St. John of Kronstadt · 31 of 49

Part II · Part 7

O how bitter were my sins to Thee, Christ, my God and my Saviour, when Thou wast buffeted, scourged, spit upon; when Thy head was pierced with thorns and Thou wast nailed to the cross for my sake; when Thou hungest on the cross, in unspeakable torments, to save me from the most bitter, unspeakable torments of hell! But I ought to call to mind more frequently this Thy self-exhaustion, these Thy sufferings, in order not to commit sin, and to zealously fulfil all virtue in order to love Thee with all my heart, to fulfil Thy saving commandments. Meanwhile, I often forget this awful sacrifice, offered for me by the Only Begotten, unoriginate, co-eternal Son of the Heavenly Father. Grant unto me then, Lord, a pure heart and unchangeable repentance, leading to salvation; grant that I may find favour in Thy sight during the remainder of my life!

"Have you often culled upon Me sincerely in prayer?" says God to the sinner. "Have you often thanked Me with a sincere heart for Mine innumerable benefits, surpassing every imagination? Have you often offered Me the sincere sacrifice of praise in order that T might again and again pour upon you My mercies? But what shall 1 do with your depravity, with your corruption, with your perverted mind and heart, with your will, hourly inclined to evil and vice!•" "Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." "Thus, do not be cast down, you who are reproved, chastened by Me, but endure." "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."

The celebration of the Divine Liturgy requires an elevated soul, or a man with an elevated soul, not bound by any worldly passions, desires, and attachments to earthly delights; whose heart is wholly embraced by the flame of the Holy Ghost, by ardent love for God and mankind, for every human soul, and, above all, for the Christian soul, so that with a sincere heart he may ever rise to God in prayer: "I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?" This fire was sent down from heaven upon the Apostles in the form of tongues of fire. This fire is also necessary for us, for our frozen hearts, in order to warm, soften, to melt them again and again, to continually cleanse them, in order to enlighten and renew them. Where is there to be found such a worthy priest who, like the Seraphim, would burn before the Lord with love, praise, and gratitude for His marvels of mercy and wisdom manifested unto us and within us? I am the greatest of sinners in unworthily celebrating this most heavenly Sacrament, for I have ever an impure heart, bound by desires and attachments to earthly delights. Lord, Thou seest the depths of our hearts; but "Thou shalt purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; Thou shalt wash me and I shall be whiter than snow." "It is not wonderful if Thou hast mercy upon the pure; and it is not a great thing if Thou savest the righteous, but show the wonders of Thy mercy upon me, a sinner! "

Lord! I thank Thee with my whole heart for having saved me an innumerable multitude of times from the shamefulness, violence, and cruelty of the passions, and for having quenched in me the fiery arrows of the evil one, and for having guarded my soul with peace, refreshing it with the dew of Thy grace. Glory to Thee, most merciful and Almighty, that by Thy grace I still remain whole and unharmed, in spite of the innumerable wiles of the invisible and most evil enemies endeavouring to devour me! I believe and know that Thou, Lord, wilt deliver and save me from all their snares and calumnies by ways known unto Thee, and wilt grant Thy heavenly kingdom to me, and not to me only, but to all those who live piously and are subjected to the calumnies of the spirits of evil; for to Thee it appertains to be merciful and to save those who desire to be saved, and even those who do not desire to be saved. ''Save me," it is said, "whether I wish or do not wish to be saved."

"Let us pray to the Lord for the salvation of our souls." He who sincerely watches over himself continually notices that our soul is destroyed by various sins, sleeps the deadly sleep of sin, is continually taken captive by the Devil, is bound by the strong fetters of the passions; he notices this and sighs, and prays fervently to the Lord for the salvation of the souls redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. Thus our souls are daily destroyed by malice, envy, harsh judgment, covetousness, love of pleasure, gluttony and drunkenness, fornication, slothful-ness and negligence, despondency and murmuring ignorance, impure language, idle speaking, frivolity, free-thought, rebellion, insolence, self-will, and other passions. We pray for "the peace from above, for there is no rest [peace] in our bones because of our sins."

By means of its Divine service, the Orthodox Church educates us for heavenly citizenship, by teaching us every virtue, exemplified by the lives of the Mother of God, and of all the Saints, by purifying, sanctifying, and making us godly through the sacraments, and by giving "unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness." Therefore, it is urgently necessary for us to frequent intelligently, reverently, and willingly the Divine services especially on the festivals, and to take part in the sacraments of penitence and Holy Communion. But those who withdraw themselves from the Church and the Divine services become the victims of their passions and are lost.

With what maternal, or rather Divine love the Church as though daily carries us in her arms, unceasingly raising to the Lord prayers for us all—in the evening, at midnight, in the morning, and about mid-day. She teaches us, cleanses us, sanctifies us, heals and strengthens us through the sacraments, guides us by every means in the tenderest and gentlest manner to salvation and eternal life. Blessed are those priests and ministers who understand this love and this care of the Church for the salvation of her children, and endeavour to appropriate unto themselves her spirit, to live by this spirit, to breathe by this spirit, both within and without the Church, and to offer prayers and praises, and celebrate the Divine services of the Church with heartfelt attention and reverence, remembering that through all this they save both themselves and their flock!

What a grand creature is man—what a wonderful creation of God, created after His own image! If even in a fallen state lie is capable of accomplishing the many wonderful works which he has produced and still produces, as we constantly see, both in history and in the present time, then of what might he not be capable in a state of holiness and perfection! But that which in him is above all deserving of attention, wonder, reverence, and the most heartfelt gratitude is that he may be likened to his Creator—God; that he is predestined to immortality, to eternal bliss in God, and with God; that he will some day shine forth, like the sun, in the kingdom of his heavenly Father. The Lord, foreseeing this glory of His faithful chosen ones, says: "Then [at the second coming] shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."

During the oblation, the whole Church, in Heaven and upon earth—the Church of the first-born, inscribed in the heavens, and the Church militant, fighting against the enemies of salvation upon earth—is typically represented assembled around the Lamb, who took upon Himself the sins of the world. What a great spectacle, enrapturing and moving the soul! Is it possible that I too am among this assembly of saints; that I too am redeemed by the Lamb of God; that I too am the joint heir with the saints, if I remain faithful to the Lamb until death? Are not all my brethren too members of this heavenly holy assemblage, and joint heirs of the future kingdom? O, how widely my heart should expand in order to contain all within itself, to love all, to care for all, to care for the salvation of all as for mine own! This is wisdom and the highest wisdom. Let us be simple; let us walk in simplicity of heart with all. Let us remember our high calling and election, and let us continually aspire to the honour of God's heavenly calling through Christ Jesus. "We are the children of God, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ."

Do not observe the sins of others, and do not behave inimically, inwardly or outwardly, towards those who sin, but represent to yourself your own sins, and heartily repent of having committed them, considering yourself in reality worse than all. Pray lovingly for those who sin, knowing that we are all inclined to every sin.

A true Christian behaves in this life so that it may be a preparation for the future one, and not only a life here below. In his actions he does not think what will be said of him here, but of what will be said there in Heaven; he represents to himself that he is always in the presence of God, of the angels and all the saints, and remembers that some day they will bear witness of his thoughts, words, and deeds.

By my love for God and my neighbour I belong to heaven, I am heavenly; whilst by worldly cares, especially by worldly attachments, I belong to the earth, I am earthly, devilish. "Lord and Master of my life, grant unto me, Thy servant, the spirit of love."

Love. With love for God and your neighbour in your heart you will possess all things and will lack nothing; for where love is, there is God; and God is everything to us, and chiefly our life, peace, sweetness, and blessedness. It is strange and pitiable to see through what vain causes the Devil deprives us of love for God and our neighbour: through earthly dust, in the strict sense of the word—the countless dust which we trample under feet: through money, food, and drink, dress, houses, honours, through all these things which pass away, together with their mother, the earth, and with our own much cared for bodies, which are also nothing but dust.

Remember the Love that laid down His life for men, and do not spare your very life itself for your brother, but unmercifully crucify your carnal man, who turns you away from sacrificing yourself for your brother.

Greedy, covetous miser! is it money, is it bread that has given you life? Is it not God? Is it not His word which gave being and life to you and all other creatures? Does not the Son of God uphold "all things by the word of His power?" Do money and bread, water and wine alone support your life? Does not man live "by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God"? Are not money and bread mere dust? Is not bread the least of the things necessary for supporting our life? Everything was created and is supported by the word. The word is the source and preservation of life.

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost—God in the Trinity—is glorified by all His creatures, by the angelic assemblies unceasingly singing the Thrice Holy hymn, and by the holy Church of Christ, the holy apostles, martyrs, prelates, reverend fathers, the righteous, and all the saints—by the whole visible world, by all living Christiana, by the whole world. The truth of the Trinity of the Godhead surrounds us upon all sides, like the air that we breathe, and with which we are wholly penetrated. Is it possible, after this, to have any doubt in the Divinity of the Son, or of the Holy Ghost? How many works do we see accomplished in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost? How many powers of the Holy Ghost have we experienced, and still experience upon ourselves? The Holy Ghost is the spiritual air of reasonable creatures. What ordinary air is in relation to physical bodies, such is the Holy Ghost to reasonable and free creatures. He fills, enlivens, and enlightens them, endues them with wisdom, and strengthens them. The Son of God is to us "the way, the truth, and the life;" the rest— (" I will give you rest"); the joy—(" I will see you again and your heart shall rejoice.") We have experienced and experience this in ourselves. Shall we listen, after this, to him who would suggest the contrary ? Is it not the inward whispering of the evil spirit, of that dark spirit breathing falsehood, malice, despondency, straitness, and fire, which vanishes like smoke or dust at the name and before the cross of the Lord ? Shall we listen to this dreamer, and shall we be disturbed by his snares? Be firmly assured that he is the complete denial of truth. "If I should say I know Him [the Father] not, I shall be a liar unto you; but I know Him." The mere fact that he always destroys the soul proves that he is falsehood, death, and not truth, not life. We only know of one cause of death—the Devil. Amen.

If we call upon the saints with faith and love, then they will immediately hear us. The faith is the connecting element on our part, and love on theirs, as well as ours; for they are in God, and we are in God, Who is Love.

Why is long-continued prayer necessary? In order that by prolonged, fervent prayer we may warm our cold hearts, hardened in prolonged vanity. For it is strange to think, and still more so to require, that the heart, hardened in worldly vanity, could be speedily penetrated during prayer by the warmth of faith and the love of God. No; labour and labour, time and time are needed to attain this. "The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." The Kingdom of Heaven does not soon come into the heart when men themselves so assiduously flee from it. The Lord Himself expresses His will that our prayers should not be short, by giving us for an example the importunate widow who often came to the judge and troubled him with her requests. Our Lord, our Heavenly Father knows, even before we ask Him, what things we have need of, what we want; but we do not know Him as we ought, for we give ourselves up to worldly vanity, instead of committing ourselves into the hands of our Heavenly Father. Therefore in His wisdom and mercy He turns our needs into a pretext for our turning to Him. "Turn ye, My wandering children, even now unto Me, to your Father, with your whole hearts. If before you were far from Me, even now, at least, warm by faith and love to Me your hearts which were formerly cold."

Worthy, sincere, and reverent service to the Lord in the temple, accompanied by lively faith, is a source of peace, joy, and blessedness to our souls. Thus a reverent priest celebrating the services, the • sacraments, and the reading of the prayers, in his very duty itself finds the highest delight and blessedness for himself.

The Word of the Lord is deed, life, being. From Him Who exists comes existence; from the Life, life; from the Truth, truth; whilst from the Devil, who fell through his illusive pride, who wished to appropriate to himself the impossible, and who fell away from life and truth, come illusion, falsehood, and death from death.

Man, they say, is free; he cannot compel himself, or ought not to force himself, to any religion or instruction. Lord, have mercy upon us! What a diabolical opinion! If they arc not forced, then what will become of men after this? What will become of you, the proclaimer of these newly-invented rules, if you do not force yourself to that which is good, and live as your vicious heart, your proud, short-sighted and blind intellect, your sinful flesh, incline you to live? Say, what will become of you? Do you not, then, force yourself, I do not say to good, but even to that which is your duty and is useful? How can one do without forcing oneself? How is it possible not to induce or force Christians, too, to fulfil the precepts of religion and piety? Is it not said in the Scripture that " the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force"? And, especially, how is it possible not to compel boys to instruction, to prayer? What will become of them? Will they not become idlers and good-for-nothing? Will they not learn every evil?

Concerning modern works of charity. If you enjoy earthly blessings in full measure, and if you give to the needy, but indulge yourself still more, it means that you do good works without the least self-denial. Your works of charity are not great. But what else do we find? What are so-called works of charity? People arrange different entertainments with a charitable object—that is, they intentionally wish before all to serve their sinful flesh, the Devil, and only afterwards their neighbour and God. But this is no charity at all! Such works only bear the name of charity. "Let us do evil, that good may come." "Woe unto you that are full, for ye shall hunger! Woe unto you that laugh now, for ye shall mourn and weep!"

When you pray to God and ask of Him various blessings —spiritual, heavenly, material, earthly—then, for complete assurance of obtaining that which you ask for, or, in general, the blessing mostly needed by you, in accordance with the wisdom and grace of God, have in your mind and heart the following words of the Saviour:—"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. Or what man is there of you whom, if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father Which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?"

When reading certain truths, do not say: "This is not new; this I know; I said this myself also." All this is diabolical pride. Such a frame of mind savours of the following sophistry: "I know everything, good and evil." It almost signifies: " I am omniscient." And many people do not read sermons and religious books because they think that they know all that is written there—that all that is written there is a repetition of what has been known to them long ago; whilst worldly books, in which, indeed, there is always the one same empty worldly vanity, they read willingly, and sometimes several times over. O, impure flies that feed upon carrion!

The Lord calls all of us to union with His divine nature, and we ought to carefully preserve the unity of the spirit in the union of peace, as members of Christ's body, as members of one another. "For we are members one of another."

After having worthily celebrated the service and the sacraments, always thank the Lord from your whole heart by a short prayer for having found you worthy of serving Him, of serving His most loving intentions and deeds with all your heart, with faith and love; for our service to our Lord, Creator and Redeemer, is the greatest gift and favour to us sinners, always bringing forth good fruit, both in those who receive through us sanctification and salvation from God, and also in ourselves, because it gives us peace, life, and joy. We must always thank God for having designed to make us His sinful and unworthy servants, His fellow-labourers. As the Apostle says: " We are labourers together with God; " the servants and stewards of His Mysteries. " Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God." But meanwhile, what do many of us do? They celebrate the service and sacraments, the reading of the prayers unwillingly, indolently, negligently, hurriedly, with omissions, wishing to finish the holy work quicker, and hasten after worldly vanity. What a fearful temptation, and what a grievous sin! Involuntarily one remembers the terrible word of God to the neglectful fulfillers of His works: "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully!" I said, what a fearful temptation! Yes, it is a fearful temptation, because, through blindness, we treat with neglect the words of the Holy Ghost, breathing in the prayers of the sacraments and services—we treat with neglect that which itself would be the source of the sweetest peace, of joy in the Holy Ghost, and even the source of our own bodily health, did we serve with true zeal and attention; for the words of the prayers connected with the services and sacraments read with faith, reverence, and the fear of God, calmly, with a fervent spirit, have the indubitable and wonderful property of vivifying, strengthening, and healing our body itself together with the soul. This I know from experience. It is a grievous sin, I say, because by celebrating the sacraments carelessly we, through this, mock at the Lord's holy things. What must we do, therefore, in order to celebrate the sacraments and services worthily, attentively, with a fervent spirit ? We must always have living faith that our God—worshipped in the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost—is ever with us, is looking upon us, and at the first word of our sincere prayer for help is ready to help us in the holy work; for the prayer of faith, like breathing in relation to our body, is absolutely necessary for us while we live upon the earth. What breathing is to the body, the prayer of faith is to the soul. By remembering that the Almighty is ever with us, and really having Him in our thoughts, and casting away from our hearts all earthly thoughts, doubts, cares, and attachments, we shall always accomplish God's work worthily.

Concerning hypocritical prayer. Did the Pharisees think that they prayed hypocritically? They did not think so; they considered themselves to be right in their hypocrisy itself! It had become their habit; it had become, so to say, their nature; and they thought they were serving God by their prayer. Do the Christian hypocrites of the present day think that they pray and live hypocritically? They do not think so. They pray daily perhaps long; they pray out of habit with their lips, but not with their hearts, without hearty contrition, without a firm desire for amendment, and only in order to fulfil the established rule, and "think" that they do "God service," whilst by their prayer they only incur the wrath of God. We all more or less sin in praying hypocritically, and shall be greatly censured for this. Humble yourself, consider yourself as the grass, which is nothing in comparison to the ancient oak-trees, or as a prickly thorn, which is nothing, which is worthless in comparison to the fragrant and delicate flowers; for you are indeed grass; you are indeed a prickly thorn, by reason of your passions.

When you give alms to one who begs of you, and who, apparently, is not deserving of, does not require your charity— owing to which your heart grudges him the alms given—repent of this; for the Divine holy Love also bestows His blessings upon us, even when we have a sufficiency of them already. Love for your neighbour ought to say to you, "Even although he has something, still it will do not harm if I add to his prosperity (although, to tell the truth, a few pence will not greatly add to or amend his fortunes). God gives to me, why then should I not give to the needy?" I say to the needy, for who would hold out his hand without need ? Had you only received gifts from God in accordance with your merits, you would have been a beggar yourself. God is bountiful to you, not in accordance with your merits, and you yourself wish that He should be bountiful. Why then, having plenty, do you not wish to be generous yourself to your brethren?

Look upon everything in this world as upon a fleeting shadow, and do not cling with your heart to anything; do not consider anything in this world great, and do not lay your hopes upon anything earthly. Cling to the One imperishable, invisible, most wise God. " We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

The mode of curing spiritual sicknesses (the passions) entirely differs from the mode of curing of bodily sicknesses. In the latter case, attention must be fixed upon the malady; the tender part must be treated by softening means—warm water, compresses, etc. But it is not so in the case of spiritual sicknesses; so if you have fallen spiritually sick, do not pay attention to it, but strike the malady, crucify it; do not in any wise indulge it, do not cherish it, do not warm it, do quite the reverse to that which it asks you to do. If you feel hatred for your neighbour, crucify this passion quickly, and immediately begin to love your neighbour; if you have fallen into avarice, try to quickly become generous; if you have grown" envious, try to quickly become benevolent; if you have fallen into pride, quickly humble yourself to the ground; if you have fallen into covetousness, praise those who are disinterested, and endeavour to become like them; if you are tormented by the spirit of enmity, strive after peace and love; if you are overcome by gluttony, quickly strive to be abstinent and keep fast. The whole art of curing the diseases of the spirit consists in not paying attention to them, and in not in the least indulging them, but in immediately cutting them off.

In reference to the fulfilment of that which you ask of God in prayer, believe that it is as easy, and even incomparably easier, for the Lord to fulfil each of your words than it is for you to pronounce the words, and that if there is the word, there is also the deed; for with the Lord there is no word without the deed; no word shall return unto Him void, according to His word. Remember constantly during prayer that God is That Which Is, and that from Him everything proceeds: both the thought concerning anything, and the word concerning anything and everything—that He is all wise, almighty, and all gracious.

How much people lose during their conversation at home for giving life to it through not speaking about God! How animated, how fruitful and varied their conversation would become through this! Rivers of saving words would flow out of the bellies of believers. How edifying, how soothing such conversation would be! what true bliss it would afford! Whilst now that they do not speak of God in the home circle, but only speak of worldly vanity, the conversation soon becomes exhausted, people soon feel dull, and then kill the precious time in stupid games or dancing. The enemy of mankind has observed this weakness in men to occupy themselves with vain, worldly conversation, and, in general, to spend their time in vain amusements. He has derived and derives an immense advantage from this weakness; he has instituted theatres, circuses—the true realisation of vanity, the true derision of worldly vanity; and foolish persons inclined to vanity, to slothfulness, indolence, willingly frequent these theatres and circuses, not finding any better occupation which would afford tranquillity and pleasure to their souls. "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."

You are ill, and your illness is very painful; you have become low-spirited and despondent; you are troubled and tossed with thoughts, each darker than the other; your heart and your lips are ready to murmur, to blaspheme God! My brother! listen to my sincere advice. Bear your illness bravely, and do not merely not despond, but on the contrary, rejoice, if you can, in your illness. You would ask me what there is for you to rejoice at when you are racked all over with pain? Rejoice that the Lord has sent you this temporary chastisement in order to cleanse your soul from sins. " For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth." Rejoice in the fact that now you are not gratifying those passions which you would have gratified had you been in good health; rejoice that you are bearing the cross of sickness, and that therefore you are treading the narrow and sorrowful way leading to the kingdom of heaven. Maladies in our eyes only appear painful, unpleasant, and terrible. It is seldom that any one of us during the time of sickness represents to himself the profit which his illness brings to his soul; but in God's all wise and most merciful Providence, not a single malady remains without some profit to our soul. Sicknesses in the hands of Providence are the same as bitter medicines for our soul, curing its passions, its bad habits and inclinations. Not a single malady sent to us shall return void. Therefore, we must keep in view the utility of sicknesses, in order that we may bear them more easily and more calmly. "He that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin," says the Holy Scripture.