О смирении (разговор между старцем и учеником его)

Student . What is humility? Elder. There is an evangelical virtue that unites the powers of man into one with the peace of Christ, exceeding human comprehension. Student . When it is beyond comprehension, then how do we know about its existence? especially how can we acquire such a virtue that we cannot even comprehend? Elder. We learn about its existence through faith, from the Gospel, and we learn about virtue itself through experience as we acquire it. But even after acquisition, it remains incomprehensible. Elder. Because she is Divine. Humility is the teaching of Christ, is the property of Christ, is the action of Christ. The words of the Savior: “Learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29), St. John Climacus explains this way: “Learn not from an Angel, not from a person, not from a book, but from “Me,” that is, from My assimilation to you, illumination and action in you, “for I am meek and humble in heart,” and in thought and way of thinking" 323. How can we comprehend the attribute and actions of Christ? they, and the feeling of them, are incomprehensible, just as the Apostle said: “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, may guard your hearts and your minds on Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7). The peace of God is both the beginning and the immediate consequence of humility; he is the action of humility and the cause of this action. He acts on the mind and heart with omnipotent Divine power. Both its power and its action are naturally incomprehensible. Student . How can you achieve humility? Elder. By fulfilling the Gospel commandments, mainly by prayer. The gracious action of humility is very similar to the gracious action of prayer; more correctly: it is one and the same action. Student . Do not refuse to explain in detail both methods for acquiring humility. Elder. They are both set out in the teachings of the Holy Fathers. Saint John Climacus says that some, led by the Spirit of God, can satisfactorily discuss humility 324, and Saint Isaac of Syria that the Holy Spirit mysteriously teaches humility to a person prepared for such training 325. We, collecting the crumbs falling from the spiritual table of our masters - the Holy Fathers 326, received the merest concept of humility; We ourselves try to hold on to it and pass it on to those who ask, as the precious tradition of the Fathers. With all justice, we can call the concepts we have received about humility crumbs: the treasure itself, in its unfulfillable fullness, belongs to the one who has acquired Christ within himself. The Monk Abba Dorotheos says that “Humility is naturally formed in the soul from activity according to the Gospel commandments... The same thing is done here as when teaching the sciences and the art of medicine. When someone learns them well and practices them, then little by little, from practice, a scientist or doctor acquires a skill, but they cannot say or explain how they acquired the skill, because little by little the soul accepted it from practice. The same thing happens when acquiring humility: from doing the commandments, a certain humble skill is formed, which cannot be explained in words” 327. From this teaching of the Venerable Abba Dorotheos, it is obvious that anyone who wants to acquire humility must carefully study the Gospel, and with the same care fulfill all the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ. The doer of the Gospel commandments can come to the knowledge of his own sinfulness and the sinfulness of all mankind, and finally to the consciousness and conviction that he is the most sinful and worst of all people. Student . It seems incongruous to me how someone who carefully fulfills the Gospel commandments comes to the realization that he is the greatest sinner? It seems that the consequence should be the opposite. He who constantly performs virtues, and does them with special zeal, cannot help but see himself as virtuous. Elder. The latter refers to those who do imaginary good “out of themselves” 328, out of their fallen nature. He who does such good according to his own understanding, according to his inclination, and the instructions of his heart, cannot help but see this good, cannot help but be satisfied and admire it; he himself is vainglorious about it, and delights in human praise; seeks, demands them; becomes angry and hostile to those who refuse praise. He counts his good deeds, based on their multitude he forms an opinion about himself, and, based on his opinion, an opinion about his neighbors, as the Pharisee mentioned in the Gospel formed 329. This kind of activity leads to the opinion of one’s own righteousness, creates righteous people who are rejected by the Lord and reject the Lord, or who only superficially and coldly confess Him with a dead confession (Matthew 9:13). The opposite consequences come from fulfilling the gospel commandments. An ascetic, as soon as he begins to fulfill them, he sees that he is fulfilling them very insufficiently, uncleanly, that he is hourly carried away by his passions, that is, by a damaged will, to activities prohibited by the commandments. Then he will clearly see that the fallen nature is hostile to the Gospel. Intensified activity according to the Gospel reveals to him more and more clearly the insufficiency of his good deeds, his many deviations and defeats, the unhappy state of fallen nature, alienated from God, which has acquired a hostile mood towards God. Looking at his past life, he sees that it is an unbroken chain of sins, falls, actions that anger God, and from the sincerity of his heart he recognizes himself as the greatest sinner, worthy of temporary and eternal executions, completely in need of a Redeemer, having in Him the only hope of salvation. He imperceptibly forms such an opinion about himself from doing the commandments. It can be said with certainty that he who is guided in his life by the Gospel will not stop to bring full proof that he does not know a single good deed 330. He recognizes his fulfillment of the commandments as distortion and desecration of them, as St. Peter of Damascus says 331. “Teach me to do Your will” (Ps. 143:10), he cries out to God with tears, the will that You commanded me to do, which I strive to do, but cannot, because my fallen nature does not understand it and does not submit to it. All my efforts have been and will be in vain if You do not extend a helping hand to me. “Thy good Spirit,” He alone, “will guide me to the right land” 332. “Good can neither be believed nor acted except in Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit,” 333 said the Monk Mark the Ascetic. Student . Will such a view of oneself lead to despondency or despair? Elder. It will lead to Christianity. It was for such sinners that the Lord descended to earth, as He Himself declared: “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13). Such sinners can wholeheartedly accept and confess the Redeemer. Student . Let us assume that activity according to the Gospel commandments leads to knowledge and awareness of one’s sinfulness; But how can one achieve the point of recognizing oneself as more sinful than all the people among whom there are terrible criminals, villains? Elder. This is again a natural consequence of the feat. If there are two objects before our eyes, and we examine one of them with all possible attention and incessantly, and do not pay any attention to the other, then about the first we receive a clear, detailed, definite concept, and in relation to the second we remain with the most superficial concept. The doer of the Gospel commandments has the eyes of his mind constantly fixed on his own sinfulness; by confessing it to God and crying, he takes care of discovering new ulcers and spots in himself. Discovering them with the help of God, he strives for new discoveries, drawn by the desire for God-pleasing purity. He does not look at the sins of his neighbors. If on some occasion he has to look at the sin of his neighbor, then his glance is the most superficial and fleeting, as is usually the case with people busy with something special. From his very life it follows naturally and logically that he recognizes himself as a sinner among sinners. The Holy Fathers demand this dispensation from us 334. Without such self-view, the Holy Fathers recognize the very feat of prayer as incorrect. The brother said to the Monk Sisoes the Great: “I see that the unceasing memory of God abides in me.” The monk answered: “It is not great that your thought is with God: it is great to see yourself lower than all creation” 335. The basis of prayer is deepest humility. Prayer is a cry and cry of humility. With a lack of humility, the feat of prayer becomes susceptible to self-delusion and demonic delusion. Student . With the question of how, while excelling in virtues, one can excel in humility, I deviated you from the order of the story. Elder. I return to him. In the mentioned teaching of the Venerable Abba Dorotheos, the saying of a certain holy elder is given that “the path of humility is bodily labors in the mind.” This instruction is very important for brothers engaged in various monastic obediences, some of which are difficult for the body, while others are associated with spiritual feats. What does it mean to “work with the mind”? This means - to bear monastic labor as a punishment for one’s sinfulness, in the hope of receiving forgiveness from God. What does it mean to “work recklessly”? - To work with carnal fervor, with vanity, with boasting, with humiliation of other brothers who cannot carry out such work due to weakness or inability, even laziness. In the latter case, labor, no matter how intensified, long-lasting, materially useful for the monastery, is not only useless for the soul, but also harmful, as it fills it with conceit, in which there is no place in the soul for any virtue. An example of “work in the mind”, which raised the worker to the heights of Christian perfection by lowering him into the depths of humility, we see in the feat of Blessed Isidore of Alexandria. He was one of the dignitaries of Alexandria. Called by the mercy of God to the monastic life, Isidore entered a monastic hostel, which was not far from Alexandria, and devoted himself to unconditional obedience to the abbot of the monastery, a man filled with the Holy Spirit. The abbot, seeing that the height of his rank had formed in Isidore an arrogant and harsh disposition, intended to act against mental illness by imposing obedience that was difficult not so much for the body as for the sick heart. Isidore, entering the hostel, announced to the abbot that he was giving himself over to him, just as iron is given over to the hands of a forger. The abbot ordered him to get up and constantly stand at the gates of the monastery so that he would bow at the feet of everyone entering and leaving, and say: “Pray for me: I am possessed by a demon.” Isidore obeyed the abbot as if he were an Angel to God. Having spent seven years in this obedience and foreknowledge of his death from Divine revelation, Isidore died joyfully. He confessed to Saint John the Climacus about the state of his soul during his ascetic struggle: “At first I thought that I had sold myself to atone for my sins, and therefore with the greatest sorrow, forcing myself, as if shedding blood, I bowed down. After a year, my heart no longer felt sadness, expecting a reward for patience from God Himself. After another year, I, from the consciousness of my heart, considered myself unworthy of staying in the monastery, and seeing the Fathers, and talking with them, and meeting with them, and communion of the Holy Mysteries, but lowering my eyes down, and my way of thinking even lower, I sincerely begged for prayer for those entering and leaving” 336. Here is bodily labor and obedience, carried out in the mind! This is their fruit! One humble thought transferred the blessed worker to another, deeper one, as if educating him, until he entered into the most abundant, mysterious feeling of humility. With this holy feeling, heaven was opened to Saint Isidore, as to the animated church of God. “Humility makes a person a village of God,” said the Great Barsanuphius 337. The Monk Abba Dorotheos, at the beginning of his teaching on humility, places, as if the cornerstone of the foundation of the building, the following saying of one of the holy elders: “First of all, we need humility, and we must be ready to say “forgive” against every word we hear: because humility crushes all the arrows of the enemy and opponent.”338 In rejecting justification, in blaming oneself and asking for forgiveness in all those cases in which in ordinary worldly life one resorts to justifications and multiplies them, lies the great mysterious purchase of holy humility. All the Holy Fathers adhered to it and bequeathed it. This doing is strange when looking at it superficially; but experience itself will not be slow to prove that it is full of spiritual benefit, and flows from the Self-Truth, Christ. Our Lord rejected justifications, not using them before men, although He could reveal His Divine truth before them in all its greatness, and He said to the Pharisees: “You are justified before men, but God knows your hearts: for what is high among men is an abomination to God” (Luke 16:15). “Behold my servant,” the prophet of the Old Testament proclaims about the Lord, “for whom I have willed; My beloved, My soul is well pleased with Nan; I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim judgment with His tongue; He will not contradict nor cry out; anyone at the crossroads will hear His voice” (Matthew 12:18–19; Isaiah 42:1–2). “Christ suffered for us,” the Apostle of the New Testament testifies to the exact fulfillment of the prophecy, “leave us an image, that we may follow in His footsteps; So, if we, guilty of countless sins, came to the monastery to suffer crucifixion for our sins at the right hand of our Savior, then we recognize in good time any sorrow that may befall us, as righteous retribution for our sins and a fair punishment for them. In such a mood, asking for forgiveness at every opportunity that presents itself will be a correct, logical action. “Justification by words does not belong to Christian living,” said Saint Isaac of Syria 339. The Monk Pimen the Great used to say: “We fall into many temptations because we do not maintain the rank befitting our name. Don’t we see that the Canaanite wife accepted the name given to her and the Savior consoled her (Matthew 15:27 et seq.). Abigail also said to David: “My iniquity is in me” (1 Samuel 25:24), and David, hearing this, loved her. Abigail is the image of the soul, and David is the image of God: if the soul accuses itself before the Lord, the Lord will love it.” The Great One was asked: what does “high” mean (Luke 16:15). He answered: “Excuses. Don’t make excuses for yourself, and you will find peace” 340. He who does not justify himself is guided by humility, but he who justifies himself by arrogance. Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria once visited Mount Nitria. That mountain was the seat of a large monastic community that lived for the silent. Abba of the Mountain was a man of great holiness. The archbishop asked him: “What, father, in your opinion is most important on the path of monasticism?” Abba answered: “Constant accusation and condemnation of oneself.” The archbishop said to this: “So! There is no other way but this" 341. I will conclude my poor teaching on humility with the wonderful teaching of St. John the Prophet about this virtue. “Humility consists in not considering oneself for something in any case, cutting off one’s will in everything, obeying everyone, and enduring without embarrassment what befalls us from the outside. This is true humility, in which vanity has no place. The humble person should not show his humility by “humble speech,” but it is enough for him to say “forgive me” or “pray for me.” One should also not be called upon to perform low deeds: this, like the first (that is, humility), leads to vanity, hinders success, and does more harm than good; but when they command something, not to contradict, but to fulfill it with obedience, this leads to success” 342. Student . Is the use of humble words, called humility, harmful to the soul? It seems very befitting of a monk, and is very edifying to worldly people, who are moved by emotion when they hear the monk’s humility. Elder. The Lord said: “What good does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul” (Matthew 16:26). Evil cannot in any way be the cause of good. Hypocrisy and people-pleasing cannot be the cause of edification: the world can like them because it has always liked them; they can arouse the praise of the world, because they have always aroused it; can attract the love and trust of the world because it has always attracted them. The world loves its own; he is praised by those in whom he hears his spirit (John 15:18–20). The world's approval of humility already serves as a condemnation of it. The Lord commanded to perform all virtues in secret (Matthew 6), and humility is the demonstration of humility to people. It is pretense, deception, firstly of oneself, then of others, because concealment of one’s virtues is one of the properties of humility, and through humility and humility this concealment is destroyed. “When you are among your brethren,” says Saint John Climacus, “watch yourself so that you do not appear to be more righteous than them. Otherwise, you will do double evil: you will offend your brothers with your hypocrisy and pretense, but you will certainly create arrogance in yourself. Be diligent [zealous]. – Approx. ed. AB ] in the soul, without showing it in any way physically, neither by appearance, nor by word, nor by hint” 343. As much as it is useful to reproach yourself and accuse yourself of sin before God, of the secret of the spiritual cage, it is so harmful to do this in front of people. Otherwise, we will arouse in ourselves the seductive opinion that we are humble, and teach such a concept about ourselves to blind laymen. A certain monk told me that, in his new beginnings, he tried to practice humility, believing in it, out of his ignorance, something especially important. One day he spoke humbly, and so successfully that those who heard, instead of recognizing his words as a lie, and him being humble - which is always the goal of humility - agreed that he was telling the truth: then he was upset and indignant. We must behave cautiously and reverently before people, but simply, responding with silence to praise, and to reproach, except in those cases when asking for forgiveness and, if necessary, a moderate explanation can calm and reconcile the one who blames us. Those who succeed in monastic life acquire a special freedom and simplicity of heart, which cannot but be revealed in their treatment of their neighbors. The world doesn't like them! He recognizes them as proud, as Saint Simeon, the New Theologian 344 very rightly notes. The world is looking for flattery, but in them it sees sincerity, which it does not need, and meets with reproof, which it hates. When I was in a large city, an old man, very successful in spiritual life, came there with his new disciple for monastic needs. Some pious laymen wanted to see the elder. They didn't like him. They really liked the student, who, entering rich and noble houses, was amazed at the earthly greatness, and bowed low to everyone. “How humble he is!” - the laity said with special pleasure generated in them by their bows. The elder spent his life crying about his sinfulness; He recognized that the greatest happiness of man is the discovery of sinfulness in himself, and with sincere love, with compassion for poor humanity, equally poor in chambers and huts, with simplicity of heart, with extraordinary insight delivered by the same purity of mind, he wanted to share spiritual treasures with his neighbors who asked him about salvation: by this he aroused displeasure against himself. Student . What is the difference between humility and humility? Elder. “Humility” is a way of thinking borrowed entirely from the Gospel, from Christ. “Humility” is a feeling of the heart, it is a pledge of the heart corresponding to humility. First one must learn humility; As you practice humility, the soul acquires humility, because the state of the heart always depends on the thoughts that have been assimilated into the mind. When a person’s work is overshadowed by Divine grace, then humility and humility in abundance will begin to give birth to and aggravate each other, with the haste of the companion of prayer—crying. Student . Explain with experiments how humility is born from humility and vice versa? Elder. I had a short acquaintance, a monk, who was constantly subjected to various sorrows, with which, as he said, it was pleasing for God to replace the spiritual elder. Despite the constant sorrows, I saw the monk almost always calm, often joyful. He studied the Word of God and mental prayer. I asked him to reveal to me, for the benefit of my soul, where he found consolation for himself? He answered: I owe my consolation to the mercy of God and the writings of the Holy Fathers, for whom I have been given love since my childhood. During the onslaught of sorrows, sometimes I repeat the words of the thief, who from his cross confessed the righteousness of God’s judgment in human court, and by this confession entered into the knowledge of the Savior. I say: “I am worthy of my deeds:... remember me, O Lord, in Thy kingdom” (Luke 23:41–42). With these words peace and tranquility flow into the heart. At other times, I contrasted the thoughts of sadness and confusion with the words of the Savior: “Whoever does not accept his cross and comes after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38); then confusion and sadness were replaced by peace and joy. Other similar sayings of the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers produce the same effect. The repeated words “Glory to God for everything” or “God’s will be done” work satisfactorily against very difficult grief. Strange thing! sometimes from the strong effect of grief all the strength of the soul will be lost; the soul, as it were, will go deaf, lose the ability to feel anything: at this time I will begin to say out loud, forcefully and mechanically, in one language, “Glory to God,” and the soul, having heard the praise of God, begins to little by little come to life in response to this praise, then it will be encouraged, calmed down and consoled. For those who are allowed to suffer, it would be impossible to withstand them if they were not secretly supported by the help and grace of God. Again: without sorrow, a person is not capable of that mysterious, at the same time essential consolation that is given to him in proportion to his sorrow, just as the Psalmist said: “Because of the multitude of my illnesses in my heart, Your consolations have made my soul glad” (Ps. 93:19). Once a dangerous plot was laid against me. Having learned about him, and not having any means to avert him, I felt sadness to the point of exhaustion. I come to my cell, and as soon as I uttered the words of the Savior that I remembered: “Let not your heart be troubled: believe in God, and believe in Me” (John 14:1), when the sadness disappeared; Instead, an inexplicable joy overwhelmed me, I had to lie down on the bed, and the whole day I was intoxicated, and the words were repeated in my mind, pouring consolation into my soul: “Believe in God and believe in Me.” The cause of heart confusion is unbelief; The reason for peace of mind, heartfelt peace of grace is faith. With the abundant action of faith, a person’s entire being is immersed in the most comforting spiritual pleasure of the sacred world of Christ, as if saturated and overflowing with this feeling. Intoxicated with it, it becomes insensitive to the arrows of confusion. The Fathers rightly said that “faith is humility” 345, that “to believe means to be in humility and goodness” 346. This concept of faith and humility is provided by the holy experiences of correct monastic life. At other times, sorrow is allowed to torment the soul for a long time. One day, out of sudden grief, I felt a kind of nervous blow to my heart, and I spent three months hopelessly in my cell, shaken by a nervous fever. “God always creates great and unexplored things with us, glorious and terrible things” 347. We need to understand that we are His creations, under His complete power, and therefore, in perfect submission, “we will surrender ourselves, each other and our whole life to Christ our God” 348. I will not stop to tell you the following remarkable incident, which somewhat explains the effect of humility directly from the heart, without the preliminary thought of humility. One day I was subjected to punishment and dishonor. When I was subjected to it, I suddenly felt heat in my whole body and with it some kind of deadness inexplicable in words, after which the desire suddenly flared from my heart to receive nationwide shame and strangulation from the executioner in the square for my sins. At this, a blush appeared on his face; unspeakable joy and sweetness enveloped everyone; I was delighted with them for two weeks, as if beside myself. Then I understood with clarity and precision that the holy humility in the martyrs, combined with Divine love, could not be satisfied by any executions. The martyrs accepted cruel executions as gifts, as cool drink that quenched the thirst for humility that kindled in them 349. Humility is the inexplicable grace of God, incomprehensibly comprehended by one spiritual sensation of the soul. Student . Did you promise to explain to me how humility is developed through prayer? Elder. The union of humility with prayer is very clearly stated by the Venerable Abba Dorotheos. “Continuous exercise in prayer,” says the Saint, “countersacts pride. It is obvious: the humble and reverent, knowing that it is impossible to accomplish any virtue without the help and protection of God, does not cease to constantly pray to God to show mercy to him. He who constantly prays to God, if he is worthy to do something that should be done, knows through Whom it was done by him, and cannot exalt himself or attribute his own strength, but attributes to God all his corrections, thanks Him unceasingly, and prays to Him unceasingly, trembling, so as not to lose help from Above, so that his own weakness is not revealed in this way. He prays out of humility" 350. If someone, during his prayer, is honored with tenderness, which is born from attentive prayer, he knows from experience that it is precisely in precious moments of tenderness that thoughts of humility appear in him, imparting a feeling of humility. This is especially true when emotion is accompanied by tears. The more often times of tenderness come, the more often the worker of prayer hears the mysterious teaching of humility, the deeper this teaching penetrates into his heart. Constant tenderness keeps the soul in constant humility, in a mood of unceasing prayer and contemplation of God. The Holy Fathers note that in contrast to vanity, which scatters a person’s thoughts throughout the universe, humility concentrates them in the soul; from fruitless and frivolous contemplation of the whole world it leads to abundant and deep self-contemplation, to mental silence, to such a state as is required for true prayer, and which is produced by attentive prayer 351. Finally, the grace-filled action of humility and the grace-filled action of prayer are one and the same action, as was already said at the beginning of our conversation. This action appears in two faces: in Christ-like humility and in Divine love, which is the highest action of prayer. This action belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and acts through the mediation of the Holy Spirit, inexpressibly and incomprehensibly, in His chosen vessels. Amen. The expression is borrowed from Saint John Climacus. Word 21, ch. III. Lesson 2 about humility. Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria on the Gospel of Luke about the Publican and the Pharisee (Chapter XVIII). 1st of the morning prayers of St. Macarius the Great. Canon. Philokalia, part 3, book 1, article 1. On the Spiritual Law, ch. II. Philokalia, part 1. Venerable Nilus of Sorsky. Word 5, proud thought. Ladder. Word 4, ch. 23, 24. Memorable tales and the Alphabetical Patericon. St. Barsanuphius and John answer 275. Ch. 70, 71, 72. Philokalia, part 1. Barsanuphius and John answer 579. Saying of St. Pimen the Great. Skete Patericon. Last petition at the Great Litany. The Life of the Holy Martyrs Timothy and Maura. Chet'i-Minei, May 3. Wonderful life! Throughout the entire course of their exploits, the martyrs did not cease to confess that martyrdom served for them as a cleansing of sins. Overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, they eagerly accepted this cleansing. An abundance of humility was combined in them with an abundance of supernatural love. When Mavra was led to the crucifixion, her mother stopped her, sobbing for her. But the martyr, tearing herself away from her mother’s hands, hurried to the cross, saying to her mother: “Why are you distracting me from the cross, not allowing me to quickly enjoy my Lord in the likeness of His death.” You might be interested in: