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Part II
271"This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent."—St. John xvii. 3.
"MAY the living water of the Holy Ghost fill my heart, and may rivers of living water flow from my heart to the glory of God, and for the salvation of God's people."
To the Glory of the Holy Trinity. Amen.
Lord! I am—a miracle of Thy goodness, wisdom, and omnipotence, inasmuch as I was brought by Thee from non-existence into existence; inasmuch as I am preserved until now by Thee in this existence; inasmuch as by the mercy, bounties, and love to mankind of Thine Only begotten Son, I shall inherit eternal life, provided I am faithful unto Thee; inasmuch as by the mysterious act of Thine, offering Thyself through Thy Son as a sacrifice, I am restored from the terrible fall, I am redeemed from eternal destruction, I glorify Thy goodness, Thine infinite power, Thy wisdom! But complete the miracle of Thy goodness, omnipotence, and wisdom upon me, a miserable sinner, and by ways known to Thee, save me, Thine unworthy servant, and lead me into Thine eternal kingdom, make me worthy of the life that never grows old, of the day that has no evening.
My heart ought to cling to God alone. "It is good for me to hold me fast by God ";669669Psalm lxxiii. 28. but—what blindness and perversion! it clings to earthly delights: to food, drink, carnal pleasures; to money, to this dross, to dress, to this corruption, to perishable colours, to patterns, to fashions, that charm the eyes, to luxuriously furnished rooms, etc. How strange it is! I, a Christian, a heavenly man, am occupied with everything earthly, and care but little for heavenly things. I am transplanted in Christ into heaven, but meanwhile I cling with all my heart to earth, and apparently would never desire to be in heaven, but would prefer to always remain on earth, although earthly things, notwithstanding their delights, oppress and torment me; although I see that everything earthly is uncertain, corruptible, and soon passes away; although I know and feel that nothing earthly can satisfy my spirit, can appease and 272 rejoice my heart, which is constantly disturbed and grieved by earthly vanity. How long, therefore, shall I, a heavenly man, remain earthly? How long shall I, the child of God, be flesh, notwithstanding that I was born in holy baptism, "not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God"670670St. John i. 13. How long will it be before I turn wholly to God? Lord! draw my heart to Thee by Thy Holy Spirit. Lord! turn my heart away from earthly vanities. Lord! without Thee I can do nothing.
We love everything brilliant on earth: gold, silver, precious stones, crystal, bright clothing—why then do we not love the future glory to which the Lord calls us? Why do we not aspire to shine like the sun? "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."671671St. Matthew xiii. 43. It is because we have perverted the nature of our soul by sin, and have attached ourselves to earth instead of to heaven, to corruptible things instead of to incorruptible ones; because we love earthly, transitory, perishable, and seductive splendour. But why is there such a love for everything bright in us ? Because our soul was created for heavenly light, and was originally all light, all radiance; thus light is inborn in it, the feeling and desire for light are inborn in it. Direct this aspiration to seeking for heavenly light!
When you see a beautiful girl or woman or a handsome youth, immediately lift up your thoughts to the supreme, most holy Beauty, the Author of every earthly and heavenly beauty, that is, to God; glorify Him for having created such beauty out of mere earth; marvel at the beauty of God's image in man, which shines forth even in our perverted state; imagine what our image will be when we shall shine forth in the kingdom of our Father, if we become worthy of it; picture to yourself what must be the beauty of God's saints, of the holy angels, of the Mother of God Herself, adorned with the Divine glory; imagine the unspeakable goodness of God's countenance, which we shall behold, and do not be allured by earthly beauty, by flesh and blood. Carnal desire is sweet, but it is sinful, corruptive, and repugnant to God. Do not attach yourself with your heart to any girlish or female beauty, but to the Lord God alone, Who has created every beauty for His own sake, and say: "It is good for me to hold me fast by God,"672672Psalm lxxiii. 28. to God alone, and not to fleeting carnal beauty.
The despondency that we fall into through failure in any 273 work, especially in priestly matters, which we do for others, and the sense of shame proceed from our bodiless enemy, who ever seeks, like a roaring lion, to devour us, and who forces us into every failure, into every sin. Therefore, in order to be unerring in such matters, we must previously prepare ourselves by intelligent study, combined with abstinence and prayer; we must strive after perfection in everything, and not give place to the Devil. If failure occurs, do not let us be overwhelmed with despondency, but, acknowledging before God our sin and infirmity, let us humble ourselves before Him, throwing aside our self-love, and without shame confess our sin, our carelessness, slothfulness, or weakness, and cast our sin into the abyss of God's mercy, asking for His grace and help for the good and successful accomplishment of our work in future.
In prayer and in every work of your life avoid suspiciousness, doubt, and diabolical imaginations. Let your spiritual eye be single, in order that the whole body of your prayer, of your works, and of your life may be light.
During general prayer let your whole heart be in God, and do not on any account let it cling for a single moment to anything earthly; have also an ardent love for human souls, love for the sake of God, and be zealous for their salvation; pray for them as for those who are in great misery, for it is said: "All we who are subjected to the enticements of the evil one are in misery."
When hungry, do not throw yourself upon food—else you will overload your heart and body. Eat slowly, without avidity, with reflection to the glory of God, remembering the God Who feeds us, and above all His incorruptible food, His Body and Blood, that out of love He has given Himself to us in food and drink, remembering also the holy word of the Gospel.
Everything that disturbs us, and as though undermines the heart in its foundation and oppresses it, proceeds from the Devil, for he himself is eternal disturbance and oppression. The Lord is the peace and rest of the heart. "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."673673St. Matthew xi. 28. "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give unto you."674674St. John xiv. 27. How many passions there are, how much disturbance and oppression; how many attachments, how many sharp arrows 274 penetrating the heart, and how much darkness! The greater part of a man's life is spent in spiritual darkness.
Should thoughts of self-praise, of self-satisfaction, occur to you, say: "I myself am nothing; all that is good in me is accomplished by the grace of God." "What hast thou that thou didst not receive?"6756751 Corinthians iv. 7. "Without Me ye can do nothing."676676St. John xv. 5. Should the thought of despising any of your neighbours, or of your family occur to you, say: "The entire man is the beautiful work of God's hands; everything in him is very well ordered." For "it was very good."677677Genesis i. 31.
What is your obligation as a communicant of the Holy Mysteries? "You must seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God;"678678Colossians iii. 1, 2. and not think of earthly things, for "Christ came upon earth in order to raise us up to heaven."679679From the Acathistos to the Sweetest Lord Jesus. "In My Father's house are many mansions...... I go to prepare a place for you."680680St. John xiv. 2. "Our conversation is in heaven."681681Philippians iii. 20. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."682682St. Matthew v. 3. "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."683683St. Matthew v. 20. "Suffer little children to come unto Me .... for of such is the kingdom of God."684684St. Luke xviii. 16. Do you see what the final purpose is for which Christ came upon earth, for which He gives us His divine Mysteries— His Body and Blood? This purpose is—to give us the kingdom of heaven. Let us aspire to gain it.
Pride is of the demon; malice is of the same demon; envy of the same demon; the abomination of fornication is of the same demon; enforced blasphemy, of the same demon; enforced doubt in the truth, of the same demon; despondency, of the same demon; the passions are various, but the same Satan acts in all of them; the passions are various, but they are, all together—the barking of the same Satan, only in different tunes; and the man, when subjected to them, is one and the same spirit with Satan. When you are subjected to the malicious and furious violence of the passions, and to the harassments of the Devil, during the fulfilment of various works for God, accept these sufferings as sufferings for the name of Christ, and rejoice in your sufferings, thanking God; for the Devil is preparing for you, without knowing it himself, the most shining crowns from the Lord! Amen. We must absolutely resist the Devil.
275Do not be vexed with those who show pride, or malice, effeminacy, and impatience in their intercourse with you or others, but, remembering that you yourself are subject to the same and greater sins and passions, pray for them and be meek with them. "If a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens [if anybody has offended you, and it is hard for you, bear this], and so fulfil the law of Christ."685685Galatians vi. 1, 2.
Do you pay sufficient attention to the state of your soul? whether it is in good health, and, seeing that it lives, is its life vigorous? And, if its present temporal life is happy, then is its eternal life, its eternal happiness, ensured by anything — for instance, by faith — is there in your soul a lively faith in God, in the Saviour, in the Church,—by good works, meekness, humility, gentleness, love of truth and honesty, abstinence, chastity, mercy, patience, obedience, industry, and others? If the reverse is the case, then all your labour is in vain. The soul, perhaps, does many things worthy of wonder, but it will be itself lost. " For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"686686St. Matthew xvi. 26.
A day is the symbol of the transitoriness of earthly life: it begins with the morning, then comes the day itself, followed by the evening, and, with the coming of the night, the whole day has passed away. So, likewise, life passes away. First, childhood, like the early morning j then, adolescence and manhood, like the full day and noon; and then old-age, like evening, if God grants it; and afterwards inevitable death.
Wherever a man goes, he always comes back home afterwards. So it is with the Christian, whoever he may be, whether he is a person of distinction or a simple one, rich or poor, learned or ignorant; wherever he may be, whatever station he may occupy in society, whatever he does, he must remember that he is not at home, but on a voyage, on the way, and that he must return home—to his father, mother, to his elder brothers and sisters; and that this home is heaven, his father—God; his mother—the Most-pure Mother of the Lord; his elder brothers and sisters—the angels and saints of God; and he must also remember that all his earthly duties and works are artificial, whilst his real duties are the salvation of his soul, the fulfilment of Christ's commandments, the cleansing of his heart.
276How can we love God with all our heart, with all our soul and all our strength, and with all our thoughts? With all our heart means—undividedly, not dividing ourselves between the love of God and love of the world, or in general of creatures. If, for instance, you pray, pray with an undivided heart, not allowing your attention to be distracted by vain thoughts, by earthly attachments; be wholly in God, in His love, with all your soul—that is, do not only love Him with part of your soul, not only with your mind, without your heart and will sharing in this love—with all your strength, not with half your strength or slightly. When you have to fulfil any commandment, fulfil it most zealously, unto sweat and blood, unto laying down your life for it, if necessary, but not slothfully, indolently or unwillingly.
How varying is this world! Here is merriment, music— there are prayers, hymns, lamentations for the dead; here are riches, luxury, splendour—there naked poverty, need of everything, even of decent and sufficiently warm clothing, overcrowding, disgusting dirt and damp; here is blooming health, superfluity of strength—there maladies, decrepitude, exhaustion; here are enlightenment, much knowledge—there ignorance, darkness; or here worldly education is united with spiritual enlightenment and piety, and in this union there is beautiful and pleasant harmony and spiritual beauty, while there worldly education is accompanied with unbelief immorality, spiritual deformity, want of harmony and dissonance, harrowing the soul; here is success in all undertakings—there failure; here everything is easily obtained (money, position in society, honours, distinctions), whilst there a man strives with all his might and obtains nothing, or only by enormous efforts obtains even a little. Who shall solve this apparent contradiction? God alone. We can only conjecture.
He who is insolent towards men is insolent towards God, as many of us are. Respect in man the grand, inestimable image of God and be forbearing towards the faults and errors of fallen man, so that God may be forbearing towards your own, because the enemy of God and of mankind, being unable to vent his malice upon God, endeavours to vent it upon his image—man, as well as all his impurities, his darkness, pride, envy, etc. Respect, therefore, man and save him; watch yourself also, do not become irritable nor malicious, do not envy, do not offend, do not lie, do not commit adultery, do not steal, and so on.
Our soul is simple as thought, and rapid as thought or lightning. In an instant it can be wounded by sin and become 277 attached to corruptible things; in an instant it can fall away from the love of God and its neighbour through a single unrighteous thought, through a single passionate desire, through a single malevolent thought, and, therefore, we must constantly watch our heart, lest it should incline to words or thoughts of evil, and must ever strive to preserve it in God's simplicity and purity, and in the love of God and its neighbour.
The best moments on earth are those during which we meditate upon heavenly things in general, when we recognise or defend the truth, that heavenly dweller and denizen. Only then do we truly live. Therefore, the essential interests of the soul require that we should oftener rise above the earth, upwards to heaven, where is our true life, our true country, which shall have no end.
Looking upon the many various diversions of men, upon their exclusive care for the flesh, one thinks: "Have these men a soul? And if they have, then why do they not care for it, why do they not think of its salvation?—for it is given up to innumerable sins which constitute its death, and eternal death. Are there indeed eternal torments and eternal bliss ? And if these exist, then why do men strive so little, or do not strive at all, to escape eternal torment and to inherit eternal bliss?" This is what astonishes me. And, also, why do not men fear the terrible hour of death ? For we cannot live on earth for ever. Some time our turn will come, and we shall be told: "Return ye, sons of men, unto the earth from which you were created." O, how heedless we are, how great is our pride, how manifold our passions, our attachments to the earth! Sinners, do you think that God has no means by which He can punish you ? O, there are means, there are! There is the fiery gehenna, the lake of fire, the terrible Tartarus, at which even Satan himself trembles, the worm that never dies, and the gnashing of teeth. But why do I discourse of this only to you? I ought to say the same to myself, to myself also, for I am the greatest of the sinners, for whom the torments of hell were prepared, but from which Christ, in Whom is all my hope, has saved me. But you, my brethren, have you all faith in Christ, in His Gospel? Where is your evangelical life? Who of you reads the Gospel, even daily, that greatest gift of God, and law of life ? " They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."687687Romans iii. 12. Compare Psalm xiv. 3.
Both learned and unlearned young men seldom go to church, 278 and in general do not attend to their spiritual education, looking upon it as unnecessary and giving themselves up to worldly vanity. Attention must be paid to this. It is the fruit of pride, of want of spiritual development. They consider attendance at church and Divine service as the business of the common people and women, forgetting that, in the temple, Angels officiate with trembling, together with men, and regard this as their highest bliss.
Does not coldness towards public worship, towards Divine service, proceed from the fact that some do not understand it, and that others, although they have studied the science of Divine service, have been taught it drily, without any examples, only according to the understanding? whilst Divine service, being the high contemplation of the mind, is at the same time, and pre-eminently, the peace, sweetness and blessedness of the heart.
A priest, as the physician of souls, ought himself to be free from spiritual infirmities (that is, from the passions), in order to be able to cure others; as a pastor, he ought to be pastured himself on the grassy pasture land of the Gospel and the writings of the Holy Fathers, in order to know where to pasture his sheep; he ought to be skilful in struggling against the mental wolves, in order to know how to drive them away from Christ's flock; he ought to be skilful and mighty in prayer and abstinence; he ought not to be bound by worldly desires and delights, especially by covetousness, self-love, pride, ambition. In short, he ought to be a light himself, in order to enlighten others; to be himself the spiritual salt, in order to preserve others from spiritual corruption; and ought himself to be free from the corruption of the passions. If the reverse is the case, every spiritually sick person may say: "Physician, heal thyself "688688St. Luke iv. 23. first, and then I will Jet you heal me. "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."689689St. Matthew vii. 5.
The heart is refined, spiritual, and heavenly by nature— guard it; do not overburden it, do not make it earthly, be temperate to the utmost in food and drink, and in general in bodily pleasures. The heart is—the temple of God. "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy."6906901 Corinthians iii. 17.
Be a Christian in heart—that is, be always sincere in prayer, in your intercourse with your neighbour, ever believing, 279 trusting, meek, gentle, wishing well to everybody, just, not covetous, compassionate, merciful, abstinent, chaste, patient, obedient, courageous.
O, how dearly our Lord Jesus Christ valued our soul and its salvation by coming down upon earth, by taking upon Himself our soul and body, by His awful sufferings, and by dying for us! And how do I value my soul and its eternal salvation? O, I do not know how to value it, and have not until now learned how to answer the love of my Saviour, having attached myself wholly to the earth, having given myself up wholly to slothfulness and various passions. How can the love of God, the kingdom of heaven, be in you when in your heart reigns earthly love—sensuality, cupidity, and pride? It is impossible, until you have "crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts;"691691Galatians v. 24. "for no man can serve two masters;"692692St. Matthew vi. 24. and "whosoever will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."693693James iv. 4. "Love not," it is said, " the world, neither the things that are in the world. . . . For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father. . . . And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."6946941 John ii. 15-17.
Our Lord God is pleased with us for our importunate request for His mercies, seeing in our importunity our faith and love to Him; whilst we sinners are angry with the poor, who daily and importunately ask alms of us—even with poor children, whose confidence in men is especially great, and whose belief in the goodness of other's is boundless, because they themselves are simple, good, and meek. Being covetous, sensual, and proud, we often look contemptuously upon them, cry out at them—the meek lambs—get out of temper, not wishing to understand that hunger, want of clothes, boots, urgent demand for the rent of their miserable lodgings, force them to beg importunately of us. Is it not they that cry unto the Lord against us in the words of the prophet David: "Our soul is filled with the scornful reproof of the wealthy, and with the despitefulness of the proud"?695695Psalm cxxiii. 4. And certainly, sooner or later, the voice of their complaint shall reach heaven. It has, perhaps, long ago reached the ears of the Lord God of Sabbaoth, and will move Him to wrath against us and to righteous vengeance.
280Until now I have not become impoverished by being merciful to others, and shall not become impoverished to the last, for "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and to-day."696696Hebrews xiii. 8. It is not said without reason: "He that giveth to the poor shall not lack." Indeed, up till now the Lord has only increased my temporal blessings, and has not taken them away. I praise the bountifulness of the Lord, His rich Providence.
Thou art the representative of faith and of the Church, O priest; thou art the representative of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; therefore, thou must be an example of meekness, purity, valour, firmness, patience, of elevation of spirit. Thou art doing God's work, and must not lose courage before anybody; thou must not flatter anyone, nor be servile, and must consider thy work as higher than all human affairs.
He who is accustomed to give account of his life at confession here will not fear to give an answer at the terrible judgment-seat of Christ. It is for this purpose that the mild tribunal of penitence was here instituted, in order that we, being cleansed and amended through penitence here below, may give an answer without shame at the terrible judgment-seat of Christ. This is the first motive for sincere confession, and, moreover, it must absolutely be made every year. The longer we remain without confessing, the worse it is for us, the more entangled we become in the bonds of sin, and therefore the more difficult it is to give an account. The second motive is tranquillity: the more sincere has been our confession, the more tranquil will the soul be afterwards. Sins are—secret serpents, gnawing at the heart of a man and all his being; they do not let him rest, they continually suck his heart; sins are—prickly thorns, constantly goring the soul; sins are— spiritual darkness. Those who repent must bring forth the fruits of repentance.
Consciousness, memory, imagination, feeling, and will are helps to penitence. As we sin with all the powers of our soul, so penitence must be from our whole soul. Penitence in words only, without the intention of amendment and without the feeling of contrition, may be called hypocritical. Should the consciousness of sins be obscured, it must be cleared up; should the feeling be smothered and dulled, it must be roused; should the will become blunt and too weak for amendment, it must be forced; "the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."697697St. Matthew xi. 12. Confession must be sincere, deep, and full.
Ah, my brethren! shall we not all soon vanish from the face 281 of the earth, and be as though we had not existed? Where are, then, our works of love ? Where is the fulfilment of the Creator's commandments? Where is the spirit of Christ in us? Where is gentleness, where is humility, where is love for souls, where is detachment from temporal things? Where is zeal for spiritual blessings? How vain and most foolish we are! We have distorted the image of our souls, distorted our life, perverted it, turned it upside down. Instead of pleasing Christ, we please the Devil.
This tranquil, beautiful heaven, studded with stars, will some day present the most terrible spectacle before the second coming of the Lord. O sinners, be taught daily by the spectacle of the heavens while there is yet time to learn. "The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven."698698St. Matthew xxiv. 29.
There is, my brethren, a true, real life, and there is a false, imaginary life. To live in order to eat, drink, dress, walk; to enrich ourselves in general, to live for earthly pleasures or cares, as well as to spend time in intriguing and underhand dealings; to think ourselves competent judges of everything and everybody is—the imaginary life; whilst to live in order to please God and serve our neighbours, to pray for the salvation of their souls and to help them in the work of their salvation in every way, is to lead the true life. The first life is continual spiritual death, the second—the uninterrupted life of the spirit.
The Lord said of His Church: "I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."699699St. Matthew xvi. 18. This is said of the pastors of the Church, or the Church hierarchy, and of all true believers, as well as of all the sacraments, all the dogmas and commandments of the Holy Orthodox Faith, and of all the offices of the sacraments; for instance, the Liturgy, Holy Orders, Matrimony, Baptism, Chrism, Holy Oil, which have been established unto all the ages, and have already been in existence unchanged during many centuries. See how firm is the Church, founded by the Lord! Remember these words of the Lord, and do not waver in the slightest degree when celebrating any of the sacraments. Be firm as adamant.
I love to pray in God's temple, especially within the holy altar, before the Holy Table or the Prothesis, for by God's grace I become wonderfully changed in the temple. During the prayer of repentance and devotion the thorns, the bonds of the passions, fall from my soul, and I feel so light; all the 282 spell, all the enticement of the passions vanish, and I seem to die to the world, and the world, with all its blessings, dies for ma I live in God and for God, for God alone. I am wholly penetrated by Him, and am one spirit with Him. I become like a child soothed on its mother's knee. Then my heart is full of most heavenly, sweet peace. My soul is enlightened by the light of heaven. At such times we see everything clearly; we look upon everything rightly; we feel friendship and love towards everyone, even towards our enemies, readily excusing and forgiving everyone. O, how blessed is the soul when it is with God! Truly the Church is earthly paradise.
What is most terrible to man? Death? Yes, death. None of us can imagine, without terror, how he will have to die and breathe his last sigh. And how parents grieve when their beloved children die, when they lie breathless before their eyes! But, brethren, do not fear, and do not grieve beyond measure. By His death Jesus Christ our Saviour has conquered our death, and by His resurrection He has laid the foundation for our resurrection, and every week, every Sunday, we solemnise in the risen Christ our common future resurrection from the dead, and begin beforehand the life eternal, to which our present temporal life is but a short, narrow, and most sorrowful way. For a true Christian death is merely like a sleep until the day of resurrection, or like birth into a new life. And thus in solemnising every week the resurrection of Christ and our own resurrection from the dead, let us learn to continually die to sin, and to rise with our souls from dead works, to enrich ourselves with virtues, and not sorrow inconsolably for the dead. Let us learn to meet death without dread, as the decree of the Heavenly Father, which, through the resurrection of Christ from the dead, has lost its terror.
Sin is foolish and destructive. For instance, a drunkard, from the excessive use of spirituous liquors, becomes ill, and indulges in various dissipations and shameful acts, which he himself is ashamed to think Of and remember afterwards. And yet he continues to give himself up to drink. A glutton, after excessive eating, feels a heaviness, his capabilities become obscured, his tongue is bound, and he himself sees that he has become like an animal or bestial in nature, because he often breathes malice and spite against those who live with him, or who daily ask alms of him. He is subjected to oppression and affliction; he is deprived of peace and tranquillity; he becomes incapable of meditating upon heavenly things, or of being a true Christian, of living for the highest purpose of existence. 283 And yet he continues to be greedy after dainties and eating. An adulterer sees that through adultery he defiles and dishonours his nature, his soul and body, subjects them to maladies, perverts the order of life established by the Creator, exposes himself to shame; and yet he continues to commit adultery. A miser sees that his riches are a burden to him, sees that they deprive him of his spiritual freedom and make him their slave; that they turn him away from God and the love of his neighbour, draw him away from the true life, and bring death into his soul, depriving him of spiritual and bodily rest; that they lay heavy anxieties upon him; but yet he continues to accumulate greater riches and to add to his load, until, exhausted by cares, he falls ill and dies, having lost his soul through the accumulation of riches. And so it is with every sin—pride, malice, envy, and others.
We must kill in ourselves earthly love, love (the passion) for earthly, carnal beauty, for pleasures, for gain, for our own flesh, for honour, and quicken in ourselves love for heaven, our true country: for the soul, the heavenly denizen: for virtue. We must hate everything that the flesh loves, and love that which it despises, which it fears (for instance: meditation upon death, upon judgment); we must also love poverty, the sick and suffering.
Let others mock at you, oppose you, when you are under the influence of any passion; do not be in the least offended with those who mock at or oppose you, for they do you good; crucify your self-love and acknowledge the wrong, the error of your heart. But have the deepest pity for those who mock at words and works of faith and piety, of righteousness; for those who oppose the good which you are doing, or which you wish to instil into others. God preserve you from getting exasperated with them, for they are deserving of pity and tears. Glory to Thee, Lord, my Saviour, for having delivered me at my prayer from the tyranny of the passions!
When you are in the temple, remember that you are in the living presence of the Lord God, that you stand before His face, before His eyes, in the living presence of the Mother of God, of the holy angels, and of the first-born of the Church— that is, our forefathers, the prophets, Apostles, hierarchs, martyrs, reverend Fathers, the righteous, and all the saints. Always have the remembrance and consciousness of this when you are in the temple, and stand with devotion, taking part willingly and with all your heart in the Divine service.
284I am morally nothing without the Lord. I have really not one true thought or good feeling, and can do no good works; without Him I cannot drive away from me any sinful thought, any passionate feeling such as malice, envy, fornication, pride, etc. The Lord is the accomplishment of everything good that I think, feel, and do. O, how boundlessly wide is the Lord's grace acting in me! The Lord is everything to me, and so clearly, so constantly. Mine—is only my sinfulness; mine—are only mine infirmities. O, how we ought to love our Lord, Who was pleased to call us into existence from non-existence, to honour us by His image and likeness, to establish us in a paradise of delights, to subdue all the earth unto us, and Who —when we did not keep His commandments, but were allured by the enticement of the Devil, and immeasurably offended our Creator by our ingratitude, and assimilated unto ourselves all the qualities of the tempter (pride, malice, envy, ingratitude) and all his evil arts, which he taught us as his prisoners—did not reject us for ever, but deigned to redeem us from sin, from the curse and death into which we had fallen through sin, and Himself appeared upon earth, having taken our nature upon Him; He Himself became my Teacher, my Healer, my Worker of miracles, my Saviour; He Himself bore the punishment for us, died for us in order that we should not be eternally lost. He rose from the dead, in order to raise us too after death. He ascended into heaven, in order that we, too, should ascend, we who had fallen so low through sin; and He became everything to us—food, drink, light, purification, sanctification, health—and the power that protects, saves, preserves, and has mercy upon us.
I myself am nothing, but by the grace of the priesthood, by bestowing upon others the Divine Body and Blood, I become the second or third means of healing sicknesses. Through me the grace of the Spirit gives new life to infants and grown persons; administers in the sacrament of the Eucharist the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, uniting believers with the Godhead; through me it looses or binds the sins of men, opens or closes heaven, gives salutary counsels, rules, etc. O, how venerable is the office of priest! Do you see, brethren, how many benefits the Creator and Saviour pours upon you through priests?
It very often happens that the mist of the spirit of malice surrounds our heart, and does not allow us to speak peaceably with our neighbours, who have once or several times offended us, or expressed any ill-will towards us. We must pray fervently to the Lord, that He Himself would disperse this 285 mist of malice, and fill our heart with mercy and love, even towards our enemies, for they, in the blindness of the passions —of pride, envy, covetousness, malice—do not themselves know what they do, as the enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ knew not what they did when they persecuted Him all His life and at last put Him to a shameful death. We must remember that the Christian religion consists in loving our enemies: "For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?"700700St. Matthew v. 46.
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."701701St. Matthew vi. 33. How are we to seek first the kingdom of God? In the following manner: let us suppose that you wish to walk, or drive, or else go in a boat somewhere on any worldly, temporal business; before doing so, first pray to the Lord that He may correct the ways of your heart, and then also your present bodily way, or that He may direct the way of your life in accordance with His commandments; desire this with all your heart, and often renew your prayer concerning this. The Lord, seeing your sincere desire and endeavour to walk in accordance with His commandments, will, by degrees, correct all your ways. Further, for instance, if you wish to get pure air into your room, or if you go for a walk in the fresh air, think of the pure and of the unclean heart. Many of us like to have pure air in the rooms (and this is an excellent habit), or are fond of walking in the fresh air, but they do not even think of the necessity of the purity of the spirit or heart (of, so to say, spiritual air, the breath of life); and, living in the fresh air, they allow themselves to indulge in impure thoughts, impure movements of the heart, and even impurity of language, and most impure carnal actions. Again, when seeking material light, remember the spiritual light which is indispensable for the soul, and without which it remains in the darkness of the passions, in the darkness of spiritual death. "I am come a light into the world," says the Lord, "that whosoever believeth on Me, should not abide in darkness."702702St. John xii. 46. If you see the fury and hear the howling of the tempest, or read of shipwrecks, think of the storm of human passions causing daily groans and disturbance in the hearts of men, wrecking the spiritual ship of the soul or the ship of human society; and pray fervently to the Lord that He may subdue the tempest of sins, as He once subdued the tempest at sea by His word, and that He may root out our passions from our hearts, and re-establish in them unceasing tranquillity. If you experience a feeling of hunger or thirst, 286 and wish to eat and drink, think of the hunger or thirst of the soul (it thirsts after righteousness, for justification, Christ, for sanctification), which, if you do not satisfy, your soul may die from hunger, crushed by the passions, weakened and exhausted; and in satisfying your bodily hunger, do not forget to appease, above all and before all, your spiritual hunger, by conversing with God, by heart-felt repentance for your sins, by reading the story and precepts of the Gospel, and especially by the communion of the Divine Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ. If you are fond of dressing elegantly, or when you put on your clothes, think of the incorruptible garment of righteousness, in which our souls should be arrayed, or of Jesus Christ Who is our spiritual raiment, as it is said: "For as many of you as have been baptised into Christ, have put on Christ."703703Galatians iii. 27. A passion for dress often entirely thrusts out from the heart the very thought of the incorruptible raiment of the soul, and turns the whole life into vain care about elegance in dress. If you are a scholar, a student in any educational establishment, or an official in some ministry, an officer in any of the branches of the military service, or a technologist, a painter, a sculptor, a manufacturer, a mechanic—remember that the first science for each one of you is to be a true Christian, to believe sincerely in the Holy Trinity, to converse daily with God in prayer, to take part in the Divine service, to observe the rules and regulations of the Church, and to bear in your heart, before your work, during your work, and after your work, the name of Jesus, for He is our light, our strength, our holiness, and our help.
It is a wonderful thing that, however much we trouble about our health, however much care we take of ourselves, whatever wholesome and pleasant food we eat, whatever wholesome drinks we drink, however much we walk in the fresh air, still, notwithstanding all this, in the end we are subjected to maladies and corruption; whilst the saints, who despised their flesh, and mortified it by continual abstinence and fasting, by lying on the bare earth, by watchfulness, labours, unceasing prayer, have made both their souls and bodies immortal. Our well-fed bodies decay and emit an offensive odour after death, whilst theirs remained fragrant and flourishing in life as well as after death. It is a wonderful thing: we, by building up, destroy our body; whilst they, by destroying, built up theirs; they, by only caring for the fragrance of their souls before God, obtained the fragrance of their bodies also. Brethren! understand the problem, the purpose of your life. 287 We must mortify our body with its many passions, or our carnal passions, through abstinence, labour, prayer, and not animate it and its passions through dainties, satiety, and slothfulness.
It is well in every respect to give to the poor, besides obtaining mercy on the terrible day of judgment. Even here, while on earth, those who give alms often obtain great mercies from their neighbours, and that which others only obtain for large sums of money is given to them freely. Indeed, will not the Lover of mankind, the most-righteous and the most-bountiful heavenly Father, Whose children are compassionated by the merciful, reward them here also, in order to encourage them to still greater works of mercy, or to the continuance of their previous works of mercy, as well as to the amendment of the unmerciful, who mock at the merciful? He will reward them both worthily and righteously.
How many trifling and incessant pretexts the hater of mankind offers us for hating our neighbour, so that we are almost constantly angry with others, almost constantly bearing malice against others, and living in accordance with his infernal all-destructive will. But do not let us chase his phantoms; let us put aside all enmity, and love everyone, for love is of God.
Lord, Thou continually conquerest hell in me, in accordance with my prayer; and if I am not yet in hell, it is through Thy mercy, Conqueror of hell, my Lord! Glory to Thee, our Benefactor, our Saviour! How would it have been with us without Thee? We should truly have been like the beasts, and should have exterminated each other. As it is with separate individuals, so it is also with nations. If separate individuals and nations lived in accordance with Thy Gospel, then there would not be any enmity, dissension, wars. When shall we fully acknowledge the necessity for our temporal and eternal good—to live in accordance with the Gospel? But now how few there are who even read the Gospel!
Lord! I confess to Thee that neither in the country nor in the forest are to be found life, and health, and vigour of the spiritual and material powers, but with Thee in the temple, and, above all, during the Liturgy and in Thy Holy Life-giving Mysteries! O, greatest blessedness of the Holy Mysteries! O, Life-giving Mysteries! O, Divine Mysteries, that are love unspeakable! O, Divine Mysteries, that are the Lord God's constant and wonderful Providence for saving and sanctifying 288 us! O, Divine Mysteries, that are the prefiguration of eternal life!
Our Lady, Most-holy Mother of God! I prayed to Thee, before the Liturgy, that Thou wouldst grant me grace to celebrate it with much power, to the glory of God, for the salvation of the world and mine own! Thou hast ordered all things well. I thank Thee, all-gracious Helper, Thou Who hearest us speedily, Thou Who dost not let our trust in Thee be shamed!
How many benefits has my faith in Christ brought me until now! Without speaking of innumerable other benefits, I will mention the following ones:—How many disturbances of the soul and passions it has driven away and appeased in me! how many evil inclinations of the heart it has corrected! how many times I was cleansed from my sins and my soul saved from spiritual death! And how near is our Lord unto him who believes! He is like the air, like the breath of our mouth, like the breathing of our heart, of our soul.
Lord, I thank Thee from all my heart for the blessed moving of Thy Holy Ghost during Divine service, both public and private, for the cleansing from sins, for peace, for devotion and tears, for fatherly consolation, for boldness, for power.
As a priest, pray above all for the cleansing from sins, for the enlightenment and renewal of God's people, and for your own renewal; for although you often drink the Blood of the New Testament and eat the life-giving Flesh of the Lamb of God, which can speedily regenerate and renew you, nevertheless, owing to your negligence, you are not yet regenerate nor renewed, being given up in the depths of your heart to the same passions that were in you before. Offer, then, unto God ardent prayer for your own renewal and that of His people. This is the most pleasing sacrifice to God. Offer your prayer with faith, firm trust, and love unfeigned: for to Him Who came to make a new garment out of the old one, and to pour new wine into old bottles, prayer for renewal is like fragrant incense, and concurs with the Lord's purpose of the regeneration of the human race, decayed by sin.
Unmurmuring obedience is very profitable to the soul; this we see from the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who for His obedience was exalted, according to His human nature, above all dominations, principalities, and authorities, as 289 well as from the examples of all God's saints, who for their obedience to the Son of God and His Gospel were deemed worthy of incorruptible heavenly crowns and eternal life with God and His holy angels. Besides this, obedience is also abundantly profitable to the body: for what the slothful lose is acquired by the laborious and zealous, who are obedient. Therefore obedience is profitable both to the soul and to the body; and even if it is not always profitable to the body, then it is absolutely so to the soul. And thus let everyone be obedient in that which is good, but not in evil.
To be humble means to consider ourselves deserving, for our sins, of every humiliation, injury, persecution, and even blows; and to be meek means to patiently endure injustice, abuse, etc., and to pray for our enemies.
The poignant sorrow with which you unintentionally pierce another's heart shall return to your own heart according to the strict law of requital: " With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."704704St. Matthew vii. 2. If you do not desire sorrow for yourself, do not occasion it to others.
If people labour so long for worldly vanity, and often make us wait in vain for them to finish, then should not we, God's servants, labour for the Lord God slowly, pausing with understanding, with feeling, with great reverence and zeal, reading the prayers distinctly, separately? Better let people wait for us than we for them. Lord, let it be thus at every celebration of Divine service, of the Sacraments. Give all this Thyself: for without Thee we can do nothing.705705St. John xv. 5.
A true Christian never forgets that in this world he is the prisoner of the Devil, and he continually sighs for the spiritual freedom given by the Son of God to all those who believe in Him and strive to free themselves from the bondage of sins; a true Christian lives watchfully, using all earthly things in moderation; he does not spend his time in idle talk or idle amusements; he is not extortionate, does not envy, prays constantly, and repents of his sins.
People say that it is not a matter of importance if you eat meat during Lent, for Lent does not consist in food; that it is not a matter of importance if you wear costly, fine clothes, frequent theatres, evening parties, masquerades; if you provide yourself with expensive plate, china, furniture, costly equipages, spirited horses; if you amass and hoard 290 money, etc. But what is it that turns away our heart from God, the Source of life; through what do we lose eternal life? Is it not through gluttony, through expensive dress, like the rich man in the Gospel! Is it not through theatres and masquerades? What is it that makes us hard-hearted to the poor, and even to our own relatives? Is it not our attachment to carnal pleasures in general, to our belly, to dress, plate, furniture, carriages, money, etc.? Can a man serve God and mammon;706706St. Matthew vi. 24. be a friend of God and a friend of the world, work for Christ and for the Devil ? It is impossible. Through what did Adam and Eve lose Paradise, through what did they fall into sin and death? Was it not through food alone? Let us consider well what makes us careless about the salvation of our soul, which cost the Son of God so dear; what makes us add one sin to another; what makes us fall continually into opposition against God, into a life of vanity. Is it not attachment to earthly things, and especially to earthly delights? What makes our heart gross ? What makes us become flesh, and not spirit, perverting our moral nature? Is it not attachment to food and drink and other earthly goods ? How after this can it be said that to eat meat during Lent is unimportant? To say so is nothing but pride, sophism, disobedience, want of submission to God, and estrangement from Him.
From what deep sores, from what mortal wounds, from what deathly breathing of sin, did the heavenly Physician, our Lord Jesus Christ, come to save us ? Who can fully understand this? Nobody. Only in part, from our own experience, some of us see the depths of the abyss into which we have fallen through sin—all our powerlessness for good, all the power and abyss of the evil or sin nestling in our hearts. But even to see this is granted unto us by the grace of God, enlightening our darkened hearts. A man does not see this by his natural understanding, and therefore he cannot see and feel the necessity of amendment, and have strength for such amendment and renewal.
I thank the Lord, Who is mighty in His mercy and merciful in His might, for speedy and great forgiveness, for the healing of deep, spiritual wounds caused by sin. What long, continued prayer at home could not do was accomplished by only touching the life-giving, glorious, and terrible altar of God in the Temple of the holy and glorious leaders of the Apostles—Peter and Paul; the wounds of the heart, the disturbance, affliction, and oppression suddenly vanished, as if a 291 great mountain had fallen from my heart, and I was at peace; my heart expanded and grew light and daring. Wonderful are Thy works, Lord! Wonderful art Thou Thyself, sitting on the throne of Thy glory in Christian temples. Lord, most righteous Judge, most merciful and Almighty Saviour! glory to Thine invincible goodness, glory to Thine immeasurable power, King of all ages.
Brethren! amongst the beings created by God, there are the temporal, transitory ones, such as all unintelligent, animate and inanimate creatures, organic and inorganic, as well as the world itself, which will pass away; "for the fashion of this world passeth away."7077071 Corinthians vii. 31. And there are eternal beings, which are not transitory, such as the angels and the souls of men, the demons themselves with Satan. For man, the earthly life, life in the body, serves only as a preparation for eternal life, which will begin after the death of the body. Therefore we must avail ourselves without delay of the present life as a preparation for the other life; and as we chiefly work during week-days for the earthly life, we must work on Sundays and other holidays wholly for the Lord God, devoting them to attendance at Divine service, to reading the Word of God, to pious meditation, to edifying conversations, good works, and especially to works of mercy. Those sin grievously who neglect the matter of their spiritual education for eternal life in the world above. How can we forget our final destination? How is it possible to be so ungrateful to the Creator, Who created us after His own image and likeness, incorruptible, and for union with Himself; Who redeemed us by His cross, and opened to us the gates of the kingdom of heaven? How can many of us become "like the beasts that perish"?708708Psalm xlix. 13, 21. "Let us lift up our hearts!"709709Exclamation at the Liturgy.
The body, being only the temporal garment of the soul, is perishable, and does not constitute the true life of the man. The true life is the spiritual life. If you rend, if you destroy the man's garment, still he himself remains alive; so also after the slaying, after the death, the corruption of the body, the soul remains alive. Let us then chiefly care for the soul, for its salvation!
O, holy temple, how good, how sweet it is to pray in thee! For where can there be ardent prayer if not within thy walls, before the throne of God, and before the face of Him Who sitteth upon it? Truly the soul melts from prayerful 292 emotion, and tears flow down the cheeks like water. It is sweet to pray for all.
I marvel at the greatness and life-giving properties of the Holy Sacrament. An old woman who was spitting blood, and who had lost all strength, being unable to eat anything, after the Communion of the Holy Sacrament, which I administered to her, began to recover on the same day from her illness. A young girl who was almost dying, after the Communion of the Holy Sacrament began to recover on the same day from her illness; began to eat, drink, and speak; whilst before this she was almost in a state of unconsciousness, violently tossed about, and could neither eat nor drink anything. Glory to Thy life-giving and terrible Mysteries, O Lord!
Be true to God always and in everything. If you say the prayer "Our Father . . ." pronounce each word sincerely, with reverence, fixing your mind and heart upon God alone, not paying attention to anything or anybody around you. If you say any other prayer, say it also with all your soul, not with your heart divided, not paying undue attention to anything or anybody. The enemy of our salvation especially strives to draw our heart and mind away from God when we are about to serve Him, and endeavours to adulterously attach our heart to something irrelevant. Be always, every moment, with God, especially when you pray to Him. At this time be especially true and constant to Him. If you are inconstant, you will fall away from life, and will cast yourself into sorrow and straitness.
Do not hasten to eat and drink, but rather hasten to perform God's service; and when performing God's service, do not think of food and drink. Think well before Whom you stand, with Whom you are conversing, to Whom you are singing praises; be wholly in God, belong wholly to Him alone, pray with all your heart, sing with all your heart, serve for your neighbour as you would serve for yourself, gladly, heartily, not with a divided heart and thoughts. Lord! help us; for without Thee we can do nothing.710710St. John xv. 5.
When the heart is pure, then the whole man is pure; when the heart is unclean, the whole man is unclean: "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies . . ."711711St. Matthew xv. 19. But the saints all acquired pure hearts by fasting, vigilance, prayer, pious meditation, by reading the Word of God, martyrdom, labour, and 293 sweat; and the Holy Ghost abode in them, cleansed them from every impurity, and sanctified them by eternal sanctification. Strive also, above all, for the cleansing of your heart. "Make me a clean heart, O God."712712Psalm li. 10.
Do not value God's Sacraments at the price of gold and silver. That which you have freely received, be also ready to freely give. Leave the reward for your labour to the free-will of those who receive the Sacraments, and labour for those who give, or can only afford to give you, the smallest remuneration for your spiritual labour, as willingly as for those who offer you a large remuneration. During God's work do not think of silver; do not offend the Holy Ghost, and do not sell God's gifts, lest your silver be the cause of your own destruction. Ah, indeed some really do sell, and others buy, or think of buying, the gifts of the Holy Ghost for silver, like Simon the sorcerer.
Food and drink must only be used for strengthening our powers, and not as dainties, and we must not eat when nature does not require it. Many of us (and I myself the first), if we do not repent and correct ourselves, will be condemned for having eaten and drunk unseasonably, and thus for having lived, having understanding, like the brutes that have no understanding, and for having darkened our foolish hearts. You have amused yourselves with food and drink, and have often eaten and drunk when there was no need for you to eat and drink: "Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger."713713St. Luke vi. 25. "Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter."714714James v. 5.
You must pay most strict and active attention to this your daily action of eating and drinking, for from food and drink, from their quality and quantity, your spiritual, social, and family activity very greatly depends: " Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness."715715St. Luke xxi. 34. Tea and coffee also pertain to drunkenness if indulged in unseasonably and to excess. O, woe unto us who are full now, and frequently look neglectfully upon God's gifts.
Through our flesh, and in general through our materiality, the Devil acts injuriously upon us. Thus, through wine, tea, coffee, through dainties, through money, dress, etc., he inflames our passions. Therefore we must guard against drinking much wine, tea, or coffee, and against eating dainties, especially without 294 other substantial, solid, and wholesome food. These dainties must only be used after everything, and in the most moderate quantity.
"Behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat."716716St. Luke xxii. 31. It is he who so greatly distracts our thoughts in the temple during Divine service and at home during prayer; it is he who draws away our thoughts from God, from our souls and the souls of others, from heavenly and eternal things; it is he who occupies us with earthly trifles or with earthly vanity, with earthly nothingness, with earthly allurements, with food, drink, dress, houses, etc. We must pray for each other, that our faith should not fail, as the Saviour prayed for Peter.
By feeding largely, one becomes a carnal man, having no spirit, or soulless flesh; while by fasting, one attracts the Holy Ghost and becomes spiritual. When cotton is not wetted with water it is light, and if in a small quantity flies up in the air; but if it is wetted, it becomes heavy and at once falls to the ground. It is the same with the soul. O, how important it is to preserve it by fasting!
Is unwilling outward prayer profitable? No, it is repugnant to God. The same applies to study. Unwilling, literal study is not profitable. As the man who prays unwillingly only runs over the words, often without understanding their power, without feeling them, and his heart is not enlightened, not warmed, not vivified by them, so it is also with the unwilling pupil. It is necessary, when teaching, to accustom the pupils to study willingly, and to teach them to think about what they say.
By what name are you called according to the faith? By the name of Christian. What does it mean? It means that I am a member of the body of Christ, which is the Church of Christ, that I am a servant of Christ. To what does the name of Christian oblige you ? It obliges me to always have Christ in my thoughts and heart, always to have His spirit, throughout all my life, imitating His life, fulfilling His holy commandments, and to "seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God."717717Colossians iii. 1, 2.
What is holiness? Freedom from every sin and the fulness of every virtue. This freedom from sin and this virtuous life are only attained by a few zealous persons, and that not suddenly, but gradually, by prolonged and manifold sorrows, sicknesses, and labours, by fasting, vigilance, prayer, and that not by their 295 own strength, but by the grace of Christ. Only Our Lady, the Mother of God, was sanctified from Her early childhood, from Her mother's womb, and afterwards the Lord sanctified Her in the Holy of Holies with the most perfect sanctification through Her unceasing prayer, the reading of the Word of God and meditations upon it, through the teaching of the pure, heavenly and bodiless powers, and especially through Her own inward illumination. Holiness corresponds in nature to the light of the sun and to the whiteness of snow, whilst sin to darkness, want of light, and filth or rust.
When you look upon the icon of the Mother of God, with Her Eternal Infant, marvel how most truly the Godhead was united with human nature, glorify the goodness and omnipotence of God, and, recognising your own dignity as man, live worthily of the high calling to which you are called in Christ —that is, the calling of a child of God and an heir to eternal bliss.
Why does the Lord give to man the prolongation of his days upon the earth? In order that a man should have time to repent and to cleanse himself from his sins and passions, and that truth and love should entirely penetrate his heart, by means of the teaching of his feelings in relation to good and evil.
What is the human soul? It is the one same soul or the one same breath of God, which God breathed into Adam, and which until now is diffused from Adam upon the entire human race. Therefore all men are as though one man, or one great tree of mankind. From this comes the most natural commandment, founded upon the unity of our nature: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God [your Prototype, your Father] with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. Thou shalt love thy neighbour [for who can be nearer to me than the man like unto me, of the same blood as me?] as thyself."718718St. Mark xii. 30, 31. To fulfil these two commandments is a natural necessity.
Receive everyone who comes to you, especially with a spiritual purpose, with a kind and cheerful aspect, although he or she may be a beggar, and humble yourself inwardly before everybody, counting yourself lower than he or she, for you are placed by Christ Himself to be the servant of all, and all are His members, although like you they bear the wounds of sin. 296 We must not doubt in the truth of the Gospel and of the Church-readings. Everything that is in the Gospel and in the Church is the breathing of the Spirit of truth, "the silver, which from the earth is tried, and purified seven times in the fire,"719719Psalm xii. 7. life, peace and spiritual sweetness. Woe unto him who doubts: the lying spirit shall darken, oppress, and plunge him into despondency and affliction. This is from experience.
It is pleasing to the Lord, as to a most loving Father, when we pray for others—His children; and as parents, at the request of their good and well-principled children, forgive their wicked, capricious, and evil-natured ones, so also the heavenly Father, at the prayer of those " that are His,"7207202 Timothy ii. 19. or at the prayer for the people of His priests, invested with His grace, has mercy even upon the unworthy, as He had mercy upon and forgave the rebellious and murmuring Hebrew people in the desert at Moses' prayer. But what an ardent prayer that was!
To the glory of the most holy name of our Master the Lord Jesus Christ and that of Our Lady, the Mother of God, I have experienced a thousand times in my heart, that, after the Communion of the Holy Sacrament or after fervent prayer at home —ordinary prayer or prayer in consequence of some sin, passion, and sorrow and straitness—the Lord, at the prayers of Our Lady, or Our Lady Herself, by the Lord's grace bestowed upon me, as though it were a new spiritual nature, pure, good, great, bright, wise, beneficent, instead of impure, despondent, languid, fainthearted, dark, dull, and evil. Many times was I thus changed, with a marvellous great change, to mine own wonder and often to that of others. Glory to Thy power, Lord! Glory to Thy mercy, Lord! Glory to Thy bounties, Lord, which Thou hast manifested upon me a sinner!
Our life is love—yes, love. And where there is love, there is God; and where God is, there is every good. " Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."721721St. Matthew vi. 33. And therefore joyfully feed and delight all, joyfully gratify all and trust in the heavenly Father for everything, in the Father of bounties, and the God of every consolation. Offer that which is dear to you as a sacrifice of love for your neighbour. Bring your Isaac, your heart, with its many passions, as a sacrifice to God, stab it of your own free will, crucify the flesh with its passions and lusts. As you have received everything from God, be ready to give back everything to God, so that, having been faithful in small things you may afterwards be made ruler over many things. "Thou hast been 297 faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things."722722St. Matthew xxv. 23. Look upon all passions as upon illusions, as I have found out a thousand times. Amen.
O, how wise ought the Christian to be during his life! He should be like the many-eyed cherubim—all eyes, all intellect, and incessant reflection, excepting in cases where absolute unreflecting faith is required.
Christian! remember and always bear in your thoughts and heart the great words of the Lord's Prayer: " Our Father Which art in heaven [remember, who is our Father!—God is our Father, our love; who are we? we are the children of God, and brothers amongst ourselves; in what love ought the children of such a Father to live amongst themselves ? " If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham "723723St. John viii. 39; what works, then, ought we to do?] Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. Give us this day our daily bread [our bread, common to all and not for oneself alone: self-love must be banished from the hearts of God's children; we are one]. And forgive us our trespasses [you wish that God should forgive your trespasses, therefore look upon it as customary to forgive the sins of those who trespass against you, knowing that love is long-suffering and compassionate]. Lead us not into temptation [and you, yourself, must not give way to temptation: "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; and He that keepeth thee will not sleep. The Lord is thy defence upon thy right hand."724724Psalm cxxi. 3, 5.], but deliver us from evil [do not willingly give yourself up to evil and the Lord will not give you up to it]: for Thine is the kingdom [acknowledge the one King, God, and serve Him alone], the power [trust in His almighty power] and the glory [be zealous for His glory with all your might and during all your life], for ever [He is the eternal King, whilst Satan's kingdom shall soon pass away, being rapacious and false]. Amen." This is all true. Remember this prayer above all, and repeat it oftener in your mind, thinking over the meaning of each word, of each expression, and each petition in it.
Brothers and sisters! you were born again (after you were born of your parents) by water and the Spirit, you then became the children of God—say, do you live worthily of this high calling? Do you live as the children of God ought to live? Is it evident from your behaviour and actions that your " conversation is in heaven "?725725Philippians iii. 20. Is it evident that you await your Lord again from heaven, as He promised us in His holy Word? Do you 298 despise earthly things, and do you aspire with your whole heart after heavenly things? Do you not love this adulterous and sinful world? "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."7267261 John ii. 15. "The friendship of the world is enmity with God."727727James iv. 4. "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father."7287281 John ii. 16. This world has crucified and crucifies until now the Son of God, brothers and sisters! Watch over yourselves, do you live in accordance with the Gospel! Do you not live contrarily to it? Read oftener the first chapters of the Gospel according to St. Matthew.
>Save us, Thy race, Our Lady! Save us, we who are of one blood with Thee! Save us, Mother of Life and Mother of us all, although we are not worthy to call Thee our Mother! Cleanse, sanctify, strengthen and save us through Thy prayers!
For what purpose do I require property? In order to have means of subsistence for myself, my family and my relatives, and in order to help the poor, and not for the purpose of hoarding it. Measure bountifully, so that God may measure bountifully to you in accordance with your gift. Besides, all our property or all our means of existence are God's and not ours, and God is the Master of life. He cares for the support of our life, through ourselves or through others, or directly. " Let us commend ourselves and each other, and all our life to Christ our God."729729From the Litany of the Orthodox Church. We say we must live, and our life is God, therefore God gives and will give all our means of existence.
In many worldly magazines and newspapers, the number of which has so greatly increased, there breathes an earthly spirit, frequently impious, whilst the Christian, in his hope, is a citizen not only of the earth, but also of heaven, and, therefore, he ought also to meditate upon heavenly things. The heathen writings of antiquity were, it would seem, often better and purer (Cicero, for instance), higher in their foundation and motive, than some writings of Christian peoples. The Personal Word of the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, is continually and greatly offended by Christian people, who are gifted with speech, and ought to be Godlike, both in their speech and writings, whilst now their words are often wasted in vain and even to tempt the Christian, who is turned aside by worldly writings from reading the Word of God and the writings of the Holy Fathers. The editors and publishers of worldly magazines and newspapers ensnare and entice the flock of Christ by the increase of flattering 299 words. O Word of God! What answer shall we give at Thy terrible Judgment?
Where do we now find in houses the reading of the divinely-inspired Psalter, which instils such great faith in God, such strong trust in God in misfortunes, sicknesses and sorrows, and such ardent love for God? Where is the reading of the divinely-inspired Psalms, which was the favourite reading of our forefathers, not only of the common people, but also of nobles and princes'? Such reading is not to be found nowadays; and owing to this in many persons there is no faith, no trust in God, and no love for God and their neighbour, but unbelief, despair, and hatred. There is no ardent prayer, no purity of morals, no spirit of contrition for sins and of devotion, no righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. The greater number of Christians are penetrated by the spirit of the world, by the spirit of magazines, newspapers, and in general of worldly writers, who themselves, in their turn, are penetrated by a heathen and not a Christian spirit, by the spirit of the denial of the Divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, by the spirit of self-exaltation, of the exaltation of their own proud and presumptuous intellect, and by the spirit of worldly vanity.
Everything that the Church puts into our mouths and hearing is truth, the breathing or teaching of the Holy Ghost. Reverence every thought, every word of the Church. Remember that the domain of thought and word belongs to God as well as the whole visible and invisible world. You have nothing of your own, not even any thought or word. Everything is our Father's, everything is God's. Mingle with the common order of things, as gold melts into various forms, or as nature forms one harmonious whole. Do not lead a self-loving, separate life.
The breaking up of the ice in the seas and rivers is an image of the dissolution of our soul from the body. When the waters are freed from ice they come face to face with the air, which begins to move them, and with the sun, which begins to bathe in them; so likewise pure souls, being freed from their bodies, come face to face with Christ, are refreshed by Him, and are made resplendent by Him. The waters, while they are covered with ice, are as though imprisoned in chains, have no immediate contact with the air and the light of the sun; so likewise our souls, while they live in their bodily covering, have no immediate communication with God and His saints, but only by means of their covering in part, indirectly, and 300 only when this bodily covering falls off shall we see our Lord face to face, as the waters, when they are freed from the ice, are directly exposed to the sun, and come into direct contact with the air.
Our heart is incomplex, single, and therefore cannot "serve two masters: God and mammon"730730St. Matthew vi. 24.—that is, riches. This means that it is impossible to serve God truly and at the same time to be attached to earthly things, for all such things relate to mammon. Besides, it is unworthy of a man to serve riches, for they are earth and dust. All earthly things, if our heart attaches itself to them, make it gross and earthly, turn us away from God, from the Mother of God, and all the saints, from everything spiritual, heavenly, and eternal, and from love for our neighbour, and bind us to that which is earthly, perishable, and temporal. To complete that which has been said, it must be added that the spirit of attachment to earthly things, of sparing and grudging earthly things, is the spirit of the Devil, and the Devil himself dwells in the man through his attachment to earthly things. He often enters into our heart as an insolent conqueror, through some momentary attachment to earthly things, not immediately renounced, darkening, crushing, and deadening our soul, and making it incapable of any work for God, infecting it with pride, blasphemy, murmuring, contempt for holy things and its neighbour, opposition, despondency, despair, and malice.
It was for our sakes that the Lord was incarnate, suffered, was crucified, died, and rose from the dead. It was for our sakes also that He adorned His Mother, the Most Pure Virgin Mary, with all virtues, and endued Her with all Divine powers, so that She, the most merciful and the most perfect, should be, after Himself, everything to us. And therefore let not God's grace, with which Our Lady is filled, be fruitless for us. Let us all come with boldness and trust to the Virgin's wonderful, ever-helpful, and most pure protection. If sins trouble us, let us pray to Her, that She may cleanse us with the hyssop of Her prayers from every impurity of the flesh and of the spirit.
From what do blasphemy and contempt of the spiritual Word proceed? From the pride of our heart; from the presumption and satiety of our intellect.
You constantly notice that God does not tolerate the slightest momentary impurity in you, and that peace and God 301 Himself leave you immediately after the admittance of any impure thought into your heart. And you become the abode of the Devil if you do not immediately renounce the sin. So that at every sinful thought, and still more at every sinful word and deed, we must say, " This is the Devil." Whilst at every holy and good thought, word, and deed, we should say, " This is God"; or, " This comes from God." Imagine, therefore, now what a resplendently-adorned, pure, and immovable Palace of the Almighty must have been the most-holy soul and the most-pure body of the Mother of God, in Whose womb God the Word came to dwell, and abode in Her by His Godhead with His most pure Soul and Body! Imagine what eternal, infinite, unchangeable holiness She is! Imagine of what reverence and glorification She is worthy! Imagine what we are: " A reed shaken with [the Devil's] wind."731731St. Matthew xi. 7. The Devil breathes his blasphemy into our hearts, and we are immediately shaken with it. We are disturbed, depressed, when we ought to despise all his blasphemies, or not pay any attention to them, looking upon them as an illusion.
As in God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are undivided, so also in prayer and in our life the thought, the word, and the deed ought to be undivided. If you ask anything of God, believe that it will be done in accordance with your request, as God pleases. If you read the Word of God, believe that everything that is spoken of in it was, is, and shall be; or was done, is being done, and shall be done. Believe thus, speak thus, read thus, and pray thus. Great is the Word; great is the thinking, speaking, and acting soul, the image and likeness of the Almighty Trinity. Man, know yourself! Know what you are, and conduct yourself in accordance with your dignity.
Merciful Lady, ever manifest and show Thy power upon me, and upon Thy people who are God-fearing and virtuous, by delivering us, in accordance with our prayer, from impure, crafty, and blasphemous thoughts, from all our sins and passions, and from the snares of the Devil, for Thou art the merciful Mother of God.
Pray to Our Lady the Mother of God, to the angels, and to all the saints, as you would pray to the Holy Ghost Himself; or rather, as you would pray to the Holy Trinity, Who sanctifies them and rests in them. "That they may be 302 one in Us."732732St. John xvii. 21. "For Thou art holy, our God, and restest in the saints."733733Exclamation from Vespers. Amen.
We all live in a kind of seductive darkness of the heart and intellect, but the Lord Jesus Christ is our enlightenment. The saints always see us by the grace of God, because they are in God, and God is in them. They are one spirit with the Lord7347341 Corinthians vi. 17., and the Lord sees everything, hears everything. Therefore when, for instance, in church you look upon the images of God's saints, believe that they see you, and, above all, that they see your heart.
By whatever passions enemies may attack you, endure it without falling into despondency, without anger, meekly and humbly, and do not allow any movement of impatience, malice, murmuring, and blasphemy to arise in your heart.
Every creature witnesses to the infinite mercy and righteousness of the Creator, even Satan himself and his angels by their shameful existence and most malicious snares against men prove the immeasurable mercy and righteousness of the Creator; for who were originally Satan and his angels? What lights, what treasuries of blessings, and of what were they deprived by their entirely voluntary ungratefulness, pride, malice, and envy, against the Lord ? Did they not fall quite deliberately, intentionally, with the purpose of eternally waging war against the Creator and His creatures, reasonable beings endowed with speech? Judging by Satan's malicious actions in the world, by their number and power, we can guess how powerful a spirit was Satan, the fallen angel. Judging by his great darkness and his manifold enticements in men scattered throughout the whole world (" Which deceiveth the whole world"735735Revelation xii. 9.), we can guess how bright and full of truth he originally was. " Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God: every precious stone was thy covering."736736Ezekiel xxviii. 13. Judging by the most evil, carnal, and impure desires suggested by him, we may conclude how amiable and perfect he was in the time of his goodness, received by him from the Creator! Judging by his craftiness and wicked wiles, we may guess how wise he was, and how much good he might have done, of how much service he might have been to his Creator in His providence for the inferior spirits or men. From this enormous colossus of evil, Satan, we may judge, what a great, good, beautiful, most bright, powerful, wise creature Satan previously was. How many gifts of the Creator's goodness were comprised in him, and of how much was he deprived by his wicked 303 and intentional madness! By his malice in men, judge how good he previously was; by his envy, judge of his previous goodwill; by the boundless avidity and avarice he excites in men, judge of his previous generosity; by his pride, of the greatness he received from God; by the despondency, weariness, and sometimes unbearable anguish he inspires in men, judge of his former blessedness. For he was previously as good as he is now evil! He offers an eternal lesson for humility and obedience to all the heavenly angels, and to all well-intentioned men; for however perfect the angels are, and however wise, and, in general, however perfect men may be in some things, they have received everything from the goodness