"Have I received so many blessings from the hand of the Lord only in order to eat them myself and live in pleasure, pleasing my belly?" Should I not share the great riches given to me by God with the poor, widows, orphans, strangers and the poor, whom the Lord at the Last Judgment before angels and men will not be ashamed to call His brothers, since He says: "As you have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it to me" (Matthew 25:40) [3]? And what profit will all my possessions be to me on the day of the Last Judgment, if I, in my miserliness, keep them for myself alone, for at that Judgment those who have not shown mercy will not receive mercy (James 2:13). Will my possessions be immortal food and drink for me in the future life? Will my soft garments serve me there as an incorruptible garment? No, this will not happen! For thus says the Apostle: "We have brought nothing into the world; it is evident that we can bear nothing" (1 Tim. 6:7). Thus, if we cannot take anything of our earthly possessions with us from here, then it is much better to give them to God, as if on loan, by the hands of the poor; But God will never forsake me, nor my wife, nor my children. The Prophet David assures me of this, saying: "I was young and old, and I did not see the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging for bread" (Psalm 36:25).

Thus pondering in his soul, Blessed Philaret became merciful to the poor, as a father to his children: he fed the hungry, clothed the naked, received pilgrims into his home, and with love gave them every peace. And this righteous man was like the ancient hospitable Abraham [4] and the beggar-lover Job [5]. Therefore it was impossible for such a lamp, adorned with works of mercy, to hide under a bushel, and it became famous throughout the whole country, as a city adorning itself on the top of a mountain (Matt. 5:14). In his house, as in a safe refuge, all the poor and wretched hurried to take shelter. And whoever of them asked him for anything: food, clothing, horse, ox, donkey, or anything else - Philaret provided him with benevolent generosity.

But now the time came when the Lord, the Lover of mankind, Who arranges everything for the benefit of man, allowed the righteous Philaret, like His ancient saint Job, to be subjected to temptation, so that the patience of the saint could be manifested like the patience of Job, and so that he, purified by temptation, like gold in the furnace, would appear as a worthy servant of God. It began with the fact that Blessed Philaret began to fall into poverty: however, this did not change his compassion and mercy towards the poor, and he continued to distribute to the needy what was left to him.

At that time, by God's permission, the country in which Philaret lived was attacked by the Ishmaelites [6]; like a whirlwind that crushes and burns with flames, they devastated the whole country and carried off many inhabitants into captivity; all his flocks of sheep and oxen, horses and donkeys were also taken away from Philaret, and many of his servants were taken prisoner. Then this merciful man came to such ruin that at last he had only two slaves, a pair of oxen, a horse and a cow. The rest of Philaret's property was either distributed to the poor by his generous hand, or plundered by the Ishmaelites; his villages, gardens and fields were taken over by the farmers living around, some by requests, others by force. And Filaret had only the house in which he lived, and only one field. Enduring such poverty, deprivation and such misfortunes, this good man never grieved or murmured, and, like the second righteous Job, did not sin in anything before God, not even in the word: "He did not sin with his mouth" [7]. But just as one rejoices in the abundance of his riches, so he rejoiced in his poverty, which he counted as a great treasure, understanding that poverty is a surer path to salvation than riches, just as the Lord said that "it is difficult for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matt. 19:23) [8].

Once, taking two of his oxen, Philaret went to cultivate the field that remained with him. As he worked, he praised and joyfully thanked God that he begins, according to His holy commandment, to eat his bread in the sweat of his brow (Gen. 3:19), and that labor saves him from laziness and idleness, these teachers of all evil.

He also remembered the words of the Apostle, who forbids a lazy person who loves idleness to eat: "If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat" (2 Thess. 3:10). And Blessed Philaret tilled his land, so that he would not be unworthy to eat his bread.

On the same day, a villager was cultivating his field. And suddenly one of his oxen fell ill and fell. The farmer wept bitterly and grieved inconsolably, especially since his oxen were not his own, for he had scarcely begged them from his neighbor to cultivate the field. Then he remembered Blessed Philaret and said:

"Oh, if only this merciful beggar himself had not become impoverished! Now I would go to him and probably get from him not only one, but even two oxen. But he himself is now in great need, and he has nothing with which to help others, no matter how much his heart desires it. Nevertheless, I will go to him, and he will at least have pity on me, and at least with his words he will console me and ease my heavy sorrow and sorrow.

Taking his staff, the villager went to Blessed Philaret and, meeting him at work in the field, bowed down to him and with tears told him about his grief – the unexpected death of the ox. Blessed Philaret, seeing how distressed this man was, immediately unharnessed one of his oxen from under the yoke, gave it to the peasant and said:

"Take this ox of mine, brother, and go to cultivate your land, thanking the Lord."

With gratitude the villager bowed down to Blessed Philaret, accepting his generous alms, and said:

"My lord!" your decision is great and admirable, and your mercy is pleasing to God, but it is not good to separate two oxen that have labored together, and it will be difficult for you to do with one yourself.

"Take, brother, the ox which I give you," answered the righteous man, "and go in peace; I also have an ox at home.

The farmer bowed down to the ground and, taking the ox, departed, glorifying God and thanking the merciful benefactor.