32. Примеры подвигов

“It’s good to know good people, even if only by name” (10:242) Examples of exploits serve as a direct continuation of instructive stories, since they also clearly show how the truths of faith and piety are embodied in life. Holiness is the duty of every Christian - and the Saint reveals it in the exploits of the saints of God, whom the Church recognizes “by their gracious and beneficial actions” (10:155): 1) the Baptist of the Lord, 2) the Saints, 3) the Reverends, 4) the Hermits, 5) the Merciful, 6) in a passing and very modest testimony about oneself, 7) in the highest image of the Chief Shepherd. 1. Baptist of the Lord. – “Someone speaks well about John the Baptist. It is truly wonderful that from his mother’s womb he strove for Christ and spent almost his entire life separated from Him. This is submission to the destinies of God. Here is a lesson on how to position ourselves when something close to us passes from the visible to the invisible” (3:23). 2. Saints. – “One breath of mind in a sacred couple, like one soul in two bodies: Vasily in Gregory, Gregory in Vasily, united by love. “Now pray to Christ for our flock” (4:42). “Saint Demetrius, in his own spiritual writings, is truly great. It is a pity that his sermons were influenced by the modern taste of eloquence” (4:431). “Archpriest John Veniaminov (later Holy Metropolitan Innocent of Moscow - K.S.) is our missionary in Russian America... He is a good servant of God” (7:351). 3. Reverends. - Great is St. Sergius - we cannot reach his height. “Let us at least somewhat imitate the poverty of St. Nikon and make a silk sacristy for the monastery, without silver or gold” (8:146). “Peace to the soul of Father Joseph (to the faithful disciple of St. Sergius. - K.S.). He was truly a wanderer in quietness and simplicity” (9:62). 3. Recluses. – A Tambov landowner informs Saint Philaret about the recluse Hilarion, the Troekurov elder: “He is 90 years old. He only sometimes goes out to church for the Liturgy, which for him takes place before the sun. - “How pleasant it is to be in his cell, and how light it is, although there is no sun!” “One who graduated from seminary studies asked him for advice on entering monasticism. Father Hilarion answered: you will be a priest and you will be a monk. The one who received this answer actually became a priest, but after three years he became a widower and, without leaving his place, lived in abstinence not only in relation to food, but also in relation to sleep” (8:460-461). The recluse John was close to Father Hilarion. He wanted to be with the elder, “but, according to his instructions, he shut himself up in another place and, after several years of exploits, died with signs of grace” (8:463). 4. Gracious ones. – The saint gives an example that denounces all those who rush to condemn their neighbor: “Judge Mr. P. strictly and, perhaps, hastily. I know of circumstances that make it possible to judge better. He bought several thousand short prayer books to distribute to the people either for an insignificant price or for free. He visited the apartment building of the homeless and, finding, in cramped conditions, a mixture of sexes and ages, he tried to arrange an apartment building in which the sexes and ages would be separated, and there would be supervision” (10:444). 5. Saint Philaret himself. – The saint speaks about himself to the kindest parent extremely briefly and modestly: “To spend about six hours in class, and to deliver one sermon in two weeks, not counting those usually assigned on holidays - this is the position that you call fun... But you also agree that it is not a small burden. With such little information, and even less experience, to be a preacher and subject every work of a weak pen to the judgment of such a man, who enjoys the glory of the Theologian and Vita twice as much as my entire life - this alone could lead me to bewilderment. With all this, I made up my mind - and what else could I have made up my mind? “I decided to obey the external will as much as my strength allowed” (12:79). (See the second chapter of this work: “Towards the spiritual image of St. Philaret”). 6. The highest example is the Chief Shepherd. – “As for example, it is best to look at the example of the Chief Shepherd in the Gospel. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6) (29:237). Having said a little about individual ascetics, the Saint, as if justifying himself, concludes: “It is good to know good people, even if only by name” (10:242). You might be interested in: