About spiritual warfare in the modern world. A wounded person is a person who is constantly on the verge of collapse, falling. The wounded by will - by force delays the progress of the healthy. Therefore, the wounded can be dealt with in three ways.

The brochure offered to the reader is compiled from the conversations of the confessor with the novices - their children who have chosen the path of monasticism, but is intended not only for monastics. It will be of interest to everyone who strives to carefully and deeply lead a spiritual life, to cleanse their heart. She answers the difficult questions of those who want to walk the narrow path of salvation and overcome the temptations of the modern world. How to control your behavior, how to recognize the tactics of demons that trap the soul, how to protect yourself from pseudo-gratifying experiences, how to build the correct hierarchy of values, how to maintain a joyful mood - these and many other problems are devoted to this publication.

Who among the Orthodox has not read from the holy fathers about spiritual warfare, about temptations from demons, about the need to fight these temptations! “Temptation!” - we often say to the place and out of place - about the troubles and strife that have happened. But is everyone ready to correctly reflect these temptations, to turn them to the benefit of the soul? Sometimes we do not even suspect how sophisticated the tactics of the enemy of the human race are, we do not know his methods and techniques for capturing souls. We want to walk the path of salvation almost without labor or with little labor, we are afraid of the need for CONTINUOUS INDEPENDENT FIGHT. Perhaps this is why some novices are now not satisfied with the spiritual leadership of an “ordinary” priest, they certainly need an “elder” - but not in order, however, to learn to acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit, but in order only to relieve themselves of responsibility by shifting it onto confessor?

Eldership is a prophetic gift. Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh writes that “you can be an old man only by the grace of God ... and you cannot learn to be an old man, just as you cannot choose genius in your own way”, that true spiritual leaders nurture their spiritual children, but do not “manage” them, do not break making them similar to themselves. Undoubtedly, a Christian must be in obedience to a spiritual father. But for the beginner, who is inexperienced in spiritual warfare, there is a danger of falling under the influence of the so-called “young old people” (who do not have spiritual maturity), if they do not strive for spiritual reasoning and sobriety.

This happens not only from spiritual inexperience, but in many ways - from spiritual laziness, negligence, inability and unwillingness to be attentive to the sinful movements of your soul.

But let us remember the words of the Apostle Paul: “Stand in the freedom that Christ has given us, and do not be subjected again to the yoke of slavery” ( Gal. 5, 1). To cultivate in oneself the qualities of a soldier of Christ, spiritual courage, reasoning, the ability not to hide from difficulties, but to maintain a joyful disposition of spirit in the struggle - how this is not enough for each of us!

The conversations hegumen N. offered to the reader were intended for his spiritual children living in monasteries. But the methods of spiritual warfare arising from patristic teachings and considered in the application to the modern world will undoubtedly be very useful for the laity who want to do serious work on their souls. All of us, in pre-end times experiencing the onslaught of sophisticated evil temptations, temptations, ecumenism, apostasy, may the words of the Lord Jesus Christ be consoling: “Fear not, little flock! For your Father was pleased to give you the Kingdom ”( OK. 12, 32).

Conversation 1. The main work of life

The main reason for our sorrow is the rejection of God's providence. About the correct attitude to life circumstances. What does the Lord expect from us in a difficult situation? The principles of situation analysis. An experience of analyzing modern monastic life. The main purpose of God's lesson is to fight and correct wickedness. Trust in God is the key to success in the struggle. How to learn to understand people.

Dear sisters!

First of all, I want to ask you: in spite of any great and small sorrows that are absolutely necessary for everyone who is going to walk the path of salvation, regardless of external temptations or internal temptations, to keep in their hearts the joy of the Lord, remembering that everything these sorrows, like our life, are passing by.

Most often, discouragement, bad mood, despondency come from the fact that we cannot “deny ourselves”. Either the conditions in which we are placed do not suit us, then we do not like the people around us, then we are unhappy with WHAT and HOW they do, they say. We will always be unhappy, because we want everything to be just our way. Thus, we do not accept the conditions in which, as the laity would say, fate has placed us. But my dears, let's remember that it is not fortune that rules the world, but the Lord Almighty.

We need to learn to accept the people who are close by, and all the events of life as a given, received from God, as circumstances in which the Lord has pleased us. Accept, but not judge. Are we really going to judge the Providence of God ?! No, we will not judge, we have no right to that, but we will be wise and try to reason. In these cases, discretion is simply necessary for us.

First, let's assess the situation God has proposed for our journey to salvation. Any of you, whatever the circumstances, should be able to analyze them, i.e. try to soberly comprehend: in what conditions it is placed, what contributes to success in fulfilling the main goal of our life, and what interferes. Then, proceeding from this analysis, it is necessary to learn to set ourselves tasks, the correct solution of which is what the Lord expects from us. The statement of the problem will be the second stage of our reasoning. You see, we seem to be at the desk again and decide:

1. Given: from points A and B two trains left towards each other ...

2. Required: to determine the distance from the specified points to the meeting point of the trains.

3. Solution ...

4. Answer: ...

The correct analysis of the conditions given to us (“given”) and, of course, the correct formulation of the problem (“required”) is 50% of success in solving it. If we do not want to solve the tasks set before us, then we will not be able to move to the next step of the spiritual ladder. But the path of salvation is always the path upward, and the Lord leads us along it, forcing us to solve more and more new tasks that are absolutely necessary for us. They are exercises through which we can develop in ourselves such qualities necessary for salvation as, for example, patience, selflessness, mindfulness (sobriety) and, of course, humility.

What has been given to us now? ..

There is a monastery in which from a world completely immersed in lust, vanity, selfishness and cruelty, people came who could understand that life, it turns out, is not a senseless and aimless vanity, ending in inevitable death ... These people, unlike many other people , were able to see the meaning and purpose in it. The goal that only Christ fully revealed to us: through deification - to divine sonship in the Kingdom of Eternal Life. But although this goal is infinitely great and, in fact, is the only meaning of our being in this world, it is certainly more difficult to realize it today than ever before. The fact is that despite the desire to follow Christ, i.e. to move along the path of salvation, we bring to the monastery all our sinful baggage of habits, ideas accumulated in the world, as well as a distorted by godless upbringing, wrong, non-Christian view of ourselves, people and our relationships.

There is no need to be afraid to make a diagnosis: everyone who comes to the monastery is sick. And the main disease is selfishness in all its manifestations. The only difference is that some are sick more, while others are less. Everyone needs treatment, but it is very important to want to be cured. There is a means for this: the healing grace of God is poured out on us in the Sacraments of the Church, in prayer, in life according to the commandments. But there is also one common misfortune that is characteristic of our pre-end time - the almost complete absence of spiritual leadership. This is the sign of the end times, which the great fathers of antiquity foresaw. This is why it is so difficult to save yourself! As a result, it turns out that now everyone is saving himself, one might say independently. And you can't go anywhere! We have to accept the conditions that objectively take place today and do not depend on us in the least. But all the same it is necessary to be saved! In the world, for sure, today (for the overwhelming majority) is death. Thank God, we still have wonderful spiritual books: the Ladder, the Invisible War, and the works of St. Ignatiy Bryanchaninov, but sometimes it is still possible to talk with someone from the spiritually experienced - here is the instruction, here is the support.

Regarding the second point of our task, we will point out that the main thing is to always and everywhere set a goal for oneself: the struggle with any of our vice, passion, habit. To seek from the holy fathers - what are the ways to defeat them, and then, of course, consciously fight for the eradication of these psychoactive weeds, fight, asking for help from the Lord.

Here's what I will say from experience. I watched those who lived for 10 and 20 years in monasteries. It seemed that they lived nothing, there were no special claims to them, they were even considered pious. But as soon as they were face to face with any strong temptation, they immediately fell, and their fall was with a noise. From what? All from the fact that they just LIVED in the monastery. Lived - and that's it. Like everyone else, they prayed and received communion, but they never seriously fought with anything in themselves. Even the thought of the possibility of a struggle - and that was not.

This is how you can walk your whole life in monastic attire through the monastery territory and, as a result, turn out to be an extinct black firebrand.

If we do not learn to conquer ourselves in small things, we will certainly perish at great temptation, and no one can escape it. You know how demons do not like monastics ... They will not stop the war until our death. Let's prepare in advance, learn the art of war. Do not forget that you are the soldiers of Christ, and in the matter of salvation, in the face of God you are no longer representatives of the “weaker sex”, but soldiers, for in Christ, as the Apostle said, “there is no male or female” ( Gal. 3.28).

So, accept all changes in the circumstances of life as if you were receiving directly from the hand of God. Always try to remember that God, through spiritual laws, and sometimes by direct influence, really controls the life of each person and all mankind as a whole. If we learn to trust Him, i.e. let us ask Him to control our life, then all the trials - these are our lessons and tasks, will benefit us, enriching us with the experience of struggle for the sake of the main cause of our whole life: spiritual and moral self-improvement.

Never be discouraged; learn from everything, even from mistakes. With those with whom life confronts you, be very careful, because in our time people are not at all the same as they were even 20 years ago. Hypocrisy, I would even say - sincere insincerity, deeply rooted in the soul, which has become, as it were, its nature, has grown and spread to such an extent that it became impossible to understand a person without a long trial. In this case, one should avoid any external isolation, manifestations of suspicion. On the contrary, it is good to be benevolent to everyone, but still, you can only trust when you understand what a person is breathing. Do not believe even the best words, look only at deeds, at life, at the general direction of actions, thoughts and feelings, at moral qualities. All this will help you determine the main thing in a person. It is very important to learn to understand people, separating the main from the secondary.

Try to be at peace with everyone, beware of any gossip and gossip, and avoid them. Grow in love, meekness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Help each other.

Let our man-loving Lord visit you with his mercy and strengthen you in monastic deed, and I, a sinner, always pray to Him for your souls.

Conversation 2. How to arrange your “inner home”?

The task of the novices: to shift attention from the external to their internal problems. Why do we misunderstand people and circumstances? About the distortion of mental and sensory perception. From chastity to correct perception. The blessed peace of the soul is protection from external troubles. Two periods of the spiritual life of monastics. About the influence of demons on the emotional sphere. A cheerful spiritual tone should be maintained by an effort of will. About the fight against slave psychology. What do “simplicity” and “complexity” mean in a person.

I notice that most of the questions and perplexities arise in connection with external contacts, and not with the problems of internal spiritual work. For people who have embarked on the path of selflessness for Christ's sake, on the path of monastic exploit, this is a fundamentally wrong attitude. Our attention and our interests not only should not be projected outside, but on the contrary, it is necessary to accustom ourselves to an inner, deep spiritual life and work with oneself. We must act this way because our main task is a qualitative change in personal characteristics, i.e. the whole inner man.

If this qualitative change in the soul occurs due to our efforts with the accompanying grace of God, believe me, you will see the people around you and their actions with completely different eyes. The thing is that an adequate perception of the external world, correct understanding and correct vision of people and the circumstances of life is possible only when the dirty film of sin is cleared from the eyes of the mind, when our mental (rational) and sensory-perceptual (i.e., sensory- perceiving) spheres will be freed from the inevitable and inevitable demonic influence. While sinful drives are still active in the soul, we will not be able to perceive the environment correctly, nor correctly understand people and events, nor build correct relationships with the world around us, since our consciousness will be distorted by the complex influence of demons on the mind, emotions and feelings. Sinful desires, in this case, are nothing more than symptoms of our lack of freedom from the influence of demons. The distortion of both mental and sensory perception, as I have already said, will continue until, in an intense spiritual struggle, we cleanse ourselves of our main vices, and this is possible only with the help of the grace of God.

"Chastity" means whole, correct wisdom, that is, an integral, not fractional understanding of everything that is happening in all its most complex interrelationships. At the same time, chastity is spiritual and bodily purity, which means freedom from the violence of sinful drives (passions). So, from the spiritual experience of many generations it becomes clear that only a chaste person can correctly understand (i.e. philosophize), i.e. clean.

I hope that from all that has been said above, you understood: you should not now, at first, at the beginning of your just begun spiritual life, try to evaluate, let alone judge the actions of those around you. All the same, you will not be able to evaluate them correctly, which means you will not be able to choose the correct line of behavior.

For demons, on the contrary, it is very beneficial to switch the attention of newcomers from very complex and painstaking internal work to the external circumstances of their life, to focus their attention on the inevitable negative facts of the surrounding reality, to strengthen and even exaggerate the feeling of dissonance between how it should be, how we would like to see - and what they see in reality. In this simple way, the demons achieve that the spiritual growth of the novice is not only slowed down, but even changes its direction to the exact opposite. Do not let the demons control your attention, so that it, like an obedient nag, does not wander sadly in its hateful reins where the drunken driver rules. Take control and return your attention inward, to yourself. Remember what St. Ambrose Optinsky? - "Know yourself and it will be with you!"

How can we arrange our inner home? First, according to the word of St. Seraphim, it is necessary to acquire “the spirit of peace”. Great happiness when the spirit of the blessed world dwells in us! Then a person, like an unshakable rock, stands among the raging sea, and no external troubles can drive him out of himself to such an extent that he ceases to control himself, his feelings, emotions, words and actions. Such a peaceful, strong, clear state of mind is given only by the grace of God, the acquisition of which we should care more than anything else in the world.

There are different ways to acquire grace, of which the strongest, as you know, is prayer. However, it rarely happens that the Lord immediately places a person in such conditions when prayer is the main instrument for acquiring grace. Most often, this period is preceded by another, perhaps long enough, when the accumulation of grace occurs through good deeds, labor for the sake of others. This period is necessary for acquiring the most important quality of a Christian: SELF-DEPLOYMENT, which none of us has. That is why we do not go, we cannot follow Christ - this is because we did not deny ourselves, which means that we did not take up our cross. The place of selflessness in us is occupied by our own “I”. Egocentrism is the main sinful quality of our souls. It is the result of both the ancestral sin, and the general fall of all mankind, and, of course, our own sinfulness.

Real prayer is born in a humble heart, and humility is acquired by selflessness. So the Lord puts us first in those conditions when it is necessary to learn self-denial, learn to forget ourselves for the sake of others. Forget about your bodily and mental comfort, preferring not yourself to your neighbor, but your neighbor, preferring his problems and needs to yours, i.e. putting in the first place in their calculations not themselves, but their neighbors. The matter still largely depends on how you relate to your obedience (to your work). One must learn to warm up in oneself a joyful attitude towards every entrusted work, remembering that it is done in the sight of God for the sake of one's own salvation, for the sake of acquiring grace. It is necessary to train the soul to do the entrusted work with desire, even to seek - how can you help your neighbor. Remember (and who of you has not read - read) an incident from the life of the last elder of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Zosima-Zechariah - about his first years of obedience on prosphora. He slept for 3-4 hours (there was simply no time to sleep more), and he attended services 1-2 times a year, but at the same time he constantly prayed the Jesus Prayer. What humility, meekness, and selflessness he acquired! God did not despise a broken and humble heart, according to the word of the prophet David, he gave his saint the gift of prayer. Arriving at the monastery, the novice understood correctly - what the Lord requires of him, Who, not without providence, put him in such difficult conditions that he was even deprived of the opportunity to fulfill the usual prayer rule and attend church services.

Zechariah understood, on the one hand, the need to learn selflessness for the sake of others, and on the other, the need to teach oneself in the Jesus Prayer. While working, he constantly forced himself, imperceptibly for others, to create her so that she eventually became his constant companion.

Once again, I want to note that real, deep, attentive prayer can take root only on the prepared soil of a well-cultivated heart. The caked and petrified (by the sin of self-love) land of our hearts must be crushed by the iron plow of self-sacrifice and crushed by the harrow of self-forgetfulness. Then our hearts, contrite and humble, “God will not despise” ( Ps. 50, 19).

So, fulfilling your obedience conscientiously and accustoming yourself imperceptibly to others to the constant Jesus prayer, without embarrassment, with gratitude to God and joyfully “flop” onto your bed, even if you do not have the strength to read the evening prayers. God is now looking more closely at your hearts, which you should learn to keep clean from any penetration of dirty thoughts. To watch with all your attention during the day for the purity of your heart is the most important task for you in the present period of your monastic life.

But you will never be able to acquire purity of the heart and the blessed peace of the soul, if you allow the demons to turn your attention to the people around you. Then your thoughts will be busy "sucking" other people's actions, especially those in command. In the interpretation that the demons put into your consciousness, these actions will always have a negative character and a corresponding emotional coloring, and, the further, the more. It is on this basis that shoots of condemnation and irritation appear. They grow into a tree of gloomy, dismal resentment and bear the fruits of the worst deeds. At this stage, a person becomes obsessed, i.e. his consciousness falls under the complete control of demonic suggestions. This is the joy of the demons!

Again and again, dear sisters, I remind you that every melancholy state of mind, a feeling of loneliness and despondency is nothing more than a special influence of the fallen angels on our emotional sphere. They are, I would say, amazing virtuosos in this. Recall, for example, to what extent film music can add a special emotional coloring to events on the screen, or even a landscape. Moreover, directors and composers know very well that a different musical accompaniment can completely change the emotional attitude of the viewer to what is happening, even make it exactly the opposite. So, for example, the elegiac-joyful perception of any corner of nature with the help of music can be replaced by an anxious feeling of expectation of something terrible. Even better than people, directors and composers who have not yet been seen by us know about this, who, imperceptibly for ourselves, teach us to evaluate people and events through the prism of those emotional moods that they inspire us.

Demons can, for example, when a “patient” looks out of a car window at a receding familiar landscape (I take a real case), first inspire him with a nostalgic feeling of sadness, then after a while intensify him with a feeling of loneliness, abandonment and, finally, bring the poor man to the blackest despondency , which pushes many people to stupid and reckless acts. Here is a common but highly effective demon tactic.

And the main thing is that the “patient” is running! He runs headlong like a hare, only his heels sparkle. Runs from the monastery, runs from difficulties, runs from salvation. He will not find peace and good conditions anywhere. Having overcome a person, the demon gains even greater power over him and no longer allows him to free himself from the yoke of his pressure. He will drive the unfortunate man from one place to another, not letting him stop anywhere, everywhere instilling in him discontent, resentment and irritation with everything that is possible. The “initial states” (as psychiatrists say), into which this constant discontent will pour out, are different, but always sad, up to the fall into mortal sin, heresy, or a complete loss of faith.

In revealing to you the tactics of our opponents' work with us, I want you to learn how to resist them. To do this, you must constantly monitor your spiritual tone and volitional effort to maintain a joyful attitude towards everything - both to work fatigue, and even to troubles from your neighbor. Take control of your emotions - this, by the way, is the most vulnerable spot for all women. But, nevertheless, you must already be able to control yourself, otherwise it will be impossible to avoid the networks of the devil. Remember: the only thing that is permissible to be upset is your own sins and unresolved sinful inclinations. And such grief should not be excessive, so as not to weaken efforts in a long struggle, which, as happens in some cases, has been going on for years.

And I told you earlier, and now I repeat again: do not take any troubles and griefs to heart (except for your sins). Everything in this life passes quickly. Lo and behold - and there is nothing: no sorrows, no people! Everything that can still be with you has already happened before you, and everything has passed. Your troubles will also pass. And you are coming to Christ without stumbling over someone's envious and hostile look, or someone's strange, offensive phrase. Maintain good spirits, firmness, inner freedom combined with obedience and complete fearlessness.

Fear, ingratiation, double-mindedness, hypocrisy, man-pleasing - all these are elements of slave psychology, brought up by the Soviet school and the Soviet system in the "man of the new communist formation." We all came out of there, but this slavish Soviet legacy needs to be burned out of our souls with a red-hot iron. “Stand in the freedom that Christ has given us,” the Apostle teaches us ( Gal. 5, 1). Stop being "scoops", become Christians and children of God, finally! Remember and maintain a vigorous spiritual tone, a desire to fight difficulties, acquire a good fighting spirit, remembering that we are all soldiers of Christ.

Among other things, dear children, we all really need simplicity, and precisely in the sense in which this word was understood in antiquity. Simplicity is solidity, integrity, excluding any fragmentation, duality of character. The term “simple” is the opposite of the term “complex”, which comes from the verb “to add” (to add, combine various parts into one). A complex person is a split, upset, calculated person; this is an individual possessed by one, two, three, and sometimes a legion of demons, each of which has its own character. These characters are manifested alternately in the words, thoughts and actions of a demon-possessed person (the so-called alternating consciousness - psychiatrist), so he himself often cannot understand himself in this chaos of drives and moods, and even more so, others cannot understand him. In our time, we constantly have to deal with cases when two directly opposite natures coexist in one person. This is a common version of a demon who has settled in and a clear example of its effect on the human soul. So, simplicity, in the Gospel understanding, is uniqueness, integrity of character, and, consequently, the absence of demonic influence on a person. This is what Christ calls us to, saying: “Be wise as serpents, and simple as doves” ( Mt. 10, 16). Wisdom, which is so necessary for you and me, is given only by God, and you need to constantly ask Him for it. In any matter, you should always ask the Lord: give reason, teach, enlighten, and if necessary - correct.

If we move along this path, then soon all external problems arising from inevitable contacts with others (which, like us, are far from perfect) will disappear by themselves, like a dry blood crust from a healed wound.

Conversation 3 Never Stop Fighting

The purposes of God's visit. Two states of mind. How to endure an enemy attack. Fight for prayer. Be joyful, cheerful and kind.

It is very good that you did not hesitate to talk about those two unusual states that followed each other. I can say the following about them: to each person at least once in his life (and it happens more than once) the Lord, as it were, reveals Himself, really shows His help and strength. It helps to understand and feel what a person should become, i.e. as if showing him the goal of working on himself, and then again allows him to remain himself in the deplorable quality in which a person lives through his sins due to incorruptibility. Further, everyone chooses for himself which way to go. If a person did not know God yet, then such God's visits make him think: to accept Him and His commandments or not. The Creator completely leaves the choice between this or that decision for a person to do. Many, by the way, deliberately reject God: “So what, if He is, what do I care about Him? I do not want to live according to His commandments, they constrain my freedom. I want to live by my own will, as I want! ” But in your case, the purpose of God's visit was different. Since you are a person who has embarked on the path and takes the first steps in the matter of salvation, the Lord, seeing the vices that overwhelm you (as you said): “insolence, murmur, condemnation, discontent, gluttony, etc.”, showed you from your personal experience: how you could be and how you would feel yourself, if with the help of work on yourself, through the acquisition of the grace of God, you would change qualitatively. Do you remember how, tamed by the hand of God, the waves of irritation and discontent in the soul subsided, silence fell like in a clear sunny weather? Do you remember how from somewhere there appeared the strength to keep yourself from secret eating or to get out of bed in time? Remember the new, living understanding, new sensation and perception of old prayers and the service itself. It was as if the veil from the eyes had been lifted, and what a person had only heard before, now he saw and felt in its entirety. Behold, my mother, how the grace of God revives our feelings, which have become stale under the scab of sin. This is what the peace of Christ feels to the soul in which the grace of the Holy Spirit has dwelt! Now you know this yourself and you know the goal that the Lord Himself indicated to you in this manifestation.

Then the Lord was pleased to show you by your own experience the state of the soul darkened by the influence of the demon who has power over the soul of the sinner. And the more sins, the more his power, the darker, lazier, heavier the soul. She becomes insensitive to everything that is sacred, the mind does not perceive anything spiritual, the feelings are, as it were, dead.

So, before you are two paths, two goals, two final states of the soul. The Lord gives you a choice. The only difference is that the first, blessed state of the soul is achieved by hard work, tears and self-denial, and the second will come by itself, you just have to fold your hands and stop fighting with yourself, with your sins, with your “old man”. But in order to achieve a big goal, you must first learn to set small, as it were, intermediate goals at different stages of your spiritual path and not be satisfied with what you have achieved, moving further and further.

Sometimes, at times, a person feels such an attack from the enemy that he cannot even pray. But all the same, one cannot despair. Somehow, even if weakly, but still food, like a mouse: “Lord, do not leave; Lord, spare Thy creation; Lord, have pity on me; help, Queen of Heaven! " So, beeping with the last of your strength, wait for help and endure the attack, as if falling to the bottom of the trench. There is no time for battles. Would wait, but stay alive - and that's okay! After a while, God's help will certainly come and the onslaught of the enemy subsides. You should immediately resume prayer and slowly return to your previous circles. So, constantly getting up after a fall, you need to crawl forward. All this also applies to sleep and food. The main thing is never to stop the struggle, and if you have to make a temporary retreat, then as soon as help arrives, go on the offensive again. But here, too, caution is needed. To overdo it in spiritual matters is from the enemy. For example, newcomers cannot force themselves to sleep for less than 6 hours. You need to eat as much as necessary so as not to feel weak during physical work. If there is a lot of work, you need to eat your fill, but not overeat.

Now about prayer. You probably remember that even before, when you came to our monastery, I often said that prayer is the most effective way to receive the grace of God. With the accumulation of grace, a change occurs in the entire spiritual structure of a person: his will, mind, feelings, memory. They are purified and enlightened by grace. In order to prevent this, the demons try in every possible way to disaccustom a person to pray, or, at least, constantly interfere with this. All my life I have to fight for prayer, making efforts on myself, as far as God gives strength. You just need to teach yourself not just to pray, but to pray attentively. This study, like any study, is a lot of work. But in ours, i.e. in spiritual studies, it is more difficult: the enemy interferes. Still, you need to pray attentively. Only such a prayer creates an invisible connection between the rational soul and God. Thanks to her, we receive in response from Him a trickle of grace, as from the Source of living water. You do not need to enter your heart with prayer, otherwise you will fall into demonic deception, like many inexperienced novices. Learn to pray attentively, intellectually, and then we'll see.

Do not succumb to fears - this is the enemy, be joyful, cheerful and kind, constantly asking for help from God and the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Conversation 4. How to manage your behavior?

About "delights". Who can sober up the "adorable"? As an unsupervised “curator” it forms our self-esteem and behavior style. On the correction of the soul by the method of “spiritual programming”. Practical guidelines for applying the method to cultivate humility. How humility is cultivated.

Thank God, child, for the fact that you still have a critical attitude towards your spiritual state. It cannot be called otherwise than the grace of God. The fact is that usually, with a similar course of a “disease” with symptoms similar to yours, people completely lose the ability to see themselves from the outside, they lose the ability to be critical of themselves. It is this deplorable state that is called "prelest" and denotes demonic seduction by their imaginary virtues or their righteousness, or infallibility, and in general, it shows selfless pride, which no one and nothing can shake. This state can also be called one of the types of spiritual death. It is almost impossible to help a person who is entangled in the nets of pride and does not see this, he does not and cannot have authorities besides himself. The only hope remains only in God, Who alone can sober up the unfortunate, but this is possible, as a rule, only through the great sorrows. If they do not fall on a person, he becomes a source of continuous torment for those around him, and he himself does not see or feel this. His very presence alone can have a depressing effect on those who are simply nearby. Don't let us, God, come to this, child!

The disease begins from afar, small: with the usual childish egoism, which, finding no resistance either inside the child or from parents and others, is so firmly rooted in the character of a person, watered the pride tree at first, you can give yourself a break. Now a tree that has already grown stronger grows and develops on its own, finally, fruits appear: an extremely high opinion of oneself, the inability to endure someone's comments, irritability, quarrelsomeness, ridicule of other people's shortcomings, constant criticism of elders and an imperative (sometimes patronizing) tone in relation to with the younger ones. Experience has shown that it is more difficult for such people (especially if they also have talents) to come to God than anyone else.

But now, by the inscrutable mercy of God, such a person has an opportunity to cognize the Truth, and he, for example, does not reject it, striving with his heart to the Source of all truth, goodness and love - to God. Then the truth of God opens his eyes to the meaning of being and the events occurring in it (in being), gives the only true knowledge of good and evil, not from the point of view of earthly learned philosophies, but directly from God. Then only he begins to see and evaluate himself correctly. It is here that the abyss of the fall is revealed to him - and not only his own, for in his face he is able to understand and feel the fall of humanity as a whole. Here it is, a task over which you need to sweat, but solve: get out of the abyss. This is what the Creator expects of us. But this task cannot be solved either in an hour or a year, because sin has become a property of character, that is, a habitual, stereotyped reaction to the environment, or an action that is performed almost automatically, unconsciously. These are the fruits of the work, thanks to which the “curator”, imperceptibly training us for many years, like Pavlov's dog, developed in us (no worse than that of that notorious dog) a conditioned reflex to the appropriate style of behavior, as well as to a certain assessment themselves.

Thank God! Your spiritual eyes are gradually opening up to yourself. However, although it is very good to see your bad qualities with the mind, this is not enough. After all, in order to be saved, you also need to fight to correct your soul, her character, her habits. This is where you need to be creative, apply all your pedagogical talent, and not in relation to outsiders, but to yourself, in order to develop a flexible method for eradicating sinful character traits.

I advise you to adopt the following proven method of dealing with your shortcomings. Let's call it conditionally the method of “spiritual programming”. But keep in mind that it must not only be read, but persistently put into practice. So, start your morning with a memory: "How should I behave in such and such a case during the day?" At the same time, it is necessary to think in advance about the correct course of action in case of temptations known to you and remind yourself of those life situations in which this course of action should be applied during the day. In other words, you need to introduce into your memory in advance a program of actions that is exactly the opposite of your usual, automatically performed sinful reaction. This will be your conscious struggle with sin and with deeply rooted sinful "conditioned reflexes" of behavior, which all of us are imperceptibly taught by the demon-"curator" from the most tender childhood. Let us now consider some example of the application of the method of "spiritual programming" that will be useful for you.

I hope you are well aware that in order to heal such a serious and widespread “disease” as pride, St. The fathers offered their novices as a medicine a way to cut off their will. Let's try to combine this centuries-proven method of eradicating sin with the above programming method.

Since you always try to insist on your own, considering your opinion and your way of action to be the most correct, in order to combat this manifestation of pride, you need to remember and affirm in your mind the following thought: “In all cases when I have to choose between my own and someone else’s opinion, unconditionally give preference to someone else's and do as the sister wants in all cases, except for those clearly contrary to the commandments of God. " You will, of course, need to strain all your will, squeeze yourself into a lump, step on your throat (so as not to contradict), but still force yourself to do it your own way, even if your option is clearly better from a business point of view.

Remember, for God, everything that you do for your household needs is a trifle, no matter how important it may seem to you. In all our deeds and relationships, He looks (remember that the Spirit of God always permeates us), first of all, at the soul: what motives guide it, will the soul benefit from the deed? Often - and you know this - it happens that a person does something useful for others, but does it out of pride, with vanity. Such a deed is not pleasing to God, because it leads the soul to destruction. And in the entire Universe there is nothing more valuable than the soul, there is nothing more important than its salvation. But that sister thinks that if she doesn’t do the job, then no one will do it as well as she could, and, consequently, this will lead the monastery to ruin ... An ordinary demonic deception! Believe me, if this person were not in the monastery, even if it did not exist at all in the world, nothing would have changed and would have gone on as usual. And if God wants the work to be done, can you really think that He will not find someone who would do it?

The programming method described above, as I already said, is necessary for learning in cutting off one's will, which, in turn, helps in the fight against those sinful character traits that are expressed through self-will, selfishness, pride, and vanity. Perhaps at first it will seem that although it is more useful for the soul, but worse for the common cause. However, this is a hasty conclusion. Do as I say and wait. After a while, you will see for yourself what the real benefit was.

There is, however, a case when obedience can harm you. But I know that you can assess yourself correctly enough to unmistakably single out this case from all the others. I mean an assignment that will fuel and fuel your pride. This is where wisdom and will is needed! No matter how seductive and flattering it (the commission) may seem, you need to find, come up with any plausible excuse to refuse without offending the instructor.

After a while after you start practicing the first exercise (cutting off your will), get used to remembering how to behave in the situation described above, you can begin to put into practice the second exercise in the “programming method”.

An exercise in humility. A modest person tries not to stand out, not to attract the attention of others. A proud man does not tolerate this: he speaks loudly, likes to talk about himself, to make fun of others, in a general conversation he will always express his opinion, even if not asked, he likes to point out, make comments, command.

A proud man cannot stand ridicule related to him, is offended, carries an insult in his heart for a long time, and when an opportunity presents itself, he will surely take revenge with a sharp word or light slander, somewhat humiliating the offender. Pride is almost always associated with suspiciousness in such a way that the person possessed by it sees an offense where there was no trace of it. Due to demonic obsession, both the tone, and the look, and the gestures can seem offensive. The self-lover does not pay attention to others, since his attention is completely focused only on himself. He will sit without thinking whether it will be comfortable for another person to sit; he will take the best for himself, leaving the worst for others; will reach for something without looking: was it going to be taken by someone else, etc., and so on.

So, we begin the exercise by training memory in memorizing the main points of behavior:

- The first thought for memorization (programming): “If I am among people, or at least in the company of one person, I must take care not to be a burden to him (him); do not interfere with anything, do not grieve through inattention, unintentionally, i.e. I need to learn to think first of all about the convenience of others and only then about myself. "

- The second thought to remember: “In order to get used not to show myself, not to pay attention of others to myself, I need to learn not to express my opinions and my ideas, even if I will be very, very tempted to speak out (exception, if they ask for the general good ). In general, I need to learn to be silent. "

- The third thought to remember: “I need to constantly observe myself as if from the outside, in order to observe modesty in behavior. I can't:

a) look with a bold look,

b) decorate your speech with active facial expressions and gestures,

c) speak in a harsh, self-confident tone,

d) take self-confident poses (sit cross-legged, propping up the side with a fist, etc.).

In general, I need to monitor the smoothness and softness of the tone of speech and the restraint and modest softness of the movements. "

To remember and remember in time these thoughts governing behavior, you need to write them down on a separate piece of paper and in the morning, getting up from sleep, read carefully, forcing yourself to memorize them with some effort of will. Then put a piece of paper in the pocket of your clothes and read it from time to time during the day, trying again, with an effort of will, to introduce them into your memory. By training your mind and memory in this way, you will soon learn to control your behavior, and this is one of the most important stages of spiritual growth.

One should not lose sight of such a useful ascetic advice as the need for self-abasement. Always accuse yourself of selfishness and lack of self-denial, for this is a failure to fulfill God's commandment: “deny yourself”, forget yourself for the sake of others, “take up your cross” ... ( Mt. 16, 24). You also need to ask the Lord for healing from pride, vanity, self-love for every hour, and also always ask Him to grant the ability to see your sins. These petitions can be uttered to oneself at any time and at any place, either separately, or by adding one of the petitions at the end of the Jesus Prayer. In addition, try to repeat repeatedly during the day such a prayer from Psalm 140: "Lay, O Lord, keeping with my mouth and the door of protection for my lips."

You see, child, what an important and difficult work is needed for correction. Just don't be afraid, start, and the Lord will help you.

Conversation 5 Other people's flaws will not prevent us from being saved

Monasticism does not automatically save you. Manic-depressive psychosis is one of the forms of exposure to demons. Without sobriety - not to notice the enemy's nets. How to protect yourself from the attack of demons. On pseudo-gratifying states. The concept of "norms" in relation to the state of the soul.

Regarding you and all our sisters, I, a sinner, nevertheless adhere to the opinion that one year is not enough for the monastic art. Better to be a mediocre or even a bad novice than a bad nun. I think you already have your own personal experience of observation, to be convinced by living examples that neither monastic clothes, nor tonsure by themselves do not improve a person and do not automatically save, as some think: “they took the tonsure, put on monastic clothes - and immediately corrected ”. For many, they (vestments) are even an occasion for vanity. If first we do not learn deep humility (not external, but internal), we do not learn to endure bodily sorrow, slander, and hatred without panic, despondency and murmur - then nothing external: neither black monastic clothes nor theoretical knowledge of patristic literature will save us from falling into the abyss of sins even in a monastery. But for teaching this science (I'm talking about humility) one year is clearly not enough.

I will give just one example: when the clay is cleared of stones and other particles, and then thoroughly washed with feet (12 times, as the old potter from the village of Fomino told me), then they only put it on the potter's wheel and give it any shape. Every potter knows that nothing good will come of unprepared clay.

I believe you remember the words of many ancient and modern ascetics that the vision of your sins and, in general, your spiritual state is one of the most important and necessary for the salvation of the gifts of God. It seems to me that the fact that you, yourself, finally noticed in yourself the repeated abrupt changes in mood (when you worked in the refectory), was a clear grace of God. After all, you did not notice this before, did you? Of course, many paid attention to these strange leaps in your mood even at the time when you worked in your first monastery, but probably no one spoke to you about them. Similar phenomena were noticed for you in the N monastery, where the sisters, loving you, tried not to pay attention to this difficult (for a hostel) feature. I thank God for giving you the opportunity to see her. This, my friend, is what you yourself called “connection”. The very fact of seeing this phenomenon suggests that slowly things are going well for you. This makes me very happy.

A sharp change in mood is, of course, a pathological phenomenon, caused by demonic influence. When a person lives outside the Church, without the grace-filled protection given to St. Sacraments and prayers, then such light touches of the demon, progressing, turn into serious disorders of the emotional sphere, called in psychiatry TIR, that is, manic-depressive psychosis, with different durations of intermissions between phases of increased (manic phase) or depressed mood (depressive phase) ...

This is what a subtle and almost imperceptible "psychic" war the enemy is waging against us. Do you understand now what vigilance we need ?! It is called in the language of the ascetics "sobriety", that is. attention to yourself, your inner state. Such constant, vigilant attention is necessary in order to notice the enemy's nets in time. You need to deal with such demonic influence with humility: firstly, before God (take everything that happens as if from the hand of God), and, secondly, humility before your neighbors, as well as prayer and reading (when there is an opportunity) psalteries - demons of this very do not like. You should not be afraid and panic, because for healing, in fact, nothing special is required: you just need to live according to the commandments, live the liturgical life of the Church, live with God. Gradually, accumulating from year to year, the grace of God will protect us more and more from “all the slander of the enemy” and these states will go away, by the grace of God, as if by themselves.

The state of ascent that you are talking about causes some mistrust in me. It's very good that you are so careful about him. I want to confirm the correctness of your attitude with extracts from the 2nd volume of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov): “The feeling of crying and repentance is one for the need of a soul that has come to the Lord with the intention of receiving from Him forgiveness of its sins. This is the good part! If you have chosen her, then she will not be removed from you! Do not exchange this treasure for empty, false, pseudo-good feelings, do not ruin yourself by flattery ”(p. 125). “All the saints recognized themselves unworthy of God: by this they showed their dignity, which consists in humility” (p. 126) “The sight of their sin and the repentance it generates, days of work that have no end on earth: sight) of sin, repentance is aroused; by repentance purification is delivered; the gradually purified eye of the mind begins to see such shortcomings and damages in the whole human being, which the Lord, in his darkening, did not notice at all before! Grant us the ripening of our sins, so that our mind, drawn entirely to the attention of our own faults, ceases to see the faults of our neighbors ”(p. 127).

Let us now try to analyze the reasons for the unusual state. Sometimes it happens that the enemy deliberately, as it were, “surrenders his position,” retreats, ceasing to influence, to press on the soul with darkness and insensibility. Then it seems to return to the state that should be considered the norm for a person and which we, without grace, consider to be something supernatural. But this is exactly how a person should feel who has worked well, struggling with a “good deed” in the acquisition of grace. Why, in this case, the enemy leaves the battlefield without a fight? .. So that the soul, having come into rapture, relaxes, crushes and loses its vigilance. Then it will be easy to “slap” her with an unexpected dashing cavalry attack. This is so, my friend, because without abundant tears and many spiritual labors, the state we are talking about does not come.

But even when the enemy uses the cunning tactic of “one step back, then take two steps forward,” we can, if we get it, take advantage of this cunning of his. Remaining on our guard (and not letting ourselves be fooled by an unexpected blow from the right flank), it will be possible for us to enrich our experience with real knowledge through a sense of the state to which we should strive. The memory of him will later be a beacon for us, showing the way along the stormy sea.

Thus, as you can see, the Lord arranges everything for our benefit, only you do not lose your vigilance regarding your inner state and do not pay attention to the shortcomings of the sisters, which you need to be able to cover with love and endure with patience. Other people's shortcomings cannot prevent us from saving ourselves.

Conversation 6. To rip the soul out of the demon's grip

Infernal shelling. The alarmist will drown in a shallow puddle. How to behave during a demonic attack. If the demons are worried, this is a good sign. How to stop being a “communal apartment” for demons. Some protection methods.

Regarding your worries, dear friend, I will say: but you, simply speaking, panicked and became like those unfortunate people about whom the Prophet David said: “There you are afraid of fear, where there is no fear” ( Ps. 13, 5), i.e. frightened where there was nothing to be afraid of. It's just that an ordinary war for your soul has begun, only not hidden, as before, in the world, but explicit. You fell under the ordinary shelling, which the demons lead you from the bottom of hell, and immediately became depressed. That's a warrior! Well done!

What is the meaning of your stay in the monastery if you did not come to fight and in this difficult struggle to pull your soul out from the power of demons? After all, until we have acquired grace, they have every opportunity to influence not only our mind, thoughts and memory, but also feelings and sensations, both physiological and mental.! Remember, you heard from me more than once about the colossal capabilities of demons (due to our gracelessness) and their merciless struggle for our souls, even when you were a parishioner of our monastery.

As a rule, at the first time after entering the monastery, the Lord keeps the newcomers, as it were, in His right hand, not allowing the enemy to strongly tempt them. When they get used to and get used to a new environment for them, people, daily routine and everything else, then He, as if retreating somewhat, provides them with the opportunity to start an independent struggle with the enemy for their salvation. If there had not been God's initial help to the newcomers, then, probably, no one would have remained in the monastery: the demons would have driven everyone out - so strong is their hatred of the monastics.

Well, now you have entered a new phase - the phase of independent struggle and ... the guard! - was confused. Drowsiness, gluttony, irritability, lascivious thoughts and sensations - all these are the arrows of the enemy, which must be repelled, and not be afraid; fight, not lose heart. I want to reassure and please you a little: even with ordinary patience, combined with a humble consciousness of your weakness, you can extinguish these “fired up arrows of the wicked” enemy. The main reason why people, even those who know how to swim, drown, is that they start to panic when their foot slips into an underwater hole or falls into a whirlpool, fear paralyzes the will and mind, causes involuntary convulsive movements that only worsen the situation. Finally, exhausted from them and swallowing water, the unfortunate swimmer goes safely to the bottom. But all that was needed was to calmly take in air and dive to the bottom of the funnel, and even at a depth it was easy to get away from it and emerge again. So here you are, little dear, if you panic, you will drown even in a shallow puddle, where sparrows swim after a rain. I repeat once again: calm down, have patience and dive to the bottom, i.e. just wait until the enemy gets tired of firing guns. Here, nothing special is needed to win - just calmness, patience and prayer. And the fact that they are firing - because they have such a job ...

As for your feelings of mental darkening and, at the same time, a flurry of thoughts in prayer, feelings of alienation and external violence, as if the pressure of evil from within in the form of rudeness, impudence, insatiability and such physiological sensations as fever, headaches - I will say that all this is well known to me, tk. I studied it comprehensively. The factors described by you indicate that the demons (just please, do not be afraid) living in you became more agitated, scared and began to panic themselves: no matter how they were kicked out. This, in fact, is a gratifying phenomenon and indicates TO that with God's help you will be able to drive uninvited tenants out of your house if you fight correctly and open in your letters all the tricks and blows of the enemy frankly and without hesitation.

By the way, similar phenomena that appear with extrasensory, i.e. witchcraft influence on people from the side of psychic sorcerers (such as Tarasov, Kashpirovsky, Longo Chumak, Juna, etc.), speak of the directly opposite action of demons. These symptoms clearly record the moment when evil spirits enter the bodies of people. At the same time, the demons cannot refrain from violent jubilation over the "housewarming", forcing the unfortunates to shake and sway.

It should be noted that many people who were born and raised in godless families, and even weighed down by sinful heredity, are similar to the mansions of the lord, turned after the revolution by the Bolsheviks into filthy "communal apartments". In our case, instead of one soul, for which this mansion (human body) was originally intended by God, it is now inhabited by vile settlers - demons. But the demonic cunning lies in the fact that they try not to betray their presence in any way, especially when a person leads the life of an atheist. Secretly and imperceptibly, they affect the consciousness of the “patient” with the help of mental suggestions and physiological arousal. But if a person, having serious intentions, enters the path of salvation (i.e. decides to start correcting his life and purifying his soul, forces himself to prayer, works in obedience, teaches himself to humble himself and be obedient, i.e. tries to get rid of the main sin - pride and selfishness), then the demons, bruised and burned by Divine grace, attracted to a person by prayer, labor and self-abasement, rush into panic from burning pain and thereby betray their presence. This is where a new crucial stage of the struggle begins - the expulsion of uninvited residents from the house (of your own body). This is the most important and absolutely necessary stage of spiritual life for all those who are being saved, which, in the event of its positive completion, provides a person with the opportunity to further progress along the path of purification, improvement, and therefore the accumulation of Divine grace, similar to the oil in the Gospel, which was prepared by the wise virgins. before the arrival of the Bridegroom and the beginning of the wedding feast. If the process of exile is not completed and the tenants do not leave, then for the rest of their lives it will be necessary to take care of at least somehow holding on to what has been achieved and not falling into such a deep hole from which it is no longer possible to get out. It is possible to be saved here too (and it is necessary to be saved), but this is a difficult path of constant falls and uprisings. Such a cross is carried by very many and do not lose heart, trusting in the mercy of God. The main thing would be repentance. To whom not much has been given, much will not be asked for, and if someone has received much, then the demand will be corresponding.

The symptoms that we talked about above, i.e. headaches, fever, fleshly irritation, as I have already said, are a good indicator that the disease is approaching a crisis. After a crisis, recovery usually occurs. One should try to help his approach. Ask Sister S. for advice on how to arrange a trip for you to the Lavra, or rather, to the Chernigov Skete not far from her, where they gather daily. It would be good for you to swallow this fast, and when they perform the sacrament, you must constantly ask the Lord with all your heart for deliverance and expelling your enemies. This request can be added to the Jesus Prayer at the end, and the prayer itself can be continuously done with the mind before the sacrament and during its performance. There is no need to be afraid or ashamed if the demons suddenly cry out of you, on the contrary, strengthen your prayer. In some of these cases, it happened that they went out. In the skete, do not say that you are a novice, put on your usual dress.

When you approach Communion, always fervently pray to the Lord to deliver you from the demons, ask for their expulsion. If you can find such an opportunity, try to use those places and times when you, at least for a short time, are left alone in order to attentively pray “Jesus” with a very repentant, plaintively pleading mood of the soul. In public, pray in such a way that you don't pay attention to yourself.

In no case should you lower your mind in your heart, you can be severely damaged, because you are not ready for this yet. When you are alone, pray aloud, but quietly, almost in a whisper. If possible, read the Psalms as often as possible. It's not scary that not everything is clear, but the demons (Psalms) do not like horror, and besides, the mind is enlightened from the Psalms - this has been learned in practice. It would be nice to have a Psalter of pocket forms so that you can carry it with you and read it wherever you have an opportunity, at least a little. Try only to do it unnoticed by others, so as not to tempt anyone.

When the flesh is kindled, you can interrupt the prayer for a while and turn to God in your own words with a request to quench “by dissolving the bodily uprising”. Also ask the Lord to drive away the prodigal demon from you, to cleanse your mind of impure demonic thoughts, to protect with holy Angels, to cleanse, protect, preserve, etc. You need to pray and ask in these moments with tension, until the fire goes out. The same request should be addressed to the Mother of God and to the Guardian Angel. After the storm has calmed down, you can continue the interrupted prayer. In the fight against the prodigal demon, it is very important not to overeat and sleep more than the necessary minimum. A well-nourished and well-rested body, like a stallion in the mating season, is almost uncontrollable.

On the contrary, it is good in this struggle to work to the point of fatigue, but to eat and rest in moderation. It is also very important that you do not have unconfessed sins in this area. If you are embarrassed to say anything like that in confession, write, and then try not to remember these sins. Do not despair if success does not come immediately, know that this is a rather protracted struggle. You only repent if you fall, but humble yourself before everyone, do not condemn or murmur. Only by your own humility can you pacify the rage of demonic attack. So, my friend, take heart and remember that we are at war.

Treat the sisters' help not with irritation, but with humility and gratitude. Do not grieve about the absence of sorrows, for your sins, weaknesses and sickness of the soul should be more sorrow for you than external circumstances.

Conversation 7. Betrayal begins with self-indulgence

Without self-compulsion, there will be no salvation for us. How they turn into idols for themselves. He who does not crucify his passions inevitably becomes a Judas. What you need to do in order not to sell Christ. Don't try to “steal” the joy.

I really liked the calm, prayer singing in your new monastery. I also liked the fact that at the everyday service they sing a znamenny chant, it sounds very touching and prayerful, even when only one chorister is singing. On the whole, I have a very pleasant impression of the monastery and the brethren. Only a few of “ours” grieved me after the second pilgrimage to your monastery. And this chagrin is connected with you.

They told me how you shirk obedience and go to your cell to sleep. The fact that you are lazy is, of course, not news to me, but what can I say - we all notice this sin behind us. But still, a Christian who has chosen the path of salvation should not indulge the lusts of his flesh, which, if not restrained, seeks only to eat, sleep and do nothing, or do only what he pleases.

In order to be saved from sins and demonic violence against our will, it is absolutely necessary to force ourselves to fight with the flesh and the devil, which relaxes the flesh. You probably remember the words of the Savior that only those who force themselves to fight with sin will enter the Kingdom of Heaven ( Mt. 11, 12)? And in the Slavic original, the word “compelling” was written as “needy” - these are those who urge, forcing themselves. How are you, brother, going to be saved without forcing yourself to fulfill the obedience given to you by your elders? What kind of novice are you after that? Where is self-denial, where is the bearing of the cross, where is the crucifixion of your flesh “with her passions and lusts” ( Gal. 5, 24) ?! How will you show the Lord that you are His disciple, if you do not fulfill all these conditions that the Lord indicated as the main signs of love and obedience to Him?

Your behavior sometimes makes me think that you came to the monastery not to save your soul, but in order to have shelter and food without too much trouble. If I am right, then (my God!) Where will you come with such a life and such thoughts ?! That is how, after all, you will probably serve the Antichrist for a piece of bread, and you will accept his seal. And even now, if they promise something or intimidate, then, perhaps, you will become a “snitch” among the brethren? But betrayal begins with little things, they gradually become Judas.

This happens when a person does not want to fulfill the commandment "deny yourself." Then he becomes an idol for himself, then he serves himself like an idol, pleases his flesh and his vanity, then any thought of losing comfort, food or position in society terrifies him. And it was then that he was able to sell Christ, and the brethren, and his mother. He who has not denied himself, who is attached to everything carnal and spiritual, cannot be saved, because he will surely sell Christ for lentil stew. In temptations and temptations, only those who, according to the Savior's word, rejected themselves, who are not attached to fame, money, food, man, or comforts, who loved the Lord with all their being, are able to resist. He will not become a traitor even when he is threatened with death, especially when he is deprived of a high position or promised a meager life.

If we want to be with Christ, we must always remember His words spoken to the Apostle Paul when he was exhausted: “My strength is made perfect in weakness” ( 2 Cor. 12.9). Whoever wants to follow Christ, who has denied himself, knows this, because he constantly feels the help of God and can repeat with the Apostle: weak, then strong ”( 2 Cor. 12, 10).

I ask you, pull yourself together, pull yourself together, try to fulfill any task entrusted to you, any obedience not as given by a person, but as appointed by God for your own salvation. Remember the words: “In the world you will have sorrow; but take heart: I have conquered the world ”( Jn. 16, 33). Yes, we did not come to this world for joy, but to fight and overcome sin and the devil, armed with patience, self-denial and prayer, which we can call on the Creator for help.

The joy that all people dream of and which they are trying in vain to find here in this life (because all earthly joys soon end in sorrow and then death), we Christians hope to receive (and this depends on ourselves) in “ life of the century to come ”, as we believe and speak about it in the Symbol of our faith. Do not try to steal these joys now - such attempts end badly. Work a little, be patient, and you will have a reward that you cannot even dream of.

Conversation 8 The easy path leads to the abyss

Salvation without prayer is a naive utopia. Why is it so difficult for us to pray? Ascetic struggle is a compulsory necessity, without which there is no salvation. How is the transformation of the soul achieved? On the causes of paralysis of the will. Paralysis medicine. Why do people change? About the fight against the two-headed hydra of egoism.

I always pray that you “do not fall away from your affirmation”, do not leave the narrow path of struggle to the wide path of pleasing the flesh, to the easy path of following your lusts, which leads straight to the abyss, to the wide gates of hell. Yes, indeed, in our time there are few people who are saved, but how I want you to be among this small flock, even if not in the front ranks, even if from the side, but still among those who, having rejected “passions and lusts,” carry your cross, following the great Crusader Christ.

Who can attract the grace of God to himself without prayer ?! Even if every creature, every little bird in the sky, every frog in a swamp, “every breath” praises the Lord, then how can we, intelligent creatures, not turn to prayer to our Creator God? “But if anyone knew,” said Elder Alexander from the Gethsemane skete, “what the enemy is making efforts to divert a person from prayer, abstinence and from virtue in general, that he is ready to give a person all the treasures of the world for this!” (see his Life, p. 43, M., 1994). In other words, the enemy is ready to help a person to fulfill all lusts, as if saying to him: “Do what you want, just do not force yourself to prayer and abstinence: eat, drink, for now is not the time of exploits, but the monastery walls will save you by themselves without your efforts!"

But the father of lies, as always, lies, affirming the opposite of what Christ taught, saying: "From the days of John the Baptist to this day the kingdom of heaven is taken by force, and those who use effort enthrall it" ( Matthew 11:12). Another Athonite elder, Schema-Archimandrite Sofroniy Sakharov, a disciple of St. Elder Silouan, said: “As long as we are in this“ body of sin ”, and therefore in this world, the ascetic struggle against the“ law of sin ”acting in our flesh will not stop” (Archim. Sophronius. On prayer. P. 17, Paris, 1991). Did the elder who lived in our time (he died in 1993) did not know the state of the modern world and mankind? .. He certainly knew, and better than many psychologists, sociologists and psychiatrists, but he not only did not cancel the struggle, but spoke about the struggle with his “old man” all the days of our earthly life, right up to death.

Of course, it happens that we sometimes become discouraged, feeling, as it were, the coldness, the winglessness of our prayer. Let us recall here the words of the same blessed old man: “If the acquisition of scientific erudition requires many years of intense work, then the acquisition of prayer is also incomparably greater” (ibid., P. 9). But because of our impatience, we do not want to live in this painful state of self-compulsion, when prayers are still hard, exhausting work for us. We yearn for a gracious, comforting prayer, which only experienced ascetics have. “The path of our fathers,” writes Fr. Sophronius, - requires strong faith and patience, while our contemporaries are trying to grasp all spiritual gifts, including even direct contemplation of the Absolute God, by pressure and in a short time ”(ibid., P. 196).

Can you imagine what a tremendous task God has set before us: using effort, compulsion, force to enter the Kingdom of God! This task is higher than all earthly tasks and goals, and it can be fulfilled only through a forcible change in the qualities of one's soul, distorted by sin, with the assistance of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Our willfulness to correction and our effort in the ascetic struggle with sin makes the soul capable of receiving and retaining the grace of the all-sanctifying Holy Spirit, which, at the end of the earthly struggle, will be abundantly poured out on us in the Kingdom of Glory. The inability, unpreparedness of the soul to perceive Him here, on earth, excludes the possibility of enjoying His grace in the future, i.e. in Eternal Life.

Correction, transformation of the soul is a long process, the main role in it is played by many years of prayer and sober attention to one's spiritual state. “Many years of prayer,” continues Fr. Sophronius, - transforms our fallen nature so that it becomes capable of receiving sanctification through the Truth revealed to us; and this is before we leave the world (cf .: Jn. 17, 17) ”(Ibid., P. 189). Elsewhere, the elder writes: “To stand in undistracted prayer means victory at all levels of natural existence. This path is long and thorny, but the moment comes when a ray of Divine light will cut through the thick darkness and create a breakthrough in front of us, through which we will see the Source of this Light. Then the Jesus Prayer takes on cosmic and metacosmic dimensions ”(ibid., P. 167).

All of you have now experienced firsthand what the sinful relaxation of the soul means. Only those who have begun to force themselves, who have begun to struggle with sin, can understand this. It was then that everyone felt how strong the opposition of the demons, incline our will to sin, and how relaxed, paralyzed our will. And notice, while they lived as they wanted, an inattentive, carefree worldly life, they did not notice their lack of will, but as soon as the struggle began, all this was immediately revealed. The defeat of the volitional center, paralysis of the will is the result of the departure of God's grace from the ancestors for the first sin of disobedience. And all of us, their distant descendants, bear the stamp of the gracelessness of Adam and Eve, who conceived children already in this graceless state.

But God did not leave His people to the end, He gave us the opportunity to accumulate (acquire) grace and thereby strengthen the will for good, but at the same time left another opportunity: by our own will (voluntary choice between good and evil) to lose even those crumbs of grace that still remain in us, and finally become slaves to sin.

Gracelessness, relaxation of the soul is felt not only by us; all the great saints wept and grieved for her, beginning with the apostle. Paul, who described this deplorable state as follows: “The desire for good is in me, but I do not find it to do it. The good that I want I do not do, but the evil that I do not want I do ”( Rome. 7, 18-19). Here is St. Ephraim of Syria exclaims with contrition: “Sin, having turned into a habit, has drawn me into complete destruction, although I reprove myself and do not stop bringing confession, nevertheless I remain in sins ... Drawn by some secret power, I want to run away, but, like a dog on an iron chain, I return there again. Sometimes I come to hate sin and abhor iniquity, but still I remain enslaved by passion. " So, it should be noted that all people, including those who have earned mercy and salvation from God, have experienced the operation of the law of sin, i.e. the discrepancy between our desire for salvation and our capabilities, or rather, the inability to make an effort on ourselves. And if not for God's help, no one would have emerged victorious from this struggle. But pay attention to the words of St. Ephraim the Syrian: “I do not stop bringing confession”, and also “I come to the point of hatred of sin and abhorrence of lawlessness”. If we add here many years of prayer, it becomes clear in what way people like us, people just like ours, won the victory. To hate sin, to condemn oneself, falling, to get up in order to again and again put the beginning of repentance every day, praying to God (how much power will be) for forgiveness and healing of the soul from paralysis of the will. And for all that, do not allow despondency, recalling the example of the endless patience of that poor widow, about whom the Lord spoke in the famous parable ( OK. 18, 1-7). I will cite here one more statement of Archimandrite Sophrony: “It is salutary for us if aversion from sin grows in us, turning into hatred of oneself. Otherwise, we are in danger of living with sin, which is so multifaceted and subtle that we usually do not notice its presence in all our actions, even seemingly good ”(ibid., P. 190). All of you without fail (I ask you to fulfill it, as a blessing) I assign for reading the chapter “The sight of my sin” from the 2nd volume of St. Ignatiy Bryanchaninov (p. 118).

Now I will try to answer some specific questions.

1. Sister asks: “It becomes scary when you see how people who were once close in spirit change for the worse one after the other… How to protect yourself, because no one is insured?”

- This is, indeed, a terrible phenomenon, but you need to prepare yourself for the fact that in all the remaining years of your life you will repeatedly witness such amazing metamorphoses. There are always two reasons for this, not one. Firstly, the obligatory action of the demons, and secondly, their own will, because the demons at first only offer and seduce, the person himself chooses whether to agree with their proposal or reject it. Here is what St. Ephraim of Syria: “Alas for me! Evil will leads me into sin, but when I sin, I lay the blame on Satan. But woe to me! - because I myself am the cause of my sins. The Evil One will not force me to sin by force: I sin according to my own will ”.

But now I will tell you the most surprising thing ... We, in fact, have 100% insurance against seduction and death! This is humility and spiritual poverty, which consists in “our awareness of the spiritual death present in us” (Fr. Sophrony). To purchase this insurance, i.e. humility, you need to fight the two-headed hydra of your own selfishness.

The first head of the hydra of selfishness is love for one's soul. This head devours those who are full of conceit, perceive themselves as an outstanding person and worthy of something more in the future, or, in any case, of course, respect. Such a person quickly loses an adequate perception of the world, loses reference points in assessing himself, the people and events around him, trusts only himself or flattering liars, sound doctrine hates, trusts his opinion, evaluates his neighbors and condemns them, loses respect for the authorities of the Church, becoming himself the most important authority, almost the Pope of Rome ("indisputable authority"). He listens to the opinion of others only when they sing along with him, gets irritated and cannot stand the opposite opinion. Remember the words: “He who loves his soul will destroy it; but he who hates his soul in this world will keep it for everlasting life ”( Jn. 12, 25). This head of the hydra also devours those who love their spiritual attachments: excessive parental, marital or “brotherly” love for a person, or passionate attachment to some kind of occupation, more often to art (they say: “he is obsessed with poetry” ); their “gracious” (in fact, pseudo-gracious) experiences of communion with God.

The second head of the hydra of selfishness is love for your flesh. This head devours those who, although they wish to be saved from eternal condemnation, nevertheless do not want to deny themselves anything in this temporary life. The Lord said about these: “No one can serve two masters: for ... he will be zealous for one, and neglect about the other. You cannot serve God and mammon ”( Mt. 6, 24). It is impossible to be saved without oppressing your flesh, because through the lusts of the flesh, demons bind the soul to the comforts, to the pleasures and delicacies of this life, making it almost forget its short duration and deceitfulness, make the soul even more relaxed, voluptuous, bring it after a while to full the impossibility of fighting sin, and then they even accustom (like a parrot, repeated repetition) to the idea that the fight is not needed at all, not that, they say, now is the time.

2. The sister is worried that she is visited by the thought of cruelty towards her parents, whom she left by going to the monastery.

- And to me, a sinner, it seems that for them, the poor, desperately mired in darkness and filth, peace, the prayer of a daughter is the only ray of salvation in the darkness, the only hope for God's mercy, for only He can give them | a chance to see the light someday and exclaim :! “God, how do we live ?! After all, we are worse than animals! Help us, Lord! " They have no other hope] for salvation, for there is no one to pray for them, and no one else will offer the sacrifice of tears and prayers for them. Of course, you can be close to your parents, but then (I mean this case), the whole family will drown together. And although] together, of course, it is more fun, but who benefits from it?

3. A sister asks about the sacrament without preparation, "with a blessing."

- Since the communion of the Blessed Body and the Honest Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is a Sacrament so terrible that “the ranks of the angels cannot look upon Him,” one should approach Him with great fear, for one and the same Cup can be for some a blessing, but for others to condemnation. One should, in the most extreme case, fast at least 24 hours a day. If there was absolutely no opportunity to prepare and there is no peace in the soul about this, it is better to firmly and fearlessly refuse.

4. Question: "How to confess if the priest did not read the prayers before confession?"

- You should ask Mother Superior or Mother Dean to convey to the priest the sisters' request: to read the appropriate prayers henceforth so as not to embarrass them. The priest, of course, must fulfill the order of the Holy Church and it is not a sin to remind him of this. However, the Lord will accept your confession, even if only the permission prayer is read, the priest takes over the rest.

In conclusion, I want to ask all of you to endure each other's weaknesses, mutually forgive and ask for forgiveness; to be support for each other; all perplexities to find out among themselves honestly and openly (for by this the demons are put to shame and their intrigues are destroyed), to love each other and all the sisters of the monastery.

Conversation 9 Self is the main carrier of sin

I congratulate everyone on the beginning of Great Lent. May God grant that it will become for us not only the time of cleansing and unloading the body from all toxins, as doctors say, but, first of all, the time of unloading our soul from the main sin: egoism, selfhood.

If we try to analyze each of our actions, we will find that in any of them there is selfhood, which is in us the main carrier of sin, and itself is nothing but sin. How often, for example, in a conversation we say something slightly flattering. This is how we earn the favor of a sister or supervisor towards ourselves. Their location is pleasing to our pride. Often, talking about ourselves, we will lie more beautifully, showing ourselves in the most favorable light, and sometimes we cannot resist demonstrating our little success or good deed. We trumpet about our affairs in front of ourselves. And this is also a tribute to pride. Flattery and lies here serve to satisfy our sinful self-love.

Self-isolation, egoism appears where there is no true love, as a gift from God, i.e. there is no grace of the Holy Spirit. Those in whom there is grace, which means there is love, are focused not on themselves, but on their neighbor, whom they love and are ready to sacrifice much for him, right down to their lives. And if the reverend. Seraphim of Sarov spoke about the main task of a Christian as the acquisition of the grace of the Holy Spirit, then he meant precisely the communion of a person with Divine love, which is, as it were, a force of attraction directed from a person to those around him, and not himself.

With us, the opposite is true: self-adoration of one's soul takes place, love for which is manifested in the opinion that “I” (my soul) is something very significant, worthy of all respect, and such an opinion is often accompanied by the feeling that the whole world exists only for me and moreover, without me there would be nothing here. In its ultimate expression, love for his soul reaches the point that a person possessed by this passion (pride) considers all others to be almost dead objects, something like dolls that either serve him to satisfy his goals and lusts, or, on the contrary, they interfere with it. In the latter case, you can deal with them without ceremony, they must be removed from the road by any means, mercilessly.

If our love for our souls, thank God, has not yet reached such a degree, it nevertheless manifests itself in various forms very often, although not so noticeably. For example, all the sisters received gifts for Christmas. Someone thought that her gift was worse than others. In the heart - resentment, and even envy, and maybe anger at those who are lucky. “How, after all, I deserve the best! And my sister is worse than Me, but she got the gift better than mine! ”

Another example: “Someone talked to my sister, but not to me” - an insult, - “I’m being ignored again!” Or: “They gave me obedience harder than hers,” again offense! What can we say if such a “soul lover” is really offended? Then just a nightmare! A deadly hatred will creep into the heart, which will wait only for the moment when it can finally sting, take revenge in word (for example, “throw mud”) or deed (not to help in need).

So, as we can see, love for one's soul manifests itself in many ways and is the root of pride - the most vile and deadly sin. To save the soul from this abomination, you need to humble yourself and humiliate yourself all your life - otherwise you will not be saved. “I deserve a worse piece, a worse gift, a harder obedience, as well as all insults and insults, for I am much worse than those who offend me think” - this is the right way of thinking to fight and defeat pride.

As for the method for determining the presence of passion, it is very simple. Fathers teach: if you are deprived of something or you deprive yourself of something, but you regret it, you often think about what (or whom) you have lost, and remembering this, you come into excitement, non-peacefulness of spirit, despondency, irritation and so on, - it means: there was and is addiction.

When asked about foreknowledge, I can say the following: only God has real foreknowledge. Demons are very limited in this, they can predict, firstly, what they are going to do themselves (i.e. not yet perfect, but conceived by them), and secondly, what is currently happening at a great distance from us , since they move in space with great speed and exchange information, and thirdly, they can, possessing extraordinary logical abilities, draw conclusions about possible events from all the information available to them, in which they, however, often have failures.

Intuition is most often demonic suggestion from the outside, but still not possession. In some cases, however, it happens that the Guardian Angel suggests a useful one, especially in extreme situations.

Clairvoyance (as, for example, in Vanga) is only a consequence of one of the forms of obsession. In such cases, a person, having become a vessel of an unclean spirit, turns into an instrument for the influence of demons on people. All information transmitted through such a person has, according to the demons, its purpose to distort the true faith and replace it with a false one, it should also lead people to direct lack of communication, so that, as a result, destroying the spiritual protection of a person, facilitate the introduction of demons into his body.

In those cases when "instinct" suggests that the person is not good, you just need to be on your guard, carefully check all the available information, observe the person, but do not take this prompt on faith right away. Real "instinct" comes with experience, as well as with spiritual growth, but with it you need to be careful, because and here the enemy can mix his action in order to deceive. We need (I say it again!) Great care and comprehensive verification!

Conversation 10 Christ does not descend from the cross

Let's start the fast with “unloading” from the self. Where there is no love, the self reigns. How does self-adoration begin, and how to deal with it? A method for determining the presence of passion. What is the difference between foresight, intuition and clairvoyance?

One of our sisters very correctly noted that the soul of a modern man can be likened to a lascivious wife, carried away by an adulterer (demon). Very often the soul knows that its desire is sinful, but, nevertheless, like a harlot wife, it craves voluptuously and seeks a way to deceive her husband, waiting for an opportune moment to satisfy her lust. Naturally, she has to dodge and lie to her husband (her conscience) when she justifies herself in response to his reproaches. But so that even the recollection of her betrayal does not prevent a voluptuous soul from indulging in sinful passion, this harlot makes herself for a while even forget about the existence of her husband.

Of course, to calm the conscience, the easiest way, as many people of little faith do, is to blame the demon who tempts an unhappy, weak soul to sin. By the way, Eve did the same, pointing to the serpent, the image of which was assumed by Satan ( Life. 3, 13). The soul, in this case, tries to convince itself and its conscience that it did not have the strength to resist the temptation offered by the demon. However, we should always remember that if we really did not have the strength to refuse a tempting offer, then the Lord God would not have any right to punish us, starting with our first parents (Adam and Eve), and ending with all their descendants, including us. So, of course, we have the strength to refuse the sin offered by the sinful demon, but if we do not use this power quite deliberately, trying to resist the good, if we do not correlate our actions with the main purpose of our short stay on earth, then this our strength will be unclaimed and we will be overcome by sin. Now let's see what happens to the soul next, after it succumbed to sinful attraction, having played a game of "giveaway" with the demon.

If the wife (or soul) gives in to her lust and agrees to sin, the sinner (or demon) gains more and more power over the adulterous wife, as if sucking her will energy from her, suppressing her ability to resist, making her a toy for his passions ... Over time, it happens that the harlot soul itself begins to feel burdened by its prodigal life and would be glad to break with its lover (devil), but, like a bird entangled in nets, it no longer has the strength to break out of them. Likewise, people, accumulating sinfulness from generation to generation, are increasingly deprived of the will to resist, gradually becoming puppets in the hands of the fallen angels. Let us now consider this process in more detail.

Every time the soul makes a choice between the suggestion of a demon and the voice of conscience, it performs the most important act of will, which is its own free will. It depends on this choice whether the soul loses or gains Divine grace, which alone gives the soul the strength to resist sin. So, for example, with every choice that separates the soul from God, it is more and more deprived of grace, which means that it loses more and more willpower and can no longer resist sin, even if it sees how sin destroys it itself. This is one of the most fundamental spiritual laws that determine the life of intelligent beings (people and angels). Let's call it the LAW OF RELATIONSHIP OF SIN AND GRACE. He says that inversely proportional to the removal of the blessed energy that strengthens the soul in goodness, the power and power of demons grows over the man who rejects the commandments of God and all of humanity. This power can only be destroyed by returning the grace of God to mankind, but this is hindered by sins that have become a wall between God and people.

In order to destroy the wall of sins that prevents the grace of God from returning to man, it is necessary to pay for sin: this is the LAW OF DIVINE JUSTICE. What is the payment appointed by the Creator of the world for the sin of man? We learn about this from God's revelation to His prophet Moses: sin is redeemed only by the death of the sinner. This law was already known to Adam, who received from God a commandment that was not at all difficult to fulfill. Its violation, as the Creator said, threatened him with death ( Life. 2.16). Whether we like it or not like this law, but it is! Therefore, the atoning sacrifice for the sins of mankind (if you adhere to the logic of the law) should be the blood of each and every one for their own sins. So, in fact, it happened with the first, antediluvian civilization, which was completely, with the exception of the family of righteous Noah, destroyed for sins by the Flood. But, sadly enough, people do not learn anything from the experience of others, therefore, after the Flood, among the descendants of righteous Noah, the same process of apostasy from God began, which was bound to end with the destruction of sinners.

But this time the Creator took a different path, which was dictated exclusively by love for his creations. By God's love for mankind, people were given the opportunity, without paying with their blood, without dying for their sins, to get rid of them and regain Divine grace for themselves. The payment for the sins of mankind, satisfying the LAW of JUSTICE, was the death and blood of the Consubstantial and Only Begotten Son of God, who died in our place in order to give everyone life and the possibility of salvation. The terrible and, in fact, unlimited power of the fallen angels over harlots-human souls was destroyed only by His Calvary sacrifice. The Blood of the God-Man is that immeasurable and invaluable Price that He paid for our sins.

Now the sin is paid. The sin of all generations and every person has been atoned for by the Divine Blood of Christ the Savior. But are all redeemed by this Divine Blood? Potentially yes! You ask: why potentially? The point is that salvation from sins, salvation from the power of the devil cannot be imposed on man by God, because God, who gave him freedom, never deprives him of this freedom of choice, and therefore each of us must choose with our free will: to accept this gift of God (Atonement) or not accept. So, if (hypothetically) all of humanity voluntarily accepted Christ, His commandments and, accordingly, the gift of the Atonement, then all would be redeemed, and therefore, all could be saved. But the trouble is that not all people like to live according to the commandments of Christ. They prefer to follow their own whims and lusts, and therefore they reject Christ. Having rejected Christ, how can they hope for salvation? Who else will atone for their sins in the eyes of divine justice? But then - can the grace of the Holy Spirit return to them without redemption, without payment for sin, and protect them from the influence of demons? .. Of course not! That is why these power-loving God-haters - demons - will certainly more and more captivate their will, reason and feelings, and this process will continue until the demons make people like themselves, which will finally ruin for them the possibility of eternal life in the Kingdom of the Glory of God.

If, as I said above, the reckoning for sin is precisely what destroys the obstacle to the return of God's grace, then every person, uniting with Christ in the great sacrament of Baptism, as if assimilates for himself an atoning sacrifice that has the power to destroy the mystical power of demons over by the will of man. Thus, thanks to the sacrifice on the Cross, souls who have accepted Christ are, as it were, cleansed from sins by His blood, and therefore can again resist, resist the adulterous seducer with the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit returned in the sacrament of Baptism.

But woe to us! Having received such a great blessing from God, who did not spare His Son for the sake of our salvation, we again voluntarily submit to sin, and our soul again with each new sin loses the will to resist, weakens and again becomes a weak-willed whore, fulfilling all the wishes and whims of a libertine who possesses her. Unfortunately, there are too few people who are able to resist the temptation and preserve the grace of Baptism, having gained the resolve to fight from beginning to end and, thereby, break out of the vicious circle. But…

Oh, the abyss of God's mercy! Knowing our stupidity, weakness and love of sin, the Lord gave us a new opportunity to escape from the devil's captivity through REPENTANCE. He gave great and terrible power to His Church: by the forgiveness of sins from the priest and the communion of His Holy Mysteries, the Body and Blood, the grace of the Holy Spirit returns again, our sin is again washed and redeemed by the blood of the God-man, the satanic power over the soul is destroyed again, the devil's nets are torn ... So let's not get discouraged by entangling ourselves in his webs. With a cry of repentance and confession of our sins, we will again break the enemy's net, we will not stop fighting for the salvation of our souls. And then, seeing our perseverance, the Lord will certainly help us, although He hesitates sometimes, wanting to be convinced of the sincerity of our aspirations.

The Bloodless Sacrifice brought daily by Orthodox priests in splendid churches, in squalid rooms, and in caves (as was the case during periods of persecution); on brilliantly decorated thrones or under the open sky on a flat stone, or on a stump of a large tree in the middle of a forest glade, all this is mystically, the same Sacrifice, the same Blood and the same Body that was crucified for our sins for almost two thousand years ago. And while the Orthodox priest performs the terrible sacrament of the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the God-Man Jesus Christ, the Calvary Sacrifice does not cease to be performed and offered, Christ does not descend from the Cross. He will continue to be a Sacrifice for our sins outside our space-time continuum, as if in a different time dimension, until the last of those who want to be saved enters the “sheepfold” - and then the end of the world. And as long as the Sacrifice of the Cross is offered by the celebration of the daily Eucharist, the power of the devil is destroyed every day for each of us who approach It, and we, through repentance and communion of His Body and Blood, which atone for and washes away our sins, are able to rise again and again. ... Now do you understand why Satan and all his men mortally hate the performers of the Divine Liturgy, directing the edge of their blow at them ?! So, I ask you again: never despair or fold your hands in a fight. Remember - you will have to fight until your death!

Conversation 11 Humility is the True Sword, or How to Resist Godliness

Whom are demons more interested in seducing? Fallen angels are fanatics of the game. The heavy artillery of hell is against talented people. On the knees of humility - to Heavenly Jerusalem. Bitter medicine for the healing of the proud. The monastery is a school of patience. Why is it foolish to offend those offending us. How do they deal a crushing blow to the demon? How not to be tempted by the example of the weak and relax. A little about sobriety.

If in the last conversation we likened the influence of the demon on the soul of a person to the seductive speeches and actions of some regular Don Juan, then we will try to apply this comparison in order to find out: of women will it be more difficult to resist temptation? So, will the Don Juan get carried away with the ugly girl? .. Apparently, the passion of the hunter will tell him that the more beautiful the woman, the more difficult and exciting the game will be, the more weighty the victory will be.

By the way, I must tell you that the struggle of the fallen angels for power over human souls is much more interesting for them (demons) than chess, football and all other games you know. They are real players: furious, reckless, ready to fight for victory “to the last drop of blood”. It is in this victory and in the sweet sensation of complete power over a person that true pleasure and satisfaction for their incredible pride and lust for power lies. In this deadly game for people, demons find the whole meaning of their existence. More than about anyone else, one can say about them, paraphrasing the NEP song of Odessa bandits: “their whole life is an eternal game”.

Now that we have understood who will attract more attention of Don Juans, the answer to the second question will become clear: who will find it more difficult to fight against numerous temptations. Of course, one of the women who, while standing out for their appearance, has the misfortune of attracting stronger and more experienced seducers. They, like flies attracted by the smell of honey, revolve around the beauties. Likewise, souls endowed with great abilities are exposed to the onslaught of demons of a higher order. How difficult it is for a rich man to be saved! ( Mt. 19, 23-24). But this is not only said about money, but also about rich opportunities and abilities. It is here that the demons of high intelligence and pride - the heavy artillery of the army of hell, the highest ranks of the hellish hierarchy - enter the battle. How hard it is for a highly intelligent man to escape! And yet it is possible.

It is said that Jerusalem once had a gate called "Needle Ears" within the city walls. They were so low that the camels could not enter them. But those of the camels who knew how to kneel and crawl under their arches still ended up in the city. Here is an instruction for us. This is the way of salvation. Only by humility, only by daily self-humiliation can a proud soul be saved from the devil's snares. Why is it easier for a camel to pass through the ears of a needle than for a camel rich in money, abilities and conceit to enter the Kingdom of Heaven? It turns out that it is more difficult for a person with wealth and talents to overcome his pride, vanity, self-conceit and self-praise than it is for a royal pupil of the desert to kneel and crawl into the “Needle Ears” of the Holy City of Jerusalem, which typifies the Heavenly City - Heavenly Jerusalem.

But the mercy of God does not leave sinners here either: the Lord allows the proud, for the sake of their salvation, to experience insults, slander, anger and hatred of those around them - all this, like air, is necessary for us, the proud, to develop humility. For the same purpose, the Lord allows sickness and falls (due to our sins), which is also a necessary medicine for proud souls. If only we could learn to gratefully accept all punishments from the hand of God in full confidence that all this is sent for our benefit, for the healing of our souls, like a bitter but necessary medicine. Moreover, one should accustom oneself to the idea that all kinds of insults, slander and other temptations should be met with joy, thanks to God for giving us the opportunity to atone for our former sins with patience, and also creates conditions for training in humility, in meekness and complacency. ...

In this sense, modern monasteries provide an excellent opportunity to develop the most important quality necessary for our salvation, i.e. humility. Our life is a school where we solve problems, do exercises to learn what we do not yet know. Humility and patience, selflessness and meekness do not come of their own accord, they need to be educated with the help of God. What good is it for us if we live and work among people who love us, or at least observe the rules of community and decency? In such hothouse conditions, only pride and self-conceit flourish in lush color.

Monasteries are another matter ... Today, a large part of the inhabitants of them are mentally ill people who, however, want to be saved. They are people like everyone else; and just like everyone else, they are subject to the influence of demons, only to a greater degree, which is allowed by God for various reasons, into which it is not for us to delve into and not for us to judge. With their help, better than anywhere else, you can train your feelings and will, teaching yourself with patience to endure rudeness, and even slander, cultivating complacency and, I would say, soft humor, with the help of which by the grace of God, all grievances will be tolerated without much difficulty. He who has not gone through this school, who has not experienced all the malice of the demons acting through people on himself, cannot move forward, for he has no experience in spiritual warfare. This inexperienced Monk can fight all his life, but, unfortunately, with the wrong enemy, and therefore will not achieve success and, moreover, may perish, mistaking for his enemies not fallen angels, but monastery brothers or sisters, with the help of which they act on him these invisible prompters, hidden from the public eye.

Only after having received extensive life experience through the correct transfer of troubles from others, we can understand how stupid it is to be angry and offend people who offend us, because we clearly see that it is not they who are acting, but “the spirits of evil in heaven” ( Eph. 6, 12). Thus, everyone should understand: if you respond to an offense, then you offend your brother - and this is a violation of God's commandment ( Mt. 7, 12; OK. 6, 31), while you need to respond to the true enemy - the demon, who struck a blow, hiding behind, like a shield, a brother. If our retaliatory blow hits our brother, the devil laughs in delight - he was expecting this, and if we hit the devil himself with humility, he will burst into tears, having suffered defeat, for humility is a true sword, and he painfully hits the disembodied enemy. By the way, turn your cheek ( Mt. 5.39) - this is to inflict a crushing blow on the demon with humility. But, it should be noted that this method is acceptable only in relation to a brother in Christ, tempted by a demon, and in general to a personal enemy, but not to an enemy of the Church, society, or state.

To be precise, a real Christian cannot have “personal” enemies at all because, firstly, he loves people, seeing in them the image of God, even if it is polluted, and secondly, he clearly realizes that in the hostile actions of the people around them, demons play an initiative and leadership role. Thus, it turns out that by the word "enemies" the Gospel means those who consider us enemies and are hostile to us, while we do not consider anyone as enemies except the fallen angels.

It seems to me that many of those who, living in a monastery, amaze us with their rudeness, tactlessness, intolerance and other asocial qualities, if they remained in the world, would seem nice in communication, kind and pleasant people. But since monasteries are the vanguard of Christianity in a fierce battle with the army of Lucifer, they are the ones who take on the most powerful blows of the enemy, and not all of Christ's soldiers can withstand this heavy fire of the enemy. Many need the help and endurance of more steadfast brothers, their example and prayer, and sometimes just condescension and the ability to endure “the weaknesses of the non-living”. It is only important not to be tempted by the example of the weaker, not to relax, but to resist piety, and this is a rather serious and difficult task, given the general relaxation of modern monastic life.

Brothers and sisters who were willing and able to lead a more ascetic life than usual, of course, upset the existing order of things. But they need to understand that, firstly, in the absence of constant guidance from experienced ascetics (and they are still almost invisible in monasteries), they would not have resisted the feat, even if they lived in their own separate community, and secondly, deprived of the healthiest and more zealous part of monasticism, monasteries would lose the opportunity to educate the weaker by example of the best - and would finally degenerate into communes of believing bachelors and bachelors. That is why you have to accept the existing circumstances as they are.

Realizing that some of the monks cannot bear the feats of abstinence and prayer, stronger monks should firmly and unremittingly adhere to at least the accepted prayer rhythm, the main thing is to pay attention to developing patience, gentleness, meekness, learn to calmly and graciously perceive any troubles, radiating around yourself in a joyful and cheerful mood. All these qualities are acquired (developed) by constant and unremitting sobriety.

Sobriety is a constant battle with the lusts of the flesh and suggestions from the internal enemy (self, egoism) and the external - demons; reminding yourself of the need to acquire selflessness. Sobriety is the constant monitoring and repulsion by the mind of all sinful suggestions from the inside and outside, it is the constant compulsion of oneself to good and the rejection of all evil. Sobriety is one of the main sciences of monastic work; it can be taught under any circumstances and in any monastery. I advise you to pay special attention to the science of sobriety, having first studied everything that you find in the books of St. devotees, and then trying to apply their knowledge in practice.

One should also remember about the most important work of a monk - about the need to awaken in oneself a prayerful mood, a taste for prayer, for nothing else is asked of God for the grace of the Holy Spirit, except through attentive prayer.

I ask you to distribute the books among yourself in such a way that each of the sisters will find in her book everything that relates to sobriety and keeping the heart. For example, one works with “Ladder” and makes appropriate extracts from there, the other - with “Invisible abuse”, the rest look through various volumes of “Philanthropy” and look for everything related to sobriety. Recently, the Lavra published "Spiritual Conversations" by Macarius of Egypt. There is a “Word about keeping the heart” (p. 345), something can be found in Abba Dorotheus. All these extracts about keeping the mind and heart, about the struggle with thoughts and carnal lusts, it is advisable to then write (one after another) in one notebook, so that everyone in turn can read the teachings collected from different fathers on the topic of interest to us.

Now a few words should be said to those of our sisters who teach in Sunday school, because their temptations and temptations have increased significantly due to the fact that adults have begun to visit them. Of course, we all know from patristic experience that if a novice begins to teach someone, we can immediately say that he is in demonic deception. But here's the trouble! In modern, newly opened monasteries, there is almost no one to teach. Almost everyone there is new.

Although you do your job by obedience, the sword of Damocles' vanity is still hanging over your heads. No one will be able to help you if you yourself do not help yourself to avoid the most subtle and sophisticated net of the devil. Repeatedly I had to observe how quite sincere believers, having read good spiritual literature, were competent enough to advise, based on the experience of the holy fathers, and their advice was appropriate and achieved the goal, providing real help to the questioners. Almost all of them, in front of My eyes, one by one, were mocked by the demons, who cruelly laughed at them, catching them, completely lacking the experience of the struggle of the soul, with a net of vanity. What terrible falls I have seen! Servants of God turned into enemies of God within 2-3 years. The devil so seduced the minds of these unfortunates that they became blind and deaf to anything that contradicted their opinion. The sad example of our common N-city friend, who embarked on this slippery path, is another proof of this. But what if this is obedience? I say again: none of the people will help you; and the Lord often tests us with fiery tests. The only hope is for your prudence, for attention to your thoughts and the subtlest movements of the soul, and most importantly, for self-condemnation, destroying any vain thought. Know: you are on the verge of death and walk on the edge of a knife. Remember this! And constantly shout in your heart: Lord, keep from vanity, do not let perish!

Conversation 12 "It seems like hunt and be saved, but too lazy to pray"

Relaxed will is a spiritual disease of all mankind. And in captivity of sin not to be a slave! Why are we not allowed to compare ourselves with others? It is a sin to do less than you can. How to protect yourself from complacency after doing a good deed.

It would be very sad if you had a desire to “be like everyone else”. In our relaxed age, this means something like this position: "It seems that the hunt will be saved, but too lazy to pray." You can see for yourself that almost no one (even among novices) can abstain from verbosity, food, or any other pleasing to the flesh and his “ego”. This relaxation is a spiritual illness. By the way, you see her in yourself, don't you? Weakening of the will is a general disease that has struck all of humanity from the moment of the first fall into sin as a result of the deviation of the grace of God from those who sinned, which I already wrote to you earlier. But here's the trouble: we are increasing this gracelessness inherited from our ancestors by our own sins, which are depriving us of grace more and more. How not to mourn such a deplorable, sinful, painful condition ?! It is here that “I will find the beginning of my evil,” as you read in the penitential canon.

So, weakened by the absence of grace (in due measure), our will is crushed under the pressure of the devil's will, which pushes us to sin and is sin itself. At the same time, the access of demons to people ensured the same lack of beneficial protection in us, which covers a person from the unwanted influence of demonic will. It is possible to avoid this violence only through the gradual acquisition or, in other words, “the acquisition of the grace of the Holy Spirit,” as St. Seraphim Sarovsky.

But "do you not know that to whom you give yourself up as slaves for obedience, that you are also slaves?" - asks the ap. Paul ( Rome. 6, 16). This means that if we, being forced by the demon, nevertheless, by our will and our desire, do not want what he pushes us to, we do not voluntarily surrender ourselves to him, then we are not slaves to him, voluntarily bowing under the yoke of the master. Rather, they are captive warriors, slaves, for our own will desires something else. It follows from this that if we, succumbing to demonic pressure, did not resist virtue, but still did not stop resisting again and again, repenting and condemning ourselves, then we have not yet fallen away from God, have not become complete slaves of sin and the devil. In this case, being, as it were, in captivity of the enemy, we remained subjects of our Tsar, did not renounce Him and are conducting an underground struggle. So, we should constantly resist and, in spite of everything, DO NOT WANT to obey the devil, while caring about the acquisition of grace, which is given, firstly, through prayer, and secondly, through good deeds and obedience.

But in order not to fall into the grave sin of pride through prayer, obedience and abstinence (within your powers), you must remember that under no circumstances do you have the right to compare yourself with others, because through this you can fall into or fall into condemnation (if you will seem better to yourself) or in despondency (when you see in someone the advantages that you do not possess). Never try to put yourself on the same level with anyone, because “everyone has his own gift (measure of strength) from God, one in this way, the other in a different way” ( 1 Cor. 7, 7). If God has given you more strength to resist relaxation or refrain from anything, then do not be proud, because more will be asked of you. And to whom little is given, little will be asked - you, I hope, remember that. But apart from the Creator, no one knows the measure: to whom what and how much is given. Do to the best of your strength, which the person feels in himself. And if you do less than you can, then it is a sin.

In order not to fall into pride after doing some good deed, you need to program your consciousness for this, having entered into your memory the following two formulas:

- “I don’t do even a hundredth part of what I should have done”, and

- “I did this and that only because the Lord gave me strength, health and the right thought, and I myself would not have been able to accomplish anything without His help.”

In conclusion, I would like to address you and the sisters with the words of the apostle: “We wish that each of you ... show the same zeal (for salvation) to the end; so that you are not lazy ... "( Heb. 6, 11).

Conversation 13. What to be guided by if there is no experienced confessor?

What will sustain us in the absence of spiritual guidance? Beware of the “caressing elders”. Fasting is not a godly tradition, but a weapon in the fight against demons. Is it possible to “rest” from the struggle for salvation? Ask others about your shortcomings. Dangerous Consequences of Wrong Prayer.

I congratulate all the sisters on the beginning of Great Lent! I hope it will contribute to the deed of prayer and will serve to strengthen your spiritual strength. I will answer the questions like this:

1. More than once we said that in our time we have to save ourselves almost alone, because there are few good examples before our eyes, little spiritual support from experienced monks, who, sadly, are almost nonexistent. However, we still have leadership - the Gospel, our own conscience, and the books of the Holy Fathers, according to which it (our conscience) needs to be corrected so that the enemy does not confuse. In our business, one thing is important: not to relax, not to give up, incessantly, until death, to fight with your "old man." Stopping, that is, ending the struggle, inevitably leads to the death of the soul.

2. “Elders-carers”, about which St. Ignatiy Bryanchaninov should be feared. These “elders” always attract young “ascetics” and “ascetics” to themselves by allowing them not to fight when the experience of the holy fathers and their own consciences force them to fight. Fighting is, of course, hard. And the “elder” tenderly consoles a novice who has committed an act denounced by his own conscience: “Well, nothing! - says such an old man, - it's not scary, it is possible ... And this is also possible. " It becomes easy and fun for the soul. There is no need to fight, you can now completely surrender to your beloved passion, since the conscience no longer torments, calmed by the “blessing” of the elder. Isn't it nice ?!

3. If there is an opportunity and the blessing of the authorities, you can partake of Great Lent once a week.

4. Since you have a common meal, then, as I understand it, you will not be able to observe the Charter (in relation to food during Great Lent) with all your desire. This is now, sadly, more accessible to the pious laity than to the monastics. The reason is that in our modern monasteries, as I said above, there are few experienced confessors who could correct the rules of the Charter in relation to each of the monks they lead, in accordance with the capabilities and health of each. But nevertheless, for monks feat is necessary, otherwise - what kind of monks are we?

An example is sometimes shown by the laity: almost all of our parishioners didn’t eat anything on the first day of Lent, and on the rest of the first week, when the Typicon prescribed “dry eating,” many of them sat on bread and tea, and without any pressure whatsoever. by the clergy. Most of them work hard on a daily basis. Old women keep up with them: some survive without food for two days at all, as it should be according to the Charter: “On the first day of the first week of the Holy and Great Forty Day, that is, on Monday, yasti are by no means appropriate, and so on Tuesday. On Wednesday, after the Presanctified Liturgy, a meal is delivered: bread with warm vegetable dishes, and a drink with honey is also given. Those who cannot keep the first two days - on Tuesday after Vespers, they eat bread and kvass. Likewise, the old do ”(Typikon. Sheet 32, reprint, M., 1997).

Thank God, we, the clergy, were able to fast according to the Rule, and for the first time we sat down to eat only on Wednesday after the liturgy. And imagine: none of us died, although the oldest of the priests is already over 60.

Unfortunately, due to the loss of continuity (former monks were destroyed in Soviet times, while others died even before the revival of monastic life in the 90s), in modern monasteries, the understanding of the purpose and meaning of fasting is sometimes lost. Now fasting, for example, is perceived simply as a pious tradition, and nothing more. But it carries a deep mystical, spiritual meaning. First of all, this is one of the means of acquiring the grace of the Holy Spirit, and besides, it is the most important means of strengthening prayer, cleansing thoughts and, finally, one of the main ways of fighting demons, which, unlike us, do not stop their struggle for a minute. ... We allow ourselves to rest from time to time, lowering our weapons. But how necessary this struggle is, especially in our time! How can we do without fasting here?

I recommend you two meals a day by fasting. Try not to overeat and lean food, but do everything so that you do not pay attention to yourself in the refectory, and most importantly, I remind you, take care of your soul from vanity, although I know that you remember this.

5. Much better than the abbess, your shortcomings can be noticed by the sisters with whom you communicate more. Therefore, it is better to pay attention to what they are unhappy with in you. Analyze the reasons for their dissatisfaction (only without the slightest self-justification), and you will see what you have to fight with. You can ask those closest to you directly: "What flaws do you see in me?" But if they say something that you did not expect, have the courage to accept, do not pout, but accept it with gratitude, because every such comment, though painful (according to our pride), is unusually precious for working on yourself.

6. The method of prayer with the tension of the whole body is no good! It can end with only one thing: demonic seduction (may the Lord save you from such a misfortune!). Such methods are based on the same inescapable pride of ours, the desire to quickly “reach out to God”. My dear child, because God always hears us! His Spirit permeates our every cell, every molecule. Of course, you need to pray with some tension, but not the body (in any case!), But only the mind, as far as possible. The tension of the mind is necessary for concentration of consciousness, for increasing attention to the words and the meaning of prayer, for the constant rejection of extraneous thoughts that come from outside, introduced, for the most part, by demons. But the main thing in this is that before the beginning of prayer, you must always tune your soul, like a violin, and tune it exclusively in a repentant mood, but without strain, as the King-Prophet David says: “Sacrifice to God the spirit is broken: the heart is broken and humble God is not despise ”( Ps. 50, 19).

Prayer is a great work of gradually acquiring the grace of the Holy Spirit, which, accumulating, in turn, strengthens prayer. Everything, as you can see, is interconnected. It is impossible to force this process, you need to work modestly and unceasingly, and the Lord in due time sends everything that needs to be sent by Himself. Thank God that you guessed to write me about this! I have seen with my own eyes the dire consequences that result from wrong prayer, and therefore I was frightened when I read your letter. Lord, save!

Conversation 14 "My burden is easy to eat ..."

Is it possible to be saved without denying yourself anything? Detachment from the world is not a rejection of culture! Why is passionate attachment our enemy? How to build the correct hierarchy of values ​​so as not to be caught in the net of passions. Definition of the concept of "passion". Passion planting methods. A person caught in passion is a potential Christ-seller. Why is the operation to cut off the passions so painful? From Egyptian slavery to the world - to true freedom in Christ!

The last 1.5 months, although they were filled; many different events and great: holidays, but the most important of them was for; you, of course, have been tonsured a monk.

Almost three years have passed unnoticed since you arrived at the monastery. This is a long enough time to think it over, take a closer look and test yourself. Blessed is who chose the path? following the commandments of God, the path of perfection in them, who have deviated from the world, where it is now more difficult than ever for a Christian to save himself because of the immensely multiplied temptations that relax the soul so subtly and imperceptibly that the path of the cross and selflessness for him (a Christian) becomes more and more difficult. But it is precisely this difficult, narrow and thorny path of bearing the cross that God has commanded to all who want to be saved. No matter how much we love ourselves, no matter how much we regret our flesh, no matter how we grieve about the impossibility (for monks) to improve our souls according to the elements of this world (in art, science, social activities, etc.), however, if we want to be students The Lord Jesus Christ (that is, those who are being saved) must always remember that without the crucifixion of their passions (physical and mental) this is absolutely impossible.

Many modern Christians, and even Orthodox Christians (that is, those who know the undistorted teaching of Christ) will be very surprised when they understand that they were the words of: “I tell you that none of those called will taste My supper, for many are called, but few chosen ”( OK. 14, 24). And when these called (Christians) realize that they have remained behind the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven, they will begin to “knock on the door and say:“ Lord! God! Open for us. " But He will answer you: “I don’t know you, where you are from” ( OK. 13, 25).

But what can prevent these believers from entering the number of God's chosen ones? It turns out - their "passions", their attachment to bodily, mental and pseudo-spiritual pleasures, their naive hope that you can be saved without denying yourself anything, without a painful struggle with your passions and lusts. But these last ones just do not let people into the Kingdom of Heaven, for the Creator Himself said: "Anyone of you who does not renounce everything that he has, cannot be My disciple" ( OK. 14, 33). If a person is not a disciple of Christ, then he is far from His teaching, therefore, far from salvation.

Unfortunately, thanks to the almost universal spiritual illiteracy, the enemies of Christ manage to confuse many with the above words of the Savior, which are always interpreted by both former and modern demon-ministers so that they could only cause hostility to the teaching of Christ. Among the spiritually ignorant intellectual, not to mention other social groups, these enemies of the Church tried to strengthen the opinion that only dirty, lice-covered, unlearned, and maybe completely illiterate people who they shy away from the car, disown the plane in horror, turn pale at the mere mention of a TV set, and if suddenly, out of ignorance, someone in their presence even casually mentions a computer, they will certainly faint with a noise.

This false opinion has never been the opinion of the Church. The renunciation, about which the Lord spoke in the above Gospel quotation, does not at all mean the need to renounce everything that material culture, civilization has created; it only means the need to eliminate any passionate attachment to anything: to art, science, nature, fame, things, wealth, to humans or animals. It means establishing the correct hierarchy of values. Spiritual values ​​should be put in the first place, as well as those spiritual tasks that must be completed in this temporary life on the instructions of the Creator, and everything else should be correctly placed in 2, 3, 4 and other places.

If in the first place in a person's heart are the commandments of God, and the main work of life is salvation, then everything else not only cannot interfere with him, but even the opposite: he can use the achievements of science and culture to help himself in his main business - for his spiritual transformation and moreover, to support others in this difficult task. If material wealth and cultural achievements become idols for a person who have taken an inappropriate place in his heart, then the inevitable attachment to them turns for him into a chain that binds him to lower, sensual and spiritual pleasures, makes him forget God and the main goal of human life ... In this case, all this dust and ashes, so attractive to humans, serves as bait in the hands of “superintellectuals” (demons) who are capable of very cleverly fooling around any, the most brilliant of people, since the demons of the highest ranks are incomparably smarter and more powerful than any of the us, and only those on whose side the help of Christ the Savior can count on victory in this terrible struggle for our souls.

Who has passion and how? It will inevitably appear in any person whose life orientation (his credo) is formulated something like this: “Have time to enjoy, because you live once! This means that you must take everything from life that you can take. But if you can't take it, you still need to get what you want by any means and even by force. " Such an attitude exists, and not always clearly and explicitly, in the depths of the consciousness of everyone who unsteadily stands in the Truth proclaimed by the Creator first through the biblical prophets, and then by the incarnate God Himself - Jesus Christ and, moreover, in the minds of those who reject God. This deceitful attitude, by the way, is very clearly expressed in the song, which was very often sounded on the radio in the 70s: “Life is a moment, hold on to it!”.

Passion is almost always based on some natural need of the body or soul of a person. But this need becomes a passion only when, with the help of demons, it crosses the boundaries indicated by God (hypertrophies), when it becomes unstoppable and forces a person to violate the Divine commandments for its satisfaction.

Understanding this pattern well, the demons try to force a person to sin not through actions that are unpleasant for him, but, on the contrary, through pleasures, through the excitement of abnormally strong physiological or mental needs in him, the satisfaction of which brings him pleasure.

The study of the capabilities of the fallen spirits showed that they can hypertrophy, i.e. to greatly increase both the natural, physiological needs of the organism (the instincts of hunger, sleep, reproduction, etc.), and the needs of the soul.

By instilling selfish and proud thoughts, for example, they can evoke in the soul of a person an irresistible passionate desire for power or inflame in him a passion for spiritual pleasures of a different order. Such a passion can be directed, say, to various types of art, to science, as well as to spectacles and entertainment, and then these seemingly innocent activities are able, with the help of demons, to take a person far from the main goal of his life - from salvation. souls. It should also be remembered that the satisfaction of those and other needs exaggerated by demons always leads people to the need to do evil, obtaining the desired bodily and mental benefits with the help of lies, deception, cunning! betrayal, treason, slander, theft, murder (including of your unborn children), sexual violence, illegal use of power, etc. In addition, the desire for pleasures and unwillingness to limit their needs always brings grief and tears to the people around them, about whom the “enjoyer” does not think, but at the expense of which he enjoys.

Using passionate attachments to bodily and mental pleasures as fishhooks, demons catch our souls with them and then keep us on a stretched line, then pulling it up, then releasing it. The more such hooks and strings they manage to hook on a person's heart, the more power they have over him, forcing a person to violate the Divine commandments and sin for the sake of satisfying this or that passionate attachment.

Pride in all its manifestations (self-righteousness, vanity, bragging and boasting, contempt for others, etc.), lust for power, sexual intemperance, gluttony, drunkenness, drug addiction, violence, idleness at the expense of others, a passion for entertainment and luxury are just a few from the passions, with the help of which the demons captured almost all of humanity, who fell away from God and did not want to live according to His holy commandments.

Of course, it is very difficult for a worldly person, and often almost impossible, due to temptations, to refrain from any passionate attachment, and especially because numerous bad examples of others are very active in the world, and they are known to be contagious. Look at a worldly person: how much dirt does his soul collect in just one day of life in the world ?! How many everywhere (in a store, on the street, in the subway, at work and at home) will he hear stupid, spiritless and vulgar conversations, how many abominations will he see on TV and how many dirty lies will he read in the newspapers !? And so every day. From such a daily psychological treatment, the soul is defiled, becomes stupid, relaxes, loses faith and, finally, is captured by some kind of passion. In turn, passion, sooner or later, makes a person violate moral laws, trample on his conscience, violate Divine commandments and even betray and sell Christ, for the sake of its satisfaction. Unfortunately, it was and will be so ... A person who is caught by some kind of passion someday necessarily becomes a Christ-seller - this is the law, for it is said: “You cannot serve God and Mammon” ( Mt. 6, 24). Translated from the Aramaic "mammon" means wealth, and in addition, all the carnal and spiritual pleasures that are acquired with its help.

That is why detachment, that is, freedom from passionate attachments, is indicated by God as one of the most necessary means of salvation. This instruction was given to us by Christ in the commandment "DENY YOURSELF" ( Matthew 16:24). However, this commandment does not at all say, as some believe, about the need to reject your reason, creativity and physiological needs, given by God to man. No, here we are talking exclusively about the rejection and destruction of passionate attachments, which can so firmly grow into a person's soul that they become in him, as it were, “second nature”, a part of his personality, his “I”. Rejection of one or more of them is felt by a person as a rejection of himself, and this is always very painful. For our sin-loving souls, it (refusal) is so painful that it is likened to the crucifixion in the Gospel, as the Lord says: “If anyone wants to follow Me, deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Me” ( Mt. 16, 24).

But let's remember: where did He go? .. To Golgotha! Therefore, Christ calls us to deny ourselves and go with Him to crucifixion, to death! So, liberation from passions is similar in pain and difficulty to crucifixion, and therefore St. The fathers called this feat of the soul co-crucifixion with Christ. About him and ap. Paul writes to the Galatians: “Those who are Christ's crucified the flesh with passions and lusts” ( Gal. 5, 24( Rome. 6.6). The apostle here calls the “sinful body” passionate attachments, our passions, which become an integral part of man, that is, as if by the man himself or otherwise by the “old man” who must die a painful death on the cross in order to be crucified with Christ and co-reign with Him in His eternal Kingdom of Love and Truth.

Sometimes a lay person will say:

- Oh, how difficult it is for monks to live - that is not allowed, and this is not possible; limitations are everywhere, and their life itself is very monotonous. No, I can't bear that!

And I, a sinner, look at this and think:

“Poor thing, it’s much more difficult for you to save yourself than it is for us monks. It is much more difficult to go to Christ, being in Egyptian slavery to the world, from which the monks, with God's help, managed to get out, as once “as if Israel had walked on dry land, along the abyss with her feet, seeing the persecutor of Pharaoh being drowned”. Yes, we live and wander in the “desert”, where there is no variety of nature, food, and impressions, but after all, we are promised by God the Promised Land! For this you can be patient!

Probably others think differently, but to me, a stupid one, it seems to me that it is easier for monastics to be saved, because the very way of monastic life takes away from the demons a lot of opportunities to tie, tie, sew, moor and chain us to the ground and to all temporary earthly pleasures with many spiritual chains. , ropes, ropes, twines, small lines, wires and threads.

No ..., of course, a pig, as they say, will always find dirt - this is undoubtedly! But we will not talk about such “monks” and will try not to be tempted by their life. In the end, everyone will be responsible for himself, as the apostle said: “So, each of us will give an account of himself to God”, ( Rome. 14, 12). If you always remember about the main goal of your life, that is, about salvation through spiritual and moral growth as you acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit, then in a monastery it is certainly much easier to be saved than anywhere else.

That is why I rejoice for you that you were not tempted by the wide gates and the wide path of life; I am glad for you that you have found the courage to lay the yoke of Christ on your fragile female shoulders; I rejoice that they responded to the call of the Lord, for He will certainly help you, because these are His words: “My yoke is good, and my burden is easy to eat” (

Spiritual warfare

Spiritual warfare (struggle with thoughts, spiritual struggle, invisible warfare ) - the ascetic act of keeping oneself from sinful thoughts, an integral part of the virtue of sobriety.

1. Holy Fathers about what spiritual warfare is
2. The salvation of spiritual warfare
3. Types of thoughts
4. The perniciousness of sinful thoughts
5. Mental abuse. Degrees of attitude to thoughts
6. The means of resisting crafty thoughts is the recognition of them as aliens and dislike for them
7. Reasoning in mental battle
8. Anger against thoughts is the correct use of the power of anger invested in the soul by God
9. Prayer is a fence from evil thoughts. One should not talk with a thought
10. How to relate to thoughts that come during prayer
11. Without repentance and confession thoughts cannot be overcome
12. Cultivation of good thoughts and active virtues. The need for humility
13. You cannot trust what it seems. Trusting your thoughts is lovely
14. Blasphemous thoughts
15. Demons do not know the thoughts of our hearts
16. Why does God allow especially strong spiritual warfare?
17. Correct Spiritual Disposition

Holy Fathers on what spiritual warfare is

Rev. Macarius the Great writes about why spiritual warfare is necessary:

Many, strictly observing the external, exercising in the sciences and taking care of a correct life, think that such a person is perfect, not delving into the heart, not noticing there the vices that dominate the soul. Meanwhile, in the members there is a root of vice, commensurate with the inner vicious thought, and the robber is hidden in the house, that is, a resisting force, and therefore opposing and at the same time mental. And if someone does not struggle with sin, then the inner vice, pouring out gradually, with its increase, carries a person into obvious sins, brings them to committing them by the very act, because evil, like an opening of a source, always exudes a stream from itself. Therefore, try to hold back the streams of vice, so as not to fall into a thousand evils.

The most important weapon for a fighter and ascetic is that, having entered his heart, he wrestles with Satan, hates himself, denies his soul, becomes angry with her, reproaches her, resists his usual wishes, quarrels with thoughts, fights with by yourself.

Whoever wants to lead the Christian life with great accuracy to perfection is obliged with all his might to take care of the meaning and reason of the soul, so that, having acquired the ability to accurately distinguish between good and bad, and in any case recognizing that something unusual has come into pure nature. to live right and unstained for us, and so that, using reason as an eye, we can not become friends and not come into agreement with the suggestions of vice, and through this, having received a divine gift, we become worthy of the Lord.

Some say that the Lord requires from people some obvious fruits, and the secret is done by God Himself. But it is not so in practice, on the contrary, how much someone protects himself according to the external person, as much he must fight and wage war with thoughts because the Lord requires you to be angry with yourself, waged war with his mind, did not agree to vicious thoughts and did not delight in them.

For some kind of secret and subtle power of darkness is revealed that dwells in the heart... And the Lord is near your soul and body, and looking at your struggle, he puts in you intimate, heavenly thoughts, and secretly begins to rest you. But for now he leaves you under training, and in the most sorrows he provides grace for you. And when you come to rest, he will let you know yourself, and show you that for your own good he allowed you to be in a struggle. As to the son of a rich man who has a pestun, while the mentor punishes him, both the teaching, and the wounds, and the blows seem to be heavy, and this happens until he becomes a husband, and then he already begins to thank the pestun: so grace provides providently teaching until you come into a perfect husband.

Can anyone say: "I am fasting, I am leading a pilgrim's life, I am wasting my possessions, therefore I am already holy?" For abstinence from evil is not yet perfection itself, have you already entered a humbled mind and killed the serpent, which lurks under the very mind, in the depths of thoughts, nests and mortifies you in the so-called secret places and depositories of the soul, because the heart is an abyss, so , have you killed him and cast out from you all the uncleanness that was in you? All those who are wise, both the law and the Apostles, and the coming of Christ have the goal of cleansing. Every person, both Jew and Hellene, loves cleanliness, but cannot become clean. Therefore, it is necessary to find out how and by what means it is possible attain purity of the heart... This is not possible otherwise than with the help of the Crucified for us. He is the path, life, truth, door, pearl, living and heavenly bread. Without this truth, it is impossible for anyone to know the truth and be saved. Therefore, as in the reasoning of the external person and visible things, you renounced everything and distributed your possessions, so if you have the knowledge and power of the word and in worldly wisdom you must reject everything from yourself, impute everything to nothing, then you will only be able to edify yourself in a riot preaching, which is true wisdom, consisting not in the beauty of words, but in the power that works with the holy cross.

Rev. Makariy Optinsky writes that spiritual warfare should be waged by all Christians, not only monks, but also laymen:

“Is it possible to be without fighting, being in the spiritual army? Invisible and everlasting abuse! Moreover, the enemies are evil, strong, cunning and insidious; and they are even more strengthened by our laziness and negligence, and most of all by pride, through which they have a bold and daring attack ... Just as it is impossible from a recruit to suddenly or soon become a general and, not having been in many battles, to be a skillful warrior, so equally, and also and more, not having time to enter the field of spiritual warfare, already think that it has learned; or wish to soon be free from passions and fly high, rising from day to day. Do not think of yourself that you have already learned spiritual warfare; no, it is diverse, and do not hope to soon overcome the passions: this requires a lot of time, deed, labor, humility and God's help. "

“You mentioned in your scripture that God no longer requires a person to fulfill the duties of the title in which he was born, which, according to your understanding, you are trying to fulfill without the reproach of conscience. As this point is not unimportant, then it must be better judged about it. This duty consists in the fulfillment of the commandments of God, according to the vow we made in baptism, in whatever rank may be; but in fulfillment of these we face resistance from the enemy of the human race - the devil, about which the holy Apostles write ... You see, what an invisible war we have: he always tries to fight the Christian race by opposing actions to the commandments of God, through our passions; to this serve his main weapons - passions: popularity, voluptuousness and avarice. Defeated by these, or by one of them, and we give other passions a free entrance to work in our hearts. From your understanding it is clear that you have an imperfect understanding of this battle or resistance and not so much caution, but only your efforts, without reproach of conscience, to fulfill your duty; but they also did not penetrate into this, as it should, in what it consists. If you fulfilled all your duty without reproach of conscience, or rather, without humility, then there is no benefit.

Therefore, no matter what way of life we ​​go through, everywhere we face spiritual warfare from the spirits of malice, disturbing our passions and compelling us to act sinful, which tests our will and love for God - in our struggle. And if we do not have this struggle, then we will not learn art, and we will not know our weakness, and we will not acquire humility, but it is so great that apart from deeds it can save us, as St. Isaac in Word 46 ".

“You want to preserve the concern for the salvation of your soul, which, apparently, you do in practice; say that there is a continuous struggle in you, and every day new shortcomings appear; Yes, this is necessary in the Christian deed: we stand in battle against the spirits of evil, they fight us with our own passions. Sometimes we are conquered and overcome, we fall and rise, and in proportion to our humility we receive God's help. This powerful weapon against enemies is essential for us. But how can we humble ourselves when through our shortcomings we do not know our weakness? They humble us. Read ... at St. Gregory the Sinaite: "Unless a person is defeated ... he cannot accept."

Rev. Makariy Optinsky teaches that the one who strives in the cause of salvation, in any life circumstances, will have to wage spiritual warfare:

“Read from St. Peter Damascene in Book 2, in the 5th Word, about patience, that "in clever warfare one cannot find a place without warfare; if someone passes through the whole creation, but where he does not go, warfare gains: in the desert - beasts and demons and other evil sorrows and monsters; in silence - demons and temptations; in the midst of men - demons and people tempting, and there is no place ever. "

"Whoever begins to go through the spiritual life, then as a rule, spiritual warfare rises against them more strongly ..."

If a Christian does not feel the mental battle, then this is an alarming sign, writes St. Makariy Optinsky:

“... If there is no abuse, it will be even worse; it means that he has a commonwealth with the enemies, then they do not fight him. "

“... Be grateful to the Lord that He discreetly called you to serve Himself and to fight against invisible enemies. There [in the world] you would not have had a fight, and all the vices would have left you, except one, which could complement all the others [i.e. e. pride] ... "

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) speaks of the need for sobriety:

“The Lord has commanded us unceasing prayerful vigilance over ourselves, called sobriety. Sobriety is true humility, which has concentrated its hope in God, renounced all arrogance and hope in people.
Acquire constant sobriety, constant vigilance over yourself. Without strict vigilance, it is impossible to succeed in any virtue. "

St. Theophan the Recluse writes about the spiritual struggle of a Christian:

“... the warrior of Christ must have two vigilant guards constantly: sobriety and discretion. The first is turned inward, and the last is outward; that one observes the movements emerging from the heart itself, and this one foresees the movements that arise in it due to external influence. The law for the first: after all thought has been driven out of the soul by the memory of God's presence, stand at the door of the heart and carefully watch over everything that enters and leaves it, especially do not let feeling and desire prevent actions, for from here is all evil. "

Rev. Makariy Optinsky teaches about the essence and meaning of spiritual struggle:

Our life is spiritual warfare with invisible spirits of malice... They revolt us with our pledged passions and encourage us to follow the commandments of God. When we look deeply and consider carefully, we will find that there is a cure for every passion - a commandment that is opposite to it; and therefore enemies and try to prevent us from this salutary medicine ... A Christian living his life according to the commandments of God must be tested by various temptations: 1) because the enemy, jealous of our salvation, by all sorts of intrigues he tries to make us an obstacle to the fulfillment of the will of God; and 2) because virtue cannot be firm and true when it is not tested an obstacle opposite to it and will remain unshakable. Why is there everlasting spiritual warfare in our life?

Number of records: 29

Hello. I am a believer, I am 19 years old. I go to church very rarely that I can lie, I was there last year once, and that was not at the service, but simply put candles to the icons, prayed, asked for forgiveness. I know that it is a sin to believe in God and not go to church, but so far I am not drawn there. I think to go there as soon as my soul desires it. But I pray to God often, I thank him, I ask for forgiveness. In the last 2 years, bad thoughts have arisen in my head that offend God, the Mother of God. I am very much afraid of them, because I think that this is my worst sin, so I want to get rid of them. Please tell me if there are any prayers that will purposefully help to cope with this ailment? Thank you.

Hello. For this there is the Sacrament of Penance, but in order to benefit from it, you will have to go to church, pray, fast and repent. There have never been and never will be other means. It is impossible to be a Christian, if you do not pull yourself out of the whirlwind and bustle of the world at least for an hour a week and immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the temple, where everything is designed to create conditions for sincere and attentive prayer, where sound doctrine and the blessed Sacraments are taught.

Priest Alexander Beloslyudov

Hello, father. My name is Andrey P., I am 18 years old. Recently in a dream I dreamed that I was blaspheming: I was throwing icons in the house on the floor. After that, quarrels, swearing began in the family, I had business and internal problems. Please advise how I should be then, should I go to church and confess?

Andrey

Dear Andrey, in dreams we often see projections of our unresolved problems, so you should not be afraid of sleep; Quarrels did not begin with him, the subconscious simply signaled an impending crisis. It is good to start solving these problems, and if you notice that some sin of yours was the cause of them, and, of course, those sins that accompanied the clarification of the relationship (for example, anger, pride), they must be confessed. Help Lord!

Priest Sergiy Osipov

Hello, thank you very much again for your site! Tell me what to do, what prayers, maybe, to read, the fact is that my mother is a very angry person, she constantly speaks back, and sometimes blasphemes, all people are not like that and even her own children and grandchildren are not like that. Very often she bursts out: "God will pay you all!" I tried to explain to her more than once, told God's truths, the Gospel - nothing helps. Sometimes it seems to me that an accidentally or deliberately abandoned word brings us only harm - after all, this is my mother's word. Thank you in advance. Save you God!

Oksana

Oksana, do not be afraid that your mother’s words will cause you something bad, but rather order a magpie about her or a church commemoration for six months, or even a year. One must pray for mother, her enemy tempts her, she must go to confession and communion, then she can find peace.

Abbot Nikon (Golovko)

Hello! Is it a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit when you commit a sin, knowing in advance that you are sinning and cannot cope with passion (adultery), do you ask the Almighty for forgiveness and somehow you do not feel fear of the Lord? Is there any hope of forgiveness? I can't raise my eye to the icon. But what about kissing the CROSS in confession - this will not be hypocrisy on my part? Sinful, could not resist the temptation.

Elena

Elena, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be, if you, God forbid, of course, begin to live in sin, nevertheless, justifying yourself and considering sin, a lie - the truth. In any case, no matter what sin was committed, while there is still a time of life - there is time for repentance, sin can be forgiven.

Abbot Nikon (Golovko)

Good day! The essence of my question is as follows - now in many social networks I observe how social network users post the faces of saints on their avatars. My opinion is unacceptable! But many believe that there is nothing wrong with that. I would like to hear the opinion of the Orthodox Church. Many thanks.

Elena

The opinion of the Church is the definition of a church council or at least a specialized synodal department, here you can hear only a private, albeit well-founded opinion. I also think that such things are unacceptable, because they deprive the icon of its sacred meaning.

deacon Ilya Kokin

Good evening, father! I am tormented by thoughts, I would like to know the answer to my question, so as not to fall into despondency. My name is Evgeniy, I am 15 years old, I live and study in Kiev. In March, at a literature lesson, we were asked to tell an excerpt from Taras Shevchenko's poem "Dream", where there are the words: "God is not in heaven" - forgive me, Lord. Then I knew that God exists, believed in Him and did not want to offend Him in any way, and when I recited these lines, I mentally disagreed with them. Then he confessed and did not do more of such things, thank God. Did God forgive me this sin, did I not blaspheme this action of the Holy Spirit?

Evgeniy

If you repented and decided not to repeat this again, then the Lord has forgiven. But the most important thing is not to repeat it anymore. For the future, if you explain to the teacher before the lesson why you don’t want to recite ungodly verses, I’m sure he will understand and will not give a deuce for this.

Abbot Nikon (Golovko)

Good evening! Answer me to this question, we bought an apartment from completely strangers, when they moved out, left a plaster cross on the wall, arguing that it cannot be transferred from apartment to apartment. We settled in tenants, and they flatly refused to hang this cross, my husband and I also do not need it, and we put it in a bag and carried it to the trash can. Tell me, is it a sin? And now what i can do? All this was done without thinking about their action.

Elena

Elena, throwing away the cross is a grave sin. The cross is a symbol of our salvation, the cross is a victory over death, over the devil. Christ voluntarily crucified on the Cross for us, for our salvation. You traded the cross for the money the tenants paid you. You acted very, very badly. Repent before God in the church in confession, and depending on the sincerity of your repentance and what kind of life you will lead further, God will forgive you.

Hieromonk Victorin (Aseev)

Good day! I know that it is very important for a Christian to control his thoughts. But very often there are periods when some kind of swarming occurs in the head, as in an anthill. And it happens that simply, even reluctantly and completely unconsciously, bad thoughts come, and even blasphemous ones. I immediately ask the Lord for forgiveness and think, how could I so completely involuntarily find myself in a bad situation? What to do? Thanks to.

Kseniya

Xenia, what you are describing is called spiritual warfare: all of a sudden we feel in our minds thoughts or images, all of them from the devil. Until we talk with these thoughts and keep them in attention, there is no sin, but if we begin to develop them or somehow concentrate on them, then we are already sinning. You gradually need to learn not to pay attention to such fleeting thoughts, and they will just as easily disappear from consciousness as they appear.

Abbot Nikon (Golovko)

I am 27, I have been going to church for the seventh year now, and faced the sin of blasphemy. I started it quite recently, about 1.5 months, I mentally call the saint, Jesus Christ, the Mother of God during prayer. How to get past this temptation? For 7 years there have been a lot of things, but I think this is the most terrible thing.

Sergei

Sergei, this temptation is temporary, it passes pretty soon. Confess to the priest in your mental battle, and do not pay any attention to the thoughts themselves - no more than to the dust blown by the wind.

Abbot Nikon (Golovko)

Hello! Please resolve my question. About a month ago I was reading an empty sinful book, and there the main character spoke in the first person about selling his soul to the devil, and I was scared: what if I sold it with these words? I prayed to the Lord to forgive me, but I was scared anyway, and then I understood through one book that fear is also a sin, and that it is from unbelief. I believed and the fear disappeared. But then I thought, what if Satan did it? The Bible says that all sins are forgiven a person, except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The Holy Fathers interpret this sin as attributing God's works to Satan. And again I am afraid: have I really committed this terrible sin, and there is no forgiveness for me?

Shinkarenko Yura

Dear Yura, it is a pity that you did not look at our website for answers to the topic of what blasphemy against the Holy Spirit really is. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit can be equated with pharisaism, that is, with living in sin with the confidence that this is not a sin, but a norm. At the same time, those "gifts" that can arise from such a wrong spiritual life will be a manifestation of the actions of demons, and a person, with confidence in his righteousness, will take them for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and from this will be even more delusional. As for the events that happened to you, I think you have nothing to worry about, except for one thing: avoid sin in the future. By sin, I mean empty reading, and idle thoughts, and, of course, actions. And, besides, you need to study Orthodoxy a little more, and it would be best not even to learn, namely to adopt it from some good priest or layman in the process of live communication with him.

Abbot Nikon (Golovko)

Good day, father! I want to ask you for advice, my trouble is my 26 year old son, who does not work anywhere and does not intend to, drinks for 2-3 weeks with a short break, all the metal that was in the yard has already been taken down for purchase, I gave him a house , which I myself also support, since we cannot live together, I have a second marriage and there is no relationship between husband and son due to the fault of my son. For many years I have been paying for gas and electricity, we feed him together with his grandmother, help his son, whom he does not even want to admit, no matter how I persuade him. They treated him twice, and persuaded, and inspired, and on my knees asked him to change his mind, I try to talk about God - as a result, drunken blasphemy, it became scary for him, I pray as best I can. And the question is this: yesterday I gave money to pay for the light, I called - of course, nothing was paid, although I was sober, and another lie. Fathers, what to do? Do you want to pull this burden to the end or stop supporting it? I realize my sin of under-education, but strength comes from cynicism, because he is a man, and I have to work for him. Forgive me, a sinner, for murmuring, but in this trouble I am alone, and your advice is very important.

Marina

Dear Marina, Of course, stop containing. Excessive care of you and your grandmother only created the conditions for the development of the disease. This must be stopped. You will be supported by your husband, whose rejection of the situation when a twenty-six-year-old person is completely asocial could lead to family conflicts. It will be more difficult with your grandmother if she does not live with you. She may not accept the need to leave her grandson without food, and continue to feed him. Explain that this is direct harm to him, in fact, an offer to drink and again plunge into alcohol dependence while others feed and clothe him. You will have to tell your son that you cannot support him for his benefit. If he wants to go to the clinic (if you offer to be "encoded" with a certain substance that causes aversion to alcohol at the physical level - know that the Church allows this) and then systematically engage with a psychotherapist (you can call him a psychologist) with a complete lifelong refusal from alcohol, then say that you are ready to help with this, pay for visits to the doctor. The psychotherapist will help him understand himself, find the wrong psychological attitudes that led to addiction, "correct" them a little. With these realized problems and sins, he can already go to confession if he wants. But you can't give money into his hands now. Pay the doctor yourself. As he recovers, he will be able to do it himself, but the time will be long. He must earn himself, he must be responsible for the house, for the food (at the same time, have a reserve so as not to lose the house). Otherwise, the son will continue to roll downhill. Only his desire to free himself from addiction can be the beginning of this liberation. By refusing to support him, you will create a situation that will make him think about it. More detailed instructions can be given by the psychotherapist whom you will find for your son. There are special classes for relatives of addicted people, search the Internet in your area. He can't do it alone. I described to you the general direction, be sure to agree on the details with the attending physician - and it will be very good if you consult with him in detail before announcing your decision to terminate the detention. God bless you all!

Priest Sergiy Osipov

Hello, for 5 months I have been tormented by the thought that I have blasphemed the Holy Spirit. I cannot repent. I only know what I did wrong, but I cannot change. No matter how much I prayed, nothing helps, there is no feeling of forgiveness in my soul. I really want to change and be with God, but nothing happens. I'm ready for anything for the sake of forgiveness. What should I do? Can God forgive me if I really committed this sin, or prayers are useless? Maybe I should go to the monastery, maybe it will help?

Anna, about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has already been repeatedly and quite extensively said on our website - just read the answers to the "Blasphemy" tag on our website. The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit lies in the fact that a person lives in unrepentant sins, therefore, in fact, it is not forgiven - a person feels righteous and does not repent. All the rest is not a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. And, besides, you can repent of any sin, because the Lord is infinite mercy.

Abbot Nikon (Golovko)

I blasphemed the Holy Spirit, and I didn’t realize it right away, now I feel that I’m going to die, because life did not go at all as the Creator wanted. But I did it with free will. And now nothing can be fixed. Truly, the Bible is the truth ... God bless you!

Vika

Vika, you are not the first to be tormented by this topic, and therefore the time has come to understand in detail what blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is and why blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven either in this century or in the future, and to give an exhaustive answer as possible. So, when and under what circumstances did the Savior utter His words about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? After the Pharisees accused him of being in possession of demonic possession, telling everyone that He casts out demons and performs His miracles not by the Spirit of God, but by the power of the prince of demons: The mute one began to speak and to see. And all the people marveled and said: Is not this Christ, the son of David? But the Pharisees, hearing this, said: He casts out demons only by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons "(Matthew 12, 22- 24). After that, those famous words were said: "... if anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, he will be forgiven; if anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, he will not be forgiven either in this century or in the future" (Matthew 12, 32 .). Here it is necessary to understand absolutely clearly that the Lord called blasphemy not when He was insulted as a Man of flesh and blood, but when he was denied precisely as God, that is, His Divinity was insulted, that is, when a man says that Christ is not God, not God's Son. It is precisely this blasphemy that a person will not be forgiven. But in our time, hardly any of the Christians would think to say such madness. And again, St. Athanasius the Great wrote in this regard: "Christ did not say: he will not be released to him who blasphemed and repented, but to the one who blasphemes, that is, who is in blasphemy. For due repentance permits all sins" (St. Athanasius the Great. "Conversations on the Gospel of Matthew "). Thus, even if such a terrible blasphemy took place, but the person repented of it and no longer speaks and does not think, then it will be forgiven by God! But there is one consequence of this blasphemy: namely, that it is possible not only to deny the Divinity of Christ in words, but even to deny Him by our very life, spent in sins, that is, through the trampling of the commandments by our sins, in fact, to deny the commandments and Christ Himself as God who gave them. It is in this sense that St. John Chrysostom called the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit the shameless and stubborn denial of the truth: "Just as he who considers the sun dark does not humiliate this luminary, but presents a clear proof of his blindness, and as he who calls honey bitter - does not diminish its sweetness, but reveals its own illness, so also the condemning works of God. .. Blasphemy does not humiliate the greatness of God ... He who blasphemes, he inflicts wounds on himself ... All torment, both present and future, is insufficient for the soul (blaspheming the Spirit) "(Treasury of spiritual wisdom: Extracts from the works of the holy fathers, arranged in accordance with the annual circle of the Gospel readings / Comp. Archpriest M. Neigum) In other words, we blaspheme the Holy Spirit when we know for sure that we should not sin, that this or that deed is a sin, but we persistently continue to commit it, Theophan the Recluse wrote very clearly on this topic. ; one is on their mind and conscience, sometimes in words, and the other in life and deeds, in the feelings of the heart and moods of will. ... This untruth is a hundredfold increased when someone does something wrong at the very time when his mind and conscience abhor him and does not order him to do it. This is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit ... "(St. Theophan the Recluse." The Outline of Christian Morality. "Part 2.) So, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit consists in a conscientious and persistent life in unrepentant sins, and this is what we must be afraid of. Why Is it not forgiven? And precisely because a person stubbornly does not want to repent of his sin, even considering it sometimes forgiven or justified.God save us all from such a blasphemous life!

Abbot Nikon (Golovko)

Sorry for the stupid question. But it's very important to me. I'm recently at church. A couple of times in my life there were moments when, before confessing, I "allowed" myself some small sin with the thought that tomorrow I would confess it. I confess it. I read that it is a sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Does this mean that he will never forgive me?

Religious reading: spiritual warfare prayer to help our readers.

Spiritual warfare prayer

PART ELEVEN. CAN PRAYER REALLY CHANGE SOMETHING?

The world we live in is infected with evil. In 1988, there was one murder every 25 minutes in the United States, according to the Bureau of Criminal Statistics in Washington. One American woman is abused every five minutes. Every 60 seconds a child falls victim to a crime, and every year 2,000 children are killed by their own parents. Every day bullets, bombs, fires, drunk drivers claim the lives of innocent people. People steal, lie and cheat. Governments exploit and oppress their peoples. Statesmen elected by the people and people exposed to trust do untold things. Our children fall prey to drugs, pornography, homosexuality, suicide and the occult. Millions of people passively wait for disease and hunger to take their lives from them.

RETREAT IN PANIC OR PRAY IN RAGE

All of this is too much to do anything. Some retreat, trying not to notice what is happening around, and think only about the pleasant. These people build walls of pretense around themselves, isolating themselves from the real world. Many have chosen this path, not noticing the death and destruction around. They can be happy and content by surrounding themselves with art and music so they don't get upset.

The opposite reaction is to pounce on evil, violently rushing into a fight, even if they do not understand its cause. In great despair, anger, anger, they decide to do something. They throw themselves into the arms of humanism, the New Age movement, Marxism. anything that promises to radically change the world.

Even Christians can take steps in the wrong direction, many prudent people give money, time and energy to fix a person's life, but ignore the spiritual path of fighting evil. They are more concerned with the human condition than with the heart of God. They attend protest rallies, organize boycotts, or undertake educational efforts, but devote little or no time to prayer, spiritual warfare, or evangelism.

There is a middle between these two extremes. We don't have to hide from pain or thresh wildly at everything and everyone indiscriminately. We can come to a place where we free ourselves from the realities of our world. We can know about his sinfulness and do something truly effective to stop his fall. We can become soldiers who bring the victory of the Kingdom of God closer. This is why God left us here.

Mature Christianity begins with what God has done for you and who you are in Christ. This is basic, but not enough. We will not become more perfect until we take on the responsibility of bringing the Kingdom of God closer. We are here to fight, and the sooner we understand this, the sooner we will come to mature Christianity.

DEFENSE AND ATTACK

As warriors, we are both offensive and defensive. Every football team has a line of defense. She does everything to prevent the enemy team from entering her half of the field. The same applies to spiritual battle.

Ephesians 6: 10-11 says: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might; Put on the whole armor of God, so that you can stand against the wiles of the devil. "

To stand against the wiles of the devil means to stand up for the defense of righteousness and truth. If we are committed to righteousness and truth, we must defend them in our lives and in the wider arena of society.

There is also an offensive stance. And again, as in the case of the offensive line in football, we strive not only to defend our territory, but also to break through the enemy's “patch”. We must break his defensive lines. Unfortunately, spiritually many act only on the defensive. Their ultimate goal is to end the game in a draw. Not wanting to win new territory for God, they only hope that the devil will not score points either.

THE GATES OF Hell

We go to church, time after time, and constantly hear that God is building His Church. We hear that the Church is powerful and "the gates of hell will not prevail against her." We say, "Amen, this is wonderful!" But the sad truth is that the gates of hell do prevail. Whole cities, colleges, schools, clubs, families and individuals are trapped behind the gates of hell.

The Bible does not say that the gates of hell will fall automatically. The gate is a weapon of defense. If there is no attack, they will stand. The gates of hell are not going to fall by themselves. The strong, mature Body of Christ must go on the attack. If we move on them, they will not prevail (Matt. 16:18). We go on the offensive with the full ammunition of God and stand firmly against the wiles of the devil.

The Bible carefully lists events in Israel's history that can teach us spiritual truths. We can learn how to continue fighting for God using the experience of fighting for the Promised Land.

“These are the peoples whom the Lord left to tempt the Israelites with them, all who did not know about all the wars of Canaan, In order only to know and learn about war the subsequent generations of the sons of Irail, who did not know it before. ”(Judges 3: 1-2).

God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. This real, historical fact is very reminiscent of our salvation. When we are saved, we are freed from bondage. We can compare the fact that God led the people of Israel through the Red Sea to our baptism. When God took them into the wilderness, they went through trials, temptations and, finally, were renewed, strengthened and cleansed. This is also comparable to the Christian experience. God took the Israelites into the wilderness to see if they had what they needed for God's people. They didn't have it. Then God used the wilderness to create a new generation. And finally, 40 years later, a people mature enough emerged, loyal and strong enough to entrust them to enter the Promised Land.

ENEMIES IN THE PROMISED LAND

God led the Israelites through the Jordan in another miraculous way, and they entered the Promised Land. Nearly five centuries after God spoke to Abraham, they were finally on their own land, teeming with milk and honey.

What an incredible moment of celebration this time must have been. They should have expected peace and prosperity. But when the festivities were over and they looked around, they found that they were not alone in the Promised Land. It was full of hostile, warlike tribes who prayed to strange gods. And they were not going to give the Israelites the keys to their cities.

The people of Israel must have wondered if they got to that land. Wasn't God wrong. Where is the rest? Who are these strange people and why does God allow them to stay in the Promised Land?

God was not wrong. The Promised Land was what it should be. Judges 3: 1-2 says that God deliberately left the hostile nations behind so that the Israelites could learn how to fight. But these peoples were not a punching bag; they deserved a fair punishment. But God did not judge them with His supernatural power, as He did with Sodom and Gomorrah. Instead, he turned them over to the Israelites. They needed to learn how to fight.

WE HAVE TO FIGHT

This is what happens to every Christian: salvation brings us to the Promised Land, but we must learn to fight spiritually. We must fight our “hostile tribes”.

The Bible teaches that until we drive out the tribes, they themselves will not leave. And as long as we rely on God, we are able to drive them out. The very presence of these tribes kept God's people dependent on Him. God spoke to Israel, and continues to say so today, that if we obey Him unconditionally, we will never lose the battle.

Like the children of Israel, we received a completed Promised Land. God did to the devil everything that He was going to do to him on this earth, the rest depends on us. We must drive out the forces of darkness. We cannot do this without God. And God will not do this apart from us. This is how it works on planet Earth. We must learn to fight. We must learn to trust in God. If we constantly walk in obedience to God, we will not lose the battle. But we have to wage a real war.

If, as a father, I find the mess my kids have left at home, I will not do a good job cleaning up for them myself. They will have a sense of responsibility if I force them to remove all of them. We have caused so much disorder on earth through our sins! Our heavenly Father wisely told us that although He will help us, we must clean up our land ourselves.

THE WEAPON THAT HE GAVE US

How do we fight the battle of the spirit? First, through intercession. “So, first of all, I ask you to perform prayers, petitions, supplications, thanksgiving for all people” (1 Tim 2: 1).

When Paul wrote to Timothy “first of all,” he put prayer ahead. This is the highest priority for the Church. Prayer is simply communication with God, talking with Him, receiving support and direction from Him. Every significant event and movement in the history of the Church was born in prayer. From the apostle Paul to John Wesley to Billy Graham, the extent of influence on the world was proportional to the influence that the Church had as she knelt. Prayer for all Christians should be “first and foremost”.

One of the types of prayer that Paul mentioned is “petition”. A petition is a petition to God. Many of us have heard ministers say, "God is tired of our requests." But there is no place in the Bible where God would be dissatisfied with our requests. In fact, this is a covenant of God. He calls for it. He is a giving God who wants the best for us. We must learn to ask with the right motives, but we must never be shy about asking God for something.

Paul also includes “thanksgiving” prayers. These are prayers that acknowledge with faith that God is God and that He works in us, through us, and for us. We confidently confirm that He did what we asked Him to do: “Thank You, Lord. You will do this. Thank You Lord. You are fair. Thank You Lord. You are able to do more and better than anything we can ask for or think. ”

Any request to God should be accompanied by prolonged thanksgiving. Every prayer of thanksgiving shoots another arrow into Satan's camp, just as every complaint and confession of unbelief is arrows shot at us.

When Paul speaks of prayer as a type of prayer, it means two things. First, service and prayer “for the good of someone”. Jesus is a great intercessor. He lived a sinless life for the benefit of all people. He died on the cross for us. Every day He lives in intercession for us (Heb. 7:25). His life, death and resurrection were acts of intercession. He prays to the Father for us even at this moment.

Second, supplication or intercession means “to shield yourself”. An external object is always chosen for intercession. We cannot stand up for ourselves. We can stand up for other people, as well as for cities, countries, businesses, groups and situations. They become objects of prayer and intercession. We become between the object of our intercession and God, or between this object and the devil.

When we intercede before God, we turn to Him with specific requests for provisions, protection, guidance or God's blessing for a person, place, etc. We also intercede before God in order to delay His judgment and retribution. In many cases, the only reason God's judgment was delayed was our intercession for the world and those in it. Not because we are more merciful than God. He always seeks to show mercy wherever possible. Our prayers simply give Him an excuse to postpone His judgment and provide more chances for repentance (Ex. 32:32; 2 Pet. 2: 9; Gen. 18: 16-33).

WE ARE A DANGER TO THE DEVIL

We intercede between the devil and people. This prevents Satan from carrying out his machinations on earth. We repel his attacks, thwart his plans.

This is why the devil spends a lot of energy to keep us busy with ourselves. The forces of darkness want us to focus on our own problems and not stand up for others. Satan would like to fetter us with fear, depression, lust, and materialism. He probably doesn't even mind us praying if we only pray for ourselves. But at all costs, he seeks to prevent the intercession that makes it difficult for his diabolical work in the world. We must understand the danger we pose to him as intercessors, and realize our importance on earth as representatives of God.

When we stand between the devil and the object of our intercession, we must actively oppose the forces of darkness. Here is an example of such intercession for an individual:

“Father, we stand before You in the name of Jesus Christ and ask you to give this person an awareness of his sinfulness and lead him to repentance in his life. Satan, we stand against you in the name of Jesus Christ and we deprive you of influence on the life of this person ”(further, those areas of his life and problems are indicated where intercession is required).

The words themselves are not as important as the fact of intercession. We must understand what we are doing in the spirit world and resist Satan, forbidding him to influence people.

LINK AND RESOLVE

Jesus said: “And whatever you bind on earth, it will be bound in heaven; and whatever you permit on earth, it will be permitted in heaven ”(Matthew 16:19). We cut off the devil from the object of our prayers (bind) and we pray for the descent of the Kingdom of Heaven on this object (allow). The Kingdom of Heaven is where the King (Jesus) rules. We “allow” our prayer so that our object will be overshadowed by the grace of the Light Kingdom - conviction, mercy, love and revelation. We bind the demonic forces, not letting them work and affect the object, and we allow the angels and the Spirit of God to work and work.

I am often asked, "Should we resist the devil every time we pray for someone." No. Praying includes spiritual warfare, but not always. We don't have to resist the devil in every prayer, but often we do.

God has called us to be soldiers in Jesus Christ. If we suddenly feel insignificant on this planet, just look at Isaiah 59. The first part of this chapter describes society as we know it today. Shown unrighteousness, injustice and evil in huge numbers. Describing the evil in the world, Isaiah notes the reaction of God: “And the Lord saw this, and it was contrary to His eyes that there was no judgment. And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor ”(Isaiah 59: 15-16).

Isaiah tells us that the Lord sees evil in the world and He doesn't like what He sees. We must remember that God sees everything. Nothing escapes His gaze. It is sometimes difficult for us to believe that God knows everything that we know about. However, He did not miss a single sin, not a single harsh word, not a single thought, not a single injustice. He notes all this in His infinite mind and feels pain in His great heart. God also reacts emotionally to what he sees. He doesn't like what He sees. And He can't put up with it.

Too many people think that He is somewhat detached from what is happening, and that what will be, is inevitable. This, as noted, is not a Christian approach. Islam says that everything is the will of Allah. How can we intercede for the world if we believe that terrible things happen according to the will of God? The Bible clearly states that God hates every evil and every selfish act of man.

The experiences of God are our support for intercession. We intercede because we know that God does not like what is happening, and He wants to change the order of things.

Isaiah 59:16 tells us that God saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor. Why did the eternal, almighty God seek man? Can he stop what is happening? Why does Almighty God need man?

GOD HAS ALSO QUESTIONS

The whole world, including Christians, sees terrible things happening around and asks: “Why doesn't God do something about all this? Where is he?" The Bible says that God asks His own questions. He sees evil and is surprised that there is no intercessor. “Where are the Christians? How can they do nothing? "

Why is God looking for a man? Why is He surprised when there are no intercessors? Because He knows the importance of intercession and the role of man on earth. God is shouting to his people: “I want to bless. I want to save. I want to protect and stop injustice. Why don't you intercede? "

We must be sure that God, through our prayer, changes the course of things. When we pray, God is at work. God knows what He wants to do on earth and in the lives of people around us.

When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, He taught them what we call the Lord's Prayer. This is not so much a prayer as an explanation of how the earthly world interacts with heaven. The Lord's Prayer is an instruction for dynamic prayer.

In Matthew 6: 9-13, the Lord's Prayer begins with the words: “Our Father. “Jesus gave us permission to approach God boldly. This is how His sons address the Father. Then Jesus said to pray like this: "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as in heaven." I'm sure Jesus didn't so much want us to just repeat His words as He wanted us to passionately strive for it. He wanted us to pray for the will of God to be fulfilled and His Kingdom to come. He wanted us to pray for the fulfillment of His will in every area of ​​our life, in our family, in the lives of friends and acquaintances, in cities, countries, in any situation.

LET YOUR KINGDOM COME

Can we pray for the Kingdom of God to be established on earth? The Book of Revelation says that God will one day establish His Kingdom on earth. It's true. God will do what he promised.

However, there is another side of the Kingdom of God - the Kingdom that is in each of the believers (Luke 17:21). It would be a cruel joke on Jesus' part to teach us to pray "Thy kingdom come," knowing that our prayers will not change anything. But our prayers count. If we don't pray, the Kingdom will not come. And precisely because we have not prayed enough. The Kingdom of God is inhabited by no more than two billion people on earth.

LET THERE BE YOUR WILL

Is God's will being done on earth? This is a difficult question. If we say yes, it will mean that sin and evil is the will of God. If you say “no,” then God does not control what is happening on planet Earth. The answer is yes and no. Evil, sin, death, destruction do not exist on earth by the will of God. Satan does not rule by His will. God, however, does exactly what He promised. He spreads His eternal values ​​on earth and participates in the affairs of people through people and in answer to their prayers.

God hates sin. He revolts against injustice. People die every day, but God does not want anyone to perish (2 Pet 3: 9). He wants all people to be saved (1 Tim 2: 4). We know that not everyone will be saved, but we see God's will. He seeks to establish His will in all who respond to His call. However, there are many places and circumstances in the world where God's will is not fulfilled. That is why Jesus taught us to pray: "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as in heaven." He put us on the ground as watchmen.

“On your walls, Jerusalem, I have set watchmen who will not be silent day or night. O you who remind of the Lord! do not be silent, do not be silent before Him until He restores and until He makes Jerusalem a glory on earth ”(Isa. 62: 6-7).

Isaiah chapter 62 sets out a principle that still applies to us today. I'm sure we've all heard someone say, “When you pray, ask only once. If you ask twice, it shows a lack of faith. " It's not in the Bible. In fact, we must ask and keep asking until He answers and tells us that it is enough. God can tell us to stop after the first time and trust in Him. The key is to follow and obey God.

The book of Isaiah says that God appointed “watchmen,” or intercessors, to pray day and night, asking God over and over again. We must “remind of the Lord” - pray, “not be silent until” He answers our prayers. God asked us not to know when we are tired, not to stop praying until it brings a result.

BIBLICAL PRAYERS WERE BOLD

Many are afraid to bother God with their requests. Our prayers become slurred: “God, forgive me for disturbing You. I know You're busy, but if you could, please. if it doesn't give you much trouble. if it is in your will. But if not, I understand. maybe. may be. “You will not find such prayers in the Bible. The men and women in the Bible knew God and knew who they were in God. They also knew that their prayers were changing the world. They prayed boldly, dynamically, and their prayers were strong and direct. God has given us permission to pray boldly and energetically until the prayer is answered.

It was God who said, "Give me no rest." He is not going to take offense at our courage. He can correct us if our goals are wrong, but He is willing to listen and respond. Nehemiah, David, and others required God to listen. They argued with God. They fought with God. It wasn't pride or arrogance. They just knew that God wanted them to follow Him and give Him no rest. Praying boldly and concretely does not mean showing insufficient respect. All of this comes from understanding the character of God and what it means to be His children. God is calling: “Go on, give me no rest. I want to save, bless and change. Come on, pray without interruption! "

Sometimes a story in the Bible leaves us with an uncomfortable feeling, because we do not understand everything that is contained in it. This is the story of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15.

“And behold, the Canaanite woman, coming out of those places, cried to Him: Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! my daughter is violently raging. But He did not answer her a word ”(Matt. 15: 22-23).

Why did Jesus do this? He lived a sinless life. He was always impartial and honest. Then why was He so seemingly rude to this Canaanite woman? Why didn't He answer? Here is a woman screaming in despair, but He does not answer.

How many times have we prayed and God didn't answer? The Bible shows that God sometimes delays answering our prayers. When God doesn't answer, we get frustrated and discouraged. We say, “It doesn't help me. God doesn't love me. Everything is useless. I probably won't be any more. ” And we leave with even less faith than before we prayed.

Jesus didn't answer that woman. But notice, she asked again. She did not leave disappointed, she insisted and asked again. Jesus finally answered her, but His answer sounded like she was a dog! This stigma is characteristic of the Israelites' relations with the Phoenicians. Was Jesus Cruel? Was He intolerant? No. He just reminded her of her position in society. He knew she had faith in her heart and challenged her. This provocative statement demanded an answer.

And she answered: “So, Lord! But the dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters ”(v. 27). This woman was not Jewish. She did not know all the characters and events reflected in the Scriptures. But she knew what she wanted and knew that Jesus would answer her prayer. Jesus praised her great faith. Her faith was not to ask one day, but to keep asking, knowing that Jesus could heal her daughter. And He did it.

DO NOT HAVE TO CONTINUE YOURSELF, DO NOT HAVE TO BE ASHAMED

In Luke 11: 5-9, Jesus tells the following parable:

“And he said to them: Let us suppose that one of you, having a friend, will come to him at midnight and say to him:“ Friend! Lend me three loaves of bread, For my friend came to me from the road, and I have nothing to offer him ”; And he from within will say to him in response: “Do not bother me, the doors are already locked, and my children are with me on the bed; I can’t get up and give it to you. ” If, I tell you, he does not get up and give him out of friendship with him, then by his persistence, he will rise and give him as much as he asks. And I tell you: ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened for you. "

Jesus chose the exact ingredients for this parable. However, look at the ingredients in this parable. However, take a look at the inconsistency in this story. Most of us will never go to our neighbors to borrow food after they have gone to bed. It is not accepted to behave like that. And insisting when a neighbor drives you away will also be impudent. This man, without any shame, violated several social taboos. Yet it was his persistence that gave him what he needed.

Many of us will never force ourselves to behave this way. However, God welcomes this, even encourages it when it comes to prayer. The last words of this verse in the original Greek text have the following literal meaning: “Ask and keep asking. search and keep looking. knock and keep knocking. ” Jesus told us this parable so that we do not restrain ourselves in any way, do not allow shame or any conventions to interfere with our prayers.

In Luke 18: 1-8, Jesus told another story: “He also told them a parable that one should always pray and not lose heart, saying: in one city there was a judge who was not afraid of God and was not ashamed of people. In the same city there was a widow, and she, coming to him, said: protect me from my adversary. But he didn't want to for a long time. And then he said to himself: although I am not afraid of God and am not ashamed of people, But as this widow does not give me rest, I will protect her so that she does not come to bother me anymore. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge says. Will not God protect His elect, who cry out to Him day and night, although He hesitates to protect them? I tell you that he will give them protection soon. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? "

Will Jesus find faith on earth if the people will not be patient in prayer? Jesus told us these parables so that we can understand the meaning of persistence in prayer. We must keep praying and shaking the heavens until we see results. Our perseverance is not needed to wake God up, beg Him, negotiate with Him, convince Him. He is already convinced and wants to help, bless, save. This is His soul. He tries to wake us up and convince us.

ASK SPECIFICALLY WHAT YOU WANT

We must not only be persistent in prayer. We have to be specific. Mark 10: 46-52 contains the story of the blind Bartimaeus. Jesus was leaving Jericho when blind Bartimaeus heard His approach. Bartimaeus cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Many around him made him shut up, but Bartimaeus "began to scream even more." He not only did not calm down, but shouted louder: "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Jesus finally stopped and asked, "What do you want from me?"

Jesus loves it when we are persistent and don't let Him go, even when we don't get an immediate response. And He wants us to be specific. Jesus asks us today: "What do you want from Me?" We must pray specifically, in detail. We must be specific so that God can give a specific answer. We don't always know all the details, but we have to be as precise as possible.

Every Christian should pray boldly, expecting an answer to every prayer. We should not give God rest until we hear the answer. If we are fully confident that God is involved in the affairs of people, we will pray in this way. And when we pray, we will see God's participation. We will see changes around us. Prayer will become one of the most exciting parts of our life. We will start shaking the world. Society will feel the shock. The people around will change. We will win every spiritual battle.

For a modern person who does not have a Christian religious education, such a concept as "spiritual warfare" can be associated with concepts that are very far from the truth.

The first association that can come to mind is that spiritual abuse is some kind of abuse. It is easy to mislead oneself here, since the two words are synonymous. In addition, there are many quotes and phraseological units confirming this, but in the context of the Christian religion this is not the case. Abuse is a confrontation, a struggle against what is harmful, destructive and destructive.

Someone will assume that we are talking about the need for self-improvement, let's say moral - this is, in part, true. If we say that spiritual struggle is a struggle with passions - then the same is not true, since passion is innate instincts. Thus, what is spiritual warfare in Orthodoxy and what is its purpose is a vague and obscure concept.

Spiritual warfare. Invisible and mental abuse

Spiritual warfare or spiritual struggle is an integral part of Orthodox asceticism and the spiritual life of monasticism, which has belonged to it for many centuries. It is cognized through direct participation in it, which is a feat for an Orthodox Christian.

After all, the goal of this struggle is to achieve Christian perfection, which is drawing together and staying in connection with God. The tools of the struggle are Invisible and Mental abuse.

Cyprian of Carthage

Ancient roman bishop

The longer your fight, the more brilliant the crown.

(Is.Pe., 63, 226-227)

Having once or twice defeated irritability and lust, these passions are the most painful of all, do not give yourself rest and do not think that you have conquered completely and have become free from any struggle. But even after the greatest victory, stay awake and take care that the former victorious monuments do not lose their glory.

For many, I do not say, three times, but having won a thousandfold victory, subsequently became the prey of the enemies, and after many victorious triumphs, those taken prisoner were a pitiful sight.

Nikodim Svyatorets

Greek monk

If you truly wish to become the victor in this invisible battle and win a worthy crown, (you must) plant the following four dispositions and spiritual deeds in your heart, as if you put on invisible weapons, the most trustworthy and all-victorious, namely: a) never in anything do not rely on yourself; b) to carry in the heart always full and all-consuming hope in one God; c) to constantly strive; and d) to always be in prayer.

After going through the above stages of struggle, a person can start a mental battle ("Clever doing"). These are changes in the mind, the mechanism of thinking, after which a person begins deeper conjectures that go beyond the visible and tangible.

Perhaps this is only through abstinence, prayer, self-restraint. Mental abuse is an indicator of a high level of spiritual development of a person.

Philotheus of Sinai

Reverend

Listen to how the daily warfare should be waged in us, and do this: combine prayer with sobriety, and sobriety will strengthen prayer, and prayer sobriety.

Sobriety, incessantly looking after everything inside, notices how the enemies try to enter there, and, blocking their entrance according to their strength, calls at the same time for the help of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that He drives out these crafty warriors.

At the same time, attention blocks entry through contradiction; but the called Jesus drives away the demons with their dreams.

John Climacus and Nikodim Svyatorets - a reflection of the spiritual struggle in literature

The process of spiritual struggle is reflected in many literary works of the holy fathers, the most complete and exhaustive can be called:

• The Ladder is a composition by John Climacus.
• "Invisible abuse" - Nikodim the Avyatogorets.

John Climacus - Christian theologian, born in Constantinople in 579, was well educated. In his youth he moved to Egypt, where he was tonsured a monk. After the death of his mentor, Elder Martyrius, in obedience to whom John was about 19 years old, he chose the path of a hermit and spent 40 years of his life in the Fola desert.

at this age, John Climacus was elected abbot of the Sinai Monastery

At the age of 65, he was elected abbot of the Sinai Monastery, where he died 4 years later in 649.

In his essay, John showed the spiritual and ascetic traditions in Egyptian monasteries, which allowed him to describe the path to the spiritual perfection of a Christian - 30 degrees of virtues, ascending along which one can achieve spiritual perfection. These steps can be represented as follows:

• fighting the bustle of the world (steps 1-4);
• sorrow on the path to true bliss (steps 5-7);
• the fight against vices (steps 8-17);
• Overcoming Barriers in the Ascetic Life (Steps 18-26)
• Peace of Mind (Steps 27-29)
• the union of the three main virtues (degree 30).

Ladder of Paradise (Byzantine icon). The path to spiritual excellence

Nicodemus Svyatorets is an Athos monk and theologian who was born in 1749 on the island of Naxos in Greece, an interpreter of the Canon of the Orthodox Church. He was educated in the city of Smyrna, studied ancient Greek and Latin languages.