Каким образом сохранить нам жизнь, полученную через таинства

This is what of life in Christ relates to Christ Himself and what befits Him alone. Since organizing life at the beginning depends on the one hand of the Savior, and preserving it established and remaining alive is a matter of our zeal, then human strength and assistance on our part are needed here, so that, having received, we do not lose grace, but preserve it to the end, and leave here with a treasure in our hands, and strive for that through which we can achieve, even if a feat is needed. And this, in all fairness, should form part of our word about life. For just as in our affairs it is decent and appropriate, having received life, not to be content with this and not to sit in inaction, as if everyone already had, but we must take care of how to preserve it; in a similar way, here too - to what has been said about the first - we must add a speech about the second, and having said where we get life from, how and with what we achieve it, we must also explain what needs to be done so as not to lose this well-being. And this is virtue and living according to the right word. But many ancients and many subsequent ones have spoken about this, and it seems there is nothing left that needs to be said, and therefore there is a danger that we are undertaking unnecessary work. Since we were initially disposed to talk about this, then if we do not add this, the word cannot be complete; Therefore, omitting what is characteristic of every kind of human life, of which there are many, we consider it necessary to say about what our common duty to God is for all of us. For no one will say that the same virtue is in people who manage public affairs and in those who are concerned only with their own; equally among those who, after the font, promised nothing more to God, and among those who lead a hermit’s life, who assumed to maintain virginity, and not have anything of their own, and not be masters not only over other acquisitions, but also over themselves. And what constitutes a common duty for all who have the name of Christ, as the name itself is common to them, and what must be done by everyone equally, for the omission of which those who succeed in everything else cannot receive an excuse, even if they point to age, or to a craft, or to an accident, or to something else, or to illness, or to the desert, or to a city, or to noise, or to anything else by which the accused are usually excused, while nothing can be defended against this, is the fact that everyone needs not to oppose the will of Christ, but, while preserving His laws in every possible way, arrange their lives to please Him. And about this it cannot be said that this exceeds the strength of man, for no punishment would be imposed on those who break the law, and there is not a single Christian who does not himself realize that he is obliged to carry out the entire law. For, coming to Him at the beginning, everyone equally promised to follow Him in everything, and when they bound themselves with such vows, then they were granted the sacraments. Thus, the Savior’s commandments constitute common duties for believers, and for those who wish to fulfill them, they are both possible and very necessary, and without them it is impossible for those who are more and better separated from Him, in desire and will, to come to Christ. For it is necessary to communicate by will with Him with whom we communicate by blood, and not in such a way that in one agreeing, in another moving away, sometimes loving, sometimes enmity, being children, but deserving of blame, being members, but dead, for which there is no longer any benefit in the fact that they grew and were born with the body, as well as for a branch separated from the true vine, which ends up being thrown out, and dry up and be thrown into the fire. Therefore, the one who has chosen to live in Christ should unite with the heart and this head - for our life comes from no other source - and this is impossible for those who do not desire this, but it is necessary, as far as possible for a person, to exercise his will according to the desire of Christ and arrange it - to desire the same thing that He wants, and to be comforted by what He rejoices in. For opposite desires cannot be combined in the same heart. For a bad man can bring forth nothing else from the bad treasure of his heart, it is said, but evil, but a good man brings forth good (Luke 6:45); and the believers in Palestine, because they desired the same thing, had, it is said, “one heart and soul” (Acts 4:32). In the same way, if someone does not communicate with Christ by will, but resists what He commands, then he does not arrange his life according to the same heart with Him, but clearly depends on another heart, since, on the contrary, He found David according to his own heart, for he said: “I have not forgotten your commandments.” If it is impossible to live without depending on this heart, and it is impossible to depend on those who do not want it, then so that we can live, let us see how we can love the same as Christ, and be comforted by the same as He. The beginning of every deed is a desire, and the beginning of a desire is a thought. So, first of all, you need to try to turn the eye of the soul away from vain things and have a heart always full of good thoughts, so that, remaining empty, it does not become a receptacle for evil thoughts. Although there are many things that can be made an object of care and a matter of the soul, a pleasure and an exercise of the mind, the most pleasant and useful thing of all is to talk and reflect on the sacraments and the treasure we receive from them. For who we were before receiving the sacraments and what we became after receiving them, and what was the former slavery, what is the real freedom and kingdom, and how many benefits have already been given to us and how many more are promised, and above all, Who is the author of all this for us and what is His kindness, with what kindness and how much did He love the human race, and what is this love! And when the mind is busy and the soul is filled with this, it is not easy for the thought to look at something else and the desire to strive for something else, since this is so good and so attractive. For these blessings are overwhelming in their multitude and greatness, and the love that prompted this is beyond the comprehension of human thought. For just as human love, when it intensifies excessively and becomes higher than the power of those who receive it, drives those who love out of themselves, in the same way love for people has reduced God to the point of belittling. For he does not call a slave to himself while he is on the spot, but he himself, descending, seeks him, and the rich man comes to the abode of the poor, and having come by himself, shows love and desires equal love, and does not remove the one who rejects and is not angry at the insult, and being driven out, sits at the door and does everything to show himself to those who love him, and endures torment and dies. For two things reveal love and bring triumph to the lover: 1) doing everything to benefit the beloved, and 2) agreeing to endure cruelty for him, and, if necessary, to suffer for him. And although the last proof of disposition is much more important than the first, it was impossible for God, impassive to all evil. Being philanthropic, He could do good to a person, but could not endure wounds for him; and since His love was excessive, and there was not enough sign with which to express it, it was necessary not to hide how much He loves, but to give us proof of the highest love, and to show the most extreme love. He invents this exhaustion, does and accomplishes that through which he would become capable of enduring cruelty and suffering, and by what he endured, prove how excessively he loves. He turns to himself the one who fled from the Good, thinking that he was subjected to His hatred. And what is most amazing is that he not only endured cruelty and died with wounds, but also having revived and resurrected the body from corruption, he still retains these wounds, and bears ulcers on his body, and appears to the eyes of the angels with them, and considers this an adornment, and rejoices, showing that he has endured cruelty; He rejected other bodily things, and His body was spiritual, and nothing heavy, rough or other bodily passion remained in Him, and He did not completely reject the wounds and did not completely erase the ulcers, but He shows that out of love for man He loves them too, since through them He found the lost and, having endured torment, found the beloved. For otherwise how would it be appropriate for traces of wounds to remain in an immortal body, when art and nature destroy them in mortal and corruptible bodies? But as if He had a desire to often suffer for us, since this is impossible, since His body was immediately freed from corruption, and at the same time He spares people who would inflict wounds, then, at least, He wanted to preserve the signs of death on the body and forever preserve the inscriptions of the wounds with which He received the mark at the crucifixion, so that it would be clear that He was crucified for slaves and His ribs were pierced, and so that this would remain at the crucifixion. indescribable light, and served as an adornment for the king. What can compare with this love? What did man love so much? What mother is so tender and what father is so child-loving? Or who among the good had such strong love that, having suffered wounds from his beloved, he not only endured them because of love, not only retained love for the ungrateful, but even preferred these very wounds to everything else? However, this is not a matter of love alone, but also of great respect, a sign of the highest honor, not to be ashamed of the weaknesses of nature, but to sit on the royal throne with the ulcers that are inherited from human weakness. And he not only honored nature with this, but looked upon each person individually, but called everyone to this diadem, freed everyone from slavery, made everyone sons, opened heaven to everyone and showed the way, and so that they could fly to Him - for this he gave wings, and was not satisfied with this, but He Himself comes, and strengthens, and comforts those who are weakened. And even more is not said: for after this he remained not a ruler for the slaves, and in communicating his benefits to them, he not only gave his hand, but gave himself completely to us, which is why we are the church of the living God, and these members are members of Christ; and the Head of these members is worshiped by the cherubim, these legs, these hands depend on His heart. There is nothing more useful and pleasant to think about this. For when we think about this, and these thoughts occupy the soul, firstly, nothing bad has access to us; then it is convenient for those who have known good deeds to be filled with love for the Benefactor, and having loved Him so much, we become doers of His commandments and sharers of His will, for “he who loves me,” it is said, “keeps my commandments” (John 14:21). Truly, having known our own dignity, what it is, we will not easily betray it and will not tolerate slavery to a runaway slave, when we recognize in ourselves the royal power; we will not open our lips to an evil word, if we have a table in our minds, and with what blood we stain this tongue. How will we turn our eyes to what we should not, after we have looked at these terrible mysteries? Let us not stretch our feet and stretch out our hands to anything evil, if we have in our souls a real thought about them, that they are members of Christ, and are sacred, and, like a vial, they bear His blood; even more, they are completely clothed by the Savior Himself, not as clothing, and not as natural skin, but as much more perfect than this, insofar as this garment is closer connected to those clothed than skin to bones. For they can be cut off even against one’s will, but Christ cannot be separated by any of the people or demons, neither the present, says Paul, nor the one to come, “neither height, nor depth, nor any other creature” (Rom. 8:39), no matter how much power it has. For the evil one with the hands of the tormentors of the martyrs of Christ could tear off and remove the skin, cut off the members, crush the bones, pour out the entrails and tear apart the wombs, but in order to strip off this garment and expose the blessed from Christ, in this regard he was so deceived in his plans that he clothed much more with the same thing than he thought to strip away. So, what could be more sacred than this body, with which Christ is united more closely than any natural union? So, we will honor him and keep him honest for Christ if, knowing about this wonderful Lordship, we will always have it before the eyes of the soul. For if the church, and vessels, and other anything sacred, as soon as we realize that it is sacred, we preserve in every possible way inviolable, much less will we betray more than this: for nothing is as sacred as man, with whom God is united by nature. For let us think, to whom shall every knee worship, in heaven and on earth? Who will pass on the clouds with great power and glory, shining beyond all comparison? This is man and at the same time God. And each of us can truly shine more than the sun, ride on the clouds, see the very body of God, ascend to Him, fly to Him, get closer, and appear in the world. For when the Master appears, the face of good servants will surround Him, and when He shines, they will also shine. What a spectacle to see countless lamps on the clouds, people lifted up to bring praise beyond any standard, a multitude of gods around God, beautiful around the beautiful, slaves around the Master, who does not envy him if any of them communicates with His Lordship, and does not think that His own glory will be less if He accepts many private members of the kingdom, as those who own people do with those under them; for although they give them everything, they do not even in their sleep allow them to consider themselves as partners in the scepter. For he does not consider them slaves, and does not honor them with slavish honors, but honoring them as his friends, and preserving the law of friendship, which He Himself established from the beginning, makes everything common, and not only this or that, but bestows upon them the very kingdom, the very diadem. For what else, looking at what else, did blessed Paul say: heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, and that those who shared with Him in suffering will reign with Christ? What will we find so pleasant that it can equal this spectacle? The face of the blessed, the multitude of the triumphant. He descends like lightning from heaven to earth, and the earth sends up other suns to the sun of righteousness, and everything is filled with light. Here are those who, through care, and suffering, and labor, and care for their own kind, have proven their desire for Christ; there those who imitated His passion and betrayed themselves to the sword, and fire, and death, still show wounds on their shining bodies, and boast of traces of ulcers, as if in a victorious inscription - the face of warriors with glorious wounds around the king who won for the sake of suffering, and as Paul says: for accepting death with the glory and honor of the crowned one! When we think about this and direct our thoughts towards this, our dignity becomes obvious, and God’s love for us is clear. This will not allow us to look at evil, and if we fall, it will conveniently raise us up. Many things, of course, oppose us in salvation, but most of all this is that, having sinned, we refuse to immediately turn to God, but, ashamed and disgraced, we consider the path to Him difficult, and we think that He is angry and hostile to us, and that those who want to come to Him need great preparation; but God’s love for mankind completely expels this thought from the soul. For who clearly knows how much condescension He has, and how He already says to the one who speaks (to the sinner): “I have come,” what prevents those who sin from immediately approaching Him? For this is the malice against us and the cunning of the common enemy, that by leading to sin he arouses fearlessness and insolence, and puts shame and inappropriate fear on those who dare to do something vile and have fallen, in order to prepare the first for a fall, and not allow the second to rebel, otherwise distracting some from God, preventing others from turning to Him, and thus, through the opposite, dragging them into the same abyss. This must be taken care of with all care, and equally avoided - fearlessness before sin, and shame and fear after it, from which there is no benefit. For this fear is not excitement, but a certain numbness of the soul, and we are ashamed of our wounds not in order to find something to heal them, but in order to run away from the eyes of the Savior, just as Adam hid himself because of the wound, running away from the doctor’s hands; meanwhile, he had to seek so that sin would not triumph over him, but he would point to his wife, cover up, as much as possible, the weakness of his will; and after him Cain, wanting to hide, thought that it was possible to hide from the One who has everything before his eyes. It is useful to be afraid, and to be ashamed, and to crush the spirit, and to weaken the body, when all this can lead to God, “for by their fruits,” it is said, “he knows them” (Matthew 7:16). Although sin is followed not only by shame and fear, but also by some kind of heavy sadness, it does not cause any harm to those who know God’s love for mankind well. For even if they were aware of the most extreme evil in themselves, they do not lose hope, they know that nothing is higher than forgiveness, so that the goodness of God can overcome, but they have saving sorrow and are concerned about how to increase it, and they drive out other weakening ones with good hope. And that sorrow for sins is twofold: one corrects, the other serves as destruction for those possessed by it, to which the blessed Peter, the other, the evil Judas, are clear witnesses; of which, in one, sadness saved the will and, after bitter weeping, united it with Christ no less than before sinning against Him, and brought Judas to the point of being strangled. And he departed, bearing bonds during the general liberation, and when the cleansing blood was being shed for the whole world, he despaired of the cleansing of one person - himself. And knowing this, so that we can seek one and avoid another, for this we need to keep in mind the difference in each passion and how one produces good for us, the other evil. Since, by sinning, we become bad both before God and before ourselves, then the sorrow of ingratitude before the Master will not bring any harm, but, on the contrary, it is very timely for us, and another sorrow concerns ourselves, when we, seeing ourselves destined for some wonderful lot, and then seeing ourselves convicted of having sinned against our due, grieve and lament, and with some grave with repentance we oppress the heart, as if those who fell into this kind of evil should not live. Such sorrow should be averted, since it is the cause of death and makes us guilty of many things, while other sorrow for the Lord arouses love and teaches us to clearly understand the benefactor, and that by opposing Him we do not bring any benefit to ourselves, but, on the contrary, turn to evil. Both insolence and the sadness of the soul that comes from it are evil, and again, just as love for Christ is the most praiseworthy thing, so there is nothing more blessed for the right-minded than the fact that those wounded here by arrows grieve and are contrite in soul. Since sadness, filled with grace, depends on love for Christ, and love on thoughts, the subject of which are Christ and His love for mankind, then they should primarily be kept in memory and converted in the soul, and in this activity there should be no rest, but attentively and within oneself reflect on this, and in meetings make this the pleasure of the tongue and the subject of interviews, and besides, try, without being distracted by anything, to constantly show this zeal, whether throughout the whole life, or as often as possible, so that this can be imprinted on the soul and completely embrace the whole heart. For just as fire will not do anything to what it touches if it is not constantly supported, so a passing thought cannot dispose the heart to any passion, but it must remain for a long time. So, thoughts that ignite passion from the sensation of the beautiful and pleasant (since feelings usually act in us from the beginning, and thoughts are born from them) are related and contemporary to us, and are easily inclined to what they want, either by what is pleasant, or by what has been inherent in us for a long time, and those who have subsequently achieved reason and its wisdom have a need for great zeal, at least for a short time and in constant concentration, in order to receive any a disposition towards goodness, which does not immediately become pleasant and enters late into those who are too filled with many pleasant things. For only through intense effort, cutting off the long-term habit of them, can we introduce the true instead of the apparent, and the good instead of the pleasant; Why should we not be surprised if the best thoughts do not always prevail over the evil ones, and the best have no more strength than the worst in those who live with reason? For in order to be able to become good, I think it is not enough to know what you can be convinced of being good, but you need to live with care, and remain with meditation, and acquire the true word not only by knowledge, but also use it for what is needed; just as food, weapons, and medicine do not benefit those who only know about them and have them, but help those who actually use them. If bad thoughts, having penetrated, occupy the mind, and we move away from good feelings as soon as we have tasted them, what is surprising when evil has power, and evil thoughts, being in action, occupy the entire area of ​​​​the soul, and good ones, being without action, are completely expelled as vanquished? There is nothing strange in the fact that a knowledgeable person will not build a house, or a doctor will not cure a sick person, or any other artist will not do his job until he uses his art; There is also nothing surprising if someone, having a sound word, but not having activity, does not receive any fruit from zeal. For they use weapons against attackers, controlling them properly, and acting with art as it teaches, and we use the best of our thoughts as the best advisers, directing it not so much to find out what is needed, but to be convinced of what we know and have a love for it as truly beautiful, which requires constant care. Since, and vice versa, in relation to evil thoughts - engaging in them and feeding them in the soul is disastrous, but simply knowing them is not at all harmful, therefore it is necessary to avoid care here, and strengthen it there. To desire what is good is not yet a matter, for no zeal for the matter precedes it. And in order to obtain and maintain what is in need of work, a disposition to action and order are necessary, why we could voluntarily choose such exploits, for it is not easy to choose work for ourselves. Reinforcement in exploits is always love for what we strive for; it makes labor pleasant, even if it is excessively difficult, and love for good ignites nothing more than the attention of the mind to it and the knowledge of its beauty. And this is the fire that, from thinking about God, ignites in the soul of the prophet. “And in my teaching,” he says, “a fire burned” (Ps. 39:4). In another place, he, showing what care should be taken and what kind of person this work is characteristic of, calls the latter a blessed man, and calls the former the law of God; “Blessed is the man...,” he says, “who shall learn in the law of the Lord day and night” (Ps. 1:1-2). If care for the written law can kindle this fire, what can the law of the Spirit do, which alone has implanted in people true love for God and ignited the fire of desire that cannot be extinguished by anything, neither pleasures nor anything else, neither present nor future? That is why, it seems to me, He appeared, descending in tongues of fire, that He brought all-encompassing love like fire, since love had previously brought down the Founder of the Law Himself to the earth, and the very body of the Lawmaker is the fruit of love for mankind, and, besides this, His entire law is full of love, and He shows it in everything possible, He introduces it, convinces us, He, receiving it from us, considers it a sufficient gift for what He gave us. For he does not command as obligated slaves, but as if we had previously endured many labors for him, shown him a lot of favor and love, He immediately calls those who come to Him to communicate with Him. I, He says, labored for the sake of the kingdom and with many labors wove a crown, and you receive it without labor; In exchange for this, I ask you, do not love anything more than Me. Oh, ineffable goodness, which not only Himself loves us excessively, but also so highly values ​​being loved by us and does everything for this. For why did He create the heavens, and the earth, and the sun, and the visible world, and the beauty of the invisible, and created everything with His wave, and through it teaches all wisdom, if not in order to turn us to Himself, to convince us to love Him? And in general, as people who are the most ardent in love, He shows us wisdom, goodness, and artistry in order to invest in us love for Himself. And he values ​​this work so highly, and considers it so important, that having accomplished for this purpose everything that is proper to the Divine nature, He was not content with this, but passed into another nature in order to use it for this purpose, so that what He did not convince, being God, He accomplished, having become a man, both through His own, which He brought when He came to earth, and through the alien, which He received from the outside, to catch His beloved. Thus, the law of the spirit is always the law of friendship, and by itself stimulates one to be wise, therefore one must heed it with the mind; firstly, because there is no effort of any kind, there is no need to work, there will be no waste of money, there will be no disgrace, no shame, and we will not become worse in anything else, but the arts can be used without harm, and there is no obstacle to any occupation, and a commander can command troops, and a farmer can cultivate the land, and a ruler can manage affairs and will not have need for anything because of this. For there is no need to retire to the desert, nor to eat unusual food, nor to change clothes, nor to upset one’s health, nor to decide on any other bold act, but one can sit at home, and without losing anything of one’s property, and constantly engage in these thoughts. What will prevent this from being useful, when in addition to this it is convenient to perform necessary work? If we, as humans and having the ability to reflect, need to reflect on something, why not reflect on the best? If those who think about vain and bad things, which have no benefit, never come to the thought that this can make fate, art, property, or anything else related to life worse, the less can one blame good thoughts for this, and blame good for evil. And thus they do not oppose anything useful and there is nothing unpleasant in them, so that they can be called joy itself. For if we rejoice in the beautiful, of course, nothing can be better than thoughts whose object is Christ and His love for mankind; because even in those very deeds in which the last limit of goodness, no one will find with difficulty anything pleasant and worthy of love that would be more fitting for us than this. For not only those close to us in the flesh, and even our parents, but also ourselves, Christ is more related to us, as shown in the preceding words. Therefore, for one who reflects on the soul, nothing can be more characteristic of thoughts about Him, because through them He becomes characteristic and akin to us, and through them life for souls who have received baptism becomes more excellent than anything that is called pleasant. I mean those who, after baptism, have not become very hardened, as the wonderful Stephen calls some of the Jews “uncircumcised in heart and ears” (Acts 7:51). Thus, from what has been said it is clear that these thoughts cannot cause any harm to human life, but they bring pleasure and joy to those who reflect. And that this is useful and helps the useful, and contains everything that is best and timely, this has already been shown and will become more obvious later if we examine it more carefully. For in order to occupy the soul with good thoughts, first of all, you need to remove yourself from bad thoughts, and immediately after this, through the sacraments, receive a ray free from infirmities. This gives us, who have not worked for anything, an abundance of all blessings; then it is necessary that the thoughts themselves carry out their work with their own means, and the heart is occupied with the best of all; for just as bad passions are born from bad thoughts, in the same way virtues should come from good thoughts. For in general, thoughts and reflections always convince those who live with them to accept this or that intention, to say something, or to do something, or to endure, or to choose something, and in this way teachers of virtue promptly implant beautiful thoughts in those living with them, while evil demons, on the contrary, inspire unclean images; trying to make some skilled in wickedness, others doers of duty. And so we need all praiseworthy care to promote virtue in our very deeds, and to meditate on Christ and what He, being a lover of mankind, devised for the sake of my salvation, constitutes the most desirable life for us, and makes us blessed in everything. And in order to see this more clearly, let’s see what feats Christ Himself called blessed for those who perform them—doesn’t everything in them depend on these thoughts? Whom did He please, the only truly blessed one? Poor in spirit, weeping, meek, hungry and thirsty for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, enduring persecution and all kinds of insults for the sake of truth and zeal for Christ; such are accepted into the blessed life. So, if we look, we will see that this beautifully constructed face is made up of these thoughts, and the crowns are woven with them, it will be clear to everyone that engaging with these thoughts and taking care of them is a safe path to a blessed life, and an ascent, and a ladder, or whatever you call it. About the first blessedness, that spiritual poverty receives prosperity through the above-mentioned reflection. And firstly, spiritual poverty, and then, as Paul says, so as not to “be wise more than it is fitting to be wise, but to be wise in sobriety” (Rom. 12:3), to whom can it belong, if not to those who understand the poverty of Jesus. Who, both by nature and by way of life, joined the slaves, being a ruler, and became flesh - being God, and chose poverty over others, and suffered dishonor as the king of glory, and was led in bonds by freeing the human race, and accepted the condemnation of the wicked, who came to fulfill the law, and the reproach of the judges, who were amused by the fury and cries of the people, He endured, to whom the Father gave all judgment. What proud person would not be destroyed by this! On the other hand, when exaltation is aroused because of virtues, if they seem excellent, the one who reflects on Christ realizes that he has not done anything great, and in himself not only does not have the power to free himself from captivity, but even after liberation cannot preserve pure freedom. For He redeemed us with His blood and gave us freedom, having purchased it at such a great price. Which of the liberated ones continued in what they received and kept their spiritual wealth untouched until the end, and having not succeeded in this great thing, can no longer be considered to have sinned little against grace? How can we, according to our own conscience, be proud of ourselves, when our own virtue in itself does not lead to anything useful? And if there is true good in us, God puts it into us without any of our labor, moreover, in order to preserve the wealth brought from outside safely, in the likeness of soulless treasuries, and we are little capable of this. For even after a new birth, and transformation into water, and a meal filled with fire, even the most philosophical of people turn out to be so weak for virtue that they constantly need a sacred meal, and cleansing blood, and help from above, so as not to fall into the final evil. And clear witnesses of this are those who, having abandoned work for the sake of good and virtue, then became daring in all evil. They, having retired to the mountains, avoiding noise and public life as an ulcer, in order to listen to God alone and, as far as possible for people, to succeed in all the best, so that in everything they had great strength before God, when they weakened somewhat in their hope in Him and in their complete faith in Him, they immediately dared to do the worst, and indulged in all uncleanness. What is there to be proud of? Virtues? But there is nothing great about us. What is great in us? But it's not ours. Is it because they kept what they received? But we lost him. Is it because we wear the seal of Christ? But this very thing serves as proof that we don’t wear it. For those who exalt themselves have nothing in common with Him who is meek and lowly in heart, and when thinking about this, it happens that exaltation falls by itself and passion passes away. For if we philosophize about what we should, we are not philosophizing, but if we are philosophizing, then with this very arrogance, recognizing that we are moving away from Christ and have nothing good, we will not philosophize highly about ourselves as bad people. About the second blessedness, that sorrow for God gains success through the above-mentioned meditation. Those who meditate on Christ should both grieve and cry, if only someone thinks about what He has newly legislated regarding our salvation, and what our laziness is, and the sleep that holds us. For we are saddened either by the loss of a precious thing, and the memory of the blessings we have lost disposes us to tears, and then we realize what kind of wealth, which, having in our hands, we should have held, but instead destroyed, or the consciousness of how great our ingratitude towards such a pious benefactor stings and crushes the soul, and then it becomes especially clear what kind of meekness and philanthropy He shows us, and what we we show negligence towards him. For, first of all, He came down from heaven, seeking us, and, as if with those kindred to Himself, He spoke to us in a voice and showed us an appearance akin to ours, making us love Him, either as akin, or as the best (and He was both), in order to unite in Himself both, which everywhere arouses love in those who come to Him, to arouse us to the strongest love; then, increasing the commonwealth, he added this too. Since everyone loves himself, loves also those who are related to himself, then in order in this regard to retain for himself the best right to love (which is what we desire most), and in order to receive from everyone not the same affection with which we treat our relatives, but the kind of love with which we love ourselves, He was not content to be only akin to us, having accepted the same nature, but made us partakers of the very Body, and Blood, and Spirit, so that, about which the proverb with He speaks with exaggeration regarding friends, so in reality He will become a different self for each of those who cling to Him. If He sought us out in this way and did not leave a single method of friendship untested for Himself, but also showed Himself to be a benefactor and a brother, and became for us instead of ourselves, and this not only by will and gesture, as He created this heaven, but then by labor, which is in no way characteristic of Him, and by suffering, and dishonor, and plagues and, finally, death, and we not only do not retain gratitude to He, in everything good to us, and we do not try to repay Him, but we are still so foolish that we cling to what He hates, and from what He leads us away, we cling to, and what He convinces us to, we run from, and thus show inappropriate wickedness. What weeping and what tears are we not worthy of, who consider everything else worthy of attention, but neglect the Savior and His economy as if someone else needed to seek this, and His unspeakable providence was not for us! And in relation to everyday things, we consider it a duty to take advantage of what is necessary, both in words, and in deeds, and in all kinds of arts, and in everything related to life, whether it is necessary to cultivate the land, or control an army, or do something else for the common good, or do something for ourselves, everywhere we look for what is due and take advantage of the opportune opportunity, and in general in all matters we always have in mind decency and justice and treat everything with attention, and in relation Only we care less about what is truly ours, about how we should preserve it, and how to show justice to ourselves, as if we consider ourselves worse than everything else. If nothing else, at least we should pay attention to the new law, with which He shook and changed everything, according to which what was above heaven was seen on earth, and the earth rose higher than heaven itself, and the common tyrant of the world is bound in bonds, and those who were bound trample the head of the tormentor, and God is seen bearing a body, and, moreover, subject to ulcers, having blood and shedding it on the cross, and then the dead according to humanity shakes the earth and brings life dead, and all this has no other purpose than that man should know the Lord, and rise from the earth, and look at the sky - when everything is so perfect, people still sleeping and like statues, feeling nothing in the thunder, are they not the most miserable of all? And is it not fair that they consider the entire time of life to be a time of mourning? For what are we mourning? Disease? But isn't the best in us sick? Squalor? “But we act as much worse than the wretched as this wealth is more necessary and beautiful here; and, moreover, misery will necessarily end after the present century, and this disaster cannot be ended by death, but it will necessarily bring us even greater shame in the next century. Is the madness regrettable? But isn't the demon taking away our minds, filling it with such madness? For if walking on sharp knives and walking along rapids, not recognizing friends and falling for the most malicious people is characteristic of the insane, then are we not running away from the Lover, are we not looking for an enemy in our actions, are we not rushing towards Gehenna, doing everything that throws us into it? Thus, when we ourselves realize this burden, we should grieve and cry. And from this it will happen that we will be aware of ourselves and correctly value the truth, and not sin by ignorance of our own evil; If we recognize prosperity and wealth, we will philosophize about what we can use, bringing nothing but desire, since everything has already been prepared by Christ for us, when we have not yet worked for anything. For what worries the heart most is to be ill-fated when one can choose prosperity, and having the opportunity to live in the light - to remain sitting in darkness. This brings tears not only from the careless, but also from the most zealous, and from them mainly, since they feel the harm more. For both in this and in the gravest of this, they blame themselves and consider themselves worthy of the worst, when they think about the naked God sacrificed on the cross, to whom all things serve, and who makes full reward for us: since, being God, He took on human nature, in order to make us gods from people and replace the earth with heaven, slavery with a kingdom, dishonor that holds us with true glory, For this purpose, the Creator of heaven dressed himself in earth, the Lord by nature in the image of a slave, the king of glory endured the cross, not caring about shame. About the third blessedness, which is that in being meek, success comes from the above-mentioned reflection. There are many ways in which the Savior introduced true wisdom into the world regarding meekness and curbing anger and not being upset at those who offended him, but he offered the best and highest examples of this both by what he did and by what he suffered and suffered. And firstly, he took flesh and blood on those who insulted him, and came, seeking to resolve those whom he could accuse of the most serious wickedness, and when they later condemned the good deeds with which He corrected nature, He did not cease to do good to them, but for the fact that he cast out demons from people, hearing that they called him Beelzebub and the chief of demonic forces, and other most wicked things, nevertheless he did not cease to cast out, and one of the disciples, who plotted his death, not only did not cast him out of the ranks of the disciples, but lived with him, as it is decent to live with friends, and had communion with the murderer, and taught the traitor the ineffable sacrament and blood itself, and finally allowed him to embrace him and kiss him, and prostrated himself to the most amazing of all: to whom he benefited, from those he died, those who received the benefit thrust a sword into Him, a friend led murderers in murder, kissing served as a sign of murder, and enduring all this He was so meek and philanthropic that when one of his disciples wounded one of these villains, He did not despise the wound, but, touching the wounded member, immediately healed it, and when in this way he showed a sign of both superior strength and extreme meekness, those who were not afraid of it and were not ashamed of this, He did not destroy and did not wait for the wicked with fire, did not strike them with thunder, although they were worthy of this and even worse. He, whom the Angels could not look at without fear, followed those who led him, and allowed his hands to be tied, with which he loosed bonds, illnesses and destroyed the tyranny of demons, and did not harm the evil slave who hit him on the cheek, but very meekly and philanthropically honored his words, and corrected his understanding. Then, when the evil judges condemned Him to death, He endured their sentence in silence, and accepting execution, and being already nailed to the tree, He did not renounce His love for the murderers to the point that He asked for their insolence against the Only Begotten not to be held against them, and not only asked for them, but also defended them, and the word of defense was very fiery and merciful: “Father, let them go,” He said, “for they do not know that create” (Luke 23:34). And like a child-loving Father, condescending to the foolishness of young children, he gives them a gentle admonition; and after these words He died. When He resurrected and it was necessary to make His disciples, in whom knowledge remained, partakers of the triumph, He did not remember the insult that they left him, having fled among the dangers, but called the disciples, and indicated where they should meet Him, when He appeared to them, He did not reproach them for fleeing and did not remember anything like that against them, nor about how everyone claimed that they would be accomplices in His death and the following, but they did not endure even a spectacle that was no longer real, but only future disasters, but gave them peace and the Holy Spirit and the like, entrusted them with the care of the whole universe, making them rulers over the whole earth. And he did this for the whole person, but what did he do for the supreme one, who rejected Him more than once and renounced attachment to Him? For not only did he not expose his renunciation to the environment, and did not remind him of his vows, in which he swore to Him - to participate in the death of the teacher (which he immediately changed without even a small period of time), but also sent the messenger of the resurrection to him before the others, and honored him in this way, and upon his appearance spoke to Him in a friendly manner and asked about his love, is it greater in him than in others? And when Peter said that he loved, He again asked about the same thing, and again heard: I love you, again asked: Do you love, and it seems to me that He would not have stopped asking about love even more often if Peter had not answered with grief: Does he who knows everything need many words in order to know that he loves Him? And this was neither ignorance of a friend, nor pretense of ignorance, for one would mean being mistaken, the other deceiving, and both of them are not characteristic of pure truth, but this was proof that He does not remember evil for breaking previous promises, for He is not asking for other promises, but is trying to kindle in Peter love, which was almost in danger of going out completely. For offering such questions and provoking such answers has a lot of power for friendship, for the memory of friendship and conversation about it not only makes friendship that already exists greater, but can revive even one that does not exist. Thus, the Savior in deeds is shown to display anger, but in teaching and law, what is higher than his meekness? For He says that He will not accept prayer and sacrifice itself if we offer sacrifices and pray in anger, and even remission of sins, a common gift for all (which He will bring with Him from heaven) will not be given to those who are angry with each other, even if we did everything besides this, even if we shed rivers of sweat and tears, even if we gave our body over to fire and the sword. He places such a high value on meekness, and therefore it follows that those who reflect on His deeds should have a meek heart in relation to those who offend them; pointing to this, He said: if you recognize me, how much meekness I have, then your heart will also be tamed. “Learn from Me,” He says, “for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). In this way, meekness can also be a consequence of thinking about Christ. One who lives in these thoughts must have love for the sacred meal, and since it cannot be started by one who is vindictive of any insult, he will refrain from anger and keep his soul pure from hatred. For this blood, initially poured out for reconciliation, cannot be correctly accepted by those who are slaves to anger and rage, for although it raised its voice about the murderers to the Father, like the shed blood of Abel, it did not accuse them before Him and did not demand their punishment, like that brother’s punishment, but it also freed them from punishment and the voice of the murdered was forgiveness for the murderers. About the fourth beatitude, that truth gains progress through these thoughts. And the workers of righteousness above all are those who live with these thoughts, from which it is clear that the Lord of the world so honored the truth that he was with the slaves, with the condemned, with the wounded, with the dead, in order to give to everyone in righteousness, namely: to the Father glory and obedience, which no one could bring in the proper measure, and to the tormentor bonds, and contempt, and shame, since he took away his unrighteous leadership, and the impostor who had arrogated to himself the rights over them, he expelled, striking with justice and justice. About the fifth beatitude, that alms achieve success through these thoughts. To be merciful and companions with those who mourn in sorrow, and to consider the misfortune of others as our misfortune, where can we get it, if not from these thoughts, in which we see ourselves as very worthy of compassion, pardoned beyond all expectations, we see this captivity, slavery, bonds, the fury of the one who enslaved us? And besides, there was no end to our misfortunes, and we more and more experienced the power of a cruel and evil tormentor, and everywhere we found helplessness and abandonment for ourselves, since no one could give us a hand. And the tormentor was able to fulfill his will over us, and we, as if betrayed, were considered the property of the one who bought it, and for us there was no consolation in misfortune, no healing, neither within us, nor without, neither from our superiors, nor from those similar to us, but it was equally impossible for everyone to benefit human nature. Neither an intercessor nor an angel had compassion on those in such distress, but the Lord Himself, against whom we were at enmity, Whom we insulted with our iniquities, had compassion on us with extraordinary condolences, beyond words, above everything that should have been done in this case. For he did not only desire our liberation, and not only did he consider our sorrow to be his own, but he also made it his own, and took upon himself our sorrows, and desired to appear worthy of compassion in order to make us blessed. For in the days of his flesh, as Paul said, he seemed worthy of compassion to many, and he aroused compassion by dying an unrighteous death. For, “I wept,” it is said, “and mourned Him” (Luke 23:27) for Him when they led Him to death, and this sorrow was not only among those who were with Him and who looked at the suffering, but also Isaiah, seeing from afar, could not bear this sight without tears, but, as if crying over the dead, he let out a voice full of pity: “I saw him “, he says, “and not by appearance, nor by kindness: but his appearance is dishonorable, his appearance is less than... the sons of men” (Is. 53: 2-3). What can be compared with this compassion, when it was not by thoughts and desires alone that one became a participant in the suffering of the unfortunate, but by deed itself, and was not content to be only a participant in the suffering, but took everything upon Himself and died our death? What stronger thing than this can attract us to compassion for those like us? If it is easy for those who have previously suffered misfortunes to assimilate the fate of those who have again been subjected to similar misfortune, what misfortunes have we not endured? Haven't we lost our fatherland, truly ours? Have they suffered squalor, illness, the most severe slavery and extreme madness? And from all this we were freed by the wombs of the love of our God. Therefore, we will also be merciful if someone is exposed to such a disaster, and we will show our fellow servants the compassion that the Lord previously showed us all. And the Savior, showing this, namely, that one should be affectionate towards one’s relatives, looking at the example of divine love for mankind, said: “Be merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). About the sixth beatitude, that purity of heart receives success from the said meditation. To cleanse the heart and soul and to establish it in sanctification, which is characteristic of feat, or suffering, or work, if not these thoughts and this reflection? He who carefully considers, of course, will call purity of heart not only the fruit of thinking about Christ, but will say that it is this very thinking. For before you can assimilate the best thoughts, you need to move away from bad ones, and this means being pure in heart. For, since our life is twofold, both spiritual and carnal birth, and the spirit opposes the body in what it desires, and the body rebels against the spirit, and it is impossible for the opposite to unite and be reconciled, then it is obvious to everyone that whichever of the desires prevails in memory over thoughts, they displace the opposite of them. Therefore, just as the memory of carnal life and birth, and attention to this of the mind brings in destructive lust and the defilement that results from it, in the same way the birth of the font, and food in accordance with birth, and other things characteristic of the new life, taking possession of the soul through constant remembrance, naturally draws desire from earth to heaven itself. About the seventh beatitude, that the world gains success from the above-mentioned meditation. Because Christ is our peace, having made both one, and “the middle of the fence, destroying hostility in his flesh” (Eph. 2:14-15). Who conceived everything for the sake of the world; therefore, can anything be higher than the world for those whose thoughts of the soul and the care of the mind are directed towards His works? For they themselves strive most of all for peace, as Paul commands (Rom. 12:19), and they guide others in this matter, and destroy useless hatred, and subdue those who fight in vain, knowing that peace is so precious that God himself, in order to acquire it for people, came down to earth, and being rich and Lord of all, did not find any worthy price for it, but shed his very blood. For since He did not see anything in what was born and exists that would be equivalent to the sought-after peace and reconciliation, He created another new creature, His blood, and, having betrayed it, immediately became the reconciliator and ruler of the world. Therefore, those who revere this blood, seeking prosperity, will begin to do anything else but become the agents of reconciliation and peace for people? If what goodness and what beauty there is in perfect truth or in virtue can be seen in the life of the Savior alone, since He alone showed Himself to be completely pure from everything contrary to truth (for He did not create sin, and when the prince of peace came, He did not find anything for which to persecute that divine soul, nor to reproach its splendor for anything, although He examined everything with evil eyes), it is obvious that love for Christ and for virtue cannot be obtained without doing nothing other than considering and reflecting on the works of Christ. For it is quite enough to know the beauty of virtue, and the Savior, in order to know and love it, since knowledge is always the reason for love, and therefore Eve was attracted by the fruit of the tree, and, moreover, the forbidden one, for it is said: “and the woman saw, ... as it pleases the eye to see and good food” (Gen. 3:6). About the eighth and ninth beatitudes, that patience and persecution and insults for the sake of righteousness and Christ receives success from this meditation. Those who have received love for Christ and virtue need to endure persecution, and indulge in flight, and listen to the most cruel words, and, moreover, with joy, since many and wonderful rewards are prepared for them in heaven. For the love of those who strive for the Hero of God can do this, and teaches him to believe in Him regarding rewards that have not yet been revealed, and even at the present time to have firm hope for the future. Thus, those who meditate hourly on Christ and care about this, this very meditation makes them moderate and aware of human weakness, as well as those who know how to cry, and shows them meek, and just, and philanthropic, and chaste, and the originators of peace and harmony between people, and thus the possessors of Christ and virtue, so that when they receive insults for this, they do not only endure them, but also they rejoice and find pleasure in persecution. In general, from these reflections one can receive the highest blessings and through them become blessed, and thus preserve the will in goodness, and with such well-being make the soul beautiful, and preserve the treasure received from the sacraments, without tearing or desecrating the royal clothes. Therefore, just as having intelligence and using reason is characteristic of human nature, so contemplation of the work of Christ must be considered a duty of thought, especially since the model to which people should look when either they themselves need to do something, or to guide others to what should be done, is the one Jesus, who in particular and in general was for people, in showing the true truth, the first, and the middle, and the last. Therefore, He Himself is both the reward and the crown that those who strive must receive. So, we must look at Him, and pay diligent attention to His works, and try to learn as much as possible, so that we know how we should work. For ascetics, their rewards are commensurate with their deeds, and looking at them they endure their toils, showing as much courage as they learned about them that they are beautiful. Besides all this, who does not know why He alone purchased us, redeeming us with His blood, and there is no one else whom we should serve, and for whom we should use our bodies, and souls, and love, and memory, and act according to the mind. Therefore Paul says: “Carry your own; bought with natural price” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). For from the beginning human nature was formed for the new man, and the mind and desire were prepared for him, and we received the mind in order to know Christ, and the desire to strive for Him, we have memory in order to keep Him in it, because for those who were created He was the prototype. For it is not the Old who is for the New, but the New Adam who serves as a model for the Old. For although it is said that the New One was born in the likeness of the Old One, it is only in relation to corruption, which he began, and this One followed in order to destroy the weakness of nature with his own healing, and so that, as Paul says: “the lifeless thing was consumed by the belly” (2 Cor. 5:4). How, by its very nature, can the old Adam be a prototype for us, when we know that before him there was this one, who had everything before his eyes before existence itself, and how the oldest serves as an imitation of the second, when the last one was created in His appearance and image, but did not remain so, was striving for this, but did not achieve it. Therefore, he accepted the law, but kept this, and obedience was required from the old, and the New one showed it, moreover, “even to death, even death on the cross,” says Paul (Phil. 2:8), and the first, obviously, was a criminal, imperfectly having what a person should have, for the law does not exceed nature and its criminal is rightly subject to punishment, and the other was perfect in everything, and “I,” he says, “kept the commandments of my Father” ( John 15:10). And he brought in imperfect life, which needed countless aids, and this one became the most perfect Father for people, i.e. incorruptible life, and human nature from the beginning was destined for incorruptibility, and later achieved it in the body of the Savior, which He raised from the dead into immortal life, and then became the leader of immortality for the human race, and in a word, a true man and perfect in morals, and life, and in everything else, the first and only Savior showed. If this is truly the limit of man, whom God looked upon as finite and created him - I mean incorruptible life - then his body would be free from corruption, and his will would be free from all sin, for then he would be perfect in himself, when the creator did everything that he considered necessary for him, just as the beauty of a statue is finally created by the hand of the artist. If one lacked much to be perfect, and the other was perfect in everything, and bestowed perfection on people, and brought the entire human race into conformity with himself, how can the second not be a model for the first, and how can one not be honored as a prototype, and this one created after him? It is most inappropriate to think that the most perfect of all things is modeled after the imperfect, and that the worst serves as an example for the best, and that the blind guide those who see. For one should not be surprised that it is earlier in time, but one should believe that what is perfect serves as the beginning of what is imperfect, thinking that at first much was prepared in advance for man’s needs, and man, the measure of everything, came to earth after all. Above all this, by nature, will, and thoughts, man always strives for Christ, not only for the sake of the deity, which is the end of everything, but also for the sake of another nature, and He, on the one hand, is the refuge of human desires, on the other, the pleasure of thoughts, and besides Him, to love anything else, or to reason about anything else, is obviously an omission of duty and a deviation from what was invested in the soul from the beginning. And so that we can always have thoughts about Him and always have this zeal, we must call on Him, as the main subject of our thoughts, every hour. And neither preparation for prayers, nor place, nor cries are needed by those who call upon Him, for there is no place where He was not present and where He would not be with us, Who is closer to His lower ones than their own hearts. Therefore, regarding prayers, it is very necessary to believe that He will fulfill them, and not to doubt, since we are evil in morals, but to dare, because he who is called is good against the graceless and evil, so that not only does He not despise the petitions of the servants who insulted Him, calling on Him, but when they had not yet called on Him and did not say any word to Him, Himself, having descended to earth, was the first to call them. “I have come,” He said, “to call... sinners” (Matthew 9:12–13); And He who called when they did not want it, what will He be like when they begin to call on Him? And if He loved, being hated, how will He reject, being loved by us? Pointing to this, Paul says: “having been reconciled to God through the death of His son, we will be saved in his life” (Rom. 5:10). Let us also look at the form of the petition, for we are asking not what is proper for friends to ask, but what it is permissible to ask for offenders, and guilty slaves, and especially for them. For we ask God not to crown us or give us any other similar grace, but to have mercy on us. To ask for pardon, forgiveness, and remission of debt from a lover of humanity, and asking, not to go away empty-handed, to whom it is more fitting, if not guilty, for the healthy do not need a doctor. For if in general people are instructed to raise a voice to God asking for mercy, then this is the voice of people doing what requires mercy, the voice of sinners. Let us call on God with our tongue, our will, and our thoughts, so that we can apply one saving medicine to everything we sin, “for there is no...,” it is said, “another name by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). And for all this, it is sufficient, and gives strength to jealousy, and drives out the innate laziness of the soul, the bread that truly strengthens the heart of man, which, having descended from heaven, brought us life, the saturation of which we must strive in every possible way, and this supper keeps those who constantly approach it from hunger, and more should not be withheld from these sacraments on the basis that we are unworthy of them, so as not to make the soul weaker and worse, but approaching the priests first with repentance of sins, one must drink cleansing blood. In general, we will not be guilty of so much that we will be removed from the sacred meal, if only we feed ourselves with these thoughts. For just as it would be generally unlawful for someone, having sinned toward death, to then dare to approach a holy thing, so those who are not so seriously ill should not avoid eating bread. For those who still suffer from wounds of the will should be wary of the fire, not communicate with it until they change, and those who have a right will, but are otherwise weak, need strengthening medicine, and they should come to the author of health, who accepted our infirmities and bore our illnesses, and those who want not to be sick should most of all try to resort to a doctor. For this blood closes the doors of our feelings and does not allow anything that can harm to enter into them, especially signifying the doors, drives away the destroyer from them, and the heart into which it is poured makes the church of God, better than the walls of the temple of Solomon, although the figurative blood did not allow the evil idol to stand in it - abomination, it is said, desolation in a holy place, but with a ruling spirit, as he sings David, affirming the thought, subordinates the wisdom of the flesh to it, and the person enjoys deep silence. And why am I saying this about the sacrament, when much has been said before about what it makes of those who receive the sacrament! But in order to unite us with Christ in this way through the sacrament, prayers, meditation, thoughts, let us strive in virtue with all our souls, keep the deposit, as Paul commands, and keep the grace invested in us through the sacraments. For just as He Himself is the performer, He Himself is the sacrament, so He alone preserves in us what He gives, and He causes us to remain in what we have received, “for without Me,” He says, “you can do nothing” (John 15:5). You might be interested in: