Some people are calmly ready to bear life's labors and deprivations and even voluntarily impose upon themselves feats (holy saints), while others cannot endure life's misfortunes, raise murmurs, become faint-hearted in illnesses, and lose heart in misfortunes. Why is this? You need to understand the meaning of life. Life is a struggle, which, however, appears to everyone in different forms. It is necessary to endure this struggle in order to fulfill the task of life, in order to achieve the goal of life, to achieve the result of life that can only be on the other side - beyond the grave. And the more difficult the struggle of life, the more joyful the result will be for us. Imagine: you are carrying a heavy burden; on the way you are exhausted, but when you have reached the end, you have thrown off your burden, and you have felt lightness and joy; Only now do you feel that you have not borne it in vain, that the burden has given you to experience pleasure afterwards, and the heavier and more difficult the burden was, the more sensitive is the liberation from it, the greater the joy and comfort at the end. The same is true of the struggle of life: the heavier it is here on earth, the more favorable its outcome is for us there, beyond the grave. If we understand this meaning of life, then it will not be an empty burden for us, but a deed that we must fulfill, no matter how difficult it may be.

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Often we praise simplicity. "He is a man of simple soul", "what simplicity", - we say, wishing to give a good opinion about the man. What is this quality of the soul "simplicity" and why is it worthy of praise? We are all children of one Heavenly Father, we are all brothers in Christ, we have nothing to be proud of each other. If the Lord has given you any advantages, talents, abilities, wealth, or glory, then they are not yours, but God's, God's gift, as the holy Apostle Paul says (1 Corinthians 12). And he who is simple in heart feels this well, feels a small and equal position with all people. And from this consciousness comes a kind, courteous, affectionate, non-arrogant, even, calm attitude towards others; This is the simplicity of the heart. A simple-hearted person will not offend anyone, will not stand in the way of anyone, will not condemn anyone, will not envy anyone.

Whoever is simple in heart is further capable of great labors, the lowest and most difficult; he is not exacting in regard to food and clothing, he does not demand or seek any comforts of life. And this is understandable - why. Simplicity keeps the heart of man in constant rooting and awareness of his unworthiness. Whoever is simple in heart is compassionate to the poor, the needy and the needy, he easily enters the position of the unfortunate, the sorrowful and the suffering. And why? Simplicity of heart is not malicious, gentle, loving, meek, and all this makes a person of a simple heart comfortable for good deeds, makes him merciful. Whoever is simple in heart can finally pray to God well, the fear of God, faith and love constantly live in his heart. Simple in heart are incapable of unbelief and resistance to God, their property is faith. These are the advantages of simplicity. And the Lord loves simplicity of heart and goes to meet it with His grace. In the heart of the simple dwells the Holy Spirit, Who rejoices their hearts, destroys in them every spirit of despondency and burns in them carnal passions, so that it can be said: the simple in heart are at the same time pure in heart.

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Some people ask why some icons are miraculous and others are not. Can't all icons be miraculous? The Lord can always work a miracle for one who prays with faith before any holy icon, but, nevertheless, it is also certain that through some icons the Lord especially manifests His mercy to people. And why this is so is within the jurisdiction of God's Providence. The Lord wants everyone to be saved and to come to the understanding of the truth, and so, depending on the need, He reveals here and there His grace-filled springs – miraculous icons.

At the same time, I recall the miraculous icon of the "Joy of All Who Sorrow" in St. Petersburg at a glass factory. More than ten years ago, there was not a single church in this area. From the constant smoke of the factory chimneys, this area always had a gloomy appearance. And the people, deprived of spiritual consolation, spent their free time here in bad entertainments. It was gloomy outside, and inside the human heart it was bad here. There was, however, one small chapel, old and forgotten by all, with an image of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow," simple workmanship, and with a mug attached to it. And then one day in the summer, a terrible thunderstorm broke out over this area. Lightning struck the chapel, smashed it, and only one icon of the Mother of God remained unharmed. At the same time, the copper polushkas that were in the mug, proof of the rare and small visits of people to the chapel, splashed on the icon and stuck to it so firmly that now it is impossible to take them away. The news of this quickly spread throughout the city. The people went in a crowd to venerate the miraculous icon of the Mother of God. In this way a grace-filled spring was opened, from which miracles flowed abundantly. And now this suburb of St. Petersburg has become unrecognizable. On the site of the miraculous apparition, a beautiful church and chapel have grown, and since they stand on the road, the moving people crowd fill the chapel, and this is the people who were previously deprived of spiritual consolation here. In the chapel now there are always many sick, grieving, suffering.

Or who would not be amazed by our Moscow grace-filled spring – the miraculous icon of the Iveron Mother of God? Pay attention to where it is located - in the very center of the city, where every resident of the capital should come for his everyday affairs. Go to the Iveron Chapel, stand near it and feel that this is a place of truly special influence of God's grace on people. Just as a traveler, exhausted from thirst in the heat, approaches a cold and pure spring of spring water and drinks from it, thus quenching his thirst, so we, the inhabitants of this God-preserved city of Moscow, hasten to the Iveron shrine in a difficult moment of our lives, drawing spiritual consolation, encouragement and healing from this grace-filled spring. And how many such grace-filled springs, miraculous icons, are scattered throughout Russia? Therefore, it is not necessary to think and wonder why this or that icon is miraculous, for this is under the jurisdiction of the all-good Providence of God, and it remains for us only to immensely thank the Lord and His Most-Pure Mother, who reveal to us, the weak and infirm, Their grace-filled sources – the miraculous icons.

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Christ the Savior, being on the Cross, prayed for His enemies. He cried out: "Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). The holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen, following in the footsteps of his Divine Teacher, being stoned by his enemies, also prayed: Lord! do not put this sin on them (cf. Acts 7:60). What is this property of the soul when a person forgives everything, does not remember any evil, no offense? - This quality of the soul is known as meekness. Meekness is such a quietness of heart, such a calmness of soul, when a person does not lose his temper, does not become irritated, does not get angry - it is the mother of kindness. Meekness does not delight in praise, nor is it grieved by reproach - it is the sister of humility. Meekness does not condemn anyone, does not seek to know the vices of others, does not gloat, endures everything, endures everything. Meekness is a co-operative in obedience. Meekness is the organizer of peace and tranquility in the brotherhood, for it is the mother of love. Meekness is a shield against vexation, anxiety and all despondency. Meekness is the throne of simplicity and the giver of joy. Great are the fruits of meekness!

The meek one acquires boldness in prayer, for the Lord says: "On whom shall I look, if only on the meek and silent" (cf. Isaiah 66:2). Meekness is the seat in the heart of the Holy Spirit, for the Lord Himself says: "For I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest for your souls" (Matt. 11:29). Meekness is the basis for spiritual guidance and prudence. Meekness is in itself the motive force of prayer; The meek pray well, and the meekness of the heart itself is what it is, if not a prayerful disposition. Meekness has a beneficial effect on others. The quietness of the meek heart creates the same peaceful atmosphere around him. The meek will inherit the earth. What does that mean? What kind of land does the Lord promise to the meek? - The Kingdom of Heaven, eternal bliss. The meek will inherit, that is, they will receive the Kingdom of Heaven fully and as if by some right, and this is because here on earth, because of their meekness, they endured deprivations, were among the last, did not receive what they wanted, so for this damage in earthly life they will receive there, in Heaven, a full heavenly crown.

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Many say: we are burdened by former sins and it seems to us that the Lord will not forgive us - and this feeling is so painful that it is about to turn into despair. We are all weak people, we all fall into one or another sin, and especially carnal lust disturbs many. What should we do? We must constantly pray to the Lord God for the forgiveness of our sins. If you have sinned, fall down before the Lord, pray to Him fervently with all your heart to forgive you, and do not depart from the Lord until you feel God's favor towards you, until your heart tells you that the Lord forgives you, and you, if you pray fervently, will certainly feel it: peace and tenderness will settle in your soul. Until now you were ashamed to look at the holy icon, but now you dare to look at it; until now you did not want to see people, you were ashamed of them, and after that you rejoice at them; Until now, despondency, melancholy, and depressed mood have possessed you, but after that, you experience joy in your heart. This is a sign that the Lord has forgiven you, that you have blotted out your sin with your repentance and contrition of heart. From all this, learn God's mercy for you, a sinner, and on this kindle your love for the Lord.

Reckoning with our sins is finished. We repented, the Lord forgave us. Now it remains only not to repeat our previous sins, to thank the Merciful Lord and to go on calmly, joyfully, cheerfully along the path of virtue, along the path of our march to the Lord.