Письмо 200

Most venerable mother K-ya Z. and sisters mother V. and P. in Christ! I wish you peace, health, peace of mind and unanimity. I don’t have anything special to tell you about myself, except that I arrived safely, thank God; I thank you for your zealous affection towards me, unworthy. I ask you, for the Lord’s sake, both personally and in absentia, I repeat: force yourself to be patient with those who find them, who are sent from the right hand of the Most High, and we need for salvation. From patience, sent for our shortcomings, a person acquires hope that will not disgrace anyone; force yourself to go to church: for you are an example to others. Seeing you, others will force themselves to do the same, but in the opposite case they will relax; and in all cases, force yourself to fulfill the will of God and our vows: for the kingdom of heaven is in need, and the needy delight it (Matt. 11:12). Let conscience be a mirror for each of us; try not to darken it, otherwise woe will befall us when this guardian falls silent, rejected by our negligence; read from Saint Dorotheus about conscience. Pray for me, the most wretched one, so that I may not tell the truth in words, but may show a lie in deed: but may I receive mercy from the Lord on that day; not according to my deeds, but according to His mercy. Dear Madam N.N., I ask you to express my respects; kindly offer her poor-minded advice from me: that when robbers attack her, and not being able to overthrow her, she would send a petition to the king against them, and would believe that they would not cause any harm; because we rely not on our own strength, but on the royal one: and we would be calm, not at all afraid, and would have humility, not at all thinking about having any spiritual wealth; It is for this reason that we are allowed to be tempted, so that we may preserve the gift of God intact. St. Isaac writes: “a gift without temptation, the destruction of those who receive it”, again from the nature of things you know: if you always eat sweet food, then rot and disease can become in your insides: you must definitely use wormwood, or some other bitterness, for cleansing and healing; equally here, enjoying the consolation of grace, one must accept with gratitude the internal insults from evil spirits inflicted by God's permission to humility and preserve the gift. And a warrior is crowned when, having received wounds in the struggle, he still remains courageous and firm. Forgive me for writing too much - it’s none of my business, I myself am insignificant and weak; I ask for your prayers, and I remain a great sinner I.M. November 25. You might be interested in: