The Gospel ascetic is a witness and an apostle. That is why the monastic tradition, later than that of the desert, dwelt upon the letters of St. John, and insisted on love of neighbor and the ascesis of the heart. It is striking in its excess, not of fear, but of overflowing love and of cosmic tenderness “for every creature, even for reptiles and demons”
The “individual salvationist” who is concerned only with the salvation of his soul manifests a dangerous distortion. We can never keep ourselves alone before God; we are saved only together, “collegially”, as Solviev said: he will be saved who saves others. St. Dorotheusgives a beautiful and clear picture of salvation under the form of a circle. Its center is God, and all men are on the circumference. In directing themselves toward God, each one follows a ray from the circle, and the nearer he approaches the center, the nearer the rays are to one another. Thus the shortest distance between God and man passes through the neighbor. Those exclusively devoted to action should understand that the hermits, by their incessant prayer, intervened actively in history. The efficacy of all human action is dependent on the intercession of their prayer, on the flame of their prayer that they send into the heart of the world. They know that man cannot respond to the entreaties of earth, and that is why they become hermits. St. Isaac the Syrian (in his Sentences) said so to his disciple: “Here, my brother, is a commandment that I give you–let mercy turn the balance of your scales until the moment that you feel in yourself the mercy that God feels toward the world.” At this moment of maturity the recluse can return to the world.
“If you see a young novice mounting by his own will to heaven, seize him by the feet and throw him on the ground, because his action would be of no value to him.”
“A true Christian is made by faith and love toward Christ. Our sins do not in the least hinder our Christianity, according to the word of the Saviour Himself. He deigned to say: ‘I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance; there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.’ “
There is a strange thing that I do from time to time. Occasionally, when I am contemplating how I fell into some sin or am debating some theological topic, I will begin to imagine talking to my confessor priest about it. In the course of this fiction, I will imagine what he would say in return. Now, I am not under the delusion that this is confession or that my mental opinion of what he might say is as authoritative or meaningful as his actual words to me, but I am willing to say that I am blessed by this strange occurrence. It always causes me to catch myself, and say “what am I doing?” It almost always leads me to prayer on the topic of my imaginary discussion.
This morning I received an answer to this prayer in the form of an article from orthodoxinfo.com. Thanks God for this! This article diagnoses me well, coming as I do from a Calvinist background, and helps immensely in the way of teaching me to acquire an Orthodox mind.
Any circumstance in which a man finds himself unwillingly is a prison for him. So be content with whatever circumstances you may now be in, lest by being ungrateful you punish yourself unwittingly.
“My child, if you want to live amongst people, you must watch the following: Do not criticize anyone at all; do not ridicule anyone; do not become angry; do not despise anyone. Be very careful not to say ’so-and-so lives virtuously,’ or ’so-and-so lives immorally,’ because this is exactly what ‘judge not’ means. Look at everyone in the same way, with the same disposition, the same thought, with a simple heart. Accept them as you would accept Christ. Don’t open your ears to a person who judges.”
Know two thoughts and fear them. One says: you are a saint; the other: you will not be saved. Both these thoughts are from the enemy, and there is no truth in them. You must think: I am a great sinner, but the Lord is merciful, He loves His children greatly, and will forgive my sins. But don’t depend on your deeds, though you may have worked much. One ascetic said to me, “I must surely be forgiven, for I bow so many times per day,” but when death came, he tore at his shirt. So, not for our labors, but in His grace the Lord dispenses mercy. The Lord wishes our souls to be humble, absent of hate and willing to forgive all, then the Lord shall forgive us with joy.
Judging by what is written in the Scriptures and by the character of the people surrounding us, we are living in the final days. However, as that great holy man of Russia, Saint Serafim of Sarov, said, we must seek to keep safe our inner peace, because without this salvation is impossible. During Serafim’s life, in response to his prayers, the Lord kept Russia safe; after him came another pillar stretching from earth to the heavens, Father John of Kronstadt. He loved the people and prayed continuously for them: “Lord, I wish that Your world would be in all Your people, whom You love so boundlessly that You gave Your Only Son to save the world.”
Praying thus without respite for the people, he retained his inner peace. But we are losing ours because we do not love people. The Holy Apostles and all the saints desired salvation for all people and, remaining among people, prayed for them energetically. The Holy Spirit gave them the strength to love all people. If we do not love our brothers, then we cannot have peace. Everyone should think this over.
This is interesting because I must admit that it is the people that I love the most in my life that often make it hard for me to have inner peace. Not because they are not wonderful or that I don’t find solace in their love, but because I am afraid of losing them whether by my death or theirs. But, St. Silouan has taught my soul something here.
God wants us to set our minds on things above and not earthly and corruptible things, he desires that we set our minds on His kingdom. Fear of death and love of neighbor go hand in hand because God is the God of the living and not of the dead. Thus, I can love my family all the more because they will eternally be with me. Death cannot destroy the bond of our love, for love never fails. Death, where is thy sting?
Now, how do I love my enemies with such fervent love?
I caught a video Sunday morning on Youtube by Elder Cleopa where he explained that what keeps a person on the narrow path of salvation is fear of God on one side and fear of death on the other. My experience shows it to be so. My fear of death is growing more and more as I grow equally more aware that in my life the presence of God, while bringing a certain peace, likewise brings me great discomfort.
I feel like I should just lie prostrate on the ground and plead for forgiveness. This body of death must die! But, first I must work with the Holy Spirit and by the power of the Holy Spirit to put these passions to death in my soul. When I die I will go to be with the Lord, as do all who die (Ecc. 12:7), but will that be a pleasant moment for a sinner like myself? One who entertains sin, crosses the line with one toe, then one foot, then an arm and soon the whole fo my being only to be tormented by my deceitfulness.
“When I feed my hungry brother, this is a Christian act and a preaching of the Kingdom that needs no words; it is done for the personal reason that my brother—he who stands before me at this moment—is hungry, and it is a Christian act because my brother is, in some sense, Christ.”
What struck me here is that Fr. Seraphim views his act as Christian, not because he told the receiver a Christian message, but because the person for whom he did it is, in some sense, Christ. How profound
"No one on this earth can avoid affliction; and although the afflictions which the Lord sends are not great men imagine them beyond their strength and are crushed by them. This is because they will not humble their souls and commit themselves to the will of God. But the Lord Himself guides with His grace those who are given over to God's will, and they bear all things with fortitude for the sake of God Whom they have so loved and with Whom they are glorified for ever. It is impossible to escape tribulation in this world but the man who is giver over to the will of God bears tribulation easily, seeing it but putting his trust in the Lord, and so his tribulations pass."
