About the human condition
A person, until he learns more, is content with the little that he has. He is like a village rooster that lives in a small yard, sees few people and cattle, knows a dozen of his chickens and is content with his life, because he does not know more. And the eagle, which flies high in the clouds, and sees keen eye far away, and hears the sounds of the earth from afar, and enjoys the beauty of the world, knows many countries, seas and rivers, sees many animals and birds, he will not be pleased if they plant him with a rooster in a small yard.
This also happens in the spiritual life. He who has not cognized the grace of the Holy Spirit is like a rooster, who does not know the flight of an eagle, does not understand the sweetness of affection and love of God. He knows God from nature and from Scripture; he is content with the rule, and with this he is content, as the cock is pleased with his share and does not grieve that he is not an eagle. But whoever has come to know the Lord by the Holy Spirit, he prays day and night, because the grace of the Holy Spirit attracts him to love the Lord, and from the sweetness of God's love he easily bears all the sorrows of the earth, and his soul constantly yearns only for the Lord and always seeks the grace of the Holy Spirit.
We are all tormented on earth and are looking for freedom, but few people know what freedom is, where it is. To the repentant, the Lord gives His peace and freedom to love Him. Oh, my brothers, all the earth, repent, while there is time. God graciously awaits our repentance. And all heaven, all saints expect repentance from us. As God is love, so the Holy Spirit in the saints is love. Ask, and the Lord will forgive. And when you receive the remission of sins, then your soul will have joy and joy, and the grace of the Holy Spirit will enter your soul, and you will say: "This is true freedom: it is in God and from God."
The grace of God does not take away freedom, but only helps to fulfill the commandments of God. Adam was in grace, but his will was not taken away. Likewise, the Angels are in the Holy Spirit (abide), but their free will is not taken away from them.
The Lord wants us to love one another; this is freedom - in love for God and for one's neighbor. This is both freedom and equality. And in earthly ranks there can be no equality, but this is not important for the soul. Not everyone can be a king or a prince; not everyone can be a patriarch or abbot or chief; but in any rank one can love God and please Him, and this is the only thing that matters. And whoever loves God more on earth, then in greater glory will be in the Kingdom.
Will of god
When there are no good teachers, then one must humbly surrender to the will of God. And then the Lord will make us wise by His grace, for the Lord loves us so much that it is impossible to express.
It is a great blessing to surrender to the will of God. Then there is one Lord in the soul, and there is no other thought, and she prays to God with a pure mind, and feels the love of God, although she suffers in her body. When the soul has completely surrendered to the will of God, then the Lord Himself begins to lead it, and the soul learns directly from God, and was previously instructed by teachers and Scripture. But it rarely happens that the Teacher of the soul was the Lord Himself by His grace of the Holy Spirit, and few people know about this, but only the one who lives according to the will of God.
The proud does not want to live according to the will of God: he loves to govern himself; and does not understand that a person lacks reason without God to govern himself. And I, when I lived in the world and did not yet know the Lord and His Holy Spirit, did not know how the Lord loved us, relied on my own mind; but when by the Holy Spirit I came to know our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, my soul surrendered to God, and everything that happens to me in sorrow, I accept and say: "The Lord looks at me, why should I be afraid?" And before, I could not live like this.
The most precious thing in the world is to know God and at least partially understand His will. The soul that has cognized God must surrender in everything to the will of God and live before Him in fear and love. In love, because the Lord is love. In fear, because one should be afraid lest offending God with some bad idea.
How do you know if you are living according to the will of God? - Here is a sign: if you grieve about any thing, it means that you have not completely surrendered to the will of God, although it may seem to you that you are living according to the will of God. He who lives according to the will of God does not care about anything. And if he needs any thing, then he betrays himself and the thing to God; and if he does not receive the necessary thing, he still remains at peace, as if he had it. A soul that has surrendered to the will of God is afraid of nothing: neither thunderstorms, nor robbers, nothing... But whatever happens - she says: "It is so pleasing to God." If he is sick, he thinks: "So I need an illness, otherwise God would not have given it to me." And this is how peace is preserved in the soul and body.
When the soul has completely surrendered to the will of God, then the Lord Himself begins to lead it, and the soul learns directly from God, and was previously instructed by teachers and Scripture. But it rarely happens that the Teacher of the soul was the Lord Himself by His grace of the Holy Spirit, and few people know about this, but only the one who lives according to the will of God.
Every soul, confused by something, must ask the Lord, and the Lord will give reason. But this is mainly in the hour of trouble and confusion, and this is how you usually need to ask your confessor, for this is humility. The Lord gave the Holy Spirit to earth, and in whom He lives, he feels heaven within himself. Perhaps you will say: why don't I have such grace? - Because you have not surrendered to the will of God, but you live according to your own.
It is always necessary to pray that the Lord will instruct us what needs to be done, and the Lord will not leave us delusional. Adam was not wise to ask the Lord about the fruit that Eve gave, and therefore lost paradise. David did not ask the Lord, "Will it be good if I take Uriah's wife?" - and fell into the sin of murder and adultery. Likewise, all the saints who have sinned have sinned because they did not call God for help to bring them to understanding. The Monk Seraphim of Sarov said: "When I spoke from my own mind, then there were mistakes."
If you talk or write about God, then pray and ask the Lord for help and admonition, and the Lord will help you and admonish you. And if you have perplexity, then make three bows and say: "Lord, you see, Merciful, my soul is at a loss, and I am afraid to sin, give me reason, Lord." And the Lord will certainly enlighten, because he is very close to us. If you doubt, you will not receive what you ask for. So the Lord said to Peter: “ Why have you doubted, you have little faith? "(Matthew 14:31) when he began to drown in the waves. Likewise, the soul, when it doubts, begins to drown in bad thoughts.
So, only the Lord is omniscient, but to us all, whoever is, one must pray to God for discipline, and also ask the spiritual father so as not to make mistakes.
A Word on Prayer
He who loves the Lord always remembers Him, and the memory of God gives birth to prayer. If you don’t remember the Lord, then you won’t pray, and without prayer the soul will not abide in the love of God, for through prayer comes the grace of the Holy Spirit. Prayer keeps a person from sin, for the praying mind is occupied with God and in humility of spirit stands before the face of the Lord, whom the soul of the praying one knows.
Prayer is given to the one who is praying, as the Scripture says, but prayer only out of habit, without contrition of the heart for sins, is not pleasing to the Lord. Loving soul she cannot but pray, for she is drawn to Him by the grace that she knew in prayer.
For prayer, we have been given churches, in churches the service is performed according to books, but you cannot take a temple with you, and you do not always have books, but inner prayer is always and everywhere with you. Divine services are performed in churches, and the Spirit of God lives, but the soul is the best temple of God, and whoever prays in his soul, the whole world has become a temple for that, but this is not for everyone.
Many people pray orally and love to pray from books, which is good, and the Lord accepts prayer and has mercy on them. But if someone prays to the Lord, but thinks about something else, then the Lord will not listen to such a prayer. Whoever prays out of habit does not have a change in prayer, but whoever prays fervently has many changes in prayer: there is a struggle with the enemy, a struggle with oneself, with passions, a struggle with people, and in everything one must be courageous. Many people like to read good books and that's good, but it's best to pray.
If your mind wants to pray in your heart and cannot, then read the prayer with your lips and keep your mind in the words of the prayer, as the Ladder says. Over time, the Lord will give you a heartfelt prayer without thoughts, and you will pray easily. Some have injured their hearts, because their minds intensified to say a prayer in their heart, and they reached the point that later they could not say it with their lips. But know the order of spiritual life: gifts are given to a simple, humble, obedient soul. Those who are obedient and abstinent in everything: in food, in speech, in movement, the Lord Himself gives prayer, and it is easily performed in the heart.
Unceasing prayer comes from love, but is lost for condemnation, for idle talk and intemperance. He who loves God can think of Him day and night, because no works interfere with loving God. The apostles loved the Lord, and the world did not bother them, although they remembered the world, and prayed for it, and preached.
About humility
Learning Christ's humility is a great blessing; it is easy and joyful to live with him, and everything is sweet to the heart. The Lord reveals Himself only to the humble by the Holy Spirit, and if we do not humble ourselves, then we will not see God. Humility is the light in which we can see the Light of God, as it is sung: "In Your light we will see the light."
The great difference between the most common man who knew the Lord by the Holy Spirit, and a man, even if he was very great, but did not know the grace of the Holy Spirit. It is a great difference to believe only that God exists, to know Him from nature or from Scripture, and to know the Lord by the Holy Spirit. Whoever has come to know God by the Holy Spirit, his spirit burns with love for God day and night, and his soul cannot be attached to anything earthly. A soul that has not experienced the sweetness of the Holy Spirit rejoices from vanity to worldly glory, or wealth, or power, and a soul that has known the Lord by the Holy Spirit desires only the Lord alone, and imputes wealth and worldly glory for nothing.
If we were humble, then the Lord, out of His love, would show us everything, would reveal all the secrets, but our grief is that we are not humble, we are proud and proud of all sorts of trifles, and thus we torment ourselves and others.
The Lord does not reveal Himself to a proud soul. A proud soul, even though it has studied all the books, will never know the Lord, for with its pride it does not give in itself a place for the grace of the Holy Spirit, and God is known only by the Holy Spirit. Pride prevents the soul from entering the path of faith. To the unbeliever I give this advice: let him say: "Lord, if You exist, then enlighten me, and I will serve You with all my heart and soul." And for such a humble thought and readiness to serve God, the Lord will certainly enlighten.
The Lord, although merciful, torments the soul with hunger for pride, and does not give it grace until he learns humility. The proud man is afraid of reproach, but the humble one is not at all. He who has acquired Christ's humility always wants to reproach himself, and rejoices in reproaches, and grieves when he is praised. But this is still the initial humility, and when the soul knows the Lord by the Holy Spirit, how humble and meek He is, then it sees itself as the worst of all.
The Lord taught me to keep my mind in hell, and not to despair, and so my soul is humbled, but this is not yet real humility, which is indescribable. When the soul goes to the Lord, it is in fear, but when it sees the Lord, from the beauty of His glory, it is inexpressibly rejoicing, and from the love of God and from the sweetness of the Holy Spirit, it completely forgets the earth. This is the paradise of the Lord. All will be in love, and from the humility of Christ, all will be glad to see others above themselves. The humility of Christ dwells in the lesser; they are glad they are smaller. So the Lord gave me to understand.
The Lord said: “ Learn from Me, as I am meek and lowly in heart. " There are many kinds of humility. One is obedient and reproaches himself in everything - and that is humility. Someone repents of their sins and considers themselves abominable before God - and this is humility. But when the soul, by the Holy Spirit, sees the Lord, how meek and humble He is, then she herself is humbled to the end. And this is a very special humility, and no one can describe it, and it is only known by the Holy Spirit. And if people, by the Holy Spirit, knew - what our Lord is, then everyone would change: the rich would despise their riches, scientists - their sciences, and rulers - their glory and power, and everyone would humble themselves and live in great peace and love, and there would be great joy on earth.
The Lord loves people, but He sends sorrows so that people know their weakness and humble themselves, and for their humility they receive the Holy Spirit, and with the Holy Spirit everything is good, everything is joyful, everything is fine.
Some suffer a lot from poverty and disease, but they do not humble themselves, and therefore suffers uselessly. And whoever humbles himself will be pleased with any fate, because the Lord is his wealth and joy, and all people will be amazed at the beauty of his soul.
You say, "I have a lot of grief." But I'll tell you, or is it better the Lord Himself says: "Humble yourself," and you will see that your troubles will turn into peace, so that you yourself will be surprised and say: "Why did I suffer and grieve so much before?" But now you rejoice because you have humbled yourself and the grace of God has come; now you at least one sat in poverty, joy will not leave you, because you have peace in your soul, about which the Lord said: “ My peace I give you. " Thus, the Lord gives peace to every humble soul.
The soul of a humble person is like the sea, throw a stone into the sea, it will slightly disturb the surface for a minute and then drown in its depths. Sorrows sink into the heart of the humble, because the power of the Lord is with him.
There are many kinds of humility. One is obedient and reproaches himself in everything, and this is humility. Someone repents of their sins and considers themselves abominable before God - and this is humility. But a different humility belongs to one who has come to know the Lord by the Holy Spirit. He who has come to know the Lord by the Holy Spirit has a different knowledge and a different taste.
I used to think that the Lord worked miracles only through the prayers of the saints, but now I learned that the Lord will also perform a miracle for a sinner as soon as his soul is humbled, for when a person learns humility, then the Lord listens to his prayers.
Many, out of inexperience, say that such and such a saint performed a miracle, but I learned that it was the Holy Spirit, who lives in a person, that works miracles. The Lord wants everyone to be saved and to be with Him forever, and therefore he listens to the prayers of a sinful person for the benefit of others or the one who is praying.
Where do you dwell, humble soul; and who lives in you; and what will I liken you?
You burn brightly like the sun, and you do not burn out, but you warm everyone with your warmth.
The land of the meek belongs to you, according to the word of the Lord.
You are like blooming garden, in the depths of which is a beautiful house where the Lord loves to dwell.
Heaven and earth love you.
The holy Apostles, Prophets, Saints and Saints love you.
Angels, Seraphim and Cherubim love you.
The Most Pure Mother of the Lord loves you, humble one.
The Lord loves you and rejoices in you.
About the peace of mind
Judging by what was predicted in Scripture and by the nature of the people around us, we live in recent times... However, as the great prayer book of the Russian land, the Monk Seraphim, said, one must try to maintain peace of mind, because without it one cannot be saved. In life Venerable Seraphim, for his prayers, the Lord kept Russia; and after him there was another pillar, reaching from earth to heaven - Father John of Kronstadt. He loved the people and never stopped praying for them. "Lord, I want Your peace to be among all Your people, which You have loved to the end, and have given Your Only Begotten Son in order to save the world."
So incessantly praying for the people, he kept peace of mind, but we are losing it, because we do not have love for the people. The holy Apostles and all the saints wished the people salvation and, being among people, fervently prayed for them. The Holy Spirit gave them the strength to love the people; and if we do not love our brother, we will not be able to have peace. Let everyone think about it.
Praise the Lord that He did not leave us orphans, but gave us the Holy Spirit to earth. The Holy Spirit teaches the soul of unspoken love for the people and pity for all the lost who go to hell. And whoever has not acquired the Holy Spirit does not want to pray for enemies.
The Monk Paisios the Great prayed for his disciple, who had denied Christ, and while he was praying, the Lord appeared to him and said: “Paisie, for whom are you praying? After all, he denied Me, "but the monk continued to pity his disciple, and then the Lord said to him:" Paisie, you have become like love to Me. "
This is how the world is drawn, and besides this there is no other way.
If someone prays and fasts a lot, but does not love enemies, then he cannot have peace of mind. And I could not have talked about it if the Holy Spirit had not taught me to love.
A brother must be admonished meekly, with love. The world is lost if the soul is glorified, or ascends before a brother, or condemns someone, or if the brother is admonished, but not meekly and not with love; if we eat a lot, or we pray listlessly, peace in our soul is lost for all this.
But if we get used to praying fervently for our enemies and loving them, then peace will always abide in our souls, and if we hate or condemn our brother, then our mind will be darkened, and we will lose and inner world and boldness towards God.
He who carries the peace of the Holy Spirit in himself pours out peace on others; and he who carries an evil spirit within him pours out evil on others. A soul that has come to know the Lord always wants to see Him in itself, for He comes quietly into the soul, and gives the soul peace, and testifies to salvation without words.
About grace
The Lord called the sinful soul to repentance, and she turned to Him. Then He graciously accepted her and revealed Himself to her, because He is very merciful, humble and meek. Due to the multitude of His goodness, He did not remember the sins of the soul, and the soul loved Him to the end, and strives to Him, like a bird from a cramped cage into a green grove.
Suddenly the soul loses such grace of the Lord; and then he thinks: Have I offended Vladyka in any way? I will ask His mercy; maybe He will give me His grace again, for my soul no longer wants anything in this world except the Lord. The love of the Lord is so ardent that if its soul tastes, then it desires nothing else; and if it loses it, or if grace diminishes, then what prayers does the soul pour out before God, desiring to find His grace again.
When a soul is in the Holy Spirit, it is content and does not miss the heavenly, for it feels the Kingdom of God within itself: the Lord came and dwelt in it. But when she loses grace, then she misses the heavenly and tearfully seeks the Lord.
He who has not known grace cannot even desire it. Most people have clinging to the earthly, and they do not know that nothing earthly can replace the Holy Spirit. The Lord takes away His grace from the soul and thus graciously and wisely brings up the soul, for which in great suffering He stretched out His hands on the cross so that it would be humble. He allows the soul to manifest its will in the struggle with our enemies, but the soul itself is powerless to defeat them, therefore it is said: "Ask, and it will be given to you." And if we do not ask, then we ourselves torment and deprive ourselves of the grace of the Holy Spirit, and without grace the soul is in many respects confused, because it does not understand the will of God.
Here is the shortest and easiest way to salvation: Be obedient, restrained, do not condemn and keep your mind and heart from bad thoughts, but think that all people are good, and the Lord loves them. For these humble thoughts, the grace of the Holy Spirit will live in you, and you will say: "The Lord is merciful."
The Lord rejoices over the soul that humbly repents, and gives it the grace of the Holy Spirit. I know how one novice received the Holy Spirit after living in a monastery for six months; others received it after living for ten years, while others live for forty or more years before they know grace. But to keep this grace no one could not, because we are not humble.
The Monk Seraphim was 27 years old when he saw the Lord, and his soul loved God so much that he was completely changed by the sweetness of the Holy Spirit; but after that he went out into the desert and, knowing that he was not that grace, stood on a stone for three years, crying out: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner."
Blessed is he who does not lose the grace of God, but ascends from strength to strength. I lost grace, but the Lord took pity on me a lot and gave me a taste of a great one according to His single mercy. With all your might, humble your soul, brothers, so that the Lord will love her and give her His mercy. But it will not dwell in us if we do not love our enemies.
About repentance
Praise the Lord that He has given us repentance by which we can all be saved, without exception. Only those who do not want to repent will not be saved, and in this I see their despair, and I cry a lot, pitying them.
Every soul that has lost the world must repent, and the Lord will forgive sins, and then there will be joy in the soul and peace; and no other witnesses are needed, but the Spirit Himself testifies that sins are forgiven. Here is the sign of the forgiveness of sins; if you hated sin, then the Lord has forgiven you for your sins.
He who truly repents readily endures all sorrow: hunger and nakedness, cold and heat, illness and poverty, humiliation and exile, untruth and slander, for the soul strives for the Lord and does not care about the earthly, but with a pure mind prays to God. And whoever is attached to possessions and money can never have a pure mind in God, because in the depths of his soul there is always a concern of what to do with them; and if he does not repent purely and does not grieve that he has offended God, then he will die in passion, not knowing the Lord.
Christ prayed for those who crucified Him: “Father, put not this sin on them; do not know what they are doing. " Archdeacon Stephen prayed for those who stoned him so that the Lord would not impute it to them as a sin. And we, if we want to preserve grace, must pray for our enemies. If you do not pity the sinner who will be tormented in the fire, then it means that the grace of the Holy Spirit is not in you, but lives in you. evil spirit and while you are still alive, try to free yourself from it by repentance.
About love
The Lord loves us as His children, and His love stronger than love mother, because a mother can forget her child, and the Lord never forgets us. And if the Lord Himself had not given the Holy Spirit to the Orthodox people and our great pastors, then we could not have known how much He loves us.
The Lord loved us so much that for our sake He was incarnate, and shed His Blood for us, and He gave us drink, and gave us His most pure Body; and so we became His children, of His flesh and His blood, and are like the Lord in the flesh, just as our own children are like their father, regardless of age, and the Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit that we will be with Him forever.
In order to know the Lord, one does not need to have either wealth or learning, but one must be obedient and temperate, have a humble spirit and love one's neighbor, and the Lord will love such a soul, and Himself will reveal Himself to the soul, and will teach it love and humility, and will give everything useful her so that she may find peace in God.
The Lord created man out of dust, but He loves us like our own children, and desires to wait for Himself.
The Lord loves all people, but whoever seeks Him loves the more. “Those who love Me - I love,” says the Lord, “and those who seek Me will find grace” (Prov. 8:17). The Lord's love is such that He wants all people to be saved, and to be forever with Him in heaven, and to see His glory. We do not fully know this glory, but we partially understand it by the Holy Spirit. And whoever has not cognized the Holy Spirit cannot understand this glory, but only believes in the Lord's promise and keeps His commandments. But they are blessed, as the Lord said to the Apostle Thomas (John 20:29); and they will be equal to those who have seen the glory of God here.
And I learned that love is different in strength. Whoever fears God so as not to offend Him in any way is the first love. Whoever has a mind clean of thoughts - this is the second love, more than the first. The one who tangibly has grace in his soul is the third love, even greater.
The fourth, perfect love for God is when someone has the grace of the Holy Spirit both in the soul and in the body. His body is sanctified and there will be relics. This is what happens with the great holy martyrs, with the prophets, with the saints. Whoever has achieved this is inviolable for carnal love. He can sleep freely with the girl, not feeling any desire for her. The love of God is stronger than the love of flesh, to which the whole world is drawn, except for those who have the grace of God in fullness, for the sweetness of the Holy Spirit regenerates the whole person and teaches us to love God in fullness. With the fullness of God's love, the soul does not touch the world; although man lives on earth among others, he forgets everything in the world out of the love of God. And our sorrow is that, according to the pride of our minds, we do not stand in this grace, and it leaves the soul, and the soul seeks it, weeping and weeping, and says: "My soul is bored with the Lord."
He who wants to love the Lord must love his enemies and be gentle; then the Lord gives joy to ceaselessly praise Him day and night, and your mind will forget the world; and even if he comes back and remembers, he will earnestly pray for peace.
This is how the Saints lived, for the Spirit of God teaches the soul to pray for people.
About Shepherds
The Lord calls the bishops to shepherd His flock and freely gives them the grace of the Holy Spirit. In the Holy Spirit, they have the power to knit and resolve sins. They are the heirs of the Apostles, and by the grace given to them they lead us to Christ. They teach us to repentance; they teach us to keep the commandments of the Lord. They tell us the word of God so that we know the Lord. They guide us on the path of salvation and help us to ascend to the height of the humble spirit of Christ. They gather in the fence of the Church the grieving and bewildered sheep of Christ, so that their souls may find rest in God.
They pray to God for us that we are all saved. They, as friends of Christ, can implore the Lord: to the living to ask for humility and the grace of the Holy Spirit; to the departed - forgiveness of sins .; The Church is peace and freedom. They are in great labor and exploit, and for this they are enriched with the mind of the Saints, whom they imitate by their lives. They are placed above all; they, like eagles, ascend to the height and from there they see endless space, and with the mind of theology they feed the flock of Christ.
A great face is a priest, a minister at the Throne of God. Whoever insults him insults the Holy Spirit who lives in him. One humble and meek husband walked with his wife and three children. The bishop met him, who was riding in a carriage, and when the peasant began to bow to him with reverence, he saw the bishop blessing in the fire of grace.
If people saw in what glory the priest serves, they would fall from this vision; and if the priest himself saw himself in what heavenly glory he stands (performing his ministry), he would become a great ascetic, so as not to offend the grace of the Holy Spirit living in him.
I am writing these lines, and my spirit rejoices that our shepherds are like the Lord Jesus Christ. But we also sheep, although we have a little grace, nevertheless are like the Lord. People do not know this secret, but John the Theologian clearly said: “We will be like Him,” and this is not only after death, but also now, for the Merciful Lord gave the Holy Spirit to earth, and the Holy Spirit lives in our Church. He lives in the blameless Shepherds; He lives in the hearts of believers; He teaches the soul a heroic deed. He gives strength to fulfill the commandments of the Lord and guides us into all truth.
About thoughts and delights
Watch out for two thoughts and be afraid of them. One says: you are a saint; the other - you will not be saved. Both of these thoughts are from the enemy, and there is no truth in them. But you think: I am a great sinner, but the Lord is merciful, He loves people a lot, and will forgive me my sins. But do not hope for your exploits, even though you have struggled a lot. One ascetic told me: “I must certainly be pardoned, because I put so many bows every day”; but when death came, he tore his shirt. So, not for our exploits, but for the tuna, by His grace, God has mercy. The Lord wants the soul to be humble, gentle and forgiving everyone with love, then the Lord will forgive with joy.
Know that if your thought is inclined to follow who lives and how, then this is a sign of pride. Watch yourself, and you will see that as soon as the soul is exalted over the brother, then a bad thought comes.
Enemies (demons) have fallen with pride, and they draw us there, and bring us thoughts of praise. And if the soul accepts the praise, then grace will recede until the soul is humbled. And so all his life a person will learn the humility of Christ.
A person falls into delusion either out of inexperience or out of pride. And if out of inexperience, then the Lord will soon heal, and if out of pride, then the soul will suffer for a long time until it learns humility.
We fall into delight when we think that we are smarter and more experienced than others, and even a confessor.
If you see light within yourself, or outside yourself, then do not believe it, if, along with the light, you do not have tenderness for God and love for your neighbor. However, do not be afraid, but humble yourself, and this light will disappear.
If you see any vision, or an image, or a dream, then do not trust him, because if it is from God, then the Lord will enlighten. A soul that has not experienced the Holy Spirit cannot understand the vision - where is it from. The enemy gives the soul a certain sweetness mixed with vanity, and therefore delight is recognized. In the presence of an enemy vision, the soul will feel embarrassment or fear. But this is only a humble soul who considers himself unworthy of a vision, and a vain person may not experience either fear or even embarrassment, because he wants visions and considers himself worthy, and therefore the enemy easily deceives him.
The heavenly is cognized by the Holy Spirit, and the earthly - by the mind; but whoever wants to know God with his mind from science is in delusion, for God is known only by the Holy Spirit.
About obedience
Why did the Holy Fathers put obedience above fasting and prayer? - Because from exploits without obedience vanity is born, and the novice does everything as he is told, and has no reason to be proud. In addition, the obedient cut off his will in everything and listens to his spiritual father, and therefore his mind is free from all care and he prays purely. An obedient mind has one God and the word of an old man, but an obedient mind is busy with various deeds and condemnation of an old man, and therefore he cannot contemplate God.
Obedience is necessary not only for monks, but for every person. Even the Lord was obedient. The proud and self-proclaimed do not allow grace to live in themselves, and therefore never have spiritual peace, and the grace of the Holy Spirit easily enters the soul of the obedient and gives him joy and peace.
He who carries even a small amount of grace within himself will happily submit to his superiors. He knows that God rules over the heavens, the earth, and the underworld, and himself, and his deeds, and everything that is in the world, and therefore he is always at rest.
By obedience, man is protected from pride. Prayer is given for obedience, and the grace of the Holy Spirit is given for obedience. This is why obedience is superior to fasting and prayer.
If the (fallen) angels had remained obedient, they would have remained in heaven and still praise the Lord. And if Adam had remained obedient, then he and his family would have remained in paradise. But even now it is possible to regain paradise for oneself by repentance. The Lord loves us a lot, despite our sins, if only we humble ourselves and love our enemies. And he who does not love enemies cannot have peace, even if he can plant it in paradise.
The last word
E If we take a look at the two thousand-year history of Christianity in our minds, we will see an immense wealth of achievements Christian culture... Colossal libraries full of great works of the human mind and spirit. A huge number of academies, universities, institutes, where hundreds of thousands of young people approaching the shores of this great ocean, sometimes with a beating heart and bated breath, grateful for the happiness and bliss given to them, sometimes with ardent enthusiasm, driving away sleep and caring for the body, drink eagerly living water wisdom. Tens of thousands of magnificent temples, wonderful creations of human genius. Innumerable precious works of other types of art: music, painting, sculpture, poetry. And much more, much more. And the Elder seemed to ignore all this and stopped at only one thing: humility and love for enemies - that's all.
No matter how wise a person is, and learned, and good-looking, but if he does not love enemies, i.e. he did not reach every co-man, God. And vice versa, no matter how simple, and wretched, and "ignorant" a person is, but if he carries this love in his heart, then "he abides in God, and God abides in him." To love enemies outside the One True God, the Elder argued, is impossible. The bearer of such love is involved eternal life, having an undeniable testimony of that in his soul. He is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, and by the Holy Spirit he knows the Father and the Son, knows with genuine and life-giving knowledge, and in the Holy Spirit he is a brother and friend of Christ, he is the son of God, and God by grace.
To stand in the love of God, it is necessary that both anger and "hatred" reach the final tension, but they are directed at the sin that dwells in me, at the evil acting in me, inside me, and not in a brother.
All the power of resistance to cosmic evil is concentrated in the deep heart of a Christian, while outwardly he, at the command of the Lord, “does not resist evil” (Matt. 5:39).
Elder Siluan walked on the earth, and worked with his hands, and lived among people, like the simplest person, but no one except God knew Him.
Venerable Father Siluan,
pray to God for us!
http://vsemolitva.ru/b4/siluan.html
“He, though very simple, but somehow boldly and boldly spoke about prayer and about God, as about to my own Father, - one schemmon recalled about the Monk Silouan. - I used to stop him and say: "Stop it, father" ... It seemed to me that he had lost the fear of God ... So he hid it from me ... He was very simple. I only now understood the whole mistake ... He came in the measure of the holy fathers. "
He lived at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, his lifetime photographs have been preserved. He was an ordinary peasant who finished only two classes of a rural school, lived like everyone else - he worked, walked with girls, fought, once even nearly killed a man, served in the army. And at the age of 26 he left for Athos to stay there until his death.
Some of the saints are known for mercy, some for the gift of words ... Saint Silouan is remembered for the fact that he loved God at the limit of human strength and yearned for Him. “My soul yearns for You, O Lord, and I tearfully seek You,” he often interrupted his notes. The uneducated and educated, laymen and priests were drawn to him, and were always impressed by this man.
The ascetic died in 1938 after an illness. He died so quietly that those who lay next to him in the hospital did not notice. We still have his teachings, prayers, psalms and a biography written by his close friend, the founder of an Orthodox monastery in England.
Meeting with an atheist
Semyon, the future elder Siluan, was influenced in childhood ... by a meeting with an atheist. One bookseller came to their house, they seated him at the table, and began to treat him. And he began to prove that Christ is a man, and in general there is no God. When he left, 5-year-old Semyon asked his father: “You teach me to pray, and this man said that there is no God,” to which the father replied: “I thought that he clever man, and he turned out to be a fool. Do not listen to him". But Semyon was not satisfied with this answer, he decided: "When I grow up, I will go all over the earth to seek God."
As a young man, he heard the story of a woman who had returned from a pilgrimage. She spoke about St. John of Sezenovsky, and some listeners confirmed that this saint really worked miracles. Hearing this conversation, Semyon thought: "If he is a saint, then there is no need for me to go all over the earth to seek God - He is with us."
"How happy we Christians are: WHAT kind of God do we have! I feel sorry for those people who do not know God ... O brothers, I ask you and I beg you on behalf of God's mercy, believe in the Gospel and the testimony of the Holy Church, and you will taste heavenly bliss on earth ... After all, the Kingdom of God is within us, the love of God gives the soul a paradise. Many princes and rulers, knowing the love of God, left their thrones. And this is understandable, because the love of God is ardent: it delights the soul to tears with the grace of the Holy Spirit, and nothing earthly can compare with it. "
Father
Reverend Silouan said that he, being a monk, did not grow up to the extent of his father, a simple illiterate peasant: he never saw his father in irritation or anger, he was always patient, meek, calm. Once, during the harvest, Semyon had to cook dinner, so that later he could take it to his father and brothers in the field: he cooked pork, forgetting that it was Friday, a fast day.
The family ate dinner and no one said a word. Only six months later, the father reminded his son of this with a smile: “Do you remember, son, how you fed me pork in the field? But it was Friday. You know, I ate her then like a bitch. " "What didn't you say?" - Semyon was surprised. “I didn't mean to embarrass you,” his father replied.
And when young Semyon sinned with a girl from their village, the next morning he was thrilled and ashamed not by reproaches, but by the quiet words of his father: “Where were you at night, son? My heart ached ... "
“I knew a boy. His appearance was angelic; humble, conscientious, meek; the face is white with a blush; eyes are light, blue, and kind and calm. But when he grew up, he began to live uncleanly and lost the grace of God; and when he was about thirty years old, he became like a man, and a demon, and a beast, and a robber, and his whole appearance was stingy and terrible.
I also knew a girl of very great beauty, with a bright and pleasant face, so that many envied her beauty. But by sins she lost her grace, and it became nasty to look at her.
But I also saw something else. I saw people who came to monks with faces distorted from sins and passions, but from repentance and a pious life they changed and became very good-looking. The Lord also gave me the opportunity to see a priest-spiritual father in the image of Christ on Old Rusik during confession. He stood in the confessional, beaming inexpressibly, and although he was all white with gray hair, his face was beautiful and youthful, like a boy's.
In a similar way, I saw a bishop during the Liturgy. I also saw, who by nature was an ordinary-looking person, but from the grace of God his face was as beautiful as that of an angel, and I wanted to look at him. So sin distorts a person, and grace paints him. "
Forgiven killer
Semyon was a man of great strength. But one evening she almost became the reason for the murder. As the elder himself said, on the street with him, a young peasant, a peasant, a shoemaker, began to bully, and Semyon at first thought to give in to the impudent man. But then he decided not to embarrass himself in front of the girls of the village - everyone poured out into the street that evening - and hit the fighter hard in the chest. He flew off, fell on his back, and blood flowed from his mouth ...
Fortunately, the shoemaker survived, but Semyon was very frightened then. He remembered this incident later: when he saw how on some holiday his fellow villager played the accordion and danced, although he had recently returned from prison, where he was imprisoned for murder. Semyon asked him: "How can you dance, you killed a man in a drunken fight?" And he replied: "When I was in prison, I prayed a lot to God to forgive me, and God forgave, therefore I now play calmly." Then the future ascetic began to understand what God's forgiveness and mercy are.
“I regret, cry and weep for people. Many people think: I have sinned a lot - I killed, robbed, raped, slandered, debauched and did many other things, and they do not go to repentance out of shame. But they forget that all their sins are before God, that they are a drop in the ocean. "
Christ
The future saint who entered the monastery was naive and unprepared. He prayed a lot, but his thoughts told him: “Here you are praying, well, maybe you will be saved. What if in paradise you see neither mother, nor father, nor sisters, nor brothers? You will not have any joy there. "
Once the cell of a monk was filled with light penetrating him through and through, and he heard: "Receive - this is grace." But instead of joy, he felt embarrassed and did not know what to think. After that, it was difficult for him to pray as before, once he even burst out laughing while praying, although he immediately hit himself hard on the forehead with his fist to come to his senses. And then I realized that the manifestation of light had nothing to do with God ...
He began to see demons and, out of naivete, talked to them "like people." Some said to him: "You are already saved!", Others: "You will not be saved." When he asked why they were reporting different things, he heard a mocking answer: "We never tell the truth."
The young monk suffered from everything that happened to him, he prayed, but his strength was melting. Once, in despair, he thought, sitting in his cell: "It is impossible to pray to God." And he felt complete abandonment ... An hour later, in a state of terrible melancholy, he nevertheless went to the service. And there, the elder says, the living Christ appeared to him ... It was a moment that turned the monk's life and made it all striving for God.
“The Lord is not like us. He is very meek and merciful and good, and when the soul recognizes Him, it wonders endlessly and says: Oh, what a Lord we have! ... A sinful soul that does not know the Lord, fears death, thinks that the Lord will not forgive her sins her. But this is because the soul does not know the Lord and how much He loves us. And if people knew, then not a single person would despair ... The Lord Himself is one Love ... "
Academician
“Newspapers do not write about people, but about events, and that is not true; they confuse the mind, and you still cannot learn the truth from them, but prayer clears the mind, and it sees everything better, ”said Father Siluan, who was not interested in external life and its news. He had only two school classes behind him, making up for the lack of education by constant reading of the Scriptures and the works of the holy fathers, but bishops and representatives of the intelligentsia came to him for advice.
Once a foreigner arrived who was so impressed by the meeting with the elder that he decided to live in a monastery for some time. One of the monks, educated and well-read, could not resist and asked the guest: “I don’t understand why you, academicians, scientists, go to this illiterate peasant?” “To understand Father Silouan, you have to be an academician,” the foreigner replied.
“You always have to pray that the Lord will instruct you what needs to be done, and the Lord will not leave us erring ... The Monk Seraphim of Sarov said:“ When I spoke from my mind, then there were mistakes ”... So, the Lord is omniscient, we all, whoever was, you have to pray to God for discipline and ask your spiritual father so that there are no mistakes. "
Love
“Our brother is our life,” said the elder Siluan. He sincerely respected people, never mocked or joked at anyone, was very easy to talk to, gentle, but at the same time - a man of unbending will, courage, firm where firmness was needed.
Once a hermit monk came to talk to him. They talked about the atheists, and the hermit said: “God will punish them all! They will burn in eternal fire. " To this Father Siluan replied with excitement: "Well, tell me, please, if they put you in heaven and from there you see someone burning in hellish fire, will you be at peace?" “But what can you do, you yourself are to blame,” said the monk. “Love cannot bear this…” the monk said sadly. “We need to pray for everyone.”
“Pray simply like a child, and the Lord will hear your prayer, for our Lord is such a merciful Father that we can neither understand nor imagine it, and only the Holy Spirit reveals to us His great love ...”
"I pray You, merciful Lord, that all the peoples of the earth may know You by the Holy Spirit."
The book "Venerable Silouan the Athonite" has been published. The book contains instructions, advice, reflections of the Monk Silouan, and memories of him.
The Monk Silouan the Athonite (1866-1938) - schema-monk, elder, ascetic of gigantic strength of spirit, witness of Divine love. Shimonakh Siluan (Semyon Antonov) was born into a peasant family in the Tambov province, passed military service in the lower ranks, then he lived in a monastery for forty-six years.
One of the first lessons of the young novice was to be admonished to repeat the Jesus Prayer constantly. While praying in front of the image of the Mother of God, the prayer entered his heart and began to be performed there day and night. But then he still did not understand the greatness and rarity of the gift he received from the Mother of God. As time went on, the spiritual strength of the inexperienced novice began to dry out, and he felt complete abandonment. And on the same day, in the church, near the icon of the Savior, he saw the living Christ. The whole being and the very body of the novice were filled with the fire of the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Once having cognized Divine love by the Holy Spirit, he began incomparably deeper and more acutely to experience the loss of grace and said: "He who lost it, he tirelessly searches for it day and night and is drawn to it." He explained about the loss of grace: “It is lost by us for pride and vanity, for dislike for a brother, for condemnation of a brother, for envy; then he misses God, as our father Adam missed the expulsion from paradise. " Fifteen years after the appearance of Christ to him, the monk Silouan asceticised in cruel spiritual warfare. According to the elder himself, the Lord took pity on him and Himself taught how the soul should humble itself and become unapproachable to enemies. “Grace no longer leaves him as before; he perceptibly carries it in his heart; he feels the living presence of God, ”wrote Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) about this.
And Archimandrite Sophrony also wrote about the elder: “Willpower is rare - without stubbornness; simplicity, freedom, fearlessness and courage - with meekness and gentleness; humility and obedience - without humiliation and humiliation - it was truly a man, the image and likeness of God. "
Saint Nicholas (Velimirovich) spoke of the Monk Silouan the Athonite: "Only one thing can be said about this wondrous monk - a sweet soul."
Elder Silouan explained about prayer: “Many, out of inexperience, say that such and such a saint performed a miracle, but I learned that it was the Holy Spirit, Who lives in a person, that works miracles. The Lord wants everyone to be saved and to be with Him forever, and therefore he listens to the prayers of a sinful person, for the benefit of others, or the one who prays. "
He also explained: “And when the Lord wants to have mercy on someone, he inspires others to pray for him, and helps in this prayer. Therefore, you should know that when the desire to pray for someone comes, it means that the Lord Himself wants to have mercy on that soul and graciously listens to your prayers. "
The elder warned: "If someone prays to the Lord and thinks about something else, then the Lord will not listen to such a prayer."
He also said: "He who has cognized the love of God loves the whole world and never complains about his fate, for temporary sorrow for God's sake brings eternal joy."
Reverend Father Siluan, pray to God for us!
LIVING OF THE REVEAL SILUAN OF ATHENS.
The Monk Silouan the Athonite (secular name - Simeon) was born in 1866 in the village of Shovskoye, Lebedinsky district, Tambov province, into the pious family of the peasant John Antonov.
His parents were hardworking, meek and naturally wise, although illiterate. Big and Friendly family, the elder later recalled, she lived poorly, but she never refused those in need of help, sometimes sharing the latter with them. The wanderers were especially welcomed in the family. The father talked to them about God and Christian life, and these conversations made a strong impression on the receptive soul of the youth.
From childhood, Simeon worked together with his elders, helping his father in the field and brothers in construction works on the landlord's estate. For this reason, apparently, he was forced to leave the rural school, having studied there for only two winters. But the desire for knowledge (which characterized his father, "languishing in his darkness") was always inherent in the monk.
The life of the pious Antonov family is inextricably linked with the church, a visit to which instilled in Simeon from infancy a feeling of reverence for the word of God, brought him up in the spirit of Christian humility and other virtues. In church, he comprehended the church literacy, studied concentrated prayer, listened to the reading of the Lives of the Saints. Several years later, the young man, having loved the Lord with all his soul, wished to retire to a monastery and take tonsure at the Pechersk Lavra. His desire, however, did not meet with the support of his father, who insisted that his son first enter military service and only after completing it decided who he should be.
Obeying the parental word, Simeon returned to his normal life. He was nineteen years old at that time. Godly intention soon left him, and he, like many of his peers, succumbed to the temptations of the world. Young, handsome, strong, and by that time already well-to-do, he enjoyed life and in the noisy bustle of the world began to forget the first call of God to monastic service.
But the Lord saved him from plunging into a sinful abyss, again calling to leave the worldly vanity and embark on the path of monasticism. This happened, according to the elder, under the following circumstances: one day, returning home from a walk, he dozed off and in a subtle dream, looking at himself as if from the sidelines, saw how a "malevolent serpent" penetrated into him. Feeling disgust, he woke up and at the moment of awakening he heard the words of the Most Holy Theotokos herself: "You swallowed the serpent in a dream and you are disgusted; so it is not good for Me to look at what you are doing."
Realizing his sins, the young man fervently repented of them before the Lord and thanked the Mother of God for the kindness shown to him. This event was of decisive importance for choosing a further path. To him again the desire to devote his life to God returned.
Simeon did his military service in St. Petersburg. He was an executive warrior, exemplary in behavior, in relations with his fellow servicemen, for which his colleagues loved him. In the army, his gift was manifested with special force wise advice, following which, many found peace of mind and well-being. Having left for the service with a living faith and a deep penitent feeling, Simeon never forgot about God. By that time, the place of his future monastic exploits was miraculously determined - Holy Mount Athos, where he was "called from the darkness of sinfulness to the light of Christ's Truth by the Most Pure One". He often thought about monastic life and, wishing to somehow help the inhabitants of the monastery, several times sent the money he had accumulated to Athos. The inner state of the monk during that period is eloquently testified by the words of his colleagues: "And he is mentally on Mount Athos and at the Last Judgment."
Shortly before the end of his military service, Simeon decides to ask for the prayers and blessings of Father John of Kronstadt - saint righteous John... Not finding him, he leaves a note with the words "Father, I want to become a monk; pray that the world does not hold me back." In the barracks, the very next day, he felt around him a "hellfire", which "hummed" since then without ceasing everywhere, wherever he was.
Many years later, in the notes of the monk they will read: "O great father John, our prayer book! I thank God for seeing you, I thank you too, the good and holy shepherd, for for the sake of your prayers I parted with the world and came to Mount Athos, where I saw the great mercy from God. "
Simeon stayed at home for only one week. Collecting gifts for the monastery and the necessities for the journey, he said goodbye to everyone and went to Athos. In the autumn of 1892 the monk arrived at the Holy Mountain and was received as a novice at the Russian Panteleimonov Monastery at the time of the flourishing of this monastery.
The life of the elder in the monastery was simple, accessible and outwardly unremarkable: at first, his obedience was hard work at the mill, which was replaced by the troublesome work of an economist, managing workshops, a food warehouse, and in his declining years - a trading store.
Having passed the path of the initial monastic trials, in 1896 he was tonsured into the mantle with the name Silouan, and in 1911 - into the schema, leaving his former name.
The monk did not have his disciples and was not in obedience to any particular elder. "It is difficult to live without an elder," he said later. "An inexperienced soul does not understand the will of God, and it will endure many sorrows before learning humility." He himself, like most monks, was brought up in an atmosphere of a spiritual tradition common to the monks of Athos, spending, as required by the centuries-old way of life in the monastery, days in unceasing Jesus Prayer, long divine services in the temple, fasting and vigils, frequent confession and Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, reading spiritual books and labor.
From the first to last day the monk showed himself the image of perfect obedience; for him, an abbot, confessor and just an older brother are good mentors. If monks and laity, he believed, would listen to their confessors and pastors without their condemnation, without objection and without internal resistance, then they themselves would not lose salvation, and the whole Church would have fullness of life.
Having lived forty-six years in a monastery with a cenobitic ustav, the ascetic never aspired to go into seclusion or to be removed to the desert, believing that without the grace of God they themselves are only aids rather than the goal of the Christian life. At the same time, he was far from worldly interests. And being constantly among people, the elder kept his mind and heart from extraneous thoughts, cleansed them of passions for prayer to stand before God, claiming that this was the shortest path to salvation. He did not seek martyrdom, but with his whole life he repeated the ascetic experience of the Church Fathers - famous ascetics of piety. What was this path for the monk?
According to the Athonite custom, the novice novice was introduced into the life of the monastery by confession. Having experienced in the Sacrament of Repentance the joy of cleansing and deliverance from the burdensome sins, Simeon, however, was immediately attacked by thoughts of returning to the world and marrying. The knowledge that he's saddened again Mother of God, shocked the novice, revealed to him that here, on the Holy Mountain, as it seemed, in the harbor of salvation, temptations and even destruction are possible. Sober by his spiritual decline, he began to pray a lot and fervently, resorting mainly to the Jesus Prayer, which soon entered his garden and began to be performed in it incessantly. This gift was received by the monk from Holy Mother of God by contrite prayer before Her image and became the solid foundation of his spiritual life.
The novice Simeon continued the feat of vigilance, fasting and prayer of the heart, but his spiritual struggle with new temptations — vanity and pride — did not leave him either. They, not giving the soul the opportunity to "enter the path of faith," then lifted Simeon "to Heaven," evoking in him a feeling of his own infallibility, "You are now a saint," then they threw down the valley, it seemed, already into eternal destruction, saying to him: "You you will not be saved. " The diabolical attacks grew more and more, bringing a sense of God-forsakenness, driving Simeon to despair. And when he considered that “it is possible to pray to God,” the Lord incomprehensibly appeared to the novice during Vespers in the temple of the Prophet Elijah and by spirit led him into the Heavenly abode. At that moment, according to the elder's testimony, he felt with all his being how the grace of "martyrdom" filled him, and he knew the Lord by the Holy Spirit. Since then, he considered everything that happens in the world only in relation to the experience of the soul that cognized its Creator. "It's another matter to believe in God," he said, "and it's another to know God."
The appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ brought the novice the joy of Easter, Resurrection, a feeling of transition from the darkness of spiritual death to the inexplicable light of life. Once having cognized Divine love by the Holy Spirit, he begins to experience the loss of grace incomparably deeper and more sharply: "He who has lost it, tirelessly searches for it day and night and is attracted to it. , for envy, it leaves us for a prodigal thought, for an addiction to earthly things, for all this grace leaves, and a desolate and despondent soul then misses God, as our father Adam missed being expelled from paradise. "
Elder Siluan often recalls the monastic service of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov, the wonderworker, whose soul, having come to know the Lord, irresistibly strived for new exploits for the sake of gaining grace. "The soul that has cognized God," the Monk Silouan writes later, "cannot be satisfied with anything on earth, but everything strives for the Lord and cries out like a little child who has lost its mother: my soul misses You and tearfully searches for You."
How grace is acquired and retained, why and for what it leaves the soul of a believer - these questions become the most important in the life of an ascetic.
Constantly being in achievement, he refrained in everything and from everything that could interfere with the acquisition of grace: he slept little, in fits and starts, up to two hours a day, sitting on a stool, did not indulge in fasting and limited himself in food, advising those who turned to him "to eat so much that after eating you would like to pray"; cut off his will, believing that it brings "great benefit" to the soul. She yearns, prays, cries, being in a struggle to retain grace, but the Divine light, if it does return, then for a short while, and then, as before, again leaves the novice. "For this we suffer," the elder explained, "that we do not have humility. The Holy Spirit lives in a humble soul, and He gives the soul freedom, peace, love, bliss." To acquire a humble spirit "is great science you won't be able to overcome soon. "
Fifteen years have passed since the appearance of the Monk Lord. His mind is again clouded by the devil's attacks and the loss of the peace of the soul. Over time, this suffering is intensified by painful struggles with demons, which at night tore him away from incessant inner prayer. About what heartache he had to endure at the same time, the ascetic later said: "If the Lord had not let me first know how much He loves a person, then I would not have endured one such night, but I had a lot of them."
On one of these nights, when, in spite of all efforts, prayer did not come to the monk, he cried out with contrition in his heart: "Lord. You see that I want to pray to You with a pure mind, but the demons do not give me. Teach me that what should I do so that they do not interfere with me? " "The proud always suffer so much from demons," was the answer to him. "Lord, teach me what should I do to make my soul humble?" And again the answer of God sounded in the heart: "Keep your mind in hell and do not despair." According to the elder, the Lord took pity on him and Himself taught how the soul should humble itself and become unapproachable to enemies: when sinful thoughts approach, it recognizes itself worthy of eternal torment and descends into hell, in order to burn out the action of all passion and with pure to turn to the Lord by prayer, trusting in the saving action of Christ's love and thereby avoiding despair. “And by this, - said the monk, - the enemies are defeated, and when I come out of the fire with my mind, my thoughts again acquire strength.” This ability to renew in himself a genuine experience of hellish suffering for the sake of cleansing the soul from passions has not left him since then. "
The revelation given by the Lord was not only an extremely important practical instruction for the monk Silouan, but also marked the beginning of a new stage in his spiritual life. Gradually, sorrow for a world that does not know God begins to prevail in the prayer of the ascetic. As the elder explained, people have forgotten the Lord, who created them, and are looking for their freedom, not realizing that it does not exist and cannot be outside the true Source of life. Freedom is only in the Lord, Who, by His grace, gives those who come running to Him the grace of the Holy Spirit. In Him, the Holy Spirit, His knowledge contains deliverance from the bondage of sin and the fear of death.
He teaches love from the Highest and gives the soul the strength to pity even those walking in a sinful way. "Where there is no love for enemies and sinners, there is no Spirit of the Lord." (We are talking about the enemies of the faith of Christ. The elder himself divided people not into enemies and friends, but into those who knew God and did not know Him.)
A truly Christian way of saving a neighbor is only possible through love. In his love for all people, the monk saw an imitation of the Lord Jesus Christ, who "stretched out his hands on the Cross" in order to gather everyone. The love of Christ cannot endure anyone's destruction, and in its concern for the salvation of all embraces not only the world of those who are now living on earth, but also those who have already died and descended into hell itself. And if the soul rejoices and rejoices at the salvation of people, then just as strongly the planets and it prays, seeing the opposite - their death.
“To pray for people is to shed blood,” said the monk. And he lived with the suffering of the whole world, forgetting himself, and there was no end to his prayer, calling all the peoples of the Earth to know the Lord by the Holy Spirit. According to the elder's deep conviction, if this happened and people, abandoning their hobbies, would strive with all their souls to God, then the face of the Earth and the fate of all people would change and the whole world would be transformed "in one hour."
His whole life was a heartfelt prayer "until great tears," an exceptionally lofty deed of love for the Lord. "The world stands by prayer," the monk asserted, "and when prayer weakens, then the world will perish." In this devotional striving, he reached such an inner state in which he foresaw what was happening and saw the future of a person, revealing deep secrets his soul and urging everyone to embark on the path of saving repentance. Unceasing prayer did not leave the ascetic until the last hour of his earthly wanderings.
On September 11/24, 1938, the elder Schema monk Siluan died peacefully. He showed by his ascetic life an example of meekness, humility and love for neighbors.
Fifty years later, in the year of the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus, the Holy Synod of Constantinople Orthodox Church numbered the blessed elder among the saints.
By the blessing Holy Patriarch Of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II, the name of the Monk Silouan the Athonite was entered in the months of the Russian Orthodox Church on September 11/24. However, long before the official canonization, many pilgrims arrived with faith in his prayerful intercession before the Lord for the worship of the honest head of the saint, who rests in the Intercession Church of the Holy Mountain Monastery of St. Panteleimon.
The souls of believers are also healed by the writings of the ascetic about the essence of Christian life and monastic activity, translated into many languages and gaining great fame for the deep spirituality and wisdom of the words contained in them. His word is simple and kind, but in order to follow it, it is necessary to embark on the path of self-denial and total obedience to the will of God, which the holy elder himself went through. Being our contemporary, a son of the Russian land and the Russian Church, he testified of the salvation of the gospel truth taught to all of us by our Lord Jesus Christ, O high value teachings of the Orthodox Church, thereby confirming that in the world of transient values, only the moral, spiritual foundations of human life are unchanging and truly valuable for all times.From the book: Akathists, prayers and troparia by months and days with an application brief description Lives of the Saints: September. - Ternopil, 2004 .-- S. 190-195.
http://silouan.narod.ru/texts/zhitie02.htm
The Monk Silouan of Athos (worldly name - Simeon) was born in 1866 in the Tambov province of the Lebedinsky district of the Shovskoy volost in the village of Shovskoye into a pious family of the peasant John Antonov.
His parents were hardworking, meek and naturally wise, although illiterate. A large and friendly family, the elder later recalled, lived poorly, but never refused those in need of help, sometimes sharing the latter with them. The wanderers were especially welcomed in the family. The father talked with them about God and the Christian life, and these conversations made a strong impression on the receptive soul of the youth.
Since childhood, Simeon worked together with his elders, helping his father in the field and his brothers in construction work on the landlord's estate to the best of his ability. For this reason, apparently, he was forced to leave the rural school, having studied there for only two winters. But the desire for knowledge (which characterized his father, "languishing in his darkness") was always inherent in the monk.
The life of the pious Antonov family is inextricably linked with the church, a visit to which instilled in Simeon from infancy a feeling of reverence for the word of God, brought him up in the spirit of Christian humility and other virtues. In church, he comprehended the church literacy, studied concentrated prayer, listened to the reading of the Lives of the Saints. Several years later, the young man, having loved the Lord with all his soul, wished to retire to a monastery and take tonsure at the Pechersk Lavra. His desire, however, did not meet with the support of his father, who insisted that his son first enter military service and only after completing it decided who he should be.
Obeying the parental word, Simeon returned to his normal life. He was nineteen years old at that time. Godly intention soon left him, and he, like many of his peers, succumbed to the temptations of the world. Young, handsome, strong, and by that time already well-to-do, he enjoyed life and in the noisy bustle of the world began to forget the first call of God to monastic service.
But the Lord saved him from plunging into a sinful abyss, again calling to leave the worldly vanity and embark on the path of monasticism. This happened, according to the elder, under the following circumstances: one day, returning home from a walk, he dozed off and in a subtle dream, looking at himself as if from the sidelines, saw how a "malevolent serpent" penetrated into him. Feeling disgust, he woke up and at the moment of awakening he heard the words of the Most Holy Theotokos herself: "You swallowed the serpent in a dream and you are disgusted; so it is not good for Me to look at what you are doing."
Realizing his sins, the young man fervently repented of them before the Lord and thanked the Mother of God for the kindness shown to him. This event was of decisive importance for choosing a further path. To him again the desire to devote his life to God returned.
Simeon did his military service in St. Petersburg. He was an executive warrior, exemplary in behavior, in relations with his fellow servicemen, for which his colleagues loved him. In the army, the gift of his wise advice was manifested with special force, following which, many found peace of mind and prosperity. Having left for the service with a living faith and a deep penitent feeling, Simeon never forgot about God. By that time, the place of his future monastic exploits was miraculously determined - Holy Mount Athos, where he was "called from the darkness of sinfulness to the light of Christ's Truth by the Most Pure One". He often thought about monastic life and, wishing to somehow help the inhabitants of the monastery, several times sent the money he had accumulated to Athos. The inner state of the monk during that period is eloquently testified by the words of his colleagues: "And he is mentally on Mount Athos and at the Last Judgment."
Shortly before the end of his military service, Simeon decides to ask for the prayers and blessings of Father John of Kronstadt - Saint Righteous John. Not finding him, he leaves a note with the words "Father, I want to become a monk; pray that the world does not hold me back." In the barracks, the very next day, he felt around him a "hellfire", which "hummed" since then without ceasing everywhere, wherever he was.
Many years later, in the notes of the monk they will read: "O great father John, our prayer book! I thank God for seeing you, I thank you too, the good and holy shepherd, for for the sake of your prayers I parted with the world and came to Mount Athos, where I saw the great mercy from God. "
Simeon stayed at home for only one week. Collecting gifts for the monastery and the necessities for the journey, he said goodbye to everyone and went to Athos. In the autumn of 1892 the monk arrived at the Holy Mountain and was received as a novice at the Russian Panteleimonov Monastery at the time of the flourishing of this monastery.
The life of the elder in the monastery was simple, accessible and outwardly unremarkable: at first, his obedience was hard work at the mill, which was replaced by the troublesome work of an economist, managing workshops, a food warehouse, and in his declining years - a trading store.
Having passed the path of the initial monastic trials, in 1896 he was tonsured into the mantle with the name Silouan, and in 1911 - into the schema, leaving his former name.
The monk did not have his disciples and was not in obedience to any particular elder. "It is difficult to live without an elder," he said later. "An inexperienced soul does not understand the will of God, and it will endure many sorrows before learning humility." He himself, like most of the monks, was brought up in an atmosphere common to the monks of Athos, a spiritual tradition, spending, as required by the centuries-old way of life in the monastery, days in unceasing Jesus prayer, lengthy services in the temple, fasting and vigils, frequent confessions and Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. reading spiritual books and labor.
From the first to the last day the monk showed himself the image of perfect obedience; for him, an abbot, confessor and just an older brother are good mentors. If monks and laity, he believed, would listen to their confessors and pastors without their condemnation, without objection and without internal resistance, then they themselves would not lose salvation, and the whole Church would have fullness of life.
Having lived forty-six years in a monastery with a communal ustav, the ascetic never strove to go into seclusion or to be removed to the desert, believing that without the grace of God, they in themselves are only auxiliary means, and not the goal of Christian life. At the same time, he was far from worldly interests. And being constantly among people, the elder kept his mind and heart from extraneous thoughts, cleansed them of passions for prayer to stand before God, claiming that this was the shortest path to salvation. He did not seek martyrdom, but with his whole life he repeated the ascetic experience of the Church Fathers - famous ascetics of piety. What was this path for the monk?
According to the Athonite custom, the novice novice was introduced into the life of the monastery by confession. Having experienced in the Sacrament of Repentance the joy of cleansing and deliverance from the burdensome sins, Simeon, however, was immediately attacked by thoughts of returning to the world and marrying. The knowledge that he again grieved the Mother of God shocked the novice, revealed to him that here, on the Holy Mountain, as it seemed, in the harbor of salvation, temptations and even destruction are possible. Sober by his spiritual decline, he began to pray a lot and fervently, resorting mainly to the Jesus Prayer, which soon entered his garden and began to be performed in it incessantly. This gift was received by the monk from the Most Holy Theotokos through contrite prayer before Her image and became the solid foundation of his spiritual life.
The novice Simeon continued the feat of vigilance, fasting and prayer of the heart, but his spiritual struggle with new temptations — vanity and pride — did not leave him either. They, not giving the soul the opportunity to "enter the path of faith," then lifted Simeon "to Heaven," evoking in him a feeling of his own infallibility, "You are now a saint," then they threw down the valley, it seemed, already into eternal destruction, saying to him: "You you will not be saved. " The diabolical attacks grew more and more, bringing a sense of God-forsakenness, driving Simeon to despair. And when he considered that "it is possible to pray to God." The Lord incomprehensibly appeared to the novice during Vespers in the temple of the prophet of God Elijah and by spirit led him into the Heavenly abode. At that moment, according to the elder's testimony, he felt with all his being how the grace of "martyrdom" filled him and he knew the Lord with the Holy Spirit. Since then, he considered everything that happens in the world only in relation to the experience of the soul that cognized its Creator. "It's another matter to believe in God," he said, "and it's another to know God."
The appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ brought the novice the joy of Easter, Resurrection, a feeling of transition from the darkness of spiritual death to the inexplicable light of life. Once having cognized Divine love by the Holy Spirit, he begins to experience the loss of grace incomparably deeper and more sharply: "He who has lost it, tirelessly searches for it day and night and is attracted to it. , for envy, it leaves us for a prodigal thought, for an addiction to earthly things, for all this grace leaves, and a desolate and despondent soul then misses God, as our father Adam missed being expelled from paradise. "
Elder Siluan often recalls the monastic service of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov, the wonderworker, whose soul, having come to know the Lord, irresistibly strived for new exploits for the sake of gaining grace. "The soul that has cognized God," the Monk Silouan writes later, "cannot be satisfied with anything on earth, but everything strives for the Lord and cries out like a little child who has lost its mother: my soul misses You and tearfully searches for You."
How grace is acquired and retained, why and for what it leaves the soul of a believer - these questions become the most important in the life of an ascetic.
Constantly being in achievement, he refrained in everything and from everything that could interfere with the acquisition of grace: he slept little, in fits and starts, up to two hours a day, sitting on a stool, did not indulge in fasting and limited himself in food, advising those who turned to him "to eat so much that after eating you would like to pray"; cut off his will, believing that it brings "great benefit" to the soul. She yearns, prays, cries, being in a struggle to retain grace, but the Divine light, if it does return, then for a short while, and then, as before, again leaves the novice. "For this we suffer," the elder explained, "that we do not have humility. The Holy Spirit lives in a humble soul, and He gives the soul freedom, peace, love, bliss." To acquire a humble spirit "is a great science that cannot be overcome soon."
Fifteen years have passed since the appearance of the Monk Lord. His mind is again clouded by the devil's attacks and the loss of the peace of the soul. Over time, this suffering is intensified by painful struggles with demons, which at night tore him away from incessant inner prayer. About the mental pain he had to endure while doing this, the ascetic later said: "If the Lord had not let me first know how much He loves a person, then I would not have endured one such night, and I had a lot of them." ...
On one of these nights, when, in spite of all efforts, prayer did not come to the monk, he cried out with contrition in his heart: "Lord. You see that I want to pray to You with a pure mind, but the demons do not give me. Teach me that what should I do so that they do not interfere with me? " "The proud always suffer so much from demons," was the answer to him. "Lord, teach me what should I do to make my soul humble?" And again the answer of God sounded in the heart: "Keep your mind in hell and do not despair." According to the elder. The Lord took pity on him and Himself taught how the soul should humble itself and become unapproachable to enemies: when sinful thoughts approach, it recognizes itself worthy of eternal torment and descends into hell in order to burn out the action of all passion in itself by the power of hellish flame and turn to the Lord with pure prayer trusting in the saving action of Christ's love and thus avoiding despair. "And by this," said the monk, "the enemies are defeated, and when I come out of the fire with my mind, my thoughts gain strength again." This ability to renew in himself a genuine experience of hellish suffering for the sake of cleansing the soul from passions has not left him since then. "
The revelation given by the Lord was not only an extremely important practical instruction for the monk Silouan, but also marked the beginning of a new stage in his spiritual life. Gradually, sorrow for a world that does not know God begins to prevail in the prayer of the ascetic. As the elder explained, people have forgotten the Lord, who created them, and are looking for their freedom, not realizing that it does not exist and cannot be outside the true Source of life. Freedom is only in the Lord, Who, by His grace, gives those who come running to Him the grace of the Holy Spirit. In Him, the Holy Spirit, His knowledge contains deliverance from the bondage of sin and the fear of death.
He teaches love More importantly and gives the soul the strength to feel sorry for even those walking in a sinful way. "Where there is no love for enemies and sinners, there is no Spirit of the Lord." (We are talking about the enemies of the faith of Christ. The elder himself divided people not into enemies and friends, but into those who knew God and did not know Him.)
Monk Silouan the Athonite
A truly Christian way of saving a neighbor is only possible through love. In his love for all people, the monk saw an imitation of the Lord Jesus Christ, who "stretched out his hands on the Cross" in order to gather everyone. The love of Christ cannot endure anyone's destruction, and in its concern for the salvation of all embraces not only the world of those who are now living on earth, but also those who have already died and descended into hell itself. And if the soul rejoices and rejoices at the salvation of people, then just as strongly the planets and it prays, seeing the opposite - their death.
“To pray for people is to shed blood,” said the monk. And he lived with the suffering of the whole world, forgetting himself, and there was no end to his prayer, calling all the peoples of the Earth to know the Lord by the Holy Spirit. According to the elder's deep conviction, if this happened and people, abandoning their hobbies, would strive with all their souls to God, then the face of the Earth and the fate of all people would change and the whole world would be transformed "in one hour."
His whole life was a heartfelt prayer "until great tears," an exceptionally lofty deed of love for the Lord. "The world stands by prayer," the monk asserted, "and when prayer weakens, then the world will perish." In this devotional striving, he reached such an inner state in which he foresaw what was happening and saw the future of a person, revealing the deep secrets of his soul and urging everyone to embark on the path of saving repentance. Unceasing prayer did not leave the ascetic until the last hour of his earthly wanderings.
On September 11/24, 1938, the elder Schema monk Siluan died peacefully. He showed by his ascetic life an example of meekness, humility and love for neighbors.
Fifty years later, in the year of the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus, the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople canonized the blessed elder.
With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia, the name of the Monk Silouan the Athonite was included in the months of the Russian Orthodox Church on September 11/24. However, long before the official canonization, many pilgrims came with faith in his prayerful intercession before the Lord for the worship of the honest head of the saint, who rests in the Intercession Church of the Svyatogorsk Panteleimon monastery.
The souls of believers are also healed by the writings of the ascetic about the essence of Christian life and monastic activity, translated into many languages and gaining great fame for the deep spirituality and wisdom of the words contained in them. His word is simple and kind, but in order to follow it, it is necessary to embark on the path of self-denial and total obedience to the will of God, which the holy elder himself went through. Being our contemporary, a son of the Russian land and the Russian Church, he testified about the salvation of the gospel truth taught to all of us by our Lord Jesus Christ, about the high significance of the teachings of the Orthodox Church, thereby confirming that in the world of transient values, they are unchanging and truly valuable for all times. only the moral, spiritual foundations of human life.
Quoted from: Akathists, Prayers and Troparia by Month and Day, with a Brief Description of the Lives of the Saints Attached: September. - Ternopil, 2004 .-- S. 190-195.
- Bishop Alexander MileantTeachings of the Monk Silouan the Athonite:
- "Elder Silouan the Athonite"(life and teachings) - Archimandrite Sofrony Sakharov