Слава Богу!

God bless! God bless! God bless! For everything I see in myself, in everyone, in everything - “glory to God!” What do I see in myself? “I see sin, incessant sin: I see incessant violation of the most holy commandments of God, my Creator and Redeemer. And my God sees my sins, sees them all, sees their countlessness. When I, a man, a limited being, like grass and the flower of the field in weakness, look more purely at my sins, they terrify me both in quantity and quality. What are they like in the eyes of God, the all-holy, all-perfect? And to this day God looks patiently upon my stumblings! still does not betray me to destruction, long deserved and called for! The earth does not give way under me, does not swallow up the criminal who weighs it down! The sky does not cast down its flame, nor does it burn the violator of heavenly commands! The waters do not emerge from their reservoirs, do not rush towards the sinner, who is clearly sinning before all creation, do not kidnap him, do not bury him in the depths of dark abysses! Hell is withheld: the sacrifice which he demands justly, to which he has an indisputable right, is not given to him! I look with reverence and fear at God, looking at my sins, seeing them more clearly than how my conscience sees them. His wonderful long-suffering leaves me in amazement and bewilderment: I thank and praise this “incomprehensible Goodness.” My thoughts are lost; I am completely overwhelmed by thanksgiving and glorification: thanksgiving and glorification completely possess me, they impose a reverent silence on my mind and heart. I can feel, think, and say with my tongue only one thing: “Thank God!” Where else are you rushing, my thought? Look steadily at my sins, arouse in me weeping for them: I need cleansing with bitter weeping, washing with uninterrupted tears. He doesn’t listen, he flies – unstoppable – and rises to an immense height! Its flight is similar to the running of lightning, when lightning touches two ends of the sky in an instant. And the thought arose at the height of spiritual contemplation, from there it looked at an extraordinary, vast spectacle, at a most picturesque, most amazing picture. Before her is the whole world, all times from creation to the end of the world, all the events of the world, both past and present, and future; before her are the fates of each person in their multipartial particulars; above times, social events and private destinies, God is seen, the Creator of all creatures and their infinite Lord, who sees everything, controls everything, predetermines everything with his goals, gives his purpose. God allows man to be a spectator of His government. But the reasons for destinies, the beginnings of God’s commands, are known to the only God: “Who understands the mind of the Lord, or who is His counselor” (Rom. 11:34)? And the fact that man is allowed to be a spectator of God in His providence, in His management of creation, in His destinies, is the greatest benefit for man, exuding abundant spiritual benefit for man. The vision of the Creator and Lord of all visible and invisible creatures invests the viewer with supernatural power: with this vision is connected the recognition of the unlimited power of the almighty King of creation over creation. The hair of our head, hair so insignificant in the weak opinion of men, is counted by this unlimited, all-encompassing Wisdom and is preserved by Her (Matthew 10:30; Luke 21:18). Moreover, without Her beckoning, no adventure, no revolution in human life can take place. A Christian, looking steadily at the providence of God, maintains constant courage and unshakable firmness in the midst of the most severe misadventures. He speaks with the holy Psalmist and Prophet: “I have seen the Lord before me, as he is at my right hand, let me not move” (Ps. 15:8). The Lord is my helper: I will not be afraid of any troubles, I will not give in to despondency, I will not plunge into a deep sea of ​​sadness. For everything - “Thank God!” Through the vision of God's providence, boundless submission to God is instilled. Will the servant of God be surrounded by various and multi-woven sorrows from everywhere? “This is how he consoles his wounded heart: “God sees all this. If, for reasons known to Him, the wise and well-known, sorrows were not useful and unnecessary to me, then He, the Almighty, would have turned them away. But He does not turn them away: it is His all-holy will that they oppress me. This will is precious to me, more precious than life! It is better for a creature to die than to reject the will of the Creator! In this will is true life! He who dies to fulfill the will of God enters into a greater development of life. For everything – thank God!” From the sight of God’s providence, deep meekness and unchanging love for one’s neighbor are formed in the soul, which no winds can agitate or disturb. For such a soul there are no insults, no insults, no atrocities: all creation acts according to the command or permission of the Creator; the creature is only a blind tool. In such a soul a voice of humility is heard, accusing it of countless sins, justifying its neighbors as instruments of “justice.” This voice sounds joyfully in the midst of suffering, brings peace and consolation; he quietly proclaims: “I accept what is worthy according to my deeds. It is better for me to suffer in a short life than to suffer forever in the eternal torment of hell. My sins cannot go unpunished: God’s justice demands it. In the fact that they are punished in their short earthly life, I see God’s ineffable mercy.” "God bless!" The vision of God's providence preserves and grows faith in God. He who sees the invisible omnipotent Hand, the ruler of the world, remains unperturbed by the terrible storms that trouble the sea of ​​life: he believes that civil life, the helm of the Church, the destinies of each person are held by the omnipotent and wise right hand of God. Looking at the fierce waves, at the menacing storms, at the dark clouds, he satisfies and pacifies himself with the thought that God sees what is happening. It is fitting for man, a weak creature, to have quiet, humble submission, only reverent knowledge, and contemplation of the destinies of God. May everything be directed along the paths destined for it, towards goals determined from Above! For everything - “Thank God!” Not only temporary sorrows, but also those that await a person upon his entry into eternity, beyond the grave, cannot stand before the vision of Divine providence. They are dulled and destroyed by the grace-filled consolation that always descends into a soul that has renounced itself in submission to God. With self-sacrifice, with devotion to the will of God, death itself is not terrible: the faithful servant of Christ betrays his soul and eternal destiny into the hands of Christ, betrays with firm faith in Christ, with unshakable hope in His goodness and power. When the soul is separated from the body, and the outcast angels boldly and brazenly approach it, it will amaze and put to flight the gloomy and evil angels with its selflessness. “Take me, take me,” she will courageously tell them, throw me into the abyss of darkness and flame, throw me into the abyss of hell, if this is the will of my God, if such a determination came from Him for me: it is easier to be deprived of the sweets of heaven, it is easier to endure the flames of hell, than to violate the will, the determination of the great God. I gave myself up to him, and I still give myself up! He, and not you, is the Judge of my weaknesses and sins! “You, even with your insane disobedience, are only the executors of His decrees.” The servants of the world ruler will shudder and be perplexed when they see courageous self-sacrifice, meek, complete devotion to the will of God! Having rejected this blessed obedience, they became dark and all-evil demons from bright and good Angels. They will retreat in shame, and the soul will unrestrainedly direct its march to where its treasure is God 416. There she will behold face to face what is seen here by faith in His providence, and forever proclaim “glory to God.” "God bless!" Powerful words! During sorrowful circumstances, when the heart is surrounded by thoughts of doubt, cowardice, displeasure, and murmuring, one must force oneself to frequent, unhurried, attentive repetition of the words: “Glory to God!” Whoever, with simplicity of heart, believes the advice offered here, and when a need arises, tests it in action: he will see the wonderful power of the praise of God; he will rejoice at the acquisition of such useful, new knowledge, he will rejoice at the acquisition of weapons against mental enemies, so strong and convenient. From the mere noise of these words, uttered with the accumulation of gloomy thoughts of sadness and despondency, from the mere noise of these words, pronounced with compulsion, as if with the lips alone, as if only in the air, the princes of the air shudder and take flight; all gloomy thoughts flutter like dust from a strong wind; heaviness and boredom recede from the soul; they come to her and ease, calm, peace, consolation, joy settle in her. "God bless!" "God bless!" Solemn words! Words are a declaration of victory! The words are joy for all the faithful servants of God, fear and defeat for all His enemies, destruction of their weapons. This weapon is sin; this weapon is the carnal mind, fallen human wisdom. It arose from the fall, has sin as its initial cause, is rejected by God, is constantly at enmity with God, is constantly rejected by God. To one wounded by sorrow, all the wise of the earth will gather in vain; in vain they will heal him with the medicines of eloquence and philosophy; The work of the most ill person is in vain if he wants to unravel the multi-braided network of grief through the efforts of his own mind. Very often, almost always, the mind is completely lost in this multi-braided network! He often sees himself entangled, imprisoned on all sides! Often deliverance, even consolation, seem impossible! and many perish under the unbearable burden of fierce sadness, perish from a mortal ulcer, a sorrowful ulcer, having not found on earth any remedy strong enough to heal this ulcer. Earthly wisdom appeared with all its means: everyone turned out to be powerless and insignificant. Neglect, beloved brother, the one rejected by God! Put aside all the weapons of your mind! Accept the weapon that is given to you by the violence of Christ’s preaching. Human wisdom will smile mockingly when it sees the weapon offered by faith; the fallen mind, due to its property of enmity against God, will not be slow to present the most intelligent objections, full of educated skepticism and irony. Do not pay any attention to them, to those rejected by God, to the enemies of God. In your sorrow, begin to pronounce from your heart, repeat - without any thought - the words: “Glory to God!” You will see a sign, you will see a miracle: these words will drive away sorrow, call consolation into the heart, do what the mind of the prudent and the wisdom of the wise of the earth could not accomplish. This reason, this wisdom will be put to shame, this wisdom will be put to shame, and you, delivered, healed, believing with a living faith, proven to you in yourself, will send “glory to God!” "God bless!" Many of God's saints loved to repeat these words often: they tasted the power hidden in them. Saint John Chrysostom, when he talked with spiritual friends and brothers about some circumstances, especially sorrowful ones, always put the words: “for everything, glory to God!” as the main stone, the main dogma of the conversation. According to his habit, preserved by Church history for later posterity, he, striking the outstretched palm of his left hand with the second finger of his right hand, always began his speech with the words: “Glory to God for everything!” Brethren! Let us also become accustomed to frequently praising God; Let us resort to this weapon in our sorrows; With constant praise of God we will reflect and erase our invisible adversaries, especially those of them who are trying to overthrow us with sadness, cowardice, murmuring, and despair. Let us purify ourselves with tears, prayer, reading the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers, in order to become spectators of the providence of God, who sees everything, owns everything, controls everything, directs everything according to His unsearchable destinies to goals known to the only God. Having become spectators of Divine government, we will be in reverence, indestructible peace of heart, in complete submission and firm faith, amazed at the greatness of the incomprehensible God, and send glory to Him now and forever. It is worthy and righteous for the creature to continually glorify You, God the Creator, who brought us into existence from nothingness, according to Your one, infinite, incomprehensible goodness, who adorned us with the beauty, glory of Your image and likeness, who led us into the bliss and pleasure of paradise, for which no end was appointed. How did we reward the Benefactor? What did the dust, revived by Him, bring in gratitude to the Creator? We agreed with Your enemy, with the angel who rebelled against God, with the leader of evil. We heeded the words of blasphemy against the Benefactor: We decided to suspect our Creator, the all-perfect Goodness, of envy. Alas, what a darkness! alas, what a loss of mind! From the heights of divine vision and theology, instantly our race, in our forefather, falls into the abyss of eternal death... Satan fell initially; the bright Angel became a dark demon: having no body, he sinned in mind and word. Instead of praising God the Benefactor in immaculate joy, with the other holy Angels, he loved blasphemy. As soon as he conceived a dark, deadly thought, as soon as he carried it out with a destructive word, like the worst poison, he darkened, changed, and fell with unspeakable speed from high Eden to the earth. The speed of his fall is evidenced by the eternal Word: “I saw,” says It, “Satan falling like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). Just as fast was the fall of man who followed the fallen angel, who began his fall with the adoption of a dark, blasphemous thought, which was followed by a violation of the commandment of God. This violation was already preceded by veiled contempt and rejection of God. Alas, what blindness! what a terrible sin! what a terrible fall! Before this sin, before this fall, the punishments are insignificant: expulsion from paradise, earning our daily bread by the sweat of our brow, the disease of childbearing, returning to the earth from which the Creator took our body. But what are you doing, immeasurable goodness? How do You repay our reward, which we gave You for Your first good deeds? How do you repay for disobedience to You, for disbelief in You, for accepting terrible blasphemy against You - against You, Who is Self-Goodness, Self-Perfection? You repay with new blessings, greater than the first. One of Your Divine Faces accepts humanity; - you accept, besides sin, all our infirmities that clung to human nature after its fall. You appear before our eyes, covering the unbearable glory of the Divine with human flesh; being the Word of God, you speak to us the word of God in the sounds of the word of man. Your power is the power of God. Your meekness is the meekness of a lamb. Your name is the name of man. This all-holy Name rotates heaven and earth. How comforting and majestic Your name sounds! When it enters the ear, when it comes out of the mouth, it comes and goes like a priceless treasure, a priceless pearl! "Jesus Christ!" You are both the Lord of men and man. How wonderfully, gracefully You united Divinity with humanity! how wonderfully You act! You are both God and man! You are both the Master and the slave! 418 You are both the Priest and the Victim! You are both the Savior and the coming impartial Judge of the universe! And You heal all ailments! And you visit and receive sinners! And you raise the dead! And you command the waters of the sea, the winds of the sky! And the loaves grow miraculously in Your hands, giving a thousand-fold harvest - they are sown, reaped, baked, broken at the same time, in an instant! And You hunger to deliver us from famine! And You thirst for our thirst to be quenched! And you travel through the country of our exile, straining yourself to return to us the calm, sweet, heavenly fatherland that we have lost! And You shed Your sweat in the Garden of Gethsemane, so that we stop shedding our sweat in obtaining bread for the belly, and learn to shed it in prayers for worthy communion of the bread of heaven. The thorns that the cursed earth produced for us, You took upon Your head; Thou hast crowned and bruised Thy most holy head with thorns! We have lost the heavenly tree of life and its fruit, which imparted immortality to those who ate; You, stretched out on the tree of the cross, became fruit for us, giving eternal life to your partakers. Both the fruit of life and the tree of life appeared on earth, in the land of our exile. This fruit and this tree are more excellent than those of paradise; those communicated immortality, and these communicated immortality and Divinity. Through Your suffering You have poured sweetness into our suffering. We reject earthly pleasures, we choose suffering as our lot, just to become partakers of Your sweetness! It is like a foretaste of eternal life, sweeter and more precious than temporary life! You fell asleep in the sleep of death, which could not keep You in eternal sleep, You - God! You rose up and gave us excitement from this dream, from the cruel sleep of death, gave us a blessed and glorious resurrection! Thou hast lifted up our renewed nature into heaven, and seated it at the right hand of the eternal, co-eternal with You, Thy Father! You have made Your Father our Father too! You opened the way to heaven for us! You have prepared mansions for us in heaven! You lead to them, you accept, you repose, you console in them all the weary pilgrims of the earth, who believed in You, called on Your holy name, kept Your holy commandments, served You Orthodoxy and piously, carried Your cross and drank Your cup courageously, with thanksgiving to You, with glorification of You! Glory to Thee, Creator of the non-existent! Glory to You, Redeemer and Savior of the fallen and lost! Glory to You, our God and Lord! Grant us both on earth and in heaven to glorify, bless, and praise Your goodness! grant us with a frank face to behold Your terrible, unapproachable, magnificent Glory, to behold It forever, to worship It, and to bliss in It. Amen. 1846. Sergius Desert. Venerable John of Carpathia. Head. XXV. Philokalia, part 4. Histoire du Christianisme par Fleury. Liv. 21, chap. 19. Luke 14:17. Explanation of Blessed Theophylact. You might be interested in: