Hear me, O Lord, hear, and let me be called into Thy kingdom, and I, who am lost, will be returned, I, the unclean, will be cleansed, I, the fool, will be chaste, I, the useless, will be made useful.

Thy chosen flock, the ascetics and all those who have pleased Thee, rejoicing in paradise, intercede for me and beseech Thee, the Only Lover of mankind. Hear their petitions Yourself and save me by their prayers. And I will give Thee glory through them, that Thou hast hearkened unto their prayers, and hast had compassion on me, and hast not despised their petitions to save me.

Thou, O Lord, hast said through Thy prophet, "Enlarge thy mouth, and I will do it" (Psalm 80:11). Behold, therefore, the mouth and heart of Thy servant are open, fill them with Thy grace, that at all times I may bless Thee, O Christ my Saviour. Sprinkle my heart, O Good Lover of mankind, with the dew of Thy grace. As the sown land cannot bring forth its plants without the visitation of Thy grace, so my heart without Thy grace is not able to utter what is pleasing to Thee and bring forth the fruit of righteousness. Behold, the rain nourishes the plants, and the trees are crowned with various flowers, so may the dew of Thy grace enlighten my mind, and may it adorn it with the flowers of tenderness, humility, love, and patience.

And what else can I say? Behold, my prayer is weak, my iniquities are great and mighty, my sins oppress me, my infirmities oppress me: may Thy grace prevail over them, O Lord! Thou who hast opened the eyes of the blind, open the eyes of my mind, that I may behold Thy beauty unceasingly. Thou who hast opened the mouth of the foal, open my mouth to the glory and praise of Thy grace. Thou, Who hast set a limit to the sea by the word of Thy commandment, set a limit also to my heart by Thy grace, so that neither at the right hand nor in the severance may I depart from Thy babbling. Thou who hast given water in the wilderness to a disobedient and contradictory people, give me tenderness and tears to my eyes, that day and night I may weep for the days of my life with humility, love, and a pure heart. Let my supplication draw near before Thee, O Lord (Psalm 118:169). And grant me Thy holy seed, that I may offer Thee handles full of tenderness and confession, and say, "Glory to Him who gave what to bring unto Him," and worship the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen.

And so, I beseech you, let us sober up this short time and endure the podvig in this one hour (Matt. 20:9). Evening is near. The Rewarder goes with glory to repay each one according to his deeds. Be careful that one of you, after success, does not despise and destroy the immeasurable recompense of the Savior. A monk is like a sown field that has grown from various and fruitful rains and has grown and bears the fruit of joy; Having reached the time of fruiting, he leads the farmer to great care that hail or wild animals do not devastate the field. But when the farmer receives the reward of the harvest by gathering the harvested fruit into the garner, then he rejoices and rejoices, giving thanks to God. Likewise, a monk, while in this body, must take care of eternal life, laboring in podvig until the last day, so as not to make the entire course of life useless through negligence. When, having completed the current, like a farmer, he brings the fruits of his labors to heaven, then he will bring joy and gladness to the angels.

Therefore, no one should be lazy, and do not be afraid of temptations. Let the strong help the weak, the zealous comfort the faint-hearted, the sober stir up the sleepy, the constant give advice to the fickle, the temperate admonishes the careless and disorderly. Thus, encouraging one another with one accord and conquering for one another, let us shame our opposing enemy, let us glorify our God and let us rejoice the holy angels and those who see us and hear about us, and let us serve as a great edification in Christ our Saviour. For like a host of holy Angels, so is the multitude of monks, whose minds are always in accord directed towards God. And as honey and honeycomb are in the mouth, so is the answer of a brother to his neighbor, given with love. As cold water in the heat is to the thirsty, so is the word of consolation to a brother in sorrow. And as one gives his hand to the fallen and raises him up, so the word of counsel and truth raises up the lazy and slothful soul. And as good and fresh seed is in the rich earth, so are good thoughts in the soul of a monk. And as there is a strong bond in the building, there is long-suffering in the heart of the monk during his psalmody. And what is a burden of salt to a weak person, so to a monk is sleep and worldly care. As thorns and thistles are in good seed, so are impure thoughts in the soul of a monk. And that the necrosis of the limbs (Γαγγραινα is called "Anton's fire" by physicians), although cured, is never completely cured, then the memory of malice is in the soul of a monk. As a worm wears away a tree, so enmity is the heart of a monk. As moths spoil clothes, so slander defiles the soul of a monk. As a tree is tall and red, but has no fruit, so the monk is proud and arrogant. As the fruit is red on the outside and rotten on the inside, the monk is envious and unfriendly. As one who throws a stone into a pure spring muddies it, so the answer of a monk, pronounced with anger, disturbs the mind of his neighbor. As he who transplants a tree covered with fruit destroys the fruit and dries the foliage of the tree, so it is with the monk who leaves his place and goes to another. Like a building that is not founded on stone, it is a monk who has no patience in sorrows. Imagine that another, standing before the king and conversing with him, at the call of a servant like him, leaves a wondrous and glorious conversation with the king, and begins to converse with the servant; Like him is the one who speaks during the psalmody. Let us understand, beloved, Whom we stand for! As the Angels, standing with great trepidation, sing a hymn to the Creator, so we must stand with fear during the psalmody. Let it not be that only our bodies stand before us, and the mind dreams. Like a boat in the waves of the sea, so is a monk in the affairs of life. But let us gather our thoughts, that we may have praise before our God; let us endure the temptations of our enemy, that we may be glorified. Praise to a monk is patience in sorrows, praise to a monk is non-acquisitiveness, humility and simplicity, glorifying him before God and the Angels. Praise for a monk is silence and vigil with tenderness and tears. Praise for a monk is to love God with all his heart, and his neighbor as himself. Praise for a monk is abstinence in food, abstinence of the tongue, coordination of words with one's deeds; Praise to him, if he patiently remains in place, and is not carried here and there, as dry leaves are carried by the wind.

Woe is me, my beloved! For I have become like the bellows of a blacksmith, which are filled and emptied, using nothing from the wind; so I, too, describing the virtues of the flock of Christ, have no part in them myself. Glory to the greatness and goodness of Christ!

If any of you, brethren, have unclean and shameful thoughts, let him not give himself over to despair in negligence, but turn his heart to God and, sighing, with tears will say: "Arise, O Lord, and give ear to my judgment, O my God and my Lord, against my mouth. Judge me, O Lord, according to Thy righteousness (Psalm 34:23-24). I am the work of Thy hands: hast Thou forsaken me? (Psalm 21:1). Thou hast turned away Thy face from me, and hast forgotten my humility? (Psalm 43:25). For the enemy hath driven my soul, hath humbled my life to the ground (Psalm 142:3); charcoal in the timenia of the depth, and there is no constancy (Psalm 68:3). May Thy hand hold me, and I shall not perish." If thou wilt thus call upon Him with patience, the Lover of mankind will soon, having sent His grace into thy heart, and console thee in the painful and difficult battle.

Therefore, let us not be slothful, and let us not be lazy, having such a merciful Lord. For while we are here, He is merciful, and saves, and forgives our iniquities. Who does not marvel that for the short-lived tears shed even in this one hour (Matt. 20:9), He forgives thousands of our falls, and heals thousands of our wounds, and, having healed, He also gives a reward for tears. For this is usually of His grace: after healing He scatters His rewards.

Therefore, brethren, let us try to receive healing, because here He has mercy and is generous with His grace, but there He is not. On the contrary, there is righteous judgment, punishment, and retribution for deeds. There the merciful Abraham proved to be unmerciful and unmerciful to the rich man; and he who prayed for the Sodomites does not pray there for one sinner, that mercy may be shown to him.

Thus, let our mind not be bound by earthly things, but let us try to become imitators of the Holy Fathers; let us not lose their lives, lest we lose their glory. But let us take care to receive crowns together with the perfect, and if not crowns with the perfect, then praise with the last. Blessed is he who strives to be crowned with the perfect, but pitiful is he who has not received praise even with the latter. Blessed is he who has been vouchsafed the crown and inheritance of the saints, and who hears these words: "Come, in the blessing of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:34).

What justification shall we have, brethren, if we neglect? The man of the world still has it, perhaps as one who dwells in the world, but what shall we say? I am afraid that those who praise us here will laugh at us there. Let not laziness and worldly cares be sweet to us, so that eternal fire and the worm that never sleeps become bitter for us. Let us sober up a little, and let us weep in order to be delivered from eternal fire.

Do you not believe the word of the Saviour, that His coming will be sudden, like lightning? (Matt. 24:27). Let us be afraid that it will overtake us suddenly, unprepared, and then we will begin to reproach ourselves for our negligence without any benefit. Believe me, beloved, that the last hour is already there. See to it that the word of the prophet is not fulfilled in us (Amos 5:18): Alas for those who desire the day of the Lord! (Woe to those who desire the day of the Lord!). Be attentive to yourselves, lest we be like that servant whom the master came and found feasting, and cut his half, laying down a part of him with the unbelievers (Matt. 24:51). On the contrary, let us not be ashamed, let us glorify the Lord, that He may deliver us from darkness and gnashing of teeth, and vouchsafe us His Kingdom.

I beseech Thee, O Christ, Saviour of the world, to look upon me and deliver me from the multitude of my iniquities. I have rejected all the good deeds which Thou hast done to me since my youth, for Thou hast made me, ignorant and foolish, a vessel full of knowledge and wisdom; Thy grace hath abounded upon me, quenched my hunger, cooled my thirst, enlightened my darkened mind, and gathered together my wandering thoughts. Now I worship and beseech Thy ineffable love for mankind, confessing my weakness, to weaken its waves and preserve it for me on that day, and do not be angry with me, O All-Good, for not tolerating its streams, I dared to act boldly. Thou art the image of the Father and the radiance of ineffable glory, weaken it for me, for it burneth my womb and my heart like fire; but there grant it to me, and save me in Thy Kingdom, at Thy coming, having made with me with the blessed Father the abode of Thy goodness. O Christ, the only Giver of life, grant me what I ask, hide my iniquities from my acquaintances, remembering my tears, which I shed before Thy holy martyrs, in order to draw mercy to me in that terrible hour and to take refuge under the wings of Thy grace. O Lord, show Thy ineffable love for mankind upon me, a sinner, and make me a partaker of that thief who became the heir of paradise in one word. Bring me there, and I will see where Adam is hidden, and I will give glory to Thy love for mankind, for Thou hast hearkened to my tears, and hast consumed (destroyed) all my iniquities. Lay my tears before Thee, O Lord, according to Thy promise, that my enemy may be ashamed when he sees me in the place of life which Thy mercies have prepared for me, and that he may be covered with darkness, not seeing me in the place which Thou hast prepared for my sins. O Lord, the only sinless and loving of mankind, pour out upon me Thy ineffable goodness, grant me and all who love Thee to worship Thy glory in Thy Kingdom, and in joy to say to Thy babbling: Glory to the Father, Who created us, and glory to the Son, Who saved us, and glory to the All-Holy Spirit, Who renewed us, unto all the ages of ages! Amen.