future. Do not allow me to wastefully eat alms and acquire unrighteous wealth for myself through begging. Give me food in the measure that You please, and instead of silver, may I gain the glory that You please. Deliver me from the need to place hope in man and trust in something temporary, which is unreliable. Give me relief, You who save the oppressed and, by the right hand of Your Only Begotten, satisfy the needy. Protect me from those who call on Your name, but destroy themselves by caring for the purse and vagina. Make me worthy to be one of those generous ones who have neither a bag nor a vagina (bag) in this world. Protect me from the thought of walking Your path only for show and deceiving those who see me with my hypocrisy, so that they proclaim me blessed. Grant me that my heart may please Your greatness in secret, and that my right life may glorify You openly. Protect me from those who do not recognize Your good deeds and, using Your gifts, do not glorify Your name. Grant me, in times of satiety and hunger, to praise You, and not to grumble. Do not, Lord, allow me to become like a harlot who, in front of strangers, shows herself to be innocent and chaste. Let the truth be a teacher to me, Thy admirer; May she, both near and far, keep me in chastity. Deliver me from the misfortune of knowing Your law and, knowing Your law, not having the desire to please You. Honor me with a community of simple people who are experienced and wise in the practice of virtue. Deliver me from the hard work of those scribes who beat (broke) all the books and do every vile thing. They give mysterious interpretations, explain high truths; their words are amazing, decisive and beautiful, but their eyes are too weak to get closer to the truth. And I am overcome with fear, because I read, but do not carry out what I read, although I read not out of a desire for glory or out of pride, but I would like to keep my mind from delusions. I read a lot, but I don’t follow through on what I read, I try to acquire knowledge, but I am left behind in business. To my condemnation, I expound the Scripture to others, because I myself have no desire to observe the truth as the Scripture teaches. May those who entered the palace have mercy on me, the unfortunate one, and may they pray to the Lord of the wedding feast for me. Your victory, Righteous Lord! But I voluntarily yielded victory over myself, even in the armor with which You clothed me. I am weak for battle, strengthen me with Your strength. My flesh is weak; strengthen me with Your strength. Help and crush the arrows of the treacherous one, number me, O Mighty One, among the host of Your firstborn. Grant me, Lord, to always be Your property and to do what is pleasing to You without fear. And as soon as I begin to do something good, You, Lord, strengthen me to accomplish this for me. All strength comes from You, Through You the valiant conquer, You raise them to the heights of a good life, Your love strengthens the weak and timid. And my time, Lord, may not pass fruitlessly. I know that I have sinned before You, deliver me from Your Judgment, and since I have not blasphemed You, may Your vengeance not strike me. I plead guilty to the crime, as I am truly guilty; therefore, may Thy goodness have mercy on me, since it is truly merciful. I know that I have sinned, I have sinned against Your will, I clearly see that I have violated Your commandment. I admit that I will come to the Judgment of my own free will; Therefore, I beg Your mercies to justify me. You, who shine “like Your sun... on evil and good” (Matthew 5:45), deign to let Your light shine in my darkened mind. By this light of Thy sins will be expelled - these murderers, like robbers, who have settled in my insides. The evil one does not see any evil in me that does not come from him, for I have become evil from him; however, he was defeated by him of his own free will; The evil one has entangled me, because I myself taught him this. The lazy and timid flee from Your yoke; The careless are put to shame by Your love. Praise be to Your goodness, this mother of teachers, who, no matter how painful their blows, admonishing the stubborn, compassionately give medicine to the repentant! We adore Your Father and Your Spirit, who rejoices at our conversion! By Your grace, calling us, O God, to draw closer to You and not to perish, O Good One, who gave the promise and said: “Call Me, and I will hear you,” I strike at the door of Your goodness, my Deliverer! Hear me, O Good One, according to Your compassions, and do not look at my iniquities. Have mercy on me, according to Your goodness, because I am much guilty before Your truth. You created me, O Lord, you named me in Your image, according to Your goodness; created me in Your likeness. You taught me to know the way to the abode of life and showed me the way to Gehenna. The evil one, out of envy, set hidden ambushes for me, led me away from Your path, and I plunged into abominations. Alas for me, our Lord, I am guilty of much! Have mercy on me, Lord, and save me according to Your grace! The robber, the stealer of souls, maliciously took away my freedom from me, seduced me and abused me. With the gaze of his eyes he seduced and captivated me and put sinful thoughts into me. I looked and wished; looked with curiosity - and sinned. Since my hands were stretched out for a lawless deed, I was completely lost. Alas, now I am threatened by fire! Save me, O Merciful One, so that I may not die. I am more unhappy than all those born, because through my deeds I have made myself unhappy and plunged myself into destruction. Every day I sinned, and I consoled myself with that, and did not think that death lay in wait for me. Alas, the Angel of Death is already close, sent with the command to sing (take) me to Judgment! Alas, everything hidden will be revealed there, and I will be covered in shame! Behold, my deeds are marked by justice, not even a single word is forgotten. In this great book the Judge has my deeds and iniquities written down. Woe to me when justice reads there all the sins that I have committed from my youth to my old age! What should I do at this hour and where should I run from You, Lord? Woe is me, Lord! How much I am guilty of! Alas for me, I sinned and did not repent! God, who had mercy on the sinner, have mercy on me, the poor one, our Lord, so that I may not perish! Instead of the peace that the sinner brought to You, I have Your Flesh and Blood, united with my members. No, our Lord, do not look at my works; May Thy grace blot out my guilt. Your justice is very terrible, O Lord; the ranks of Angels will tremble before him, when the Throne of Your Majesty is prepared; The heavenly armies and Dominions will be horrified when the Angels take the flaming sword and fire is kindled to consume the wicked. Woe to me, our Lord, at that hour! Save me, our Lord, so that I may not die. My thoughts shackled me and plunged me into the snare of the insidious devil. I reassured myself that my thoughts were hidden and not written in this great book by the Judge; but behold, they are all clearly visible before my eyes at the Judgment and are waiting for me there so that I can receive reward for them. Alas for me, our Lord! How afraid I am! The reward for my crimes is Gehenna! My life passed, disappeared, and I didn’t even notice it; she has been stolen from me, and only disaster remains for me. What will I do in this terrible country, engulfed in flames, how will I cross it? I beg you, our Lord, be for me a bridge across the terrible abyss separating both these countries; With you I will cross the places of horror and reach the land of life! Thy right hand, our Lord, which you stretched out to your disciples on the sea so that they would not drown, stretch out this right hand of yours to me, our Lord, take me out of the sea of ​​my sins. May Thy baptism, O Lord, with which Thou hast covered my members, be my protection and salvation there. By Him, my Savior, I will be carried through the waves of terrible flame, and will not be scorched. When I was young, I sinned then, and I was consoled by the fact that I would repent in my old age. But death came, its strong ax cut off my branches, and I had not yet reached old age. There is now no place for repentance, because death puts an end to it. My sins await me before justice. Alas! My crimes will be punished there, my reward will be Gehenna. “Do not enter into judgment” with me, our Lord, “for no one living will be justified before You” (Ps. 143:2). You alone, Lord, are pure. Spare me and cleanse me from sins by Your grace; Grant me, O Merciful One, Thy great bounties, that I may be enriched by them and receive forgiveness, and Thy Angels may rejoice, according to Thy word, O Thou Merciful to sinners. Who will count the sins of my youth that I committed in this deceitful world? Who will know the paths of my youth and be able to depict its paths? You, the Good One, who had mercy on David, the son of Jesse, have mercy on me, a sinner; for behold, I call upon Thee. In You, O Compassionate One, I place my trust; accept me according to the bounty of Your goodness! Fire threatens, O Lord, my members, but within me, my Savior, is hidden your reconciling Blood; Gehenna awaits me for torment, but Your Life-Giving Body is closely united with me. I am clothed in the robe of the Holy Spirit, and will not be scorched. When the river of fire roars, threatening with vengeance, then the fire in me will go out, as soon as the stench of Your Flesh and Blood comes to it. You, our Lord, are the hope of the repentant, You are the friend of all sinners. I beg You, Lord, by Your holy name, do not punish me with Your righteous Judgment. With the love of Your Parent, with the Mother’s womb that bore You, with the spear that opened Your ribs on Golgotha, I beg You: pour out for me the dew of Your mercy, so that I will not languish there with thirst for water. Listen to me, Lord, as you listened to Elijah when he prayed to You. Hear my prayer, O You who are merciful to the repentant, just as You heard the voice of the son of Amathian. Hear and save me like Simon Peter. I have sinned much, but I have not denied Your name. Confess me, our Lord, because I have confessed You, the Source of bounties and mercy. Open to me Your door, O Lord, filled with generosity, just as You opened Your door to a sinner. Receive, Lord, the tears that I bring, and give me water there. I will take you, living water, with me to cool the flame of the fire, for I heard the parable of the rich man who asked for water from his finger. Your cross, Lord, in which I seek refuge, may it be for me a bridge across the great fiery river. Let them pass into the abode of life. I fear three punishments, our Lord: fire, Gehenna, and the undying worm. Oh that fire and flame would be extinguished for me! May Your Body and Your Blood save me! Jonah cried out to You in the depths of the sea and Daniel in the lions' den; Three Jewish youths called you in a furnace kindled by the Chaldeans. You brought Jonah out of the abyss, saved Daniel, and Your mercy watered and extinguished the flame. Have mercy on me, O Lord, and save me, because I confessed You; and, by Thy grace, forgive me my debts. Have mercy on me, our merciful Lord, and according to the multitude of Your compassions blot out my sins. Wash me from the iniquity of my hands, that I may be cleansed, washed from my filth. I know that I have sinned, my sins are always before me and I see them. Before You, only I am guilty and have sinned; be merciful to me, our Lord Jesus. Simon denied You three times, Lord, but he brought You tears, and You accepted him. So I shed tears before You and offer a pure confession as a sacrifice to You. My sins are many; they are innumerable. According to Your compassions, our Lord, forgive me my iniquities, by Your grace blot out the handwriting of my defilements and do not remember, Our Lord, my sins. Praise be to the Lord God, Who does not want the sinner to die! Praise be to You, who has mercy on sinners! Praise be to You, who accepts the repentant! Praise be to You, Jesus, who opens Your door to everyone who strikes it and asks for the remission of sins! Praise be to you, Lord, and to us your bounties! Be merciful to us, our Lord Jesus! You who are engaged in buying, carefully protect your treasures from the robbers of this lying world! His ways are a snare, his intrigues are dangerous. Blessed is he who walks rightly in the light! I saw, my brothers, that boats of souls unexpectedly drowned in this world, as in the sea. For those drowned at sea there is hope that the voice of resurrection will awaken them; but whoever drowns in sins will have resurrection in Gehenna. It is known that we entered the world naked; Oh, if only we could come out of the world naked! We entered the world cleansed by Baptism, but we come out defiled, blackened, covered with all uncleanness; we will appear in the same way at the Judgment. We love the world as something permanent, but it deceives us, forcing us to chase after it. Although our bonds here will soon be dissolved, our mind is still preoccupied with this dirt. Blessed is the Good One, who by force separates us from life. This world is rushing towards its end and we are forced to hurry in order to make room for another, enduring world. Throughout his daily life, he deceives us with his attractiveness, presents us with a lot of amusements and seduces us so much that we consider him eternal. How unfortunate is the end of the world for those who love it! Suddenly they will look for him and will not find him; they will seek the former pleasures, but they are no longer there; they will seek former joys, but they have passed, and love for the world has changed into spiritual repentance. The world daily prepares and offers everyone a poisonous path, suitable only for those going to Gehenna. Blessed is the one who is not borrowed from it, but on the contrary, instead of this bad path, he takes good things for himself on a path from which there is no return. The world is a marketplace in which there is much good and bad; everyone chooses for himself what he likes. He who seeks truth finds no lack in it, and he who gives himself over to untruth finds it too. A person contains both within himself. Blessed and majestic was Adam's dwelling; The place where Lot lived was wicked and bitter. But even in the abode of life Adam died because he wanted to die, and Lot preserved his life among the dead because he wanted to live. Our freedom, of its own free will, becomes both the winner and the vanquished. My days were stolen from me, but I did not notice it, I did not remember how much I had sinned, and I did not repent. The number of my sins exceeds the number of my days. My days have passed, but my sins remain; a day of judgment has been appointed for them, and there will be no end to it. How short is our time! How fast it goes! Our path is short, our march is short. One day from the mother's womb to the grave, one night of rest in the tomb, one morning of resurrection, then - the eternal Judgment. All but the perfect will be clothed there with spiritual contrition. The wicked will grieve because they did not think about the end; sinners because they did not seek salvation in repentance; those who loved the truth will grieve if they did not remain constant, and those who repented if they did not correct themselves in time. When they see the crowns of the victors there, then thousands of them will remember their lives, they will recognize the fullness of bliss of those who labor and are burdened, they will know how excellent their life was, how good and merciful the Lord is to those who honor Him. The evil ones will fall and descend into hell; Gehenna will swallow them up forever; Then they will wish that neither their mother’s womb nor the coffin would give birth to them. Both would be bearable, but in Gehenna it would be painful. The righteous will ascend to spiritual degrees in order to become brothers and relatives on high, because they did not walk in carnal ways, but were also spiritual in the flesh; and for this, together with the spirits, they will enjoy bliss in the Kingdom. A man is born in two worlds, two carry his wombs - the mother’s womb and the coffin; the mother's womb gives birth to labor and illness, and the grave - to Judgment and retribution. And one world passes away, the other remains forever. Blessed is he who succeeds! Truth will open its mouth there to reproach, but all other lips will be stopped and condemned. Truth will be poured out on everyone, but goodness will be taken away. Such a reward awaits the sons of men, such as they never dreamed of. Truth inclines its ear to both thoughts and dispositions, but it distinguishes between thoughts and desires. If I had not wished evil, I would not have done it. It is impossible not to think, but it is possible not to desire, and because I desired, I became criminal. One will be on the right hand, the others will be on the left at the Judgment; both of them will look at each other with sighs and sorrow. Some will ascend to the heights of heaven, while others will fall into the depths of the abyss; the destiny of some is eternal bliss; the lot of others is endless disaster. The voices of each host will roar from their dwellings, to which each one will move according to the merits of his will. The blasphemers will roar in hell, and the righteous will announce the Kingdom with songs of praise and exalt the Bridegroom. The evil ones will lift up their eyes to the good ones, and their grief will deepen when they look at the great glory of the perfect, which they acquired as an inheritance through a short-term struggle, while the evil ones, chasing after the insignificant, became heirs of torment. Oh, may the shadow of Your goodness cover me, may I find protection for myself under its wings, so as not to die. I know that I am indecent, my deeds do not agree with my words. But I beg You, Lord, accept my petition and reconcile with me, the guilty one. Whoever, like me, is tormented and ulcerated by sins and defiled in this world, let him come and give me his hand, and together we will make a mournful cry. But, alas! It is impossible for a sinner like me to be. Look at me, born of women, both righteous and sinners; weep for me, because my sins exceed measure. They are countless and uncountable. Perhaps the Merciful One will hear your prayers for me. Horror overwhelms me, and I come into trembling as soon as I remember how much I sinned and did not feel it. As soon as I remember my sins, which I have committed from youth to old age, I cannot help but cry out with sorrow and say: “Be merciful to me, Lord God!” How great will be the horror of what I have done when I am brought to justice? Alas! If justice demands from me satisfaction for the sins I have committed, what will I do then and where will I hide, Lord? So my life passed in the service of sins, and my days were spent in evil deeds, but I did not think about the Judgment, about the punishment and about the torment that awaits sinners. Have mercy on me, Lord, on the day when the secrets will be revealed. Alas! I sinned in this transitory world, but behold, reward awaits me in the eternal world. Here I desecrated my body with sins, there is retribution for my soul. Therefore, weep and howl for me, you sinners like me. Terrible and terrible is the day of Your Judgment, our Savior, when sinful secrets will be revealed. Therefore, O Lord, I tremble and am filled with horror, for my sins have surpassed the sea. Be merciful to me according to Your bounties, O Good and Compassionate One! I look, Lord, at my sins and lament, seeing their multitude. Alas! How did this happen to me, the guilty one? My tongue speaks beautifully, but my behavior is shameful and despicable. Woe is me on the day when secrets are revealed! My words are very beautiful for others, but my behavior is very despicable. I teach others order in the world, but I myself, unhappy, indulge in passion. I am afraid of the fire that threatens the wicked. All my days passed and disappeared in sins, and not a single day did I serve the truth. As soon as I began to repent with the intention of not sinning again, the evil one came and caught me in his hatred. Woe is me! Because I voluntarily fall into his network. If I go out to walk the streets, I act as a righteous man and a sage. Whenever I see someone else sinning, I laugh and mock him. Alas, alas! My iniquities will be revealed, and I will be put to shame. Oh, I wish I had never been born! Then this transitory world would not have corrupted me, I would not have seen it, I would not have become guilty, I would not have desecrated myself with sins and I would not have been afraid of torture, Judgment and torment. As soon as I made a vow to repent, I return again and fall into the same sins. An hour spent in sin makes me happy, and I still think that I am doing good. Alas for me! Until now I had not thought that Gehenna awaited me. This world is a great light for the righteous, but from the very time I began to exist in it, I walked in darkness, and not once did I dare to spend even one day in this world virtuously, with true repentance. Therefore, I am afraid, for in the next century reward awaits me. I hated the path leading to the abode of life; I have loved the path that leads to hell. Woe to me, woe, when the fire begins to rustle and burn to consume sinners! Where will I run from You then, Lord? Great are the riches and treasures of the righteous, but I voluntarily loved vanity. I dreamed that the riches of this world were imperishable and irreplaceable (eternal), but did not think that only the joys of the next century do not pass away. Sometimes my thoughts soared into the abode of the righteous, then I turned my eyes and looked at the abode of sinners; then he called the first blessed, and complained about the latter, appealed to himself, the unfortunate one, and said: “Alas, what awaits me!” The evil will leads me into sins, and when I sin, I lay the blame on Satan. But woe is me! Because I myself am the cause, the evil one will not force me to sin. I sin of my own free will, so why do I lay the blame on the evil one? I appeal to You, O Good and Merciful One! Accept my prayer, as you accepted the prayer of Simon and the sinner. I did not renounce Your holy name, and although I am more sinful than all people, nevertheless, because I confessed You, and You confess me and have mercy on me, the poor one. Have mercy on me, Merciful to the repentant, forgive me my sins, according to the abundance of Your goodness, accept, Lord, the tears that I bring to You, and cleanse me from sins, as a sinner. I realize that I have sinned; have mercy on me, according to Your mercies. Hear, O Lord, my prayer, by which I implore Thy greatness, blot out my sins with the hyssop of Thy mercy, “and do not enter into judgment” with Thy servants, “for no one living will be justified before You” (Ps. 142:2). “You alone have sinned” (Ps. 50:6). Have mercy on me, our Lord! May my prayer come to You, Lord of all, and may He open the door of heaven for me, may I be accepted into Abraham’s bosom, and may I rest with the righteous who have loved You, and may I sing Your praise with all Your saints. Come, my brothers, let us seek bounty while it is still possible for us to seek bounty. The place of repentance is in this transitory world, and in that imperishable world neither prayers nor tears will be accepted. The sinner, with the tears shed, destroyed the handwriting of her sins. And you, sinner, take with you and bring tears as a gift, sighing, cry out to the Lord - and he will immediately forgive you your debts. Sinful waves rise, and I drown in them every day. I cry to You, filled with compassions, Lord, according to Your compassions, rescue me, drowning, swallowed up by the sea of ​​sins. As a gift to Christ the Lord, bring, repentant, tears and strike yourself on the chest, like that publican (Luke 18:13), who, sighing, prayed and said: “Be merciful,” O Lord, “to me, a sinner,” who has angered You! Behold, His door is open, He is waiting for your return, sinner. Return to your Lord, sinner, leave the path of lewdness, arise and enter the path to the Kingdom. Woe is me! How intolerable is the snare that the evil one, the hater of people, has laid for me! He has entangled my legs with it, and I cannot move from my place. He brought me to poverty and misfortune with the multitude of sins I committed. All my members tremble at the thought of the final Judgment, for I hear that “fire will tempt sinners” (1 Cor. 3:13). Woe to me when he “tempts” me too! Because I have committed countless sins. A sinful ulcer has opened up in you; if you slow down, it will completely destroy you. Your physician is skilled; show Him your ulcer, cry tearfully at His door, awaken His generosity to heal you. O Good One, who gave Himself up to crucifixion and death for us in order to redeem me, deliver the soul of Your servant from his many sins, so that he may lift up a voice of thanksgiving to You, and to Your Father, and to Your Holy Spirit. The sea of ​​sins terrifies me, and my insides tremble with fear. How ungodly I was on earth both in my youth and in my old age! You, who have forgiven the robber, forgive my sins known to You. He gave me the talent of the priesthood, and I, out of laziness, hid it in the ground. Woe to me when He comes and takes it (talent) from my hands! I was a lazy slave, I did not give the silver at interest and did not acquire anything with it. Where can I run from Your face, and where can I hide? My debts are many, my sins have multiplied. Command, Lord, and my debts will be blotted out, and my sins will be forgiven by Your word. Who will heal my weakness if I leave the Physician Christ? Who has such a cure for diseases as He has? O You, who healed the sick, heal my soul, ruined by sins! May Your mercies, O Lord, and Your salvation, descend upon me, as You have promised. Let them help me, and then I will overthrow my enemies, because You are merciful, Savior of all who repent. Strengthen the weak me with Your arm, Most High and Great God. The evil one will be put to shame when he sees that I am ready for battle, he will be ashamed, and in shame he will run away from me, but I will be exalted and glorify You. My evil deeds have made me a stranger to You, Lord. Hear and save me, like the sinner Mary: accept my tears, as you accepted her tears, and forgive me my many sins. He who opens Your door to the repentant, open the door of Your mercies to me too, O Lord, so that I may enter and ask Your forgiveness. You know that my sins have multiplied; You, Lord, be a peacemaker for me. Let Thy Cross, O Lord, be a bridge for me across the land of horrors; let me pass over to Thee and be satisfied with the sight of Thy glory, and glorify the generosity of Thy grace, which has had mercy on me, a foolish sinner. Accept the tears of my misery and fulfill my requests, O Almighty: blot out the handwriting of my debts - this is a consequence of my carelessness. And may the evil one be put to shame when he sees that Your mercy has destroyed my handwriting, and I will no longer be punished. May the abundant bounties of Your grace come to help me, the weak, and with them may I get rid of the insidious hater, so that I can pass (cross) the land of temptation and always be close to You. Hearing the voice of the repentant, listen to the voice of my cry, Lord, accept my repentance, hear my prayer and grant me what I ask from Your treasury, always rich in bounties. The sinful soul will glorify You and Your Father and the Holy Spirit, because it cried and was washed with tears of repentance, and became a church, and the Divinity who created the worlds dwelt in it. You do not bring any benefits to your lovers, the world is a home of sorrows. You seduce all your close associates with treasures and all sorts of pleasures, but on the day of death you cast both the beauty of the beautiful and the strength of the mighty into the grave. Woe to the one who loves you and is loved by you! His joys turn into cries. In this world, this sea of ​​sins, all my days passed in vain. My life passed without benefit for me, I even forgot about the day of death; circled and collected for himself the burden of sins, armfuls (armfuls) of tares destined for burning. And now crying and sighing await me in this land full of horrors! My heart did not think about the bright palace to which I was called, but desired the flame. I left the abode filled with bliss for the abode of death. And now, the day of the Judge, the King of all, who tests the wombs and reveals secrets, is approaching, and I have prepared for myself fire and flame. Water me with Your bounties, O Lord! Because from my youth to my old age I loved you, treacherous world, and the time of my life passed unnoticed for me, and now, in my sins, death snatches me away. Oh, it would be better for me not to enter into you, world that deceives everyone who enters! Those who love you do not enjoy joy, and those who hate you do not cry. Blessed is the one who breaks your snares - he will inherit the palace of joys. This world with its appearance deceives even the wise, because for a while it seems desirable, even lending goods and treasures; but on the day of death he takes them back and rewards them with torment incomparably greater than our sins. He allows you to sin for a short time, but as a reward he gives you eternal darkness. You are righteous, Judge, and Your Court is righteous! Make me worthy of forgiveness, O Lord my God. Only grief from you, the home of sorrows, because you give fire to your lovers as a reward, torment and darkness to your loved ones, sighing and illness to your acquaintances. Your words are deceitful, your community is harmful: you delight as if in a dream, everything you give is bitter. Blessed is he who hates you and is hated by you! He retains the crown of victory. You are righteous and Your judgments are righteous, O Judge, in this everlasting world. The real world hides sinners, and the world reveals the guilty. There people bear fair punishment for their sins; they accept without partiality what is due to everyone. There is darkness prepared for the wicked and unfaltering light for the righteous. I sinned daily in the world and ate in the pastures of vice. Now death comes, entangles me in its net and drags me into the land of the dead. What should I do? My life is over, and I will go to the grave, and there Judgment awaits me. Show me Your bounties on the day of Judgment, O Judge, ready for vengeance! I wandered and wandered on the path of vices, and did not think about the path to eternity; left the path of righteousness and pursued vanity. Alas! Now the day of retribution has come, and my clothes are unclean and vile. May Thy grace protect me on that day from the fire that consumes the wicked. May Your right hand, who created Adam and brought Simon out of the sea, will also bring me out of the waves and rebellions of the world that rises up against me. I am mired in the mud, the waters of the world drown me, and do not allow me to escape and take a breath. May Your cross, Lord, be a rod and support for me on the path that I will go. I am in great fear because I am migrating from life and carrying with me the burden of sins. On the Day of Resurrection they will exact from me according to the handwriting written by justice. Woe to me when a book filled with my crimes is read to me, and my depravities are revealed, and I am condemned! You, Lord, be a light in the darkness for me. Neither wealth nor possessions will accompany me from this temporary home. Just as I entered the world, so I come out of it naked. Naked I came to the monastery of mortals, naked I will go from it to judgment and torment. My friends enjoy my property, but I am already awaiting punishment at the trial. How beautiful the world is! But it is full of death, like a flower that opens in the spring month: it blooms while dew and rain keep it alive; but the heat comes and the color fades. Thus death causes cheeks to fade, and beautifully formed limbs are destroyed in the grave. Grant us, O Lord, refuge and protection in the land where the righteous live. Paradise shines brighter than the sun in this world full of darkness; and our mental eyes are too dark to see into the abode of joys; darkness is spread in the air, and they cannot see on high. Therefore, the sons of the earth always look only at the earth. Light, more radiant than the sun, illuminate me in the darkness of the grave! The world has become a fool in his children. They sin, are restless, overwhelmed by their own worries. How many of them whirl around, not knowing peace, gathering thorns for themselves to burn! Wickedness opens its mouth arrogantly, truth remains silent. Lawlessness flourishes, but the truth is hidden. Only death silences all who enter the world. Blessed is he who has made the journey in it and has not become bogged down! The world is more stormy than the restless waves, more outraged by sins than the sea by the wind. There are times when the waters of the sea are calm—precisely when the winds retreat into their lairs. But in the world the waves of lust are constantly agitated, and the wind of deception blows at the doors of its judges. However, the day is near when it will subside. Blessed is he who has walked in it and has not fallen into its snare! The door is open to the repentant, and there is no time when the Merciful One does not listen to them. He always bends His ear to give us the medicine for the remission of sins. Behold, Lord, we are mired in a sea of ​​evil, and the Judgment is approaching, at which there will be no bounty. Grant us, Lord, to become vigilant in prayer, so that Your door may be opened to our prayer. I let go of my mother’s painful womb, came out of her into the light and brought with me tears and sighs. The world barely saw my childhood, scolded (abused) it and dragged me into its vanities. So I passed from darkness into sinful darkness. Soon death meets me and buries me in darkness; and behold, corruption destroys the body, and darkness is prepared for retribution! I am overcome with fear, because I plunged naked into the sea, which throws out swimmers. I boarded the ship to start shopping and acquire treasures, but the waves rose up against me, and I drowned in the sea. The soul and its acquisitions remain prey to the waves. Naked I went into the sea at the beginning, naked it disgorges me at the end. The lawlessness committed in the world, this abode of sorrows, is agitated and restless. Stronger than the waves, inflamed lusts rage in the world; snares and snares entangle those who serve him; sins and iniquities are their evil burdens. But for the virtuous the time is approaching when their ship will rest in the harbour. Pleasant are your times and summers, O world, but they are like smoke. You are like a flying dream, and your days are like a shadow: your evening passes quickly, and your morning is short, your hours are racing towards the end. Hurry, sinner, to receive forgiveness while daylight shines for you. The court is righteous, and the Judge is righteous; the court of righteousness is righteous: in it the deeds of everyone are weighed and rewarded according to their merits. Those who committed iniquity will be tormented by repentance on this day, and the devotees of virtues in this country will enjoy joy. And I, who wrote this for the benefit, count me among the righteous, O Lord, according to Your goodness. The Son of Jesse writes in the book of Psalms; Having moved and tuned his lantern (flute, pipe), he sings: “Blessed are the blameless” in the way of the Lord, “those who walk in His law” (Ps. 119:1). And our Savior in the Gospel of Life said: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God; “blessed” those who mourn, “for they will be comforted; blessed are those who mourn... for they will rejoice (Matthew 5:8, 4; Luke 6:21). To those who have renounced the world and its vain affairs, who have hated its lusts and abhorred its amusements, the Gospel of Salvation has given the promise of reward - an everlasting palace and endless life. Out of love for their Lord, they left their relatives, parents, wealth and property in this world, for they heard that “blessed are the poor in spirit.” And for this, the heavenly Kingdom awaits them. They made their bodies temples of the Holy Spirit, they conquered lusts with the severity of their lives, they bore the yoke of hard labor; out of love for their Lord they despised their lives. They crucified their souls, nailed their bodies to the cross, and through their asceticism they propitiated their Creator. They saw that the world is transitory, that its pleasures are fleeting, that everything in it for those who possess it is the same as a sleepy dream. Our Lord in His Gospel promises bliss to those who diligently and vigilantly serve Him. To such He extends His right hand, to such He gives a reward, to such He seats such with Him at the table of life. He places crowns on such, and they taste bliss in His palace for the sorrows they suffered with Him from morning to evening. Those who keep His commandments and covenant soar and ascend to the heavenly Jerusalem. The Heavenly Kingdom awaits those who have won the victory in battle and thus become famous. Angels, according to their custom, descend to reinforce the fighters during battle. The spirits strive to meet the victors, call them blessed and say: “Come, you who are weary, rest from your labors; through the patience of suffering you have overcome the evil one.” Paradise opens its gates for them, they move into the abodes of light and rest there. Their light shines like a beautiful sun, their beauty is luminous, like a majestic light. In their songs they cry: “Blessed are You, Son of Kings, who did not refuse a reward to those who served You!” In their mouths is the voice of glorification and praise to the One who strengthened them in battle. The sorrows and suffering that they endured without a murmur prepared for them life in an endless world. The angels marvel at the glory of the earthly (earthly), because they are clothed in glory similar to the glory of spiritual beings. Those who clothed themselves in the humiliation of their Lord are covered with the glory and robe of the Holy Spirit. The Father loves them, and the Son embraces them with love, and the Holy Spirit dwells in their pure bodies. Christ calls to them and says: “Come, you who are persecuted for My name’s sake, enter the palace from which those who are called will never come out.” The righteous, saints and monks flock from everywhere to this voice, full of life. They fly on the clouds to meet the Son of their Lord to receive from Him a reward for their labors. Eyes that have dulled their sight from practicing His law, lips that have been silent in the study of His commandments, enter the Church of the firstborn in heaven and, together with the glorious priests, sing their songs of praise. Their soul delights in joy, their spirit rejoices, and their body is comforted in everlasting life. These suffering and needy people, who, in the hope of the life promised by our Savior, accepted arbitrary poverty, receive undying wealth as an inheritance and possession, and receive as a reward bliss and always joyful joys. The evil one grieves that he did not put stains on their bodies and did not resist in the fight against them. They abhorred gluttony - and loved abstinence, drove away carnal impurity - and loved chastity. They chose suffering for themselves - and hated peace, they put off pride - and put on humility. The hater of humanity is tormented at the sight of them, because they discovered his deceit and broke his fetters. They defeated the enemy and triumphed over him, put him to flight and gained glory for themselves; defeated him - and were exalted; they despised him - and were crowned with glory. He cries out countless times: “Woe, woe is me!” - when he sees that the righteous have defeated his evil tricks. Here, Lord, grant me tears of repentance to atone for the shameful deeds I have done. The sins I have committed are vile; forgive them by Thy grace. Begging, I strike Your door: open Your treasury to me. My deeds, scabs and ulcers are known to You; wash my sins in the sea of ​​Your mercy. I resort to You, Lord; I ask you: “Do not reject the tears that I bring to You.” Until now I have sinned, now I beg: “Show me Your compassions and grant me Your salvation.” It is not characteristic of Your goodness to reject sinners who repent of their sins and return to Your sheepfold. With my lips and tongue I will glorify Your goodness, Friend of the repentant, merciful to sinners! I will preach this to the nations and encourage all sinners like me. Your bounties were revealed to me - through them I received forgiveness. At all times I will proclaim Your praise, O Lord. Pray to your Lord for the one who wrote these pure conversations for you, so that his sins may be forgiven. Why do you, dear and precious soul, make yourself so miserable with your sins and not think about the Day of Judgment? Suddenly, exile will befall you, and you will be tortured for all your evil deeds and vile sins that you have committed in this world. Arise, shed tears and weep bitterly, so as not to cry there in Gehenna. Woe is me, my dear and dear brothers! I have distanced myself from our Lord, my lamp has gone out at the hour of the wedding feast, I have been cast out into utter darkness, I am drowning in the stench of iniquities and sins, I have become an abomination to the Angels and a friend of Satan. Woe to me when the truth sits and begins to judge me, because then I will be put to shame along with the devil! Behold, the mountains, the valleys, and the hills weep for me, because I do not turn. The rocks weep and weep bitterly for me with great sorrow. And may this cause us to groan and weep, like the bitterly wept Prophet Jeremiah. Alas, everything is immersed in lamentation and crying about my bitter misfortune! Let all the hills weep for me, because I am deprived of every good thing. All my life I had to seek refuge in the words of the Holy Spirit, but the enemy kept me from this by my evil will, I fulfilled his will and walked the path of vice, and, what’s even worse, I walked from my youth. And he would immediately leave me if I wanted. Woe is me, my beloved friends! I loved evil, and now, poor thing, I have become a horror to everyone who sees me. I ask, and no one gives it to me. I will lament immensely, weep unceasingly, shed tears for myself in grief and sorrow, because I have become a dwelling place of evil, and there is no good in me. All the saints and righteous expected me to join them, but I did not shed tears for my sins, of which I have had many since my youth. Weep for me, all you chaste and holy ones; because I have moved away from the palace of joys. Weep all over me, my brethren, because I have been torn away from your love. Behold, the rocks in which I hid are shedding tears for me, my beloved brethren, for they see that I have renounced the pursuits and labors of the pious. When they lamented about me, they shuddered and shook with a great crash, because I had not prepared for myself the path to eternity, and my stony heart, hardened since youth, remains insensitive. Woe to me when the truth pronounces a terrible sentence on me! For behold, my life suddenly disappears, and there are no bounties; here they are only fully offered to everyone who, with tears and contrition, begs for forgiveness of sins. Here they give life and bliss to everyone who repents. How sorrowful is the day of the sinner, my dear and dear brethren! No mouth, no tongue can express what kind of judgment awaits him. But if he wakes up, turns his gaze to himself and begins to cry with sighs, sorrow and illness, then he will enjoy bliss in the palace of joy and will not be condemned. Blessed is he who corrected himself through repentance and with his life appeased our Lord! If he moves to that country, he will rest in the Kingdom, in the haven of the saints, and will be freed from judgment and the terrible, terrifying torment that awaits Satan, whose condemnation is endless. Blessed is he who never hears about it! Blessed is the one who constantly looks with tears at his iniquities and does not delight in the thought of those nasty sins that he has committed in this world! He will enter the palace of joys and enjoy bliss there with the hosts of all the righteous and saints in the new, eternal world, at that wedding supper, which those called to it never abandon. But woe to me, beloved! I have become hardened (hardened) in many evils. I have such a cruel, stony heart that I have forgotten the Day of Judgment, on which there is no place for either generosity or remission of sins, and the tears of a sigher are not accepted. Woe to me when I appear before this truth! For I know what I have done. When You, our Lord, saw that I had lost Your glory, Your love did not tolerate this. You came down through Your birth, Your suffering, and through Your death on the Cross you delivered me from Satan. But behold, I sinned, angered You, insulted Your name with the iniquities, sins and atrocities I committed. Woe is me! I was unjust and ungrateful, and I defiled myself with many evil deeds. I cried and shed bitter tears when I came to my thoughts. It transported me, beloved, into the fire, led me into a land of horror, carried me into a terrible and terrible abyss, plunged me into flames, plunged me into darkness; my heart felt this, and I wept with fear and horror at the thought of this exile. Carried away by my thoughts, I looked at the dwellings of darkness, and saw, to my right and left, the abodes of all the saints. Then, with sobs and tears, grieving and sick, I condemned myself and bitterly exclaimed: “Woe is me, woe, extreme woe! What has righteousness prepared for me? I woke up from sleep in horror, but did not get rid of the torment. I tore my clothes, cried and sobbed. What happened to me, poor man? I will open my head, like a harlot, I will confess my sins, I will beg with sighs, I will turn my eyes to the fountains of tears to mourn myself, the unfortunate one. I will go to tax collectors like me, I will go to sinners who have repented, I will awaken my sleeping heart, worn out in many evils, I will join them, I will become like them, like them, I will begin to weep for the sins I have committed, so as not to come to God’s Judgment and not to suffer in the abyss of Gehenna. Grant me, O Lord, to love Your love, in which the saints and the righteous find consolation, and not to love anything alien to You, O God, who is kind to the repentant, who loves the sinner who wets his face with tears and bitterly mourns his crime. Grant me, O Lord, that blessed end which is prepared for all the saints. Thy love, O God, moved Thee, according to Thy goodness, to create me from dust. You adorned me with Your heavenly beauties, but I forgot You, listened to Satan and from the great longed-for bliss fell into the abyss of stench and sinful mire. Woe is me! I did not know how to appreciate my glory; and behold, I am reserved for the pitch darkness. I adjure You, O Lord, by Your cross: do not crush me for my iniquities, lest I stand before Your greatness in shame and trembling with fear. Grant me, our Lord, forgiveness of sins, cleanse me of filth, like the son of Jesse. I conjure You on the day on which You were nailed to the cross: be merciful to me and cleanse me, according to Your grace. The Cherubim do not know what the Power to which they serve as a throne is likened; It is far from their sight, although they carry It on themselves. Blessed is the Power Whose throne they serve! Let the spirits who draw Your chariot praise You, and let men praise You together with Mary, Your Mother. Let all those on high and below unanimously sing praises to You! The martyrs rose up and stood firm in battle. They gave themselves up to death for the sake of the Son of their Lord, they hated the temporary transitory life in the hope of what was promised to them in heaven, therefore they were not afraid of torment or sorrow, they despised suffering and bitter torment; and they are destined for an endless life, a palace of unflickering light. Generations and generations of people have turned into dust and ashes and are waiting for the voice of resurrection, so that You will resurrect their dead bodies glorified, because they put on You in Baptism, ate Your Body and drank Your Life-giving Blood. May they, Lord, stand at Your right hand, and together with the Angels may they enjoy bliss in Eden! Grant me, Lord, when I am awake, to stand before You clean, my Redeemer, and when I sleep, to experience sleep without sin. If, while awake, I commit iniquity, may I be cleansed by Thy grace, O Lord, and if I sin while sleeping, may Thy mercy be my cleansing. By the cross of Thy humiliation, make my sleep serene, protect me from restless sleepy dreams and from unclean ideas of the imagination, grant me to spend the whole night in peaceful sleep, and may evil and vicious thoughts not prevail over me. With Your life-giving Body, Which I have eaten, protect me from unclean lust, so that I may lie down and sleep in peace. Let Your blood protect me. And grant to my soul, which is Your image, the freedom that is fitting for Your image, and may Your right hand cover my body, created by Your hands. Cover me with the wall of Your bounty, like a defensive shield, and when my body rests and sleeps, let Your goodness be my guard, so that the evil one does not approach my bed. Through the intercession of the Mother who gave birth to You, the sacrifice that You made for everyone, I beg: “Drive away Satan so that he does not disturb me.” On me, Lord, fulfill Your promise and protect my life with Your Cross. I will praise You upon my awakening, because You showed Your love to me, the poor one. And those who sleep, those who rest in peace, those who are awake, protected by Thy armor, give praise to Thee, the ever-living Guardian, who aroused me to Thy praise! Take our incense and be merciful to Your people. Do not reproach us, O Merciful One, and do not be angry with us because we have sinned much before You. May Your generosity move You from us poor sinners to accept the incense and our prayers, like Aaron’s incense. And the dignity of the priests who serve You before the holy altar will be exalted like Aaron's. I am mired, Lord, in a sea of ​​iniquities and sins, I fell into the fetters and snares of the evil one, I strayed from Your path. I suffer a lot, Lord, and am greatly oppressed, I have no helper, no one to deliver me from evil passions. I cry to You now, Lord, as Simon from the waves called to You for help. You listened to him with Your mighty power. Listen to me, as you listened to him, take me out of the sea of ​​iniquities and sins that I have committed, save me from Gehenna and from the undying worm. Then I will glorify Your grace, Son of God, who descended for our salvation. I tremble for the custom of this evil world; My bones shake and tremble at the thought of the fire that awaits those who love the world. I sigh and weep bitterly over my past and vanished life and please all the virtuous. May Your own bounties appease You for the iniquities I have committed, and may my defilements not turn into shame for me before the terrible throne of the Judge. Have mercy on me and be merciful to me, Son of God, who condescended for our salvation. Woe is me, my brothers! My days passed, and my spirit was bound by the pleasures of this evil world, and I did not think about the terrible and terrible day on which the Firstborn would appear, and the Guardians and other Angels would come with him. Everyone will then stand before Him with trembling and give Him an account of everything that they have done in this evil world. What answer will I give for myself when they ask me there about everything that I did secretly and openly? May Your life-giving Body and Your cleansing Blood, which I received from the hands of the priests, be sufficient for me, O Lord, for Thy propitiation. Nothing - this world and all its riches and possessions, and all the attractive charm of its vain goods. The world passes away, its power ceases, its pleasures disappear and for the possessor it is the same as a sleepy dream. Let us think, my brothers, about death, which is sudden, about the judgment and torment that will finally befall those who do evil. While there is still time, let us cry with sorrow: have mercy on us, according to Your mercies, O Good One, and be merciful to us at the judgment of righteousness. Forgive us all our sins, Son of God, who came down for our salvation. On the day when the Son of the Kings appears in glory and comes on the clouds of heaven to resurrect the dead, - on that day the Angels will descend to those imprisoned in the tombs - and the trumpets will sound; everyone will hear, in the twinkling of an eye they will awaken and rise (resurrect) incorruptible. The throne will be prepared, the Judge will sit and separate the good from the evil: the evil into the fire, and the good into the Kingdom. In this world, my brothers, let us beg for bounties, so that we may find bounties in that eternal world, and inherit the Kingdom there, and at the meeting of the Judge, go out with a cheerful face, and sing songs of praise to Him with all those who have pleased Him. Thy lips, our Lord, have promised and spoken: “Call, and I will hear; strike the door, and it will open” (Matthew 7:7). Like a sinner, we cry to You: according to the abundant bounties of Your mercy, forgive us our debts and sins. Like this publican, we beg You, and like a son who squandered his property, we cry out to You with spiritual repentance: “those who have sinned in heaven and before You,” Lord. Receive us, as You promised, and may the Guardian Angels and Archangels rejoice. You, who accepted the repentance of Simon, accept the repentance of Your servants and have mercy on us. Come, sinner, who has sinned before the Lord, come to Him with spiritual repentance - and He will forgive you your debts and sins. Shed tears at the Doctor's door, beg Him with sighs, show Him the scabs that are on Your soul. Guard your tongue from all evil, and let not your lips, which were made for praise, utter a blasphemous word. Forgive your brother if he sinned against you, and Christ will forgive you, as He promised, according to His mercy. Have mercy on us, O Lord, our Lord, and forgive us our debts and sins, and make us worthy of Your palace. Why do you allow the transitory world to deceive you, mortal man, and why do you fall into such confusion and torment yourself with vain labor? He flatters you and encourages you to gather more and more wealth; when the end comes, the wealth will leave you, and you will not use it at all. Think, O man, about the hour of your separation and remember that rich man who wished for himself one drop of water. While you are still alive, lavish on the poor - and Christ, according to His promise, will reward you both in this and in the next world: “blesseds of mercy, for these will be shown mercy” by God on the day of the Resurrection. Sow alms into the hands of the poor and wait for the resurrection; then you will come and reap the handles of joy. Forgive our debts, according to Your goodness, Son of God, who descended for our salvation. The day of the end is approaching and is ready to open, on which King Christ will come, and with Him will come hosts of Angels. He directs His procession to the mountain of the Jebusites, and with His mania He commands the Angels to gather the human race. The throne is set, the Judge is seated, all the tribes come to receive judgment according to their deeds. Have mercy on us, Lord, and according to the generosity of Your goodness, forgive us our debts and sins. Where will I go, where will I hide at Your coming, O Lover of Mankind? And the height, and the depth, and the seas - everything is filled with You. I come running to You, like that sick woman who touched the hem of Your robe and was healed of her illness by Your robe. Since I also seek refuge at Your Life-giving Cross, may I be delivered from the fire by it and may I inherit the Kingdom. Before my sins preceded me to the Judgment and put me to shame before the Judge, have mercy on me, O Lord, filled with generosity. Before You closed Your door for me, Son of God, and I became food for the unquenchable fire in Gehenna, have mercy on me. Before the wheel of time made its revolution at the well, and the “water bearer” was broken at the fountain of all nations (Eccl. 12:6), have mercy. Before the hypocrites said: Lord our Lord, and You answered them: “We do not know you,” have mercy. Before the armies went out, preceding the Son of the King, to gather our poor race to the throne of the Judge, have mercy. Before the dust returned to the earth, it became rotten, and all the features of its beauty decayed, have mercy. Before the wind of death blew on me like on a tree, and before illnesses appeared in my body, foreshadowing the near end, have mercy. Before the majestic sun dims in height, may Your light shine for me from above and may it dispel the terrible darkness of my mind, have mercy. Before the trumpet sounds before Your coming, O our Lord Jesus, have mercy on Your servants who supplicate You and have mercy. Fear, sinner, the Judgment and the torment of Gehenna. Here ask for forgiveness of your sins and beg your Lord for your deliverance. Before your departure, attract generosity to yourself, so that death does not plunge you into destruction. It will be a terrible sight when the Judge demands an account from free will. Whoever says about himself: “I am pure,” makes himself worthy of condemnation. But whoever confesses with his mouth that he is guilty receives bounties from the Judge. Great woe to the lazy man, who buried both his silver and his interest in the ground! Trembling will take over the soul when they ask her about what she has done. She will look at her brothers and friends at the trial to see if they have come and are helping her. He will no longer think about wealth, about a name, about luxury, about fun. He will call the one unfortunate who in this world acquired for himself more than he needed. How cruel, my brothers, is the separation that God will make on the day of testing! Where should I run from grief? Where to look for refuge and help? What should I, a condemned man, do, because I myself am the cause of my death! What eye, what mind is capable of looking at this cruel fire? Satan, this seducer, has seduced me into this mortal world. Do not cast me, Lord, into Gehenna along with the wicked and evil. Beautiful and glorious is the Kingdom that You have prepared for Your chosen ones, O Merciful One! May Thy cross, our Lord, serve as a bridge for me to cross to the right land. Grant me, O Lord, to enter the palace together with the first of the disciples, the son of Jonah, to whom You entrusted for safekeeping the precious key of the Heavenly Kingdom. Pray for me, twelve apostles, pray for me, prophets and martyrs! Praise to You, Giver of Life! I sing Your praises, O Merciful One! Merciful to sinners, be merciful to us on the day of Judgment, forgive us our debts, according to Your mercy, and on the day of Your appearance make us worthy of Your palace. When the hosts of those judged tremble before Justice and stand naked in fear, then, my Judge, have mercy on me, because I praised You. When the lips of the wise are blocked there and the powerful and terrible scepter of the Judge threatens, then let my mouth be opened, O Lord, because I have confessed Thee. When neither friend nor acquaintance will save, but everyone will be drawn naked to account, then, Lord, be my intercessor, because I have trusted in You. When the fire roars and the tribes tremble, and everyone who is not gold is consumed by the flames, then sprinkle me with the dew of Your mercy, so that I will not be burned. When trembling falls on the wicked like me, and the fire reveals sinners with its power, then, Lord, be my helper and save me. When the voice of the trumpet roars, the tribes tremble, and everyone comes to receive reward for their labors, then, Lord, be my intercessor, because I resort to You. When the sea of ​​testing fire boils, and he who has a fragile boat is drowned in the waves, then, together with the righteous, may I rest, O Lord, in Your harbor. When the goats are separated and placed there on the left side, and the sheep on the right hand, so that they can feed in Paradise, then grant me, along with Your sheep, to enter into Your sheepfold. Accept our service, Lord of the high and Hope of the low, and have mercy on us. Be merciful to us, Lord; be merciful to our parents. Be merciful to us, Lord; be merciful to our teachers. Be merciful to us, Lord; be merciful to our comrades. Be merciful to us, Lord; and give rest to our departed, and to all the dead who confessed You, believed in You, ate Your Flesh and drank Your Life-giving Blood. Grant us, together with Your sheep, to enter into Your sheepfold and, together with Your saints, to give due praise to Your greatness forever and ever. May your gates open, heavenly Jerusalem, may our prayers come to the throne of Christ, and may our petitions beg for mercy and forgiveness! Through the intercession of the one who gave birth to You and all Your saints, accept our service, and have mercy on us, and rest in the palace of joys for all who have ended their lives in trust in You. With the incense that Aaron, the Levitical priest brought to You in the camp of Israel, You were propitiated, O Lord; and the rod of wrath departed from the people who insulted Your name (Num. 16:47-48). The censer, to You, Lord of all, now offered by Your servants, may it be pleasing and pleasing to Your Divinity, may Your flock be purified with it, singing praise to the hidden name of Your greatness! I remembered my defilements and shuddered; I was seized with horror, because torment awaits me on the day of righteous Judgment, when the Judge of all worlds will sit on His throne, and the guilty will appear there for judgment with all their guilt. Have mercy on me, All-Merciful! Let not Thy righteousness condemn me, O Lord; Be, O Lord, a merciful intercessor for me, a criminal, so that I may praise Your goodness. Terrible is Your Judgment, terrible is Your punishment, Lord of all creation! Who will be able to endure when You sit on Your throne, when the sound of the horn thunders in the heights, and the terrible trumpet makes its voice? On that day may heaven and earth and all that is in them offer up prayer with us; and Your Flesh, which You gave us as food, and Your Baptism, with which You clothed us, may they protect us at the Judgment and may they deliver us from the torment of Gehenna! The voice of our prayer strikes Your door, O Merciful One. Do not refuse those who honor You to ask for what is necessary for them. The sinner cried out to You with tears, and received from You forgiveness of her debts. For the sake of the tears shed by the priests of Your flock, spare Your Church, redeemed by You. We know that we have sinned, and our iniquities are multiplying daily. According to Your mercy, have mercy on us, O Son of the Good, and with Your hyssop cleanse us from all sinful filth. David begged You after he fell into sin, and You forgave his sin. Behold, Your Church begs You. Good Shepherd, have mercy on her. Your lips have spoken a promise, saying: Call, and I will hear. Behold, we cry to You, as You taught us, hear us according to Your promise. Incline Your ear, according to Your compassions, and hear the voice of our cry; from Your treasury grant us mercy and bounty, forgive us debts and sins. Great fear strikes me, Lord, at the grief that befell the lazy servant, and I tremble greatly at this sentence: “Depart from Me into utter darkness.” Vouchsafe me to hear the joyful voice that calls and says: come “good and faithful servant... enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matthew 25:21). In that terrible hour, when the good and the evil are separated, grant me, O our Lord, Thy palace, so that together with Thy righteous I may sing the praise of Thy goodness. Blessed Paul, in one letter to the Holy Church, wrote: “the night has passed away, and the day has come” (Rom. 13:12). This world is passing away, another, imperishable one is close, in which secrets will be revealed, terrible books will be unraveled, a Judge will sit, separate the good and the evil: he will give the good a Kingdom to possess, and the evil ones will be plunged into utter darkness. I long to turn from my sins, but I find it difficult, because my sins prevail, and the enemy daily raises a battle against me, does not give me rest, does not cease to attack me, for he wants to catch me in his