Слово в субботу недели 1-й Великого поста, по причащении Святых Таин

“Whoever gives it to their heart to fear Me and keep My commandments always, that it may be good for them and for their sons forever” (Deut. 5:29). This is how the Lord Himself spoke to Moses about the people of Israel before Sinai. The manifestations of miraculous signs at the holy mountain had such a beneficial effect on the spirit and heart of the obstinate sons of Israel, they made them so God-fearing and zealous for the law, that for the Lawgiver of Sinai himself there was nothing left to desire more than for this wonderful disposition of spirit and heart to remain forever in the chosen people: “who will give it to their hearts to be so in them... all the days”? Having witnessed throughout the past week your unflagging zeal for the church of God, knowing that yesterday you were washed from all the impurities of sin in the font of repentance and, probably, your own tears, now seeing the joy shining on your faces from the mysterious union with the Divine Bridegroom of souls and hearts, and concluding from this about the good state of your entire being, and we, brethren, cannot but have now and pronounce in your ears the good wishes of Sinai: “Who will give it to your heart to be in you, not just now, but all the days?” Who will make sure that you remain forever as you are now: with the same purity of soul and heart, with the same holiness of thoughts and desires, with the same humility and devotion? And who can give this to us except You, from Whom comes every good gift and every perfect gift? You sent down grace to give us the beginning of repentance; Grant me the strength to continue and complete what I started. Affirm yourself, “what you have created in us”! (Ps. 67:29). But the Lord and His gracious help will not matter, beloved! If the farmer does not leave the field of his labors until everything sown on it ripens and is gathered into the granary, much less will the Wisdom of God leave your souls and hearts with special help, without increasing on them the entire “life of righteousness” (2 Cor. 9:10) and without collecting from them all the fruits of faith and love. All doubt, all danger is from ourselves: will we preserve the seeds of faith and love? Shall we allow them to grow and bear fruit in us unhindered? Shall we allow them to be trampled by dumb animals - the base passions of the flesh, or to be trampled by the birds of the air - the vain exaltations of the mind and the pride of life. Therefore, having previously offered prayers and petitions for you, we now consider it our duty to turn with diligent prayer to you yourself so that you, having left the visible and temporary fasting, do not cease spiritual vigilance over yourself and care for your soul, so that you use all possible means to prolong and strengthen forever in yourself that holy disposition of spirit and heart in which you are now, and so that you engage in this holy work immediately, upon leaving of this church: for what would happen to a plant, grown with great difficulty in a greenhouse, if it were suddenly taken out into the winter cold? It will lose all its flowers and wither in a few minutes. The same will happen with the color of spiritual purity and innocence, which blossomed during repentance and confession, if, having left here, you begin to continue your previous way of life and indulge in sinful habits or follow the same obstinate paths that you walked, or, moreover, on which you incessantly fell before. But you will not do this, beloved, and you will not be your own enemies! Therefore, having returned to your homes, diligently consider how you should begin to behave from here, what should you completely leave behind from your previous way of life, what should you accept again and what should you change? Having thought about your future behavior, you will immediately, without delay until another time, begin to behave as you decided. Living a new life, you will not stop from time to time to subject yourself to a strict test of success and immediately correct any deviation from the goal. The present Great and Holy Lent is the best time for such a confirmation of oneself forever in faith and good morals, simply because during its continuation many temptations of the world do not exist for us at all or lose their power. Therefore, you will have every opportunity to immediately take up the great work of your salvation and, with God’s help, complete it as it should. Do not neglect this, beloved! Leave, if possible, all other matters and take care of this one thing, for what good is it if you gain the whole world, but lose your soul? It is better to lose everything, even to suffer everything, than to die in sins. And who knows how far each of us is from our last hour? Oh, how joyful it will be to enter the Great Week of Christ’s suffering with a pure soul and heart! With what inexplicable joy the Feast of the Resurrection of the Lord will be celebrated! For you will then celebrate not only the rise of the Lord from the grave, as was before, but also your own resurrection from the death of sin, which until now has not allowed you to taste any true joy. As we prayed throughout this week, so throughout the continuation of Holy Lent we will prayerfully cry out to the Lord, so that He Himself, “who began the good work in you, will bring it to completion” by His omnipotent grace (Phil 1:6)! Amen. You might be interested in: