May 8, 1854

4. Without the will of God, nothing is done; The Lord tests us in order to make us worthy of Himself

You inform me that the innocent sufferer of Christ, Paphnutius D., is somewhat better, which I heartily rejoiced at. Grant, O Lord, that he receive complete healing for the prayers of St. Paphnutios the Wonderworker. And at the same time, O Lord, grant you to be freed from suffering, for it is not so much the feet of an innocent child that are broken, as your hearts are broken and wounded with sorrow. You would like to know why such a grievous temptation was allowed to be: but I have already written to you that the destinies of God and His Angels are unknown, how much more so we, sinners, i.e. whether this temptation occurred for sins committed, or for protection from future sins, or as gold, so that God tempted you, may He make you worthy of Himself. You know, it seems, the story of the righteous and long-suffering Job, who in a short hour of time endured so many terrible tortures not for sins, and for all this he blessed God and, calming himself, said: "If we have received good from the hand of the Lord, then shall we not endure the wicked?" And since this Righteous One, in which he himself was much tempted, received from the Lord God great grace to help those who are tempted, then I advise you to turn to him with fervent prayer, and humbly ask for his prayerful intercession before God for deliverance from temptations and troubles; and I hope that for the sake of his holy and all-powerful prayers the Lord will gladden you with His mercy.

May 15, 1854

5. May we lay our sorrows on the Lord, and may we humbly bear our cross

To your beloved son, the blessed infant Paphnutios, grant eternal rest with the Saints, O Lord! You weep for him, but now he rejoices and rejoices in the brightness of the Saints, and from there he proclaims to you: "Do not weep for me, my parents, but weep always for those who sin against yourselves; for the joy of all the righteous has been determined by the child, for we have done nothing in temporal life for which we would now weep." Calm down about communion of the Holy Mysteries. For your child is inseparably united with the Lord. Do not think about the toll-houses, at which there was nothing to torture him about. And that before death he suffered terribly, he thereby showed that he was a child of sinful parents, conceived in iniquity and born in sins. Do not grieve for the rest of the children, but cast your sorrow on the Lord, without Whose will even the chicks do not die, much less a man. For the Lord God, in the depth of His wisdom, so ordained, after the fall of our forefather Adam, that every man should be born into this world in order to die, and die in order to live forever. Wherefore be the glory of Thy ineffable and incomprehensible goodness and wisdom for us, O Lord, Lover of mankind!

Do not complain about those who easily judge the death of infants; for they do not know from experience how bitter it is for the mother and how hard it is for the father to lose his child! Then their bowels are troubled, and their hearts are filled with great pity, when their child dies, who comforted them with his babbling. Whoever has not experienced this can be excused. However, one's sorrow should be tempered by joy over their salvation, as they themselves declare: "The joy of all the righteous (and not one) is determined for us."

And the crucifixion, which you saw in a dream, is a saving sign for you; for the cross is a sorrow sent upon you, which, if you endure it good-naturedly, it will be honorable before God as the dearest gold, and you will be crowned on the day of righteous recompense with an incorruptible crown or a crown shining more than gold. But remember this, if you endure everything, and you are impatient and faint-hearted in everything.

Fr. Archimandrite thanks you for your zeal, and about the death of your child he said the following: he has fulfilled many years in a small way, and for this reason his soul is pleasing to the Lord.

19 Июля 1855 г.

6. Собирать сокровища небесные — неизмеримо сложнее, чем земные

Спрашиваете: если не скоро продастся Ш-о, чем Вы будете отделывать новый дом свой? Видите, сколь много должно употребить усилия, трудов, издержек и перенесения разных неприятностей для устройства себе временного покоя! А сколько должно пролить поту, употребить трудов и претерпеть лишений, болезней, печалей и воздыханий для приобретения себе вечного покоя на небеси! А мы думаем, как и я, лежачи на боку, т. е. с мягкой постели, и после роскошной жизни, да и в Царство Небесное!

10 Апреля 1856 г.

7. Мы учимся смирению и кротости не менее трудно, чем некогда грамоте учились