6. Behold, the wise five virgins, sobering, hastening to the extraordinary for their nature, taking oil into the vessels of their hearts, that is, the grace of the Spirit given from above, were able to enter with the Bridegroom into the heavenly palace. Other foolish virgins, who remained in their own nature, did not sober up, did not try, while they were still in the flesh, to take the oil of joy into their vessels (Psalm 44:8), but through negligence, inactivity, carelessness, ignorance, or even through self-conceit about their righteousness, they gave themselves over as if to sleep; and for this reason they were not admitted into the palace of the kingdom, as they were unable to please the heavenly Bridegroom. Being held together by worldly bonds and some earthly love, they did not dedicate all their love and devotion to the heavenly Bridegroom, and did not bring oil with them. And the souls that have sought that which is unusual for nature, the holiness of the Spirit, are attached to the Lord with all their love, walk with Him, turning away from everything, directing their prayers and thoughts to Him; for which they were vouchsafed to receive the oil of heavenly grace; and after this they can continue their course without stumbling, fully pleasing the spiritual Bridegroom in everything. But the souls that remain in their nature crawl on earth in thought, they think about the earth, and their mind has its own abode on earth. They think of themselves as belonging to the Bridegroom, and are adorned with carnal justifications; but not having received the oil of joy, they were not regenerated by the Spirit from above.

7. The five intellectual senses of the soul, if they receive the grace from above and the holiness of the Spirit, are indeed wise virgins who have received grace-filled wisdom from above. And if they remain in their nature alone, then they become fools for Christ and turn out to be children of the world; because they have not cast off the spirit of the world, although they think of themselves, in certain probabilities and outwardly, that they are brides of the Bridegroom. As souls that have completely cleaved to the Lord, abide in Him in thought, lift up prayers to Him, walk with Him, and desire the love of the Lord; Thus, on the contrary, souls that have given themselves over to the love of the world and have desired to have their abode on earth, walk there, there they dwell in thought, there their mind lives. And therefore, they are not inclined to the good philosophizing of the spirit, as to something extraordinary for our nature, and by this I mean heavenly grace, which is necessary to enter into the composition and union with our nature, so that we may enter with the Lord into the heavenly palace of the kingdom and obtain eternal salvation.

8. As a result of the disobedience of the first man, we have taken into ourselves that which is strange to our nature, harmful passions, and by habit and long-term assimilation we have turned them for ourselves, as it were, into nature; and again, by the heavenly gift of the Spirit, which is unusual for our nature, it is necessary to expel this strange thing from us and restore us to our original purity. And if now, with much supplication, supplication, faith, prayer, and abhorrence of the world, we do not receive into ourselves this heavenly love of the Spirit, and our nature, defiled by vice, does not cling to love, that is, to the Lord, and is not sanctified by it by the love of the Spirit, and we do not remain unstumbled to the end, living in all exactness according to the commandments of the Lord; then we will not be able to gain the heavenly kingdom.

9. I intend, to the best of my ability, to utter a certain subtle and profound word. Therefore, listen sensibly. The boundless, unapproachable and uncreated God, in His boundless and inconceivable goodness, made Himself flesh, and, so to speak, diminished Himself in unapproachable glory, so that He could enter into unity with His visible creatures, that is, the souls of the Saints and Angels, and they could be partakers of the life of the Godhead. And every creature – the Angel, the soul, and the demon, by its own nature, is a body; for although they are refined, yet in their essence, in their distinctive features and in their image, in accordance with the refinement of their nature, they are subtle bodies, whereas this body of ours in its essence is debelo. In the same way, the soul, being refined, is clothed with the eye with which it looks, and with the ear with which it hears, and likewise with the tongue with which it speaks, and with the hand; and in a word, having clothed itself with the whole body and its members, the soul is dissolved with the body, as a result of which all the functions of life are performed.

10. In the same way, the boundless and inconceivable God, in His goodness, made Himself smaller, clothed Himself in the members of this body, and hid Himself from unapproachable glory. In condescension and love for mankind, transfiguring Himself, He makes Himself flesh, enters into unity, receives holy, well-pleased, and faithful souls, and, according to Paul's saying, is with them in one Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17), soul, so to speak, into soul, and hypostasis into hypostasis, so that the soul, worthy of God and pleasing to Him, may live in renewal and feel immortal life, and become a partaker of incorruptible glory. For even this visible creation He brought from non-existence into existence in a great variety and with many differences, and it did not exist until it was brought into being. He willed, and without difficulty created out of nothing coarse and harsh creatures, for example: mountains, trees (you see how hard their nature is!), then means — waters, and from the waters He commanded birds to be born, and still more subtle: fire and winds, and even those that are invisible to the bodily eye because of their subtlety.

11.

When He wills, He is a fire, burning up every worthless spiritual weakness that has come into us. For it is said: "Our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29). And when it wills, it is an ineffable and unspeakable repose, so that the soul may rest in the peace of the Divine. When he wants, he is joy and peace, warms and protects the soul.

12. If, for the joy and gladness of spiritual creatures, He wants to liken Himself to one of the creatures, for example: the city of light — Jerusalem, or the mountain — heavenly Zion; then all things can be as it pleases Him, according to what is said: "Ye shall come near to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem" (Heb. 12:22). Everything is easy and convenient for Him, into what He wants, transfigured for His worthy and faithful souls. Let man only strive to become pleasing and pleasing to Him, and by his very experience he will perceptibly behold the heavenly blessings, the inexpressible delight, the boundless riches of the Godhead, in the true sense, which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor ascended in the heart of man (1 Corinthians 2:9), and behold the Spirit of the Lord, Who has become the repose, joy, delight and eternal life of worthy souls. For the Lord makes Himself flesh both for food and for drink, as it is written in the Gospel: "Whosoever eateth of this bread shall live forever" (John 6:51), in order to give rest to the soul inexpressibly and to fill it with spiritual joy. For He says: "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35). And in like manner He makes Himself flesh for the drink of the stream of heaven, as He says: "Whosoever drinketh of water, which I will give him, there shall be in him a fountain of water, flowing into eternal life" (John 4:14). And all, it is said, "drink beer also" (1 Cor. 10:4).

13. In this way, as He Himself pleased and as it was profitable, He appeared to each of the Holy Fathers, sometimes to Abraham, sometimes to Isaac, sometimes to Jacob, sometimes to Noah, Daniel, David, Solomon, Isaiah, and every one of the holy prophets, sometimes to Elijah, sometimes to Moses. And I think that Moses, during the entire forty-day fast on the mountain, approaching this spiritual meal, was comforted and enjoyed it. Therefore, as He Himself was pleased to do, He appeared to each of the saints in order to give rest, to save and to bring to the knowledge of God. For whatever He wills is convenient for Him, and diminishing Himself as He pleases, He makes Himself flesh and transforms Himself, making Himself visible to those who love Him, through great and inexpressible love, in the unapproachable glory of light, being worthy, in proportion to the strength of each. And the soul that has been vouchsafed with great desire and hope, with faith and love, to receive into itself this power from above, the heavenly love of the Spirit, and already has within itself the heavenly fire of immortal life, truly renounces all worldly love, frees itself from all bonds of vice.

14. Just as iron, or lead, or gold, or silver, when put into fire, lose the property of hardness, changing into soft substances, and while they are in the fire, by the power of fiery heat, they melt and change their natural hardness: in the same way, the soul, having renounced the world and loved the one Lord, with great heartfelt searching, in labor, in podvig, constantly waiting for Him with hope and faith, and having received into himself this heavenly fire of the Divinity and the love of the Spirit, he truly renounces all worldly love, frees himself from all harm of the passions, sweeps everything away from himself, changes his natural quality and his sinful rigidity, considers everything superfluous, in the one heavenly Bridegroom, Whom she received to herself, resting with ardent and ineffable love for Him.

15. And I tell you that even the most beloved brethren whom it has before its eyes, if it is stopped in this love, the soul, so to speak, turns away; for her life and rest are mysterious and ineffable communion with the heavenly King. For the love of carnal communion separates from father, mother, and brothers; and everything that concerns them is done in the mind as an outsider. And if a man loves them, he loves them as an outsider; yet he has his affection for his concubine. For it is said: "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh" (Ephesians 5:31). And therefore, if carnal love thus renounces all love, how much more will those who have really been vouchsafed to enter into communion with this heavenly and longed-for Holy Spirit renounce all love for the world, and everything will seem superfluous to them; for they are overcome by the heavenly desire, and in close dependence on it; there are desires, there are their thoughts, there they live, there their thoughts go, there the mind always has its own abode, overcome by divine and heavenly love and spiritual desire.

16. After this, beloved brethren, when so many good things are set before us, and so many promises have been proclaimed by the Lord; let us remove from ourselves all difficulties, let us turn away from all love in the world, let us devote ourselves to the search for and desire of this one good, so that we may be able to acquire that ineffable love of the Spirit, to which Blessed Paul advised us to hasten, saying: "Hold fast to love" (1 Corinthians 3:1), so that we, after our cruelty, may be vouchsafed a change in the right hand of the Most High, and being wounded by the love of the Divine Spirit, come to meekness and spiritual rest; for the Lord has mercy on us with great kindness, as soon as we turn to Him completely, plucking ourselves out of all that is opposed. Even if, through great ignorance, through infancy and because of the rooting of vices in us, we turn away from life, and set many obstacles for ourselves, not wanting to really repent; then He, Who is long-suffering towards us, shows great mercy, as soon as we turn to Him, and enlighten our inner man, so that our faces may not be ashamed in the day of judgment.

17. And if this seems difficult to us, because of the severity of the feats of virtue, or rather, because of the suggestion and advice of the adversary; then the Lord is merciful and long-suffering, waiting for our conversion, and if we sin, He endures this in the hope of our repentance, and if we fall, He is not ashamed to receive us again, as the Prophet said: "Does food fall not rise?" Or shall he not turn away (Jeremiah 8:4)? We will only sober up by acquiring a good thought; let us turn to Him quickly and righteously, seeking His help; but He is ready to save us; for He awaits the ardent striving of our good will towards Him to the best of our ability, from the will of faith and zeal, and He Himself produces in us every predence. Therefore, beloved, having cast off all prejudice, negligence, and laziness, as children of God, let us try to become courageous and ready to follow Him, let us not postpone this day after day, being drawn to it by vice; for we do not know when our departure from the flesh will be. Great and ineffable are the promises to Christians, and so great that all the glory and babble of heaven and earth, and their other adornment and variety, and riches, and beauty, and delights in the things seen cannot even be compared with the faith and riches and riches and riches and riches of the visible.

18. And so, with so many motives and promises of the Lord, how can we not wish to draw wholly to the Lord and to Him to devote ourselves, above all else, according to the Gospel, denying even our souls, and loving Him alone, loving nothing else? Behold, all this has been granted to us, and what other glory! How many of the Lord's views on us since the time of the Fathers and Prophets! How many promises have been proclaimed! How many motives! What mercy Vladyka had towards us from the beginning! Finally, at His coming, He proved His ineffable goodness to us by His crucifixion, so that He might bring us into life when we were converted. And we do not yet part with our wills, with our love for the world, with bad prejudices and habits, and through this we turn out to be of little faith, or even unfaithful! Yet, in spite of all this, the Lord remains merciful to us, invisibly protecting and reposing us, not completely betraying us, because of our sins, to the vice and deceptions of the world, out of great goodness and long-suffering, not allowing us to perish, bearing in mind that we will turn to Him someday.