Проповедь о святых и страшных Тайнах Христовых, произнесённая за четыре дня до Христова Рождества

The Word contributes to the salvation of our souls; it acts in us as a seed. Farmers first cultivate the land and only then throw seeds into it. So we must first cultivate and prepare ourselves to receive the heavenly seed - the word of spiritual teaching. Of course, our souls are not a soulless and insensitive land that accepts cultivation and seeds from others. We are an animate earth, a living earth endowed with reason, and therefore we should prepare ourselves to receive the word. This can be done through repentance, so that the word of God sown in us becomes fruitful. In order to tell you what the beginning of repentance and cultivation of the soul is, let me remind you of what those who, of their own free will, came to receive the baptism of John did on their own. The Gospel tells us that they “came and were baptized in the Jordan, confessing their sins” (Matthew 3:6). So, confession of sins is the beginning of the cultivation of the soul. With the help of repentance and confession, a person makes the necessary preparation and takes into himself the saving seed, which (if the soul is properly plowed) can bear fruit. Farmers came up with the idea of ​​plowing and harrowing the land because if the land is not cultivated, then various wild and useless plants grow and develop on it, and their wild roots remain in its depths. The sacrament of confession does the same thing as plowing the earth on the rational field of the heart. The plow of confession draws out from the depths of the soul the evil passions hidden in it and eradicates them. Plowing through confession makes the soil of the soul ready and suitable to receive sacred seeds and produce fruitful virtues. Remaining uncultivated, the human heart gives rise to shameful and evil passions, thoughts and sins. It is for this very reason, my brothers, that each of us needs to have a spiritual father. You must come to your spiritual father with faith, you must humble yourself before him and reveal to him the crafty passions of your heart. Only by doing this will you feel that you are receiving the treatment that Christ gives you, that you are uprooting from yourself the thorns and thistles of sin, cherished by a passionate and full of pleasures life. By going to your confessor for confession, you can always have your ears ready to receive spiritual teachings. Listen to me, brothers, believe what I preach to you and offer for your benefit! Having received forgiveness and blessing from your spiritual father, you will be reconciled with Him who, out of the boundless greatness of His love for mankind, bowed the Heavens and came down to earth. He Himself planted saving seeds in the hearts of well-behaved people. So, let not one of you shy away from confession - the saving beginning of repentance. In order for your soul to become cultivated, you must first of all show personal zeal. These forty days of fasting before the Nativity of Christ were given to us by the God-bearing fathers as a pre-purification, which leads us to the annual celebration of the Birth in the flesh of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Usually on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, almost all Christians partake of the Holy Body and Blood of the Lord and in this divine way become one spirit and one body. The words that I have just spoken and which I will say a little later will help you clearly understand that without confession and subsequent repentance, a Christian is not worthy not only to approach the Holy Chalice, but even to simply perceive the words of divine teachings. How can a person accept the Blood and Body of Christ into himself without first being cleansed by confession and repentance brought in accordance with his falls? The great Apostle Paul also teaches about communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, who gives all Christians the following commandment: “Let a person examine himself, and only then eat of the Bread and drink of the Cup. Because he who eats and drinks unworthily accepts his own condemnation, being unable to discern the Divine properties of the Body and Blood of the Lord.” The words of the Apostle Paul mean that a person who has not properly prepared for Communion will not receive the Holy Body and Blood of the Lord that he eats. Christ will not agree to live in a body burdened with sins. A person will not even be able to pray correctly without first cleansing his heart from sin and without clearing from himself the thoughts of hatred and malice. Without doing this, he will not have a conscience that does not condemn him, and as a result of this, he will not have boldness towards God. How can we accept Christ into ourselves and become co-corporeal with Him without first cleansing our sins from ourselves through confession? So, in order for Christ to live in us, repentance, forgiveness, abstinence, prayer with tenderness, and other works of repentance are first necessary. For these reasons, brethren, let us first purify ourselves. Having cleansed ourselves in body, lips, and thoughts, let us approach Him with a good conscience. Otherwise, that is, approaching Him without first receiving remission of sins, we will receive condemnation from Him and ourselves, with our own hands, will alienate from ourselves the Divine bounties and Christ’s patience towards us all. With the Divine Gifts, if they are accepted by an unworthy person, nothing bad will happen - they are impassive. However, by accepting Them without proper preparation, we seem to invisibly pour out the grace of the Holy Spirit from ourselves, according to the words of the holy Apostle Paul: “The ointment cannot remain in a dirty vessel.” The sacraments of the Church are actions through which believers are sanctified. They are called sacraments because they are not just a certain sequence of what can be seen with the eyes, but also a certain spiritual reality that surpasses word and understanding. So, let us prepare ourselves in such a way that through repentance we become worthy to participate in these sacraments. Let us bring all our strength and approach the Savior Christ with hope and faith, entering the Holy of Holies and partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ. Thus, we will be able to see with spiritual eyes the Bread that sanctifies us, and by partaking of Which, we partake of Life itself. This bread is the true Food that comes down from Heaven, Living and giving life to the world. The Lord spoke about this Bread not only to His disciples during the Last Supper, but also publicly, at a meeting of the people in the synagogue, He clearly told everyone this: “The Bread that I will give you is My Flesh, which I will offer for the life of the world” (John 6:51). And He also said this: “Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life” (John 6:53–54). What a miracle! How incomprehensible is the greatness of the love poured out on us by God! He regenerated us, and we became one spirit with Him. And not only with one spirit, but also with one body. We are now flesh of His flesh, we are bone of His bones. The love of marriage has something more in it than other types of love, since this love is sanctified by the Church. “This mystery is great,” emphasizes the holy Apostle Paul, “but I speak in relation to Christ and the Church.” In marriage, two people are united into one flesh, but they are not united into one spirit. And in communion of the Divine Mysteries we not only cleave to Christ, but also mingle with Him in order to become one body and one spirit with Him. This shows God's great love for us. Christ becomes our Brother, Christ redeems us with His Blood and Body. He brings us into the circle of His friends, connecting and uniting us with Himself through the Divine Eucharist. We touch Him, let Him into ourselves, enjoy Him. He himself calls us to the Divine Liturgy, exclaiming: “Eat My Body, drink My Blood, all who desire eternal life.” Put on Me, the King and God of Heaven. This is how you will become terrible for demons, and this is how angels will admire you. You will become My true children and the “pleasant abode of the Most Sublime Trinity.” Let us dissolve our blood with the Blood of Christ, in order to thus cleanse ourselves from our internal corruption. The benefits of this are great and indescribable. His blood makes us new from old, and eternal from temporary. It makes us ever-blooming - like those trees that grow near springs of water. Thanks to this sacred meal, neither demons nor passions can dwell in a person. Souls become bright and ascend to Heaven. Therefore, first you need to cleanse yourself, and then come to Him. And after communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, we need to be attentive to ourselves in order to remain above passions and infirmities. We need to remember with whom we have united, about how great dignity we have been honored to receive from God. We need to conform our deeds and words according to the will of God, good and acceptable and perfect. Let us be obedient and attentive in order to preserve the grace of God within us undiminished. This will be possible if we, on our part, do everything in our power. Having humbled ourselves under the mighty right hand of God, maintaining love for one another, we will be able to more easily crucify our flesh “with the passions and lusts” (Gal. 5:24). If we mortify our members to all evil: “drunkenness, fornication, uncleanness, covetousness and every evil passion” (See Col. 3:5), then we will begin to live in virtue. This is what the Body of the Crucified Christ, before Whom we stand, teaches us. Let us partake of His virtues and His sufferings. In this way we will be able to walk unswervingly along the road of love for God and neighbor. God accepted death as a Man and lives forever. He is the source of Life for those who cling to Him in faith and virtue. He glorifies those who glorify Him, He gives them communion with the beginningless Father and the All-Holy, Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and forever.