Friday." The Lord said to Abraham, "Go out of your land, from your kindred, and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you" (Gen. 12:1). This is a clear image of the change of heart that takes place in true believers when they sincerely take upon themselves their cross and follow Christ. They leave their father, the ego, crucifying it with self-denial; they leave their lineage – their personal sinful inclinations, passions and habits, crucifying them with their determination to unswervingly follow the passion-killing commandments of the Lord in everything; I leave my land, all the realm of sin, the world, with all its demands, crucifying it with my determination to be alien to it, even if for this it is necessary to suffer not only losses in property and social weight, but also death itself.

Saturday. (Heb. 6:9-12; Mk. 7:31-37). "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 15:50). Consequently, in order to receive the Kingdom, it is necessary to be disembodied and bloodless, that is, to be established in such a character of life that it is as if there is no flesh or blood. This is achieved by complete renunciation of the deeds of blood and the flesh. "The works of the flesh are known; they are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, envy, anger, strife, dissension, heresy, hatred, murder, drunkenness, disorder, and the like." Having enumerated all this, the Apostle adds: "I precede you, as I did before, that they that do these things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal. 5:19-21). Having ears to hear, let him hear.

Week Four of Lent

(Heb. 6:13-20; Mk. 9:17-31). In His sayings about the Beatitudes, the Lord depicts the heart of paradise (Matt. 5:1-12). His mood includes: humility, weeping and contrition, meekness and angerlessness, complete love of truth, perfect mercy, purity of heart, love of peace and peacemaking, patience with misfortunes, vain and persecution for the faith and Christian life. If you want paradise, be it. And here you will also foretaste paradise, which you will enter ready after death, as the predestined heir.

Monday. (5th week of Lent). "The eyes of the Lord are in every place; they see the evil and the good" (Proverbs 15:3). Oh, if only a rational creature would always remember this! Not only would she not have dared to commit outrage openly and indulge in carnal obscenities, but inwardly, in the thoughts of her mind and in the movements of her heart, she would not have allowed anything that was displeasing to God. She would then have stood as a warrior before the tsar at the front, with all attention and severity towards herself, so as not to be unaware of her articles and not to fall under the tsar's wrath and punishment. Articles for her are God's commandments, determining both the way of thinking that befits her and what she should be in her feelings and dispositions; in all this she would then be quite in good order.

Tuesday. "Hell and Abaddon are open before the Lord, how much more are the hearts of the sons of men" (Proverbs 15:11). But the sinner still thinks that no one sees him, and, hiding from the eyes of men in the darkness of the night or the emptiness of the place, he believes that no one sees him. God's eye has seen all things; The guardian angel and conscience were witnesses. Thou shalt stand before judgment: then all that is hidden shall be exposed; incorruptible witnesses will be present — and you will be silent. The verdict will be peremptory. One way to prevent this inevitable extreme is repentance. The door to it is open. Hasten to enter in before the hour strikes, which will strike when you do not know, and will put an end to both your sins and all hope of mercy.

Wednesday." The way of life of the wise is upward, that he may turn away from hell below" (Proverbs 15:24). Everyone knows that there is hell, and everyone can go there for his deeds. But not everyone remembers this and does not live so regularly that the concern to avoid hell is visible. They live as they live, at random: maybe somehow we won't get to hell. Where is our mind? In worldly affairs one can still get away with "maybe," but in such a decisive matter, which, once accomplished, will remain unchanged forever and ever, "maybe" exposes the irrationality of the last degree. Do not boast, O mind, of your reasonableness, when you do not remember this and do not offer us the thoughts of life how to avoid hell and be saved.