Письмо 70

I have received two of your letters and must frankly say that I see nothing solid and solid in them. You complain about sorrows, you want to get rid of them, give up obedience and practice prayers, prepare for the exodus from now on: but you do not think about this, that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). The one who runs away from sorrows runs away from salvation; sorrows, whatever they may be, are sent from God for our correction. That you do not tolerate sorrows, this shows your bad disposition, which could turn into a good one if you accepted all cases with self-reproach. Sitting in silence with such a dispensation, you gain nothing except the deception that you live well, prepare yourself for the outcome with prayer, etc. - but you are deceived, poor thing! Saint John of the Climacus allows people of such a dispensation as you: “to see below the trace of silence”; for through obedience humility is acquired. Seeing my weakness in not bearing sorrows, I involuntarily have to humble myself; but don’t blame anyone, but yourself, for not tolerating what God sends you to heal your spiritual passions and ailments. You say: I cannot endure sorrows, because there are many of them and you have damaged your heart with them. That's how crazy you've gotten! Is this the fruit of my instruction? The Holy Fathers teach us that from sorrow we receive humility; and you say: you hurt yourself. If she did damage, it was from madness, from impatience and from blaming her neighbors, and not herself; which can be attributed to God’s punishment for impatience. Again, aren’t these crazy words: “It would be better to suffer some kind of execution than to have grief from S...x”? But what kind of sorrow? What they said about you not with praise, but with reproach; Yes, even if more things happened to be suffered, then we must consider that they are God’s instruments acting in the matter of our salvation; otherwise you can’t even call it grief; but it affected you because of your evil design. It’s not S...e’s fault, but you yourself for not reproaching yourself and for being inflamed; Therefore, there are still few sorrows for you. I remain the sinful I.M. You might be interested in: