417. Речь Благоверной Государыне Королеве Нидерландской Анне Павловне пред вступлением Ее Величества в Свято-Троицкую Сергиеву Лавру

(Said on July 20; printed in the Moscow and Provincial Vedas. 1853) “Why are you tired of seeing the desert?” (Matthew 11:7; Luke 7:24) asked Christ the Savior at the thought of John the Baptist, making it clear how, not according to the law of human probability, virtue and grace in a solitary inhabitant of the wild desert reveal a lamp to the world. And now it is not untimely to ask: “Why did you come out into the desert to see?” In truth, it is also something that exceeds the law of human probability. In the wild desert, alone, in obscurity, the Monk Sergius settled here: but as He completely devoted himself to God, he attracted the abundant grace of God, and now, over the course of several centuries, a vast “country” has been “coming” to Him (Mark 1:5), souls have been flowing in by the hundreds and thousands, seeking beneficial influences, and, without a doubt, they have accepted and experienced them, for otherwise they have ceased would flow in. And at the same time, the desert was populated, the hut turned into a centuries-old monastery, and even into a fortress, which stood even when the capital fell from enemies. Your faith wanted to see this and gave us that joyful and instructive vision that faith and humility come from the royal palace to visit and honor the humble but blessed desert dweller. Entrust to our God-bearing Father your good and pure desires, and may those promoted by Him ascend to the Heavenly Father and may the overshadowing of “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Phil. 4:7), and spiritual consolation, replenishing every deprivation of the heart, come upon you. You might be interested in: