Library › St John of Kronstadt › My Life in Christ

My Life in Christ

St John of Kronstadt, tr. Goulaeff, 1897

Part 2, 7. pp. 391–410

What is the false gratitude to God? Gratitude is false when, having received bountiful, undeserved spiritual and material gifts from God, people thank God for them with their tongue, and use them only for their own advantage, not sharing them with their neighbours; when they obtain them and conceal them in their treasuries, chests, libraries; thus depriving many of their brethren of spiritual enlightenment, instruction, and consolation; or of food, drink, clothing, dwelling; or of being cured of their maladies; or of the means of moving from one place to another for the purpose of acquiring means of subsistence. Such gratitude is false and impious. It means thanking God with the tongue, and meanwhile showing extreme ingratitude and ill-nature in deed. But how many such grateful — or, rather, ungrateful — men there are!

Our corrupt nature is inclined to speedily forget everything holy and salutary, because sins and passions continually cloud and darken our heads and hearts, occupy them, and dominate in them, thrusting out remembrances, thoughts, and feelings about holy events and God’s great benefits to us. Therefore the holy Church, faithful guardian of her Lord’s commandments, of all His teaching and works, eternally grateful for His unspeakable benefits, has instituted the solemn commemorative celebration, in the daily, as well as in the Sunday and festival services, with picturesque, impressive, emblematical rites, of all the saving events of the life and acts of our Lord Jesus Christ, all the orderings of His salvation in the Old and in the New Testament, as well as the creation itself by Him of the visible and invisible world; and not only the events of His own all-saving, most wonderful life, but also those from the life of His Most Pure Mother, Who so gloriously served to the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God; from the life of His Forerunner, and the lives of the Apostles, Prophets, Hierarchs, Martyrs, venerable Fathers, disinterested, righteous persons, and of all the Saints, who pleased and served God in every way; of these innumerable witnesses of the Lord, and of the truth and saving properties of His Divine religion, and all His Divine teaching, who have inherited the life everlasting in accordance with His promise. This is useful and necessary for the strengthening of our faith, hope and love, for the spiritual education of all Christian mankind; for constantly teaching them the dogmas of faith and various virtues, such as faithfulness, courage, patience, meekness, kindness, humility, disinterestedness, abstinence, purity, chastity, and other virtues; for the lives of the Lord and of His Most Pure Mother, as well as those of the Saints, present examples of all the virtues, by fulfilling which a man can become well-pleasing to God, and save his own soul and the souls of his brethren.

The science of sciences is to conquer the sin dwelling in us, or the passions acting in us. For instance, it is great wisdom not to be angry with anyone, nor at anything; not to think evil of anyone, not even if someone has done us harm, but to excuse him in every way: it is wisdom to despise gain, luxuries, but to love disinterestedness, and simplicity of food and drink, combined with constant moderation; it is wisdom not to flatter anyone, but to speak the truth fearlessly to everybody; it is wisdom not to be charmed by beauty of person, but to respect in all, whether they be handsome or ugly, the beauty of the image of God, which is equally in all; it is wisdom to love your enemies and not to take vengeance upon them either by word, thought, or deed; it is wisdom not to amass wealth for ourselves, but to give it to the poor, in order to gain for ourselves “a treasure in the heavens that faileth not.”¹ Alas! we have studied nearly all the sciences, but have not learnt the science of avoiding sins, and often show ourselves entirely ignorant of this moral science. And thus it follows that the truly wise, the truly learned, were the holy, true disciples of the true Teacher, Christ; whilst all of us, so-called learned men, are ignorant; and the more learned we are, the worse is our ignorance, because we do not know and do not do the one thing needful, but only serve our self-love, love of fame, sensuality and covetousness.

How indifferent a priest should be to earthly things, in order that when celebrating such services, such high and most heavenly sacraments, he may not be ensnared by the enemy, but may always burn with pure love for God and his fellow men, who are lost through sins and are saved by the grace of Christ in the Holy Ghost! But how greatly we are wont to sin! How strong are our earthly attachments! Even when celebrating the sacraments, we sometimes, through being accustomed to them, do not completely lay aside worldly cares and attachments, and therefore the enemy disturbs, darkens and perverts our mind, binds our heart, and takes us prisoners. And deservedly! Do not dream. A priest should be an angel by the elevation of his thoughts, by the purity of his soul and body, by the ardour of his love for God, the Creator of all things, and the Saviour, and for men, his brethren.

To love God with all your heart means — to love with all your soul meekness, humility, purity and chastity, wisdom, truth, mercy, obedience, for the sake of God, and never to act contrarily to these virtues; that is, not to become proud, irritated, angry against anyone; not to commit adultery even in the heart; not to violate chastity, either by look, thought, or gesture; to avoid every inconsiderate, needless word and deed; to shun every iniquity; to hate avarice and covetousness; to flee from self-will and disobedience.

The passions spur us on like cruel drivers, daily urging us, through our love for earthly things, to act in opposition to the Lord and to our own true welfare, and to do that which is pleasing to the flatterer, Satan.

I thank Thee, my joy, Lord of glory, for having taken my image, through the incarnation of the Most Pure Virgin, and for having thus honoured, raised, and made mankind godly. I thank Thee for raising me from corruption unto incorruption; for cleansing my impurities; for healing my infirmities and sicknesses; for turning my sorrow into joy, the straitness of sin into the wideness of Thy justification: for through faith and heartfelt penitence Thou drivest away the darkness of the passions, and bestowest Thy spiritual light. Thou takest away disturbance, and sendest down peace from above. Thou takest away faintheartedness, and bestowest courage and daring. Glory to Thy mercy!

I gaze upon the icons in the temple — upon Thy holy icon, my Lord, upon that of Thy Most Pure Mother, those of the holy Angels and Archangels, and upon the faces of the saints, adorned, resplendent with gold and silver — and think to myself how Thou hast honoured and adorned our nature, Creator and Provider of all! Thy saints shine with Thy light, they are sanctified by Thy grace, having conquered sin and washed away the sinful impurities of body and spirit; they are glorious with Thy glory, they are incorruptible through Thine incorruptibility. Glory to Thee for having so honoured, enlightened, and raised our nature! Here are Thine Apostles and Hierarchs, living images of Thee, the Highest, Who passed through the heavens, Envoy of the Father, Hierarch and Chief of Shepherds; Thy goodness, Thy wisdom, Thy might, spiritual beauty, power, and holiness shine in them. Here are Thy martyrs, who by Thy strength overcame terrible temptations and endured fearful tortures; they have washed the garments of their souls white in Thy blood. Here are Thy venerable ones, who by fasting, vigilance, and prayer obtained Thy wonderful gifts, the gifts of healing, of discernment; Thy might strengthened them to stand above sin and all the snares of the Devil; Thy likeness shines forth in them like the sun.

In the temple, in its arrangements and parts, in the icons, in the Divine service, with the reading of the Holy Scriptures, the singing, the rites, the entire Old Testament, New Testament, and Church history, the whole Divine ordering of the salvation of mankind is emblematically traced, as upon a chart, in figures and in general outlines. Grand is the spectacle of the Divine service of our Orthodox Church for those who understand it, who penetrate into its essence, its spirit, its signification, its sense!

Sensualist! upon what will you set your love after your death, when you will no longer have any carnal delights, and their place is filled by the bitterness of entire deprivation? Upon what will your imperishable soul be fed? Carnal delights will no longer be compatible with it. Covetous man! upon what will you set your heart’s love when with your death the possession and enjoyment of your money and various treasures cease? Your soul, a spiritual being, will not then require these treasures; they would be repugnant to it, like poison, like the rust and rottenness which corrupted it during its lifetime, estranging it from God and depriving it of the incorruptible treasure — God. Proud, ambitious man! you who seek distinctions and honours, and love them above everything in the world! upon what will you set your love when death divests you of all your distinctions and shows you in all your nakedness and deformity? What will then be the food and life of the imperishable spirit that has withdrawn itself from God for the sake of the vain honours of this world, making a god of itself, like the worshippers of idols? So vain is the man subjected to passions that he does not understand what he does, what deprivations he prepares for himself, what torment for his foolish passions, that after having been honoured by the likeness of God, by the name of a child of God, of a friend of God, of an heir of the heavenly kingdom, of a joint heir with Christ, by his foolishness “he may be compared unto the beasts that perish,”² in greediness, in his sensual fury, in malice, in envy!. Therefore fear to cleave with your whole soul to anything earthly.

Imagery or symbols are a necessity of human nature in our present spiritually sensual condition; they explain by the vision many things belonging to the spiritual world which we could not know without images and symbols. It was for this reason that the Divine Teacher, the Personal Wisdom Who created all things, the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, often taught men by means of images or parables; it is for this reason also that in our Orthodox temples it is the custom to represent many things to the gaze of the Christian by imagery: for instance, to represent the Lord Himself, the Most Pure Mother of God, the Angels and saints, on icons, in order that we may conform our lives, all our thoughts, words, and deeds, to the image of the thoughts, words, and deeds of the Lord and His saints; hence also the frequent making of the sign of the cross, the use of incense, the burning of candles and lamps, the processions in and out of the altar; hence the genuflections, the bowing of the head and the falling down upon the face (for we have fallen deeply through sin). All these remind us of various spiritual things and conditions. Imagery greatly influences the human soul, its creative or active capacity. Thus it is said that if during the time preceding the birth of her child a mother often looks upon the face or portrait of her beloved husband, then the child is born very like his father, or if she often looks upon the portrait of a beautiful child she gives birth to a beautiful infant; thus, if a Christian often gazes with love and reverence upon the image of our Lord Jesus Christ, or of His Most Pure Mother and His saints, his soul will receive the spiritual features of the face lovingly looked upon (meekness, humility, mercy, and abstinence). O, if we oftener contemplated the images, and especially the life of the Lord and of His saints, how we should change, and rise from strength to strength! Thus, the fragrance of incense in church or in our houses reminds us by analogy of the fragrance of virtue, and by contrast of the evil odour of sins, and teaches those who are attentive to inward feelings to avoid the stench of the passions, of intemperance, fornication, malice, envy, pride, despair and other passions, and to adorn themselves with every Christian virtue; the incense reminds us of the Apostle’s words: “For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are the savour of death unto death, and to the other the savour of life unto life.”³ In a like manner the candles or lamps burning in church remind us of the spiritual light and fire; for instance, of the Lord’s words: “I am come a Light into the world, that whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in darkness;”⁴ or “I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?”⁵ or “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately;”⁶ or “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Which is in heaven.”⁷ And the objects themselves by their very nature teach us concerning the spiritual objects and things corresponding to light and fire; for instance, that our hearts should always be burning with love for God and our neighbour, that we should not let the passions or the fire of Gehenna be kindled within us, and that by the example of a virtuous life we should light others, as a candle lights us in our worldly doings.

It is natural for us to have images of Christ, of His Most Pure Mother, of the Angels and saints. Firstly, because it is a requirement of our nature: we always wish to have before us an image of the Beloved, an image of our Benefactor, in order that in gazing upon it we may oftener remember Him and His benefactions (worship Him), the same as we do with living persons, especially with those whom we love and respect. Secondly, we are created after the image and likeness of God, therefore it is natural for us to wish to have always before our eyes our own Prototype, our First Origin, the Lord God, in those images, in which He was pleased to manifest Himself to men, in order that we should oftener remember Him, His constant presence with us, His providence; in order to express our reverence, gratitude, and love to Him in visible signs or ceremonies; for we are corporal, and on account of our corporality we need material representations, material ceremonies. It was certainly because of this that the Lord Himself appeared to His saints — for instance, to Abraham, in the form of three strangers, under the tree upon the plains of Mamre; to Isaiah in the form of a great King, sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; to the prophet Daniel in the form of the Ancient of Days and in the form of the Son of Man, brought near before Him. Had not the visible image of the invisible God been necessary, He certainly would not have appeared in a visible manner; would not have appeared upon earth in our flesh; would not have taken the form of a servant. And David says: “Seek His face evermore.”⁸ For this reason also we make, keep in our houses, and venerate, pictures of the Most Pure Mother of God, of the Angels and saints, because they are living images and likenesses of God, and, looking upon them, we remember more vividly their great deeds, virtues, their benefactions to us, their ardent love to God, and we ourselves thus become inspired to imitate them in their constant vigilance over themselves, in cleansing ourselves from every impurity of body and spirit, and we glorify their exploits, thus making them our intercessors and protectors before God, for God deigns to accept the intercession of His friends and faithful servants on behalf of those for whom they intercede before Him. As we are not bodiless spirits, but beings, covered with flesh, having material contours and a material image, it is natural that we should seek images of invisible beings; and it was indeed in condescension to our infirmity that the Lord gave the Angels power to take our form upon themselves and appear to us (when He pleases) in our image, as, for instance, when the Archangel appeared to Joshua, the son of Nun, to David, to Manoah and Hannah, to Zacharias, to the Most Pure Virgin Mary, and to other saints of the Old and New Testaments. Do we not ourselves prove in our daily life the requirement of our nature, its longing to have representations of the persons whom we love, when we express the desire to have their portraits and have our own portraits done, hang them up on the walls, or place them in albums, in order to look at them often, and to enjoy contemplating the respected and beloved faces? And this natural, right, and pious veneration of the holy icons many Lutherans and Anglicans regard as something unnatural, repugnant to God, as idolatry and heresy; they have not icons either in their houses or even in their temples, and consider it a sin to have and worship them. Through this they lose much in faith and piety, for by breaking the visible connection with the saints they likewise destroy the invisible one, whilst in reality, as the Church is heavenly and earthly, it forms one body. They have broken in the same way their connection with the departed, because they do not pray for them and do not offer sacrifices for their souls, sacrifices which are well-pleasing to the merciful God; and thus prove their unbelief in the power of the prayers of the Church for the departed. What kind of a Church is this that has unwisely and audaciously broken her ties with the heavenly, triumphant Church? has interrupted communion by means of prayers with the departed, and broken off communion with the Church that professes the faith in Christ in its primitive purity? Is it a living and holy body of the Church? Can a single trunk of the body, without head, without hands and feet, without eyes and ears, be called a living, organised body? And yet such a community proclaims its faith as the purified, true faith, and eschews the rites of our holy, spotless religion. Is that religion purified that has rejected the Sacrament of Orders and the other sacraments, excepting Baptism and Holy Communion, which last, however, is not valid; has rejected the veneration of the saints, of their relics, icons, fasting, monasticism, and prayers for the departed? Is this the faith of the Gospel? Is it the Church of Christ and the Apostolic Church? No; it is a self-made Church, constituted by the will of men, under the influence of human passions and pleasing human passions; it is “the truth in unrighteousness”⁹; it is the perverted Gospel of Christ; it is the perversion or turning away of Christ’s people “unto another Gospel,” of which the Apostle said: “But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”¹⁰ It is not a Church, but a soul-destroying dissection of the body of Christ. And thus the veneration of icons is natural, righteous, pleasing to God, and profitable.

The holy Angels and God’s saints are our best, kindest, and truest brothers and friends, so often helping us in various circumstances in which no human beings can help us. As these brothers, who eternally live and load us with benefits, are invisible, whilst we, on account of our corporality, wish to have them before our eyes and as though always present with us, therefore we have images of them; and, looking upon these images, we represent to ourselves that they are with us, and we call upon them in our prayers, knowing that they have great boldness before God and help us in various circumstances. Thus the veneration of icons is most beneficial for us, corresponding with our nature and with common-sense, as well as with the Holy Scriptures themselves, for there were images of the Cherubim in Moses’ tabernacle of the Old Testament. Icons serve as a constant reminder to us that the Lord is always with us (“I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world”¹¹); that the Most Holy Mother of God is always near us as the “First-Origin of the spiritual renovation”¹² of the Church, as the Mother by grace of all true Christians. And therefore all true Christians have in their houses the image of the Mother of God, their Queen and Mother by grace, and abundantly, worthily, and rightly adorn it with silver, gold, and precious stones; for, after God, there is no one dearer and more reverenced by them than His Most Pure Mother. Both the Lord Himself and His Most Pure Mother continually prove to us by means of miracles, both inwardly and outwardly, that our true veneration of His saints, and of His Mother, and of His holy icons, is pleasing to Him and profitable to us in the highest degree.

The Nativity of Christ. — He has come upon earth, He Who in the beginning created us from earth and breathed His Divine breath into us; He has come Who “giveth to all life, and breath, and all things”¹³; He has come, He Who by a single word called all things visible and invisible from nonexistence into existence, Who by a word called into being birds, fishes, quadrupeds, insects, and all creatures, existing under His almighty providence and care; He has come, He Whom the innumerable hosts of Angels continually serve with fear and joy. And in what humility has He come! He is born of a poor Virgin, in a cave, wrapped in poor swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger. Riches, honours, glory of this world! fall down, fall down in humility, tearful devotion, and deep gratitude before the Saviour of men, and share your riches with the poor and needy. Do not pride yourselves on your visionary, fleeting distinctions, for true distinction can only be found in virtue. Glory of this world! learn here, before the manger, your vanity. Thus, let us all humble ourselves; let us all fall down in the dust before the boundless humility and exhaustion of the Sovereign of all, of God, Who has come to heal our infirmities, to save us from pride, vanity, corruption, and every sinful impurity.

Sin, in itself, is fire; this is why we say that such or such an one is inflamed by anger, or by carnal love, or by envy. Thus sin bears in itself the condemnation of fire. What, then, will this fire be in sinners when through their impenitence the grace of God entirely leaves them? What will this outward fire also be for sinners? For there is no doubt that there will be the lake of fire, the fiery furnace, or the Gehenna of fire, or the valley of fire. All these truly exist. And we in our insensibility do not fear, do not tremble; we spend our lives in enjoyments; we are cold towards the Church; we do not fulfil our Christian duties; we stagnate in our sins. Woe unto us!

Our priestly service is to repeat over and over again the same prayers, although very diverse, beginning with the Lord’s Prayer “Our Father,” as it is the duty of all men in general to fulfil the same commandments of the moral law; for it is not by the variety of prayers that the soul is strengthened, but by their repetition, and by their being brought into our hearts, our will or activity, and into our whole life.

Avoid by every means occasions, causes, and words that produce enmity, and avail yourself of every opportunity and occasion to show holy and sincere love: by doing the first the inimical disposition of the soul will little by little be eradicated, and by the second love will be nourished and strengthened. Do not allow yourself for a moment to have any ill-feeling against anyone; always be kind to everyone, conquering your evil disposition by the love that endureth all things and conquereth all things. Avoid obstinacy, self-will, and opposing your neighbour; do not persist in having your own way, in order to satisfy your caprice, or in order to intentionally injure anyone.

One definite commandment was given to Adam and Eve, in order that by fulfilling this one commandment — which was, moreover, a very easy one — men might acquire the habit of fulfilling the will of God, the fulfilment of which constitutes the whole well-being of creatures, and might be strengthened in the love of God. If we turn our attention to the contrary —to the non-fulfilment of the will of the Creator and the fulfilment of our own will, in opposition to the Creator’s — we observe that little by little a man changes for the worse and perverts his own high nature, created after the image and likeness of God, and becomes God’s enemy. So important is the fulfilment of God’s commandments, and so destructive is their non-fulfilment! By giving to the first men His definite commandment not to eat the fruits of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the Lord God revealed Himself as the Guide of the newly-created reasonable creatures, of His children by adoption. Whose fault was it that this guidance was rejected, and that man preferred to be governed by his own will? Even until now, notwithstanding all the progress in sciences and arts, notwithstanding all the treasures of human wisdom, neither the man of ancient nor of modern times can educate himself, because he rejected even from the beginning the guidance of God; for, say, who but God should be our guide? And both at present and in the past only those men successfully completed their mental and moral education who trusted in God and lived in accordance with His commandments, or who now live in accordance with the Gospel and the teaching of the Church, submitting themselves to her guidance. This is useful for all modern teachers to remember. We have many sciences, but the result obtained is small; our youths have much in their heads, whilst in their hearts they have but little — very little, and often, alas! even nothing. Life, then, does not correspond with education and science. But “though I understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”¹⁴

The Church, through the temple and Divine service, acts upon the entire man, educates him wholly; acts upon his sight, hearing, smelling, feeling, taste, imagination, mind, and will, by the splendour of the icons and of the whole temple, by the ringing of bells, by the singing of the choir, by the fragrance of the incense, the kissing of the Gospel, of the cross and the holy icons, by the prosphoras, the singing, and sweet sound of the readings of the Scriptures.

Our prayer must be deep, sincere, wise, and fruitful; it must change our heart, direct our will to good, withdrawing us from evil. Superficial prayer is hypocrisy, a mocking at sacred things — vain prayer. “This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me.”¹⁵

When praying to the Mother of God, to the angels and saints, we recognise them as the one mysterious body of the Church, to which we ourselves also belong, though we are sinful; and we believe that out of love they pray to God for our salvation. When praying fervently for the various classes of society, for persons of our earthly country, and for the whole world, we recognise ourselves also as one great body with all through the spirit of love and good-will towards all as to ourselves. Finally, when praying for the repose of the souls of the departed (in heaven, upon earth,¹⁶ and in hell), we consider them also as forming one spiritual body with ourselves, and we desire peace and rest for them in the immortal country, acknowledging that their souls actually live, and that we ourselves perhaps very soon shall join them. This is the fruit of the faith of Christ —the union of love with all, with those in heaven, upon earth, and in hell. How high is the spirit of the Church! O, if we could raise ourselves up to this spirit! Penetrate into the spirit of the Christian Divine service, into the spirit of the litanies, the sacraments, rites, and be imbued with it yourselves. Woe unto those who have withdrawn themselves from the Church: they will become completely possessed by the spirit of the world, by the spirit of evil.

Only faithful servants of Christ give true value to the Incarnation of the Son of God, and to the care of God the Father and the All-Holy Trinity for the salvation of mankind; only they truly value the most pure Body and Blood of Christ, whilst men of this world live like the beasts that have no understanding, in worldly sorrows and in sensual pleasures, not valuing either the Incarnation of the Son of God or His most pure Mysteries. And as God’s chosen ones duly value the works of God and the infinite love of God to this adulterous and sinful world, so also God Himself values them, and accomplishes wonderful deeds through them. The Holy Ghost, together with the Father and the Son, dwells in them, and out of their bellies flow rivers of living water; and those who know God go to them to drink of this water, as to sweet springs. Let us all be servants of Christ.

The sun shines in the universe. The Mental Sun — God —unceasingly shines in the souls of the chosen.

God rests in the saints and even in their very names, in their very images; it is only necessary to use their images with faith, and they will work miracles.

Grant unto me, Most Holy Virgin, purity of heart, simple heartfelt, and son-like trust, devotion and love to Thee, both now and for ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen

The Liturgy is a visible representation in persons, in various objects, words, and acts, of the birth, life, teaching, commandments, miracles, and prophecies, of the sufferings, of the crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven of the Founder of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son of God. During the Liturgy He Himself invisibly assists, He Himself acts and accomplishes everything through the priest and deacon, who are only His instruments.

It is as easy for a believer to attract the Holy Ghost to himself, as it is easy to draw air into one’s self; like air, He fills everything and penetrates everything. “Who art everywhere present and fillest all things.” He who prays fervently, draws the Holy Ghost into himself, and prays by the Holy Ghost.

Prayer is the breathing of the soul, just as air is the natural breathing of the body. We breathe by the Holy Ghost. You cannot say a single word of prayer with the whole heart without the help of the Holy Ghost. When praying, you are conversing, mouth to mouth, with the Lord; and if the mouth of your heart is open by faith and love, then it is as though you breathed into yourself, from Him, the spiritual blessings you ask for by the Holy Ghost.

What is our life? The burning of a candle; He Who gave it has but to blow — and it goes out. What is our life? The journey of a traveller; as soon as it reaches a certain limit, the gates are opened to him, he lays aside his travelling dress (the body) and his staff, and enters into his house. What is our life? A prolonged bloody war for the possession of the true country and true freedom. When the war is over, we shall be either conquerors or conquered; we shall be called from the place of combat to the place of reward, and obtain from the Recompenser either eternal reward, eternal glory, or eternal punishment, eternal shame.

Man is a wonderful, grand creation of God, especially a holy man; he is a star of God; he is a splendid flower, wholly beautiful and pure, a sweet-smelling cedar-tree, a priceless pearl, a precious stone, a beautiful, fruitful tree of God’s paradise. Man is truly a wonderful creature of God! Glory be to his Creator and Providence! Glory be to the Saviour of mankind, Who draws us out of the mire of the passions, from corruption and death, and leads us into the life eternal!

I thank the Lord and my holy mother the Church, the spotless and incorruptible bride of Christ, for having shown, made even and smooth for me, the true path to salvation, cutting off at the Œcumenical and Provincial Councils all heresies and schisms which might have served as great obstacles and hindrances to our salvation in God, for having valiantly, gloriously, and victoriously overcome all the persecutors of the faith, and stood in defence for me of the royal path of the holy truth, that leads into the life eternal. I thank her for having preserved all the sacraments instituted by the Lord, leading me by a sure path unto salvation. I thank her for having instituted for me the splendid Divine service — that angelic service upon earth; for yearly solemnising all the most important events of the earthly life of my Lord and of His most pure Mother; for the due and grateful remembrance of the unspeakable benefits of God to us, manifested in our redemption by the Son of God from sin, the curse and death; and for daily representing in the Divine Liturgy to my reverent attention all the earthly life of my Lord. I thank her for glorifying in the daily Divine service the exploits of God’s saints, and for pointing them out to me as living examples of faith, hope, and love to God, and of the various ways leading to eternal life. I thank her, my holy mother, for the writings of the Holy Fathers and teachers of the Church, for their sweet and soul-saving words, left as an inheritance to us. I thank her for the divinely-instituted priesthood, accomplishing in Christ and by Christ my salvation, reconciling me with God, sanctifying, comforting, strengthening me, pasturing me, and leading me into the heavenly fold.

Do not despond in the time of violent temptations, afflictions, or sicknesses, or at obstacles arising from the disturbance of the enemy; all this is the reproof and chastisement of the righteous Lord, Who trieth the hearts and reins, for your cleansing, arousing, and correction, for burning out the thorns of carnal passions. And therefore do not complain if you sometimes suffer greatly. Do not think of the suffering, but of the blessed consequences of this chastisement, and the health of the soul. What would you not do for the health of your body? Still more must you bear everything for the health and salvation of your soul, which has eternal life.

Do not put your trust in money, but in God, who unwearyingly cares for all, and above all for His reasonable creatures endued with speech, and especially for those who live piously. Believe that His hand does not fail, above all for those who are charitable, for man cannot be more bountiful than God. Your own life and the lives of all those who lived before and were charitable serve as a proof of this. Let God alone be the treasure of your heart; cleave wholly to Him as one created after His image and likeness, and flee from earthly corruption, continually contaminating our souls and bodies. Hasten towards the life that does not pass away, towards the life that never ages; draw there all others too, as far as lies in your power.

Lord! teach me to bestow charity willingly, kindly, joyfully, and to believe that by bestowing it I do not lose, but gain infinitely more than that which I give. Turn my eyes away from hard-hearted people who do not sympathise with the poor, who meet poverty with indifference, who judge, reproach, brand it with shameful names, and weaken my heart, so that I may not do good, so that I, too, may harden my heart against poverty. O, my Lord, how many such people we meet with! Lord, amend works of charity! Lord, grant that every charity I bestow may be profitable, and may not do harm! Lord, accept Thyself charity in the person of Thy poor. Lord, deign to help me to build a house for the poor in this town, concerning which I have already many times prayed to Thee, the All-Merciful, Almighty, Most Wise, Wonderful! (The house was since built.)

Gazing upon the images of Christ the Saviour, of His most pure Mother, and of God’s saints, imagine in what glory our nature is clothed by God’s mercy, wisdom, and power, and what glory, what bliss, awaits all the Lord’s faithful servants; forsake all irrational desires and worldly attachments, earthly corruption and dross; love the Lord and the holy law of His Gospel with all your heart, with all your soul, and aspire to the honour of God’s heavenly calling, to the life eternal that never ages.

O, if we turned our attention to the consequences of our sins or of our good works! How careful we should then be to shun sin, and how zealous in all that is good! For we should then clearly see that every sin not eradicated in time becomes strengthened by habit, becomes deeply rooted in a man’s heart, and sometimes troubles, torments, and wounds him until death, becoming, so to say, awakened and revived in him upon every occasion, reminding him of the sin formerly committed, and thus defiling his thoughts, feelings, and conscience. Streams of tears are necessary to wash away the inveterate filthiness of sin. How tenacious and malignant it is! Whilst, on the contrary, every good action done at any time sincerely, disinterestedly, or having become a habit by repetition, rejoices our hearts and forms the joy and comfort of our life by the consciousness that we have not spent our life entirely in vain, full of sins though it is; that we are like men and not beasts; that we, too, are created after the image of God, and that there is a spark of the Divine light and love in us; that, although they are but few, our good works will form a counterpoise for our evil ones in the balance of God’s incorruptible righteousness.

I am touched by the spirit of holy love to all mankind moving throughout all the prayers, supplications, petitions, thanksgivings, psalm-singing, and readings in the Divine service of our Orthodox Church. O, what ought the priest to be, the organ of this Divine heavenly mother upon earth, who unceasingly cares with such love for all her children, from the sovereign down to the lowliest peasant, from the holy governing assembly to the lowliest of the Church clergy, and not only for her true children, but also for the whole world! How full of love for all ought the pastor to be — this child of the Church, whom she has invested with the grace of the priesthood, and who draws so near to the throne of God, as one of her faithful, as the friend of God, whom she has honoured, upon whom she has bestowed such great spiritual gifts and privileges, whom she has crowned with glory and honour as the bridegroom of the Church, as the servant of Christ the King, of God the Saviour, and as the pastor of souls! How far from him should be all the passions — respect of persons, self-love, sensual carnal love, pride, enmity, love of gain, slothfulness, despondency, murmuring, and other passions! He should be penetrated and filled with Divine love for all, and his chief care should be to stand without sin before the throne of God, to uplift his reverent hands for all men, and to save, early and late, the souls entrusted to him, redeemed by the priceless blood of Christ. “And who is sufficient for these things?”¹⁷ May the Lord in the multitude of His mercies grant these things unto us! For of ourselves we are cold, self-loving, malevolent, covetous, despondent, murmuring, and slothful.

What is the meaning of the exclamation so often sung in church: “Lord, have mercy upon us”? It is the lament of the guilty, condemned sinner, imploring forgiveness of an irritated justice. We are all under the eternal curse and doomed to eternal fire for our innumerable sins, and it is only the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, interceding for us before the Heavenly Father, that saves us from eternal punishment. It is the lament of the repentant sinner, expressing his firm intention to amend and begin a new life, becoming for a Christian. It is the lament of the repentant sinner, ready to forgive others, as he himself was and is immeasurably forgiven by God, the Judge of his deeds.

Passion is burning, agitated, inconsiderate, evil, impetuous, and therefore a man under the influence of passion — for instance, in anger — says a great deal that is unconsidered, untrue, imaginary, evil, and what he would not say when calm. And thus, knowing by experience that such is the nature of passion, in the first place — do not talk yourself when you are agitated, in malice; and in the second place — forgive those who are hot-tempered and irritated, when they pour forth abuse and reproaches, either just or unjust.

As light and heat are inseparable from the sun, so holiness, instruction, love and compassion for all ought to be inseparable from the person of a priest; for Whose dignity does he bear? —Christ’s. Of Whom does he so often communicate? Christ— God Himself, of His Body and Blood. Therefore a priest should be the same in the spiritual world, in the midst of his flock, as the sun is in nature: a light for all, life-giving warmth, the soul of all.

The Saviour deigned to become incarnate, not only in order to save us when sins and passions have already overcome us, when we are entangled in them, but also in order to save us, at our prayer, when sins and passions are as yet only striving to enter into us, when they attack us. We must not slumber nor be disheartened when the passions attack us; on the contrary, this is the very time to be on the watch, to take courage and pray to Christ not to let us fall into sin. It is not the time to save a house from fire, when the fire has already spread, but rather when the flame has just appeared. It is the same with the soul. The soul is the house, and the passions the fire. “Neither give place to the Devil.”¹⁸

Do not fear the conflict, and do not flee from it: where there is no struggle, there is no virtue; where there are no temptations for faithfulness and love, it is uncertain whether there is really any faithfulness and love for the Lord. Our faith, trust, and love are proved and revealed in adversities, that is, in difficult and grievous outward and inward circumstances, during sickness, sorrow, and privations.

Charity is the seed. If you desire that it should bring forth good fruit an hundredfold, make this seed good, by bestowing your charity with simplicity, and from a good, merciful compassionate heart. Be assured that you will not lose much, or rather that you will not lose anything, but that you will obtain infinitely more by bestowing this perishable charity, provided you give it from a good heart, with faith in the Recompenser, and not from love of gain or any self-loving motives. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me,”¹⁹ your Lord.

The thoughts of a man have the most powerful influence upon the state and inclinations of his heart and actions; therefore, in order that the heart may be pure, good, tranquil, and that the inclinations of the will may be also good and pious, it is necessary to cleanse our thoughts by means of prayer, by reading the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Holy Fathers, as well as by meditations on the perishableness, transitoriness, and complete disappearance of earthly delights.

You desire some spiritual blessing, either for yourself or someone else, or for all, but the Lord desires the same, long, long before you, and is ready to grant this blessing to you and others; only readiness to accept the Divine gift is required; it only requires some worthiness in those who are to receive it, for God is infinite mercy, infinite goodness, and is always ready to grant every blessing, and often bestows it even before we ask for it, and, in every case, “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.”²⁰ Therefore, it is always with hope and boldness that I ask spiritual and even material blessings of the Lord, when these latter are needful, and the Lord grants them, in accordance with His faithful promise: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”²¹

After the resurrection our bodies will be spiritual, and not earthly ones, everything earthly will remain upon earth. Remembering what our future abode will be, Christians, let us, then, gradually detach ourselves from everything earthly. In the resurrection of the dead, men shall be “as the angels of God in heaven”²² — as spiritual as they! And therefore, there will be neither meat, nor drink, nor raiment, nor air, nor warmth —which nourish, warm and support our bodies here; “but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”²³ Now our earthly bodies are supported by the earth, that is, by earthly elements, but then all “the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”²⁴ And thus remembering these future changes in our destiny, in our bodies, and in our lives, “and the wonder of seeing God incarnate, let us shun the vain world, and set our minds upon Divine things: Christ came upon earth, in order to raise us up to heaven.”²⁵ The spiritual body is entirely different from the material, elemental one. “That God may be all in all.”²⁶

As the Lord has formed us of two elements— the spiritual and the material, of a reasonable soul and a material body requiring material support, the Devil, in spite of God and ourselves, endeavours by every means to take advantage of this very duality of our nature, by inclining us to put our trust, not in God, but in carnal things, and tempting us, through the flesh, to every sin: to gluttony, fornication and every impurity; to covetousness, envy, slothfulness, theft, avarice, hatred, murder. Thus, for instance, he incites us, he makes us trust, not in God, but in money, food and drink, human ties and connections, ranks, honours and privileges, nobility of birth, intellect, education, books; he incites us to find pleasure in food, drink, dress, in concerts of worldly music, theatres, joking, idle-speaking, and in the play of words. But the true servant of God trusts in his Lord, always and in everything, in the common Father and Provider of all, Who worketh all things in all, remembering what has been said: “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.”²⁷ As soon as disturbance and violence arise in your soul, recognise in this the influence of Satan, and immediately set against him the Rock — Christ. Satan will break his teeth against that Rock, and shall not reach you. But also bear in mind that you must love everyone as yourself.

Our Lady, the Mother of God, the Angels and all the Saints are as near to me when I call upon them with a pure, whole heart as my own soul, and hear me, as I hear myself: for we are all — one body, one spirit, one Church of Angels and men. The members of the Church have the same relation to each other as the members of the body: they serve each other, they help each other, support and save each other. (But is it thus with the Protestants?)

In what high, holy company does the Christian find himself in the temple, surrounded by images of Angels and Saints! He is a member of that same Church to which the Saints belong. What an incitement to moral change and aspiration towards the life that never ages, to which they too aspired, and to which they actually attained.

The Devil takes captive and conquers man in this world by excessively exciting his natural spiritual and bodily needs, such as: the need of food and drink (and as everything has to be bought with money, therefore of money, too), the need of clothing, the need of pleasures, the need of honours or fame, and of a good name. All these and other similar requirements of man, which God has put into the very nature of man, are continually perverted by the Devil, who carries them to extremes, sometimes quite needlessly (for instance, with eating and drinking), and thus ruins both soul and body, and diverts the soul from God through its attachment to material things, and through its falling into sensuality and into the passions of malice, pride, envy, despondency, slothfulness, gluttony, fornication, drunkenness, covetousness, ambition, etc. And therefore fasting, chastity, disinterestedness, kindness, meekness, humility, faith, hope and love, prayer and meditation, are necessary.

Guard by every means your heart, or the sincerity of your heart, your capability of sympathising with your neighbours in their joys and sorrows, and avoid, as you would avoid mortal poison, any indifference and coldness to people’s various misfortunes, sicknesses, and needs: for it is by sympathy, especially active sympathy, that the love and goodness of the Christian are revealed, and in love the whole law is contained, whilst, on the contrary, our selfishness, malice, malevolence, and envy are revealed by a want of sympathy. Thus, pray for all those for whom the Church orders you to pray, or, pray willingly for others, as you would pray for yourself, and do not relax in sincerity, do not lose inward respect for the person or persons for whom you pray; do not allow the holy fire of love to be extinguished, or your light darkened; do not despond at the wiles of the enemy, undermining your heart and striving to implant in your heart an aversion to all, to take away from your lips the prayer for others which is the best proof of evangelical love for our brethren.

Lord! grant that Thy temple may communicate to all who enter into it with faith, piety and fear of God, the enlightenment of their souls, the cleansing from their sins, sanctification, peace, health, tranquillity of soul — that it may strengthen their faith, hope and love; that it may further the amendment of their lives, success in all their good beginnings and works, mutual love, pure Christian life, the softening of their hearts, and the cessation of self-love, hard-heartedness, covetousness, greediness, envy, malice, gluttony, drunkenness, dissoluteness —of these vices, which are so prejudicial to social life, sapping its very foundations. Grant this, grant it, Lord, to all those who love to frequent Thy temple, and incline those also who do not love it, to love it, and to amend their lives and works: for the time is near and the judgment is at the door for all, of every calling and position, of either sex and every age, and a work of infinite importance stands before all — to give an answer at the terrible Judgment of Christ.

How and when are we to care for the imperishable raiment of the soul: meekness, righteousness, chastity, patience, mercy, when all our cares, attention, and means are directed to perishable raiment and the adornment of our body? We cannot serve two masters: for the soul is simple and single. How and when are we to care for the spiritual riches of good works, when we are only greedy after perishable riches and strive to amass it with all our might and means, when our heart clings to money, to the world, and not to God? How and when are we to care for the incorruptible spiritual food and for the blessed drink — for prayer, the reading of God’s word, the writings and lives of the Holy Fathers, the Communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord, when we hardly let food and drink out of our mouths, and this stupefying lit-up poisonous smoke which many consider so pleasant? How can our soul rejoice in the Holy Ghost, when we are continually occupied by earthly, vain pastimes and pleasures? O, ruinous service to corruption, drawing us away from the life incorruptible, true and eternal!

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