3Inscriptions on the second side of the binding of the diary notebook

Pies—enemies—right.

Sermon of His Grace Philaret on the 4th Sunday of Great Lent on Fasting. Notice, an exceedingly instructive Word! [1]

Remembering the Most Holy Theotokos with all the saints, let us commit ourselves, each other, and all our life to Christ our God. [2] Why remember the Most Holy Theotokos with all the saints? In order that we might surrender ourselves more firmly to the Lord: they gave themselves up to the Lord: Behold, the handmaid of the Lord (Luke 1:38), says the Virgin to the angel, and was saved; we will give ourselves up: and we will be saved. Also – in order to remind everyone that they all pray for us and greatly contribute with their God-pleasing prayers to our salvation, if only <we> ourselves are not lazy. Let us not be lazy, for our souls are weakened (cf. Quar. 12:3).

GRAINS OF THE LORD'S TABLE.

Unworthily making use of the Lord's innumerable gifts, both spiritual and material, at least with gladness of heart, and not with sorrow, receive thy loaves of bread, and this will be imputed by the Lord for the cleansing of thy sins, for the manifestation of God's righteousness (cf. Rom. 3:25) over thee. "Do you think that your brother eats your bread not by right: but do you eat the bread of God by right?" Oh! If we judge in truth, then none of us rightfully uses God's gifts, but only by mercy, only by mercy. O our self-love! O our blindness! In our brother's eye we always see one twig (Matt. 7:3) when it comes to our possessions, but we do not see even a whole log in our own. Brother, in our opinion, is not worth both, and that, and the third, but we ourselves are worth everything. Such are we, you think, great, perfect, many-doing, many-useful members of the Church and society! In fact, they are the most sinful of all, the most insignificant, lazy, useless members. "Oh, pride! Pride! Pride! O blindness of self-love! Consider yourself unworthy of all the gifts of God, and you will always consider your neighbor worthy of the gifts of God given to you!

Do you still not consider all earthly things to be vanity? — Have I not yet learned to trust in the one Lord, according to the Scriptures: "For every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, man shall live" (cf. Matt. 4:4)? Has your heart still clung [3] to earthly acquisitions and to perishable poison? [4]

The humble servant of God, using the gifts of God, does not dare to recognize them as his own, but as common, and says in his heart: they do not belong to me completely, I am not worthy of them, they are works of God's goodness not to me alone, but to many, so that they may be the property of many.

When explaining the Lord's Prayer, say in advance about the happiness of explaining the Lord's prayer, about preparing yourself for this explanation by prayer and fasting.

Whosoever willeth to be in you, let him be a servant of all (Matt. 20:26). "Nastena."

Is it permissible to pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17)? "You can, as you can breathe incessantly. Prayer is the breath of the soul.

In the measure you measure, it will be measured to you (Matt. 7:2)† 

Whoever digs a pit for another will fall into it himself (Proverbs 26:27; Sir. 27:29).

When you see him who hates you and hear from him words that breathe hatred, contempt, rudeness and disobedience, enlighten him meekly and without fail with love, overcome your heart, which draws you with a stream of confusion and malice towards him to equal hatred, contempt, rudeness, and words that breathe with malice, and you will conquer his malice. The word of God is not false: it finds in abundance sufficient goodness of the heart to overcome its malice. Overcome evil with good, it says, and be not overcome by evil (Romans 12:21).