net. According to Your mercy, have mercy on me, the lost one, O Christ, merciful to sinners, deliver and save me from the evil one who is at war with us; Protect me with Your cross, O Lord, so that I may be saved, praise and glorify Your name. Accept, our Lord, our service, may our prayers propitiate You, do not turn Your face away from us, O Good One, rich in Your bounties. Bring Thy peace and Thy silence, O Lord God, to all the ends of the earth, protect the Holy Church and her children from all schisms and disagreements, forgive, by Thy grace, the sins and transgressions of Thy servants, so that we may sing praise to You, and to the Father who sent You, and praise to the Holy Spirit. According to Your goodness, O Lord, have mercy on those You have redeemed, for behold, Your wrath, like grapes in a winepress, crushes us for our crimes. For the sake of the suffering that You have endured for us, do not leave us, O Merciful One; and if we have sinned before You through our deeds, turn us to repentance. You gave us Your Flesh for food and Life-giving Blood for drink, You united with us and united us with Yourself. According to Your compassions, have mercy on us and forgive us our sins. When the throne for the Judgment is prepared and all nations are judged, when the Judge speaks, and the high ranks tremble before Him, when He demands an account of sins, and horror seizes sinners, then may my poverty move me to Your mercy, O Lord, blessed Son of Mary. When the truth commands that everyone should appear with their deeds, when the Angels hasten to separate the good and the evil, then do not deny us, O God, because we also did not deny You who were crucified. Confess us, because we also confessed You and put on You in baptism. We have heard from You, O Merciful One, that “everyone who asks is accepted” (Matthew 7:8). Do not turn Your face away from us because we beseech You late. He who does not reject sinners, but rejoices at their conversion, and, by Thy mercy, turn us to repentance and have mercy! Praise be to You for Your goodness, and praise for Your righteousness! For through Your mercies sinners received salvation, and Your death made them repentant. Praise be to You from the righteous, because You are propitiated by their prayers! And to You there is praise from sinners, because You rejoice at their repentance! Lord, Defender, Savior and refuge of the people You redeemed, protect us from everything harmful, and protect our lives with the sign of Your Cross. Be a help to Your servants, help our weakness and grant us the strength to please You with righteous deeds, keep all Your commandments and inherit Your Kingdom! Our Lord Jesus, with groaning, as David taught me, I cry to You, “Have mercy on me, O God,” wash me from the iniquity of my hands, for I have sinned much and angered You, but You do not want to be angry with me, because You are merciful, and Your grace is imperturbable. According to the love of Your Father and Your Spirit, forgive me everything in which I have sinned before You. I wander, unfortunate, far from a hundredfold number of good sheep, because the evil one, out of envy, kidnapped me and dragged me into the impenetrable wilderness. Come and seek me, Good Shepherd, carry me on Your shoulders, so that all those on high, and the hosts of Angels, and the Church with all their children, will rejoice and rejoice over me when You return me to Your sheepfold. May I not, our Lord, wander far from You through the multitude of my sins. It is usual for Thy mercy, O Most Merciful One, to restore to Thyself the lost. Accept the repentance of Thy servant, who pleads with Thy greatness. And because the sea is filled with Your goodness, forgive me my iniquities and, like the thief who confessed You, remember me at Your coming. Let us turn to repentance, with contrition we will beg for bounties, while there is still time to beg, before the day of Judgment comes, on which the most bitter tears will not be accepted. The door of God is still open, and if anyone strikes it with contrition, then bounty is ready for him; he will be delivered from torment and will not be condemned on the day on which everyone receives his reward. Whom should we beg for bounties and remission of sins, except You, the Lord of all? Open Your door, according to Your promise, listen to the voice and lamentation of sinners; do not turn Your gaze away from us, but fulfill our requests, according to Your mercies, O merciful Lord; and when the Throne of the Judgment Seat is set, then place us with the pious and righteous at Your right hand. On that morning, when the trumpet will sound and the sound of the horn will be heard, when You, the Son of God, will appear on bright clouds, and the Throne of the Righteous Judgment will be set, and all that is hidden will be revealed before Your Majesty, then confess us, Lord, because we have confessed You, and according to the bounty of Your goodness, spare us, so that with all those who are well-pleasing to Your glory, we too will enter the palace. Yours. To You, our Lord, the Church cries out with sorrow and tears for her children, because they are oppressed by all kinds of needs. Here are famines, pestilences, heavy scourges, oppression from persecutors tormenting her children. May Your goodness appear, O Lord; Send Your salvation to those who honor You, and all nations will give You praise and praise. If anyone places his hope in this world, then his hope is in vain, because even if he does not hope, his end will befall him. Then, at the hour of his departure, he will remember his sins, and the eyelids of his eyes will tremble, because he will bring to his memory his shameful deeds. You, God, are above all sin; Thou sparest us according to the bounties of Thy goodness, and have mercy on us for the sake of Thy Body, which Thou hast given us for food. Spare me according to Your goodness, Son of God, when You judge the hidden things of all people. Do not remind me of the sins that I have committed before You, but remember me, our Lord, according to the multitude of Your mercies. Do not count me among the workers of iniquity and those who act evilly, but, according to the bounties of Your goodness, spare me and be merciful to me. Behold, Your Church asks You, Son of God, Your flock implores You, true Shepherd. Accept the service and prayers of the Church that bring to Your greatness, and be merciful to her children. Save her, Lord, from every calamity, because she honors Your life-giving Cross and unceasingly proclaims Your praise, Lord. How can I repay You for my many iniquities, O Judge, who does not accept anyone’s gifts? I have heard that the tears of your eyes are more pleasing to You than gold and silver and precious stones. Accept, O Lord, the tears of my eyes, that the words of my prayer may be pleasing to You, and, according to the generosity of Your goodness, forgive me my debts. At Thy Judgment, O Judge of Judges, may I not bow my head because of my debts, because I have sinned and angered You. If I am unworthy of forgiveness, then spare me for the sake of Your Body and for the sake of Your Blood, Which are hidden in me. I love You, I honor Your Cross, I joyfully eat Your Flesh and Blood. Therefore, be merciful to me and forgive me my debts and sins. There is no partiality at Thy Judgment, our Lord; therefore I am in great fear, for I am a sinner. When terrible books are opened, and justice reads my guilt, then have mercy on me, according to Your goodness. Let this Thy goodness implore Thy righteousness, so that I, the guilty one, may receive mercy; and then, together with the righteous who love You, I will proclaim Your praise, O Lord. Turn back from your path, sinner, do not take a single step forward on it, because the path of destruction is wide and vast. Look at David, who killed the lion and the bear; come in and see how he confesses his sin with contrition. And you cry out and say, as David said: “To You alone,” O Lord, “I have committed sins and evil before You”: have mercy on me (Ps. 50:6). That wise creator (builder) who in this transitory world knows how to firmly build (create) himself, so that his building is protected from floods and waves, his foundations are established on solid stone (Matthew 7:24-25). And brothers deceive, and friends tell lies, as it is written (Jer.9:4). Have mercy on us, O Christ, the cornerstone of the building. Of those who enter Your house, no one returns with anything but meager faith. Zacchaeus brought You into his home with faith, and the thief on the Cross received from You the key of the Kingdom. Behold, Your Church stands at Your doors and offers prayers as a sacrifice to You; accept, O Good One, her prayer and fulfill her request. Accept, O our Lord, our service and our prayers, and from the treasury of Your bounties grant us the fulfillment of all our petitions; Do not turn Your face away from us who beseech You, and have mercy on us who have angered You, O Good and Merciful One, hold back the scourges that crush us, may Your peace reign in us, may we rejoice and sing your praise, O Merciful One. It is not characteristic of You, good Lord, to turn Your face away from sinners who cry out to You and beat on Your door. When the righteous of previous generations besought You, then the bounties of Your goodness were revealed, and You accepted their repentance. May Your grace, Lord, atone for our malice, because our unrighteousness is great. You are good, but we are evil; have mercy on us. The time in which we are spinning is brief and belittled, but the excitement that has taken possession of us is cruel and strong. We do not abandon bad deeds for a single day; in our hearts we have only thoughts of shameful things. We have no concern for what is good, but criminal passions live in us. Save us, O Christ, according to Thy mercy; have mercy and mercy on us. Priest Aaron brought the censer to You in the Israeli camp - and the plague stopped. May the censer, even now brought to You by Your worshipers, pacify Your Divinity and reconcile with Your people. Grant, O Lord, forgiveness of sins to sinners who resort to Your name, accept our censer and our prayers; have mercy and mercy on us. Let us sanctify our souls, pure and immaculate priests, and let us offer an undefiled censer to the Most High Lord, and let us continually beseech Him to graciously accept our censer, as from the priest Aaron and from the praiseworthy Zechariah, so that He may blot out the guilt of His flock, the children of His chosen and Holy Church, and so that He will cleanse the sins of the dead who rest in trust in Him. Thanks be to the Good One, who freed our race from slavery to the devil and death and reconciled us with the hosts on high, who were angry with us for our unrighteousness! Blessed is the Merciful One, who sought us out when we did not seek Him, rejoiced at our salvation, and in the parable of the lost sheep presented an image of how we wandered and were brought back! The Heir and Son cried out and returned our lost nature, died and rose again, and with our repentance and return brought joy to the hosts of spirits. The great love that the Lover of Mankind showed is indescribable, for from our family He took an Intercessor and through Him reconciled the world with His greatness. God performed a great new miracle for us and for all creation in our humanity. For He has made our body a church, to fill it with that which is venerable to all. Come, earthly and heavenly, marvel and be amazed at the greatness of the dignity, because our race is elevated to the excessive heights of an unattainable deity. Let heaven and earth and all that is on them praise with us the One who exalted our race, because He renewed His image in us, blotted out our sins, gave us His name and subjected everything to us. He who exalted us above all is worthy of all glorification from those who honor Him. Let us all sing praises with one accord to Him and to the Father who sent Him and to the Holy Spirit. On this day, the first-born of days, let us offer the firstfruits of praise to the First-Begotten, Who has no beginning and Who will have no end. As Zion cried out three times: “Crucify, crucify the Nazarene,” so let the pagans in the church cry out to Him three times: “Holy, Holy, Holy.” Blessed is He who humbled Himself, according to His good pleasure, and betrothed the Holy Church to Himself! Your light, our Lord Jesus, has shone over creation and dispelled the darkness of error. Let Your light shine now in our souls, Jesus, our King, True Light, deliver us from all harmful and disturbing thoughts that confuse the soul. Then with a pure mind we will praise You, Son of the hidden Father, for You are the True Light. Come, soul, let us go together to beg the One who is angry with us. By the fact that you, soul, are separated from me, we will not escape the Last Judgment. Great is the debt that burdens us, and you, soul, must participate in paying it. Don't be afraid; although the judgment is cruel, do not renounce me. Don’t you know that together we angered Him? Who does not weep with immeasurable sorrow at the thought of the upcoming Judgment, about the account that the formidable and inexorable Judge will demand there, about bitter despair, about tears shed to no avail, because there is no one listening to them, about the terrible sentence of the Judge when He says: “Depart from Me, cursed into the fire!” The spiritual paradise is the Church, in which the tree of life is the holy altar of reconciliation, exuding life to the faithful who have loved life. So, get rich, enjoy the gifts that the Father has prepared for you, and all cry out with one accord: praise to the Good One, who, out of His love, broke His Body for us so that we could enjoy it! Adam is overcome by the charm of the evil one. Like courageous fighters, stand up, you children of Adam, and avenge your father, who lost his beauty in the paradise of Eden, stretch out your hand to him, raise him up, defeat and overthrow Satan, who seduced our race, crush his head by the power of our Lord. We will defeat all his intrigues, we will turn all his tricks into nothing. Praise be to the Good One, who has glorified and magnified the first day of the week in all corners of the world! In the beginning was the first day on which the heavens and the earth were created. On this day our Lord rose from the grave with strength, might and might. On this day, the Holy Church is decorated with sacred sculptures by the priests serving in it. On this day, at the end, the Lord will appear on a fiery chariot, the heavenly King will move and emerge from His Divine abodes, and the King Christ will direct His procession to the Mount of Jebusites, which is Jerusalem. He will plant His Cross on Adam’s tomb, where the Jews planted it. He will shout with His voice - and the stones will disintegrate, the dead will rise from their graves. Then the earth will become invisible and unsettled, as it was in the beginning. The King will command His armies to bring the people to account, to reward them according to their deeds; and in the blink of an eye, from all corners of the world they will gather the dust of man, so that it may appear for judgment, testing, reporting and examination. He will call the righteous into the Kingdom, but He will cast the wicked into Gehenna. The wicked in their deeds are like a blind eye in which there is no light. They hurry, knock on the door, and beg with tears: “Lord, our Lord, open Thy door to us.” But the Lord answers them: “go... curses... we know you not” (Matthew 25:41;12). We persistently ask You, our Lord, to pour out Your bounties on us, the guilty, when all tribes need the remission of sins. This world quickly passes away, and its beauty disappears along with everything that is in the world. Therefore, be sober; ask, beg for bounties while there is still time for repentance. Until the Angel of Death overtakes us and takes us out of this world, every morning we will all together offer praise to You, O Most Merciful One; Let us at all times offer praise to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. On my bed I thought about You, Lover of Mankind, and at midnight I rose to glorify Your goodness. He brought to mind his debts and sins and shed streams of tears. I was encouraged by the thief, the publican, Mary the sinner, the Canaanite woman who also had blood, and the Samaritan woman at the well of water. They told me: “Arise, beg for bounties; Your Lord is full of bounties." David, the son of Jesse, cried out to me in his psalms, awakened me from the sleep that burdened my limbs, and said to me: “Arise,” O man, “What are you writing off?” (Ps.43:24). The judge accepts the gifts at midnight. Arise, pray and ask for forgiveness. The merciful Lord will rejoice in You. His door is open day and night to those who repent. At night, resting on my bed, I brought to mind my debts and sins, then horror seized me, and I cried out: “Alas! A terrible night is already approaching and darkness devoid of all light.” Whoever has a lawless life will not rejoice on the Day of Resurrection, but will remain in darkness until the end. And David stayed awake at night on his bed, thinking about his iniquity and confessing his sin. At night he wet his bed with the tears of his eyes, and with sighs he begged and said: “my iniquity,” our Lord, “I know it, and I will take away my sin before me.” “To you,” O Lord, “who alone have sinned”: have mercy on me (Ps. 50:5–6). We cry to You, Lord: come to our help, for behold, the evil one has thrown the world into confusion with his deceit. His sword rages among kings, judges are troubled, and, if it were possible, he would tempt even the elect without mercy. Therefore, we ask You, God, we beseech You, O Merciful One, full of generosity and forgiving sins: have mercy! What will I bring to You, incorruptible Judge, for my many debts? I have heard that the tears of your eyes are more desirable to You than gold and silver and expensive stones. Accept tears as a gift, because You desire them; and grant me forgiveness of sins, and have mercy on me according to the mercies of Your goodness. We call on you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We beg you day and night, have mercy on us! According to the multitude of Thy mercies, cleanse our iniquities and sins, grant us, O Lord, mental and physical health, deliver us from the evil one and from his power, from his fetters and from all his snares, and do not deny us, day or night, Thy bounties. We are aware of our sins, O Lover of Mankind, and therefore we do not dare to raise our gaze to heaven. With a shameful face we cry to You: let Your mercy implore Your righteousness for us. Hear the voice of our prayer, O Good One; may our prayers propitiate You, and, according to the bounty of Your goodness, have mercy on us. Awake, awaken, poor soul, grown old in sin, understand and understand that this world is passing away. Where are the giants who once lived in the world? Where are the wise men and the proud kings? They all existed in their own time and place, and disappeared. Blessed is he who always places his trust in his Lord, whose name does not pass away and whose glory has no end! I, Ephraim, am approaching death, and I am writing a testament to my true disciples who will follow me. Remain in prayer day and night. For a farmer, the more often he cultivates the land, the richer the harvest. Do not do as the lazy ones do, whose fields grow thorns. Stay in prayer; The Lord loves the constant man of prayer and shows him His mercies. Great, O Lord, is the length and breadth of Thy goodness towards turning sinners, and Thy door, O Lord, is open to the repentant who strike at it. Just as You listened to the publican who prayed to You, O Lord, so listen to Your Church, which begs You and strikes at Your door. Accept the praise that she brings to Your glorification through the lips of her children; and in the voice of your chants, and for the sake of the cross on which she is established, accept her prayer, have mercy and have mercy on her. The Merciful One expects from us until we give reason to impart grace to us, so that we may be enriched with His great gifts, for behold, the treasure of His bounties is always open to us. He demands only thanksgiving from those who receive, in order to increase His gifts for the voice of thanksgiving. He shines His sun on the wicked, He sends His rain on the wicked, because there is no end to the abyss of His bounties. All the sick knock on Your door, Heavenly Physician, to receive healing for their ailments. Fulfill on them the promise that Your lips have given: “Whoever calls on Me in faith, him I will hear; Whoever knocks on the door, I will open it, and I desire that he come to Me.” Behold, Your flock calls to You, O Merciful One; Hear her prayer and, according to Your mercy, show the generosity of the Church and her children. May our service be pleasing to You, Lord of all creation, and may Your salvation be poured out over the whole world. We strike not at any other door, but at Your door, Lord, and we have not exchanged You for anyone else, this is known to You, our Lord; Thou art the righteous One, Who hast decreed that the wages of a hireling should not be withheld even for one night (Lev. 19:13); as a reward for our service, give us generous consolation, and may Thy all-surpassing love reign among us. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy,” and according to Your mercy forgive me my sins. Just as You stretched out your hand to Simon in the waves, and he did not drown, so stretch out Your right hand from heaven for me and pull me out. I know that I have sinned before You, our Lord, I confess that I have been lawless. Like a sinner, I cry out, like a publican, I beg: “Filled with bounties, Jesus, have mercy on me, according to Your goodness!” I am afraid, Lord, of my debts, lest they deprive me of the inheritance that awaits those who fear You. I did not prepare my way for departure; darkness is like a wide stream before me. The young years of my life have already passed, and I am still soiled by shameful deeds. Take away from me, O Lord, my filthiness and clothe me with the robe of glory, so that I may ascend and reach a land full of life. Let us awaken from sleep, my brothers, let us cry out to the Lord with sighs, let us work day and night, taking care of our correction, while our life continues, before the time has passed, after which there will be no place for repentance. Let us watch at the doors of the Bridegroom, so that we may enter His palace with the Bridegroom and inherit eternal life. Come, and at night we will all sing the praises of God and imitate the hosts of Angels who continuously praise Him. And our Savior, when he moves and comes, accompanied by the Angels, seeing our wakefulness and vigil, will call us good servants and seat us at His table. And we, beloved, together with the righteous, who have pleased God day and night, will strive in goodness, ask bounties from our Lord and, singing with David, say: “At midnight we will rise to confess to You about the destinies of Your righteousness” (Ps. 119:62). Have mercy and mercy on me, and make me worthy to inherit the Kingdom. Behold, the “day of the Lord,” as it is written, suddenly comes to earth (1 Thess. 5:2). Come, my brethren, let us watch, pray and earnestly repent. Let us prepare oil for our lamps, so that we may go out to meet the Lord when He appears, and not hear this voice: “Depart from Me, O curse, into the fire...” We do not know you. I will not cease to praise You, our Lord, I will continually praise You, so that Your righteousness, Our Lord, will not condemn me. I know how guilty I am. I know that if you punish me for my sins, then my inheritance will be Gehenna; Then all hope will be lost, my prayer will fall silent. Therefore have mercy on me and forgive me my debts. May my filth not completely cover me at Your Righteous Judgment, Lord! May I not appear naked on the day when the righteous are clothed with glory! I crawled and fell into sins; stretch out Your right hand to me, and I will rise like the sinner in the house of Simon, like the thief on the cross. Have mercy on me, Merciful to sinners! Convert us, O God, so that we may know You, show us the path of life, stretch out Your hand to us, like Simon, and take us out of the sinful sea; accept a few tears from us and give us great mercies and bounties, and when the secrets are revealed, grant us forgiveness of sins, so that we may thank You and pray to Your name. Turn, sinners, from unrighteousness and with groaning beseech Him whose door is open, who waits and desires to give His treasure to those in need. Let us not indulge in sleep, like the foolish virgins who did not take oil for their lamps; but let us be like the wise virgins who took oil in their vessels and entered the palace with the Bridegroom. With the eye of Thy mercy, look, O Lord, upon Thy servants who stand before Thee and serve Thy Divinity, and graciously accept the incense offered to Thee, just as the incense of Aaron's and Eleazar's incense was favorable to Thee, and may it reconcile Thee with Thy sheep, which Thou shalt protect from all harm. I spent this entire day in iniquities and sins and angered You, Lord, with my deeds; this evening I earnestly beg: “Have mercy on me, forgive me everything in which I have sinned, my Savior, and have mercy on me.” I remembered, Lord, the day of my departure - and I shuddered; trembling came over me because of the iniquities I had committed. I know that the Great Judgment is preparing for me, that I will be judged before You. Forgive me everything that I have sinned, my Savior, and have mercy on me. Grant me Thy mercies, O Lord, and do not deal with me according to my deeds and the abundance of malice in my heart, but, according to Thy goodness, enlighten the eyes of my mind, so that I may rejoice at the forgiveness of my untruths! Forgive me everything that I have sinned, my Savior, and have mercy on me. With pitiful cries, O Lord, David cried when he said: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your goodness, and cleanse my sins, O merciful Lord, be merciful to me and have mercy on me.” All the days of my life I sinned before You, Lord, I angered You and did not turn to repentance. Now I am approaching the evening, the end of times, for the time of all flesh is short. Convert me, according to Your goodness, my Deliverer, and have mercy on me. Accept, Lord, the prayer and supplication that at the eleventh hour I offer to You like a thief. By Thy mercy, receive my spirit in peace, for I commend it into the hands of Thy compassions. Forgive my sins. You came to redeem sinners, Lord, and I, rich in generosity, Lord, am the first of sinners. Have mercy, O Merciful One, on poor me, take me out of the sea of ​​sin, O my Savior, and have mercy on me. I thought about the end, Lord, and trembling seized me, my insides trembled, because by my iniquities I deserved condemnation. When the Angels are overwhelmed with fear, and the spiritual ranks tremble, then, I beg You, my Savior, then have mercy on me. I ask one thing from You, Lord, and may Your goodness not deny me another. Here, according to Your mercy, save me from Satan and from the evil man, and on the day of the revelation of Your coming, grant me remission of sins. For this, both here and there, I will thank You, O Christ, who is merciful to those who repent. When Thy mercy, O Lord, condescended to clothe itself in the flesh of our humanity, then Archangel Gabriel flew down from on high on fiery wings and, greeting Mary, opened his lips and said to Her: “Rejoice, Mary, the Lord is with you!” From You will come the Deliverer of all creation” (Luke 1:28). With us, the holy martyrs will beseech You, O Lord, with their blood flowing from their necks; with us, the destroyed altars, the devastated churches, devastated by the sons of Hagar, who trampled the sanctuary, scattered the bones of the saints, will beseech You. Do not refuse to help Your worshipers, O Lord, and their memory will endure forever. According to Your goodness, Lord, give rest to the faithful who have departed from us, who have rested in trust in You, and when You come, grant them to stand at Your right hand, and bring them with Your saints into Your palace. Cleanse us and them, O Lover of Humanity! May our incense be favorable to Thee, our Savior, and may Thy sovereignty be propitiated by it as is customary to Thee; because we are sinners. We confess that we have committed lawlessness. According to Your bounty, accept our censer. Aaron took the censer in his clean hands, entered the camp, confronted the Angel and held his sword. By the censer of fragrance that Your worshipers bring to You, O Lord, may Your will be pacified and may He cleanse our sins. I called on You, Lord, Your goodness listened to me. Let our prayer before You be a fragrant censer. And just as the sacrifice of Elijah was pleasing to You, so may our service be acceptable before Your greatness, O Lord. Your door, O God, is open to those who repent, and You listen to everyone who strikes it with faith; incline Your ear to the prayer of those who honor You and, according to Your compassions, accept our service and our prayers. From the depths of the sea Jonah called to You - and You heard him; Those who were with Ananias cried out from the cave, and You delivered them. All creation calls to You, O Merciful One; have mercy and mercy on her, as you usually do. The oppressed cry to You, O Merciful One; Those who mourn come running to You, O Lover of Humanity. Guard their lives with Your Cross and deliver them from the evil one, because they trust in You. In Your image and in Your likeness You created me, O Merciful One, do not allow me to fall into Gehenna and perish in it. Behold, I cry to You: “Remember me, O Son of the Good, pour out Your compassions on me and forgive my guilt.” Remember not, O God, the sins I have committed, for there is no man from the sons of dust who is clean before You. May Your grace protect me on the day when the secrets of the sons of men will be revealed. You, O Good One, Who gives payment to those who worked in the morning and rewards those who come at the eleventh hour with the same payment, grant us hope, Lord, on the Day of the Resurrection, so that with the first and the last we will sing Your praise! Have mercy on me, O God, at that hour when before Your greatness the good and the evil will be separated; when the Last Judgment and trial will come and when everyone will appear with their work and their deeds. You, Most Pure God, who loves the pure, give us, Lord, purity of heart at all times, remove from us vain worries and all thoughts that confuse soul and body! May our iniquities and sins, O Lord, not appear as our accusers before Thy throne, O King Christ, but may our iniquities and sins be purified in the abundant sea of ​​Thy mercy, O Lover of Mankind. According to Thy compassions, our Lord, may this incense be favorable, which, for Thy glorification and for the propitiation of Thy Divinity, Thy servants the priests bring to Thee. May the dead gain peace for themselves, and the living gain hope and protection. And just as the camp of Israel was delivered from wrath, so keep the destroyer from those created in Your image. “I am the true light,” the Lord said to His disciples, and whoever walks in the light, darkness will not overtake him (John 8:12). Blessed therefore are the saints and the righteous who walk in the light of truth. Behold, their memory is proclaimed on earth and in heaven. Let their prayers be our stronghold. May I not bow my head at Thy judgment, O Lord, Judge and Lord of Judges; Let Gehenna not await me, O Lord, and let it not lust after my members. Convert me - and I will turn in order to know You, to resort to You, to find forgiveness from You, through the generosity of Your goodness to get rid of Gehenna and become an heir to Your Kingdom. When the light shines and disperses the darkness of the night, then heaven and earth worship You, Lord, these two sisters, created suddenly: one established above the waters, the other carrying the waters; Then the air spread out between them, this palace that was built in the twinkling of an eye, worships You. Praise be to You for Your creations! It was morning when Moses, on the top of the mountain, saw a terrible vision, saw Angels, fiery and spiritual beings, and God carried by them; I saw a fire that abides and burns in the bush, but does not burn it. And a voice came to him from on high: “Take off the boots of your feet”; for in this place the Lord dwells (Ex. 3:3). Accept, our Lord, our prayer and be merciful to those who have angered You; do not turn Your face away from Your servants who cry to You in faith; establish Your peace and Your silence in all four corners of the universe and remove schisms and disagreements from the Holy Church and her children. Praise be to Your bounty, O Most Merciful One! For the sake of our family, so that it does not perish, having bowed His greatness, God, who freed us from sinful slavery through His suffering and death, have mercy on Your flock, which cries out to You with contrition, give it peace and silence, so that it may rejoice, triumph and glorify You, and Your Father, and the Holy Spirit. My faith confesses Your goodness, Lord of heaven and earth, and to Your sovereignty with my lips I bring the fruit of praise. Be the physician of the wounded, accept the repentant, lavish Your treasures on us, support the hand of the weak, for You are our hope and our hope. Incline your ear, O soul, and listen to what the prophet preaches to you: do not cling to the blessings of this world, for they deceive you (1 John 2:15). Therefore, be attentive to yourself, look at your iniquities, wash away the impurity of your sins with the tears of your eyelids and remember that there is a God. Light your lamps, my brothers, the coming of the Bridegroom is near. On the Day of Retribution He will dwell in the Garden of Eden, in the abode of spirits, He will open for them a palace of light, and they will praise Him on their saddles. When He comes, all those who waited for Him and trusted in His name will come out with joy to meet Him. Behold, the Bridegroom is near; blessed is he who waits for Him. He will weave a crown of glory to the righteous who trust in His name and His salvation. The Firstborn rose and descended into hell to awaken the dead from their graves. As soon as the righteous saw the light in hell, they joyfully went to meet the Son of the Merciful. Everyone forgot their illnesses and sufferings that they endured when they saw their Lord crucified. According to His generosity, He gave us life and joined us mortals to the Angels. Death has caught us humans in its net; He came in His goodness and delivered us. Praise be to You, Lord of Angels; Your appearance brought joy to those who mourned in hell. The night has now departed and disappeared, and His light has shone upon creation. He came down from on high, delivered us, and again ascended, and behold, He sits at the right hand of the Father. All those who waited for Him and hoped in His name longed to meet Him at the Second Coming. He descended into hell, and there His light shone and dispersed the darkness among the dead in hell. The fruit Adam ate killed him, but the heavenly Fruit came down and saved him. He who raised the dead opened the coffins and in this showed us the image of that great day. The Day of Resurrection is coming and is already close; blessed is he who waits for him! Great is the day on which He will come again, because on that day all mysteries will be revealed. The resting dust will hear His voice on the day of the Resurrection and will go to meet Him. Adam will be surprised when he is resurrected and returned to a land filled with bliss. How attractive you are, world! But it is impossible to truly possess your beauties, for you are a sleepy dream, nothing. Therefore I renounce you, evil world. I looked with surprise at your beauty and at the fact that your pleasures and amusements so quickly pass and disappear; and I renounce you, evil world. Your decoration is majestic and attractive, your clothes are magnificent, but they pass away like a disappearing shadow. I renounce you, evil world. I am afraid of you, world, because if I love you, I will be condemned, and I will be afraid to leave you. I renounce you, evil world. Behold, whoever enters into you to gain something in you, he takes away the burden of sins from you, because your wealth and your days are vapor. I renounce you, evil world. Woe to the one who loves you and allows himself to be caught in your chains and snares, for he destroys his soul, but does not gain you. I renounce you, evil world. There were giants in you, strong, glorious, tall, mighty. Where are they? Where? Go show them to me. I renounce you, evil world. You destroy the beauty of maidens, you take away children from mothers, you steal the homes of those who own them. I renounce you, evil world. You deceive even the wise with your treasures, you deceive the free with your cunning, and you ensnare the simple-minded with your cunning. I renounce you, evil world. You are the great sea, tossed and disturbed by the winds and rising waves. Whoever launches himself into you drowns. I renounce you, evil world. All the treasures and blessings that are in you, like your pleasures and joys, disappear and pass away like nothing. I renounce you, evil world. The magnificent robes of proud kings and the precious crowns of rulers perish in you like nothing. I renounce you, evil world. Who loved you - and was not harmed? Who possessed you and was not mocked? Who hated you - and was not glorified? I renounce you, evil world. You are the source of all evil for those who are mired in you, and you reward everyone with evil. I renounce you, evil world. Your appearance is hateful to everyone who is prudent; the way you are treated is harmful; your love is false. Blessed is he whom you have not defiled. I renounce you, evil world. You lure young men and husbands, children and elders with your pleasures and bind them like chains. I renounce you, evil world. Whoever loves you receives as an inheritance from you an abyss of suffering and grief. And whoever hates you will inherit life. I renounce you, evil world. In you, the houses of those who owned them become desolate, you make widows of their spouses, and you make those who give birth barren. I renounce you, evil world. Read the Scriptures and learn, my brothers: “the world passes away” and turns into nothing (1 John 2:17). Therefore, let us prepare a way forward for this enduring world. So, I renounce you, soon-perishing world. Great and dear to God is he who despises this transitory world and constantly thinks about the imperishable world. I renounce you, soon-to-be-perishing world. Praise be to the Good! His property is both of these worlds with everything that is in them; His heritage is both this transitory and that imperishable world. I renounce you, soon-to-be-perishing world. So, beloved, let us gain our souls, let us zealously do good in this transitory world - and inherit life in the enduring world. I renounce you, soon-to-be-perishing world. Let us repent in this transitory world and manage to win our souls for ourselves, because God has another world. Let us stay awake, let us be diligent in our holy prayers, so that on the Day of Resurrection we may meet the Bridegroom with the wise virgins. Come, my brothers, let us be zealous in fasting, in prayer, in pure love, so that together with the fasters and the blessed righteous we may ascend to heaven and recline at the Supper of Beatitudes. Enlighten, O Lord, our hearts and teach us to walk in Your law. You be the sun for us, and may we be illuminated by You in the evening, when the sunlight leaves us. It pleased Thy bounty, O All-Powerful Lord of the worlds, to grant life to that which was created by Thy hands in Thy image. You, our Savior, shine in our souls, and may we, O Lord, not deviate from Your teaching. Let us think about You at night; Drive away evil dreams from us, do not allow the evil one to mock us on our beds. Let Your glory overshadow our dwellings; from You may we gain strength and strength. May the strength that strengthened King David strengthen us against the prince of darkness. May Thy grace, O Lord, help us, and may the devil who fights against us be put to shame. May the right hand of Your compassions cover us in the evening, morning, and night. With your bright cross, protect us, Lord, every evening and every night. May that companion who accompanied the righteous Joseph accompany us at all times. The Lord, who opens the door of His bounties to all sinners who turn to Him, may this be our teaching throughout the whole night, with the psalmody of the Holy Spirit. You, the best hope of those who call on You, protect our souls so that there are no clefts in them. Both while we are awake and during our sleep, may we continually walk with You! Open, O Lord, the eyes of our hearts, so that we may always behold Your glory. Let Your cross overshadow our dwellings and repel the enemy from us. Drive away the darkness from our minds and illuminate our eyes with truth. You, the Most High, who descended and redeemed us with Your blood, protect us all from torment. Be a wall of peace, our Lord, for us, in the evening, and in the morning, and at night. And in the evening, and in the morning, and at night, may the Church glorify the Trinity! Praise be to the bounties that sent You to our land, Christ, the Sun of righteousness, the Light that shone from the daughter of David and called the nations to repentance! Come, you repentants, and beg for bounties while there is still time for repentance! Let everyone leave what is in his heart and ask God for bounties. We know, Lord, how great our unrighteousness is; stretch out your hand full of generosity to us. Do not reject our prayer, Lord, because we have been purchased by Your Life-Giving Blood. You understood us in the parable of the youngest son, who squandered the wealth of his father's house. We have sinned and angered You; have mercy and mercy on us, O Good and Merciful Lord. May Thy compassions be poured out on us sinners, O Christ, to Whom is dear the voice of those who repent! Together with the widow, we beseech You, O most merciful Judge. Forgive our debts, forgive our sins, O Good One, who bore the yoke of our iniquities! And on the day when the children of Adam shake off the dust from themselves, may Your Cross be our shield, may it drive away the fiery power from us. At that judgment, where the good and the evil will be rewarded according to their deeds, and at that hour when Your compassions appear, may we then see Your mercy at Your coming; and then, together with the righteous and saints who have loved You, let us sing the praise of Your Divinity. With contrition and tears, everyone should cry and sob about their sins, but immeasurably more than anyone else, I need to cry and sob. Both Angels and men abhor my stench, but I cannot detect my defilements. My body and soul became stinking and vile from the plagues of lust. Because I lusted after the world and its impurities, the prince of the world prevailed over me, overthrew and deposed me, and mocked me as he did Adam in paradise. The murderer noticed that I was careless, like Eve, and did not spare me. I appeal to You, O Good One, who created me: cover my nakedness and bind up my sores. Seek me lost, restore my life. You alone have mercy on Tuna. Blessed are You, the Merciful and the Most Merciful, who in Your goodness has mercy on the unworthy! Grant me, our Lord, to look upon Your face without shame on the Day of Resurrection. And here and there show me Your compassion, for You are rich in generosity. By you may I be delivered from Gehenna and from merciless torments, may I cross and pass the sea of ​​fire, and may the flames not come close to me. May Your compassions pour out on me, the guilty one, and may they deliver me from Gehenna; and then, together with the saints and righteous who love You, let us sing songs of praise to You, O Lord. Number me, O Lord, among the heavenly hosts and among the sons of light, and grant us all, with one pure and immaculate heart, to stand before You and unanimously offer praise to You, Lord, and to Your Father, and to the Holy Spirit. You, Christ, the propitiatory sacrifice, slain on the top of Calvary for the cleansing of Adam’s sins, accept our sacrifice and prayer and show Your mercies to all of us! Accept, O our Lord, according to Your mercy, this sacrifice that we bring to You, and with it cleanse and grant remission of iniquities and sins to all sinners who ask You for forgiveness. Do not turn away from us, O Christ, and do not move away from those who worship You, because we resort to You. Lead us onto Your path of life and, by Your mercy, grant us the remission of debts and sins. You, Christ, friend of the repentant, who came to call sinners, accept all of us who repent and strike at the door of Your bounties and grant us to be repentant in both word and deed. Judgment without mercy and unquenchable fire await us. Remember this, my soul, take care to get rid of it and take your good deeds with you as a gift to the Judge. Awake, my poor soul, think and reflect on your passing; Bring to your mind the hour of your migration and the trembling of that terrible hour, in which you will have to give an account to the Judge. In the image of your Creator you were created, His likeness and His image are imprinted on you; Beware of tarnishing God’s image and exposing yourself to the condemnation of the King, whose image you have desecrated. Choose for yourself to do the truth - this work is useful for you. Take advantage of this fleeting life and constantly have before your eyes the fear and horror that awaits you on the day of testing. When You come, our Lord, to judge the whole world before Your terrible throne for all who see it, have mercy on us on that day and place us at Your right hand. May the tears in your eyes never dry up, filled with sins and untruths! Ask for bounty from God, so that on the day of righteous judgment He will forgive you your debts, like a sinner in the house of Simon. Come, sinners, seek protection and refuge in repentance, offer the Lord a prayer, like the repentant Nineveh, to forgive you your iniquities, like the thief who believed in Him. Look, O our Lord, at him who calls upon You like a publican and like a sinner. You are rich in bounties, because you do not remember sins; allow him, too, with all those who have pleased You, to reach the palace of joys. That Son, who according to Divinity was spiritually begotten of the Father, according to the flesh, was most pure given birth by the Virgin Mary. He secretly dwelt in Her depths and openly came from Her, therefore Her memory is always gloriously honored. You, martyrs, who willingly and joyfully endured torment and received crowns according to your merits, pray with us to Christ the Lord to always show us all abundant bounties. Speak the command with Your voice, and those who holyly ate Your Body and, having been cleansed, drank Your Blood, will immediately arise. When You suddenly and fearfully come with the glory of the Angels, then may they all, together with You, joyfully enter into the palace of light. Eternal praise to the Father who chose pure Mary! Eternal worship of the Son, who strengthened the courage of the martyrs! Perfect thanksgiving to the Spirit, our true resurrector from the dead! And we are constantly full of bounty at all times! Give, O Lord, Thy right hand to our brotherhood, stretch out Thy hand to Thy flock, so that by Thy mercy our race may be magnified, because the victory is Thy! You, who give bliss to the righteous, and by Your power bestow upon us every good thing! May the day of Your appearing make us glad, and may our lamps be full of oil! Place a crown on the heads of Your beloved, so that they may rejoice in You when You come, may they enter Your palace with You and give praise to Your greatness. Let the cherubim bless your glory, O merciful one, full of bounties. Let the high priests and priests glorify You, Son, equal to His Father. On the day determined for Judgment, make us all worthy of heaven, let us all enter Eden and enjoy Your table; may we be reclining at Thy supper and brightly adorned in the palace of light; grant, according to Your love, those who worship You to dwell in tabernacles filled with light. Grant silence to Your churches and plant Your peace among us! Let both generations and generations glorify the name of the Trinity! Confirm, O Lord, our souls in faith and in Thy love, forgive us, according to Thy compassions, our debts and sins, O Thou Compassionate to the repentant. “Our Father, who art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9), hear us crying to you, because we have no other father who could help us! It was good for You to create us, who do not yet exist, and now let Your anger not destroy us, called into existence. Teach us, Lord, Your commandments - and we will keep them and always please You with righteous deeds. Since I have confessed you, O Lord my God, do not deny me on that terrible day on which everyone will need mercy. Don’t tell me: “I don’t know you” when you judge me. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your goodness, and with the saints who have loved You, place me at Your right hand! If our heart were not harder than stone, then our lips would not cease to cry bitterly, and our eyes would not cease to shed tears. These times are filled with sorrows, and our hearts are mired in sins. Come, let us lift up our eyes and hearts to God and cry out to Him with faith: “Praise be to You, Lord!” What sorrow will a sinner have in his heart at that hour when King Christ sits on His terrible throne! All generations will appear before Him, and everything hidden will be revealed there. The Judgment is terrible, the Judge is terrible, this hour is terrible! Blessed is he who is strengthened by Your grace, O Lord! I sin and hide so that no one can see me, but the Lord sees me when I do evil. If a person sees me, I am ashamed, but I am not ashamed of God. Have mercy and mercy on us, Judge and Lord of Judges. If a person converts, whether it is early or late, You accept him. I don’t know what to do with my sins; My mind does not see how I should wash and cleanse myself. If I decided to wash myself with waters, then the seas are small for me, and the rivers are not enough to cleanse me. If I wash myself with the blood and water from the side of the Son of God, I will be cleansed, and bounties will be poured out on me. Tremble, sinner, of the coming judgment; with sorrow and tears, resort to repentance. While prayer is still being accepted, pray here so that you may be accepted there. Pray before death comes and carries away your soul; then all prayer and supplication are in vain, then tears are also useless. I beg Your love, Lord, to forgive me everything that I have sinned against You. I know that in all my days I have done nothing pleasing to You. My time was wasted in idleness, I spent my summers in vanity; have mercy on me as a thief who served You for only one hour. Do not remember the sins of my youth, who became a Child for me, but grant me, O Lord, to sing Your praise along with the youths who praised You (Matthew 21:15). Do not interrogate the iniquities of my old age, “Old One of Days” (of days), but grant me, with Elder Simeon, the praise of Your goodness (Dan.7:9). Do not sue me for my crimes and do not repay me as I deserve, but cover me, the guilty one, with the delightful wings of Your goodness. Do not drive me away from Your doors, do not deprive me of Your goodness, but allow me to enter Your palace with the five virgins, our Lord. Do not go into court with me, as I deserve, do not deliver me into the hands of justice, but forgive me my sins, be merciful to me, according to the bounties of Your goodness. Do not turn away, O Lord, from me, the unfortunate one, and do not allow me to become a slave of Satan, but, by Your mercy, grant me to become an accomplice of the repentant. Do not allow my life to perish in hell, O One who lives immortally, but, by Thy goodness, grant me worthy to sing a song of praise to Thy greatness. Do not cast me out of Thy dwelling, so that I may become the prey of the destroyer, but, according to Thy mercy, receive me into Thy palace. Do not condemn me, Lord, on the day of judgment, because You alone are pure, but accept me according to Your compassions, and help me according to Your goodness. Do not forget me in the age, O Lord, who stood before judgment for my sake, but, like a wasteful son, receive me again, O Lord, into Your house. Do not allow me, Lord, to fall into despair, because I hope in You and trust in Your name, but strengthen my hope in You and confirm Your love in my mind. Do not forbid me to be at Your supper, do not allow me to be cast into utter darkness, but clothe me in the robe that Your love has prepared for me. Do not clothe me with sorrow, because I have clothed myself with water and the Spirit, but grant me, O Lord, to sing Your praise on the day of Your Passover. Do not count me among the evil ones, Lord, for You are good and loving of mankind, but count me among those whom You freed by Your death. Do not allow them to punish me with a fiery scourge and throw me bound into the cave: but with the hosts of the luminous, may I rejoice and triumph at that evening. Do not deal with me according to my deserts, because I have not a single deed with which I could appease You, but have mercy on me with all those whom Your goodness has had mercy on. Do not deal with me according to my deeds, because I have never served You, but deal with me according to the multitude of Your compassions, as you did with the tax collectors whom You received. Do not reproach me before the Angels and do not allow me to be ashamed there, but hide my unrighteousness under the wings of Your Cross. May Thy truth not reproach me, so that the host of the righteous may hate me, but let me reach the blessed throne of Thy grace and find refuge there. Do not place me at your right hand, together with those who have denied Your name, but place me at Your right hand, together with all who worshiped Your Cross. Do not mock me before Your Angels and do not shame me there for my atrocities, but hide, O Lord, my vile deeds in the abundant sea of ​​Your mercy. Do not cast me away from You, Lord, so that my enemies do not laugh at me, but may the Angels rejoice over one more repentant sinner. May Thy truth not take revenge on me, and may Thy grace not refuse to forgive me my sins, but remember, O Lord, Thy mercies and Thy great love for our race. By Thy mercy, forgive me my debts and by Thy grace cleanse my sins; then I will sing praise to Your Divinity: You and Your Father and the Holy Spirit. Save me like the apple of my eye, Lord God, protect me and under Your wings shelter me from temptations. Be the guardian of the eye, so that it does not look like a thief; be the guardian of the ear, so that it does not listen to untruth. Be a guardian of the lips, so that my heart does not deviate into wickedness and commit iniquity. Grant us, O our Lord, knowledge and add knowledge (wisdom) to us. Grant us, our Lord, to be more pleasant to You than incense and aroma (of aromatic substances). Grant us, our Lord, to love You and hate the whole world. Grant us, our Lord, to acquire You instead of passing possessions. Grant us, our Lord, to bring You three chosen gifts. Grant us, our Lord, to burn three fragrant incense before You. Grant to us, our Lord, to light three clear-burning lamps for You: spirit, soul and body - these three gifts to the One Trinity. Let us dedicate the Spirit to the Father, dedicate the soul to the Son, dedicate the body to the Holy Spirit, Who will again raise it from the dust. Father, sanctify our spirit to You! Son, sanctify our soul to Yourself! Holy Soul, sanctify Yourself our body, exhausted from ulcers! Grant us, our Lord, to rejoice in You, and You will rejoice in us on the last day. Praise be to You from spirit, body and soul! And Your bounties for us! “Judge,” O Lord, “my judgment” (Ps. 119:154) and judge my dispute with Satan, who oppresses me; Let Your strength overcome his dogs for me, which terrify me. I have renounced the destroyer, and his wiles, and his destructive deeds, because he tirelessly works to ensnare me with his cunning. If Your strength does not strengthen me, and Your Cross does not save me, then of course I will fall into one of his snares, because he has a lot of wiles. May he not overcome me in battle, after he has been defeated in battle with You, Lord; for there is great shame for him who is overcome by the vanquished. I heard that he yields to the yoke of humility. You, who raises the humble from the dust and brings down the proud to the point of contrition, remove from me the wickedness of the heart and with it all arrogance, and instill in me meekness, forbearance and goodness! Grant me, O Lord, to be Your property and to please Your will, and enlighten the eyes of my mind, so that I do not fall asleep in the sleep of death. Cursed be you, Satan, by the word of Jesus God! May your wicked lips be stopped by the command of Christ the Lord! Both on earth and in heaven there is a curse on you from above and from below! I resort to You, Lord Jesus, in Your Cross I seek protection, because You have removed the satanic yoke from me, so that I may become a worker in Your vineyard, glorifying, honoring and magnifying You, and Your Father, and the Holy Spirit. Until death comes, until the doors are closed, until the opportunity to enter is taken away, until horror attacks the universe, until the light dims, until knowledge fades, ask, sinner, bounties from the Lord. Come, sinner, ask for bounties from God, who forgives sins, do not put off repentance, for you do not know when the Angel of Death will overtake you and take your life. On the day of Your coming, our Lord, do not cast us into utter darkness, lest we hear a terrible sentence on those placed on the outside; but together with the saints who did Your will, make us worthy of Your palace. Where are bounties like Yours, Lover of Humanity, and could we resort to them? Where is the door, as open as Yours, good Lord, and could we approach it in our sorrows? According to Your compassions, Lord, fulfill our petitions. We do not have as many sins on earth as You have bounties in heaven. May our weak sins not overcome Your abundant bounties! May Your grace accompany us from beginning to end! I sincerely wish to be at that evening where the Angels sup; but it is also desirable for me to fulfill my will and her lusts. The struggle of two desires confuses me so much. Help my weakness, our Lord Jesus! Grant us, our Lord, to go out to meet (meet) You with the Angels in heaven who are silently singing Your pure praise; count us among their hosts when the good and the evil are separated. You, Holy One, Whom the saints above and below praise with holiness, sanctify us, Lord, dwell in us and grant us with pure love to sanctify Your holy name all our days! The terrible Cherubim and Seraphim praise You, O Lord, grief. Because Thy love desires that those on earth also glorify You, then accept the prayer of those who honor You, spare Thy Church and the sheep of Thy flock. With the censer that Aaron brought to the tabernacle, he stopped the destruction in the Israeli camp, and the aroma of incense turned away God's wrath from the people of Israel, as Moses wrote to us in his book (Num. 16:48). With the censer of the priests, may the sins of Your servants be cleansed, and may they sing Your praise. Accept the fragrant censer, offered for the glory of Your Divinity, O Lord, as Aaron’s censer. And just as destruction was removed from the people who had angered Your name, so were schisms and disputes removed from Your Church. And remember the departed and holy fathers, who confessed Your name and rested with hope in You. When You come in glory, may they also enter with You into a palace filled with joys. “Watch and pray,” our Lord said to His disciples (Matthew 26:41), for you do not know at what hour death will come and take you from this temporary life, so that you can go there and give an answer there. While you are still here, brothers, bring repentance and ask for forgiveness of sins. With contrition, tears and sighs we stand before Your face, our Lord, the beautiful Light that has shone from the Father; Complete Your goodness on us and give us Your saving means in abundance, for you fully know the weakness of our nature. Do not turn Your gaze away from us in these sorrowful times, but come to our aid. Look, O our Lord, at my weakness, for I have sinned much and have angered You; I don’t know where to look for refuge. I went to doctors; They have exhausted all their medical remedies on me, but my purulent scab stubbornly resists them, and there is no cure for it. I have heard about You, best Physician, that You have many medicines, and whoever comes to You receives health. With the love of the Father who gave birth to You, and the Mother’s womb that bore You, I beg You to forgive me my sins. My guilts are not hidden from You, my sins are not hidden from You, these products of my daring will. Sprinkle me with Your pure hyssop; May the bounties of Your goodness cleanse my filth with which I have angered You. I beg You, like David: may my bones “rejoice” for the cleansing of my sins (Ps. 50:10). My face is closed to the light, my mind is captivated by sins; The gnashing of teeth awaits me on that day. In all my days there was not an hour when I brought repentance; and behold, fiery hell threatens me. I did not think about the heavenly Kingdom, but with my life I prepared for myself merciless torment. May the prophets who loved You pray for me, may the apostles who followed You ask You; and You will deliver me from Judgment! My defilements will shame me before the assembly of Angels, when the righteous receive their rewards, and I will be plunged into the most severe torment, into the empty and distant depths of hell, where there is no place for generosity. Do not turn Your face away from me, O Lord, do not hide Your gaze from me, do not shame me before Your greatness; cleanse my filth, wash away my sins, according to Your mercy, remove from me all my crimes. Close, Lord, the doors of hell for sinners, Your servants, so that they do not enter there and begin to burn forever. They resort to repentance; send down the rain of Thy mercy, quench the fire, so that he does not possess them, so that we, like the rich man, do not ask Abraham for a drop of water. You be water for us and quench our thirst. You, sea of ​​bounties, sprinkle us with Your life-giving hyssop; and the flame will go out. Behold, here we cry to You, hear us there, O All-Merciful One, and open for us the doors of Your Kingdom, so that many of the redeemed, whom You freed from captivity, may enter there, so that the hearts of those saved from captivity may rejoice, so that they may be comforted at Your table, revel in the fatness of Your house, and unceasingly offer up praise to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, venerable and venerable to all. Trinity. “As the tree cries, seeking water (Ps. 42:2), so I cry with my children,” the much-sick earth cries out to God, because it is overwhelmed, like a ship at sea, which is attacked from all sides by restless waves and terrible storms. You, Son of the All-Good, who redeemed me with Your Blood, have mercy on the earth and its inhabitants and bind up their wounds! Immersed in vices and in a multitude of defilements and a sinner who does not even think about it, tremble at the Judgment of Truth and repent with zeal, remaining in vigils and fasting (your Lord loves this), until the day comes on which everything hidden will be revealed and brought to light! Lord, do not allow the evil one to laugh at me in Gehenna and say to me: “Behold, I have deceived you; go with me to hell." You, Heavenly King, deliver me from his snares and snares; Rule me in this world according to Your good pleasure, make me able to keep Your commandments, learn from Your law and be saved by Your grace! May I not die in my sins, Lord! Here I bring You the tears of my eyes, a gift dear to You. I bring You not oxen, not rams, not goats, not turtle doves, not chicks of doves, but two streams of tears from my eyes, which the sinner in the house of Simon brought. Forgive me my debts! Tell me, righteous Noah: “How does God appease when in anger He wants to destroy sinners?” “By the chosen sacrifice of incense, by love and humility He is reconciled, if we have angered Him.” The Church hears the righteous man’s answer, hastily enters the sanctuary, brings a cleansing sacrifice to God - a censer, and relentlessly begs Him, by His mercy, to show generosity to her children. Together with the good censer, we bring to You, Most Merciful, the memory of the Most Blessed One. According to Thy mercy, accept, O Lord, the censer brought into the sanctuary of Thy dominion by those who honor Thee; for his sake, grant to Your flock mercy, and generosity, and forgiveness to all Your sheep, whom You have redeemed by Your Cross; Grant health to all the sick, joy to all the oppressed, and to us the cleansing of sins. Praise be to Your bounty, Christ our King, the Son of God worshiped by all! You are our King, You are our God, You are the author of our life and our great hope. The hosts on high and the ranks below unanimously praise You. They sing a song of gratitude to You, because You, the Hidden One, at the end of time appeared in our flesh. When Your compassions moved, and Your love was pleasing, You came for our redemption and freed our race. You healed our illnesses, cleansed our sins and, according to Your compassions, raised us from the dead. You founded the Holy Church on earth in the image of the Kingdom above. You created her with love, planted her with generosity, became engaged to her spiritually, and acquired her through Your suffering. But the hater of humanity, in his shameless insolence, attacks her in the person of his servants. Do not leave Your Holy Church without Your care, O Lord, so that the promise You have spoken does not turn out to be false (Matthew 16:18). Do not allow her splendid beauty to be disfigured and her great wealth to be plundered. Fulfill Thy promise given to Peter; what You said, seal it with your very deed. Establish its gates, strengthen its bars, set up its horn, lift up its head. Bless her sons, preserve her children, give peace to her priests and overthrow her evil-wishers. Settle Your peace in her and drive away evil schisms from her. Grant us to lead a peaceful, serene life in holy fear. May we guard our faith with great hope and perfect love. May our life be pleasing to You, and may we find bounties on the day of retribution. Let us continually praise You, O Lord, and Your Father and the Holy Spirit! Praise be to the All-Good One, Who, out of His love, revealed His glory to the sons of men! From dust He created a dumb nature and adorned it with a soul, the owner of treasures. He made the lips of the earth capable of magnifying Him, so that all creation would sing His praises. Come, gifted with words, let us sing His praises before we fall asleep in the sleep of death. In every long night we will think about death, which will stop our lips and impose silence on us. The righteous who spent their nights in vigil are alive even after death. But the wicked who deny the glory of the Son are already dead in life. Let us excite our body with psalms and spiritual songs, so that we may join the wise virgins whom our Lord praised, and wakefully behold the Son on that night, which will make the worlds tremble. Let us not wallow in pleasures, so that we may behold His glory on the day of His appearing. Let us be vigilant servants before Him, ready for the hour in which He will bring out the sons of men. Then the wicked will remain in Gehenna, and the doors of bounty will suddenly be shut. Let us work a little while we are alive, because after death there is a day of retribution. The body that has bothered itself in prayers will soar through the air on the day of resurrection, will look at its Lord without shame, will enter with Him into the palace of light and will be there kindly to the Angels and people who here bothered themselves with vigils and prayers. Blessed is He who created us as instruments of His glory and placed praise on our unworthy lips! Praise be to His bounties, because He made the earthly ones co-servants of the Angels, so that every night and at every time they would sing His holy name! Praise God in the morning, my beloved children of the church! Every morning we will glorify the Good One and worship Him, who created all the luminaries. The veil of night was lifted, and the light of God shone upon creation; the phenomenon of morning awakens the sleeping. May Your light, Lord, illuminate our hearts! You Yourself, our Lord, teach us to glorify You and put life into our souls; and as you brought us out of darkness, so deliver us from Gehenna. By Thy mercy, nourish with Thy gift the children of the Church who cling to Thee. May Thy mercy be our intercessor, Lord of the morning and evening! May Your grace, Lord, accompany us and lead us to a great morning. May the right hand of Your bounty shower us with blessings, and through it may we pass through the sea of ​​fire. Not according to Your justice, O Just One, who rewards everyone according to righteousness, having fought with me! Be my merciful companion, my Savior, and lead me to the haven of life. When the trial by fire comes, sprinkle me with Your dew, like the youths. Let the fire burn on the wicked, and let me, O Lord, join Your righteous. O Physician, healer of all ulcers, heal our ailments with the healing of Your bounties! Join me, Lord, to the face of Abraham, Isaac and righteous Jacob. Let Your Body and Your Blood be my companions. Let me get rid of the fire with them. May Your cross serve as a bridge for all of us, and along it we will pass through an abyss filled with horrors. Behold, our congregation is now crying out to You, that we may hear Your voice: “Come, blessed of My Father” (Matthew 25:34). O Almighty, full of mercy and bounty, exalt us, our Lord, on the day of Your coming! Heaven and earth, and everything that is on them, together with us, praise You for our conversion! Glorification of You, most revered Father, and Your Only Begotten, and the Holy Spirit! Every evening praise be to You from all the lips of the sons of men! You gave them a day to do business and work, to buy food. Behold, those tired of hard work thank You for giving them peace. Who will not worship You, who cares for us humans with such love? You wear out the stars, and bring time to evening, which is blocked by the demands of a master who is not satisfied with the efforts of those like him, who worked for him all day for nothing. Evening comes and gives rest to those who, struggling with hunger and thirst, exhausted and tired themselves with labor. Evening time comes and brings joy to the world and its workers. But the covetous man, merciless to his fellow men, who is not satisfied with their service, hates the evening, mocks it, and his greed is not satisfied. Blessed is Thy greatness, who from the beginning provides for us humans! You provide both people and animals with rest in the evening. May Thy Cross, which seals Thy Church and preserves her children from Satan and his armies, be a bridge protecting Thy sheep, which Thou hast redeemed with Thy life-giving Blood! Send Your peace, O Lord, to all the ends of the universe, and let the evil one flee from among us. Let every tongue and every mouth in every corner of the world bring You praise! With them, may we glorify You, Lord, and Your Father, and the Holy Spirit! From all of us, our Lord, accept our prayer, service, and petition. Grant us a heart full of love and a spirit of patience in suffering. Let our professing lips and our voice be the harp of praise. May the vigil and labor endured by our bodies make You merciful to our sins! The lips that served as Your harp, and the tongue that sang Your praise, may not, O Lord, cry out in torment, because You have vouchsafed them to sing Your praise. Let not the eyes that were heavy with sleep keep awake, and the feet that grew weary standing before You, not be deprived of hope, and may they not lose their reward on the day of recompense. Let the sounds of our lips and harp not turn into sobbing and crying, but according to Thy compassions, according to Thy mercy and goodness, accept our vigil. Grant us all, with one accord, with a pure and immaculate heart, to stand before You and agree to offer praise to You, O Lord, and to Your Father, and to Your Holy Spirit. Amen. Arise, soul, which has slept hitherto in sin; shake off your sleep, hurry, and seek refuge in repentance; and the Truthful One will perhaps be appeased by your tears. Remove the veil of filth from your mind, so that your eye can see correctly. Shed tears of contrition for your vile deeds every hour before the Judge. An abyss of torment awaits you for your deeds and as a reward for your indecencies. Weep purely for yourself, so that the Truthful One will hear you and be reconciled with you. Tremble, unfortunate one, and be horrified by the torment that you have prepared for yourself. Weep for yourself, accomplice of the Angels, because eternal fire will go with you everywhere. You were deeply mired in lusts and never came out of them. Your thoughts have been choked by thorns and thistles, and you have not yet borne the fruits of repentance. Passions overwhelmed you like waves and sank your ship in the sea of ​​sins. Never have you brought to mind the day that would test everything hidden. What will you do when the voice of the Bridegroom makes you tremble, demanding that you go to meet the Bridegroom? The light of your eyes dimmed and disappeared, and you were left outside, with the foolish virgins. Stock up on oil, poor one, while there is still time for justification. Ask for forgiveness of sins together with the harlot, heal your ulcers with your tears. The door of repentance is still open; Come in, cleanse yourself from your defilements. You, Who desire the salvation of the sons of men, have mercy on the soul that has moved away from You! Accept her, Lord, with Your usual mercy. At the righteous Judgment, may Your compassions cover me, a sinner, and deliver me from torment. You, the Forgiver of sins and the Merciful One, forgive me my spiritual sins at the righteous Judgment! Praise to You from the lost, whom You gathered and led to repentance. The Great Light brought us to His marriage, so that we could enjoy it in His Kingdom. He called the worlds to serve Him, so that they could call on His name: Holy. You, Almighty, who in the beginning created the worlds to serve You, enrich my crown, Son of God, with Your divine teaching! Open my mouth to sing Your praise, as Your heavenly servants sing; together with the spirits and sons of light, let us magnify Your Divinity. Jesus, Bridegroom of light and life, who exudes all the means of salvation, open to us Your door, filled with bounties, because we continually call on You! Enrich us, O Lord, from Your treasury, for You are innumerable riches. May we rejoice in this Kingdom of Light together with Your righteous! The lord of the vineyard, having agreed to pay a denarius to those who had been working since the morning, at the third hour called and received the prophets into His ministry. At the sixth hour He called the righteous and sent them to the palace of light. At the ninth hour He called the apostles and clothed them with the full armor of the Spirit. At the “one tenth” (about the eleventh) “hour” (Matthew 20:6) he called the thief and sent him to a land filled with bliss, and in His promise gave him the scripture and the key to open the door that Adam had closed. By the coming of the Son of God, the exile was returned to paradise. Praise be to Your bounties, O Son of the All-Merciful, who spared Your damaged image! Spare the sheep redeemed by Your Blood, so that they do not perish at the hands of the devil. All-merciful One, who bore the burden of our iniquities, forgive us our sins, forgive us our iniquities! Arise, O soul, aged in sins, and be renewed by repentance. From contrition and tears, dissolve medicine for yourself and heal the ulcers of the fallen image in you. Call out from your heart and reveal your iniquities, because the All-Good One will spare you, the fallen one. You loved deceptive and transitory beauty, but you destroyed your beauty, daughter of light. The church of your body is distorted by the negligence to which you have enslaved. Woe to you, poor thing! How long will it take you to deal with the transitory? Tremble and be horrified by the fire that you have kindled for yourself with the shrouds of your untruths. The ugly sins that you have committed from your youth to this day have exceeded your head. They plunged you into despair, and therefore you neglect repentance. Remember that you were captivated by lust, remember that lust killed your mother. How long-suffering the Good One is towards you, and yet you are wallowing in the sea of ​​sin! Are you not afraid of the day on which your plagues and your secrets will be revealed? Who will protect you where everyone will be concerned about judgment about himself? Your passions have made you an idol, destroyed you and abandoned you. O great Hope, who appeared to us at the end of times, have mercy on the soul that has moved away from You! I am Your sheep, but for a long time I wandered away from You, serving the evil one. Come, Lord, seek me. Seek Your wealth, for I have wasted Your wealth in vanity. You bore Your Cross for sinners, and I am one of them, do not turn away from me. We are your property, but the evil one has stolen us. Rebuke him and take away from him what he has captured. Have mercy on me, O Lover of Mankind, because I have no other hope but You. Praise be to Your bounties, O All-Merciful Son, for You are patient with sinners! Thanks be to You from the lost, whom You gathered and led to repentance. Our Lord Jesus, the venerable King, who through His suffering conquered the tormentor - death, the Son of God, who promised us a new life and a heavenly Kingdom, remove from us everything harmful, let peace and generosity dwell in our country, so that on the day of Your appearance we can, by Your good pleasure, go out into the meeting, and see You, and appear before You. Chanting “Hosanna” (Matthew 21:9), let us glorify Your name for Your goodness to our race, because Your compassions have been poured out in abundance upon us who have fallen to death, and Your love for our souls is immeasurable. Blot out our sins with Your forgiveness, so that we praise Your name for Your good deeds. Grant us all, O Lord, by Thy grace, to glorify Thy Divinity and worship Him. The eyes that have seen Your glory here, let them see Your great mercy there. The ears that have heard the voice of Your words, let them not hear, O Lord, the voice of torment. The lips that glorified You in the churches are worthy to sing Your praise there too. The tongue that cried here: “Holy” (Is. 6:3), and there the mood for Your praise. May the hands that held Your Body and Your Blood receive forgiveness of debts from You. Let the feet that entered the holy church walk there in the land of life. Send to our cathedral, which worships Your Divinity, the fullness of saving means. May Your lofty love abide with us and make us worthy to bring You due praise. Open Thy door to our public prayer, and may our service be pleasing to Thee. Turn to us, O Good One, according to Your compassions, and drive away from us everything harmful, so that we may silently praise You, Lord, and Your Father, and the Holy Spirit. To you, the Most Praiseworthy and Eternal, praise from all lips at all times! By your strength we defeat the enemy, who every hour attacks us, the poor. Our hope is in You, the Hidden One in Your essence, because besides You we have no other hope, and we have no one to turn to. Drive away everything harmful from our thoughts, so that the evil one does not prevail over our will. Grant us, our Lord, to conform our pilgrim life on earth to Your will. Spread the cover of Your love over our family and cover it, O Lord, with the wings of Your bounty. Clothe our race in the armor of the Spirit; With them may we overcome the evil one. Our soul is a desert, not bearing fruit of good deeds. May she receive the power of fruitfulness from You. Blessed is he who ceaselessly praises Your name for Your good deeds! The days of our pilgrim life are small and brief in order to sufficiently praise You. O Nature, ineffable to the most eloquent and unsearchable to the inquisitive, a voice of praise is due to Thee, but we insult Thee and thereby bring upon ourselves disgrace. Your nature is above all nature and incomprehensible to earthly beings. We glorify Your Divinity, we worship Him, we glorify Your Trinity name. We worship You, Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, O incomprehensible Nature! Destroy sinful habits from our generation; Cover us, Lord, with the wings of Your compassions. Prepare for us the table of Your love, so that we may bring You the fruits of praise. Imprint on us the image of Your essence, and thereby let us be cleansed from our defilements. Stand at the door of our desires and calm the storm of our lusts. You, who are above all the sufferings of our mortal nature, strengthen the weakness of our race! May your peace, glorified by all and exalted above all, reign in all corners of the earth! Glory to You, Hidden Father, and to Your Only Begotten, and to the Holy Spirit! You, the Son of God, created us in the beginning; Have mercy on us. By generosity You created us, by generosity You formed us, by the same generosity be merciful to us when You appear again. You formed Adam in the beginning so that he would sing the praises of Your name. But since Adam transgressed Your commandment, death prevailed over them and those born of him. Behold, Adam is imprisoned in the tomb and remains in it because he ate of the tree; the evil one condemns him without mercy, because he has violated the commandment. Adam was clothed with splendor and glory at the beginning until he sinned. The evil one was jealous of him, deceived Eve and expelled Adam from paradise. Adam, instead of the glory with which he was clothed, covered himself with fig leaves. The Lord appointed Adam priest, high priest and king at his creation. “Do not eat,” he said, “from the tree; otherwise you will taste death and lose your glory. Death is hidden in the fruit; do not lust or eat it; otherwise you will die. As soon as you taste it, you will lose the light and glory with which I have clothed you” (Gen. 2:16-17). The Lord gave this commandment to Adam and left him in paradise. Adam transgressed the commandment, ate from the tree and experienced sin. Ashamed, he stood among the trees and felt his nakedness. The evil one caught him, entangled him in his nets and made him an exile from paradise. When the day began to turn towards evening, the Lord called out to Adam: “Adam, where are you?” “My crime is great,” said Adam, “but the serpent and Eve deceived me. I lost my glory, covered myself with leaves and became a disgrace for future births. May Thy goodness have mercy on me, O Lord; may I enter Eden again and sing Your praises!” (Gen.3:9-19). At the very beginning of the world, death prevailed because Adam transgressed the commandment. From that time on, greedy death took possession of all generations and destroyed them. In paradise, Adam and Eve lost the glory with which they were invested, because a murderer crept into paradise and expelled them from this garden full of bliss. The coming will be like lightning, because it will be suddenly, at midnight. Then the dead will rise from their graves and sing praises to Him who resurrected them. Grant to your servants, O Son of God, on the day of resurrection to hear that longed-for proclamation in which you loudly say: “Come and inherit the kingdom prepared for you in the beginning.” I look with horror at the whole human race; he decays in the abode of hell, and the tormentor - death scolds him. Deliver, O Son of God, Your captivity from the kidnapper who mocks him. Let Your cross be a bridge for Your servants who have departed from us and rested in trust in You. May they pass through the sea of ​​fire and not be drowned in flames. As a guarantee of life, Thy Body and Thy Blood are hidden in their members. At all times let them sing praises to You, O Lord, and to Your Father and the Holy Spirit. Decoration of our prayer, Jesus, strengthen our prayer, that through You it may ascend to Your Father and receive what we ask for! According to Your mercy, You protect us before Your Father, because You are the chosen sacrifice made for the world. For Adam, who ate the fruit, You embraced the pillar in the judgment seat. For the children of Adam, who sinned against You, the crucifiers pierced You with nails. You took upon Yourself the common debt of all in order to pay it to Your Father. Pay, O innocent Lord, those sins that our freedom owes. With Your precious Blood You have redeemed us from the legal oath; deliver those redeemed by Your Blood from the severity of justice. Let the debts of slaves not prevail over the bounty of the merciful Lord, because, no matter how great our iniquities, Your mercy is even greater. It is true that we have many, many debts, but You have many bounties. And if the truth weighs, then our debts are still less than Your bounties. Who will undertake to weigh Your mercies and compare our iniquities with them? Mountains have weight, but Your bounties have no weight. Your bounty is more precious than life, because life has measure, and Your bounty is immeasurable. And may Your bounties be our great stronghold. I have angered You with my sins, Lord, but You are reluctant to become angry, because You are filled with abundant mercy, and Your grace is imperturbable. You are a sea of ​​generosity, and our untruths are an unclean drop. One drop cannot disturb the vast sea. “All the nations are like a drop,” as it is written by the prophet (Is. 40:15). How could their untruths outrage or anger You? You are not embarrassed when you are indignant, and you are not angry when you punish. If You were angry when You punish, the world would not tolerate Your anger. Your blows are full of love; Your punishment flames with bounties; out of Your love, when you punish, you mean only benefit! The rods of Thy punishment are cut from the tree of Thy mercy; wherever Your rod touches, everywhere its blow brings great benefit. When a mentor punishes his pupil, he does not beat him out of hatred, but wants his benefit, and punishes him with love. And Your blow strikes out of love, and You do not punish out of malice. You desire our benefit, O Lord, because You prove Your mercy in every way. It is not difficult for You to endure our untruths, because You are the Creator of our nature. You are not burdened with Your creation, because You knew us before You created us. Who endures the anxiety of caring for a baby if not the mother who gave birth to him? Who endures the injustices of the world if not its Lord? It is easy for the Creator to bear everything that is heavy from His creatures, because if He did not want to bear it, He would not have created the creatures. “The woman will forget her food, lest she have mercy on the offspring of her womb” (Isaiah 49:15). But even if the wife forgets her childhood, God will not forget the world He created. His natural bounty moved, and He conceived and begat the creature; like a baby from his mother’s womb, the world arose from His will. And so, He lifts up and carries the world, like a mother who feeds with her milk lovingly carries the fruit born from her womb. The Merciful Father gave birth to us and nourishes us with the Blood of His Son. So a mother gives her breasts to her child to nourish it. The baby suckles at the breast and receives the food it needs from the mother. As much as he needs, he absorbs as much food from his mother’s breasts. The baby does not know how to turn in some other direction and look for food for himself somewhere else, and not from his mother. Likewise, the world only borrows the sustenance of life from You, Creator, and no one can give it food except You alone. He does not need to ask in order to receive from You the maintenance of life, because even without asking, he has food for himself. It is not the baby's request that makes the mother give him her nipples. She gives him her nipples, although the baby does not ask; feeds him with milk, although he does not hear his prayers; keeps him on his chest, although he did not ask for it before. Thus, the Righteous One gives what we ask not for the sake of our prayer, but feeds us according to His own bounties, because He created us. All exceeding Greatness gave us His Son, which we did not ask for, Who appeared into the world for our sake and, although we did not ask Him, sacrificed Himself for our salvation. For who asked the Father that He would hand over His Son to death on the cross? Or who begged the Son to die for sinners? Which of the righteous thought of asking the Father to give up His Son for the wicked? Truly, this is an unheard of thing, and no one thought of it. The Father gave up His Son to die on the cross, and through His death sinners acquired life for themselves. And if He gave His greatest treasure, will anything prevent those who ask from such a Lover of Mankind from receiving everything they need? So let us ask Him, because He gives; Let us declare our desires before Him, because He does not refuse; Let us beg Him, because He desires to satisfy our needs in every way. But in His truth He expects our prayer to appear at His doors, and through this prayer truth is reconciled with all sinners. If goodness forgave crimes without prayer, then truth would be violated, and no one would think about it. Humanity would be more and more given over to wickedness, because the Judge does not use the admonishing rod. Everyone would happily continue to sin because no one would admonish him. Then the goodness, so useful for us, would turn into harm, because it would give sinners a reason to multiply the number of their sins more and more. And now in the world, even the fact that truth is prompted to punishment is a matter of goodness, for the sinner is shuddered for this purpose, so that he stops sinning and comes into heartfelt contrition, because he has brought punishment upon himself. And thus the sinner, at least for a short time, abandons his iniquities and tries to ask for remission of sins. Who will not thank You, our Lord, that Your truth is goodness, and Your punishment is grace for us? You are truly good in everything! With the rod of righteousness You humble the head of sinners who sin with shameless arrogance and do not convert without special prompting. So, let us beg for bounties. Truth uses all measures to induce us to repentance, through which the lost are sought. Let us beg God with such prayer as is pleasing to God; Let us plead not for something unimportant, but for His whole Kingdom. Yes, let us ask for His Kingdom and His righteousness, as He Himself taught us (Matthew 6:33), because the Kingdom of God is acquired by righteousness. So, let us acquire righteousness for ourselves, and then the Kingdom will be ours, because it is kept by the righteous. Let's do the truth. Doing the truth is not difficult for anyone. Let everyone do as much as they can; the truth does not require more from him. Let everyone, according to his strength, bear what is placed on him with truth, because the yoke of God is easy and easy for everyone to bear. God does not lay a mountain on the righteous to overwhelm those who seek His kingdom with a heavy burden. If you are walking the path to the Kingdom, then do not burden yourself with anything, for God does not want you to enter His palace burdened with a burden. He Himself commands You not to carry with You either a bag or a “vagina” (Luke 10:4). If you are going to the Kingdom, then throw off everything unnecessary. Will there be anything you lack in the Kingdom that you need to take with you? Be reasonable. God calls you to His table; throw off every burden. Get ready for the journey without burden and go with God to His Kingdom. He is looking for you, so that you may go with Him and dwell with Him in His palace. Look, the Kingdom of God is within You, sinner. Enter into yourself; look for the Kingdom there, and you will find It without difficulty. Do not chase after acquiring property, break out of the networks of lusts, from the snares of sin, from the jungle of covetousness. Renounce worrying about unnecessary things, arrogance of power, lust for power, and any harmful activity. Enter into yourself, live within yourself, in the silence of your interior, with a moderate and pure soul, with a calm and humble spirit. Go “inside” yourself and look for the “Kingdom of God” there; it is really there, as the Lord Himself taught us in His Gospel (Luke 17:21). In the soul that loves God, God dwells, and His Kingdom is there, which is why He says that “The Kingdom of God is within you.” So, let us break free from the networks of the outer world and seek in our souls the Kingdom of God; Until we find him there, we will not stop looking. And if it has not yet taken possession of us, let us seek as the Lord taught us: “Our Father... Thy kingdom come” (Matthew 6:9-10). And it will come if we ask for it. Let us ask God only for the Kingdom of God and the truth of God; everything else that is necessary for us will He give us in abundance. Let us not humiliate this great Treasury, which willingly gives us the Kingdom, by asking her for bread, like dogs who care only about bread. We will ask Her for the highest gift, and the unimportant will be given by Herself. Let us ask for the greatest wealth, then he will not refuse us food. Let us ask that we may be worthy of a great meal, then He will give us our daily bread. Let us strive for the eternal, then the temporal will not be denied. It would be humiliating, Lord, to ask You for just bread, when You have given us Your Holy Body for food. Therefore, even without our asking, give us bread - this animal food. Through our prayer, give us Your Kingdom, this gift worthy of You, so that Your gift will be as high for those in need as You Yourself. Close, Lord, the gates of Gehenna for sinners who beg You for mercy, so that the repentant who humbly fall to You in prayer may not enter it. Pour the rain of Your mercy on the fire that threatens us, so that the flame cools and goes out for the one who calls on You in prayer. Protect us from asking You for a drop of water, as the rich man asked Abraham. You be living water for us; Let us drink from you in the land of the thirsty. Do not cause us to cry out to You from the fire, but mercifully protect us from the fire. Behold, we appeal to You here, hear us there, as the Most Merciful. Open, O Lord, the door of Your Kingdom, so that a host of redeemed people may enter into it. You brought them out of captivity; bring me also into Thy palace. Let the hearts of those who seek You rejoice; May they have mercy, because they begged You for it! Let them be drunk with the fatness of Thy house, and let them recline at Thy table. Whoever seeks You with prayer, may he find consolation in You in his suffering. He who labors in prayer may rest with You at Your supper. We seek You in prayer, because everything is contained in You. Let us be enriched by You, because You are wealth that does not change with the changes of times. May Your mercy come to our aid! May Your grace protect us! From Your treasure pour out medicine upon us to heal our wounds. May Your punishment, O Lord, combined with mercy, be our mentor. May Thy right hand help us to take advantage of Thy punishment. We must seek You instead of everything else and not seek anything besides You. For whoever seeks and seeks You finds everything in You. In You are wealth for those in need, heartfelt joy for those who mourn, healing for all who are wounded, consolation for all who mourn. You are peace on the borders of kingdoms and tranquility within them. You are a field full of blessings; He who possesses You will not wither away with hunger. Accept our prayer, our Lord, and give us Yourself. May we live in You, may we possess You instead of everything else. Then everything is ours. The love of the world has humbled us and made us poor; attachment to excess has brought us to such humiliation. How low is our shamelessness! The love of the world is smoke; his honor is vanity of vanities; its beauty is a snare for those who love the world. You, who opened the eyes of the blind, open the eyes of our freedom, so that it can see what the world is and flee the mortal world. It is hard for our spiritual ear to hear, and Your teaching is unclear to it. And if it had obeyed Your commandments, then earthly possessions would not deceive us. Open, O Lord, the ear of the soul, that it may heed Thy instruction. She voluntarily blocked her ears; May Thy grace open them. If the light of Your grace does not open the ear of the soul, then iniquity will block our hearing and Your instructions will not enter it. Even if our freedom does not want it, heal her against her will, O Most Merciful One. You have already created a miracle, given life to people without their will. You healed “the raging blind and dumb” (Matthew 12:22) without his will, because he had no reason to come and ask You for healing. He did not see You to run after You with the crowds of those who saw You; He did not hear to listen to the rumors about Your healings. The devil damaged his mind; He was not aware of himself, and the thought of asking for healing could not be born in him. But You demanded, although he did not want; healed him, although he did not ask; made him healthy, although he did not know that Your goodness was so great. His darkened eyes were enlightened, his deaf ears began to hear, his disorder of reason ended, he became healthy, free from any illness. So look down on our freedom; she does not ask for healing, does not beg for forgiveness of sins, because sins have damaged her mind. Heal our freedom, O Lord, according to Your mercy, as you healed this poor man, full of illnesses, who did not ask You for healing and whom You made healthy, according to Your mercy. And You gave the Samaritan woman a drink of living water without her will, because it was not she herself who asked to be given this water, but You prompted her to do so. Draw me along like a lost sheep, O common Shepherd of all, because it is pleasant for the Shepherd Himself to go and bring back the perishing sheep. Others in distress called to You, O Lord, and received all kinds of healing from You. But it is equally easy for You to provide healing to both those who ask and those who do not ask. At his request, You restored the sight of the blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46). The bleeding one touched You with faith - and received health. To everyone who begged You, You restored health; but You heal even those who did not ask You for it, because You are the source of mercy, flowing abundantly everywhere. And some of us persistently beg for forgiveness of sins, while others, like the blind and dumb, do not even know what it means to ask. You, our Lord, as the Good One, open, as usual for You, Your treasury and distribute Your riches to everyone, so that we all glorify Your goodness. Let us be Yours. According to Your mercy, Lord, be You ours, because the Righteous Father gave You to us as a cure for our ulcers. Our You are, according to the will of Your Father, our You are and according to Your will. You are with us, Emmanuel. You are with us as our Lord. Accept our prayers from us, our God who has descended to us, accept the tears of sinners and show mercy to the guilty. By Your will You united with us; be the Intercessor of our prayer. Raise her to Your Father and establish peace in our souls. “Everything that the Father has” is Your “essence” (John 16:15). Spend Your treasures on the poor and distribute from Your riches to the needy, so that everyone can satisfy their needs. You became a sacrifice for us in order to atone for our guilt with Your Blood. You became a Priest for our sake, so that by sprinkling Your Blood you could cleanse us. Our only hope is in You, for You heal our wounds. You shed Your Blood on the scabs of sinners, so that through You they would be healed. Behold, You are sacrificed at our table and water our lips. Through you may our prayer ascend to the Father. Blessings to You from all, Merciful to all. How can I praise You, Most Pure and Holy One? Only pure and undefiled lips like You, O Lord, can sing to You. The lips must be pure among the pure and blameless among the blameless, so that their voice may be acceptable to You. It is only because of your generosity that sinners are not forbidden to sing Your praises. As the Merciful One, You never stop those who repent from getting tired. Your voice closed the mouths of demons and plunged them into torment, but He opened the mouths of the deaf and dumb, so that with their voice they would glorify You. Take away, O Lord, the veil of silence from Your servant, because he too is deaf and dumb. Dumb lips are like the lips of one who does not bring You praise. It is very humiliating, Lord, that the donkey spoke and Zechariah’s mouth became numb, like a beast of burden. The donkey became like a man, and the man became like an animal, as it is written (Ps. 48:13). Behold, Lord, the lips of Thy servant await Thy grace. You who have opened the mute mouth of the ass, give me, O Merciful One, the key of the word, so that I may, O Lord, open for them the door of their mute lips. Oh that my lips would also be kept from harmful speech, how dumb they are for Thy glorification! Remove this harm from me, Most Pure One, because talkativeness causes a lot of harm. Who can give You the due and due praise to You? Who is able to reward You for Your love, Our Lord? Accept the coin of praise from us, because we have taken away from Your love and its wealth and interest. May our neck bear Your sweet yoke, our Lord! Let Your visible Cross be hidden in our interiors. Let our heart be strong and crucified every day. Instead of nails, pierce him with Your commandments. Let our prayer be a mirror before Your face. May Your magnificent beauty, O Lord, be reflected on its clean surface. May the vile devil not look at her, O Lord, lest he imprint his vileness on her. The mirror reflects the image of everything that is placed opposite. May all our thoughts not be reflected in our prayer, so that the features of Your face are clearly depicted in it, and, like a mirror, it receives all Your beauty. There are darknesses of Angels and thousands of Seraphim; with these darkness and thousands, take up arms in battle, our Savior, and the evil one will give himself up to flight, turn his back before Your truth. Blessed is He who rebukes the sun and is clothed with flesh! ( Job 9:7 ). By the veil of humanity the foolish were seduced in Him; therefore, as if to disturb him, a small ray showed on the mountain, and his bodily eye was blinded by it. So, let us direct our spiritual eye to Him. You, Lord, were once lifted up on a tree; Now everyone must lift himself up on the cross of love and use fasting instead of nails, and commandments instead of thorns. Let Your Cross be for us a chariot for our members, and pure thoughts be spiritual horses, and as on a chariot drawn by spirits, may Your glory sit on our spirit! My spirit is barren, Lord, and cannot create songs of praise. Therefore, like Anna, grant to my spirit fruitfulness and childbearing, so that the born word that comes from my mouth may be sacrificed to You, like the son of a barren woman. Anna prayed to You and made a vow: She promised You what she begged You for. I received from You what I asked and gave it to You. Thus the one who received gave thanks, and the Giver was glorified. Who will not be amazed at the treasures of Your wisdom! The gift, given by the Giver through goodness, was returned by the one who received it; She accepted the gift and sacrificed it to the Giver. It was pleasant for the Giver when He sent down the gift, but it became much more pleasant when His gift was returned and sacrificed to Him. In giving the gift, He was the giver; having accepted, he became a debtor. Anna grieved when she asked for the gift; but as soon as I received it, I gladly gave it back. As soon as she received what she asked for, she gave it back in the firm hope that this would be the only way to completely master it. How marvelous is the Giver, Who first gave to Anna so that she could give back to Him! Only from Him could she receive the gift, and from her only did He wish to receive it back. Blessed is He who gave and He who received back! Humanity begs Thee, that, in Thy goodness, Thou wouldest send it a gift; it asks You for a gift. And this is already a gift of grace, what it can ask for, and You receive back Yours from it. I ask You, give me a gift so that I can sacrifice it to You. I want to give yours to You, because You gifted me. From Your treasures only, Lord, can I offer a sacrifice to You, because I am all Yours. From Your treasures I have accepted what I can bring to You. And the fact that I want to sing praises to You, Lord, is Your gift. If You multiply even the small good that is in us so abundantly, then how many times more abundantly will Your gifts multiply in us? My poor harps! May Your grace put a song into them, may it bring out harmonious sounds of praise from them, so that I can offer You something as a sacrifice from my harp. How should both Your flock and the steward of your house boast! Because the latter separates the Lord from His own treasures. He lavishes the Lord's wealth and receives praise for his faithfulness and diligence. Great is Your treasure; who can number it? There are reserves in it that are beyond our imagination; there are riches in it that we are not able to define. There is a completeness in it that enriches traders. Grant, Lord, the hidden to those who can accept it; keep secrets for the worthy; but give me something from what has been revealed, so that, to the best of my ability, my harp may sing to You. Grant me, O Lord, to glorify Your works with words. You have no need for Your wondrous deeds to be enumerated to You, but for my sake, may Your love renew them, and again may He hear about them from my lips! In advance, before a person begins to pray, You know, Lord, what and what price his prayer is; however, as soon as he kneels to prayer, You also bow Your ear to hear her again. Both the past and the present are open to Your omniscience. The future, according to Your mercy, as if You hid it, so that in due time you could look at it as something new, although it is known to You. But lest we think that He knows only the obvious, His wisdom also revealed the hidden in advance. From this we must know His love, that even with His omniscience He inclines His ear to our prayers in order to listen to them. Our laziness could fall into error and suffer harm from the confidence that God knows everything, even if we did not cry out to Him. Therefore, out of love for the ignorant, so that we pray to Him, He is pleased to converse with us. Thanks be to Your treatment of us! You have revealed Your omniscience so that we may be exalted; You have revealed Your omniscience so that we may be enriched. Praise be to You for everything! Let the fruit of Your grace, O Lord, which has come from my spirit, serve before You in Your house, as Samuel, who was also born by Your grace and at the same time came from Mount Ephraim, served You. You might be interested in: