1856 год

Thoughts that come to mind in a favorable wind When you sin because of something, think about what is more valuable to you: either the reason you sinned, or the peace of mind that both you and the person with whom you are quarreling lose in a quarrel? But in quarrels, the devil is an ever-present assistant: where there is quarrel, enmity, there he will certainly be, because this is his element, his domain. He is angry and cunning. Often a quarrel arises over an insignificant subject. – Keep this in mind once forever. Sin is a real poison that poisons the pure springs of our soul. You know this from experience: run away from sin. You have a very unclean heart: pay attention (lat). On the birthday of the Sovereign - (see) the last chapters of the prophet Isaiah. Since members of the kingdom of the earth must be members of the Kingdom of Heaven, then on the birthday of the king of the earth it is proper to speak in church about citizens worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. 1 Do not destroy this book even after my death: maybe someone will be found similar to me in thoughts and feelings and will show his deep sympathy for what is written in this book, if not for everything, which I do not dare to hope for - because there may be errors here, with strict criticism - then at least for some parts of it. I consider everything that is good and just in this book not to be mine, but to belong to God, since “we are not content to think that we are from ourselves, but from ourselves, but our contentment is from God” (2 Cor. 3:5). My only mistakes and shortcomings. – December 14, 1856. ...the world continues to stand and prosper as long as there are pious people in it. - Abraham's conversation with the Lord. The man is ridiculous and pathetic. When he is happy, he blooms with health, is happy with everything and does not tolerate any special troubles; then for the most part he is far from God, the Author of his happiness, he whirls carefree, like a moth, in the paradise of pleasures, sitting on all the flowers of pleasure; then he is not himself and does not know what use to make of his life and his well-being; then he himself constitutes some kind of deity; constrained by nothing and no one, he lives in destructive latitude and expanse; having everything not only necessary, but also serving for pleasure, he thinks that all this should be this way and cannot be otherwise. But when a slight pressure of misfortune touches the building of his well-being, then, and only then, does he suddenly, poor, come to his senses, recognize his weakness and his insignificance, as well as the greatness, justice and holiness of the Author of his life and his blessings. He then fears that this body, devoted to the pleasures of sensuality and knowing no end to them, will suddenly collapse and leave behind nothing but decay and stench. He is afraid that this soul, which has so immoderately and illegally allowed itself and the body everything indiscriminately, will go to a completely different place from this alluring, jubilant light, where instead of the joys of this life, it will suffer the unknown, but nevertheless terrible torments of hell, or people and demons rejected by Divine mercy. Poor man! Live here in such a way that you are always ready for the call to the next world; never indulge in any pleasures to the point of forgetting yourself and God. Always remember that your well-being is the greatest, undeserved gift of the Heavenly Father; It is sinful, sinful, if we not only do not use this gift as it should, but also completely forget that it is precisely the gift of God. Heavenly Father! May I always remember that everything I have is Yours, and may Your gifts increase my love for You, and not remove me from You; If misfortune also visits me, may You allow me to turn again to You with repentance and love. Because people are damaged by sin, they have little faith in God and among themselves... That is why the Savior, as a rarity, praised the centurion’s living faith in God. About the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ Man! Do you fully comprehend what a great benefit the Lord is doing to you by giving you His Body and Blood to eat! This benefit is invaluable: only His goodness and omniscience know its greatness. But in order for you to appreciate it as much as possible, remember who you are, why you sincerely partake of His Divinity, and what fruits come from worthy communion. (You) on one side of your nature are flesh and blood, earth and ashes (stenchful pus), it is easy to be convinced of this; Just look at the human body in the tomb: what is it if not earth? And the Lord God does not disdain you and me; The Immortal and Life-Giving One unites with you, becomes one body with us. What is this connection for? In order to instill Divine life in your flesh, in your earthly nature, in your corruption, to make it alien to corruption, living and immortal. After all, you know that at first we were created by Him incorruptible and immortal, and for our sins we became corruptible and mortal (having become the playground of all horrors, all the deplorable consequences of ugly corruption); through the communion of His Body and Blood, He again wants to make you the same as you were at first. In order, further, so that you, with your deified nature, can unite in eternity with the Source of bliss - God and the blessed inhabitants of heaven, and be eternally blessed. On the other side of your nature, you are a fallen, sinful spirit, which, having extremely damaged itself by sin or disobedience to the Law of God, has become alien to the life of God, which it possessed at the beginning, and has been subjected to passions that expel love for God and neighbors, peace and joy from the heart and make it spiritually dead. The Body and Blood of Christ is life-giving food for our soul, which restores its strength, instills in it love, peace and joy and makes it capable of eternal bliss in heaven - in God and with God. So, without the Body and Blood of Christ, you would be nothing but corruption, pus, food for worms, a playground of passions and an eternal martyr, never knowing, forever and ever, spiritual peace and bliss, since the source of our bliss is one - God; outside of Him there is eternal fear and torment. But now this corruptible body of ours, tasting the life-giving Flesh and Blood, will one day be clothed with incorruptibility and peace Thoughts on the occasion of the news of a sick merchant who has been suffering on his bed for nine years Saint Chrysostom, in his word about the fact that one should not be embarrassed by the misfortunes of virtuous people and the prosperity of vicious people, says, among other things, this: “If a wicked person does good here, then this will serve to his misfortune there, because he, having received reward here for his few virtues, will be subjected to due punishment there. That is why he prospers on earth. But the one who suffers punishment here is much happier, because, having been cleansed here of all sins, he will appear there immaculate, pure and innocent. The Apostle Paul, explaining this truth, says: “For this reason there are many in you who are weak and sickly, and sleep contentedly” (1 Cor. 11:30), and in another place: “deliver such a one to Satan” (1 Cor. 5:5). And the prophet Isaiah reasons: “he has received his sins from the hand of the Lord” (Is. 40:2); also: “Lord, you have given us peace, for you have rewarded us with everything” (Is. 26:12). This is how it should be even in our minds. We know that God is Love; He does not want His creature to suffer, but wants it to enjoy bliss; but since our sins serve as the strongest obstacle to bliss, He, in His goodness, heals us from sins sometimes with serious illnesses, so that, having been cleansed from them, we are able to be blissful not only here, but what is most important and dear to us - in heaven, in eternity. Sometimes a person suffers here all his life. This is all the better for him: having been completely cleansed of sins here, he will move into eternity holy and blameless to enjoy the blessings of heaven. An explanation of how the Lord, by His death, redeemed from eternal death all people who had ever lived In the beginning, when this beautiful world had not yet taken shape, God in the Holy Trinity knew that the man He would create would fall, and therefore from the very beginning he invented a means to restore him from the fall. This means was for the Son of God Himself to descend to earth without, however, leaving the Fatherly bosom, to put on true human flesh, to accept a human soul, in a word, to become a man, without ceasing to be God at the same time; to fulfill in this flesh and by the powers of this human soul all the prescriptions of the law of God, which man could not fulfill due to his corruption and corruption; to sacrifice Himself in suffering to Heavenly Justice, which was to eternally punish the unrighteousness of man; to die in diarrhea 2 suffering and to rise from the dead, in order to thereby mark the beginning of the resurrection from the dead to eternal life for all His followers. How did the Lord, by His death, redeem all people from eternal death, when people who lived and are living after the Nativity of Christ were not present during His stay on earth? How to ransom, for example, a captive from captivity, when there is no captive and there is no captivity either? Here one must have a view worthy of faith and the Church, and not this childish, human one. When it was determined to redeem the human race from death through the death of the Son of God, then all the people who would live henceforth were known to God, just as their sins were also known, although neither people nor their sins existed then. This means that even then you and all who live now were known to God, therefore, for you and for all modern generations, it was also determined for the Son of God to drink the cup of God’s wrath in suffering and death: this means that you too have been redeemed by the suffering and death of the God-man from eternal punishment for your sins. Just acquire the faith and virtue necessary for this. Since the work of redemption is not a present work (i.e., of today), moreover, it is not an ordinary and natural work, but a accomplished work, a work or miracle of the infinite goodness and omnipotence of God, a supernatural work, then it naturally requires faith and obedience. I say: obedience, because the Redeemer, eternally Living and Existing, demands from us, His redeemed servants, activity in accordance with our new state (sonhood). So the kings of the earth redeem their captives, not so that in the kingdom they would bear the same duties as in slavery, or do nothing, but so that in their place they would do the deeds of loyal subjects and benefit the whole society. God! Let me rest in the bosom of Thy love, as I once had the bliss of resting in it. Ah, I know from experience, my God, my Father, how sweet it is to be in Your love. A little child is not so comforted in the embrace of his mother after his tears, as those worthy of Your love are comforted by Your love. Your love is soothing, peaceful, full of indescribable joy, sublime and holy, inspiring perfect security... from all our enemies (which we see and which we do not see). He who abides in Thy love is not afraid of anything, even if the whole world threatens him with countless disasters. Without You it is hard and sad for me: my soul is restless and confused, my heart aches painfully and collapses; I am completely not myself, like an outcast, lost. I am despicable without You in my own eyes, Your beautiful world then seems to not exist for me: I look at it with my own eyes, but I do not enjoy the beauty of Your creation, I do not ascend with my mind to You, the Sun of truth, who enlightens every person. I remain, as it were, alone - without You and as if outside of Your creation, abandoned, pitiful, desperate. But when I rest in the bosom of Your Divine love, then You are with me, and together with You, the Creator of everything, and everything is with me: the bright and shining Angels, all the people whom my love for them makes inherent in me as brothers, and all creation, the whole visible world, heavenly and earthly. Then the world, as Your only house, becomes my property, since then I am Your son, and the Father’s property is also the property of the son. To the flock. And I won’t be with you long, and you won’t be with me (me, 30 years old): life is fleeting, but our blissful or painful eternity is undoubted. Therefore, while I am with you and you are with me, I must tell you the whole will of God about you, so that I will not be responsible for you at the Last Judgment of my God. I won’t look at whether you like listening to me or not, but I will do my job. The truth stings the eyes, and the truth is sometimes needed for listeners, but medicines are often sharp and difficult for the sick. Is it therefore necessary to remain silent, remain inactive, and not treat the patient? But what then is my title, my duty? Am I despised in the pulpit? Am I not a teacher of faith? Am I not the shepherd of the sheep entrusted to me? Am I not the perfecter of the mysteries of faith? No, “my right hand will be forgotten, if it does not inscribe the words of truth on the charter, stick my tongue to my throat” (Ps. 136:5-6), if it does not turn in my mouth to speak the rules of faith and salvation! Let my already dim mind, which was given to me for this purpose, darken and die out in me, so that I know and communicate to others the verbs of the eternal life. May my heart, which has grown cold towards the work of God, fall apart! No, as long as I have sense and memory, I will always remember that “woe is I if I do not preach the good news” (1 Cor. 9:16), that the Heavenly Shepherd will require at my hand the blood of His sheep who perished from my negligence and laziness. Rise, man, above crude sensuality, do not pay attention to the play of the flesh: it is material, elemental, blind. If the flesh gallops and plays like a horse, leave it to itself, let the soul not descend to it with its thoughts and imagination and not cleave to it, do not sympathize with it with its heart: if it plays, it will stop when it sees that they are not looking at it and are leaving it in disdain, like an insignificant, despicable, stupid slave. Tell your soul: “You have something to do, besides this earthly flesh, you have the most worthy, spiritual objects: your moral perfection, your blissful eternity.” You are a priest and have the right and duty to lead and manage the verbal sheep entrusted to you into the sheepfold, into the courtyard of the Lord. Remember how dear His sheep are to the Lord. “Simon Ionin, do you love Me more than these? Feed my sheep” (John 21:15–16). You see how bright the sun and stars are: the righteous will one day shine in the same way as the sun - from their inner, immaterial light. When Angels appear on earth, almost all of them are illuminated with light. Strive for this enlightenment: discard dark deeds. We can elevate our nature to a communion of the Divine nature, and God is uncreated Light, surpassing all created light. Human! When I look at you, at your earthly feelings, at your flesh in general, when I remember the day of your birth and the subsequent days of your infancy and growth until now, and then my thoughts are transported to the day of your death, and then to the eternity that was awarded to you from the creation of the world, then I do not know what to marvel at: your insignificance or the omnipotence and goodness of the Creator, Who was pleased to give you life and your perishable and the mortal body will once be clothed with immortality. My surprise increases when I see that the Lord God, the eternal King, gives you, flesh and blood, to eat His own Flesh and Blood (since He “in the days of His flesh” (Heb. 5:7) sincerely partook of our flesh and blood) in order to make you eternally alive. No matter what you look at, everything is fine and good with you. Thank God that He prospers everything so well for you. You don’t thank God for your well-being; moreover, you’re even dissatisfied with it! But bring to yourself the thought that in the same city as you there live people who are similar to you in everything, in an unhappy lot, to which, however, they are accustomed and are not burdened by it. Get into these low-lying, cramped, stuffy shelters, where several poor people live, and thank God with all your heart that you have a spacious, clean and bright shelter, and be completely satisfied with your condition. And if you want Christian perfection and to enter the eternal abodes of heaven, try as much as possible to alleviate the lot of these poor people in any way you can and in any way you can: whether by intercession with others, by money, or by something else. Be merciful like the Heavenly Father, buy here, at the price of corruption, incorruptible life in heaven, the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. You often wonder: how did a fire start from a small spark? But don’t you know that fire is an obedient servant of God? Just like all the elements in general. God ordered the spark to turn into a flame - and a fire occurred as a punishment for wickedness or to tempt virtue. They also often ask: how did so-and-so die prematurely, when, apparently, the disease was not dangerous? And here remember that if the Lord wanted the spark of illness to turn into a flame of destruction, then the illness should have increased more and more and the doctors’ aids should have remained unsuccessful, hence recognize the weakness of every person, the weakness of all human wisdom, no matter how hard it tries to continue human life. Read these clearly written words on every dying person: “Man is like grass: he lived, grew, and collapsed.” Don't blame doctors: they are not omnipotent. (Mark 3:31–35) “His mother and brothers came (to the house where the Savior was and taught the people), and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. And the people sat around Him. Deciding to Him: Behold, Your Mother and Your brothers and Your sisters are looking for You outside. And he answered them, saying: who is My Mother or My brothers? and looking around them who were sitting, the verb: behold, My Mother and My brethren: whoever does the will of God, this is My brother and My sister and My Mother.” Probably - may the ears of the Most Illustrious Mother of the Lord not be offended - the Most Holy Virgin and cousins ​​... wanted to call Him out of a feeling of love for Him, out of precaution so that they would not do rudeness to Him or do any other harm, not fully understanding that until His hour had come, until then no one could harm Him. They were probably bored without Him, especially the Immaculate Mother. The Lord spent whole days with the people and even spent the night anywhere. How could She not follow, at least with her gaze, Her beloved Son, Her now and our Sweetest Jesus? But the Savior honored the fulfillment of the will of His Father above all else. Likewise, a priest in a church should not think about any earthly connections. From the Epistle to Philemon. The Apostle converted Onesimus, the servant of Filimonov, to Christ, and for this reason he calls him a child. Previously, he was probably an unkind servant of his master, but now the Apostle, having instructed him in the faith, calls him beneficial to Philemon and to him (the Apostle). Amazing deeds: Onesimus ran away from his master for an hour to the Apostle - and became a Christian, from a lost man - an eternal member of the Kingdom of Christ: “For this reason, be separated for an hour, so that you may receive him eternally” (Phil. 1, 15). This means that faith saves us, but not works; Onesimus has not yet finished his earthly career, but is already called a member of the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. In the same sense, all those converted by the apostles are called by different names, meaning that they are already members of the Heavenly Kingdom... A servant of Christ must behave in such a way that people follow him in crowds, that is, the priest must attract parishioners to himself by word and life. Are you ashamed of your title? Not true: your title is ashamed of you. Take precaution. The devil, knowing your weak side, will attack you every day. Try to maintain important calm. Be even. Don't go overboard. The life of a sinner is full of abomination in reality and in a dream: in reality - in reality, in actions, and in a dream - in unclean visions, so that every person can clearly see his shortcomings, his weaknesses in dreams. Even a person who lives as holy as possible, but has weaknesses that pride sometimes hides from him in reality, can see them clearly in a dream. Dreams should not be neglected: our lives are reflected in them, like in a mirror. The limitations of man are noticeable from considering him in relation to the whole world of God, enormous, luminous, in particular, to the enormous distances of heaven from earth; in relation to the elements of the earth, which are often terribly hostile against him, burning him or his property, drowning him or his home, ship, etc., blowing him up with stormy breath or otherwise; in relation to animals, who for the most part live without any dependence on him and even instill fear in him; in relation to plants that dress so beautifully, often live longer than him and come out of the ground completely without his knowledge and skill; finally, in relation even to his body, which often torments him with feelings of hunger, thirst, peace, etc. Everything that is around a person is not his, but God’s, and everything that a person has is God’s, not his. Salvation of the soul. How much this salvation means. What is the soul? How much the Christian faith means. You see the beauty of the creature: marvel at its Artist and love Him for His boundless perfections. You see the slyness of affectus passion, emotional excitement (lat.): she is still looking for more and is not content with what is given to her. What would seem to be more? Let the eye of your mind always be fixed on considering the state of your soul. Observe: is it quiet and calm, like a majestic river flowing smoothly in its banks, or is it agitated and seething, like a fierce sea, from stormy passions. In the first case, rejoice and thank God, and in the second, try to destroy the cause of the excitement. If, with the grace of God, you are accustomed to seeing the desired peace in your soul, then it is easy for you to notice that the cause of your indignation. Standing on the bank of a river, calmly, quietly flowing in its banks, you can easily notice what will disturb it: the wind, some substance thrown onto its surface, a fish playing in the water, a ship floating in the water, or something else. It's the same in the soul. If she, having been calm until now, suddenly becomes indignant, now pay attention - and you will see what indignates her. And most often it is the evil one who outrages her: he cannot tolerate peace of mind and therefore is now trying to disturb a calm soul. Everywhere he acts directly, but especially through our passions. And this is both in reality and in a dream. Don't be so meaningless... about appearance alone. She is an essential place, abiding in her, but soon passes for every person, but love the soul in her, attachment to yourself; her efficiency and talent. That she's not very good? . Well, if she really was bad, is it possible not to love her because of this, is it really her fault? Moreover, in this case, is it for your own sake or for the sake of people that you don’t love her? If for your own sake, you are stupid, reckless: how can you not like a face when you know her beautiful soul, many praiseworthy qualities? If for the sake of people, he is also stupid. What do people care about her, and what do you care about them, about their gossip? Yes, they cannot say anything fair in this case to condemn your wife. Our soul is an amazing creature: at night, like a baby left to its own devices by its parents, to whom they do not pay attention, it plays with external objects, putting them in the strangest, most bizarre combinations. But in the waking state, upon awakening, when the eye of self-consciousness and reason, like parents to a child, begin to turn their searching attention to her, she ceases, so to speak, to be amused by the whimsically surrounding objects and from a baby becomes an intelligent, serious, strong being. Calls people before him, enters into discussions with them; or reasoning with herself, asking, answering; or is carried away by his imagination to thousands of the most remote and opposite places; or rushes around in nearby places, being busy with some of her own views and interests. Both because she is a highly active being and cannot remain idle in any way, no matter how stupid, and because her lifestyle, position, inclinations and activities, habits, passions, like levers, move her abilities. So, our soul is a most amazing creature: in some cases it takes a powerfully strong advantage over the body and at night, upon awakening, when the body has rested, the soul, like a swift stream, breaks out from under the shell of sleeping feelings and, like a stormy and high-water river, touches everything and carries everything with it: it will reason with everyone, it will start a conversation with everyone, so it is very difficult to enclose it within the limits of moderation or to force it to calm down, at least at night. I hear fashionable talk approving of me. But the praise is not for me, but for God, who does every good thing in me. I myself, I myself vividly feel that I have only weaknesses and shortcomings, “God works in me to will and to do good” (Phil. 2:13). Glory to him. “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your name, give glory” (Ps. 113:9). Holy love for God and His intelligent sheep! Warm my heart and inspire me to do a good deed - a conversation with my flock about the Sovereign Trinity! So that you can slowly say familiar prayers and not be embarrassed, do not think about human glory, do not please people, but think only about pleasing God. 3 entries on the third side of the binding of the diary notebook for 1856 Just as water flows from a leaky vessel, so from an unkind person a word of condemnation, hatred, slander comes. Human! You very rarely think about the most important subject - about the improvement of your life, while every day you think about insignificant objects. Think more often about how best to morally organize your life. Maria Alexandrovna Maria. Anna Blagoevangelskaya Anna Andreevna Pavlovskaya Do not be disgusted, but rejoice and always thank God, remember that you are healthy (healed) from madness by the Lord and have everything not only necessary for life, but also even pleasant and excessive. Be joyful and honor God. April 9, 1856 (Latin).. Virtue When you feel sad about something, immediately tell the Lord your sadness, and He will comfort you. The Savior is the same for us now as in His earthly life. And now He is born for us, circumcised, teaches, suffers, rises from the dead, ascends into heaven. As then, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). That is why we still have the feasts of the Lord in continuous succession! Testimonies are commandments, laws. When you pray, do not rush your thoughts to some other matter, because prayer should be your most important occupation throughout your life, and learning to pray worthily is the most important thing. Scoff. - see Church Dictionary. You might be interested in: