Глава VII. Проповеди

In the chapter on the episcopal ministry of Rev. Theophan, we examined his practical activities as a preacher, and now we will say a few words about his literary homiletical works. The saint's sermons are in close and close connection with moralizing works and stand as part and a special department of the latter. Rev. Theophan is one of the very prolific preachers, for four volumes of teachings remain from him, some of which were delivered as rector of the academy in St. Petersburg, and others in the rank of bishop to the Tambov and Vladimir flocks. His teaching activity in Vladimir was especially extensive and productive. In less than three years of public service here, he delivered 138 words and conversations, and during one year, 1864, he delivered 74 sermons, of which 9 fell in the month of March, and even 11 in August. This abundance of teachings is explained by the archpastor’s view of the importance of preaching in pastoral service. He called diocesan affairs “empty,” only the preaching of the Word of God was considered to be an essential matter, “an obligation predetermined from above.” For him, preaching is “the sacred act of the word.” “The word is a powerful means of helping one’s neighbor. The soul comes out in it and, combining with another, gives it strength.” “Sermon is the only true garden knife in the hands of the workers of the garden of God.” That is why the saint valued his teaching right so much; to preserve it, he was ready to sacrifice all others. “Let them take all the rights,” he notes, “and leave only freedom, without hesitation to speak in a pastoral way.” What is the content, what is the essential character and main direction of the church teaching works of the Most Reverend. Theophan and to what type of preachers does their author belong? In Russian Orthodox homiletical literature, two types of works have developed. For some preachers, the starting point of their teaching word is the phenomena of the modern reality they observe, the historical life of modern society. For other church teachers, the beginning and point of departure are mainly their own mental states, the need to share with their listeners the pious feelings of their religiously-minded soul. They rarely touch on certain phenomena of modern social life. The character and content of their preaching is almost exclusively determined by their personal mood. Our Eminences are recognized as the best and outstanding representatives of the first direction: John of Smolensk, who laid the foundation for it, Nikanor of Kherson and, more recently, Ambrose of Kharkov; and the exponents of the second direction are the ever-memorable Moscow Saint Philaret, Innocent, Demetrius of Kherson and others. Among the latter is the Most Reverend. Feofan. The saint himself clearly and definitely expressed the main task and main subject of his preaching works as follows: “The best use of the gift of writing and speaking is to appeal to the admonition and awakening of sinners from sleep, and this should be every church sermon and every conversation.” That is, according to the conviction of the Most Reverend. Theophan's church teaching word should be nothing more than a constant gospel of the paths of spiritual perfection. And indeed, although between his teachings there are conversations of dogmatic, liturgical and historical content, the vast majority of them are of a moralizing nature. In his preaching activities, the archpastor widely and especially persistently strove to fulfill the main task of his entire life - showing the path to salvation. From the previous sections of the book we have seen how prominent moral issues are in the teachings of the Most Reverend. Feofan. From his sermons we already know the teaching about the ideal of a true Christian life, about the paths and stages of ascent to it, about a peaceful Christian death, about prayer, etc. Here we would like to provide several chronological data that the thought of salvation has always been dominant and occupied the attention of the preacher, starting from the very first experiences of his teaching activity. While still at school, the young student was already thinking deeply about the subjects of Christian morality, and in his first sermon on the Ascension of the Lord, he already asks the question about the relationship and fruits of this glorious sacred-historical event to the salvation of man and considers them to be: “exaltation, reconciliation, sanctification and strengthening of people seeking salvation.” Two years after the end of the academic course - in 1843, pronouncing the word on the Exaltation in the church of the Novgorod seminary, the preacher talks about the mystery of the Cross of the Lord in order to show how truly Christian life flows from it, as from a source. “In order to restore and resurrect our real life after the fall,” he says, “we must put to death that alien person who has taken possession of everything in us, who has become the soul of all our activity. He who wishes to be saved must destroy his soul, according to the commandment of the Savior. And indeed, all those who destroy it through internal crucifixion with passions and lusts, and only they alone begin to live truly in the spirit.” The following year, 1844, Hieromonk Theophanes speaks about salvation in a word on St. Easter; in 1845 he touched on the same issue in his sermon on the Annunciation, etc. The preacher began to develop and reveal the same idea even more broadly and more thoroughly upon entering the cathedral department. Here, from time to time, questions of moral perfection occupied a whole series of continuous church conversations, for example, in Tambov, five words about salvation were spoken, with a complete and comprehensive disclosure of the subject, in a systematic order and natural sequence. The indicated task and the most important subject of the teaching word of Rev. Feofan's true character and inner merits of his words are determined. The main feature of the saint as a preacher, and at the same time his highest dignity, is that he truly and most fully in modern times fulfilled the ideal requirement of Christian preaching, indicated by the Apostle and consisting not in dialectics and rhetoric, but in the manifestation of spirit and power, religious faith and conviction. His preaching works are characterized by that exceptionally important property, the exact concept of which cannot be expressed by any human word and which in homiletics is called anointing. This true spark of divine fire, always present and penetrating the teachings of the Most Reverend. Theophanes, makes them unique and incomparable, closely reminiscent of the heartfelt conversations of the ancient Christian desert-dwellers. His word is a preaching of life solely for God and in God, a preaching of the ascetic ideal and for life in civil society itself. In every church teaching, Rev. Feofan, two phenomena are clearly revealed as typical. On the one hand, the image of our Lord and Savior Christ, His Most Pure Mother, the apostles and all the saints are always presented to the preacher’s inner consciousness, as if alive. His thoughts are entirely occupied with their teaching and commandments, the remembrance of death, judgment, the eternal bliss of the righteous and the eternal torment of sinners. On the other hand, the saint’s word revolves mainly in the area of ​​the inner, hidden life of people, in the area of ​​their spiritual and moral states and heart movements. It always comes from the depths of his loving heart, felt and experienced by him. In it, the preacher brings out the treasure of the inner Christian life and all the wealth of his personal moral strength, and the depth and breadth of psychological analysis is often simply amazing. At the same time, the preacher constantly appeals to the believing soul of the listeners, so that in the depths and secrets of her heart she seeks and creates that quiet and serene kingdom of Christ, which is spoken of in Scripture: “the kingdom of God is within you.” At the same time, he does not so much prove as express his ideas; he instructs his listeners as much as he touches them, inspires them with religious feeling, fills the heart with repentance and contrition, now with joy and hope, now with tenderness and gratitude to God. Hence, the teaching word is full of that fire of inner conviction and inspiration, which, acting with an irresistible influence on the spiritual world of listeners, arouses all the forces of the soul, and is capable of capturing a person’s heart and moving him to high deeds of virtue. So, in terms of its content and main direction, the preaching works of Rev. Feofan's works are predominantly and mainly of a moralizing and edifying character. Between his teachings, one notices a small number of works of so-called journalistic content - on contemporary topics and topics of the day for the preacher, and even fewer, just two or three accusatory words. There were good reasons for this and the other phenomenon. The saint spoke little of teachings of the first kind, not at all because he had little interest in and observed the social life of his time. On the contrary, he always kept a vigilant eye on all its most important manifestations and, when the need was urgent, he boldly discussed them from the church pulpit. When, in the middle of the last 19th century, Russian educated society became fascinated by new ideas borrowed from the West, mostly of a materialist direction, the then rector of the capital's academy energetically raised his authoritative voice in defense of the Christian worldview against these ideas. He delivered several teachings on the spirit of the times and, in particular, his wonderful word on progress, in which he deeply and thoroughly revealed all the harm and danger of the new direction for the moral and religious life of our society and indicated the means to prevent evil. Considering contemporary phenomena of social life to be transitory and accidental, the saint did not consider discussing them to be the most important task of the church word. He first and foremost sought to implant in the hearts of his listeners the true concept of the spirit of Christian morality, in the fair assumption that private cases of life would then be determined by themselves, without his guidance. It was also not without reason that the preacher refrained from accusatory teachings. He avoided menacing reproaches and sharp denunciations in the conviction that by means of a gentle positive explanation of the truth one can more likely attract listeners to it than by an abundance of reproaches and threats. However, the saint’s loving heart and his remarkable condescension towards other people’s weaknesses also played an important role here. Experience shows that people of high morality and true virtue are the most patient and forgiving people in life towards the shortcomings of their neighbors. They know how difficult the path of virtue is, so that when walking along it, they can guarantee that they will not stumble. Sermons by Rev. Theophanes are remarkable in their very external way of composition; for they are not the usual product of dry head work, but represent a living and direct outpouring of the deeply feeling heart of the preacher. The author himself writes about the nature of their composition: “The peculiarity of my sermons is that they are not composed. It usually happened in the evening, after the all-night vigil, I’d drink a glass of tea, read tomorrow’s Gospel, then the Apostle... and whatever thought comes in and occupies my attention and heart, I take it into the topic and the sermon builds itself within itself. An hour and a half, maybe two... and the sermon is ready... read it in the morning, tweak it a little. Sometimes the theme is given by external circumstances, as happened when visiting monasteries..., but the production is still the same. These are written improvisations; since they didn’t come from my head, they represent something sweetened” 109. This basic tone changes from time to time in its development. Thus, the teaching to the Vladimir flock bears traces of longer intellectual work than the words spoken in Tambov. As for the external form of presentation of the sermons of Rev. Feofan, although in print they bear the title “words, speeches and conversations,” but by their general nature they primarily deserve the name of the latter. Most of them represent a heartfelt conversation between a shepherd and his flock, like a father with his children. This is a simple, sincere speech in which the preacher, on the one hand, completely opens his soul to the listeners, and on the other, enters into all their spiritual needs, with touching care and condescension adapts to the present moral state of the listeners in order to raise them to his level. To successfully conduct such conversations, it is essential for the shepherd to sincerely and deeply love his flock. And Rev. Feofan truly loved his flock from the heart and was always deeply interested in life, always meeting their needs. Thanks to such interviews, purely family relationships were created and established between the bishop and the believers. Just as it happens at the hearth, when, after a day's work, a father gathers his children around him and talks with them about everything that interests them, so the archpastor talked with the flock gathered around him, in the peace and quiet of Sunday, about all the most important subjects of the Christian faith and life. Despite its amazing simplicity, at times reaching the point of vernacular, the sermons of Rev. Feofana are among the eloquent, for they possess that true eloquence, which does not consist in loud phrases and beautiful gestures, but in the fact that when the word of the speaker, coming from the depths of his heart and living conviction, goes directly to the heart of the listener, penetrates the soul and takes possession of it. “A word emanating from a well-disposed spirit,” let’s say in the words of the saint himself, “even without external means of rhetoric will be edifying. Or better yet, it is in him that there is a source of exclusively true eloquence, and not in external techniques.” It is remarkable that with his outstanding literary talent, Rev. Theophan never dared to speak his teachings without a notebook. On the one hand, this reflected his humility and extreme modesty in his opinion of himself, as if he were afraid to overly trust and rely on his own strengths, and on the other hand, such a feature stemmed from a deep reverence for the Word of God, from the fear of not saying by heart something inaccurate, unnecessary, and especially incorrect and false. According to the saint, whoever proclaims the Word of God in a sacred place in the name of God is responsible for every word. About preachers who speak without proper preparation, frivolously and superficially, it must be said that they do not have sufficient respect either for believing souls or for God Himself, who sent them to preach to souls. It would be unworthy and insulting to the divine truth to present it to the children of God in a shell that does not correspond to it, without the necessary accuracy and serious importance. According to contemporaries, the sermons of Rev. Feofan made a strong impression and attracted a lot of people. The attention of the worshipers was so great that even with the weak voice of the preacher, his speech reached the most distant corner of the church. Many who heard the teaching in person subsequently asked the author to send them as a souvenir for themselves. We have several reliable testimonies about the success of the saint’s church word. Thus, one of the listeners wrote about the sermons to the Vladimir flock: “Soon after his arrival, His Grace Theophan made an impression on the local society with his sermons. He accompanies each service with an archpastoral conversation. His word captures the attention of the listeners to the point that, even with the weakness of his voice, it can be heard by the last beggar at the church threshold; the speech is so generally understandable that it attracts many listeners from the common people” 110. The preaching works of the saint were highly valued by such authorities of the Church as the late Metropolitan Macarius. When the Tambov flock, bidding farewell to him, expressed their deep regret, saying that no one could replace him and that they would never forget him, the bishop remarked: “You will soon forget me if I say that His Eminence Theophan has been appointed to my place. This is a wonderful person, especially as a preacher. His preaching is better than mine.” And at present they have not lost their importance. The words about prayer, about churches, about repentance and communion, etc., published in recent years in separate brochures, have found a large circle of readers and have already gone through several editions. Our speech is about the public church-teaching ministry of Rev. Theophana would be incomplete if we did not talk about the other side of his ministry - intensive labors with the aim of raising and developing the work of preaching among the preachers themselves - shepherds and teachers of the Church. The saint's activities in this regard were very broad and varied. In his teachings, he very often calls on the clergy under his jurisdiction to preach the Word of God without permissiveness, issues official orders in the form of decrees and instructions, sends private letters, forms committees, writes entire homiletical treatises, and, finally, earnestly prays for the gift of teaching to be bestowed upon pastors. Of course, the strength of one archpastor was far from sufficient to successfully conduct such a complex matter as church teaching throughout an entire vast diocese. And so the bishop attracts the diocesan clergy to him, influencing and disposing of him with all possible measures and means that depend on him, both administrative and especially moral. Rev. At every opportunity, Theophan persistently convinced and inspired the clergy that preaching is their first, direct and sacred duty, and at the same time it should also be an internal need, if only they correctly and consciously relate to their high service. According to the saint, the whole meaning and significance of shepherding lies not in any external advantages, but in the internal, moral influence on the soul of the flock, for which the best and only reliable means is the word of preaching. “The triumph of shepherding is not in the visible splendor without strength and not in external advantages, but in the inner strength of their words over the souls of their flock, when every shepherd can say: the sheep listen to my voice, that is, they submit their minds and wills to his word, form their concepts according to his teaching, arrange their lives according to his advice, and resolve their doubts by admonishing him. How can all this be achieved? Not otherwise than through the preaching of the word; for we have this one weapon” 111. For a true minister of the altar of the Lord, preaching should be an internal, psychological necessity. Just as a caring and caring father, seeing the needs of his children, cannot resist coming to their aid, so the shepherd of the Church should not remain indifferent to meeting the urgent spiritual needs of his flock. In addition, just as the inherent thirst for truth torments the heart of believers who seek and do not find it, so the unspoken truth should torment and burden the soul of the shepherd himself: “The conductors of Christian truth are the mouths of the priests of God. Whoever of them closes his mouth blocks the path of the truth asking into the souls of believers. That is why the souls of believers languish, not receiving the truth, and the priests themselves should feel languor from the truth, which, not receiving an outcome, burdens them. Relieve yourself, priest of God, from this burden, release streams of divine words to please yourself and to revive the souls entrusted to you. When you see that you yourself do not have the truth, take it: it is in the holy scriptures and, being filled with it, forward it to your spiritual children: just do not be silent. Preach, for this is what you are called to do.” 112 The shepherd of the Church, speaking in the teaching department, is obliged to carefully and intensively prepare for his high service and, first of all, must have a certain degree of moral well-being. Whoever wants to lead and guide others must himself stand at a certain height in order to clearly see both the direction of the path itself and those walking along it. It is necessary to teach not only in words, but also, most importantly, in the deeds of life. The word is effective only for those who themselves have experienced and felt it in their own experience. Otherwise it will be like ringing brass and a clanging cymbal. A shepherd who himself has not recovered from spiritual illnesses is like a blind man who decides to lead another blind man like himself. “Only one who has himself been recreated, whose mind brightly contemplates the truths, whose heart is warmed by a warm love for these truths, can edify or create others.” “You can’t tell others what you don’t know yourself.” “The truth can only be told by experience, by tasting only spiritual blessings by deed itself.” “The preacher needs to constantly hear the voice of God in his soul. The lack of such a mood cannot be replaced by anything. An intelligent sermon, armed with all the methods of rhetoric to excite passions, to defeat the will, to captivate the heart and all the graces of verbal aesthetics, will remain a cold, powerless, empty-sounding sermon. It will be a barren flower that cannot bear fruit.” And the saint himself, who gave such sublime and wise instructions and instructions to the shepherds of his Church, was for them the greatest authority and true example, for he truly taught not only in word, but by the great feat of his life. It’s as if the words of an ancient historian were said about him about one of the Church Fathers: “He needed few words, for his life was enough for the instruction and edification of others.” Disposing the clergy to intensified preaching, Rev. Theophanes advises him not to be shy in choosing topics and subjects, since the word of God and human life itself provide abundant material for this. He understood the teaching word very broadly and meant by it any life phenomenon that could arouse and dispose to a religious mood. The Word of God can and does reach our hearts in a variety of ways. It is constantly heard in the church of God, during every divine service and outside the church, in every prayer and hymn. It is in pastoral sermons, in every edifying book and soul-saving conversation. It is in schools, paintings, etc. We seem to be enveloped in the word of God, resounding with it from all sides. “If you play the piano or sing something,” the saint writes to one of his correspondents, “that will sink into the souls of those listening and make them sigh to the Lord, then you, too, will do what a good preacher does in church.” At the same time, Rev. Theophan also gave practical advice regarding the method of compiling church teachings. In his opinion, we most often do not preach sermons because we look at their preparation incorrectly. They think that writing sermons is the same as composing a book. Meanwhile, this is a completely different matter. Here one cannot limit oneself to the work of a cold mind, but it is necessary to call upon one’s feeling and heart for help. Whatever ever comes to mind and heart from religious subjects should be immediately put down on paper. The saint says about his personal experience that, upon joining the Tambov department, at the beginning he spoke relatively rarely, because he found it difficult to compose them, looking at the matter as a scientific work. But Voronezh Rev. Seraphim gave him the idea that sermons should be written on the spur of the moment, by inspiration and in one go. At first, although the saint was distrustful of this advice, he soon made his first experiment after the all-night vigil on Sunday. During the liturgy, he said a word and at the beginning felt constrained and at a loss, but things turned out quite well, and this successful experience marked the beginning of all the subsequent intensified teaching activities of the saint, which in the end developed into incessant evangelism. Along with private and random measures and advice on conducting preaching work, Rev. Feofan also undertook a number of systematic activities on this subject. The saint usually expressed his views on preaching in “Bish. Vedomosti". Thus, in Tambov, he himself closely followed the diocesan organ, placing at least two sermons in each issue. One sermon was patristic, and the other was delivered either by himself or by one of the outstanding Tambov pastors. Here were also the sayings of the ascetic elders and moralizing incidents from their lives, which served as topics for teaching and disposed the reader to faith and piety. To awaken the spirit of pastoral and preaching care for the people, he publishes a well-known description of the life of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, according to the notes of the cell attendant of the last Chebotarev. Finally, in Tambov, he published his homiletical treatise entitled “How to Compose a Sermon” in Vedomosti, and in Vladimir he wrote a special, extensive instruction on the organization of church teaching, in which he precisely defines: who, when, where and what should preach. In addition, Rev. Theophan also accepted the energetic influences of the diocesan authorities in the same direction. Thus, he encouraged capable and zealous priests with rewards, and admonished the careless and lazy ones with advice and corrected them with various types of penalties. Always kind and extremely lenient, the archpastor was strict and demanding in this regard. In other cases, usually the cleric, instead of the bishop, reprimanded and reprimanded faulty members of the clergy, but here the saint himself personally took action. So in the “Tambov Diocesan Gazette” (1861) we find his following order: “Priest Svetlov, who without good reason did not speak a single lesson for a whole six months, is to be fined 6 rubles for widows and orphans of clergy. silver and stamp the one who did not speak the teachings in the Gazette for the information of the diocese.” It is worthy of attention that the Rev. Theophan recognized the work of church teaching as so important and at the same time difficult that to improve it he considered human strength and natural measures and means alone to be insufficient, and sometimes he resorted to supernatural help. Thus, the following is preserved in his works, compiled by him on the basis of the sayings of St. Scripture prayer on this subject: “Lord Jesus, Light of the world, heavenly truth, shine the light of Your God-mind in the minds and hearts of Your disciples, laborers in Your harvest; may they be the intelligent light of the world, creators and teachers of Your words, teaching those they flock to guard everything that You have commanded them. Open your minds to understand the scriptures; make them all presbyters, diligent in their calling and work, laborers in word and doctrine, teaching themselves and those they flock to piety. Thy Word of God, O Lord, living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing to the division of soul and spirit, members and marrow, may it be for them a spiritual mirror, a lamp for their feet and a light for their paths, learning from it day and night and doing the commandments of the Lord, so that they themselves and those who listen to them may be saved." 113 The extraordinary personal example of the tireless, zealous preaching of the Word of God and all the measures taken by Rev. Theophan had the most beneficial influence on the establishment of church teaching among the clergy and bore abundant fruit. The work of preaching in Tambov and Vladimir during the ministry of the saint greatly developed quantitatively, became stronger and was firmly established qualitatively. The sermon was heard everywhere, and most importantly, it so disposed and attracted the hearts of the believing flock that on holidays the latter in large numbers went to the church of God, abandoning both their usual activities and festivities and amusements, about which we have the following testimony: “Thanks to the enlightened care of our archpastor, we in Tambov recently began a deliberate weekly preaching of the word of God on Saturday (after the all-night vigil) and Sunday days (during Liturgy and Vespers). The public liked the teachings so much that on the designated days they eagerly rush to the churches where they are delivered. It is comforting that people of all classes, of both sexes, greeted this new good deed with great sympathy... At the sound of the evening bell, the dense crowd of walking people suddenly begins to thin out, the church bell reminds us of the evening preacher, and so many, even very many, leave the public spectacle and rush to the cathedral after the archpastor, who is himself every time present when the teachings are delivered” 114 . Sermons during the weeks of fasting. The concept of fasting and how to go about it In order to have as complete and definite an idea as possible about the nature of the church teaching activity of Rev. Theophan, let us take a few more teachings, in addition to those already given above, namely, some of his wonderful words spoken during the weeks of fasting. Zealous for the maintenance and development of the spiritual life of his flock, the saint considered it necessary to clarify for them all the most important issues related to such an important period in the life of every Christian as the time of fasting. He communicated the concept of fasting and the worthy passage of it, explained in detail how one should prepare and make confession, how the eve and day of communion should be spent, finally, he revealed the fruits of communion and indicated what is needed for the one who repented and received communion, etc. Here are some of these guided teachings, essentially necessary and useful for everyone who fasts, with the necessary additions from other writings of the saint: 1) The concept of fasting and how to go about it. “Retreat must be distinguished from fasting, or worthy, according to the rules of the Church, fasting. It is part of fasting, but differs from it in greater severity regarding food and sleep and in that it is always combined with other pious activities, such as: stopping everyday worries and affairs as much as possible, reading, who can, St. books, incessant attendance at church for the required services, etc. In general, this time is exclusively devoted to pious activities, which are all aimed at properly bringing repentance and confession and then receiving communion.” “Thus, it is obvious that in the entire composition of the fast there is a cleansing of all life, restoration of its entire structure, purification of goals, reunification with the Lord, renewal of the spirit and our entire being. This is the same as washing a blackened dress, or washing in a bathhouse after a journey. A Christian on the road, and with all the caution, cannot hide from the dust - passionate thoughts and stains - the fall. No matter how small the impurity, it is the same as a grain of powder in the eye, or a grain of sand in a watch; the eye is not looking, the clock is not ticking. Therefore, it is inevitable to cleanse yourself from time to time. How wise it is for us to structure the Church and how saving it is to obey such an institution with humility!” “This is the meaning of fasting! It is a means of nourishing, warming and preserving life in us; but, most importantly, it is a thorough review of life, falls, their causes, and the establishment of means to avoid them. When sins are known, cast out of the heart through contrition and hostility, and washed away through confession and vow, then the vessel is ready. In communion the Lord comes and communicates with the spirit of the worthy, which must feel: “I am not alone, but with You.” “Everything you wish for is what everyone who fasts should do. And fast, and go to church, and be alone, and read, and think, and take care of yourself, everything is needed. But all these things must be directed towards one goal - worthy communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. In order to receive communion worthily, one must cleanse the soul by repentance. In order to perform repentance as it should, with sincere contrition and a firm determination not to offend the Lord any more; For this, all other feats of fasting are prescribed - going to church, and home prayer, and fasting, and so on. everything." “The first thing in producing repentance is to enter into yourself. We are prevented from entering into ourselves and taking care of ourselves by everyday affairs and worries, and our thoughts are uncontrollably wandering around the world. Therefore, the fasting person, for as long as anyone can fast, stops his chores and, instead of going about his business, sits at home. This suppression of troubles is a matter of utmost importance in fasting. Whoever doesn’t do it will probably miss it somehow. So start fasting, everything has been put aside.” “Let’s say we dropped everything and sat in our room. What should we do here? And you can sit alone in vain. We need to take classes leading up to fasting. Which ones? Prayer, reading, meditation.” “This prayer is apart from the church one. That goes without saying. Of course, you know how to pray in church. However, take this into account! go to church willingly, as if going to God’s own home, without frowning or getting bored. Go to church not just to stand for the service, but then to pray from the heart, to pray with the warmth of your heart, with an outpouring of feelings of contrition, humility and reverent fear before the Lord, and with the offering of fervent petitions for your deepest spiritual needs. How to manage this, you need to figure out in advance, and when you come to church, strain yourself to do so. It is not empty to consider only that period of time in the service during which the heart became warm and cried out warmly to God. This is the main thing. You also need to listen to the service, and follow it with your thoughts and feelings. To delve into what is sung and read, especially in the litany, for they are an abbreviated presentation of all our needs, for which there is no shame in asking God. May God grant you to feel the sweetness of being in church, so that you rush there, just as you rush to a warm room from the cold. In fasting, the main producer of the work for which fasting is being worthy of being in the church. Other things are aids and aids to him.” “He who fasts knows only church and home. We came home: what’s here? And here it is necessary, as much as you can, to keep your mind and heart reverent towards the Lord. Hurry to your room straight from the church, greet her with several bows, asking the Lord to reverently, with spiritual benefit, spend the present time of a solitary stay at home. Then you need to rest a little after sitting. Still, don’t let your thoughts wander, but say to yourself, without thinking about anything, one thing: Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Having rested, you need to do something: either pray, or do handicrafts. And what when - decide that for yourself.” “How to pray at home? You said well that you need to add a little extra against the usual prayer rule. It is necessary - it is necessary. But it’s better if you don’t add unnecessary readings of prayers, but pray longer without a prayer book, in your own words, expressing your deepest spiritual needs before the Lord. Read in the morning and in the evening no more than on ordinary days; but before the beginning of your prayer and after it, pray with your own prayer, and during the intervals of the prayers you read, insert your prayer, bowing at the waist and on the ground, and kneeling. Annoy the Lord, the Mother of God and the Guardian Angel, in your word to Them, asking for everything that you feel is extremely necessary for yourself; pray that they will let you know yourself, and, based on your knowledge, will put in the desire and give you the strength to correct everything that is faulty, and moreover, that your heart will be filled with the spirit of contrition and humility, in which sacrifice to God is most pleasing to Him. But don’t tie yourself down with too long and lengthy a rule. It is better to get up for prayer more often and make bows throughout the day, little by little, but often, in order to cover the whole day with bows. In your mind, do not deviate from the Lord at all, whether you stand in prayer or whatever else you do.” “After prayer, read with meditation. We need to read not to fill our memory with various information and concepts, but then to receive edification and understand how to better fulfill what is needed for us in these days of fasting. To do this, you need to read a little, but bring every point you read to the senses, through long attention to it.” “What to read? Of course, only spiritual books. Of these, I will not recommend anything to you more than the writings of St. Tikhon. There is a book: Rise to Sleep - a selection of articles from St. Tikhon that encourage repentance. There is also a book about repentance and communion, sermons for Lent and the weeks of preparation for it. I heard that it is very useful at this time: everything in it only talks about repentance and communion” 115. “Slowly and thoughtfully reading suitable books will most greatly stir the soul. Lean on it. In the morning, after prayer (matins begins in the evening), assign everything to it, until the very hours. It will also prepare you for church prayer. And after hours you can continue the same thing, when you have enough hunting and attention. A prayer movement will come during the reading, get up and pray. Read with someone or alone? Alone is better. Because at the same time it is more convenient to take care of yourself and apply what you read to yourself. Reflection must be inserted into reading, otherwise it will go into daydreaming and you won’t be able to get it.” “Everything that has been said is a frame into which the fast is inserted, or the external order and order that good fast-goers usually adhere to. Make the effort to stick to it if you want to be a good speaker. Just don’t take on a gloomy look, don’t darken your face. Do everything willingly, with a kind and joyful disposition of spirit. So spend your time as those who will be at the king’s feast spend it. These people are only thinking and talking about how this feast will be, how to meet the king: what to say, how he will greet, how to dress up better and not lose face in the dirt, and so on. But an incomparably better and higher thing is laid before you - a feast is offered not to the earthly, but to the Heavenly King. If you take the trouble to dress up and prepare in such a way that the Tsar will like you, you will be caressed by Him, you will receive something for which there is no price and you will be delighted beyond words.” “Fasting seems gloomy until one enters into its field; but start, and you will see that this is light after night, freedom after bonds, privilege after a painful life. We heard that the current Apostle said: the night is already past, and the day is drawing near (Rom. 13:12). Night is the time before fasting, and day is fasting. The Apostle wants us to greet fasting just as happily as we greet the day after a long night. Just take to heart what fasting requires, what it gives, and what it promises, and you will see that it cannot be otherwise. For what does fasting require? Repentance and correction of life. What does it give? Forgiveness and return of all God's mercies. What does it promise? Joy in the Holy Spirit is here, and eternal bliss is there. Take all this into your heart, and you will not be able to help but desire fasting.” “Only the flesh rises up to fast, and those who are not favorable to fasting are carnal, although they do not want to put themselves in this category and they explain their alienation from fasting somewhat more plausibly: they do not want to leave a life free for the flesh, so they raise complaints about fasting. Our spiritual side loves fasting, longs for fasting, and is at ease in it. And one should say: awaken and develop the spiritual side in yourself, and you will be in harmony with fasting, as with your friend; but it is for the revelation of this aspect that the Lord legitimized fasting. So self-compulsion is necessary in advance; Unsweetened labor is necessary in advance in order to taste the sweet fruits later. Let carnal reasoning shun fasting; Submit yourself under the yoke of faith and heed the apostolic teaching: carnal wisdom is death, but spiritual wisdom is life and peace: because of carnal wisdom there is enmity against God, for it does not obey the law of God, for it can do less. Why cannot those who follow this wisdom please God (Rom. 8:6–8).” “This is what alienation from fasting out of pleasing the flesh and subordinating oneself to carnal wisdom borders on: the loss of the opportunity to please God and even enmity against God! Why, whoever has even a small spark of fear of God will not shun fasting and, in the light of this fear, will repel all false pretexts for breaking it. One could say: revive the fear of God in yourself and you will willingly enter the field of fasting, and without difficulty you will go through it all from beginning to end; but again, how to revive fear without fasting? Vanity, worries, empty entertainment, pleasures, passionate hobbies, or even just the hustle and bustle of established relationships do not allow you to enter into yourself, come to your senses and vividly recognize your obligatory relationship with God! We must fulfill all his (fasting) requirements. Then vain desires, thoughts and passions will subside, the voice of conscience will be clearly heard, and the consciousness of God and responsibility before Him will vividly arise. And after this, perhaps even ordinary Lenten labors will seem insufficient; for the fear of God, revived in this way, will become an irresistible force that knows no barriers, the action of which is directly directed against every pleasure of the flesh, supported by self-pity” 116. How to prepare for confession and repentance and what is their essence 2. How to prepare for confession and repentance. “Confession of sins does not present much difficulty when a person has time to control himself and intend to leave sin; but he will not control himself until he repents; He will not repent until he condemns himself, and he will not condemn until he recognizes his sins. So the initial point in repentance is the knowledge of one’s sins.” “Now, everyone, go inside yourself, and begin by examining your life and everything that was faulty in it. Of course, everyone is ready to say and says about himself that he is a sinner, and not only says, but often feels himself to be such; but this sinfulness appears to us in a vague and indefinite form. This is not enough. When starting confession, we must definitely explain to ourselves: what exactly is unclean and sinful in us, and to what extent. You need to know your sins clearly and separately, as if numerically. For this, do this: put God’s law on one side, and your own life on the other, and see in what ways they are similar and in what ways they are not similar? Take either your affairs and bring them under the law to see whether they are legal, or take the law and see whether it was fulfilled as it should in your life or not? For example, you were insulted and took revenge: is this what Christian law commands? I saw the mistakes of others and condemned them: is this what follows the commandments of Christ? He did something good and stood tall, or trumpeted before himself: is it permissible for a Christian to do this? Or does the law command one to go to the Church of God without laziness and to stand in it reverently, in attention and prayer: did you fulfill this? The law commands not to lust, not to be angry, not to envy, not to appropriate someone else’s property, etc.: is our behavior consistent with these rules?.. So go through the whole law and your whole life. But in order not to omit anything in this important matter of self-test, it is good to maintain some order in it. Imagine more clearly all our responsibilities in relation to God, our neighbor and ourselves, and then review your life more accurately and in more detail in all these relations. Or go through the commandments of the Decalogue, one after another, with all the private instructions contained in them, and see if you have fulfilled everything they require? Read also, who can, the Savior’s Discourse on the Mount, where He explains the ancient law, filling it with the Christian spirit, or read the apostolic epistles in the last chapters, where they set out the deeds and dispositions obligatory for Christians in general overviews: for example, from Chapter 12. the epistle to the Romans, or from the 4th epistle to the Ephesians, the epistles of the Apostle James and St. John the Theologian the first, and so on. Look at all this as if in a mirror, and you will see where there is any stain or ugliness in you.” “As a result of such a review of life, among our deeds, words, feelings, thoughts and desires, many will be revealed that are either directly illegal or semi-legal, such, that is, in which the intentions were not entirely pure, although they are outwardly consistent with the law; a great many things will gather together, and perhaps the whole life will turn out to be made up of only bad deeds, like an unbroken chain, or a continuous series of ugly and disgusting products.” “But this is only the beginning of self-knowledge, and it should not stop there. You need to go further in the knowledge of your sinfulness, or go deeper into your sinful heart. Beneath deeds and words, beneath private thoughts, desires and feelings are constant dispositions of the heart that serve as sources for them; the totality of these dispositions makes up a person’s personality and determines his character: that is why they especially need to be recognized. There is little work here: our conscientiousness before ourselves will not allow us to hide what our heart possesses and what rulers live in it. Otherwise, a tangible witness can be pointed out about this, namely: what unkind actions more often break out, and with such force that we cannot control ourselves, for those we must place in the heart a corresponding inclination, or passion, which serves as their constant producer. If, for example, someone, pointing at another, in one case says: look what he is doing! in another he will repeat with annoyance: what an incongruity! otherwise he will show a mocking face, and in general speak more willingly and more about other people’s affairs from the unfavorable side, it is not difficult for him to guess that he is suffering from an ungodly passion for condemnation.” “Such consideration will lead us to the knowledge of the passions that dominate us, or one that prevails over all. You know that the root of all evil in us is self-love. From self-love come pride, selfishness and passion for pleasure, and from them come all other passions. Everyone who sins has them all; but not in everyone to the same degree: in one, pride predominates, in another, selfishness, in the third, passion for pleasure. And the proud is not alien to selfish views and pleasures; but he easily overcomes them when satisfaction with them could humiliate him; and the selfish is ready to console himself if it costs him nothing, etc. So in everyone, one passion dominates, while others stand, as it were, in the shadow and subordinate to it. It is this dominant one that must be seen and determined, so that later one can act on it more decisively. One St. the father says: The Lord demands from you the restoration of chastity; and you build almshouses and chapels: first correct the first, and the second will be pleasing to God.” “But we must go even further in knowing ourselves. After all, we need to determine the general spirit of our life, or its distinctive feature, namely: who do we serve? To the Lord, or to yourself and sin? What do we mean? Yourself, or the Lord, His glory and pleasing Him? Who do we always stand for? For God's name, or for your own? This trait determines: what are we in ourselves and what should we therefore expect for ourselves? Self-knowledge is headed by knowing it. This is a general conclusion from the previous one, which will manifest itself in the conscience, be clearly determined in the consciousness, and confessed before the face of the omniscient Lord.” “So, finally, the whole picture of our sinfulness and the whole history of our sinful life will be imagined: deeds, feelings and dispositions and the main spirit of life! Following this, you need to grieve for yourself and mourn your sins.” “Having recognized your sinfulness, do not be a cold spectator of it. Do not mentally walk through it with the same indifference as one walks through someone else’s field, neglected and overgrown with bad grass. Bring this knowledge closer to your conscience, and together with it begin to arouse saving repentant feelings in your heart. Naturally, these feelings should naturally occur in us, but this does not always happen. The heart is hardened by sin. Just as a laborer becomes coarse from the quality of his work, so the heart of a person who gives himself over to menial work to sin and passions, digs faces and feeds on them, becomes coarser. Therefore, it is not easy to soften it when it is necessary to lead it to repentance. Here is more work, and more significant work: for in the matter of repentance everything comes from the feelings of the heart!” “When approaching this, first of all, force yourself to reach the point of self-accusation, try to arouse in yourself a feeling of guilt, so that in the depths of your heart it says: guilty! There will be a struggle with self-justification, or apologies for one’s falls and sins. To drive them away, remove everything from your attention, leave yourself alone and God the Judge, and reproach yourself without concealment: you knew that you shouldn’t sin, and you sinned; could abstain and avoid infatuation, and did not use his autocracy for his own good; and your conscience disgusted you, and you drowned out this voice of God in you with contempt. Then consider the places, times and circumstances of your sinful deeds, and from everything extract information that would make your heart and conscience feel guilty and cry: guilty! I have nothing to justify it! So move from one sin and from one unclean disposition to another, and add to everything, like a signature: guilty!” “By performing this act of reproof in good faith, you will cordially confirm all your sins; you admit that you are to blame for this, and for the other, and for the third - you are to blame for everything; you will clothe yourself, as it were, with your sins and feel that they lie on you with all their weight; you recognize yourself as unrequited in them and cry out: I’m damned! After this happens in your heart, hasten to arouse or remove from your heart, already predisposed to this, painful feelings that constitute the content of true repentance; namely: sadness for having offended God; shame that I brought myself to such a malfunction; regret that I could have abstained and did not; annoyance at my sinful arbitrariness, which did not heed any suggestions of reason and conscience. These feelings will be ready to be reborn of their own accord from the heart, after the consciousness of sins and one’s guilt; but you yourself help them develop, and irritate them more and more. Let the soul burn in them as if on fire: the more it burns, and the stronger the burning, the more salutary it will be. The limit to which this pain about sins must be brought is disgust towards sins and aversion from them. In this disgust is the support of the determination not to sin and the hope of self-correction. Whoever has an aversion to sin has become outside of it, or has cast it out of himself and now has complete freedom to act without feeling its attractions. This is the moment when you can boldly begin to make a vow not to sin, which will be pronounced in your heart before the face of the Lord. Then fall down before Him and say: I will not! I will never sin, even if I have to die: just save and have mercy! This heartfelt vow should crown feelings of repentance and testify to their sincerity. It is not in words, but in feelings, and makes an inner covenant of the heart with God, restores the religion of the heart” 117. How should you spend the eve of the day of communion and with what thoughts and feelings should you approach the sacrament? 3. How should you spend the eve of the day of communion and with what thoughts and feelings should you approach the sacrament? “It’s not even a day until that great moment when you receive the Lord into yourself. Rejoice and be glad; but at the same time, do not let go of the fact that this moment is the most precious and decisive in your life; then it requires all your attention and thorough discretion. The Lord wants to give himself to you and bring all His gifts with Him! Just as it is criminal not to take advantage of the mercy offered here, it is equally or even more criminal to begin to accept it, not as one deserves. He who eats and drinks unworthily, judges himself by eating and drinking, without considering the body of the Lord" (1 Cor. 11:29). “You know this, and, of course, everyone, according to his own strength, strives to show himself worthy to receive the one who is coming to you in St. The secrets of His Lord. Believing that now you are busy with the same thing, I want to approach your thoughts with my word and, together with you, explain in detail how we should position ourselves and act in order to worthily approach the most pure mysteries of Christ.” “Let us begin from this moment, and we will go step by step until we approach the very cup of the Lord, defining throughout the saving image of mood and action.” “At the very first movement, St. meets us. the Apostle Paul with his meek but strict instruction: let a man tempt himself, and so let him eat of the bread and let him drink of the cup (1 Cor. 11:28). Let him tempt himself: let him test whether he is worthy, and in this confidence approach the saint. Secrets; for if he approaches unworthily, he will judge himself to eat and drink. Ah, brothers, this word brings fear to the sinful soul! For who can say that he is worthy to approach the Lord's table? how many sins! how much impurity, how many obvious insults to the Lord! It's scary to start. But it’s not safe not to start either; for if we do not taste the flesh of the Lord and drink His blood, we do not have life in ourselves. It’s too close for both of us, so what can we do? Let us throw ourselves into the arms of the most merciful Lord, crying out to him: merciful Savior! Spare us, the unworthy! “Don’t worry too much, however, and don’t bother yourself with vain fears! The Lord is offended not only if someone who is not ready boldly approaches the cup, but also if someone indiscriminately torments himself with disordered timidity. The merciful Lord does not bind us with impossible conditions, and requires little from us, which everyone has the power to fulfill, if they want, without difficulty. “Who,” says St. Demetrius of Rostov, - confessed his sins completely, without hiding anything, who regrets them, weeps and repents, who has the will and unfailing intention not to return to sin again, but to guard himself dangerously from any fall, who by fasting and prayer and other deeds of piety has strained himself, appeasing the Lord, who has made peace with everyone, and has not left enmity with anyone, he adequately ready. And so he eats from the bread and drinks from the cup. If all this has been accomplished by you, or will be accomplished, approach the Lord complacently with childlike, humble boldness. We are sinners, sinners all around. But the Lord came to save sinners. It is not sins that are the obstacle, but persistence in sins and unrepentance. If it is, don't proceed. The sins mourned, confessed and resolved are no longer in you and not on you. They are the same as branches cut from a tree. When we loved sins, they were living branches on the tree of our life and fed from it; when we turned away from our sins, began to abhor them, repented and confessed, by this action we cut them off from ourselves. At the moment of resolution they fell away from us. Now these are dry branches. And the Lord comes to burn these thorns of sins among us.” “So let your primary concern be to acknowledge your sins, mourn, confess and make a firm intention to leave them behind. Whether this has already been done by you, or will be done, thank the Lord. Through the resolution of sins, He Himself prepares in us an abode worthy of Himself, purified and marked.” “To this main action, all that remains is to add one more thing later - to keep your attention undistracted and your heart serene. Watch out for distraction and troubled worries. If you have been abandoning your affairs all week, it is all the more necessary to leave them now - and, having distanced yourself from everything, enter into yourself and remain there with one thought about the Lord, who is about to come to you. Eliminate every movement of thought, and contemplating the Lord alone, pray to Him with an intelligent, laconic prayer, saying: do not cast me away, Lord, from Your presence, do not disdain me, who have offended You greatly, do not exclude me from Your table as unclean. Live me according to Your word, visit me according to Your mercy, although unworthy. Or just repeat one word: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. Or, without words, in your heart, fall at His feet, the mercy of tea." “The whole activity could be limited to this one thing. But it happens that thought is not strong enough to remain in this one thing. Then give her something to do with thinking about communion itself, and so that she does not wander too much, bind her with the words of the Lord and St. apostles about this sacrament. Let him listen to what the Lord said! Let him learn from what the apostles said, and thereby build up his soul.” “I am the bread of life,” says the Lord, “which came down from heaven: if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give, My flesh is, even I will give for the life of the world. Amen, amen, I say to you: unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, nor drink His blood, you have no life in you. You eat My flesh and drink My blood, to have an eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly beer... He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood, He abides in Me and I in him (John 6:48-58). Drink of it, all of you, this is My blood... Or what the apostle teaches: whoever eats this bread and drinks this cup unworthily will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, etc., which I already mentioned at the beginning of the conversation.” “Give one of these sayings to your mind and let it reason, and gain edification for itself, and dispose yourself to contrite prayer. And when prayer comes, fall again before the Lord mentally or physically, and do not give up on prayer while there is prayer.” “So take care to spend the rest of this day, especially in the evening, until you calm down with sleep. The morning will come. As soon as you open your eyes, quickly take hold of your thoughts, hasten first of all to resurrect the consciousness of the greatness of the day that has come for you, a blessed day in the days of your life, saying to yourself: this day, which the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. The Easter of your soul has come. But don't make a fuss and have too much fun. Hurry again to gather your thoughts and focus your attention on one thing, on what has to be with you and for you, and so prepare for the Holy Spirit. church to the Divine Liturgy, hastening towards it, say within yourself: behold the bridegroom is coming, let us go out to the meeting, and go so that the lamp lit in your heart does not go out.” “Be careful. The enemy will try in every possible way to extinguish this lamp. This is what he manages to do by instilling in the soul some kind of unkind state, or scattered thoughts, or concern about something, or dissatisfaction with something, or displeasure with someone, or other similar things. Any of these movements brings confusion into the soul and upsets it. Keep your attention and turn to the Lord of your mind and heart, and avoid this stumbling block.” “So, keeping this mood, you will enter the church of the Lord. And while you are here, feel as if you were in the upper room of Zion, among the apostles, whom the Lord Himself communed: for here, as there, He is active. He is the one who is distributed, He is the one who distributes. He communes, and He is also what you have to partake of. The sacramental one is only His organ. The ritual itself will be the preparation of a meal, just for you. The one who prepares is the Lord and what is prepared is His most pure body and His most pure blood. What an incentive to pay attention to this! “Pay attention, more than ever, to everything you read and understand, but direct everything to the thought that the Lord is preparing a saving supper for you, and warm up the feelings and dispositions corresponding to this, offering them as a sacrifice in the heart of the all-seeing Lord.” “Keep faith in the actual presence of the Lord and Savior himself in St. The Mysteries, who is seated in glory at the right hand of God and the Father, here on earth deigns to be secretly given to the faithful under the guise of bread and wine to prepare them for heaven. And proceeding from this faith, and mentally contemplating the Lord coming from heaven to visit you, cry out in self-abasement, like the righteous Elizabeth, visited by the Blessed Virgin: where does this come from, that the Lord himself wants to come to me, or cry out in the words of the prophet David: what is a man, because you remember him, or a son of man, because you visit him?! Or in the words of the centurion: I am not worthy, but come under my roof. Move from self-abasement to filial fear, which does not revoke, but brings reverent sobriety, and puts our spirit in the state of the disembodied, covering their faces in fear, but not running from the throne of God, but only crying out more powerfully: Holy, Holy! Holy! For truly the Lord is here, and the Lord will come into you. What soul would not be ready to call upon St. Peter: go away, I am a sinner, if only this very sinfulness, according to the commandment of the Lord, did not oblige me to seek and await this visitation of the Lord. By this will of the Lord, be inspired by the bold desire and thirst of the Lord, with some swiftness, impatience, uncontrollability, rush to accept Him, as quickly as a tree runs to the springs of water, remembering the word of wisdom that says: “You who thirst, come to the waters, come, taste the bread that I have prepared for you, and the wine that I have mixed for you,” and the word of the Lord himself inviting: “ thirst for it to come to Me.” Behold we thirst, Lord! say in your heart, and we flow confidently towards Your generosity! Be generous to us, O most merciful, and grant us health as the sick, cleansing as the lepers, light as the darkened, strength as the paralyzed, consolation as the sorrowful, peace as the troubled, revival as those mortified by sins! We hope, Lord: that all this will be in us along with our acceptance of You! for then let us cry with the apostle; If you are the Lord who is in us, who can be against us? From this then, an aspiration that will not put you to shame, return to yourself again, and, testifying to your readiness to meet and accept the Lord, again warm up your heartfelt contrition and the promise to turn away from sin, even if you have to die for it, - and having mourned the past, pray to the Lord himself - to wash and cleanse you into a bright dwelling for Himself, crying out to Him: above all, wash me from my iniquity and from cleanse me of my sin. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb." “So, moving from one feeling to another - from faith to self-abasement, from self-abasement, to fear, from fear to desire, from desire to hopes, from hopes to contrition, you will compose within yourself a spiritual song - a shabby one, which will delight the Lord and attract the attention of the celestials.” “In this gracious mood and heavenly overshadowing, finally approach the cup of the Lord, which was in vain, give worship to the Lord himself who comes to you, crying out with the Apostle Thomas: My Lord and my God, and, having opened your mouth and heart, receive the Lord, humbly and reverently, with a sober mind, praying to Him in the words of St. Demetrius: Come in, my Light, and enlighten my darkness; Come down, my belly, and resurrect my deadness; Come in, O my Physician, and heal my sores; Come, O Divine Fire, and the thorns of my sins have fallen, and kindle my heart with the flame of Thy love; Come, my King, sit on the throne of my heart and reign in me, You are my only King and Lord.” “Get ready to meet the Lord in this way,” and He will undoubtedly descend in you, “and delight with you in your heart” 118. The fruits of worthy communion 4. The Lord Himself is with those who commune worthily! “You have now been granted the great mercy of God by receiving Holy Communion. Life-giving Mysteries of Christ; because together with this communion the Lord Himself entered into you and began to dwell in your hearts. What a great and ineffable blessing this is! And we would not have dared to think about him if the Lord Himself had not said: he who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him (John 6:56). That is, whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood is in Me and I in him. This is what happens, according to the word of the Lord, to everyone who, having prayed and confessed, receives Holy Communion. Christ's Mysteries. So it is with you.” “What you received is the body and blood of the Lord, and where the body and blood of the Lord is, there He Himself is. In appearance you accepted bread and wine; and in fact it is the body and blood of the Lord. When the Lord gave communion to St. for the first time. the apostles, then He also gave them bread and wine; but giving bread and wine, with the bread he said: This is My body, and with the wine, this is My blood. And since He is God, as He said, so it was done: bread became body, and wine became blood. In appearance they only seemed like bread and wine. But the Lord Jesus Christ was the same Lord then and is now. Just as He gave communion to the apostles then, so later He gave and continues to give communion to all believers. At the liturgy, it is He who comes Himself and performs the sacrament. The bishop's or priest's hands and tongue are only here, but the Lord himself is the performer. Here He Himself tells the bread to become a body, and it becomes a body; He speaks to the wine, so that it becomes blood, and it becomes blood. Then He Himself gives communion: ours are only our hands and a spoon, and the Lord Himself gives communion through them. And He Himself communed with you with His true body and His true blood. And at the same time He Himself moved into you and began to dwell in you.” “You see what great mercy of God appears to us in holy communion! Now reflect on this great mercy with a heart full of gratitude and reverence.” “Perhaps you are timid to think that the Lord is in you, or are you at a loss to think how He is in you? But it is so; for He Himself said it, and not people invented it; which is why this is called a wondrous and wondrous sacrament.” “And not only this is marvelous, but also this: the Lord is in each of you not in some part, but in the whole, so, however, that although He is in each of you, yet He Himself does not divide and does not multiply, but remains whole and undivided. It’s all the same, as now I’m saying a word; each of you hears this word and accepts it all. My word is one, and I say it once; but everything is included, not just any part of it, but the whole word. And even if there were a thousand people standing here, everyone would hear and accept my whole word, and not just some part. So it is in holy communion; no matter how many people commune, everyone communes from one body, and everyone has it all, and not some part, and the Lords themselves have everything in themselves, and not some part. Through this the Lord is not divided, but remains whole and undivided. Take, for example, several mirrors and place them against the sun. In each mirror the whole sun will be visible, and not part of it; and no matter how many mirrors you put, no matter how many there are, each one will contain the whole sun, and not part of it. The sun itself will not be consumed through this, will not disappear, but will remain whole and indivisible, and one and the same. So in Holy Communion: no matter how many of you there are, everyone has the whole Lord. And He Himself is whole and undivided; is everywhere and does everything. So you see what you have been honored with: the Lord is in you! Thank the Lord for this mercy, saying in your heart: Glory to Thee, O God! Glory to You, God! Glory to You, God! And think about how not to disturb the Lord. When a great guest comes, you behave modestly, say decorously: the Lord has visited you, but who is greater than the Lord? Be careful not to fuss or have fun, but behave reverently and with fear, especially now. And not only think about this, but also about delivering something pleasant to the Lord. When a guest arrives, you try to calm him down and offer him only what you know is pleasant to him: now offer the Lord what He loves. What does He love? He loves everything good and blesses it, but turns away from everything bad and strikes him with anger. Bring to Him whatever good thing each of you comes up with. Come alone and say: behold, Lord, I will stop being angry and scolding, but I will be quiet and meek. Another say: I, Lord, will stop lying around and being lazy, and will begin to work hard and labor. Third, say: I, Lord, will not be proud and despise others, but will humble myself and consider myself worse than everyone else. Fourth, say: I will give up, Lord, drinking and partying, and I will begin to live abstinently and sedately; Whatever surplus there is, I will give to alms or to the church. So each one bring his goodness to the Lord and offer it to Him as a gift. When you say this to the Lord in your heart, the Lord will rejoice and be comforted by it. He will be pleased to be with you, and He will bless you and give you every good thing, both mental and physical. See what a blessing you have in your hands! Be careful not to lose it through some foolishness or indecent act. And remember this day often that you were at the table of the Lord, and He Himself nourished you with His most pure body and His most pure blood, and think how great this is, how joyful, and rejoice in the act itself until you live to see another communion” 119. What does one who has repented and received communion need? 5. What does one who has repented and received communion need? Behold, you are in good health, let him not sin, and let him not suffer what will happen to him, the Lord said to the paralytic after he was healed (John 5:14). We all heard this comforting and intelligible voice when, at confession, we received permission for our sins. Now all those who have repented and been resolved have been restored to spiritual health, everyone has returned to their order and rank. What else is required? You need to be careful not to fall into the same trouble again. Gave up sin: do not return to it. You have received pardon: do not be subjected to anger and condemnation again. You have taken the right path, do not deviate from it. Again the enemy will draw you into his region of darkness: do not give in. He will contrive to deceive you with flattering promises: do not fall into deception. You know how evil sin is; you know how difficult it is to overcome him: do not enter into partnership with him again. The Lord helped you, you stood up: stand still and be of good courage, and let your heart be strong.” “The enemy will whisper to you: if you fall, you will rise again. And you contrast your speech with him: I am up now, thank the Lord! but if I fall again, I can’t say whether I’ll get up. I don’t want to remain in the hands of fall forever, I don’t want to be a slave to sin and a victim of the flames of hell. So repel the enemy's flattery. And with this fear of a new fall into sin, sober up your soul and inspire it to move forward through the self-correction that has begun.” “Confirm to yourself the very probable thought that if you fall again, who knows whether you will get up? And if you remain in the fall, you will die. The enemy will confuse you with the assurance that the Lord is merciful. He has had mercy and will have mercy again. Indeed, the Lord is merciful; but there is a measure of His mercy towards us. There is a measure to God's long-suffering. He forgives and forgives, and finally, seeing that the sinner is still giving himself over to sin, he completely leaves him in the hands of his fall. Unfold the book of the prophet Amos and start reading. In chapters 1 and 2 he depicts God's judgments on Damascus, Gaza, Idumea, the Jews, Israelites and other nations. The word of the Lord is the same to all of them. Damascus sinned once, twice and three times; I forgave him. When now, for the 4th time, he has shown his wickedness, will I not turn away from him? He was disgusted and punished. Once, twice and three times I forgave Gaza; in the 4th, will I not turn away from her? He turned away and ordered execution. Once, twice and three times I spared the Jews and Israelites; on the 4th time will I not turn away from them? He was disgusted and punished. This happens to us too. If anyone sins and repents, the Lord will forgive. He will still sin and repent: he will still forgive. And he will also forgive. And he will also forgive. Finally, seeing that everything is the same with us, he makes the following decision: he forgave so much and so much; If he starts doing the same again, I will turn away from him. Let everyone who is again drawn to sin write this judgment in their hearts. The Lord has forgiven until now, but now, if you fall, be afraid that He will not completely turn away from you. How many times did God forgive Pharaoh for his stubbornness? Finally, he abandoned him and ordered the Israelis to leave, without waiting for his consent. And although Pharaoh later came to his senses and hastily ordered: go, tell them to leave quickly, this did not help him and did not avert God’s judgment against him. Thus, God’s mercy may finally be exhausted for everyone. And what is most terrible is that we cannot say exactly when the hour of this exhaustion will strike. That rejection of God for the 4th crime, which is indicated by the prophet Amos, and this execution of Pharaoh after resisting God ten times, do not mean that one can calmly indulge in the bonds of sin, violating the vow up to 2 and 3 times, but only show; that there is a limit to God’s mercy; when He will overtake anyone is unknown. Better affirm in your thoughts that for you it will follow immediately after the fall to which you are ready to surrender, and thereby sober up your thoughts and give courage to your heart to resist the impulses that arise. Bring to mind Sampson's misfortune. Once and twice the power entered into him to break the bonds with which the Philistines entangled him through the betrayal of Delilah; but even the last time, when his hair was cut, he did not expect that the same power would not come to him, but it turned out differently. The Lord departed from him and gave him into the hands of his enemies. Sampson himself did not even think that God’s apostasy had already befallen him; on the contrary, waking up, he said: I will go out as before, and I will shake myself off, that is, I will shake off these bonds - and not knowing that the Lord has departed from him (Judges 16:20). So the Jewish people had mercy, the Lord had mercy, and finally, what did he say? Behold, your house is left to you empty (Matthew 23:38). But neither the high priests, nor the elders, nor the scribes, nor anyone else thought that this terrible decree had already befallen them.” “Fear this terrible judgment when sin begins to attract you again. Be afraid that the Lord will finally say about you: behold, your house is left empty. The Lord is merciful to all sinners and assures with an oath that he does not want the sinner to die, but to turn and live for him. But with your frequent falls you will bring yourself to the point where nothing can be done with you. Rising from falls is the same as mending a dress, or a house, or some other thing. It happens that some thing is repaired, repaired, and finally abandoned because it can no longer be repaired, there is nothing to put hands on. The same can happen with the soul. The Lord corrects her, corrects her, and finally abandons her completely; because with her frequent falls she finally upsets herself so much that she cannot be corrected. For on what is the possibility of our uprising based? On the good that remains in us, despite the fact that we work against sin. Grace descends on this good, revives it and gives it superiority over evil. And the man stands up. But each new fall consumes our good more and more; after each fall, less and less of it remains in us and, therefore, there is less and less space left where grace can descend to restore us. What wonder if, finally, we spend all our goods in slavery to sin and thus lose the possibility of rebellion. There will be no means left for us to do this.” “Remember the last time you came to your senses and stood up. Saving thoughts came and sobered me up. Either the fear of death and judgment, or the destructiveness of sin, or shame before the Lord Savior, or something else that had a strong effect on the soul, struck it. The soul came to its senses, and with the help of God, abandoned sin, repented and now stands with the intention of no longer offending God by falling into sin. If you fall into sin again, then with what thoughts will you shock yourself, when everything that can shake you has already been tried and you have spent your shocking power on your current uprising? There is no strength left in them for the next arousal of you. The same thing happens with saving thoughts as with medicine. Just as the frequent use of drugs in the body dulls the sensitivity to them, so in relation to shocking and exciting truths the soul finally loses all feeling. Neither threats, nor promises, nor death, nor hell, nor heaven, nor the poison and bitterness of sin - nothing strikes or sets the soul in motion. She will become like a stone. And then what will happen to her? The same thing that the apostle condemns to the land, which drank in abundance the rain that fell on it and wore out only thorns and thistles: it is indecent to eat, oaths are near, and its end is by burning" (Heb. 6:8). “Add to this that frequent falling into sin forms the habit of sin, which binds the poor soul and tyrannically holds it in slavery to itself. Even if one sin turns into a habit, it captivates the entire soul and tormentingly dominates everything. Look what the spider does with its prey? Part after part entangles her in a thin web until it confuses her all, after which she, although she makes some more movements, but they are powerless to free her. Likewise, sin, to which a person gets used to frequent falling, penetrates into him force by force until it fills both soul and body, and imposes bonds of slavery on itself on all their functions. Although then sometimes a person gets the idea to give up his sin; but the soul, seeing how intricately entangled it is in it, does not dare to raise its hands in order to untangle itself, and abandons itself completely to the hopelessness of overcoming sin, as the Apostle writes about the pagans, that they, in hopelessness, gave themselves over to the work of adultery, to the practice of all uncleanness, to covetousness (Eph. 4:19), and how the Jews, starved to death by Egyptian slavery, even when Moses brought them the promise of freedom from the face of God, did not believe that this could happen.” “So, you who have repented and taken the good path, beware of falling into sin again. See through the charm of sin, which is trying to entice you again, its decisive destruction. Do not look at it lightly, but as a gaping abyss, like hell, open and ready to swallow you up irrevocably. And with the fear of such a bitter fate, sober up your thoughts and turn away the feelings of your heart from sin. The struggle, of course, is inevitable. But it is easier for one who stands to fight than one who has fallen. Are you up? stand and fight. The Lord will be your helper. Day by day the struggle will become easier. Finally, it will completely subside. Good will prevail, and your life will flow peacefully, through godly acts of goodness, and will lead you to a blissful outcome from here to eternal heavenly abodes. And if you fall again, there will be confusion of thoughts and feelings again, again darkness and languor, again fears and torment of conscience, again tightness and all sorts of disorder. You will begin to suffer again in slavery to sin and, perhaps, endlessly; and having suffered here, you will be plunged into endless torment after death, in sins unmourned and uncorrected” 120. "Collection of Letters". Vol. 4, pp. 50–51. "Orthodox Review". 1863 T. XII, pp. 86–87. “Words of the rector of the St. Petersburg Academy”, p. 25. "Collection of Letters". Vol. II, p. 75. "Collected Letters", vol.II, pp. 75–76. The Right Reverend spoke about his collection of teachings on repentance and communion. “The Way to Salvation,” page 330 and “What the Spiritual Life Is,” pp. 126–145. Ep. Feofan. "About repentance." Page 80–86. Rev. Feofan. "Words to the Vladimir flock." Page 236–242. Ep. Feofan. "About repentance." Page 147–153.