2. It is remarkable that the blind man, according to the legend, receives sight when Jesus approached Jericho. For Jericho signifies the moon, and the moon in the sacred language serves as a symbol of the infirmities of the flesh, because when it decreases in its monthly course, then it serves as an image of our death. Thus, when our Creator approaches Jericho, then the blind man receives sight, which means that when the Godhead takes upon Himself the weakness of our flesh, then the human race receives the light it has lost. For in so far as God tolerates the human, to that extent man receives strength for the Divine. This blind man, according to the Scriptures, sat exactly by the way and begged for alms; and the Truth itself says: "I am the way" (John 14:6). And so, the blind man who has no conception of the clarity of the eternal light; but if he already believes in the Redeemer; now he sits by the wayside; but if he believes, but does not want to ask for the eternal light to be granted to him, and does not pray, then he is blind, although he sits by the way, but does not beg for alms. And if anyone has believed, and has known the blindness of his soul, and prays for the light of truth to be given to him, then he is a blind man, sitting by the wayside and begging alms. And so, whoever is aware of the darkness of his blindness, who has an idea of that light of eternity which he does not have, cries out with his heart and cries out with tenderness: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. But let us listen to what follows the cries of the blind man. And the previous rebuke to him, let him be silent.

3.

And so, the previous rebuke to him, let him be silent; for before Jesus draws near to the soul, the crimes we have committed, imprinted in our imagination by their images, confuse us during the prayer itself.

4. But let us hear what the blind man who desired to see did in spite of this. It is said, "More than he cried out, O Son of David, have mercy on me." Behold, he cries out more and more who is silenced by the crowd; Thus, the more we are constrained by the oppressive noise of carnal thoughts, the more ardent and persistent we must be in prayer. This noise prevents us from crying out, since even in prayer for the most part we suffer from the imagination of our sins. But it is precisely the louder it is necessary to raise the voice of the heart, the stronger it encounters obstacles, until it exceeds the noise of intolerant thoughts, and by its tension and perseverance it reaches the holy ear of the Lord. What we are saying now, I think everyone has experienced for himself; for when we direct our souls from this world to God, when we turn to prayer, then during our prayer it becomes unpleasant and burdensome for us that very thing which we formerly did with pleasure. Thoughts of sins are removed from the eyes of the heart by the power of holy desire; their imagination is overcome by cries of repentance.

5. But when we make a strong effort in our prayer, then we impress upon our minds the image of Jesus passing by. That is why the Gospel further says: "When Jesus arose, he commanded him to be brought to Himself." "Behold, He Who had passed by before stops; thus, when during prayer we still hear the noise of dreams, then we feel that Jesus seems to be passing by. When we make a special effort in prayer, then Jesus stops to restore the light in us; then God dwells in the heart, and the lost light returns to us.

6. However, in this event the Lord also inspires us with something else, which we can usefully understand about humanity and His Divinity. For the cry of the blind man was heard by Jesus passing by, and the miracle of sight was performed by stopping. To pass by is characteristic of humanity, and to stand is characteristic of the Divine. According to mankind, He was born, grew, died, rose again, moved from place to place. Thus, since there is no changeability in the Godhead, and to pass is the same as to change, so this passing was precisely according to the flesh, and not according to the Godhead. But according to the Divinity, it is characteristic of Him to always stand, because He is omnipresent, moving neither forward nor backward. Thus, Jesus who passes by hears the crying blind, but he who stands gives sight; for, according to His humanity, He, sympathizing, took pity on the cries of our blindness; but the light of grace sheds upon us by the power of His Divinity.

7. And it is remarkable that He says to the blind man who came up, "Whatever you will, I will do it." Did He who could give sight not know what the blind man wanted? But He wants us to ask, although He Himself knows beforehand what we will ask for, and what to grant us according to our request. He commands us to pray without ceasing, and in spite of this, He says: "For the tidings of your Father, which ye require before your petitions" (Matt. 6:8). Consequently, he recognizes that it is necessary that we ask Him, in order to stir up the heart to prayer. Wherefore the blind man immediately added: Lord, that I may see. For example, a blind man asks the Lord not for gold, but for sight, because although he may have something, he cannot see what he has without sight. And so, most beloved brethren, let us imitate him who, as we have heard, received healing both in body and in soul.

Faith serves as a path to this light. Therefore, even the blind man, when given sight, is justly given the answer immediately: "See, thy faith will save thee." But to this the carnal thought objects: how can I ask for spiritual light, which I cannot see? Whence can I obtain the knowledge that there is such a light that does not shine to the eyes of the body? "Everyone can answer such a thought briefly, because the very thing he feels, he feels not with his body, but with his soul. No one sees his own soul; and yet no one doubts that he has a soul which he does not see. For the soul invisibly controls the visible body. But if this invisible thing is separated, then immediately the visible thing that was visibly standing also falls. If, then, in this visible life, a being is animated by the invisible, is there any room for doubt in the existence of invisible life?

8. But let us hear what has been done to the crying blind man, or what he himself has done. It is further said: "And I saw and followed Him." He who does good, which he understands, sees and follows. But he sees, but does not follow, who, although he understands good, neglects to do good. And so, most beloved brethren, if we are already aware of the blindness of our pilgrimage, if we, believing in the mystery of our Redeemer, are already on the way, if we pray daily and ask our Creator for light, if, seeing this very light with our minds, we have already regained our sight after blindness, then in our deeds we will follow Jesus, Whom we see with our minds. Let us carefully watch where He is going, and in following His path. For Jesus will be followed by him who imitates him. For this reason He says: "Come after Me, and leave the dead to bury Thy dead" (Matt. 7:22). To follow is to imitate. Therefore He exhorts again, saying: "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me" (John 12:26). So, let us consider where He is going to serve Him in our service. Here He is, the Lord and Creator of the Angels, desiring to take on our nature, which He created, descends into the womb of the Virgin. He did not deign to be born into this world of the rich, but chooses the parents of the poor. Therefore even the lamb was lacking, which (according to the law) had to be sacrificed for Him, but the Mother sacrificed two turtledoves, or two chicks of a dove (Luke 2:24). Nor did He deign to be happy in this world, but endured dishonor and ridicule, endured spitting, beatings, beatings, a crown of thorns and the Cross. And since we have been deprived of inner joy through the pleasure of bodily things, He shows with what bitterness it must be returned. So, what must man suffer for himself, if God has suffered so much for people? "Therefore, whoever already believes in Christ, but still clings to covetousness, is proud of honors, is inflamed with hatred, is defiled by the impurity of lust, desires happiness in the world, — he neglects to follow Christ, in Whom he believes. For he to whom the Leader shows the path of sorrow, if he desires joy and pleasure, follows a different path. And so, let us remember the sins we have committed; let us consider what a terrible Judge will come to punish them; let us dispose our hearts to shed tears; let our life in time be grieved by repentance, so that we may not feel eternal bitterness in vengeance. Weeping leads us to eternal joy, according to the promise of the Truth, which says: "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Matt. 5:4). And through joy lies the path to weeping, according to the testimony of the same Truth, which says: "Woe to you who laugh now: for ye shall weep and weep" (Luke 6:25). Thus, if we desire the joy of recompense at the end of the race, then on the way we must endure the bitterness of repentance. And let it be so that not only our life may be pleasing to God, but that our conversion may also inflame others to the glory of God. In this way the Gospel story is concluded: and all people who saw it, gave praise to God.

Discourse III, delivered to the people in the church of St. Philicitata on the day of her martyrdom [1]. The reading of the Holy Scriptures. Gospels: Matthew 12:46–50

At the time of it, I said to Jesus to the people, Behold, His mother and His brethren stood outside, seeking to speak to Him. And one said unto Him, Behold, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak unto thee. And he answered him that saith unto him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren; And he stretched out his hand against his disciples, saying, Behold, my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of My Father, Who is in heaven, that is My brother, and sister, and mother.

1. The now proposed reading of the Holy Scriptures. The Gospels, most beloved brethren, are brief, but full of great mysteries. For Jesus, our Creator and Redeemer, pretends not to know His Mother, and determines who is His Mother and who are His relatives, not by carnal kinship, but by unity of the Spirit, saying, Who is My mother, and who are My brethren? For whosoever shall do the will of My Father, Who is in heaven, that is My brother, and sister, and mother. With these words, what else does He inspire us, if not that He gathers many out of paganism, who follow His commandments, and rejects Judea, in which He was born according to the flesh? For this reason His Mother, as if unrecognized, appears to be standing outside; thus the synagogue is rejected by its Founder because, in observing the fulfillment of the law, it lost its spiritual understanding and, for the sake of preserving the letter, stopped outside.

2. But that he who does the will of the Father is called brother and sister of the Lord is not surprising, since both sexes are equally called to faith. But it is extremely surprising how such a person is even called a mother? For the Lord vouchsafed the name of brethren to the faithful disciples, saying, "Go and tell my brethren" (Matt. 28:10). Therefore, when one comes to faith, one can be a brother of the Lord; but the question arises, how can one be His mother? — It is necessary to know that the believer becomes a brother and sister of Christ by faith, and a mother through preaching. For he who preaches, as it were, gives birth to the Lord, Whom he implants in the hearts of those who hear; and he becomes a mother when his preaching engenders love for the Lord in the heart of his neighbor.

3. Confirmation of this truth is presented to us by Blessed Philicitata, whose martyrdom we now celebrate: she was a servant of Christ by faith, and by preaching she became the mother of Christ. For, as we read in her most reliable biographies, she was so afraid to leave behind her seven of her sons alive in the flesh, as carnal parents usually fear lest their children die before them. Enduring the burden of persecution, she strengthened the hearts of her children in love for the Most High Fatherland by preaching, and in spirit she regenerated those whom she had begotten in the flesh, so that by preaching she revived for God those whom she had born in the flesh for the world. Ponder, most beloved brethren, about this courageous heart in a woman's body. Fearlessly she stood to death. She was only afraid that the light of truth would be lost in the children if they lived. How can we not call this woman a Martyress? "This is more than the Martyress. — The Lord, speaking of John, said: "Thou hast gone out (into the wilderness) to see; Is it a prophet; yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet (Matt. 11:9), and John himself answered the question about himself: "I am a prophet" (John 1:21) [ [2]].