John's answer. He spoke of great success in spiritual benefit, because you are already in such a retinue (of the Holy Fathers), with which you will once be resurrected in great joy, if only you preserve patience and thanksgiving to the end.

181. Petition of the same to the Great Elder. I believe that if you bind on earth, they will be bound in heaven, and if you loose on earth, they will be loosed in heaven (Matt. 18:18), and I beseech you, my father, by the mercies of God, help my weakness; I am faint in soul and body, and I burden the brethren with whom I live. Ask God (the strength) to fulfill my needs myself, so that the brethren do not have to bear my burdens. I believe that God will give you everything you ask of Him. Be compassionate to my weakness and forgive me, my father.

Answer Barsanuphius. Thy key, brother, opens my door, for I am a fool, and cannot conceal the wonders of God; and therefore anyone who hears my words will be horrified and will say: "He is beyond his mind and does not know what he is saying." I think that with God all things are possible (Matt. 19:26) and nothing is impossible for Him (cf. Job 10:13). As He acted through the ancients, raised up the paralytic and raised up the dead Tabitha, so He can also act through His present servants. Before Him I say and do not lie, that I know one servant of God in our race, at the present time and in this blessed place, who can raise the dead in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and cast out demons, and heal incurable diseases, and perform other miracles, no less apostolic, as testifies Him Who gave him a gift, or, more precisely, a gift. And what does this mean in comparison with what can be done about the name of Jesus! But he does not use his power, although he can stop fighting, and close and open heaven, like Elijah. Our Lord always has His faithful servants, whom He no longer calls slaves, but sons, and although the enemy envies them, yet, by the grace of Christ, he cannot harm them in the least. For the ship has already passed the waves, the warrior the battles, the helmsman the evil winds, the farmer the winter, the merchant the robbers, and the monk has attained perfection in his solitude. Hearing such proud words, who will not say that I have lost my mind. And verily, I speak as if in madness; but I am not testifying about myself, but about something else. And if anyone thinks to say, "He is out of the mind" (as I have already said), let him speak. And whoever wishes to be zealous in order to attain this measure (spiritual maturity), let him not be lazy. I have spoken these things to your love, assuring you that it is possible for that which you desire to be, for if God, through our prayer, has ordained for you heavenly blessings, ineffable and eternal, which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor ascended in the heart of man, which God has prepared for them that love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9), and you will receive them, keeping what is commanded you, then it is all the more easy to beseech God for bodily suffering and to receive grace, so that you will not be sick any more day and feel burdened. But Jesus knows better than we do what is useful to man and what helps him, so that one may receive a reward for patience, like Job, and others for service, like Eulogius the Scholasticus. Do not ask God for anything through His servants, except help and patience. But he that endureth to the end, he shall be saved (Matt. 10:22) in Christ Jesus our Lord. He cares for us (1 Pet. 5:7) forever, Amen. Or do you not know what the Lord said to St. Paul when he asked for deliverance from sorrow? My grace prevaileth unto thee (1 Cor. 12:9). As He said this: Is it because He lacks love for him, or because He knows what is good for him? Remember that we are unworthy of the passion of the present time for the glory that desires to be manifested in us (Romans 8:18). Forgive me and pray for me, accursed, that I too may remain in this measure to the end. The one who attained it has already become one of the brethren of Jesus. To Him be the glory for ever, Amen.

182. A petition of the same to the same Great Elder to receive mercy on that day.

Answer Barsanuphius. Beloved in Christ, Brother Andrew! I marvel at thy love, but rather at thy simplicity, which doubteth the promises. The Lord said to Philip, "Thou hast been with you only a short time, and hast not known Me, Philip" (John 14:9). Believe, brother, that the promises upon us will be fulfilled, and if you will, more will be given; for it is possible to receive a small mercy, it is also possible to receive a great one, and David chose for himself a great one. Whoever desires great mercy receives it through humility, meekness, patience, and the like. You receive mercy through the prayers of the saints, and whether it is small or great, it depends on you: choose for yourself what you want. Live in peace and sanctification, be patient with your neighbor with humility, like a monk, and, like an old man, serve as another example. Consider the brother who is with you and serves you as a son, and if he makes a mistake in anything or spoils anything, bring him to reason and explain to him his fault, so that he may be reformed. And pray for me.

Interpretation.

Many sins are committed by those who despise the holy books, neglect them, and despise them so crudely and senselessly. From this is revealed their disdain for the holy; The Divine Scripture says: "Cursed is the man that doeth the work of the Lord with negligence" (Jeremiah 48:10).

183. The same to the same Great Elder. My father, assign me a rule, as a novice and one who has not yet taken on the monastic image. And pray for me; for my brother insults me, and comforts another.

Answer. My beloved brother! You have written to me about a thing that surpasses your strength, in order to assign you a task that you cannot bear. You ask to be assigned a rule, as a novice and one who has not yet accepted the monastic image. And the following is proper for a novice: to remain in deep humility, in no case to consider himself to be something, not to say: what is this, or what is it for? But, remaining in obedience and great submission, do not compare yourself with anyone, do not say: "So-and-so is revered, why do they not revere me also; he is at peace in all things, wherefore have I not rested," to be despised in all things, and not to be indignant. These are the deeds of a true novice, who really desires to be saved. But it is difficult for you to bear this, both because of your bodily weakness and because you are already old. Thou wilt wish to bear the heavy, but I impose upon thee the lightest; However, I do not force you, but only advise. Honor your brother as your son, as I have already told you, and as you honor him. If, out of temptation, he comforts someone else more than you, then perhaps God wants to calm him, and keep you in distress, and has told his brother to do this to you, so be patient and do not grieve. By enduring sorrows we save our souls, and we become accomplices of Christ's sufferings in no other way than by enduring sorrows. Give thanks to God for everything, for thanksgiving intercedes before God for infirmities. Let your rule be to live, heeding your thoughts and having the fear of God. How will I meet God? How did I spend the past time? I will repent, though now, when my end is near, and I will endure (the infirmities of) my neighbor and the sorrows and temptations he inflicts on me, until the Lord shows me His mercy, leads me into a dispensation of angerlessness and drives out from me envy — the offspring of the devil. Spend the rest of your days testing thoughts and resisting when they cause confusion. Admonish thy son with the fear of God, and remind him of his transgressions, knowing that he also is a man subject to temptation. May the Lord Jesus, the Son of the living God, grant us a peaceful dispensation (of souls) and life in His fear. I am amazed at how you read the Scriptures, which say: "Have all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into various temptations" (James 1:2), but the insignificant things trouble you. Know at least where you are, and what your strength is, that the neck of iron may be humbled, and the peace of God be with you. Forgive me, and pray for me, that I may not hear: when you teach another, teach not yourself (Romans 2:21). But what should I do? Love compels me. However, I hope for the mercy of our Lord God.

Question 184, the same to the same Great Elder. Thought says to me: you have already spoken to your brother once and ten times; leave him, let him do as he will, and you put aside your care, as the fathers said.

Answer. My beloved and unanimous brother, may peace be with you, which the Lord gave to His disciples. First of all, He gave them peace, expelling from them all carnal thoughts and all the understanding of the devil, so that their hearts would become pure and receive the teachings and commandments of their Lord purely. In the same way, beloved, having received this terrible peace not from me, but from the Savior Jesus Christ, prepare yourself calmly and attentively to listen and fulfill (my words). You know how I would like to take you and take you up to heaven. The enemy tried in every way to confuse you with envy and anger, but he could not find a place for himself, and in the insignificant he found an opportunity to reproach you; and by this he wages war against thee, and through thee he also troubles his brother, whereas I wrote to thee in the first epistles, that thou shouldst explain to thy brother his faults, and admonish him. Either I have spoken badly and you have despised my words, or I have spoken justly, and you have been defeated by the battle. And the devil is already rejoicing over you, he comes, inspiring you with bitter self-justification, and says: "You have said once and ten times (to your brother), leave him, let him do as he will, and you put aside your care, as the fathers said." But even in this you are mocked, for this measure (of spiritual stature) is as far from you as heaven is from earth. Do you want to make sure of this? Remember what the Lord said about trees: as they are, so also bear fruit. Consider, then, what comes from the silence that the devil inspires in you? – embarrassment and anger. For when you set to work of your own accord, without being asked, you will soon fall into a net, as happens to simple and untrained people. I will clearly show you that your long-suffering is not according to God: you gather for a few days, and then in one day you exhaust your sack, and it remains empty. Long-suffering according to God says nothing at all until the very end. And you, my lord, brother, are like a ruler: instead of giving your servant one blow in the cheek, explaining to him his faults, and making peace with him, you endure for a few days, and then suddenly you inflict one blow on your brother, which may be fatal to him, and you take (upon yourself) his soul.

185. The same asked another Elder about the same and added: "Shall he not go out of his cell, perhaps the battle will cease through this?"

John's answer. If you had listened to the Elder's answer and fulfilled what he had told you: "Under no circumstances should you consider yourself to be something and do not seek equality with others"; then he would calm down and not be confused, and there would be no need to ask me or anyone else. Beware, brother, you have been mocked by demons. You speak of the sins of that brother as if they had really been; But tell me, do you really know that they were made? Sometimes they talk about someone's sins on suspicion, and then it turns out that they did not happen. Of what (transgressions) did the Lord say to men: Amen, I say unto you... Unless ye forgive a man their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses" (Matt. 6:16, 15)? Which ones did He speak of, whether they were real or suspected? Of course, about the real ones. How then do you judge and condemn your brother for the sins committed during the three weeks? Do you not know that you expose yourself to great condemnation? If you punish your brother for this, God will punish you for all that you have done from your youth to this day. Where are the words of the Apostle: "Let not the sun go down on your anger" (Ephesians 4:26)? Where: "Do you bear one another's burdens" (Gal. 6:2)? Where is the message of the elder that can guide you? What do you give to your brother instead of thanksgiving? Do you not understand what you say: "You have repaid me evil and good, and so on." (Psalm 37:21)? How does your brother serve you, is it not for the sake of God and love for Him? And how do you trouble his thoughts? Be attentive, your end is near, as you have already heard and confess yourself, and the demons do not allow you to consider themselves as nothing, and calm down. Arm yourself against thoughts that bring you confusion, as the Elder told you, and you will receive help. However, if you had recourse to innumerable artifices, no matter what you did, even if you had left the cell, it would not leave you, so long as the battle and temptation continue, if you do not resist your thoughts. Having something of your labors, combine it with the prayer of the saints, for it can do much if it is hastened (James 5:16). Say to your thought: "Tomorrow I will die." Consider yourself as nothing, and you will calm down. May the Lord give you His peace. Amen.

186. The same. My father! I instructed my brother with the love of God, but he did not accept my words, and I was troubled. What should I do? If I converse only with those brethren with whom you have appointed, will this not serve as a stumbling block to anyone?