13) Nothing can establish and affirm the righteousness and purity of life so much as frequent visits to church here and diligent listening to the Word of God. For what is food for the body, so is the teaching of divine words for the soul. "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Deuteronomy 8:3), which is why the non-communion of this meal produces a kind of famine. And God threatens them and brings him as a punishment and punishment. "I will send," says the Lord, a famine upon the earth, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord" (Amos 8:11). After this, how will it not be inappropriate, in order to remove the bodily hunger, to do and undertake everything, and to voluntarily inflict the spiritual hunger on oneself, while it is much more disastrous than the first, to the extent that in the most important thing the damage from it is also suffered. I beseech you and beseech you, let us not set up such an evil slander against ourselves, but let us prefer our stay here (in the church) to any other work and occupation. For tell me, what can you gain that could be equal to the harm to you and to your house from leaving the church assembly? Even if you find a treasury full of gold, and for this reason you have not come here, you will suffer more and more harm, as much as the spiritual is more valuable than the sensual. Even if there were many of them, and they flocked more and more from everywhere, it is not a great matter; for it will not descend to us into the life there (beyond the grave), it will not settle with us in heaven and will not appear before the dreadful throne, and often even before death it leaves us and disperses, and if it remains in our hands until the end of our lives, it will be taken away from us by the very end of our lives. And spiritual treasure is an inalienable acquisition, it always accompanies us, it will follow us in our migration, and before the throne of the Judge it gives us great boldness [1, 800-1].

14) We receive twofold fruit from attending church meetings. It is not only the fruit of this that we drink our souls with divine words, but also that through this we cover our enemies with extreme shame, and bring consolation and enlivening to our brethren. —

For if stone against stone quickly draws out a spark, if even then, as the stone is cold and the fire is hot, the collision of them conquers nature, then if this happens to the stone, will it not be all the more so with souls when they begin to rub against each other and warm each other with the fire of the spirit? [1, 801].

15) The husband is the head of the wife (Ephesians 5:23), and the wife is the helper of the husband. Therefore let the head not venture without his body on the path that leads to this sacred place, and let not the body appear here without the head, but let both the head and the body enter here, having with them also their children. For if it is pleasant to see a tree with sprouts from its root, how much more pleasant is it to see a man having a child with him, as a sprout from his root. And this is not only pleasant, but also beneficial and praiseworthy. It is beneficial for those assembled, in the sense in which I said above; It is praiseworthy for parents and ministers of the word: for we are amazed at the farmer not when he cultivates the land, which has already been cultivated more than once, but when he takes the land that is unploughed and unsown, and takes care of it in order to make it fruitful. In the same way, St. Paul acted, setting himself in honor – to preach the Gospel not where Christ is already named, but where He is not named. We will imitate Him, both for the return of the Church, and for our own benefit [1, 802].

16) It is not so much the royal crown that adorns the head, as the cross, the most honorable of the whole world. From which formerly everyone abhorred with horror, now it has become desirable for everyone, and you will find it everywhere, among rulers and subordinates, among wives and husbands, among virgins and married, among slaves and freemen. Everyone often imprints it on the most important part of their body, and on their foreheads, depicted as on a column, they wear it every day. He is at the sacred meal, he is in the ordinations of priests, he is again shining with the body of Christ at the Last Supper. Everyone can see Him dominating everywhere – in houses, in markets, in deserts, on roads, on mountains and hills, on the sea, on ships and islands, on beds, clothes and weapons, on silver and gold vessels, on precious stones and wall ornaments, on the bodies possessed by demons, in time of war and peace, day and night. So desirable for all has become this wondrous gift — this ineffable grace! No one is ashamed of him, no one covers his face, thinking that he is a sign of shameful death; but we are all adorned with it more than with crowns, diadems and innumerable margaritas [1, 826].

17) Do you want to see the best decoration of the bed? I will now show you the decoration of the bed, not of some simple peasant, and not of a military man, but of the king's bed. I am quite sure that, even if you were the most self-loving of all the selfish, you would not desire a bed more beautiful than the bed of a king, and not just any king, but the first king, all the kings of all, and to this day glorified throughout the whole world. I point you to the bed of Blessed David. Do you know what she was like? She was adorned not with gold and silver, but with tears and confession. He himself speaks of this, saying: "I will wash my bed every night, with my tears I will wet my bed" (Psalm 6:7). Tears like margaritas were planted on her everywhere. And look at me, what a God-loving soul he has? Since during the day he was amused by many cares and cares about the affairs of the people and the military, he used the time of rest for confession, prayers and tears, in which others all enjoy peace. And he did not do this in such a way that he would be awake one night and rest the next, or stay awake for two or three nights, and in the intervals give himself up to rest, but he did so every night. "I will wash," he says, "every night I will wash my bed, I will wet my bed with tears," thus expressing both the abundance of tears and the constancy in them. When everyone was resting and giving themselves up to rest, he alone then conversed with God, and did not close his eyes, confessing his sins with contrition and weeping. Make yourself a bed of the same. A bed overlaid with gold on the one hand arouses human envy, and on the other, it inflames the wrath of God. Tears, like those of David, quench even the fire of Gehenna [1, 973].

18) Why did God put into our souls such a vigilant and vigilant judge? "Conscience, I say. There is no such vigilant judge among people as our conscience. External judges are spoiled by money, and flattery relaxes, and fear makes the scales turn, and many other things evade the righteous decision of affairs. But the judgment seat of conscience is not damaged by anything of this kind; but even if you give money, even if you squander flattery, even if you frighten or do anything else, she pronounces all righteous condemnation of sinful thoughts; and he who sins himself, he himself condemns himself, even though no one else convicts him of sin. And this is not once or twice, but many times and all her life she does not stop doing. Even if a significant amount of time passes, she will never forget what she has done. Both during the commission of a sin, and before committing it, and after committing it, a strict judgment is imposed on us, especially after a sin. While we commit sin, intoxicated with the sweetness of sin, we do not feel so (the reproaches of conscience); but when the sin is committed and the sinful deed is brought to an end, then the sweetness of sin disappears and finds the bitter sting of repentance. The opposite of this happens to those who give birth. Those before birth have unbearable pains, tearing torments, but after birth they have joy and peace, for with the exodus of the fetus of the womb all pains also depart; but here it is not so, but when we accept sinful thoughts and conceive criminal desires, we rejoice and be glad, and when we give birth to an evil child, it is sin, then, seeing the shame of the begotten, we begin to be tormented and torn apart by pains, bitter than those who give birth. Wherefore, I beseech you, let us not receive especially at the beginning of corrupting lust; but if we receive it, let us destroy this seed within (before the fruit is ripe and born from it). But if we allow this through negligence, let us hasten to kill the sin committed by deed, by confession, tears, and condemnation of ourselves. For nothing is more destructive to sin than self-condemnation with repentance and tears. Have you condemned yourself in sin? cast off his burden. And who says this: God Himself is the Judge. "Thou shalt speak thy iniquities first, that thou mayest be justified." Why, tell me, are you ashamed and blush to confess your sins? Do you tell a man that he should revile you? Or do you confess it to your servant, so that you tell everyone about it? No, but to the Lord, the merciful, humane physician you show your wounds [1, 1011].

19) Are you a sinner? Do not despair, but enter (into the church) and repent. Have you sinned? Say to God, I have sinned. What difficulty is it to say, I have sinned? Will you not, if you do not profess to be a sinner, and you will not have the devil as your accuser? Warn him, then, and exalt this dignity of him; for it is his dignity to condemn. And why do you not warn him, tell him of his sin, and blot him out, when you know that in him (the devil) you have such a rebuke who will not remain silent? "Have you sinned?" "Enter the church, and say to God: I have sinned." I demand nothing more of you than this one thing. For the Scripture says: "Thou shalt speak thy iniquities first, that thou mayest be justified" (Isaiah 43:26). Say sin, that you may be absolved from sin. There is no difficulty in this, you do not need to type a lot of words for this, and no spending is required for this, and nothing of the kind. Say, 'How can it be seen that if I speak my own sin, I will receive absolution from my sin?' You have in the Scriptures an example of how one said his sin and received forgiveness, and how another did not say his sin, and was condemned. These are Cain and David [2, 285].

20) Pray every hour; but do not be bored when you pray, and do not be lazy to ask for mercy from the loving God, and He will not forsake you because of your perseverance, but will forgive you your sins, and will give you what you ask for. If you pray and be heard, continue in prayer, giving thanks (for mercy); and if thou shalt not be heard, abide in prayer that I may be heard. Do not say: I prayed much, but was not heard; for this also often happens for your own benefit. God knows that you are lazy and indulgent yourself, and if you receive what you ask for, you will leave and pray no more; why does He delay hearing you, in order to compel you, out of necessity, to converse with Him more often and to spend time in prayer. Remain in prayer, and do not allow yourself to be dissipated in it. Prayer can do much, beloved; therefore, do not approach it as a matter of little importance [2, 297].

(21) Have you sinned? enter the church and blot out your sin (by repentance). No matter how many times you fall on the marketplace, every time you get up: so and how many times you sin, hasten to repent, do not allow despair. If you sin again, repent again; do not stoop and do not fall away from the hope of receiving the blessings that are set before us. Even though you are already an old man, and you have sinned, go to church and repent. Here is a doctor's office, not a judgment seat; here they do not impose torments for sins, but give remission of sins. Say thy sin to God alone: "Unto Thee alone have I sinned, and have done evil before Thee" (Psalm 50:8), and thy sin shall be forgiven thee [2:297-8].

22) You also have another way of repentance, not difficult, but very convenient. What is it? Weep over your sin, learning it from the Gospel. Peter, the chief apostle, the friend of Christ, who received revelation not from man, but from the Father, as the Lord Christ testifies of him, saying: "Blessed art thou Simon, O Jonah, for flesh and blood thou hast not shown thee, but the Father in heaven" (Matt. 16:17), — this Peter committed not a small sin, but an extremely great one, — he rejected the Lord Himself, — I say this not to condemn him, but for you as a guide to repentance, I have rejected the Lord Himself, the Lord of the universe, the Savior of all. And when is it? On the night when Christ was betrayed, Peter stood, says the Gospel, by the fire and warmed himself. A maidservant came up and said to him: "And thou wast with Jesus" (Matt. 26:69). What is he? — "I do not know this man" (Mark 14:68). Then the second and third time too. And the prophecy of the Lord was fulfilled. Then Christ looked upon Peter and with His eyes let out a voice (of rebuke to him). He did not speak a word to him with His lips, so as not to rebuke him before the Jews and not to shame His disciple, but with His eyes He emitted a voice (of rebuke), as if thus: Peter! what I told you was fulfilled. "Then Peter felt his fall and began to weep, and he wept not simply, but bitterly, with tears from his eyes arranging for himself a second baptism. With such bitter weeping he blotted out his sin. But if such a sin is blotted out by weeping, then if you weep, will you not blot out your sin? It was not a small sin to deny one's Lord and Lord, but it was extremely great and heavy; and yet tears blotted out this sin. "Weep over your sin, too, and weep not just for show, but bitterly, like Peter. From the very depths bring forth fountains of tears, so that, having compassion on you, the Lord will forgive you your sin. For he is a lover of mankind, as he himself said: "I do not desire the death of the sinner, but that the wicked should turn from his way, and live for him" (Ezekiel 33:11). He wants little work from you, but He Himself gives you great things. He waits for a reason from you to give you the treasure of salvation. Bring tears, and He will grant you forgiveness; bring repentance, and He will grant you forgiveness of sins [2, 298].

(23) How can we bow down to the mercy of the Lord? "That's right!" Let us plant prayer in our hearts, and let us add humility and meekness to it. For the Lord says: "Learn from me, that you are meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matt. 11:29). And David sang: "Sacrifice to God the spirit is broken: "God will not despise a broken and humble heart" (Psalm 50:19). The Lord loves nothing so much as a meek and humble soul. Take heed, brother, and do not resort to people when something accidentally burdens you, but, bypassing everyone, go with your thoughts to the Physician of souls. For He alone can heal the heart, "Who created our hearts in private" and "understands all our works" (Psalm 32:15). He can enter into our conscience, touch the mind, console the soul. If He does not comfort our hearts, human consolations are superfluous and senseless: on the contrary, when He comforts, even though innumerable people oppress us, they will not be able to harm us by a hair's breadth. When He strengthens the heart, no one can disturb it. Knowing this, beloved, let us always have recourse to God, Who desires and is able to dispel the clouds of sorrows that have fallen upon us [2, 304].

24) When people are to be addressed with any request, it is necessary in every possible way to adapt oneself to the time, and to the place, and to the person, and to speak deliberately; but when we approach God, nothing of the kind is required. Cry out only from the heart, and not with your lips alone, and that's it. "When thou prayest, enter in," he says, "into thy cell, and shutting thy doors, pray unto thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father, seeing in secret, shall reward thee in Java" (Matt. 6:6). Do you see the abundance of honor for you? When you ask Me, let him speak, no one sees; but when I honor you (by hearing and freely), then I will make the whole world a witness of good. Let us obey the word of the Lord, and let us not pray for show; nor will we show the Lord the way to help us. Have you told Him your need, what have you said in your soul? Do not say further how to help you. He Himself knows better than you what is good for you. Others say much in their prayers: Lord, give me health, increase my possessions, avenge my enemy. This is full of all foolishness. It behooves us, leaving all this, to beseech God with the words of the publican: "God, be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13). And He already knows how to help us. Thus let us be wise in prayer, praying with pain of heart and humility, beating ourselves in the forehead, as he (the publican) did, and we shall receive what we ask for. If, having indignation and anger in our hearts, we pray, then we will appear vile and hateful to God. Let us break our hearts, let us humble our souls, and let us pray both for ourselves and for those who have offended us. God listens all the more and fulfills the petition of those who pray for their enemies, who are not vindictive, who do not rise up against their enemies. And the more they do this, the more God takes vengeance on their enemies, unless they repent [2, 304-5].

25) In three days, what a multitude of sins did the Ninevites pray for, and what terrible sentence of God did they reject?? Just as a lazy (not energetic) soul, even though it spends a lot of time in repentance, will not do anything special and will not achieve reconciliation with God: so, on the contrary, a soul that is agitated, burning with zeal, and manifests repentance in an all-contrite way, can blot out many years of sins in a short time. Did not Peter deny three times? And for the third time, is it not with an oath? And was he not afraid against the words of the insignificant servant? "What then?" Did he need many years to repent? — Not at all. But in the same night he slipped, and got up, and received the wound, and received healing, and fell into illness, and returned to health. How and how? Weeping and tearing my heart; not just weeping, but with great contrition and deep pain in the heart. That is why the Evangelist did not say: "weeping," and only, but: "weeping bitterly." How strong was the weeping and how abundant the tears, no word can imagine; but clearly shows the outcome of the matter. For after such a calamitous fall, for there is nothing more calamitous than the renunciation of the Lord, after such a fall, the Lord again raised him to his former dignity. So do not fall under the weight of sins. The most pernicious thing in sin is to remain in sin, and the most miserable thing in the fall is to lie in the fall [2, 308-9].