And whoever scolds bad people, but does not pray for them, will never know the grace of God.

* * *

If you want to know how the Lord loves us, then hate sins and bad thoughts, and pray fervently day and night, and then the Lord will give you His grace, and you will know the Lord by the Holy Spirit, and after death, when you come to paradise, then there you will know the Lord by the Holy Spirit, as you knew Him on earth.

Both in heaven and on earth, the Lord is known only by the Holy Spirit, and not by science. And children who have not studied at all come to know the Lord by the Holy Spirit. St. John the Baptist, when he was still in his mother's womb, sensed the coming of the Lord. Simeon the Stylite [27 years old], a Divnogorets, was a seven-year-old boy when the Lord appeared to him, and he came to know Him. Venerable Seraphim was of full age [Comm. 24 May], when the Lord appeared to him during the Liturgy. And Simeon the God-Receiver was a profound old man when he came to know the Lord, taking Him into his arms.

Thus the Lord applies Himself to us, in order to comfort every soul more.

* * *

The love of the Lord is known only by the Holy Spirit; but a peaceful soul, which preserves a clear conscience, knows God from among creatures, that He created heaven and earth. But even this is a matter of grace, albeit a small one; and without grace our mind cannot know God, but everything is drawn to earthly things; to riches, to fame, to pleasures.

* * *

Both the love of Jesus Christ and His sufferings were so great that we cannot comprehend them, because we love the Lord little. But whoever loves more, can understand more about the sufferings of the Lord. There is small love, there is medium love, and there is perfect love; and the more perfect the love, the more perfect the knowledge.

In general, each of us can reason about God to the extent that he has come to know the grace of the Holy Spirit; for how can we think and reason about what we have not seen, or what we have not heard, and what we do not know? The Saints say that they have seen God; and there are people who say that there is no God. It is clear that they say this because they have not come to know God, but this does not mean that He does not exist.

The saints speak of what they have really seen and know. They don't talk about what they haven't seen. They do not say, for example, that they have seen a horse as long as a mile, or a steamer ten versts long, which is not the case. And I think that if God did not exist, then there would be no mention of Him on earth; but people want to live according to their own will, and therefore they say that there is no God, and by this they prove that He exists.

And among the pagans, the soul felt that God exists, although they did not know how to worship the true God. But the Holy Spirit taught the Holy Prophets, then the Apostles, then our Holy Fathers and Bishops, and thus the true faith has come down to us. And we came to know the Lord by the Holy Spirit, and when we did, the soul was established in Him.

* * *

The soul that has come to know the Lord invisibly feels the presence of its Creator and is very calm and joyful in Him. And what can this joy be likened to? It is as if a beloved son from a distant land, after a long separation, returns to his father's house and converses with his dear father and beloved mother, and with dear brothers and sisters.