Fatherland

See also: Key to the Fatherland of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninova) Met. John (Snychev) Careful reading of these sayings and stories brings to the reader - as if from heaven - from the first centuries of Christianity the fragrance of holy simplicity and true service to God, overshadowed abundantly by Divine grace. It can direct the activities of a monk on the true path of pleasing God, providing the most correct views on this activity; it can bring consolation in various sorrows that arise in the soul of a monk - rushing at him from the outside; it can nourish and maintain the peaceful and prayerful mood of a monk, just as oil nourishes and maintains the burning of a lamp. Whoever assimilates the teaching of the Fathers proposed here, he, being among human society, will acquire heartfelt silence. Whoever remains alien to this teaching will be outraged by the rumors of thoughts and the picturesqueness of dreams, both in the most solitary desert and in a never-ending seclusion, and will lead a worldly life. The heart is brought into silence by spiritual activity, combined with pain or crying of the heart. Let us try to bring the heart into silence: this is the essence of monastic feat. From the silence of the heart, true humility is born: true humility makes a person the abode of God 2. The sayings of the Fathers and examples of the exact fulfillment of the Gospel commandments, which constitute a distinctive feature of their activities, will guide them to such a feat. The sayings are short and simple; the activity of the Fathers is the activity of the infants in the Lord; but their sayings and activities have a deep meaning and deep meaning. They are precious, as the fruits of holy experience, as an accurate, immaculate expression of the will of God. Explanations are added to some sayings and stories: because the humility of the Fathers, their moral rules and teachings are not always clear to those unfamiliar with the spiritual monastic life 3 . Brethren, read and re-read the teaching offered here! Soon you will see a wonderful quality in it: it is full of life and strength; it is ever-young: it is read every time, as if read for the first time, pouring into the reader’s soul abundant streams of spiritual intelligence and blessed sensations. Patrologiae Graecae, Tomus XL, pagina 963 and 964. Patrologiae Graecae, Tomus XL, pagina 973. Patrologiae Graecae, Tomus XL, pagina 973 You might be interested in: