The Most Wise Son of Sirach teaches about oaths and oaths, among other things: "A man who often swears will be filled with iniquity, and the scourge will not depart from his house" (Sir. 23:11). What do these words mean? It means that the Lord is angry with perjurers and with those who incite others to perjury, and they will not escape punishment from Him. Is this true? In the life of St. Seraphim, as if in confirmation of this, the following incident is told: one priest and a deacon lived in great disagreement with each other and suspected each other of everything. Once they happened to be together in the same house. The priest noticed something in the deacon's behavior that was not befitting his spiritual rank, and immediately informed the bishop. Meanwhile, the deacon begged the householder, who was a witness to his unworthy act, to conceal the essence of the case before the examining magistrate, and his imaginary innocence was confirmed by an oath. Soon after this event, the deacon went to the Sarov hermitage and, after praying, went to Father Seraphim, but the clairvoyant elder, coming out of the cell to meet the deacon, instantly turned his back to him, saying: "Go, come away from me, this is not my business." The saddened deacon remained at the door of the cell and, in response to a question from a monk who approached, told about what had happened to him, as well as about the harsh reception of the elder. Then the brother who talked with him advised him first to clear his conscience before his spiritual father and then to go to Father Seraphim. But this time the elder again drove him out with anger, saying: "Go, go, perjurer, and do not serve."Returning from Sarov, the deacon told his family about this, but did nothing to cleanse his conscience. When it was his turn to serve in the church, then, while pronouncing the words of the psalm: "Lord, open my mouth, and my mouth shall declare Thy praise" (Psalm 50:17), he suddenly became numb and felt as if his tongue had been taken away. From that time on, for three years, as soon as he entered the church, he immediately lost his command of the language, while in another place he could speak fluently. By this difficult path he finally came to repentance, and the Lord forgave him.When on the day of the Ascension of the Lord he began to pray, his tongue parted from muteness, and he began to pronounce words clearly. But what does this mean for us? That when necessity requires us to take an oath or oath, we must approach it with reverence and circumspection, thinking of the importance of the matter. Yes, brethren, let us not forget that if it is terrible to lie before a king of men, then how much more terrible is it to lie before God, the King of heaven and earth, the Judge of the living and the dead! Amen.

What benefits does reading the word of God bring us?

We all know that it is necessary to read the word of God and learn from it, as the Lord says: Search the Scriptures, for you think through them to have eternal life (John 5:39). But here is the question: is there any benefit to us from reading the word of God? Does it give us any benefits? Does it have any beneficial effect on us? St. Seraphim of Sarov, as if answering the above questions, says the following: "Here I am, wretched Seraphim, I go through the Gospel every day. On Monday I read Matthew from beginning to end, on Tuesday – from Mark, on Wednesday – from Luke, on Thursday – from John, but in the last days I separate the Acts and the Epistles of the Apostles and do not miss a single day, so as not to read the Gospel and the Epistle of the day and the saint. Through this, not only my soul, but also my body itself is delighted and enlivened by the fact that I converse with the Lord, keep in my memory His life and sufferings, day and night I praise, praise and thank my Redeemer for all His mercies poured out to the human race and to me, the unworthy." which is therefore changed by a Divine change... It is very useful to read the word of God and read the entire Bible intelligently. For one such exercise, in addition to other good deeds. The Lord will not abandon man with His mercy and will fulfill his gift of understanding. And when a man enriches his soul with the word of God, then he is filled with the understanding of what is good and what is evil." The reading of the word of God gives warmth, which produces tears, from which a person is warmed and filled with spiritual gifts, which delight the mind and heart more than any word." As we have just heard, it delights and enlivens not only the soul, but also the body itself, arouses feelings of praise, praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, enlightens the mind, brings down God's mercy upon man, and produces grace-filled tears. And as a result, we must diligently read the word of God and learn from it, and we will read and learn. Let us read it with reverence and with prayer to God to grant us the grace of understanding; let us read with a sincere desire to receive from the word of God instruction in the faith and encouragement to a pious and virtuous life, and, finally, let us read with humility and with a constant desire to know the will of God and to learn piety and virtue. My eyes have vanished into Thy word (Psalm 118:82). Comfort me in my humility, for Thy word live me (Psalm 118:50). I will rejoice in Thy words, for thou hast gained much gain (Psalm 118:162). Amen.

Blasphemers of the saints are punished by God

People of this age, especially in recent times, do not consider it worth blaspheming holy and virtuous people. This, they say, who is called a saint, did not live at all as they write about him, there were such and such sins behind him, this one for his deeds deserves not praise, but blame, etc. What do you think, brethren, will blasphemy against the saints pass for nothing for such people or not? Know that they will never pass, and not only in the future life, but also in the present.One lady had an ardent love for Venerable Seraphim, and out of this love she wished to have a portrait of him in her home, which she purchased. Once this lady was visited by an acquaintance of hers, an educated man, and seeing the image of Father Seraphim hanging on the wall, he asked: "Whose image is this?" The lady replied that it was a depiction of the great ascetic, hermit and hermit of the Sarov monastery, Hieromonk Seraphim, and she thought that her story would move her acquaintance to also revere the elder. But it turned out quite differently: instead of reverence and even instead of proper decency, this gentleman began to mock Father Seraphim contemptuously in the crudest terms. When he returned home, he was suddenly struck by such a strong blow of paralysis that his face turned back, and his tongue became numb. His family, seeing such a terrible misfortune, immediately turned to the lady with a tearful request to visit him in such grief, and she did not hesitate to come to him. She found the family in bitter tears, and the blasphemer himself in the most painful form: disfigured and voiceless, like a corpse, he lay on the bed – it was frightening to see him in such a situation.The first thing the lady did was to impress upon this family at once that it was necessary to convince the sick man to turn to Father Seraphim with faith himself and ask his forgiveness for the impudent blasphemy against him. Apparently, he agreed to this. Then the lady advised to invite a priest and serve a pannikhida for the deceased Elder Seraphim. As soon as this was done, suddenly, to everyone's amazement and joy, the disfigured face of the blasphemer returned to its former appearance, but the impudent tongue remained forever bound and silent, as if in testimony to God's just punishment for the reproach of the righteous elder. Look, you would not have to suffer the same fate as the blasphemer of Venerable Seraphim. And that you will not escape the wrath of God in the life to come, this is certain, for the word of God is true: Woe to you who laugh now! For ye shall weep and weep (Luke 6:25). Amen.

To the superiors

Some people are given power over others. What is this, honor or feat? Not honor, brethren, but podvig, and a very difficult podvig. As you know, it is difficult to have power only over oneself, it is difficult to control only one's mind, heart, habits, will, desires, feelings; Here, according to the Apostle, the ruler must be all things for all: "For all I have become all things, that I might save at least some" (1 Corinthians 9:22). And how to achieve all this? Where to get all this? Yes, the service of the commander is hard, and the rods handed over to the commanders are too heavy. But what to do? Once the staff has been handed over, one must walk with it; once authority has been given, one should not flee from it, but look upon it as the work of God, for it is said: "There is no authority except from God" (Rom. 13:1). And then, of course, you need to try to lighten the yoke of power for yourself and at the same time make your power useful to others. How to make it more useful? In our opinion, it is best to take lessons from wise, experienced and holy men. They, who were themselves tempted, are better able than others to help you, who are in authority, who are tempted (Heb. 2:18). Listen to what St. Seraphim of Sarov tells you: "A child-loving mother does not live to please herself, but to please her children. He bears the infirmities of infirm children with love; He cleanses those who have fallen into impurity, washes them quietly, peacefully, dresses them in white and new vestments, puts on shoes, warms them, nourishes them, provides for them, comforts them, and on all sides tries to calm their spirits, so that she will never hear the slightest cry of them, and such children are well disposed towards their mother. Thus, every abbot must live not to please himself, but to please his subordinates: he must be lenient to their weaknesses, bear the infirmities of the infirm with love, heal sinful illnesses with a plaster of mercy, raise up those who have fallen through crimes with meekness, cleanse those who are soiled by the filth of some vice quietly... to clothe with teaching and exemplary life in the garments of virtue; to watch over them unceasingly, to console them in every way, and to protect their peace and tranquillity from all sides, so that not the slightest cry of theirs, below murmuring, may ever be heard, and then they will zealously strive to bring peace and rest to the superior." And so we have just given you a lesson from one of them, but only this lesson, if you accept it, can greatly ease for you both the yoke of your power and the burdens of your service in general. What, for example, could be better than the charity he teaches? After all, according to the words of the monk, as we have just heard, it leads to the fact that "the subordinates will zealously strive to bring peace and tranquility to their master. And for the latter, of course, it should be dearer, more pleasant, and more comforting. Wherefore learn from the saints how to treat your subordinates and how to use your power, and it will be good for you. Amen.

That the Lord is especially merciful to good children

Our word will come to you, children, and today we will tell you that the Lord especially rewards those of you in this life who are merciful.A twelve-year-old girl traveled with her mother to the Sarov hermitage in order to be worthy to see Father Seraphim and receive his blessing.Upon her arrival in Sarov, she accidentally learned about some poor exhausted well-worker, who walked past the monastery in heavy chains and was very pitiful. At the sight of this unfortunate man, she was very touched by his situation, and finding a rather valuable silver coin in her possession, she gave it to the beggar for lack of another, smaller one. When the girl and her mother came to Father Seraphim, he, who had never seen them before, immediately called the girl to him and, blessing her, said affectionately: "Well, Her mother, extremely surprised by this greeting, began to explain to the elder that the rank of general did not belong to them at all, but he, talking to them, did not cease to call the girl the general's wife. What's that supposed to mean. But later it became clear to them when the girl, compassionate to the unfortunate, having reached the age of majority, married a general. And then the prophetic words of the Elder of God were justified, who had long foreseen the future by the grace given to him by the Lord. What did Venerable Seraphim say to the girl before he called her a general? He said: "You have done well to give alms to the poor," and only then did he begin to call her the general's wife. So, as if he were saying: "Behold, you have shown compassion to the unfortunate, for this the Lord will reward you with great happiness." In view of this, in order that the Lord may reward you also, and you may imitate the said girl, and be merciful to the poor and unfortunate, then the Lord will not forsake you with His mercy. And they are not needed. It is possible to show love and compassion to your neighbor without money. For example, sit next to a sick person, bring him what he wants in time, or gently and affably talk to a person in need and sorrow, grieve with him; you will probably have enough of that. And yet even such mercy of yours to the unfortunate will never be forgotten by the Lord, and He will undoubtedly reward you for it both in this life and in the next, as He Himself promises us: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Matt. 5:7). Amen.

To sinners who do not care about their salvation

Sinners who do not care about their salvation, in order to stifle the voice of conscience in themselves, usually console themselves with the hope of God's mercy and impunity, saying: "God is merciful, all is fine, everything will pass," and they continue to sin. God forgives only sinners who repent and care about their correction, but to such people as the above-mentioned people. He is just and punishes them not only in the future life, but also in the present.One woman, who was in the Sarov hermitage, wished to see the great ascetic Father Seraphim out of her zeal. The elder received her with fatherly love, and along with other advice and instruction he began to tell her that she should persuade her husband to correct himself from intemperance, insolence, unjust oppression and lack of mercy towards his neighbors. Speaking his last words, he took a bunch of matches from the stove, handed them to the woman and said, "Here, take these matches and keep them."The woman, when Father Seraphim began to talk about her husband's punishment by the wrath of God, was greatly embarrassed by this, and afterwards she discussed a lot with her family and friends about Father Seraphim's simple but strange gift, but no one could explain its meaning. A terrible hour came, in which the meaning of the gift was explained and the very prediction of the wondrous elder was fulfilled.One day the sky began to be covered with clouds from everywhere, and in the evening a terrible thunderstorm gathered. All the people turned to God with a prayer, and the mentioned woman began to pray. Meanwhile, at this terrible time, her two young children were sleeping, one near the window, and the other a little farther away. Suddenly a terrible clap of thunder broke out over her house, and in an instant, following the flashing lightning, the wooden cornice was torn from the window and split into the smallest matches; Most of them pierced her husband's face and beard, and, struck by the blow, he soon died. And yet, to the great surprise of all, neither the woman's children, who slept near the window, nor she herself were in the least affected by this blow.After that, the woman involuntarily remembered the words of Father Seraphim, and only then understood the meaning of his strange, as it seemed, gift, marveling at his wondrous perspicacity. And having become convinced of this, in order not to be subjected to the righteous wrath of God in the future, let them first of all change their sinful life to a virtuous one, and after that, when they are confirmed in the latter, let them boldly hope in the mercy of God, And, undoubtedly. The Lord will forgive them and deliver them from punishment, as He Himself testifies through His prophet: If the people... turn from his evil works, I put off the evil which I thought to do to him (Jeremiah 18:8). And the same is confirmed by the book of the prophet Jonah, where it is said: "And God saw their deeds (the Ninevites) that they had turned from their evil way, and God was sorry for the calamity, which He said He would bring upon them, but did not bring it (Jonah 3:10). Amen.

What is the reason that the Lord allows evil spirits to harm us?

It is known that evil spirits try by all means to distance us from God and plunge us into destruction. It is known that they sometimes strike a person with illnesses and disasters, put obstacles in his way to doing good deeds, and, finally, they rage in human bodies, which we see in the possessed. What is the reason for this? Know that the main reason for this is our sinfulness, and it is because of it that evil spirits are often the instruments of God's wrath, and God allows them to do evil to people for their sins, so that at least through sorrows and sufferings they would come to the realization of themselves, repent of their sins and be corrected. she and her husband decided to turn to St. Seraphim for help. When they both arrived in Sarov, they found Father Seraphim in a nearby hermitage, engaged in labor. He met them very mercifully, and when they asked them to pray for the casting out of the demon, he told them the following parable: "There was in the land of Palestine a clairvoyant elder who prayed for a demoniac man, but his prayer was not heard by God; the demon did not leave the sufferer, and therefore the elder turned to the Lord for the second time with a fervent petition for the sufferer. At the same time, he prayed to the Lord to reveal the reason why the spirit of malice did not leave this man – to reveal whether his prayers were ineffective or whether some sins stopped the demon in him. God heard the prayer of this elder, and it was revealed to him that the one for whom he was praying had leprosy on his forehead, which prevented the demon from being cast out of him. and then, turning to the possessed wife, he also wrote on her forehead, but no longer her sins, but the sins of her husband. Then the husband and wife looked at each other with horror and realized that God's punishment had befallen them for their sins. A certain man was cold to all that is holy and loved to play with godless words. For this, the Righteous Lord allowed the foul spirit of blasphemy to take possession of his thoughts, and these abusive thoughts, which he could not remember without particular horror, crushed him constantly for three whole years, especially during prayer in church and most of all when he prayed to the Queen of Heaven. is our sinfulness, because of which evil spirits are often instruments of God's wrath.Why was the above-mentioned demon-possessed woman stricken with demonic possession? For her own sins and the sins of her husband. Why did the man we have just spoken of suffer from an evil spirit? For his coldness to the holy faith and for the fact that he loved to play with godless words. Thus, our sinfulness is the main cause of demonic power over us. But from the same two cases, the justice is revealed that God allows evil spirits to do evil to us, so that at least through sorrows and sufferings from demons we would come to the realization of our sins, repent of them and correct ourselves. The above-mentioned man was also horrified. In view of all that has been said, if we now know that evil spirits are allowed to do evil to us mainly for our sins, then we must be constantly attentive to ourselves – to our thoughts, intentions and deeds, we must constantly watch over ourselves and put on all those weapons that are indicated to us in the word of God against the enemies of our salvation. Be sober, be watchful, for your adversary, the devil, walketh about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8). Amen.

Pious vows deliver a person from death