41. Слово на Воздвижение Честного Креста Господня (Крест Христов был лествицей восхождения из ада в рай для тех, которые жили до Господа Иисуса Христа. Для нас он есть лествица восхождения на небо тотчас по разрешении души от тела, но восходят по ней только те, которые обыкли ходить под крестом в на

“The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved the power of God is.” 1 Cor. 1, 18 The Lord put such a good thought in the hearts of the creators of this church - to dedicate it to the glory of His Cross! How comforting this is for the living and saving for those departing! How much food for faith this combination of the glory of the Exaltation of the Cross with the temporary resting place of our ashes after our departure from this life provides! At the same time, I remember our multi-significant icon of the Resurrection!.. There is depicted a Cross, which with its lower end is lowered into hell and rests on the ground with its crossbar... Along the longitudinal part lowered into hell, our forefathers - Adam and Eve - ascend... and behind them other righteous people, drawn by the right hand of the Lord, standing at the upper end. I think you understand the meaning of this image! It means that the Lord, by His Cross, destroyed hell and freed from there everyone who was held there before His coming. Therefore, the Cross of Christ was a ladder of ascent from hell to heaven for those who lived before the Lord Jesus Christ... What is it for us? For us, it is a ladder of ascent to heaven, immediately upon the release of the soul from the body. For those who now believe in Christ Jesus do not go down to hell. How comforting it should be for us that those close to us, leaving this world, are not struck by the obscurity of the path in their new state, but meet it ready immediately, and how sweet is the confidence that perhaps we are not deprived of the same consolation. Thus, thanks be to the Lord, who arranged all this for us. For all those departing from this life, there is prepared a ladder of ascent to heaven - namely the Cross... but in fact only those who are accustomed to walk under the cross in real life ascend it... Those who in this life did not have time or did not want to walk under the cross properly will not receive any benefit from the fact that there is a ladder to heaven for those departing from here. For they either will not find it, or, even having found it, will not be able to use it. After this, you can draw the lesson that the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross instills in us - in the cemetery! Be comforted, as it is said that after leaving the body, your ascension to heaven will be ready - in the Cross; but together, take care to prepare yourself with the skill of ascending it and prepare yourself by prudently walking under the cross throughout your present life. At the same time, no one would sigh in sorrow - what to do? where to get crosses and how to walk under their weight? - Don't worry! The Lord knew that without crosses there is no salvation for us, therefore he arranged our life in such a way that we are constantly surrounded by crosses on all sides. There is only one thing left for us to do... to accept and carry our crosses properly... I will show you what kind of crosses these are and how to accept and carry them. The first cross is our sorrowful stay on this earth, filled with sorrows, hardships, displeasures, illnesses and all kinds of troubles. After all, we were created for bliss, but, having violated the commandment, we were expelled from paradise - and now we bear the penance of a temporary stay in this vale of crying and lamentation... No one is free from this cross; but everyone is free to turn it into a healing medicine for themselves, and to poison their life with it. To prevent this from happening, this is what is needed... We must consider this state to be deserved and say to the Lord sincerely: I am not worth anything better; then reproach themselves that they themselves are to blame for all this, and, finally, complacently bear all the sorrowful things. Only by walking like this, under this cross, will we receive boldness and, upon leaving here, ascend along the Cross to heaven. The second cross is the totality of our weaknesses and wrong feelings and dispositions of our heart. God created man upright, but, having heeded the advice of the serpent, he accepted into himself the seed of evil, which perverted his good nature... did not destroy it, but, having been grafted into it, stands in the face of it as temptation and temptation. No one is free from this cross, and who does not know how restless and sorrowful he is? For anyone who wants to turn this cross to their advantage, this is what needs to be done! – Do not give in to the wrong impulses of the heart; having succumbed accidentally - to repent and again put yourself in a position of abuse against passions. Every refusal to passionate demands, every victory over them is a step under the Cross and preparation for the posthumous progressive ascent along the Cross to heaven. The third cross, or the image of the cross, is labor that is inevitable for us and the hardship and patience associated with it in fulfilling the duties that lie upon us. There is not a single person free from obligations. But their fulfillment inevitably requires effort and constancy, or, what is the same, labor and patience... Thus, patience in the constant fulfillment of the duties that lie upon us, overcoming all the obstacles associated with it, is a cross and at the same time how we can properly use it. You are a father or mother - endure, fulfilling the duties of father and mother... You are a judge... endure, fulfilling the duty of a conscientious judge (there is nothing to say about an unscrupulous judge... he hangs himself on a cross to his destruction). You are a teacher - conduct the affairs of teaching with tirelessness... You are a merchant - conduct the affairs of the merchant properly... So everyone, fulfilling the duties of his place and title, will meet with patience and labor, or, what is the same, with the cross, which he carries complacently, will gain strength for the afterlife free ascent along the Cross to heaven. There are also many other crosses: there is the cross of mortification of superstition, the cross of crucifixion of self-will, the cross of rejection of all pleasures, or, in totality, the cross of strict selfless living; and also, above all, the cross of Devotion to God, when a person’s every thought about arranging his temporal and eternal fate freezes from surrendering himself to the will of God. That's how many crosses!... and not all... And why count them all in detail... The whole point about them is brief - that's what it consists of. Compassionately bearing the lot that has been given to you and courageously fighting passions and lusts, walk with patience the path of deeds that are obligatory for you, striving to reach the serene region of decisive surrender of yourself to the will of God. By living in this way, we will undoubtedly acquire strength and boldness for an unhindered ascent along the Cross to heaven upon leaving this life!.. May the Lord make us all wise to create this way. Those who grumble at their fate, those who work according to their passions, those who are lazy in obligatory tasks, those who are wayward and worldly - also carry crosses, but not to save themselves... May the Lord deliver us from this foolishness, in which, hoping to save ourselves, we destroy ourselves, not suspecting the machinations of the enemy, who in this way entangles us and prepares us in advance as a sacrifice to himself - in another life. Amen. You might be interested in: