Глава 11

Matthew 11:7. “When they had gone, Jesus began to speak to the people about John: Why did you go into the wilderness to see? Is it a reed shaken by the wind? Matthew 11:8. “What did you go to see? a person dressed in soft clothes? Those who wear soft clothes are in the palaces of kings.” "Ch. 11, art. 7. What did you go to see in the desert? or a reed shaken by the wind?.. What a high testimony about John both in the face of the Witness and in the very quality of the testimony! John is contrasted with a reed shaken by the wind. Yes, the severity of John’s life was such that he could be likened to Mount Zion, which does not move forever. Oh, if only everyone could be so firm on the path of salvation! But we are all like reeds shaken by the wind: we bend from the small pressure of passions in all directions. Everything can deviate us from the right path and suppress our convictions in the truth of the immutability of the rules of Christian faith and morality" [1, 69]. “You constantly notice that God does not tolerate the slightest momentary impurity in you, and immediately upon the admission of any unclean thought in your heart, the world and together God Himself leave you, and you become the receptacle of the devil if you do not immediately reject sin, so that about every sinful thought, especially a sinful word and deed, you must say: this is the devil; and about every holy and good thought, as well as word and deed, we must say that it is God or it is from God. Imagine now what an adorned, pure and unshakable chamber of the Almighty is the most holy soul and the most pure body of the Mother of God, into whose womb God the Word dwelt and dwelt in Her as Divinity, soul and body most pure? Imagine what an eternal, endless, unchangeable shrine She is! Imagine what reverence and glorification She deserves! Imagine who we are – reeds shaken by the devil’s wind [Cf.: Matt. 11:7 ]; The devil breathed his blasphemy into our hearts, and now we are shaken by his blasphemy, we are embarrassed, we are despondent, whereas we should despise all his blasphemies or not pay attention to them as dreams” [5, vol. 2, 328]. "Behold, who are in the houses of kings in more glorious clothing and food (cf.: Luke 7:25): Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God! We know that these words of Yours convict me, a sinner: behold, Your servant, the worst of all, walks in more glorious clothes and lives in more glorious food and in a house and in a dwelling like a king's. Jesus, the Son of God! Unbeknownst to myself, I do not correspond in my life to Your heavenly word. “Why did I go out into the desert to see,” You said to the Jews, partial to appearance, “whether a person is clothed in soft garments (Matthew 11:7, 8; Luke 7:24, 25), revealing that Your follower, who rejected everything earthly, wore the coarsest. clothing. But this, Your most unworthy servant, is clothed in soft clothing - he is not jealous of Your Baptist, he does not mock everything on earth, as if it were worthless dust, but he loved the earth and all earthly things, thinking little about things above (cf. Col. 3:2), especially in reality, what will happen to him, Lord (cf. Matthew 19:27)! - But before retribution follows him for his deeds, turn, Almighty Lord, his heart to You, take away from his heart the charm of earthly clothing, the charm of food and drink, the charm of richly decorated dwellings - and grant him, above all, heavenly wisdom (Compare: Col. 3:2): about the heavenly robe of light, about the heavenly, eternal, bright dwelling, about glory undying, everlasting. - Grant him, even with his earthly blessings, a spirit of lack of covetousness and contempt for earthly wealth, indifference to earthly glory, love for fasting, abstinence, for heartfelt prayer, for sighs and tears. “Hey, Master, let it be done according to the word of your servant” [8, 624]. Matthew 11:12. “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and those who use force take it by force.” “Why is the Kingdom of God, the kingdom of peace and joy, in need, and only needy women delight in it (Matthew 11:12)? Because there is a lot of internal, natural evil in us that needs to be eradicated and which, like a snake that they want to kill, resists and hurts us; that there is a strong enemy of the Kingdom of God, who, by all means, is constantly trying to expel the Kingdom of God from us and establish his kingdom in us, the kingdom of sin, vice, confusion, sorrow and oppression. “Don’t be surprised that you always have to go straight to the Kingdom of Light” [2, 182]. "The Kingdom of Heaven is in need, and those in need delight it (Matthew 11:12). These words must also be applied to the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood. Since with them we accept the Kingdom of God into ourselves, then without need, without effort, we cannot accept them with dignity, but we must experience an internal struggle before accepting them: the enemy constantly, relentlessly tries to steal from our hearts faith in the Holy Mysteries, so that we accept them as a judgment to ourselves, because everything, not from faith, sin is (Rom. 14:23). The above words must also be applied to all other Mysteries, to all prayers, to good thoughts, desires and actions” [2, 185]. “The word of the Savior is true, that the Kingdom of Heaven is in need, and the needy delights it (Matthew 11:12). In order to do good, I must constantly fight with my heart, which is always ready to incline me to evil: good is always achieved with need, but evil is always easy to do, just give up. “Our heart is the source of evil, according to the Savior” [2, 196]. “The Kingdom of God requires (Matthew 11:12). This means that life by faith does not come for free, but you need to work in order to have internal signs of the Kingdom of God in yourself” [2, 291]. “Our soul, as a spiritual, active being, cannot remain idle: either it does good or evil, one of the two: either wheat grows in it, or tares. But just as every good thing comes from God, and the means to receive every good thing from God is prayer, those who pray diligently, from the depths of their souls, sincerely, receive from the Lord grace to do good, and above all the grace of faith, and those who do not pray naturally remain without spiritual gifts, voluntarily depriving themselves of them through their negligence and spiritual coolness; and just as the wheat of good thoughts, dispositions, intentions and deeds grows in the hearts of those who fervently pray and work for the Lord, so in the hearts of those who do not pray the tares of all evil grow and choke out the small amount of good that remains in them from the grace of baptism, confirmation, then repentance and communion. Therefore, you need to look very carefully at the field of your heart so that the tares of evil, laziness, sloth, luxury, unbelief, covetousness, stinginess, envy, hatred, etc. do not grow in it - daily weed the field of your heart, at least at evening and morning prayer, refresh it with saving sighs and tears, like early and late rain. In addition, by all means you need to introduce into the field of your heart the seeds of virtues - faith, hope in God, love for God and neighbor, fertilize and fertilize it with prayer, patience, good deeds and not remain for an hour in complete idleness and inaction, for in times of idleness and inaction the enemy diligently sows his tares: the enemy came as a sleeping man and all the tares in the midst of the wheat, and departure [Cf.: Matt. 13:25]. We must remember that without coercion, without effort, one cannot do good deeds. The Kingdom of God, after our free fall into sin, can no longer be taken other than by force, and only those who use force delight it [Matt. 11:12]. Why does the narrow path and narrow gate lead to life? Who narrows the path of the chosen? Who makes the gate narrow? The world oppresses the elect, the devil oppresses, the flesh oppresses: they narrow our path to the Kingdom of Heaven” [5, vol. 1, 146]. “Not only do things when you want, but especially when you don’t want to. Understand this both about every ordinary everyday matter, and especially about the matter of saving your soul, about prayer, about reading the word of God and soul-saving books, about going to God’s services, about good deeds, whatever they may be, about preaching the Word of God. Do not obey the lazy, crafty and sinful flesh: it is ready to rest forever and, through temporary peace and pleasure, lead us to eternal destruction. By the sweat of your brow, it is said, “Take away your bread” [Gen. 3:19]. Work diligently on the talent given to you, damned soul [on Holy Tuesday in the morning. cond. Ch. 2nd], - sings the Church. The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force gain it [Matt. 11:12], says our Lord and Savior” [5, vol. 1, 162]. “They say: if you don’t want to, don’t pray - that’s carnal wisdom; If you don’t start praying, you will completely fall behind prayer; that's what the flesh wants. The Kingdom of Heaven is in need [Matt. 11:12 ], without self-compulsion to goodness you will not be saved” [5, vol. 1, 228]. “The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and strong seekers delight in it [Matthew 11:12]. If we do not make daily efforts to conquer the passions that fight us and to acquire the Kingdom of God in the heart, then the passions will tyrannically, forcibly take possession of us, invade our soul, like thieves; addiction to earthly things will proportionally increase, and faith in heavenly blessings and love for them weaken more and more, love for God and neighbor, too; peace of heart, peace of conscience will be less and less frequent; one must strive in the matter of saving the soul, of which there is nothing more precious in the world; consider everything earthly as rubbish or a ghost, a dream, and everything heavenly, especially the Lord Himself, as the very truth, eternal, most blessed, unchangeable” [5, vol. 1, 253]. “Many people pray hypocritically, and their hypocritical prayer has become a habit; They themselves do not even notice and do not want to notice that they are praying hypocritically, and not in spirit and truth, so that if someone told them in reproof that they were praying hypocritically, they would be angry with the one who dared to say such, in their opinion, inconsistency. A person does not reach hypocrisy suddenly, but gradually. At first, perhaps, he prayed from the heart, but then - since praying always with the heart is significant work, to which one must always force oneself, for the Kingdom of Heaven, it is said, is forced [Matt. 11:12], - he begins to pray more with his lips, superficially, and not from the depths of his soul, since this is much easier; and finally, with the intense struggle between the flesh and the devil, he prays with his lips, without bringing the power of the words of prayer to the heart. There are a lot of such people. The Lord says about them: these people draw near to Me with their lips, and with their lips they honor Me, but their heart is far from Me [Matt. 15:8, Isa. 29:13]. What has been said about prayer should also be said about the communion of the holy, immortal and life-giving Mysteries. Often, at first, a person receives communion with living faith, with a feeling of love and reverence, and then, with the constant opposition of the flesh and the devil to the truth of God, he gives in to them victory over himself and receives communion hypocritically, not of the Body and Blood, but, according to his thoughts of the heart, of bread and wine. Creature Mysterious spirit and belly [Cf.: John. 6:63], as the Savior said, does not fit [John. 8:37 ] in it; he inwardly creeps in as Satan. God save everyone from such communion, from such blasphemy against the Lord! The same happens with the sacrament of repentance” [5, vol. 2, 406]. “And the need of the poor is persistent in its demands, sometimes impudent, and our passions are just as stubborn and persistent, impudent and impudent, for example, stinginess, covetousness, fornication, malice, envy, pride, theft, heresy, schism, superstition, idolatry. But let us prudently yield to the persistent requests of the needy, poor and suffering; this will serve to our salvation and eternal bliss. Just as the poor and suffering force us to compassion, so let us mutually force ourselves to give alms; Let us force ourselves to do good while there is time, just as sin constantly forces us to constantly sin and anger God and to multiply for ourselves the food of the fire of Gehenna, which begins here little by little to kindle in our hearts and shows us an eternal flame, in which there is eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth. The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and powerful seekers take it away [Matt. 11:12]. And the enemy wants to forcefully seize and drag into Gehenna all the careless, unbelieving and unrepentant and partial to the blessings of this place” [5, vol. 2, 353]. “On forcing yourself to do every good thing. – The Kingdom of Heaven, it is said, is in need, and the needy women delight it [Matt. 11:12]. Therefore, you need to constantly force yourself to truth and goodness; in prayer, you need to force yourself at every moment to pronounce every word with strength, truly, from the heart; in case of a mistake, inattention to one’s heart, forcing oneself to be sincere, the prayer will be hypocritical, false, ungodly; you need to speak the words of prayer convincingly to yourself. When the prayer words are convincing for you, then they will be convincing for God, and without convincing yourself, do not think with your prayer to convince God to grant you any good. God gives according to our hearts [See: Ps. 19:5]: the more sincerity and heartfelt fervor in prayer, the more generous the gift” [5, vol. 2, 388]. “Repentance is helped by consciousness, memory, imagination, feeling, will. Just as we sin with all the strength of our soul, so repentance must be all-soul. Repentance only in words, without the intention of correction and without a feeling of contrition, is called hypocritical. The consciousness of sins is obscured; it must be clarified; the feeling is muffled, dulled, it must be awakened; the will grows dull and becomes weak for correction; it must be forced: the Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force [Matt. 11:12]. Confession must be heartfelt, deep, complete” [5, vol. 2, 307]. “Man, they say, is free; he cannot or should not force himself either in faith or in teaching. Lord, have mercy! What a diabolical opinion! If you don’t force it, then what will come out of people after that? Well, what will come of you, herald of newly invented rules, if you do not force yourself to do anything good, but live the way your vicious heart, your proud, short-sighted and blind mind, your sinful flesh wants you to live? Tell me what will become of you? Aren’t you forcing yourself to do anything, I don’t say directly, good, but at least due and useful? How can you do without forcing yourself? How can Christians not be encouraged and forced to fulfill the requirements of faith and piety? Doesn’t it say in Holy Scripture that the Kingdom of Heaven is in need, that the needy delights it [Matt. 11:12 ]! How not to force, especially boys, to study and pray? What will come of them? Aren't they sloths? Aren't they naughty? Will they not learn all kinds of evil” [5, vol. 2, 378]. “July 12. Saturday. I thank the Lord for the word I spoke in church, the subject of which was the word “Sabbath” and why was the Sabbath day established in the Old Testament and in the New Testament? What does the rest or sabbath provided by God mean for people who obey Him? – In order to be rewarded with the eternal rest of the righteous, everyone must work here for the sake of the Kingdom of God, they need constant repentance, prayer, abstinence, alms, patience; Water does not flow under a lying stone, you need to strive: the Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force acquire (delight) it (cf. Matthew 11:12). It is necessary to dig up (plow the church-glorified) soil of the heart and tear out all the roots of passions and bad habits and plant the wheat of virtue on this (See: Matt. 13:24–30)” [4, 26]. "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it away (Matthew 11:12). Man is constantly acted upon by two invisible forces: good and evil, the power of God, the power of grace, and the power of the devil, the evil and all-destructive power; man is placed in this world as if between two fires, of which one is life-giving, about which the Lord says: Fire I came to bring down on the earth (Luke 12:49), and the other is a scorching and burning fire. A person must use effort on himself in order to arouse in himself the Divine fire, the fire of faith and love for God and neighbor. Man has lost his first Divine dignity, his righteousness, holiness, goodness, meekness and filled his soul with all sorts of sins - this is a great loss, you need to acquire it; in his sorrow, misfortune, poverty, illness - change yourself, be sympathetic... you do not have zeal in prayer to God, you do not have a spiritual taste for prayer, you do not have a spiritual ear for listening to the Word of God - transform yourself, develop your spirit, taste and spiritual ear in order to listen with love to the Word of God, in order to feel the sweetness of prayer and the sweetness of good deeds. Evil strongly fights a person and forces him to do evil, but good attracts him to himself with his moral beauty, spiritual peace, spiritual freedom; good attracts to itself with the promises of eternal life for victory over passions. To him who overcomes I will give to sit with Me on My throne (Apoc. 3:21) 3 "[6, 72]. “The Lord wants you to grow spiritually and reach maturity, like an ear of grain, or to prosper and be fragrant before God with all spiritual virtue, like the beautiful flower of the fields and valleys. This is your purpose, man. But at the same time, the Lord wants you to avoid every stench of sin through repentance and tears, abstinence and constant vigilance over yourself, through the struggle with thoughts and sinful inclinations and passions, for the Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it away (Matthew 11:12)” [6, 114]. “It may be difficult, but what kind of good deed comes without difficulty? On the other hand, our salvation lies in work, because “the Kingdom of God is in need” (Matthew 11:12), i.e. It is taken by self-compulsion, force, and diligence, and only intensified seekers achieve it. Prayer is needed” [7, 10]. “When you ask God to grant you any good, especially spiritual, for example, living faith, love for God and others, meekness and humility, impartiality to earthly things, then you should hope to receive these gifts from Him in no other way than to acquire these virtues yourself, using all your diligence and effort: because you are gifted with reason and freedom and you yourself have been given the strength to succeed in good with the help of the Divine grace. It would be unreasonable to hope to suddenly receive from God any high virtue, let us assume, even if we have firm faith, without any effort on our part, to acquire it through fervent prayer and zealous cleansing of our hearts from earthly attachments. – It will be in vain for those who do not work in prayer early and late and do not endure the temptations sent by God in order to test the sincerity and firmness of our prayer to hope for fervent and warm prayer before God. The Kingdom of Heaven is in need (Matthew 11:12)” [8, 404]. “So, brothers and sisters, for the glory of the Lord who was transformed on Tabor, calling on His grace for help, let us begin from today to transform our hearts and our vain lives. Let no one be afraid of the difficulty of this transformation. The grace of God is omnipotent; let us continually ask God for it; let's say: Lord! Without You we cannot do anything (Wed: John 15:5); Correct our steps (cf. Ps. 39:3) to do Your commandments. Let us not forget that the Kingdom of Heaven is acquired through effort, and only seekers who use effort acquire it, according to the words of the Lord Himself (cf. Matthew 11:12). Let those of little faith work to acquire faith by diligently reading the Word of God and the lives of the saints; let him who is cold in love for God and neighbor ask God for love, for every gift is perfect, much more, the most perfect gift of love is from above, coming down from the Father of lights (Jas. 1:17), - and let him practice love; let the proud and arrogant person put aside his pride and arrogance and with all his heart embrace humility; let the evil and contemptuous person put aside his malice and contempt and look at each and every one with respect and love; let the envious one leave his envy; stingy - his stinginess; the lazy and negligent is his laziness and negligence, the idle is his idle pursuits, the lover of money is his love of money; drunkard - drunkenness; a glutton is his gluttony; thief - your thief; fornicator - fornication" [9, 218]. “So, the property and character of this life is a constant feat and war with oneself, one’s passions and all sorts of vicious inclinations, cleansing oneself from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit (2 Cor. 7:1), restoring in oneself the fallen image of God. The Kingdom of Heaven is acquired by force, says the Lord, and strong seekers acquire it (cf. Matthew 11:12)” [9, 394]. “Many people pray hypocritically, and their hypocritical prayer has become a habit, so that they themselves do not notice and do not want to notice that they are praying hypocritically, and not in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23, 24); and if someone had told them to reprove that they were praying hypocritically, they would have been angry with the one who dared to say such, in their opinion, inconsistency. A person does not reach hypocrisy suddenly, but gradually. At first, perhaps, he prayed from the heart, but then, since praying always with the heart is a significant work, to which one must always force oneself: the Kingdom of Heaven, it is said, requires (Matthew 11:12), he begins to pray more with the lips, superficially, and not from the depths of the soul, for this is much easier, and then finally, with the intensified struggle of the flesh and the devil, he prays only with the lips, without bringing the power of the words of prayer to the heart. There are a lot of such people. The Lord says about them: these people draw near to Me with their lips, and with their lips they honor Me; but their heart is far from Me (Matthew 15:8; Isaiah 29:13)” [10, 205]. Matthew 11:15. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” “In order to wean our corrupt nature from being seduced by the temporary sweetness of sin (cf. Heb. 11:25), the Lord arranged it in such a way that the most pleasant sensual pleasures, to which we rush greedily, are always necessarily harmful, both by their very nature and because of our greed and immoderation: such are all almost delicious foods, all pleasant drinks; such are the pleasures of voluptuousness. Glory to the goodness and wisdom of the Heavenly Father, who in every way diverts us from falling into sensuality or into the crude pleasures of sensuality! - He who has spiritual eyes to see and ears to hear (cf. Matthew 11:15; Mark 8:18) - let him see and hear all this. So, Christian, the very harm from sensual pleasures, destructive to our body, shows that we were not created for them and live on earth, but for higher, spiritual, eternal pleasures! - So, rest and enjoy in God, my soul! Here is your perfect, harmless – true eternal pleasure! You've already experienced it many times. But all earthly pleasures are charming, harmful, transitory, and at their very beginning bear the germs of corruption, as soon as we touch them. Pain and illness from them serve as proof of this” [10, 196]. Matt. 11:18. “For John came neither eating nor drinking; and they say: he has a devil.” "Verse 18. For John came, neither eating nor drinking. It was an Angel in the flesh, so that his flesh seemed to be completely dead. Art. 25. I praise Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them to babes (Matthew 11:25). How sweet is the living idea that the Heavenly Father is the Lord and Ruler of heaven and earth, Who, as the Master of a house consisting of many departments, is present everywhere by His Spirit” [1, 69]. Matthew 11:19. “The Son of Man came, eating and drinking; and they say: here is a man who loves to eat and drink wine, a friend of publicans and sinners. And wisdom is justified by her children.” “We must pay special attention to some of the Savior’s words, for example, to the words: if they do this to the green tree (Christ), then what will happen to the dry one? (Wed: Luke 23:31). And these dry trees are us, sinners. Or: if I am lifted up from the earth (to the Cross), then I will draw everyone to Me... (Wed: John 12:32.) If a grain of wheat falls into the ground and does not die, then only one remains, but if it dies, it will bear much fruit (ear) (Wed: John 12:24). Wisdom was justified from all her children (Matthew 11:19) (righteous people)” [4, 74]. Matthew 11:23. “And you, Capernaum, who were exalted to heaven, will be brought down to hell, for if the powers that were manifested in you had been manifested in Sodom, it would have remained to this day;” Matthew 11:24. “But I tell you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” “But let us turn to what is said in the Gospel. Below, it is said, Jesus was in Capernaum, and it was heard that there were people in the house, and many people had gathered, as if there was no room for them at the door. The Jewish city of Capernaum was located at Lake Gennesaret near the confluence of the Jordan River and was one of the flourishing and populous cities of Galilee under Jesus Christ. The Lord, during His three-year public ministry for the salvation of the human race, repeatedly visited Capernaum, preached in Jewish synagogues and performed many miracles. By the way, a paralytic man who was unable to walk, about whom we read in the Gospel today, was healed here. Here the following were healed: the servant of one Roman centurion, the mother-in-law of the Apostle Peter and many others; bleeding woman; two blind men; possessed by a demon, and the daughter of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue, was resurrected. Happy, a hundred times happy, you say, are the inhabitants of this city, in which Jesus Christ had His frequent stay. But I won't say that. No, I cannot call the inhabitants of Capernaum happy just because the Son of God often stayed with them; I can’t because the inhabitants of Capernaum, having seen His miracles many times, His benefits to His fellow citizens, remained ungrateful before Their Benefactor and Wonderworker, unfaithful, unrepentant sinners. The Lord Himself denounced this city, saying to it: and you, Capernaum, who ascended to heaven, will be cast down to hell; for if powers had been manifested in Sodom, i.e. miracles manifested in you, then he would have remained to this day, that is, he would have repented; but I tell you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you (Matthew 11:23, 24). Now you see that the inhabitants of Capernaum are unhappy people, because, often seeing the miracles of the Lord and hearing His teaching, they remained unrepentant sinners and were condemned to hell” [2, 267]. “Let me not despise them, despised dog! I, an insignificance, I, vile, alone worthy of contempt and trampling upon everyone, from a person who voluntarily makes himself an animal, unclean, greedy, evil - and when else? When I am honored with the Most Pure, Life-Giving and Terrible Mysteries of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who deified me. - Introduce this truth into my heart, Lord, so that, remembering it, I will be constantly humble and may I continually cleanse myself from all passion, defilement of the flesh and spirit (2 Cor. 7:1), so that I consider myself worthy of all contempt - as I despise You, of all offense - as I offend You, Lord; of all unrighteousness - just as I do injustice to You, O Most Righteous Judge - Lord! I am the worst of all, the most sinful of all! For having been lifted up to heaven by You, I myself descended to hell (cf. Matthew 11:23) and am descending. You have given me so much strength: and I live unrepentantly. Alas for me, a sinner! “But may my malice not overcome Your unspeakable goodness and mercy!” [11, 142]. Matthew 11:25. “At that time, Jesus continued speaking, saying: I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes;” Matthew 11:26. “Hey, Father! for such was Thy good pleasure.” “Verse 25. I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You hid this from the wise and prudent and revealed it to infants. How sweet is the living idea that the Heavenly Father is the Lord and Master of heaven and earth, who, as the Master of a house consisting of many departments, is present everywhere with His Spirit” [1, 69]. “Students of educational institutions have been taught a lot, but often they do not know the only thing they need - God and themselves, their sins, their spiritual weakness, their insignificance without God and before God. Remember the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian: Lord! grant me to see my sins. Seeing your sins in their multitude and in all their vileness is truly a gift from God, bestowed as a result of fervent prayer. What has been said above should apply to many, many scientists and the rich and noble: they know a lot, have a lot, but they do not know and often do not have what is essential. You hid this from the wise and prudent and you revealed it to babes. Yes, Father, for such was your good pleasure [Matt. 11:25, 26]. Wonderful things! Apparently, the grace of God and the blessings of this world are not the same thing, and addiction to them is incompatible with God’s grace” [5, vol. 2, 348]. "I glorify You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth (Matthew 11:25). When the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ, wanted, according to the infinity of His goodness, to fulfill at the end of the ages the eternal advice about the salvation of the human race perishing by sin and to find the missing royal drachma, to seek the lost sheep of His verbal flock, then, taking on Himself a human form and putting on the whole man from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, He chose as assistants to Himself, His great work, simple disciples and apostles, fishermen by profession, and through them He showed in practice that the work of our salvation does not depend on worldly nobility, learning or earthly vain wisdom, but that it is the only work of God, the work of His goodness, wisdom, power and mercy, God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. , etc. (1 Cor. 1:27)" [6, 57]. Matthew 11:27. “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son, and to whom the Son wants to reveal it.” “Just as the human word reveals what is on the mind and heart of a person (opens the mind - invisible, sovereign, creative), and through the word, which opens the mind or thought, breath comes from a person, so somewhat like the Word of God reveals to us the Father - this great, all-creating Mind and through the Word eternally proceeds and appears to people from the Father, the Holy Life-giving Spirit, Who is the power of the Most High (the power of the Most High will overshadow You) [Lk. 1:35]. Now the words of the Savior are clear: no one knows the Son except the Father; no one knows the Father except the Son, and even if the Son wills, the revelation [Matt. 11:27]. Do you see? Only the Son reveals the Father to people, just as our word reveals our innermost thought. This is the closest unity between the Father and the Son! And each Person is characterized by dominion and his own, so to speak, business. Therefore, the Savior says to the disciples: if I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you: if I go, I will send Him to you [Jn. 16:7]. Glory to You, Son of God, reveal to us the mystery of the Holy Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Your word is truth; We live by each and every one of Your words. They are sweetness, peace, life to us; especially the word about the Comforter” [5, vol. 1, 85]. Matt. 11:28. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest;” Matt. 11:29. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” “Calmness of mind, peace, sweetness of heart is the grace of Jesus Christ. Come to Me... and I will give you rest: take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart (Learn from Me meekness and humility): and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:28–29)” [2, 206]. “Christ is the peace of our heart, our soul, not only after death, but also during life: I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). Sweet experiences in this life are also evidence” [2, 223]. “Meekness and humility must be united in every servant of Christ, as in Christ Himself: ... I am meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29); prayer and fasting must also be combined. Prayer blooms when we fast spiritually and physically” [2, 181]. “Prayer is the golden connection of a person - a Christian, a wanderer and a stranger on earth, with the spiritual world, of which he is a member, and most of all with God - the Source of life; the soul came from God, to God and may it always come through prayer. Prayer has great benefits for the one praying: it gives peace to the soul and body; it gives rest not only to the soul of the one who prays (I will give you rest) [Matt. 11:28 ], but also often the souls of our forefathers, fathers and brothers who have passed away. You see how important prayer is!” [5, vol. 1, 90]. “The greatest gift of God, which we most need and which we receive very often from God as a result of our prayer, is peace of heart, as the Savior says: come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest [Matt. 11:28]. And rejoice and consider yourself rich, having everything, when you have received the world” [5, vol. 1, 69]. “When you pray, take heed that your inner man prays, and not just the outer man. Although I am sinful beyond measure, still pray. Do not look at the devil’s incitement, deceit and despair, but overcome and defeat his wiles. Remember the abyss of Spasov’s philanthropy and mercy. The devil will present to you the face of the Lord as menacing and unmerciful, rejecting your prayer and your repentance, and you remember the words of the Savior, filled for us with all hope and boldness: He who comes to Me I will not cast out [Jn. 6:37], and come to Me, all who labor and are burdened with sins and iniquities and the devil’s wiles and slander, and I will give you rest [Matt. 11:28]" [5, vol. 1, 163]. “Brothers! what is the purpose of our life on earth? So that after we have been tested by earthly sorrows and disasters and after gradual improvement in virtue with the help of grace-filled gifts taught in the sacraments, we will rest upon death in God - the peace of our spirit. That is why we sing about the dead: rest, O Lord, the soul of Your servant. We wish the deceased peace as the end of all desires and pray to God for this. Isn’t it therefore foolish to grieve a lot over the dead? Come to Me, you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest [Matt. 11:28], says the Lord. Here are our dead, who have fallen asleep through Christian death, come to this voice of the Lord and rest in peace. Why mourn” [5, vol. 1, 13]. “The truth and saving power of our holy faith is clearly revealed from the fact that not a single sacrament, not a single prayer of faith remains in vain for us, but is brought to us from heaven and reveals its power in our souls and bodies, cleanses our sins, gives rest to our souls, according to the word of our Savior: come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest [Matt. 11:28 ], deliver us from heart troubles and bodily illnesses. No, we never pray in vain to our Lord, or the Most Holy Theotokos, or the Angels and saints, but we receive all petitions that lead to salvation; the powers of healing and various kinds of help constantly descend to us from heaven, our Lord is the Lord of the various forces that are revealed to us, and our God is the God of mercy and salvation. Likewise, the Ever-Virgin Mother of the incarnate God of the Word imitates the love for mankind of Her Son and God, praying for us, does not cease and constantly reveals Her powers to the believers. Feeling the incessant, all-saving powers of the Mother of God manifested over us, we cry out to Her: let us never be silent, O Mother of God, Thy power to speak unworthy; If only You weren’t standing there, begging, who would deliver us from so many troubles... or: manifest Your power forever... and we turn to Her in every sorrow, need and situation. The same must be said about Angels and saints: those called by us, they listen to us and, by the grace of God, show us help” [5, vol. 1, 143]. “Your soul is looking for true life, food akin to itself, food for the mind - truth, for the heart - peace and bliss, for the will - normal direction or legality. Go to church: it has all this in abundance. She is the pillar and ground of the truth [1 Tim. 3:15], because in it is the word of God, showing the beginning of all things, the beginning of the human race, the creation of man in the image and likeness of God, his fall, his restoration through the Savior of men, the means to salvation, faith, hope and love. She brings us peace and bliss through her Divine services and especially the sacraments; she cries out: come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest [Matt. 11:28 ]; it teaches us the true path, which our will must unswervingly follow and which will lead us to eternal life: this is the path of God’s commandments” [5, vol. 2, 344]. “Everything that worries and, as it were, undermines the heart at its foundation, torments it, comes from the devil, for he is eternal restlessness and languor. The Lord is the peace of the heart. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest [Matt. 11:28]. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you [Jn. 14:27]. So many passions, so much anxiety and languor; so many addictions, so many sharp arrows piercing the heart, and so much obscurity. A person spends most of his life in spiritual darkness” [5, vol. 2, 300]. “The Father, Son and Holy Spirit - God in the Trinity is glorified by all His creatures: the angelic councils, silently proclaiming the Trisagion hymn, and the Holy Church of Christ, St. Apostles, martyrs, saints, saints, righteous and all saints, the whole visible world, all true Christians living today - the whole world. The truth of the trinity of the Divine is like the air that surrounds us on all sides, with which we breathe and with which we are completely imbued. Is it possible after this to doubt the Divinity of the Son or the Spirit of God? How many works do we see done in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit? How much of the power of the Spirit of God have we experienced and are experiencing? The Holy Spirit is the spiritual air of rational beings. What air is to physical bodies, the Holy Spirit is to rational and free beings. He fills them, revives them, sanctifies them, makes them wise, strengthens them; The Son of God is for us the way, the truth, the life [John. 14:6], peace, (I will give you rest) [Matt. 11:28], joy (I will see you, and your heart will rejoice) [Jn. 16:22]. We have experienced this ourselves and are experiencing it. After this, who will we listen to who suggests the opposite? Are the internal whispers of an evil spirit, this gloomy one, breathing lies, malice, despondency, crampedness and fire, which, like smoke, like dust, disappears from the name and cross of the Lord? Will we listen to this dreamer and be indignant at his machinations? Let it be known to you firmly that he is a pure negation of the truth. If I cry because we do not know Him (the Father), I will be like a lie to you. But I know Him [Jn. 8:55]. The very fact that he always kills the soul proves that he is a lie, death, and not truth, not life. We know one culprit of death - the devil. Amen" [5, vol. 2, 376]. “Why does a person sometimes suddenly become so enraged that he gets very excited, speaks quickly, abruptly and incoherently, breaks his hands, tears out his hair or beats others in a rage, insanely breaks everything that comes into his hands, and does other things characteristic of someone who is insane and frenzied? Obviously because the spirits of evil from heaven are at work in his heart, inciting people to all kinds of evil and breathing malice and murder on everyone and everything. Why are there suicides of all kinds, as well as murderers of others? From the action in the hearts of suicides and murderers of the original suicide - the devil. That is why Christ the Savior and the Christian faith command everyone to have meekness and humility, which do not allow the spirits of malice and pride to act in their hearts, seeking the death of one and all. The Lord says: learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart [Matt. 11:29]. Human anger is a terrible, unnatural phenomenon in a person; it is often aroused in the heart because of the most unimportant reasons, because of self-love, pride hidden in our heart. We must remember that the anger of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God [Jas. 1:20]" [5, vol. 1, 120]. “In the truth of God, the same earth through which we fell into the sin of disobedience is punishing us and will continue to punish us until the end of time: a glutton is always punished with food and drink; fornicator - diseases inseparable from corruption; for a lover of money - silver; the proud man is truly earthly and spiritual pride. – In the image of those who sin, they suffer (Wis. 11:17). In addition, the body is the earth - suffering from diseases, it finally turns into the earth from which it was taken (cf. Gen. 3:19). The farmer, by the sweat of his brow, cultivates the land from which and from which the fruit produced was the reason for the fall into sin. Look around - and you will see what hard work humanity has with earthly things and from earthly things: who are they all if not toiling and burdened (Matthew 11:28) with earthly cares and affairs” [8, 412]. “I know for sure that the enemy kindles passions in me; I know for sure that he also inflames them in others - and precisely when he is weakened by Christ in me and driven away from me, he kindles passions in my family in order to outrage me through them. If so, if I know for sure that the enemy with passions outrages and scorches me, as well as others, then why do I succumb to them, am carried away by their flow, for which I, a rational and free being, enslave myself to the ethereal enemy and, although reluctantly, serve him; and why am I indignant in spirit and irritated when I see that others, also possessed by the enemy, are confused, unjustly agitated against me by the passion of malice and hatred or envy, murmur against me, slander and scold me? How is it my fault that I myself am indignant and suffer in spirit, when others are to blame, not me? “That’s why I’m indignant, that’s why the enemy attacks me, because I haven’t fully comprehended his machinations, because I myself, a proud and passionate person, have not yet learned to overcome passions myself; I did not learn to be meek and humble from my Jesus (cf. Matthew 11:29). One must accept indifferently any abuse of others; you need to look with an indifferent eye, as if it were an ordinary matter, at all the passionate indignations of others produced by the enemy and everyone’s own passions, that is, not to be indignant, not to lose heart, not to be timid, but to be calm, even, courageous and with meekness admonish those who are angry and slandering. “But until you learn to be your own master, until you are good at admonishing and reconciling others, until then you cannot be a good ruler of others” [8, 575]. “But here is a slave of bliss and voluptuousness. What is this? Does he think of returning to the Heavenly Father? Or has his soul's torment and bodily suffering not yet reached its final limit? But why wait for the time when the soul has already completely relaxed from the cold deeds of voluptuousness, and the body is exhausted from the constant stress that kills it. You have forgotten, dear brother, that the soul and body are not yours, but God’s: because, belonging to God entirely, as the work of His hands, we, moreover, are redeemed from sins at the price of the Blood of the Son of God; have you forgotten that we must glorify God in our bodies and in our souls, which are the essence of God (1 Cor. 6:20)? You have gone far from God; You rarely go to church; you are ashamed to appear with your uncleanness before the All-Holy God. Cleanse yourself and return to the Heavenly Father: bad things will happen to you in a distant land with a cruel master - your shameful passion. Come to Me, says the Heavenly Father and His beloved Son: I am well. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest... for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light (Matthew 11:28, 30). It’s true, your passion gives you nothing to eat except the beetles that swine eat (Luke 15:16); your painful, imaginary pleasure, come to Me: I have enough of everything, I have enough bread for hirelings (v. 17)” [9, 50]. “A great good, a great virtue, is gentleness before God and people: it covers a multitude of sins. In the Old Testament, the following were especially loved and glorified by God for this virtue: Abel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David the Godfather, king and prophet, and many others; and in the New Testament there are countless righteous people who imitated the meek and humble Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, who says in the Gospel to all of us: learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:29). So, let us not obey the devil, who teaches us to harbor evil against our neighbors, but in the simplicity of our hearts we will forgive the insults caused by our neighbors, also at the instigation of the enemy. Let no one think evil against each other; Let no one be carried away by evil suspicion regarding his neighbor; for this is the deception of the enemy of our salvation, who is trying in every possible way to destroy in us the union of love and brotherhood and to plant demonic enmity and hostility. I give you a new commandment, that you love one another (John 13:34), and the words of the Apostle Paul: love one another and fulfill the law. So, the fulfillment of the law is love (Rom. 13:8, 10)" [9, 58]. “So, brothers, the holy saints of God, who are countless, call us to follow them to the Heavenly Fatherland, where the eternal glory of God shines, where there is no untruth, where there is life without work, sorrows and illnesses, endless life. Let us follow, we will certainly follow them, with the help of God: so God commands. Come, He says, to Me, all who labor in the struggle against sins and are burdened with iniquities - come with zealous repentance and virtue, and I will give you rest; take My yoke, the yoke of My holy commandments, and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls; For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light (cf. Matthew 11:28–30), that is, not like the yoke and burden of your sins and passions, which is heavy, charming, fruitless and destructive. Be holy, because I am holy, the Lord your God (Cf.: Lev. 19:2), the Holy Apostle Paul says to all of us: we do not have a permanent city here, that is, a permanent city, but we are looking for the future (Cf.: Heb. 13:14), whose Builder and Artist is God Himself” [9, 167]. “So, according to the teaching of our Savior, the measure of our relations towards others should be our correct love for ourselves; As we want people to do to us, so we will do to them, that is, simply, sincerely, meekly, lovingly, unsuspiciously, condescendingly, sympathetically, patiently. The Lord Himself offers Himself as a model to us, to which we must constantly look and, looking, always learn: learn from Me, He says, for I am meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29). The Apostle Paul says: Strive to have peace with everyone and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14); He also teaches: let love be unfeigned... Be brotherly loving to one another with tenderness; warn one another in respect; take part in the needs of the saints, that is, the Christian brethren; be zealous for hospitality. Bless your persecutors; bless, not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind among yourselves; do not be arrogant, but follow the humble; don't dream about yourself; Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but strive for good in the sight of all people. If possible on your part, be at peace with all people. Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but give room to the wrath of God. For it is written: Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord. So, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Let every soul be subject to the higher authorities (cf. Rom. 12:9–21; Rom. 13:1)” [9, 285]. Matthew 11:30. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” “No, no matter what you say, sometimes a person is too irritable and angry, not on his own, but with the most zealous help of the devil. Just watch yourself or others during times of irritability and anger, when you or someone else would like to destroy a person hostile to you, truly or imaginary; compare what follows after this (sometimes soon - according to the action of the Guardian Angel) the calmness, meekness and kindness of the character of yours or the person you are observing with the past opposite state, and you will say to yourself: no, this, it seems, is not at all the same person who was angry and furious shortly before - this is the person from whom the devil came, who sits at the foot of Jesus [Lk. 8:35 ] (meek and humble) veiled and understanding. There is not even a shadow of the former anger and the former senselessness in him! Some reject the existence of evil spirits: but such phenomena in people's lives can clearly indicate their existence. If every phenomenon has a corresponding cause and a tree is known from its fruit, then who will not see in a madly angry person an evil spirit operating within him, which cannot manifest itself otherwise than in a manner worthy of itself! Who, in the outpouring of human malice, will not see the chief of malice? In addition, a person prone to irritability and breathing malice very clearly senses the presence of a hostile, evil force in his chest; it produces in the soul something completely opposite to what the Savior says about His presence: My yoke is easy and My burden is light [Matt. 11:30]. In that presence, you feel terribly thin and heavy – both mentally and physically” [5, vol. 1, 36]. “My yoke is good and my burden is light [Matthew 11:30]. So the commandments of the Lord are good and light, but the yoke of the devil is evil, and his burden is heavy. So what? We break the commandments of the Lord, but we fulfill the will of the devil! We are the damned!” [5, vol. 1, 256]. “The misfortune of Christians comes from the fact that they do not have Christian hope. Here a person has a sinful tightness in his heart, melancholy, sinful boredom; if there is no Christian hope in his heart, then what does he do? He resorts to artificial means to drive away cramped conditions and boredom, to criminal entertainment, and not to Christ, whose yoke is good for our hearts and whose burden is light [Matt. 11:30], - not to prayer, not to repentance of sins, not to the Word of God, which is useful for teaching, for reproof, for consolation [Compare: 2 Tim. 3:16; Wed: Rome. 15:4]. This is how it is done for the most part. Hence the need for secular people to have theaters and many other entertainments. They resort to suicide. The experience of receiving what one asks for greatly contributes to the affirmation of hope in the heart of the person who prays. And those who are attentive to themselves will easily notice these experiences” [5, vol. 2, 524]. “Christians, especially Orthodox Christians, who keep and observe in purity the dogmas of their God-given faith, have been given so many blessings and strengths for salvation from God, so many secrets of God have been revealed, that it is easy for believers, attentive, striving in their faith, to be easily saved and to become heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven, eternal, for the yoke of the Lord is good and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). The angels marvel with trepidation at the mercy of God towards us, manifested in the incarnation of God for our sake, His cohabitation with people on earth, His personal teaching, the countless miracles He performed to assure His Divinity and Divine Embassy, in suffering for us, death, burial and resurrection from the dead, and ascension into heaven, with the promise of His terrible second coming to judge the living and the dead. But the majority of people remain either unbelievers or doubters, insensitive, indifferent, deaf to the word of the Gospel, partial to the vain, empty and false word of man, to hypocrisy and hypocrisy, to everything mirageous, ephemeral, to that which is of vain interest for one day, and forgets about the eternal, that which is only needed. Many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew 20:16)” [6, 33]. “Do you, O priest, who performs sacred rites and celebrates the liturgy every day, value the fruits of communion of the holy life-giving and terrible and heavenly Mysteries! Do you feel cleansing of sins, renewal, enlightenment, rebirth, sanctification, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, a good yoke and a light burden (cf. Matthew 11:30), freedom of spirit, joy in the Holy Spirit? Blessed are you if you feel all this and thank God. Warm up the gift of God in yourself, do not be indifferent, insensitive, ungrateful. For the feeling of gratitude you will be worthy of greater grace, correct yourself, strive in everything for the perfection of life and virtue, so that you will be worthy to hear the voice from the Lord: good and faithful servant! You were faithful in small things, I will put you over many; enter into the joy of Your Lord. Amen (Matthew 25:21)” [6, 71]. “Prayer is the lifting of the mind and heart to God; contemplation of God, bold conversation between the creature and the Creator; the reverent standing of the soul before Him, as before the King and the Life-Itself, who gives life to everyone; oblivion for Him of everything around him; food for the soul, air, light, its life-giving warmth, cleansing of sins, the good yoke of Christ, His light burden (cf. Matthew 11:30). Prayer is a constant feeling of one’s weakness or spiritual poverty; sanctification of the soul, anticipation of future bliss; angelic bliss; heavenly rain, refreshing, watering and fertilizing the earth of the soul; strength and strength of soul and body; cleansing and refreshing the mental air of the soul; enlightenment of the face, joy of the spirit; the golden connection connecting the creature with the Creator; cheerfulness and courage in all sorrows and temptations in life; lamp of life, avoiding the snares of the enemy; success in business; equal angelic dignity, affirmation of faith, hope and love. Prayer is community with the Angels and saints who have pleased God from the ages. Prayer is the correction of life; mother of heartfelt contrition and tears; a strong motivation for acts of mercy: the Lord has mercy on me without number: how can I not have mercy on others? Prayer is the safety of life, the destruction of mortal fear; neglect of earthly treasures, desire for heavenly blessings; expectation of the universal Judge, the general resurrection, the life of the next century; strenuous efforts to get rid of eternal torment; constant seeking of mercy (pardon) from the Lord, walking before the eyes of God (cf. Gen. 24:40); blissful disappearance before the All-Creating and All-Fulfilling Creator; living water (Wed: Jer. 2:13; Jer. 17:13; John 4:10; John 7:38) souls; containing love in the hearts of all people; the bringing down of heaven into the soul, the placement in the heart of the Most Holy Trinity, according to what was said: we will come to him and make an abode with him (John 14:23)” [8, 359]. “Let us overcome sin within ourselves as much as possible as the cause of death. It is only very difficult to defeat it at first, but then it will be both easy and sweet, since as the suffering caused by the fight against sin increases, the consolation of Christ (Wed: 2 Cor. 1:5) in us will increase, and the Lord, who said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Wed: Matt. 11:30), will surely make the labors of ascetics light and life-giving. Moreover, what is obtained through labor is valued more highly, and we enjoy it the more. We were created for work, not for bliss and inaction. Yes, heavenly glory, which has no end, without a doubt, is worth the hard work of a lifetime. This incomparable bliss, this kingdom of glory is not given for nothing. The Kingdom of Heaven, it is said, is forced, that is, it is acquired by force, and those in need delight it (Matthew 11:12)” [9, 231]. Open 3 – approx. email editors. You might be interested in: