He is pitiful as one who has done what is worthy of pity, cursed as one who has acted accursed. It would be better if he were condemned as a dumb animal, than, being reasonable, subjected to eternal torment.

But come, look at the ascetic of Christ, who prudently judged, who sold everything, both will and desires, and acquired only the beads of Christ, whom the flatterer could not deceive with the pleasures of this world. Let us say with the Apostle, he was imputed as a flatterer (2 Corinthians 6:8) not deceived by passions, but keeping his soul unenslaved from passions, and desiring to be only a servant of the Lord; He was not subjected to ridicule like many, but mocked and laughed at the world and those who were mocked by it, those who clung to evil, evil, and harmful, as to good, desirable, and useful: he was abstinent, rejected the pleasures of the flesh, loved virginity, non-acquisitiveness, prayer, and other virtues, and hated sins and iniquities. So wisely he judged; even if he had all human well-being, and renounced it and forsaken it for God's sake, then he did nothing great, but left as it were one coppersmith, or the insignificant glory of one day, but received innumerable treasures and infinite honor; This is what he has likened himself to. See how he will rejoice there, rejoice, rejoice, how he will bless his good determination, his good teachers and the right hands of his primates. And let us not continue the word, there will be no end to the joy of the one, and for the other, on the contrary, sorrow, sorrow, and torment with great shame and shame will have no end.

Thus, even though we are stones, we must come to our senses and praise the good deed that we have done, the greatest and most blessed, that is, that we have left the world, have become monks and spend our lives in virginity. Why did I say this? In order that we may add ascent to ascent, diligence to diligence, and, as it were, having received wings, and warming our hearts, we may fly with virtue to God, by no means giving the devil room to possess us. Therefore, let vanity disappear, let disobedience flee, let murmuring, slander, insolence, verbosity, sloth, contentiousness, reproach, envy, backbiting, and every vile passion be driven away. And let good, longed-for and divinely created humility, heavenly obedience, Christ-bearing virginity, enlightening tenderness, joyful weeping, and every other sacred work dwell with boldness and shine. O that all of us, as partakers of these works, may be heirs of the Heavenly Kingdom in Christ Jesus our Lord, to Whom is due glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

INSTRUCTION 26: Not to Give or Take Anything from the Food in the Brotherhood Without a Blessing

For Zion's sake I will not be silent, and for Israel's sake I will not be silent, says the Divine Scripture (Isaiah 62:1). And I, a sinner, for the salvation of your souls, am not slothful to teach you lessons of piety, but always instruct you in all truth. If the students are obedient, then neither I nor they will be condemned; but if they disobey me, then I will receive my reward, and I will not be condemned, but the disobedients will see for themselves. It is unjust for everyone to observe only his own benefit and to despise the benefit of his neighbor. Great deprivation and great calamity is endured by him who sows tares among pure wheat, as the Psalmist says: "If thou hast seen thyself, thou hast flowed with him, and hast counted thy participation in thy adulterer." (Psalm 49:18). And: "Do not dwell in the midst of your house, do pride: speak unrighteously, do not correct it before my eyes" (Psalm 100:7). Therefore, my most honorable children, do not wish to resist one another, but show good emulation and proper brotherly love to one another, even to him who is cold to me and does not listen to my words. I say this in order that we may all be saved. For our Lord Jesus Christ says: "There is no will in the sight of My Father in heaven, that any man perish" (Matt. 18:14). And so, all of you are saved, all of you are compelled to present yourselves to God pure, as you were created at first, in the likeness of the Divine image, knowing neither enmity nor temptations. Do not gather in the evenings, do not talk idly and do not laugh; do not do this in the case of joint occupations, and do not draw one another into the abyss. "My heart aches, and the feelings of my heart are troubled," (Jeremiah 4:19) says the loud-voiced Jeremiah in his God-inspired words. But I, unclean and accursed, say to you, Sorrow overtakes me, and the arrows of thoughts pierce me, when I hear that you live badly.

Fear, my children, the terrible God, and do not ruin your great podvig and labor with a little negligence. We have crossed the great sea, why should we be exposed to calamity in the harbor? We walked the blessed path; why slumber when the Divine abodes have not yet attained rest? Understand what I am saying, for you have been given understanding by God. "Be of good courage, and let your heart be strong" (Psalm 30:25) strive and be strengthened in humility. Do not be self-willed, otherwise you will not fulfill my commands with joy. For if a man mortages his will, no matter how heavy the commandment given to him, he is not offended, but accepts it with joy, obeys, walks, and does not contradict it, like a dumb animal, which does not contradict the one who binds it, as the Divine Scripture says. Let each one of you observe himself, how he lives and how he obeys. For I also infer from external actions what is within you. Whoever does not have his own will, says St. John. Dorotheus, for whatever happens in the monastery, everything is in accordance with his will, and such a person is always at peace. And whoever holds fast to his own will grieves, is troubled, carried away in many ways and deceived by his thoughts, justifies himself and is hypocritical, in one way or another. O that none of you may be such, and if he deviates, let him not remain so! But let us all serve God in purity. And if I am one thing, and you are another, then this will already be strife and resistance. If all of you prove that you seek the will of God, and I the will of the devil, then let yours remain, and mine be abolished. But if you know that all that I say to you is good, why do you oppose me? Why do you cause me sorrows and labors? You who consider yourselves thorough, take heed: if the good land remains uncultivated for a long time, thorns grow, as the Scripture says. Therefore, when I subject such people to penances, I benefit both myself and them, for I do and say everything in order to save both you and myself, the accursed one.

This is what I have reminded you, and I will not cease to remind you of it as long as the breath remains in my nostrils. I have something else to remind you, my brethren. Why do you not fulfill this commandment like the others? Though it seems small, it nevertheless destroys your great virtues. And what do I say, "small or great"? It is necessary that every commandment of God should be fulfilled, for every disobedience justly deserves punishment. Many times have I told you and forbidden that none of you should arbitrarily give food or drink to anyone; for this can only be done without permission by the steward, the steward, the cellarer, and other stewards, as I have commanded and command. And therefore from now on I command that no one should do this, otherwise he will be subjected to penance for secret eating. You are falsely ashamed of one another, and fear there, where there is no fear, and not wishing, as you say, to offend your brother, you insult God and me, who am unworthy. Woe to your conscience; for this is madness, hatred of God; arbitrariness and carnality. I dare say that even if there were an Angel, do not accept anything from him. You often receive fruit with a blessing; let everyone eat them; and if anyone does not desire them, as it happens, because of infirmity or some other motive, then let him either give them to the cellarer, or explain the reason to the one who distributes them. Then he will not be condemned. Do you not know that from this comes shameful friendship? For it happens that you give to those for whom you have an impure love. However, even if this did not happen, do not temptations, reproaches, and confusion arise from this, when one receives, and the other stands and watches? In every possible way, he will think that he is not loved. If you say that you do not give anything in front of another, then you need to wait for a convenient hour, time and place; and from this will come private friendships and meetings. What does Basil the Great say? That signs given by the eyes and whispering in the ear give reason to suspect of some evil deed [32]. Why, you will say, is my freedom sued by another conscience? (1 Corinthians 10:29). Is it not from me your father, if you do not obey me? For this also happens. If it is from me, how much more from others. But someone will say: in order to show love to the enemy, I give him only very little, talk to him in a friendly way, and go away. You have no right to do this, except for the stewards, except by their order. And if anyone turns out to be a disobedient, he will certainly be subjected to penance.

But the Lord loves him, chastens him, beats his son, and receives him (Heb. 12:6). And whosoever is glad to me, says the Divine Apostle, receive sorrow from me (2 Corinthians 2:2). Rejoice, receiving penances from me, and know that I do this, moved by love for you, although I am a sinner. I accept your labors and sweats as precious myrrh and fragrance that you bring to God. Remember death, the separation of the soul from the body, the presence of the Angels, the long journey, alienation from everyone, the appearance before the face of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, the terrible and undeceived response in all our deeds, the terrible and terrible torment, the Kingdom of Heaven and the invisible and ineffable blessings promised there. That we may all inherit them, but to the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom the Father and the Holy Spirit may inherit them. By the Spirit is due glory and dominion, honor and worship, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

SERMON 27: On Doing the Work of the Monastery with Diligence and Attention, as if it were the works of God

My most honorable brethren and spiritual children! Those instructions which I wanted to give you orally, I venture to convey through the Scriptures. For this is why our most gracious God has given us the gift of speech, as Basil the Great said, in order to reveal to one another the thoughts of our hearts. So I reveal to you the love I have for you; For although I am a sinner and desperate, yet because of the multitude of my sins, in spite of this, having left my own misfortune and weakness, I take care of you in every way and in everything, I am afraid, trembling and caring for all of you. Whoever is weary, and I am not weary, I say thoughtlessly, or, "He who is faint, and I do not liquefy" (2 Corinthians 11:29). In my folly I speak, having in spite of all this, as I have said, a multitude of sins. He who cares for his own salvation is not only my child, but also my master, master, and father, and I lie with my soul at his feet. For he who is zealous and careful in his obedience is my salvation; the humble-minded is my strength and courage; the trembling words of God are my soul, my heart, my thought. But for the idle and slothful I grieve, because he is unworthy to eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10), as the Divine Paul says; in the same way about him who is not diligent and lazy, who murmurs, who is drowsy and slumbers at every good deed; for such people lose half of their lives. Therefore, arise with me, children and brethren, companions and travelers on the path that leads us to heaven. And first of all, hold on to spiritual struggles with zeal and courage, and burn like fire, going to the night hymns and to the daytime prayers; and then be careful also in the external affairs that are entrusted to you. Get up early, so that the sun does not find you in bed, as our great teacher, our blessed Basil, commanded in the rules; In hot times, one hour is enough for you to sleep, and get up immediately. Or do you not hear what is said in the Holy Gospel? Deep in the morning, it says, the wife came to the grave. (Luke. 24. 1). Also in the morning were Peter and John (John 20:4). Paul and Silas arose to pray at midnight (Acts 16:25); the Prophet David speaks of himself in the same way (in Psalm 118:62) [33]. And what does Paul himself say about himself? Working night and day, let us not burden any of you (1 Thessalonians 2:9). Look at the Apostle, look at the preacher of the Gospel, at the fisher of the universe, how he, after such a ministry of word, sat at needlework.

Therefore, do not be hearers of the Scripture, but be both hearers of the law and creators of the word, as God wills. Have competition among yourselves, and urge one another, trying each one to listen quickly, without waiting for the second word from the one who commands; He will appear among you as the highest in humility, who with the first word asks forgiveness with a bow, and takes all the blame upon himself. If you do this, then I am firmly convinced that you are in joy and gladness, that you are lifted up in hope to impassibility, and that you ascend boldly to the Heavenly. If you are pure in soul and already alien to envious zeal, it is better to say, if you are impassible, or even if passions tempt and confuse you, but armed with such spiritual virtues, you will drive out the demons that fight you. And what warrior will allow himself not to be always armed, even though he always wins? And how can the King of heaven not crown such a person, even if he receives a thousand wounds, if only he is not put to death from sin?

Be merciful, as our Heavenly Father is merciful (Luke 6:36). The wombs of the wicked, as the Scripture says, are unmerciful; but the righteous have mercy on the souls of his beasts (Prov. 12:10). And first be merciful to yourselves, and then to the animals, so that they do not remain unfed and unwatered; but in due time give them both food and water, and this is a sign of the monastery's working animals, that they are not full and strong; and if they are not, then they are not monastic animals, but the poorest, or rather the most insane laymen.

And so, my children, show that you are careful about your life in everything, even in the smallest things, and, as you are careful in everything, do not neglect the greenery, do not throw away the fruit, do not despise even the smallest scrap, even if it be old and no more than one span, much less clothing; for a monk must wear such a garment, as it is said in the Patericon [34], that if it were thrown out of the gate for three days, no one would wish to lift it. What condemnation will be subjected to those who despise any thing? And not only that; But even do not neglect firewood, and do not burn it unnecessarily, especially if it turns out to be suitable for crafts, not part of a board, even with a dog's jaw. Never spill wines and oils on the ground. Alas! the Fathers say that we should not smell wine; And oil, do you know how much oil was consumed by the one who checked the vessel with a needle [35]? But we, eating them in abundance, from much satiation, or rather from our inattention, spill them on the earth and give it to drink; and others, either because of their abstinence or because of poverty, would at least like to taste it. A folk proverb can also be cited, if it is relevant; It is said: when the butcher's children are satisfied, then rings are made from the intestines of the killed animals. Do not do this, my children, for both in the spiritual and in the body, man grows rich little by little.

I do not know whether any of you are subject to laryngealism; but I know that every day you are approaching death, and that then you will stand before the face of God. Therefore let your tears be shed like a fountain day and night. Remembering this, pour out your hearts before God, and I trust that you will go to the wondrous tabernacle, even to the house of God, living in the voice of joy, in the dwelling of those who celebrate in heaven, in the noise of the spirit. Therefore, do not grieve and do not be troubled by the passions, even though they struggle you strongly. But spread the sail of your soul, and with boldness swim across the abyss of this life, aided by the prayers of our father.