Письмо 127

In your last letter, you again speak a little about God’s love and remember your illnesses. We have already written to you how high the virtue is - the love of God, and it cannot exist without the love of neighbors, according to the word of St. Apostle: “Even if I love God and hate my brother, it is a lie” (1 John 4:20). It is necessary to achieve love through keeping the commandments of God and through the fear of God, and not by mental ascent to Him. Your vision is not true, but doubtful, and the image of your prayer is very dangerous, and the comforting feelings that occur to you are seductive. Even if they were true, then they would all be useless to you; one must first follow an active path that purifies passions, and then ascend to speculation. The love of God consists in fulfilling God’s commandments: “he who loves Me keeps My commandments.” Read in the Philokalia, in the 1st part, Symeon the New Theologian, chapters: 1, 24; You will see that true faith is lacking. Read more from St. Isaac the Syrian, in the 2nd word there is an article beginning with this word: “the work of the cross is purely”... and further. From this you will see that whoever begins first by the second path of vision or speculation finds the wrath of God upon him: but better heed the reason of this article; When you yourself don’t understand, then ask those who are more experienced. That same St. Isaac read word 55; there you will see how this great man humbled the one who dreamed of acquiring love, and showed the indispensable path in fulfilling the commandments of God. We are not just writing to you about this so that you can just read it, but we want to have an answer to this: what effect will these teachings have on you. Your dental disease is natural; but convulsive or hysterical illness, as well as the faintness that happens to you when it reaches the church, are the actions of the enemy, which come from your imaginary prayer, and the subtle opinion that happens about this, which you cannot make out, but it is clearly visible. For the first time you wrote about your illnesses and sicknesses, but in vain you hid it; any ulcer that opens can be healed conveniently. Although you write that this had not happened to you before, you did not notice it, or perhaps it was hidden from you in order to imagine that monastic life was to blame for this. However, even at home you felt sick due to family grief; Maybe this is the beginning, and then the consequences occur. What you did was very unreasonable: without having been with us, you decided to embark directly on this path. In letters it is in no way possible to explain and reveal what could be done personally. Although we met with you, it was so brief and hasty that nothing could be revealed. Your letters proved your very dangerous ardor, and we warned you as much as we could: but at that time it was completely incomprehensible to you. However, you do not need to be afraid of what we wrote to you: God is able to heal you: recognize your mistake and deception in the imaginary feeling of God’s love, humble yourself and follow the path of God’s commandments, delve into the patristic writings of St. John Climacus, St. Abba Dorotheus and others; open up to Mother in everything, and do not be embarrassed in the fight against passions. Even if you do not turn out to be a winner, all this is allowed by God’s gaze to our humility, and so as not to condemn our neighbors: for before God a sinner with repentance is more acceptable than a righteous man with pride. We remain your unworthy pilgrims, the great hieromonk L. and the great hieromonk Macarius. January 21, 1839. You might be interested in: