Молящийся ум взыскует соединения с сердцем

The doors of the senses have closed: the tongue is silent, the eyes are closed, the ear does not listen to anything that is outside of me. The mind, clothed in prayer, laying down the burden of earthly thoughts, descends to the cell of the heart. The cage doors are closed; There is darkness everywhere, impenetrable darkness. And the mind, in bewilderment, begins to knock with prayer on the door of the heart; stands patiently at the door, knocks, waits, knocks again, waits again, prays again. There is no answer, no voice is heard! Dead silence and darkness respond with deathly silence. The mind leaves the door of the heart, sad, and seeks consolation in bitter weeping. He was not allowed to appear before the King of kings in the sanctuary of the inner cage. Why, why are you rejected? I bear the mark of sin. The ability to think about earthly things entertains me. There is no strength in me: because the Spirit does not come to my aid, the all-holy and all-good Spirit, restoring the connection of mind, heart and body, which were separated by the terrible fall of man. Without the almighty, creative help of the Spirit, my own efforts are in vain! He is abundantly merciful, loving mankind infinitely: but my uncleanness does not allow Him to come to me. I will wash myself in tears, I will cleanse myself by confessing my sins, I will not give my body food and sleep, the abundance of which imparts fatness to my soul; fully clothed in the cry of repentance, I will go down to the door of my heart. There I will stand or sit, like the blind man of the gospel, I will endure the burden and boredom of darkness, I will cry out to the One who is able to have mercy: “Have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:48). And he descended, and stood up, and began to cry out with tears. He likened himself to a blind man, unable to see the true, unstoppable Light, deaf and dumb, unable to speak or hear spiritually; felt from the very thing that he was as if blind, deaf, mute, standing at the gates of Jericho - a heart inhabited by sins - awaiting healing from the Savior, Whom he does not see, Whom he does not hear, to Whom he cries out - except through his own distress. He does not know His name, he calls the Son of God the son of David: flesh and blood cannot honor God as God. Show me the path the Savior will take? This path is prayer, as the Prophet told man on behalf of God and by the Spirit of God: “The sacrifice of praise will glorify Me, and there is the path by which I will show him My salvation” (Ps. 49:23). Tell me, at what hour will the Savior go? Is it in the morning, or at noon, or in the evening? “Watch and pray, for you do not know at what hour your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:42; Mark 13:33). The path is known, the hour is not appointed! – I will go out of the city, stand or sit at the gates of Jericho, as St. Paul advises: “Let us therefore come to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach” (Heb. 13:13). The world is passing away; everything in it is impermanent: it is not even called a city, but a camp. I will leave aside the attachment to property, which is involuntarily left at death, and often before death; I will leave honors and glory perishing; I will leave behind sensual pleasures, which take away the ability for exploits and spiritual pursuits. “For I am not the imam of the city that is here, but of the one that is to come” (Heb. 13:14), which must first be revealed to me in my heart by the mercy and grace of God my Savior. Whoever does not ascend into the mysterious Jerusalem in spirit during earthly life, even after his soul departs from the body, cannot have a certificate that he will be allowed to enter heavenly Jerusalem. The first serves as a guarantee of the second 318. Amen. Venerable Hesychius, Philokalia, part 2, ch. 4. Other holy fathers also reason according to this. You might be interested in: