"And if I give away all my possessions, and give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing" (v. 3). If it is love only for one's own class, for one's nation, and not a universal, all-embracing love, it is of no use to our soul. There is no benefit in good deeds, there is not even benefit in giving one's life for one's friends, if there is no universal love, love for all people.

Where does universal love come from? It is only from God: it is a gift of God's grace. Such all-embracing love is not found in those who do not believe in God, who have not loved Him with all their heart and with all their strength, who have not believed in the Lord Jesus with all their heart, and have not loved Him.

There are people who are naturally kind-hearted, and that is why they easily and naturally do good deeds. But there are also powerful people who possess extraordinary physical strength; There are people who have great bodily beauty. Is there any merit in the fact that you were born with mighty power, were born beautiful, were born with a kind heart? No, there is no merit in this: it is a gift received from God at birth, and the Kingdom of God must be earned. The Lord said: "The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it away" (Matt. 11:12).

We need podvigs, we need effort, we need to force ourselves to good, we need to turn from evil, from all unrighteousness to truth, we need efforts in doing good deeds. And only when, through great and unceasing efforts, we purify our hearts and attract the grace of God to it, when, under the influence of this grace, holy love, universal love, love devoid of hatred for anyone, is kindled and kindled in our hearts, only then will this love, combined with faith, open to us the path to the Kingdom of God. Thus, good deeds are not enough, the teaching of morality is not enough: religion is also needed, for only in religion, in faith in God, in communion with God, do we receive the strength to do genuine, full-fledged good in the eyes of God, and bare morality does not allow this, and those who think of replacing religion with one teaching about morality are very mistaken.

In the eyes of God, good is done only by those who are enlightened by Divine grace, whose heart has become a receptacle of genuine, universal love for people, and above all for God.

That is why I said at the beginning of my speech that good deeds alone are not enough. You see that it is impossible to be saved by good works alone, for if faith without works is dead, then good works without faith are also dead.

Remember this, remember that the salvation of your souls lies only in the acquisition of love. Without love, nothing has power. And love is only from God, for the Lord Jesus Christ has revealed to us the greatest mystery: that God is love. As the sun is the source of all life on earth, and all living things depend on it for their existence, so God is the Sun of Truth, the Sun of Love, the Sun of Good; and only those whose hearts receive these Divine rays of truth can be saved.

Open your hearts before God, for the grace of God and Holy love are sent down only into those hearts that are wide open before God.

Why is it necessary to open your hearts? The Lord said in the Revelation of St. John the Theologian: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." (Rev. 3:20). If anyone hears, I will come in and abide in him. It is necessary that all of you hear this knocking of Christ, you must hearken to the words of the Revelation of John and open your hearts wide, wide. It is necessary that grace dwell in your hearts, and they will become a temple of the Holy Spirit.

The Healing of the Gadarene Demoniac

July 25, 1948

"And having called together the twelve, he gave power and authority over all demons, and to heal from diseases, and sent them to preach the Kingdom of God, and to heal the sick" (Luke 9:1-2).

Have you ever thought that the Lord sent His disciples not only to preach, but also to heal the sick? If so, if along with preaching He set the great work of healing the sick, then this work is one of the most important human affairs. After all, he did not say: "Preach the Gospel and teach how to organize state and social life" – not a word about it. He commanded them to heal diseases. He assigned them two tasks: the medical work was placed along with the great work of preaching the Gospel. Why is it so, why did our Lord Jesus Christ Himself devote so much effort and attention to the healing of the sick and demon-possessed and the resurrection of the dead? Why did He also command His disciples to heal the sick?