Слово 53

(1) About love and what is the life and what are the deeds of virtuous men. – (2) And pleasing those who have heartfelt love. 1. My beloved brothers! I want to talk with you about soul-saving subjects, and I am ashamed (Christ is my witness, the Truth!) of your love, knowing my unworthiness. Therefore, I would like (as the Lord knows) to always remain silent, and, without raising my eyes, to look at the face of a person, since my conscience denounces me that I am determined, without being worthy of it, to be the leader of all of you, as if I knew the path of virtue - I, who do not even know what is under my feet, and have not yet entered on the path of God. Why do I grieve much that I, humble, am condemned to lead you, more honest than me, whom I myself should have had as my leaders, because I am lower than all of you and do not have a word, testified and confirmed by my deeds and my life, to act on you, remembering to you the law of God and His holy will. For I know that I have never done anything of what I want to tell you, and I know very well that our Lord and God does not please the one who only teaches, but the one who first creates and then teaches. Whoever, He says, creates and teaches, this one will be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:19). Because those who listen to such a teacher are ready to imitate him, not so much receiving benefit from his words, but being moved and forced by his deeds to act like him. I do not have this, and my conscience testifies that there is nothing good in me. But I ask and pray to you, my beloved brothers, do not look at my careless life, but at the command of Christ the Lord and the instructions of the holy fathers, since these God-enlightened fathers of ours did not give us any rule that they themselves would not have fulfilled in advance. So, let the commandments of Christ be one common path for all of us, which would lead us to heaven and to God Himself. Although the word declares many paths, indicates many ways that can lead a person to the kingdom of heaven, in reality there are not many paths, but one path, only it is divided into many paths, in accordance with the strength and will of each. For each of us begins with special deeds and activities, as if we started moving from different places and cities, striving, however, to come to the same place, that is, to the kingdom of heaven. When we hear about the deeds and ways of those people who live according to God, we must understand by this their spiritual virtues. And those who began to march with them must all have one thing in mind and strive for one goal, so that everyone from different countries and places can gather in one city, that is, in the kingdom of heaven, and be worthy to co-reign with Christ, submitting to the one King, that is, God and the Father. So, we indicated one city; Those who go to it, although they come from different countries, but the path of each is the same with all others: this is love. We have a holy and indivisible trinity of virtues - faith, hope and love, and the last - the first is, and the greatest of all, as the limit of goodness (moral). Our faith is built on it, hope is based on it, and without it nothing that exists has happened or will ever happen. This love has many names and many deeds, and its signs are abundant, and its properties are many. But its essence is one and completely incomprehensible to everyone, and for angels, and for people, and for every other creature, perhaps still unknown to us. She is indescribable in words, unapproachable in glory, unsearchable in advice. It is eternal because it is timeless. And it is invisible, for it is imagined, but not comprehended. She has many beauties, not made by hands and holy Zion, which as soon as anyone begins to see, he ceases to be consoled by the attractive appearances of the world and to love its glory. 2. Allow me, brothers, to talk a little with this love and greet it, so that, as much as I can, I can satisfy my commitment to it. For I brought to my mind the beauty of immaculate love, and suddenly its light shone in my heart, and from its sweetness I became enraptured beyond myself; the action of my bodily feelings ceased, I mentally left this life and forgot about everything that is in this world. But I don’t know how she again retreated from me and left me alone to mourn her weakness. O love exceeding! Blessed is he who has loved you, because such a one will no longer desire to passionately love any human beauty. Blessed is he who is entwined with you through divine lust, because such a one will renounce the whole world and, by drawing close to every person, will not become defiled. Blessed is he who is captivated by your beauties and enjoys them with full desire, because such a one will be sanctified in his soul by the most pure blood and water, which ooze and drip from you. Blessed is the one who kissed you with all his heart, because such a person will change with a good change in his spirit and will rejoice in his soul, since you yourself are an indescribable joy. Blessed is he who has acquired you, because such a one will no longer bet all the treasures of the world on anything, since you yourself are truly wealth, never diminishing. Blessed and blessed is the one to whom you have given your right hand, because such a one, despite all the visible disgrace, will be more glorious than all the glorious and more honorable than all the honored. Praised is he who seeks you, more praiseworthy is he who finds you, but most blessed of all is he who will be loved by you, whom you will seat at your right hand, who will be taught by you, who will dwell in you, who will be fed from you with immortal food, that is, our Lord Jesus Christ. O divine love! Where do you keep Christ? Where are you hiding Him? Why did you take the Savior of the world and alienate Him from us? Open your door a little for us too, so that we too may see Christ, who suffered for us, and trust in His mercy, because as soon as we see Him, we will never die. Open to us - you, who became for Him the door to His incarnate economy and forced the uncompelled, but richly overflowing wombs of the bounties of our Master to take away the sins and infirmities of all people - and do not drive us away, saying: we do not know you. Come to us and know us, as we are unknown to you. Renew in us so that, having come for you, the Lord would visit us, the humble, greeted by you, since we ourselves are in no way worthy of it - so that, having come, He would remain a little, talking with you, and meanwhile would allow us, sinners, to fall at His most pure feet, and you would say a good word about us and intercede to forgive us the debt of our sins, yes Through you, we will be honored to work again and serve Him, our Lord. And He would take care of us and nourish us. O holy love! If only we could receive absolution for your sake and be worthy to taste the blessings of our Master, the sweets of which no one can experience without you. He who has not loved you as he should, and who has not been loved by you as he should, may be flowing, but has not yet comprehended. It is still doubtful whether he will comprehend who is flowing before the flow ends. But whoever has comprehended you, or whom you have comprehended, there can be no doubt about him; his success is certain. For you are the end of the law, you who embrace me, warm me and inflame my heart to the immeasurable love of God and my brothers. You are the mentor of the Prophets, the successor of the Apostles, the strength of the martyrs, the inspiration of the Fathers and teachers, the perfection of all the saints and myself, the preparation for real service. But forgive me, brethren, that I have departed a little from the subject of this word. My commitment to love prompted me to do this. I remembered her - and my heart rejoiced, and I rushed to the singing of her wonders. I also ask your love, seek it as much as you have, flow after it with faith, so that you will comprehend it, and your hope will not be in vain. For all labors and exploits that do not begin and end in love with a contrite spirit are vain and useless. A disciple of Christ cannot be known by any other virtue except by love, as Christ Himself says: of this all understand, as my disciples are, if you have love among one another (John 13:35). Out of love, God became a man and lived with us. Out of love, He willingly endured all life-giving passions in order to deliver man from the prisons of hell and lead him to heaven. Out of love, the Apostles completed their continuous course and, having caught the entire universe in the net of the word, they brought it out from the depths of idolatry to the shore of the kingdom of heaven. Out of love, the martyrs shed their blood so as not to lose Christ. Out of love, our God-bearing fathers and teachers of the universe readily sacrificed their lives for the holy catholic and apostolic Church. According to it, I, having taken over your leadership, strive to teach you divine words, so that I may be an imitator of these teachers of our Church, as far as I am able, with the readiness to undertake any labor and endure everything, just to do on my part everything that serves for your good and edification, and to present you to the mental table of Christ, as perfect sacrifices and reasonable burnt offerings. You are the children of God, and He gave you to me as little children to be raised. Why are you my bellies, my eyes. You are my praise and the seal of my teaching, in the words of the Apostle. Let us strive, my brethren beloved in Christ, so that, just as we please Christ the Lord with other virtues, so we please Him and the love that we should have for each other, so that God may rejoice in our harmony and perfection in love; Yes, I, the humble one, rejoice, always seeing your progress in life according to God, that it extends to better and better, in faith, purity, in the fear of God, in reverence, in the spirit of contrition and humility, in the pain of the heart with tears, with which the soul is cleansed and everything is filled with divine light and the Holy Spirit. And may this my joy be a blessing to you and the addition of an eternal and blessed life in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory forever. Amen. You might be interested in: