199. Слово в день Успения Пресвятыя Богородицы

(Said in the Assumption Cathedral on August 15th; printed in the Works of the Holy Father, 1845 and in the collection of 1848) Jesus, seeing the Mother and the disciple standing, whom He loved, said to His Mother: Woman, behold Your son. Then the verb to the student: your mother. And from that hour the disciple was drunk in his own home. ( John 19:26–27 ). Now no longer a disciple of the crucified Jesus, His orphaned Mother is “given to drink in her own home”, in a small house. The Lord Jesus Himself, reigning in heaven, brought His Most Blessed Mother to His many abodes in His Father’s house, into blessed contemplation and communion of glory, which He had with the Father, before there was no peace. Now He gives Her not just one of His disciples as a son, so that She may rest in His filial service: but He gives Her all His disciples, all Orthodox Christians, as sons and daughters, so that they may enjoy Her maternal care. Departing for the heavenly Church, She miraculously gathers to Her the supreme representatives of the Church, scattered throughout the earth: and thereby gives a sign that Her union with the believers on earth is not only not interrupted by Her departure, but from now on becomes stronger, more extensive and more active, and that the grace living in Her 668, hidden for so long by humility, should open from Her tomb and fill the Universal Church with Her glory, according to Her early, once incredible, but completely true prediction: “all the generations will please Me” (Luke 1:48). Such is the fate of the Most Holy Ever-Virgin, in Her dormition for earthly, temporary life, in Her awakening to heavenly, eternal life. How is it possible to reach such heights of bliss and glory? – This question can be proposed and examined not only by idle curiosity, but also by love for saving teaching. For, although the fate of the Most Holy Theotokos, in its particular form and degree, is unparalleled, in general, as the fate of a perfect and blessed soul, it is a consequence of those forces, dispositions, actions and exploits by which the path of salvation common to all people is laid out and accomplished. It would not be easy to survey the entire path of the life of the Blessed Virgin, for the most part closed even by Her by the silence and silence of the Gospel History. However, we have repeatedly pointed out some traces of it to the attention and imitation of believers during celebrations similar to this one. This time we will stop at one elevated place of this path, revealed in the Gospel, in order to survey at least some part of this path that opens from this elevation. The height to which I raise your thought is Mount Golgotha. There, in the hours that were saving for the entire human race, but at the same time terrible for all created things, then, as the universal salvation being accomplished was not conscious even of the elect of men, and even the stones felt universal fear, then, as, in the words of the Prophet, the “Belly” of man was “hanging before the eyes” (Deut. 28:66) of man, but man saw only suffering and death, at the sight from which strangers and enemies departed, torn to pieces by 669 compassion, - “I return with a beating in my breast” (Luke 23:48), - there, at the cross of the crucified Jesus, stood His Most Blessed Mother. What a wonderful light these dark Calvary hours shed on Her inner life! Let us remember that the time of Christ’s suffering was a time of danger for everyone close to Him. This is evident from His own words, with which He, giving Himself into the hands of His enemies, eliminated such danger from His disciples: “If you seek Me, let these go” (John 18:8). But how could He demand mercy for His disciples from those who did not spare Him Himself? - By the all-punishing power of His Divine word, which, at this end, immediately before this, he miraculously revealed, casting down the spirit and the crowd to the earth, with one word: “I am” (John 18:6). The Evangelist, narrating this incident, adds that the Lord had previously predicted it, and it came true in accordance with the prediction. “Let the word that was spoken be fulfilled; Because you gave them to Me, I did not destroy anyone through them” (John 18:9). This means that those close to the Lord, during His suffering, were not only in danger, but would have perished if He had not averted this by special providence. From this danger, from this imminent destruction, “all the disciples, forsaking Him, fled” (Matthew 26:56), - “all”, not excluding Peter, who later dared to follow Jesus into the courtyard of the Bishops, but did not stand the test - not excluding John, to whom, however, love soon returned courage and led him after his beloved Teacher to the cross. But we do not see the Mother of the Lord either in fear or in flight, but we see “standing by the cross of Jesus” (John 19:25). So, don’t you see that She stands in spirit, above general fear, above Her personal danger, above Apostolic courage? Whoever would say that it was more typical for the Blessed Virgin to rush into closeness to Her suffering Son, out of natural maternal love, would show himself to be a weak interpreter of Her Calvary standing. If we take into consideration one natural maternal love: then what should be expected for Her heart, feelings, life, from the suffering of Her Son, at the sight of which strangers beat themselves in the chest, and the earth trembled, and the stones, sighing, were torn, and the sun fainted? – No, natural love does not so much explain as make it incomprehensible how the Blessed Virgin could “stand” at the cross without being struck by fear, without indulging in impatient grief, without plunging into lifeless exhaustion. How can this high courage and fortitude be explained? - None other than Her deep devotion to the destinies of God, Her faith in the Divine power of Her Son, known to Her more than anyone else, from the obvious and secret miracles of His entire earthly life, Her knowledge of the mysteries of Christ, which She had comprehended all before, and kept everyone more perfectly in Her heart. Faith, hope more than hope, love, not only natural, but by faith exalted in the spiritual and divine, nourished in Her the inner life-giving “light”, which “darkness did not embrace” (John 1:5) and death, and the horrors of Calvary, and with which She reached with unwavering feet into the open light and joy of the risen Christ. Come, Christian soul, look diligently at the footsteps of the Queen of Heaven: for Her footsteps are the indication of the path to God and for you, according to what was said: “The King will bring virgins in Her footsteps” (Ps. 44:15). Do not run away from the thought of Christ’s suffering, neither through inattention, nor through self-indulgence, nor through cowardice: for there is no other way to salvation than through Golgotha ​​and the cross. Approach the crucified Lord with faith, hope, love; and position yourself firmly before Him through reverent meditation and prayer. In this you will find light for your path and strength for your march. If danger, disaster, sorrow, directly or in the person of those close to you, befall you, shake your courage, exhaust your patience! remember the Mother of the Lord, who stood at His cross, and by contemplating Her immeasurable and innocent sorrow, and invincible courage and patience, arouse yourself to courage and patience in your, in comparison, of course, small and probably not innocent sorrows, asking at the same time from Her for help from the talents of grace-filled spiritual strength, from Her abundantly multiplied by faithful and blessed deeds. Let us also see how from the heights of Golgotha ​​a certain lower, but nevertheless worthy part of the path along which the Most Blessed Mary flowed to eternal glory is revealed. The Gospel tells that our Savior, seeing His Mother and His beloved disciple John at the cross, “said to His Mother: Woman, behold Thy son. Then he said to the disciple: “Your family” (John 19:26–27). In these sayings we see the love of the Divine Son for the earthly Mother, whom He wants not only to console in the deprivation of the Son, but, as it were, to return Himself to Her in another person, and in order to honor Her virginity, and together to reward the virginity of his beloved disciple, he chooses the Virgin John as the named son of the Ever-Virgin. But we would not have guessed what is especially contained in these sayings of the Lord if the beloved disciple, without a doubt, who best understands the heart and thought of his Teacher, had not expressed them by fulfillment. What kind of performance? - “From that hour the disciple gave water to his own home” (John 19:27). From this it is revealed that John’s adoption to the Blessed Virgin called upon him, among other things, to provide Her with housing and the needs of temporary life, and that, consequently, She did not have her own provision in this regard. It must be thought that Her love and faith for the Divine Son prompted Her to be always, as close as possible, close to Him in His continuous wandering through cities, villages and deserts: and therefore, just as He was “stranger” to His “brethren” (Ps. 68:9), so was She; just as He “had no place to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20), so did She. Thus, the Most Holy Virgin, walking in her inner life along the path of faith and perfect devotion to the will of God, in her outer life walked the path of renunciation from earthly attachments, from earthly goods and pleasures, through simplicity, non-covetousness, voluntary deprivation, sacrificed to faith and God. Look, Christian, at these blessed traces, and be careful that the path of your life is at least not too far from them. “The student is giving water to Yu in his own home.” Do you see? The Mother of the Heavenly King is not in the palace, not in splendor, not among the multitude of servants and those waiting for the beck; She walks through the hay, accompanied by one fisherman, to live in a small, and then someone else’s, house, without glory, without splendor, in silence, in simplicity, to enjoy only such peace and service as can be brought to Her by the reverent zeal of a poor and lonely fisherman. Look at this and learn not to highly value wealth, not to hunger for pleasure, not to chase glory, not to be seduced by brilliance, to love simplicity and quiet mediocrity, not to despise poverty when you encounter it in others, not to be afraid of it if it wants to visit you, not to be ashamed of it if it has already settled with you. We do not take away earthly blessings from you if Providence gives them to you; use them with gratitude to God, with charity towards your neighbors, with humility: but pay attention to yourself and your heart so that it does not cleave to them, but in every possible way renounces them. If you are on the path to heaven, as you should be, then do not voluntarily burden yourself too much with earth, so as not to fall in relaxation on the unfinished path. The beautiful, but also terrible, and, without a doubt, completely true law of our fate was revealed to us by our Savior when he said: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will also be” (Luke 12:34). He called treasure that by which our thoughts are captivated, to which the dominant inclination in us strives with overwhelming force. Therefore, we ourselves determine our destiny; we carry it within ourselves, in our dominant inclination. If our treasure, the object of our dominant desire, is and remains on earth, in earthly goods, acquisitions, pleasures, glory: then here our heart will remain aloof; and where our heart is, there is our life, there is our lot; and therefore he will not be found in heaven. Let us choose and prepare for ourselves the best lot; Let us position ourselves so that our treasure is not on earth. “Hide for yourselves treasure in heaven” (Matthew 6:20); there constantly transfer your thoughts, your desires, your love; and there will be your heart, your life, your joy, your blessedness, by the grace and bounty of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen. In Creation St. Ot. here the words “so deeply” are added. In Creation St. Ot. "torn to pieces". You might be interested in: