Письмо 19

It is very sad for me, reading your letter, to see your situation - troubles both in the monastery and outside it; there is no consolation from anywhere; Of course, God allows you, in your old age, to be tempted by the fire of sorrows, in order to appear like gold in the furnace, to be worthy to be crowned with an unfading crown in the kingdom of glory. We read about the sorrowful path the saints traversed and inherited eternal bliss. And the books of the fathers teach us that without sorrow it is impossible to please God; not only external ones should be, but also internal ones from the spirits of malice, with God's permission. St. has a lot about this. Isaac, Barsanuphius, John Climacus, Abba Dorotheus, Peter of Damascus, etc.; and the latter writes: “humility is a product of reason, and reason is a product of temptation”; and St. Isaac the Syrian, in many words, encourages much to endure sorrows; and I’ll just tell you from the 36th word: “There is no other way to create a favored life for those who desire to be with Him, except to bring temptations for the truth” - and further; - “but from this we also know that we are provided by God when sorrow comes upon him.” Therefore, you are not forgotten by God when you have sorrows; but if you endure them resignedly and with humility, then they are bearable and soon pass away, but when you endure them with murmuring and accusations of others, they are heavy; What does St. write about? Isaac in the 51st word. I wrote this for your strengthening; when the cross is sent, there is nowhere to go - you cannot throw it off. But, entering into the consideration of the circumstances you described, which bring you sorrow, I sincerely regret you; and, accepting the outpouring of your sorrowful feelings, I participate in them, and all the more I see their burden, because I don’t know whether you have any sisters there who can share this sorrow with you and strengthen you, or any spiritual fathers? God bless you for accepting my letter with Christian feelings, and I am very glad that it arrived by the way on your birthday, although I did not know this; I wish the Lord to comfort you with spiritual consolation after the sorrows you write about. – Do it according to your strength, admonishing and supervising, and leave the rest to the will and providence of God and the protection of the Mother of God. Not only this one sin should be considered important, but pride is much more important, which is the cause of falls and other evils, and blinds a person; however, little attention is paid to it - it is invisible, but its fruit is obvious. Pride comes in two forms: spiritual and worldly, the former being more dangerous. All our deeds, if not dissolved by love and humility, are nothing; the holy fathers teach us that humility, even in addition to deeds, saves us, but deeds without humility will not save us (St. Isaac, f. 46). Abodes are refuges of salvation; but it happens that even in them they are subject to unrest and plunge into waves: “if not everyone who is baptized will be saved,” says St. John Climacus, then I will keep silent about the rest,” that is, about the monastic vocation; those who have a good will, through obedience, acquire humility, which preserves the monk from all the snares and snares of the enemy; and without it you can be subject to various temptations and unbearable ones; and even more so when they have no idea about the revelation of thoughts that it is very necessary in our calling; many fathers write that revelation is very necessary and brings great benefits (St. John Climacus, Abba Dorotheus, Simeon the New Theologian, St. Barsanuphius and others); and this good deed at the present time has almost been completely abandoned; That is why wonderful fruits languish and sorrows multiply. It’s good - your monastery has gotten rid of the pitiful virgin; God forbid that she come to true reason, and that her action would serve as a lesson to others. You might be interested in: