Слово о том, что всегда должно иметь в мыслях день исшествия из нашей жизни

Don’t you know, my brothers, what fear and what need we are subjected to at the hour of our departure from this life when the soul is separated from the body? Great is the fear, a great mystery is being performed there! Good Angels and a multitude of the Heavenly Host, as well as all the opposing forces and princes of darkness, approach the soul; both want to sing (take) the soul or assign it a place. If the soul acquired good qualities here, led an honest life and was virtuous, then on the day of its departure these virtues, which it acquired here, become good Angels, surround it and do not allow any opposing force to touch it, but in joy and joy with the holy Angels they embrace it and relate it to Christ, the Lord and King of glory, and worship Him together with it and with everyone Heavenly Forces. Finally, the soul is taken to a place of rest, to unspeakable joy, to eternal light, where there is no sorrow, no sighing, no tears, no care, where there is immortal life and eternal joy in the Kingdom of Heaven with all others who have pleased God. If the soul in this world lived shamefully, indulging in the passions of dishonor and being carried away by carnal pleasures and the vanity of this world, then on the day of its departure from this life, those passions and pleasures that it acquired in this life become wicked demons and surround the poor soul, and do not allow the Angels of God to approach it; but together with the opposing forces, the princes of darkness, they capture her, pitiful, shedding tears, sad and lamenting, and take her to dark, gloomy and sad places, where all sinners are kept for the day of Judgment and eternal torment, where the devil and his angels will be cast down. So, from now on, we need to apply all care and all care for our departure, and prepare virtues that will accompany us from this life and intercede for us in times of need. What are these named virtues, that they are done by Angels and resist demons, that is, our passions? These are love, humility, generosity, self-control, patience, prudence, humility, silence, courage, justice, virginity, contrition and the like. These virtues will intercede for us at that hour, and no one will resist them. The passions about which we said that they become demons are the following: hatred, arrogance, severity, despondency, idle talk, hot temper, quarrelsomeness, zeal, envy, pride, vanity, rancor, laziness, negligence, ignorance, forgetfulness, irritability, anger, inactivity, negligence, slyness, lust, absent-mindedness, effeminacy, gluttony, debauchery and, above all this, love of money, or simply put, every satanic work. So, these passions, on the day of our departure, turning into demons, consume the soul. And fair enough! Those whom we have favored here, those whom we have prepared for ourselves, will be given power over us, and even after our death they will accompany us, and there they will prevail over us, and no one will snatch us away from them. So, while there is time, let us think and try to find out who owns us, and with all our hearts we will speed up the procession and reserve ourselves, so that there will be someone ahead of us in our hour of need to help us and deliver us from those who resist. Let us also think about those who come against us: who they are, how many evils they have in store for us, and we will run away as from a serpent or from fire. And if they distract us from virtue and have become an obstacle for us, then while there is still time, while we are in this life, we will try to remove them from ourselves by repentance; by doing virtues, to appease God and prepare ourselves for the coming, so that when He comes and begins to knock on the doors, we will not be unprepared, for our Lord comes at an hour when they do not expect Him. On the contrary, when He comes and begins to knock on the doors, may we find ourselves ready to meet Him. For to Him be glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages! Amen. You might be interested in: