Речь к братии по приобщении Святых Христовых Таин, в субботу 1-й недели Великого поста

Beloved brethren in Christ! Now the consoling voice of the incarnate God of the Word is heard in your hearts: “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John VI, 56)! Now you really feel the fulfillment of this voice! Understand your glory, delve into your true dignity: each of you is a vessel of the Divine mystery, each of you is a church in which the Son of God with His eternal Father and the worshiped Spirit mysteriously and essentially dwells together. Now you are no longer your own: you are God’s. You were purchased by God with the price of the blood of His Son (1 Cor. VI: 19, 20). You cannot belong to an alien yoke! If any of you were hitherto a dark sinner, from now on you have been made righteous by the righteousness of the Son of God. Will this glory of yours, this wealth of yours, this righteousness of yours really remain in you only as long as you are in the church, or for the shortest time after leaving the church? Will you again indulge in the work of corruption? Will Jesus, who entered your hearts through the holy mysteries, be forced to withdraw from them because of the multitude of thoughts, intentions, words, and sinful deeds that you allow yourself? (1 John III, 24): He will save you on the path of earthly life from any stumbling, and will lead you through a serene and fearless death into the haven of blissful eternity. Amen. The speech was delivered in the Sergius Hermitage, in the church of St. Sergius, on Saturday of the 1st week of Lent, 1840. You might be interested in: