Слово подвижническое

Grief forces me to speak, and my unworthiness condemns me to silence; and just as heart disease forces me to open my mouth, so my sins relentlessly demand that I remain silent. Since I am cramped on both sides, it is more useful to speak a word in order to receive relief from my heart illnesses, because my soul grieves, and my eyes desire tears. “Who will give my head water, and let us comb out the source of my tears; and I weep day and night” (Jer. 9:1) about the ulcers of my soul and about the weakening of the catechetical teaching that is taught in our days! How my whole soul is ulcerated, and it does not know it, because its arrogance does not allow it to pay attention to its ulcers in order to heal them! There is only one catechetical teaching taught in the days of our fathers; for they, like luminaries, shone on the whole earth, living on it among thorns and thistles, among heretics and wicked people, like precious stones and expensive pearls. Because of their high and pure life, their very enemies became their imitators. Who has not been contrite when he sees their humility? Or who was not amazed to see their meekness and silence? What lover of money, seeing their lack of covetousness, did not become a hater of the world? What predator and proud person, seeing the honesty of their lives, did not change his morals and did not correct himself? What fornicator or defiled person, seeing them standing in prayer, did not suddenly turn out to be chaste and pure? Who, in anger or irritation, having met them, did not change and become meek? And so they labored here, and there they rejoice, because God was glorified in them, and people were edified by them. Our teaching, having left the straight paths, goes through rapids and rough places. For there is no man who, for the sake of God, would leave his possessions and renounce the world for eternal life. Not one is meek, not humble, not silent. No one refrains from insulting, no one tolerates slander, but everyone is prone to anger, loves to argue, everyone is lazy and irritable, and cares about smart clothes, everyone is vain and glory-loving, everyone is proud. He who comes to listen to the catechumen teaching, before the catechumen, already teaches; without learning, he gives laws; not yet understanding the warehouses (without even reading the warehouses), he is philosophical; without submitting himself, he subordinates others to himself; without accepting the order, he orders; without heeding the advice of others, he gives his own statutes. And if he is old, then he orders with arrogance; if you are young, it contradicts; if he is rich, he immediately demands honor for himself; if poor, he seeks peace; if he is a craftsman, he takes care of the tenderness of his fingers. Therefore, beloved, who will not weep over our public teaching? Having renounced the world, we think about earthly things; Our farmers have neglected the land, and those who consider themselves spiritual are tied to the land. Or do we not know, brothers, what we are called to? We don’t know, beloved, why we came? We are called to abstinence, but we crave exquisite dishes; we came for the sake of nakedness, but we try to distinguish ourselves in front of each other by our clothes; We are called to submission and meekness, but we contradict with bitterness; when reading, we do not understand, and when listening, we do not accept with our ears. If someone on the road suddenly encounters a murder, his face changes and his heart is horrified; and we, reading that the apostles were killed and the prophets stoned, think that it is in vain that they are talking about this. And what am I saying about prophets and apostles? We hear that God the Word Himself was nailed to a tree and killed for our sins, but we laugh, indulging in distraction. The Sun, not tolerating the reproach of the Master, changed its lightness to darkness, and we do not want to come out of the darkness of our sinfulness. The veil of the church, without sin in the least, was torn by itself, and we do not want our hearts to come into contrition for our sins. The earth, often coming into fear from the face of the Lord, shakes under us to frighten us, but we were not afraid of this either. Cities were swallowed up and villages were devastated by the wrath of God, but we were not afraid of even that. The sun darkened over us more than once or twice at noon, but we were not horrified by this either. Wars were raised by the Persians and barbarians, our country was devastated, so that we, fearing God, would come to repentance, although we must repent not only for days or months, but for many years - but this did not change us. So, let us repent, brethren, in order to appease God for our sins. Let us call upon Him, because we have provoked Him; let us humble ourselves so that He may exalt us; we will cry so that He will comfort us; Let us give up this bad habit and put on virtue as if it were clothing, especially we who have been made worthy of this angelic life. So, beloved, let us take this measure, this beautiful and perfect rule of the fathers who lived before us: “Not just abstain today, but give dinner tomorrow; Don’t just drink water today, and get wine tomorrow; Don’t just walk around barefoot today, but tomorrow look for shoes or shoes for yourself; don’t just wear a hair shirt today, and wear expensive fabric tomorrow; not just keep it simple today, and decorate tomorrow; not just be meek and humble today, but arrogant and proud tomorrow; not only silent and obedient today, but disorderly and unyielding tomorrow; not only today indulge in crying and sobbing, but tomorrow in laughter and indifference; “Don’t just sleep on the bare ground today, but tomorrow rest on a soft bed.” But keep one rule for yourself, beloved, by which you could please God and benefit yourself and your neighbor. If you kill yourself and live alone, then listen to what the Lord says: “And as men will, let men do to you, and you do likewise to them” (Luke 6:31). And if, because of the mortification of the flesh, you always need the service of others, then beware of harming your neighbor. That is why the perfect fathers, having established themselves in this rule, carried out what they began without hindrance until their death; for forty or fifty years they did not change their rule, that is, beautiful and impeccable abstinence observed regarding food, language, reclining on bare ground, humility, meekness, faith and love, which is the lot of perfect and spiritual edification, and beyond this non-covetousness, silence from everything earthly, honest life, vigilance and prayer, combined with crying and contrition, and with laughter they held back, not even allowing themselves to smile; their pride was trampled upon; anger and irritation, having cooled down, had no place in them; gold and silver lost all value for them; and, in a word, they purified themselves. Therefore, God moved in and was glorified in them, and some, seeing them themselves, and others, hearing about them, glorified God. And if someone does not cleanse himself from every evil deed, from unclean thoughts, from vicious desires, from anger, irritability, envy, pride, vanity, hatred, slander, slander, idle talk, carelessness (and why should I list everything now one by one?), in a word, from everything that is hateful to God, and if, having turned away, he does not keep himself away from it, then God will not dwell in him. Tell me: if someone decided to throw you into the mud so that you would remain there forever, would you endure it? So, even if you, worm, do not agree to endure this, then how can the undefiled, most pure, one, holy and resting God dwell in you, filled with such a stench? Therefore, let us purify ourselves, beloved, so that God may dwell in us and we may be worthy of His promises. Let us not offend His holy name, which is called upon us, lest the name of our God be blasphemed for our sake. Let us spare ourselves and understand that our name is one with the name of Christ. His name is Christ, and we are called Christians. “The Spirit (is) God” (John 4:24); Let us also become spiritual. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17). Let's try to acquire this freedom. Let us consider what kind of life He has honored us with; let us understand that He called us to His marriage; let us love ourselves as He loved us; Let us love Him so that He may glorify us; Let us be attentive to ourselves, so that on the day of judgment we do not fall into double punishment, because we have left the world, and think about worldly things, have neglected property, and are concerned about property, have fled the things of the flesh, and are pursuing the things of the flesh. I am afraid that this day will overtake us suddenly, and that we, finding ourselves naked, poor and unprepared, will begin to reproach ourselves. For this is the same thing that happened to those who lived in the days of Noah: “I ate, I sold, I married, I encroached... I bought, I sold,” until “the flood came and destroyed everything” (Luke 17:27–28). It was a wonderful thing, brothers! They saw that wild animals gather together, elephants come from India and Persia, lions and leopards crowd with sheep and goats and do not harm them, reptiles and birds, although no one drives them, flock and settle around the ark - and this continues for many days, and Noah himself diligently equips the ark and cries out to them: “Repent!” But they did not respect him and, looking at the extraordinary gathering of dumb and wild animals, did not come to the point of contrition for their salvation. Therefore, let us be afraid, beloved, lest the same thing happen to us, because what was written has already been fulfilled, the predicted signs have ended; nothing remains but for our enemy, the Antichrist, to come; for everything must be fulfilled before the end of the Roman Kingdom. So, whoever wants to be saved, try hard, and whoever wants to enter the Kingdom, don’t be careless; whoever wants to get rid of the fire of Gehenna must strive lawfully; whoever does not want to be thrown to the never-ending worm, be sober. He who wants to be exalted must humble himself; whoever wants to be consoled must cry. Whoever wishes to enter the bridal chamber and rejoice, take a brightly burning lamp and oil in a vessel. Whoever expects to be invited to this marriage should buy himself light-colored clothes. The City of the King is full of joy and joy, full of light and pleasure, and exudes pleasantness to those who dwell therein along with eternal life. So, whoever wants to live in the same city with the King, hasten his march, for the day has fallen, and no one knows what he will meet on the way. Like another traveler, although he knows that the journey is long, he lies down and sleeps until the evening, and then, waking up, he sees that the day has already fallen, and as soon as he begins his journey, suddenly a cloud, hail, thunder, lightning, and troubles come from everywhere, and he is no longer able to reach his lodging for the night or return to his former place; so we will endure the same thing if we neglect during repentance, because each of us is “a stranger... and a stranger” (Ps. 39:13). Let us try to enter our city and Fatherland with wealth. We, brothers, are spiritual merchants and are looking for the pearl of great price, which is Christ our Savior, praise and treasure that cannot be stolen, therefore with great diligence we will acquire this pearl. Blessed and thrice blessed is the one who tried to acquire it; but he is very poor who neglected to acquire the Creator who is common to us, and to be acquired from Him. Do you not know, brothers, that we are rods (branches) of the true vine, which is the Lord? Be careful that none of us is barren. For the Father of Truth is a worker; He cultivates His vineyard and lovingly tends those that bear fruit, so that they bear even more fruit; and those who do not bear fruit, he flogs them and casts them out of the vineyard to be burned with fire. Therefore, be attentive to yourself so as not to be fruitless, not to be whipped and consigned to fire. We are also the good seed that was sown by the Creator of heaven and earth, the Lord of the Household, Christ. Now the time of harvest has already arrived, and the sickles are in the hands of those who reap: they await only the beck of the Master. Therefore, take heed lest you turn out to be tares to anyone, or be bound in sheaves, or burn with eternal fire (Matthew 13:30). Do you not understand, brothers, that we must cross the terrible sea? Therefore, perfect and wise merchants, ready with goods in their hands, wait for the wind to blow favorable to them, so that, having crossed the sea, they reach the pier of life. And I, with those like me who are careless and absent-minded, and who do not have in my thoughts how to cross this sea, I am afraid that the wind will suddenly blow and that we will be unprepared; Then, having tied us up, they will throw us onto the ship, and there we will mourn the days of our laziness, seeing that others are rejoicing and having fun, and we are sad, because in that pier everyone boasts of his own wealth and his purchase. Do you not know, beloved, that the King of kings has called us to His palace for marriage? Why do we indulge in negligence and do not try to get ourselves bright clothes, and clearly burning lamps, and oil in our vessels? How can we not think that no one enters there naked? But if anyone insists on entering without having the wedding garment, do you know what he will endure? By order of the King, they will tie his hands and feet and throw him into utter darkness, where he “weeps and gnashes his teeth” (Matthew 22:13). I am afraid, beloved, that carnal passions will not cast us out of the bridal chamber, dressed only on the outside. Because outer attire lets us know where our heart and mind are; the decoration and sophistication of clothing shows that, thinking about earthly things, we are naked from this glory; love of fame serves as a sign that we are vain; the pleasantness of the dishes shows that we are gluttons; negligence reveals that we are lazy; covetousness - that we do not love Christ; envy proclaims that there is no love in us; washing our feet and face means that we are slaves to passions; the tongue preaches what the heart loves, and what the heart is attached to, the tongue repeats; through our lips the secrets of our heart are revealed. Since the mouth is open, has neither doors nor guards, our word comes out indifferently, and with the word the heart is plundered; lips that do not keep the secrets of the heart steal its thoughts, and when it thinks that it is contained within, considering itself invisible, it exposes itself to everyone with its lips. The pleasantness with which we slander others means that we are full of hatred. Therefore let no one be led astray by outward reverence; Thinking to convince with external reverence, a person deceives both himself and his brother. The address reveals the falsity of his reverence. If you want to know the thoughts of the heart, pay attention to the lips; from them you will learn what the heart cares about and strives for - about earthly or heavenly, about spiritual or carnal, about pleasure or abstinence, about avarice or non-acquisitiveness, about humility or arrogance, about love or hatred. From the treasures of the heart, the mouth offers food to those who come, and what the tongue is busy with shows what the heart loves - Christ, or something from the present age. And the invisible soul, through bodily actions, becomes visible whether it is good or evil, and although it is good by nature, it turns into evil by free will. But perhaps someone will say that “passions are natural, and those who indulge in passions are not subject to blame.” Be attentive to yourself so as not to accuse you of the beautiful creation of the good God, for He created “all... great good things” (Gen. 2:31), and adorned nature with all the good things. Therefore, if anyone is hungry, he is not accused if he eats in moderation, because he is hungry by nature. Likewise, if anyone is thirsty, he is not blamed if he drinks in moderation, because thirst is natural. If anyone sleeps, he is not blamed if he does not sleep excessively, and indulges in sleep not out of pampering, so that nature is overcome by the habit of excessive sleep, because nature and habit serve as heralds of one and the other: nature shows slavery, habit means willfulness, and man consists of both. Will, being free, is like some sort of farmer, instilling into our nature both bad and good habits, whatever it pleases. He instills bad habits in the following way: by hunger - gluttony, by thirst - heavy drinking, by sleep - effeminacy, by opinion - a bad thought, by truth - a lie. And similarly, he instills good virtues in the following way: through food - abstinence, through thirst - patience, through sleep - vigilance, through lies - truth, through views - chastity. Our will, as has been said, like a farmer, in the blink of an eye eradicates bad habits and instills good ones, overcoming nature. Nature is the land we cultivate; will is the farmer, and the Divine Scriptures are advisers and teachers, teaching our farmer what bad habits to eradicate and what good virtues to instill. No matter how sober and zealous our farmer may be, however, without the teaching of the Divine Scriptures he is neither strong nor knowledgeable, because the law of the Divine Scriptures gives him understanding and strength, and at the same time from his own branches and good virtues in order to graft them into the tree of nature: faith - to unbelief, hope - to hopelessness, love - to hatred, knowledge - to ignorance, diligence - to negligence, glory and praise - to infamy, immortality - to mortality, Divinity - to humanity. And if our farmer, out of his arrogance, ever decides to leave his teacher and adviser, that is, the Divine Scriptures, then he begins to act sinfully, seeks out evil thoughts, brings together meaningless habits, and instills into nature what is not characteristic of it: unbelief, ignorance, hatred, envy, pride, vanity, love of glory, gluttony, strife, bickering and much more like that, because, leaving the Lawgiver, he himself is abandoned by Him. If, having repented, he condemns himself, falls to the Lawgiver and says: “I have sinned, I have forsaken you,” then the Lawgiver, due to His characteristic love for mankind, will immediately accept him, give him understanding and good strength to cultivate the field of his nature again, eradicate bad habits in it and plant good virtues in their place. And moreover, he will give him crowns and shower him with praise. For example, by nature man is hungry, but abstains; thirsts, but also endures; has desires, but remains chaste; burdened with sleep, or possessed by laziness to praise the Lord, but, while awake, he forces himself to sing God’s songs, and for this he is crowned as having overcome nature and acquired virtues. So, glory to His love for mankind, confession of His goodness, and worship of His compassion! What father is as compassionate? What father is so merciful? What father loves as much as our Master, who expresses love for us, His servants? He supplies everything, supplies everything in abundance: he heals our spiritual ulcers, and endures for a long time, abandoned by us, he wants us all to become heirs of His Kingdom, he wants our willfulness, healing light and unimportant illnesses, to earn praise from Him; he heals serious and difficult illnesses himself; heals the ulcers of the lazy, opening his mouth to praise, and forgives the sins of the sinner, exciting him to zeal; He quickly listens to the weak so that he does not become cowardly, but he gives both healing and reward to those who are generous and patiently knocking on the door. He could heal all our spiritual ulcers and forcefully change us to goodness, but He does not want this, so that our will does not deprive Him of praise. So, will we be hesitant to call upon Him for help and intercession when He loves and has mercy on us? He has redeemed us and enlightened the eyes of our minds; He gave us knowledge of Himself, gave us a taste of His sweetness, so that we might fully seek Him. Blessed is he who has tasted His love and prepared himself for constant saturation with it, because he who is satisfied with such love no longer accepts another love. Who, beloved, would not love such a Master? Who does not confess and worship His goodness? What excuse will we have on the day of judgment if we are careless? Or what shall we say to Him? Was it that they did not hear, or did not know, or were not taught? What should He have done that He did not do for us? Did He not descend for us from an immeasurable height, from the blessed bosom of the Father? He, who is invisible, has not become visible to us? Didn't He, the immortal fire, incarnate for our sake? And didn’t he accept being strangled to free us? What a miracle, filled with fear and trembling, - a mortal hand, created from the dust of the earth, gives a stranglehold to the Creator of heaven and earth! And we, pitiful and poor, earthly and mortal, we are ashes, we cannot even bear a word from each other. Didn't He, the Immortal, die for us in order to revive us? Was he not buried in order to resurrect us with Him? He freed us from the enemy by binding him and giving us the strength to attack him. When did we call on Him and He did not hear us? When they knocked on the door, and He did not open it to us? If at any time I slowed down, it was to increase our reward. Why did you renounce the world, beloved, if you still seek worldly pleasure, wanting clothes instead of nakedness, and drinking wine instead of water? You are called to battle, but you want to go out into battle with the enemy without weapons, instead of vigil, plunging into sleep, instead of crying and lamenting, indulging in laughter, instead of love, hating against your brother. You are called to submission, but you contradict. Called to inherit the Kingdom of God, but you think about earthly things, instead of humility and meekness, showing arrogance and pride. So, what will you say to God on that day? Is it that “for Your sake I humbled myself, I became poor, I was naked, I hungered, I thirsted, I loved You with all my soul and my neighbor as myself?” Do you know that your words and thoughts are not written down, that your conscience will be your assistant, and if you lie, it will not expose you? Or do you not know that all creation will appear before the judgment seat of God with fear and great trembling, that thousands of thousands and tens of thousands of angels will be around Him? And you think to lie and say: “I endured all this for Your sake.” Be careful that you do not suffer heavy punishment for your evil deeds and lies. Sober up from sleep and come to your senses, shake off your thoughts, and look, the day has already bowed. Look into this, brother; those brethren who were yesterday and talked with us are no longer with us today; they are called to their Lord and ours, so that each of them shows his purchase. Behold, look what yesterday is like and what it is like today: just as yesterday has passed away like the morning blossom, so today has passed away like the evening shadow. Consider and buy yours, is it successful according to God? Our days are passing by like a speedboat. Blessed is he who gains more from his purchase from day to day and gathers it up for eternal life. Why are you neglectful, beloved? Why are you lazy? Why do you drink in despondency like wine? Why are you upset with yourself? Do you intend to create a monastery for yourself in this century? Imagine that two travelers, each of whom is going to his own house, having met each other on the road, when evening overtook them, they both stopped at the monastery they reached, and when morning came they separated from each other; each of them knows what he has in his house - wealth or poverty, peace or sorrow. The same thing happens to us in this century, because this life is like a monastery, leaving which we are separated to our own place and know what lies ahead of us. For everyone knows what he sent to heaven, for example, tearful prayer, or pure vigil, or contrite psalmody, or abstinence with humility, or renunciation of earthly things, or unfeigned love and commitment to Christ. If this is what you have suggested, then go ahead, because you are going to rest. And if you didn’t prescribe anything like that, then why do you annoy your neighbor in the monastery? For in the morning you will have to separate from him. Why are you proud? Why are you acting arrogant? What are you sad about? Do you really want to carry away the monastery itself? But why do you worry about underwear and outer clothing, or about food? Does not He who gives “their food to cattle” (Ps. 146:9) feed you, who praises Him? You, who are preparing to become the heir of His Kingdom, take care of your underwear and outer clothing! You, who killed yourself for the world, think about earthly things! Why do you upset the Doctor, not wanting to be healed? Why do you hide your ulcers during your healing and blame the Doctor for not healing you? You are given time to repent, but you neglect to repent! Why do you blame the Lawgiver for sending death on you for your neglect? Will you say to death: “Give me time to repent”? Be sober (be awake), beloved, be sober! Like a snare, this hour will come upon you, and then horror will seize your mind, and you will ask yourself: “How did my days pass in my absent-mindedness? How did my time pass in inappropriate thoughts? But what is the use of thinking about this at the time of death, when you are no longer allowed to remain any longer in this age? So, delve into these words with your mind, so that what the Lord has said will touch your ears, if you believe Him; and He said that on that day we will give an answer about idle words (Matthew 12:37). And this word of the Lord is enough if our mind is sober. But whoever does not understand what is written and does not listen to what is read is like a pipe that receives water and does not feel how the water flows in it. Therefore, who will not cry, who will not grieve, who will not be horrified by the fact that the Lord of the universe, both Himself and through His servants, the prophets and apostles, preaches and cries, but no one obeys? What are they preaching? “My marriage is ready,” He says, “the well-fed one is healed” (Matthew 22:4). The bridegroom sits with glory and splendor in the bridal chamber and joyfully receives those who come, the door is open, the servants express their zeal. While the door is not closed, hurry to enter; otherwise you will remain outside, and there will be no one to lead you there.” And there is no one who understands; no one makes an effort; The laziness and cares of this age, like a chain, have bound the mind. We copy the Divine Scriptures correctly and read them correctly, but we do not want to listen to them correctly, because it is not pleasing for us to fulfill what is commanded in them. Who went on a long journey without travel supplies? How would we like to leave our stock here and not take anything with us on the road? Blessed is the one who boldly went to the Lord, carrying his abundant supply. So the ten virgins are sleeping, and the servants are “buying” (Luke 19:13) in anticipation of their Master, knowing that He has accepted the Kingdom, and is coming with power and much glory to crown His servants, who have made a good purchase with the silver that they received from Him, and to destroy His enemies who do not want Him to reign over them. But how in the middle of the night, when the human race is immersed in sleep, suddenly there is a great noise from the sky, and terrible thunders, and terrible lightning with an earthquake, and those sleeping suddenly become horrified, and everyone remembers their deeds, both good and bad, and those who do evil, reclining on their beds, striking themselves in the chest, because there is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, there is no time to repent of their deeds; the earth shakes, the thunders frighten, the lightning makes them timid, deep darkness surrounds them; so in that hour, like the fastest lightning suddenly terrifying the whole earth, a trumpet will sound fearfully from the sky, awaken those sleeping, raise from sleep those who have fallen asleep from eternity: these heavens “and the powers of the heavens will move” (Matthew 24:29), and the whole earth, like the waters of the sea, will tremble at the presence of His glory, because a terrible fire will come before His face, cleansing the earth from the iniquities that defile it; hell will open its eternal gates, death will be abolished, and the rotted dust of human nature, hearing the sound of the trumpet, will be revived. Truly, this is a wonderful sight - in the twinkling of an eye in hell, like many fish swirling in the sea, countless human bones are walking around, and each one is looking for its composition; all the risen ones cry out and say: “Glory to Him who gathered us and raised us up, according to His love for mankind!” Then the righteous will rejoice and the saints will rejoice; perfect ascetics will be consoled for the labor of their feat; martyrs, apostles and prophets will be crowned. Blessed is he who is worthy to see at that hour how with glory all those who loved Him and tried to do all His will will be “caught up into the crowds to meet” the immortal Bridegroom (1 Thess. 4:17). Just as each one has grown his wing here, so there he soars into the sky; just as each one has purified his mind here, so there he sees His glory, and to the extent that each one has loved Him, to that extent he is satisfied with His love. At that hour the first Adam will also be surprised, seeing the great and terrible thing, how from him and his wife countless nations and many generations came; but marveling even more at the fact that, having come from the same nature and from the same creature, some will inherit the Kingdom and heaven, and others will inherit hell, and he will glorify the Creator God: glory to the only wise God! I remembered that hour, beloved, and shuddered; thought about this Last Judgment and was horrified; I thought about the joy of heaven, and, groaning, gave myself up to crying and cried until there was no longer any strength left in me to cry any longer; because he spent his days in laziness and distraction, and spent his years in unclean thoughts, and did not understand how they were carried away, did not feel how they passed; My days are shortened, and my iniquities have increased. Alas, alas, my beloved! What should I do out of shame at that hour, when my acquaintances surround me, who, seeing me in this image of piety, pleased me, while internally I was full of lawlessness and uncleanness, and forgot the searching heart and womb of the Lord. There is real shame there, and the one who is ashamed there is pitiful. With Your generosity I conjure you, O Lover of mankind and Goodness, do not put me on the left side with the goats who have upset You, do not tell me: “We do not know” you (Matthew 25:12), but in Your compassion give me unceasing tears, give contrition and humility to my heart and cleanse it so that it becomes a church of holy grace Yours. For although I am sinful and wicked, I continually strike Your door; although I am lazy and careless, I have at least entered upon Your path. I beseech your unanimity, my beloved brethren; try to please God while you have time; weep before Him day and night in prayer and your psalmody, so that He will deliver us from this endless weeping and from the gnashing of teeth, and from the fire of Gehenna, and from the never-ending worm, and so that He may fill us with joy in His Kingdom, in eternal life, from where sorrow, sickness and sighing have fled; where there is no need for tears or repentance; where there is neither fear nor trembling; where there is no decay; where there is neither an enemy nor an attacker; where there is neither grief nor anger; where there is neither hatred nor enmity, but where there is always joy, and joy, and delight, and a meal full of spiritual food, which God has prepared for those who love Him. Blessed is he who is worthy of it; but it is a pity who loses it. I beg you, beloved, pour out your hearts on me and pray for me, falling before the good and humane and Only Begotten Son of God, so that He would show His mercy to me, and deliver me from my many iniquities, and settle me in the circle of your villages, in the fence of the blessed paradise, where I would be in the neighborhood with you, His heirs. Since you are beloved children, and I am a despised dog, then throw me grains from your table, so that what is written on me will be fulfilled: “For even dogs eat of the grains that fall from a meal” (Matthew 15:27). So, beloved, pour out your prayers for me, and together let us strive for our lives. For everything passes away like a shadow; Let us hate the world, and what is in the world, and carnal care, and we will have no other care than for our salvation, as our Lord said: “For what profit is it to a man, if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul? or what will a man give treason” (ransom) “for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). We, brothers, are spiritual merchants, and we are similar to worldly merchants. The merchant calculates his profit and loss every day; and if he has suffered a loss, he makes every effort and takes care how to compensate for the loss. So you, beloved, every day, both in the evening and in the morning, carefully consider what your purchase has been brought to. And in the evening, entering the church of your heart, think about everything and ask yourself: “Have I angered God in some way? Didn't you say an idle word? Was he careless? Have you upset my brother? Did you slander anyone? And when I sang psalms with my lips, then didn’t my mind dream of anything worldly? Wasn’t carnal desire revived in me, and wasn’t I engaging in it with pleasure? Have I not yielded victory over myself to earthly concerns? If you have suffered damage from this, then try to gain what you lost; sigh, cry, so as not to fall into the same thing again. And in the morning, take care of yourself again and ask: “How was your night? Did I make any profit overnight from my purchase? Was my mind awake along with my body? Did tears flow from my eyes? Was I not burdened with sleep while kneeling? Didn’t evil thoughts come into my mind, and didn’t I engage in them with pleasure?” If you were defeated by this, then try to heal, put a guard over your heart so as not to suffer damage again. If you are so careful, you will keep your purchase intact, and in this way you will become pleasing to your Lord and benefit yourself. Be attentive to yourself so as not to ever fall into laziness, because the predominance of laziness is the beginning of destruction. Imitate the bee and look into its wondrous secret, how it collects its work from flowers scattered on the ground. Close your thoughts to this insignificant creature. If you gather all the sages of the earth, all the philosophers in the universe, then they will not be able to make her wisdom understandable, with which of the flowers she creates coffins, buries her offspring in them, and then, having revived them, like a military leader, gives them a sign with her voice, and they unanimously obey her voice and fly out, having flown out, they set to work, and fill the same coffins with food prepared from the very sweets; Therefore, every reasonable person, seeing her works, glorifies the Creator God, amazed that so much wisdom comes from such a small creature. Likewise, you, my beloved, be like a bee and from the Divine Scriptures gather for yourself wealth and inestimable treasure, and send it up to heaven. And the princes of earth, when one of them wishes to go to a distant place, sends servants ahead of them with their wealth, so that, having come to a ready rest, they can stop there. So you too, beloved, sent your wealth into heaven so that you could be received in the monastery of the saints. Do not be careless during this short time, so as not to repent for endless centuries. Don’t you hear what the Lord says to us: “You will be sorrowful in the world!” (John 16:33). And He also said: “In your patience gain your souls” (Luke 21:19). And if, out of your effeminacy and laziness, you want to avoid the sorrows of this age and patience, and you desire carnal pleasure, then why, in your effeminacy, do you speak poorly of the beautiful and good yoke of Christ, as if it were painful, difficult and unbearable? You give yourself up to destruction; who will have mercy on you? You kill yourself; who will take pity on you? Having taken the arms of Christ, you had to fight with the enemy, but you plunged a sword into your own heart. If you boast in this life, then your hope is vain and your waiting in vain. What do your lips pray to God for? What are you asking of Him? Is it rest in this age, or immortal and ageless life? If you covet this temporary and impermanent thing, then better than you is a thief and a fornicator; they pray to be saved and bless you, while you falsely go through this wonderful life, because, having hated the light, you loved the darkness; leaving the Heavenly Kingdom, he desired earthly and temporary things. Or were you afraid, unfortunate one, that the good and humane God would reject your labors? But He Himself and His grace give you strength to do this; He Himself breaks your heart, and He Himself gives you a reward. Everything comes from Him, and you are proud! He exacts the wages of a mercenary from those who deprive Him of it; will he really deprive you of the reward for your tears? Let this not happen! Will he who said, “Seek, and you will find; press, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7), become a liar? Never. Move away, you wretch! Who wished you harm? Who envied you? A rival or hater of good. His whole effort is to ensure that not a single person is saved. So, come to your senses and do not hate your soul; open the eyes of your mind and look at those living with you: how they strive, how they strive; and their lamps are with them, and their lips sing and glorify the immortal Bridegroom; their eyes behold His beauty, and their soul blossoms and delights. Take a closer look! The Bridegroom draws near, and does not delay, because He comes suddenly to bring joy to those who are waiting for Him. A voice is heard: “Behold, the Bridegroom is coming” (Matthew 25:6); and those who are with you will walk with joy, having their clearly burning lamps and bright clothing, and will hear the voice of the Bridegroom, who will say: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). And as soon as a voice is heard, you will say to them: “Give me, my brothers, a little oil, for behold, my lamp is going out”; but you will hear from them: “We will not have enough food for you and us,” go to those who sell and buy; You will go, repenting, and will not find where to buy, because the whole earth, like the waters of the sea, trembles at His glory. And then, sobbing, you will say: “I’ll go and hit the door; who knows, maybe they will open the door to me”; and you come and strike, and no one responds; You keep waiting, and still striking, and they answer you from within like this: “I say amen” to you, “We do not know” who you are (Matthew 25:12); Depart from Me, you worker of iniquity.” When you stand there, the voice of joy and joy will reach your ears, and you will recognize the voice of each of your comrades and, sighing, you will say: “Alas, alas for me, the unfortunate one! How did I lose such glory to my brothers, how did I lose the community of my comrades? I spent all the time of my life with them, and now I have become separated (this passage is translated from the Oxford edition). I suffered justly. They were abstinent, but I was careless; they sang psalms, and I soared with my mind and was silent; they were zealous in kneeling, but I rested; they prayed, and my mind rushed here and there; they humbled themselves, but I was proud; they thought nothing of themselves, and I admired myself. That’s why they are now having fun, and I’m complaining; they admire, and I cry.” So, sober up at least a little, unfortunate one, and think about His boundless love for mankind, and do not be careless about your salvation. Seek Him, and He will draw near to you for salvation; call on Him, and He will protect you; give to Him to receive a hundredfold. If inanimate paper, crying out through writing, returns the debts indicated on it, then how much more will the good God give grace to those who seek Him. Through writing, paper adds growth to growth, and the treasure of God’s grace multiplies the reward of our prayers and petitions. So, do not be lazy, do not allow worries about earthly things to dominate you, and do not fall into despair. God, in His compassion, accepts and protects you, as well as everyone who seeks Him with all their hearts. Fearlessly approach Him, fall down, sigh, cry and say to Him: “My Lord, my Savior! Why did you leave me? Have mercy on me, because You alone are philanthropic; save me, a sinner, because You alone are sinless; hide me from the mire of my iniquities, so that I do not become mired forever and ever; deliver me from the mouth of the enemy, for behold, like a lion he roars and wants to devour me (1 Pet. 5:8), “raise up Your strength, and come to save” me (Ps. 79:3); flash Thy lightning, and “make a wife” of his strength (Ps. 143:6), so that he will fear and scatter from Your presence; because he does not have the strength to stand before You and in the face of those who love You. As soon as he sees the signs of Your grace, he comes into fear from You and, ashamed, moves away from them. And now, Lord, save me, because I have fled to You.” If you pray to Him like this and call on Him with all your heart, immediately, like a kind and compassionate Father, He will send His grace to help you and fulfill all your desires. Come, my beloved, do not be careless, do not look at me, lazy; For me, who speaks and does not do, who exhorts and does not understand, the shame with which my face is covered is enough. And you be an imitator of the perfect and spiritual fathers and follow their rule. Do not undertake either the highest things, beyond measure, which you are unable to accomplish, or the least important things, so that your reward may increase. Do not feed your body, so that it does not bring up a fight against you, do not accustom it to carnal pleasures, so that it does not turn into a burden to your soul and bring it down to the depths of the earth. For if you give yourself to fulfilling her lusts, she leaves the straight paths, walks along rapids, conveniently accepts every unclean thought, and no longer observes chastity. And again, if you overwork the body, then in this case it turns into a burden to the soul, which is overcome by timidity and despondency, and it becomes irritable and lazy in singing, and in prayer, and in good obedience. Therefore, keeping yourself in perfect measure and weight, control yourself. Tell me, have you ever been a spectator at a horse race? And again, have you ever seen a boat at sea? If someone drives horses beyond measure, then they fall from one sudden noise. And if you give them complete freedom again, they will overthrow the driver and drag him along. Likewise, a boat at sea: if it is loaded beyond what it can lift, it is flooded by waves and sinks; if it is lightened and floats without a load, then it is conveniently capsized by the wind. So the soul and body, if they are burdened beyond measure, are subject to the above (according to the Oxford edition: Τοις προηδεισι περιπιπτουσι). Therefore, it is a wonderful thing to begin and complete, to please God, and to be useful to yourself and your neighbor. Blessed flock of Christ, luminaries of the universe and salt of the earth, you are perfect ascetics who have loved the angelic life on earth. Your feat is temporary, but your reward and praise are eternal; your labor is short, but your peace and perfection never grow old. But no matter how zealously you strive, succeeding in virtue, to such an extent your enemy is inflamed with fury, secretly laying various snares for you. Therefore, beware of his ambushes. For without achievement no one is crowned, but the grace of God does not abandon the one who fights and strives diligently. If someone, having brought himself to the point of relaxation, is too lazy to open his mouth and call on grace for help, then let him blame himself, and not grace, for not helping him. Imagine a man who has healthy hands, and in front of whom there is a lot of food, but he is too lazy to stretch out his hands and be satisfied with the goods lying in front of him; the same is the monk who knows grace experimentally, but does not want to call upon it and be filled with its sweetness. A monk is like a warrior going to battle, who protects his body from everywhere with full armor, sobers up until victory, and worries that the enemy will not suddenly attack him, and that, if he does not take precautions, he will not be captured. Likewise, if a monk, having brought himself into relaxation, becomes lazy, he is conveniently caught by the enemy, because the enemy puts into him unclean thoughts, which he accepts with joy (I mean thoughts of arrogance and vanity, as well as envy and slander, gluttony and insatiable sleep) and, moreover, brings him to despair and to the conviction of the enormity of disasters. If a monk is always sober, then he attracts the grace of God to help himself, learns from God how to please Him, and becomes worthy of praise (worthy of praise) in God and a praiser of God. For he who observes himself in a mirror is both the spectator and the seen; so grace, if it finds rest in a person and dwells in him, then it glorifies him and is itself glorified by him. And without the help of grace, the heart cannot have sufficient strength and be filled with tenderness to properly confess to the Master; on the contrary, a person is poor and lacking in perfection, and vile and unclean thoughts take up residence in him (Ps. 101:7), “like a nighttime corvid on a dive” (like an owl on ruins). Therefore, it is a person’s duty to call upon grace so that when it comes, it enlightens him; it is the duty of a person, having purified himself, to strive for grace to dwell in him and help him; with grace, he will advance in every virtue and, enlightened by it, will be able to comprehend the diversity and splendor of the future age. Grace becomes a wall and fortification for him and protects him from this age for the life of the age to come. So, incline your ear, beloved, and I will be a good adviser for you, if you desire eternal life and happiness from your Lord. Tell me, why do you wash your face with water? Is it not to please your neighbor? And from this it is clear that you did not abhor the passions of your flesh, but were enslaved by them. If you want to wash your face, then wash it with tears, and make it white with weeping, so that it shines with glory before God and before the holy Angels, because a face washed with tears is unfading beauty. But maybe you can tell me that it’s a shame to have an unclean face? Know that the uncleanness of your feet and face, with a pure heart, shines brighter than the sun before God and before the holy Powers. Why are you laughing recklessly? You are commanded to cry, but you are commanded to laugh. Why is this? Since you did not desire bliss, God’s punishments do not frighten you. One who has learned from experience can give advice to the inexperienced. A merchant who has fallen into the hands of robbers can offer travelers security measures. So I, too, since I am partly taught by experience (I speak about this for your prudence), because, due to my weakness, I was safe for a considerable time, but my laziness again brought me to my former state, therefore I advise you, beloved flock of God, to beware, for the sake of carnal passions and worldly pleasure, from depriving yourself of the glory of God and making yourself alien to the pure joy and joys of the bridal chamber. For you know that the work of asceticism, like a dream, is fleeting, and the peace with which this work is rewarded is endless and indescribable. Be attentive to yourself so that you do not suffer loss on both sides and do not be punished for both. On the contrary, try to acquire perfect virtue, adorned with everything that God loves. For if you acquire it, you will never offend God, nor will you do harm to your neighbor. It is called one-person virtue, which contains all the beauty and all the variety of virtues. Just as a royal diadem cannot be woven without precious stones and choice pearls, so this single virtue is impossible without the beauty of various virtues. It is quite similar to the royal diadem. Just as the latter, if it lacks one stone or one pearl, cannot shine on the royal head, so one-person virtue, if it lacks one of the beauty of other virtues, is not called perfect virtue. It is also similar to expensive foods, which are prepared with all the finest spices, but without salt. Therefore, just as these expensive foods cannot be eaten without salt, so this one-person virtue, adorned with all the beauty of various virtues, if devoid of love for Christ and one’s neighbor, is not at all attractive. It is also similar to the perfect and beautiful composition of the alphabet, in which the letters are decorated and decorated, but which all becomes useless if even one letter is taken away from it. So this virtue, if it is deprived of one of the other virtues, all turns out to be useless. And she is also like a large and high-flying eagle, which, seeing food in the nets, swoops down on it with all its speed, but, wanting to steal the prey, the ends of its claws catch on the net, and from this smallness all its strength becomes bound; and although his whole body is free and outside the nets, his strength is already, apparently, bound by the nets. In the same way, this virtue, if bound by something earthly, is mortified, weakens and perishes, and is no longer able to soar to heights, because it is nailed to earthly things. He who has no tears, come and cry; whoever has not stocked up on tenderness, come and sigh that virtue, which ascended to heaven and reached the very gates of the Kingdom, was unable to enter there. I present to you, beloved, an example: some, through countless labors, succeeded in this virtue and adorned it like a royal diadem, but, becoming attached to earthly things, they died and remained outside the Heavenly Kingdom. Therefore, pay attention to yourself, so that you do not fall into something similar and, by betraying yourself to the enemy, turn into nothing such a wonderful virtue that you acquired through so much labor; lest you prevent her from entering heaven, and make her stand ashamed before the bridal chamber. On the contrary, try to give her the courage to enter there with loud exclamations, rejoicing and asking for a reward. A true miracle! Bound by earthly cares, like a lion by his hair, because such virtue is like a lion, she rotted on the earth and became humiliated. So, be sober, beloved, and, having labored (full of deeds), tear off an insignificant hair, so that they do not laugh at you, as at that strong one (Samson), who with the jawbone of a donkey in the blink of an eye beat thousands and, having freed himself, killed his enemies; who ascribed (gave) his victory to God, and his prayer turned his jaw into a spring (Judges 15:16, 19); but, having accomplished many similar feats, when through foolishness he betrayed himself to his enemies, by the loss of his hair he bound within himself a terrible and very wonderful power. Be careful, too, so that you do not bind such virtue to any earthly misfortune. Free her from everything harmful and go to heaven. Just as someone dives into the depths to find a valuable and excellent pearl and, having found it, floats to the surface of the waters and, naked, rushes onto land with great wealth, so you, strip yourself of all worldly impurities, put on virtue and, adorned with it, be sober day and night, so that they do not take it off you, because the soul that has it cannot to shake no calamity, neither hunger, nor nakedness, nor despondency, nor illness, nor poverty, nor persecution, nor any other devilish temptation. For if she is sober, then through this she grows even more and becomes crowned, constantly progressing according to God and becoming enlightened. Death itself has no power to harm her; on the contrary, after leaving the body, the Angels receive her, rejoicing, in heaven, and bring her to the Father of light, because “tribulation completes endurance” (Rom. 5:3), and poverty and non-covetousness are the ground of her work; from them she gathers the fruit of truth. And illness cannot harm it, because from it the soul is clothed with strength and praise before God. In the same way, temptations have no power to humiliate her, because from them she gains praise and glory to eternal life. Persecution cannot bring her into fear; from it she weaves a perfect and beautiful crown, which she brings with joy to God of glory. And nakedness is not able to cover her with dishonor, because from it she prepares for herself a robe of glory. Likewise, hunger cannot plunge her into cowardice, for from it a meal is prepared for her in the Heavenly Kingdom. And thirst is not able to bring her to despondency - heavenly joy is prepared for her from it. And poverty cannot lure her to wealth, because for her sake she will inherit blessings from the Lord. And vigil and weeping are the crown of her perfection, humility and meekness are the foundation of her building. Death cannot kill her, and the tomb cannot contain and contain her. Heaven itself is not strong enough to close its gates before a virtuous soul; on the contrary, when they see her they open their eyes with joy. Those thousands of thousands of Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominions, Principalities and Powers cannot turn to her with reproach, but with joyful faces they accept her, and, lifting her in their arms, lead her to the throne of glory. The Father and the Son with the Holy Spirit rejoice over her. The Father rejoices over her, because she loved Him, and loved no one but Him. His only begotten Son rejoices over her, because she desired Him and acquired no one besides Him. The Holy Spirit rejoices over her, because she became a holy church for Him, and He dwelt in her. The heavens and the Heavenly Powers rejoice over her, and with one accord they fall down and glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, seeing that she is adorned with angelic virtue in all the glory of righteousness. Heaven rejoices over her, because she received it as an inheritance. Glory and splendor to the one, good and humane God, Who, by His grace, gives us His Kingdom! Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed. The One Wise and Compassionate! I beg Your goodness to heal the ulcers of my soul and enlighten the eyes of my mind, so that I may understand Your arrangement for me. And since my mind has gone crazy, may the salt of Your grace correct it. But what will I tell You, Forerunner and Searcher of hearts and wombs? You alone know that, like a waterless land, my soul thirsts for You, and my heart desires You, because whoever loves You is constantly satisfied by Your grace. But just as You always listened to me, so now do not despise (do not neglect) my petition, because my mind, like a captive, seeks You, the only true Savior. Therefore, send Your grace, so that when it comes, it will satisfy my hunger and quench my thirst. For I desire and thirst for You, the Light of truth and the Giver of salvation. Give me what I ask for, and pour into my heart at least one drop of Your love, so that, like a flame, it will kindle in my heart and consume (destroy) the thorns and thistles in it, that is, evil thoughts. Give richly and in moderation, like the God-man, and multiply Your gifts, like the good Son of the good Father. Although I, as the earthly one and the son of the earthly one, have rejected and continue to reject Your grace, You, Who filled the stone waterpots with Your blessing (John 2:1-11), fill me, who thirst, with Your grace. You, who fed five thousand with five loaves (Matthew 14:14-21), feed me, the hungry one, with the immeasurable riches of Your goodness. Good Lover of Humanity! If Your grace is poured out abundantly on the grass, on the flowers and on all the greenery of the earth at this time, how much more will You grant what is asked to Your servant who begs You. For now the air clears, and the birds diversify their voices, singing the glory of Thy great wisdom. So the whole earth puts on a robe, speckled with flowers, woven without human hands, rejoices and celebrates two holidays: one - for the sake of her son, the firstborn Adam, because he was created from her; the other - for the sake of his Master, because, having descended, he walked on it. So the sea is filled with Your grace and enriches those who swim in it. Your grace gives me boldness to speak before You, and the love I have for You prompts me to do this. If the murderer of mankind from time immemorial, the beginning of the evil serpent, comes at this time and opens his mouth, then much more will you open the mouth of Your servant who loves You to the glory and praise of Your grace. Good Lover of Mankind, who accepted two mites and praised the will of the widow, accept the request from me, Thy servant, increase my prayer and grant me what I asked for, so that it may become for me a holy church of Thy grace, and so that she may dwell in me, and teach me how to please her, so that from my harp she may draw a song of contrition and joy, and, as if with a bridle, restrain my mind, Otherwise, having gone astray, I will sin before You, and I will be cast out from this world. Hear me, Lord, hear, and let me be called into Thy Kingdom, and I, who am lost, will be returned, I, unclean, will be cleansed, I, foolish, will become chaste, I, useless, will become useful. Your chosen flock - ascetics and all those who have pleased You - rejoicing in paradise, intercede for me and implore You, the only Lover of mankind. Hear their requests yourself and save me with their prayers. And through them I will give You glory, that You listened to their prayers, and had mercy on me, and did not despise their request to save me. You, Lord, said through Your prophet: “Enlarge your mouth, and I will do it” (Ps. 80:11). So, behold, the mouth and heart of Your servant are open, fill them with Your grace, so that I may bless You at all times, O Christ, my Savior. Sprinkle my heart, O Good Lover of Mankind, with the dew of Your grace. Just as the sown earth cannot bring up its plants without the visitation of Your grace, so my heart, without Your grace, is not able to utter what is pleasing to You and bear the fruit of righteousness. Behold, the rain nourishes the plants, and the trees are crowned with various flowers, so may the dew of Your grace enlighten my mind, and may it be decorated with flowers of tenderness, humility, love and patience. And what else can I say? My prayer is weak, my iniquities are great and strong, my sins oppress me, my infirmities oppress me: may Thy grace overcome them, Lord! Thou who hast opened the eyes of the blind, open the eyes of my mind, that I may continually gaze upon Thy beauty. Thou who hast opened the mouth of the one under the jugular, open my mouth to the glory and praise of Thy grace. You, who set a limit to the sea by the word of Your command, set a limit to my heart by Your grace, so that neither the right side nor the neck should deviate from Your grace. You, who gave water in the desert to a rebellious and contradictory people, give me tenderness and tears to my eyes, so that day and night I can mourn the days of my life with humility, love and a pure heart. “Let my prayer come near to You, O Lord” (Ps. 119:169). And grant me Thy holy seed, so that I may bring to Thee hilts full of tenderness and confession, and say: “Glory to Him who gave what to bring Him,” and worship the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen. So, I beg you, let us be sober for this short time and persevere in this “one ten hour” (Matthew 20:9). The evening is near. The Rewarder comes with glory to reward everyone according to his deeds. Be careful that none of you, after success, become careless and ruin the Savior’s immeasurable reward. A monk is like a sown field, which has grown from various and fruitful rains and has grown and bears the fruit of joy; Having reached the time of fruiting, it brings the farmer into great concern so that hail or wild animals do not devastate the field. When the farmer receives a reward in the harvest, having collected the harvested fruits into the granary, then he rejoices and is glad, thanking God. Likewise, a monk, while in this body, must take care of eternal life, working in feat until the last day, so that through negligence he does not make the entire course of life useless. When, having completed his course, like a farmer, he transfers the fruits of his labors to heaven, then he will bring joy and joy to the Angels. Therefore, no one should be lazy, and do not be afraid of temptations. Let the strong help the weak, the diligent comfort the faint-hearted, the sober awaken the sleepy, the constant give advice to the fickle, the temperate admonish the careless and disorderly. Thus, unanimously encouraging each other and winning for each other, let us shame our opposing enemy, glorify our God and rejoice the holy Angels and those who see us and hear about us, and serve as a great edification about Christ our Savior. For like a regiment of holy Angels, there are many monks, whose minds are always directed towards God in agreement. And like honey and honeycomb in the mouth, that is the answer of a brother to his neighbor, given with love. What cold water is to a thirsty person in hot weather, so is a word of comfort to a brother in sorrow. And just as someone gives a hand to a fallen person and raises him up, so the word of advice and truth raises up a lazy and careless soul. And like good and fresh seed in rich soil, so are good thoughts in the soul of a monk. And because there is a strong connection in the building, there is long-suffering in the heart of the monk during his psalmody. And what is the burden of salt for a weak person, is sleep and worldly care for a monk. As thorns and thistles are in good seed, so are unclean thoughts in the soul of a monk. And that the necrosis of the members (Γαγγραινα among doctors is called “Antonov’s fire”), although curable, is never completely healed, then memory malice is in the soul of a monk. As a worm wears away wood, so enmity is the heart of a monk. Just as moth spoils clothes, so slander defiles the soul of a monk. Like a tree that is tall and red but has no fruit, then the monk is proud and arrogant. That the fruit is red on the outside and rotten on the inside, then the monk is envious and unkind. Just as someone who throws a stone into a clear spring muddies it, so the answer of a monk, uttered with anger, disturbs the mind of his neighbor. Just as someone who transplants a tree covered with fruit destroys the fruit and dries out the leaves on the tree, so it happens with a monk who leaves his place and moves to another. Like a building not built on stone, so is a monk who has no patience with sorrow. Imagine that another, standing before the king and talking with him, at the call of a slave like him, leaves a wondrous and glorious conversation with the king, and begins to talk with the slave; like him is the one who speaks during psalmody. Let us come to our senses, beloved, Who we stand before! Just as the Angels, standing with great trepidation, perform hymns to the Creator, so we must stand with fear during psalmody. May it not be that our bodies just stand and our minds dream. What a boat is in the waves of the sea, so is a monk in the affairs of life. But let us gather our thoughts so that we may have praise before our God; let us endure the temptations of our enemy in order to glorify ourselves. Praise for a monk is patience in sorrows; praise for a monk is non-covetousness, humility and simplicity, glorifying him before God and the Angels. Praise to the monk - silence and vigil with tenderness and tears. The praise of a monk is to love God with all his heart, and his neighbor as himself. Praise for a monk is abstinence in food, abstinence of the tongue, coordination of words with one’s deeds; praise to him if he patiently remains in place and is not carried here and there like dry leaves are carried by the wind. Woe is me, my beloved! For I have become like a blacksmith’s bellows, which are filled and empty, without benefiting from the wind; Likewise, when I describe the virtues of the flock of Christ, I myself have no part in them. Glory to the greatness and goodness of Christ! If any of you, brethren, has unclean and shameful thoughts, then let him not give in to despair in negligence, but turn his heart to God and, sighing, say with tears: “Arise, Lord, and bring my judgment, my God and my Lord, to my right. Judge me, O Lord, according to Your righteousness” (Ps. 34:23–24). I am the work of Your hands: “Where have You forsaken me?” (Ps. 21:1). “Do you turn away Your face” from me, “and forget” my humility? (Ps.43:25). “As the enemy drove away my soul, he humbled my belly to eat in the ground” (Ps. 143:3); “The coal miner is deep in the dark, and there is no perseverance" (Ps. 68:3). Let Your hand hold me, and I will not perish.” If you call on Him with patience, the Lover of Mankind will soon send down His grace into your heart and comfort you in a painful and difficult battle. So, let us not be careless, and let us not be lazy, having such a merciful Master. For while we are here, He is merciful and saves and forgives our iniquities. Who would not marvel that for the short-term tears shed in this “one ten hour” (Matthew 20:9), He forgives thousands of sins, and heals thousands of our ulcers, and, having healed, also gives a reward for the tears. For this is usually His grace: after healing He lavishes rewards. So, let us try, brethren, to receive healing, because here He is merciful and generous with His grace, but there He is no longer there. On the contrary, there is righteous judgment, punishment, and reward for deeds. There the merciful Abraham turned out to be unmerciful and unmerciful to the rich man; and he who prayed for the Sodomites does not pray there for one sinner, that mercy may be shown to him. So, let our minds not be bound by earthly things, but let us try to become imitators of the holy fathers; Let us not lose their life, lest we lose their glory. But let us make every effort to receive crowns with the perfect, and if not crowns with the perfect, then praise with the latter. Blessed is he who strives to be crowned with the perfect, but pitiful is he who has not received praise even with the last. Blessed is he who has been worthy of the crown and inheritance of the saints, and who has heard these words: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). What excuse will we have, brothers, if we are careless? A worldly person still has this, perhaps, as one who is in the world, but what can we say? I am afraid that those who praise us here will not laugh at us there. Let laziness and worldly care not be sweet for us, lest eternal fire and the never-ending worm become bitter for us. Let's sober up a little and cry to get rid of the eternal flame. Don’t you believe the Savior’s word that His coming will be sudden, “like lightning?” (Matthew 24:27). We will be afraid that it will overtake us suddenly, unprepared, and then, without any benefit, we will begin to reproach ourselves for our negligence. Believe me, beloved, it is already the last hour. See to it that the word of the prophet ( Amos 5:18 ) is not fulfilled on us: “Alas for those who desire the day of the Lord! (Woe to those who wish for the day of the Lord!)." Be attentive to yourselves, so that we do not turn out to be like that servant, whom the master, when he came, found him feasting and tore off “his half,” putting “a part of him with the unbelievers” (Matthew 24:51). On the contrary, without being ashamed, let us glorify the Lord, so that He will deliver us from darkness and gnashing of teeth, and make us worthy of His Kingdom. I beg You, Christ, Savior of the world, look upon me and deliver me from my many iniquities. I rejected all the good deeds that You did to me from my youth, for You made me, ignorant and foolish (delusional), a vessel full of knowledge and wisdom; Your grace has multiplied upon me, quenched my hunger, cooled my thirst, enlightened my darkened mind and gathered my wandering thoughts. Now I worship and pray to Your ineffable love for mankind, confessing my weakness, weaken its waves and keep it for me on that day, and do not be angry with me, O All-Merciful One, that, not tolerating its flows, I dared to act boldly. You are the Image of the Father and the radiance of ineffable glory, weaken it for me, because like fire it burns my womb and my heart; but there grant it to me and save me in Thy Kingdom, at Thy coming having created with me, with the blessed Father, an abode of Thy goodness. Hey, Christ, the only Giver of life, grant me what I ask for, hide my iniquities from my acquaintances, remembering the tears that I shed before Your holy martyrs in order to attract mercy to me in that terrible hour and take refuge under the wings of Your grace. To her, Master, on me, a sinner, show Your ineffable love for mankind and make me a partaker of that robber who, with one word, became the heir of paradise. Lead me there, and I will see where Adam hid, and I will give glory to Your love for mankind, that You listened to my tears and consumed (destroyed) all my iniquities. Lay my tears before You, Lord, according to Your promise, so that my enemy will be ashamed when he sees me in the place of life that Your mercies have prepared for me, and so that he will be covered in darkness, not seeing me in the place that You have prepared for my sins. To her, Master, the only sinless and humane-loving one, pour out Thy ineffable goodness on me, grant me and all who love You to bow to Thy glory in Thy Kingdom, and in joy say to Thy beauty: glory to the Father who created us, and glory to the Son who saved us, and glory to the All-Holy Spirit who renewed us forever. centuries! Amen. You might be interested in: