Размышление о смерти

The destiny of all people on earth, the inevitable destiny for anyone, is death. We fear it as a fierce enemy, we bitterly mourn those abducted by it, and we spend our lives as if death did not exist at all, as if we were eternal on earth. My coffin! why do I forget you? You are waiting for me, waiting, and I will probably be your resident: why do I forget you, and behave as if the coffin were the lot of only other people, not mine at all? Sin has taken and is taking away from me the knowledge and feeling of all truth: it steals from me, erases from my thoughts the memory of death, of this event, so important and tactilely true for me. To remember death, one must lead a life in accordance with the commandments of Christ. The commandments of Christ cleanse the mind and heart, mortify them for the world, and revive them for Christ: the mind, detached from earthly attachments, often begins to turn its gaze to its mysterious transition to eternity - to death; the purified heart begins to anticipate it. The mind and heart, detached from the world, strive for eternity. Having loved Christ, they have an insatiable thirst to appear before Him, although they tremble at the hour of death, contemplating the greatness of God and their own insignificance and sinfulness. Death seems to them both a terrible feat and a longed-for deliverance from earthly captivity. If we are not able to desire death because of our coldness towards Christ and out of love for corruption, then at least we will use the memory of death as a bitter medicine against our sinfulness: because “mortal memory” - as the Holy Fathers call this memory - having become internalized by the soul, cuts off its friendship with sin, with all sinful pleasures. “Only one who has become close to the thought of his end,” said one reverend Father, “can put an end to his sins” 414. “Remember your last,” says Scripture, “and you will never sin” (Sir.7:39). Rise from your bed as one who rises from the dead; lie down on your bed, as if in a coffin: sleep is an image of death, and the darkness of the night is a harbinger of the darkness of the grave, after which the light of resurrection, joyful for the servants of Christ and terrible for His enemies, will shine. A thick cloud, although it consists of only thin vapors, obscures the light of the sun, and with bodily pleasures, absent-mindedness, and insignificant earthly cares, the majestic eternity is hidden from the eyes of the soul. The sun shines in vain from a clear sky for eyes stricken with blindness - and eternity does not seem to exist for a heart possessed of a passion for the earth, for its greatness, for its glorious, for its sweet. “The death of sinners is cruel” (Ps. 33:22): it comes to them at a time when they do not expect it at all; comes to them, and they have not yet made any preparation either for it or for eternity, they have not even acquired any clear concept of either one or the other subject. And the death of unprepared sinners delights from the face of the earth, on which they only angered God, and transfers them forever to the dungeons of hell. Do you want to remember death? Maintain strict moderation in food, clothing, and all household utensils; see that necessities do not turn into luxury goods, study the Law of God day and night, or as often as possible, and death will be remembered to you. The memory of her will be combined with streams of tears, with repentance for sins, with the intention of correction, with fervent and many prayers. Which of the people remained to live forever on earth? - Nobody. And I will follow in the footsteps of my fathers, forefathers, brothers and all my neighbors. My body will be secluded in a dark grave, and the fate of my soul will be covered in impenetrable mystery for the remaining inhabitants of the earth. My relatives and friends will cry for me; Maybe they will cry bitterly, and then forget. Countless thousands of people are mourned and forgotten in this way. They are numbered and remembered by one all-perfect God. As soon as I was born, as soon as I was conceived, death left its mark on me. “He is mine,” she said, and immediately prepared a scythe for me. From the very beginning of my existence, she has been swinging this scythe. Every minute I can become a victim of death! There were many misses; but a sure swing and blow are inevitable. With a cold smile of contempt, death looks at human earthly affairs. The architect is building a colossal building, the painter has not finished his elegant painting, the genius has drawn up gigantic plans and wants to carry them out; An unexpected and inexorable death comes to the glorious land and plunges all his plans into insignificance. Before one servant of Christ, harsh death reveres: defeated by Christ, she respects only one life in Christ. Often the heavenly messenger announces to the servants of Truth about their imminent migration to eternity and about bliss in it. Prepared for death by life, consoled by the testimony of conscience and the promise from Above, quietly, with a smile on their lips, they fall asleep in the long sleep of death. Has anyone seen the body of a righteous man abandoned by his soul? There is no stench from it, it is not scary to approach it; at his burial, his sadness was dissolved by some incomprehensible joy. Facial features, frozen as they were depicted at the moments of the soul’s departure, sometimes rest in the deepest peace, and sometimes the joy of a delightful meeting and kiss shines in them - of course, with Angels and with the faces of saints who are sent from heaven for the souls of the righteous. Remember my death! Come to me a bitter, but completely fair and useful memory! tear me away from sin! Guide us on the path of Christ! Let the memory of death relax my hands towards every empty, vain, sinful undertaking. Remember my death! and vanity and lust that captivate me will flee from me. I will remove the smoking luxurious waste from my table, I will take off my luxurious clothes, I will put on clothes of tears, I will pay for myself alive - the named dead from my birth. "So! Remember and mourn yourself alive, says “mortal memory”: I came to grieve you beneficially, and brought with me a host of thoughts, the most beneficial to the soul. Sell ​​your excesses, and distribute their price to the poor; your treasures will go up to heaven, according to the will of the Savior: they will meet their owner there, having increased a hundredfold. Shed hot tears and fervent prayers for yourself. Who will remember you with such care and zeal after death, how can you remember yourself before death? Do not entrust the salvation of your soul to others when you yourself can accomplish this essential work for you! Why should you chase corruption when death will certainly take away everything corruptible from you? She is the executor of the commands of the all-holy God: as soon as she hears the command, she rushes with the speed of lightning to fulfillment. She will not be ashamed of a rich man, or a nobleman, or a hero, or a genius; she will not spare either youth, or beauty, or earthly happiness: she carries a person into eternity. And by death the servant of God enters into the bliss of eternity, and the enemy of God into eternal torment.” “The remembrance of death is a gift of God,” 415 said the Fathers: it is given to the doer of Christ’s commandments in order to perfect him in the holy feat of repentance and salvation. The gracious memory of death is preceded by one’s own efforts to remember death. Force yourself to remember death often, assure yourself of the undoubted truth that you will certainly, no one knows when, die - and the memory of death will begin to come by itself, appear to your mind, a deep and strong memory: it will strike with deadly blows all your sinful undertakings. The sin-lover is alien to this spiritual gift: even at the tombs, he does not cease to indulge in sinful pleasures of the flesh, not at all remembering the death that awaits him face to face. On the contrary, the servant of Christ, and in the magnificent palaces, will remember the coffin waiting for him, and will shed the most saving tears for his soul. Amen. St. Isaac of Syria, Homily 21. You might be interested in: