Блаженства

(In 55 chapters. According to the Slavic translation, part I. Word 28) 1. Blessed is he who, in the Lord, has become completely free from everything earthly in this vain life and has loved the only Good and merciful God. 2. Blessed is he who has become a doer of virtues and, like a fruitful field, has brought forth a high heap of the fruits of life in the Lord. 3. Blessed is he who has become an excellent cultivator of virtues, planted spiritual grapes and, having gathered grapes, filled his winepress with the fruits of life in the Lord. 4. Blessed is the one who brought spiritual joy to slaves like himself through the fruits of virtues, which he planted through his labors, so that they would bear the fruit of life in the Lord. 5. Blessed is the one who, standing at God's service and in prayer, like a heavenly angel, has pure thoughts every hour and does not give access to the evil one, so that he does not take his soul captive and lead him away from God the Savior. 6. Blessed is the one who with knowledge (consciously) wanted to cry and with contrition sheds tears onto the earth before the Lord, like precious pearls. 7. Blessed is he who loves what is holy as light, and has not desecrated his body before the Lord with the dark deeds of the evil one. 8. Blessed is he who keeps his body as a shrine to the Savior and has not disgraced his soul with alien deeds, but has remained pleasing to the Lord. 9. Blessed is he who hated vile and shameful deeds and offered himself as a living sacrifice acceptable to the Lord. 10. Blessed is the one who always has in himself the remembrance of God, because on earth he will, like a heavenly Angel, fully serve the Lord with fear and love. 11. Blessed is he who loves repentance, which saves sinners, and did not agree to do evil, becoming ungrateful before our Savior God. 12. Blessed is the one who, staying in his cell, like a courageous warrior, guards the treasure of the Kingdom, that is, keeps his body and soul blameless in the Lord. 13. Blessed is the one who, staying in his cell like an Angel in heaven, has pure thoughts and with his lips sings songs to Him who has power over every breath. 14. Blessed is he who has become like Seraphim and Cherubim and has never been lazy for spiritual priesthood, constantly speaking the words of the Lord. 15. Blessed is he who is always filled with spiritual joy and bears the good yoke of the Lord without laziness, for he will be crowned in glory. 16. Blessed is he who has cleansed himself from all sinful filth, so that he may boldly receive into his house the King of glory, our Lord Jesus Christ. 17. Blessed is the one who approaches the Most Pure Mysteries of the Savior with fear, trembling and reverence, realizing that he is receiving indestructible life into himself. 18. Blessed is he who hourly thinks about death and has brought into inaction the shameful passions that nest in the hearts of the careless; such a one will be consoled at the hour of his death. 19. Blessed is he who constantly remembers the fear of Gehenna and hastens with tears and sighs to sincerely repent to the Lord; such a one will be delivered from great sorrow. 20. Blessed is he who always voluntarily humbles himself, for he will be crowned by Him who voluntarily humbled Himself for us. 21. Blessed is he who abides in his cell with all reverence, like Mary at the feet of the Lord, and like Martha he hastens to receive the Lord and Savior. 22. Blessed is he who, inflamed by the fear of God, always has within himself the warmth of the Holy Spirit and has burned up the thorns and thistles of evil thoughts. 23. Blessed is he who has not desecrated his hands with foreign deeds and has not become abominable to God, for such a one will be judged before the Lord on the terrible day. 24. Blessed is the one who daily cultivates beautiful and good thoughts in himself and through hope has overcome the evil passion of despondency with which the ascetics of the Lord struggle. 25. Blessed is he who in the work of the Lord has become like a courageous warrior: he stirs up the lazy and encourages the faint-hearted in the path of the Lord. 26. Blessed is he who has become abundantly fruitful in the Lord, and therefore has the holy Angels as guardians, just as a fruitful tree has its heli-grader as its guardian. 27. Blessed is he who, with spiritual prudence, loves meekness and does not allow himself to be deceived by the evil serpent, placing his hope in the Good and merciful Lord. 28. Blessed is he who honors the saints, loves his neighbor, and has banished from his soul the envy that caused Cain to become a fratricide. 29. Blessed is he who by deed exposed the tormentor and did not fall into fear from the flame of voluptuousness, because his soul will be watered with the dew of the Holy Spirit. 30. Blessed is he whose dark cloud of the devil could not darken his mind and deprive him of the sweet light and joy of the righteous. 31. Blessed is he who, having enlightened the eyes of his heart, always sees the Lord in himself, as in a mirror; such a person received relief from passions and evil thoughts. 32. Blessed is he who loves beautiful, kind speeches, but hates shameful and corrupting words; such a one will not fall into captivity to the evil one. 33. Blessed is he who edifies his neighbor with the fear of God and has not deceived his soul by constantly fearing the iron rod of the Great Shepherd. 34. Blessed is he who is obedient to his neighbor according to God and endures sorrows with thanksgiving, for such a one will be crowned by becoming a confessor in the Lord. 35. Blessed is he who was not cast down as unmanly by the passion of despondency, but who took on perfect patience, for which all the saints received crowns. 36. Blessed is he who loves abstinence according to God and is not condemned for his belly as a sensualist and unclean; such a one will be exalted in the Lord. 37. Blessed is he who does not get drunk on wine like a dissolute person, but always rejoices in the remembrance of the Lord, in whom all the saints continually rejoice. 38. Blessed is he who disposes of his property according to God and is not condemned by God the Savior as a lover of money and unmerciful to his neighbor. 39. Blessed is he who watches in prayer, reading and good deeds; he will be enlightened and will not sleep into death. 40. Blessed is he who became a beautiful spiritual net (net) and caught many to the good Lord; he will be praised in the Lord. 41. Blessed is the one who has become an excellent example for his neighbor and has not offended the conscience of a slave like himself with unlawful deeds; he will be blessed in the Lord. 42. Blessed is he who has become magnanimous and merciful and has not enslaved himself to wild irritability, that is, to evil anger; he will be exalted in the Lord. 43. Blessed is he who, having risen in love, has become like a city built on the top of a mountain, from which the enemy, having looked at him, withdraws in fear, fearing that he is steadfast in the Lord. 44. Blessed is he who shone forth with faith in the Lord, like a clear lamp on a high candlestick, and enlightened the darkened souls who followed the teachings of the infidels and the wicked. 45. Blessed is he who always loves the truth and has not given his mouth to lies as an instrument of wickedness, fearing the commandment about idle speech. 46. ​​Blessed is the one who does not condemn his neighbor as unwise, but, as a reasonable and spiritual person, tries to take the beam out of his own eye. 47. Blessed is the one whose heart, like a palm tree, has blossomed with the righteousness of faith, and is not suppressed, like thorns, by the teachings of the infidels and the wicked. 48. Blessed is he who kept his eyelids (eyelids), and was not deceived either mentally or sensually by the skin of the flesh, which will soon exude pus from itself. 49. Blessed is he who has the day of the passing before his eyes and has hated pride before our natural weakness, rotting in the grave, is clothed with death. 50. Blessed is he who thinks about the multitude of those who sleep in the tombs and has rejected all foul lust; such a one will rise in glory when the heavenly trumpet sounds, awakening all the sons of men. 51. Blessed is he who with spiritual understanding looks at the glittering host of stars and at the beauty of heaven, desiring to behold the Creator of all things. 52. Blessed is he who holds in his mind the fire that descended on Mount Sinai, and the blasts of the trumpet, and Moses standing in the midst with fear and trembling; he did not neglect his salvation. 53. Blessed is he who has hope not in man, but in the Lord, who will come again with much glory to judge the world in righteousness; He will be like a tree that grows by the waters, and will not cease to bear fruit. 54. Blessed is he whose mind, by grace, has become like a cloud full of rain; (such a one will convert) the souls of mortals to the return of the fruits of life, and grace will be his eternal praise. 55. Blessed are those who are always sober according to God, because on the Day of Judgment they will be protected by God and, having become sons of the bridal chamber, they will see the Bridegroom in joy and gladness. And I, and those who are careless and voluptuous like me, will weep and weep, seeing our brothers in incomparable glory, and ourselves in torment. I’m talking about this with myself, beloved, and I’m shedding tears all over because, having begun my journey (the monastic life), I weakened and stopped in the middle of the race, presenting myself as a pitiful sight to those looking at me. How can I not mourn my great laziness and my great negligence? Some humbled themselves with sackcloth and iron; others worked for the Lord in seclusion and fasting; others on the pillars impeccably accomplished the feat; others in the desert and loneliness succeeded in virtue; others accepted crowns in submission; But I, the pitiful one, and like me the lazy and glory-loving have put on, it is true, the image of piety, but have been deprived of piety by their deeds. Who can imagine in his mind the suffering of the holy martyrs, not only husbands, but also wives, and will not be amazed? They humble themselves, imitating their Master, and we wish honor and greetings at the marketplace! For their piety they were imprisoned in hunger, torment and chains in prison, but we cannot endure even the slightest suffering voluntarily, but with all our might we pursue pleasures. They, insulted and humiliated, willingly endured even to the point of death, but we do not even tolerate those admonished. They defeated the fire, but we cannot stand even a harsh word. After torture, they were brought out for show to the people and went there rejoicing, but we, hearing about their exploits, are amazed, but have no desire to imitate them. We need a lot of sighs and tears so that we are not cast out from the Heavenly Kingdom, where great glory is prepared for those who have labored. So, let us not be careless, let us not indulge in laziness during sacred services. “For God was not offended, He forgot the works” (Heb. 6:10) of His servants, who completely surrendered themselves to His will, renounced the world for His name’s sake, separated from their parents according to the flesh, knock on His door at the third and sixth and ninth hours, both in the evening and in the morning, or better yet, all day and all night. And do you really think that God will ignore such humility? Let this not happen! They are in seclusion, engaged in handicrafts, endure fasting, vigils, battles of evil spirits, bend their knees in prayer, and often hit the floor with their foreheads, imploring His goodness. And will God ignore such a request? Let this not happen! If someone approaches a shameless and hard-hearted person with zeal, then he too will bow to compassion. And God, who loves mankind, is good, rich in mercy, has mercy on the ungrateful - will he ignore such a sorrowful life and reverence, sighs, tears, compassion, holiness, humility, silence, abstinence, patience, humiliation from the proud? No way! Therefore, let us not lose faith, beloved, let us not be lazy during the sacred service, but, on the contrary, let us boldly begin to knock on the doors. The more relentlessly you hit, the more you increase your reward. Be sober every hour, because at an hour when you don’t expect it, the Lord will send for you to take you into the granary of life, into the assembly of the righteous, so that you will finally rest and have no worries where there is no battle or enemy. For there the enemy who fights with us and all the reasons for war will be destroyed. The reason for warfare is the lust for beauty and the desire to possess it, but in heaven “they neither marry nor encroach, but as the angels of God are in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). Another reason for warfare is wealth and earthly glory. But all this is perishable and will end on earth, therefore one of the saints teaches us, saying: “Do not love the world, nor those in the world. If anyone loves the world, there is no Father’s love in it. For everything that is in the world, carnal lust and selfish lust and worldly pride, is not from the Father, but is from this world. And the world passes away, and so does its lust; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15–17). Just as someone who finds himself in a place filled with thorns, clinging to them, pricks himself with them until he comes out into the open, and, having emerged from the thorns, is no longer afraid of them, so the saints, having found themselves in such a place, used diligence and hard work instead of shoes; and therefore, even walking among the thorns, they were not hurt by them. But those who indulged in negligence and hated work to the end - they suffered from thorns. To signify this, the Lord commanded the returning son to be given clothes and a ring and boots for his feet, so that he could boldly and fearlessly trample on the head of the serpent. They compare real life to a thorny place, in which sins grow like thorns, to a pure place - the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the Great King, from where illness, sadness and sighing fled. Oh, if only we could all reach that city by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. You might be interested in: