Письмо 62

I received three letters from you, from which I see that you are aware of your guilt and deviation into imaginary mental prayer, and, having been seduced by it, you received spiritual harm and served as a temptation to many, and to your sisters in Christ to great and painful sorrow; and in your previous letters your self-justification was visible, and this was a sign of another act of delusion. Find out where she got access to you from, and don’t let it happen in the future; Try above all else to acquire love and humility, then the Lord will protect you from all the snares and snares of the enemy. You say that you can’t figure out how to truly persuade yourself to humility; read about this in the books of St. John Climacus degree 25, there is also a lot in the 4th about him, in St. Isaac the Syrian in different words, from Abba Dorotheus, from St. Barsanuphius the Great, from Simeon the New Theologian and others: and most of all, remember the teaching of our Savior Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ: learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:29). You have a lot of audacity to pronounce judgment on others and even openly denounce others, but you yourself do not see your weaknesses; You only slander yourself with one tongue, but do not bear the infirmities of others; For some you repeat too much; do not trust your own reason, but take advice from others who are sincere and want your benefit. St. Apostle Paul, called from above and instructed by God, did not trust himself, but went to Jerusalem to the Apostles to ask: is this what he preaches, and not in vain the flow or flow (Gal. 2:2), since we should not rely on our own reason. I remain the sinful I.M. March 24, 1853. You might be interested in: