46) "For that servant fell, bowing down to him, saying: Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all. And having had mercy on the masters of that servant, forgive him, and forgive him the debt" (Matt. 18:29, 30). Let us listen to prayer, lazy ones, what power belittling has. This servant did not show any special fasting or anything of the kind, but for this reason he only begged his master, bowed him to mercy. Let us not lose heart and despair in our prayers. Who was more insignificant than this slave, who only accumulated debts and had nothing good, neither greater nor small, in himself? However, he did not say to himself: I am bold, shame covers my face, — how can I approach? How can I open my mouth to supplication? — what many sinners say, sick with devilish piety. Are you bold? For this reason draw near, in order to acquire boldness. Is man the one whom you seek to propitiate, that you may be ashamed of Him and blush? He is God, desiring more than you yourself to cleanse you from your debts to Him. You do not so much wish to put yourself in a position safe from all sides, as He desires your salvation. And He showed this by His very deeds. "Have you no boldness?" But that is why you yourself should dare to be aware of yourself as such. For the greatest boldness is to consider oneself bold, just as the greatest shame is to justify oneself before the Lord. Such a person is unclean, even though he be holiest of all men; On the contrary, he is righteous who considers himself the last of all. The witnesses of this are the Pharisee and the publican. Let us not despair and lose heart because of our sins, but let us approach God, let us fall down, let us beg, as this servant did, who had hitherto been in a truly good mood. For not to lose heart, not to despair, to confess sins, to ask for relief and patience — all this is good, and is a sign of a broken heart and a humble soul. But what he did after that is not at all similar to what he did at the beginning. Whatever he gathered by repulsion, he lost it all by his lack of mercy to his fellow servant. "But let us pass on to the image of pardon, and see how the lord forgave him, and how he came to this. He asked for patience, and this one forgave him all the debt, so that he received more than he asked. That is why Paul says: "To him who is able to do all things according to abundance, which we ask or understand... glory" (Ephesians 3:20). You cannot even imagine what and how much He has prepared to give you. Do not be ashamed, and do not blush. True, be ashamed of your sins, but do not despair, and do not depart from prayer, but approach even being a sinner, in order to propitiate the Lord and give Him the opportunity to manifest His love for mankind in you by forgiving you of your sins. But if you are afraid to approach, you will put a barrier to His goodness and prevent His generosity from being poured out on you [3:26-7].

(47) (I do not say, "Be in church all day.") But give me two o'clock in the afternoon, and keep the rest for you. But even these two hours you will not give to me, but to yourself, so that you may be comforted by the prayer of the fathers, that you may be filled with their blessings, that you may come out of here completely safe, so that, having put on the full armor of the spirit, you may become inaccessible and irresistible to the devil. What is more pleasant, tell me, than to be here? Even if you were to spend the whole day here, what is more honorable than this? Where is safer than here, where there are so many brethren, where is the Holy Spirit, where is Jesus in the midst, and His Father? What other congregation like this will you find? What kind of meeting? What synod? Such are the blessings here at the table (of the Lord), in hearing (the word of God and teachings), in blessings, in prayers, in mutual communion: but do you turn your eyes to other places of assembly? What excuse can you have for this? "I say this not for you (who are present here), because you have no need of such healings, showing by deeds your health, obedience, and warm love for being in church. But I say this to you, so that through you they may hear those things that are not present here. Do not tell them, however, that I only condemn those who have not come here, but give them all my word from the beginning. Tell them how much better than all others the congregation here is, tell them what a great reward is received by those who gather here. For if you only say that I have condemned them, you will only anger them, and you will inflict a wound, and you will not put a cure on it. But if you let them know that I did not condemn them as an enemy, but as a friend who grieved for them, and convince them that "the essence of a friend's wound is more certain than the free kiss of an enemy" (Proverbs 27:6); then they will receive reproof with great pleasure: for in this case they will pay attention not to the words, but to the intention of the speaker. Thus heal your brethren. We are responsible for the salvation of you who are present here, and you are responsible for the salvation of those who are absent. We cannot converse with them face to face: let us conduct it through you, through your teaching. May your love for them be a bridge for us. Make our words pass through your tongue into their ears [3, 70].

48) Considering your small number and the fact that our congregations are becoming more and more diminished, I grieve and rejoice. I rejoice for you, who are inherent; I grieve for those who are absent. You are worthy of praise, that even the small number of those who came did not diminish your diligence and did not make you more careless; and they are the most guilty, that even by your diligence they have not become the most scrupulous. Wherefore do I praise you, and call you zealous, because the belittling of those who come here has not harmed you in the least, but I consider them wretched, and I weep for them, because your diligence has not benefited them in any way. They did not listen to the Prophet, who says: "It pleased me to dwell in the house of my God, rather than dwell in the dwellings of sinners" (Psalm 83:11). He did not say, "It is my pleasure" to dwell in the house of my God, nor to abide in it, nor even to go in; but: "Izvolhikh primetsya" (near to be and around). It is kind for me to be among the last; I will be satisfied, he says, if I am worthy to enter at least in the vestibule; a great honor for nothing, if at least one of the last who ranks me in the house of my God. Love makes the Lord common to all its own: for such is love. He who loves not the beloved only loves to see, and not only his house, but also the porch, and not only the porch of the house, but also the porch and the courtyard. He sees his beloved at least clothes, or shoes, he thinks that he himself is his beloved. Such were the prophets. For they did not see the incorporeal God, they saw His house, and through the house they imagined His presence. "Thou hast deigned to dwell in the house of my God, rather than dwell in the dwellings of sinners." Every place, in comparison with the house of God, is a sinner dwelling, call it a judgment seat, call it a council, or a private house. There are also prayers and supplications, but there are also disputes, and battles, and wrangling, and agreements in matters of life. This house (church) is clean from all this. Why are they sinners' villages, and this is the house of God? As a harbor sheltered from winds and waves, great safety is given to the ships that enter it; so God's house, stealing those who enter it from the rebellion of worldly affairs, as from a storm, allows them to stand in great quietness and serenity and listen to the word of God. This place is a disposition to virtue, a school of wisdom, not only during the assembly, when the Scriptures are heard, spiritual teachings are offered, and the most venerable fathers stand before you: but at any other time, enter only the vestibule (nartik, porch), and you will immediately put aside the cares of life. Go in, and immediately a spiritual breeze will envelop your soul. The silence that reigns in it produces a sobering awe and disposes you to be wise, excites the mind, beats off the memory of everything here, and transports you from earth to heaven. But if without an assembly (divine service) there is such benefit from being here; then, when the voice of the prophets is heard, when the Apostles preach the gospel, when Christ is in the midst, when the Father accepts what is here (sacrifice), when the Holy Spirit fills with spiritual joy, what blessings will be satiated with those who are present here! Those who are absent will suffer what damage! [3, 144—5].

49) I would like to know where our despised congregation spend their time, what has kept them from this sacred meal (i.e., hearing the word), about which they are talking. But I already know for sure that they are either chattering about inappropriate and ridiculous things, or are entangled in the cares of life. Neither is worthy of excuse and the extreme deserves reproof. There is nothing to say about the former: so it is self-accusatory. But that even those at home who present us with affairs and speak of urgent needs there, cannot expect indulgence, when once a week they are called here, and here they do not want to prefer the spiritual to the earthly, this is clearly from the Gospel. And in the parable, those who were invited to the marriage presented the same excuses: one bought oxen, the other bought a field; the third took his wife (Luke 14:18-20); however, they did not escape the king's wrath. Those reasons are certainly valid; but when God calls, they have no price. Any need must recede before reverence for God. Almost God; then turn your care to something else. What slave, tell me, before performing the proper service of his master, will clean anything in his house? How absurd, then, is it not for masters, people where dominion is only an empty name, to show such fear and obedience, and not to vouchsafe Him Who is truly the Lord, not only ours, but also the highest Powers, not to be worthy of such service and reverence as is shown to fellow servants? "If it were possible for you to penetrate into the conscience of such people, you would see how wounded they are, how many thorns they have!" "As the earth, which is not touched by the hand of the farmer, becomes desolate and overgrown with all kinds of weeds: so the soul that is not cultivated by spiritual teaching is overgrown with thorns and thistles. For if we, who listen to the prophets and apostles every day, can scarcely restrain our anger, hardly restrain our wrath, scarcely tear out the splinter of envy, and have time to put down these shameless beasts by singing from the divine scriptures to our passions, then they, who never receive such medicines, never listen to the lessons of divine wisdom, what hope of salvation can they have, tell me? I wish I would show their souls to your eyes, and you would see them covered with all kinds of filth, sloppy, disheveled, humiliated, and not daring to appear before your eyes. Just as the body, when it is not washed, is covered with dirt and impurity: so the soul, which is not overwhelmed by spiritual teaching, is burdened with a multitude of sins. And everything that happens here in the church is a spiritual bath, evaporating all impurity with the warmth of the Spirit. The fire of the Spirit not only evaporates all impurity, but also the color (induced by it). For the Lord says: "If ye sin as scarlet, as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18). At least he says, sinful impurity was so deeply rooted in the nature of the soul that it would become immovable in it like the natural color of things, and then I can change it into the opposite quality. It is enough to make one gesture, and every sin will disappear [3, 145-6].

50) (Why don't lazy people dissuade themselves from going to church?) Others make it hot. They say that the atmosphere is suffocating now, the heat is unbearable, we cannot endure crowding and crowding among the people, when then it blows like this, heat, stuffiness. I'm ashamed of them, believe me. For these are women's excuses. But they cannot be sufficiently excused for this, although their bodies are more delicate and their nature is weaker. It would be a shame to denounce such twists, but the need is coming. For if they do not blush when they put forward such pretexts, how much more should we not be ashamed to speak against it. What shall we say to those who expose this? I want to remind them of the three youths in the flames of the sand. Fire swept over them from everywhere, scorched their eyes, poured into their mouths, took their breath away, and they did not cease to sing this sacred hymn of praise to God in the presence of all creation, but standing in the midst of the flames, as if walking in a meadow, they zealously offered their common praise to the Lord. After these three youths, I will bring to them a den of lions, and Daniel among them; and not only that, but I ask them to remember the other pit and the prophet, the pit in which Jeremiah was immersed up to his neck. Rising from these ditches, I would like to lead these those who are dissuaded by pressure and heat, into the prison and show them Paul and Silas, tied to a log, covered with scars and sores, their whole bodies flushed because of many wounds, and in spite of this, singing a song to God at midnight and performing this sacred all-night vigil. How can it not be incongruous now, that while those saints, being in the furnace, in the fire, in the pit, among the beasts, in the mud, in the prison, in the wounds, in innumerable pains and sufferings, do not make excuses for this, but spend their time with ardent zeal in prayer and in the singing of sacred songs, we are no less, Not tolerating anything like this, because of a little heat and sweat, do we give ourselves the audacity to neglect our salvation, and, leaving the sacred assembly, to wander outside, interfering with corrupting gatherings that have nothing sound? [2, 174—5].

(51) Say to him (who does not go to church): Are you not ashamed and should you blush before the Jews, who keep their Sabbath with such exactness, and leave all work from the eve of it? As soon as they notice on Friday that the sun is going down, they immediately stop all transactions and stop trading. And if a man, having bought something from them before the evening, brings them the price of what he bought in the evening, they will not agree to accept it and take the silver in their hands. What do I say about the price of what I bought? Even if they had to get a treasure, they would rather lose it than break the law.

Besides, do you not know that if you, having come here, worship God and stay here for the entire service, then the affairs that are in your hands will flow more successfully? You have worldly worries. But hasten here, so that, having gained God's favor for the sake of your prayerful stay here, you may come out of here with the hope of success, so that you may have God as your helper in the struggle with difficulties, so that, by virtue of the help of the right hand on high, you may become invincible to the demons. If you are vouchsafed here the prayers of the fathers, if you partake of the power of the common (brethren) prayer, if you listen to the words of God, if you attract God's help, if you are protected by such weapons, you come out of here; then the devil himself will not even be able to look upon you, and not only evil people, who have only worries about how to tempt and slander someone. If you go directly from home to the marketplace, then, being deprived of all such weapons, you will be open to all attempts against you [3, 176-7]. (52) (A second marriage is permissible.) Only fornication and adultery are prohibited. We will run away from them, both those who have wives and those who do not. Let us not shame our lives, let us not live a life worthy of ridicule, let us not introduce an evil conscience into our souls.

If it were not so, then why do you run to the bathhouse after such a sin? Is it not because you consider yourself the most unclean than any uncleanness? What other proof shall thou seek of how unclean what thou hast done? Or what decision should you expect from God, when you, who have fallen into sin, have such an opinion about what happened? "That such consider themselves unclean, I praise and approve; but that they do not go to the proper place for purification, for this I condemn and reproach. If there were only bodily impurity here, then you would rightly hope to wash off these impurities with the waters of the bathhouse; but having defiled the soul and made it unclean, seek such purification as will greatly wash away its filth. What kind of bath is there to wash away such a sin? Hot springs of tears, groaning from the depths of the heart, unceasing contrition, diligent prayers, almsgiving, and generous almsgiving, repentance for what has been done, a vow not to attempt such deeds any more. In this way sin is washed away, in this way the impurity of the soul is cleansed: so that if we do not do this, then even if we go around all the springs of water, we will not be able to remove a small part of this sin. Of course, it is better not to encroach on this shameful sin at all. But if anyone has already slipped on it in any way, let him hasten to put on the wound the prescribed medicines, making a vow first of all not to fall into the same defilement. If, having sinned, we repent, and then again attempt to do the same, then there will be no benefit from the purification we have undergone. He who washes himself and again falls into the feces — what he destroys, what he has built, and he who builds again in order to destroy again what has been created — receives no benefit, he labors in vain, and burdens himself [3, 224].

53) What we cannot correct by our own efforts, we can complete by prayers, — prayers, I mean, unceasingly. For it is necessary to pray unceasingly, both to everyone who is in sorrow, and to him who is in joy, and to him who is in trouble, and to him who is in prosperity. Whoever is in joy and well-being should pray that such a state may remain motionless and unchangeable, and never be interrupted; and those who are in sorrow and trouble — in order to see at last a favorable change in their position and taste sweet peace from troubles. Do you live in peace? Pray to God that this peace may remain indestructible. Do you see that a thunderstorm is rising? Pray diligently to God to bear the storm safely and restore the disturbed peace. Heard? Thank you for being heard. Not heard? Continue to pray to be heard. God often delays the gift of prayer, not because he is angry and disgusted, but in order to keep you with Him by the distance of the gift, as the child-loving fathers do. Are you unworthy? By perseverance of prayer you will make yourself worthy. A Canaanite woman approached the Lord and cried out mightily: "Have mercy on me, O Lord, my daughter is possessed by evil" (Matt. 15:22). Who was she? A strange barbarian, likened to a dog. But by the persistence of prayer it became worthy of hearing, and not only heard, but also praised: "O woman, great is thy faith" (v. 28). At the beginning of the petition, the Lord did not answer her; but when she came once, twice, and thrice with prayer, then He only showed her His mercy: "Be thou as thou wilt," finally assuring us that in the beginning He also delayed the gift, not intending to refuse the petitioner altogether, but wishing to show the patience of the woman, and to give us a lesson in prayer to endure (Col. 4:2). There is nothing stronger than warm and fervent prayer [3, 319-20].

54) When we pray, then the evil devil attacks us most of all. He sees the greatest benefit for us from prayer; why does he contrive in every possible way to make us return home empty-handed from here from church? He knows, knows well, that if those who come to church approach God with sober prayer, express their sins and warmly grieve over them in their souls, then they will depart from here, having received complete forgiveness: for God is a lover of mankind. Why does He warn them to lead them away from prayer in any way, so that they do not receive anything? And this he does, not by force, but by pleasant dreams entertaining the mind and thereby leading laziness to prayer. It is our own fault that we willingly give ourselves over to its snares, that we deprive ourselves of the blessings of prayer, and we have no excuse for this. Fervent prayer is the light of the mind and heart, an unquenchable, unceasing light. Why does the enemy blow innumerable thoughts, like clouds of dust, into our minds, and even things that we have never thought about, gathering them, pouring into our souls during prayer? Just as sometimes a gust of wind, attacking the light of a lamp that is being kindled, extinguishes it: so the devil, seeing the flame of prayer kindled in his soul, hastens to blow from there and from there innumerable caring thoughts, and does not leave this until he has time to extinguish the light that has been engaged. In this case, let us act as those who light lamps do. Those who do? Noticing that a strong breath of wind is approaching, they block the opening of the lamp with their finger and thus do not allow the wind to enter, because if it bursts in, it will immediately extinguish the fire. The same is true of us. As long as thoughts are attached, we can still resist them; but when we open the doors of the heart and receive the enemy inside, we will no longer be able to resist them in the least. For this reason, just as those who light lamps put their finger on the opening of the lamp, so we will close the door of the heart with a sober thought, and thus prevent the evil spirit from entering it, so that when it enters, it does not extinguish the light of prayer there [3, 358].

55) Isaac prayed for the removal of his childless wife Rebekah, and God heard him (Gen. 25:21). Do not think that as soon as he called on God, he was heard. No, he spent a lot of time praying to God for this. For twenty years he prayed to God about this. He was forty years old when he took Rebekah in marriage (v. 20); and when he had children, he was sixty years old, v. 26. For twenty years Rebekah was childless, and during all this time Isaac prayed to God. —

That is why we always leave here empty-handed. Who among us has prayed to God for twenty years for one thing, or even for twenty months? [3, 361—2].

56) It is not enough for our salvation to pray if we do not pray according to the laws that Christ has laid down for this. What laws did He put down? Pray for our enemies, even if they sadden us a lot. And if we do not do this, then we are lost, as is evident from what happened to the Pharisee. For if this one, not praying against enemies, but only being vain, suffered such a punishment, then what punishment awaits those who pray many and for a long time against enemies! What are you doing, man? Do you stand asking forgiveness of sins, and fill your soul with anger? When we ought to be the meekest of all, because we converse with the All-Merciful Lord, we pray to Him for our sins, we ask for mercy, love for mankind and forgiveness; Is it then proper to rage, to give oneself up to brutality, and to fill one's mouth with bitterness? And how, tell me, can you and I obtain salvation, holding the appearance of supplicants, and pronouncing words of pride, and thereby grieving our Lord? You have come in to heal your own wounds: this is a time of propitiation, a time of supplication and lamentation, and not of anger, of tears, not of irritation, of contrition, and not of indignation. Why do you disturb the order of things? Why are you fighting against yourself? Why do you ruin your own structure? He who prays above all else must be peaceful in soul, have a humble mind and a broken heart; but he who cries out against his enemies cannot do anything of the kind, because he is full of anger and is incapable of having meek feelings [3, 366].

57) When you see that any difficulties have arisen either in marriage or in the situation of other worldly things, call upon God for help. This is the best way to solve the difficulties encountered. The weapon of prayer is the most powerful. This I have often said, and I say now, and I will not cease to say. Though you are a sinner, look at the publican, who did not receive a refusal, but cleansed so many of his sins. Do you want to know what the power of prayer is? God does not have so much friendship as prayer. And this is not my word: I would not dare to pronounce such a statement from my own mind. Listen from the scriptures how friendship did not do what prayer did. "Whosoever is of you, saith the Lord, has a friend, and goes to him at midnight, and saith unto him, Friend, give me three loaves of bread for each other, because the friend hath come from the way to me, and the Imam hath not offered him anything: and he saith from within, Thou hast not laboured me: the doors are already shut, and my children are with me in the couches: and I cannot arise, give thee. I say unto you, Though he not give him a rise, he shall have no friend, but because of his wickedness, he shall give him a man who requires" (Luke 11:5-8). Do you see how, what friendship was not strong enough to do, did persistence (prayers)? Since the petitioner was a friend, so that you would not think that for this reason the request was successful, the Lord said: "If he does not give him, he will not have a friend, but for his lack of grace he will give him him." Even if friendship does not do it, he says, perseverance will do what friendship was not strong for. "But where was it in practice?" On the publican. The publican was not a friend of God, but became a friend. So you, even if you are an enemy, will become a friend by perseverance. Look also at Syrophoenicissa, and listen to what the Lord says to her: "It is not good to take away bread with a child, and destroy it with a dog" (Matt. 15:26). How did He do this if it is not good? By perseverance the woman has attained this good, so that you may understand that what we are unworthy, we become worthy of through unceasing prayer [3, 370].